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i il^ili 1'

BIN])I]SGl^..„oiJ lo 1924.

\0ck%0(

Engineering and Contracting

Devoted to the Economics of Civil Engineering Design and to
Methods and Costs of Construction

-nY^* index

Vol. LX, July-December, 1923

GENERAL INDEX

Accelerators, Effect of Concrete. 358

Accelerators, Effect on Beinforcing Steel 203

Accident Prevention in Structural Work 875

Accident Beduction. Contractors' Associations'

Actinties in 1151

Accidents, Automobile, Causes 688

Accidents, Automobile at Grade Cnwaings 135

Accidents, Crossing, Cause 482

Accidents, Motor Vehicle. 7

Accidents, Bailroad Crossing, How to Avoid 110

Accidents, Traffic, on British Highirays 994

Accounting, Highway Equipment 706

Accounting. Water Works, Charleston. W. Va 1050

Acetylene Flares for Night Lighting 923

Activated Sludge Plant, Milwaukee. Fine Screen-
ing 576

Activated Sludge Process, British Derelopmoits- 79

Activated Sludge. Value as Fertilizer 538

Advance. Electrical _ 1234

Advertising Matter, Suggestions for Filing 1324

Advertising, Mark Twain on 306

Aggregate, Handled by Conveyor and Bin Method 1040

Air Brush Painting. Improvements in Guns 421

Air Compressors Mounted on Ford Truck 894

Air Movement in Tunnels, Device for Deter-
mining 613

Air Operated Steam Shovels 608

Algae. Methods of Control of 1235

Alkaline Conditions. Effect on Concrete 288

Alley Paving, Labor Saving Arrangement for. 971

American Institute of Arcchltects. Opporttmities

and Purposes of _ 374

American Irrigation. Advances Since 190O..I%.Hi. m»
American Road Biiilders' Association Convention 689
American Society of Municipal Improvements,

Specifications for Street Railway Track...... 1072

American Type Office Buildlns. Besistance to

Earthquake Damage 1154

Ammite. New Explosive. 457

Analyses, Water. Expressing Resnlts 103

Analysis of "Two-Way" Flat Slabs 155

Apparatus, Development of, for Field Testing

of Boads 248

■ Apartment House With Full Electrical Equip-
ment 1370

Apartment House Building, New Features in. 653

Apartment House. Jackson Heists Development 653
Appraising Bailway Lands, Methods Employed

by Bureau of Valuation _ 1297

Apprentices in BuUding Trades 172

Apprenticeship Trainftig, New Development in. " 291

Aquaphone Surveys 1269

Arbitration Clause in Contracts 1160. 148

Arch Dam. Deflection Measurements in Switzer-
land 530

Architect. Anonymous 14g

Architect as Contractor. 395

Architect and Ensineer. Co-operation BetweaL_ 375

Architect and Illuminating Practice 377

Architect and Owner. Contract Between.- ~ 190

Architect and Publicity _ _ „ 1145

Architect, Right to Damages for TTnauthorized
use by Owner of BuUding Plans and

Speclflcatlon."! 393

Architects' Findings FoUowing Japanese Earth-
quake _ _ 1355

Archltecttire, Creative and Concreta LJl 136rt

Architecture. Snlrit of Community _ 184

Architectural Representation, Models I"_" 179

Area of Assessment. Determination of 722

Arteries of Commerce. Transportation 317

Asphalt. Causes of Waves 975

Asphalt Con-structlon. Little Rock.'Ai*..."..".. ".i . 52
Asphalt Construction. Rhode Island Highway 691

Asphalt Lining for Drainage Ditches-
Asphalt Macadam, Rhode Island-

Asphalt Pavement, Type. Selection With Refer-
ence to Local Materials

Asphalt Plant. Municipal. Los Angeles

Asphalt. Simplifications

Asphalt Storage Tanks_

1003
691

740
854
913

AsptuUt. Beduction of Varieties..
Asphalt. Resurfacing Brick Paveme
Asphalt. Uses In Hi^way Construction-
Asphalt Wagon. SpeciaL.

Asphaltic Concrete Constniction. Fresno County-
Assessment. Area. Determination of

AutomobUe Accidents. Causes of

Automobiles. Regulating Parking

691
451
958
722
688
244

BacUlus Coli. Movement of m Ground Water lOO

Bad Roads for Good 945

Ballast. Methods and Co^t of 583

Ballast Deck TresUes. Method of Repairing 1095

Bsltimora, Meterage 551

Baltimoce. Water Waste. Meters and Rates. 751

Banker. Contractor's. What Ho Should Know 1360

Bankers and Builders 350

Barber- Greene Improve Vertical Boom Ditcher 411

Base for Bates. Original Cost or Present Value?- 106

Beams. Concrete. New Type 175

Beams, Haydite. Test of 198

Beams, Short Concrete. Strength 883

Beams, Steel I. Haimched With Concrete 1119

Beams , Steel. Value of Haunching . 354

Belt Conveyor, Life of. St. Louis. Water Worts- 750

Belt Conveyor, for Placing Concrete 795

Belt Conveyor for Handling Aggregate and Con-
crete in Dam Constructioii 745

Bidder, Responsible. Selecting ^ Til

Bidders. Determining Skill and Responsibility of 115

Birch Flooring 391

Bituminous Macadam, Construction and Main-
tenance of 715

Bittuninoos Macadam. Marquette County Method 1187

BltumiiKMU Macadam. Newton. Mass. 5

Bittnnlnons Macadam. Rhode Island 691

Blast Hole Drill, All-SteeL 882

Blasting Chutes. Safe Method. 128

Blasting to Loosen Up Material for Soctlm

Dredging lU

Blasting Madilne. Improred 408

Blasting. Method for Directing Holes for V-Cut_ 1321

Blasting. Method of Reducing Costs 507

Blasting. Steel Tank Safety BeTage in 821

Blasting, Tunnel : 137

Block, Concrete S78

Boiler Plant Operation, St. Lotils. With Fud OH 525

Boiler, Testing In Small Plant 1271

Bond Issues for Highway Coii.structlon__ 1238

Bond Issues, Highway. Long Time. Sophistical

Arguments Against 1

Bonding, Skip. With Electric Bonding Machine.. 465

Bonding. Special Track Work- 834

Bonus System for Workmen on Road Job 459

Boom Ditcher. Barber-Greene Imurotemait 411

Bore Hole. Method of Stopping Flow From 285

Boring Machine. Thrust 908

Box Car Loader 414

Bracket. AH-Steel Scafftdd 922

Branch Lines. Light Traffic Maintenance 799

Brank County. Concrete Highway 473

Brick Laying Machlna 1369

Brick Pavements. Modem Construction 1195

Brick Pavements, Resurfacing With Asphalt 2

Brick. SalvaginjT. Machine fnr. 455

Bridge. Concrete. TTnustial Design. : 153

Bridge, Hl^way. Economic Problems 238

Engineering and Contracting

)•!««>%'

Bridge, Menai Suspension, llesults of Exami-
nation

Bridge, Railway, Supervision.

Bridge, Steel Higliway, Erecting TO Jliles From
BaUroad

Bridges, lligliway, i'roposed Loading for

Bridges, Higiiway, Use of Timber in

Bridges, Small

Bridges, State Toll, Connecticut.

British Developments in Activated Sludge Process

British Uigliways, Traffic Census

British Irrigation I'roject, Large

British View of Fourth International lioad Con-
gress -

Bucket Loader, Mounted on Fordson.

Bucket Plant, New Mast Hoist. _

Builders and Bankers ~ ^,~~

Building, Changes in lletail Cost —

Building Construction, Japan.

BuUding Construction, November

Building Cost, California

Building Costs, High, Who Is Responsible r

BuUding Costs, 82 Years of

Building Field I'rices, Prospective

Building Forces, Railway, Supen'ision

Building Foundations in Clay

Building Industry, Monthly Statistics

203, 347, 401, 677, 877, 1103,

Building Labor Inefficiency Bred by Booms

Building Materials, Retail Prices

1106, 840, 632, 352, 150,

Building Mechanics, Trade Schools for.

Building, Moving 7-Stor>' for Railway Terminal
Improvement

Building Operations, Halting, Because of In-
tolerable Costs

Building Plans and Specification, Bight of
Architect to Damages for Unauthorized
Use of -

Building Problems ~ -

Btiilding, Situation, 1924

Building Stone, Importance of Proper Storage....

Building, Straus, Chicago. -

Building Trade, Wages and Average Employ-
ment in - -

Building Trades, Apprentices in.

Building Trades, New York, Wa«e Increase in....

Building, Winter ~

Buildings, High, Development in Germany

Buildings, Industrial, Roof Types

Buildings, Protection Against Lightning.

Buildings, School, I-lve Floor Load Requirements

Buildings, School, Standardized Elementary

Buildings, Stone, Cleaning

Buildings, Tokio Steel Frame, Special StlfTenlng
of - ■■■■■

Buildings, Winter Construction, Economy of

Bump Machine, Anti-Chatter.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Statistical Methods..

Bureau of Valuation, Methods Employed for
Appraising Railway Lands -

Bus Lines, Municipal _

Bus Operation, Comparison of Cost With Elec-
tric Car Operation.

Busses and Electric Railways

Business Men Are Still "Jumpy"

Buster, New Concrete -._~

1113
1076

363
48

478

1168

729
91

4
453
893
350
186
1118
1351
1362
1348
1158
145
1076
870

1357
680

1364
168

1063

349

393
631
1161
671
355

683
172
160

1324
666

1331
357
158
686

1115

678

629

446

1297
508

693
146
944

Calcium Chloride Type of Accelerator. Tests on 358

Calendar, Suggested Improvements In. 579

California Building Cost 1362

California Day Labor Law 199

Camden. N. J., New Well Water System — 258

Canadian Engineer. Schedule of Fees for. 983

Canadian Parlflc Rail Laying Methods. — 1293

Canadian Road Policies 468

Canals, Irrigation, Concrete Lining of. 639

Canals, Irrtgatlon. Economies In Cleaninx. 568

Canals, Railways and Highways, Relation 1273

CaiijboHrd Modeling. Advantages of 179

Car Puller, New Cnpstan _ 439

Cars. 1-Mnn and 2-Mnn. Operating Costs 1070

Cast Iron Pipe Prwiuc tlon. 1238

Castlotnn Cut-Off, Unusual Culvert Construction

on „ _ 148

Cellar Drainer, Penbcrthy Automatic 448

Cement Oun for Repairing Coagulation Basins'.... 1094

Cement Joints ._ 629

Cement Mortar, TnveRtlgatlon of Fatigue Ele-
ment nf : „ 209

rpntrr T,lnlng Minnesota Highways 1186

Central Mixing Plnnt, ElerfrlfBllr Operated 883

Charleston Wafer Works Accounting 1050

C. * N. W. Ry. Retaining Wall Construction.

Milwaukee 797

Chlcftgo Termlnsl Improvements, Illinois Central 622
Chicago TTnlon Station Development 805

H^emei^iun
ghn. coa^n-
. . .%..../....^....

Chicago Union Station Tracks, Concrete Slab

Supports for

Chicago Water Meterage _...

Chimney, Method of I'roportioning

Chimney Sizes, Determination of _

Chouteau Avenue Incinerator Plant, St. Louis

Chronology, HjdrauUc

Chutes, Safe Alethod of Blasting

City Manager, First

City Manager Plan, Growth of

City Manager, Problems in City;^f Abo*t 10,000..

City Planning, New York JfA..\..tr^

City Planning, Regional .*. ^—.r

Clebum, Tex., Water Works. ^*umpa* and

Operating Cost _ -*-^

Coagulation Basins, Repairing Witlf^emew«un

Coagulation Control by Hydrogen ^^- ''■"

tration

Coagulation, Double, in Water FiltrH^ion
Coal Consumption at Pumping PlanI

Coal Pier, Western Maryland Ry

Coal Pile, Water Works Reducing

Coaling Stations, Creosoted Timber.

Code. Safety, lor Contractors. ~

Cold Weather Concreting „

Cold Weather Concreting, Fundamentals

Cold Weather Construction of Concrete Culvert —

College Education -

College Graduate and First Job

Colonization Railway, Canada

Commodity I'roduction, Quality Standards in.

Common Labor, Railway Construction and Main-
tenance

Community Spirit in Architectura

Compressed Air for Operating Steam Shovels

Compressor, Portable

Concrete Beams, New Type

Concrete Beams, Short, StrengUi of

Concrete, Behavior Exposed to Alkaline Condi-
tions -

Concrete Block Machine.

Concrete Bridge, Unusual Design

Concrete Bridge. Watertown, N. Y..._

Concrete BuUding Block and Concrete BuUding

Tile -

Concrete Construction, Pre-Cast. New Type

Concrete, Corrosion of Iron.

Concrete and Creative Architectura

Concrete Culvert Construction in Zero Weather-
Concrete, Culverts, Monolithio.

Concrete Design, Shortcuts for Solving.

Concrete, DeU'rioration in Alkaline Soils _

Concrete, Effect of Accelerators in. —

Concrete Floors, Compound for Repairing.

Concrete Floor Finish - —

Concrete Floor Hints for Contractors —

Concrete Floor Treatment - ~

Concrete Hardener. Colored

Concrete Haunching of Steel I Beams

Concrete Highway, Sampling Pine Aggregate for..

Concrete Lining for Irrigation Canals

Concrete Lltnel in Brick Walls

Concrete Mixers, Proportioning —

Concrete Mixers. Water Measuring Tank for

Concrete Mixtures, Workability of —

Concrete Paving, Plant Layout

Concrete Paving of Street Railway Track. _...

Concrete Paving, "Rhoubonlte" Process.

Concrete Pavement Laid in Four Sections.

Concrete Pavement Sections With Thickened

Edges

Concrete Pavements, Methods of Constructing

Concrete Pavements, Resurfacing With Brick

Concrete Pavements, Testing Materials for.

Concrete I'lles. Cutting With Dynamite

Concrete, Placing With Belt Conveyor _

Concrete Railway Ties —

Concrete, Reinforced, Under Shock -

Concrete Road Surfacing by "Bhoubenlte"

Process

Concrete Roads, Behavior of Under Service

Conditions

Concrete Schoolhouso Design, Philadelphia, Pro-
gressive Economy

Concrete Single Track Highways

Concrete Slab. Grade Crossings -

Concrete Slab Supports for Chicago TTnlon

Station Tracks ?1

Concrete Slabs. ElToct of Repeated Ix>ads

Concrete Sfandpipe, Waterproofing. »

Concrete, Strength. Relation to Cement, Agxre-

gates and Water..., .. — ™_..._

Concrete. Strength of _

Concrete Surface Grinder _

Concrete Tank. Ollpmoflng

Concrete Tanks for Railway Water Service.

Concrete Test Cylinders. Effect on Irregular

Ends on

Concrete Tile Expwlmonts In Alkalln Soil

611
59

645

U45

286
1228

128

513

280
1265

402

4yy

790
1004

281

542

1283

13J6

389
1326

843
1318

743

336
1277

515

1307
184
608
936
175
863

, 289

iso

158
153

378
175
194

1366

1318
704

1327
288
358
907
664
662
66S
922

1U9
736
539

1134

961

452

879

1319
56
972.

20
229
995
996
339
795
586
1330

1S45
478
690

611
209
623

1136
1136
918
399
1078

228
1022

Engineering and Contracting

Concreting in Cold Weather.

Concreting. Cold Weather, Fundamentals.

Concreting Units. Movable, Miring. Elevating

and Chuting -•

Connecticut Investigations of Highway Traffic

ConstrucUon Equipment, Bcntal Charges.

Construction oiuioolc for 1924

ConstrucUon Program, Big, BaUwajs-. .-.-

ConstrucUon Service. Selling by Photographic

Construction. Winter, Economy of

Construction Work. Safe Practices in.

Conitructor and Designer. Kespective Senices

Contract Between Architect and Owner

Contract Form. Illinois Society d Architects

Contractor as Architect

contractor. Expiosne =,

Contractor, yualihed. Selecting. .-

Contractors' Associations' AcUviUes in Accident

UeducUou -

Contractor's Banker. What He Should Know

Contractors' Barrows. New

Contractors and Higuway llesearch

Contractors' Safety Code

Contractor's Viewpoint in SpectflcaUons.

Contracts, Arbitration Clause in 148.

Contracts, Long Term, Income From

Contracts. Road and Street

Conveyor and Bin Method for Handling Aggre-

Co-operation Between Engineer and Architect.

Co-ordination of Kail and Motor Service

Copi>er-Bearing Steel, Durability of

Copper Sulphate, Use in Control of Algae.

Corrosion of Iron in Concrete.

Cost Maintenance. St, Louis.

Cost. Painting, by Hand and by Air Brush

Cost, Truck Operating.
Costs. Building. 82 Yeats.
Covered Reservoirs. Details of_
Coyote Method of Blasting..

1326
843

682

1130

1312
1339
581

115G
629
849
152
19U
190
395
34J
115

1151

1360
416

1196
389
161

1160
55

Crane. General Purpose for..
Crane for Industrial Haulin^„

Crane. Locomotive

Crane Mounted on Electric Truck

Crawler Crane, ConverUble

Creative Architecture ;

Creosoted Timber Bridges, Alabama

Creosoted Timber Coaling StaUons

Crib Dams on Cumberland River.

Cribs, Design of

Crossing Accidents. Cause of „ _

Cros.slng Plank. Old Bridge Ties for

Crossings. Highway Grade. Concrete Slab„
Crossings. Railway. Grade Separation-

Crusher, Mounted 24-ln. Symons Disc

Crusher Outfit. Compact

Crushing Plant. Portable Gyratory ^2,

Cumberland River Crib Dams

Culvert ConstrucUon. Unusual

Culvert Construction in Zero Weather

Ctilverts „ _

Ctilverta, Metkods of Installing Under Traffic

Ctilverts, Monolithic Concrete.

Curb. Integral. Method of Constructing. _

Curing, Slide, on Yazoo & Mississippi Valley

R. R. _

Current Material Prices.

209, 1276. 1056. 582, 334.

Dam. Arch, Deflection Measurements in Switzer-
land :

Dam Foundation, Sealing With Grout

Dam, Earth. Criteria for Design.

Dam. Laurel Road. Construction Methods

Dam. Malone Diversion. Cost

Dam O'Shaughnessy, Dedication of

Dam, O'Shaughnessy, Siphon Spillway.

Dams. Crib. Cumberland River

Dance Floors. CMicrete, ~Z

Davis. Removal as Director of U. S. Reclamation

Service

Dav Labor Law, California... 7 "' ." Z

Decoration. Sgraffito, Method of Maklni___

Deer Island Outlet Sewer

Defe^-t In Rate Regulation System „ '"_

Deflection Measurements on Arch Dam in

Switzerland „

Derrick. One-Man Portable ~ _" Z! _Z

Derrick, Roof Truss, Erect Standpipe.."' !'
Design. Schoolhnuse Concrete, at Philadelphia..-

Design of Streets .

nesigner and Constructor. Respective"SeiTlc«e..Z

npslgnlng Practice. Structural. Advances In

Dft^rioratlon of Structures In Sea Water

1040

375

113

1235
194
920

1352
33

1158
783
137
891
904
886
S2A
895

1366
742

1306
638
97
482
619
590
469
419
410
414
038
143

1318
478

1062
704
714

1320

112

530
548
90
745
1048
256
674
638
663

19<»

1117

1239

1053

530

454

1042

1345

1174

152

838

859

Developing Inland Water Transportation. _...

Device for Testing Wheel Impact on Bails

Dikes, Permanence of Timber Work in

Dirt Mover's Day

Dirt Road Maintenance in Sierra Nevada

Mountains ...—_.

Ditches. Drainage. Asplialt Lining for

Diversion Dam. Malone. ''<va.

Douglas Fir. Identiticauon

Dowie BuUding. Method of Moving-

Drag-Line EicavaUon on Irrigation Project

Dragline, for Sewer Trenching. 77,

Drainage Ditclies. Asphalt Lining for_

Dredging. Sucuon, Loosening Up Material

DrUl Holes, Deep Well. Loading

Drill Steel. Device for Simplifying Heat Treat-
ment

DrUl. Steel, How to Temper

Drills, New Rotator-
Drills, Rock, for Structural Wort

Drinking Fountains, Cost of Icing

Drivers, Motor Truck. How to I'ick

Driving Reckless

Drum Puller. l-Man

Dump. Body, for Hauling Lumber.

Dump Hoist. New FrlcUon

Dump Trailer, New

Durability of Copper-Bearing Steel

Dynamite. Cutting Concrete PUes With

519
835
193
794

978
10O2
1048
661
1063
260
789
1002
111
626

931

1061

888

1349

574

1094

687

456

707

443

457

339

Earth Dam Design, Criteria for 90

Earthquake. Japanese. Architects' Findings. 1355

Easy Dodges In Mathematics. 1109

Economic Highway Bridge Problems 238

Economic Value of Good Roads 243

EducaUon of Highway Engineers. 28

Education, College 743

Elastic Wall Primer as Paint Base. 1338

Electric Car OperaUon. Comparison of Cost

With Bus OperaUon ; 838

Electric Hammer for Drilling. Chipping. Etc S03

Electric Motor. Fitting to Pump 1013

Electric Railway Industry. Present Situation In.. 1088

Electric Railway Practice 1057

Electric RaUway and Motor Bus 592. 1301

Electric Railways. Motor Bus Operation by 109O

Electric Railways and Busses 580

Electric Welder and Grinder Combined 118

Electrical Advance - 1224

Electrical Equipment for Apartment House 1370

Electrical Equipment for Operating Coal Pler__^ 1283

Electrification of Railway. Economics of 1288

Electricity. Method of Measuring Water 1230

Elevator Hydraulic. Moving River Sand 88

Elevator Installation. Notable Sute 1354

Engine. CUmai 417

Engines. Le Roi ... 451

Engineer and Architect. Co-operaUoo Between 375

Engineering and Finance 812

Engineering. Government. Politics in. 60

Engineering. Highway and Highway Transp(»t.... 7

Engineering Office Standards 200

Engineering. Past. Present and Futur«L.-.-_ 988

Engineering. Professional Status of 187

Engineering QualiflcatlMis 1275

Engineering. Sanitary. Recent Developments „. 169

Engineering Work for Large British IrrigaUcMi

Project 91

Engineers. Canadian, Schedule of Fees for. 983

EniEineers. Highway. EducaUc* 28

Engineers' Participation in PubUc Affairs 739

Engineers. Railway. Dogmatic 1055

Engineers and Removal of Davis as Director of

U. S. Reclamation Service 62

English Tests of Heat Transmission Through

Walls 1148

Equipment Accounting, Highway 706

Equipment, Construction. Rental Charges 1130

Equipment, Heavy, Special Transfer Provided tar 483
Equipment, I.Abor-Saving. Formulas for Com- .

putlng Economies of _ "673

Eqtilpment for RaUway Bridge and Building

Service 1315

Excavation Drag-Line on Irrigation Project 2R0

Experimental Oiled Roads. Illinois 730

Explosive Contractor 340

Explosive. New, Anunlte 457

Explosives. Accidents In Handling 144

Explosives for Deepening Rivers. 1272

Explosives. How to Avoid Waste of 507

Explosives. Liquid Oxygen. 594

Explosives Used In September. 1102

Fatigue Element of Cement Hortar. Iiivestlga-

tion of. 209

Federal Aid Road Construction...... 957

Engineering and Contracting

Federal Aid Boads, Kelative Mileage of 30

Fees, Schedule for Canadian Kngilieers. 983

Fertilizer, Value of Sludge as _ 538

Field Testing of Roads, Apparatus for. 248

Filing Advertising Matter 1324

Filter Plant Operation, St. Louis 650

FUter Sand. Effect of Size of on Operation. 102

Filters, Stream Lina 1011

Filtration I'lant Operation, Rapid Sand 74

Filtration, Steam Line Filters 1011

Filtration. Water, Double Coagulation. 542

Finance and Engineering 812

Finance, Higliway 1167

Financing Highway - 1166, 1213

Financing Water Main Extensions 1045

Fine Aggregate, Sampling for Concrete Highway.. 736
Fine Screening of Activated Sludge i'lant,

Milwaukee 576

Fink Truss, Solution of _„.1105, 1325

Fire Engines, Hydrant Connections 1248

Fire Hydrant, JS'on- Jacketed 425

Fire, Mine, JleUiod of Cutting Off by Trenching 627

Fire, Spread, Hue to Structural Conditions 1358

Fires, Repumping vs. Increased Pressure for. 526

First Job and College Graduate 336

Flag Signals, Pipe Staff 1322

Flat Slabs. "Two-Way," Analysis ~ 155

Flood Control. Comparison of Measures 563

Flood I'rotection, Pueblo, Colo 1043

Floods, Causes of 563

Flooring, Maple, Beech and Birch _ 391

Floors, Heavy Duty, for Industrial Buildings 662

Floors, Reinforced Concrete, Test of 201

Floors, Terrazzo J;°2

Food, Changes in Retail Prices 208

Food. Retail Cost of 792

Force Pump, Trench 943

Ford Engine, Method of Cooling for Mixer Oper-
ation • ?ff

Fordson, Converted to Track Locomotive Hi.

Fordsons, Full-Crawler Attachment for 409

Foremen, Section, Training 1291

Forreston Gravel Plant. I. C. R. R 806

Fort Worth, Tex., Experiences With Algae 1235

Foundation Dam. Sealing With Grout. 548

Foundation for Highway Bridge, Grouting 994

Foundation, PUe, Notes on. 1124

Foundations. Building, in Clay 870

Foundations, Pavement 1192

Foundations. Public Drinking. Cost of Icing. 574

Fourth Intemationay Road Congress, British

View of - ■ *

Frame and Pile Trestles in Electric Railway

Practice - 1057

Franklin. N. J., Tj-phoid 81

Fresno County Asphaltlc Concrete Construction.... 958

Fresno With Improved Details _ 429

Frozen Ground. Blasting 578

Fuel EfBclencies. Increasing _ 254

Fuel Oil for Boiler Plant Operation 525

Purring Clip for Wire Mesh - 921

Gable Flnlal, New 893

Garage Door Arrangement. ,. 399

Garages, Truck, Design of 397

Garbage Disposal, St. Louis. 286

Garbage. Humus Prom »......_ 933

Garbage Wagon. Improved ™ . 429

Gasoline Shovel, New ™...__....™_„__— 886

Gas From Sludge ~ 1044

Gasoline Engine, Nevt. ~ 409

Gasoline Roller - 985

Gasoline Shovel, New %-Yard „ — 466

Gasoline Tax for Road Purposes 261

Gelatin, New Atlas _'._ 424

Geophone 438

G«opbone, Experiences In Locating Underground

Leaks _ 785

Geophone. Tx)catlnK Leaks With 89

German Skyscrapers. Development of. - — 666

Girder, 68-Ton — - 848

Girder, 98-Ton. Placing _ 809

Girders. 67-Ton. Hauling _... 635

Good Roads. Economic Value 243

Government Ownership of Railways and Attack

on Valuation 601

Grade Croeslng Accidents, Automobile. 186

Grade Separation at Railway Croesinm 469

Grader, General Utility „ 422

Grader Wheels, Improved _ _ 890

Grades, Highway, Economic Value „ 247

Graphic Rrheme for Expressing Results of Water

Analvses „ _ 10.1

ftravel Barge. Spotting With Crane 116

Gravel Plant. Forrfston. I. r. R. B. Sflfi

Gravel Road Construction, Utah 968

Gravel for Road Maintenance 213, 051

Gravel Road Maintenance, Alichigan

Gravel Road Maintenance With "Spring

Scrapers"

Gravel Screening and Cnishing Plant _

Ground Water, Pollution of

Ground-Water Supplies, I're-Clacial Valleys _...

Grout. Sealing Foundation of Dam Witii.

Grouting Dam Foundation.

Grouting, Foundations for Highway Bridge,

Method .„

Grouting, Methods Shaft Sinking

Guard Plate, New, for Railway Switches

Guard Rail, Wire Rope

25
917
lOD
775
548
548

994
315
342

247

Hammer Drill, Somerville Gasoline. 447

Hand Level, Reflecting.^. 911

Hauling, 67-Ton Girders 635

Haunching, Value of, for Steel Beams 354

Headwalls for Pipe Culverts 1093

Heat Transmission Through Walls, English Tests 1148

Heater, Tar and Asphalt 432

Heavy Electric Traction, Development of 1059

Heavy Electric Traction, Trolley Construction for 333

High Building Costs, Who Is Responsible 1348

Highway Bond Issues, Long Time, Soptiistical

Arguments Against 1

Highway Bridge, Foundation for Grouting 994

Highway Bridge Problems _ 238

Highway Bridge, Steel. Erecting 70 Miles From

Railroad 886

Higliway Bridges, Use of Timber in 48

Highway Bridges, Proposed Loading for 363

Higliway Construction, Bond Issues. 1208

Highway Construction Througli Swamp 963

Highway Construction, Uses of Asphalt in 691

Highway Crossings. Grade Separation. 468

Highway Curves, Widening on. _... 1208

Highway Engineering, University of Michigan 1190

Higliway Engineering and Highway Transport 7

Highway Engineers, Education of „. 28

Highway Equipment Accounting 706

Highway Finance _ 1167

Highway Financing „„ 1166

Highway Financing, America, Problem of 1213

Highway Grade Crossings, Concrete Slab 690

Higliway Grades, Economic Value of Reducing.... 247

Highway, "Invisible Track" Type 956

Highway Lighting 226, 8, 726. 1177

Highway Maintenance 22

Higliway Maintenance, GraveL 96i

Highway Maintenance, Gravel, "Spring Scrapers" 25

Highway Maintenance, Gravel and Stone for 213

Highway Maintenance, Intensive, North Carolina 973

Highway Maintenance, Kentucky, Cost 713

Highway Maintenance, Monroe County, Mich 480

Highway Maintenance, Notes on _. 1221

Highway Maintenance, Patrol Method 53

Highway Pavements. General Instructions for

Surveys 510

Highway Research, What Contractors Are Doing.. 1196

Higliway Spillways for Carrjing Flood Water 967

Highway Systems. Provincial, Canada 23

Highway Traffic, Connecticut Investigations 14

Hlgkway Traffic Counter 983

Highway Traffic Surveys laia

Highway Transport 1082

Highway Transport as Aid to Railroads '. 1082

Higliway Transport Education. Michigan 1190

Highway Transport and Highway Engineering 7

Highway Views and News 967

Highways, Concrete, Behavior Under Service

Conditions _ 491

Highways, Concrete Single Track ™Z™! 473

Highways, Connecticut. Cost 987

Highways, Canals and Railways, Relation. 1273

Highways, Equitable Distribution of Cost 44

Highways, Pennsylvania, Traffic Inspection

Officers „ 43

Highways, Progressive Construction of 1." 2*3

Hinsdale, 111.. Problems of City Management 1265

Hitch, Offset, for Tractor Use 88S

Hoist Attachment for Fordson Tractor 896

Hoist, National Junior 428

Hoist. New Tractor 42s

Hoist. Reversible, for Builders and Contractors.... 437

Hoist. Utility „ „ 415

Hoisting Outfit Improved „ 421

Hoists. Portable, for Mucking In Mines 822

Hollow Rnlldlng Tiles, Sizes and Weights 916

Tfou.se. Rcndy-Cut 837

Houses. Ready-Cut _ _ 865

Hydrant Connootlnns for Fire Engines. 1248

Hydraulic Chronology 122S

Hydraulic Elev.itor, Moving River Sand 88

Hydraulic Gradient, Method of Locating In

Water Tunnel „ 786

Engineering and Contracting

Hldio Klectric Development, 105.000 H. P..
Hydro -Plants. Ice Problems

lOlS
12M

K.-^- Co^ce^SS Co.gul«iou'^5SES5 m

I Beams. Steel, Haunched With Co

Ice Plant, Municipal. OmaHa

Ice Problems of Hjciro-Planti.-

ifina. Cost for Drinking Ko --^,

Sis C«itral Terminal Improjemeats, Clucgo

L C B. K- Forresion Gravel Plant

Illinois Experimental OUed Boads --r-—

Illinois society of Architects Contract Form

UlumlnaUon of City Streets and Highways

Illumination of Highways ..-

Illuminating PracUce and Archxwct-----

Impact Wheel on Bails, Device for Testing

Improved Bead. Profits From-- "■■■ ^•■-

Sanerator Plant. Chouteau Avenue, St. U>vi».

Mo. • r — -—

Income Tax, Methods of Beporting.

Income, Long Term Contracts.

Increased Pressuse vs. Bepumping for Fires
Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices

U19

768
1254
574
622
806
730
1»0
726
726
377
835
U6fi

286
55
55

526

Industrial BuUdings, Boof Surfaces

Indu'trial Plants, Appropriate Beauty

Industrial Begions, Boad Service UL — _-

Industrial Tractor With Internal Gear Drive

Industrial Wastes, Treatment of__._._ — -

Inland Water Boute, Successful ShipmaU or

Tanks ■ ■

Inland Water TransporUtion, Developing-

.634, 351. 149. 1363, 1108
1331
348
1181
914
1261

Inatiuctions for Surveys for Highway Pavements-
Insulating Material. New.

Intakes. Water Works. Construction

Intakes. Construction of —

Integral Curb. Method of Constructing.

Intensive Highway Maintenance. North Carolina-
International Boad Congress, British View of

Intersute Commerce Commission. What Is Wrong

InvesUgaUons "oT Water Supply. Importance of

Before Commencement of Construction

•Invisible Track" Type of Highway

Iodine Treatment of Water

Iowa. Practice in Construction of Highways

Iron. Corrosion in Concrete.

Iron Bemoval From Naval Academy Water

Supply

bilgatiioa. American, Advances Since 1900

IrrlgatlMi Canals, Concrete Lining.

Irrigation Canals, Economies in Cleaning..
Irrigation Project. Drag-Line Excavation...
Irrigation Project. Large British —

Jack Hammers for Bemoving Submarine Bock —

Jackson Helots Development

JaU, Construction Costs, St. Louis County

Japan. Building Construction, in

Japanese Earthquake, Architects' Findings

Japanese Earthquake. Effect on American Type

OfBce Buildings

Joints. Comparison of Lead, Leadite and Cement

Joints, BaU. Boosting

Joints. Steel

Joints. Track. Jfalntenance of

Jrtnts, Welded BaU

Kansas Early Bailroad Grading Camps...
Kentucky Hi^way Maintenance. Cost

Labor. Btrlldlng. Inefficiency Bred by BoomsL— .

Idibor. Common. Ballway Construction

Labor Saving Devices. Track Work.

Labor-saving Equipment. Formulas for Com-
puting Economies of

IiUidls Award, Two Tears of

Laurel Boad Dam. Construction Methods

Lawns, Control of Weeds on

Lead. Leadite and Cement Joints. Comparison——
Leadite Joints

leakage. Underground. Methods of Detecting—..

Leaks. LocatinB With Geophone 89.

Level. Convertible

Lighting, street and Hi^way

Lighting of Streets..

Lightning. Protecting of BuUdings Against

Lime. How to Make It Set Quickly

Lincoln. Neb., Sewage Disposal Worto.

575

519

510

419

714

973

545
956
63
220
194

1267
1243
539
568
260
91

1035
653
362
1118
1355

529
108
430
1097
833

610
713

680

1307

816

673-

1103
745
966
529
529

1S69
785
448
226

1177
357
918

1028

Lining, Concrete, for Irrigation

Lintel, Concrete, WiUi BricJs

Liquid Oxygen Explosives-

Little Bock. Ark., Sheet Aafh^it Constractioa in
Live Floor Load Bequiremous in School Build-
ings

Load, Live Floor, School Buildings

Loader. Improved Haiss .

Loading, Proposed for fii^way Bridges

Loading WeU DriU Holes

Locomotive Stiipments

Locomotive Terminals. Modem. Important Fea-
tures

Long-Bell Lumber Company's New City -

Long Term Contracts, Income From __

Longview, Washington

Lumber, WMiiing jn Dump Bn^y

Lumber Industry, Standard AbbreviatlODs

Terms

Lumber, Wastes by Consumer-

53»

US4

158
158
423
363

6X6
1296

595
657
55
657
707

182
llfi7

Macadam. Bituminous. Itewton. Mass. 5

Machine for Laying Brick 1369

Machine for Bemoving Shale From Sand sad

Gravel 920

Machinery, Boad, Use and Care 488

Maintenance of Bituminous Macadam 715

Maintenance. Hi^way, Cost 713

Maintenance, Highway 1221

Maintenance, Highway. Monroe County, Hicta 480

Malone Diversion Dam, Method and Cost of

Construction 1048

Manslaughter. Official 61

Maple Flooring 891

Mark Twain on Advertising 206

Marquette County Boad Construction 1187

Masonry Paititiims. Transmission of Sound by — 368

Masonry Walls. Wsterprooflng Processes 11S3

Mass Transportation Facilities Planning . 129

Mast Hoist. New Double Drum 897

Material Elevator Hoist 932

Material Prices. Current. 304, 793

Materials. Local, Selection of Types <tf Asphalt

Pavement 740

Materials, Testing for Concrete Pavements 996

Mathematics, Some Easy Dodges in 1109

Measurements, Deaection. on Arch Dam 530

Measuring Devices and Steel Bin 416

Measuring Hopper, Adjustable 940

Measuring Water With Salt and Electricity 1230

Menai Suspension Bridge, Besults of Examina-
tion U13

Meter InstaUatlons, Ohio 1231

Meter Bates, Ohio 1231

Meterage. Baltimore 551. 751

Meterage. Water 69

Metering Chicago's Water Supply M

Meters. Quarterly or Monthly Beading 1256

Methods of Detecting Underground TjeakMge 1269

Methods of liniiro>rement In Mudcapping 625

Metropolitan Flanntng 499

Michigan, ffigbway HaintoianceL _. 53

Michigan Water Treatmmt, Supervision 1041

MUwmnkee Quantity Survey 170

Mints Deepest In the World 108

Mine Fire. Method of Cutting Off by Trenching.. 627

Mine Mucking With Portable Hoists 822

Mineral Contamination of Water. 520

Mlred-Down Caterpillar Shovel. Method of Be-

leaslng .-. 1058

Mixer Construction Improvemoit < 413

Mixer, Jaeger 457

Mixer, Mounted on TraUer. 441

Mixer, New Lakewood 454

Mixers, New Line 942

Mixer. New Type Hand Power 435

Mixers. Improved Bex 431

Models In Architectural Bepresentation. 179

Modem Developments In Concrete Pavements. — 229

MonoUthlc Concrete Culverts 704

Monroe Countr. Boad Maintenance 480

Monthly Reading of Meters 1256

Monthly Statistics of Building Industrr

1163. 877, 677. 401, 1357

Mortar. Cement. InTestlgatlon of Fatigue Ele-
ment 209

Mosquito Control. BesiUts. Brunswick. Oa 1247

Motor Bus and Electric RaUway 937. 1301. 592

Motor Bus OpwatioD by Electric "BaBwvn 1090

Motor Car. SaUroad. Development of 1304

Jfotor. Electric. Fitting to Ptimp 1013

Motor Hoists. New Air. 892

Motor and Ball Service. Co-ordination of. 113

Motor Transport. Relation to Railways 1085

Motor Truck Drivers. How to Pick 1094

Motor Truck TransportaticHL - 484

Motor Trucks 1198

Engineering and Contracting

Motor Trucks, Whea Should They Be Retired?.... 1198

Motor Trucks and Bailroads 1082

Motor Trucks, Kegulaiion of Overloading 464

Motor Vehicle Accidents In Massachusetts. 7

Motor Vehicle Production. _ — .3, 116B

Moving 7 -Story Building, Chicago. _ 1063

Mucking in Mines With Portable Hoists..- 822

Mudcapping Methods, Improvements In. 625

Mxinicipal Asphalt Plant Operation, Los Angeles 954

Mimicipal Bus Lines _ 508

Municipal Ice Plant, Omaha 768

Municipal Ownership of Public Utilities 1054

Municipal Traffic Problem. 976

Municipal Use of Water at Springfield, Mass 104

Naval Academy, Iron Kemoval From Water

Supply 1267

Naval Academy, Waterproofing Hoof Terrace of.. 1141

New Concrete Buster. - 944

New England Water Works Association Con-
vention ~ _ ~ 572

New England, Water Works Additions 1023

Newton, Mass., Bituminous Macadam ... 5

Newton, Mass., Water Supply _ 784

1924 Building Situation. 1161

Non-Bituminous Material, Standard Tests for.... 58

North Carolina Highway Maintenance 973

North Carolina, Practice in Construction Hiak-

North Carolina, Sampling Fine Aggregate-. 736

Obsolenscence 791

Office Building, American Type, Besistance to

Earthquake Damages 1154

Office Space, High Class, Production of 636

Official Manslaughter — 61

Ohio Conference on Water Purification. _ 1044

Oil Burning Tool and Surface Heaters 433

on Pipe Line, Tunnel Construction for. 830

Oiled Eoads, Experimental. Illinois 730

Ollproofing Concrete Tanks 399

Oils, Eoad, Testing 497

1-Man Cars. Operating Costs 1070

Operation Records for Small Water Works 1007

Original Cost or Present Value as Base for Bates 106

O'Shaughnessy Dam, San Francisco 256

O'Shaughnessy Dam, Siphon Spillway 574

Outfall Sewer, Los Angeles _ . 83

OuUet Sewer. Deer Island 123!)

Overloading Motor Trucks, Regulation 464

Paint Base, Elastic Wall Primer 1338

Paint, Cold Water, Covering Capacity 1150

Paint Cost vs. Cost of Painting. 1352

Paint, Whitewash, Covering Capacity 1150

Painting, Air Brush. 1352

Painting Jobs, Estimating 868

Panama Canal, First 9 Years' Operation 621

Paper Mill Wastes, Treatment _ 1261

Parking of Automobiles, Regulation _. 244

Passenger Terminals, Design _ 121

Patrol Method of Road Maintenance 53

Pavement, A.snhalt 74o

Pavement, Concrete, Sections With Thickened

Edges 20

Pavement Construction Without Sub-base Treat-
ment _ 3.1

Pavement Design 1174

Pavement Design, Concrete 20

Pavement, Design of Street Railway Track in. 614

Pavement Founflatlon.s _ 1192

Pavement Practice. Worcester, Mass 30

Pavement Within Street Railway Area 1310

Pavements, Brick, Modern Construction 1196

Pavements. Brick, Resurfacing With Asphalt 2

Pavements, Concrete, Modem Developments. 229

Pavements, Highway, General Instructions for

Surveys _ 610

Paved Streets, Design of Street Railway Track In 614

Paver, Blgge/it 405

Paver. Special Design of 1205

Paving. Alley. T,ahor Saving Arrangement for. 971

Paving, Street Railway Area „._ ... 1310

Paving. Street Railway, Los Angeles „.„.. 144

Penetration Macadam _ 1187

Penetration Test for Workability of Concrete

Mixtures „ „ 879

Penetration Treated Macadam 1187

I'ennsvlvania Orade Crossings, Illuminated Flash

Signals for 82

Philadelphia Design of Concrete 8choolhoiise_.... 1848
Photographs and Sales Construction Service. 1166

Pier, Coal, Western Maryland By 1283

Pile Driver, Convertable Crane. -. 406

Pile Foundations, Notes on _.„ 1124

Pile Trestles in Electric Railway Practice. 1057

Piles, Concrete, Cutting With Dynamite 339

Pipe Culverts, Headwalls for. 1093

Pipe Joints, Comparison of Lead, Leadite and

Cement _ 529

Pipe Lines, Methods of Installing Under Traffic. 1062

Pipe Line, OU, Tunnel Construction for. 830

Pipe Line, Submarine, Method and Cost. 765

Pipe SUff for Flag Signals _. 1322

Pipe Vise „ _ 832

Plank. Crossing, Old Bridge Ties for. 619

Planks on Sub-Grade Speed Up Paving. 980

Planning, Metropolitan 499

Planning, Regional _ _ 499

Planning, Some Ideals for New York. „ 402

Plans and Specifications of Buildings, Right of

Architect to Damages for Unautiiorized

U.se of _ 393

Plant Layout, Concrete Paving. _ 24

I'lants, Industrial. Appropriate Beauty 348

Pole, Whitewashed, Protecting From Porcupines.. 1173
Poles, Wood, Experiences With Pressure Treated 335

Politics in Gtovernment Engineering. 60

Portable Bind With Screen 420

Portable Road Building Crushing Plant 911

Portland Cement, Price of 254

Portland Cement Production. „..148, 1279

Portland Cement, Standards in Production of 615

Post & McCord, Methods of Accident Prevention

in Structural Work „ 875

Pre-Cast Concrete Construction, New Type 175

Present A'^alue or Original Cost as Base for

Rates _ 106

President Harding's Death 253

Pressure Pump, Evinrude Portable High 415

Pressure, Increased, vs. Repumping for Fires 526

Pressure Pump for Sludga 913

Pressure Treated Wood Poles 335

Prices, Curreat Material.

112, 304, 582, 793, 1056, 1276

Prices. BeUll, Building Materials „ „

_ 150, 352, 632, 840

I*rlces and Wages, Prospective, In Building Field 145

Prices, Wholesale 676

Prices, Wholesale, Index Numbers.. 149. 351

Problems of Private Water Company „_ 1038

Professional Status of Engineering 187

Profits From Improved Road _ 1166

Progressive Construction of Highways 220

Proportioning Concrete Mixers 961

Prosi)ective Wages and Prices in the Buildins

Field 145

Protection of Watershed for Public Supplies 634

Improvidence, R. I., Zoning 642

Public Affairs, Engineers' Participation in 739

Public Supplies, Protection of Watershed 634

Public Utilities, Municipal Ownership of 1054

Publicity of Architect 1145

Pueblo, Colo., Flood Protection. Bids Asked 1043

Pump. Centrifugal, Details of De Laval „„ 424

Pump, Double Diaphragm 930

Pump, Fitting Electric Motor to 1013

Pump, "Hercules" High Pressure 487

Pump, High Pressure Triplex 450

Pump, Improvements in Humdinger ; 4S0

Pump Slippage, Simple .Method of Determining.... 1226

Pump Unit. New Centrifugal 896

Pumper "Anti-Splash" _ 445

I'umper Attachment. Portable, for Ford Cars 410

inimplng Outfit, Centrifugal 887

inimplng Plants, Cutting Down Coal Consump-
tion at _ 84

I'umplng Stations. Determining Comparative

Efficiencies of 790

Pumping SUtions, Water Works, Design 68

I'umplng Unit of Trenton, N. J., New. 1047

Pumps, Vaccum, New Line.. „... 930

ininch. New Shank and Bit. 427

Qualified Contractor. Selecting „ 115

Qtiallty Standards In Commodity Production. 615

Quantity Survey, Economic Value of.„ 147

Quantity Survey, How It Works In Milwaukee 170

Quarry Blasting, Method of Reducing Costs 537

Quarry Car New _ _ _ 941

Quarterly Reading of Meters.^ 1258

Radiators, Increasing Efficiency of . 917

Rail Failures _ 1275

Rail Filler for Street Railway Tr»ck.

Ball Joints, Method of Boosting lOR

H»U Joints, Teste of Welded _ 883

Engineering and Contracting

B*U Lwing. Canadian Pacific li»

BaU Laying at Rate of 1 MUe Per Hour 1W3

Bail Maintenance and Conservation — 116

Ball and Motor Service. Co-ordination of 113

Bailroad Crossing Accidents. How to Arold 110

Bailroad Grading Camps. Early. Kansas 610

Bailroad Motor Car Development 1»W

Bailroad Ties. Treatment of |1°

Bailroad Terminals and Street Development 311

Bailroad Transportation. Present Day. Some

Phases of .'i" ,

Bailroad Type Steam Shovels. TracUon VSTieel

Mountings - ^^

BaUroads. How to Deal With ^-..^-... 107

lUilway BaUast. Methods and Cost of Cleaning 583
Bailwav Bridge and Building Service. Equipment

for - Iil5

Bailway Bridge. Force. Supervision — lOTS

lUUway Building Forces. Supervision -. lUjU

BaUway Building Service. Equipment for 131S

lUilway. Colonization. Canada. Construction- 12ii

lUilway Construction. Common iJibor — — 1307

lUUway Crossings. Grade Separation. *S9

BaUwav Electrification. Economics of IJWS

BaUway Engineers, Are They DogmaUcr .— -^- 1053

BaUway Lands Appraisal. Metnods Employed

by Bureau of Valuation.

BaUway Maintenance. Common Labor

Bailways. Belation to Motor Transport

BaUway Svntches. New Guard Plate for

BaUway Ties, India _. ^.— -_

BaUway Terminal Stations. Design or

BaUway Yards. Large. Maintenance

BaUways, Attack on Valuation of

Bailways. Canals and Highways. Belation...

BaUways. Construction l*rogram

BaUways. Government Ownership of

BaUways, Track Maintenance

Bapid Sand FUtration Plant Operation. — T*

Rate Begulation System. Gi-eatest Defect. 1063

Bates. Base. Original Cost or I'rvsent Value. 106

•'Beady-Cut" House 8ST

Beady-Cut Houses 866

Beading Meters. Quarterly 1256

Reckless Driving. Punishment for. 467

Records. Operation, for SmaU Water Works lOOT

Records. Stream Flow - — T76

Refined Tar in Road Construction — 947

Reflector for Industrial Lifting.- _ 433

Regional and Metropolitan Planning 49»

Reinforced Concrete Construction. New Develop-
ment 41S

Reinforced Ccaicrete, Under Shock 1330

Reinforced Steel. Effect of Accelerators on. — 202

Rental Charges for Construction Eqiupment 1130

Bepumplng vs. Increased Pressure for Fires. 526

Besearch. Highway, and Contractors 1196

Reservoirs. Covered 783

Responsible Bidder, Selected 711

Re«arfacting Brick Pavements with Asphalt 2

Resurfacing Old Concrete with Brick. 995

B«UU Prices of BuUding Materials..

1297
„.- 1M7
__ 1083
_.. 342
_... 586
„.. 121
_... 801
.... 601
_.. 1X73
581
601
799

150. 352. 632, 797. 840. 1106. 1364
Rhoubenite Process. Concrete Bo«d Surfacing. — 56

Ring. New Piston.- 899

Rivers. Deepening with Explosives 1272

Riveted Steel Tanks._ 1123

Road BuUder. Dignity of 490

Road Biulding. Kentncky. 969

Road Caistnictlon, Federal Aid »57

Boad Constmctl(» in Marquette County 1187

Road Constractlon, Refined Tar in 947

Road Description. Old Time „ 970

Boad Finisher. Improvements in Lakewood 436

Boad Grader, 1-Man. 1194

Bo«d Grader, Stockland Improvements. 406

Boads. Gravel. Maintenance 951

Boad. Improved. Profits B^m 1165

Road Machinery. Use and Care of 488

Boad Malnulner, Combination 926

Boad Maintainer, New 940

Road Maintenance. Dirt. In MounUinous District 979
Boad Maintenance Methods In Canadian County 22

Road Maintenance. Monroe Countv. Mich. _... 480

Boad Maintenance. Gravel. Michigan 1169

Road Maintenance. Gravel and Stone for„

Boad Maintenance. Patrol Method

Road Maintenance. Refined Tar In...

213
53
947
432
8U-
144

Boad Maintenance Scraper, All-Steel

Boadmaster, Old Time

Roadmaster. Passing the "Buck" to

Boad OU. Cost of Heating and Spreading in

Los Angeles 1168

Boad OU Storage Tanks. 968

Road OUs. Testing 497

Road Patrolmen. Suggestion for 1221

Road Flans. Cost. South Carolia*. 970

Road Policies. Canada _ 468

Bo«l BoUer. Motor.- 918

Bo«i Rollers. Steam. Care and Use of T08

Road Service in Industrial Begioas 1181

Road Show. List of Exhibitors 9K

Boadside Trees . 479

Boad SUbs. Weak Spots in 206

Road and Street Contracts .3. 208. 690, 946. 1167

Road Surfacing. Sand Clay 13

Roads. Biuiminous Macadam 715

Boads. Federal-Aid. MUea«e.- "ZO

Boads. Field Testing of 148

Boads. Good. Economla Value 243

Boads. OUed. Experimental. lUinols. 730

Bochester, N. T.. Iodine Treatment for Goitre-.. 63

Bock Drills for Structural Work. 1349

Bock Bemoval with Jack Hammers 1035

BoUers. Steam Boad. Care and Use of 708

BoUer Wheel. Steam. Improved Type. 109

Roof Surfaces for Industrial BuUdings 1331

Boof Terrace of Naval Academy. Waterproofing of 1141

Boof Truss Derrick Erects Standpipe. 1042

Boof Types and Surfaces for Industrial BuUdings 1331

Booflng. Industrial Buildings. 1331

Roofing and Structural Slates 165

Bope. Wear and Care of 604

Bope. Wire. Care of 604

BoUry Pump. Westco-Chippewa 426

Safe Practices on Construction Work 849

Safety Code for Contractora... _. _ 389

Sampling Fine Aggregate for Concrete Highway 736

Sand-Clay Mixtures. Natural or Artificial 13

Sand-Clay Boads „ __ 1189

Sand Drier. Pacific Type OU Burning. 434

Sand. FUter. Effect of Size on Operation-. 102

Sand-Gravel Boads 1189

Sand, Moving by Hydraulic Elevator 88

Sander for Woodwork Finish 910

Sanitary Engineering, Recent Developments 769

Sanu Fe By. Tie Treatment _ 818

Savings and Improvements Throngh General

Conference mi

Saw. (Me-Man. Improved 447

Scarifier. Motor Driven l»ower Lift 27

Schedule for Water Bates. 1032

School BuUdings. Live Floor Load Beqairements 158

Sdiool Buildings. Standardized Elementary 686

Scre«iing Outfit. Portable... 428

SeatUe Street BaUway Affairs 301

Sea Water, Effect on Structures. 859

Section Foreman, Training 1291

Service Conditions. Effect on Concrete Roads. 491

Serrices, Water, Becord Forms 544

Sewage Disposal Works. Lincoln, Nebr 1028

Sewage Sludge Problem in U.' S 1020

Sewage Screen, Automatic BevcAvlng. 939

Sewage Screen. Tark 925

Sewace Treatment Plants, Tools for 1234

Sewer Design. Assumptions in New York City 90

Sewer Outfall. Los Angeles 83

Sewer. OuUet. Deer Island 1239

Sewer Trenching with Dragline. 77. 789

Sewers. Tool for Cuuing Boots. 444

Sgraffito Decoration. Method oj Making 1117

Shaft Assembly. Heavy, Shrink-Fitting. 1009

Shaft Sinking. Methods of Grouting in.- — 315

Shovel, CaterpUlar. Method of Beleasing Mired-

Down _ 1 1058

Shovel and Dragline Work in Conjunction on

Irrigation Ditch

ShoveL Heavy Duty. Bucyrus

Shovel Hoar Underground

ShoveL Michigan

Shovel, New GasoUne

Shoring, Adjustable -

Shortcuts for Solving Concrete Design

Shrink-Fitting Heavy Shaft Assembly

Signals, Illuminated Flash for Grade Crossings

Single Track Hie^ways. Concr^e.

SiiAon Spillway in O'Shaughnessy Dam

Skip Bonding with Electric Bonding Machine

Skyscrapers. Development in Germany

Slabs. Concrete. Effect ol Repeated Loads on

Slates. Booflng and Structural

Slates. Stmcttiral

SUde Curing on Yazoo & Mississippi Valley B.B. 1320

Slippage, Pump, Method of Determining. 1226

Sludge as Fertilizer 538

Sludge, Sewage, Problem in U. S . 1020

Sludge Plant. Compact Activated . 1263

Snow Loader. Special 453

Snow Plow, Motor Truck 886

Snow Plow, New :^ 906

Snow Plow, New V-Type 907

452
426
413
890
404
934
1327
1009
32
473
574
465
666
209
165
165

VIH

Engineering and Contracting

Snow I'low, notary 90O, 1237

Snow Plow, Twin Kotory ..._ 1222

Solder Pot, New _ 9x0

Sound Transmission by Masonry Partitions.'"!".." 368
Soutliem California Edison Co. Electric Develop-
ment _ 1018

Space at Chicago Road Show, Applications for 839

Space Saving 1159

Specifications from Contractor's Viewpoint 161

Specifications, Proposed Standard for Concrete

Building Block 37g

Specifications, Proposed Standard for Concrete

Building TUe „.._ 378

Special Track Work Bonding. !.'"."" g34

Spillway, SiiAon in O'Shaughnessy Dam 574

Spray Painting, Cost of._ „ 022

Spring Scrapers, Gravel Road Maintenance 25

Stage Elevator Installation, Notable 1354

Standard Testa for Non-Bituminous JIateriaL 58

Standpipe, Reinforced Concrete, Waterproofing.... 523

Standpipe, Erected by Roof Truss Derrick 1042

State Highway Construction, Massachusetts 1208

State Highways, Distribution of Cost 44

Station Economy Improvement by Higiier Steam

Pressures 292

Stations, Railway Terminal, Design. 121

SUtistics, Monthl}-, Building Industry 203, 401, 1357

Steam Shovel, Heavy Duty 422

Steam Shovels Operated by Compressed Air 608

Steam Shovels, Railroad Type, Traction Wheel

Mountings tor 127

Steam Pressures, Higher 1224

Steam Pressures, Higher, Improvement in Station

Economy 292

Steam Road Rollers, Care and Use of 708

Steam RoUer Wheel, Improved Type 109

Steel Beams, Value of Hauncliing for 354

Steel, Copper-Bearing, Durability of _ 2

Steel, Fatigue Properties of 671

Steel I Beams, Strengtli Haunched with Concrete 1119

Steel Tank, Unusual Method of Moving 919

Steel Tower Construction Improvement „... 895

Stiffening, Special, of Tokio Steel Frame Build-
ings _ 678

Stone Buildings, Cleaning III5

Stone Bake 904

Stone for Road Maintenance. 213

Stone Work, Appearance of 671

Straus Building, Chicago, Some Features of 355

Straus Building, General Conference, Results in

Savings and Improvements 1111

Stream Flow, Records of __. 776

Stream Line Filters _ _ lOii

Street Design „ II74

Street Development and Railroad Terminals. 311

Street and Highway Lighting g

Street Lighting 8, 226, 725, 1177

Street Railway Area, Pavement Within.„ 1310

Street Railway Fares, Seattle 106

Street Railway Paving, Los Angeles 144

Street Railway, Seattle ]~ 801

Street Jlailway Track, Concrete Paving. Z 1819

Street Railway Track, Design in Paved Streets.... 014

Street Railway Track In Paved Street. 1372

Street Railways, Outlook for 687

Street Railway Tracks, Construction In Paved

Street 504

Street Sweeiier. Mot6r Plck-Up._ 425

Street Sweeper, Suction ' "" goi

Strength of Steel I-Beams Haunched wiui

Concrete jhq

Structural Conditions Leading to Spread of "Fire 1368
Structural Designing Practice. Some Advances in 838

Structural Failures, Cause of ]%

Structural Timbers, Working Stresses for 640

Structural Work, Accident Prevention In 876

Structural Work, Interesting Failures in 196

Structural Work, Rock Drills for „ „ .. 1349

Structures, Why Some Fall 190

Stucco Investigation „„ 157

Stump Puller, Self Anchoring „.......' 980

Sub-Ba.so Treatment -Pavement Construction..!!!! 80

Submarine Pipe I,lno. Metho<l and Cost : 765

Submarine Rock, Removing with .Tack Hammers 1085

Subsurface Ix-ak Dctwtlon, New York 1270

Sub-Surface Systom for Water Collection...!!! 784

Successful Shipment by Inland Water Route.... . 678
Suction Dredging, Blasting to Loosen Up

Material _ „ HI

Surface Aerator for Activated Sludge!!!.!!!!! ! 016

Survey, Transport, Pennsylvania 1206

Surveys, Aquaphono 1269

Surveys, General Instructions for HIghwiiy Pave-

"*<"'"'' 610

Surveys, Highway Traffic
Surveys Hose and Meter....
Surveys, Pitometer

1212
1269

Swamp Road Construction, South "caroilna 963

bwltches, RaUway, New Guard Plate .' 342

Tanks, Concrete, for Hallway 1078

lanks. Storage, for Aspkalt qeo

Tannery Wastes. Treatment of ZZZZZ" 1261

Tar Macadam . — Tit

Tar, Refined, In Road CoMtmction "iiid'Miln-

tenance

947

Tar Wagon with Welded Kettle.".".'.!.".".".!!." 921

Target, Concrete LevelllJig 444

Tax, Gasoline, for Road t'-irposes 251

Temlskaming & Northern Ontario By., Develop-

ments _ _... 1277

Temping DriU Steel _ .." iqgi

Terminal Improvements, Chicago, Iliiiois "centrai 622

Terminals, Modem Locomotive _ 595

Terminals, Railroad and Street Development 3U

Terms Used in Lumber Industry, Sundard

Abbreviations jgj

Test Cylinders, Concrete, Effect of Iriegii'iar

Ends on 028

TesUng Boiler in SmaR Plant !.!.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 1271

Testing Materials for Concrete Pavements oofi

Testing Road Oils J-J

Tests, Webb Plate Compression. !!!!!.!.' XS»

Texts Penetration, for WorkabUlty of Concrete

Mixtures _ _ 3^^

Ties, Concrete, India ..!!.!.!!!!..!!!!!.'!!."!.".. 6^^

Ties, Railroad, Treatment and Care of Slg-

TUe, Concrete 87S.

TUe, Test of _ !.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!""' 20?

Timber, Creosoted, Coaling Stations !!!!!!! iMfr

Timber, Creosoted, for Highway Bridges ... 742^

Timber, Hlgliway Bridges 49

Timber Structures, U. S. Bureau of Public Iloads 48:

Timber Work, Permanence of in Dikes 19S

Timbers, Structural, Working Stresses '" 640

Tokio Earthquake, EfiTect on American Type

Office Buildings 1154

ToMo Steel Frame BuUdlngs. Speciii "stlffeiiing

of _ „.„._ 678

Toll Bridges. Connecticut _..."..'.!.! 1168

Tool, Self-Propelling, for CutOng Roots in Sewere 444

Tools for Sewage Treatment Plants 1284

Top Soil Roads ._ ugp

Torch, Combination Cutting and Welding..!.!!!!!!!!..' 435

Trade School Education, Los Angeles ! 367

Trade Schools for Building Mechanics !!!!!!!!' 168

Track Construction, Canadian Pacific 1293

Trade Jack. One-Man Single Acting 912

Track Joints, Maintenance of 1097

Track Mower _ „ !!!!!!!!!!!! 827

Track Plan.s, Method of R!einewiJQg!!..!! 1076

Track Shifter. New _....;....""" 405

Track, Street Railway, De-Mgn In Paved Streets 614

Track, Street RaUway In Paved Street 1072

Track Work Bonding, SpociaL _ 834

Track Work, Labor Saving Devices in._ 816

Tracks. Chicago Union Station, Concrete Slab

Supports for _ „ en

Tracks, Rigid Rail for Fordson. „ !.....! 428

Tracks, Street RaUway, Coastructlon In Paved

Street _ _ __ 804

Tractor-Graller Operation on Virginia Road Jol) 712
Traction, Heavy Electric, Development of... . 1059
TraoUon Wheel Mounting for Railroad Type

Steam Shovels jjy

Tractor, Bear _ 042

Tractor. Wallls .„ _ „.!!!!!!!!! Z 439

Trartors. Chain Drive of Monarch 436

Traffic Accidents on British Highways. """994

Traffic Census, Highways. 739

Traffic Control Unit, lUumlnated !!!! 902

Traffic Highway «nd Automatic Scale 093

Traffic, Highway, Connecticut Investigations . 14

Traffic Tii.siMvtIon Officers, Pennsylvania . 48

Traffic Marker. Mound 44^

Traffic I'rohlem. Municipal 976

Traffic Regulation In City of 100,()bb flsi

Traffic Survoy.s, Highway ""■ 1212

Trailer for Hauling Heavy Eaulpmen't!!!!!!!!."!!."."!'! " 903
Trailer, for High Speed Power Units flis

Trailer, 2-Whocl Rear Dump 941

Trailer Mixer, New „ ™ "■" 915

Trailer for Transporting T>ong 'Loaiis...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 888

Engineering and Contracting

TnUlmobile, T.amber Dumiiiiis..
Training of Foremen

Transmission Sjrston for 1-Ton Track —
Transport. Motor, Relation to Bailways-
Transport Survey. Pennsylvania-

ISO
1291
445
1085
1106
317
129
519
484

TransportaUoQ, the Arteries of Commerce

Transportation Facilities, Mass., Planning

Trmnsportation. Inland Wato'. Developing.

Tranq;iMtati(m. Motor Truck

Transportatitm of Railroad. Phases of Presoit

Day 328

Treatment of Industrial Wastes 12«1

Trees, Roadside 479

Trenching, for Cutting Off Mine Fire 62r

Trenching Macliine Bucket. New 940

Tren<iiing Sewer with Dragline

Trenton Pumping Unit, New-

7T. 789

1047

Trestles, Ballast Deck. Method of Boiewing . 1095

Trestles, Frame and Pile, in Electric Railway

Practice 1057

Trolley Bus and Electric Railway 937

Trolley Construction. Orerfaead. New Type 333

TioUcir OoBstiuction for Heavy Electric Traction 333

TroA BodicB. Flat Type 440

Trade Oaraces. Design of 397

Truck Body Htdsta. Medianical Dump 898

Truck lioad BeatrloUoos. Rhode Island 957

Tru<* lioader. New Creq>er 939

Tm^ Motor. Transmrtatioo 484

Trado, Motor 1198

TnidEi Operating Costs 33

Truckrane on Reserrolr Job _407

Tructractor, New 443

Truss Problems. Solutions oT 878

Tunnd Blasting . 137

Tunnel Construction for Oil Pipe Line Under

^ Canal 830

Tunnel Driving, Method for Directing Holes. 1321

Tunnel, Water, Method of Locating Hydraulic

Gradient . 788

Tunnel Work. Winch for 44O

Tunnels, Device for Determining Air Movements

in .

2-Man Cars, Operating Co8ts__

Two Truss. SoluUons of

•Two-Way" Flat SUbs, Analysis-

Typhoid. Franklin, N. J

Typhoid Progress -.■

TsTJhoid, Water-B<Hne. Outbreak of Unusual

Cliaracter

613

1070

878

155

1223

Underground Loader, New 905*

Union SuUon. Chicago.^ 305

U. S. Bureau of Public Roads. Standard

Specification for Timber Structures 48

U. S. Reclamation Service. Work of 96

Utility Betterments and Extensions 1001

Valleys. Pre-Glacial. for Ground-Water SuppUes 775

Valuauon of Railways 601

Valve. New Balanced, for Mixos 943

Ventilating Shade for Center Window Sash
New Type of

Vise Stand and Pipe Bender-

396

Wage Increase in New York Building Trades

Since 1916 ^^

Wag^ and Average Employment in Building

Trade _ZZ.

Wages of Contractors' Workmen. London_____
Wagon for Light Hauling Bulky Rubbish

WaU Plaster. Bate of Drying

Wall Street Myth. ~

Walls. Concr«« Lintel for.

Walls, Pro-Cast, Milwaokee__

Walls, MnoBTT. Waterprooflng Processes
Walls. TraDSBolailoa Thr«aA

Wastes. Indn^aL Effect on Water 8aw>Ue8___
Wastes. Industrial, TieMment rf________IZ

Water Analyses. Ezpreadng Besolts ol.

Water-B<Hiie Typhoid Ontbreak oT Umisual

Character __^___

Water ClorinaUon ^

Water, CoUecUon by Sub-Surface 8ystem__.„"
Water Company, Problems of

160

683

373

919
1118

S3S
1134

797
1163
U48

294
1261

103

784

1038

Water Consumption

Water District

Water Filtos, Pressure Type_
Water FiltntioB. Rapid Sand_

Per Capita. Massachusetts

672

_887

74
650
63
1045
1230
452
59

Wat«, Mineral Contamination of 520

Water. Mnntripal Use of at Springfield. Mass. 104
Wata Plaat. Testing Boiler 1271

Water Filtration. St. IiOUia_

Water. Iodine Treatmoit of

Water Main Krt^^sinn. Financing

Watv, Measuring with Salt and £lectricity_

Water Measuring Tank

Water Metoaae. Chicaco

Water Power Inrestigatlaa by Interior Depait-

Watamrooang Praoesaes
Masomy Walls

for Preservation of

1153

Watermooflng Reinforced Oanerete Standpipe 523

Watemrooflng Roof Tsnoe at Naval Acadeniy_ 1141

Wata PurificatioB. Mdo ConfereiKe 1044

Water Bates. AdavOag Ptaoer Schedule 1032

Water Rates. Baltimore -. 551. 751

Water Service. Bailwajs. Concrete Tanks tor— 1078

Water Servioes. Forms for Keeping Records
Water and Sewer ContiactB_

544
522
534
119
60

Watershed Protectioa for PaUic Sandies__

Water Softening Plants. New Veatme of LC.R.R.

Water Supply. Meterace. Chicago

Water Supply, Impottaaoe of Competent Investi-
gations Before Commoicement of Con-
struction 543

Water Supply. Naval Academy. Iron Removal 1267

Water Supply. Newton. Mass. 784

Water Qnppiy. Wichiu Counir, Tex. 277

Water SnppUes of American Cittaa 1031

Water Supplies. Groond. Pre-Oadal Yall^s 775

Water Sumdies. Effect of Industrial Wastes on . 294

Water Tanks, a Successful Shipment. 575

Water Treatmou Plants. L C. R. R. 119

Water Treatment Plants. Michigan, Supervision 1041
Water Tunnel. Method of Locating Hydraulic

Gradient 786

Water Wastes Meters and Rates. Baltimore 751

Water Wastes. Baltimore— 551

Wat« Wastes, Meters and Rates. Baltimore 551

Water Works Accounting Syston. Charieston.

a C. 1053

Watw Works AddiUon in New Knglanri 1033

Water Works, Cleburne. Tex. 790

Water Works Intakes, Construction of 97

Water Works Pumping Stations. Design of M

Water Works and Sewer Contracts

65. 255, 788. 1003. 1226

Water Works. Small. Operation Records for 1007

Waves, Causes in Agi<h»it Pavemoits 975

Weatherstrip. New DetachaUe 1369

Webb Plate Compression Tests—. . 159

Weeds. Method for Control on Lawns 966

Welded Rail Joints . 833

Welded Sted Tanks— 1123

U8
OS
258
100
1283

Welder. Electric and Grinder C<Nnbii
Wdl Drill Holes. Method of
Well Water System. Camden. N. J._
Wells. Pollution lor Badllns CM-
Westem Mvyland Ry.. Coal Pier_

Wheel Impact on Rails. New Device fw Testing 835

Whitewash Treatment 1150

Wholesale Prices, Index Numbers of

. . 149. 351, 634, 842. 1108. 1363

Wludesale Prices ett

Wichiu County. Tex.. Water Supply Project 277

Widening Curves on Highways 1209

Winch. New Tractor 924

Vnnter Building 1SJ4

Winter Construction of Buildings, Economy of 629

Wire Rope Guard Rail . 247

Tire Bope, Wear of 604

Wiring for Electrical Appliances 927

Wood Lath. Expanded . 901

Wood Poles, Eqierienoes with Pressure Treated 335

Wood Preservation. T«n Tears in 684

WwcestCT. Mass.. Pavement Practice SO

Workability of Oanerete Mlxtnies S79

WMking Week. Length of 390

Working Stresses for Structural Timbers 640

Yards. Railway, Largew Maintenance^
Yard Tracks. Maintenance of

801
801

Zoning, Chicago 1323

Zoning. Fundamental Purposes and Limitations 642

Zoning. Provideoc*. R. I. 642

Zoning. United States 972

Engineering and Contracting

AUTHORS INDEX

906

339

Gould, Carl F
Gibbs, Alec B.

184
. 1113

13G0

1256

Albert, K. F

706

238

AUen, G. W. G

708

Angus, Kobert W

1331
1352
1307
6G0
317
1195

11 1181

Balllnger, Walter K
Beaeh, Howard W
Beachan. William
Behrendt, Walter Curt
Bubbins, J. Eon land
Blair, Will P

Harrington John Lyle
Hatfleld, William D
Hawkins. W E
Hazen, Allen
Helmle, H V
Hess, Otto S

187
74

973
1023

497
25

Blake, J. C...
Blanchard, Arthur H
Blanchard, Cecil K
Blomqulst, H. F
Boggs. I. H.
Bonner, Jr., Davis

30
1082

81
1045
704
745
165
172
362

Hirst, A. R
Hitchcock F A
Holway, A S
Hoover, C P
Howard, H W
HoweUs, John Alead

1213
379

1094
103
484
630

975

Boyd, D. Knlckerbacki I

Hussey, Harold D

363

Brosnan, E. J

Hutchinson G W

736

Brownlow, Louis

513
622

Buffe, F. G...

587

1318

244

66
292

473

Bushnel, F. H

James, E. A
James, Lcland F

Byllesby, H. M

812
.. 281

9<i8

Jensen, Arthur

52(i
958

315

Jonah, F. G

811

CaUett, Robert L
Chapin, Boy D

336
_ 44

Jordan, L C

Kellev. F. W

1109

Childs, Leslie

898

Clement, S. B
Clemmer, H. F

1277

248. 497, 730
715

515

Cochrane, R. S

_- 1097

Kendrlck, .T. W

962

CoUege, W. W

1038
604

Knapp. A. R

1271

Coppock, F. D

951
818
645
776

.„ 107S

Copper, S. D
Cotton, Alfred
Covert, C. C.

Kohn, Robert D

Larsen, Daniel 0

I^. W. S

Little, Beekman C
Locke, Fred H.

375

Coykendall, C
Cram, B. C.

220
804, 1310

947

Crane, Jacob L , Jr
Crayton, Q. A

811
1209

Crepps, R. B,

209

981
258

Cnun, R. W.-

961

Loud. Ralph W

123!)

f!n»hing, J, 0,

137

1265

053

MarMullan. Ralph A. .
Maophail J B ~-.

1151

Delaney, B. W.._

875

...„ 868

D'Esposlto. J.._

309

1285

Drayer, Walter W.

671

Marquardaen, R. P. V..
ilarshall, E

1827

Driggs, Jean R.._

980

1288

1261

395

Marshall. H. 8

1297

-. 1248

„.. 480

Eddy, Harrison P

Edwards, J. C. ._

Maxwell. Donald H

McAnlls. C. R

_ M

878

Blgel, 8. H.._

170

..„ 175

Elliott, Clifford A

108

121

lOfiS

129

1124

1849

MrNelU. R. W -.

...- 1288

Miles E Ij. -..

478

Fellhelmer, Alfred

Mltx-hell. Louis ......

1228

Flllppl, Hugo

Mullen. .John H

789

Mundorff. R. Franklin...

196

499

Ford, W. E

Fortler, Samuel ._

1243

870

Fowler, Charles Evan...

NoetjiU. F. A

530

Fuller. Oeorge W.

Fuller. Harry U

7fin. ion

765

179

Noyes, ,T. A

601

879

rielha<'h W A

soft

IMerre, .T. F

1226

..„. .. «14

Vlene. R. E

979

Goldbeck. A. T

_v. 491

Pollock, Clarence D

,...„......( _.,.. i..

1192

Engineering and Contracting

Rich. Edward D _ 1041

Hich, \V. W. ~ 1032

Kichart. Frank K 1135

Koberti. E. I. 1S31

Kockwood, E. ¥. 155

Rogers, Edwin H. 784

Rogers, H. H. 1013

Rogers. Stephen CarleUm - 11T7

Sabine, Paul E.

Sawyer, K. I

Scarr, F. J

Sckelman, Bertbold

Sheehan, F. E

Shenton. H. C. H

Sherman, Edward C

Siems, V. Bernard

Slattery. J. R.

Slauson. H. W.

Smith, K E., 2nd

Smith, Ir» L.

Sniffin. P. L.

Sperry, F. L.

SUhl, Charles J.

Stlckney, Q. F.

Stiles, C. W.

Stockwell. W. L.

Stokes, Stanley .
Stone. Ralph T.
Storrs, L. S

3C8

1187

1198

722

542

12G7

, 751

638

976

102

1339

1094

730

226

574

100

377

1130

608

1301

Taylor. Howell ._.
Tliom. Alfred P. ..
Thompson. B. A.

Tindall. C. L.

Tiney, B. C

Tticker. C. L.

Tudsberry. Henry

Upbam, C. M.

Van Winkle. R. N..
Voorhees, W. E

1145
Ml

7M
U89
568

823

.... 507
... 488

Walker. W. T

Wason. Leonard C.
Waterman. Earle L.
Welsh. James W. _

Whitten. Robert

Willemin. E. G.

WUliams. G. M.

WiUiams. W. S.

Wlschmeyer. WUUam F.
Woollett. WiUiam Lee ..
Woore. J. M. S. -

1*54

683

1007

-592. 1088
842
SS9
M8
185
161
1866.

Young, C. R.

Talbot. Arthur N.
Taylor, Harry

1135
563

Zenor, George W.

Roads and Streets

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.

221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbert p. Gillette, President and Editor

Lewis S. Louer, Vice-President and General Manager

New York OfiBce: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St and Broadway

RiCHAKo £. Bsown, Eastern Manager

The specialized publishing plan of Engineering and CJontracting provides
four rotating monthly magazines, each of which is $1 a year. All four
may be subscribed for at $4 a year, and thus taken they provide a weekly
service completely covering the construction field.

Romd and Streets— 1st Wednesdiir. $1

(a) Road Ck)n- (c) Streets
struction (d) Street clean-

(b) Road Main- ing:
tenanee

Railways — 3rd Wednesday, |1

(a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-

way Construe- way Ckmstrtic-

tion and tion and

Maintenance Maintenance

Water Works— 2nd Wednesday. $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigration and Sanitation
Drainage (d) Waterways

Bnildinffs — Ith Wednesday. $1

(a) Buildingrs (d) Miscellaneous

(b) Bridges Stractures
(c) Harbor Structures

Vol. LX.

CHIC-A.GO, ILL., JULY 4, 1923

No.l

Sophistical Arguments

Against Long Time

Highway Bond

Issues

Illinois newspapers have recently
published many editorials against the
proposed 30-year hundred million
highway bond issue. Editorials may
not express public opinion, but they
tend to form public opinion and are
therefore not to be ignored when they
teach false economics. From the
Rock Island Argus we quote part of
an editorial that summarizes Senator
Kissinger's argument against the
bond issue:

"The $100,000,000 bond issue will
cost $90,000,000 in interest.

"I oppose this bond issue because:

"First, we owe enough already.

"Second, it is wasteful to spend

$90,000,000 for interest which can be

spent on roads.

"Third, if the license fees come in
we don't need the bonds.

"Fourth, if the fees don't come in
we can't pay the bonds.

"Fifth, the danger of a direct tax.

"Sixth, we will have the bonds to
pay long after the roads have been de-
stroyed by the conditions of climate
and traffic.

"Seventh, the Republican party in
Illinois cannot afford to foist on the
taxpayers a bond issue so economic-
ally unsound and so politically unwise
as the proposed issue."

The argument that interest paid on
road bonds is "wasteful," applies
equally to interest paid on any form
of loan. It would be just as soimd
to contend that a man should not
borrow money from a building and
loan association in order to finance the
erection of a home. All arguments of
this sort are sophistical, for they
consider only one side of the ledger.
If a home owner pays interest on a
mortgage, he is justified by the sav-

Roads and Streets

July,

ing he affects in rent. Similarly if
taxpayers pay interest on road bonds,
they find justification in the saving
affected in the cost of highway trans-
portation.

The argument that motor car li-
cense fees would pay for the roads
needed is sophistical, because license
fees would barely pay bond interest
charges and would not begin to suffice
to cover the full first cost of neces-
sary road improvement. License fees
and gasoline taxes should be regarded
as income paid by motor car operators
for the use of the roads, being essen-
tially the same as the freight and
passenger income of railways. Freight
and passenger income are not ex-
pected to pay more than operating
expenses and a fair return on the
capital invested in railways. Why,
then, should license fees and gasoline
taxes be expected to do more than is
expected of freight and passenger in-
come?

The argument that bonds will have
to be paid off long after the highway
has been destroyed is fallacious for
several reasons. First, an improved
road is even more permanent than a
railway. Road surfaces, it is true,
wear out, but ties and rails rot and
wear out even faster. As renewals of
ties and rails are not paid for by
new bond issues, so renewals of road
surfaces should not be paid for by
new bonds. The useful life of the
structure or plant taken as a whole
should of course exceed the life of
the bonds, but the opponents of long
time road bonds befuddle this eco-
nomic principle when they try to make
it appear that the life of the road sur-
face is synonymous with the life of
the road as a whole.

There has been not a little error on
the part of daily paper editors as to
the average life of road surfaces. Sev-
eral Illinois editors have said that
during a bond term of 80 years "the
roads will have been worn out and
replaced several times." Of course,
practically none of the roads will
have been replaced as a whole at the
end of thirty years, and the editors
obviously have in mind only the road
surface. But we should ^ike to know
their authority for asserting that even
the surface of the average improved
road will be renewed several times
in 30 years. It is our opinion that the
surface of the average improved road
will show a life exceeding 20 years.
There will, of course, be exceptions,
but we are speaking of averages.

Where a pavement is made thick
enough to provide for the heaviest
probable wheel loads, it should have a
life of fully 30 years on the average
highway.

The Durability of Cop-
per-Bearing Steel

In our issue of June 6 we gave the
results of atmospheric exposure tests
of copper-bearing steel sheets and of
pure iron sheets as made by a com-
mittee of the American Society for
Testing Materials. Those tests
showed greater durability for the cop-
per-bearing steel; but our attention
has been called to the fact that since
culverts are buried in earth which fre-
quently contains water that is acid-
ulous, consideration should be given
to the immersion tests made by the
same society committee. Immersed in
acid mine water of the Pittsburgh coal
region, the committee report reads:

"In the immersion test, under the
conditions which prevail at the Cal-
umet Mine, the presence of copper-
would indicate little influence on the
life of the specimen, and if any dif-
ference, the presence of copper would
seem to give a slightly shorter life.
Also, the order of failure of the vari-
ous groups is decidedly changed, but
it would be safer not to draw definite
conclusions until we have the finished
results of the various atmospheric
and immersion tests."

The photographs of the test pieces
indicate that the pure-iron specimens
resisted the acid better than any other
specimens.

Resurfacing Brick Pave-
ments With Asphalt

Two years ago a contract was let
in Oil City, Pa., for resurfacing a
number of old brick streets with sheet
asphalt, and the results have been
excellent, according to D. A. Grant.
With one exception, the brick pave-
ments have been laid on a gravel base,
and in all cases the surface was very
irregular and contained many pot-
holes. All the low places were filled
with a dense asphaltic concrete, which
is superior for this purpose to the
ordinary binder mixture. The binder
course was 1 in. thick and it differed
from the ordinary binder in contain-
ing about 20 per cent of limestone

1923

Roads and Streets

screenings. The average mix was
about as follows:

Per cent

Stone, % to 1% in 65

Screenings 20

Sand 10

Asphaltic cement _ 5

The surface course was 1% in.
thick. Mr. Grant points to the exten-
sive use by the Pennsylvania State
Highway Commission of 1 in. binder
and 1^ in. surface as being sufficient
proof of the serviceability of such a
thin pavement. He regards the addi-
tion of screenings to the binder as
being highly important, producing, as
it does, a true asphaltic concrete that
has greater density, rigidity and sta-
bility than the ordinary binder course.
Such a binder can be rolled to any ex-
tent and suffers no distortion from
5-ton trucks.

City Planning Commission for New
Orleans. — An ordinance has been
passed by New Orleans, La., providing
for a city planning commission of 20
members.

Road and Street Contracts

Awarded During the Last

40 Months

The accompanying table shows
three outstanding facts: First, that
highway contracts awarded during
the last half of each year have aver-
aged only 25 per cent less in volume
than those awarded during the first
half; second, that there is not a month
in the year without a very large vol-
ume of road and street contracts
awarded; third, that each year shows
a substantial gain over its prede-
cessor.

Motor Vehicle Production in May

The U. S. Department of Commerce
announces May production of automo-
biles, based on figures received by the
Bureau of the Census in cooperation
with the National Autombile Chamber
of Commerce and covering approxi-
mately 90 passenger-car and 80 truck
manufacturers each month.

AUTOMOBILE PRODUCTION

(Number of Machines)

Passenger Cars

1923

January „-- 223.706

February 254.650

March 'Sia.eSS

April •344.474

May 350,180

Trucks

January

February _
March —
April ._

May

1923

19,398

♦21,817

•34.681

•37,527

42.983

1922
81.693
109,171
152,859
197.216
232.431

1922
9,416
13.195
19,761
22,342
23,788

♦Revised.

State Line Markers for Pennsyl-
vania Highways. — The Department of
Highways of Pennsylvania is about to
begin the erection of the State Line
markers on all State Highways which
intersect the boundary lines of Penn-
sylvania. These markers are to be of
white reinforced concrete. They are
triangular in form and the monument
will be bisected by the state line. Each
will bear the name of Pennsylvania
and the adjoining state.

Topographic Surveys in 1922. — Dur-
ing the fiscal year ended June 30,
1922, the topographic branch of the
U. S. Geological Survey surveyed
more than 12,000 square miles of new
area, exclusive of Alaska, and resur-
veyed approximately 1,500 square
miles.

ROAD AND STREET CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000 IN SIZE

January.

February..

March

April

May

Jane

July.

August

September....

October

November,
December

Total

Note. — About 100 per cent must be added to these totals to give the grand total of highway

contracts in the United States.

Bridges are not included, and bridge contracts average 15 per cent as much in value as road
and street contracts. A great deal of road and street work is done by directly hired labor and
IS not included above.

Roads and Streets

July,

A British View of the Fourth
International Road Congress

Editorial in The Surveyor, London

We should like to be able to say — or
even to think — that the Fourth Inter-
national Road Congress which has
lately been held in the city of Seville
has achieved what had been hoped
from it, or that the results have been
something like commensurate with the
labor involved in its preparation. We
can honestly say neither; all that we
are able to assert with any feeling of
confidence is that the proceedings
should not be wholly barren of good
and should be instrumental in dissem-
inating among those in need of it a
certain amount of useful information
on road-making questions that could
doubtless, however, have been secured
with infinitely less trouble and cer-
tainly at much smaller expense in
other ways.

So far as the British road engineers
who were present are concerned the
Congress has been little short of fu-
tile, and there cannot be the least
doubt that unless future congresses
are conducted on lines which are more
in conformity with Anglo-Saxon ideas
it will be useless to expect that Great
Britain will take any official — or for
that matter, even an unofficial — part
in the deliberations. When it is stated
that in one of the two sections into
which the Congress was divided a
whole hour in a sitting of little more
than two hours on the third day of the
Congress was occupied in combating
an obviously undesirable addendum to
a certain resolution, it is not difficult
to understand how little actually was
accomplished during the week of the
Congress.

Papers on each question, it may be
explained, are prepared by the "offi-
cial" delegates of the various coun-
tries. These are printed in full; but
at the same time they are compressed
into a more or less satisfactory —
usually a most unsatisfactory — precis
by the Reporter to the Section, who
submits for approval a list of "con-
clusions" based on his reading of the
contributions.

More unfortunate than anything
else, perhaps, was the action taken
when attempts were made by mem-
bers in the body of the hall to discuss
the questions brought forward; the
would-be speakers were instantly and
firmly suppressed by those in charge

of the meeting. Such utterances as
were made came almost exclusively
from a select few on the platform,
and as the remarks of these no doubt
well-meaning gentlemen were gener-
ally otherwise than brief, and deliv-
ered at express sped, the task of the
interpreter became an impossible one.
As a result, interest in the proceed-
ings quickly waned, and delegates who
had gone to a meeting hoping and be-
lieving that they would be enabled to
present their views on the matters un-
der consideration drifted away from
the conference room, leaving those in
charge of the gathering to do their
worst.

It is not at all unlikely — in fact,
most probable — that an invitation will
be received before long from the Ital-
ian Government to hold the next Con-
gress in Rome. Unless very drastic
alterations in the present methods of
procedure are made it is quite certain
that this Congress can only be a repe-
tition of what has just come to an end
in Seville — a gathering which has
merely served to irritate the members
of the British Section owing to the
astonishing attitude of the controlling
officials. Apart from this very real
ground for complaint, it would be as
well if in drawing up the program of
the next congress a little more time
were devoted to business and rather
less to excursions which have only the
slightest relation to the subjects under
consideration, if they have any at all.
It is true that Spain, and especially
the southern part of the country, has
little in the way of road-making to
bring to the attention of visitors, but
that is scarcely a sufficient excuse for
setting aside such a minute portion of
the time of the Congress, as was done
at Seville, for the exchange of infor-
mation and experiences between the
road engineers of the different coun-
tries, which, after all, may be said to
be the main purpose of these gather-
ings. It may be that the officials of
the particular section to which we are
referring are unaware of the strong
feeling that has been aroused. If so,
it may be hoped that what we have
thought fit to write will be taken seri-
ously to heart. Unless it is, and we
cannot believe that it will not have the
most careful attention, British dele-
gates at the next Congress, wherever
it happens to be held, will for a cer-
tainty be even fewer in numbers than
they were in Seville, where the at-
tendance was unquestionably disap-
pointing.

1923

Roads and Streets

Bituminous Macadam at
Newton, Mass.

Notes on Construction and Mainte-
nance Given in Paper Presented
Feb. 21 Before Boston So-
ciety of Civil Engineers

By EDWIN H. ROGERS,

City Engineer, Newton, Mass.

The city of Newton was a pioneer
among the cities of this country in the
early experimental work relating to
the treatment of roads with bitu-
minous preparations, and had estab-
lished a fixed policy as to such treat-
ment while the majority of other
municipalities were still experiment-
ing or had done but little or no work
in this line.

This city is unique in undoubtedly
being the only city of its population
or valuation which has no paved
streets as this term is usually under-
stood by the general public, which cus-
tomarily thinks of the word "pave-
ments" as referring to wood block,
stone block, cement concrete or else
sheet asphalt or similar preparations
on a concrete base.

This city has none of the types of
pavements, except between tracks and
rails of the street railway companies.
The reason for this non-use of heavy
pavements is that the city's population
of some 50,000 is scattered over its 18
square miles of area in eleven differ-
ent villages or distinct centres of pop-
ulation, with resulting wide distribu-
tion of traffic over a network of more
or less moderately traveled thorough-
fares connecting these villages and
the surrounding municipalities, with-
out concentration of heavy trucking
traffic on any single road.

Tlie more heavily travelled ways are
surfaced with bituminous macadam
averaging 3 ^4 -in. to 4-in. in thickness,
constructed by the penetration proc-
ess, using as a binder bitumen of
either tar or asphaltic composition and

laid on old macadam or gravel roads
as a base. The lighter travelled
streets are water-bound macadam or
gravel, covered with a blanket coat of
asphaltic oil or light tar, and sanded.
The city has sufficient mileage of these
two types of surfacing so that the
cost of construction of the former and
the maintenance of both types may be
taken as representative.

Costs of New Surfacing, Repairs
and Patching. — Table I shows for a
period of years the amounts and costs
of new bituminous surfacing, repairs
and patching (exclusive of cleaning)
of all the city's public ways, and the
sprinkling of the larger portion of its
streets. The average yardage of the
roadways is about 2% sq. yd. per
lineal fot. The city has 153 miles of
public ways, including 43 miles sur-
faced with bituminous macadam.

Maintenance Methods. — The method
of maintenance on both the penetra-
tion roads and those having blanket
surfacing is to fill the holes with the
usual mixture of stone and bitumen.
This patching is continued as needed
until further work of that nature is
inexpedient when a new pavement is
built.

The term "sprinkling" is applied to
that treatment the roads receive out-
side of patching maintenance, and
consists usually of not more than one
application per year of 45 per cent
asphaltic oil or light tar covered with
sand, the two types of material being
used in about equal amounts. The
cost of this work is assessed on the
abutting property, the rate varying
from 3 ct. to 5 cl. per lineal foot of
frontage from year to year.

The city has naturally experi-
mented with practically all the com-
mercial road surfacing materials
which it has appeared expedient to
try, and at present uses for its pene-
tration work bitumens of asphaltic
composition to somewhat greater ex-
tent than tar preparations, as it ap-
pears that the cost of maintenance of

Table I — Cost of Surfacing:, Repairs and Sprinkling

Bituminous Macadam Repairing

Year
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922

Re-Surfacing
Cost per
Sq. yd. sq. yd.

49.600 $0.41

71,105 .55

52.092 .62

54,657 .74

42,771 .98

14.'077 2.13

48,526 2.34

22,166 1.93

. 28,878 1.56

and Patching

Cost pel

Miles

144
145
145
148
148
149
150
153
153

mile

9162
179
223
244
308
358
277
263
236

Sprinlcling
Cost i)er
Miles mile

112

119

121

123

$275
300
348
342
420
383
470
492
454
374

Roads and Streets

July,

the former is somewhat less, although
detailed records are not kept. Non-
asphaltic oils were used to some ex-
tent in previous years on lateral resi-
dential streets, but these materials
are not now employed on such work.
Light non-asphaltic oils are now used
only as dust layers on the paved
tracks of the street railways and on
such tracks as are not in a grassed
reservation but are surfaced with
gravel.

Street Grade Problem. — The matter
of grades on our streets is a problem.
In the old water-bound macadam or
gravel days the roads were worn down
by attrition from iron-tired wheels
and horses' hoofs; now that our roads
are not so worn down, patching and
sprinkling with oil and sand constant-
ly raises them. When they are re-
surfaced, the new surfacing is usually
thicker than that of the old, for
usually a better foundation results
from removing but little of the old
material, while the saving in cost is
an essential consideration. This grad-
ual raising of the roadway grade de-
stroys its proper relation to the side-
walk grade, so we find it advisable in
many cases to keep our new sidewalks
at a grade of sufficient height above
the roadway so that a proper cross-
section will result after future repairs
or re-surfacing of the roadway is done
to a limited extent.

Reduction in Varieties of Asphalt

In a meeting of producers and con-
sumers of asphalt held May 28 at the
Department of Commerce, the 88 va-
rieties of asphalt used for paving
purposes were reduced to 9, and 14
varieties used as brick and stone block
fillers were cut to 4. Since 3 of the
grades adopted for fillers are identical
with 3 of those adopted for paving
use, the actual reduction is from 102
to 10, or practically a 90 per cent
elimination.

The meeting was the outgrowth of
a preliminary conference of producers
on April 24, 1923, called at their re-
quest by the Division of Simplified
Practice of the U, S. Department of
Commerce which is co-operating with
various industries in their efforts to
reduce waste by eliminating super-
fluous varieties. At the first meeting
the producers volunteered to send to
the department statements covering
their individual shipments for 1922 of
various grades of asphalt, as defined
by penetration limits. This was done

and the summary showed that 81 per
cent of their 1922 shipments in 88 va-
rieties fell within the 9 grades in-
cluded in the tentative specifications
of the American Society for Testing
Materials. The other 19 per cent of
the total tonnage was outside these
grades.

After brief discussion the above ac-
tion was taken. The producers were
represented by delegates from the
Asphalt Association, and also by rep-
resentatives from asphalt companies
not members of the Association. The
consumers were represented by engi-
neers and other officials from various
state and city highway departments.

The conference unanimously agreed
that grades of asphalt used in con-
struction of sheet asphalt, asphaltic
concrete, and asphalt macadam, pave-
ments, and also for surface treatment
should be reduced to the 9 grades hav-
ing the following penetration limits:

25 to 30
30 to 40
40 to 50

50 to 60
60 to 70
85 to 100

100 to 120
120 to 150
150 to 200

In adopting these limits, it is under-
stood that the producer will furnish
asphalts with penetration equal to the
mid-point in each range, a plus-and-
minus tolerance from that mid-point
being acceptable to all parties, but in
no case shall the deviation from the
mid-point exceed the limits of the
grade specified.

The conference also unanimously
adopted 4 grades of joint filler for
various types of construction — 30-50,
50-60, 60-70, and 85-100. The first is
used primarily for brick pavements
and does not require admixture with
sand, whereas the latter three, which
are identical with three of the grades
adopted for asphalt pavement con-
struction, are those which would ordi-
narily be used in admixture with sand
to produce an asphalt grout.

This gives a total of 10 grades by
penetration limits for asphalt used in
construction and treatment of roads
and pavements. It is the hope and ex-
pectation of all present that this re-
duction in variety will bring notable
economies in the production, sale, and
use of asphalt, all of which in due
time means to the taxpayer "more
miles of highway per dollar spent,"

It was further agreed that this
elimination should become effective in
all deliveries of these materials made
after Jan. 1, 1924.

1923

Roads and Streets

Highway Ejigineering and
Highway Treuisport

Report Adopted by the Society for the

Promotion of Engineering

Education

At the convention of the Society
for Promotion of Engineering Educa-
tion at Ithaca, N. Y., the Committee
on Civil Engineering submitted its
final report relative to highway engi-
neering and highway transport. The
committee consisted of Frederic Bass,
University of Minnesota; C. B. Breed,
Massachusetts Institute of Technol-
ogy; H. S. Boardman, University of
Maine; H. J. Hughes, Harvard Uni-
versity; A. H. Blanchard, Chairman
University of Michigan. The report,
which was adopted June 21, was in
parts as follows:

The committee, will confine this re-
port primarily to definite recommen-
dations relative to courses in highway
engineering and highway transport
which should be or may be given un-
der the supervision of civil engineer-
ing departments. This report will not
include outlines of subject matter of
the various courses as comprehensive
reports covering outlines of under-
graduate courses in highway engi-
neering and highway transport were
presented at the Second National
Conference on Education for Highway
Engineering and Highway Transport.
Page references to the Proceedings of
the Second National Conference have
been enclosed in brackets following
each recommendation in cases where
a report presented at the conference
covered the subject matter of the
course or courses mentioned in a rec-
ommendation.

The Committee submits the follow-
ing recommendations for your consid-
eration :

1. In four year civil engineering
curricula with or without technical
electives, there should be included a
required 3 hour semester course in
the fundamentals of highway engi-
neering (pages 194 to 199).

2. In institutions offering civil engi-
neering curricula with technical elec-
tives and which are equipped to give
advanced instruction in highway engi-
neering and highway transport, provi-
sion should be made for senior stu-
dents to elect courses aggregating six
to nine semester hours from the fol-
lowing group: Theory and economics
of highway improvements, highway
design and highway laboratory (pages

204 to 210); highway transport eco-
nomics, surveys, operations, equip-
ment and legislation; interrelationship
of highway, railway and waterway
transport; and the science of traffic
regulations (pages 200 to 202 and 218
to 221).

3. In several institutions, preferably
located in different geographical sec-
tions of the United States, there
should be offered graduate courses in
highway engineering and highway
transport.

4. Highway engineering and high-
way transport research by graduate
students in ci\'il engineering should be
encouraged and developed.

5. It may be advisable for the civil
engineering departments of some in-
stitutions to conduct, during the win-
ter months, a highway engineering
conference of about one week in
length for the discussion of local high-
way engineering problems by the en-
gineers and officials of the state,
county, township and municipal high-
way departments, provided such con-
ference is not otherwise satisfactorily
conducted (pages 215 to 217).

Motor Vehicle Accidents in
Massachusetts

During 1921 the campaign inaugu-
rated early in 1920 to reduce accidents
and make the highways of Massa-
chusetts safter for all who use them
was carried on with unabated vigor
both by the police throughout the
Commonwealth and the Department
of Public Work. The result attained
was striking, particularly with refer-
ence to the reduction in the number of
persons injured. In 1919 there were
16,287 persons injured, in 1920 there
were 21,182 injured, while in 1921
there were only 11,487 persons in-
jured, notwithstanding the fact that
there were 111,909 more autombiles on
the highways of the Commonwealth
than in 1919, and 53,016 more than
there were in 1920. The principal rea-
son for this great reduction, according
to the 1921 report of the State Divi-
sion of Highways, was the new regu-
lation put into effect by the registrar
on Dec. 1, 1920, making it necessary
for every one to pass an examination
before an orig^inal license was issued
to him.

Trees Along Massachusetts _ High-
wavs. — In the 17 years ending in 1921
a total of 45.607 trees had been
planted on the borders of state high-
ways in Massachusetts.

Roads and Streets

Street and Highway Lighting

July,

Recent Developments Outlined in Report Presented June 6 at 46th
Annual Convention of the National Electric Light Association

The interest of the public has been
awakened to the necessity for im-
proved street lighting and there is an
increasing tendency on the part of
municipalities to recognize the greater
hazards accompanying automobile

Fig. 1. Dustproof Pendant With Auto Trans-
former for 15 or 20 Amp. Mazda Lamps in
Separate Ventilated Chamber Above the Lamp.

traffic, not only by installing high in-
tensity ornamental systems in the
center of the city, but also by greatly
improving the standards of lighting
in the thoroughfares leading through
the city.

Municipal officials are keenly alive
to the desirability of improved street
lighting, and this is evidenced by the
discussions on the subject at the meet-
ings of municipal associations and so-
cieties. The report of the Street
Lighting Committee of the American
Society for Municipal Improvements,
1922, contains a table of "Street
Lighting Practice" which is notewor-
thy because it clearly shows a recog-
nition on the part of municipal offi-
cials of the necessity for high inten-
sity street lighting. The recommend-
ations in this table for main business
thoroughfares in cities of 100,000 pop-
ulation or larger are 10,000 to 50,000

lumens per post, and for similar
streets in cities of 20,000 to 100,000
population, 10,000 to 25,000 lumens
per post.

Ornamental Street Lighting. — Thie
trend in the development of orna-
mental street lighting equipment has
been towards higher mounting and
larger units. This is logical, first, be-
cause of the acknowledged demand for
increased illumination, due to modem
traffic conditions, and, second, because
the efficiency of the Mazda C series
lamp increases rapidly with its size.
Several interesting installations have
been made during the past year, in-
volving ornamental posts varying in
mounting height from 16 to 30 ft.,
with lamps up to 25,000 lumens.

Highway Lighting. — An almost vir-
gin field for development lies in the
lighting of inter-connecting state
highways. Highway lighting is a de-

Enclosed Highway Lightinar Unit.

velopment in which the central sta-
tion is vitally interested, not only on
account of the load which it develops,
but also because it may be the means
of taking electrical service into rural
districts which could not otherwise be
economically served. The automobile

1923

Roads and Streets

associations are alive to the impor-
tance of this service and are co-op-
erating in every possible way in all
schemes for extending highway light-
ing installations.

Progress in 1922. — The year just
closed has seen more street lighting
improvements made than have been
reported in any previous annual
period, and there is every prospect
that the coming year will see still
further increases in the street lighting
load.

During the year the City of Chicago
placed an order for 11,800 ornamental

as a means whereby the lamps may
readily be lowered for cleaning. While
the code demands the use of absolute
cutouts on arc lamps operating on
series circuits, an exception in the
code has permitted the operation of
incandescent lamps on series circuits
without absolute cutouts. The manu-
facturers of this de\ice rejwrt more
sales in cutout pulleys during the year
1922 than in any previous year.

Street Lighting Glassware. — The
quality of enclosing glassware used
in a street lighting unit has an im-
portant bearing on the efficiency of

Fig. 3. Viadnct Lighting, HcLemore Ave. Viadnct, Memphis, Tenn.

posts to complete a scheme for plac-
ing the residence lighting distributing
system underground. This is the
largest individual order for orna-
mental posts ever placed at one time.

The Philadelphia Electric Company
is carr\ing on some interesting experi-
ments with 9.6 ampere series Mazda
Lamps, designed to take the place of
the 9.6 ampere open arc lamps at
present used in manv parts of the
City of Philadelphia.

The past year has seen a marked in-
crease in the use of automatic cutout
hangers for pendant Mazda Lamps,
and a general recognition that such
devices are desirable, not only as a
safeguard to the "trimmers" but also

the unit and on its appearance. There
has been an e\ident demand on the
part of the public for a sparkling ef-
fect in street lamps which would im-
part life and brilliancy to the appear-
ance of the streets without undue
glare. This has been proved by the
greatly increased use of alabaster rip-
pled globes during the past year. ^ A
valuable addition to street lighting
glassware will be found in the new
rectilinear glassware. The surface of
this glassware presents a number of
rectangular protuberances which tend
to diffuse the light without materially
altering its direction. It is supplied in
clear crystal or slightly flashed opal-
escent. The latter gives the most

Roads and Streets

July,

pleasing results, softening the light
and giving a maximum of "eye com-
fort" to the observer.

The trend of development in the use
of panelled lanterns for street light-

Fig. 4.

Lighting Unit for East Cleveland,
O., Residence District.

ing units has been continued, and
many cities have found the claims for
lower maintenance costs, due to lesser
glassware breakage, fully justified.
Several types of lantern units for
which replacing panels may be pur-
chased from local glass dealers at low
cost are now available.

A new type of bowl refractor for
pendant units has been introduced.
This is known as the "Superlux" and
its characteristics are such as to build
the light rays laterally, while at the
same time adequately illuminating the
area adjacent to the unit. Experi-
ments are also being made in the de-
sign of an a symmetrical refractor
which will build up the light longi-
tudinally while only allowing a small
portion of the light to be directed
across the street.

Ornamental Post Tops. — During the
past year several new designs of or-
namental post tops have been added
to those already available, some of
which are illustrated. The light dis-
tribution in these units is controlled
by japper and lower parabolic re-
flectors, designed to give a maximum
distribution 20 deg. below the hori-
zontal, and thus the necessity for re-
fracting glassware is eliminated. The
reflectolux system of light distribu-
tion is particularly adapted for orna-
mental post lighting where the spac-
ing varies between 50 to 100 feet.

Pendant Units. — There have not
been many developments in pendant

Lighting System in Residence District of Ephrata, Pa.

1923

Roads and Streets

street lighting units during the past
year, and the tj'pes at present avail-
able appear to be well standardized.
One development worthy of mention
here has been made in the auto trans-
former type pendant for 15 and 20
amp. lamps. A unit has been designed
(Fig. 1) in which the auto transfor-
mer is located in a separate ventilated
cham.ber above the lamp, thus ena-
bling the lamp to bum in a separate
chamber from the transformer; the
partition between the lamp and trans-
former chambers prevents the rising
currents of hot air reaching the trans-
former. This construction renders the
unit dust and bug proof when equipped
with a closed bottom refractor or an
enclosing globe well seated on a felt
gasket.

A new totally enclosed Highway
Lighting Unit is shown in Fig. 2. In
this unit the lamp is placed at the
focus of an inverted parabolic re-
flector which re-directs the light rays
vertically do^\•nwa^d upon two re-
fracting prismatic surfaces, and
thence to the roadway in two direc-
tions only. It is claimed for this unit
that it is "dust-proof and that its
initial efficiency is maintained for
long periods without cleaning.

Arc Lamps. — Improvements in lu-
minous arc lamps include the use of
rippled glass globes, more effective re-
flecting deWces, and electrodes of
longer life and higher efficiency. Com-

pressed electrodes of square or oval
shapes were found to give much
greater life than previously secured
with proportionally diminished trim-
ming costs.

Viaduct Lighting. — An important

Fig. 6. Boulevard Lighting at Lansing, Mich.

Fig. 7. Ni^t View at Lima, O.. a Good Example of Efficient Street Illaminatieiu

Roads and Streets

July,

phase of street lighting is the efficient
illumination of viaducts and bridges,
and an installation recently completed
on the McLemore Avenue Viaduct,
Memphis, Tenn., is noteworthy. This
installation (Fig.3) shows a pleasing
combination of cast iron bracket and
pendant lantern with the concrete
structure of the viaduct. In this in-

Tig. 8. Ornamental Steel Pole and Brackets
With Ornamental Pendants at Newark, O.

stallation multiple circuits are used
because of the desirability of keeping
the series circuit off the viaduct. The
multiple circuit is controlled by a re-
mote control switch connected to the
series circuit and so arranged that
when the series circuit is turned on at
the plant, it energizes the magnet coil
of the switch and causes the switch
to close on the primary side of a small
distribution transformer which feeds
the lights on the viaduct. By this
arrangement the viaduct circuit re-

quires no special attention, and goes
on and off automatically at the same
time as the main street lighting cir-
cuit.

Interesting Lighting Installations
of the Past Year. — With the orna-
mental street lighting equipment at
present available, the planning of an
improved system for a business dis-
trict is a fairly simple matter; but,
owing to the dense foliage which gen-
erally exists on residence streets, this
class of lighting presents some diffi-
culties. The problem may be solved
either by the use of bracket type units
supported on tall poles of sufficient
height to bring the light source well
beyond the foliage line, or by orna-
mental posts with the light source
mounted below the foliage line. Each
system has its application, and the
type selected must be determined by
local conditions.

An interesting residential district
installation was made during the past
year at East Cleveland, O., which is
worthy of mention. Here the units
(Fig. 4) are mounted on brackets sup-
ported on steel poles 16 ft. above the
sidewalk and projecting 6 ft. over the
roadway. This arrangement brings
the light source well beyond the foli-
age line. The unit is equipped with a
dome refractor within a rippled glass
globe, which permits of a spacing of
280 ft. staggered resulting in a high
degree of illumination on the road
surface and sidewalk. This installa-
tion is one of the few modern street
lighting system in which multiple cir-
cuits are used. It was found more
economical when planning this system
to connect the residence street lamps
to the 115 volt house lighting secon-
daries located along the rear lots
through underground services brought
out along the side lot lines. A time
switch is used to control the lamps
supplied by the secondary in each
block.

A typical residence street in which
ornamental posts are used is shown in
Fig. 5. In this installation the posts
are spaced 300 ft. apart, and each is
equipped with diffusing glassware
mounted 10 ft. 6 in. above the side-
walk. As will be seen from the photo-
graph, the light source is placed below
the foliage line and a good illumina-
tion is obtained on roadway and side-
walk. This installation is operated on
the usual series system.

An interesting installation has just
been completed at Lansing, Mich.

1923

Roads and Streets

(Fig. 6), which is part of a plan for
re-lighting the entire city with an or-
namental system. On the main busi-
ness streets, two light standards, 20
ft. to the light source, with 10,000
lumen lamps will be used. Secondary
business streets will have single light
standards, 15 ft. to the light source,
with 10,000 lumen lamps, and the
boulevards, such as are shown in the
illustration, will have 13 ft. standards
with 4,000 lumen lamps. The minor
residence district will be equipped
with 2,500 lumen lamps, 11 ft. 6 in. to
the light source, and all units will be
provided with a means whereby the
next size larger lamp may be sub-
stituted when increased traffic condi-
tions demand such change.

Another installation, which is note-
worthy because it emphasizes the
tendency on the part of municipalities
to treat ornamental street lighting
improvements as part of a scheme to
beautify the city as a whole, has been
completed at Lima, O. (Fig. 7). The
installation covers an ornamental sys-
tem for the entire city, and the height
of post and size of lighting unit have
been carefully graduated with regard
to the relative importance of the
streets. A minimum of 2,500 lumens
is used in the residence districts, in-
creasing to a maximum of 10,000
lumens in the main business streets
and the public square. The impres-
sion of the graduated and harmonious
illumination is very pleasing and the
stranger is able immediately to dis-
tinguish the importance of the vari-
ous streets by the intensity of illum-
ination.

Newark, 0. (Fig. 8), is one of the
first cities to take advantage of the
new 25,000 lumen Mazda "C" Lamps,
and an installation is being made with
the lamps mounted 30 feet above the
sidewalk. Special pendants have been
designed, equipped with large Holo-
phane Bowl Refractors arranged to
give a maximum illumination at 15
degrees below the horizontal. The in-
stallation is highly efficient and the
results obtained, pleasing to the eye,
as the brilliant light source is mounted
sufficiently high to take it out of the
range of vision of the pedestrian or
the vehicle driver.

Natural or Artificial Sand-Clay
Mixtures for Road Surfacing

At the 26th annual meeting of the
American Society for Testing Ma-
terials, June 25-29, at Atlantic City,
N. J., Committee D-4 on Road and
Paving Materials, submitted a "pro-
posed tenative" specification for nat-
ural or artificial sand-clay mixtures
for road surfacing. Criticism of this
tentative specification is invited by
the committee and should be directed
to Prevost Hubbard, Secretary, 25 W.
43rd St., New York City. The tenta-
tive specification follows:

The sand-clay shall be composed of
either a naturally occurring or artifi-
cially prepared mixture of hard, dur-
able, preferably angular, fragments
of sand together with silt and clay
with or without gravel, and shall be
free from an excess of feldspar or
mica.

When tested by means of labora-
tory sieves and screens the material
shall conform to the following require-
ments as to grading:

Passing 2-in. screen — loO per cent

Passing ^-in. screen 30 to 100 per cent

The material, if any, retained on
the ^4 -in. screen shall be uniformly
graded from the maximum size pres-
ent to 14 -in.

The material passing the ^-in.
screen shall conform to the following
requirements :

Total sand 50 to 80 per cent

Sand retained on 60-mesh 30 to 60 per cent

Silt 5 to 20 per cent

Clay _ „..15 to 30 per cent

The tests for the mechanical analy-
sis of the sand, clay, natural sand-
clay or topsoil mixtures shall be made
in accordance with the Tentative
Method of Mechanical Analysis of
Subgrade Soils (Serial Designation:
D 137-22 T), except that the deter-
mination of the percentage of suspen-
sion clay may be omitted and the per-
centage of total clay may be calcu-
lated by difference as follows:

100 — (Percentage of Sand -f- Per-
centage of Silt) = Percentage of
Clay.

14 Roads and Streets July,

The Connecticut Investigations of Highway Traffic

Some Results of the Censuses Carried Out by U. S. Bureau of Public

Roads and State Given in Paper Presented Feb. 14 at 9th

Annual Michigan Conference on Highway Engineering

By GEORGE E. HAMLIN,

Maintenance Engineer, Connecticut State Highway Department

The Rolvitiff of hiirhwav nrnhlpms bv
the analysis of data obtained from
comprehensive and continued studies
of traffic conditions is now recognized
as necessary for the proper construc-
tion and financing of any good roads
program. Investigations have been in
progress in various states with a view
of determining the economic road
which will in cost, construction and
maintenance give the maximum serv-
ice to the average tax payer. Sections
of experimental road have been built
which have been tested to destruction
in order to determine their sustaining
characteristics for various types of
traffic. From these experiments it is
desired to determine the type of road
which will best economically fit a de-
termined traffic condition. There,
therefore remains the determining
of the character and amount of traffic
which any particular highway will be
required to carry. For this purpose
traffic censuses have at various times
been instituted in many localities ex-
tending generally over a compara-
tively short period and in many cases
only over peak periods, from which an
attempt has been made to develop a
curve of increase, both in quantity
and weight, by which the necessary
qualities may be determined for the
estimated life of any particular road
surface.

Results of Maine Traffic Census. —

The Highway Commission of the State
of Maine inaugurated in 1916 a traf-
fic census which at its inception was
taken at about 12 stations on the
state highway system. This census
has been taken each year, the number
of stations being increased as found
necessary to develop the results. In
the year ending June 30, 1922, traffic
was counted at about 50 locations and
extended over a period of seven suc-
cessive days. This count is generally
made during the laot week of August
or the first week of September and
takes in a daily period of 12 hours
from 7 a. m. to 7 p. m. The count is
divided into north or south and east
or west traffic, further divisions being
made into horse-drawn and motor ve-

hicle traffic with several further sub-
divisions of each class.

At one of the stations near Port-
land the 1922 census developed 99.8
per cent of motor vehicles and .2 of
1 per cent of horse-drawn vehicles.

At this same station in 1916, 97
per cent of the vehicles were motor
vehicles with 3 per cent of horse-
drawn vehicles. In 1916, 7,790 motor
vehicles were counted and 258 horse-
drawn vehicles. In 1922 there were
26,012 motor vehicles and 63 horse-
drawn vehicles. While this proportion
does not hold true at all stations
throughout the state, due to the char-
acter of the country, in the great ma-
jority of cases the percentage of mo-
tor vehicles is 97 per cent or more.

The Commission notes in its report
"the traffic census not only shows
which roads are of most importance to
the public, but the information also is
an indication as to the type of surface
which must be provided at the loca-
tions under consideration,"

The Purpose of Traffic Counts. — Mr,
Nelson P. Lewis in charge of the phys-
ical survey. Plan of New York and
Its Environs makes the following com-
ments in relation to traffic surveys:

"I consider that the chief purpose
of traffic counts is to determine where
additional traffic capacity should be
provided in one or more of the fol-
lowing ways:

(a) Widening existing roads;

(b) Constructing additional main
roads;

(d) By-passes around congested
centers.

The traffic to be provided for is that
desiring to use the road at the busiest
time of day so that the number of
vehicles passing during the heaviest
hour, or quarter hour, will give some
indication of the need of relief, but
this may be misleading in that a
small number of vehicles may be due
to relatively slow speed, on account
of mere numbers, or to the presence
in the line of a large proportion of
heavy vehicles of low speed and flexi-

1923

Roads and Streets

bility. A complete diagnosis cannot
be made unless the census includes a
record of the speed, flexibility, and de-
gree of obstruction offered by the ve-
hicles, while the wheel loads will af-
ford a fair measure of the destructive
character of the traflfic.

Proposed methods of observation
and analysis should be so worked out
and put in such logical and simple
form that they will not deter states
or other political units where funds
for this sort of work are scant or
where its importance is not yet fully
realized, from undertaking any traf-
fic analysis.

The value of observations will be
proportioned to their completeness and
thoroughness, but even if they are not
exhaustive they will have considerable
value if the most important, even
though the simplest details are taken
up first. Where saturation already
exists there is little to be gained by
extensive observations. Comparisons
may be made to determine the relative
capacity at certain contracted points,
or "bottle necks," compared with that
at other points where such conditions
do not exist, provided the latter are
not within the influence of the con-
traction, or "bottle neck," with which
comparison is to be made.

TraflSc Survey in Minnesota. — In
the State of Minnesota in the year
1921 it was arranged for the state
maintenance force to carry a contin-
uous traffic survey on the more im-
portant roads throughout the whole
season, taking one or two days each
week so that the seasonable variation
in traffic could be enumerated. In
this census four general classes of ve-
hicles were noted: Passenger cars,
transportation lines, miscellaneous
trucks and horse-drawn vehicles. The
passenger cars were further divided
into heavy and light models; also for-
eign and Minnesota cars were noted.
The number of passengers in each car
was taken in all cases.

Mr. John H. Mullen, Chief Engineer,
says that this traffic survey is more or
less superficial and that plans should
be evolved which will not only show
the character and change in volume
of traffic from year to year, but that
maps should also be prepared showing
the origin and destination of various
kinds of traflfic, from which can be
ascertained in a measure the future
development of traflftc in a given com-
munity.

Early TraflBc Censuses in Connecti-
cut.— The State of Connecticut during
the past few years has carried on traf-

fic censuses for short periods of time
with a view of determining the natural
increase from year to year on the
various highways comprising the
trunk line system. The first censuses
were taken at different strategic
points along the highways through-
out the state, being carried on in many
cases for a continuous 24 or 48-hour
period, and generally at the time of
the year when it was estimated the
average traffic would be found.

The data obtained, however, were
extremely conflicting and did not nec-
essarily show the logical growth to be
expected for a period of years. To
obtain peak loads which must of ne-
cessity be carried by the highways, a
census was made two years ago on
seven main roads in the vicinity of
New Haven on the occasion of the
Yale-Princeton football game. This
census extended over a period of 12
hours, from 8 a. m. to 8 p. m., only
the number of vehicles and their di-
rections noted. No attempt was made
to determine the origin or destination
of the traffic outside of New Haven.
During this period 26,016 vehicles
were noted, the period of greatest
congestion being on the Boston Post
Road west of New Haven on the direct
New York highway, between the hours
of 5 and 6 p. m., when 1,619 vehicles
were enumerated passing the station,
this being an average of one vehicle
every 2^4 seconds. It is understood
that this was an extreme peak condi-
tion but if the traffic is to be cared
for on public highways, such peaks
must be taken into consideration in
designing both the width of the high-
way and the character of the surface.

The Present Connecticut Survey. —

In 1912 in connection with the Bureau
of Public Roads, traffic censuses were
taken at the New York State line in
Greenwich and at the Massachusetts
State Line on the Hartford-Springfield
Trunk Line for a two weeks period.
Each vehicle was stopped and the
driver questioned in regard to origin
and destination of trip and in the case
of trucks, the commodity weight, tire
condition, etc., was obtained.

Many interesting facts were
brought to light which seemed to re-
quire further study before being ac-
cepted as basic data. Arrangements
were therefore completed with the
Bureau of Public Roads and in Sep-
tember of last year a system of 56
stations was laid out at strategic
points throughout the state where
periodically a party was detailed to

Roads and Streets

July,

obtain the information required to de-
velop the average yearly traffic.

To carry out this survey of traffic
and obtain the detailed information
desired, three motorized parties of
five men each were established and at
eight of the stations selected with ref-
erence to traffic conditions, pit plat-
form scales of 25-tons capacity were
established to obtain the necessary
truck weight requirements. Two of
the parties known as extensive parties
work entirely independently of each
other. Information is obtained by
them as follows:

Passenger cars :

Station at which information is taken.
Day and hour on which information is taken.
Direction in which car is traveling.
State issuing car license.
Make of car.

Type of car. whether roadster or touring.
Number of passengers in car.
Nature of trip being made, whether busi-
ness or pleasure.
Origin of trip.
Destination of trip.
Trucks :

Station at which information is taken.
Day and hour on which information is taken.
Direction in which truck is traveling.
State issuing truck license.
Make of truck.
Capacity of truck.
Commodity carried.
Number of trips made per week.
Length of time required to make trip.
Length of trip.
Destination of trip.

How the Census Is Taken. — Of the
five men in each extensive party, four
handle passenger car traffic. This
work is generally divided so that two
men obtain the information in regard
to north or east bound cars and two
in regard south or west bound cars.
In each case one man acts as observer
and the other as recorder. The ob-
server stands on the road, stops the
cars and calls out the information to
the recorder who enters this on the
prepared sheets or cards.

The fifth man obtains truck infor-
mation and must take care of traffic
in both directions, doing both his own
questioning and recording. A card
simlar to the passenger car card is
made out for each truck.

In order to prevent congestion and
to keep at least half of the road open
at all times, the passenger car men
have stations at least 200 ft. apart.
It has been found that traffic is seri-
ously impeded where all questioning is
done at the station itself. Very lit-
tle trouble has been encountered at
most sations in detailing one man to
obtain truck information. At a few
sations in the state where the truck
traffic is abnormally heavy at times,
it is customary to transfer one of the

passenger car men to help obtain the
truck information. Additional men
are also assigned to stations where
passenger car traffic is unusually
heavy to avoid any congestion or
serious slowing up of traffic through
the operation of the census.

Printed signs 3x4 ft. are placed
alongside of the road so that the
driver is warned in approaching the
census station of the reason of the
questioning.

The prepared cards are sent to
Washington where the information
shown on the stub is punched on the
card which is then ready for placing
in the tabulating machine.

The third party is known as the
intensive party and operates only at
points where platform scales have
been installed. This party occupies
each station for a period of six con-
secutive days and the amount of in-
formation required is such that the
listing of the data has been divided
between two recorders.

The first recorder lists the follow-
ing:

Station at which information is taken.

Day and hour on which information is taken.

State, and number of truck license.

Name of truck owner.

Name of party shipping goods and city and
state from which they have been shipped.

Name of party receiving goods and city and
state in which they will be received.

Class of shipment whether Pick-up to De-
livery, Terminal to Terminal. Pick-up to Ter-
minal, or Delivery to Terminal.

Commodity carried.

Nature of packing and crating, whether
goods are being carried loose, boxed, crated,
baled, etc.

The second recorder lists the follow-
ing:

Station at which information is taken.

Day and hour on which information is taken.

State and number of truck license.

Make of truck.

Number of trips made per week.

Capacity of truck.

Length of time required for trip.

Whether truck is loaded or empty.

Width of truck body.

Net weight.

Gross weight. _

Front axle weight.

Rear axle weight.

Type of tires and width of tires on pave-
ment under load both front and rear.

Depth of tires ccannel to pavement under
load.

Width of tires channel to channel.

Care is taken in listing the informa-
tion so that the same truck appears
upon the same line in both sheets.
This is afterwards checked up before
the sheets are sent to Washington by
comparing the license numbers listed
on the corresponding lines. The time
required for obtaining information and
weighing the truck varies from 1-3

1923

Roads and Streets

minutes; the average time being prob-
ably 1% minutes. The first recorder
questions the driver in regard to
origin, destination, number of trips,
etc. The second recorder receives the
truck weight from the scale man and
truck measurements from an addi-
tional observer. These items he lists
on the proper sheets in accordance
with the direction of traffic.

Tire widths are obtained by caus-
ing the truck to pass over a strip of
white cardboard and measuring the
crack made. Channel widths are ob-
tained by means of a pair of callipers.

Use of Scales Reduces Truck Over-
loading.— The eight sets of scales
were primarily constructed for use in
the traffic census, and the average cost
of each completed scale, including
scale house, self-reading dial, lighting
system, etc., was $2,532. While this
would seem to ba a large investment
for census purposes, these scales are
also used in the State of Connecticut
by the State Police Department for
measuring overloads and overweights
on trucks. The law forbids the load-
ing of any truck beyond its regis-
tered capacity or a total weight in ex-
cess of 25,000 lbs. which may be re-
duced if found necessary at certain
seasons of the year by order of the
Highway Commissioner. It has been
found that since the installation of the
scales, overloading has been reduced
and as a consequence that fewer
breaks in the surfaces of the more im-
permanent types of road have resulted
during the early spring.

The 56 stations in the state have
been di\aded into eight districts, each
extensive party completing one dis-
trict in a week so that by working
seven days a week and spending one
day at each station, each party com-
pletes a district in one week and a
cycle of the state in eight weeks. The
intensive party travels from one to an-
other of the intensive 'stations, occu-
pying each station for six successive
days and making a cycle of the state
in eight weeks. This party does not
operate on Sundays on account of the
small amount of truck traffic on that
day. Care has also been taken to
route parties so that no more than one
of the three parties is in the same
district at the same time. This out-
line of work was carried on during the
summer and fall months. With the
coming of winter the large decrease
in the passenger car traffic and the icy
cone ition of the roads caused the
abandonment of the practice of stop-

ping and questioning the drivers of
the passenger cars. The extensive
parties were then cut down to two
men each and an hourly count of pas-
senger cars was made.

I uU information obtained in regard
to truck is still being obtained. The
intensive party, however, has been
reduced to three men. Two additional
men divide their time among the
three parties when any one of these
is located where travel requires addi-
tional observers.

Tie total cost of the census from
Sept. 11, 1922, to Jan. 27, 1923, in-
cluding the cost of the three cars used
in the work, but no part of the cost
of the scale installation, has been
about $15,000, $3,000 of this amount
bein;? estimated as paid by the Bureau
of Public Roads for the salaries and
expe.ises of three government ob-
servtirs.

During the four months of opera-
tion various minor difficulties have
arisen which have been adjusted to fit
the J articular condition.

It has been common practice to lo-
cate a station at the jimction of two
roads-. This is satisfactory in most
cases, but an exception is found at
Station No. 19 at the Rhode Island
State line in Westerly, The junction
here occurs in a congested business
district where a large proportion of
local traffic was found. Arrange-
ments were therefore made to cover
each road separately and an additional
man was detailed to the party for this
purpose.

The Chief of the Survey visits each
party at least once and frequently
twice each week, collecting from them
the cards and sheets which have been
filled out, and adjusting any difficul-
ties which may have arisen in han-
dling the work. These cards and sheets
are shipped to the Bureau of Public
Roads in Washington, where oper-
atives punch each card with the in-
formation shown on the stub. These
cards are then ready for passing
through the tabulating machine.

Some Results of the Census. — A

comparatively small amount of tab-
ulation at the present time has been
made ready for publication. Possibly
the most interesting chart as yet fur-
nished is that which shows the aver-
age daily movement of motor trucks
on Connecticut highways between
Sept. 11 and Dec. 3, 1922. This chart
shows an average of about 750 motor

Roads and Streets

July,

trucks per 24-hour day on the Boston
Post Road between the New York
State line at Greenwich and Bridge-
port. From Bridgeport through New
Haven to Hartford and from Hartford
to the Massachusetts line south of
Springfield, the average number of
trucks approximates 350 to 400 per
24-hour day. In the vicinity of Water-
bury in which are manufactured large
quantities of brass products and which
to the north and south for a consid-
erable distance is a succession of
manufacturing cities, the chart shows
350 motor trucks per day. About 100
of these constitute local traffic, the re-
maining 250 being nearly equally di-
vided between the New Haven and
Bridgeport roads. Inasmuch as the
truck traffic determines to a large ex-
tent the character of the necessary
road surface, it is fair to assume that
the width of line showing the number
of trucks per day is directly propor-
tional to the need of a hard surfaced
highway.

During the period from Sept. 12 to
Dec. 2, 1922, the estimated gross truck
tonnage movement on Connecticut
highways was 495,357 tons with a net
weight of 188,812 tons. Of the latter
amount, about 112,000 net tons were
carried on trucks with Connecticut li-
censes, and 77,000 net tons on trucks
with foreign licenses. New York and
Massachusetts trucks carrying re-
spectively 35,000 and 32,000 net tons;
New Jersey, 5,380 net tons; Rhode
Island about 3,000 net tons and 1,5000
tons from miscellaneous states.

These figures would seem to show
that more than 40 per cent of the net
truck tonnage operating on Connecti-
cut highways is carried in trucks with
foreign markers paying no fee for the
privilege of operating upon Connecti-
cut highways.

Average Mileage and Vehicle
Weight. — From data obtained a chart
of comparison of average mileage
with average gross weight per vehicle
has been drafted. This would tend to
show that the average mileage and
the average gross weight per vehicle
is proportional. Of Connecticut trucks,
the average gross weight being about
9,700 lbs., the mileage averages 30.
New York trucks with an average
gross weight of 10,700 lbs. shows an
average mileage of about 40. Rhode
Island and Massachusetts trucks with
an average gross weight of about 12,-
000 lbs. show an average mileage of
75, while New Jersey trucks with an

average mileage of 110 show average
gross weight of 13,500 lbs.

Charts have been prepared for each
of the intensive stations showing the
truck traffic density by hours.

These charts show the number of
vehicles passing each station during
each of the 24 hours and show points
of density in the morning and after-
noon which are evidently directly re-
lated to the distance of the station
from the point of origin of haul.

At Greenwich, at the New York
State line, the hourly truck traffic
shows an increase from 32 between
the hours of 6 and 7 a. m. to 57 be-
tween 12 and 1 to 40 trucks, increas-
ing again between 1 and 5 p. m. to
between 55 and 60 trucks per hour,
dropping between 6 and 7 p. m. to 27
trucks and between 3 and 5 a. m. to 13
trucks.

Average Length of Truck Haul. —

To a certain extent the average length
of haul can be computed from these
charts by taking half the time be-
tween the peaks and multiplying this
by the average rate per hour per
truck. The lag during the noon hour
is very evident on most of the charts.

The chart of average truck haul by
capacities taken from the records of
the Greenwich station shows that ton-
nage value of the material is nearly
proportional to the average haul in
miles. On trucks of 3-4 tons capacity
products of mines were hauled an
average of 21 miles; products of for-
est an average of 38 miles; products
of agriculture an average of 48 miles;
products of animals, an average of 54
miles; manufactures and miscella-
neous an average of 75 miles. This
tends to prove the claim of the rail-
road companies that the motor truck
has taken away to an appreciable ex-
tent the hauling of the high grade,
high class commidities, leaving to the
railroad only the lower class of
freight of large tonnage and low re-
ceipts.

In the period from Sept. 11 to Dec.
3, 1922, it is estimated that 33,631
net tons of freight were transported
from New York City to Connecticut
points. It is interesting to compare
the total net tonnage delivered in
various cities with the total mileage
covered.

The following table gives the des-
tination, tonnage, percentage, and dis-

1923

Roads and Streets

tance from New York as a basis of
comparison:

Per- Dis-

cent- tance

Tons age Miles

Greenwich 2,216 7 30

Stamford 7^47 22 35

Danburv 1,011 3 63

Norwalk 3,684 11 44

Bridgeport 7,086 21 58

New Haven 4,853 14 75

Waterbury 1,435 4 90

Hartford 1,186 3% 113

Vicinity of New
Haven 2^58 7 74

No attempt has been made as yet
to consider the population of these
cities and towns as a basis for ap-
proximately determining the tonnage
of freight to be moved for various
distances and it is not known that
such a formula can be established
without considering in addition the in-
dustries of the city receiving the
freight.

It is possible, however, that there
is a comparative relation existing
which can be used as a basis for de-
termining the probable amount of
freight traffic over any particular road
for any given distance.

The census now in progress begin-
ning Sept. 11, 1922, has not developed
the high peak of traffic which will be
encountered at some of the stations
during the summer months. On the
pre\ious census taken at Greenwich
on Sunday, July 9, 1922, between the
hours of 10 a. m. and 8 p. m. 6,930
passenger cars, 48 trucks and 60 mis-
cellaneous vehicles passed the station.
In the census now in progress, a maxi-
mum number of passenger cars
counted on any one day was at the
Greenwich station on November 11,
when 3,252 passenger cars and 663
trucks were enumerated, between the
hours of 11 and 8 p. m.

Seasonal Variation in TraflSc. — Com-
parison has also been made to deter-
mine the seasonal variation in traffic
at the various stations. The infor-
mation already collected would tend to
show that while passenger car traffic
decreases notably during the winter
period, truck traffic remains fairly con-
stant throughout the year, decreasing
only a small percentage during the
winter months.

At Station 46 on the Hartford-
Springfield Trunk line 1,135 passenger
cars and 201 trucks passed the station
in nine hours in the latter part of
October. The count taken about Jan-

uary 1 showed 242 passenger cars
and 191 trucks. During the same
period at Station 8 near Bridgeport,
on October 20 there were counted
1,811 passenger cars and 499 trucks;
on January 25, 572 passenger cars
and 315 trucks.

At Station 6 at Greenwich on Sept.
16, 1,718 passenger cars were enumer-
ated while on Dec. 23, 2,470 cars were
counted. This is not comparative, in-
as much as the large number of cars
in December is due, without doubt, to
the near approach of the holiday.

At Station 38 near Meriden on Sept.
18, 1,520 passenger cars and 261
trucks were enumerated; on Jan. 23,
there were 186 passenger cars and
190 trucks.

It is not expected that the informa-
tion now obtained will necessarily be
final or that the conclusions given
may not be subjected to change,
when additional data has been col-
lected. It is intended to carry on the
survey now in progress for a suffi-
cient period to determine definitely
what may be expected by the road de-
signer and builder for ' his future
guidance. This does not mean that it
will be necessary to inaugurate each
year an extended highway traffic cen-
sus for long continued periods of time.
After the seasonal variation is deter-
mined by the census now in progress,
it is hoped that from counts for short
periods of time at different seasons
of the year may be determined the
yearly increase of both weight and
traffic so that curves can be platted to
show what may be expected at any
definite future period.

It is believed that the traffic census
will be of great value to the student
of transportation as well as to the
road builder. The results obtained
will give the value of the truck as a
transportation unit in connection with
the study of transportation as a whole
and particularly as applied to trans-
portation by railroads. ^ Committees
are at work in connection with the
problem of transportation to deter-
mine where the railroad and truck
are in competition and to co-ordinate,
if possible, the various activities so
that all transportation methods, hav-
ing in mind railroad, trolley, water-
way or truck, may have defined eco-
nomic areas of activity. All agencies
should help in the quick and efficient
delivery of commodities, rather than
for the one to assume functions^ which
can best economically be carried on
by another.

Roads and Streets

July,

Concrete Pavement Sections
With Thickened Edges

The thicker-at-the-edges design for
concrete pavement, though it has been
used in a modified way in the earlier
days of concrete road building, has
only recently been accepted as an im-
portant improvement in concrete pave-
ment design. Since its first extensive

Typical Paving Sections. A — Granville Island,
Vancouver Harbor. B — Standard Section Illi-
nois Division of Highways.

use in Maricopa County, Arizona, the
thicker-at-the-edges section has
proved its worth in the Pittsburgh
Test Road; its necessity was demon-
strated in the Bates Experimental
Road and it has been adopted, with
slight variations, as the standard de-
sign in several state and county high-
way departments. We are indebted
to the Concrete Highway Magazine
for the following particulars regard-
ing this new feature.

Wayne County Pioneer in Heavier
Edge Construction. — Probably the first
concrete pavements with heavier
edges were built in Wayne County,
Michigan. The thickened edge was in
reality an inverted curb which was
placed to provide additional strength
at the edge where the corner was
rounded to make it easier for vehicles
to get on and off the pavement. Other
examples of the use of inverted curbs
or beams under the edges of concrete
pavements were found in California, in
Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and Chautau-
qua County, New York. In all of
these cases, the additional support at
the edges was provided to meet some
particular condition, such as an espe-
cially insecure subgrade. They consti-
tuted a special precaution and were
not considered necessary under ordi-
nary conditions.

The general trend in standard road
sections was in the opposite direc-
tion— thicker at the center than at the
edges. This was probably caused by
the desire to get away from the
crowned subgrade which was more dif-

ficult to construct accurately and
which was thought by some engineers
to be responsible for the formation of
longitudinal cracks. But it was soon
found that one of the most prolific
sources of trouble was the tendency of
concrete roads too narrow for the vol-
ume of traffic to be served to break
at the edges and at the corners of
slabs. Added strength given to the
center of the slab seemed misplaced
in view of the greater volume of traf-
fic forced to travel near the edges.

Concrete Pavements in Maricopa
County. — Maricopa County, Arizona,
was the first to undertake, on a large
scale, the construction of concrete
pavements having thickened edges.
The section adopted became known as
the Maricopa Section and was selected
as standard for that county's 309-mile
concrete highway system which was
begun in 1920. How well the Mari-
copa Section served traffic is shown
by a recent thorough inspection.
There was an almost complete ab-
sence of comer breaks in spite of the
fact that as soon as the pavements
were opened to traffic, they were used
by heavily loaded material trucks
weighing aboftt 12 tons which trav-

CofH.taitd dtformtd mttat jotnt-

Crtmntd n/b^rod*

^' ' dtformtd bars S'-<t ctnttrs ).
tech 5idt of /oinf)

yttndinq i'O' t

Typical Paving Sections. A — Utah State High-
way Commission. B — Maricopa County, Ariz.
C— State Highway No. 40, Tarrant County.
Texas. D — Delaware State Highway Depart-
ment.

eled on the extreme edge of the pave-
ment.

The Pittsburgh Test Sections. —

While the Maricopa County pavements
were under construction, a test road
containing thirteen diiferent designs
of concrete pavement was being con-
structed at Pittsburgh, Calif. Four
sections were constructed with thick-

1923

Roads and Streets

ened edges and one of these was of
the Maricopa design. The road was
subjected to intensive traffic so that
the behavior of the various designs
could be studied and compared. It
was found, among other things, that
the edges of the slabs appeared to be
the most vulnerable places and that
most of the breaking started at the
edges or the joints. Sections with
thickened edges made the most favor-
able showing in spite of the fact that
these were built without reinforce-
ment.

The Bates Road Tests. — Tests made
at the Bates Experimental Road near
Springfield, 111., under the direction
of the Illinois Division of Highways,
substantiated the findings at Pitts-
burgh. In the Bates Road sixty-three
sections of various types and designs
were subjected to traffic and the re-
sults carefully studied. Though there
were no sections with thickened edges
in the Bates Road, the test showed
conclusively the need for greater
strength at the edges. Commenting
on this feature, Clifford Older, Chief
Engineer of the Illinois Division of
Highways, said: "Rigid pavements
having a uniform thickness or edges
thinner than the center are greatly
unbalanced in strength and will fail
along the edges long before the wheel
loads are reached which will cause the
destruction of other portions of the
slab. Although fifty of the original
sixty-three sections of the Bates Road
either were completely destroyed, or
sustained decisive local breaks, not one
case of serious partial or complete
failure of a rigid section occurred
that was not directly due to the
lengthening and widening of one or
more small broken corner areas.

"The comparative absence of de-
struction along the north edge of the
road where the wheels, except dur-
ing the first and a portion of the sec-
ond increments, traveled three feet
from the edge is striking. * * * In-
creasing the edge strength of pave-
ments of ordinary width should there-
fore be of first importance in design."

On the strength of these experi-
ments, backed by the results at the
Pittsburgh Test Road, the condition of
the Maricopa County pavements and
theoretical computations, the Illinois
Division of Highways changed its
standard concrete pavement section
from a 7-in. uniform thickness to the
cross section shown in the accompany-
ing illustration, having a thickness of

9 in. at the edges and tapering to 6
in. 2 ft. from the edges. For roads
to carry especially heavy traffic, or
for bad subgrades, the central part
of the slab will have a thickness of 7
in., with 9-in. edge.

To verify these conclusions, five
new sections of concrete were added
to the Bates Experimental Road. Four
of these have edges thickened to 9 in.
with 5 and 6-in. centers, the other
being the old standard section of 7-in.
uniform thickness. Truck traffic is
now testing these new sections and re-
sults to date have convinced Mr. Older
that the adoption of the new design
was justified.

The New Illinois Sections. — It is al-
so significant that the new Illinois
standards require the same mixture as
required for concrete roads (1:2:3^4),
and identical cross-section for concrete

^Xjni.'rucrfcr /j-r*

Typical Cross Section New York State High-
wars.

bases for asphaltic tops, including the
marginal rods and center joint. For
bituminous filled brick, the concrete
base is specified to be 6^ in. thick,
1:2:3% mix, marginal rod, center
joint, with marginal curb 8 in. wide, 4
in. deep, monolithic with the base.
For monolithic brick, the base, includ-
ing the mortar bed, is 5 in. thick, but
curbs, marginal rods and center joints
are not required.

Since Illinois has changed to the
thicker-at-the-edge section, other state
and county highway departments have
adopted similar designs. Accompany-
ing illustrations show cross sections
now being used by New York, Dela-
ware, Utah, Tarrant County, Texas,
and by the Vancouver (B. C.) Harbor
Commission. Other highway depart-
ments using similar designs are the
state of Virginia, the District of Co-
lumbia and Caddo Parish, La. While
the individual designs of these sec-
tions differ in their details, all of them
make use of the newly accepted prin-
ciple that the edges of the slab re-
quire greater thickness than the
center.

22 Roads and Streets July,

Road Maintenance Methods in Canadisoi County

How Toronto and York Highway Commissions Maintain Elarth and

Gravel Roads, Described in Paper Presented June 12 at Annual

Convention of Canadisui Good Roads Association

By E. A. JAMES,

Consulting Engineer, Toronto, Ont.

While we believe in maintenance,
yet_ we must point out that adequate
maintenance is frequently a waste of
public funds. The road builder and
and the road financier must carefully
balance annual maintenance against
annual depreciation and the carrying
charges of constructed roads. Other-
wise you will find that adequate main-
tenance is costing twice as much as
proper construction.

We have in mind a macadam high-
way which was properly constructed
as a macadam highway but which to-
day is costing $2,500 per mile per
year to maintain. It would be much
better for that municipality to con-
struct a higher type of pavement and
thus get good service at much less ex-
pense. We take it that when speaking
of maintenance we have in mind the
maintaining of roads that have been
properly planned and constructed hav-
ing regard to local conditions and traf-
fic. One can hardly speak intelligent-
ly of adequate maintenance unless
there has first been adequate con-
struction.

Organization and Work of Mainte-
nance Force. — Originally our roads
were divided into beats and we had a
patrol system. The number of men
varying with the type or road and
character of traffic. We found, how-
ever, that the type of man who was
content to patrol the roads doing the
necessary repair work, required too
much direction, and also that a man
working alone or even with one com-
panion became as years went by less
efficient, due we think to the lack of
competition. In later years we have
grouped four or five patrol parties un-
der one foreman, a man of experience
and with some judgment so that now
our maintenance work is carried out
by parties of five or six men equipped
with one ton truck, tools, materials,
etc.

The work of these maintenance par-
ties not only includes the repairing
of small holes, cleaning ditches and
water ways, but also on the gravel
and macadam roads, the elimination
of ruts and the preventing of ravel by

the application of bituminous carpet
coats from time to time. In some in-
stances bituminous wearing surfaces
are maintained and repaired by the
use of cold patch material. By using
larger gangs, having charge of greater
mileage, we have in many instances
been able to engage men who have a
construction experience and in every
case men who possess considerable in-
telligence.

Each year we try to plan so that
these men may do some construction
work, culverts, small bridges, some
water bound or bituminous bound
macadam roadways. In this way we
maintain their interest and improve
their workmanship. The foremen are
employed for twelve months in the
year and foremen with sections of 25
miles or more have at least one man
with them the year round, but they
have permission to hire more help
when required.

These foremen look after the snow
roads in winter, trim trees in early
spring, and as many of them have
been with us since the commission
was formed we feel that they are tak-
ing a personal interest in maintaining
the road in their division to as high a
standard of efficiency as the money
available will allow.

Between seasons they paint guard
rails, place direction signs, lengthen
culverts, cut weeds, etc. They report
weekly to the office on their time
sheets what and where they have been
engaged for the previous week, and
in this way we maintain a check not
only on their work but also on the
costs. The gang foreman has instruc-
tions that he must see personally the
whole of his sections at least once a
week, and as a matter of custom it
has been developed that this inspec-
tion is made on Friday, thus guaran-
teeing the best conditions for the
heavy week end traffic.

Our roads so intersect that it is
possible with but two exceptions to
lay out the foreman's section so that
his longest drive in any direction from
his home is seven miles. The sec-
tions being thus compact are usually

1923

Roads and Streets

inspected more often than once a
week.

Earth Road Maintenance. — Earth
roads require constant maintenance
because in the very nature of things
they deteriorate at every season of
the year, and rapidly. Commencing
with April we first shape them with
a blade grader giving them 7 to 9 in.
of crown in a width of 16 ft., care
beink taken, however, to first throw
the sod into or over the ditch. In
operating the grader we find the trac-
tor more satisfactory than the horses
because of steadiness of operation.

Following the relatively heavy
grading in the spring we use the metal
road drag drawn by horses. Judg-
ment, of course, must be used as to
when the drag should be put upon
the road because there is a different
time with ditferent soils for proper
dragging. We prefer a hitch so that
the blade will make an angle of about
45 deg. with the traveled road. This
smooths the road, shapes it and is
relatively easy on the team. By
means of the length of the hitch we
regulate the cut of the drag.

The drag does its best work when
the soil is moist but not sticky, but if
the ruts are deep it is well to use it
when the road is slushy. On clay
soils using these methods one can
quickly develop a hard, impervious
surface. Thus dust is prevented, rain
water runs at once to the ditches and
the road drys quickly. The best guide
as to when to drag is experience with
the road itself.

Maintenance of Gravel Roads. —
Gravel road maintenance requires
more care than earth road mainte-
nance because usually the traffic is of
greater and the demand is greater for
a higher type of road.

Good gravel roads may under heavy
traffic in the fall and spring break up,
but when shaped by the grader and
dragged in late spring may easily give
six months of excellent service. In
grading our earth roads we cut the sod
right to the ditch line so that the
water may run off quickly, but in
grading the gravel roads we leave a
sod berm, which berm catches the
sand and gravel from the roadway and
holds it where it may be dragged back
to the middle of the highway, other-
wise this road metal is washed to the
ditch and lost. We do however, cut
through the sod berm ditches to let
off the water. The dragging of gravel
roads brings to the surface a percent-
age of large stone which should be

picked off and can be made to do good
service in breaks in the road in the
spring.

Traffic conditions frequently require
that a dust layer be applied to gravel
roads, and bituminous spray will pre-
vent dust, but we have found that it
also prevents moisture from entering
the roads and a good gravel road al-
ways contains a high percentage of
moisture. Our recent practice is to
use calcium chloride as the road does
not develop breaks so quickly and to
our mind it is not any more expensive
than bituminous spraying. If, how-
ever, the gravel road is over a sub-
soil, that will provide sufficient mois-
ture from below the bituminous spray
it is the more satisfactory.

The factors that enter into mainte-
nance costs are so many and variable
that only very general statements can
be of much value and they only as a
guide.

When the maintenance of an earth
road reaches 10 per cent of the cost of
the gravel it would appear to be good
business to gravel it, and when the
dragging and scraping of a gravel
road can be reduced materially by
surface treating it would appear to
be good business to surface treat. Road
maintenance costs should simply be
an expenditure invested to secure ade-
quate returns on the construction in-
vestment. The returns we get for
construction and maintenance invest-
ment is not interest but returns in

Provincial Highway Systems of
Canada

An expenditure of over $81,000,000
is to be made in the next few years
on a connected system of highways in
Canada. The mileage of roads and
the total outlay for these provincial
highways were summarized as follows
in a paper presented last month at the
annual meeting of the Canadian Good
Roads Association by George Hogarth,
Engineer of Highways of Ontario:

Province Mileage Total

Alberta 2,475 $ 3,694,525

B. Columbia 1.977 10,015.050

Manitoba 4,000 6,602,265

N. Brunswick 1,595 2,914,612

Nova Scotia 1.297 12,493,700

Ontario 1.824.7 22.200,000

Pr. Edward I 850 850,000

Quebec 1.433 17,390,000

Saskatchewan 7,000 5,329,500

Total 22,451.7 $81,489,652

Roads and Streets

July,

Simple Plant Layout on Con-
crete Paving Job

Efficient Use of Equipment and Organi-
zation on Iowa Road Contract
Described in Concrete High-
way Magazine

By GEORGE W. ZENOR,

Paving Superintendent, Empire Construction
Co., Des Moines, Iowa

Guided by ten years of paving ex-
perience, the Empire Construction Co.
of Des Moines, la., developed its most
efficient plant layout and crew organ-
ization during the 1922 construction
season.

Their contract that season was for
11^ miles of concrete pavement on

Layout of Proportioning Plant.

the North Iowa Pike, extending from
Algona, the county seat of Kossuth
County, to the east county line. The
slab was 18 ft. wide, 8 in. thick and
was made of 1:2:3% concrete. Re-
inforcement consisted of %-in square
bars spaced 6 ft. apart transversely
and three %-in. bars longitudinally.
This is the standard Iowa section.

Grades were moderate; the sub-
grade was composed of soil which
stayed muddy for a long time after a
rain; and railway sidings were con-
veniently located. These conditions
favored hauling by industrial railway
from a central proportioning plant to

the mixer and that was the method
selected for handling materials.

The proportioning plant was laid
out as shown in the accompanying il-
lustrations. The track from the sand
bin to the stone bin was given a slope
of V2 ft. per 100 ft. which was in-
tended to permit "spotting" by grav-
ity. This slope must be accurately
determined, for if it is too steep the
cars cannot be stopped, and if too flat
they cannot be started. The slope used
proved too flat and a mule was re-
quired to shift cars at the plant.

Each train was spotted twice — un-
der the sand bin and under the stone
bin. Cement was loaded by hand
either directly from cars or from the
storage shed. With this arrangement
a train of eleven cars was loaded in
seven minutes. An Ohio locomotive
crane with a 50-ft. boom and 1%-yd.
bucket handled all aggregates from
cars to bins.

A plan of the switching arrange-
ment at the mixer is shown in an-
other illustration. By leaving the
loaded cars on the uphill side of the
mixer one man was able to push them
to the mixer crane, thus relieving the
locomotives of any waiting. Three
7-ton Plymouth gasoline locomotives
kept the mixer supplied. Fifty West-
ern industrial trucks, 100 Western
batch boxes and six miles of 24-in.
track with steel ties, completed the
hauling equipment. The average haul
was SVz miles.

The mixer was a 21-E Koehring
with an attached crane for transfer-
ring batches from the cars to the
mixer skip. It also had a spreader
bucket. The subgrade was trimmed
by a subgrade machine, a Lakewood
finishing machine consolidated the
concrete and a 1-man belting device
gave the final finish. Most of the
pavement was cured with an earth
covering kept wet by sprinkling, but
on 1% miles calcium chloride was used
for curing. The calcium chloride came
in 100-lb. sacks and one man covered
a day's run of concrete with it in half

Arrangement at the Mixer.

Loaded train from plant pulls on passing track "P". Empty train at mixer passes "P" and
Koes to plant. Loaded train pulls onto E D and waits till oars at mixer are unloaded, then
pushes empties onto E B, droi)pinp; at mixer 2 or 3 loaded cars which it pulled behind engine,
to be used while switching. Shoves loadc<l cars onto A E, picks up empties on E B, then loadetl
cars on A E, drops loaded cars on up-grade side of mixer and goes to plant. Loaded cars are
pushed to mixer by one man.

1923

Roads and Streets

a day. Then two men put on a thin
earth covering which was found nec-
essary to hold the moisture on the
slab. These men also removed all
forms.

The following list shows the number
of men employed on the job and their
distribution about the various branch-
es. The figures are based on an aver-
age for the work period, as are all
other figures given on yardage and
personnel. A sketch also shows the
disposition and arrangement at the
mixer which greatly simplified the
work at that point.

The average crew was organized
by the Empire Company as follows:

Men About Mixer

4 Curing concrete and removing forms.

2 Finishers.

1 Finishing machine operator

4 Sprreading concrete.

1 Placing reinforcement.
1 Mixer man.
1 Mixer fireman.

1 Shifting cars.

3 Dumping batches into mixer skip.
3 Form setters.

Finishing Subgrade
10 Laborers.
1 Rollerman.
Men _ Hauling

3 Locomotive drivers.
3 Brakemen.

5 On track maintenance.

Proportioning Plant

3 Dumping cement.

2 At aggregate bins.

1 Man and one mule switching cars.
7 Unloading aggregates (two shifts).

General
1 Superintendent.

4 Foremen.

1 Timekeeper.
1 Mechanic.
1 Pumpman.

1 Water line maintenance.

2 Water boys.

The average run per ten-hour dav
was 1,220 sq. yds.

Pennsylvania Contractors Must
Speed Up. — Secretary Wright of the
Department of Highways of Pennsyl-
vania has written a letter to all con-
tractors engaged in state highwav
construction, notifying them that the
department's policy hereafter will be
rigidly to enforce the clause in con-
tracts relating to the time limit for
the work, and penalties will be en-
forced where construction is unneces-
sarily delaved.

Trees and Hedges Replace Guard
Rails. — The Division of Highways of
the Department of Public Works of
Massachusetts has adopted the policy
of planting quick growing trees and
hedges to replace guard rails.

Gravel Road Maintenance
With "Spring Scrapers"

Method Employed in Kent County,
Michigan, Described in Paper
Presented Feb. 14 at 9th An-
nual Michigan Conference on
Highway Engineering

By OTTO S. HESS,

Road Engineer, Kent County.

The system of maintenance which
will be outlined in this paper has been
developed in Kent county during the
past two years, and the ensuing re-
marks will apply more particularly to
Kenty county rather than to the State
as a whole.

While this system would undoubted-
ly operate to good advantage in a
great many counties, it is not advo-
cated by the writer as a cure-all for
the many difficulties which are en-
countered in the maintenance of gravel
roads.

Highways of Kent County. — At the

present time, Kent county has 252
miles of improved gravel roads on the
county road system. Of this mileage,
90 miles lie on the state trimk lines,
and the remaining 162 miles are
county roads. In the early mainte-
nance season of 1920, all of this mile-
age was taken care of by teams haul-
ing light graders or floats. About this
time, the county tried out a mainte-
nance machine which was new at that
time but which is quite well known
throughout the state and even outside
the state^ at the present time. This
machine is the spring scraper which is
used as a truck attachment and oper-
ates as a blade scraper underneath the
middle of any truck.

The first "spring scraper" was so
successful that the team patrols were
gradually replaced by the so-called
truck patrols, until at the beginning of
the maintenance season of 1922, all of
the teams had been replaced and the
entire mileage of 252 miles of gravel
roads was being kept smooth by nine
trucks with scraper attachments,
making an average of 28 miles per
truck.

Work of Truck Patrols.— Under the
present system, Kent county is divided
into four maintenance districts. The
trucks _ are operated from a central
point in each of these districts. A
very thin layer of finely screened
gravel is kept on the surface of the
road at all times. By scraping this
surface often enough it has been found

Roads and Streets

July,

impossible to maintain a surface
which is smother to ride on than most
pavements. The number of times per
week or per day which is necessary to
scrape the surface in order to keep it
in this condition is dependent on the
whether and the volume of traffic, but
more particularly on the volume of
traffic. The amount of scraping, and,
consequently, the cost of maintenance
has been found to be very nearly in
direct proportion to the volume of
traffic using the road.

The type of trucks which has been
found to be most economical in Kent
county are those in the 2 to 3 ton
class. These trucks carry a 10 ft.
blade, which is placed under the truck
in a diagonal position, and travel at a
speed of 8 to 12 miles per hour. The
blades are 10 in. wide to start with.

roll of $16 per day per truck. Assume
that the number of days worked dur-
ing the season was 200 and we have:
200 days X $16 X 9 trucks=$28,000
which is the direct pay roll saving
during 1922. As a matter of fact and
record, the actual saving was about
$30,000 for the reason that Kent
county operated its own trucks at
about $15 per day instead of hiring
them at $20. As a further saving
which is effected by the scrapers, it
should be remembered that it is neces-
sary to buy and maintain only one
scraper as compared with six outfits
of teams. Another advantage, which
is by no means unimportant, is the
fact that the trucks can haul gravel
or other materials and scrape the
roads at the same time. This is a
feature which saves many thousands

Table I — Maintenance

Cost of Gravel Roads on State

Trunk Line System in Kent County

Cost per

Average

Number

Vehicle

Sec.

No.

Mileage

Total Cost

per Mile

Daily Traffic

Vehicle Miles

Mile

7.50

$ 9,139..59

$1,218.60

1,791

2,686,500

$.00340

7.00

10.634.76

1,519.25

1,810

2,534,000

.00419

5.00

8,235.54

1,647.11

2,025

2.025,000

.00460

14.50

12,077.29

832.11

838

2,430,200

.00496

2.00

1.414.41

707.20

594

237.600

.00595

5.50

3,819.89

694.53

594

653.400

.00584

14.00

17,358.33

1,239.88

1,305

3.654.000

.00475

11.50

5,836.71

507.54

594

1.366.200

.00427

1.50

446.22

397.48

680

204.000

.00218

13.50

12,380.47

910.77

1,079

2.913,300

.00425

2.50

958.55

383.42

No Traffic Count

14.50

9,610.89

662.82

No Traffic Count

Totals,

Averages

99.00

$91,912.64

$928.31

18,704,-?"'^

nod3K

but are worn down with about two
weeks steady use to a width of 3 or 4
in.

Each truck on scraping work is able
to travel from 60 to 90 miles per day.
Each truck scrapes a path approxi-
mately 9 ft. wide. With reference to
the quality of work done, it can truth-
fully be said that the old team patrol
system was never able to keep the
roads as smooth as they have been
maintained by trucks. In fact, the
gravel roads of Kent county have
never been in as good condition as
they were in 1922, when they were
maintained entirely by trucks.

Saving Effected by Substituting
Trucks for Teams. — Some idea of the
saving which can be effected by substi-
tuting trucks for teams can be ob-
tained by comparing the daily costs of
each. In actual practice is was found
that one truck would, on the average,
replace six team patrols. In 1922,
teams with drivers cost $6 per day,
making $36 per day for six team
patrols. One truck could be hired,
with driver, at $20 per day. This
shows a direct daily saving on the pay

of dollars in a year's time, and is not
obtained by any other type of road
maintenance equipment in use today.

Cost of Maintenance. — In order that
one may obtain some idea of what this
maintenance work costs. Table I has
been prepared, showing the cost per
mile, volume of traffic, and cost per
vehicle mile for all of the gravel roads
on the state trunk line system in Kent
county :

In explanation of the table, the
writer would advise that the total
number of vehicle miles for any sec-
tion was obtained by multiplying the
average daily traffic (as determined
by a traffic census taken in July and
August) by 200, and then by the num-
ber of miles in the section, assuming
that 200 times the average daily
traffic in the summer would represent
the total traffic for the year. This
shows that the average cost per ve-
hicle mile on the state trunk line
gravel roads was a little less than a
half cent.

It should be borne in mind that the
above costs include nearly $15,000
worth of dust layer (Calcium Chloride

1923

Roads and Streets

applied), which, if deducted from the
total cost, would reduce the cost per
vehicle mile to one-third of a cent.

The above table covers the cost of
all work of every description which
was carried out on the roads listed.
Let us carry this a little further and
analyze the cost of maintaining the
surface of the road only. An examin-
ation of the records and accounts of
Kent county shows that the total cost
of gravel, dragging and patching, and
equipment rental on the machinery
used for 1922 on the roads listed
above was $52,552. By dividing this
amoimt by the total number of vehicle
miles we get a cost per vehicle mile of
$0.0028 or just slightly over ^4 ct.

It is the belief of the writer that
truck-scraper maintenance machines
are quite largely responsible for the
above costs, which appear to be ex-
tremely reasonable, especially in view
of the fact that all of the roads were
kept in excellent condition practically
all of the time.

Motor Driven Power Lift Scarifier

A scarifier attachment for the
Avery 10-ton road roller, designed for
operation by the power of the motor,
has been brought out by the Avery

Avery Scarifier Attachment.

Co., Peoria, 111. The teeth of the scari-
fier are raised or driven into the
ground by the motor power direct and.
controlled by one lever. A suitable
reducing mechanism driven by a
clut<;h on the motor crank shaft drives
a crank shaft mounted under the aub-
frame of the machine through a tim-
ing clutch. This crank shaft drives a
rock shaft at the rear end of the ma-
chine through spring loaded pitman
rods, which raise or lower the teeth.
These springs act as shock absorbers
to the mechanism. Teeth are driven
into the ground by a toggle mechan-
ism under great pressure. The tooth
bar is 4 in. square steel turned down
at ends for 20 in. gauge wheels. The
teeth are carried in holders clamped
to square bar, are adjustable as to
side spacing, depth and angularity to

ground. Seven teeth of 1% in. square
tool steel, 32 in. long and pointed on
both ends are furnished. AH pull
strains are taken on the draw bar.
When teeth enter ground 9 in., they
will clear 11 in. when lifted. The dis-
tance over gauge wheels is 83 in.

Colonel Sawyer Appointed Secre-
tary of the Associated
General Contractors

Colonel D. H. Sawyer has been ap-
pointed secretary of the Associated
General Contractors of America to fill
the place of Mr. Eugene Young who
recently resigned to enter business in
Minneapolis. Bom in Mt. Pulaski, 111.,
Col. Sawyer graduated in engineering
from the University of Illinois. Going
East after graduation, he was en-
gaged in engineering and building
operations for about a year when he
returned to his native state, becoming
City Engineer of Paris, 111. Later, as
chief engineer of the Illinois Traction
system, he had charge of the construc-
tion of most of the interurban lines of
that company which connect the
larger towns of Central and Southern
Illinois. In 1908 Col. Sawyer joined
his brothers in the Northwest, form-
ing the firm of Sawyer Brothers, who,
with offices in Seattle and Spokane,
engaged in consulting and designing
engineering owrk, covering fields of
municipal improvement, irrigation,
drainage and kindred work. Sum-
moned to Washington late in May,
1917, he was soon commissioned a
major in the Quartermaster Corps and
assigned as Construction Quarter-
master to build the original Camp
Grant. Upon the completion of this
assignment and during the remainder
of the War, Col. Sawyer was engaged
in building a nitrate plant near Cin-
cinnati, Camp Bragg, and in a super-
visory capacity was in charge of con-
struction of quartermaster storage
projects throughout the East and Cen-
tral West. Following his resignation
from the military service, he became
associated with the James Ste>yart
Company being engaged on various
building enterprises. Col. Sawyer
brings to his new position years of ex-
perience in the engineering and con-
struction fields which peculiarly fits
him for the secretaryship of the Asso-
ciated General Contractors with its
large opportunities for furthering the
interests of the general contractors of
the country.

Roads and Streets July,

ELducation of Highway Engineers

Demand in Canada and Specialized Studies Discussed in Paper Pre-
sented June 12, at Annual Convention of Canadian Good
Roads Association

By R. de L. FRENCH,

Professor of Highway Engineering, McGill University,

Montreal, Que.

The year 1900 might be said to
mark the birth of highway engineer-
ing, as we think of it now. Pretty
much all that we know, or think that
we know, and I can assure you that
there is a great deal which we do not
know as yet. There is probably no
branch of the engineering profession
so closely related to as many others,
so dependent upon economic studies
for success, nor so beset by rule-of-
thumb methods as highway engineer-
ing. The economics of highway engi-
neering is almost a science in itself,
but one with which the road builder
must be passing familiar, or he is sure
to come to grief. Rule-of -thumb meth-
ods are the curse of any profession
and are like the disease of childhood,
unavoidable and giving way to more
scientific ones as the profession at-
tains years of dignity and understand-
ing.

The Demand for Road Builders. —
The training of road builders has be-
come a matter meriting the most seri-
ous consideration. Increasing traffic
demands, new types of traffic and
mounting costs have combined to make
it necessary that the utmost care shall
be exercised to secure a dollar's value
for every dollar expended. In the
United States, the Highway Education
Board has been organized for the pur-
pose of fostering the right type of
training. It has estimated, roughly,
of course, that at least 1,000 trained
men per year are required there to
take care of highway construction and
administration as these should be
taken care of.

In Canada, we have no need of such
a large number, but there is a very
real and pressing demand for trained
men, nevertheless. I should say that
about 100 men could be advantage-
ously absorbed every year by the Fed-
eral and Provincial highway authori-
ties, contractors and other interested
organizations. In addition, there are
many now employed in highway work
who would be the better for some sup-
plementary education.

Classes of Men to be Considered. —
To my mind, there are three classes

of men who must be considered in dis-
cussing any program of highway edu-
cation. They are:

1. The foreman, call him what you
like, whose knowledge must be largely
practical, but who would benefit by a
better understanding of the funda-
mentals underlying his work.

2. The engineer not in highway
work, who is, however, pretty sure to
come into contact with it in some form
sooner or later.

3. The comparatively small class of
those who feel a "call" to devote their
professional lives to road building.

The training of foremen and other
similar subordinates can be and is be-
ing quite successfully carried out by
means of short courses, sometimes
supplemented by laboratory work, and
always planned to stimulate the inter-
est of the student to the maximum and
bring out as much discussion as pos-
sible. Such courses are offered by
some of our universities, and have
also been conducted by the highway
authorities themselves. The results
have been so satisfactory that I think
we may consider this particular prob-
lem settled, except that provision for
such training is needed in areas now
without it.

Nearly all our universities and col-
leges giving engineering instruction
provide for some undergraduate work
in high way engineering and allied
subjects. While there is little doubt
but that the work along these lines
will improve, I consider that, on the
whole, it is fairly satisfactory, and
meets the needs of the general stu-
dent well. Thus we may justly feel
that we have taken care of the inter-
ests of the second class of man, or
are in a way to do so in the not very
distant future.

Methods of Training. — Opinions dif-
fer as to the best methods of training
along specialized lines. Educators are
divided into two camps — those who
feel that it can be accomplished in the
under-graduate years, and those who
think that such training should be
reserved for graduate work. I confess
that I incline to the latter belief.

1923

Roads and Streets

A rather careful analysis of the
courses in ci%ul engineering given at
seven of the leading Canadian univer-
sities shows that the division of time
between "fundamental" and "special"
studies during the four years to be
about as follows, on the average:

Fundamental Special

Year of Hours subjects subjects

course in year Hours % Hours %

1 875 745 85 130 15

2 875 745 85 130 15
8 876 675 80 200 20
4 875 635 75 240 25

All

1.500

2,800

700

For a thorough-going course in
highway engineering we have, there-
fore, apparently about 700 hours avail-
able, or the equivalent of a little less
than the average academic year. I
say "apparently," as in reality I do
not believe that there is this much
time which may be used.

Specialization in 3rd and 4th Tears.
— No specialization of value can be at-
tempted in the first two years of an
undergraduate course, for the reason
that at this time the student has not
yet acquired enough "fundamental"
education to profit by special teaching.
Thus, we should deduct 260 hrs. from
our 700, leaving 440 hours in the third
and fourth years. Included in the lat-
ter figure is the time used for in-
struction in special subjects which
should form part of a real highway
engineering course.

An examination of the calendars of
the universities referred to will show
that approximately 50 per cent of this
time is so occupied, leaving only 50
per cent for other purposes. We are
cut down, then, to 220 hours in which
we must impart a sound knowledge of
road design, location, construction,
maintenance, finance, economics and
administration. This is the equivalent,
say, of six lectures of one hour and
four drafting room or laboratory
periods of three hours each per week
for the common 12-week t«rm.

There may be those who would un-
dertake to give a comprehensive train-
ing in this limited time, but I am not
among them. There are also, to my
mind, other objections to much spe-
cialization for undergraduates. As a
rule the student is immature, and, I
am sorry to say, many are not enough
in earnest to profit greatly thereby.
There is generally little opportunity
for the correlation of classroom and
laboratory work with the conditions
of actual practice. Much time may be
devoted to extra-curriculum acti^^ties,
which is as it should be, and of which

I, for one, am heartily in favor, since
I believe that often much of the value
in a collegiate training is obtained
through contact with one's fellows
and participation in student affairs.

Advantages of Graduate Work. —
Most of the objections urged against
imdergraduate specialization do not
apply at all, or at most apply with
very much diminished force, to grad-
uate work. More stringent admission
regulations may be enforced, with the
result that the unfit and the lazy may
be barred out. Since numbers should
be, and are, small, it is not necessary
to adhere to a definite schedule, hence
the "punishment fits the crime," and
each man can get instruction adapted
to his mental peculiarities, so far as
it is possible for his teachers to pro-
^^de it.

The puU of student activities is
much lessened when one's former close
associates are no longer at hand.
Since the class is now replaced by the
individual, its restrictions disappear,
and with them the feeUng, wrong but
common, that getting an education is
a battle, and the instructor and the
class the combatants. In short, a
graduate student must stand on his
ovra feet, must show a genuine inter-
est in his work, cannot shirk, and of-
fers far less of a problem to his teach-
ers than the undergraduate.

You may agree with me that the
advantages of graduate courses are
manifold and obvious: then your ques-
tion will naturally be, "How can we
provide the facilities for such work,
and how can we induce men to utilize
them once they are provided?" This
is where the rub comes. After four
years of expense in a university, the
average man cannot be expected to
face the prospect of an additional year
or two of the same sort of struggle
with pleasure. Often, the inclination
to continue study is present, but funds
to make continuation possible are ab-
sent.

Providing the Funds. — I believe that
the provision of an adequate number
of properly trained highway "experts"
can be assured only by the provision
of opportunity for graduate work.
Suitable courses should be established
in, say, four of our universities, stra-
getically located from the geographic-
al standpoint. The cost of operation
should be met by those most inter-
ested in getting the proper type of
men jnto highway work — the prov-
inces primarily, with perhaps some as-
sistance from the Federal Govern-

Roads and Streets

July,

ment, producers of road-building ma-
terials, contractors and others. I be-
lieve that admission to such a course
should be restricted, if possible, to
men with a year or two of practical
experience. To attract such men, the
value of the scholarships should range
from $500 to $750 per year, exclusive
of tuition fees, etc.

Here, it seems to me, is an oppor-
tunity for somebody. To those of
you who are in the business of spend-
ing public money for highways, I need
not mention the advantages of having
a body of trained men to choose from.
To those of you who are trying to
make some money for yourselves or
your stockholders out of the "road
game," I would add the lure of possi-
ble research in helping to solve some
of your problems.

Our universities are, I think, rea-
sonably well-staffed for such work,
and the larger ones are well equipped.
What we all lack is funds. If you
gentlemen really believe that there is
a need for trained men, you will have
to see that the money to educate them
is provided from some source. In
comparison to the amount of money
being spent on roads in this Dominion
and the amount which is sure to be
spent within the next few years, the
sums required for proper education
are trifling, and the results obtained
should many times outweigh them in
value.

Pavement Construction With-
out Sub-base Treatment

Relative Mileage of Federal-Aid Roads

The following figures given by the
Bureau of Public Roads of the United
States Department of Agriculture,
apply only to Federal-aid roads. They
represent 25,000 miles of road now in
use and include roads built in every
State. The 25,000 miles is divided by
types as follows:

Per cent

Gravel 39.1

Graded and drained „ 20.6

Cement concrete _... . 18.3

Sand clay „„ 10.8

Bituminous macadam .„.„ 4.0

Bituminous concrete 3.1

Water-bound macadam 2.7

Briclc 1.4

Complete figures covering all, roads
constructed and now in use would un-
doubtedly show somewhat higher per-
centages of the lower types of road,
since the more important roads have
been selected for improvement with
Federal aid.

Practice at Worcester, Mass., De-
scribed in Paper Presented Feb. 21
Before Boston Society of Civil
Engineers

By J. C. BLAKE,

Street Commissioner, Worcester, Mass.

We hear a great deal of engineer-
ing talk about foundations and sub-
grade preparation for pavements, but
in my city there is but one piece of
pavement which has ever been given
sub-base construction treatment.

Our city has the usual New England
sub-soil conditions, our valleys many
of them showing gravel deposits and
our hills being of hardpan. This hard-
pan of course is a very difficult sub-
soil in the spring months and also
during the summer rains.

Use of Road Oil on Hill Side Sur-
faces.— One of our greatest life savers
has been the application of light road
oils to hillside surfaces which previous
to this application we would usually
find in the valley below after heavy
thunder showers but which, subse-
quent to its application, would usually
shed any quick rain thereby saving us
many thousands of dollars of street
maintenance each year. It is, how-
ever, more desirable to retain these
surfaces in a more permanent manner
and consequently the idea was intro-
duced of a 4-in. cobble stone penetra-
tion of either tar or asphalt. This
pavement was applied direct to the
hardpan surface. We have many miles
of it in Worcester. It is the only
thing that we have ever found which
would cheaply and successfully tack
down the hillside street and not allow
it to run away into the valley in the
springtime and under heavy down-
pours continuing for a long period.

The stone we use brings smiles to
the faces of engineers who look over
our crushed stone piles. This stone is
manufactured in the winter time, pro-
viding a great amount of winter labor,
stacked in piles and handled by steam
shovel into carts or auto trucks in the
spring. The crusher jaws are open,
much wider than is usual, in this man-
ner allowing the damp gravel to go
through without choking, and the
product is usually what would be con-
sidered a 3-in. .stone, many of the cob-
bles passing through as large as the
size of my fist. I believe that the
entire success of penetration work de-

1923

Roads and Streets

pends on a large size stone being used
as the first course, allowing a pene-
tration which goes clear to the bottom
of the stones and makes on final com-
pletion a solid pavement from top to
bottom. That there has been no neces-
sity for any sub-grade preparation is
indicated by many of these streets
which are today 6 to 12 years old and
are still showing no signs of final dis-
integration and no deterioration of
riding quality.

Pavement Construction Without
Subgrade Preparation. — No cement
concrete pavement constructed in the
city of Worcester has ever had any
preparation of sub-grade other than
the natural sub-soil of the street on
which it was placed. Many of these
are on hardpan. Some are at least 15
years old. Only one of these pave-
ments has been replaced up to the
present time, that being one of the
first, constructed at a time when little
was known of the penetration method
of cement concrete construction,^ and,
due to excessive roller action, which is
now omitted in such construction,
more than to action of frost or traffic,
this street got into such shape that it
was spiked up, rolled and covered
with an asphalt concrete top. The
others are in existence today, and giv-
ing excellent service.

Last year the city constructed a sec-
tion of 8-in. reinforced-concrete pave-
ment on one of its heaviest-travelled
streets — this was laid on natural soil
over a section of muck swamp on
which a sewer once settled and broke
apart. Naturally I realized that this
is against all precedent of construc-
tion on the Massachusetts state high-
way work, but I have been given to
understand that in New York state
highway work construction less than
10 per cent of their state highways
are constructed on anything other
than the natural sub-soil occurring in
the section where the road is to be
constructed.

In the one case as above indicated
we have used a plastic style of pave-
ment on the natural sub-soil, in the
other case w^ have used a rigid type
of pavement on the natural sub-soil,
and I cannot see that in either case
over a long period of years through
which these highways have been con-
structed that the frost action has been
of any material damage to the pave-
ment. Naturally if it would affect a
rigid pavement like cement concrete it
would also affect a rigid pavement
like granite block.

Cement Grouted Granite Block
Pavement. — The city of Worcester
possesses the best cement-grouted
granite-block pavement in the United
States. This statement I will not
qualify and it is recognized by engi-
neers throughout the country. No
single piece of this pavement has ever
received any sub-grade treatment and
it is all deposited on the natural sub-
soil whether it be a grouted granite-
block pavement on a concrete base or
on sand cushion on a natural sub-soil.
It may be that you are going to ques-
tion this last statement, due to the
fact that some of our pavements are
deep granite blocks cement grouted
laid on a sand cushion without a ce-
ment concrete base, but the cushion
used was simply for the purpose of
bedding the blocks for ramming and -
not as a provision for sub-grade con-
struction.

New Type of Monolithic Granite
Block Pavement. — I have in mind a
new style of pavement which I wish
to try out in connection with these
deep blocks which will be a novelty
in construction which I do not think
has ever before been attempted. The
process will be as follows:

On a sub-soil properly graded will
be placed the thickness desired of ce-
ment concrete mixed in the following
proportions: One part cement, 2
parts sand, 3^/^ parts of ^/2 in. to inch
crushed stone or clean screened peb-
bles. These will be mixed moist or
damp. On this the granite blocks will
be bedded and immediately rammed.
Following this the granite blocks will
be wet down previous to the applica-
tion of a 1 to 1 cement grout. The
application of the water and the ap-
plication of the wet grout will suffi-
ciently moisten the concrete base
course as it is a well kno\vn fact that
in general practice concrete is mixed
too wet and that an application of as
little as 15 per cent too much water
will decrease the strength of the con-
crete from 30 to 50 per cent. The
grouting shall immediately follow the
ramming and will complete a mono-
lithic pavement making it one unit
from top to bottom which I am confi-
dent will stand heavier traffic, if the
old style 6 to 7-in. block is used, than
any modem type of granite block
pavement constructed today, as it will
form a monolithic arch across this
street which no present day traffic will
break down; there will be no joint
which would not bond as there is in
granite-block-paved streets where the

Roads and Streets

July,

base is constructed and allowed to set,
followed by either cement mortar or
sand cushion and grouted, where there
is a line of cleavage and the pave-
ment is not monolithic.

We have also our own asphalt plant
and have constructed many successful
asphaltic concrete tops for worn out
macadam streets and also tops for
cement concrete base. I may state
also that all of these pavements con-
structed on concrete base have been
constructed on a natural sub-soil and
are giving excellent service.

Portable Gyratory Crushing Plant

A complete portable gyratory
crushing plant for producing finely
crushed product for road building and
other purposes is illustrated. The
crusher is mounted on a strong I beam
frame with heavy wheels having tires
of ample width. The back gear drive
is substantial, and so arranged that
the power unit is located at right an-
gles with the plant where it is out of
the way of teams or cars bringing the
stone or gravel from the pit or quarry.
Numerous combinations of crusher,

Austin Portable Gyratory Crusher With Gravel

Feeding Conveyor, Grizzly Screen

and Elevator.

elevator, screen and conveyor, each
adapting itself to some particular
local conditions are available. The
illustration shows the outfit for han-
dling gravel. It consists of a crusher,
portable gravel feeding conveyor,
grizzly screen, and folding elevator.
The conveyor is made in lengths from
30 to 50 ft. and has a belt 18 in. in
width. The lower end of the conveyor
is set in a shallow excavation and
a trap built over the hopper. The
gravel can then be brought directly to
the trap by wagons, wheelers, drags
or fresnos. The belt conveyor pro-
vides a uniform continuous feed to the

crusher, thereby greatly increasing its
capacity. The conveyor is raised and
lowered by means of a crank and
worm wheel raising device. It is easily
portable by attaching its lower end to
the rear of a truck or wagon. The
outfits described above are made by
the Austin Manufacturing Co., Chi-
cago, 111.

Illuminated Flash Signals for

Pennsylvania Grade

Crossings

Representatives of numerous rail-
road corporations in Pennsylvania
within ten days will confer with Wil-
liam H. Connell, Deputy Secretary of
Highways, relative to the co-operation
of railroads and the Pennsylvania De-
partment of Highways in the erection
of illuminated flash-signals at grade
crossings. A few years ago the Pub-
lic Service Commission suggested that
the Department of Highways co-oper-
ate with the railroads of Pennsylvania
in the erection of advance warning
signs at grade crossings. Signs
erected as result of that cooperation
have been of great value, but because
of increased traffic on primary high-
ways it is the thought of the Depart-
ment that additional safety measures
should be taken as soon as possible at
important grade crossings. The De-
partment of Highways has been in-
vestigating various flashing devices
which work continuously day and
night. Two of the signals will be
necessary at each grade crossing.
Deputy Secretary Connell in a recent
letter to the heads of all railroad cor-
porations suggested that before July
10 these companies advise whether or
not they will co-operate to the extent
of paying 50 per cent of the initial
cost of the flash-signals, with the un-
derstanding that maintenance after
erection will be by the Department. A
number of railroad heads have notified
Mr. Connell that they will be in Har-
risburg within the next few days for a
conference. The proposed signal auto-
matically flashes a red light day and
night, and gives warning of the prox-
imity of a dangerous crossing at a
grade.

Improved Road Mileage and Auto-
mobiles in Pennsylvania. — From 1911
to 1922 the mileage of improved road
on the Pennsylvania State Highway
system increased 502 per cent. From
1911 to 1922 the number of motor ve-
hicles in Pennsylvania increased 1917
per cent.

1923

Roads and Streets

Truck Operating Costs

Part U
An Analysis of the Factors Entering Into Trucking Costs, With Expla-
nations of Errors Which Have Lead to Many Unsuccessful
Ventures in This Field

From Bulletin No. 10 of the Engineering Experiment Station of Purdue
University, February, 1923

By BEN H. PETTY,

Assistant Professor of Highway Engineering

I^Part I of this bulletin containing general
discussions and explanations together with con-
densed data was published in the Roads and
Streets issue of Engineer and Contracting for
June.]

Systems Used in Recording Oper-
ating Cost Data. — Many different sys-
tems of recording truck cost data are
in use by different operators. Some
are satisfactory but may of them are
inadequate, leaving out different es-
sential items of cost.

One of the best and most complete
systems is the National Standard
Truck Cost System put out by the
Truck Owners' Conference of Chicago.
This system is the result of careful
study of a great many existing cost
systems by a number of men inter-
ested in truck transportation. This
standard system has been thoroughly
tested and many thousands have been
sold to truck manufacturers and oper-
ators since its origin in 1919. The use
of a standard system of this type en-
ables owners more readily to compare
their truck costs and to derive the
benefit of a wider knowledge of truck-
ing costs.

Costs kept on this standard system,
or a similar type, and intelligently an-
alyzed, enable the user:

1. To compare one truck against
the other as to detailed performance
and itemized costs, thus determining
which unit size and type of truck is
best suited to his particular trucking
conditions.

2. To decide which drivers are giv-
ing best service by checking them on
repair costs, gasoline consumption,
etc.

3. To pick out types of trucks that
are making the most profit.

4. To rent out trucks at a safe
margin of profit.

5. To prove where it is cheaper to
ship by truck than by rail.

Daily Service Record. — Fig. 1,
(Form 4) shows the daily service
record of the National Standard Truck
Cost System. This is to be filled out
by the driver and turned in dailv. It

is very important that the type of
road be noted. This can be recorded
on the back of card with any other
special information. Improvement
could be made in this form by provid-
ing space for the latter information
on its face.

Monthly Service Record. — Fig. 2,
(Form 1) shows the monthly record
on which the data from the daily
record is entered each day. It will be
noted that this sheet is divided and
records both operating data and cost
data. If the owner is not interested
in analysis of operation, then the data
under the heading "Time in Hours and
Minutes" can be omitted.

It will be noted that this sheet pro-
vides a final column for recording sub-
stitute vehicle rental. Some concerns
prefer not to charge substitute vehicle
expense against a truck. If so
charged, it should only include rental
necessitated by ordinary repair and
overhaul. Where the truck is charged
with this expense it should be credited
with the work performed by the sub-
stitute truck.

Monthly Analysis of Operation. —
Fig. 3, (Form 2), provides for a
monthly analysis of operation using
the totals from the monthly record
sheet, Fig. 2. Spaces are provided for
twelve months on the one sheet. This
analysis of operation is very import-
ant. Many an operator has been dis-
agreeably surprised, on making his
first analysis of operation, to find his
trucks have stood idle or have been
laid up for repair for a large percent-
age of the time. However if only a
cost analysis is desired this form sheet
can be left out entirely.

Monthly Analysis of Costs. — Fig. 4,
(Form 3), provides for a record of in-
vestments and fixed charges at the top
of the sheet. The bottom half pro-
vides for a yearly record of costs
as transferred from the totals on the
monthly record. Fig. 2.

Analysis of Truck Cost. — Fig. 5,
(Form 10), provides for a compact an-

Roads and Streets

July,

o C

ui
o

s •-

n
o
oc
u.

z
<

[j <n
:f r
Z ll

z
o

z »
o ^'

< IT

o o

o
z <n

u a.

z <

3 1-

j in

o !C
z r

5 i^

oe
u

V
u u

>
<

z i
^ z

?s
^^

W oc yi*

S £ ^

?. ^ "

z
o

U Q

-1 UJ

a: =

a. UI

-1 (0

UJ 3

<
o

-1

O 0.

z
a

-J
<
»-
O

0.
K

>•

<
o

■

cvi

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r-"

Fig. 1 — ^Daily Service Record Blanlc.

alysis of costs on one sheet. The data
for this analysis can be secured from
the preceding forms or it can be gath-
ered from the operators records. It

also provides for an accurate analysis
of specific runs over individual routes,
and under conditions which vary from
the usual. It is a very convenient

1923

Roads and Streets

{

•

«
1

s <^

So
So

i>.

1 f "

1
i

>
■f

1
i

1
s

1
1
I
1
i

a
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:
1

9
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i ^

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i
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a
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m
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s
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e
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s
S

s
I

a
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§
£

3
1
£

-■

'Fig. 3 — Monthly Analysis of Operation Blank.

form for making out estimates on
truck costs. This form has been keyed
throughout in such a way as to make
it self-explanatory. Comprehensive
experience in truck cost analysis is
not essential to the intelligent appli-
cation of this form to specific haulage
requirements. Complete instructions
for using the form are printed on the
back of the sheet.

Some actual cost figures have been
entered on Fig. 5 covering the opera-
tions of a 1% ton truck over city
streets. The total cost per day, item
(61), is $12.79 which is reasonable for
this size of truck. The average truck
operator will hardly believe that a 1%
ton truck could cost 47 cents per mile
to operate. When all the cost items
are included, as they have been in this

Roads and Streets

July,

^ s

Z s

1 K

3 1

S e

] I 1

a s s

g 1 :•

§ J 1 1

:• 1 i 1 £ „ S s 5 !

i 2 1 . . 1 . ,

! s

;

E 1 ^-^

S U 1

1 S 1

js • i ° k
*** 5 1 a ^

1 ;

!c ft 1 1 bl

eSS

1. y,

J!l

^ 11

1 K

"£;?

-. X

ill

1:*

S 2 S

51 i

•1 y

? 5 "

r 1

^hh

o5S

£ 'If

+ * 5)

1 1

(5 ■

1 ;

K Z
£ <

" z

= 3

1 1

■^ 0

U _^,i_

5 o

3 3

s" 1*

S ^

sl|S

<»

1!^

r I

•

= 65

'< 1

lis

S 1

" - 0

u J Z
S » u

5 1

1 1

Fijt. 4 — Cost Record and Monthly Analysis of Cost Blanks.

case, there will be very few operators
who can display costs per mile as low
as 15 to 20 ct. (figures frequently
used on estimates) for a similar truck
under similar operating conditions.

Conclusion. — Someone is bound to
suffer if motor haulage rates are
based on misleading cost data. In the
case of the successful operator, who
prospers by virtue of excessive rates,

the public is the loser. On the other
hand the operator, who attempts to
haul freight at less than actual cost
of operating, must sooner or later go
out of business.

Accurate cost data on truck opera-
tions will enable operators to fix just
prices for hauling commodities and
convince the "rate cutter" of the
error of his ways. Obviously the

1923

Roads and Streets

OVVItATmO OATA

CO«TOATA

4"! I I r "n~ I ' IT"

T«t*4 !

Fig.

-Daily Record Monthly Blank.

cxai souNcca or d«»

taB« wTioiHL trjMOMK THICK oa«T tmuL n«jcx oanna u»>n«jict: inc. s s <Mai»< w^ cxtcuo

ttJA3/lZl ANALYSIS OF TRUCK COST

ommmJJohn D^& — — -^ *,. o« Truck ii surt o» p«wj ^^Jidonihs_

M*m»/oo Tri/ck Ave. Baltimore, McLfm^to.<nA Jl /)^ps.M_^^^i-^L
ot,ae,mJiau//ag^miachinery and_ rnJJLiSi/pplLes^

Truck CjOKay/XTo/? Mak. /\ UcM /9ZO Boi, Mfr.. No. ^^■#.9_Tn«* N«_/_ _

/u.1,..^ . K\H,.^^o^o,>,n>^Z80 c \tSr^u^ J90Z Je. T.t.i uni^.^55^^^.5^T:

.//^i"

91 rid.

9) Saktul Tin Ttlm
(1) S«»«U Surafc flMttn r<<«r
(M) rMl <!<« TVm •>< Btlkria] -,

rVonlBnt VWw

Total Utk«id/Zc'.j5 ' OutJ F. MilMTraMM J^^d

38. HMdEipOTM

(IDVurnl. ftm («t5rra. • 7 %

(13) I«sur (5hlt, Cikb «^)

(U) A^MM^oOw ONilnJ

(U) Cv«> (■>«<, lafh. Hart, ft

(17) raM/t>a<CimB^rav
(I7a)r.««l riwm4/t Paiti .
(IS) Ttd riBrf Crfoac wr JfaMt
(I7-I-II) (iral-Aj^l

It) Till Fati tirnn rtr D^ .

Yov Ell<naad

t 83

\44
O0
OQ

OO
OO

["^j^qT

k M> 4

Mil. and napi« Uttun
■a (Suido to (39)

(»l «_
(H) t^

(W t-^
O) t-
(M) »_

(3» »_
(2(1 •
(J7) t_
(M) S
(») «_
(3»)»_
(») t-

(30 fatal far
32al X OOZie

Oapraciabon TlACm^{m% 397S- 37 . Fm M^m^Ufttf (O) 4-Q^O^Q^ liam-OA) t .OS94fv Hit

itaMtonanoandnipw: tUml^ /» PnW (3S) » .^2-Qy^-i Far (/) 7-5^^. Mila-Ot) I .O^ZAfit Mih

fla*MrOuotoAcbdant: (Xa(C<«nrft«/»Mnwr): (>7)* ^ar (T) Jfiin-(38/l . r«r Mm

T«c-,; mt^S9.9eK Fiu^^m-JOi?0£> .Mai{^J^^Z;^^).i,o.t .04^40^.,)^.

FmICmI: («) //62_^ CaJ. (42)8 3i«^C.I-(4J)t 5Z<^^.r(n 7«?'66_JliI<.-(M) « j049h^U»,

Banar Ranawab and MaMonanc*: (4») I /<r (W . lf*«-{SO) I . . ftr MiU

Total Var;ab;aE«»a.>»a: far Pcncd (51) t/80/- ^('ttaiuli^ tfritf^^a'l Fw (F} y^jf6&,MJa-(i3) t . ^33/ Par MiU

ToUiruodEnMRM: far PrrvJ (i:«)l 65^.ZJ ftr{ri.7S£t^ ifda>(U) t .0S04FtrU^

To«alDri,.r-aWag«: far frrW (M) I /<?5<5>^(?i8 (i5. 1^.9/^ D.,' for (f) 7.5<i ^- «^.;S«) I .I^Sfall^

Uir).3J8/.63

far ,n 7.5^6. irdM-(58) I .47J4f<'IHi

Coat per Day, Variablo Eipanaa

Fixad Exponae

Ornarli Wase<:

Total Coal per Day

K7)l -JL^dL rtr MJcXAt„a«t MiU, fcr D^ ii»', ZJ -(Mil .6.4Z37FBDm,

[i^rJ:s^.':::z,'z.'^-^'~ '7Ji"?T:?'*;i:i -"•' » ^.4-437Ff oa,

ciiSSS=Unl;iii-:=JtVciJvir-::r.1?=Ju J -(ssi t 3. 9J4Jf^ d.,

-(«i)l /2.7567p„o„

laSrT-

CaalporUnH: TalriCail/ar Pkni«57) t^^f^/r^^ « Taial I'adi WaiJrrf D.).; l^/66-^4.(«2| %-ZTZO pcXM^ Cy/T
IVdCW JTttil-ftr ferial (C3) -^/4 fiff-bjU . .^ - K Tat^ Jliia (7)x ilHra»r Laa< p<r Tri, {"^t v (j x^'i.

'^-•^M^T I Oi-S/.49

c *« I t«n «>i» tn «<*>

250i./Z.79 i Z7 7366

%.4-7}4t.Z7ZO *.0859 ^5 /a5

Fig. 5 — Special Analysis of Track Cost Blank Containing Actual Record of Operatins Costs.

Roads and Streets

July,

keeping of complete and accurate cost
records by those engaged in truck
transportation will go a long way to-
ward putting the business on a sound
economic basis.

Motor Truck Production. — Fig. 6
(not reproduced herewith) shows the
variations in annual production of

CuRV£ Showing Relation or Siz£ or Truck
TO Gi^soLiHC Co/Gumption.

o-l'.

•/• IZ

^y of II

/Ik.

<.f\

Avto/lS

(Ik. «/ is

lTr*>tk

O ZOOO 400O 60OO 6000 lOOOO /20CO

fiafeU Capac/tv of Trucks in Fbunds

Tig. 8 — Relation of Truck Size to Gasoline
Consumption.

motor trucks in the United States.
The curve rises rapidly during the war
period reaching the peak in 1920. The
folloMdng- year witnessed a drop of
practically 50 per cent and the 1922
production totaled 242,975. This drop
is a reflection of business conditions
since 1920.

Fig. 7 (not reproduced herewith)
shows the production of trucks by ca-
pacities during 1921 and illustrates
very clearly the great demand for the
smaller sized trucks. More one-ton
trucks were manufactured than all

Fig. 9 — Variation of Annual Fixed Charges for
Trucks of Different Tonnage.

other sizes combined. The % ton or
less ranks next. The 5 ton size ex-
ceeds both the 2% and 3% ton size,
probably due to its increased use in
hauling such commodities as coal,
gravel, sand, cement, etc.

Fig. 8 illustrates the increased con-
sumption of gasoline with capacity of
truck. This is evidently not a straight
line increase, but a curved line con-
cave upward. It would require the

iMtimi

cnkM4

J/titt^f ihn truck whtck co

vers apMMt */* ytmrs.

i<t.>vr.

^..

"nI

^*f i.

fty*0fi.

* * /

'* ^

3i 5 i.

I Tonnage of Trvck

Fig. 10 — Actual Hauling Costs per Cwt. for
Trucks of Different Sizes.

average of many more trucks than are
indicated on this figure to fix the
limits of such a curve.

Fig. 9 shows the variation of an-
nual fixed charges with variation in
truck tonnage. Up to the 3% ton size
this is apparently quite close to a
straight line variation. In this figure
the deviation of the % ton and 1 ton
sizes is probably due to some special
case consideration and should not be
taken as typical. Above the 3^/^ ton

Fig. 12 — Curves Showing Increased Cost per
Mile with Age of Truck (Gasoline).

size the line will flatten out as the in-
crease in fixed costs are not directly
proportional to capacity above that
point. For instance the cost of a 5
ton truck is only slightly greater than
the cost of a 3^/i ton truck.

Fig. 10 shows the decrease in haul-
ing costs per cwt. for an increase in
truck capacity. Obviously the cost
for cwt. hauled on a six ton truck
loaded to capacity would be less than
on a % ton truck at capacity load.

1923

Roads and Streets

Not enough trucks are averaged in

this figure to fix a definite variation.

Fig. 11 (not reproduced herewith)

shows increase in gasoline consump-

Track'NK 1—2, ^i Too. B.

Total

ToUl

Cost

Cntper

Yev

Milex<

roaiMb

Expense

porMae

100 lb*.

ttUm

3.549

65S.732

882.81

102488

S 01350

IM7»

13.143

1,542.921

2,583 34

.I96C

IM8

10.691

994,108

3,050.71

.2863

3075

I9I»

10.464

708. 4M

3,544.32

.3387

5003

1920.

9.912

873,156

3,625 8!

1921

8.232

1.063,540

2,871 65

.3488

TnKk No 1—3. X Ton, B.

1916a

.5.092! 395.447

943 02

.1851

.2385

1917...,. ..

11.118 1.057.201

2.890 90

1918

8.737 l.ZS.OOi

1919

8.106 834.357

3.165 21

192D

8.522 1.210.8W

3.515 61

1921...:...

4,6601 609.825

2.444.8C

52461

Tmck No. 1—6, K Ton, B

1917c

i 8,546

784,602

1,863 1«

.2179

.2373

1918

lO.Stt

1.4.55.951

2,915.08

.2795

2022

1919

1 ■ 9.67?

9SJ.401

3.439.91
3.795 09^
2,734 2S1

1920

1 9.232

1,127.3.%

.4111

1921

1 5.S32

987. 42S

■ 4069

.2789

Trwsk No. 1—13, Ji-Ton. B,

931 89-j,

933) 911,
888' 1.677.

2.571 9a
3.52^.93l
3.22i 501

.3711
.3937
.3833

.2872
.3822
.1924

Tom* No. 1-

7, 1 Ton, E.

I9I7«

1.559,084

1,963.86

.4041

.1^

m»:....

2,291,876

3,II6.0S

1.567,681

3,5e2.C«

'.4993

.2272

1,450,098

3.489.33

.SOU

.2406

nai

1,3S6.I0S|

-3.066. 9«

m. 4 Months.

t. Tenrendinc Oct. Slit.

c 8 Months.

J. 9 Montb*.

c. 7 Months.

Variations in Operatinfr Costs with Age of

Gasoline Tracics.

Truck No. 1—2 3 2 Ton B.

Tniek No. 1—

1. 1 Ton. B.

T«u

1 Total
MilMco

Total
Pounds

Total
Expense

Cort Cost p«r
per Mile lOO lbs.

itu*. ..

t»M

I«»

1931

.! 2.387
8.336

1 5.429
6.690

820.854
3.057.438
1.000.599
1.862.171

793.78
3,400.10
3,268.74
3,085.83

10.3325' $0 0967
.40791 1112
.eCOa 3025
.46121 1657

Truck No. 1—10, IH Ton, B.

my. .

1919. .
1930..
1931..

8,054
8.294
8,243
7,359

2,493,287
2,778,170
1,884,596

2,535 40
3,788.20
3,888.01
3, 568.301

1017
1363
.2051
.2548

Tlp<k No. 1—4, 2 Too, O.

1916f... .

1917

1918

1919

1920

1921

1,271

1, 147,54ft

732 09

.5759

7,63S

4,424,787

2.649.49

.3527

5,64e

3,908,205

2.990.01

.5294

5,684

3,624,493

3,560.33

.6280

8,284

2,993, 58e

4,153.86

.5014

5.926

4.067. 4^

2.739.961

.4657

0637
0609
.0852
.0985
.13*7
.0678

. Tniek No. 1—14, 2 Ton, B.

1919t.
1930..
1931..

2.57M 1.318.22* 1,590 75
10,201 3.558.2821 3.492 70
7.6 4) 1.797.6791 3.395 15

.1207
.1010
.1889

Tnwk No. 1—15, 2 Ton, B.

1919k.
1920..
1921

2.840 1.320.15a 1. 6166a
11,011 3.555.027 3.536 4«
8.437I 2.869.5511 3.578 m

5674
3203
4241

.1225
0095
.1247

1914s
1915 . .
1916..

1917 .

1918. .

1919. .

taoo..

1931..

1.888

5.906,298

1,245.12

.6501

4.786

18,919, ISt

3,859.39

.8064

5.683

18.7541,e9«

4.403.96

.775C

4.871

12.305,781

3,054.81

.6271

3,428

8,918,236

3.251. og

.94S(

3,234

10,409,851]

3,198 33

.9896

2,51S

8.414.472

2,763 64

1.098S

2.456

7,247.886

3.493. Ill

l.OISl

to. 0210
.02tVt

0235
.0246

0385

0807
.0328

0344

a. 4 Months.

/. 10 Months.

(. 3 Months.

A. 5 Months.

Variation in Operating Costs with Age of
Gasoline Trucks.
Truck No. 1—11. 1 Ton, E.

tion with age of truck. While there is
some fluctuation on individual curves,
the general tendency is towards a
much greater consumption of gasoline
per mile as the truck grows older in
service. This is to be expected. In
some cases this increased consumption
amounts to practically 50 per cent.

Fig. 12 shows the increase in oper-
ating cost per mile with age of trucks.
Here again there is fluctuation in the

No. 1-

-M. 2 Ton, (\) Ekelric

Year

Tolal i
MilMcr 1

Total
Pounds

Total
Expense

Cost
per Mile

Cost per
lOOIbsT

1915

1916

7.381
6,467

1.709.100
2.019, loS

S2,90t 17
2. SB.-. 8a

to 3934
.4478

SO. 1641
.1434

No. 1—83. 2 Too.

(Zl Electne

1915

7.2151 1.623.430

3,041 42)
2.474 43^

,4215

a873

1916

7.528, 1.774.400
7.0081 1,796.710

.3287

,1394

1917

2,657.271

.3791

»1479

1918

5.21Qt 1,181.700

2,094 47

.4000

.1772

1919

4.9aS 1.27.-..58C

3.650.31

.745S

19r20

D.53 1,397,275

3.298 091

.teoil

.2360

No. 1—86. 2 Ton.

(Z) EIretrie

1917
1918..
1919. .-
19iO .
1921

191.-...
1916 . .

1917 .

1918 .
1919..
1920 .
1921.^

1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920

1915
1916
J917
1918
1919
1920
1921

191S.
191S
1917

1918
1919
1920
1921

1915
1916
1917
1913
1919
1920
1921

. So. 1— IC 2 Ton. (Y) EIretrk

1,717,800
1,»1S.9U0'
2.:117.7-»0'
l.7tW.40O
1.42.-.. 700
I.TOI.ISJO:
2.342.370!

2,912 81
2,C1J r
2.8.-« 1
3.172 7
3.8CM 57
4.333.7W
3,865.13!

,4004
.3630
.4691
.4553
.7482
1.1213
.7927

.1864
.2721
.25^
.1650

4.697

5.133.036

2.308 78

5.928,'
4.856^
4.2411

5.081.514

3,317 73

3.615.314

3,483 89

3.253.296

3,998.07

4.4571

3.722J66

3,052.26

3,513'

3.387.806

3.997 86

3.214:

2.9X8.926

3,464.65

.705fl .0019

.6»4S .0834

1.1374^ .1180

1.07801 .1150

No. 1—84. Hi Ton, (Z) Elortri

4.229

10.252.431

4.334

9.640.087

5,138

8.003,135

4,992

7,9*0,069

5.424

9,345,376

5.563

7,525,404

3.1^

S.On,314

.0262
.0265
.0300
.0357
.0344
.0480
.0729

No. 1—85. 3H Ten, (Z[ Eleetrie.

4.128

10.943.053

2.706 39

.6656

4.415

9.032.723

2,379 83

.5390

4.279

7.356.^6

3.403 81

5.026

7,723,143

3,881.28

.6733

4.964

8,230,345

3,008.03

•S»2S

5.041

6,875,889

3,607 21

.71W

2.86i

6,449,536

3,733.69

1 3082

.0247
.0263
.0837
.0873
.09(8
.0637
.0579

Variation in Operating Costs with Age of

Electric Trucks.

No. 1—81, 2 Ton (Y) Electric

various curves but the general cost
tendency is upward. The period cov-
ered is from 1916 to 1921 except in the
case of the 6 ton truck which covers
the period from 1914 to 1921. Neces-
sarily these costs are influenced by the
high price period from 1918 to 1921.

Fig. 13. (not reproduced herewith)
is similar to figure 12, but covers oper-
ating costs of electric instead of gaso-
line trucks. The rapid rise in the
right half of these curves is a result
of the high prices prevailing after the
war period.

Method of Calculating Cost for
Operation of Trucks. — Keep two ac-
counts on your books for each ma-
chine:

First, the truck account, to which

Roads and Streets

July,

Purdue
Number

Purchased
New

Make

Size

Kind of
Tires

1921

Period

Covered

Total
Mile-
age

Total
Gals.
Gaso-
line

Miles
per

Gal.

Gaso-
line

Total
Cost

Cost
per
Mile

2-8

Pneumatic

5Mo8.

4,147

471

8.8

$1,034.30

$0.25

2-7

3-11

2-13

2-16

i-\7

Sept. 1918
Mar. 1916
Mar. 1920
July 1918
Aug. 1920

I
I

IT
IT
IT
IT
IT

Pneumatic
Pneumatic
Pneumatic
Pneumatic
Pneumatic

Averages

l2Mo8.

8Mos.
12 Mos.
12 Mos.

2 Mos.

for 1 Ton Tr

4.447
3,324
5,395
5,609
1,074

uck . . .

856
487
876
962
155

5.2
6.8
6.2
5.8
6.9

6.2

2.406.49
1.293.99
2,563.24
3.025.12
384.26

0.538
0.390
0.476
0.540
0.358

0.460

2-12

April 1918

IJ^T

SoBd

12 Mos.

1,804

550

3.3

2,322.79

1.29

2-14

3-15

July 1920
July 1919

I
I

2HT

Cushion
Pneumatic

12 Mos.
11 Mos.

3,359
7,823

742
1.064

4.5

7.4

5.9

3.162.76
3,291.36

0.944
0.420

Averages for 214 Ton Truck .

0.682

2-10

July 1919

3}^T

Solid

12 Mos.

1.329

412

3.2

3,095.39

2.33

Operating Costs of Gasoline Trucks in Baking: Industry.

Cost

Purdue

Purchased

Kind

1921

Total

per

Cost

Number

New

Make

Size

of
Tires

Period
Covered

Mileage

Pounds
Hauled

Cost

100
lbs.

per
Mile

2-1 ... .

May 1917

X-Electric

Solid

12 Mos.

3.906

242,983

$2,447.50

$1.01

$0,627

2-2....

May 1917

X-Electric

Solid

12 Mos.

4.654

345,800

2,726.66

.79

.585

2-3....

May 1917

X-Electric

Solid

12 Mos.

4.651

241 ,506

2.357.94

.98

.506

2-4....

May 1917

X-Electric

Solid

12 Mos.

4. 036

183,736

2,171.69

1.18

.538

2-5....

May 1917

X-Electric

MT,

Solid

3 Mos.

931

51,545

509.45

.99

.547

2-6....

May 1917

X-Electric

SoUd

8 Mos.

597
le last tru

497.00

.833

1
Averages omitting t1

.99

.561

The Ugh coet per mile on Tru;k No. 2-6 is due to the low total mileage

Operating Costs of Electric Trucks in Baking Industry.

debit the original cost of the truck and
any equipment in the form of perma-
nent improvement that may be pur-
chased and any new tires that are
purchased at any time, also the an-
nual cost of Insurance, Licenses,
Taxes, etc., and cost of any extensive
repairs or repainting which amounts
to more than $75.00. Credit to this
account each month the charges for
depreciation on chassis, tires, insur-

ance, overhauls, etc. The balance of
this account at any time shows the
value of the machine.

Second, the maintenance account, to
which charge the monthly items for
depreciation and all expenses such as
renewal of parts, gasoline, oil, electric
current and other operating expenses,
with the exception of general overhaul
as specified above. Each month charge
off the debit balance of this account to

1923

Roads and Streets

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llliiii

SSSSSS3

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Roads and Streets

July,

5 s »

111

•<2

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jol

SRc3SSgSI255SgS2SS2 : :Sg5 :SSSSS

W-*"««M>«i««iM<>«'*w'u5.o,D . .iQaoQo .«eo»<o»o

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1,307
1,471
1,577
1,366
2,214
1,810
2.181
1,695
1,827
1,220
2,000
1,399
1,671
1,511
1,447
1,4C6
1,491

t07

667
1,999
1,146
1,348
1,166

-.-. CJ-.<NOJ«~-.eHC»CHeMCC<MC^M0^eO«tONM-.

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4667
6178
5S09
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1510
7264
6444
7770

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6639
4441
4241
4663
4116
4508
5021
372*

3645

3244
4(60
6096
4622
4164
6830

gSSSSSSSS5EgSSSS5gSSSSSSSSE£5

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1,539
1,369
1,348
1,219
1,347
1,581
1,417
1,516
1.545
1,725
1,669
1,726
1,732
1,743
1,729
1,465
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814

1,240

1,286

1,020

824
1,697
1,296
1,664
1,235

9,05
27.11
91.41
122.98
42.71
136.60
120.00
150.12
148.52
166.96
97.81
103.59
144.71
142.69
148.92
152.94
1,33.90
137.70
131.97
166.08
144.72
139.47

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•21.75
149.10
136.92

10.50

84.61

38.24
133.33
208.25
291.20

87.50
183.62
424.15
293.01
250 93
308.97
340.00
319.68
332.92
125.76
273.44
288.50
154.00

39.95
318.27
260.17
216.00
107.03

51.60

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1923

Roads and Streets

the department in whose service the
delivery is made. This amount bal-
ances the Maintenance Account each
month and shows the cost of operation
for the month which should be figured
out on the basis of miles run and
weight hauled. If the truck is in the
service of more than one department,

monthly until the amount of the orig-
inal purchase is written oflF, except the
cost of the machine, which should not
be written down below $5.00.

Interest Charges: — Charge against
each truck, so long as it is in the Com-
pany's possession, interest at the rate
of 5 per cent per annum, beginning

(Operator No. 1)

Nate

Traeb

Avvite

DipRC. OB
ClMM.

Imom
Tuaaal
LiMMe

lbs

SnkT

Dri««r»'

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IIS

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NOTE: ThKIOBlradalBni

Tke 1 lad l-)i taa bMta hm SnnI tiiH.

TV I loa tract* Wi* iiiiMilili <■ but wtnb ud Se«dl tiro oa mr.

Truclu Making Store Door Deliveries Year Ending Oct. 31, 1921.

figure the proportion in which the
total operating cost will be divided, on
the basis of the mileage run in the
service of each department. For this
purpose a record must be kept of the
drivers' cards, (individual for each
load), which shows the weight hauled,
the mileage run and the department
chargeable for each load.

All items of expense must be
charged to each individual truck as in-
curred by that truck.

A low cost per 100 lb. shows that
the truck is being kept busy and used
to capacity and vice versa.

A low cost per mile shows that the
truck is economical to operate.

How to Figure Depreciation. — Com-
pute depreciation as follows:
Gasoline Truck:

Truck: — Divide the value of chassis
and body less value of tires by ^\k.
Divide the resultant figure by 12 to
give the monthly charge.

Solid Tires: — Divide the value of
original tires by 18, the result being
the monthly charge. Treat any new
tires in the same manner when
bought.

Pneumatic Tires: — Divide the value
of original tires by 6, the result being
the monthly charge. Treat any new
tires in the same manner when
bought.

Overhaul, Repainting, etc.: — Divide
the total amount by 12, which gives
the monthly charge.

Credit all the above monthly
charges to the Truck Account and
debit to the Maintenance Account

with the original cost and every
month thereafter on the value at
which the machine stood in the books
at the first of the month.

Traffic Inspection Officers for
Pennsylvania Highways

The Pennsylvania State Highway
Department will shortly place traffic
officers on the highways. These men
are provided for in the section of the
Act of 1923 which amends Section 12
of the Act of 1919, governing motor
traffic. This amendment authorizes
the Secretary of Highways to employ
such men as in his discretion are
deemed necessary to the enforcement
of the penal provisions of the motor
laws. "Our traffic officers will pay
particular attentionr to the overloading
of trucks; speed of motor vehicles —
and particularly the speed of trucks;
the misuse of headlamps. No truck
will be permitted to use Pennsylvania
highways when it carries a load
greater than that specified for the
particular class in which it is regis-
tered. No truck will be permitted
to travel faster than the rate specified
for the class in which it is registered.
The traffic inspection force is to be
uniformed. The force will be mounted
upon motor cycles. Certain members
engaged in enforcing the law relating
to truck weights will use motor cars
in which their road scales will be car-
ried. The number of men in the new
force has not been decided. The law
did not fix a limit, saying merely that
the Secretary of Highways may em-
ploy such men "as in his discretion are
necessary."

Roads and Streets

July,

Equitable Distribution of Cost of Construction, Interest on

Bonds, Replacements and Maintenance of

State Highways

Paper Presented at the Joint Sessions of the North Central Division

of the National Highway Traffic Association and the

Michigan State Good Roads Association

Vice President, Kational

BY ROY D. CHAPIN,

Automobile Chamber of Commerce, and President
Hudson Motor Car Co.

We can be assured that the prem-
ises upon which we are laying the
foundation for vast highway systems
are intrinsically sound. This need is
not a temporary one and we are justi-
fied in large expenditures, so long as
we can be assured that the policies
which we lay down for the control of
those expenditures are wisely shaped.

The task which confronts us, then,
is one that requires the wisdom of
the statesmen, the vision of the social
economist, the acumen of the finan-
cier and the efficiency of the engineer.

At the outset it places a heavy bur-
den upon all responsible authorities,
with a sure compensation ahead for
those who proceed with the needs of
all in mind, and with just as sure a
reaction against those who give heed
to special as opposed to the general
welfare.

Manufacturing Problem Presented.
— In any analysis which I have made
of the subject of highway finance, I
have been impressed with the fact
that what we are concerning our-
selves with is fundamentally a busi-
ness proposal. After all we are not
dealing merely with the building of
roads. We are dealing instead with
the production of transportation,
which is just as much of a manufac-
turing process as is the building of
the motor vehicle itself.

Accordingly, the business analogy
presents itself as a sound rule for
highway policies, since in its adoption
we return to principles which have
been tested and found practical over
a long period of years.

The first item then is to analyze
the need. This we have done. Next
we must determine just what roads
are essential to earn the income
which shall justify our expenditure,
how rapidly these roads shall be built,
which ones shall take precedence.

Analysis of Financial Resources. —
Knowing these factors which can only
be surely determined by careful and

accurate surveys, not alone of traffic
but of economic possibilities, we must
then proceed to analyze our financial
resources, determine our possible in-
come and then proceed to select that
type of administration which will
build our highways most carefully and
most economically, with due regard
for the purposes for which they are
intended.

Policies Will Vary. — The first ques-
tion, then, which confronts us is a de-
termination of the present stage of
development of this manufacturing
plant which we are taking over. If it
is a going concern, with ample fa-
cilities in the shape of already im-
proved highways, then we will prob-
ably find that we can draw sufficient
revenue to meet our requirements
from current operating income. We
may need a short term bond issue
here or there to take care of a spe-
cial extension such as a widened road
or improvement from an inferior to
a superior type of pavement, but in
the main we can pay-as-you-go.

Of all of the states in the Union,
Maryland is perhaps the best example
of this kind which we have and one
of the very few, since Maryland has
already improved most of its main
system througl; long term bonds and
is now concerned chiefiy with the
maintenance of these highways to
meet the traffic requirements.

If we are discussing a state such
as Michigan, however, we will find a
somewhat different situation. A $50,-
000,000 state bond issue, coupled with
county and federal funds, will com-
plete all of the state system except
the 400 miles added by the last legis-
lature. That completion, however,
does not include improvements of a
number of gravel roads which must
be raised to a higher type because of
increased business or traffic, and
consequntly, the situation may present
the need for new manufacturing fa-
cilities or roads which may require a

1923

Roads and Streets

supplementary bond issue, the extent
of which will depend upon the actual
growth of traffic in the interim.

Virginia Example of New Territory.
—Then we turn to a state such as
Virginia, only now upon the threshold
of a venture in the production of
transportation. Here the plant is in
such shape that if we hope to care for
the business which is awaiting us
now, we must immediately turn to a
bond issue as the means of raising
the initial capital outlay, as otherwise
the drain on our current income would
be so great that while we might be
able to construct our roads, we could
not maintain them. And it is just as
absurd to build roads and not main-
tain them as it would be to build a
factory and allow it to go to pieces.

Beyond that, however, we have ac-
cepted theories in business finance
which apply definitely to the ca^e
at hand. No large business organiza-
tion today, or few small ones, will at-
tempt to finance capital expenditure
out of current income. The reasons
are obvious. If for example, a manu-
facturer should say, "I " need a new
factory. It will cost me $50,000 and
will produce 10,000 tires." He could
not then say, "I will distribute that
cost $5 per tire over my next year's
output." Business competition would
not permit such practice, but he could
distribute that cost over a period
equivalent to the length of life of the
factory, and then assess each con-
sumer accordingly.

Wliat Is Life of Highway?— The
question which then arises is, "What
is the life of this factory?" You will
hear men say that our roads are going
to pieces and that the analogy be-
tween business and engineering prac-
tice breaks down at this point.

If this question arose in a business
plant, the executive would call in his
research men and put the question to
them. Suppose we call upon the re-
search men of the U. S. Bureau of
Public Roads, or, taking a short cut,
turn directly to the report of the chief
of the bureau, T. H. MacDonald.

"Much that we have known about
highways is not so," we read, and
summarizing an official viewpoint we
find that a close survey made by the
Bureau shows that 40 per cent of all
of the Federal Aid projects costs has
gone into permanent features of the
highway, such as location, drainage,
gradients, curvatures, shoulders and
engineering costs. Of the remaining
60 per cent allotted to surface costs,

we find that when the time for recon-
struction of the highway comes all
but a percentage equivalent to the
cost of interest and sinking fund is
salvaged as bedding for the new sur-
face.

In a word, we find that we have
been led into the fallacious belief that
to lose the surface has been to lose
all.

Lack of Maintenance Funds Costly.
— But this is not all. The executive
searching for still further supporting
data finds that in many cases the
actual reason for surface deteriora-
tion has been a lack of adequate main-
tenance, an overloading of equipment
in times of seasonal strain. Expert
opinion tells him that the engineer
can build the road to handle the
traffic and that all that is required is
absolute maintenance.

The judgment then is that we are
justified in distributing our capital
costs, provided we require mainte-
nance, and we can proceed knowing
that what we are doing is to provide
as expeditiously as possible a network
of highways which we shall have the
use of in our life-time and which we
shall pass on to our children for their
use in turn, each generation paying a
fair rental charge in the form of main-
tenance costs plus amortization costs.

Will it cost us more to follow this
plan than to pay the charge from cur-
rent operating expense? Yes. Are
we justified? Yes. How? By these
two facts, either of which is sufficient.
First, we are supplying a universal
human need — adequate transportation
for all. Second, the increased use of
the highways by the public in our
own lifetime will more than offset the
amortization charges, even if we
could deny the increased valuations
which will accrue to urban and rural
properties, which we cannot. More-
over, if we built from current funds,
we should have an average of only
50 per cent of the use of a given
mileage in, say, a 10-year program,
while by paying as we use we shall
have practically a 100 per cent usage.
Yet the difference in cost is only
found in the amortization charge.

Rigorous Limitations Necessary. —
We shall not make these statements,
however, without imposing certain
rigorous limitations. One, that of
maintenance funds, has been men-
tioned and it cannot be stressed too
emphatically.

Further, state bond issues should
not be sought for roads of purely local

Roads and Streets

July,

use. Generally speaking, these will
carry only a light traffic and main-
tenance costs will suffice. State issues
should be concentrated on those high-
ways which traffic and economic sur-
veys show are of first importance
from the state point of view. If this
system is carefully laid out, it will be
found that there are few points more
than 15 miles from a main road and
the policy of financing these feeders
will depend upon the character and
extent of the traffic.

Again, the administration is an im-
portant element. The leaders must be
men of vision who will deal with this
problem as with any major issue of
public welfare. Control should be
centralized in their hands, as the
local man cannot be expected to, nor
should he, consider state needs first.
Any departure from such a program
as this is likely to result in discon-
nected highways and the question of
maintenance becomes a highly uncer-
tain equation.

Traffic Regulation Paramount Issue.
— The question of traffic regulation is
another where only the state official
can act with due regard for the eco-
nomic'needs of the community. We
have indicated that overloading of the
plant has been a partial cause for its
breakdown in the past. Power should
be lodged with the state authority so
that he can prohibit overloading the
vehicle in normal times and can make
such restrictions as to loads as will
safeguard the general welfare at sea-
sonal periods.

By the same act the commissioner
should have power to permit over-
loading in emergency. The only pur-
pose for road construction is to serve
traffic and situations such as the pres-
ent railroad congestion may make it
cheaper at times to break down an
inadequate highway surface than to
permit unemployment, hunger or cold
to come to a community.

This brings us logically to a discus-
sion of what kinds of highways we
shall construct. The answer is found
solely in economics. That type of
highway should be constructed which
will care not only for the present but
for the future needs of traffic. No
highway improvement Is justified if it
does not satisfy a human need or un-
less the cost of improvement is more
than cared for In the saving effected
to the public through better and
cheaper service. The problem is so
large, the needs so many and diversi-
fied, that over-development is just as

serious an economic error as under-
development.

Construction and Maintenance De-
fined.— How are we going to pay for
this improvement? In a general way
we have said that original construc-
tion is a matter of capital outlay; so
also is any extension or any replace-
ment of an inferior by a superior type
of pavement to the extent of the dif-
ference in cost. The analogy is that
of a new factory building or the re-
placement of old machinery by im-
proved units.

Maintenance then becomes all of
the remaining charges or in effect the
constant making of needed repairs up
to and including reconstruction, in
order that the plant may give service
at all times.

At this point we are faced squarely
by the need for saying from what
sources we are to draw our income in
order that our finances shall be
equitably levied so that the public
may buy its transportation at the
lowest possible cost.

Answer Varies with Locality. — The
answer will vary in detail according to
the stage of development of the sys-
tem or plant with which we are deal-
ing. It will vary according to popula-
tion, square miles in area, mileage of
roads under consideration. But still
we have before us definite principles
based upon studies of fact which well
may be taken as sign posts.

It is a safe principle to say that
those who benefit from the highway
shall pay for its construction and
maintenance. Who is it that benefits?
Definite economic surveys made by
the Bureau of Public Roads show that
in the initial improvement of the
highway there is found an accretion
in the value of land in the vicinity
which ranges anywhere from 300 to
1,000 per cent. More important, there
is the fulfillment of a human need
which, while it may not be directly
susceptible to economic treatment, is
none the less a large factor in road
construction, particularly in the agri-
cultural regions.

Urban Valuations Increased. — Ur-
ban valuations are also increased by
the construction of rural highways,
because not only does the highway
bring new buying power to the city
but It also brings about a tremen-
dous suburban development which is,
as yet, only in its infancy.

Finally, the man who uses the high-
way finds his costs lessened as it Is
Improved, or better, as it is main-

1923

Roads and Streets

tained in a constant condition of ser-
vice.

Taken in sum, these three elements
represent all of the tax-paying ele-
ments of the community; hence it
may be fairly said that capital charges
for highway construction should be
provided for from general taxation
whether these payments are made in
the form of amortization charges for
a long term bond issue, which spreads
the charge over this and succeeding
generations of beneficiaries, or
whether it be a special levy.

When we come to the question of
maintenance, however, the problem is
not as clear, as we have not had suf-
ficient research to determine accurate-
ly all of the secondary influences of
improvements upon valuations.

We do know, however, that the
user of the highway is one who ob-
tains the first service from it, that
his costs are affected as the highway
is kept in condition or allowed to go
to pieces, and finally, that much of
its depreciation is due to use.

Provides Annual Revenue. — It thus
appears that the user should be
charged with the upkeep of the road,
a principle which is sound from a
financial standpoint in that our pres-
ent system of motor registration is a
recurrent annual charge which auto-
matically produces the revenue nec-
essary to maintenance. For this rea-
son it is fair to insist that motor fees
should be set aside for maintenance
rather than diverted into construc-
tion, and further, it is reasonable to
demand that the administration of
these funds shall be so controlled as
to make the highway of the utmost
service.

In conclusion, then, I should say
that we cannot solve the highway
finances of a country so diversified
as this by any detailed formula, but
we can proceed to adopt certain defi-
nite principles which may be ex-
pressed somewhat in this way.

Principles Suggested for Adoption.
— Highway systems should be laid out
by state highway departments, with
a definite view to meet the social and
economic needs of the commonwealth.

The needed revenue for construc-
tion should be secured from long term
bond issues based upon general taxa-
tion, while current operating expenses
should be secured from the user and
should be adequate to maintain the
highway once constructed.

Centralized administrative control
is essential to a proper development

of these systems as well as to the
regulation of their use, and broad
powers should be granted the state
department in charge, to insure an
economic flow of traflBc.

It is hardly necessary to emphasize,
in closing, that the need for general
bond issues will be dependent upon
the degree of present improvement of
the system.

The problem which confronts us is
one of statisfying a proven human
need, the elemental desire for indi-
vidual transportation, the fulfillment
of which is a social as well as an eco-
nomic necessity to our further prog-
ress.

The more rapidly our finances can
be placed upon such a basis as this,
the more rapidly will the states, as a
whole, afford new opportunity for
those who, living in city or country,
have found themselves deprived of
opportunity for free communication
which should be the right of all.

Statistical Methods of the Bureau
of Labor Statistics

The methods followed by the
United States Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics in procuring and computing sta-
tistical information relating to labor
forms the subject of Bulletin No. 326
recently published by the Bureau.
The purpose of this bulletin is to de-
scribe the principal acti\ities of the
Bureau, the functions of which are
purely educational and not adminis-
trative, and to outline the methods
used in making its investigations and
preparing its reports.

The bulletin takes up the different
subjects covered regularly in the in-
vestigations of the Bureau, giving ex-
amples of questionnaires and sched-
ules used by agents in collecting ma-
terial relating to wages and hours of
labor, cost of li^ing, retail and whole-
sale prices, volume of employment,
strikes and lockouts, industrial acci-
dents, and workmen's compensation
and insurance. The methods used in
making computations are also de-
scribed and the extent of the work
done in the different fields of study is
given together with the sources from
which this information is drawn and
the scope of the various investiga-
tions. The publication of the Monthly
Labor Review by the Bureau since
1915 has afforded a means of bringing
much of this information before the
public without the delay involved in
the preparation of special bulletins.

Roads and Streets July,

Use of Timber in Highway Bridges

Standard Specifications for Timber Structures of U. S. Bureau
of Public Roads

Specification for Timber Structures

Description. — T i m b e r structures
shall be built where shown on the
plans or directed by the engineer and
shall be constructed in accordance
with the plans and specifications. This
item shall include only such timber as
is a part of the completed work. All
timber for erection purposes, as false-
work, forms, bracing, sheeting, etc.,
shall be furnished by the Contractor
at his own expense.

Quality. — All timber shall be cut
from sound trees, sawed standard size,
straight, and out of wind and shall be
free from defects such as decay, worm
holes, injurious shakes, checks and
crooked, cross or spiral grain, large
loose or unsound knots, knots in
groups, large pitch pockets, or other
defects that might impair its strength
and durability. Wane may show on
only one corner of a piece. Wane shall
not exceed one-half the length of the
piece nor measure more than 1 in,
across the face of the wane. Not more
than 10 per cent of the pieces of one
size may show any wane.

Size. — Rough timbers when sawed
to standard size, shall mean that they
shall not be over % in. scant from ac-
tual size specified. For instance, a
12 by 12 in. timber shall measure not
less than 11% by 11% in.

Dressed. Standard dressing means
that not more than M in. shall be
allowed for dressing each surface. For
instance, a 12 by 12 in. timber shall,
after dressing four sides, not measure
less than IIV2 by ll^^ in.

Dense Timber. — Dense timber shall
be used for truss members, floor
beams, stringers, caps and flooring.

a. Dense timber of longleaf pine,
shortleaf pine and Cuban pine shall
show at one end or the other an aver-
age of at least six annual rings per
inch and at least one-third summer
wood, all measured over the third,
fourth and fifth inches on a radial line
from the pith. Wide ringed material
excluded by this rule shall be accept-
able provided the amount of summer
wood as above measured shall be at
leai?t one-half. Summer wood is the
hard, dense and darker colored por-
tion of the annual ring.

(1) In cases where timber does not
contain pith, and it is impossible to

locate it with any degree of accuracy,
same inspection shall be made over 3
in. in an approximate radial line be-
ginning at the edge nearest the pith in
timbers over 3 in. in thickness and in
the second inch of the piece nearest to
the pith in timbers 3 in. or less in
thickness.

(2) In dimension material contain-
ing the pith but not a 5 in. radial line,
which is less than 2x8, which is in
section, or less than 8 in. in width,
that does not show over 16 sq. in. on
the cross section, the inspection shall
apply to the second inch from the pith.
In larger material that does not show
a 5 in. radial line the inspection shall
apply to the 3 in. farthest from the
pith.

b. Dense timber of Coast Region
Douglas fir shall be strong timber of
medium rate of growth and show on
one end or the other an average of at
least six annual rings per inch and at
least one-third summer wood meas-
ured over 3 in. on a line located as
hereinafter described. Wide ringed
material, excluded by this rule, shall
be acceptable provided the amount of
summer wood as above measured sahll
be at least one-half. Material in which
the proportions of summer wood is
not clearly discernible shall not be
used.

(1) Any timber whose least dimen-
sion is less than 5 in. shall not show
the pith on the inspection end; pieces
whose least dimension is 5 in. or more
may contain the pith.

(2) When the least dimension is 5
in., or more, the pith being present,
the line over which the rate of growth
and percentage of summer wood
measurements shall be made, shall run
from the pith to the corner farthest
from the pith. The 3 in. line shall
begin at a distance from the pith equal
to 2 in. less than one-half the least
dimension of the piece.

(3) For all pieces not having the
pith present the center of the 3 in. line
shall be at the center of the end of
the piece and the direction of the 3 in.
line shall be at right angles to the
annual rings.

(4) If a radial line of 3 in. cannot
be obtained, the measurement shall be
made over the entire radial line that
is available.

1923

Roads and Streets

Dense Timber of Other Species. —

Dense timber of other species shall be
close grained, solid and strictly first
quality.

Cuban pine

White oak

Spanish oak from lowland

Tanbark oak.

Permissible Stresses of Structural Timber

(Revised April, 1923)
When used with this specification the following stresses in pounds per square
inch are permissible for structural timbers.

NAMK

Hori-
zontal .

Beiding i l^*Yi ™ i End
Stress , ^^^^i i Bearing

I Tension
and

Compression Psrsllel
to the Grain

a Locust, black

Maple, sugar or hard

Oak, Spanish (lowland)....

Oak, tanbark

Oak, white

Pine, Cuban

Pine, longleaf

Fir, Douglas (Coast Region) \

Pine, shortleaf

Larch, western

Oak, Pacific post

Oak, burr

Pine, loblolly

Pine, table mountain .
Tamarack

Cypress, bald

Fir, Douglas (Mountain

Region)

Hemlock, western

Hemlock, eastern

Pine, Norway

Pine, pitch

Redwood

Cedar, western red.

Chestnut

Pine, western yellow.

Spruce, red

Spruce, sitka'.

Cedar, white

Pine, Lodgepole

Spruce, En^lemann. .
Spruce, white

2,200

\ 1,000
1,600

1,400

1400

800

220
150

120
100

100

1400
1400

1,200
1400

1.100

L/D
OtolO

1,600
1,000
1,000

L/D
10 to 30

1800-251^
D

1200-25?L
D

1200-25t

Com-
pression
Perpen-
dicular
to Orain

TOO

1,000

1200-25?L

000

1100-25?L
D

soo

1000-25^
D

700

300-25^
D

600

MO-25^
D

000

350

250
250

160

Shear
Parallel
to Grain

350
220

180
150

150

130

120

100

L e<]uals length of column, and D equals least side or diameter, both dimensions in the same unit either
feet or inches. The unsupported length of wooden columns and comDre«!ion members shall not ex?eei 33
times the diameter of least side.

a Very durabie. b Durable. c Perishable.

Sound Timber. — Timber for col-
umns, sills, wheel-guards, bulkhead
sheeting, bracing and timber for other
purposes, unless otherwise specified,
shall fulfill the foregoing require-
ments except the density rules given
in paragraph No. 4.

Heart Requirement. — All untreated
timber shall show at least 85 per cent
heart wood on any girth.

Untreated Timber. — For designs
based on a fiber stress in bending of
1,500 to 1,600 lb. per sq. in., one of
the following species of timber shall
be used.

Douglas fir from Pacific Coast
Region

Longleaf pine

Shortleaf pine

Treated Timber. — For designs based
on a fiber stress in bending of 1,500
to 1,600 lb. per sq. in., one of the fol-
lowing species of timber shall be used.
(See accompanying table for unit
stresses.)

Douglas fir from Pacific Coast
Region

Longleaf pine

Cuban pine

Shortleaf pine

White oak

Spanish oak from lowland

Tanbark oak

Willow oak.

Timber treated by pressure method
to retain 8 to 12 lb. of oil per cu. ft.
and so treated that all sapwood is en-
tirely impregnated with creosote oil

Roads and Streets

July,

shall fulfill the requirements for un-
treated timber except that there shall
be no heartwood requirement.

Construction
Handling Treated Timber.— Treated

timber shall be carefully handled
without sudden dropping, breaking of
outer fibers, bruising or penetrating
the surface with tools. It shall be
handled with rope slings. Cant dogs,
hooks or pike-poles shall not be used.

Cuts in Treated Timber. — All places
where the surface of treated timber is
broken by cutting, boring or other-
wise, shall be thoroughly coated with
hot creosote oil and then with a coat-
ing of hot tar pitch.

Pile Caps. — Pile caps shall be level
and have full even bearing on all piles
in the bent and be secured to each pile
by a % in. diameter drift bolt extend-
ing at least 9 in. into the pile. Parts
of pile-heads projecting beyond the
cap must be adzed off to a slope of 45
degrees.

Framing. — Truss and bent timbers
shall be accurately cut, and framed to
a close fit in such manner that they
will have even bearing over the entire
contract surface of the joint. No
blocking or shimming of any kind will
be allowed in making joints, nor will
open joints be accepted. Mortises
shall be true to size for their full
depth and tenons shall make snug fit
therein.

Bolt Holes. — All bolt holes shall be
bored with an augur 1/16 in. smaller
in diameter than the bolt. Mortises
and tenons shall be "draw bored."

Stringers. — Stringers shall be sized
at bearings. Outside stringers may
have butt joints but interior stringers
shall be framed to bear over the full
width of floor beam or cap at each
end. The ends shall be separated at
least ^4 in. for the circulation of air
and shall be securely fastened to the
timber on which they rest.

Floor Plank. — Roadway floor plank
shall have a nominal thickness either
of 4 or 3 in, as specified, and an actual
width of not less than dVz in. Side-
walk floor plank shall be surfaced to
uniform thickness. It shall have an
actual minimum width of 5% in. and
thickness of 1% in.

Laying Floor Plank. — Floor plank
shall be laid heart side down with %
in. openings and be spiked to each
stringer or nailing strip with at least
two 7 in. spikes for 4 in. plank and two
6 in. spikes for 3 in. plank. Rough
plank shall be carefully graded as to
thickness before laying, and be laid so

that no two adjacent planks vary in
thickness more than 1/16 in. All floors
shall be cut to a straight line along
the sides of the roadway and walk-
way.

Wheel-Guards. — Wheel-guards, as
shown on the plans, shall be con-
structed on each side of the road.
They shall be raised from the floor by
blocks 8 in. thick by 1 ft. long, spaced
about 5 ft. apart center to center, and
be fastened in place by a % in. bolt
passing through the wheel guard, each
block and the floor plank.

Railings. — Railings shall be built in
accordance with the designs shown on
the plans, and shall be constructed in
a workmanlike and substantial man-
ner. Unless otherwise noted all rail-
ing material shall be dressed on four
sides (S4S).

Pins. — Pins may be turned or split
and drawn, from clear, sound wood of
the kind specified on the plans. They
shall be made 6 in. longer than the
required finished length, and when
driven into place shall have their ends
sawed off flush with the surface of the
member.

Turned pins shall be made from
square stock sawed parallel to the
grain. One end shall be left square
for about 1 in. and the other shall
have a dull point. The body of the
pin shall be uniform in diameter and
1/16 in. larger than the diameter of
the hole. The finished pins shall be
free from knots, knot holes, pockets,
splits or flaws which might impair
their strength.

Split and drawn pins shall be made
from straight grained green lumber
and be allowed to season. One end
shall be hardened and pointed by
charring. They shall be octagonal in
shape and when seasoned the diameter
between parallel faces shall be the
same as the diameter of the holes in
which they are to be driven.

Bolts. — Bolts shall be of the sizes
specified and must be perfect in every
respect. They shall have square
heads and nuts and screw threads
shall make close fits in the nuts. All
bolts shall be effectually checked after
the nuts are adjusted.

Washers. — Washers shall be used
between all bolt heads and nuts, and
wood. Cast washers shall have a
thickness equal to the diameter of the
bolt and a diameter of four times the
thickness. For plate washers the size
of the square shall be equal to four
times, and the thickness equal to one-
half, the diameter of the bolt.

1923

Roads and Streets

Preservative Treatment
Description. — Whenever specified
timber and piles shall be treated for
preservation, prior to treatment the
piles shall be trimmed and peeled and
the timber cut and framed. No cut-
ting or trimming will be allowed after
treatment except the boring of neces-
sary holes.

The timber shall then be impreg-
nated with the preservative specified
using any standard process approved
by the Engineer so that from 8 to 12
lb, of creosote oil per cu. ft. is re-
tained and all sapwood is thoroughly
penetrated.

Material. — The preservative shall
be one of the following grades of creo-
sote oil or creosote oil tar solution as
directed by the Engineer, or indicated
on the plans and shall meet the fol-
lowing requirements:

wire. After the cover is in place the
cap shall be placed as described in
Article No. 11.

Untreated Timbers. — In structures
of untreated timber the following sur-
faces shall be thoroughly coated with
a thick coat of red lead paint, hot tar,
hot asphaltum, or hot creosote resi-
duum before assembling. Heads of
piles, ends, tops, and all contact sur-
faces of pile caps, floor beams, and
stringer ends, joints and all contact
surfaces of truss members, laterals,
and braces.

The back face of bulkheads and all
other timber in contact with earth
shall be thoroughly coated with one
of the materials specified above, or a
carbolineum.

Railings. — Unless otherwise speci-
fied railings shall be made of un-*
treated dressed lumber and shall be

Preserrative Specifications

CreoMte Oil

Creosote

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grades

Coal Tar
Solution

1— It shall not contain wat«r in ezMss of

2— It shall not contain matter insolubU in bsAzol in sxMsa

of.

»%
• ■5%

#.5%

5%
2%

• ■5%
1«3

2.«%
l.«6— 112

«%

3-Sp«s«c jrafity of oU at S«°/15.5<'C, shall not b« lass than .
4— The distillate based on water-fr«« oU shall b« within ths

following limita:
Up to 210=C, not more than

Up to 235-C, not more than

5— The float teat of residue above 35S"=C shall not exceed 50

sec. at 70 -C, if the distillation residue above 355°C exceeds

C — Coke residue of oil not more than

7— The foregoing tests shall be made in atvordance with

standard methods of A. S. T. M. Designation D3S-18.

Painting
Treated Timbers. — Hot creosote oil
shall be poured into the bolt holes be-
fore the insertion of the bolts, in such
a manner that the entire surface of
the holes shall receive a coating of oil.
After the necessary cutting and slop-
ing of projecting parts has been done
to receive the cap, the heads of piles
shall be given three coats of hot creo-
sote oil. They shall then be covered
with a coat of hot tar pitch over which
shall be placed a sheet of 3-ply roofing
felt or galvanized iron, or a covering
may be built up of alternate layers of
hot tar pitch and loose- woven fabric
similar to membrane waterproofing
using four layers of pitch and three of
the fabric. The cover shall measure
at least 6 in. more in each dimension
than the diameter of the pile and shall
be bent over the pile and the edges
fastened with large headed nails, or
secured by binding with galvanized

painted with two coats of paint com-
posed of 85 per cent pure white lead
and 15 per cent zinc white mixed in
pure raw linseed oil.

Bolts. — All bolts passing through
non-resinous wood shall be painted
with two coats of red lead paint at
least 85 per cent pure.

Basis of Payment. — This work will
be paid for at the contract unit price
per thousand feet board measure for
untreated timber or treated timber, as
the case may be, complete in price ac-
cording to the plans or as directed by
the Engineer, which place will include
all materials, excavation, equipment,
tools, labor, painting, preservative
treatment and all work incidental
thereto. No additional allowance will
be made for spikes, nails, bolts, wash-
ers, drift bolts, etc.

In computing the quantity of tim-
ber, nominal sizes will be used.

Roads and Streets

July,

Sheet Asphalt Construction in
Little Rock, Ark.

By W. E. FORD,

Ford & MacCrea, Consulting and Supervising
Engineers, Gazette Bldg., Little Rock, Ark.

Street Improvement District Num-
ber 313, embracing the paving of
about nine blocks in the southern part
of the city of Little Rock, Ark., was
inaugurated principally to connect up
several streets which had already
been paved, and to accommodate the

measuring 1^^ in. before rolling and 1
in. after rolling. The wearing surface
measured IM, in. before rolling and
was reduced to 1 in. by rolling.

The stone used in the concrete base
was blue trap rock furnished in sizes
ranging from Vz to l^A in. Sharp,
coarse sand taken from the Arkansas
River was used to complete the min-
eral aggregate of the base. Blue trap
rock in a smaller size was used in the
binder course, and selected sand from
the Arkansas River was used in the

Twenty-first St., Little Rock. Ark., Paved in February, 1923, With Sheet Asphalt.

residents of this section which is the
centre of many attractive homes.

The new construction is sheet as-
phalt throughout and measures 36 ft.
between curbs. The street corners
have been changed to an 8 ft. radius
so as to facilitate the turning of long
wheel base cars and to give ample
parking space on the street.

As it was not expected that these
streets would receive very much of the
extremely heavy traffic of the city,
and since the sub-soil was of a more
or less stable character, with drain-
age very well taken care of, the con-
crete base was made 5 in. thick with
a uniform 1:3:6 mix, and was slightly
roughened on the surface to receive
the asphalt binder.

The writer has observed that the
most successful asphalt pavement is
the one that receives maximum com-
pression. In order to obtain a tightly
compacted sheet asphalt pavement in
this district, we chose a binder course

wearing course. Texaco No. 54 asphalt
paving cement was used in the con-
struction of binder and top for the
entire job.

The contractor who handled the con-
struction of base, curb, drainage, etc.,
was the Oliver Construction Co., and
the Standard Paving Co. of Little
Rock laid the asphalt top.

Street Railway Track in 26 ft. Park-
way.— In paving 7th East St. at Salt
Lake City, Utah, a new departure in
paving design was used in the center
parking for the tracks of the Utah
Light & Traction Co. between 5th and
9th South. By this method the car
company maintains its right-of-way
within a 26-ft. park sown in grass,
and in the construction of the pave-
ment pays for the cost of the park,
curb and sidewalk landings at each
end of the park. This way of paving
Quite materially reduces the cost of
wie improvement.

1923

Roads and Streets

Patrol Method of Road Maintenance

System of Michigan for State and County Roads Described in Paper

Presented June 12 at Annual Convention of Canadian

Good Roads Association

By L. H. NEILSON,

Deputy State Highway Commissioner of Michigan.

This paper is written from the
standpoint of practices developed
from the experience of Michigan in
handling the maintenance of her state
trunk line road system through the
county road organizations and in the
methods developed by the Michigan
counties in handling their state aid
county systems. Opinions expressed
and methods suggested are those best
adapted to Michigan's soil, climate,
traffic and other conditions.

Michigan Plan of Maintenance. —
Under our laws the counties pay from
5 per cent to 25 per cent of the cost of
construction and from 10 per cent to
50 per cent of the cost of mainte-
nance. The state highway department
lets the contracts for construction, and
the counties handle the maintenance
of the state line highways under an
agreement providing for the return of
the state's share based on quarterly
statements of the cost of doing the
work. The couijty maintenance organ-
ization handles the upkeep of both the
state trunk lines and the county roads,
thus saving duplication of overhead
and equipment expense.

The present maintenance organiza-
tion is headed by the state highway
commissioner through his mainte-
nance department which supervises
the county organizations handling the
work. The state is divided into nine
engineering districts with a district
engineer in charge, who handles all
the work of the department in the
group of counties under his super-
vision. He has assistants, one of
whom is especially charged with sup-
ervision of maintenance work. The
county road work is handled by a
board of county road commissioners
consisting of three members whose
duties are administrative and who
must hire an engineer or superintend-
ent skilled in roadbuilding to handle
all construction and maintenance.

The roads must lie on a county sys-
tem approved by the state highway
commissioner if state aid is desired.
The qualifications of the county high-
way engineer must be approved by the
state highway commissioner. The en-

gineer must also be registered under
the state law, providing for registra-
tion of engineers.

Where the county road system is
extensive enough and the expendi-
tures are large enough to warrant it
a superintendent of maintenance, re-
porting to the county engineer is em-
ployed. Sometimes a county is
divided into several districts with an _
overseer over each district who has
direct charge of the patrolmen.

Agreement with County.— Under
the system now in effect in Michigan
a contract or agreement is drawn up
with the county authorities covering
the work for the ensuing calendar
year. Each patrol section is listed
with the men, equipment, material
and money required to properly main-
tain it. To the total cost shoAvn for
the several sections is added the prop-
er super\'isory or overhead cost, the
salaries of the superintendent and
overseers and equipment rental or al-
lowance. The agreement shows the
share provided by law which shall be
refunded by the state on the receipt
and audit of the quarterly statements.
Any extraordinary or emergency ex-
penditure which would run the co^
of any section or sections above the
amount budgeted in the agreement
must be approved by the district en-
gineer and by the maintenance depart-
ment before the work is done in order
to be audited and approved in a quar-
terly statement.

Marking the trunk line routes with
the proper numbers, direction and
warning signs is done by the depart-
ment crews and the cost charged back
to the counties. Certain bridge re-
pairs and steel bridge painting are
handled by department gangs.

Each year estimates are gathered
covering the amount of tars, asphalts
and calcium chloride to be used for
the season and bids taken for sup-
plying the needs of the country or-
ganizations for these materials. Pur-
chases are made for both county roads
and state trunk line highways. Large
savings have been made possible by
this method. Another feature which

Roads and Streets

July,

is extremely important is that this
blanket letting enables the setting up
of a standard specification which all
bidders, whatever may be the trade
name of their product, are forced to
meet. Tests are then made of the
materials as furnished and it has been
possible to secure uniform materials
for the several kinds of work, such as
surface treatment, penetration ma-
cadam, cold patch and joint fillers for
concrete pavements.

Maintenance and construction work
are now supervised by a landscape
engineer with special reference to the
preservation and planting of trees,
shrubs, etc., so as to make the road-
sides more pleasing to the eye.

Maintenance of Gravel Roads. — In-
asmuch as 50 per cent of the 6,045
miles of the trunk line system, under
maintenance in 1922, are gravel sur-
faced and more than 70 per cent of
the state roads are of the same char-
acter, it follows that gravel road
maintenance is of primary importance.

On earth and gravel surfaces par-
ticularly, the patrolman is the funda-
mental unit upon which the whole or-
ganization is built up. He is placed
in charge of a section, the length of
which depends on the character of the
improved road and the amount and
kind of traffic to be carried. The
usual section is 3 to 5 miles. He is
responsible to his superior for the
condition of the road surface, for the
safety of the traveling public, for the
legibility of markers, warning and di-
rection signs and for the general ap-
pearance of the roadside. He should
live near the center of his section if
possible. The endeavor should be to
secure and retain men who will stick
to the job. Compensation should be
on a monthly basis and should be
based on results and increased with
length of service. Work of this char-
acter cannot be done according to rigid
specifications laid down in advance be-
cause of the widely varying nature
of the soils, road surfaces and kind
and character of traffic. It is there-
fore very essential that the job be
made attractive to the man who will
be observing and resourceful as well
as a willing worker.

All necessary equipment should be
furnished to the patrolman, who must
be responsible for it while assigned to
his section.

The first care of the patrolman
must be to keep the road surface as
near perfect as possible. He should
begin work as soon as the frost is

coming out of the ground in the
spring. Early in the season it is often
advisable to supplement his efforts
with some gang work involving the
use of heavy graders drawn by trac-
tors to shape the road surface at the
time it is most easily handled. Sod
ridges formed on the shoulders
through the preceding summer can
easily be removed and the true cross
section restored. All oversize stone
should be removed before new mate-
rial is added.

The early gravel roads were built
without much regard for the size of
stone or the sand, loam or clay con-
tent of the material. A large amount
of oversize makes it next to impossi-
ble to keep a smooth surface. The
present specifications call for a maxi-
mum size of %-in. with 75 per cent
retained on a screen having eight
meshes to the linear inch. The prob-
lem of keeping a smooth surface on
such roads is very much simplified.
Too large a percentage of clay has
resulted in roads that mud up and be-
come rutted and rough. The maxi-
mum clay tolerance is 10 per cent and
there must be no lumps. In pits with
a large amount of oversize the bank
gravel is usually crushed so as to util-
ize all the material handled. All de-
pressions and ruts should be kept
filled. The gravel should be shovelled
out of the truck or wagon unless a
considerable amount is required when
it can be best dumped out of an end
dump truck.

New material should be available
along the roads if the source of sup-
ply is at a considerable distance.
Stock piles should be placed outside
the shoulder lines and back of the
ditches.

Dragging Essential. — D ragging
should be done with a patrol grader
or truck scraper. Good results can
be secured with mechanical power but
care must be taken to keep the speed
down. Teams are very satisfactory
because the speed can be kept down
but often are too expensive because
they can cover only limited mileage in
a given time. Material must be added
as fast as it is worn away and in suf-
ficient amounts to leave a little to be
moved into the ruts and depressions
as the grader moves over the road.
Where traffic is heavy it often becomes
necessary to drag once or even twice
a day regardless of weather condi-
tions.

With an adequate patrol mainte-
nance system in operation the crown

1923

Roads and Streets

should be kept from 4 to 6 in. in 24
ft. This may be made a little higher
as fall rains come and flattened out
after the spring rains are over.

Resurfacing is required periodically
and care should be taken to use clean,
properly prepared material, free from
clay or loam, with a maximum size of
^A in. or % in. The large amount of
pleasure car traffic on our main trav-
eled highways is making the elimina-
tion of dust imperative. Good clean
patching and resurfacing helps to ac-
complish this.

Heavy resurfacing work should be
done early in the spring or late in the
fall so that the traveling public will
be as little inconvenienced as possible.

Calcium chloride has been used with
very good success as a dust layer both
in the flake and the granulated form.

Income from Long Term
Contracts

Methods of Reporting for Income Tax

Purposes Described In The

Constructor

By E. J. BROSNAN,

Assistant Treasurer, Associated General
Contractors

The construction industry presents
some peculiar difficulties in the calcu-
lation of net income from contracts
extending over a period of more than
one year.

While the Treasury Department
permits the filing of income tax re-
turns in accordance with the account-
ing methods employed by taxpayers,
provided such method clearly reflects
the net income, in the case of con-
tractors whose income is largely de-
rived from contracts extending over a
period of years, it goes a little further
and suggests other methods for re-
porting net income which is optional
on the part of the contracts to follow.

Two Suggested Methods. — The sug-
g<?sted methods for the determination
of income from long-term contracts,
are as follows:

a. On the basis of percentage of
completion.

b. Income may be reported in the
year in which the contract is finally
completed.

If a taxpayer decides to file his re-
turn on the basis of percentage of
completion there should accompany
the return certificates of architects or
engineers showing the percentage of
completion during the taxable year, of
the entire work to be performed under

the contract. Deduction from the
gross income thus determined should
be made of all expenditures made
during the taxable year in connection
with the contract, including reason-
able allowances for depreciation and
other losses on machinery and equip-
ment.

Adjustments should be made on ac-
count of nny materials or supplies re-
maining on hand at the beginning and
end of the taxable period for use in
connection with the contract.

If, after the contract is completed
and it is found that the net income
has not been clearly reflected for any
one year or years, it is permissible to
amend the returns so as to show the
correct income accruing from the con-
tract. The Commissioner of Internal
Revenue may, if in his opinion the net
income is not clearly reflected under
this method, requir that amended re-
turns be filed.

The above method is probably the
most complicated and one that would
require many supporting statements
and a great deal of correspondence
with the Treasury Department, which
it is desirable to avoid. The other
method suggested by Regulation 62.
on the completed contract basis, is
probably the most logical to follow.

Completed Contract Method. — The
completed contract method provides
for the reporting of income only after
the completion and acceptance of the
contract. Contractors are advised to
choose this method for filing their re-
turn of net income, for it is the most
accurate and precludes the mistakes
incident to filing on a percentage of
completion basis. At best, the income
thus reported would have to be esti-
mated, resulting in later adjustments
either by request of the Treasury De-
partment or voluntarily by the tax-
payer in case the estimated income is
found to be incorrect.

On the completed contract basis, a
return of income is not made until all
work has been completed. This affords
the taxpayer ample time to make all
the necessary adjustments in his ac-
counts, to include all expenditures
made at any time, in connection with
the particular contract, and to arrive
at an accurate profit or loss arising
from the contract.

The regulations on the subject re-
quire the deduction from gross income
of all expenditures made in connection
with the contract, adjustment being
necessary for any materials and sup-
plies originally charged against the

Roads and Streets

July,

contract but remaining on hand at the
time of completion.

An Example. — A question which
should be of interest to contractors
has arisen in connection with a case
in which the writer is interested. A
contractor engaged on a State con-
tract expending over a period of three
years, finished the physical work in
the fall of 1918. A final estimate was
not received, however, until 1919. The
taxpayer in question, having elected
to file his return on a completed-con-
tract basis, contends that the contract
was not completed until the work had
been approved and a final estimate
made by the State Engineer. In this
particular case it would appear that
the terms of the contract and the
method of bookkeeping employed by
the taxpayer would be the determin-
ing factors. Assuming that there was
no provision in the contract as to the
final approval of the work, and the
taxpayer, following a consistent prac-
tice of keeping his books on an annual
basis, had set up as an accounts re-
ceivable, the amount of the contract
then, in accordance with Office Deci-
sion 6B, quoted below, the income
would be taxable in the year in which
the book entry was made.

Office Decision No. 1147, dealing
with this subject, reads as follows:

"A taxpayer, reporting income on
the completed contract basis, who
keeps his books of account on an an-
nual basis, and who, upon completion
of the contract extending over a term
of years, receives a part payment
called for therein, the balance being
represented by an accounts receivable,
should return the full amount of the
contract price as income for the year
in which the contract was completed."

No decision has as yet been ren-
dered by the Bureau of Internal Rev-
enue in the case cited above, and a de-
cision in favor of the taxpayer should
be of vital interest to contractors on
account of the reduction in the rates
of tax in the year 1919.

Any contractor who has previously
filed his return in accordance with his
method of bookkeeping may change to
either of the methods above outlined.
In case a change is made, the Govern-
ment requires a statement showing
the composition of all items appearing
upon his balance sheet and used in
connection with the method of ac-
counting formerly employed by him.

Warrants. — In some localities it is
the practice to issue warrants in pay-
ment of work performed on contracts
with cities, towns, etc. In such cases.

the regulations provide that the fair
market value of such contracts should
be returned as income. If, however,
upon conversion of the warrants into
cash the value thus returned is not
realized, a deduction of the difference
is permissible from the gross income
for the year in which the warrants
were converted into cash. In case a
greater amount is realized, such
amount should be included as income
for that year.

Concrete Road Surfacing by
"Rhoubenite" Process

Experiences in Belguim Described in
Paper Presented May 9 at 4th In-
ternational Road Congress,
Seville, Spain

By MESSRS. CLAEYS, GOORIECKY
and MULHEN

Ingenicurs Principaux des Fonts et Chausees,
Belgium

The inventor of Rho'i^ ^' -^ '■
deavored principally to arrive as a
better impermeability. For quick set-
ting cement the contraction produces
the formation of pores and voids,
w^hich, although small, however allow
the humidity to penetrate. Water in
the interior prevents the free expan-
sion and contraction of the concrete
and if it freezes it breaks the cohesion
of the cement and causes cracks and
crevices. In order to obtain imper-
meability, a coat of cement or tar
could be applied, but if the traffic is
heavy it would deteriorate rapidly
without counting that it would con-
stitute a very costly element for this
kind of surfacing which is already
very high priced. With a view to
finding this impermeability the inven-
tor of Rhoubenite adds to the con-
crete very fine sawdust chemically
neutral but compressible and of a con-
siderable power of absorption, to
which a tarred mixture is added, the
impermeability of which is carefully
studied.

It results from laboratory tests,
which practice has proved that the re-
sistance to compression of Rhoubenite
concrete is sensibly equal to that of
ordinary concrete of the same propor-
tions and consequently, it appears
proven that Rhoubenite powder does
not provoke chemical reactions which
would oppose the setting. This prop-
erty it seems may be explained in the
following way: at the moment when
the powder is incorporated with the

1923

Roads and Streets

concrete and during the first period of
setting, the tarred product remains
impregnated in the sawdust and does
not inten-ene in the setting. Later
the tarred product, under the action
of expansion and contraction partially
excedes the sawdust and fills the pores
which were produced by the evapora-
tion of the water and the completion
of the setting, what is more, the saw-
dust acts as an elastic body in the
concrete.

By using Rhoubenite powder, mix-
ing it well, satisfactory impermeabil-
ity is attained and the tendency to the
formation of cracks is considerably
reduced. The rolling of the sawdust
is not to be feared because it is com-
pressed in the mass, sheltered from
the inclemencies of the weather and
saturated as it is with tar.

Rhoubenite Powder. — The exact
proportion of the elements and the
mixing temperatures are the secrets
of the inventor.

The powder has the property of not
agglomerating, even if it rests for a
long time in heaps. With time it not
only does not lose its qualities but it
improves.

Making the Concrete and Execution
of the Rhoubenite Surfacing. — The
proportions are:

Gravel

. _ . 1.100 dcm*.

Sand or dost

450 dcm'.

Cement

._ .. 400 kgs.

Rhoubenite powder ..

60 liters.

The quantity of water is approxi-
mately 160 liters; an excess of water
should be avoided, as this might pro-
duce voids in the mass w^hen evapo-
rating. The mixture is made in con-
crete mixers, taking the precaution
not to add the Rhoubenite powder be-
fore the concrete is thoroughly mixed.
The old macadam having been picked
and rolled the concrete is spread on a
thickness of 12 cm., so that after
ramming it preserves a thickness of
10 cm. The ramming is carried out
by means of square iron rammers or
■with a light roller, preferably of the
tandem type with 5-ton wheels, exer-
cising a pressure of 20 kilos per cm'
of width of rim.

Traffic must be stopped during two
or three weeks.

Interruption Joints in the Work. —

The junction of the fresh concrete
with the hard concrete of the day be-
fore was made during the first appli-
cations at right angles to the axis of

the road. These joints by reason of
the setting constitute weak points and
because of alternate periods of dry
and damp weather and more espe-
cially because of frost the form hol-
lows very trying for the traffic. By
making these joints obliquely it is
easier for the traffic but the real dif-
ficulty is not overcome. The authors
of this paper think that a good result
"would be obtained by making provi-
sional joints formed by a line of
bricks or wooden blocks until the def-
inite setting of the concrete, and then
taking them away and filling the
space \\ith Rhoubenite rich in cement
or with asphaltic mixtures.

Crevices. — Although Rhoubenite
possesses properties of elasticity su-
perior to those of ordinary concrete, it
is not, however, possible to prevent
certain stresses from arising which
localize and give rise to tensions sur-
passing the elastic limit. Thus crevices
are produced, fairly rare during the
first applications of the system, Mr.
Mulhen's opinion being that as the
execution of the work was carried out
on sections very slightly longer than
the width of the roadway, the inter-
ruption joints had the effect of local-
izing the contraction stresses due to
the setting. The methods of rapid
construction haWng been improved
the length of the day's w^ork is con-
siderable and the crevices are much
more frequent and because of this
provisional joints have been used al-
ways with the object of preventing
the formation of cracks.

Repairs. — Besides the joints and the
cracks which constitute the weak
points, disaggregations are produced
resulting sometimes from the pres-
ence in the gravel of soft or porous
elements, sometimes from accidental
defects in the mixing of the concrete
or again the dilution of the Rhou-
benite recently placed by sudden rain,
or else by the setting being upset by
a sudden frost. The disaggregations
are more important when the gravel
is calcareous; they are also important
when it is sandy by reason of its lack
of homogeneity. Consequently a hard,
not porous and homogeneous gravel
should be chosen.

The repairs of the cracks like those
of hollows must be carried out by cut-
tine the surface on the whole of its
thickness, trimming and cleaning the
old concrete before filling in with thp
fresh concrete, which should be well
rammed.

Roads and Streets

July,

Standard Tests for Non-Bi-
tuminous Material

In its report submitted at the an-
nual convention of the American So-
ciety for Municipal Improvements,
the committee on "Standard Tests for
Non-Bituminous Materials," of which
Prof. Arthur H. Blanchard is chair-
man, recommended that the society
adopt the following fifteen methods
of testing, as standards of the So-
ciety:

Apparent specific gravity of sand,
stone and slag screenings, and other
fine non-bituminous highway mate-
rials, as described in the Am. Soc.
Test. Mat., 1921 Standards, pages 715-
718, and designated D 55-19.

Apparent specific gravity of coarse
aggregates, as described in the Am.
Soc. Test. Mat., 1921 Standards, pages
713, 714, and designated D 30-18.

Mechanical analysis of sand or other
fine highway material, as described in
the Am. Sos. Test. Mat, 1921 Stand-
ards, pages 721, 722, and designated D
7-18.

Mechanical analysis of mixture of
sand or other fine material with brok-
en stone or broken slag, as described
in the Am. Soc. Test. Mat, 1921 Stand-
ards, page 724, and designated D 19-16.

Mechanical analysis of broken stone
or broken slag, as described in the Am.
Soc. Test. Mat., 1921 Standards, page
723, and designated D 18-16.

Abrasion of road material, as de-
scribed in the Am. Soc. Test. Mat.,
1921 Standards, page 710, and desig-
nated D 2-08.

Toughness of rock, as described in
the Am. Soc. Test Mat, 1921 Stand-
ard, pages 711, 712, and designated D
3-18.

Crushing strength of rock or slag,
as described in the Am. Soc. C. E.
Trans., Vol. 82, 1918, page 1442.

Cementation of rock, slag, and grav-
el powders, as described in the Am.
Soc: C. B. Trans., Vol. 82, 1918, pages
1441, 1442.

Quantity of clay and silt in gravel
for highway construction, as described
in the Am. Soc. Test Mat, 1921 Stan-
dards, page 719, and designated D 72-
21.

Organic impurities In sands for ce-
ment concrete, as described in the
1921 Report Com. C-9, Am. Soc. Test
Mat., page 12, and designated C 40-
21 T.

Tests for Portland cement, as de-
scribed in the Am. Soc. Test. Mat.,

1921 Standards, pages 530-547, and des-
ignated C 9-21.

Compression test of cement con-
crete, as described in the 1921 Report,
Com. C-9, Am. Soc. Test. Mat, pages
6-11, and designated C 39-21 T.

Paving brick rattler test, as de-
scribed in the Am Soc. Test. Mat.,

1921 Standards, pages 567-574, and
designated C 7-15.

Absorption of water by wood blocks
after treatment, as described in the
Am. Soc. C. E. Trans., Vol. 82, 1918,
page 1447.

The Committee also recommended
that the Society tentatively adopt, un-
til the 1923 Convention, the following
methods of testing:

Decantation test for sand and other
fine aggregates, as described in the

1922 Annual Report of Committee D-4,
Am. Soc. Test. Mat., and designated
D 136-22 T.

Consistency of Portland cement con-
crete for pavements or for pavement
base, as described in the 1922 Annual
Report of Committee D-4, Am. Soc.
Test Mat., and designated D 138-
22 T.

Sampling stone, slag, gravel, sand
and stone block for use as highway
materials, as described in the Am.
Soc. Test. Mat., Proc. Vol. XX, Part
I, 1920, pages 789 to 795, and desig-
nated D 75-20 T.

Mechanical analysis of subgrade
soils, as described in the 1922 Annual
Report of Committee D-4, Am. Soc.
Test Mat., and designated D 137-22 T.

Trade Publications

Tractor Operations. — A portfolio of snap
shots sliowing Tioga tractors at work on jobs
of various kinds has been issued by The Tioga
Tractor Co., Arlington, Baltimore, Md. The
illustrations show the tractors on excavating
jobs, in road grading and special hauling jobs.
Some interesting hitchups are shown.

Paving Mixers. — A 48 page catalog devoted
to description and illustrations of Koehring
heavy duty pavers has been published by the
Koehring Co., Milwaukee, Wis. The catalog
describes the various features of mixers and
gives their specifications. It includes photo-
graphs of interesting construction operations
on which the mixers are being used.

Road Building and Earth Handling Ma-
chinery. —The Russell Grader Mfg. Co., Minne-
apolis, Minn., has issued a 64 page catalog
illustrating and describing its line of road
building and earth handling machinery, in-
cluding road machines, scrapers,_ elevating
graders, conveyors, culverts, drag lines, crush-
ers, screens, gravel equipment, etc., etc.

Mixers, Trenchers, Bucket Elevators, Etc. —
A condensed catalog of the Austin Line of
construction equipment has been issued by the
Austin Machinery Corp., Toledo. O. It in-
cludes, illustrations and concise description of
mixers, trenching machines, road tamper,
asphalt plant, back filler, wagon loader, crane-
shovel, and drag lines. Operating data and
dimensions of each machine are given.

Water Works

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbekt p. Gillette, President and Editor

Lewis S. Loueb, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St. and Broadway

RiCHASD £. Bkown, Eastern Manager

The specialized publishing plan of Engineering and Contracting provides
four rotating monthly magazines, each of which is $1 a year. All four
may be subscribed for at $4 a year, and thus taken they provide a weekly
service completely covering the construction field.

Roads and Streets — 1st Wednesday, 91 Railways — 3rd Wednesday, $1

(a) Road Con- (c) Streets (a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-
Etraction (d) Street clean- way Ck>nstrac- way Constmc-

(b) Road Main- ingr tion and tion and
tenance Maintenance Maintenance

Water Works— 2nd Wednesday, tl

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrieration and Sanitation
Drainage (d) Waterways

Baildincs — tth Wednesday. $1

(a) Boildinsn (d) Miscellaneoos

(b) Bridges Stractures

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., JULY 11, 1923

No.l

"Why Not Meter Air?"
Asks AW. Byrne

At last the leading newspapers of
Chicago have begun advocating the
metering of all water consumers.
The mayor has advised this action,
and Alderman Eaton has introduced
a motion to effect city-wide installa-
tion of water meters. Whereupon
up rises Alderman Byrne to protest
in behalf of his constituents, and
thus he speaks:

"Where is all this going to stop?
Aid. Eaton (Fifth ward, who spon-
sored the motion) comes from a gold
coast ward where every family has
its icebox. In my ward we don't and
can't have iceboxes because we're too
poor. Are you going to stop the
kiddies from having a drink of water
or keep the poor mother from cooling
her food in this hot weather.

"You've taken away our beer and
now you want to take away even
our drinking water. You've got the
biggest lake in this part of the coun-
try right at your door and yet you

want to meter it. You might as well
meter the air."

To which last thrust the Chicago
Evening Post replies that it would
be wise to meter the air if it were
as expensive as water. Uninten-
tionally, perhaps, Aid. Byrne gives
a clue to the cause of much of the
water waste when he says "we can't
have ice boxes because we're too
poor," for it is the practice of many
water consumers to keep the faucets
open continuously in the summer in
order to get cold water. But if the
taxpayers wish to furnish cold water
to those who can not afford to buy
ice, it will be found cheaper to fur-
nish free ice to that part of the
population than to continue the gen-
eral waste of water.

Alderman Byrne does not oppose
metering gas, yet Chicago has huge
coal deposits almost at its door. He
realizes that it costs money to mine,>
transport and deliver coal, not to
mention manufacturing it into gas
and piping it to consumers. He
evidently does not realize that it
costs a huge sum of money to pump
and transport water to consumers.

Water Works

Juh

Every Town Should
Chlorinate Its Water

There are 2,800 cities in America
having a population of 2,500 or more,
and 7,500 having a population of 1,000
or more. The total number of incor-
porated towns is 13,000. Before these
figures are considered it is impres-
sive to read that there are 2,000
chlorinating machines in use in Amer-
ica, but since every incorporated
town should chlorinate its water to
prevent typhoid it is evident that
chlorination is only just beginning to
receive adequate recognition.

In an article entitled "Official Man-
slaughter" the reader will find refer-
ence to a recent court decision holding
a city liable for damages because of
typhoid infection caused by the use
of "raw water." A few more such
salutary decisions may hasten the day
when every water supply is chlo-
rinated. The cost of chlorination is
nominal, and there is no valid excuse
for failure to use this precaution
against typhoid.

Politics in Government
Engineering

Editorial In Chicago Journal of Commerce

The dismissal of Arthur P. Davis,
director of the United States reclama-
tion service, is discouraging to busi-
ness men, to friends of reclamation
and conservation and to all ac-
quainted with the facts involved,
except, of course, the politicians who
engineered that dismissal.

Mr. Davis has served the Govern-
ment faithfully for 40 years. He has
achieved a world-wide reputation as
an engineer. He has worked for a
pittance and for the love of the work
— encouraged in no small degree, of
course, by the fact that his has been a
civil service position and its perma-
nency unquestioned. The problems of
his department are entirely engineer-
ing problems and its work is done
solely by engineers.

Some indefinite and intangible force
suggested the appointment to the
place of a country banker from Idaho,
a man who had once been governor
of his State, who undoubtedly is an
estimable gentleman, but whose train-
ing and experience no more qualify
him to succeed Arthur P. Davis than
they do to understudy for Muratore.

Mr. Davis could not be discharged,
so resort was had to the device of

abolishing his position. Appropria
tion for and legal designation of z
director of the United States reclama-
tion service was discontinued and the
title of commissioner was substituted
The gentleman from Idaho was ap-
pointed to fill the place.

Humiliating as the incident must be
to Mr. Davis, it is a blessing to him,
He has now lost all his illusions and
is free to enter the larger field of a
consulting practice for corporate
clients who will pay him many times
the meager salary provided by the
Government. It is, however, a de-
structive blow at Government service.
It undermines confidence and removes
the incentive that has inspired thou-
sands of technical men to remain true
to their ideals and give their best to
government service for beggarly
salaries.

It is too late for President Harding
to correct this particular blunder. It
is highly probable that he knew noth-
ing of the change and that, had he
known of it, he would have counselled
against or forbidden it. It is not his
manner of doing business. He can,
however, send his Cabinet members
and department heads a brief message
that will forefend against a repetition
of the incident.

Metering Chicago's Water
Supply

Editorial in Chicago Evening Post

Aid. Byrne voiced the reaction of
the unthinking when he rose to pro-
test indignantly against the proposal
to meter water in Chicago. "Why
not meter air?" he asked, with the
obvious rhetorical appeal.

Probably if air had to be pumped
through mains and pipes into every
house, apartment and business build-
ing in the city, we would find it nec-
essary to meter it in order to insure
everybody at all times a sufficient
supply at a fair cost. We may be
thankful that is not necessary. Each
human being is his own pumping sta-
tion for air, and can make direct
connection with the source of supply.

A parallel between water and air
does not exist.

Let Aid. Byrne and colleagues of
like prejudice do their constituents
the justice of giving a little thought
to this problem. It may require more
effort, but it will serve better the in-
terests of the men and women who

1923

Water Works

voted for them than mere indulgence
in oratory.

The experience of big cities in
which the meter system has been
adopted shows that the result is not
limitation of use, but limitation of
waste; not increase of cost to the con-
sumer, but reduction of cost to con-
sumers and taxpayers.

Faucets carelessly left running,
neglected leaks in plumbing and
mains, loss through friction induced
by the necessity of attempting to
force through the mains a larger vol-
ume of water than they can properly
carry, are all occasions of waste
which rvms into immense sums of
money coming out of the pockets of
the people.

The Chicago bureau of public effi-
ciency, in an exhaustive report com-
piled in 1917, showed that under ef-
fective control, such as may be
obtained through metering, a reduc-
tion could be effected in ten years'
time from the 1916 pumpage of 645,-
000,000 gals, a day to 425,000,000
gals, a day. In other words our
waste, as estimated then, was 220,-
000,000 gals, a day, or more than one-
third of the total pumpage. One-third
of what Chicago was paying for
pumpage was being paid for water
nobody was using.

This proportion holds good today.
_ The point that needs to be empha-
sized is that metering is not intended
to reduce the quantity of water ac-
tually used, but to eliminate the
expense of constructing, enlarging,
maintaining and operating plants to
supply the more than one-third which
is wasted.

_ Many Chicago neighborhoods expe-
rience the annoyance of low water
pressure. It is not only an annoy-
ance; it is a peril. In case of fire it
is likely to result in disaster.

This low pressure, which gives but
a trickle on floors above the first, is
not due to lack of supplv. As Aid.
Byrne says, "There is Lake Mich-
igan!" It is not due, primarily, to in-
adequate equipment. It is due to
waste. It is due to the fact that an
equipment which would be adequate
to maintain all needed pressure at a
pumpage of 425,000,000 gals., is un-
able to pump efficiently the extra
220,000,000 gals, which are wasted.

If this waste is not eliminated more
pumping stations, cribs, tunnels and
like equipment must be provided in
order to get the pressure which is nec-

essary for satisfactory service and
for the safety of property. That
means immense expenditure which
must be paid for out of rates and
taxes.

Chicago must choose between con-
sei-vation and waste.

Conservation means having all you
need when you need it, and paying
only for what you use.

Waste means the mere enjoyment
of the liberty to be thriftless, with
the inconvenience and peril of low
pressure, and the high cost of paying
for the hundreds 'of millions of gal-
lons which merely drip, trickle and
run away.

This is the real issue. Intelligent
aldermen will discuss it; intelligent
citizens ^vill support such aldermen.

Mayor Dever is to be thanked and
congratulated upon putting the ques-
tion squarely up to Chicago.

Official Manslaughter

Editorial in The Canadian Engineer

Failure of municipal officials to
safeguard their water supply may re-
sult in civil suit for negligence, now
that a California case establishes
precedent for such legal actions.

In June and July, 1920, there were
about 150 cases of typhoid fever in
Pittsburgh, Calif. Investigation es-
tablished the fact that due to lack of
a stock of liquid chlorine, the water
supply from the Sacramento River
was pumped into the mains for at
least one day without being sterilized,
and an epidemic followed. Eighteen
of the typhoid victims pooled their
interests and sued the city for dam-
ages, accusing the officials of neglect
in failing to take reasonable precau-
tions to purify the water supply. Tlie
plaintiffs were awarded $32,821, the
largest individual amount being
$12,500.

There will undoubtedly be an in-
creasing number of successful dam-
age suits of this nature against mu-
nicipal officials and water companies.
In cases where the supply is common-
ly known to be of a dangerous or
potentially dangerous character, and
where the danger has been called to
official attention, it would seem that
not only civil suits but even suits for
criminal negligence would be well
founded. Surely the official who
knowingly permits a questionable
water supply to be served to a com-
munity, without having taken every

Water Works

July

possible step to remove danger of
death from typhoid, is just as crim-
inal in his negligence as is ';he reck-
less motor driver who is jailed for
manslaughter.

Engineers Protest Removal of

Davis as Director of U. S.

Reclamation Service

Engineers are protesting strongly
against the removal of Arthur P.
Davis as Director of the U. S. Rec-
lamation Service. . Secretary Work's
action is characterized as prejudicial
to the public interest, and the Secre-
tary is described as pursuing a dan-
gerous course.

The Federated American Engineer-
ing Societies have raised formal and
vigorous objection to the displace-
ment of Director Davis. The posi-
tion of the federation is explained
in the following statement by Execu-
tive Secretary L. W. Wallace:

"The Federated American Engi-
neering Societies has a membership
of 28 engineering societies. They
are local, state and national in scope
and have headquarters in 24 cities
of the United States. The combined
membership of these 28 societies is
50,000 engineers. The engineers
represented through the 28 societies
formed the Federated American En-
gineering Societies in order that they
might have an agency through which
to give expression to the views of
engineers regarding the public ques-
tions of an engineering aspect.

"The sole purpose for which the
organization was formed is that of
enabling engineers of the United
States to render an essential public
service. Its reports on 'Waste in
Industry' and 'The Twelve-Hour
Shift in American Industry' are ex-
pressions of the way in which the
organization has been functioning in
the interest of the public. It has
also functioned in relation to certain
national legislation and activities of
Governmental bureaus, all of which
has been done for the sole purpose
of being of service to the American
public.

"The recent change made in the
Director of the Reclamation Service,
therefore, comes within the purview
of this organization and many other
engineering and technical groups.
The officers of the Federated Ameri-
can Engineering Societies, as well as
the officers and members of many

engineering and technical groups,
are much concerned with the recent
announcement relative to the dis-
placement of the Director of the
Reclamation Service and appointing
in his stead a man who apparently
is not technically trained and fitted
to direct an important technical
service of the Government.

"This procedure is looked upon
with grave concern by the engineers
and technical men of the United
States, because such summary action
as discharging an eminently success-
ful employee after 35 years of serv-
ice without a hearing or adequate
explanation, and with a request to
hand in his resignation to take effect
within two weeks will undermine the
morale of all the technical agencies
of the Government and may lead the
most competent men to more readily
accept of engagements with commer-
cial and industrial agencies, thus
interfering with the efficient opera-
tion of the technical bureaus of the
Government.

"If it is true, as has been reported,
that certain Governmental officials
believe that a man not technically
trained and fitted is more competent
to direct a technical bureau than one
so trained is correct, then, indeed,
such action as has taken place
regarding the Reclamation Service
might be reasonably expected to
occur in other technical branches of
the service, such as the Bureau of
Mines, the Bureau of Standards and
the Geological Survey as examples.
"Members of engineering and tech-
nical bodies are not willing to believe
that such policy is a wise one and
is in the best interest of the Ameri-
can people. Many technical directors
of large works both within and with-
out the Government Service, have
ably directed such projects both from
a business point of view as well as
from a technical one.

"One of the marked tendencies in
recent years has been the placing of
technical men in charge of large
industries and commercial enter-
prises. The managing directors or
presidents of many large public
utility companies, railways and in-
dustrial organizations are technically
trained men. Therefore, the step
taken in connection with the Recla-
mation Service is contrary to the
policy of many industrial organiza-
tions.
"Because of the far-reaching re-

1923

Water Works

suits that might ensue and because
of the seriousness of the situation,
the organized engineers and techni-
cal men of the United States are
preparing to make a thorough search
into the considerations that led to
the action taken in regard to the
Reclamation Service. The American
Society of Civil Engineers has ap-
pointed a special committee to
investigate the matter. The Public
Affairs Committee of the Federated
American Engineering Societies, of
which J. Parke Channing of New
York is chairman, has already ad-
dressed a letter of inquiry to the
Secretary of the Interior concerning
the action.

"This is being done not from the
standpoint of questioning the right
of a Governmental official to dis-
charge anyone that he may elect, but
from the point of view of the wis-
dom of the announced policy that a
technical bureau can be more effect-
ively directed by a man not techni-
cally trained and fitted in compari-
son with one so technically trained
and fitted.

"The work of the Reclamation
Service is essentially engineering and
technical. There are business as-
pects, to be true, but so far as is
known there has been no criticism
of the business direction of the
Service, other than perhaps by cer-
tain interests in the West who have
endeavored to secure a reduction in
or have endeavored to repudiate pay-
ments for reclaimed lands purchased.
"Should this demand prevail, the
fundamental principle of the enabling
act will be displaced and the revolv-
ing fund for the continuation of the
work will be dissipated, so that other
needed projects cannot be carried out
unless there be additional drains
upon the Treasury of the United
States. Furthermore, should such
an eventuality ensue public confi-
dence in the integrity of the direc-
tion of such work would be so
shaken as to make it difficult to
secure appropriations from Congress
to extend the work of reclaiming the
arid lands of the West.

"In the main, the support for such
has come from the West, but should
there be a question as to the wisdom
with which the projects are selected
and executed then it is entirely prob-
able that the West would not receive
support from other sections of the
country. Therefore, not only is the

morale of the technical service at
issue, but also the larger thing, per-
haps reclamation itself.

"It is these considerations that are
causing organized engineers and
technical men to make a thorough
study of the situation. Undoubtedly
pronouncements will be forthcoming
as the result of such study. The
evident interest and concern among
engineers and technical men regard-
ing this situation, as well as their
views, may be gleaned from the
strong editorials that have and are
appearing in the technical publica-
tions regarding it."

Iodine Treatment of Water to
Prevent Goitre

Plan of Rochester, N. Y., Described in

Paper Presented May 23 at Annual

Convention of American Water

Works Association

By BEEKMAN C. LITTLE

Superintendent of Water Works, Rochester,
N. Y.

The Water Bureau and Health Bu-
reau of Rochester, working together,
believe they have evolved a plan for
successfully treating and preventing
goitre. With great emphasis on the
latter, for prevention is the high ideal
we seek.

The Disease. — The extent to which
goitre prevails is seldom appreciated.
In the entire world there are but few
countries free from goitre districts,
and sporadic cases of goitre exist in
every section and in every nationality
in the world. In North America,
goitre is endemic, that is, especially
and continually prevalent, in the
whole of the Great Lakes region and
in the basin of the St. Lawrence and
in the Northwest Pacific region.

The seriousness of the disease itself
can be learned with but little investi-
gation. There is an emphasized rela-
tion between goitre and cretinism or
idiocy, marked by physical deformity
and degeneracy. Statistics are not
always reliable, but it is safe to say,
for instance, that in this region along
the Great Lakes, here in Detroit or
in Rochester, that seven out of every
hundred school children are afflicted
with goitre, and further, it is con-
servative to say, that a large propor-
tion of all the women consulting
physicians, have the disease.

Iodine Treatment. — Now, iodine is
a natural constituent of the normal

Water Works

July

thyroid gland. It is essential to nor-
mal thyroid activity. The amount of
iodine required is exceedingly small,
but when this amount is absent, the
thyroid gland seeks by increase in
size and surface to make up for this
lack in iodine, and goitre is the result.
In fact, goitre has been described as
an adaptation to "Iodine-deficient"
nutrition. It follows therefore that
the treatment for goitre now pretty
generally practiced is the giving of
very small dosages of iodine. An
accredited prescription is: 1/10,000
of a gram of iodine taken daily over
a period of 15 or 20 days. This given
twice a year, once in the spring and
repeated again in the fall.

A recent study from the laboratory
of the University of Minnesota, by
Dr. J. F. McClendon, shows very
clearly the inverse ratio between the
amount of iodine in surface water
and the distribution of goitre. In the
neighborhood of the sea, the air and
water contain very much more iodine
than in inland places, and these places
distant from the sea, have the goitres.

Now, what we propose to do is
really very simple, namely, to intro-
duce into our drinking water a very
minute quantity of iodine and thus
bring to the human system and the
thyroid gland, that which it needs,
and otherwise lacks, to function prop-
erly.

This idea of dosing every one willy-
nilly is startling, but not unknown,
so that it is not altogether revolution-
ary. For instance, in Switzerland,
where goitre is very prevalent, it was
decided last February in one canton,
to incorporate a small amount of
iodine in all the table salt used. All
civilized persons take daily, a certain
quantity of salt, and as it is inexpen-
sive, and the Swiss Government can
control this article of food, it seemed
to be the proper carrier for the iodine.
This way of doing it — even if it were
possible in this country, does not seem
to contain, however, the advantages
that does the water supply method.

The Rochester Plan. — In the rec-
ommendation of our plan in Roches-
ter, Dr. Goler, the Health Officer,
makes, among other, the following
points:

"1 — We always have in Rochester,
among our children, more than 2,000
cases of preventable goitre.

"2 — We have so much simple goitre
because of the absence of minute

quantities of iodine in our food and
drink.

"3 — We may prevent this goitre by
the addition of minute quantities of
iodine to the drinking water 2/10,000
of a gram to a gallon, in the form of
iodide of soda.

"4 — Iodine seems to be required by
the body and it is when taken into
the body in these minute quantities —
fixed by the thyroid gland and so pre-
vents its enlargement, and consequent
goitre.

"5 — If we put iodine in the water,
it will only be necessary to dose the
water twice a year, for two weeks.
This would require daily 13.3 lbs. of
Iodide of Soda for two weeks, or 372
lbs. at $4.80 per lb., or $1,785 a year.

"6 — Goitres of course, we only get
after they have developed. We
should like to prevent them. To pre-
vent these goitres would cost less
than $2,000 a year. The addition of
this minute quantity of iodine would
also affect favorably, young persons
already having goitres. It would not
affect that form of goitre known as
'Graves Disease' or exophalmic goi-
tre. It would not affect the older
goitres."

The water bureau has already
started this treatment of the water.
At one of our reservoirs, from which
is drawn all of the water entering the
city mains, we have dissolved daily —
for a period of two weeks — 16 lbs. of
Iodide of Soda, a slightly greater
amount than first suggested.

Our consumption of water during
this period was approximately 25 mil-
lion gallons per day. In the labora-
tory of the Health Bureau and
checked up by chemists in the Univer-
sity of Rochester laboratory, close
track was kept, and it was found that
the Iodine content in the water in-
creased from one part in a billion
parts of water before the experiment,
to twenty parts in a billion. Next
fall the dose will probably be in-
creased, as it is planned to get about
50 parts of iodine to one billion parts
of water.

Such a water, prevailing for two or
three weeks, twice a year, will it is
calculated, give to those drinking of
it freely, approximately the necessary
addition of iodine needed to close the
story of simple goitre in Rochester
and perhaps from this point, its ex-
tinction even throughout the world
will begin — Who knows?

1923 Water Works 65

Water Works and Sewer Contracts Awarded
During the Last 41 Months

The accompanying tables show: each year shows a gain over its prede-

First, that the waterworks and sewer cessor in the volume of contracts

contracts awarded during the last half awarded in this "hydraulic field."
of each year exceed in volume those

awarded during the first half; second, The volume of irrigation and drain-
that there is not a month in the year age contracts will surprise any one
without a very large volume of water- who has not followed closely statistics
works and sewer contracts; third, that of this sort.

WATERWORKS CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000 IN SIZE.

January ~
February

March

April

May

June

July

August —
September
October —
November
December

1920
$ 1.144,000

1921
$ 519,000
2,927.000
2,028,000
3,342,000
4,944,000
3,485,000
3,106,000
2,404.000
1.487.000

900.000

4.698,000

10,752,000

1922
S 1.727.000

652,000
1,093,000
2.673,000
3.568,000
5.124,000

811,000
4,494,000
3,906,000
7,686.000
2,161,000
1,835.000

1923
$ 4.720.000

2,172,000
2,213,000
2.719.000
- 1.382.000
1.461.000
3.793,000
775,000

2.730.000

15.149.000

8.544.000

7.329.000

743,000

11.169.000
2.151.000
1.051.000

Total „ $30,773,000 $40,602,000 $35,730,000

Note. — About 100 per cent must be added to the annual totals to give the errand total of
contracts awarded in the United States.

A great deal of waterworks construction is done by directly hired labor and is not included
above.

Waterworks buildings are not included above.

SEWER CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $26,000 IN SIZE.

1920 1921 1922 1923

January .._ _ $ 1,864,000 $ 3,147,000 $ 2,267,000 $ 3,322.000

February 623.000 2.445.000 2.462.000 2,131,000

March 1.283.000 2.862.000 3,796.000 4,477,000

April 4.124,000 3,817,000 2,794,000 5.497,000

May 2.315.000 2,162,000 5,722,000 9.052,000

June 2.349,000 3,802,000 5,158.000

July 3,163.000 3,986,000 ' 1.869.000

August 2.437,000 ^,988,000 3.450.000

September .„ 2,319.000 5,064,000 3.340.000

October 8.052.000 2,829,000 4,996,000

November 4.572,000 2.733,000 5,349,000

December 2.967.000 2.549.000 2.381.000

Total - _ $36,068,000 $39,384,000 $43,584,000

^ Note.— About 100 per cent must be added to the annual totals to give the grand total of
contracts awarded m the United States.

!— I ■^J°"^'»?''**'v *™0"nt o* «e^er construction is done by directly hired labor, which is not
included in the above totals.

IRRIGATION, DRAINAGE AND EXCAVATION CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000.

1920 1921 1922 1923

t-tSlJ^^ ' 1,542,000 $ 1,266,000 $ 2,091,000 $ 548,000

\fo^^ 787.000 306,000 419,000 365.000

A^fl ~ 3,151.000 1.626,000 608,000 28,993,000

Apru 416,000 580.000 1.736,000 2,506.000

T^^\. 404,000 2.632.000 776,000 3.553.000

June enc AAA 1 njn n/>/\ n ..no /./</>

July

,„,„ 605.000 1.240.000 2.628.000

4^,L<;; 1,942,000 609.000 1.498,000

W^^K^; 4.179.000 89,000 6,920.000

Or?ntrJ^ 859,000 9,025.060 876.000

Nov«^L;' 1.086.000 373.000 2.390.000

ol^m^r • "2.000 726.000 1.741.000

uecember _ 477,000 707,000 864,000

'^**' — $16,220,000 $19,179,000 $22,547,000

contr^cuTwSi 'to t^e' U^i^"sutS. "^^"^ "^ *^' "'^'"^ "^^ *" "^^^ *^* "^""^ *^ °^

66 Water Works July

Design of Water Works Pumping Stations

General

Principles and Examples of Recent Construction Cited in
Paper Presented May 25 at Annual Convention of
American Water Works Association

By CHARLES B. BURDICK,

Of Alvord, Burdick & Hawson, Consulting Engineers, Chicago, 111.

The average water works involves
an investment not less than $35 per
capita or say $3,500,000 in a city of
100,000 people. Of this large invest-
ment often not more than 25 or 10
per cent represents structures visible
to the eye of the ordinary citizen. To
the casual observer water works
buildings present the only visible evi-
dence of the excellence of the plant,
except the water delivered, and his
impression as to the property is likely
to be based upon what he can see.

Water Works Station Should Be
Attractive. — Fundamentally there is
no reason why the water works sta-
tion should not present the same at-
tractive appearance as the city hall or
any other municipal building. It
should be permanent, clean, and_ as
easily kept clean as a modern hospital,
for it handles a commodity used in
every home. An ornate design justi-
fied in a city hall or a courthouse
would be out of place in a pumping
station. Rather it should represent
the masculine in architecture without
undue pretention, strong and perma-
nent in its lines and materials, frankly
adapted to its purpose, and presenting
an appearance agreeable to the eye.
This will require compliance with laws
of good architecture. Appearance
must not be neglected in structures
likely to live a long time.

Providing for Expansion. — ^Water
works construction is now sufficiently
standardized so that it is possible to
lay out pumping plants subject to en-
largement in such manner that the
buildings may be useful indefinitely.
The pumping and power equipment
should be arranged with the idea of
expansion. It is usually practicable to
build only for a moderate time in the
future, but it costs little to lay down
the indefinite future additions on
paper, and so to locate the building,
and so to arrange the equipment that
extensions may be made without de-
stroying the usefulness of important
parts of the plant.

It is all too common to find layouts
that have expanded piecemeal accord-
ing to the path of least expense, which

must be torn out and rebuilt, because
further expansion is impracticable.
We can see farther into the future to-
day than was possible a generation
ago. There may be radical improve-
ments in water works equipment here-
after, but if the general plan of ex-
pansion has sufficient elasticity, the
probable future can be accommodated.

The Heart of the Plant. — In the or-
dinary water works plant, steam oper-
ated, there is, first, the heart of the
plant, so to speak, consisting of the
main entrance, offices, and possibly a
laboratory which may be grouped, and
will need little further expansion. The
engine room and the boiler room after
providing for the present and the im-
mediate future may be expanded along
parallel lines without necessarily
spoiling the architectural symmetry.
It is wise to be liberal in selecting di-
mensions. This tends toward per-
manency.

If the water is filtered, it is desir-
able in small pumping stations to cen-
tralize the "business end" of all the
station operations on account of facil-
ity in supervision. This complicates
the design, especially the provision for
future expansion, and centralization is
not always possible when filtration is
added to an old water works.

In the layout of a new plant, how-
ever, it is practicable so to co-ordinate
the expansion of pump room, boiler
room, filter plant, coagulation basin,
and clear well, that each may be en-
larged in an orderly manner with con-
venience of access between the operat-
ing parts and the administrative cen-
ter of the group. Basins and reser-
voirs may expand, if necessary, for-
ward from the building, utilizing a
space covered over by lawn.

Plants in cities up to 100,000 popu-
lation, or somewhat more, mav thus
be designed without the necessity for
separating the pumping and filtration
plants. A compact arrangement is
quite necessary for economical opera-
tion in a small city where it mav be
desirable to operate filters without
adding to the number of employes.

Fireproof Construction. — The mod-

1923

Water Works

em water works station is fireproof
throughout for obvious reasons.
Permanency requires it. It should be
the last building to bum in any com-
munity. Many water works stations
are practically fireproof except for the
roof construction, windows and the
doors. It is practicable to build sta-
tions today without using a stick of
wood, and at moderate costs as com-
pared to wood. Millwork has in-
creased in price to such extent that
there is little difference between wood
and metal frames, and concrete and

water from extremes of temperature.

For superstructures, brick and
stone are the most satisfactory mate-
rials for exteriors; terra cotta may be
useful upon the interior or exterior.
Upon the interior the surface should
be clean and non-absorbent. Concrete
floors are satisfactory only in the
cheaper structures where they may be
successfully used if covered with a
heavy non-absorbent paint especially
adapted to concrete. In the better
stations terrazzo or tile is justified.

Walls, particularly where damp, as

Pumping Station of D*s Moines, la., Water Works.

tile construction is generally used for
for roofs in the most modem stations.
Construction Materials. — For under-
ground structures or for other struc-
tures, more or less concealed and pro-
tected from the weather, concrete
gives excellent service. Where exposed
to view or subjected to the action of
the elements, it is not proving a sat-
isfactory building material. Wher-
ever possible it is wise so to design
reservoirs that they may be filled over
and sodded, thus protecting the con-
crete from the expansion and contrac-
tion of hot sun and winter cold, and
mcidentally better protecting the

in the pumping pits, should be faced
with a non-absorbent substance such
as enamel brick built at least head
high. Above this plane pressed brick
is satisfactory. At present a rock
plaster is available almost as hard as
stone which con be worked into very
attractive panel designs at moderate
cost.

The Roofs. — For the roof, exposed
steel trusses are generally used with
steel purlins and a roof covering of
reinforced concrete or tile. In order
to prevent sweating in cold weather
a double ceiling is desirable. This
may be accomplished by rock plaster

Water Works

July

on metal lath hung from the purlins.
Thin concrete roofs usually become a
nuisance at certain times from drip-
ping. A single thickness of 5 ins. is
usually sufficient to prevent the se-
rious collection of drops. A double
ceiling completely eliminates the
trouble and costs comparatively little
more. Skylights and ventilators must
be guarded with gutters for satisfac-
tory results.

It is proposed to cite a few exam-
ples of recent pumping station con-
struction with figures of cost. Prac-
tically all of this work has been done
in co-operation with Mr. Victor A.
Matteson, architect, Chicago.

Des Moines Pumping Station. — The
new 21st street pumping station at
Des Moines is a steam station. It
pumps the entire water supply of the
city in one operation from the ground
water collecting galleries into the pipe
system against direct pressure. The
rates of pumpage at the present time
are as follows :
Minimum night rate M. G. D... 6.5

Average Day M. G. D 10.0

Momentary peak 18.0

Maximum fire demand 24.0

The pumping plant consists of three
DeLaval turbo-centrifugal geared
units, two of 15, and one 25 million
gallons capacity. These pumps oper-
ate at 269 ft. total head with 200 lbs.
boiler pressure and 100° superheat.
The two smaller of these pumps de-
veloped duties on test ranging from
150 to 114 million foot pounds per
1,000 lb. of steam at full capacity and
half capacity respectively. The larger
pump is guaranteed to deliver 161
million duty at full capacity, 164 at
three-fourths capacity and 144 at one-
half capacity.

Boiler Plant at Des Moines. — The
boiler plant consists of four 323 H. P.
Springfield water tube boilers. One
boiler is served by a LaClede-Christy
natural draft chain grate stoker.
Three boilers are equipped with Har-
rington chain grate stokers operating
on natural draft up to 125 percent
rating, and forced draft up to 200 per-
cent rating. The plant burns a low
grade of bituminous screenings (Poke
County, Iowa), ranging from 8,000 to
10,000 B. T. U. The individual "boil-
ers and stokers in this plant developed
on test from 72 to 74 percent effi-
ciency when operating on natural
draft slightly above boiler rating, and
70 percent on forced draft at slightly
under 200 percent rating.

This boiler and pumping plant
serves the city on about half the ton-
nage of fuel per unit of water
pumped required by the old pumping
station, served by hand-fired tubular
boilers and compound crank and fly-
wheel pumps. The greater part of
the saving is secured by the improved
boiler plant.

Coal Handling. — The matter of
handling coal is a difficult one in a
water works boiler plant by reason of
the magnitude of the peak load as
compared to the comparatively small
average load. Coal handling equip-
ment of the type adapted to electric
lighting practice often fails to show
economy when applied to the small
tonnage burned by water works, on
account of fixed charges. The device
adopted at Des Moines consists of a
gantry crane feeding from cars or
coal pocket to an overhead bin in the
boiler room. It also picks up ashes
dumped to the ash pocket by hand,
loading the same into cars or trucks.
By the use of this crane one man un-
loads all cars not dumped, and han-
dles all coal and all ashes for a 24
hour shift in three hours or less. The
coal handling scheme at Des Moines
at the present price of labor a little
more than "breaks even" with hand
coal handling labor, fixed charges con-
sidered. Its installation was consid-
ered warranted in view of the
probable future increased cost of
labor.

Building Group at Des Moines. —

The group of buildings comprising
the new water works pumping station
at Des Moines consists of the main
pumping station and boiler room, a
shop and garage building for the ac-
commodation of all automobiles and
trucks used by the Water Depart-
ment, a warehouse, with pipe yard
adjoining, for storing pipe, fittings
and miscellaneous supplies; also a
group of cottages housing four fam-
ilies of water works employes.

The main pumping station consists
of a pump room containing space for
eighty million gallons in pumping
capacity. Fifty-five million gallons
capacity is at present installed. The
boiler room contains 1,300 H. P. in
boilers and space is provided for en-
largement that may be required after
1940.

Adjoining the main entrance to the
pumping station are located an office
for the chief engineer, a laboratory,
and toilet accommodations for the

1923

Water Works

public. Employes' toilet rooms are
located between the pump room and
boiler room. Galleries are provided
in the pump room for the accommo-
dation of visitors, so that the pump
room may be seen without interfering
with the operation of machinery.

All foundations are constructed of
heavy reinforced concrete. The
pumps are set 13 ft. below the high
water line, thus necessitating a heavy
pump pit floor and walls to resist up-
ward and inward pressure. The
pumps are thus located in order to

halls are floored with terrazzo, and
provided with terra cotta walls. The
exterior of the building is of dark red
tapestry brick with Bedford stone
trim.

The shop and garage building exte-
rior flnish is similar to pump house.
The interior is finished with concrete
floors and common brick walls, and
the whole is surmounted by a timber
mill construction roof, slow burning
type, and covered with composition
roofing. Steel window sash are used.
The remaining millwork is of wood.

Pump Room of Station at Water Works of Des Moines, la.

draw from the gallery system in ex-
treme low water.

The pump room is finished with
terrazzo floors and white enamel brick
walls up to the top of the wainscot at
grade line. Above this point the walls
are paneled and coated with rock
plaster. The roof is supported by
steel trusses carrying Federal cement
tile with a composition roof covering.
Steel windows, doors and trim are
used throughout.

The boiler room is finished with
concrete floors, with walls of common
brick painted. The entry way and

This building provides all facilities
for the maintenance of the water
works motive power and contains a
wood shop, machine shop, paint shop
and in the rear a stable for the ac-
commodation of one team.

The warehouse building resembles
a small freight house in general plan
with an office space in the front where
all water works labor is handled and
assigned to its daily tasks. A siding
runs parallel with the warehouse with
platforms on both sides, so that
freight unloaded may be wheeled
through the storeroom and loaded on

Water Works

July

wagons or trucks. Heavy freight
such as pipe and large fittings may
be unloaded from the opposite side of
the cars and stored in the pipe yard.
This building is surmounted by a mill
construction wood roof. Floors are
of concrete and the office walls are
plastered. Wood millwork is used
throughout this building.

Three wood and stucco English cot-
tages provide for four families. One
cottage contains five rooms, one cot-
tage six, and one double cottage con-
tains two six-room apartments. Each
apartment is provided with concrete
cellar, furnace heat, plumbing, maple
floors, plastered exteriors and shingle
roofs. These apartments are rented
to employes at cost. The rent
charged is $30 per month per apart-
ment exclusive of heating and light.

Water Works and Light Plant at
Orlando, Fla. — At Orlando, Fla., the
new station is now nearing comple-
tion. This accommodates the water
filtration plant of four million gallons
capacity, electrically driven centrifu-
gal pumps of 12 million capacity aug-
mented by four million of steam
pumping capacity in another station.
The generator room contains 4,000
K. W. in turbo-generators with space
for 2,500 additional K. W. The boiler
room contains 1,500 H. P. in boilers,
oil fired.

The Spanish type of architecture
was used, as especially adapted to a
warm climate. The boiler room is
open on the rear, the boiler fronts
being protected by open archways.
The walls are of brick with exterior

cement plaster. Roofs are supported
on steel trusses with concrete slabs
and composition surface. Red tile is
used for sloping roofs and wall caps.
The interior of the pump room is
plastered. All other wall surfaces are
of common brick painted. Floors are
of red quarry tile.

Table I shows the cost of the Or-
lando building, including filter house
and concrete filter beds; also clear
reservoir underneath the filters, but
does not include cost of filter equip-
ment or any other equipment of the
plant except as stated 'in the tabu-
lation.

Manistique, Mich., Tower. — The op-
portunity was afforded at Manistique,
Mich., to combine a small electric
driven pumping station and a water
tower. The water supply at Manis-
tique is delivered by gravity, substan-
tially at ground height, to the center
of the town, where it is pumped elec-
trically into a steel elevated tank
surmounting the pump house.

The land occupied by the pumping
station was donated by a public spir-
ited citizen upon condition that an
attractive station and to'wer should be
built. Manistique is a small city with
a population about 7,000. A plan was
worked out which accommodated the
necessary electrically driven pumps in
the base of the tower, and the saving
thus effected permitted enclosing the
tower in an attractive envelope. The
cost of the structure thus built is ap-
proximaljely equivalent to an uncov-
ered steel elevated tank plus a sepa-
rate building of fireproof construction.

Table I — Cost of PnmpinK Station BaildinKs

♦Present
Cu. ft. Cost *Cost Price **Present
Contract — (Thou- per Price Base Cost per
Cost Date sands) cu. ft. Base (Mar., 1923) cu. ft.
PUMPING STATIONS-
DCS Moines. Iowa $220,479 1920-23 810 27.0c 178 198 30.0c

Ashland, Ky 34,194 Oct., J921 130 26.4 169 198 32.8

Orlando, Fla 91,800 Sept., 1922 510 18.0 180 198 19.8

Ironwood, Mich. ,._ „„ .

Main Station 29,155 July, 1920 65 44.8 269 198 33.0

Sub Stations 9,644 July. 1920 7.5 64.2 269 198 47.6

Manistique, Mich 71,379 Sept., 1921 140 51.0 156 198 66.0

La Crosse, Wis 60,834 Nov., 1912 484 10.6 100 198 20.8

Prairie du Chien, Wis... 21,017 Sept., 1921 77.8 27.0 156 198 34.3
AUXILIARY BUILDINGS—

Des Moines Garage 51,027 May, 1922 890 13.1 160 198 16.2

Des Moines Warehouse.. 18,754 May. 1922 111 16.8 160 198 21.0

Des Moines Cottages _ „_ ^ . .„ , „. „. „

3 Cottages, 4 Fam 20,430 May, 1922 18 29.2 160 198 36.0

22 Rooms

Ironwood Cottages .^ „ ^ .„„ .,„ .

2 CotUges, 2 Fam 16,900 July, 1920 1« 44.5 269 198 33.0

12 Rooms

•Building materials U. S. Dept. of Labor. ^ , »• *

—Each building where more than one — Contents based on outside meaeurements footing to
average roof.

•♦As of Date April 1, 1923.

1923

Water Works

The steel tank contains 200,000 gal.
The top is located 107 ft. above the
ground. It has a hemispherical bot-
tom and is supported on the brick
work 64 ft. above ground by means of
eight short legs horizontally braced.
The tower is constructed of brick with
red tapestry face brick. The trim-
ming on the lower portion of the
tower is Bedford stone and the cor-
nice is constructed of reinforced con-
crete cast in place. The dome is of
zinc supported on wood trusses.

The tower is octagonal outside and
16-sided inside. The brick cross-sec-

Tower. — The Gary pumping station
and water tower, although built a
number of years ago, is an example
of what is possible in the use of
concrete.

The water tower is simply a hous-
ing for a steel elevated tank sup-
ported on vertical steel legs entirely
independent from the envelope. This
plan was followed on account of the
necessity for haste in providing a
water supply for the city during the
building period. The concrete en-
velope was added later. The shaft
of the tower is of reinforced concrete

'v» *t. --:..>. ^3.;

Water Works Station and FUter PUnt of Ashland. Ky.

tion is sufficient to support the super-
imposed load with a unit pressure not
exceeding 175 lb. per square inch.

The 16-sided pump room is 33 ft. in
inscribed diameter. It is floored with
terrazzo with white enamel brick
wainscot, and rock plaster walls and
ceiling. A false roof is provided over
the pump room with drains to catch
any drip or leakage from the elevated
tank. A cellar under the pump room
accommodates all pipes, heating and
plumbing equipment.

The electric pumps are pressure
controlled from the tank and start
and stop automatically. No attendant
is required in the operation of the
plant except for periodical visits for
inspection and oiling.

Gary, Ind., Station and Water

with a concrete dome roof. The base
of all cornices and the facing on the
lower one-fifth of the tower is of pre-
cast concrete applied in the usual
manner where stone is used. The
shaft proper is of reinforced concrete
with a reinforced concrete dome roof.

The pumping station has concrete
foundations. The pump room is de-
pressed below the ground level and is
lined with white enamel brick. Above
g^rade walls are of brick with buff
pressed brick interior face, and pre-
cast concrete exterior face. The ex-
terior face blocks are of two colors,
gray and dull red.

Ashland, Ky^ Installation. — The
Ashland, Ky., plant exemplifies con-
struction for a small city. It includes
an electric driven pumping station

Water Works

July

with gasoline reserve pump; also a
water filtration plant. Construction
throughout is entirely fireproof and of
good appearance, but no extra money
was spent for the sake of appearance.

The entrance to the plant is
through the operating floor of the fil-
tration plant. The filter beds produce
a terrace effect.

Upon the Ohio river the intake
problem is important on account of
the extreme variation between high
water and low water. The low lift
pumps are located in a pit 26 ft. in
diameter and 43 ft. deep. They con-
sist of two motor driven centrifugals
and one high speed gas engine cen-
trifugal, each 2^^ M. G. D. against 65
ft. head. Three pumps of the same
kind of capacity operate against 275
ft. head when pumping to the city.
These pumps and the filters are in-
stalled on the roof of the clear well.

The filtration plant consists of four
beds, total capacity 2 2-3 M. G. D.
High velocity of .wash is used from a
35,000-gal. steel wash tank set on the
roof of the pump pit.

Ironwood, Mich., Plant. — This plant
develops a ground water supply from
driven wells and pumps it against a
head of 650 ft. through a four-mile
pipe line of 16 ins. diameter. The
water is developed from three shallow
well groups, each sub-station contain-
ing a 2 M. G. D. pump. The main
pumping station contains two three
million gallon electric driven cen-
trifugals and one and one-half million
gallon high speed gas engine driven
centrifugal. One gasoline driven cen-
trifugal is also installed for reserve
low lift pumping.

The buildings connected with the
Ironwood water works are all con-
structed from boulders picked up on
the water works lot. The saving thus
effected as compared to brick was
nominal, but it is believed that these
buildings present better appearance
than would brick structures in the lo-
cality where built.

The main pump house has >yalls of
boulder stone plastered inside on
metal lath and painted, floors of con-
crete painted, and the roof is slate on
wood with matched and beaded ceiling
oiled, and exposing steel trusses.
Three similar sub-pumping stations
were built and as the plant is located
some distance from habitation, it was
necessary to construct two six-room
dwellings also built of boulder stone.

Prairie Du Chien, Wis., Plant. —

This plant represents the practicabil-
ities in a small town where the funds
available for water works construc-
tion were quite limited. This pump-
ing plant consists of a concrete pit 45
ft. inside diameter by 24 ft. deep sur-
mounted by a mill construction
wooden roof with a small brick build-
ing attached to the pit at the ground
level for office and shop purposes.

This plant is electrically operated.
Water is sucked directly from four
driven wells immediately outside the
pit wall and discharged into the pipe
system which is connected to an ele-
vated reservoir on the adjoining
bluffs. The pumping installation con-
sists of one motor driven centrifugal
500 G. M., 340 ft. head, one 600 G. M.
high speed gasoline engine centrifu-
gal, and one 600 G. M. motor driven
triplex pump moved from an old
pumping station. Space is provided
for a fourth pump at some time in the
future.

All foundations are of reinforced
concrete. The superstructure and the
parapet around pumping pit is com-
mon brick with moderate priced face
brick. All sills, lintels and caps are
built of precast concrete. All roofs
are of wood construction. The com-
position roof covering of the pit is
concealed by the brick. The roof of
the office and shop structure is fin-
ished with cement interlocking tile.
Concrete floors are used throughout.
Interior walls of brick are painted.

Cost of Pumping Stations. — The
cost of the pumping stations that
have been described and several
others are shown in Table I. As the
prices of labor and material have
fluctuated quite materially during the
period in which these stations were
built there is shown in the table the
date of the contract, the price basis
at the time and the price basis at the
present time. The table also shows
the cubic foot cost of the stations as
of the time when let and as of the
present time. In computing cubic
foot cost the contents of the building
have been figured based on outside
measurements and taking the height
from the footing level to the average
outside surface of the roof for each
part of the building.

The tabulated price basis is the
average cost of building materials as
published by the U. S. Department
of Labor. This refers to the average
prices of 1913 as 100 per cent. The
use of this price base presupposes a

1923

Water Works

fluctuation in labor equal to the
fluctuation in material price. The
price of labor generally fluctuates less
than the price of material. However,
it is true that the efficiency of labor
enters into contract cost and it is
generally true that when materials
are high labor is scarce and its effi-
ciency decreases, therefore tending to
make labor cost more nearly fluctuate
with the prices of materials. Appar-
ently the assumption made regarding
labor does not seriously affect the
comparisons of cost, for the unit

feet squares, but the difference is
small for an ordinary rectangular
building. Miscellaneous details such
as plumbing and heating are consid-
ered to vary directly with cubic
contents.

Upon the above basis the cost per
cubic foot of an ordinary pumping
station is decreased about 14 per cent
in doubling its contents and it is in-
creased about 13 per cent when its
contents are cut in half.

It has been noted that the cost of
box type reinforced concrete reser-

Pnmpins Station of Water Works of La Crosse, Wis.

prices appear to line up very well in
the comparison of buildings.

Comparison of Costs. — In compar-
ing the costs of buildings there are
innumerable factors that might be
considered. Pumping stations, how-
ever, are generally similar in type
and vary principally in dimensions
and in the degree of finish. In theory
the cost of roofs and floors varies
directly as to area and that the cost
of walls increases 43 per cent in
doubling the area or decreases 14 per
cent when the area is cut in half.
These proportions hold only for per-

voirs follows closely the cost of mod-'
erate priced buildings.

Co-operation With Architect. — It
would be well if all engineers would
utilize the services of an architect in
the planning of conspicuous engfineer-
ing works. A good architect pos-
sesses a knowledge of orderly ar-
rangement, and the selection and
grouping of materials, not possessed
by most engineers. On many classes
of structure the architect should be
and is the master builder, and the en-
gineer is properly a subordinate.
Upon such special structures as water

Water Works

July

works buildings, the engineer must be
the master builder, but he is wise if
he fully utilizes the services of one
skilled in architectural design. This
must be done by co-operation; the
engineering plans should be worked
out together, step by step, as a unit.

The water works manager should
not ignore public approval relating to
his work and his plant. Self-respect
engenders respect from others. Capa-
ble operators say that employes take
better care of their machinery and
are more contented when working in
attractive surroundings. A good
plant is an important element of good
service. The time has come when
water works designers can safely plan
for the future and build for per-
manence.

Rapid Sand Filtration Plant
Operation

Electric Public-Utility Power Plants

Increase Production

A. remarkable increase throughout
the United States in efficiency in the
use of fuel and the production of elec-
tricity during the past four years is
seen in a statement just issued by the
Department of the Interior, through
the U. S. Geological Survey.

The statement indicates that elec-
tric public-utility power plants pro-
duced more electricity in 1922 than
ever before, and that over one-third
of the total amount produced was
generated at water-power plants,
thereby conserving over 20,000,000
tons of coal in 1922. New York is
the leading state in the production of
electricity by public-utility power
plants and California is the leading
State in the production of electricity
by the use of water power. One-fifth
of the total amount of electricity pro-
duced by water power in the United
States is produced by California
hydroelectric power plants.

Reports on the monthly production
of electricity and consumption of fuel
by electric public-utility power plants
in the United States are now being
published by the Geological Survey.

A summary of the monthly reports
has been prepared and is now avail-
able for general distribution, and can
be obtained on application to the
Director of the Geological Survey,
Washington, D. C.

Process Described in Non-technical
Manner in Paper Presented May 19
Before Canadian Section of Amer-
ican Water Works Association

By WILLIAM D. HATFIELD

Superintendent of Filtration, Highland, Park,
Mich.

In presenting a non-technical paper
which would be interesting to the
water works superintendent, who is
interested in water purification but
not a chemist, I have tried to avoid
all unnecessary technical terms which
are familiar only to the specialized
chemist or sanitary engineer, though
in so doing I will lose much of the
accuracies of technical terminology.

General Layout of Plant. — First I
will describe the general layout of a
rapid sand filtration plant and the
steps in the purification. Naturally
the first step is to get the raw water
to the plant. In some places it is pos-
sible to run the raw water to the
plant by gravity, but usually it is
pumped into the chemical mixing
chamber by low service pumps. In
some places where the water is heav-
ily laden with silt, it is first settled
in a reservoir to remove this heavier
material before the water goes to the
mixing chamber. As the raw water
enters the mixing chamber, a solution
of the correct amount of aluminum
sulphate is usually added and mixed
with the raw water by passing
around, over and under baffle walls.
In some cases iron sulphate and lime
are used instead of aluminum sul-
phate. This mixing process usually
lasts from 15 to 45 minutes, and in
that time the chemical has got a good
start toward bringing the dirt and
bacteria together in groups. After
leaving the mixing chamber the water
flows slowly through the coagulation
or sedimentation basin in which the
groups grow in size and about 75 per
cent of them settle out carrying with
them most of the dirt, color and bac-
teria. The time of sedimentation
varies in different plants from two to
eight hours.

This coagulated and settled water
then passes through the sand filters
which remove the remaining amount
of added aluminum, turbidity, and
practically all the bacteria. The

1923

Water Works

water in the process of filtration
passes down through from 20-30 in.
of filter sand and then through from
12-24 in. of graded gravel; the small
gravel first and the larger gravel at
the bottom. The filtered water is col-
lected in the bottom of the filter in a
network of pipes into which are in-
serted brass strainers with small
holes. The filtered water then flows
through rate controllers which keep
the filters operating at a constant rate
of flow within certain limits of allow-
able flow. This control is necessary
or the clean, freshly washed filter will
allow the water to pass too fast for
efficient filtration. From the rate
controllers the filtered water passes
to the filtered water reservoir usually
called the clear well.

In a properly designed and operated
plant, this filtered water should be
safe to drink, but we have a very
effective "safety valve" in the use of
liquid chlorine which sterilizes the
few bacteria that may slip by in the
filtration process, and the cost of such
treatment is so small that we cannot
afford to be without the added pro-
tection. The chlorine is usually added
to the filtered water as it flows to the
clear well. However, in some cases
it has been found more efficient to add
the chlorine either before the alum
treatment or just before filtration.
The high serxice pumps are the last
step in the filtration plant proper, for
after that it is purely a matter of dis-
tribution of the tap water.

Chemistry of Treatment With
Aluminum Sulphate. — In as non-tech-
nical a way as possible, I will try to
explain the "How and Why" behind
the chemistry of the treatment with
aluminium sulphate. As rain drops
pass through the air they dissolve,
among other gases, carbon dioxide,
and as the water runs off of and
through the ground, it picks up more
of this carbon dioxide which is a
product of decomposition of both ani-
mal and plant life. This rain water
containing the carbon dioxide has a
dissolving action on the different
forms of lime-stone in the earth.
This dissolved lime-stone that exists
in natural waters is called by the
chemist calcium magnesium bicarbo-
nate, but we will call them the alka-
line salts because they make the water
alkaline.

When the chemical aluminium sul-
phate is added to this alkaline water,
the aluminium and the alkalinity

unite to form sticky white masses in
the water. This is called the "floe"
by the operator, and aluminium
hydroxide by the chemist, and resem-
bles the white of a soft boiled egg.
This sticky white material which at
first forms in milUons of minute par-
ticles in the water, sticks to the dirt
and bacteria, and as these particles
come together, they stick to each
other forming larger particles, 75 per
cent of which become so heavy that
they settle out in the settling basin
before the water reaches the filters.
The settled water as it goes on the
filters carry the remainder of this
sticky material which then forms a
sticky blanket on the surface of the
sand. It is this sticky blanket
through which the settled water fil-
ters, that removes the last traces of
the added aluminium and dirt or tur-
bidity from the water; it also removes
practically all the bacteria. Without
this sticky blanket on the sand, the
turbidity and bacteria removal would
be very poor.

From time to time since treatment
with aluminium sulphate began we
have had agitation regarding alumi-
nium getting through the filters in a
soluble form. In all probability if
part of it did get through one would
have to drink a barrel of water to get
a medicinal dose, and it is doubtful if
aluminium has any physiological ef-
fect on the concentrations used in
water purification. However we need
not worry about this, for results on
plant operation show that within a
wide range of treatment, the added
aluminium is not only all removed but
also some of the naturally dissolved
aluminium which was already in the
raw water is removed. If the treated
water is too acid or too alkaline, the
aluminium floe is soluble, but this
zone of insolubility between the "too
acid" and "too alkaline" points is
very broad in many surface waters,
and the operator of a plant would be
inefficient if any aluminium gets into
the filtered water. Some soft waters
do not contain enough of the alkaline
salts to react with the amount of
aluminium necessary to clarify the
water. In these cases artificial alka-
linity must be added by using lime or
soda ash.

Filter Plant Operation. — In the
operation of a filter plant, close ob-
servation must be kept on the quan-
tity as well as the quality of the raw
water used. If the plant is designed

Water Works

July

with a relatively small clear well, the
only safe method of operation is to
keep the clear well full at all times.
This necessitates changing the rate of
flow of the raw water, and rate of fil-
tration, to parallel that of the high
service pumps; it also means a close
watch on the alum dosage which must
be regulated with each change of raw
water rate. It is much more satis-
factory and convenient to have a
larger clear well so that it can be al-
lowed to drop a few feet during the
day and catch up during the night.
In such a case the raw water rate and
chemical treatment can be kept rela-
tively constant for long periods of the
day.

There are two common methods of
adding the chemical. The older
method is to dissolve a known amount
of the alum in a tank of water of
known capacity and to run this solu-
tion through orifice into the raw
water. The newer method is to add
the dry ground alum by means of ma-
chines which mechanically drop a
known quantity of the chemical in
running water which dissolves it and
carries it to the mixing chamber. The
machines may be checked for delivery
by holding a container under the ma-
chine and weighing the ounces of
chemical delivered per minute. This
method is much more accurate and
satisfactory than the former method.
The amount of alum necessary to
coagulate a raw water must be deter-
mined by an experienced man. This
amount is dependent on the alkalin-
ity, turbidity, bacterial pollution, and
the much talked of hydrogenion con-
centration. The chemical feed should
be checked up hourly in any plant.

As the floe blanket builds up on the
filters, it gradually clogs the sand
surface and decreases the pressure of
the water flowing through the beds.
This decrease in pressure is called
loss of head, and will continually de-
crease while the filter is in operation.
When the loss of head has reached a
certain predetermined point which
varies from 4 to 12 ft. on different
filters, they must be washed. Wash-
ing the filters when the loss of head
reaches a certain point is the usual
method, but recently some operators
have been running the filters until a
very slight turbidity comes through
regardless of the loss of head. The

amount of wash water will vary from
day to day, but will usually average
from 0.5 to 3.0 per cent of the total
water filtered.

The hours of service which a filter
runs before it must be washed is an
important item because it shows the
efficiency of the chemical treatment
and of the sedimentation. A plant
should always run so that the coagu-
lation and sedimentation does most of
the work and the filters only finish
up the job. Hourly records should be
kept of the filter operation.

Chlorination. — In most cases the
filtration process as a whole should
always be operated so that the fil-
tered water is satisfactory for drink-
ing purposes, but even where this is
possible the filtered water should be
chlorinated with a minimum amount
of chlorine to sterilize any bacteria
which might slip through the process
under some extraordinary condition.
This chlorination is our safety valve
and a very valuable one, but like a
safety valve it should be there only
for the unusual occasions and should
not be relied on to do the work of the
filtration process.

It is easily seen that water treat-
ment is a chemical process and that
laboratory control would be essential
to efficient operation. It is too bad
that in so many cases cities will build
expensive plants and then fail to
economize by running the plant with-
out the trained supervision of a chem-
ist or a sanitary engineer that thor-
oughly understands the chemical side
of operation. Laboratory control tells
us the quality of the raw water, the
efficiency of coagulation, sedimenta-
tion, filtration and chlorination. The
number and kind of chemical and bac-
teriological determinations necessary
at different plants will vary greatly.
With one water certain tests will be
absolutely necessary while with an-
other others will be of more value.
For example, I have never heard of a
plant where the determination of dis-
solved oxygen or air in the water was
of any value until I took charge of
the Highland Park plant. At certain
times of the year, this is the most im-
portant test we make for the efficient
operation of the plant.

1923

Water Works

Sewer Trenching With Drag-
line Excavator

A combined sanitary and storm
water sewer system is now being con-
structed by Booth & Flinn, Ltd., in
25th St., North Beach, for the Bor-
ough of Queens, City of New York.
This work is part of the modern
sewage disposal project recently
adopted by the City of New York as
a necessary step in the development
of this borough. The section now un-

bracing, the trench is 35 ft. wide.
The maximum depth is 38 ft., with an
average depth of about 26 ft., and
the material excavated is sandy clay
on top with fine hard sand below, with
the trench bottom from 5 to 7 ft. be-
low high water.

This work is located in an undevel-
oped section, 25th St. being a pro-
posed thoroughfare at this point, with
ample room for casting the excava-
tion on the trench bank. With this
condition in mind, the contractors

Dragline Excavating in 25th St., Queens Borough, New York City, for Sanitary and

Storm Sewers

der construction consists of a concrete
cut-off chamber, junction chamber,
overflow chamber, and screen cham-
ber, the latter equipped with two 14-
ft. Rinsh Wurl revolving screens; to-
gether with 1250 ft. of reinforced
concrete storm water sewer, 14 ft.
7 in. X 8 ft.; and 1100 ft. of rein-
forced concrete sanitary sewer, 9 ft. x
9 ft.

The two sewers are located side by
side and are being' constructed in a
single trench, excavated by the open
cut method. The design provides a
space of 3 ft. 8 in. between the two
sewers so that, with sheeting and

have adopted a method of excavation
that is seldom practiced in this sec-
tion of the country, especially within
the City of New York on sewer
trenches, that of the dragline exca-
vator. For this purpose an Osgood
•''i-yd. heavy duty dragline is being
used, operated by steam power and
equipped with a 45-ft. boom and a
%-yd. Page dragline bucket. This
dragline is fitted with continuous
tread traction and rides on top of the
cut and within the lines of excava-
tion, somewhat to one side, and in
operation drags the excavation in a
circular fashion, with and across the

Water Works

July

cut. The material is loaded into
motor trucks without any spilling and
between trucks is cast on the bank,
well back from the cut. The excava-
tion is cast only on one bank, the
opposite one being kept clear for pas-
sage of a traveling derrick for use in
excavating the trench bottom.

The dragline excavation is 40 ft.
wide at the top, 35 ft. wide at the bot-
tom, and digs from 13 to 21 ft. deep,
depending on the stiffness of the soil,
as the trench is not sheeted until
after the dragline excavation has been
made. This dragline has also been
used in excavating, with a drag
bucket, for the bottom in the sheeted
sections, in sand and water, working
between the bracing. The average
progress has been about 350 yds., in
place, for an 8-hour day.

The two sewers are being concreted
by means of Blaw-Knox steel forms,
with a traveling mixer plant located
on top of the trench, while the back-
fill is placed from the cast spoil on
the opposite bank.

This work is under the direction of
Frank Perrine, Engineer of Sewers
for the Borough of Queens, and Mr.
M. L. Quinn, General Superintendent
for Booth & Flinn, Ltd., and Mr. Wil-
liam Griff, Resident Superintendent.

Water Power Investigations to Be

Made By the Interior

Department

During the field season of 1923 ex-
tensive river surveys will be made by
engineers of the Department of the
Interior, Geological Survey, to de-
termine the possibility of developing
power on streams in practically all the
public-land states. These surveys will
be made by plane-table methods and
will include a plan and profile of the
river and contours to a height of 200
ft. or more above the water surface.
Where the conditions are favorable to
the construction of dams or reservoirs,
special surveys will be made for
mapping on a relatively large scale.
Hydraulic engineers will select the
dam sites and geologists will examine
and report upon the geologic features
of those that appear to be the most
favorable.

These surveys and the records of
stream flow collected by the Geologi-
cal Survey form the basis for the
classification of public lands with ref-
erence to their value as power sites.
Most of the maps made will be pub-
lished and will be available for pur-

chase at moderate prices. Many of
the reports prepared as a result of
such surveys are published as water-
supply papers or are kept open for
public inspection at the district offices
of the Geological Survey as well as at
Washington, D. C. A complete in-
ventory of the water-power resources
of the public-land States is thus being
prepared. The program for 1923 in-
cludes the following work:

In Oregon 300 miles of Rogue River
and tributaries will be mapped and
surveys of dam sites will be made.

In northern California and Oregon,
the survey of Klamath River from
Keno, Ore., to its mouth will be com-
pleted. This work will involve 100
miles of additional surveys.

In Utah, surveys covering 100 miles
will be made on East or Yellowstone
Fork of Lake Creek, West Fork of
Lake Creek, Rock Creek, Duchesne
River, and Uinta River.

In Idaho, surveys of a dam and res-
ervoir site will be made on Salmon
River.

In Montana, a dam site on the South
Fork of Flathead River will be sur-
veyed and a reconnaissance will be
made to determine the possibility of
using Missouri River and its tribu-
taries above Great Falls, Mont., for
power purposes.

In Colorado, surveys will be made
on South Boulder River, Clear Creek,
Chicago Creek, St. Vrain Creek, Left
Hand Creek, Big Thompson River,
North St. Vrain Creek, South St.
Vrain Creek, and Middle Boulder
River, all tributaries of South Platte
River.

In Wyoming, surveys will be made
on Sweetwater, North Platte, and En-
campment rivers.

In Arizona and Nevada, 300 miles
of Colorado River will be mapped.

In Washington, investigations of
the Columbia Basin irrigation project
are now being made.

Public lands reserved for use in
connection with power sites and shown
by these surveys to be without power
value will be recommended for restor-
ation to entry. Lands that may be
used in connection with power sites
but that are well adapted to other
uses will be recommended for restora-
tion to entry with a reservation of the
ri|rht of the United States or its per-
mittees to use them as power sites.
Public lands that are found to be val-
uable as power sites and that are not
already reserved will be classified as
power-site lands and withdrawn from
entry.

1923 Water Works 79

British Developments in Activated Sludge Process

Recent Work Reviewed in The Surveyor, London

By H. C. H. SHENTON

Bulking of Sludge at Manchester. —

In the report of the City of Manches-
ter Rivers Department, dated March
31st, 1921, the following important
statement is made: — "Reference has
been made previously to the occasion-
al difficulty which has been experi-
enced in the efficient settlement of the
sludge, due, apparently, to sudden al-
teration in the physical character of
the sludge, which at frequent inter-
vals has shown a tendency to increase
in bulk to an abnormal extent. At-
tention has been paid to this problem
during the last year, and observations
made under working conditions, to-
gether with periodic microscopic ex-
amination of samples of sludge, tend
to confirm the previously expressed
opinion that this abnormal condition
of sludge is due primarily to low air
supply. It would appear that a low
air supply over a prolonged period
brings about conditions, probably
arising from the incomplete activa-
tion of fresh sewage solids, favour-
able to the growth of the higher or-
ganism." It is important to note that
bulking has only been experienced in
the diffused air method when the air
has been reduced in volume; on the
other hand, it has been shown in Fair-
brother and Renshaw's paper, read
before the Royal Society of Arts, that
at the time of bulking protozoa are
exceptionally numerous, and it is sug-
gested that they may interfere with
normal purification, and it was fur-
ther ascertained that by adding a
chemical that had a slight bacteri-
cidal action, but a powerful lethal
action on protozoa, that the trouble
was removed. The paper has been
referred to already in The Surveyor,
and it is unnecessary to give further
details. This use of disinfectant
ought to be particularly useful in
cases where the aeration cannot be
easily increased to deal with the
trouble. It appears that this difficulty
will arise, and that the process will be
more useful in the case of mechanical
agitation than in the case of the dif-
fused air method.

Irrigation With Sludge Effluent. —
In a recent letter from Professor
Fowler, which the author is at liberty
to quote, referring to Jamshedpur, in

India, he says that he was "delighted
to see the really marvellous results of
irrigation of practically desert land,
with the effluent from the activated
sludge installation containing activ-
ated sludge in suspension. There
are 40 acres of all kinds of garden
stuff, as well as large crops of sugar-
canes nearly 15 ft. high, and there
was no nuisance of any sort. I have
seldom felt so gratified with an ex-
periment; there are nearly 1,000 acres
available for further extension of the
farm as soon as finances permit. The
plant itself was working all right, es-
pecially as it was taking about 50 per
cent more than its calculated load."
This statement bears out what was
stated in an article written by the
present author two years ago. It was
then pointed out that activated sludge
is a most valuable liquid manure,
ready for immediate application to
crops, that it can be conveyed to the
land through pipes either by gravita-
tion or by pumping. We have had in
the past many efforts made in the
direction of sewage irrigation, and
some of them have been attended
with a considerable degree of success.
We have had irrigation with crude
sewage, irrigation with partially
purified effluent. Crude and digested
sludge is applied to the land, some-
times with good results; but irriga-
tion with a fully purified sludge hav-
ing a high content of nitrate is an
entirely different matter. If we have
had partial success with land treat-
ment by the older methods we ought
to achieve complete success by the
newer method.

Use of Sludge as Fertilizer. — The
activated sludge process shows the
possibility of conserving nitrogen and
of accomplishing a thing that econ-
omists and sanitarians have had be-
fore them for many years past —
namely, the full use of the sewage as
a fertilizer; yet one sees that at such
places as Sheffield, Birmingham and
Bury the aim is merely purification.
There is undoubtedly at the present
time a general feeling that the
process of purification ought to con-
vert all organic matter into a fer-
tilizer. It should be noted that Mr.
Coombs, replying to the discussion

Water Works

July

which followed the reading of his re-
cent paper before the Institution of
Sanitary Engineers, said: — "I am un-
der the impression that in ten or
twenty years time people will be
smiling at us for having made such a
bother about dealing with the sludge,
because there is no engineering diffi-
culty in the pumping problem, even
of pumping 50 miles if necessary. . . .
Mr. William Clifford has proved at
Wolverhampton that there is no diffi-
culty in dealing with the ordinary
sludge in the neighbourhood of the
sewage works by pumping it on to
farms. If ordinary sewage, which has
very little fertilising value, can be
dealt with in that way, surely acti-
vated sludge can be dealt with even
better. From September to May
there would be no difficulty in irriga-
tion in wet state; from May to Sep-
tember, which are the best drying
months, there would be no difficulty
in drying out on beds at Worcester.
. . . The first big town which pumps
activated sludge over a sufficient area
of distribution will be pioneers of a
practice which will be copied else-
where."

Future Possibilities of Use of
Sludge on Farms. — It seems reason-
able to suggest that if wet sludge
were pumped on to farms each farm
might be supplied through a stand-
pipe, which would be opened by offi-
cials of the sanitary authority as and
when required. Naturally certain
difficulties arise, such as wayleaves
and easements owing to different
ownerships, but the problem does not
appear to be greater than in the case
of sewers and water mains. It is pos-
sible that the sludge distribution
problem on a very large scale might
be taken over by the county council.
No doubt every sewage works man-
ager wants to make his works self-
supporting, and wants to turn his
sludge into a fertilizer, while every
engineer wants to leave his scheme
compact and self-contained. At pres-
ent preliminary settlement has to be
adopted in large towns so as to limit
the volume of activated sludge pro-
duced. Small towns more conveni-
ently placed may deal with their wet
sludge by irrigation. The present is
not the final condition. To pump the
whole of the organic matter in Lon-
don sewage to the country would
naturally be a vast problem, but it is
conceivable that this problem might
be faced at some time in the future

after smaller schemes have proved
the method to be suitable and econom-
ical. Birmingham is situated at con-
siderable elevation above the Severn
Valley, and it would be easier to ap-
ply the method in this case, as the
very wet sludge, which has a viscos-
ity a little greater than that of water,
could gravitate to the land. If the
method is once proved to be econom-
ical and profitable for small towns,
the larger cities may some day con-
sider the matter seriously.

Variations of Activated Sludge
Process. — It is interesting to note
that the activated sludge process is
appearing under different forms, and
new names are given to what is really
merely a combination of the activated
sludge process with older methods.
Mention has already been made of the
"Sept-aer-sed" process in America,
merely an adaptation of an older
process tried in this country and ap-
parently superseded. Mr. O'Shaugh-
nessy, of Birmingham, takes tank
liquor, aerates this for one hour, re-
aerates the sludge, and then passes
the partially treated effluent over fil-
ter beds. This is called the "flocu-
lated sludge process" — a name which
might produce the impression that it
is a new process which has nothing to
do with the activated sludge process.
This work at Birmingham is interest-
ing and valuable, but it is merely an
application of the activated sludge
process, the floculation of sludge
being an essential feature of this
process, and the Activated Sludge
Company have always taken the view
that the floculation of the sludge is
all-important. This one feature, how-
ever, of the old process is taken as
giving a new name to the Birming-
ham method. In the case of Sheffield,
where the sewage is aerated and agi-
tated by means of paddles we are
becoming used to the name of bio-
aeration, which name may be quite
useful in describing a special process,
but it would be equally applicable to
the diffused air method or the method
used at Bury, which is called "surface
aeration." Finally, the Ministry of
Health seem to have recently adopted
the practice of referring to the
method of Activated Sludge, Limited,
as air blowing, although it appears
that this company is not tied to the
diffused method. These names may
be useful, but it is open to question
whether they are not merely one and
the same process — namely, that of

1923

Wafer Workf^

purifying sewage in a tank by means
of agitating and aerating the sewage,
which work is done sometimes by dif-
fusers and sometimes by various
kinds of mechanical appliances.

Unnecessary Confusion. — It seems
that various persons, notably in
America, seem determined to make as
much or perhaps as little as possible
of the process. We read, for in-
stance, that there is a growing ten-
dency to give sewage a preliminary
treatment before sending it through
an activated sludge plant, and in gen-
eral towards the adoption sooner or
later of supplementary processes.
Mr. Lee Peck, of New York City,
boldly states that plant design should
include preliminary treatment by
sedimentation and skimming, shallow
aeration, rapid removal of surface
film, mixing it with the body of the
liquor, agitation by mechanism, and
acidulation of surplus sludge. He
suggests aerating the skimmed and
settled sewage before mixing with
the activated sludge, and the use of
catalysts to reduce power consump-
tion, all of which may be of great in-
terest and usefulness under special
circumstances, but is not in agree-
ment with the latest and best designs
for works under normal conditions,
and conveys the impression that what
is really a very simple process is ex-
tremely complicated. From the
chemical and bacteriological side the
problem may be very involved. No
doubt it is in many cases, and the
work of the chemist may have an im-
portant bearing upon the design of
the plant, upon the horse -power re-
quired, and upon the size of the
tanks. From the engineering side the
matter needs equal attention, and
there are many possibilities, but cer-
tain facts are fairly obvious. It is
useless to attempt to make out that a
certain appliance will produce a result
which we know very well it will not
produce.

If a certain quantity of water has
to be lifted to a certain height the
horse-power can be calculated, and
engineers pay no attention to claims
for an impossible efficiency. If pad-
dles, diffusers or other mechanical
appliances are to be used we can tell
what aeration can be obtained and
what horse-power will be required.
We know that with a given degree of
aeration a certain tankage capacity
is needed. Further, we know that if
we have sufficient aeration we can
treat all the organic matter.

A Water-Bome Typhoid Out-
break of Unusual Character

Pure Water Contaminated by Leaky
Valve on Special Fire Service Connec-
tion Described in "Public Health
News," Bi-monthly Publication
of the Department of Health
of the State of Ne%v Jersey

By CECIL K. BLANCHARD

Assistant Epidemiologist, Bureau of Local

Health Administration, New Jersey State

Department of Health

The outbreak of typhoid fever in
Franklin, N. J., in November and De-
cember, 1922, due to the infection of a
potable water supply after filtration
and chlorination, again proves the
danger of connecting a public water
supply to any other system containing
water unsafe for drinking purposes.
The cause and results of this outbreak
should indicate to any thoughtful per-
son the folly of giving the protection
of property against fire precedence
over the protection of human Life
from disease and death.

Franklin has a population of 4,000
and with some reason has claimed to
be the ideal mining town of the coun-
try. Here is located one of the cele-
brated mines of the New Jersey Zinc
Co., and great efforts have been made
to protect the life and limb of the
mine employees and to provide proper
housing and recreational facilities, a
safe water supply, unusual education-
al opportunities and public health
service. The board of health employs
a licensed health inspector who is also
the school nurse, and three visiting
nurses are employed by the zinc com-
pany. The water filtration and chlo-
rinating plant has skilled supervision
and its operation is checked by lab-
oratory tests.

The local health department first
recognized the presence of an epi-
demic on Nov. 18, 1922, and imme-
diately requested the assistance of
the State Department. One hundred
and forty cases of illness had been
estimated with tentative diagnoses of
intestinal influenza, pneumonia and
typhoid fever, but no cases had been
reported to the board of health. The
physicians were accordingly requested
and agreed to submit lists of cases
recently attended, with tentative diag-
nosis of each, thus providing within a
few hours a record of all cases of
severe illness in the vicinity. This

Water Works

July

procedure is recommended, as it does
not commit the physician to a re-
ported diagnosis at a time when he
still may be in doubt, and yet notifies
the health department of the cases of
suspected typhoid or otjier disease
under investigation. Cases were later
reported in the usual way.

While the early symptoms were not
typical, there were a few cases which
were evidently typhoid. Accordingly,
specimens of blood from twelve cases
in the third or fourth week after on-
set were examined at the State Lab-

tended into the mine yard to a fire
hydrant (A). On another branch (Y)
connected to the street main about 15
or 20 ft. south of this point, and sup-
plying a number of houses and a
large public school, no cases were re-
ported. The presumptive evidence,
therefore, pointed to this 4-in.
pipe as the probable point at which
pollution entered the mains, since the
flow past this branch is always north-
ward. Investigation showed that this
pipe in the mine yard of the zinc
company was connected to a 6-in.

OETAIL OF PIPING AND VALVES
AT POINT OF POL UTIOM

LEGEND - MAP DETAIL

WATER MAINS OF BOROUGH

INDUSTRIAL WATER MAINS

CASES OF TYPHOID FEVER •••

Distribution of Typhoid Cases Along Water Mains and Detail of Piping and Valves at Point of
PoUntion. A — Fire Hydrant in Mine Yard. B — Raw Water Industrial System. C — Gate Valve,
Found Open. D — Check Valve, Found Leaking. E — Gate Valve Found Closed and Locked.
S— Standpipe. X — Point Where Infection Entered Street Main. Y — Branch Not Affected by

Pollution.

oratory and found to give the typhoid
reaction. On Nov, 23 clinical diag-
noses of typhoid were made by a
pathologist called by the zinc com-
pany and by a number of the local
physicians.

The Water Supply Is Suspected. —
The case histories indicated that the
public water supply was the only com-
mon vector of infection and that the
cases followed the water mains from
a point (X) near the center of the
town northward. On the accompany-
ing map of the water mains of the
Borough the distribution of cases
along these mains is clearly shown.
At the point (X) a 4-in. pipe ex-

line (E) containing raw water, drawn
from the Walkill River for fire pro-
tection purposes. A gate valve sepa-
rating the two systems was found
closed, locked and covered with dust.
A test with dye and 120-lb. pressure
for two hours failed to indicate a leak
at this point.

Failure of Check Valve. — Extensive
excavation in this vicinity (A) later
revealed the 4-in. pipe mentioned
above to be connected to a 3-in. line
(B) containing raw river water for
fire protection and industrial use.
The two water supplies were sepa-
rated in this case by a gate valve (C)
on the treated water side of which

1923

Water Works

was a check valve (D) designed to
allow potable water to be used in the
mine yard but to prevent polluted
water from entering the street mains.
Investigation proved that this gate
valve was open, leaving the check
valve as the only means of separation
between a safe and a dangerous water
system. Should this check valve
leak, and the pressure of the raw
water exceed that on the other sys-
tem, there was nothing to prevent the
pollution of the drinking water for
the town with the dangerous river
water. A test to prove this valve was
at once arranged.

The plan was to introduce a green
dye, uranine, on the raw water side
of the gate valve (C) set all the
valves as they had been when discov-
ered, open the fire hydrant (A) on
the treated water system and observe
whether or not the green dye passed
the valve (D) and colored the town
drinking water. Night came before
the test was ready for trial, but in
the glare of automobile headlights,
preparations were completed and the
group of Health Department investi-
gators. Company officials and work-
men gathered about the hydrant as
the water was turned on. The minute
of silence and suppressed excitement
was relieved by the gush of a bright
green stream from the hydrant. Each
witness saw before him the proof of
pollution of the town water supply
and the presumptive cause of the ty-
phoid outbreak. The theory devel-
oped from the epidemiological evi-
dence ^ was fully supported by the
conditions revealed by this test. It
was later shown by calculation that
the pressure on the industrial water
system at the point of connection with
the filtered supply exceeded the great-
est possible pressure afforded by the
standpipe (S) so that the flow would
always be from the raw to the treated
supply.

The conditions just described sug-
gest the wisdom of taking samples
for testing a water supply at several
points, preferably near the distant
ends of the distributing system. All
attempts to determine when and for
what reason the gate valve (C) was
opened and by whom have been un-
successful, partly due to the critical
condition of one of the persons who
was best acquainted with the opera-
tion of the water system who has not
yet recovered from tj^jhoid.

The officials of the New Jersey Zinc

Co. rendered the greatest assistance
and co-operation in discovering the
source of the outbreak and applying
effectual measures for its control.
The company maintained a central of-
fice and clearing house for reports,
records and information, and assumed
entire charge of the hospitalization
and home nursing of patients, the
care of families afflicted by the epi-
demic, and the many similar problems
which arose daily.

Bids Asked for Construction of

Ocean Outfall Sewer for

Los Angeles

Plans and specifications are now
ready for bidders for the construction
of the Ocean end of the new outfall
sewer at Hyperion, bids for which will
be opened by the Board of Public
Works of Los Angeles, Calif., at 10
A. M. July 30th. This work consists
of the installation, complete in place,
of 429 12-ft. lengths of pipe having
an internal diameter of 84 in. and 46
12-ft. lengths having an internal
diameter of 60 in. Alternate pro-
posals will be received for the in-
stallation of either Class D cast iron
pipe of the standard bell and spigot
type or submarine reinforced concrete
pipe having special bell and spigot
joint. The 84 in. pipe will be used
for the first 5,145 feet from shore
where the depth is about 50 feet.
Here the 84 in. pipe will divide into
two 60 in. branches at right angles
to each other and 45 degrees from the
main line axis. These 60 in. branches
will extend 283 ft. farther from shore
where the depth is approximately 56
ft. Special fittings for the pipe at the
lower ends of these two branches XKall
be made so that the sewage will dis-
charge upward at a point about 4 ft.
above the ocean bottom. Tlie pipe
will be laid just below the ocean bot-
tom, which according to the borings
consists almost entirely of sand and
which has a slope of about 1 per cent
from high tide outward. Piling is
specified for a distance of 700 ft.
through the surf and concrete aprons
will be required around each of the
two special outlet fittings. All pipe
required will be furnished free of cost
by the city at the Hyperion siding.

John A. Griffin is City Engineer
and W. T. Knowlton is Engineer of
Sewers of Los Angeles, Calif.

84 Water Works July

How the Water Works Coal Pile Can Be Reduced

Methods for Cutting Down Coal Consumption at Pumping Plants Out-
lined in Paper Presented May 25 at Annual Meeting of
American Water Works Association

By DONALD H. MAXWELL,

Principal Assistant Engineer, Alvord, Burdick & Howson, Consulting Engineers, Chicago

The recent increased cost of coal
and the troubles experienced in get-
ting a sufficient supply and of the
right quality have brought the coal
pile forcibly to the attention of the
water works superintendent.

There is no doubt but that the
water works coal pile, taken as a
whole, can be very much reduced.
The consulting engineer is in a posi-
tion to note many instances where
pumping plant efficiency might be in-
creased and others where pumpage
might be reduced.

Developments in Steam Plant Econ-
omy.— The first requisite to coal econ-
omy is efficient equipment. Great
strides have been made in the devel-
opment of pumping plant economy
since many of our older water works
plants were equipped. In contrast to
the hand fired return tubular boiler of
small horsepower delivering saturated
steam at 80 lb. pressure to duplex
pumps of very low duty, modern
practice calls for stokers, water tube
boilers in large units, with super-
heaters and with good accessory
equipment for maintaining high effici-
ency, and delivering steam at from
200 to 300 lb. pressure and super-
heated 100 to 200 degrees. The steam
is utilized in cross-compound or ver-
tical triple pumps with test duties
ranging from 120 to 180 million foot
pounds per 1,000 lb. steam.

The effect of this change on the coal
pile is shown in part (except for su-
perheat) by Fig. 1. This diagram
does not take account of such auxil-
iary equipment as boiler feed pumps
and the incidental uses of coal station
heating, etc. nor does it allow for va-
riation in load The station duty for
a given set of equipment would,
therefore, be less than indicated by
the coal rates shown on this diagram.
The diagram is based on coal having
12,000 B. T. U. per pound.

By inspecting the diagram we see
that vertical triple expansion engines
of 160 million duty using saturated
steam supplied by boilers operating at
70 per cent efficiency would require 0.3
tons of coal to pump one million gal-

lons 100 ft. high. On the other hand
with compound direct-acting low duty
pumps of 30 million duty using steam
supplied by boilers of 50 per cent
efficiency would require 2.2 tons of
coal to accomplish the same result.
One plant would consume seven times
as much coal as the other to do the
same pumping and it is a fact that
many of our smaller steam plants
compare no more favorably than this
with the more modem high duty sta-
tion.

Advantage of High Pressure and
Superheat. — To understand the ad-

lONSCoAL PER MlLUION GALLONS 100 fT. HlttH

Fig. 1. Effect of Efficient Equipment on the
Coal Pile.

vantage in high steam pressure and
superheat, it should be borne in mind:

1st. That steam engine efficiency
increases with the steam pressure,
amount in turbo-centrifugal pumps
for example to about 1 per cent de-
crease in steam consumption for each
10 lb. increase in steam pressure.

2nd. That, in general, it does not
take more coal (to an appreciable ex-
tent) to generate steam at relatively
high pressure than at low pressure.

3rd. That engine efficiency in-
creases with superheat, the gain with
turbo-centrifugal pumps for example
being approximately 1 per cent de-
crease in steam consumption for each
12° increase in superheat. The great
advantage of superheated steam in
reciprocating engines is that it does
away with cylinder condensation (if
superheated enough), so that all of
the steam entering the cylinder is

1923

Water Works

available to do useful work through-
out the stroke.

4th. That the additional heat re-
quired to superheat steam is much
less than the heat saved by the en-
gine so that there is a saving of coal.
Assuming 100° superheat, this fuel
saving amounts to about 4 per cent
with a turbo-centrifugal unit, 8 per
cent with a triple expansion engine
and much more with compound and
with simple engines.

Limitations of Water Works Plants.
— The water works plant is long-lived
compared to the industrial and elec-
tric power plant. The opportunities
of business expansion, particularly in
electric power production, make it
good business policy to use only the
most modem and efficient equipment.
The coal bill in these plants is a rela-
tively large part of the cost of power
and accounts for the wholesale dis-
carding of comparatively new equip-
ment and even entire plants to make
way for more efficient units of larger
capacity in great central stations will
enable the utility to command more
business.

The water works plant cannot be
rejuvenated in this sweeping way.
The business of selling water is in
most cities fully developed and can
only increase in proportion to the
growth of the city. The water works
pumping station represents a compar-
atively small part of the total plant
investment and the coal bill is also a
small part comparatively speaking, of
the total annual cost of the entire
plant, including fixed charges. Fur-
thermore the requirements for fire
protection make it necessary, particu-
larly in the small plant to carry a
relatively large reser\'e boiler and
pump capacity which is idle most of
the time.

From these facts it is seen that the
water works plant must move slowly
in the procession of increased plant
efficiency. Only occasionally when an
entirely new plant is built to replace
an outgrown and obsolete plant does
the engineer have the joy of doing
what he would like to do in making
the plant up to date in efficiency of
equipment. The more usual case in-
volves more or less important addi-
tions to existing equipment, the lim-
itations of this old equipment influenc-
ing at times very largely the char-
acter and efficiency of the new. It is
not always financially practicable to
change over to 200 lb. boiler pressure
and 100° superheat, for instance, in a

plant with heavy investment in low
pressure pumps and boilers that are
still good. The fixed charges on pro-
posed new equipment must always be
weighed against the estimated sa^ing
in cost of coal, and coal is not high
enough yet to warrant the sweeping
replacements in the average water
works plant that have been good busi-
ness policy in some electric power
plants.

Planning for the Future. — Even
though radical changes in pumping
station equipment may not be justified
when renewals are necessary, the
superintendent has an opportunity at
such times which should not be lost
sight of, to map out an improvement
program invohing the entire plant.
It would be most desirable, for in-
stance, in replacing a boiler to make a
sur\ey of the plant and its future re-
quirements and as a result, perhaps
find it worth while to install a boiler
at comparatively slight increased cost
capable of withstanding a future
higher steam pressure and arranged
for the installation at a later date of
superheaters. Then when the time
comes to make pump replacements or
additions the boilers will not be a
handicap. Judicious provision for the
future in this way will do much in the
course of time to improve the small
water works station efficiency without
sacrificing useful equipment.

Boiler Plant Operation. — Meantime
the water works operator must be
contented to make the best use of the
equipment now in hand. Even though
the low pressure plant with low duty
machinery must continue operating
on this basis for some years a great
deal can often be accomplished in
these plants to reduce coal consump-
tion by close attention to the details
of operating that make for efficiency.
The watch-word throughout the plant
should be: "save the heat units." It
might be said that intelligent and
conscientious operation of a hand-
fired low efficiency boiler installation
is even more important for coal econ-
omy than in a plant with high effi-
ciency equipment.

Coal saving is not possible without
measuring and recording the internal
workings of the plant. Between the
heat input and measure of work out-
put, there may be a very large pre-
ventable waste of energy amounting
to from 25 per cent to 50 per cent of
the coal pile in a poorly maintained
plant. So it is not sufficient to know
merely the tons of coal purchased and

Water Works

July

the plunger displacement, and yet,
astonishing as it may seem, plants are
occasionally met with in which even
this meagre information is not obtain-
able in a satisfactory manner.

The efficient operator must know
the pounds of coal burned per hour
for a given heat output in steam. He
must know whether hfs customary
methods of firing give the best results
with the fuel at hand. He must know
the effect of his practice in draft reg-
ulation as to whether the boiler is be-
ing unnecessarily cooled by too much
excess air on the one hand, or on the
other hand whether unburned gases
are being wasted up the stack from
insufficient supply of air to the fum-i
ace, and among other things he must
know the effect of removing soot and

Comparison of Cokl CONauMPrtoN
OP Stations Ooino
Double. Pompino
Plant Av^OailV TitTM. Coal Coal PtR Mil. Gals. 100" Ht*M
PuMPAGC HtAO Ions

5,Sl7

1,768
VOO
I l,MO
S.40I)
7.0S0

• 7 MoMthi P«n«tf

Fig:. 2. Difference in Coal Consumption Be-
tween Stations of Same General Type.

boiler scale and how often it pays as
a practical proposition to do this.

In a word, the, operator should
know whether he is wasting coal in
the boilers. To find this out he needs
the equipment and the interest to
make routine boiler tests and periodic
flue gas analyses.

An intelligent boiler room force and
careful training in efficient methods
are essential to economical operation.
Furthermore, a suitable bonus system
based on coal saved would be a valu-
able stimulus to interest in a coal sav-
ing program, if the possible savings
seem sufficiently great to warrant it.

Pump Room Operation. — Pump
room operation has a very large in-
fluence on the coal pile. The coal
robber in this part of the plant is
pump slip, though the preventable
loss at the steam end may also be con-
siderable.

The output of every pump room
should be metered at the station un-
less there is some other convenient
method of checking up on the pump
slip, at frequent intervals. The use
of venturi meters on discharge lines
has become quite general, but there
are still many plants which lack
proper equipment of this kind. These

plants are as a rule paying heavily
for it in the coal pile.

The writer has had occasion to ob-
serve some startling results from high
pump slip, and there is good reason to
believe that this is one of the principal
causes of coal waste in many of the
stations that lack proper means of
measuring the water delivered by the
pumps.

Table I shows the result in one
plant of reducing pump slip. The
records of this plant for several years
shows a continual increase in the tons
of coal burned per million gallons
pumped. The coal bill finally became
so high that it was decided to have
the pumps rebuilt. The effect of im-
proved efficiency of the steam end and
of reducing the pump slip is very
strikingly illustrated by a reduction
in the coal consumption amounting to
67 per cent of the coal burned in
1922. Comparison of the 1922 pump-
age with that of the two preceding
years shows a very marked reduction
in pumpage as indicated by plunger
displacement.

Table II shows the effect on the coal
pile of introducing a high duty pump
to do the work formerly carried on
by low duty pumps. In this plant un-
der the same conditions of operation
the high duty pump accounted for a

Table I — Effect of Redncing Pump Slip on the
Coal Pile

Plunger
Displacement,
Year Million Gals.

1919 „ 268.1

1920 299.9

*1921 S04.8

1922 287.9

Coal Burned
Tons
1.124
1.288
1,264
770

* Rebuilt pump back in service in November.
Coal saved in 1922. 518 tons==67% of 1922
coal pile.

Table II — Effect of HiRher Duty Pump on the
Coal Pile

Per Cent of Coal Per

Time New Mil.

Pumpage Pump Coal Gals. 100
Year Mil. Gals. Used Tons ft. High

1910 „ 1,839 4,626 1.01 Tons

♦1911 1,919 4,878 1.01

1912 2.090 60.9 4,749 0.965

1913 2,241 90.7 4,403 0.842

1914 2,272 92.6 4,562 0.810

Coal saved in 1914: 1.030 tons=2G% of 1914

coal pile.

♦Cross-Compound pump of 142 million test
duty installed.

Table III— Value of Testing Pump Slip aa
Measured by the Coal Pile

Average Daily Pumpage 12,000,000 Gallons

Slip 8,750,000

Slip reduced to 700,000

Total head 153 ft.
Coal per Mil. Gals., 100 ft. High.. 0.923 Tons
Coal Saved per Year 1,670.

1923

Water Works

sa\dng of over 1,000 tons per year
amounting to 25 per cent of the 1914
coal pile.

Table III is a rather striking illu-
stration of the very large coal sa\'ing
sometimes possible in a comparatively
small plant by eliminating excessive
slip in a high test duty cross-com-
poimd pump. The saving in this case
was at the rate of approximately
1,600 tons per year, although inspec-
tion of the records tended to show that
the excessive slip found on test had
lasted only about four months. The
record of plunger displacement indi-
cated, however, that up to within one
week of the test the slip had been
materially higher than indicated by
the test, and had been partly cor-
rected by replacing pump valves.

Figure 2 illustrates the great differ-
ence in coal consumption between sta-
tions of the same general type. These
are all double pumping stations in
small or moderate sized cities oper-
ating for the most part under direct
pressure. Plant "A" is an eastern

CoMPMtiMM OF Com. CoNSuunvM
or S-TXTio»*5 Do*«

StN«l-C PUMPIW*

Puka<-r AvOi&v ' 1«iM. C«iu. Coal f

iwu-6m^ na'

(Zt

til J

1V5*

ft*W

■

t4«.

(,M0

*■

Its

Il»

IM"

»51t

V17*

■IB

1»41

l«Ot*

out

CIS

T51

AS"

Mie

■^H

ats

tv.

770

ISOO

iT9

^■"

Fig. 3. Comparison of Coal Rate for Modern
and Old-Fashioned Stations.

plant burning Pennsylvania coal. The
others are western plants burning In-
diana or Illinois coal. The high coal
consumption of plant "G" may be
partly attributed to wide range in low
lift pump head. In plant "H" it is
due partly to poor plant design. In
Station "I" the poor showing is due
in part to very inefficient low lift
pumping from the use of over-sized
electric centrifugals, the low lift
pumping being accomplished at an
overall efficiency of 15 per cent for
pumps and motors.

Figure 3 indicates the typical low
coal rate that expected of well de-
signed and operated modem stations
doing single pumping, and to contrast
with them the old fashioned stations
with low pressure boilers and low
duty pumps. Plant "A" is the North
Point station at Milwaukee equipped
with vertical triple expansion engines
of high test duty of about 180 million
foot pounds. Plant "B" is an efficient-

ly operated small station burning
Pennsylvania coal in hand-fired boil-
ers and pumping with cross-compound
engines against constant head. "C"
represents the newest and most effi-
cient of the Chicago pumping stations,
pumping direct pressure with vertical
triple and turbo-centrifugal pumps
against a total lift of about 115 ft.
Steam is generated by water tube
boilers operating at 175 lb. pressure.
"E" represents the average of all Chi-
cago stations considering steam
pumping only. At three of the Chi-
cago stations a large amount of
pumping is done by motor driven cen-
trifugals using central station current.
At these stations the coal duty has
been greatly decreased from their
former performance which is probably
to be accounted for by the unfavorable
load on the steam plant. 22nd St.
now shows a coal rate of 1.41 tons per
million gallons, 100 ft. high compared
with .83 in 1910 and 68th St. shows a
coal rate of 1.3 tons compared to .85
in 1910.

Plant "D" is the new Des Moines
station with stoker fired boilers 200
lb. steam pressure and 100° superheat
pumping with turbo-centrifugals of
143 million foot pounds test duty. It
should be noted that this plant oper-
ates on Iowa coal containing from
8,300 to 8,800 B. T. U. per pound.
The boilers on test showed 75 per cent
efficiency at full load and 66.5 per cent
at 168 per cent overload. The plant
operates direct pressure. It should
be noted particularly that this plant
bums a much lower grade of coal than
the Illinois steam coal used at Chi-
cago.

Station "F", the old Des Moines
pumping station should be compared
with Station "D". This station, with
hand-fired return tubular boilers and
a cross-compound pump of 140 mil-
lion test duty operating on 125 lbs.
steam pressure required 20 per cent
more fuel than the new station to ac-
complish an equivalent amount of
pumping.

Station "G" indicates good perform-
ance in a fairly well maintained plant
operating under 90 lbs. steam pres-
sure and duplex compound pumps in
good condition operating direct-pres-
sure under a high head. Station "H"
in contrast to "G" represents very
poor performance in a plant having
equipment of the same general char-
acter and burning just as good coal.
This latter plant showed 50 per cent

Water Works

July

boiler efficiency on test and 25 per cent
pump slip.

These few illustrations show that
although some pumping plants are
operating on a highly efficient basis,
there are others where large quanti-
ties of coal are being wasted. In some
of these instances the fault lies in the
plant installation, and can only be
overcome by putting in better equip-
ment. In others a great deal can be
accomplished to improve the plant ef-
ficiency by systematically checking up
on pump slip, boiler firing methods,
draft regulation, and all the other de-
tails of operating that affect the size
of the annual coal pile.

Public Utility Rates for Kansas Cities

A compilation of water, electric
light and power, gas and telephone

Moving 18,000 Cu. Yd. of

River Saind by Hydraulic

Elevator

By R. FRANKLIN MUNDORFF

Following the construction of the
concrete dam at Decatur, 111., it was
desired to pack sand under the edge
of a horizontal concrete apron. The
particular job presented the problem
of moving 18,000 cu. yd. of sand in
a river to a new location 400 ft.
away in a deep hole in the river
bed.

The hydraulic elevator method
was adopted, as there was available
the amount of high-pressure water
required for its operation and be-
cause all the wear on the equipment
would be centered entirely on the
manganese steel throat of the ele-
vator, and a small inexpensive barge
would accommodate all necessary

View of Pipe Line and Arrangement fur Supporting Suction Nozzle.

rates for 542 Kansas cities has been
published by the League of Kansas
Municipalities, of which John G.
Stutz, Lawrence, Kan., is secretary.
The bulletin contains considerable
information regarding the utilities
in addition to that on rates. For
the water works it gives the source
of the supply, its treatment, meter
service, the capacity of the plant,
the rates for city service, minimum
bills, and whether the plant is a
paying proposition or not. Similar
data are given for the electric light
and power plants.

equipment and the pumping unit
could be mounted on the shore.

The elevator was placed horizon-
tally on a small barge and the water
pressure line was brought aboard on
barrel pontoons. This line was fitted
with 10-in. by 10-ft. rubber sleeves
at both the shore and barge ends.

The suction consisted of a 10-ft.
length of 8-in. rubber hose and two
lengths of 8-in. pipe. This was sup-
ported by block-and-tackle extending
was raised and lowered by a hand
winch.

The discharge line, varying from
350 to 400 ft., was supported by

1923

Water Works

barrel pontoons, the discharge end
being submerged to eliminate a
static head against the elevator.

A large reciprocating pump with
valve gear was used to supply the
pressure water. The actual results
obtained were from 50 to 60 cu. yd.
of sand per hour, exclusive of the
time used for changing the location.
The pressure at the pump was 80
lb. per square inch, which gave a
pressure of 70 lb. at the elevator
nozzle.

The elevator would begin to pick
up sand at 25-lb. nozzle pressure
and would work well at 40-lb. pres-

Locating Leaks in Underground
Pipe Lines With the Geophone

Mr. H. A. Ward gives the follow-
ing information in Mechanical Engi-
neering regarding the use of the
geophone, an instrument developed
during the war for detecting vibra-
tions of the earth due to tunneling,
etc., in locating leaks in underground
piping systems of an eastern univer-
sity:

The first leak was in the return
of the heating system and was
located accurately under 4 ft. of
cover.

The second leak was in a domestic

(10" RueeERSteevt io'lonc

iPlKAL.

Rivereo PitessuRE
u»fr boO' Lone

"SKi^

Arrangement of Equipment for Moving 18,000 Cu. Yd. of Sand.

sure. No improvement was noticed
above 70-lb. nozzle pressure.

The installation was made by
George B. Massey of the Randolph-
Perkins Co. of Chicago, 111., for the
city of Decatur, 111.

Activated Sludge Studies

The results of the investigations
of the activated sludge process of
sewage disposal carried on by the State
Water Survey Division of Illinois, of
which A. M. Buswell, Urbana, 111.,
is chief, has been published in the
form of a bulletin. The bulletin
gives a brief historical survey of
progress in the development of the
activated sludge process of sewage
disposal, and with this historical
view as a background presents the
chemical and biological data which
have been collected during the past
year's experimentation with low air
operation of an activated sludge
plant treating 75,000 gal. per day.

hot-water pipe encased in a concrete
duct packed with mineral wool and
under 4 ft. of cover. The line ex-
tended from a tunnel to a building
250 ft. away. The evidence of the
leak appeared as warm water from
the underdrain into the tunnel. The
leak was located 200 ft. from the
tunnel and proved to be a pit hole
in the pipe about Vi« in- i" diameter.

The third case was in a 5-in. steam
line carrying 10 lb. steam pressure.
The line is encased in a concrete
duct. Thee leak was located at a
point which proved to be 9% ft.
underground.

In all these cases the leaks were
plainly audible for ten or more feet
each side of the point at which it
was finally decided that the disturb-
ance was loudest. In each case the
first excavation put down centered on
the leak.

The instrument and some of its
applications are described in Techni-
cal Paper 277, Department of the
Interior, Bureau of Mines, Washing-
ton, D. C.

Water Works

July

Assumptions for Sewer Design in
New York City

Sewer design is now to a large ex-
tent uniform in the five Boroughs of
New York City. Certain rules relat-
ing to outlets were adopted by the
Board of Estimate and Apportion-
ment in 1917, but there are also vari-
ous assumptions adhered to by mutual
consent in the preparation of sewer
plans. Some of these assumptions
are given as follows in a special sew-
age disposal bulletin issued recently
by the Board of Estimate and Appor-
tionment of New York City:

The average dry weather flow from
the resident population of any section
is taken to equal the average water
supply plus a certain allowance for
average leakage or infiltration of
ground water. The maximum rate of
dry weather flow is then assumed to
be 1^/^ times the average.

Infiltration depends on the depth
below the ground water level. Where
the sewer invert lies above the ground
water, infiltration will be absent.
Where the invert is from 0 to 5 ft.
below the ground water level, infil-
tration is estimated at 20,000 gals,
per mile of sewer per day, and where
the invert is at a greater depth infil-
tration is estimated at 40,000 gals,
per mile, or about 1,560 gals, per acre,
per day.

Sanitary sewers in which the dry
weather flow will amount to 10 cu. ft.
per second or more are designed large
enough to carry twice the mean dry
weather flow, with an added allow-
ance, where necessary, for transients
and industrial wastes.

Intercepting sewers are designed to
carry from 2 to 3 times the estimated
average water consumption plus l'^
times the average infiltration.

In computing the capacity of sewers
by the Kutter formula, the coefficient
of friction is assumed at:

.012 for wood stave pipe

.013 for cast iron and vitrified pipe

.013 to .015 for concrete and brick-
work.

Minimum velocities are provided,
where practicable, of at least 2.25 ft.
per second in separate sewers and 2.5
ft. per second in combined sewers.

Sanitation Project in Peru. — The

so-called Peruvian sanitation loan of
$25,000,000, it is reported, has been
arranged. The Banco Italiano at
Lima is representing the banking in-
terests.

Criteria for Earth Dam Design

In a paper, "The Design of Earth
Dams," presented May 2 before the
American Society of Civil Engineers,
Joel D. Justin summarized the prac-
tical criteria for the design of earth
dams as follows:

"An earth dam should be designed
so that:

"(1) The spillway capacity is so
great that there is no danger of over-
topping;

"(2) The line of saturation is well
within the down-stream toe;

"(3) The up-stream and down-
stream slopes must be such that, with
the materials used in the construc-
tion, they will be stable under all
conditions;

"(4) There must be no opportunity
for the free passage of water from
the up-stream to the down-stream
face;

"(5) Water which passes through
and under the dam, must, when it
rises to the surface below the toe,
have a velocity so small that it is in-
capable of moving any of the material
of which the dam or its foundation is
composed;

"(6) The freeboard must be such
that there is no danger of overtopping
by wave action.

"All rules have their exceptions,
and it cannot be stated positively that
any dam which does not meet fully
all the foregoing criteria will be un-
safe. It will be found, however, that
with the few safe dams which do not
fully meet all these criteria, some
special means have been adopted to
overcome the difficulty. For instance,
the writer knows of one earth dam,
60 ft. high, founded on ledge rock
Avith practically no soil cover. The
engineer recognized that the down-
stream toe would be saturated, under
these conditions, and placed a heavy
rock fill against the toe. A small
quantity of water issues from the toe
of the rock fill, but the velocity is so
low that the material of which the
dam is composed is not disturbed.

"An earth dam, designed and built
to meet these criteria, will prove as
permanent as any of the works of
man if proper attention is given to
important details during construc-
tion."

Sewer Systems in Kansas. — Of the
542 incorporated places in Kansas,
147 have sewer systems.

1923

Water Works

Engineering Work for L2trge British Irrigation

Project

Method of Making Surveys and Designs for Murrumbidgee Scheme,
New South Wales, Described in Paper Read Before Leeton
, (N. S. W.) Bremch of Water Conservation and

Irrigation Commission

By J. M. S. WOORE

The following brief notes on sur-
veys and the design of subdivisions
and minor works in connection with
an irrigation scheme are mostly based
on experience and practice with re-
gard to the Murrumbidgee irrigation
scheme. It must be borne in mind
that every irrigation scheme is more
or less in the nature of an experiment
and has its own problems to solve m
a manner best suited to local condi-
tions. As an illustration of this it
may be stated that considerable areas
of what would otherwise be consid-
ered as first-class irrigation land are
being excluded from settlements on
the Murray on account of danger an-
ticipated from injurious salts. On
portions of the Murrumbidgee irriga-
tion scheme there are difficulties of
an opposite nature, and problems in
connection with an impervious subsoil
have to be dealt with.

Contour Surveys. — Assuming that
preliminary surveys have been com-
pleted and sites located for the head-
works and dam, or pimiping station,
a very carefvil major contour, feature
and classification survey is then nec-
essary to serve as a basis of design.
To provide a framework for the sur-
vey, main lines are set out at right
angles to each other so as to form a
chess board system with squares of
about one mile on the side, any con-
venient sur\^eyed line being taken as
a base line. According to the prac-
tice now in force, a heavy post is
placed at each intersection to ser\'e as
a connection for the chamiel surveys
and numbered so as to identify the
comer. A bench mark is cut on the
nearest suitable tree, or if there are
no trees available the bench mark is
formed on the intersection post and
specially carved with the surveyor's
disting^shing letter.

When the main lines are set out,
pegs are driven at intervals of 900 ft.
or as necessary, preferably on the
east and west lines so as to form tem-
porary bench marks when the cross
sections are taken. The bench marks

and temporary bench marks forming
the foundation of the survey are then
carefully levelled and checked lev-
elled, any small errors being adjusted.
It is preferable that the bench marks
should first be established over a fair-
ly large area comprising a group of
the squares referred to. Sections are
then run from peg to peg and spot
levels taken each side so as to form
a system of levels 300 ft. apart, or
as required to suit the coimtry. The
surveyor should also pick up any
marked irregularities of the ground
between the regular spot levels.

All natural features, nature of tim-
ber, improvements such as fences,
buildings, dams, etc., are located and
described, and it is important that
comer posts of any existing surveys
should be connected with the contour
survey.

A classification of the soil is carried
out simultaneously with the major
contour survey, the nature of the soil
and subsoil being carefully recorded
in the field notes. Trial holes are
sunk about 2 ft. 6 in. deep on the
section lines about 900 ft. apart, or as
necessary, and the classification of
soils shoixld be carried out in a uni-
form manner. All boundaries defin-
ing changes in the nature of the^ soil,
areas of rocky patches, and the limits
of land unfit for irrigation through
any cause should be clearly defined in
the field notes.

It should here be mentioned that
after the subdivisions have been sur-
veyed and the land cleared of timber,
a minor contour survey of each farm
is made with spot levels 1 chain apart,
the intersections being located by a
system of flagging which is described
in the commission's regulations.
From the minor contour survey a plan
of each farm is prepared showing
contours at 3-in. intervals*. This plan
is supplied for the information of the
settler, and so that a design of each
farm may be prepared if necessary,
showing location of farm ditches and
other information.

Water Works

July

Returning to the major contour
survey; when the field notes are com-
plete the levels and other information
are plotted to a scale from 8 chains
to 4 chains to the inch, according to
the nature of the country, the plot of
any existing subdivisions serving as a
ground work for the plan, and con-
tours are then drawn in at intervals
of 1 ft. in level.

Subdivision Designs. — The major
contour plan forms the basis of de-
sign for the new subdivisions for irri-
gation farms, but it is customary first
to estimate whether the section under
consideration is suitable for dairy
farming, fruitgrowing, or other pur-
pose, and then prepare a preliminary
design on a reduced scale, the areas
of the farms being fixed approximate-
ly according to the classification and
general knowledge of the country.
With the help of this plan it is now
the usual practice for a preliminary
inspection to be made with the agri-
cultural expert for the commission
and the areas reduced or increased
according to this officer's advice. The
detail design is then prepared on the
large scale plan.

There are two main systems for
subdivision designs, the strictly rec-
tangular system, where the land is
subdivided on a regular plan into
rectangular blocks and the location of
the channels in relation to the farms
is considered as a secondary matter,
and the more scientific system as
adopted here and elsewhere in Aus-
tralia, where the channel system is
considered of first importance and the
farms are designed to suit the con-
tours, and so that they may be
watered in the most convenient man-
ner; intersections of farms by chan-
nels being avoided as far as possible.

At Mildura, in Victoria, the settle-
ment has been laid out on a strictly
rectangular plan which does not cor-
respond with the contours, the chan-
nels being located without reference
to the subdivisions and crossing the
farms in all directions. In later irri-
gation schemes in Victoria the rec-
tangular plan has been abandoned
and subdivisions designed to suit the
contours. In India and the United
States of America the rectangular
plan is adored, but the minor chan-
nels are located as far as possible so
as not to intersect the farms.

Over comparatively small areas
where the slopes are regular, a rec-
tangular plan can be obtained even

when the general design is based on
the contour system, but no attempt is
made to sacrifice other advantages for
this plan. The main principles are
that the cost of works and waste
space should be reduced to a mini-
mum, and the farms laid out on as
regular plan as possible, consistent
with ease of watering; intersections
of farms by channels and drains
should be avoided as far as possible.

All such matters as number, width
and direction of roads, width of re-
serves required for channels and
drains, grades and costs of main con-
tour channels, etc., cost of bridges and
other works, provision for railways,
village sites and public utilities have
to be kept in mind, as well as many
other matters which, like the "other
articles" of the auctioneer's advertise-
ment, are "too numerous to mention,"

Speaking generally, the method
adopted is to locate the main channel
lines on the higher ground or ridges
and drains on the lower contours or
in the depressions or water-courses.
Where the slopes flatten out and the
ground is fairly regular the smaller
channels may cross the contours in
parallel straight lines. In country
where there is an even step slope one
way it is economical and probably
more convenient for watering and
drainage to provide for parallel con-
tour channels with tiers of farms be-
tween them. Where the slopes flatten
out and there is still a fairly even
fall, it seems more advantageous to
run parallel laterals nearly at right
angles to the main feeding channel or
branch canal. This design is prob-
ably more economical in the case of
flat slopes, as the laterals can usually
be of smaller capacity and often a
better grade can be obtained. The
grade of a canal or main contour
channel is an important matter and
depends mostly on the slope of the
country and the value of the land.
Where the slopes flatten out and first-
class land is met with it may be ad-
visable to reduce the grade very con-
siderably so as to take in a larger
area — the annual return expected
from the extra land taken in should
balance the interest and depreciation
charges on the extra cost of con-
struction. It will be found that as
the size of a channel increases the
extra cost of construction due to in-
creasing the sectional area or flatten-
ing grade decreases.

Grades of main canals and contour

1923

Water Works

channels usually vary between 2 ft.
and 6 in. to the mile. On account of
the higher cost of construction the
grades of concrete or mortar lined
channels should be made as steep as
possible. The location and grades of
contour supply channels is a matter
which has to be carefully considered
in connection with the subdivision de-
signs. There is not much choice as a
rule as to grades of drains, which are
generally located so as to obtain the
best fall possible.

Subdivision and Channel Surveys. —

When the subdivision design has been
approved the channel lines and sub-
divisions are set out and sur\'eyed on
the ground. When setting out supply
channels and drains the surveyor
should take the contour plan as a
guide, and not work from the plan by
scale only, and it is necessary that all
corner posts and intersections of the
major contour survey should be
picked up when locating the channels,
so that the latter will be in their cor-
rect position in relation to the con-
tours. In setting out contour chan-
nels considerable judgment is re-
quired, so that a reasonably straight
line may be obtained without too
much cut or fill. In broken country it
is a mistake to endeavor to follow the
contour too closely, as the cost of con-
struction is involved in the extra
length of channel and additional
cur\'es might easily counterbalance
any saving in earthwork, especially if
the channel is to be lined. The sub-
division sur\'eys must be carried out
to correspond with the channel lines,
and the channel surveys should either
be completed beforehand or the two
sur\'eys worked together.

Grading and Capacity of Supply
Channels. — On completion of the
channel surveys the sections are
plotted, sectional areas and capacities,
fixed, and channels graded in the most
economical manner as regards actual
construction. Assuming the capacity
to be constant, the condition for
minimum sectional area is that the
depth should be twice the hydraulic
radius, but this rule can be seldom
realized in practice, as the depth
would be too great and side slopes too
steep for economical construction by
the ordinary methods. The condition
is nearly fulfilled in our small lined
channels with slopes of 45 deg. and
depths equal to the bed widths. For
average size earth channels of the
usual proportions the depth is about

1^/^ times the hydraulic radius, and
for main canals with a bed width of,
say, 50 ft., the depth is nearly equal
to the hydraulic radius.

In order to obtain as regular de-
sign as possible the majority of the
smaller channels or laterals are lo-
cated in straight lines and are not de-
signed to any fixed grade, the method
adopted being as follows: —

The full supply level at each farm
outlet is fixed at a certain margin
above the highest point of the farm
which it is considered economical to
water; this margin is usually taken
as from 3 in. to 6 in., and depends on
the loss of head in the meter, grade
of farm ditches, contours of farms,
and other factors. The flow line is
then fixed so as to allow for the full
supply levels already determined and
so as to balance the earthwork quan-
tities as nearly as possible, any spoil
required being provided by enlarging
the section of the channel, borrowing
from banks of adjacent drains, or in
extreme cases from tanks excavated
within the farm boundaries. Side
cuts are avoided as far as possible,
as they tend to harbour noxious weeds
and are objectionable from other
points of \iew.

The draftsman engaged in grading
supply channels and drains should
continually refer to the contour plan,
and as the grading proceeds should
show on a copy of this plan, the ap-
proximate areas assumed to be not
commanded, too low to be drained or
subject to flood, together with full
supply level at farm outlets and bed
levels of drains. This information is
afterwards checked and utilized in
the preparation of particulars for
gazettal of farms. In many cases the
size of the smaller earth channels or
laterals is governed by the amount of
spoil required for the banks and not
the actual capacity.

In concrete or mortar lined chan-
nels, however, where saving of mate-
rial is the first consideration, the sec-
tional areas should be reduced to a
minimum and the best grades possible
obtained. On account of the great
expense of channel lining the capac-
ities of the individual channels should
be reduced to a minimum, consistent
with economy in working and conve-
nience to the settler.

The general method recommended
is as follows: — A convenient district
is assumed for a water bailiff, con-
taining, say, 50 to 70 farms, if the

Water Works

July

original system is a large one it may
be assumed as divided into two dis-
tricts. The stream required to water
the district in the given rotation
period will then be in cusecs: —

Total irrigable area in acres X

assumed depth of watering in ft.

Rotation period in days X 2.

and allowance should be made for
losses, say, 10 per cent, in the case of
lined channels.

The total flow is then considered to
consist of a number of unit streams
of one cusec, and each class of farm
is assumed to take one or more or a
fraction of such stream according to
its irrigable area and the purpose for
which it was designed. Thus a 20-
acre horticulture farm may take one
unit stream of 1 cusec, a 250-acre
dairy farm with a water right of 80
acre ft. may take three unit streams,
and so on. The main branch or feed-
ing channel should obviously be of the
full capacity until a point is reached
where the number of unit streams re-
quired is equal to the total flow; the
capacity can then be reduced as re-
quired after passing each farm outlet.
The laterals feeding from the main
branch are designed so as to be grad-
ually increased in capacity from the
last outlet downstream until the full
designed capacity is reached.

This system assumes, of course,
that as far as possible the water dis-
tribution from each lateral will be
completed before past^ing on to the
next one, so that a minimum number
of offtakes will be in operation at the
same time. This method is the most
convenient and economical as far as
water distribution is concerned, but
somewhat increases the cost of the
channels. If it were permissible to
dodge about from one lateral to an-
other over a wide area so as to have
a large number of offtakes in opera-
tion at the same time, the size of the
channels could be considerably re-
duced, but the cost of operation and
inconvenience to the settler would be
correspondingly increased. When a
number of short isolated lined chan-
nels are taken off a main branch or
main canal at frequent intervals no
very definite system can be followed
out. It is usually sufficient to fix a
reasonable maximum capacity, say, 12
cusecs, and then deal with each lat-
eral as explained above.

Surface Drainage. — A complete sys-
tem of surface drainage for storm

waters and waste water from irriga-
tion is provided. So far, except in
isolated cases, there has been no se-
rious trouble due to rise of water
plane or undue accumulation of in-
jurious salts, and it is hoped that the
question of deep subsoil drainage may
be deferred for many years. Wher-
ever possible, main drains are taken
right through to the Murrumbidgee
River or Mirrool Creek. There is
usually a difficulty in obtaining suffi-
cient fall, and owing to the flat nature
of the country, grades of 6 in. to the
mile over long distances are often
necessary.

It is assumed generally that a sur-
face drainage system cannot be pro-
vided of sufficient capacity to run off
water due to heavy rainfall as quickly
as it falls, and some temporary accu-
mulation of flood waters is unavoid-
able. Structures such as culverts and
subways should be designed so as to
be roughly proportioned to the catch-
ment areas, and drains and struc-
tures should be increased in size
where the slopes are steep or in the
vicinity of a range of hills. This pre-
caution is specially necessary where a
large body of water is concentrated
at a few points by means of contour
drains skirting the hills. Drains are
located as far as possible on road or
special reserves outside the farm
boundaries, and where the intersection
of farms cannot be avoided, the chan-
nels should not pass through small
swamps or depressions which are too
low to be drained, but should be de-
viated so as to pass round them.

Structures. — On every irrigation
scheme there is a very large number
of structures to be provided for, such
as bridges, regulators, checks, cul-
verts, subways, offtakes, farm outlets,
etc., as well as special structures such
as pumping stations, factory build-
ings and works in connection with
roads, streets, town water supply,
sewerage, etc. It is of course of
great importance that the design of
irrigation structures should be as eco-
nomical as possible, the best use being
made of the most suitable materials
obtainable in the district.

Sufficient supplies of suitable tim-
ber being now unobtainable at a rea-
sonable cost, it has been found more
economical to adopt reinforced con-
crete as the standard form of con-
struction in almost every instance.
This form of construction is practi-
cally permanent and has the ad-

1923

Water Works

vantage of requiring very little
expenditure in maintenance. It is
essential of course that sufficient steel
be provided at all places where ac-
cording to calculation or judgment
tensional stress in the concrete is
likely to develop, and careful atten-
tion should be directed to such mat-
ters as providing sufficient area for
bond and ample length of steel for
proper anchorage of bars in retaining
walls and similar structures. As the
cost of form work is often about 25
per cent of the total, every endeavor
should be made to design structures
so that forms may be easily removed
and their cost reduced to a minimum.

The standard tj^pe bridge for the
main canal may be taken as an exam-
ple of simple design, and consists of a
plain slab deck in several spans of not
more than 12 ft. 6 in. On account of
the comparatively low cost of forms it
has been found that this structure is
more economical than a bridge with
longer spans of tee beam and slab
construction.

The question of foimdation and
floors to bridges and regulators is
important, especially if the soil is of
a porous nature and sufficient length
of floor and cut off walls should be
provided to reduce the rate of perco-
lation and the upward pressure on the
downstream portions of the floor to a
safe limit, when the water is held up
on the upstream side only. The ques-
tion of the design of reinforced con-
crete is so intimately connected with
constructional methods that it is dif-
ficult to separate the two subjects.
If the engineer responsible for de-
signs is not also in charge of con-
struction he should at least frequently
confer with the construction engineer
and make inspections of works in
progress, and only by co-ordination
of this kind can economical and suc-
cessful reinforced structural work be
carried out. Such matters as mixing,
placing and consistency of concrete,
setting up and removal of forms, ty-
ing reinforcement and securing the
bars in place in correct relation to. the
forms, and many other questions, a
knowledge of which is so necessary
for drafting a specification, can only
be learned by practical experience.

Pumping Schemes. — Where large
areas of first-class land at a reason-
able distance from the head works are
not commanded by gravitation, it be-
comes a question for consiaeration as
to whether such lands should not be

watered by pumping, rather than ex-
tend the gravitation scheme to the
utmost Limit required to dispose of
the available water rights. One such
scheme comprising about 3,000 acres
is already in operation on the Mur-
rumbidgee Irrigation Area, and others
are proposed.

A pumping station should be lo-
cated so that the length of rising
main is as short as possible and
should be in a convenient position for
the transmission of power or trans-
port of fuel. If steam or suction gas
be adopted the station should, if pos-
sible, be adjacent to a railway to
avoid expense in carting coal, etc.
Centrifugal pumps are now almost
generally adopted for irrigation pur-
poses, and can be designed with a
high efficiency both for low and high
heads; they have few parts which are
likely to get out of order and require
very little attention. They are
cheaper and occupy less space than
reciprocating pumps. The type with
horizontal split casing should be
adopted for irrigation works, as this
pump can easily be opened up and
cleaned of floating woods and other
trash. Centrifugal pumps are spe-
cially adapted for electric power, and
very high efficiencies can be reached
with direct coupled sets. When con-
sidering the pumping station careful
design of the suction pipe and con-
nections is necessary so that the
water might enter with a low velocity
which should gradually increase as
the eye of the pump is approached.
In order to avoid air locks the upper
line of the suction pipe and any re-
ducing pieces should be level or have
a slight fall towards the suction well.
It should be borne in mind that if two
or more centrifugal pumps are in-
tended to deliver into a common ris-
ing main they should be of exactly
the same design with similar head-
speed curves, otherwise the pressure
developed by one pump would be
liable to stop the others.

Speaking generally as regards the
design of all structures and plant, the
most economical design is that for
which the annual charges, consisting
of cost of operation, maintenance and
interest and depreciation on capital
cost are a minimum, but another very
important matter is the actual pro-
vision of the capital required. An
engineer often has to be satisfied with
a cheaper design as regards capital

Water Works

July

cost, with correspondingly increased
annual charges.

Various Matters in Connection
With Irrigation Design. — In addition
to the subjects already dealt with
there are many other matters in con-
nection with the design of an irriga-
tion area, such as town planning, the
design of ornamental parks and
plantations; municipal work, such as
roads, streets, town water supply
and sewerage disposal works, factory
buildings, etc., etc.

The provision of railway facilities
is an important matter which affects
the welfare of an irrigation settle-
ment, and in the preparation of sub-
division designs and town planning,
ample provision should be made for
main trunk lines, spur lines, station
yards and sidings to factories, etc.
As on an irrigation area, it is usual
to group together allotments reserved
for industrial purposes; considerable
care should be exercised in designing
a system of sidings which will be
convenient and economical in opera-
tion, and due allowance should be
made for future large increases in
traffic.

The two main points to be consid-
ered are that the system of sidings
should have direct access to the near-
est station yard without unnecessary
shunting, and that running or traffic
roads should be provided distinct from
the sidings on which trucks will stand
for loading or unloading, so that the
engine will be able to drop or pick up
trucks from any part of the system
without interference with loading
operations.

Among the many subsidiary mat-
ters connected with irrigation design
the agricultural aspect of the. work
should not be neglected, as it is
closely connected with the design of
subdivisions and works. Sorne ac-
quaintance with soil classification in
relation to irrigation is necessary,
and a knowledge of the various crops
and products which can be profitably
grown in the district, together with
the amount of water recjuired for each
and the approximate average returns
to be expected per acre. Some prac-
tical knowledge of irrigation may also
be very useful, and will assist the en-
gineer in dealing with the numerous
applications and requests from the
settlers in a sympathetic and intelli-
gent manner.

Work of the U. S. Reclamation
Service

The Reclamation Service of the In-
terior Department has completed a
summation of its work conducted since
the reclamation act went into effect
20 years ago. The following summary
from the May Reclamation Record
shows that operations of the depart-
ment in irrigating arid lands have
reached great proportions.

The water-storage capacity of irri-
gation project reservoirs of the De-
partment of the Interior in Western
States has now reached 10,000,000
acre-feet, or enough to cover the en-
tire State of Connecticut with 3 ft. of
water.

The number of projects now under
way or completed embrace upward of
3,000,000 acres of land that may ulti-
mately be irrigated and divided into
70,000 farms, ranging from 10 to 160
acres. Water is already available for
over 2,000,000 acres on more than
44,000 farms.

The construction of irrigation proj-
ects has included over 12,500 miles of
canals, ditches, and drains; tunnels,
with an aggregate length of over 27
miles; masonry, earth, rock-fill, and
crib dams, with a total volume of 14,-
000,000 cu. yd.; over 8,000 bridges;
560 miles of pipe line; 130 miles of
flumes; 1,000 miles of wagon road; 83
miles of railroad; 3,000 miles of tele-
phone lines; 970 miles of transmission
lines; and 1,450 buildings, such as
offices, residences, power plants,
pumping stations, barns, and store-
houses. The excavation of rock and
earth amounts to about 200,000,000
cu. yd., equivalent to an excavation 1
mile on a side and nearly 200 ft. deep.
Excavation during 1922 exceeded
1,000,000 cu. yd. a month.

The Reclamation Service has used
over 3,000,000 bbl. of cement and has
manufactured over 1,500,000 bbl. of
cement and sand-cement. It has mined
140,000 tons of coal. The irrigation
works incidentally develop approxi-
mately 64,000 h.p.

Compensation for Typhoid Fever
Under Workmen's Compensation Act.

— Typhoid fever contracted by an
employee of a hotel as the result of
drinking impure well water furnished
by the hotel has been held compen-
sable as an accident within the mean-
ing of the workmen's compensation
act by the Supreme Court of Mich-
igan.

Water Works

Construction of Water Works Intakes

rious Factors Including Types of Cribs, Protection of Intakes and
Size of Intake Pipe Described in The Canadian Engineer

By ROBERT W. ANGUS,

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Toronto

lere are many sources of supply,
and it will not be possible to discuss
this phase of the question under the
title of this article, but it may be said
that only the supplies obtained from
certain rivers and large ponds or lakes
are of interest in this connection, be-
cause in these cases many peculiar
and special problems present them-
selves. More especially is this the

Figr. 1. — lorm of Visible Crib Used in Great
Lakes.

case in exposed places, where, due
either to rough weather or s^\^ft flow-
ing water, there is difficulty in keep-
ing the structures in place.

In such cases as these, an intake of
good construction must be built which
must have the important properties of
being able to draw an ample supply
of water as free as possible from tur-
bidity and impurities of various kinds,
and always fully dependable. Natu-
rally, where the supply is drawn from
the great lakes, the intake must be
very well built and its location very
carefully selected.

Intakes in the great lakes are used
by many large cities such as Toronto,
Chicago, Cleveland, etc., and in every
case the end of the intake pipe or
tunnel must be protected by a crib.
For these larger supplies two types of
crib have been used, those rising above
the water surface and briefly referred
to as visible cribs, and those which are
entirely below the surface, or sub-
merged cribs. The general arrange-
ment of the former class is shown in
Fig. 1, which is broadly typical of

this class, while Fig. 2 shows the sub-
merged type of crib. Visible cribs
are in use in Chicago, Cleveland and
other places and are located in from
35 ft. to 50 ft. depth of water, the
deeper water being the more pre-
ferred. Frequently they have no in-
tegral connection with the intake pipe,
their main function being to protect
the end of this pipe or tunnel from
damage and to aid it in drawing a
satisfactory supply.

Visible Cribs. — Visible cribs are al-
ways made high enough to prevent
water washing over the top of them
into the intake pipe, because surface
water is not as satisfactory as that
taken from lower down. As will be
seen in Fig. 1, the crib consists of an
annular ring of stone work of concrete
filled inside with permanent timber
or steel forms, the part above the
water surface usually being of stone-
work or concrete of extra strong con-
struction. The larger cribs are over
100 ft. diameter outside and rise as
much as 20 ft. above the lake.
Through the annular ring, ports are
left through which the water enters,
these ports being as near the bottom
as possible, and yet not low enough
to draw in material from the bed of
the lake.

Cribs of this kind are very expen-
sive to build and also to maintain,

Fig. 2. — Typical Large Submerged Crib.

since lights must be kept on them dur-
ing the season of navigation, and they
be able to resist the effects of floating
ice during the winter. It is the desire
of their designers to keep them from
drawing ice through the ports in win-
ter, but this has always proved an ex-
ceedingly difficult matter and ice gives
very serious trouble at times by block-
ing up the supply; some of the cribs

Water Works

July

are equipped with large boilers to use
in such an emergency. Ice is one of
the greatest menaces, and even with
cribs in deep water, with the ports
well below the surface, ice is drawn
down to them from the surface, due
to too high a velocity of water
through the ports since the draft of
water to a port seems to be concen-

AtjaM^ff^

Fig:. 3. — Strainer on Intake Pipe.

trated in a small cone. In this con-
nection it should be pointed out that
what is called the mean velocity
through the ports, found by dividing
the area of them into the volume of
water, is always kept low so as to re-
duce the tendency to draw ice, but
even if the average velocity of flow
is low, and the distribution of the
water through the port has not been
properly adjusted, it may be found
that the swiftest flowing part of the
water entering the port will readily
draw in ice that would not be affected
by the water if it all moved at the
same rate which would be equal to
the average velocity.

Submerged Cribs. — Submerged
cribs are now finding very much
favor both for small and large sup-
plies, and indeed, the cost prevents
the use of anything else for the
smaller quantities of water. The fact
that Milwaukee and Cleveland have
recently constructed cribs of this de-
scription is very interesting, even
though the latter place already had its
first crib of the visible type. Con-
trary to what might at first sight ap-
pear to be the case, the original cost
of such a crib for a city like Cleve-
land would not be much less than that

of the visible one, for in such cases
the intake pipe takes the form of a
tunnel, and in order that the outer
end of this may be built, protection
must be secured against rough seas.
This necessitates the use of a visible
crib during construction, and the up-
per part of the crib is afterward re-
moved, leaving only the lower part as
a protection to the finished intake.
The annual cost of upkeep of sub-
merged cribs is small for evident rea-
sons. Both Toronto intakes are of
this type. All such cribs have a ten-
dency to draw from the surface to
some extent the water coming down
in a cone as suggested in Fig. 2, again
causing a concentration of flow
through a part of the screen.

For the smaller places the sub-
merged crib is the only one practi-
cable, and as these intakes usually
consist of iron or steel pipe, laid on or
just below the bed of the lake or
river, the usual practice is to con-
struct the main part of the crib on
shore, tow it out to place and, after
sinking, filling it with stones or con-
crete; the pipe is then connected to it
bv divers. In the design of such cribs
one important problem is to keep out
foreign matter from the intake, be-
cause there is no real isolation of sur-
face water from the intake pipe as is
evident from inspection of Fig. 2. The
tendency for foreign matter to enter

£^D3e0 Time - Seconaa

Fig. 4.— Surge Study— 24 in. Intake, S.OOO f«.

Long to a Well 4 ft. Diam. Sadden

Demand from Rest of 9.42

C. F. S.

depends on the maximum velocity
through the intake, and hence the
draft of water must take place over a
large area so as to prevent concen-
tration. But in view of the fact that
the axis of the intake pipe is fre-
quently vertical where it passes into
the crib, the flow is liable to be con-
centrated as already mentioned in re-

1923

Water Works

ferring to Fig. 2, and some form of
protection must be devised which will
keep substances from dropping di-
: rectly into the intake, and the writer
believes that both of the above fea-
tures may be combined in a most sat-
isfactory manner and to better ad-
vantage than is possible with the
I screen placed horizontally.

Screening the Water. — Most of the
: cribs put down some years ago were
made in the form of "strainers" or
had screens of a more or less perfect
. construction, so as to prevent fish or
> debris entering the intake pipe. One
; arrangement used was to perforate a
I few leng:ths of the intake pipe with
holes about % in. diameter, placed
close together in the upper half of the
pipe. Another plan was to have the
intake terminate in a steel strainer
of the general form shown in Fig. 3.
In the writer's opinion such an ar-
rangement is a mistake, because it
forms a suitable means of starting
anchor ice, which will block up the
openings and close the ir.take, and
! again, it is always difficult to find the
position of the intake strainer and
; to remove an obstruction in ordinary
, weather, and is impossible to do so in
inclement weather. The openings to
the intake should never be small and
thrre does not seem to be any objec-
tion to having them 9 in. to 12 in., or
even more if desired, in their smallest
dimension, but if this construction is
employed the velocity of the water
should be the smallest where it first
enters the crib and it should increase
to a maximum in the pipe, so that
whatever does enter the crib will pro-
ceed into a region of higher velocity
and will thus be driven through the
pipe with certainty.

Such a design necessitates the use
of a screen-well on shore, through
which the water must pass on its way
to the pumps, and this well must be
of ample size so that the velocitv
through it will be small. The well
must contain screens, which may be
removed for cleaning and which
may be removed for cleaning and
which should be fine enough to pre-
vent any objectionable substance, such
as fish, entering the pumps. To facil-
itate cleaning, duplicate screens
should be provided so that one set
may be drawn out for cleaning with-
out leaving the pumps unprotected.

Intake Pipe. — The intake pipe
should be amply large and laid to
proper depth and grade. In regard

to the size, it should be noted that the
capacity of a pipe increases at a very
much greater rate than its diameter,
and also at a greater rate than its
area, while it is roughly true that the
initial cost of the pipe varies as its
diameter. The following figures,
based on similar pipes in all respects
except size, will be instructive in this
connection, and are only g^iven to
stress the point mentioned; they are
only given to stress the point men-
tioned; they are based on velocities
somewhat above 2 ft. per second in
the smallest pipe.

Relative

Size pipe

diameter

area

capacity

12 in.

16 in.

1.33

1.78

2.1

24 in.

2.00

4.00

6.2

36 in.

3.00

9.00

18.0

A glance at the table shows that a
16 in. pipe has a great advantage over
a 12 in. pipe, in that its cost would
only be about 33 per cent, higher,
while it could carry twice the water,
and the 36 in. pipe shows a similar
fact in a more forcible way.

It is, therefore, good economy to
make an intake pipe amply large, and
this should be borne in mind very
carefully.

One misfortune about too many in-
take pipes is that they do not slope
upward all the way from the crib
to the well, and, therefore, have pock-
ets for air to collect, while another
thing that is frequently neglected is
to place the shore end deep enough.
Should proper allowance not be made
for the variation in lake levels, it may
be found that an intake will have
almost no capacity at times. Thus,
the level of Lake Ontario has an ex-
treme variation of approximately six
feet, so that a 12 in. 1,200 ft. long,
laid with the shore end at lowest
water level, would have no capacity
when the lake was at its lowest eleva-
tion, and a capacity of 1,330,000 gals,
per day when at highest level. Such
an intake is of no value under low
water conditions, and low water may
easily occur at a time when a large
supply is demanded.

Surges in Intakes. — With further
reference to the proper depth at which
pipes should be laid, the writer had
occasion to study the effect of surges
in the pipe in this connection, and Fig.
4 is presented as an illustration,
although the proportions there stated
would be a clear indication of poor
desig^i.

100

Water Works

July

The curve shows the case of a 24
in. intake pipe 2,000 ft. long supplying
water to a 4 ft. well on shore. From
this well the pumps draw water, and
it was assumed in the problem that
when the pumps were started they
would instantly begin to deliver water
at the rate of 9.42 cu. ft. per sec.
or five million gallons per day. The
curves show in a clear way how the
velocity in the pipe gains its final
value by first exceeding it, and then
dropping back again, but the main
point has to do with the water levels
in the well and a history of them is
also given. Assuming an amply deep
well and sufficiently deep suction pipe,
the intake pipe would have to be laid
to a depth of 12.6 ft. below low water
at the shore end, instead of the 4 ft.
required for the steady flow, if it
were desired to avoid possibility of
the pipe emptying at the shore end.
The size of well is a very material
element in this last case and if the
well has been made larger the water
level would have fallen a much small-
er distance, but the point made clear
by the curve is that the size of well
partly determines the depth at which
the pipe should be laid, and that it
should always be laid lower than is
required to overcome friction losses.

The curves also are interesting in
showing the type of phenomenon that
occurs if the intake pipe is connected
directly to the pumps, or if the pump
suction pipe is very long.

Garbage and Refuse Disposal at
New York City. — The Boroughs of
Manhattan, Brooklyn and The Bronx
of New York City produce daily ap-
proximately 9,000 tons of ashes, 900
tons of rubbish, 1,500 tons of garbage,
and 1,000 tons of street sweepings.
Garbage is dumped 20 miles south-
east of Scotland Lightship, off Sandy
Hook, at a cost of about 45 ct. per
cubic yard, or 75 to 80 ct. per ton.
The ashes, rubbish and sweepings are
deposited in dumps, largely on Rikers
Island, where the rubbish is burned,
leaving a fairly solid fill.

Swimming Pools. — A bulletin de-
voted to the water supply for swim-
ming pools has just been issued by
the Graver Corporation, East Chi-
cago, Ind. In addition to containing
data on swimming pool design, con-
struction and operation, the bulletin
gives actual layouts of three installa-
tions.

Movement of Bacillus Coli in
Ground Water With Result-
ing Pollution of Wells

Abstract of Report Presented May 17

to Conference of State Health

Officers

By C. W. STILES and
HARRY R. CROHURST

Pi'ofessor of Zoology, Hygienic Laboratory,

and Sanitary Engineer, U. S. Public

Health Service

The pollution of the ground-water
(or phreatic water) by privy wastes,
and the possibility and method of ex-
tension of this pollution to wells,
springs, and other water supplies,
have been subjects of discussion, ex-
periment, and public health legisla-
tion for many years and in various
parts of the world; but the opinions
the sanitarians have held on the
general subject have been far from
uniform, the results of experiments
have been largely negative, and legis-
lative policies have been distinctly
contradictory.

Experiments of U. S. Public Health
Service. — In connection with investi-
gations by the U. S. Public Health
Service into methods of disposal of
privy wastes in rural districts, exten-
sive and rigorously controlled experi-
ments have been made which bear
upon the subject at issue and espe-
cially upon the movement of bacteria,
of fecal origin, in the ground-water.
These studies have involved the ex-
perimental pollution of the ground-
water (namely, the water in the satu-
rated zone, which supplies wells and
springs), have been correlated with
the rise and fall of the ground-water
table, the flow of ground-water, and
the rainfall. Natural can material
(human excreta from can type priv-
ies) was used as pollution material,
Bacillus coli was taken as the bacte-
rial test, and a dye (uranin) was
utilized in tracing the movement of
the water from the dosing trenches to
the more than 400 experimental pipe
wells which were arranged at inter-
vals from the trenches and at various
depths into ground-water.

The examination of thousands of
water samples from the wells during
a period of more than a year has re-
sulted in very definite data which
seem to express practically a natural
law as applied to the movement of
the bacteria in the field of fine sand

1923

Water Works

101

!in which the sxperiments were con-
^lucted. The results to date may be
Ismmmarized as follows:
I Results of Experiments. — Pollution
with fecal Bacillus coli has up to date
i)een definitely and progressively fol-
lowed in the ground-water for dis-
|i:ances of 3, 6, 10, 15, 25, 35, 45, 50,
|;>5, 60, and 65 ft. from the trench in
["vhich the pollution was placed; ura-
piin has been recovered from these
isame wells and has spread to other
Veils at 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100,
110, and 115 ft. from the pollution
trench. The soil in question is a fine
sand with an effective size of 0.13

tn.

2. The pollution has traveled these
distances within a period of 187 days,
or about 27 weeks, and only in the
direction of the flow of the ground-
water; no convincing evidence is pres-
ent that the pollution has traveled
against the flow of the ground-water
or at right angles to it.
I 3. The pollution has traveled only
in a thin sheet at the surface of the
zone of saturation; there is no evi-
dence at present that it has dispersed
radially downward, and even when
heavy pollution is recovered at the
top, water from lower levels (in near-
by deeper wells) is negative both for
uranin and for B. coli.

4. As the ground-water level falls,
owing to dry weather, the pollution
tends to remain in the sand above the
new (lower) ground-water level,
iiamely, in the new capillary fringe.

5. There is no e%'idence which
would justify a conclusion at present
that either the bacteria or the uranin
is carried or moves to any appreciable
distance in the capillary fringe itself,
and there is neither theoretical reason
nor experimental evidence to justify
a conclusion that either the bacteria
)r the uranin progresses in the dry,
lerated intermediate belt (between
:he capillary fringe and the upper soil
belt). All present evidence is to the
liff^ect that when the ground-water
level falls the pollution remains prac-
tically stranded in the capillary fringe
or in the intermediate belt — according
to the degree of fall of the ground-
water.

^ 6. A rainfall of 1 in. results in a
rise of 5 to 6 in. in the ground-water
table (in the particular experimental
area in question); and if this rise is
sufficient to reestablish the zone of
saturation up at the level of the
stranded pollution, the bacteria and

the uranin are again picked up and
carried along farther in the direction
of the ground-water flow until dry
weather again intervenes to cause an-
other fall of the ground-water level.

7. Thus the progressive (passive)
movement and the stasis (stranding)
of the pollution are intimately con-
nected vsith, are dependent upon, and
alternate with the rise and the fall of
the ground-water level, and this lat-
ter factor is dependent upon the al-
ternation of wet weather (rainfall)
and dry weather (lack of rain at the
intake area of the ground-water
table). Experiments are now under
way to determine, if possible, whether
pollution placed directly into a deeper
level of the ground-water will travel
up to the surface of the saturated
zone.

8. In explaining these results, cap-
illarity, filtration, and gravity seem to
come up for special consideration.

9. In one experiment the pollution
traveled only 45 ft. from Sept., 1922,
to May, 1923, and remained stranded
at this distance. Study of the forma-
tion of the ground revealed that under
the belt of pollution there is an im-
pervious or nearly imper\nous stratum
of peatlike material, which gradually
tilts upward distally from the pollu-
tion pit and forms a ground-water
dam; the pollution traveled out on
high ground-water to the dam, the
ground-water level fell below the
crest of the dam, and the pollution is
now stranded, pending a rise of the
ground-water table sufficient to pro-
duce a ground-water cascade which
will carry the pollution over the crest
of the dam.

10. The ultimate distance to which
the pollution will be carried is de-
pendent upon a number of complex
and interlocking factors, namely, wet
and dry weather, with resulting rise
and fall of the ground- water; the
length of each of these periods; the
rate of the ground-water flow (de-
pending upon the "head," which, in
turn, is dependent upon the rainfall);
and, obviously, also the factor of the
viability of the organisms under con-
ditions of moisture, pH, food supply,
etc., ad finem.

11. In another series of experi-
ments human feces were buried in
pits, in a locality of high ground-
water, and covered with sawdust. Of
five samples taken three years and
two months after burial all were both
macroscopically and microscopically

102

Water Works

July

recognizable as feces, but the odor
had become somewhat musty; three of
these samples were positive and two
were negative for Bacillus coli; ova
of Ascaris lumbricoides were recog-
nizable in all iive samples, but all 57
ova found were dead.

12. The bearing of the foregoing
results upon the intermittent pollu-
tion of wells, the location of water
supplies, and the location of camps in
peace or in war, will be evident to
persons who are called upon for tech-
nical advice in these matters; the
justification of the laws forbidding
the use of abandoned wells for the
disposal of excreta is self-evident;
the possible effect of the custom (in
some localities) of digging pits into
ground-water (as advised by some
persons) is obvious.

13. In protecting wells, special at-
tention should be given not only to
surface protection as is now generally
recognized but also to a new element,
namely, the danger zone which exists
from the highest water level to about
a foot below the lowest water level.
A leak in the pipe in this region is
potentialy very dangerous, and all
wells unprotected in this danger zone
are to be considered as potentially
unsafe.

Effect of Size of Filter Sand on
Operation

Comparison of Performance of Indi-
vidual Filters Given at Ohio Con-
ference on Water Purification

By E. E. SMITH, 2ND

Superintendent of Filtration, Lima, O.

The six units at the Lima filtration
plant have separate outlets to the
clearwell, so that it has been custom-
ary to collect separate samples at
times of general sample collection for
plant control, using the average bac-
terial count from separate plates as
the estimate for filtered water prior
to disinfection. During the year 1921,
all bacterial counts were made with
an incubation temperature of 37° C;
during the year 1922 a change was
made to an incubation temperature of
20° C, all counts being made with
"Standard Methods" agar. Exact
measurement of initial and final loss
of head have been made and other
engineering data have been collected,
the summaries of which are herewith
presented. The mechanical analyses

of sand samples were made at the
laboratory of the State Department
of Health in December, 1921.

The filters may be divided into two
groups according to differences in
physical characteristics of the filter
sand. Filters 1, 3, and 5, located on
the west side of the filter gallery have
a sand of smaller size and greater
uniformity than filters 2, 4, and 6, on
the east side. Those filters having
the finer and more uniform sand also
have a slightly thinner sand layer, or
at least a greater distance between
the sand line and the tops of the
wash-water troughs. During the two
years' observations the rate of wash-
ing has been uniformly the same — 24
to 25 in. rise of wash water — applied
for one minute at a low rate, then the
remainder of the recorded time of
wash at full opening of the wash
water valve. The time of wash has
been fixed to maintain as nearly as
possible the same volume of wash
water passing through the filter at
each wash.

A study of the figures recorded
shows that the filters with the finer
sand require approximately one-half
minute longer to pass the same quan-
tity of wash water; they have con-
sistently higher initial loss-of-head;
and always shorter runs, requiring
higher percentages of total wash
water. The figures for bacterial re-
movals do not indicate any such con-
sistent differences, but show practi-
cally the same removals. For the two
periods the removal of B, Coli has
been practically the same, — 93 per
cent.

All of the filters show sand of size
and uniformity falling within the lim-
its suggested by Mr. Dittoe in No-
vember, 1921, — less than 0.45 mm.
During 1922, the filters were allowed
to reach a final loss-of-head of ap-
proximately 8.5 ft., while in 1921 they
were permitted to reach the practical
limits of loss-of-head, — 11 feet; and
the total percentages of wash-water
for the two periods, — 4.1 for 1922 and
2.8 for 1921 — result from such change
in operation. Other conditions have
also caused the increase in percent-
age; namely, poor coagulation in cold
weather, filter growths in warm
weather, as well as the attempt to
consistently produce a filter effluent
below a confirmed B. Coli index of 2
per 100 cc.

Filter runs for those filters with
the coarser sand were approximately

1923

Water Works

103

Table I — Description of Filters

Filter number 1 3 5 2 4 6 1.3.5 2.4.6

Effective size (mm.)— 0.37 0.37 0.38 0.44 0.42 0.42 0.37 0.43

Uniformity coefficient 1.22 1.27 1.21 1.36 1.38 1.43 1.23 1.39

Distance of top of sand to top of

trough (in.) __ 29.62 29.88 29.75 28.38 27.00 29.00 29.75 28.15

Table II — Comparison of Performance of Filters as Measnred by 37 ° C. Bacterial Count, Year 1921

Filter number „ _ 1 3 5 2 4 6 1,3.5 2.4,6

Filter efficiency (bacterial removal).. 81% 81% 82% 77% 77% 80% 81% 78%

Average wash water used (gals.) ....28,900 28.900 28,500 28,800 28,100 28.500 28.800 28,500

Time of wash (minutes) _ 4:40 4:34 4:51 4:12 4:15 4:11 4:42 4:13

Length of run (hours) 25:00 22:44 25:50 30:46 30:10 30:21 24:31 30:26

Initial L-of-H (ft.) 1.45 1.27 1.38 1.23 1.12 1.35 1.37 1.23

Final L-of-H (ft.) 11.00 11.10 11.00 10.90 10.90 11.10 11.03 10.97

Table III — Comparison of Performance of Filters as Measured by 20° C. Bacterial Count,

(Jan.-Oct., 1922)

Filter number 1 3 5 2 4 6 1.3.5 2.4.6

Filter efficiency (bacterial removal).. 64% 59% 72% 69% 68% 71% 65% 69%

Average wash water used (gals.).. -26.100 25.300 26,100 25.400 24,800 25.600 25.800 25,200

Time of wash (minutes) 4:26 4:05 4:18 3:41 3:40 3:48 4:12 3:43

Length of run (hours) 16:00 14:29 15:07 18:32 19:24 18:01 15:13 18:39

Initial L-of-H (ft.) 1.44 1.35 1.59 1.32 1.21 1.52 1.46 1.35

Final Lrof-H (ft.) 8.46 8.53 8.45 8.36 8.50 8.47 8.48 8.44

24 per cent longer than those with
the finer sand. Had all filters been
equipped with filter sand of 0.43 mm.
effective size, it is probable that the
average percentage of washwater
would have been reduced possibly half
of this difference, or instead of 2.8
for 1921 it might have been 2.5 per
cent, and instead of 4.1 for 1922 it
might have been 3.6 per cent. Al-
though these conclusions are based
upon small differences in size of filter
sand, they are also based upon many
observations. They serve to indicate
that small differences in size of sand
are important, and that careful atten-
tion to size and grading of filter sand
may have far-reaching results in
operation.

Expressing Results of Water
Analyses

I Graphic Scheme Described at Ohio
Conference on Water Purification

By C. p. HOOVER

I Chemist in Charge Columbus, O.. Water
1 Purification and Softening Works

The routine determinations made

1 at Columbus to determine the proper

I treatment of the water are (1) total

alkalinity, (2) phenolphthalein alka-

linity, (3) caustic alkalinity, (4)
incrustants, (5) total hardness, (6)
magnesium and (7) calcium. These
tests are satisfactory for routine
purposes, but are not as adequate for
studying water softening reactions
as a graphic scheme recently ex-
plained by Mr. W. D. Collins, Chief
of the Quality of Water Division of
the U. S. Geological Survey.

The scheme consists in dividing
the parts per million of each radical
shown in the analysis by the com-
bining weight of such radical. The
result gives an arbitrary figure,
which, for the purpose of plotting,
may be called inches or spaces on
section paper. The combining weight
of any element is obtained by divid-
ing the atomic weight by the valence.
Tables are herewith given showing
how combining weights or equiva-
lents of elements and compounds
determined in water analyses are
computed.

The hypothetical combinations are
based on the theory that the total
alkalinity should first be calculated
to calcium. If the carbonates exceed
the necessary amount of calcium, the
rest of the alkalinity may be calcu-
lated to magnesium carbonate; and
sulphates, chlorides, etc., combined
with magnesium until the latter is

Calci um

Magnesium

Bicarbonate Sulphate

Graphic Scheme for Expressing Results of Water Analyses

104 Water Works July

Table I. — Combining Weights Computed

Element or Compound Atomic Valence Combining Weight

Weight or Equivalent

Calcium „.. 40 2 20 M

Magnesium 24 2 12 ^^

Sodium 23 1 23 ^M

HCO3* 61 1 61 ^1

Sulphates (SOJ 96 2 48 |^|

Chlorine 35 1 35 ^H

♦HCO, is obtained from the alkalinity by multiplying by 1.22. (See Standard Methods of^J
Water Analyses, page 38.)

Table II. — Example from Actual Experience in the Analysis of Scioto River
Water at Columbus, Ohio

Calcium 96 divided by 20 = 4.8

Magnesium 35 divided by 12 = 2.9

Alkalinity 200x1.22 divided by 61 = 4.2

Sulphate (SO.) 168 divided by 48 = 3.5

exhausted. But if the calcium ex-
ceeds the amount necessary to take
care of the alkalinity there is no
magnesium carbonate, and the excess
of calcium may then be calculated to
sulphate first, then chlorides and
nitrates until exhausted; and the
magnesium is combined with the
remaining acid radicals until ex-
hausted. Any remaining chlorides,
nitrates or sulphates may be calcu-
lated to sodium and potassium salts.

Municipal Use of Water at
Springfield, Mass.

The total municipal use of water in
1922 at Springfield, Mass., was valued
at $71,027, according to the 49th an-
nual report of the water commission-
ers. The report states:

The following tabulation in custom-
ary form shows the consumption of
water during the year past by the
various municipal departments of the
city, v/ith its prescribed values, or
accrued earnings to the water works
from same, as properly credited on
its books. This amount is annually
entered on the water works books and
charged off as uncollectible in ac-
cordance with the provisions of city
ordinance.

Municipal Use of Water — 1922. — Un-

metered quantities in gallons are esti-
mated from amounts on basis of 6 2/3
ct. per 1,000 gal., or equivalent to 5
ct. per 100 cu. ft.

Water Works for Malaga, Spain. —

The municipality of Malaga, Spain, is
preparing for a large bond issue to
improve the municipal water works
system. It is stated that a Spanish
bank will probably take the bonds and
that the contract will probably go to
Spanish firms.

Water Works in Kansas. — Practi-
cally 50 per cent of the 542 incor-
porated cities of Kansas have water
systems. Of 261 systems 255 are
owned and operated by the munici-
pality.

Federal Investigations for Reclama-
tion Projects. — Plans for the expendi-
ture of $225,000 appropriated by Con-
gress for the fiscal year 1924 to
investigate possible reclamation proj-
ects in Western states have been
made public by the Secretary of the
Interior. The money will be used to
examine into reclamation areas in 11
Western states and cover some 18
proposed projects.

Classification. .\mount.s. (Gallons.

Schools $ 8,335.80 125.037,000

Public buildings (other than schools) 2,931.8,5 43,977.750

Public parks 2,808.15 42.122,250

Public playgrounds 452.95 6,794.250

Building purposes (Streets and Engineer-
ing Department) 286 80 4,302,000

Sewer Department (flushing) 2,578.60 38,679,000

Snow removal (via sewers) 1.301.33 19,520,000

Street washing and sprinkling 1,481.86 22,228,000

Total of above $20,177.34 302.660,250

( (Not reducible )

Fire hydrant service 50,850.00 ( to quantities) J

Memo.

92% metered

90.2% metered

67.8% metered

4.8% metered

Unmeteredj

Unmetered j

Metered ^

Unmetered"

At $25 per]
hydrant.

,»^'

Railways

MONTH I.V ISSl'E OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.

221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbert p. Gillette, President and Editor

Lewis S. Looer, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacrc Bldg., 42d St. and Broadway

Richard E. Brown, Eastern Manager

Road and Streets-

(a) Road Con-
struction

(b) Road Main-
tenance

-Ist Wednesdar. II

(d) Street clean-
ing:

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday, $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and SaniUtion
Drainage (d) Waterways

Raflways — 3rd Wednesday. $1

(a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-

way Construe- way Construc-

tion and tion and

Maintenance Maintenance

Buildings— 4th Wednesday, $1

(a) Buildings (d) Miscellaneous

(b) Bridges Structures

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., JULY 18, 1923

No. 1

What Is Wrong With the

Interstate Commerce

Commission?

For 17 years the Interstate Com-
merce Commission has had regulatory
power over railway rates. During that
period investments in railway stocks
have become less and less attractive.
The present market value of all rail-
way securities has been estimated at
$13,000,000,000, although the I. C. C.
itself estimates that the actual invest-
ment in the railway plant is fully $19,-
000,000,000. The common stock of
many of the leading railway systems
IS selling at a small fraction of its
par value, and the par value is less
than the actual investment. Consider
Rock Island selling at $25 a share
when its par value is $100, and when
the I. C. C.'s appraisal at original
costs (not at i-eproduction costs) less
depreciation shows that the capital-
ization is less than the appraised
value! Consider New York, New
Haven and Hartford at $10 a share.

under conditions corresponding to
those just named for the Rock Island.
Glance down the stock market report
column any day and ask yourself
why railway stocks that were once
gilt-edged are now fray-edged. Pon-
der the fact that no new railway com-
mon stock issued for extensions or
improvements is salable at all.

Political attacks upon railway rates
are primarily responsible for this
state of affairs, and the I. C. C. has
been, in the main, a political tool. Its
members have been politicians, for the
most part, trained to listen to the
voice of the people. Since it is always
popular to reduce passenger and
freight rates, the I. C. C. has usually
favored rate reduction.

There never will be satisfactory
regulation of railway rates until the
members of the Interstate Commerce
Commission are as free from political
influence as are members of the U. S.
Supreme Court. That is the first es-
sential, and it seems to involve at
least three things: First, appoint-
ment of professionally skilled men in-

106

Raihvays

July,

stead of politicians. Second, long
tenure of office. Third, liberal salaries.

Doubtless we are biased in favor of
engineers, but it is our belief that the
majority of the members of the
I. C. C. should be engineers who have
had broad executive and economic ex-
perience. Such men as Herbert
Hoover, Gen. George Goethals, Eu-
gene G. Grace (president of the Beth-
lehem Steel Co.), John Hays Ham-
mond and Samuel Rea (president of
the Pennsylvania Ry.)

The members of the Interstate Com-
merce Commission should be com-
pletely insulated from the fire of
popular prejudice and from the ice of
public disapproval. Their's should
be the task of being wisely fair in
railway regulation, without fear of
criticism or of loss of position if their
decisions prove to be temporarily ob-
jectionable to any "bloc" in Congress
or any selfish coterie elsewhere.

Shall Original Cost or

Present Value Be the

Baise for Rates?

In a decision handed down May 21,
the U. S. Supreme Court again rules
that the rates charged by public util-
ity companies must be based on pres-
ent costs. In the Southwestern Bell
Telephone case the Supreme Court of
Missouri had supported a decision of
the Public Service Commission of
Missouri, in which the original cost of
the plant, $20,000,000, had been used
as the rate base. The U. S. Supreme
Court reversed this decision, saying:

"Obviously, the Commission under-
took to value the property without
according any weight to the greatly
enhanced costs of material, labor,
supplies, etc., over those prevailing in
1913, 1914 and 1916. As matter of
common knowledge, these increases
were large. Competent witnesses es-
timated them as 45 to 50 per centum.

"It is impossible to ascertain what
will amount to a fair return upon
properties devoted to public service
without giving consideration to the
cost of labor, supplies, etc., at the
time the investigation is made. An
honest and intelligent forecast of
probable future values made upon a
view of all the relevant circumstances,
is essential. If the highly important
elements of present costs is wholly
disregarded such a forecast becomes

impossible. Estimates for tomorrow
cannot ignore prices of today.

Witnesses for the Company asserted
— and there was no substantial evi-
dence to the contrary — that excluding
cost of establishing the business the
property was worth at least 25 per
cent more than the Commission's esti-
mates, and we think the proof shows
that for the purposes of the present
case the valuation should be at least
$25,000,000."

This 25 per cent added to the orig-
inal cost by the U. S. Supreme Court
is a net increase after deducting de-
preciation.

Seven of the nine judges concurred
in the entire opinion, but two dis-
sented as to the rate base. Justices
Brandeis and Holmes held that the
rate base should be the "prudent in-
vestment." Justice Brandeis' main
argument for original cost is founded
upon the expedience and justice of es-
tablishing once and for all a rate base
that not only will not shift with every
change of prices or wages, but also
one that is not a matter of judgment
or opinion but of fact. His argument
is quite convincing if sight is lost of
the fact that if the purchasing power
of a dollar changes there is no stabil-
ity in the "real" income even where
the rate base is stabilized. It is curi-
ous to note that although Justice
Brandeis argues soundly for stability
of income, he always speaks in terms
of money income and never in terms
of "real" income, namely the goods
and services that money will buy. The
investors in German bonds have had a
stablized money income, but a worth-
less "real" income. It is our belief
that the U. S. Supreme Court deci-
sions in favor of reproduction cost,
less depreciation as a base for rates
give a far closer approximation to
stability in "real" income than would
exist were original cost used as the
rate base.

The Set Fare in Seattle

Editorial in A. E. R. A.

Now Mayor Brown of Seattle says
that "it has been proved that the
5-cent fare is not practical under pres-
ent conditions" in Seattle. He said
that after he had vetoed an ordinance
restoring the 10-cent fare when the
5-cent fare was causing a deficit of
about $4,775 a day; when the city was
not getting enough money out of the
municipal railway to pay its operat-
ing expenses; when the railways had

1923

Railways

107

taken to issuing warrants instead of
paying cash.

What made him change his mind?
The fact that the banks would not
honor the warrants, the banks know-
ing that a continuation of losses such
as were piling up would bring about
a chaotic financial situation. There
was not enough money to pay the
trainmen's wages, so the mayor sign-
ed a new ordinance restoring the 10-
cent fare on June 15.

All that Seattle has as a result of
its political manipulation of the mun-
icipal street car system is a loss of
some $500,000 during the 107 days
the 5-cent fare was played with. This
money must be obtained from future
earnings of the system — a burden that
well might have been avoided if the
street car fares had not been made a
political football.

If any sane person needed addi-
tional proof that municipal ownership,
demagogy and financial disaster go
hand in hand, this latest development
in Seattle furnishes it.

How To Deal With the
Railroads

Editorial in Chicago Tribune.

Recently a conference on railroads
was held in Chicago. It was dominated
by the politics which finds it profit in
attacks upon the railroads and which
asserts drastic conclusions on an as-
sumed knowledge of conditions in
which fair and conservative minds
have little confidence.

We are now hearing from a confer-
ence of a very diflferent character —
namely: that of the American isociety
of Civil Engineers. Its attendance is
composed of men who can find no
profit in political assumptions, who
are not fishing for votes, whose train-
ing is expert, whose method of rea-
soning is exact, whose object is the
ascertainment of facts and the estab-
lishment of principles which are sound
and conducive to public benefit.

The discussion and conclusion of
such a gathering deserves the respect-
ful and thorough consideration of the
public and that of the representatives
of public interest in every legislative
body which proposes to deal with the
problem of regulation of transporta-
tion agencies. The American people
will be wise to prefer the advice of
such men to that of politicians whose
main interest is to exploit evils rather
than to correct them. The engineers'
interest is to perfect our transporta-

tion, not to ride into ofiice by i»itt»ck-
ing its imperfections or alleged imper-
fections. Their interest, in other
words, is that of the public.

There is no more important interest
in our public life. Transportation,
especially by rail, is the arterial sys-
tem of the country, and the health of
that system is vital to our prosperity
and growth. There is nothing which
could deal a deadlier blow at the wel-
fare of us all, from the poorest to the
richest, than blundering treatment of
transportation; treatment born of lack
of knowledge, of prejudice fomented
by selfish politics, of imperfections
and evils misunderstood and diag-
nosed unwisely. The effects of such
treatment would reach into every
home and into every occupation. It
would hurt the farmer, the mA:hanic,
the business man, the producer, and
the consumer.

There is, therefore, nothing more
important than that the problems of
the railroads should be worked out on
a plane of knowledge, justice, and
sound judgment, and not in an atmos-
phere of prejudice and narrow self-
interest. A leading speaker at the
engineers' conference states the key of
the situation when he says that "the
successful solution of the railroad
problem will depend upon scientific re-
search to the end that essential engi-
neering, accounting and economic data
shall be determined, analyzed and pre-
sented to the interestate commerce
commission."

We would add one other essential —
namely: that scientific judgment shall
govern, not prejudice fomented for
political ends. It will not govern un-
less public opinion resists appeals to
prejudice and keeps clear in its de-
termination to know that truth and to
support only such action as is funda-
mentally just to all interests involved
and which is constructive in the devel-
opment and maintenance of the most
efficient transportation.

Cost of Automobile Operation at
Salt Lake City.— During 1920 the City
Engineer's Department of Salt Lake
City, Utah, in connection with the
woi c operated five automobiles. The
avei ige mileage per car was 7,587, at
an a/erage gasoline consumption of
14.4 miles per gallon. The total cost
per mile was 7V2 ct., made up of a
labor cost of 2.3 ct., and a mainte-
nance cost of 5.2 ct.

108

Railways

July,

Method of Boostiitg Rail Joints

A modification of the plan of placing
a length of rail underneath the joint
and connecting it at the ends of the
angle bars by clips, so as to permit the
driving of steel bars underneath the
joint to boost it, is used by the Lehigh
Valley Transit Co., Allentown, Pa,
The method is described in the Elec-
tric Railway Journal from which the
matter following is taken.

This plan was used with an inverted
rail, without supporting ties, the old
ties having been cut out at approxi-
mately the center line of the track
and the bracing rail, clips, etc., im-
bedded in a dry concrete to a depth of
some 6 in. below the bracing rail.
Good results have thus been secured
for inftividual joint repairs where ex-
tensive rehabilitation of tracks was
not made.

Where an extensive stretch of track
was entirely rehabilitated, a support-

steel bars, these are spot welded to
prevent shifting. The bolts of the
angle bars are renewed and the nuts,
together with those on the clips, are
spot welded. No lock washers are
used. Cupped rail heads are welded
and ground off to complete the joint.

The Deepest Mine in the World

In a paper presented May 3 before
the New York Section of the Amer-
ican Institute of Mining and Metal-
lurgical Engineers, Thomas T. Read,
Supervising Engineer, U. S. Bureau
of Mines, gave the following informa-
tion regarding deep mines:

The St. John del Rey mine, in
Brazil, has reached a vertical depth
of 6,726 ft. below the top of its shafts-
miners enter it, however, through an
adit which intersects the shaft 324 ft.
below its top, wherefore it might be
said that the mine is really only 6,400
ft. deep. In the Kolar gold field of
India there are a number of deep

stiff mortar
If'Sana tacking, y:

^-'i' . Brck^

SIDE ELEVATION

Joint Repairs with Bracing Rail Supported on Ties and Fastened to Operating Rail by Cast

Steel Clips.

ing tie construction was preferred.
Where the rail was found to promise
from 5 to 6 years longer life, the ex-
pense of installing new crossties and
a filler block under the rail opposite
the joint was thus considered advis-
able. The accompanying line cut
shows this type of construction. The
bracing rail is placed with the head
side uppermost, of such a length that
the repair clips can be placed just
outside the end of the angle bar.

A 6-in. X 10-in. filler block, long
enough to span two joint ties, is used
on the opposite rail, and crossties are
installed underneath the entire con-
struction. Stone ballast to a depth
of 6 in. is used underneath these
crossties. After the joint had been
boosted by driving in the supporting

shafts, one of which reaches to a ver-
tical depth of 6,140 ft. below surface.
In South Africa also there are a num-
ber of deep shafts, the Village Deep
being 6,100 ft. early in 1921. The City
Deep, Ltd., proposes to sink to a depth
of 7,000 ft. but presumably by the
time it does so the St. John del Rey
will be deeper than that, since it has
been increasing in depth at an aver-
age of about 150 ft. per year. The
deepest shaft in the United States,
the Tamarack No. 5, although it is
only 5,308 ft. deep, actually ap-
proaches nearer to the center of the
earth (4,100 ft below sea level, as
against 3,958 ft. at St. John del Rey.)
The deepest workings in the Calumet
& Hecla go down to 4,000 ft. below
sea level.

1923

Railways

109

Improved Type of Steam
Roller Wheel

Used in Paving Department of the
Pacific Electric Railway Co.

By CLIFFORD A. ELLIOTT,

Engineering Department, Pacific Electric Ry.

For some years the maintenance of
wheels on the steam rollers used in
the paving work handled by the En-
gineering Department of the Pacific
Electric Railway Co., Los Angeles,
Calif., has been quite a problem.

The wear and tear on the wheels
when coming in frequent contact with
the rails of the tracks, striking the
granite blocks and running over spe-

After considerable study and expe-
rience in repairing the old type
wheels, it was found more economical,
as well as in interest of efficient work,
to design in the Engineering Depart-
ment an improved-type of wheel, thus
overcoming the difficulties experienced
in the past. The plans called for the
rim to be 4^/^ in. thick as compared
with old thickness of 2 in.

In adding more thickness and
weight in metal to the new type of
wheels it was essential to reinforce
the hubs and spokes of the wheels. In
the front wheels the old wheels had 8
spokes, while the new have ten. While
the two rear wheels each had 12 spokes
in the old type; and in the new 14
spokes are provided for each wheel.

Steam Roller Wi;h New Type Wheel Used By Paving Department of Pacific Electric Ry. Co.

cial work layouts, has been quite no-
ticeable. In the past the wheels were
usually renewed by securing them
from eastern manufacturers or by
having them repaired in local foun-
dries. The old type of wheel has al-
ways been renewed in kind as to class
of metal and design; that is, only one
pattern was used, wheels were fabri-
cated of cast iron and a thickness of
2-in. rim obtained as existed on old
type of wheel. Also when molded at
foundry only one molding was made
for the fabrication of an entire wheel.
The main fault of the old type
wheel was in the class of metal and
the thickness of the rim. Hard usage
of the steam rollers around the rails
caused the thin metal to wear away
and niche out at times, thus providing
an uneven surface on the roller wheel,
with consequent poorly rolled pave-
ment.

The rollers equipped with the new
type of wheels are 10-ton Monarch
3-wheel steam rollers. The new wheels
are fabricated out of 40 per cent alum-
inum steel and 60 per cent Roman pig
iron, which has proved more durable
than the old style of cast iron wheels.
In designing these wheels the plans
call for two patterns, which naturally
requires two moldings.

The specifications require that the
foundry first mold the rim of the new
wheels; then after molding the rims
they are laid in the pig bed for two to
three days. Later the newly-molded
rims are placed on a lathe and the face
of the rim is planed down, leaving a
smooth and uniform bearing surface.

The second molding involves the
hubs, which are molded separate from
the rims.

In having roller wheels made dur-
ing former years it was found that a

110

Railways

July,

very unsatisfactory job was accom-
plished by casting the wheels under
one patterrfat the foundry, as non-
uniform results were always obtained
especially in the molding of the hubs,
as the expansion in the hubs and
spokes when molded in one casting
with the rim did not satisfactorily re-
tain so that the spokes would obtain
the true position as called for in the
plans, nor give the proper support to
the wheel. In reality it resulted in an
unbalanced wheel. Under the new
plans, this new wheel is practically
true in all its parts, due to the sep-
arate members being molded inde-
pendent of each other.

Hcxw To Avoid Railroad Crossing
Accidents

Supreme Court Justice Charles C.
Van Kirk, of the Appellate Division
of the Supreme Court, of the State of
New York, sitting in the Third De-
partment, has just pointed out in
clear, unmistakable language in one of
his opinions how motorists can avoid
railroad crossing accidents with their
inevitable death toll.

In this opinion, which is regarded
by railroad men as worthy of wide cir-
culation among motorists. Justice Van
Kirk said : "The safe limit to speed in
approaching a crossing is that speed
at which the driver of an automobile,
as he arrives at a point where he can
see an on-coming train, when it is
near enough to render crossing ahead
dangerous, can stop his car if neces-
sary before he reaches the track. It is
futile to look when one cannot see. If
he cannot see without stopping he
must stop."

The language of the opinion handed
down by Justice Van Kirk was in the
case of James W. Horton versus the
New York Central Railroad; the out-
growth of a railroad crossing accident,
in which the Appellate Division re-
versed a judgment obtained by the
plaintiff and dismissed the complaint
against the railroad company.

The case presented to the Appellate
Division and the elements that usually
are brought forth in a crossing acci-
dent. The motorist killed w^s driving
over the state road in an automobile
and was struck by a train on a grade
crossing. There were warning signs
on the highway approaching the cross-
ing, and the controversy taken on ap-
peal centered on the interpretation of
Section 53 A of the railroad law in re-
lation to these signs.

In his decision Justice Van Kirk
said :

"A new vehicle has come into gen-
eral use, which has occupied our high-
ways to the exclusion almost of horse-
drawn vehicles. Not only are more
people exposed to danger because
many more now travel on highways,
but because those riding in trains like-
wise are put in jeopardy by the motor
car; an automobile often carries five
or six persons rather than one or two,
a bus may carry a dozen and a train
often carries scores.

"Because of its weight, its momen-
tum, its inertia, its strong metal con-
struction and its speed it wrecks
trains. On the other hand when prop-
erly driven and maintained in good
condition, it is under complete control;
it may be stopped or started at will;
it will stand without hitching and may
be safely left unattended; it will not
take fright at a train, however close
to its nose."

Having distinctly pointed out that
the automobiles as a machine has no
responsibility for accidents, the Jus-
tice continuing in his opinion holds the
driver to his responsibilities saying:

"Having provided for a disc sign
and how and by whom it shall be
placed the statute in perempty
language provides 'It shall be the duty
of the driver of any vehicle using such
a street or highway and crossing to
reduce speed to a safe limit upon pass-
ing such sign and to proceed cautious-
ly and carefully with the vehicle under
complete control."

"It is our view" continues the opin-
ion "that if the drivers of automobiles
obey this statute to its letter and its
intent, seldom if ever will injuries be
suffered at grade crossings. The price
of safety by obendience to this statute
means no more than three or four
seconds of time — a small price for a
life and in any event we believe the
legislature was more interested in
preserving life and limb than in pre-
serving the right to recover damages
for life and limb lost."

Towing Canal Barges With Tractors

The substitution of an American
tractor for the barge horses common-
ly used in towing has been success-
fullv carried out at Colwick, near Not-
tingham, England. A tractor weigh-
ing a little over a ton was used for
hauling a loaded gravel barge with a
total tonnage of 80 tons for a distance
of about 3 miles. The trip was com-
pleted in 55 minutes. This method

1923 Railways 111

of hauling a barge is quite unique in Mine Fatalities Due to Explosives

£%Kfenf Sfn'c^^tl"c'o.^'^lh^^^ , Mine fatalities due to explosives

riment was quite successful, as the ^'"""^^ q^ ^^^ I ^T'^n i^^vf?"^^?
tractor was abl« to make five round ^.^ to 5.9 per cent of all fatalities at
trips a dav, compared with about 2^^ bituminous coal mines, 4.1 to 8.9 per
trips made with 3 horses towing one cent at anthracite mines, 9.3 to 14.2
barge, thus practically doubling the per cent at metal mines, and 13.6 to
capacity of the old system. 26.6 per cent at quarries, according
to figures prepared by W. W. Adams,

Blasting to Loosen Up Material Ijj"^ ^^"^^"J statistician Bureau of

£ c • T^ J • Mines, Department of the Interior. No

tor bucbon Dredging data are available regarding nonfatal

Dynamite was effectively used re- accidents at coal mines, but the record

centiy at the city of Kissimmee, Fla., shows that only 1.1 to 2 per cent of all

where a dredge had been engaged to injuries at metal mines and from 1,7

pump material from the bed of Lake *« ^-^ P^^ cent of those at quarries

Tohopekaliga to fill in back of a bulk- I^^'^'^ ^^^" d"® to t^e use of explosives.

head, and make ground which it is K"""" ^^17. ^^^^^^^y due to explosives

intended to use for park purposes, f "^^ }^}^'. *^^^f ^^T^ ^^^J^ '^•5 non-

The ground in back of the bulkhead ^^^^J injuries at metal mines and 8

was a marsh of some 7 or 8 acres "^^/f ^l/."^""^^ ^^ quarries. A study

which had to be raised from 1 to 5 ft' f, fatalities to underground employes

according to grade, with material fqi5rIhnwffLr"4% «1 (omitting
»>„w,«„j ^ „ *i, 1 1 fin. V. 1.x lyiy) shows that 37 to 61 per cent of
pumped from the lake. The bottom ^^^ fatalities occurred at the anthra-
of the lake consisted of heavy clay ^ite mines in Pennsylvania which have
and marl, and was so stiff that un- produced from 14 to 18 per cent of the
satisfactory progress was being made coal tonnage of the United States,
until Otho OB. Strayer, a d>Tiamite The anthracite mines normally con-
expert of the duPont Company, was sume from 52 to 67 per cent of all dy-
consulted, and he advised breaking namite and other high explosives used
the hardpan with dynamite and thus at the coal mines in this country, 21 to
making it easv to get at the lower ^^ P^'* cent of all permissible explo-
strata in the lake bottom. Under Mr. l^^^f: and 11 to 17 per cent of all black
Strayer's directions, two rows of holes ^f f V'f. P^^der. In 1919 the number

on iioiec in all fv.r. ^/^«'^ c ft- «^„^ o* fatalities at anthracite mines was

«nr1 I^lL^o J Tn J ^ J^ abnormally high (149, or 72 per cent),

and the holes spaced 10 ft apart, due to a powder explosion in Balti-

wereput down and loaded with 2% lb. more Tunnel No. 2, at WilkesBarre,

of 50 per cent straight dj-namite each. on June 5, which caused the death of

The holes were put in from a pontoon 92 men.

and a 4 in. casing was used as a guide

for hose nozzle and for loading pur- Locomotive Shipments
poses. The work had to be done The U. S. Department of Commerce
1 through water from 2 to 4 ft. deep. announces May shipments of railroad
' The blast was a complete succes-? and locomotives from the principal man-
reports show that after the use of the "facturing plants, based on reports

1 explosive, the dredge pumped out J^J^'T^^^-^' j^^-?"^^'^ m-*!^ ^?^"^

mnro m-ito^i-oi I'r, t-\.^ c^Z^ i ^i/ \e "^"^ tn^ individual establishments.
«m?fTf "f V!^ same length of The following table compares the

i ;i Wo f^ A^ ^■11'' handled prior May, 1923, figures with the previous

to blasting and with half as much month and with the corresponding

' P°^e^- month last year.

■ . May April May

1923 1923 1922

I A 375,000 H. P. Hydro-electric De- Shipments:

! velopment in Latyia.-Reports from ^^^^ -;:::=■ '^ ''rl H

Latvia state that the cabinet has al-

located large sums for the building ,, J°t/' - v 238 2i7 70

of hydro-electric stations on the River llfft ^^

Dvina. It is said that the total avail- Domestic 2.045 2.111 497

able power at four sites is 375,000 foreign — 105 ^ 93 124

ToUl 2.150 2,204 621

112

Railways

Current Material Prices

July,

Iron and Steel Prices

(From the Iron Age, July 5, 1923)

Prices as of July 2, f . o. b. Pittsburgh :
Open hearth rails, heavy, per gross,

ton $43.00

Light rails (25-45 lb. section), per lb. 2.25
Track spikes, 9/16 in. and larger base,

per 100 lb $3.15 to 3.25

Track spikes, % in., 7/16 in. and % in.,

100 lb ; $3.25 to 3.75

Track spikes, 5/16 in 3.75

Spikes, boat and barge, ba.se, per 100

lb $3.50 to 3.75

Track bolts, % in. and larger, base, per

100 lb $4.00 to 4.50

Track bolts, % in. and % in., base,

per 100 lb $4.25 to 5.50

Tie plates, per 100 lb 2.55 to 2.60

Angle bars, base, per lb 2.75

Finished Iron and Steel

Per lb. to

large buyers.

Cents

Iron bars, Philadelphia 2.72

Iron bars, Chicago 2.50

Steel bars, Pittsburgh 2.40

Steel bars, Chicago 2.60

Steel bars. New York 2.74

Tank plates, Pittsburgh 2.50

Tank plates, Chicago 2.80

Tank plates. New York 2.84

Beams, Pittsburgh 2.50

Beams, Chicago 2.70

Beams, New York 2.84

Steel hoops. Pittsburgh 3.30

Freight Rates

All rail freight rates from Pittsburgh on
domestic shipments of finished iron and steel
products, in carload lots, to points named, per
100 lb., are as follows:

Philadelphia „ $0,325

Baltimore 0.315

New York 0.34

Boston 0.365

Buffalo _ 0.26

Cleveland 0.21

Cleveland, Youngstown, comb 0.19

Detroit 0.29

Cincinnati 0.29

Indianapolis 0.31

Chicago 0-34

St. Louis 0.43

Kansas City 0.735

Kansas City (pipe) 0.705

St. Paul 0.60

Omaha 0.735

Omaha (pipe) 0.705

Denver ^'^Ir

Denver (pipe) 1.215

Pacific Coast 1-50

Pacific Coast, ship plates 1.20

Birmingham 0.69

Memphis 0.385

Jacksonville, all rail 0.50

Jacksonville, rail and water 0.415

New Orleans 0.515

Rails and Track Supplies at Chicago

Standard Bessemer and open-hearth rails, $43 :
light rails, rolled steel, 2.25c, f. o. b. makers'
mills.

Standard railroad spikes, 3.25c mill track
bolts with square nuts, 4.25c mill ; iron tie
plates, 2.85c steel tie plates, 2.60c, f. o. b.
mill ; angle bars, 2.75c, f . o. b. mill.

Jobbers quote standard spikes out of ware-
house at 3.90c base and track bolts, 4.90c base.

Cement Prices

Recent quotations, per bbl., in carload lots,
exclusive of package:

Pittsburgh $2.24

Cincinnati 2.54

Detroit ._ 2.47

Chicago 2.20

Milwaukee _ 2.37

Duluth 2.14

Minneapolis 2.39

Davenport, la 2.43

Cross Tie and Lumber Prices

(From Lumber, July 6, 1923)

White Oak Ties
F. o. b. cars, Chicago, July 3.

No. 5—7x9x8 $1.85

No. 3 — 6x8x8 1.55

No. 1—6x6x8 1.35.

No. 4—7x8x8 1.75'

No. 2—6x7x8 _ 1.451

Red oak ties, 10@15c less than white oak.
Sap pine and sap cypress, 10c less than red
oak.

White oak switch-ties, per M. ft $55 to $58

Red Oak switch-ties, per M. ft 49 to 51

White Oak Ties

F. o. b. cars, St. Louis, July 5.

No. 5—7x9x8 $1.65

No. 4—7x8x8 1.45

No. 3—6x8x8 1.35

No. 2—6x7x8 1.25

No. 1—6x6x8 1.15

Red oak ties, 10c per tie less than white oak
prices. Heart pine and heart cypress, same
prices as red oak. Sap pine and sap cypress,
25c less than white oak.

White oak switch ties, per M. ft $48.00

Red oak switch ties, per M. ft 45.00

Bridge and crossing plank, same prices as
switch ties.

Market Prices of Lumber

Flooring, 2x4,

1x4, 16 ft..

No. 1 common No. 1 common

Boston — Yel. Pine

New York— Yel. Pine $54.25 $46.75

Buffalo — Yel. Pine

Chicago — Yel. Pine

St. Louis — Yel. Pine

Seattle, Wash.— D. Fir.

59.00

50.00 39.00

80.00 39.00

57.00

Southern Mill Prices
Flooring,

1x4. 2x4,

No. 1 flat 16 ft.. No. 1

Alexandria— So. Pine $45.00 $31.25

Birmingham— So. Pine 45.07 80.83

Hattiesburg- So. Pine 45.68 32.84

Kansas City— So. Pine 80.81

Timbers,

No. 1.
4x4 to 8x8

Timbers.

12x12

$65.00@70.00

60.00@67.50

49.50@53.50

$58.00

41.50

26.00

Timbers,

No. 1.

3x12 to 12x12

$28.31
35.32

$50.75

Railways 113

Coordination of Rail and Motor Service

How Private Company Handles L. C. L. Traffic at St. Louis Described

in Railway Age

The handling of less than car load
freight to and from freight houses of
the roads terminating at St. Louis,
Mo., and East St. Louis, 111., and in in-
terchange between these roads, has
been developed in a way that is both
unique and efficient. It consists of a
cartage system, supplemented by off-
track union freight stations at which
freight is handled for all roads. This
service is rendered by the Columbia
Terminals Co., a private corporation
which operates under contracts with

acter are received in a comparatively
small percentage of cases. Unless di-
rected to make the delivery, notice is
sent by the Terminal Company to the
consigTiees and the freight is hauled
from its stations by their draymen.

Transfer Co. Assumes Full Respon-
sibility of Common Carrier. — In the
performance of this service, the Ter-
minals Company assumes full re-
sponsibility as a common carrier. It
participates in the settlement of
claims while the charges for its serv-

Tractor and Loaded Trailer Leaving Station.

the roads and in accordance with pub-
lished tariffs.

Five off -track outbound stations are
maintained by the Columbia Company
in different localities in the business
section of St. Louis at which freight is
received from shippers, for all rail-
roads terminating at East St. Louis
and St. Louis. In no case does the
company call at the shipper's door for
freight. Three inbound stations are
also maintained for the accommoda-
tion of freight brought to East St.
Louis by the railroads for St. Louis
consignees. In cases where the con-
signee directs the company to make
delivery to his place of business, it
^''^es so, but directions of this char-

ices are fixed in published tariffs
which apply imiformly to all off-track
stations. Its revenue averages $2.14
to $2.25 per ton for outbound traffic
and $2.34 to $2.75 per ton for inbound
traffic. The average rate received on
interchange freight is $1.90 per ton.
For these rates, the Terminals Com-
pany provides the facilities at the off-
track stations, and assumes all ex-
pense of handling the freight at these
points and to or from the houses 6f
the individual roads. It makes out all
waybills, issues receiving notices, etc.
It also pays all freight charges to the
roads and collects from consignees and
shippers.
While this freight was handled

114 Railways July,

originally by horse-drawn wagons, for average load on a trailer is six tons,

which a maximum of 300 teams were As a trailer is loaded a central truck

in service at one time, the Columbia dispatcher is notified who sends a

Company began to experiment with tractor for it. The driver of the trac-

motor trucks in 1914. In adapting tor is given a manifest of the load, en-

them to this service, it was found pos- abling over or under loading to be de-

sible to transfer a considerable pro- tected quickly. The terminal company

portion of the traffic directly from the has a representative in each freight

shippers' trucks to those of the ter- station, while a general superintend-

minal company, thus saving labor, ex- ent is in charge of operations on each

pense and platform space. side of the river.

Development of Trailer System.— At the present time this company is

Because of the necessity of holding handhng m excess of 6,000,000 lb. of

the motor trucks during this transfer, freight per day, compnsmg about

they did not prove economical and at- 15,000 mdividual shipments. As mdi-

tention was then directed to the de- cative of the distribution of this traf-

velopment of a system of trailers fie, the following statistics refer to

which could be loaded "dead" and operations during March, 1923.

moved by tractors. In 1909, a tractor Tonnage outbound delivered to all

and three Lapeer trailers were pur- roads on both sides of river .72,990,211

chased and they proved so satisfactory "^ttado^s^^f ! J."!!!!. ...^1.1!!!.!! !20,540,208

that others have been added until to- Tonnage received at west side sta-

day 63 tractors and 197 10-ton trailers tions for St. Louis 7.473.694

Qvo in aowiVo art/\ mnrn will hp nrlrJpd Tonnage received at west side sta-

are in service and more wui oe aaaea ^j^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^g^. ^j^^ ^^^^j^ 6,001,502

regularly until the remaining dOO Tonnage received at west side sta-

horses now employed are relieved. It tions for the east side roads . 7,065,012

is anticpated that 125 tractors and 400 '^°4lj*s°""!!l!'!'!!I!^.. !°™ .!!!^!!^^^^^

trailers will enable all of the horses to Tonnage received from east side

be eliminated. The tractors are of roads for St. Louis 26,484.053

Pjiplrnrrl Mark nnH Piprpp Arrow Con- Tonnage received from east side

racKara, iviacK ana rierce Arrow con ^^^^^ f^^. ^^^ eastern roads 6.191,827

Struction, while the trailers are all 01 Tonnage received from east side

the type originally purchased. roads for the west side roads 37,190,952

This tractor-trailer system permits Of the outbound traffic originating

one tractor, which involves the heav- at St. Louis practically all is loaded

iest investment, to handle three or out of the railway stations on the

four trailers as fast as they can be same day it is delivered to the Ter-

loaded and unloaded, thereby reducing minals Company, while about 87 per

its non-productive time to the mini- cent of that handled in interchange is

mum and securing the maximum re- delivered to the connecting line on the

turn from the investment. The trac- same day it is unloaded at the station

tors make an average of 25 miles per of the incoming road. This compares

day. From the standpoint of the rail- with an average interval of five days

ways, a surplus of trailers ^ at the for interchange movement by rail,

freight houses enables a considerable The value of this prompt movement in

amount of freight to be trucked direct taking freight from the roads is indi-

from cars to the trailers, while as the cated by the fact that there has been

trailers stand in the streets or drive- no congestion at any freight house in

ways they do not interfere in any St. Louis or East St. Louis during the

with operations within the house. recent periods of heavy traffic, a con-

This system of cartage is adapted dition which stands out in marked con-
to the conditions existing at the 21 trast with those prevailing in most
freight houses in St. Louis and East other large cities. This has been
St. Louis, which were built for deliv- made possible by the Columbia Ter-
ery of freight by teams. The trailers minals Company diiving the con-
require no additional expense for signees harder than the roads are able
equipment on the part of the roads, to remove their freight as a result of
neither do they encroach on the floor which it gets quicker action than an
area in the houses. As the trucks de- individual road competing with others,
liver full loads to each house, the team This is indicated by the fact that this
congestion is reduced greatly. company handles an average of 2.68

Operation of System.— In the opera- tons of freight in and out per square
tion of this system only freight for foot of floor space per year, as corn-
one freight house is loaded on a trail- pared with an average of 1.73 tons in
er, although no attempt is made to the railroad houses. Furthermore,
concentrate it beyond that point. The when a road is handling a large

1923

Railways

amount of freight inbound, as many
as 50 to 60 trailers are loaded fre-
quently after the regular closing time
in order to release cars.

As stated above, the Terminals
Company participates with the roads
in the settlement of all claims. To
eliminate overs and shorts, drivers are
held at the stations whenever discrep-
ancies are discovered until the con-
signor is communicated with, thereby
clearing up most errors promptly, ^y
this and other similar measures,
claims of all kinds embracing short-
ages, damages, concealed losses, etc.,
are kept down to an average of less
than $1,400 per month or below 1 per
cent of the revenues.

In making this plan effective atten-
tion has been given to the enlisting of
the co-operation of the employees, spe-
cial attention has been given to their
education and the importance of han-
dling freight carefully and a bonus is
offered all employees to stimulate the
output of their work.

Selecting the QusJified
Contractor

Spotting a Gravel Barge With a Crane

A simple and ingenious method of
moving a barge loaded with gravel
was observed recently on the water-
front of a Hudson River town, state
Successful Methods. The barge had
been moored to the dock at a point
where it was inconvenient to unload
and it had to be pulled along about 50
or 60 ft. A crane movmted on crawler
traction and equipped with a clamshell
bucket was handling the work of un-
loading, so it made its way along the
dock to where the barge was moored
dropped its bucket into the gravel,
letting it dig in far enough to get a
firm hold, and then started back to the
unloading point where the trucks were
waiting. By avoiding a sudden jerk
in starting which might have pulled
the bucket loose, the crane operator
managed to pull the barge along
against the tide until he had it where
he wanted it. Then he closed the

cket tight hoisted out the first load
i began filling up the nearest truck.

^ A $30,000,000 Railway Project in

I, Canada. — Press reports state that the
' Canadian Pacific Ry. is planning the
' construction of a direct outlet for the
I Peace River country in Northern Al-
berta at an approximate cost of $30,-
: 000,000, and that survey parties are
now engaged in preliminary work.

Questionnaire for Determining Skill
and Responsibility of Bidders

Bids were taken early this month
on a flood protection job at Vicks-
burg. Miss. The work being of a
somewhat special tj'pe, the engineers,
the Miller Butten^'orth Co., of Little
Rock, Ark., decided to use the plan
adopted sometime ago by the Ken-
tucky State Highway Department of
requesting the bidders to submit ans-
wers to a questionnaire covering their
skill and responsibility. The ques-
tionaire follows:

The work contemplated is of a
special nature, care will be taken to
secure a contractor who has the nec-
essary skill and ability to handle such
work. To this end an effort will he
made to eliminate inappropriate bid-
ders before their proposals are open-
ed, by having each bidder make satis-
factory answers to the following ques-
tionnaire before his bid will be ac-
cepted. The information given will be
treated in strict confidence, will be
returned immediately after it has
served its purpose and no copy will
be kept, in fact, the questionaire sub-
Chief Engfineer will be returned un-
opened.

The decision reached will not nec-
essarily be one of fact as to the abil-
ity of the person submitting the ans-
wers, but simply the opinion of those
called upon to select an appropriate
contractor for this particular job;
other or fuller information might
change this opinion. A rejection in
this case will reflect in no way what-
ever, on the proponent, in any further
work.
SKILL:

1. How long have you been in busi-
ness as a contractor?

2. How long have you been in re-
sponsible charge of work? •

3. What training in school, college,
or elsewhere have you had to fit you
for this business? ; —

4. Give a concise outline of sim-
ilar work you have done, with ex-
amples and dates from your start in
the contracting business. ■ —

5. Give a list of similar work to
that in view, with brief description,
size, location and date, that you have
executed.

6. Have you a skilled superintend-
ent now in your employ competent to
be entrusted with executing the work

116

Railways

July,

in your view : —

7. State the training and experi-
ence of the man you propose to put in
charge of this work. ■ — -

8. Have you now in your employ
the principal assistants to the works'
superintendent for the work in view?

9. State their position, training
and experience. —

10. Do you propose to sublet any
parts thereof, if contract is awarded
to you, or execute it all yourself?

11. What part or parts do you
propose to sublet if contract is not
executed by you? '■

INTEGRITY

12. Give the names and address of
the last five engineers and the owners
of the work, with address, for whom
you have completed contracts.

13. Will you give them as refer-
ences. — -

14. Have you any objection to my
inquiring of any or all of them about
you? ■

15. If so, why?

16. Give any other reference you
care to. — —

17. Has any work been taken out
of your control because of dissatisfac-
tion of engineer or owner ?

18; If so, describe the case. -^ —

19. Have you had controversies
with your subcontractor or with im-
provement districts?

20. If so, state the nature of them.

21. Have any of your contracts
resulted in lawsuits?

22. If so, describe the cases.

RESPONSIBILITY

23. I estimate that if you fulfill
the requirements of plans, specifica-
tions and contract as to progress, the
amount of cash and credit exclusive
of equipment required of contractor
before the first substantial payment
is made will be $20,000.00, and that
the maximum requirements of_ cash
or credit in the most active period of
the work between payments will be
$30,000.00.

24. Have you the required re-
sources in cash or credit?

25. Give a condensed statement of
assets and liabilities.

26. Will the above condensed fi-
nancial statemeilt favorably compare
with the detMled statement you will
render a surety company when apply-
ing for a bond ?

27. What volume of work have you
unfinished ? $

28. How much cash or credit does
this require? $ •

29. How much cash or credit does
this leave free for other work ? $

30. I estimate approximately that
the following plant will be the mini-
mum amount needed to properly
handle this work. Locomotive Crane,
Clam Shell Bucket, Steam pile driver,
Concrete Mixer, 200 Lineal Feet of
Forms, Unloading Crane with Bucket,
Bins for Materials, Means for Trans-
porting Materials.

31. Have you this amount of j^our
own available for the work?

32. If not, do you know that you
can get it as and when needed ?

Rail Maintenance and
Conservation

A Paper Presented June 13 at An-
nual Meeting of American Asso-
ciation of Railroad Superin-
tendents

By F. W. CURTIS,

Superintendent, Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault
Ste. Marie Ry.

The proper maintenance and con-
serving of rail is of considerable im-
portance to a railroad in maintaining
the track at the necessary standard
to insure safety and economy in oper-
ation of its trains and the upkeep of
the track. If it is good economy to
buy the best quality of rail, which I
think all will agree is so, it is cer-
tainly poor economy to neglect the rail
after laid in track and allow it to be
damaged by unfair usage and lack of
proper care. When such is the case
the life of the steel is shortened, with
the result that it has to be removed
from track before it should be changed
out, thus causing loss and unnecessary
expense.

Proper Care of Rail Important. —
Many section foremen and roadmas-
ters fail to realize that rail is a very
heavy item in the cost of building and
maintaining track and that the proper
care of it is a very important matter
and that lack of care and misuse will
result in unnecessary expense in main-
tenance of track for their company
which could have been prevented by
the exercise of care on their part.
Frequent and careful inspection of the
rail on their sections by the foremen
for defects which may be of serious
nature and result in a derailment is
very necessary. In many cases fore-
men will go over their track day after
day and not notice signs of defect
and deterioration in a rail that should

1923

Railways

117

have been apparent to anyone familiar
with the proper aspect of rail.

Roadmasters are often remiss in
this respect and do not develop the
presence of defective rails in track
which are liable to give out under
traffic and cause a serious accident,
with loss and damage to the company
by reason of damage to freight and
equipment and possible injury or death
to passengers and employes.

Roadmasters Should Regularly In-
spect Main Line Rail. — There should
be intelligent inspection given to rail
in main line track at regular inter-
vals by roadmasters, the frequency of
such periodic inspection depending on
the density of traffic, weight of roll-
ing stock, and nature of the roadbed
in order to prevent the continuing of
defective rails in the track or pre-
vent conditions which result in deteri-
oration of rail. Such inspection as is
necessary in order to insure this can-
not be made from the rear end of a
rapidly moving train but must be
made by either walking over the track,
or by riding on hand car or motor car
at such rate of speed that the condi-
tion of rail can be noted properly.

Too often roadmasters think they
must try and get over as much of their
track in a day as they possibly can
when making an inspection trip on
motor car, which is undesirable from
the standpoint of safety and also
thorough inspection not being afford-
ed. It is not possible to cover 100
miles in a day on motor car on a
rail inspection trip and give rail the
proper degree of attention to develop
defects. I have known roadmasters to
do so and claim they gave the steel
close and careful attention. Such in-
spection as they could give under such
conditions would be only superficial
and of little value.

Conditions That Cause Deteriora-
tion.— I will briefly call attention to
some of the defects which develop in
rail and conditions that cause deteri-
oration. The flattening or battering
of the rails at ends due to joints not
being kept up to proper surface, and
neglect in keeping the bolts tight is a
common source of damage, it is very
apt to be prevalent on inside of curves
and in the majority of cases is charge-
able to negligence and lack of proper
attention.

When joints become battered thev
cannot be overcome by raising and
the only way that the damage can be
satisfactorily repaired is to either saw
off the battered end and re-drill the

rail or build up the battered surface
by welding. The latter remedy is
preferable to the first, as it is not as
expensive as resawing, and has been
proven to be a success and an abso-
lutely safe method of reclaiming of
rail by the railroads that have adopted
the welding process.

The flange wear on head of rail is
a condition that should not be ne-
glected, especially on the head of the
outside rail on curves of three de-
gress or over and when rails have
become worn so that the limit of
safety has been reached, they should
be replaced without delay.

The flange wear on head of rail
should not be allowed to exceed %-in.
as wear in excess of this constitutes
an unsafe condition which should not
prevail, particularly where speed of
trains is high. It is economy to trans-
pose rails on curves from the inside
to the outside and vice versa after the
limit of flange wear is apparent. This
should be done before the inside rail
becomes battered to any extent.
Transposing of the rail, if properly
done, will give an additional life of
five or six years on curves of 3 deg.
or over and longer life on curves of
less degree of curvature.

Gauge of Curves Important Feature.
— The gauge of curves is an important
feature of maintenance of track and
it is very essential that proper gauge
be maintained on all curves. Im-
proper or wide gauge on curves re-
sults in damaging the inside rail as
with wheels that are worn so there
is a ridge or flange on the outside of
the wheel, particularly with worn
driving wheels on engines that will
ride on the head of the rail if the
gauge is wide, which will result in
damage to the rail.

The presence of piped rails in track
is a serious condition and extremely
unsafe and liable to result in derail-
ment in case the ball of rail should
break out. The piping rail is indi-
cated by a dark streak lengthwise on
top of the head of rail and whenever
this exists it will be found that there
is a red streak underneath the head
of the rail resembling a red pencil
mark. This is caused by the moisture
from the top of rail soaking through
the seam or defect and forming a cor-
rosion under the head of the rail. A
piped rail can often be detected also
by a dropping down or depression in
the head of the rail over the piping.

The Danger from Internal Fissures.
— Another defect in rail whieh is very

118

Railways

July,

serious and a great menace to safety
is the internal fissure. This defect
is such that it is practically impos-
sible to detect it as the rail does not
show any external sign of defect and
there is nothing that can be done to
discover its existence and the first in-
timation of such defect is when the
rail breaks under traffic. When a rail
breaks and it is apparent the break-
age is due to internal fissure, steps
should be taken to obtain the heat
number of the rail and the only safe
thing to do is to remove all rails of
such heat number from the track and
not take chances of having other rails
break due to such defect.

The internal fissure rail is extreme-

Combined Electric Welder and
Grinder

By mounting welding and grinding
outfits on a 2-ton Ford chassis, Walter
Uffert, Master Mechanic, New York &
Harlem R. R., New York, has pro-
duced a portable unit that can be han-
dled by two men. The arrangement
is described in the Electric Railway
Journal, from which this note is taken.

Both welding and grinding opera-
tions can be carried on simultaneously.
Welding leads of 100 ft. in length are
provided, so that the welder can work
on joints for this distance ahead of
the truck. The grinding operation is
performed at the rear of the truck so

Welding and Grinding Operations Under Way at Same Time.

ly dangerous to have in track and lia-
ble to result disastrously if allowed
to remain in the track.

When rails develop broken bases it
is economy to drill them and reinforce
with angle bars and so continue them
in the track instead of taking them
out. This can be done with perfect
safety where there is one crescent
break not more than 20 in. long, rails
with two or more such breaks in the
base should be taken out of main track
and used for side tracks.

Where rails "break 5 ft. or less from
end of the rail they should be taken
out of track. Rails that break at a
distance of more than 5 ft. from the
end of the rail should be examined
closely. If the break is found to be a
square break and shows no sign of
any visible defects, the rail should
be drilled and a pair of angle bars
applied and full bolted and kept in
track. In case of a rail breaking in
more than one place it should be re-
moved from track at once.

that this can follow the welding with-
out interference.

The welding and grinding equip-
ment is mounted on a substantial
angle-iron framework in the rear of
the driver's cab. Six frames of grid
resistance are mounted in two tiers
immediately behind the cab. Circuit
breakers are placed in the welding cir-
cuit ahead of the equipment and the
current graduations are obtained by
knife switches.

The New York & Harlem R. R. uses
the underground conduit contact sys-
tem, and current for welding is ob-
tained directly from the contact rails
by use of a plow. Four receptacles
are provided on the left-hand side of
the truck. Two of these are for the
plow leads and the other two for the
welding leads. Plugs with substantial
wooden handles are used for plugging
in to obtain the necessary connections.
Copper rods with substantial porcelain
insulators are used for all connections
to the resistor grids and to the
switches and circuit breakers. There

1923

Railways

119

is thus no danger of charring insula-
tion from too much heat and at the
same time this method of construction
is neat and compact.

In mounting the grinding wheel,
special attention was given to flexibil-
ity so that the grinding wheel can be
removed from one rail to the other
and can be pushed backward and for-
ward without the necessity of .shift-
ing the truck. A 3 h.p. 600-v. G. E.
belted to a countershaft mounted just
motor is used for driving. This is
behind the grid resistors.

New Features of I. C. R. R.
Water Softening Plants

The Illinois Central R. R. has re-
cently completed nine new water
treating plants and has converted
three old intermittent plants into
plants of the continuous type and in-
creased their capacity about 75 per
cent. In addition this road now has
eight new plants under construction.
When these plants are completed all
water used from Clinton, 111., through
Freeport, to Omaha, Neb., a distance
of 600 miles, will be treated, and a
total of 40 water softening plants
will be in service on the system. The
new plants are all of the continuous
type and represent a new design of
water treating plant in the construc-
tion of the tanks and housing. We
are indebted to an article by C. R.
Knowles, Superintendent Water Serv-
ice, Illinois Central R. R. in Railway
Engineering and Maintenance, for the
following information regarding the
plants.

The tanks are of conical bottom
type with riser pipe and are built in
three sizes for plants having hourly
capacities of 10,000, 20,000 and 30,-
000 gal., respectively. They are built
in two heights, 35 ft. and 50 ft., the
35-ft. tanks being employed for re-
handling plants and the 50-ft. tanks
for gravity plants. Five hours' re-
action time is provided in all cases,
the capacity of the tanks being 50,-
000, 100,000 and 150,000 gal. Each
tank is built with a conical bottom
and standard 6 ft. riser pipe, the
height of the riser pipe varving from
12 ft. on the 50,000 gal. tank to 8
ft. on the 150,000 gal. tank.

The treating plant houses are of
a uniform design and are built in two
sizes, 20 ft. by 40 ft. and 20 ft. by
60 ft., depending upon the capacity of
the plant and the amount of storage
space required. A space of 20 ft. by

20 ft. is reserved for the chemical
equipment, filters, etc., and the re-
mainder is used for storage of chem-
icals, the smaller house having stor-
age space for two cars of chemicals
and the larger house for four cars.
That portion of the house reserved
for the equipment has a 12-ft. ceiling
to allow the necessary headroom for
tanks, shafting, etc., which the stor-
age room has a 10-ft. ceiling, as it is
impractical to pile the chemicals dn
storage higher than 8 ft.

Conical Bottom Tank a N^w De-
velopment for Water Treatment. — The

outstanding feature of these new
plants is the conical bottom tank
which is a radical departure from the
commonly accepted practice of build-
ing flat bottom steel tanks of the
standpipe type resting upon a con-
crete ring filled with broken stone or
elevated wood tanks of similar de-
sign. A great deal of attention was
given to the tank in designing these
softening plants, and the conclusions
reached, which have been borne out
in practice, may be of interest.

While the conical bottom steel tank
has been used extensively for the past
15 or 20 years as a roadside storage
tank and in one or two isolated cases
as a combined storage and settling
tank, the Illinois Central treating
plants are believed to be the first
examples of its application purely as
a water treating tank. It is true that
water treating plants have been built
with a cone within the settling tank,
and some designs still embody the
cone, either in an upright or in an
inverted position, but it seems that
the conical bottom principle is ap-
plied to the outer shell or bottom of
the tank with a riser or mud drum
has not been given serious considera-
tion by designers of water treating
plants.

It is generally conceded that this
type of tank presents a more pleasing
appearance than the flat bottom stand-
pipe type of tank commonly used as
a treating tank, and it is claimed to
be more efficient and economical in
many other respects. While some of
the points claimed for it may be open
to question, the Illinois Central tanks
are proWng a very satisfactory and
practical design of tank for water
softening.

Principal Advantage of Conical Bot-
tom Tank. — The principal advantage
of the conical bottom tank in water
softening is found to be in the collec-

120

Railways

July,

tion and removal of the sludge and
the resultant saving in water used for
sludging over the flat bottom tank.
This feature alone will pay a good
return on the cost of the tank. In
the flat bottom tank the sludge is
distributed over the entire bottom of
the tank and its removal necessitates
the construction of an expensive
sludge collecting system, usually con-
sisting of pipe with openings placed
at intervals over the bottom of the
tank, the most efficient of which are
so arranged that the system may be
operate in sections with from two t©
four sludge valves for each tank.
Another type of sludge system is so
constructed that the collecting pipes
may be rotated over the bottom of the
tank. None of these systems have
been found entirely satisfactory, how-
ever, as they will not completely re-
move the sludge and are wasteful of
water, as the sludge nearest the out-
let is the first to be picked up and
from two-thirds to three-fourths of
the openings are discharging clear
water long before the sludge near the
outer edge of the tank is disturbed.

The sludge falls to the bottom of
the conical bottom tank and accumu-
lates in the mud drum or riser where
it is easily removed through a single
opening and with a minimum waste
of water. Actual tests to determine
the amount of water in removing
sludge show that the flat bottom tank
requires from four to eight times
more water than a conical bottom
tank, depending on the efficiency of
the sludge system and the amount of
sludge deposited.

Tests of Flat Bottom and Conical
Bottom Tanks. — A test was made to
determine the amount of water re-
quired to remove the sludge from a
flat bottom tank 22 ft. in diameter
after 12 hours operation, during which
time 120,000 gal. of water had been
treated, the sludge amounting to ap-
proximately 520 lbs. About 5,000 gal.
of water was wasted and while a
great deal of the sludge was removed,
the tank was not clean by any means
and repeated opening and closing of
the sludge valve brought quantities
of sludge, the stream of water being
clear with streaks of sludge through
it. The tank was drained of all water
and it was found that the openings
in the sludge system collected the
sludge for a short distance around
the openings and the sludge had ac-
cumulated to a depth of 3 ft. all

around the edge of the tank. There
was also a great deal of sludge be-
tween the sludge lines. Examination
of the tank proved conclusively that
the removal of sludge in a flat bottom
treating tank is very expensive in the
use of water and in most cases is
inefficient and incomplete so far as the
complete removal of the sludge is con-
cerned,

A similar test was made with a con-
ical bottom treating tank 28 ft. in
diameter. After 60 hours' operation,
during which time 1,000,000 gal. of
water had been treated, and the sludge
deposits amounted to over 4,000 lb,,
it was found that 2,300 gal. of water
was sufficient to remove the sludge
completely. The practice on the Illi-
nois Central is to wash the sludge out
twice a day and the water required
for this purpose rarely exceeds 1,200
or 1,500 gal. daily, while to do the
same work in a flat bottom tank would
require 8,000 or 10,000 gal., a con-
servative estimate of the amount of
water saved daily being 7,500 gal.,
which, at the low rate of 15 cents
per thousand gallons for pumping and
treating, means an annual saving of
over $400 per year or six per cent
on an investment of over $6,500.

The conical bottom tank also has a
decided advtantage over the flat bot-
tom tank for water softening in the
rate of upflow. For example: a 30,-
000 gal. per hour treating plant will
require a tank of 150,000 gal. capac-
ity (based upon Illinois Central prac-
tice which provides five hours' reac-
tion and settling time). Assuming a
height of 50 ft. for the softening
tank a flat bottom tank of the de-
sired capacity will have a diameter of
22 ft. 6 in. and a rate of upflow of
8 ft. 4 in. per hour. A conical bot-
tom tank will have a diameter of 28
ft. 8 in. or a rate of upflow of 5 ft,
4 in. per hour. If the reaction time
is only four hours, which is common
practice, the rate of upflow in a flat
bottom tank is over 12 ft. per hour
while the rate in a conical bottom is
less than 8 ft.

Other advantages found in the coni-
cal bottom tank are greater conven-
ience for location of piping, valves,
etc. The inaccessible portion of the
bottom is reduced to a minimum
which permits better maintenance as
there is only a small portion of the
bottom that cannot be painted. This
design also permits better foundation
design and distribution of load.

1923

Railways

The Design of Radlway Terminal Stations

121

Principles to Be Considered In Evolving Proper Plan Outlined In Paper

Presented July 12 at 53rd Annual Convention of

American Society of Civil Engineers

By ALFRED FELLHEIMER,

Consulting Architect and Engineer, New York City.

A passenger terminal improve-
ment represents perhaps the largest
single expenditure the railroad makes
for an individual improvement, and
the degree of skill with which it is
planned to a great extent predeter-
mines its future as an asset or a
liability.

In addition to the obvious railroad
necessities, the designer is usually
confronted with numerous important
conditions, such as the economic
soundness of the project and civic or
other requirements for the present
and future. As each problem pre-
sents controlling features peculiar to
itself, a plan carried out elsewhere
cannot be successfully copied. The
designer must, therefore, rely upon
his ingenuity, skill and vision in devis-
ing a plan which will completely
achieve the desired objective and sat-
isfy all requirements with due regard
to their relative importance so that
when the details have been correctly
applied, a vitalized, successful plan
will result.

THE CREATION OF THE

BASIC PLAN
Preliminary Considerations

The terminal in its broadest sense
should provide an efficient instrument
of service for the handling of railroad
traffic, — permit the full utilization of
the by-products for revenue, — satisfy
the requirements of city develop-
ment,— and render public service in
the largest measure.

Certain tendencies, such as (1)
Electrification, (2) Relation of Rapid
Transit Systems to the Long and
Short Haul Passenger Traffic, (3)
Merging of Terminals, and (4) Iden-
tity of Interest between Railroad and
Community, — are controlling elements
affecting Terminal Station Design.

Electrification. — Electrification with-
in the strictly terminal zone of some
of our large cities, has received a dis-
tinct impetus in recent years. Its ad-
vantages from a purely railroad oper-
ating standpoint would not ordinarily
be sufficient to justify the scrapping
of existing plant and equipment. On

the other hand, when the terminal is
located in a part of the city which is
already desirable or may be poten-
tially so for commercial Jbuilding de-
velopment, electrification permits of
an intensive use of the property which
is not possible with steam operation.
The use which may be made of over-
head or air rights to produce revenue
without serious effect on the operating
facilities which may be placed at or
below the street level may, in con-
junction with such other advantages
as electrification may bring to the
specific problem under consideration,
be sufficient to justify its fixed charges.
One of the most striking illustrations
of the intensive use of all property in
and about a passenger terminal, is the
development at the Grand Central
Terminal in New York City.

Relation of Rapid Transit Systems
to the Long and Short Haul Passenger
Traffic. — As most railroad terminals
are inspired primarily by the neces-
sity of providing for long-haul passen-
ger traffic, the handling of short-haul
(suburban) traffic should not be al-
lowed to become a limiting factor in
the life of the Terminal. Suburban
traffic generally develops faster than
through traffic and often threatens to
absorb an undue proportion of the ter-
minal facilities. This situation is ag-
gravated by the modern tendency of
long-haul through travel to attain its
peak load coincidently with the short-
haul peak.

Serving nearby suburban or urban
traffic is logically the function of rapid
transit systems, which have in general
failed to keep pace with the unprece-
dented growth of many of our large
cities. In consequence, an undue share
of this traffic is forced into the rail-
road terminals.

To the extent that the volume of
this nearby suburban or urban traffic
is reduced its terminal service facili-
ties may be restricted, — unremunera-
tive business eliminated, and capital
expenditure lessened, making avail-
able more space and capital, if needed,
for greater development of the long-
haul traffic terminal service.

122

Railways

July,

In view of these circumstances, it is
clearly an advantage to divert as much
as possible of the urban and nearby
suburban traffic from the terminal,
consequently, definite consideration
should always be given to the feasibil-
ity of arranging or providing for co-
operative trackage rights and physical
connections between Railroad and
Rapid Transit Systems, existing or
proposed, outside the terminal liniits,
thus assuring relief of the terminal
from the burden of this concentrated
service, and affording the public in the
greatest degree door to door trans-
portation.

Merging of Terminals. — As serious
public thought is now being given to
large consolidations of railroad prop-
erties, consideration should be given
to the anticipation of them and the
changes involved in their accomplish-
ment, including merging of terminals.

This involves broad questions of
policy and economics of operation. The
value of the land which may be re-
leased is often one of the major points
advanced in favor of such a project.
Before deciding in its favor, however,
due weight should be given to the
possibility, under electrification, of the
railroad use and commercial develop-
ment jointly, through the utilization
of the air-rights thereby made avail-
able.

It has been demonstrated that,
given the opportunity, business activi-
ties will center about an electrified
railroad passenger terminal, to take
advantage of the accessibility of trans-
portation and the potential business
possibilities created by the movement
of large numbers of passengers
through the various approach thor-
oughfares. In addition the desirability
of the air-right space is increased by
the continuous control of a single
ownership.

Through the mutual reaction of
these favorable elements, it is not un-
likely that the values thereby created
will be greater than those following
the full release of the same property
for non-railroad use.

Identity of Interest Between Rail-
road and Community. — In principle,
the interests of the railroad and the
community it serves are in the last an-
alysis the same, anfl the Terminal plan
should express such identity of in-
terest.

Municipal and other public officials
should therefore approach the solution
of these problems as far as the ele-
ments they themselves represent are

concerned, in the spirit of whole-
hearted cooperation. And so too, the
railroads, not only as concerns the
public interest but also as between
themselves where the terminal pro-
ject affects directly or indirectly more
than one railroad.

General Requirements. — The pre-
liminary examination must determine
that the project satisfies the following
conditions :

That the improvement at the pro-
posed site as compared with other
available locations, is desirable from
the viewpoints of construction and
operating costs, including car unit
costs. This is particularly important
for locations so restricted in area that
double-deck structures may be neces-
sary to secure required capacity.

That suitable development can be
made in stages to meet the expected
normal growth in the services in-
volved for a sufficient term of years to
justify the project.

That the proposed improvement is
desirable from the viewpoint of the
municipality and in harmony with its
plans for development.

That the advantages offered to the
public are sufficient to justify such
concessions as may be required from
the municipality.

That the project in its entirety, pre-
sents a sufficiently favorable economic
aspect, free from insurmountable
prior obligations, to insure its com-
plete financing along rational lines.

That the by-products of the develop-
ment such as the overhead or air-
rights can be utilized in a practical
and profitable way so as to absorb, or
at least substantially reduce, the
carrying charges of the improvement.

That the project as planned is so
sound and free from imposing burden-
some conditions upon the railroad,
that controlling or governing bodies
will readily approve same.

That the improvement is of such
type that adequate enhancement of
land values within the terminal area
will necessarily follow.

Specific Requirements. — The fore-
going broad principles being satisfied,
the basic idea must be in harmony
with the following:

Transition from Existing Conditions
to Proposed Plan. — Except at new lo-
cations, the plan must, in its general
conformation, fit in with existing con-
ditions to a sufficient extent to permit
of gradual transition into the com-
plete or final plan without serious dis-
turbance of operation, and in such

1923

Railways

123

stages as \vill conform with the de-
velopment of railroad traffic and con-
tiguous property. Obvious economic
and practical reasons make this im-
perative.

Balance Between Benefits to Pub-
lic and Cost. — It must strike a proper
balance between the public comfort
and convenience on the one side, and
economy in both first cost and sub-
sequent operation on the other. This
insures good will on the part of the
public, and efficient and liberal service
on the part of the railroad.

Simplicity of Plan Insuring Direct-
ness.— The general layout must be
orderly and direct in the placement of
its principal parts, because in a pro-
ject of large dimensions and scope,
freedom from disorder and confusion
is in direct proportion to the simplic-
ity of the plan.

Street Arrangement and Railroad
Facilities Coordinated. — The railroad
facilities provided must coordinate
with the complete development of
streets and blocks throughout the ter-
minal, conforming with the civic plans
for unrestricted expansion of the city
adjacent to or across the terminal
area. This will benefit both the rail-
road and the public.

Flexibility in Adjustment to Future
Requirements. — Facility of adjust-
ment to future requirements must be
arranged for, because the useful life
of railroad facilities is limited by ob-
solescence rather than by physical de-
cay. ^ Such facilities, therefore, can be
considered stable or permanent only
insofar as they are adjustable to
changing conditions. This applies with
special force to terminals which must,
in their initial stages, be operated by
steam.

Adequate Trackage in Approaches,
Throats and Yards. — Definite determ-
ination must be made of the adequacy
of approaches, throats and yards, to
assure ample capacities of trackage,
all in proper balance, thereby making
possible a high degree of operating
eflFectiveness.

Selection of Characteristic Basic Types
After the plan has been proven to
be^ in accord with the preceding re-
quirements, determination must be
made of certain characteristic basic
types, as follows: (A) Through or
! Stub type of track facilities, as affect-
j ing train operation, and (B) Head-
j House type of station facilities, as af-
I fecting station operation.
i The designation "Terminal" while
i strictly applying to a rail or operating

"Terminus" only, is, in this paper,
used as referring to a station of either
the stub or through type of track fa-
cilities.

Through Type. — This layout, where
the track facilities provide in part or
whole for through train operation, is
concededly best adapted for efficient
and rapid train handling, and is
therefore, where choice can be made,
the type to be selected unless a careful
investigation of all the elements af-
fecting the correlated and dependent
facilities, fails to disclose the neces-
sary preponderance of factors in its
favor.

Stub Type. — This type, where the
train operation terminates at the sta-
tion, can, where the conditions permit,
be given some of the special advan-
tages of the through type by provid-
ing a loop or engine release arrange-
ment.

In the stub type of terminal, except
in cases where there is a difference be-
tween street and track level, the plat-
forms and other facilities can be ar-
ranged at one level. This results in
advantages as follows:

Highest total effiicency in operation
and the greatest convenience to the
public.

Freer and faster travel on plat-
forms, unencumbered by stairs or
ramps.

Practical elimination of vertical
travel of passengers between streets
and platforms.

Economy in construction cosft,
maintenance and operation.

The short haul (suburban) traffic
with its intensive service requirements
should, wherever possible, be provided
with means for through or continuous
train operation.

A definite selection must be made
of one of the three general types of
Head-house before proceeding with
the consideration of the arrangements
of the detail features :

Waiting Room Type of Head-House.
— Where the Waiting Room is made
the focal center of the Station, with
all dependent facilities such as ticket
office, baggage and check rooms open-
ing directly therefrom and with separ-
ate passenger concourse for access to
train platforms. The Washington
Union Station is an example. (This
arrangement tends to make the main
waiting room a thoroughfare between
the street and the trains.)

Concourse Type of Head-House. —
Where a large general passenger con-
course is provided for the mass move-

124

Railways

July,

ment of passengers, with ticket office
and other dependent facilities opening
directly therefrom, the Waiting Room
with its auxiliary facilities being
placed adjacent to but separate from
the Concourse. The Grand Circuit
Terminal, New York City, is an ex-
ample. (This type tends to minimize
conflict of foot passenger tralRc.)

Composite Type of Head-House. —

Where a large room is provided ex-
clusively for the sale of tickets, check-
ing baggage and like dependencies,
with separate waiting rooms and pass-
enger concourse. The Pennsylvania
Station, New York City, is an ex-
ample. (This type tends to create
cross-currents of travel between the
various station facilities.)

ELABORATION OF THE DESIGN
Traffic Considerations
Extreme Peak Conditions of Traffic
Not to Govern. — While station facili-
ties should be planned to accommodate
anticipated traffic, including normal
frequently recurring peaks, it is not
essential to provide for occasional ex-
treme peak conditions, since, in a well
planned station, an overload can be
carried by all facilities for short per-
iods without undue operating stress or
inconvenience to the public.

Foot Traffic Channels — Natural and
Direct. — The general arrangement
should invite movement of foot traffic
along natural and direct channels so
that passengers may, as far as prac-
ticable, avoid crossing the main travel
routes and the retracing of steps.

Where established lines of city foot
traffic are permanently interrupted by
the terminal construction, provision
should be made to accommodate this
traffic without interfering with the
normal use of the Station.

Separation of Suburban and
Through Foot Traffic. — The separation
of suburban and through traffic should
be effectively accomplished in order to
avoid confusion and expedite the
movement of both classes of traffic. It
is not essential that entirely separate
Concourse, Waiting Room and general
facilities be provided. It is necessary,
however, that the main channels of
circulation be completely separated.

Separation of Inbound and Out-
bound Traffic. — While it is desirable
to separate the passenger foot traffic
channels and allocate sections of the
terminal facilities to inbound and out-
bound traffic, no physical division
should be planned in the track layout

that will limit interchangeability and
elasticity.

The baggage facilities for receiving,
delivery and storage should be separ-
ated. Trucking subways, bridges and
other passageways may be used in
common.

Adequate provision should be made
for the public and private vehicular
traffic in suitable relationship to sta-
tion facilities.

In addition to access to streets, con-
venient entrances and exits should be
provided for interchange of passen-
gers with surface car lines or other
local transportation systems.

The plan should provide for direct
contact with all natural points of en-
trance and exit rather than force the
diversion of traffic to points dictated
purely by the necessities of the Archi-
tectural Composition.

Provision should be made for direct
traffic contact by means of trucking
and elevator facilities, with the pass-
enger platforms.

Where this traffic is in solid trains,
consideration should be given to its lo-
cation outside the terminal.

Segregation of Freight Traffic. —
Where the terminal plan includes pro-
vision for freight traffic, this portion
of the layout should be entirely segre-
gated from the passenger facilities
and, as far as possible, all freight
driveways should be separate from the
main streets or thoroughfares, in or-
der to minimize the interference in
the operation of these facilities with
passenger and public traffic.

Station Facilities

General Requirements. — The vari-
ous facilities comprising the Station
proper must be placed in the natural
and orderly grouping which their logi-
cal related uses dictate. The individual
sizes of adjacent facilities should per-
mit modification, if future require-
ments so dictate, without seriously]
disarranging the general coordinatior
of the plan. , ,

The Passenger Concourse. — This
should be roomy and entirely enclosed
with weather-tight gates at the train
platforms. These train gates should
preferably be in a continuous line on
one side of the Concourse. The Con-
course should be free from confusing
changes in direction; ample and direct
access should be provided from the
Concourse to strategic street points
and the various Station facilities.

The Waiting Room. — These should
be arranged to be conveniently acces-
sible for patrons from the street and

1923

Railways

125

station facilities without inviting
usage as a thoroughfare, with all fa-
cilities for the comfort and accommo-
dation of waiting passengers located
adjacent and readily accessible. The
location should permit of adequate
ventilation and daylighting.

The Ticket Office and Checking Fa-
cilities.— These should be placed in
contact with, but not encroaching upon
the main routes of travel between
streets and trains, so that persons not
requiring these facilities may pass
without conflict with passengers buy-
ing tickets or checking baggage.

All working facilities should be pro-
vided with conveniences and equip-
ment required to insure the full work-
ing efficiency and comfort of the em-
ployes.

Concessions. — Revenue producing
facilities conducive to the comfort and
convenience of the passengers should
be located along the main arteries of
travel, placed so as not to reduce the
effectiveness of Station operation.
Their arrangement should insure max-
imum patronage from the general pub-
lic and railroad patrons, thereby en-
hancing their rental value.

Architectural Objective of the De-
sign.— The elaboration of the Archi-
tectural features of the design should
reasonably express the purpose of the
improvement and emphasize the rela-
tive importance of entrances, exits
and like features. Attention should
be paid to mass effect which attracts
the notice of the general public rath-
er than to details which are seen or
appreciated only by a few. Econom-
ical consideration should be a definite
aim throughout including the avoid-
ance of especially elaborate construc-
tional detail.

The station plan should impose on
the office building no limitations which
will exclude any essentials needed to
assure successful competition with
similar commercial buildings.

Where the character of overhead
buildings can be predetermined, as re-
quiring contact with the station,
freight or other facilities, it should
be provided for; otherwise, flexibility
should be given, making possible fu-
ture conversion to suit the require-
ments.

Platforms and Ramps

Platforms. — These should be level
with the car floor, especially for sub-
urban service. If conditions compel
the use of low platforms, provision

should be made for future conversion
to the high type.

Where the width of platform is re-
stricted by the need for intensive de-
velopment of the property, the mini-
mum should permit passengers to pass
freely between loaded baggage trucks
when placed along either side of the
platform.

Means should be provided to avoid
trucking across platforms and tracks.

Baggage elevators should not be lo-
cated in narrow platforms except at
the outer end. When placed at the
Concourse end they should not ob-
struct circulation. The enlargement of
platforms at the Concourse end laiown
as the "Midway" provides space for
the location of elevators, stairs and
similar facilities without encroach-
ment upon the Concourse or interfe-
rence with public circulation, and per-
mits the use of several train gates at
one time in speeding the exit of arriv-
ing passengers.

Separate baggage platforms are not
ordinarily necessary. The handling of
baggage on passenger platforms
causes slight interference with pass-
enger traffic. Suburban trains carry
practically no baggage. Inboimd long-
distance trains normally occupy the
platforms for a considerable period
beyond the short inter\-al required to
discharge the passengers. Passengers
for outboimd long-distance trains are
so thinly distributed that no appreci-
able interference results. However, if
such platforms are provided at all,
they should be of ample width, as nar-
row ones will be useless.

The spacing of platforms and
tracks, particularly if lines of columns
are necessary, should be designed to
permit ready rearrangement of plat-
form widths to meet future needs.

Column lines for superimposed
structures in the absence of controll-
ing conditions to the contrary, should
be located in the platforms instead of
between tracks thereby reducing dan-
ger to overhead structures, increasing
the view for operation, adding to safe-
ty and facilitating maintenance. Col-
umns in platforms interefere but
slightly with passenger movement,
with small loss of space, whereas,
when between tracks, the space is en-
tirely lost. I

Ramps. — Where the tracks and
streets are necessarily at different
levels, the vertical travel, if possible,
should be by means of ramps, rather
than by stairways.

In general, ramps permit more

126

Railways

July,

rapid circulation, cause less fatigue
and minimize accidents.

Where the foot of ramp extends
several car lengths or more from the
Station end of a narrow platform, pro-
vision should be made to avoid back-
ward travel of arrivmg passengers.

Track Facilities. — A reasonable pro-
portion only of the station tracks need
be of sufficient length to accommodate
the longest trains that present power
can handle, plus an allowance for in-
crease.

Excessive rates of curvature and
grades should be avoided as interfer-
ing with effective and safe operation;
and tracks along platforms, especially
of the high type, should as far as pos-
sible, be straight.

Where overhead building construc-
tion is contemplated, the track spac-
ing and location of special work
should afford reasonably free oppor-
tunity for placing of columns and
avoidance of long building spans.

Where conversion from steam to
electric power in the future is a possi-
bility, provision should be made to
permit the installation of electrical
features affecting the track and plat-
forms.

Special Structural Requirements. —
In addition to the usual provisions for
changes due to temperature, all build-
ings whose rental value or use is ad-
versely affected by excessive vibra-
tion should, as to their foundations
and other structural parts, be entirely
separated from similar parts in other
buildings or structures through which
directly or indirectly the vibration due
to rolling or live load may be trans-
mitted.

Columns at track level where neces-
sary should be protected by suitable
collision piers to prevent failure
through derailment, and should never
be located in the direct line of the
track immediately beyond a bumping
post.

The choice of type of future electri-
fication, if initial operation is by
steam, should not be hampered by any
structural limitations, such as insuf-
ficient headroom.

Auxiliary Facilities. — P r o v i s i o n
should be made for the location of all
auxiliary operating facilities such as
signaling, central plants, sub-stations
and equipment, entirely separate from
the station facilities wherever possible
but accessible to same. In determin-
ing the proper location, due weight
should be given to the influence of all

economic elements such as land values,
economy in handling supplies and
waste material, and load distribution.

CHECKING OR PROOF OF THE
ADEQUACY OF THE DESIGN

General Considerations. — Averages
and statistics derived from other ter-
minals, while interesting and helpful,
have no final determining value. The
facts of record at the Terminal under
consideration must finally govern.
Each facility must be tested oy the
actual local requirements.

Load Co-ordination. — Consequently
when the general design has been ac-
complished, it is imperative that the
final^ test as to load co-ordination be
applied to determine:

That all parts are in balance,

That no individual feature is under
or over developed, and

That all features will simultane-
ously reach the saturation point.

Analysis of Operating Capacities. —

To accomplish this, an analysis should
be made of the operating capacity of
the approach tracks, throat tracks,
and body tracks, as a proper balance
of these facilities is of vital import-
ance. Likewise the relative values of
practically all supporting facilities in
the plan should be measured and bal-
anced to safe-guard the successful fu-
ture of the development.

As an example, the ticket office size
and number of selling windows, can be
definitely arrived at as they have a
fixed relation to the number of out-
bound passengers of all classes han-
dled which is, in turn, determined by
the ultimate saturation point of the
track facilities used in handling out-
bound cars.

It should be here specially noted
that failure to check or prove the
Adequacy of the Design along these
lines, accounts for many of the faults
and weaknesses in our terminals.

Increased Use of Permissible Explo-
sives.— In 1912 tne quantity of per-
missible explosives consumed in the
United States represented about 5 per
cent of the total quantity of all kinds
of explosives produced in this coun-
try, while in 1922 it was 10.1 per cent,
according to W. W. Adams, mine acci-
dent statistician of the Bureau of
Mines, Department of the Interior.
The total amount of explosives used
for the production of coal in 1922 was
220,457,647 lb., of which 18,2 per cent
was of the permissible class.

1923

Railways

127

Traction Wheel Mountings for

Railroad Type Steam

Shovels

The Osgood Co., Marion, 0. has re-
cently built, and successful tests have
been made of traction wheel movmt-
ings for one of the heaviest railroad
type steam shovels. The shovel, an Os-
good 120, 6 cu. yd. has heretofore been
mounted only upon standard railroad
trucks. On account of the time nec-
essary in laying track for moving the
shovel, railroad truck mountings were
slow in getting from one point to
another. This size shovel is much
used in big rock quarries and open
mines and usually when blasting oper-
ations were in progress it was nec-
essarv to lav track and move the

versible steering engine mounted
above deck alongside the boiler, out of
the way yet readily accessible. Re-
versing the engine causes traveling
nut to move in opposite direction.
The engine is controlled and steering
accomplished by means of a single
lever from the engineers position in
the for\\'ard end of the cab.

In recent tests made in a lai^e
Pennsylvania stone quarry the shovel
was moved a distance in one day that
under old track laying methods would
have required at least ten days.

The advantage claimed for traction
wheels over railroad trucks for large
railroad tjrpe steam shovels briefly
summarized are: greater mobility of
machine, elimination of pit crew, ea-
sier accessibility to face of excavation,
elimination of tracks and reduction of

6 Cu. Yd. Shovel on Traction Wheels in Operation in Pennsylvania Quarry.

shovel back from the face of the ex-
cavation and then up again after the
explosives had been set off. These
operations were not only costly in
time and labor consumed in making
the changes, but also in decreased
output through time lost.

Giant traction wheels were designed
that measure 6 ft. in diameter and
have a face of 36 in. on the front or
drive wheels and 30 ins. on the rear
wheels. The front wheels are used
as drivers and power is delivered
through a series of gears from the
powerful hoisting engines on the
shovel. Steering is accomplished by
turning the rear wheels by means of a
screw shaft and traveling nut. The
nut, to which is attached the axle
tongue, moves along the screw shaft,
slewing the rear axle and wheels in
the direction desired. The screw
shaft is operated by a separate re-

side strains and racking to the ma-
chine in general. Traction wheels also
have a decided advantage over any
other type of mounting in that the
traction wheels are much less compli-
cated, simpler to operate and have a
much lower upkeep cost.

Some idea of the size of the shovel
can be gathered from a few figures.
The shovel has an over all length of
slightly more than 85 ft. and the over
all width is 20 ft. -with a maximum
height over the cab of 15 ft. while the
boom extends to a height of 32 ft.

A large stone company near Chi-
cago has just installed an Osgood 73
3^2 cu. yd. traction shovel for use in
the quarry. The pit is about 80 ft.
deep and is reached by a very steep
incline. To get the new machine into
the pit would ordinarily be quite a
problem, but when equipped with
traction wheels the problem was much

128

Railways

July,

simplified. With boom up and dipper
and handle in place the shovel was
backed down the steep declivity under
its own power without difficulty.

Shortly after this shovel had been
placed in operation a cut of loaded
dump cars was derailed when some
distance from the shovel and on the
way to the incline hoist. The Osgood
traction shovel was thrown into gear,
run down to the cars, a chain hooked
over the dipper teeth and around the
cars. In a few minutes the train was
rerailed and on its way to the hoist
while the shovel went back to the rock
face ready for work. It would have
been necessary to unload the cars to

A Safe Method of Blasting Chutes

Even experienced miners often use
an iron bar for prying loose boulders
which have hung up in chutes. If the
boulders come down suddenly, the
blaster or loader has no time to with-
draw the bar he was using and seri-
ous injuries frequently result.

How this dangerous practice is
avoided at a western mine by substi-
tuting specially prepared blasting|
sticks for iron bars, is told in The Ex-
plosives Engineer. These blasting
sticks, by means of which a small
charge of dynamite is placed in a
hung-up stope, pillar, or dumping

A 31^ Cu. Yd. Machine on Incline Preparatory to Backing Into Pit.

rerail them by hand, and then reload
them. While this was being done the
shovel and other cars would have been
standing idle if the ready mobility of
the shovel had not saved the day. The
shovel has also been used about the
quarry for handling boilers and other
heavy machinery that would require
the services of a locomotive crane.

The Osgood Co. is prepared to fur-
nish traction mountings for its 120 6
cu. yd., 105 5 cu. yd., 73 S^^ cu. yd.,
and 69 ft. 2% and 3 cu. yd. railroad
type shovels. Traction mountings on
the 43 1% cu. yd. have been standard
equipment for some time and their
successful use led to experiments
which have developed the traction
wheels for all sizes of railroad type
steam shovels.

chute, are cut from a 1-in, plank and
are 16 ft. long and 1 in. square. The
sticks must be cut from straight-
grained material; therefore, carefully
sorted straight-grained boards are se-
lected. At this time, where approxi-
mately 650 men are employed under-
ground, about 2,500 blasting sticks are
used each month. The dynamite is
tied to the end of the blasting stick,
and the charge is then pushed up into
the chute until it comes under the ob-
struction to be removed. The chute
blasters prefer the blasting sticks to
iron chute bars, and by using the
sticks they do not have to endanger
their lives by crawling into the chuteJ
If a boulder falls on the stick it|
breaks without injuring the user.

1923

Railways

'IP Planning Mass Transportation Facilities

129

Methods of Providing Local Common Carrier Passenger Service in

Urban Districts Discussed in Proceedings of Engineers'

Society of Western Pennsylvania

By T. FITZGERALD,

P'- CJonsulting Electric Railway Elngineer, Pittsburgh

After various factors — present and The trackless vehicles have less

prospective characteristics of traffic, capacity than street railways, cost

topography, fares and political re- more to operate per vehicle mile and

lations — have been estimated, plans require less investment per route mile,

may be made to apply that type of The trackless trolley, which requires

transportation facility best adapted to an overhead electric power distribu-

each one of the different traffic prob- tion system, involves a greater invest-

lems encountered. In a simple prob- ment per route mile than the gaso-

lem invohijig a small community, one line bus, but its operating cost is less,

tjrpe may suffice. In large commun- Its capacity is equal to that of the

ities, there are included in the general gasoline bus.

problem a number of different trans- The street railway, requiring both

portation needs which may require power system and track, involves a

different types of facility for the best greater investment per route mile

general solution. than the trackless trolley, but its oper-

The different types of transporta- ating cost is less and capacity greater,

tion facilities to be considered are: Elevated and subway terminals for

Trackless Vehicles. These include, street railway cars reduce operating

gasoline buses and trolley buses. costs and increase capacity somewhat,

Electric Railways. These include but greatly increase investment costs,
surface street railways, elevated rail- The rapid-transit elevated obviously
ways for surface cars, subways for requires much larger investment ex-
surface cars; rapid transit elevated penditures. Its operating costs are
roads and rapid transit subway. much less than street railways and its

Railroads. These include railroads capacity is much greater,

engaged primarily in through freight The rapid-transit subway requires a

and passenger transportation service. still greater investment than the ele-

Special Types. Among these may vated. The operating expenses are

be mentioned, inclines, cable-cars, and somewhat less, and the capacity

mo\ing platforms. slightly greater, than in the case of

Relative Positions of Various Types. the elevated.

— The relative postions of the bus, Railroads engaged primarily in

surface car, elevated and subway are through passenger and freight service

indicated by the following ratios must be considered in this problem,

found by Mr. H. M. Brinckerhoff, a but the healthy expansion of their

recognized authority on urban trans- urban passenger service appears most

portation: difficult.

Invest- ^ist i^r Special tjrpes of facility, such as in-
Capacity Speed ment car mile clines, cable-cars, moving platforms,
i^Vce-l^Z-.:: 1.7 1 2 18 f^:' "^^y^^ adapted to unusual con-

Eievated 6 2 12 1.2 ditions of topography.

Subway 7 2 36 1 The use of an incline to open up

■p^^.v, fi,«r.« ^ ^^r. 1, J • J the development of an otherwise in-

+;,; T f F^^ "^^^ ^^ ^^"^""^^ accessible area, by connecting that

the relations of operating costs per a^ea directlv with street railwav or

ftv foJf Tor^Stu''™"^ " '""' '^^^'- rapid-Ssif frciStifs 'marbe lusti-

ity load for all tx-pes: Aed in special cases. The disadvantage

o'*ff 1* is inconvenience of bodily transfer be-

Hevat^ '^.J: Z "- If tween the incline and other t>T)es of

Subway _1..!„.~Z!Z!!.!Z." ."""" Z i service. This bodily transfer has been

-. avoided in some instances by operat-
it must be remembered that such ing street-cars over inclines as a part
statements are very general in their of their route. This method, how-
nature and cannot be applied indis- ever, adds a large expense and sharp-
cnminately to all situations. ly restricts the capacity of the route

130

Railways

July,

affected. Fifteen cars an hour in each
direction is about the limit; and, un-
less an unusually large incline is pro-
vided, the cars must be small and
operate in single units.

Cable-cars are rarely used today
and are limited to grade conditions
beyond the ability of electric cars to
negotiate safely.

Sub-surface moving platforms have
been seriously suggested for Forty-
Second Street cross-town traffic in
New York, for the purpose of reliev-
ing the streets of pedestrian traffic
and providing a convenient by-pass
for traffic between rapid transit and
other transportation facilities.

Volume of traffic, length of haul,
fares, and grade conditions all have
a large influence upon the type of
facility best adapted to any particular
demand for transportation.

The Bus. — The trackless vehicle, re-
quiring less capital outlay than the
railway, can be supported by a smaller
number of passengers. Its limited
capacity, however, restricts its use in
the heavy rush-hour traffic of cities.
In addition, the flat-fare system gen-
erally in use in America restricts its
use for long-haul traffic at the usual
rate of fare. The increased operating
costs per vehicle mile, as compared
with rail facilities, wipes out the mar-
gin between fares and costs when the
average length of ride approaches tJie
average of street railways, at the rail-
way rate of fare. The advantage of
investment charges lower than for
railway is overcome before the length
of haul approaches that of street rail-
ways. Abroad, the zone-fare system,
which adjusts fares to length of ride,
maintains the advantage of low in-
vestment charges.

As opposed to this idea, the Fifth
Avenue (New York) bus system is
often cited as an example of success-
ful bus operation. These buses, how-
ever, operate along a densely traveled
thoroughfare, a show place for the
country, in a city which enjoys the
greatest number of visitors of any
American city, and where people go
to spend money. The total cost per
passenger carried in 1921 was 8.03 ct.
The traffic carried was 2 per cent of
the total mass traffic of metropolitan
New York. The rate of fare is 10
ct. as compared with a street rail-
way fare of 5 ct. This operation,
which has recently become very suc-
cessful and prosperous, is unique and
cannot be useful as an example of
what can be accomplished by motor

buses in other cities under conditions
of traffic generally encountered.

Field of Trackless Vehicles. — The
usual field of the trackless vehicle lies
in carrying traffic too light to justify
the investment necessary for track
construction. There are a number of
instances, however, in which buses are
doing a profitable business by taking
away traffic which has been built up
and served by the electric railways.
Popular prejudice against street
railways and the impulse to board the
first vehicle offering service has fur-
nished considerable traffic for buses.
This has been reflected in higher street
car fares or inferior street-car serv-
ice, or both. In some communities
a choice between buses and railways,
made necessary by unprofitable street-
car operation brought about by bus
competition, has forced practical elim-
ination of the bus. Des Moines at-
tempted to supplant street-car service
by buses. This was done for a time.
During that time buses were entirely
unsuccessful in furnishing transporta-
tion service comparable to that of the
street-cars, and the latter have re-
sumed operation with bus competition
practically eliminated.

Special service may be properly sup-
plied by buses over long distances in
special situations. On the California
highways, there are numbers of ap-
parently profitable bus routes. Sev-
eral street railways are operating
buses into undeveloped suburban dis-
tricts because of the popular demand
for such service. Special service is
also being rendered by high-speed
limousine buses between cities forty
to fifty miles apart, with speed
greater than on interurban railways
and comparable to steam railroad
time. One electric railway is operat-
ing such service probably on the
theory that the short rider between
the numerous small intermediate
towns on the line is more profitable
than the through rider, and that
through traffic will be stimulated by
faster time and more comfortable
service.

The principle field for the bus in
urban mass transportation, however,
seems for the present to lie in fur-
nishing service for undeveloped sec-
tions of the community where the
traffic is too light to justify railway
construction. There is also an op-
portunity to use the bus to divert
traffic from congested centers and
shorten hauls by establishing a bus
cross connection between two lines

1923

Railways

131

outside the congested centers.

The futures of the trackless vehicle
as a mass transportation agency is
more or less vague. The enormous
increase in the number of automotive
vehicles within the past few years,
however, strongly indicates that they
may provide service to a greater ex-
tent than is at present anticipated.

A total of 5289 buses and gasoline
cars are now operated in common-
carrier passenger service.

In tw^elve states and the District of
Columbia, 357 trackless vehicles are
operated by electric railways.

According to Automotive Industries,
there are over 10,000,000 automotive
vehicles in this country.

The Automobile as Factor in Trans-
portation.— The importance of the au-
tomobile as a factor in the urban mass
transportation problem is indicated by
the results of a recent survey made
in Baltimore. In one day there were
: movements in and out of the delivery

district as follows:
j 76,234 pleasure automobiles.

37,024 commercial automobiles.

21,036 street cars.
4,224 buses and taxicabs.

13,821 horse-drawn vehicles.

Assuming an average of two pas-
sengers for each pleasure automobile,
bus and taxicab movement, 365 days
I in the year, this traffic would amount
I to about 59,000,000 passengers or 25
per cent of the street railway traflSc
of Baltimore in 1921.

If a prediction of these facts had
been made five or ten years ago, it
would have been generally discredited,
to say the least.

Advantages and Disadvantages of
Trackless Vehicle. — To offset the ef-
fect of higher operating costs, there
are some advantages in the trackless
vehicle over street railway service:

1. It is not seriously affected by
many blockades which hamper street
railway operation. This flexibility
frequently perimts a higher scheduled
speed which, in particular instances,
may offset its normally higher oper-
ating costs.
I 2. The bus takes on and lets off
I . passengers at the curb, making the
' service in this particular more at-
tractive.

3. Stopping at the curb, the bus
is out of the line of moving vehicles
and does not so greatly interfere with
other street traffic as does a street-
1 car when it stops to take on or let
off passengers. The gasoline bus is
also applicable to special traffic move-

ments, which cannot be served on reg-
ular routes.

The principal disadvantage of the
trackless vehicle, as compared with
the street-car, is its limited capacity.
It cannot cope with the rush-hour
problem of an ordinary American city.

One hundred and fifty street cars
(seventy-five two-car trains) would
move 12,000 passengers in one direc-
tion in an hour on one street. Two
hundred and twenty-five platform men
would be required. To move this same
number by bus would reqmre, in good
weather, about 200 buses of the Fifth
Avenue type and 400 men to operate
them. The element of cost involved
in paying the 175 additional men for
the rush-hour periods only (one of the
grave problems of electric railway
operation) shows the unsuitability of
buses for this kind of service. The
other operating costs of the type of
bus required would also be greatly in
excess of street-car costs, and for the
ordinary length of street railway
route on the usual flat rate of fare
would more than wipe out profits.

One point regarding the trackless
vehicle is the damage to street paving
caused by its operation. This cost
is now borne by the taxpayer. Street
railways, in the past, have been com-
pelled to pay for large amounts of
pa\ing not damaged or used up by
their service. The bus may, in the
future, face the problem of paying
for the unusually large depreciation
of paving due to its operation.

Electric Railway Service Basic. —
There seems to be little room for
doubt that electric railways, either
street or rapid transit, must form the
trunk of any system of mass trans-
portation for cities of any size, and it
is becoming increasingly evident that
they must be largely used to serve
mass traffic, if the advantage of serv-
ice cheap enough to stimulate com-
munity development is to be retained.

The field of the street railway lies
between the bus and rapid transit;
offering most economical and attrac-
tive service for traffic too light to
support expensive rapid transit facil-
ities and too heavy, or to expensive
on account of length of haul (or both),
for the bus.

The maximum labor demand for
street railway operations in city rush-
hour periods is materially below that
of the bus, and is one of the largest
elements in preventing the bus from
being a real competitor of the street
railway in the larger cities. Rapid

132

Railways

July,

transit has a similar advantage over
the street railway in low labor de-
mand, but the investment required for
rapid transit is relatively much great-
er as compared with the street rail-
way than the investment for the street
railway as compared with the bus.

Street railways generally suffer
from an adverse public opinion which
is inflamed by annoyances arising
from disadvantages inherent in sur-
face street railway operation. Ad-
verse public opinion has, in the past,
operated to prevent the proper ad-
justment of fares to the cost of serv-
ice, and also other adjustments in
facilities and service which would
have benefited both the railways and
the communities served. This feeling
has had a great deal to do with the
popular approval of the bus as a com-
petitor of the street-car, and is a
factor to be recognized in plans for
mass transportation. One of the
causes for this hostility has been the
interference with street -car operations
by other street traffic, bringing about
irregularity and vexatious delays. The
effect of this interference is aggra-
vated by the inflexible routing which
must be followed practically regard-
less of obstacles. All cars operating
over one track are necessarily delayed
by a blockade on that track.

Except where safety zones are es-
tablished, the stoppage of a street-
car to take on or let off passengers
stops all vehicular traffic in the direc-
tion of the car. This aggravates con-
gestion. It is apparent to the users
of other vehicles that traffic would be
greatly expedited by the elimination
of, or a reduction in the number of,
street-cars on congested streets; and
the feeling undoubtedly exists that by
better routing or by separate grade
facilities, the street railways could
relieve a condition- which threatens at
least partial paralysis of some impor-
tant traffic arteries. There is no pres-
ent complete substitute, however, for
the surface street car. Expensive
separate grade facilities, which can-
not be supported by the street-car
rider alone, offer the most effective
means for relief. Withdrawing cars
from congested streets and routing
them over less crowded ones offers
a remedy in situations where this
amount of relief will meet the require-
ments. Such re-routing usually in-
volves a withdrawal of the service
rendered by long lines, to the edge of
the congested district. This creates
public hostility and should not be re-

sorted to unless it is offset by a gen-
eral improvement of the service
through more rapid and regular oper-
ations. In any rerouting plan, serv-
ice withdrawn should, if the demand
justifies, be replaced to the limits of
street capacity by short-routed cars
connecting with the re-routed long
lines by transfer. Delays to short-
line cars in congested streets will not
have such a generally demoralizing
effect on service as will delays of the
same duration to a number of long
routes.

To repeat, expensive, separate
grade facilities offer the most effec-
tive means for relief from street con-
gestion.

Separate Grade Terminals for Sur-
face Cars. — In studying the question
of separate grade facilities for sur-
face street cars, due consideration
must be given to the condition which,
in many cities are rapidly depreciat-
ing the value of the service rendered
by street railways forced to operate
through congested areas on the street
surface. Delays to car operation are
greatly increasing the cost and de-
creasing the quality of the service.
Increased cost increases fares and
tends to drive away passengers. Those
remaining must bear a larger part of
the cost of service. Depreciated serv-
ice, also, drives away passengers and
increases fares. This product of in-
creasing congestion — increased costs,
increased fares, decreased traffic, back
to increased costs — certainly presents
a striking example of a vicious circle.
In order to preserve the indispensable
electric railway as a useful facility it
may be necessary for the general com-
munity to furnish adequate terminal
facilities and distribute the burden of
cost as nearly as possible in accord-
ance with the benefits derived. The
car rider should pay for whatever
benefit he derives in the way of de-
creased costs and improved service.
In any event, separate grade terminal
facilities for street railways should
be given careful consideration in any
general plans for large city mass
transportation facilities.

It should be borne in mind that
there are two types of service per-
formed by separate grade facilities.
One, which is simply a terminal for
street-cars in the congested district,
takes them off the streets, thereby
improving the quality and economy of
operation of the service affected. The
other type, generally adapted only to
long-haul traffic, provides large-ca-

1923

Railways

133

pacity, high-speed electric railway
service.

Of these two tj^jes, the one which
simply provides for separate grade
terminals for surface street-cars, re-
quires less investment cost, because
of its shorter length and less elaborate
equipment and station facilities. Rare-
ly, however, can surface car terminal
facilities be the economy in operation,
stimulation to traffic, or in the benefit
to the car rider for which he is willing
to pay. The only way in which the
large expenditure necessary for their
construction in the most expensive
location in the community can be
justified, is by the general benefit to
the community from the reduction in
congestion in the central business area
and from the speeding up and im-
provement of transportation service
and traffice generally. The speeding
up and improvement of transportation
produces a real benefit to the popu-
lation and business institutions affect-
ed, inasmuch as it increases the pro-
portion of the whole population from
which support for central business
activities may be drawn, and makes
the service itself more attractive.

Generally, the volume of traffic
which can be accommodated in sur-
face street-cars operating in separate
grade facilities is not sufficiently great
to justify the addition of the interest
charges to the fare particularly if a
terminal extending considerably be-
yond the central congested area were
required to avoid congestion. The in-
vestment cost of elevated railways is
one-third that of subways, and they
pro\ide almost the same amount of
relief.

In this connection, consideration
must be given the fact that a rapid
transit system which have six times
the capacity for traffic that a separate
grade street-car terminal would have.
If a volume of traffic can be attracted
from the street-cars, sufficient to load
a rapid transit system to capacity,
the principal requisite for that type
of facility is supplied, and strongly
indicates that the large capacity facil-
ity is better adapted to the traffic than
the separate grade surface car term-
inal.

Rapid Transit. — The most effective
type of mass transportation facility
for consideration is the separate-grade
electric railway called rapid transit,
on which large cars are operated at
high speed. Its principal advantages
are large capacity, high speed and
low operating cost. Its disadvantage

is high investment cost. This dis-
advantage is not so great in the case
of the elevated railway as in the case
of the subway, which the advantages
of large capacity and high speed are
not so greatly in favor of the elevated
as of the subway. Express tracks
and loading facilities for elevated
railways are not so readily provided
as in the case of subways.

Public antipathy to elevated rail-
ways should not prevent the construc-
tion of such facilities where justified,
if financial considerations prevent
subway construction. The general ad-
vantages from better and more nearly
adequate transportation service which
can be rendered by elevated railways,
offset their defects. Philadelphia has
recently completed an up-to-date, ele-
vated, rapid-transit line between Phil-
adelphia and Frankford. The enorm-
ous benefits to be derived from such
a facility would seem to counteract
all its disadvantages.

A large volume of traffic consider-
ably in excess of the utmost capacity
of all of the other types of facilities
available, is the prime requisite for
a rapid-transit system. Interest
charges upon the large investment
necessary must be spread over a large
number of indi^'iduals deriving bene-
fits from the system. Passengers on
rapid-transit cars are not the only
beneficiaries, but, unless they are
numerous, there will not be enough of
general benefits to justify the neces-
sary heavy expenditure.

Rapid-transit systems generally
may be expected to double the speed
of service. This means a large in-
crease in the distance and territory
within which the population of the
district served may support its in-
dustries and institutions. If the rapid
transit -serv'es under-developed terri-
tory in a growing district, it will stim-
ulate the development of that terri-
tory for the use to which it is best
adapted.

As stated above, in those commun-
ities in which development is prac-
tically unobstructed by topographic
conditions, such as rivers, hills, ra-
\'ines, etc., the dispersion of popula-
tion in all directions from the central
business area prevents concentration
of enough traffic in a single artery to
justify expensive rapid-transit sys-
tems. Chicago is an example. In such
communities, not only is the demand
for transportation distributed over a
large number of arteries, but the
comparatively short distances and

134

Railways

July,

correspondingly short time between
traffic centers reduces the general de-
mand for faster transportation.

On the other hand, in some com-
munities the development of indus-
trial, commercial and residential
areas, together with the number of
connecting highways, has been re-
stricted to topographic conditions.
Development has naturally taken
place in the restricted areas best
adapted, at favorable points along the
limited number of highways. Con-
gestion in these highways has brought
a heavy demand for passenger trans-
portation service to relieve them and
permit the orderly adjustment of
housing, industrial and commercial de-
velopments in areas best suited for
their respective purposes. This de-
mand for transportation, concentrated
in a few highways leading in the same
direction, has resulted in a heavy vol-
ume of traffic justifying the construc-
tion of expensive facilities. The
distances between neighboring traffic
centers, increased by the restrictions
of development, has undoubtedly aug-
mented the general demand for trans-
portation. In this way, by proving
a concentrated demand for passenger
transportation capable of being sup-
plied by a single artery, topographic
conditions work to the advantage of
expensive rapid-transit systems. The
more congested the few highways be-
come, the more insistent becomes the
demand for relief which in large quan-
tities can be afforded only by a rapid-
transit facility of large capacity.

If a system could be designed to
connect adequate areas, developed and
suitable for development for industrial
purposes, with adequate areas devol-
oped and suitable for development for
housing purposes, there could be no
question but that the passenger traffic
now moving between those areas
would avoid the slow and, in some
cases, tortuous movements around
natural obstacles and flow through the
rapid-transit system.

The diversion of passenger traffic
from the more expensive service ren-
dered by facilities other than rapid
transit, would effect economies which
would partially offset the larger in-
vestment necessary.

Relief of the other arteries of traf-
fic would ensue. Adjustment of de-
velopment, by the release of territory
adapted to industrial use through the
removal of residents to areas better
adapted to housing development,
would be stimulated and would in

turn create new traffic for the mass
transportation facilities.

New York (Manhattan Island) is
the most striking example of how
traffic is affected by restricted expan-
sion, stimulated by a rapid-transit
system. Restricted in all directions
except to the north, with distances
between traffic centers creating a
strong demand for fast transportation
facilities and with its few traffic ar-
teries taxed to the limit, the opening
of rapid-transit outlets for this traffic
has always brought a rush taxing
their great capacity.

Rapid-transit facilities, by them-
selves, cannot be made as valuable
to^ a community as if co-ordinated
with other types of transportation.
If buses, street-cars and rapid transit
were all competing for the same busi-
ness, service would be duplicated and
all three types would probably oper-
ate at a loss. If, however, the buses
were used as a feeder to the railways
or rapid transit, carrying short-haul
traffic too light for railway invest-
ment, and turning the long-haul pas-
sengers over to the rail facility; and,
in the same way, if the street railways
were used to carry traffic too heavy
for buses and too light for rapid
transit, feeding to the rapid transit
long-haul traffic, which would be un-
profitable for the surface car, duplica-
tion of expensive service could be
avoided. Unnecessary traffic move-
ments could be avoided by transfers
and by-passes over auxiliary facilities
short of congested centers. By this
co-ordination, the best results for the
community in good transportation
service at the lowest possible rate
could be most nearly accomplished.

Conclusions. — The mass transporta-
tion facilities of any urban district
are vital factors in the life and pro-
gress of that district. They must be
adjusted in capacity and extent to the
present and prospective development
of the community served.

Natural resources, external trans-
portation facilities and topography
are the principal material bases limit-
ing community development.

The principal object in planning
mass transportation facilities is to
provide for transportation service in
and between industrial, commercial
and residential areas, which will stim-
ulate, to the degree justified by pres-
ent and prospective conditions, the
properly co-ordinated development of
these areas for that use to which each
is best adapted.

1923

Railways

135

Another important object is to pro-
vide for transportation service which
will stimulate the orderly develop-
ment of educational, religious and
amusement institutions and central
community acti%ities, by making them
available to the whole population.

Mass transportation facilities for
an urban district should include those
types best adapted to the different
traffic problems usually encoimtered
in such a district.

Generally :

Trackless vehicles are best adapted
to light-volume, short-haul, high-fare
traffic.

Street railways are best adapted to
medium-volume, medium-haul, med-
ium-fare traffic.

Rapid transit (high-speed, large-
capacity, separate-grade electric rail-
way) is best adapted to large-volume,
long-haul, low-fare traffic.

Planning a mass transportation sys-
tem involves the co-ordination of these
types of facilities so as to apply to par-
ticular traffic movements the most
economical and attractive type.

The various tjT)es of service must
be auxiliary and supplemental to each
other and not directly competitive.

No general plan for the large ex-
pansion of mass transportation facil-
ities should be decided upon until
after the most comprehensive and ex-
haustive investigation by engineers^ of
experience in the design, construction
and operation of all types of facilities.

Due consideration must be given to
plans for community development
adopted by representative bodies.

The importance of the problem and
the consequences for good or evil to
the community, which may result
from good or bad planning for this
vital ser\uce, demand the construc-
tive interest and co-operation of rep-
resentatives of all the interests of
the entire community; social, political
and business.

Automobile Grade Crossing
Accidents

$2,000,000 Branch Railway in Mexi-
co.— A decree has been signed author-
izing the Secretary ot Communica-
tions of Mexico to expend the amount
necessary for the construction of a
railroad branch line to run from the
station of Beristain, the state of
Hidalgo, on the Hidalgo and North-
estem Railroad to Fobero in the State
of Vera Cruz. The line is to be 140
kilometers in length and the cost is
estimated at $2,000,000.

Extract from Presidential Address De-
livered June 13 at Annual Meeting
of Amercian Association of
Railroad Superintendents

By W. S. WILLIAMS,

General Superintendent of Illinois Central
Railway Western Lines.

A subject of great importance to-
day, which I think should be given
careful consideration and attention by
our association, is the prevention of
grade crossing accidents. For the six
year period ending Dec. 31, 1922, there
were 21,902 automobile grade crossing
accidents reported to the Interstate
Commerce Commission, in which 9,849
persons were killed and 27,349 injured.
The death cases do not include those
who died from injuries over 24 hours
after the accidents occurred.

Experienced railway men, who have
made a study of the subject, claim
that automobile grade crossing acci-
dent statistics prove that the crossings
considered the most dangerous are
actually the safest. In other words,
that the majority of the accidents oc-
cur at the outlying crossings where
trains are not expected, and that com-
paratively few accidents occur at the
crossings considered the most danger-
ous. That, of course, is because auto-
mobilists use more care for their own
safety at the dangerous crossings.

Experienced men also claim that a
bad accident in a community in which
lives are lost, or people are seriously
injured, is invariably the signal for a
great hue and cry in that community
for the elimination of the crossing
where the accident occurred, or the
protection of it by gates or electric
warning bell, or a cross watchman.^

Crossing gates do not entirely elim-
inate accidents for the reason that
people become educated to rely upon
the gates instead of upon their own
faculties. If the man in charge of the
gates errs, or if the gates getout of
order, the danger of accident is very
great.

Electric warning bells do not en-
tirely eliminate accidents. If they ring
a great deal automobilists disregard
them. In addition to that, there is al-
ways the possibility that the bell may
not be in order just at he moment of
greatest danger.

Crossing flagmen are not infallible.
The human element enters into most

136

Railways

July,

accidents in one way or another, and
crossing flagmen are like other human
beings. Some of the very worst auto-
mobile accidents that have occurred
have been at crossings where flagmen
were on duty.

One of the effects of so-called cross-
ing protection is to teach the public
that the crossings are safe when, as a
matter of fact, the opposite should be
taught.

It is clear that the policy of the past
of trying to place the responsibility
for safety at railway grade crossings
upon the railways has not accom-
plished the desired results. It has not
prevented automobile grade crossing
accidents. There is no definite way of
telling whether it has even tended to
reduce them.

The grade crossing problem is
usually considered from two view-
points— that of the railways on the
one side and that of the public on the
other side. There is also the view-
point of engineers and firemen, which
has been almost entirely overlooked.
At best their duties are nerve-racking,
and the habit of automobilists in rac-
ing to crossings and darting upon the
track immediately in front of the loco-
motives has a great tendency to
shatter the nerves of these men. They
ought to have some assurance that an
automobile will be brought to a stop
before it is permitted to cross a rail-
way track.

Reduction in the number of grade
crossings by the relocation of high-
ways should be considered wherever
practicable. In plans for new high-
ways, railway crossings should be
avoided as much as possible. That
this has not been done in the past is
evidenced by the fact that the new
hard-road trails seems to have been
laid out and constructed without much
thought as to railroad grade cross-
ings.

1. The adoption of a program for
the gradual elimination of grade cross-
ings, the expense to be borne by the
tax-payers and the railways in pro-
portion to the benefits received — this
program to become effective imme-
diately following the necessary en-
largement of terminals, irnprovement
of. roadways and acquisition of suffi-
cient equipment on the part of the
railways to enable them to take care
of the traffic demands.

2. Re-location of highways where
by so doing it may be possible to re-
duce the number of grade crossings.

3. Avoid the crossing of railways
as much as possible in plans for new
highways.

4. Require the railways to install
and maintain proper warning signs at
railway grade crossings.

5. Require railway property at
grade crossings to be kept as free as
possible from obstruction to the vision.

6. Require counties to remove all 3
obstructions to the view, such as trees, i
underbrush, and unnecessary build- ;
ings, and other obstructions located
on private property near railway
grade crossings.

7. The passage and enforcement by
municipalities and the States of prop-
er "Stop, Look and Listen" laws.

8. Teach everybody, commencing
with the children in the schools, that
railway grade crossings are extremely
dangerous — the "protected" as well as -,
the unprotected crossings.

9. Educate the public in regard to :
the inability of the railways to elim-
inate all grade crossings and the un- .
fairness of some communities insist-
ing upon the railways doing things for
them that cannot be done for all.

10. The launching of a great cru-
sade, having the backing of the state
governments, against careless driving
of automobiles, particularly at railway
grade crossings.

I know we all agree that something
will have to be done, and that soon, to
materially reduce grade crossing acci-
dents. This, again, is a problem that
is daily confronting the division sup-
erintendent more than anyone else,
and I feel it is a proper subject for
active handling by this association.
We are represented by membership in
every state in the Union, and our con-
centrated efforts should go a long
way toward having suitable laws
enacted which will greatly reduce, if
not entirely eradicate, these uncalled-
for accidents. Some states have al-
ready enacted laws requiring automo-
biles to stop before crossing over rail-
way tracks, and I personally favor
this method more than any other. At
the present time a "Cross Crossings
Cautiously" campaign is being carried
on throughout the country under the
auspices of the American Railway As-
sociation, and, until some more effec-
tive method can be adopted, I want
to urge the members of this associa-
tion to lend their best efforts toward
making this campaign a success.

*23 R^iiUvays

Tunnel or Coyote Method of Blasting

137

When It Should Be Used and the Proper Procedure Under Varying
Conditions Described In The Explosives Elngineer

By J. C. GUSHING

During the past 10 years I have
made 300 or more tunnel or so-called
"coyote" shots. I ean safely say that
no two have been loaded alike, and to
have used the same methods in every
shot would have been a most serious
error. However, the knowledge ob-
tained from making each of these
blasts has helped in figuring the suc-
ceeding ones more scientifically. The
problems encountered in "coyote" hole
shooting can be grouped under a num-
ber of general heads, and if each of
these points is considered separately

method- The risk is too great, and
the amount of explosive necessary is
so much in excess of other methods
that the cost is prohibitive. To obtain
good results from tunnel blasting
without taking too much risk, the rock
should occur in mass formation or in
vertical strata, and should not be too
seamy.

After the practicability of tunnel
blasting has been established the ques-
tion arises whether or not the cost of
drilling and back-filling the tunnels
will increase the cost over other meth-

' >^f'W'''T',-^,'^

l-'^'W^

I i^-^'-'

Luading a tojote Hole. On This Blast 50 Tons of Explosives Broke Down 365,000 Tons of Rock.

there is much greater assurance of
successful results.

Factors To Be Considered for Tun-
nel Shot. — In loading a well-drill shot,
you can nearly always figure on a cer-
tain amount of explosive to the yard
with only slight deviations, depending
upon the hardness or specific gravity
of the formation; in loading a tunnel
shot there are at least five factors to
be considered.

The first point to decide is whether
or not the tunnel method can be used
in the formation to be blasted. If the
rock lies in horizontal planes, tunnel
blasting is decidedly not the best

ods. Several points must be consid-
ered in deciding this. If the surface
of the ground is uneven, and it is diffi-
cult and expensive to move the well-
drills aroxmd, tunnel blasting is
usually advisable, or if the material
is very seamy, which makes well-
drilling unduly expensive, conditions
are favorable for tunnel blasting.

The third consideration is the desir-
ability and importance of a uniform
back-break. An even back-break is one
of the principal advantages of well-
drill blasting with column loading,
and when from the nature of the ma-
terial it is impossible to get a uniform

138

Railways

July,

back-break, a possible objection to the
tunnel method is eliminated.

Another point to be considered is
the height of the bank. Obviously, in
a low bank the cost of tunnel driving
is excessive because of the small
amount of material displaced. For
successful tunnel blasting the bank
has to be higher than the length of
the main tunnel, because in tunnel
shooting sufficient explosives are
loaded to kick out the bottom of the
toe, which permits the over-lying ma-
terial to fall in and to break into small
pieces while falling.

The size of rock obtained by the
various practicable methods should
also be studied. If the material in
the bottom of the ledge can be readily
broken into small pieces, while that in
the upper strata is likely to break un-
usually large, I would hesitate to
adopt the tunnel method, providing
well-drilling could be used; because in
tunnel blasting the explosives charge
is all in the bottom, while in well-
drilling the charge can be more or less
distributed throughout the entire
mass. Therefore, in most cases the
rock can be more uniformly broken up
by column loading in well-drill holes.
However, if a steam shovel of large
capacity is available this point is^ not
so important, but if the material is to
be loaded by hand or by small shovels
it is decidedly important.

Considerations Governing Choice of
Explosives. — Assuming that all of
these factors have received careful
consideration, and it has been decided
to adopt the tunnel method, the next
step is to choose the proper grade and
strength of explosive. There are at
least three factors to be considered.

First, is . it desirable to throw the
rock a considerable distance out on the
floor? If so, a low explosive such as
black blasting powder or R. R. P.
should be selected. If, on the other
hand, it is desired to break the rock as
small as possible without throwing it
too far, dynamite should be used and
the loading pockets placed closely to-
gether.

The second question is: how is the
material to be handled after blasting ?
If large power shovels are used, a low-
er grade of explosive can be adopted
as little secondary blasting will be re-
quired. If, on the other hand, the
loading equipment is small or the ma-
terial is to be moved by hand, a higher
strength explosive is necessary, be-
cause in tunnel blasting, as in other

methods, the quicker explosives break
up the rock into finer pieces.

The third important question is
whether the material is so seamy or
so broken up as to make this method
more or less risky, particularly if
black blasting powder is used. In some
instances, the material is so seamy
that there is a possibility of one or
more of the explosives charges blow-
ing out along the seams. Black powder
is particularly apt to do this. This
tendency can often be overcome by
loading all of the powder below the
floor with tamping between the pow-
der and the roof inside the tunnel.
The gases then work directly into the
tamping before reaching the seam,
and this slight delay gives them an
opportunity to work against the rock
itself and weaken the mass at other
points, before the force of the explo-
sion escapes through the seams. With
R. R. P. of 5 per cent strength, which
is generally used in large tunnel blasts
in the West, there is much less likeli-
hood of a blown-out shot, because the
rate of detonation of R. R. P. enables
it to throw out the toe before ^ the
gases escape through seams, and it is
usually not too fast to prevent its
loosening the upper strata before the
gases have been entirely expended in
moving the toe.

Proper Length of Tunnels and
Cross-Cuts. — After deciding upon the
best explosive to use, the next step is
to determine the proper length of the
main tunnel and cross-cuts. The ideal
tunnel is one which penetrates the
bank to a distance of about two-thirds
of the height. However, it has been
my experience where only one cross-
cut is to be used, that to insure the
toe being well broken up and thrown
out on the floor, it is impracticable to
have the main tunnel more than 60 ft.
long. Where the bank is higher and
the amount of explosives that can be
used is not limited, several crosscuts
can be driven; but best results at least
cost are obtained by using the shorter
tunnel and the single cross-cut. The
length of the cross-cut is determined
by the amount of material to be dis-
placed, and also by the surface condi-
tions of the quarry face.

Several years ago I made a 50-ton
shot in a bank 215 ft. high, in which I
used two tunnels, each 140 ft. long,
with three cross-cuts 150 ft. long from
each tunnel. The first cross-cut was
40 ft. back from the toe, the second 90
ft., and the third was at the end of
the 140-ft. main tunnel. The results

1923

Railways

139

from this shot were quite satisfactory.

Size, Number, and Location of Ex-
plosives Charges. — It is difficult to
give any formula for computing the
amount of explosives necessary, as
conditions are different for each shot.
A fair way to compute an average
amount is to determine the yardage in
the section included by the cross-cut
and vertically over it, and to load
about one pound of explosives to the
cubic yard of material when using a
low-grade dynamite and slightly
smaller amount when loading with a
dynamite of higher strength. If the
explosive is to be black blasting
powder a good average is about IV2
lb. to the cubic yard. Actually, great-
er yardage per pound of explosives is
obtained in the blast, but this is the
result of the back-break and side-
break and varies according to local
conditions.

The next point to decide upon is the
number, location, and size of the
pockets to contain the powder charges.
The number varies with the surface
conditions and grade of explosive
used; that is to say, you will ordi-
narily require fewer pockets with a
low-grade explosive than with a high-
grade one, surface conditions being
equal. The location of the pockets is
determined by surface conditions, and
the size of the pocket is determined
by the charge it is to contain. The
pockets are usually drilled below the
floor of the cross-cut. This distance is
generally obtained by figuring on 1 ft.
below the floor for each 10 ft. of toe in
front of the pocket. If the bank is
nearly vertical it is not necessary to
drill so far below the floor.

Opinion varies as to the most eco-
nomical size for the tunnels. I believe
that what is known as the "wheel-
barrow" size is the most economical.
This is a tunnel about 3 ft. wide and
4 to 5 ft. high; it gets its name from
the fact that a man can readily oper-
ate a wheelbarrow in taking muck in
and out of the tunnel. Larger tunnels
are an unnecessary waste and smaller
ones make drilling, loading, and back-
filling an awkward and tedious opera-
tion. When the tunnel is driven by
hand methods, the cost varies accord-
ing to the skill of the labor employed.
The average cost for a tunnel of the
wheelbarrow size, where compressed
air is used for drilling, is approxi-
mately $5.00 per linear foot. The cost
of back filling a tunnel of this size is
on an average about $1.00 per linear
foot. The best material for back-fill-

ing is the rock which came out of the
tunnel when it was driven. The first
tamping for a depth of about 6 in. to
1 ft. should be fine sand. This pre-
vents the powder from being ignited
by sparks during the back-filling.

The Methods of Firing.— Either
series or parallel connections can be
used for detonating the blasts. If the
shot is to be fired with a blasting ma-
chine, it is, of course, necessary to
wire in series. However, whenever
there is sufficient current available,
tunnel blasts are usually wired in
parallel and from two to three detona-
tors are placed in each powder charge.

The main wires are usually fastened
to the roof of the tunnel where they
are least apt to be broken during
back-filling or by the weight of the
tamping itself. A good method is to
drill short holes in the roof approxi-
mately every 20 ft.; and to drive
wooden blocks in these holes. The
wires are then fastened to these
blocks.

Forty per cent dynamite is generally
used for the priming charge. In most
cases the dynamite priming charge is
approximately 5 per cent of the total
load of R. R. P. or black blastmg
powder in the pocket. The blasting
caps are embedded in the dynamite,
which is in turn placed in the center
of the charge.

When sufficient current is not avail-
able for electric firing, cordeau can be
successfully used. The cordeau is run
through the main tunnel to the first
powder charge, then through each suc-
ceeding powder charge, and back
through the main tunnel to the sur-
face. The cap is then connected to
each end of the cordeau at the mouth
of the tunnel. This affords double
protection against misfires. However,
I recommend electrical firing wherever
possible because of the difficulty in
protecting the cordeau when back-fill-
ing the tunnels.

Testing of Explosives. — Tests are
being made by the Department of the
Interior at the Pittsburgh experiment
station of the Bureau of Mines to de-
termine the temperature at which va-
rious explosives will detonate or
flash. A series of tests has just been
completed to show the effects of crys-
tal size and method of purification on
the strength and sensitiveness of
T. N. T. Apparently both factors have
some effect on the explosive proper-
ties of T. N. T., but the variation is
within narrow limits.

140

Railways

July,

Construction News of the Railways

Surveys Underway for S. P. Cutoff in
Oregon

New surveys are reported being
made by the Southern Pacific Co., over
the summit of the Cascade Mountains
for the Natron extension into Klamath
County, Oregon.

I. C. to Spend $500,000 at Council
Bluffs, la.

The Illinois Central R. R, has plans
for the expenditure of $500,000 in im-
provement of the Council Bluffs yards,
including expansion from avenue B to
Big lake, and construction of a new
18-stall roundhouse and jconcrete coal
chutes, with cinder pits and automatic
conveyors. At least $300,000 will be
spent upon the extension of the yards
alone, with the construction of new
tracks, which will increase capacity by
100 per cent.

To Improve Hudson Bay Railway

The Canadian Parliament has au-
thorized an appropriation of $350,000
for betterment on the Hudson Bay Ry.

B. & O. Lets Contract for Pier Repairs

The Baltimore & Ohio R. R. Co. has
awarded a contract to Armstrong &
Latta, Philadelphia, for repairs of all
its piers on the Delaware River at
Philadelphia, and the construction of a
new freight float at Pier No. 62. This
work will cost several hundred thou-
sands of dollars. The same firm is
making repairs to some the Pennsyl-
vania R. R. Co. piers on the Delaware.

Work to Be Started Soon on Moffatt
Tunnel

Work on the new tunnel through the
Continental Divide on the Moffatt road
to be built by the of Colorado at a cost
of $7,000,000 will start late this sum-
mer.

Canadian Railways to Spend
$28,000,000

The construction program of the
Canadian National Railways calls for
a total expenditure of over $28,000,-
000. Out of the total nearly $18,000,-
000 will be expended in the Prairie
Provinces, over $3,000,000 in British
Columbia, nearly $5,000,000 in the
Maritime Provinces, about $2,000,000
in Ontario, and less than $500,000 in
Quebec.

N. P. to Construct 30 Mile Line in
Montana

Authorization to construct a branch
line 30% miles in Rosebud County,
Montana, to the Rosebud coal fields
where the Northern Pacific R. R. pro-
poses to mine coal for its own use has
been granted the road by the Inter-
state Commerce Commission. The
route branch line does not pass
through any town or village. The
commission requires that work be
started not later than September 1
and completed by July 1, 1924. The
road was denied permission to retain
the excess earnings. The branch line
will cost $1,493,310.

New Texas Road to Resume Grading

According to reports from Fort
Worth, Tex., work on the Stamford &
Eastern R, R. will be resumed. The
company was grading in 1917, but was
stopped by war conditions. The line
to run 145 miles, between Stamford
and Fort Worth.

O. S. L. to Build 1 1 Mile Line in Idaho

The Oregon Short Line has been au-
thorized by the Interstate Commerce
Commission to proceed with the con-
struction of an 11 mile branch run-
ning from Ammon to Dumas, both
points in Idaha to provide transporta-
tion facilities for irrigation projects.

Construction Underway on Mexican
Line

Construction of 98 miles of railroad
in Mexico by the Southern Pacific
R. R. of Mexico will be financed tem-
porarily from the treasury of the Sou-
thern Pacific Co. This improvement,
which, it is expected, eventually will
be paid for out of funds to be turned
over by the Mexican Government in
settlement of claims for more than
$13,000,000 made by the railroad, will
cost between $8,000,000 and $10,000,-
000. The purpose of the construction
is to connect the present line of the
Southern Pacific with the National
Railways of Mexico and complete a
route between the United States and
Mexico City. Fifteen miles of the line
is being constructed by the railroad
itself, and contractors are building
about 85 miles from La Quemada to
Tepic. All this work is well under
way and progressing from both ends.

"923

Railways

141

D. & Rio G. Ry. to Spend $2,719,000

Improvements amounting to $2,719,-
700 are to be made by the Denver &
Rio Grande Western R. R. at its shop
facilities at Denver, Pueblo, Salida,
Grand Junction, Alamosa and Salt
Lake City.

Northwestern Spending $5,000,000 for
Improvements
The Chicago & Northwestern Ry.
has improvements underway that will
involve an expenditure of approxi-
mately $5,000,000. In Chicago a third
main track is being laid from Elm-
hurst to West Chicago. An addition to
the Ravenswood Chicago office build-
ing, four stories in height, is under
way. Grade elimination on the Madi-
son division at Layton Park, Milwau-
kee, is being carried out. This work
consists of elevation of tracks for a
half mile and depression for two
miles, involving three subways, eight
viaducts and about one mile of con-
crete retaining walls. Eleven grade
crossings will be eliminated. A new
station and team-yard at Layton Park
will be built in connection with this
improvement. Modem mechanical coal
chutes are being erected at Chicago
shops and at Milwaukee, Belle Plaine,
Tama, Evansville, Huron, Waseca, An-
toine and Stambaugh, to replace old
types of coal plants. The increase in
the production of petroleum products
in Wyoming has made necessary ex-
tensive track and yard improvements
at Casper. There is also being built
at Casper a 10-stall modern engine
house and 95-ft. turntable.

Contract Let for 8-Mile Logging
Railroad

Siems & Carlson Co., Spokane,
Wash., has been awarded a contract
by the Rose Lake Lumber Co., for the
construction of an 8-mile logging rail-
road from Pritchard, Wash.

Atlantic Coast Line to Build 46 Mile
Railway

Permission has been given the Fort
Myers Southern R. R., a subsidiary of
the Atlantic Coast Line, by the Inter-
state Commerce Commission to build
a 46-mile stretch of new railroad down
the western coast of Florida. The line
will be a southern extension of the
present Atlantic Coast Line and will
run from a point at or near Fort
Myers through Bonita Springs to
Marco. The company proposes to com-
plete the line this year.

L. & N. Awards 17 Mile Contract

The Nichols Contracting Co., At-
lanta, Ga., has been awarded a con-
tract by the Louisville & Nashville
R. R., for 17 miles of second track
between Baileys and Walls End, Ky.

U. P. to Spend $3,000,000 on Develop-
ment at Kansas City, Kan.

Expenditures aggregating $3,000,-
000 will be made as the first step in
the improvement program outlined by
the Union Pacific R. R. Co. in the
Fairfax drainage district, Kansas City,
Kan. Prospective additional improve-
ments, officials said, would aggregate
$10,000,000. The major development
contemplates approximately 16 miles
of streets, 65 ft. wide; 5 miles of main
artery streets 85 ft. wide; 32 miles of
switch tracks; electric lights to con-
nect with the Kansas City, Kan., mu-
nicipal plant; sewers, gas mains,
drainage ditches, and five miles of
dikes around the river front.

O. S. L. to Build 22 Mile Line
The Oregon Short Line R. R. has
taken bids for constructing 22 miles
of line between Orchard and Perkins,
Idaho.

B. & L. E. R. R. to Build New Dock

at Conneaut, O.

The Bessemer & Lake Erie R. R.

has opened bids for the construction

of a $3,000,000 dock improvement at

Conneaut, O.

Santa Fe to Spend $600,000 at
Dallas, Tex.
The Santa Fe R. R. will build rail-
road tracks between the main line of
the railroad and the cement and oil
plants in West Dallas. An expendi-
ture of $600,000 is proposed.

New Interurban Line at Houston, Tex

The Seaboard Electric Ry. Co., ac-
cording to reports will start construc-
tion Oct. 1, on its new line. This com-
pany, incorporated with a capital
stock of $2,000,000 proposes to build
and operate an electric interurban
railway from Houston via Harrisburg,
Pasadena, San Jacinto battle park,
Morgan's Point, along the ship chan-
nel, and thence along the bayshore to
Seabrook. I. A. Cottingham, for many
years chief engineer of the Atlantic
system of the Southern Pacific lines, is
the engineer in charge of the location
and construction of the proposed in-
terurban.

142

Railways

July,

M. C. Lets S-Mile Yard Contract

The Dominion Construction Co.,
East Toronto, Ont., has been awarded
a $500,000 contract by the Michigan
Central Ry., for the construction of 5
miles of new sidings at St. Thomas,
Ont., yards.

Logging Railroad Construction Near
Kelso, Wash.

Active construction of the Ham-
mond Lumber Co.'s railway eastward
from Kelso, Wash., is now in full
swing all along the line. Copenhagen
Bros., who have the contract for grad-
ing of the east end of the line, have
established their camp and started
work a few days ago. A. A. Brynes,
who has the contract for construction
of 35 bridges and trestles on the line,
has completed the first bridge and is
working on the second. The Ham-
mond Co. will raise and widen the dike,
which will be used as a right of way.
They have decided to do this work
with a steam shovel and train distri-
bution instead of with a dredge.

New York Central Improvements at
Bellaire, O.

The New York Central R. R. Co.,
has acquired 25 small tracts in the
Nickel Plate district eagt of Bellaire,
0., in furtherance of the company's
vast yard improvement project.

Pennsylvania R. R. May Build Canadian
Line

It is reported that the Pennsylvania
Ry. is planning the construction of a
line from Bridgeburg to St. Thomas,
Ont., where it will link with the Pere
Marquette.

New Terminal Facilities Proposed for
Cincinnati

A new railroad terminal and a ne\v
union station for Cincinnati, 0., is
proposed by the Cincinnati Railroad
Terminal Development Co., organized
last week. The development company,
incorporated with a capital stock of
$250,000, practically all of which has
been subscribed, has the following
officers :

President, George D. Crabbs; Vice-
President, John Omwake; Secretary,
Robert A. Taft; Treasurer, Maurice J.
Freiberg. It is stated that engineers
will be secured and plans developed
for a project that may call for an ex-
penditure of $50,000,000,

Chicago & Joliet Electric to Relocate
Line

The Chicago & Joliet Electric Ry.
Co. will relocate its tracks between
Lemont and Argo, a distance of 13
miles, providing permission is granted m
by the Illinois Commerce Commission. ^
Application for the permit has been
filed asking that the company be al-
lowed to locate its traction line near
the right of way of the Chicago &
Alton R. R., between the two cities.
Options on the rights of way have
been obtained and the work can be
started this summer, according to
J. R. Blackball, general manager of
the electric line, who estimated the
work would cost approximately
$400,000.

Alaskan Railroad Extension Proposed

The Alaska Anthracite R. R. is
planning an extension that will, it is
stated, quadruple shipping facilities
from the Bering river coal fields to
the water. The banking firm of Har-
ris, Ayres & Co., New York City, is
understood to be financing the project.

A $78,000,000 Transit Development
for Philadelphia

Suggestions for additions to Phila-
delphia's high-speed transit system,
making some important changes in
existing plans, have been presented to
the Councilmanic Transit Comrnission
by engineers for the city, the Philadel-
phia Rapid Transit Co. and central
business interests. The first unit of
the recommended plan calls for a
two-track subway under Broad street
southward from OIney avenue to Mc-
Ferran street, thence a four-track
tube as far southward as Ridge ave-
nue.

From there a two-track subway
would continue to Spruce street, and
another two-track subway from Broad
street and Ridge avenue would run
down the Ridge to Eighth street,
thence under Eighth street to Walnut,
westward on Walnut, crossing the
Schuylkill by a bridge or tunnel. An
elevated railway in Woodland avenue
from the neighborhood of the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania campus at Thirty-
fourth street to Darby is another link
in the suggested lines. The grand
total cost IS placed at $78,000,000, of
which sum $50,050,000 will be spent
for structure, $3,830,000 for track
work, $5,890,000 for equipment and
$12,230,000 for cars.

Railways

143

Inusual Culvert Construction
On Castleton Cut-Off

One of the heaviest and most diffi-
cult pieces of earthwork on the Castle-
ton Cut-off of the New York Central
R. R., south of Albany, N. Y., is on
the connection to Ravenna to replace
the present Albany branch of the
West Shore Line. This construction
includes the crossing of Creyman's
Creek on a fill about 75 ft. high. This
crossing involved a difficult culvert
problem, which was solved in the mat-
ter noted below, the description and
illustration being taken from the Rail-
way Age.

The creek is subject to heavy over-
flows in the spring and the soil of the

line of the track and in a position to
form a straighter flow of water
through the ravine at this location.

Uniform bearing was secured by
pouring the bottom of the culvert as a
reinforced concrete slab, 3 ft. 9 in.
thick for the full base area of the
structure and carrying it upon piles
driven on 3-ft. center. The bases of
the side and intermediate walls were
constructed of mass concrete keyed to
the base slab and to the upper wall
sections. The roof slab had a mini-
mum thickness of 3 ft. and was heav-
ily reinforced and tied in to the upper
sections of the side walls. The meth-
od of construction was about as un-
usual as the structure itself. Because
of the instability of the soil and the
seepage of water, the area to be cov-

«1

■-■--/.^- > \

■• v.- ,

Driving the Piles to Support the Culvert at Creyman's Creek.

valley is of a treacherous and unstable
nature. Measurements of the maxi-
mum flows indicated that an opening
equivalent to a 50-ft. arch would be
needed. However, because of the soil
conditions at this point necessitating
the use of piling, plus the height of
the fill, the loading for a span of this
size and likewise for two spans of an
equivalent opening were prohibitive.
It was, therefore, decided to erect a
structure which would permit safe
loadings and likewise be of such a con-
struction that any possible failure due
to uneven settlement, shifting, etc.,
would be obviated. The type of struc-
ture utilized consists essentially of a
large reinforced concrete box culvert
having three openings approximately
15 ft. wide by 22 ft. 6 in. high and
overall dimensions exclusive of wing
walls of 224 ft. by 71 ft. This culvert
was loaded to one side of the existing
creek bed, at right angles to the center

ered by the structure was entirely en-
closed with interlocking steel sheet
piling. The soil was then excavated
to well below the base of the concrete
slab after which piling were driven on
three feet centers each way except at
the ends of the culvert where it was
driven only under the haunches and
retaining walls. All piling was then
cut to the grade of the invert and cin-
ders filled in between them and well
tamped up to within three inches of
the top of piles. Reinforcement was
next placed and the 3-ft. 9 -in. slab
poured, followed in turn by the side
walls and the top slab. The sheet
piling will be left permanently^ in
place to form a retaining wall against
possible disturbing soil actions. The
flow of water is thus carried through
the culvert entirely separate from any
contact with any of the supporting
soil and a maximum prevention of a
possible soil saturation is secured.

144

Railways

July,

Accidents in Handling Elxplosives

Investigations conducted by the De-
partment of the Interior through the
Bureau of Mines relative to the haz-
ards involved in the handling of ex-
plosives indicate that the number of
accidents in handling and testing ex-
plosives is relatively low; in fact, it
is lower than in some supposedly less
dangerous occupations. Workers who
handle explosives, being aware of the
danger, practice carefulness until it
becomes a habit; in consequence ac-
cidents are relatively few.

Any feeling of nervousness by a
man engaged in handling explosives is
highly dangerous, as it may result in
his dropping a batch of sensitive ma-
terial or knocking over a piece of ap-
paratus. Men subject to nervousness
should overcome it or get out of the
industry. All explosives should be
treated with proper respect, but it is
not necessary to feel that the slightest
jar will be disastrous.

The Bureau of Mines estimates that
at least 75 per cent of all the indus-
trial accidents with explosives are
caused by hurrying the work and by
taking chances where conditions are
known to be dangerous; probably 20
per cent are due to carelessness, the
rest having at least fairly excusable
causes. The great essential in avoid-
ing accidents is that inexperienced
men should be made fully conscious of
every movement in handling explo-
sives and should be trained to "play
safe" until they are automatically
careful all the time.

Passing the "Buck" to the
Roadmaster

In an interesting article in the Rail-
way Review on the railways of India
E. S. Rice of the Santa Fe system,
relates the following:

At Trichinopoly, the week before
we arrived the depot was overrun
with monkeys. One little fellow got
in through the ventilator and did such
things to the agent's desk that it will
take him a month of Sundays going
to confession to get over the cussing
the monkey caused. Now here come
in the boys to whom I have always
maintained they come when all else
fails — the engineers! Of course no
one else could suggest a remedy, but
the engineers were used to blind
tigers, etc., so they spread a trap and
caught a whole box car full of mon-
keys. Then again they demonstrated
the fact that they know what to do

in an emergency. They shipped them
down to the next division, where they
didn't like the roadmaster, and they
had their reward double — first by
cleaning up the pest in their own
station and then getting even with
their hereditary enemy, the road-
master.

New Atlas Gelatin

The improved gelatin recently
placed on the market by the Atlas
Powder Co. is reported as giving ex-
cellent results. One foreman advises
that his men have reduced the num-
ber of sticks to the hole and have
stopped three fans as gas is no longer
troublesome. A resident engineer on
a large tunnel reports that his men
could return to work in 12 to 18 min-
utes, which with old-style gelatin it
required at least 30 minutes before
the men could return, and then they
could not stay. In addition to these
advantages, the manufacturer advises
that the new explosive is extremely
high in water resistance and also prac-
tically perfect in plasticity.

Street Railway Paving at Los
Angeles, Cal.

In a discussion last fall at a con-
ference at Philadelphia of city and
street railway engineers, J. A. Griffin,
City Engineer, Los Angeles, Calif.,
gave the following information re-
garding the practice in his city.

The franchise or permit to use the
street that is issued to the railway
company contains a clause that they
shall install and at all times maintain
the same type of pavement on their
right-of-way, which extends from 2
ft. outside the outside rail of one
track to 2 ft. outside the outside rail
of the other track, as is used on the
balance of the street, unless special
permission is granted to do otherwise.
This method works out very well and
practically no friction occurs between
the street railway corporations and
the city. In some instances where ex-
tensive paving programs have pro-
gressed very rapidly, the railway
companies were unable to pave their
portion at or near the same time the
other portions of the street were
paved, but in each such instance they
altered the grades of their tracks and
covered the dirt surface with screen-
ings and oil to make their portion
passable until such time as they could
follow with permanent paving.

(<f^

Buildings

MONTHLY ISSIK OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.

221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbert p. Gillette, President and Editor

Lewis S. Loueb, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St. and Broadway

Richard E. Brown, Eastern Manager

■1st Wednesday. $1
(e) Streets
(d) Street clean-
ing

Road and Streets-

(a) Road Con-
struction

(b) Road Main-
tenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday. $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and Sanitation
Drainage (d) Waterways

Railways — 3rd Wednesday. |1

(a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-

way Ckinstruc- way Construc-

tion and tion and

Maintenance Maintenance

Buildings— 4 th Wednesday. $1

(a) Buildings (d) Miscellaneous

(b) Bridges Structures

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., JULY 25, 1923

No. 1

Prospective Wages and

Prices in the Building

Field

Wage rates in the building trades
are approximately 80 per cent above
the pre-war level, and the average
price of building materials, other than
steel, is approximately 100 per cent
above the pre-war level. The price of
structural steel is about 60 per cent
above the pre-war average.

Since labor constitutes about half
the cost of the average building, the
average building costs about 90 per
cent more than in 1913 where labor
efficiency is the same as it then was.
Our per capita gold is nearly 90 per
cent above the 1913 amount, which
leads us to anticipate that our average
wages will gravitate toward a level
about 90 per cent above that in 1913;
for during the past 80 years our wage
levels have always followed our per
capita money levels, and our per cap-
ita money has long tended to oscillate

about a level that was twice the per
capita gold.

The safest prediction that can be
made is this: So long as America re-
tains the four billion dollars of gold
that it now possesses, we may expect
to have a wage level approximately
90 per cent above that in 1913; and
in any business where efficiency of
production has not changed appreci-
ably since 1913, we may expect to see
the prices of products gravitate to a
level about 90 per cent above the price
level of 1913.

In the building trades there has
been no marked change in efficiency of
production as compared with that in
1913. We may therefore infer that
there is nothing abnormal in the pres-
ent level of building costs. Abnor-
mality of price levels exists only when
the price curv^e does not move parallel
with the per capita currency curve,
after making proper allowance for any
change in efficiency of production. Of
course where efficiency rises, prices
tend to decrease to an equal extent;
and the converse holds true.

146

Buildings

July,

Business Men Are Still
"Jumpy"

For a long time after a harrowing
experience most people are apt to be
startled by the slightest reminder of
it. The panic of 1920 was such an
experience, and the nerves of many
business man are still on edge in con-
sequence of the financial blows then
received. Witness the recent slump of
stocks in Wall Street following the
warnings of banks that there was dan-
ger of another inflation such as oc-
curred in 1919 and the spring of the
year following.

Leading bankers began last March
to utter warnings and draw long faces.
Whereupon, much to their surprise we
suppose, the warnees pulled still
longer faces and began to curtail ac-
tivities. It was a case of whispering
fire in the ear of a man just recovering
from jumping out of window of a
burning hotel. Even the whisper
gave him a severe shock.

Now the same bankers, perceiving
that their warnings were taken two
seriously, are busy assuring us that
there is really nothing to be alarmed
about. The country never was on a
sounder basis. There has been no
overproduction, except perhaps of
wheat. Europe is in a bad way, it is
true, but it was in a worse way a year
ago, and still worse two, three and
four years ago. In short, the sun will
rise tomorrow.

Well, we that haven't a case of the
"jumps" thank our banker friends for
telling us what we already knew, for
it is pleasing to have our judgments
confirmed. But we beg our financial
prophets not to forget that all busi-
ness men have not entirely recovered
from the shell-shocks of 1920.

Weathering Tests of Stone

During the past month, progress
has been made by the U. S. Bureau
of Standards on the freezing tests of
sandstone and limestone. The studies
being made on samples of sandstone
from the old Government quarries at
Aquia Creek, Va., indicate that by
careful selection a reasonably good
grade of stone can be obtained for
ordinary structural uses. This de-
posit has not been operated since the
construction of the oldest Government
buildings in Washington, such as the
White House and the original portion
of the Capitol. A new company is
now preparing to work the qyarry.

Economic Value of the Quan-
tity Survey System

Editorial in The Canadian Engineer

In any discussion of ways and
means of lessening waste in the con-
struction industry, the merits of the
quantity survey system should receive
careful consideration. One of the most
necessary reforms therein is the elim-
ination of reduplication of estimate of
quantities. According to the method
now generally in vogue in this coun-
try, there are as many estimates of
quantities made for a piece of work
as there are contractors bidding for it.
Thus, although only one out of, say,
six bidders is successful, the owner
must pay in large measure the costs
of the estimate prepared by all of the
bidders. The owner may not be aware
of this fact, and it appears difficult to
convince him of its truth, but there
are no uncertainties with respect to
the matter amongst contractors them-
selves. With any properly managed
construction company, the necessary
percentage for overhead is added to its
bid to cover the cost, not only of the
work which may be obtained as the re-
sult of the bid, but also the cost of
making bids on a number of other jobs
which have gone elsewhere. If, for
simplicity, it be assumed that there
are six bidders on a given piece of
work, and that a contractor is success-
ful on the average in only one out of
six bids, then, assuming a series of
jobs all of the same magnitude, the
owner would be paying to the success-
ful bidder the cost of making up all of
the six bids which had been submitted
to him. Of course all jobs are not of
the same size, and the percentage of
unsuccessful bids varies with different
contractors and with the class of work,
but an idea of the real situation can
nevertheless be gained from the above
illustration. If it be further assumed
that the cost of preparing a bid is
0.5 per cent of the estimated cost,
which is a figure on the low side,
then it is seen that the owner would
be paying for the entertaining of bids
in the cases cited above, an amount
equal to 3 per cent of the estimatd
cost of the work. On complicated work
where estimating costs are higher, this
charge against the work might run up
to as much as 10 per cent.

With the introduction of the quan-
tity survey system, whereby all bid-
ders would submit their tenders on the
same schedule of quantities prepared

1923

Buildings

147

either by the engineer or by an out-
side quantity sur\'ey specialist, there
is assurance of a higher class of work
for the owner. If all bidders make up
their own quantities, there are likely
to be errors of interpretation as to
what the engineer or architect v^ishes,
and perhaps an assumption of inferior
details where the plans are incom-
plete. Due to this, and to the fact
that differences in conventional meth-
ods of estimating may exist as be-
tween the various bidders, there is in-
troduced into bidding what might be
called a competition on quantities.
Nothing could be more undesirable
than this. The owner, or his technical
adviser knows, presumably, exactly
what he wants and has settled upon
the minimum quantity and grade of
work deemed admissible for the situa-
tion. All bidders should consequently
bid upon these quantities, and com-
petition should be not on quantities
or quality at all, but on the basis of
eflSciency of plant methods and organ-
ization.

The quantity survey system is
usually considered as based on the
service offered by persons or firms
who specialize in this kind of work
and who offer their assistance to the
owner, or to his architect or engineer,
for a stipulated fee. Where the owner
is a layman and prepares merely
rough sketches for work, or where
the architect or engineer does not
wish to assume any responsibility for
quantity, this method of handling the
work is practicable. We do not see,
however, the necessity for going out-
side the office of the engineer or archi-
tect for the preparation of schedules
of quantities. No one is better fitted
to prepare such schedules than the
person who prepared the plans and
specifications, and in the interest of
speed, accuracy and simplicity, it
would appear desirable for the engi-
neer or architect on the work to carry
out the quantity survey himself and
to issue a schedule of quantities to
each bidder. Additional work is in-
volved, of course, for the engineer or
or architect under this procedure. If
the quantities are to be accurate and
to form the basis for tender, more
care will need to be taken in their
preparation than in the taking off of
approximate quantities for the rough
estimating purposes of the engineer.
For such additional services, conse-

quently, the engineer or architect
should receive a fee which will be
passed on to the ovvner. While own-
ers have been disposed to look askance
at such a proposal, it ought to be pos-
sible to show them that under such a
plan there is an actual saving of
money as compared with the current
method of requiring every bidder to
compute his own quantities and of
forcing the owner to pay for all such
computations in the price named by
the successful bidder.

Much discussion has arisen over the
matter of possible errors in the sched-
ule of quantities. Those who urge the
quantity sur\'ey system outline two
possible courses of action in this con-
nection. First, the contractor might
accept the quantities of the survey as
accurate, and, if successful in his bid,
sign a contract based upon such quan-
tities. If on carrying out the work,
these are found to be inaccurate, ad-
justment can be made under the provi-
sions covering extras and deductions.
The second method proposed is to al-
low the successfvd bidder to check the
quantities at his own expense prior
to signing the contract. If any errors
are found, the contract could be based
upon the adjusted quantities. As be-
tween the two, the better method
would appear to be the second. It is
not advisable to admit beforehand pos-
sible claims for extras, if such can
be avoided. It has been suggested
that the quantity surveyor guarantee
personally the quantities submitted.
This has the disadvantage of encour-
aging the surs-eyor to report the quan-
tities on the high side so as to be safe,
and so as not to incur any loss under
his guarantee. The assistance afforded
in such a guarantee would probably
be purchased at too great a cost
through the temptation of the sur-
veyor to estimate too liberally.

With an economic basis that is gen-
erally admitted as sound, the quantity
survey system would appear as inevi-
table. It is in vogue to a very consid-
erable extent in Great Britain and has
been adopted to some extent in the
United States, notably in the states
of Wisconsin and Michigan. There
appears to be nothing preventing its
more general adoption beyond the in-
herent conservatism of those who pay
for the construction of buildings and
engineering works.

148

Buildings

July,

The Anonymous Architect Arbitration Clause in Contracts

Editorial in New York Ti-ibune.

In his address delivered before the
Lincoln Memorial in honor of its archi-
tect, Henry Bacon, Royal Cortissoz
used the phrase "unsigned buildings."
To be literally accurate they are some-
times signed. But who ever turns to
look at a cornerstone or read an in-
scription? The author's name on the
title page of a book is certain to pass
under the reader's eye. The architect
of a great building, so far as the gen-
eral public is concerned, dwells in a
state of complete anonymity.

This is true not only in new Amer-
ica. It has been a habit of the ages,
most completely and strikingly illus-
trated in the case of the great Gothic
cathedrals. The historians have un-
earthed evidence as to the masters
who designed Chartres, Rheims,
Bourges, Amiens. But not one in a
thousand of those who visit or worship
at these shrines of beauty and religion
could give the name of one. To an
extraordinary degree these great
churches of the Middle Ages were
community products. Yet there were
unquestionably master minds to order
so much soaring beauty, and fame has
utterly passed them by.

An odd trick of the world, surely.
So far as length of time goes, the
architect outlives all his fellow artists.
He builds in the most enduring of ma-
terials. Centuries are the unit of his
influence and thousands of years often
mark the beginning of his glory, as
the fate of the Parthenon can testify.
But the immortality is for his work,
not for him or his name. He can die
feeling that his labor may live for
ages, perhaps meet its just praise
among distant generations of alien
races. Hope that his name will have
an equal share of immortality is slight
indeed!,

Does the situation point to a law of
compensation existing in nature, or a
cynical distrust of good architects, or
a tender heart toward the bad ones?
It can be contended, in any event, that
the world would be a more livable
place if a similar state of modesty, of
fame for the work and none for the
artist, were enjoined upon all human
creators.

The following clause on arbitration
has been included by the city of
Wheeling, W. Va., in contracts involv-
ing about $1,000,000 worth of work:

"Article VIII. Should differences on
questions other than the quality of
workmanship and material arise be-
tween the city or their engineers and
the contractor, on which they are un-
able to arrive at an amicable adjust-
ment or understanding, they shall be,
on the request of either the contractor
or the city, made in writing upon the
other, be referred to arbitration and
if unable to agree upon a single arbi-
trator, then the contractor shall choose
one, the city one, and the two shall
choose the third, which shall consti-
tute a judicial body empowered to in-
vestigate all features of the dispute
and to render a decision in writing, de-
livering a copy to each party thereto,
which decision shall be final and bind-
ing on both city and contractor, and
the losing party of this contract shall
pay the entire expense of such refer-
ence. Should the two abitrators first
chosen fail after five days to agree
upon a third arbitrator, then said third
arbitrator shall be designated by the
presiding judge of the Court of Com-
mon Pleas of Ohio County."

Portland Cement Production in
June

June production of portland cement
was about 12,400,000 bbls., according
to figures just compiled by the United
States Geological Survey. Although
this represents a decline of about 500,-
000 bbls. from the record output of
May, it neverthless establishes a new
high mark for the month of June by
about 10 per cent. Production for the
half year ending June 30, was more
than 62,300,000 bbls.— an increase of
33 per cent over the best previous
record for a similar period.

June shipments from the mills
amounted to 13,300,000 bbls., or slight-
ly under those of June last year, and
about 7. per cent less than in May of
this year. Shipments for the first six
months of this year were 62,226,000
bbls. as against 48,029,000 in the cor-
responding period last year.

Stocks of cement in manufacturers'
hands at the end of June were 9,219,-
000 bbls. — a decline of approximately
9 per cent from those at the end of
May.

^^ An "inrfpi

Buildings

Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices

149

An "index nnmber"' is really a per-
centage, and in the case of an "index
price" shows the relative price level
at different times. In the accompany-
ing table the price level, or "index
price," is 100 for the year 1913; and

1°
Gei a

1913 100

January 98

October 103

1914 103

January 103

July 103

October 101

1915 104

January 104

April 104

July 104

October 106

1916 123

January 110

April 113

July 117

October 136

1917 190

January 152

April 184

July 196

October 207

1918 218

January 211

April 213

July 217

October 225

1919 231

January 224

April 230

July 241

October 227

1920 218

January 247

April 243

July 233

October 187

1921 124

January 143

February 133

March 127

April 117

May 118

June 114

July 119

August 123

September 124

October 124

November 121

December ^ 120

1922 133

January 122

February 131

March 130

April 129

May 132

June 131

July 135

August 131

September 133

October 138

November 143

December 145

1923—

January 143

February 1 42

^'^arch 143

Pril 141

Jne 13S

May 139

the indexes for other periods are those
calculated by the U. S. Department of
Labor.

The index for building materials is
a weighted average of the principal
building materials except steel.

C .

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c *

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Sep

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100

107

101

100

lOO

106

100

102

101

102

100

101

102

101

100

101

100

106

108

100

105

134

100

101

106

108

105

118

104

106

130

100

lOO

102

101

105

151

100

102

121

127

126

162

120

181

106

121

127

109

110

lit

133

110

103

110

113

114

118

120

164

120

200

104

110

121

117

125

121

158

120

175

107

120

123

134

137

128

164

124

164

109

132

136

167

175

169

231

157

202

125

148

177

149

158

171

198

138

173

118

149

163

164

230

155

186

121

153

173

169

181

176

292

168

205

129

163

188

180

185

153

207

156

231

131

142

183

188

228

170

187

172

215

153

156

194

182

201

164

183

161

223

137

145

184

181

220

166

184

169

228

144

152

190

185

238

175

189

177

209

159

196

198

245

176

192

177

211

164

163

202

207

253

181

162

201

169

184

175

206

203

220

178

175

176

181

167

166

199

205

177

153

169

160

167

160

199

210

262

181

160

209

167

183

177

212

205

291

189

162

229

173

194

187

211

220

295

241

192

264

200

254

196

226

231

339

194

175

274

189

239

194

233

238

336

231

203

300

210

242

206

245

238

300

269

202

269

212

275

203

241

201

245

280

191

240

198

271

188

211

144

180

199

129

165

136

195

128

147

162

196

247

153

192

153

217

164

170

151

188

225

147

180

149

217

147

160

151

183

212

140

173

143

216

139

165

144

176

205

138

167

135

216

130

148

139

173

200

138

165

134

209

126

146

137

172

191

133

163

133

196

125

142

141

172

186

124

160

129

180

123

141

146

171

184

117

156

129

179

119

142

178

181

116

156

131

179

118

141

140

180

189

116

159

131

180

118

142

139

180

197

114

163

129

178

119

141

136

180

199

113

158

127

178

121

140

139

180

220

122

169

124

176

117

149

131

176

195

112

157

124

178

117

138

135

174

191

110

156

123

177

117

141

137

172

191

109

155

125

175

117

142

137

171

194

113

156

124

175

116

143

138

175

216

119

160

122

176

116

148

140

179

225

120

167

122

176

114

160

142

180

264

121

170

121

173

114

155

138

181

271

126

172

122

173

115

155

138

183

244

134

180

124

173

116

163

140

188

226

135

183

124

176

120

154

143

192

218

133

185

127

179

122

156

144

194

216

131

185

130

182

122

156

141

196

218

133

188

131

184

124

166

141

199

212

139

192

132

184

126

157

143

201

206

149

198

135

185

127

169

144

205

200

154

204

136

187

126

159

142

198

186

148

194

131

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123

153

144

201

190

152

202

134

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125

156

150

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152

Buildings

July,

Respective Services of Constructor and Designer

The performance of construction un-
der the day labor plan by public offi-
cials who underestimate the value of
a constructor's managerial function,
combined with the tendency of con-
structors and designers to confuse
their own respective functions, has in-
dicated the need for a clean-cut state-
ment of what service each of these

agencies should rightfully perform for
their clients. A clear definition of
their respective services appears es-
sential, and it is to develop such a
definition that the accompanying
statement of functions had been for-
mulated by the Committee on Methods
of the Associated General Contractors
and printed in the June 16 News Let-
ter of the Association:

Declaration for Cooperation in Building

The Constructor

Will insure completion of project

Will make quantity survey of plans
Will submit bids at stated period
Will bid freely in competition
Will base bid on his previous unit costs
Will submit evidence of responsibility

Will guarantee cost of the work shown on

plans and specifications
Will warrant time of delivery of structure
Will develop adequate financial credit
Will supply adequate construction equipment

Will furnish ample tools

Will furnish bond for faithful performance to

owner
Will sign Joint Committee form of contract

Will perform portions of work with his own

construction force
Will supply experienced superintendence
Will protect owner against liens

Will insure owner against all accidents

Will be fair to subcontractors

Will be always fair to labor

Will keep quality standards high

Will guard public interest in labor rates and
conditions of employment

Will cooperate through local chapter of con-
tractors

Will display skill in construction methods

Will through integrity inspire business confi-
dence

Will support rulings of National Board for
Jurisdictional Awards

Will be loyal to designers

Will help train apprentices

Will assume responsibility for errors in con-
struction

Will develop sound commercial practices

Will charge legitimate construction fees

Will shake hands with Designer upon receipt of
final estimate

then

the Constructor would not have time nor the DESIGNER would not have time nor the
the trained professional technique to ade- experienced business organization to effi-

quately design work. ciently undertake construction work.

and

The Owner

would get the best possible construction service

from Both.

"Modern Construction embodies fine architectural symmetry and aesthetic design developed

through past ages and now reared upon tested scientific engineering principles of strength and

proportion of materials gathered throughout the world, stored for prompt delivery, fabricated in

special shops, and speedily and economically erected with skillful methods by experienced artisans

into a beautiful, practical structure for a useful purpose."

The Designer

1. Will design complete throughout, includ-

ing structural design

2. Will permit ample time for bidding

3. Will open bids in public

4. Will specify materials freely competitive

5. Will award work at the bid price

6. Will permit only responsible contractors

to bid

7. Will give complete information as to di-

mensions, quantity, quality and design

8. Will furnish detail plans without delay

9. Will approve estimates promptly

10. Will allow equipment rental on monthly

estimates

11. Will furnish ample details

12. Will fearlessly demand justice from the

Owner

13. Will submit Joint Committee form of con-

tract

14. Will supervise work with his own force

1.5. Will supply practical supervisors

16. Will examine specified patented products

for prescribed royalties

17. Will allow insurance premiums as part of

actual costs

18. Will let General Contractor award all sub-

contracts
10. Will make specifications clear for all di-
visions of work

20. Will arrange for inspection of materials
at source

21. Will not urge continuance of work in case
of strikes or lock-outs

22. Will assist the local chapter of Architects

23. Will be resourceful in design of structures

24. Will reward square dealing

25. Will specify in accordance with decisions
of the National Board for Jurisdictional
Awards

26. Will respect loyalty of constructors

27. Will encourage young workmen

28. Will assume responsibility for errors in
design

28. Will permit arbitration as to dollars

30. Will charge the A. I. A. designing fees

31. Will pat Constructor on the back upon
completion of the job

Buildings

153

Unusual Design of Concrete

Bridge

In the design of the concrete high-
way bridge at Watertown, N. Y., a

the Black River and also across the
railroad which parallels the river.
The lower deck carries lighter traffic
of River and Newell Sts., which are
parallel to the river and north of the

,'8, f Bars

This Sechon Casf
Same Time as
Hanger

l_.A

'tX..

?,l'Bars, \\\.

Sechon A-A

Details of Hangers for Lower Deck. Note in Section A-A Method Used for Ponring Hangers to

Prevent Cracks.

Doable Deck Concrete Highway Bridge Over Black River at Watertoim, N. Y.

clever use was made of the adapta-
bility of concrete by making the
bridge of double-deck construction.
The upper deck carried the heavy
traffic of Court and Coffeen Sts. over

railroad. We are indebted to Con-
tractor's Atlas for the following de-
tail:

The bridge is carried over the river
on four reinforced arch ribs, the up-

154

Buildings

July,

per deck being supported by open
spandrel construction and the lower
deck being hung from the arch rib.
The arch ribs are 6 ft. wide and 5 ft.
deep, so spaced as to give two 12-ft.
roadways and two 4-ft. sidewalks on
the lower deck. The river span is 195
ft. and the height of the arch rib
above the springing line 38 ft. The
lower deck is 22 ft. below the upper
deck. The span across the railroad is
86 feet.

To avoid cracks in the hangers sup-
porting the lower roadway, due to the
difference in the moduli of elasticity of
the steel reinforcing and the concrete
an ingenious method was employed.
When the arch ribs were poured

Approach to Lower Deck.

wedge-shaped openings were left at
the points where the steel rods were
hung to support the lower deck. After
the lower deck was placed, the sup-
ports were removed, permitting these
rods to be stressed with the entire
dead load of the lower deck, thus tak-
ing the full deformation due to this
dead load. Forms were then built
around these hanger rods and the con-
crete poured, embedding them. Thus
the only additional elongation of the
steel which may be expected will come
from live loads which will not be suffi-
cient to cause any appreciable crack-
ing in the concrete.

The Concrete Steel Engineering Co.
of New York City were the designing
and supervising engineers. The bridge
was built by the Peckham Construc-
tion Co. of Buffalo, and Atlas portland
cement was used in its construction.

Methods of Measuring the Properties
of Electrical Insulating Materials

Scientific Paper No. 471 of the
Bureau of Standards, which can be
obtained from the Superintendent of
Documents, Government Printing Of-
fice, Washington, D. C, at 15 cts. a
copy, describes methods of measuring
the properties of electrical insulating
materials. This paper gives a series
of electrical, thermal, chemical, fend
mechanical test methods which have
been found useful in the study of solid
electrical insulating materials. The
several tests described are those used
in obtaining the data previously re-
ported in Technologic Paper No. 216
of the Bureau of Standards entitled
"Properties of Electrical Insulating
Materials of the Laminated Phenol-
Methylene Type." The several test
methods described are radio-frequency
phase difference or power loss, dielec-
tric constant and flashover voltage,
direct-current surface resistivity and
volume resistivity, tensile strength,
modulus of elasticity (tensile), pro-
portional limit, modulus of rupture,
modulus of elasticity (transverse),
Brinell hardness, soleroscope hard-
ness, resistance to impact, permanent
distortion, density, moisture absorp-
tion, machining qualities, thermal ex-
pansivity, and the effects of heat, acid, ■
and alkali. The methods and appa- ;
ratus are described in some detail;
first, so that the data in Technologic
Paper No. 216 will be definite and be
capable of being correctly compared
with other data; second, so that any
of the tests may be reproduced by
others.

Tests of Parts of the New Delawar*
River Bridge

As mentioned some time ago, the^
U. S. Bureau of Standards is conduct-
ing a co-operative investigation with
the Joint Commission of Pennsylvania
and New Jersey on the strength of
certain members of the new bridge
across the Delaware River between
Philadelphia and Camden. The gen-
eral problem in hand is the compres-
sive strength of web plates; and it
has been found, as might be expected,
that the strengths are a function of
the properties of the material. A
special study is now under way on the
relation between the properties and
certain metallurgical phenomena
which have been developed during the
investigation.

1923

Buildings

Analysis of **Two-Way'* Flat Slabs

155

Method Following Closely Joint Committee Report and Chicago
Ordinance Described in The Architectural Forum

By E. F. ROCKWOOD

Floor slabs of reinforced concrete
supported upon columns without
beams or girders and extending two or
more bays in each direction are com-
monly known as flat slabs. The col-
umns may be, and usually are, pro-
vided with enlarged heads. In addi-
tion, the slab may be thickened on the
under side in the %icinity of the col-
umns, forming what is known as a
"drop" or a "depression."

The sketches given here show the
cracks that developed in four test

panels of a flat slab floor in a build-
ing built in Chicago in 1921. These
cracks indicate the regions of high
tensile stress where reinforcing steel
is needed. Such reinforcing steel can
be at right angles to the cracks, tak-
ing the stresses directly, or by cross-
ing the cracks at an angle can take
components of these stresses.

Systems of Arranging Reinforce-
ment.— The writer knows of three
common systems of arranging such re-
inforcements,— the two-way system,
the four-way system, and the S. M. I.
system. The latter requires less steel
than either of the others, but the steel
in it is more complicated to design,
bend and place, and if the system is
used a royalty must be paid. The
other two systems require approxi-
mately equal amounts of steel, but the
two-way system is simpler to place
and has only two layers of steel over
the column heads, which allows the
concrete to be more readily placed.
The writer therefore favors the two-
way system. In this system all the
rods run parallel with the column
lines in two directions, and where they
do not cross a crack line at right ang-
les the stress causing that crack is

carried by components of two rods at
right angles to each other.

Many theories have been advanced
for the design of flat slabs, and engi-
neers do not agree upon any one of
these, but tests on floors that have
been built furnish sufficient data for
arbitrary methods of design, and one
of the best of them is described by
these specifications and is illustrated
in Figs. 2 and 3.

Capital. — Columns shall be provided
with enlarged capitals, and the diam-
eter (c) of this capital shall be the
base diameter of the largest right cir-
cular cone which lies entirely within
the column (including the capital)
whose vertex is 90 deg. and whose
base is 2^2 in. below the bottom of
the slab or the bottom of the dropped
panel. The diameter of the capital
shall not be less than 1/5 the distance
center to center of the columns, and
shall be such that the unit stresses
specified elsewhere are not exceeded.

Brackets. — Brackets or haunches
shall be pro\ided on exterior columns
when necessary to transmit the shear
and bending from the slab to the
column.

Interior Columns. — The smallest di-
mension of interior concrete columns
supporting flat slabs shall be not less
than 1/15 the span, center to center,
of columns in the longer direction.

Dropped Panel. — A thickening of
the slab on the under side in the vicin-

trrz:: _:

ii_

V ^ I ^camcAi. arnOKT

ity of the columns is termed a dropped
panel. Its width in any direction
shall not be less than 1/3 the panel's
length in that direction, and its thick-
ening shall not be greater than 1.5
times the slab thickness.

Thickness of Flat Slabs and
Dropped Panels. — The minimum thick-
ness of floor slabs shall not be less
than 1/32 and of roof slabs 1/40 of
the distance center to center of
columns in the longer direction. The
thickness shall be such as to withstand

156

Buildings

July,

the shear around the column capital
or around the dropped panel.

Shear. — Shearing Stress. The shear-
ing unit shearing stress shall not ex-
ceed the value of "v" in the formula,

v=0.02f'c (1+r)
nor in any case shall it exceed 0.03
f'c(f' c=ultimate compressive strength
of the concrete at 28 days).

The unit shearing stress shall be
computed on:

(a) A vertical section which has a
depth, in inches, of % (ti — 1%), and
which lies at a distance, in inches, of
ti — 1^/^ from the edge of the column
capital; and

(b) A vertical section which has a
depth, in inches, of % (tj — 1^/^), and
which lies at a distance, in inches, of
ts — l^'^ from the edge of the dropped
panel.

In no case shall "r" be less than
0.25. Where the shearing stress on

nC SMN LtN0TH3 lANO
i| ABI INTEHOtMOlAgU.

AccauaNO to mi an^
(ctiOM or TMt MCMorr
imcEK. ccNaoaxnai

section (a) is being considered, "r"
shall be taken as the proportional
amount of reinforcement crossing the
column capital; where the shearing
stress at section (b) is being consid-
ered, "r" shall be taken as the pro-
portional amount of reinforcement
crossing entirely over the dropped
panel. (For typical flat slab and des-
ignation of principal design sections,
see Figs. 2 and 3.)

Moments. — In an interior panel the
bending shall be taken thus:

(a) Negative moment in middle
strip: Extending in a rectangular di-
rection from a point on the . edge of

1.
panel — from column center a dis-
4
1,
tance of — toward the center of adja-

2
cent column on the same panel edge.

(b) The maximum negative moment
and the maximum positive moments in
the middle strip and the sum of the

maximum positive moments in the
two column strips may each be greater
or less than the values given in the
table herewith by not more than
O.OlMo.

Moments for Slabs with Two-Way Reinforce-
ment

Flat

Slabs without Flat Slabs with

Dropped Panels Dropped Panels

Nega- Posi- Nega- Posi-

Strip tive tive tive tive

Column strip..0.25 Mo 0.11 Mo 0.25 Mo 0.10 Mo
Two-column

strips 0.46 Mo 0.22 Mo 0.50 Mo 0.20 Mo

Middle strip....0.16 Mo 0.16 Mo 0.15 Mo 0.15 Mo

In flat slabs in which the ratio of
reinforcement for negative moment
in the column strip is not greater
than 0.01, the numerical sum of the
positive and negative moments in the
direction of either side of the panel
shall be taken as not less than:

Mo=0.09 Wl (1—2/3—)'
1

Where Mo=sum of positive and nega-
tive bending moments ir
either rectangular direc-
tion at the principal de-
sign sections of a panetj
of a flat slab.
c = base diameter of the larg-
est right circular cone
which lies entirely withir
the column (including the
capital) whose vertex an-
gle is 90 deg. and whose
base is 1% in. below the
bottom of the slab or the
bottom of the droppec
panel. (See Fig. 2.)
1 =span length of flat slab,;
center to center of col-
umns in the rectangulai
direction, in which mo-J
ments are considered; anc
W == total dead and live loac
uniformly distributed ovei
a single panel area.

Wall and Other Irregular Panek

— In wall panels and other panels iTil
which the slab is discontinuous at the
edge of panel, the maximum negative
moment one panel length away frot
discontinuous edge and maximur.
positive moment between shall be
taken thus:

(a) Column strip perpendicular to the
wall or discontinuous edge. IE
per cent greater than that given|
in table.

(b) Middle strip perpendicular to]
wall or discontinuous edge. 30i
per cent greater than that giver
in table.

1923

Buildings

157

In these strips the bars used for
positive moments perpendicular to the
discontinuous edge shall extend to the
exterior edge of the panel at which the
slab is discontinuous.

Panels with Wall Beams. — In panels
having a marginal beam on one edge,
or on each of two adjacent edges, the
beam shall be designed to carry the
load superimposed directly upon it.
If the beam has a depth greater than
the thickness of the dropped panel into
which it frames, the beam shall be
designed to carry, in addition to the
load superimposed upon it, at least
one-quarter of the distributed load
for which the adjacent panel or pan-
els are designed, and each column strip
adjacent to the parallel with the beam
shall be designed to resist a moment
1 at least one-half as great as that
■specified in the table for a column
I strip. If the beam used has a depth
; less than the thickness of the dropped
'panel into which it frames, each col-
I umn strip adjacent to and parallel
j with the beam shall be designed to re-
sist the moments specified in the table
jfor a column strip. Where there are
I beams on two opposite edges of the
If panel, the slab and the beam shall be
I designed as though all the load were
i carried to the beam.

Flat Slabs on Bearing Walls.—
Where there is a beam, or a bearing
wall on the centre line of columns in
vhe interior portion of a continuous
5at slab, the negative moment at the
oeam or wall line in the middle strip
perpendicular to the beam or wall shall
lie taken as 30 per cent greater than
the moment specified in the table for
a middle strip. The column strip ad-
jacent to and lying on either side of
the beam or wall shall be designed to
resist a moment at least one-half of
that specified for a column strip.

Point of Inflection. — The point of in-
Itlection in any line parallel to a panel
i«jdge in interior panels of symmetrical
|slabs without dropped panels shall be
Ijiissumed to be at distance from the
llcenter of the span equal to 3/10 of
i!t;he distance between the two sections
)\of critical negative moment at oppo-
fi.site ends of the line; for slabs having
fidropped panels the coefficient shall
j|l)e H.

(i Arrangement of Reinforcement. —
a'rhe design shall include adequate pro-
ijWsion for securing the reinforcement
jin place so as to take not only the
critical moments, but also the mo-
ments at intermediate sections. At
least two-thirds of all bars in each

direction shall be of such length a^d
shall be so placed as to provide rein-
forcement at two sections of critical
negative moment and at the interme-
diate section of critical positive mo-
ment. Continuous bars shall not all
be bent up at the same point of their
length, but the zone in which this
bending occurs shall extend on each
side of the assumed point of inflection,
and shall cover a width of at least
1/15 of the panel length. Mere sag-
ging of the bars shall not be permit-
ted. In four-way reinforcement the
position of the bars in both diagonal
and rectangular directions may be
considered in determining the width
of zone of bending.

In general the negative bending mo-
ment for a panel width along a sec-
tion at and parallel to the wall col-
umns shall be taken as 5/16 Mo. The
bending in the exterior columns shall
Wh

be taken as 5/16 Mo. where "h"

4
is the thickness of exterior column.

This method follows very closely
that used in the latest report of the
"Joint Committee" and the Chicago
Ordinance, as it is practically a com-
bination of both.

Stucco Investigation

For several years past, the U. S.
Bureau of Standards has been study-
ing stuccos, and many of its findings
have been embodied in a "Recom-
mended Practice for Portland Cement
Stucco" which was formally adopted
recently by the American Concrete In-
stitute as one of its standards. The
practice covers the application of
stucco to all bases, and although a
masonry base is probably capable of
giving the most dependable results, it
is recognized that there has been and
probably will be for many years to
come a larger use of stucco on frame
houses than on masonry structures.

The application of stucco to frame
houses involves greater uncertainties
in results than on masonry bases, and
in order to solve some of these prob-
lems, the Bureau proposes to carry
out, in co-operation with some of the
interested trade associations, a study
involving about 30 test panels on the
stucco test building. Considerable in-
terest has been shown in this work,
and a conference will probably be held
in the near future. If the full co-op-
eration of the interests involved is se-
cured, it is planned to start work early
in the Fall.

158 Buildings July,

Live Floor Load RequiremenU fi',\'„?|;ft"i2l1bt''ai?'p;a*

in OChool rSuildingS cally demanding warehouse loading

Some interesting information indi- for school rooms. They are wasting
eating the wide variation in live floor money in their treasuries which is con-
loads for school buildings is given by tributed by their own taxpayers
Norman M. Stineman in the American Actual Live Floor Load in Buildings.
Architect. The accompanying table, —A good way to obtain an estimate
from his article, is based on building of the actual live floor load in school
codes selected at random: buildings, or any other buildings for

that matter, consists in actually

Live Loads Lbs. per^sq. «. weighing or Computing the weight of^

Building Class and Assem"- the school furniture, adding the esti-

Code Rooms biy Halls mated Combined weight of the people

Milwaukee 40 60 occupying the school room, allowing

Baltimore*^ .'...;;".'..""..".''..'."!". 50 75 additional weight for books and sim-

Omaha Z"..Z!...' 50 75 Har objects, then dividing the total

Seattle 50-75 '^gj*'*' Weight by the area of the school room.

Porulnd (6reiy".!!!Z....Z 60 75 A fairly accurate estimate can be
Ohio State Code 60 80 made without the necessity of conduct-
Wisconsin State Code...... 60 80 jj^g ^^^ actual test. A standard class

gSnaii ".":.".".:. .:....::. 60 so-Ioo room is 23 by 32 ft. in plan and has

New Orleans 60 125 a Capacity of 45 pupils. The floor

Memphis 70 100 ^j-ea is 736 sq. ft. The weight ordi-

Chattanoogi; 'fenn."::.:::.::: 75 100 narlly imposed on the floor may there-
Columbia, s. c 75 90 fore be estimated by assuming the

Everett, Wash 75 125 average weight of the pupils and the

nIwC mLs il I25 teacher at 100 lbs., making a total of

New York City 75 100 4,600 Ibs. The weight of 45 desks at

St. Louis 75 100 40 lbs. each is 1,800 lbs. The teacher's

e^^afpa^lls^Mont:::::::::::: loo III desk, including the books and papers

m it, will weigh hardly more than 400

Commenting upon the table, Mr. i^g^ tj^^ ^j^^j^g ^^ ^^^ possession of

Stineman says: In Detroit the speci- each pupil may average as much as

fled floor load is 50 lbs. per sq. lo lbs. per pupil, making a total of

ft. in class rooms with fixed seats, 450 lbs. Allowing 250 lbs. for a few

and 60 lbs. with movable seats. In gmall charts or other minor objects,

Cincinnati the required floor load is ^e obtain a total live floor load of

80 lbs. in corridors and 100 lbs. in 7^500 lbs., or only slightly more than

assembly rooms. In Seattle the speci- 10 lbs. per sq. ft. of floor area,

fled load is 50 lbs. in class rooms seat- Ten lbs. per sq. ft. may therefore

ing less than 100 pupils, 75 lbs. in be considered the average live floor

class rooms seating more than 100 load in a cl^ss room. The maximum

and in assembly rooms with fixed floor load may be estimated on the as-

seats, and 100 lbs. in assembly rooms sumption that the room would occa-

with movable seats. In Boston and sionally be filled with grown people,

New Orleans the load of 125 lbs. per two persons occupying each seat and

sq. ft. applies to assembly halls only. 30 people standing around the walls,

A glance at the above table will making a total occupancy of 120 per-

readily explain why it is that school sons having an average weight of 150

buildings in some cities seem to cost lbs., or a total weight of 18,000 lbs.

too much money. The table indicates The other items would remain as in

also that the requirements of state the first estimate, so that the total

building codes and those of large cities weight would be 20,900 lbs., or an

are not so severe as those of medium average of 28 lbs. per sq. ft. This

sized cities. The reason for the dif- figure can surely be accepted as the

ference is that states and large cities extreme load likely to be imposed on

have better facilities for revising their a class room floor,

building codes and that on the average What, then, is the excuse for speci-

they do revise them more frequently fying loads such as 100 lbs. per sq.

than the smaller cities do; consequent- ft., as some cities do, or even 75 lbs.,

ly the code of the large city is kept specified in many large cities? The

more nearly abreast of modern ideas. 60-lb. load specified by the state codes

Cities that require school building of Ohio and Wisconsin, although in

class rooms to be designed for a live line with modern practice, seems very

floor load of 100 lbs. per sq. ft., conservative in view of the facts.

1923

Buildings

159

Webb Plate Compression Tests

Tests were made by the U. S. Bu-
reau of Standards to determine the
value of Webb plates in compression,
with special reference to the design of
the main towers of the Delaware
River bridge now being constructed
between Philadelphia and Camden,
N. J. The following note on these
tests were given by Ralph Modjeski,
Consulting Engineer, for the bridge in
a paper presented last April before
the Western Society of Engineers.

The Main Towers are being made of
silicon steel plates and angles with a
specified minimum wield point of 45,
000 lb. per square inch. The construc-
tion is box shape or cellular, the webs
var>lng in thickness from % in. to 3
in. with a general thickness of 1^2 in.
made up of two % in. plates stitch
riveted together. The maximum un-
supported width between the toes of
the angles is 23 in. for the % in. webs
and 46 in. for the 1^ in. webs, or in
each case about 31 times the thick-
ness. A imit stress of 24,000 lb. per
square inch was used in the design of
the tower for compression due to com-
bined direct stress and bending. To
establish the propriety of using this
tinit stress with the grade of steel
specified and with webs of the width
and thickness planned, was therefore
the specific object of the tests, the
more general objects being to find the
comparative strength and behavior of
thick and thin webs and of webs of
single or double plates.

The Test Pieces. — For these tests
fourteen silicon steel plate girders
were made, 10 ft. long, 35 in. deep,
with four 6 in. X 4 in. X % in. flange
angles per girder, and with seven dif-
ferent thicknesses or types of webs,
there being two girders of each type.
The different tj-pes of webs are shown
in the following table, together with
the ratios of unsupported width to
thickness. The unsupported width be-
tween the toes of the flangle angles
was 23 in. so that the girders with the
?i in. webs were practically segments
taken from the towers of the bridge.

Webs Width Radio

One % in. plate 61

One % in. plate 46

One % in. plate_ 37

One % in. plate 31

One 1 in. plate 23

Two % in. plates 23

Two ?4 in. plates 15

Plates thinner than any contem-
plated for use in the powers were in-
cluded in the tests in order to be sure
of finding the comparative beha^ior
of thick and thin plates.

Method of Testing. — ^The girders
were tested lengthwise in compression
up to and well beyond the maximum
load they would carrj\ The flanges
were stayed against lateral deflection
by means of stiffening girders which
were fastened to them with lubricated
clamps so that the stiffening girders
would carry very little if any of the
load, Ames dial compressometers were
rigged to each flange angle of the test
g^irders for the purpose of measuring
the shortening, and similar compresso-
meters were placed on the stiffening
girders to detect any stress in them.
Various other gauges were placed on
the girders to measure local strains
and lateral deflections, and a device
was rigged up to measure the contour
of the web surface before and during
the test.

Maximum Strength. — The maximum
strength developed by the g^irders va-
ried between 40,000 lb. and 46,400 lb.
per square inch with an average of
44300 lb. per square inch. Of the
girders with webs % in. thick and
over, which serve as a criterion for
the towers, the maximum strength
varied between 44,000 lb. and 46,400
lb. per square inch, with an average
of 45,300 lb. per square inch, or be-
tween 90 per cent and 95 per cent of
the average yield point of the material
from which the girders were made,
which was found to be about 49,000 lb.
per square inch.

Buckling of Webs. — ^The behavior of
the web plates during the tests showed
a marked difference as between thin
and thick plates. The thin plates
early in the tests formed into a series
of waves or buckles in the lengrth of
the girder, the full wave lengths being
equal on the average to the depth of
the girders, but varjring indi\idually
in length and position dependent ap-
parently upon the initial contour of
the webs. As the tests progressed
these waves increased more and more
rapidly in amplitude but maintained
the same node points. The thick plates
on the other hand did not develop any
waves, but maintained their initial
contours until near the end of the test
when buckling occurred at some one
point. The dividing Une between thin
and thick plates in this respect was
between the ^s in. and the % in.
webs. The % in. webs developed
waves similar to, though less pro-
nounced, than those of the hz in. and
% in. webs, whereas the % in. webs
remained stiff' to the end of the test
like the 1 in. and 1^2 in. webs.

160

Buildings

July,

Wage Increase in New York Build-
ing Trades Since 1916

As a result of increases and bonuses
granted recently to 115,000 workers in
the building trades in New York City
the New York Times estimates that an
added labor burden of about $18,600,-
000 will be borne by building construc-
tion in that city during the next 6
months. In discussing this estimate
the Times states:

Most of the workers received addi-
tional compensation of $1 a day, but
increases of $2 a day in the basic rate
were awarded the bricklayers, plas-
terers, hoisting engineers and one or
two additional crafts. The estimated
increases of $18,600,000 excluded over-
time pay, which will probably increase
the labor costs in the next six months
an additional $1,400,000, making the
total wage increase until Jan. 1, 1924,
approximately $20,000,000.

A comparison of building trades
wages between 1903 and 1923 indi-
cates that the highest percentage in-
creases went to the composition roof-
ers and the house shorers, whose rate
of pay in twenty years has increased
264 per cent. The rate of pay for
mosaic workers has increased 186 per
cent, and next come the bricklayers'
helpers, whose rate has increased 185
per cent.

Of the major trades, eleven are re-
ceiving more than double the wages of
1916, six trades are receiving twice
the amount they received in 1916 and
the others are getting a substantial
increase. Most of the trade are now
being paid $8 to $10 a day with $12 a
day for several crafts. Bricklayers,
mosaic workers and tile layers are be-
ing paid bonuses of $2 to $6 above the
scale because of a shortage of workers
in these trades.

Increases Since 1916. — The cement
and concrete laborers have had ten
wage increases since 1916, beginning
with $2.80 and going up to $7.20. They
received $6.50 a day until a few days
ago, when they demanded a dollar in-
crease. The employers offered $7.20
and the men went on strike.

The following trades have obtained
the largest of the daily wage increases
since 1916:

Bricklayers ; $6.00

Stone masons „„„ .„ 7.00

Plasterers „ „.....„.«. .. 6.00

Stone setters „. 6.50

Composition roofers .„„ 5.50

Mosaic workers _.. ....._„. 5.25

Painters 5.00

One of the outstandfng features in

the rise of building trade wages has
been the value set upon the common
laborer. A dollar an hour, or $8 a
day, is the pay. now awarded common
laborers, many of whom ordinarily
earn higher wages than mechanics in
the skilled trades, who are laid off fre-
quently because of weather and other
conditions.

Bricklayers' helpers, who pile the
brick and mortar on the scaffolds, re-
ceive $1 an hour and have steadier
employment than bricklayers, for
when the skilled men are laid off on
account of rain or shortage of ma-
terial on the job the laborers are used
in the interior of the building to clean
up and do other odd jobs. It developed
during the recent strike of bricklayers
that the laborers assisting the
mechanics were quite satisfied with
their lot and had no desire to become
bricklayers because of the time haz-
ards in the skilled trade. The laborers
receive $44 for a 44-hour week, ex-
cluding overtime.

Wages in 1903 and 1923.— Here is a
comparison of building trades wages
in 1903 with the present-day rates and
the percentage increases during the
last twenty years:

Per Cent
Increase
— Wages — Since

1903 1913 1923 1903

Asbestos workers $4.00 $4.75 $10.00 150

Bluestone cutters 4.40 4.50 10.00 127

•Bricklayers 5.20 5.60 12.00 129

•Bricklayers' laborers 2.80 3.00 8.00 185

Carpenters 4.50 5.00 10.00 122

Cement masons _. 4.40 5.00 10.00 127

tCement and concrete

laborers 2.80 3.00 7.20 164

Composition roofers 2.75 3.25 10.00 264

Electrical worlcers 4.00 4.50 10.00 150

Elevator constructors 4.25 5.20 10.00 135

Portable engineers 5.00 6.00 12.00 140

Plumbers 4.25 6.00 10.00 135

House shorers 2.75 3.68 10.00 264

Metallic lathers 4.00 5.00 10.00 150

♦Mosaic workers 3.50 4.50 10.00 186

Painters 4.00 4.00 10.00 150

♦Plasterers 5.50 5.50 12.00 118

Plasterers' laborers 3.25 3.25 8.50 161

Steamfitters 4.50 5.50 10.00 122

♦Tile layers 5.00 5.50 10.00 100

♦1923 wage is the minimum and excludes
bonuses.

tNow on strike for $7.50.

"Submerged Bridge" in India. — A

submerged bridge, said to be the
largest in India, measuring about V^
mile long, was recently opened in Cen-
tral India. The bridge, which has
been erected across the Nerbudda, is
situated between Bombay and Agra,
and will be submerged only during
high flood.

1923 Buildings 161

Specifications From the Contractor's Viewpoint

Abstract of an Address Presented Before Illinois Society of Architects

By WILLIAM F. WISCHMEYER

I know of no subject of more vital
interest to the profession, nor one that
is approached from so many different
angles, than the production of specifi-
cations. I shall endeavor to tell you
as briefly as possible what I have
gained from my experience as chief
draftsman and specification writer in
the offices of Mauran, Russell &
Crowell, and as an estimator and
building superintendent in the offices
of James Stewart & Co.

I am going to talk on specifications
from the viewpoint of a contractor,
estimator and sub-contractor, who
must estimate on them, as I feel that
very few architects are able to obtain
this viewpoint unless they have had
actual experience in this work. My
idea is to bring out the real value of
the specification after it leaves the
architect's office.

In the contractor's office the estima-
tors call specifications "the vaude^'ille
side of architecture" because of the
humorous expressions contained in
them. The estimator invariably
makes notes of the contradictory
things he finds and with his friends
gets together and has a good laugh
over them.

What Is a Specification? — First of
all, what is a specification? Most
specification writers define the docu-
ments as a description of materials
and workmanship entering into the
production of a certain type of struc-
ture. We learn from this that ma-
terials and workmanship form the
backbone of the document, while gen-
eral divisions and notes govern re-
quirements for certain specification
work. In discussing the subject it
might be well to follow the order in
which the specifications are written.
First — General Conditions; second —
Materials; third — Workmanship.

Speaking of general conditions, I
have always liked to define general
condition as "obligations" which must
be assumed by the owner, architect,
and contractor respectively. It has
frequently been the case that general
conditions were used as a club to
brandish over the head of the con-
tractor. Many architects use lengthy
general conditions which incorporate
much that rightly belongs to the con-
tract agreements, and frequently the

conditions of the tw^o documents clash.

General Conditions and Contract
Agreement. — The two instruments
should be complementary to one an-
other, and should agree in both spirit
and letter. We have found that to in-
corporate a phrase in our contract
stating how monthly payments should
be made, referring to such and such
an article in the general conditions, al-
ways takes care of the situation no
matter what conditions govern. Often
paragraphs are written into the speci-
fications in which the architect binds
himself to certain obligations he has
no right to assume, later neglecting
them, and as proceedings ensue he be-
comes a burden instead of a protection
to his client.

Many architects insert in the gen-
eral conditions paragraphs which
safeguard against many errors or
omissions on the part of the con-
tractor, so that the contractor loses in-
terest in work. In my opinion this is
unjust, and I have known occasions
while estimating when both sub-con-
tractors and general contractors have
refused to submit figures due to the
unfairness and the confusion in the
general conditions. Entirely frank
and clear general conditions, without
any intention of putting it over on the
contractor, never fail to bring in a cor-
rect bid. In other words, the general
conditions should express the obliga-
tions of the contractor and state what
he is to include in his estimate in addi-
tion to materials and workmanship
under the various headings and sub-
headings.

I have taken from the office a set
of general conditions Mr. Russell, Mr.
Mauran and myself have labored over.
I am not reflecting upon the A. I. A.
general conditions. We have gone
into them and are not using them, as
we feel the general conditions of the
A. I. A. are too lengthy. If you were
employed in a contractor's office and
coidd see the sub-contractors come in
to take off quantities and never look at
the general conditions, you would
change your opinion. They turn over
the pages to their work, take off quan-
tities, make notes of their specifica-
tion parts, and go on about their busi-
ness, and then send in the estimate.

We have analyzed many things in

162

Buildings

July,

condensing our general conditions to
about four pages. At the outset we
state what the owner is obligated to
do under these general conditions. He
reserves the right to reject any and all
bids and to let the work to other con-
tractors, and reserves the right to se-
lect contractors, paying a preference.
He is to make certain payments and
take out and pay for fire and cyclone
insurance, and to pay for fuel to heat
the building only from the time the
plaster is dry.

Among other duties, the architect
approves samples and materials, ex-
amines shop drawings, and issues
promptly certificates of payment.

The Contractor's Obligations. — The
obligations of the contractors are: He
is required to sign a contract to per-
form the entire work in a satisfactory
manner. Where contractors are
strangers in the office, we attach our
contract form to the specifications,
giving them a chance to see the con-
tract they are to sign.

The contractor must select capable
sub -contractors only, and shall not
settle without the consent of the archi-
tect, and shall pay the sub-contractor
to the extent of the sub-contractor's
interest in the work; he must give the
sub-contractor an opportunity to be
present and submit evidence in any
arbitration; he must be bound to the
sub-contractor by all obligations that
the owner assumes to the contractor
under the general conditions, drawings
and specifications; he must be solely
responsible for the proper execution
of the work and must furnish satisfac-
tory surety bond for a certain per
cent of the work; and when required
must keep the building heated until
the plastering work is completed;
must take out and pay for all forms of
insurance except fire and cyclone,
which the owner will pay for, and be
solely responsible for accident or in-
jury to employees or the public.

He must examine and check draw-
ings and specifications, and if discrep-
ancies are found report to architects.
He must not require architects to in-
spect materials out of the city except
at the expense of the contractor. He
must keep on the work at all reason-
able hours a competent superintendent
satisfactory to the architect, with full
authority to direct the work, receive
instructions and give all necessary in-
formation that may be required. The
contractor must not consider the issu-
ance of certificates of payment as ac-
ceptance of the work.

He must keep the building reason-
ably clean and collect and remove
from the premises all rubbish caused
by the trades under his contract. He
must see that each branch of the work
will be installed by persons whose
ability to execute it has been satisfac-
torily demonstrated to the architect.
Then there are also paragraphs call-
ing attention to permits, royalties, li-
censes, fees, municipal ordinances,
state laws, and fire insurance bureaus.

That will give you an idea of the
general conditions that we have built
up in our office. We felt that in this
way the contractor would be given the
information that would obligate him
in the work, and at the same time,
wherever it would be necessary, he
could make a charge against the con-
tract for it, and I believe there is
nothing I have mentioned which would
conflict with the general contract. We
have had these general conditions and
our contract, as drawn up, turned over
to lawyers, and they brought back the
information that they could see no
conflictions in our contract and gen-
eral conditions.

Next in order is materials. Of all
the items in the specifications, I con-
sider it of prime importance to men-
tion the exact kind and quality of ma-
terial desired by its trade name. An-
other difficulty is the placing of ma-
terials in their wrong classification so
that there is confusion as to the trade
name, and it often happens that the
same kind of material is placed under
several different headings. I recall
once that when working as an esti-
mator we had to tear down an entire
specification and place the materials
in their proper positions in order to
make an accurate estimate.

Qualifications of a Specification
Writer. — Right here I might mention
what I think to be some of the qualifi-
cations a specification writer should
have. He should be well versed in
building construction. This requires
constant study and a complete and
comprehensive catalog file. An archi-
tect or designer will have a superficial
acquaintance with materials and will
use certain materials in design which
will not weather well, and it should be
the privilege and duty of the specifica-
tion writer to enlighten him on the
subject and suggest proper materials.
Such co-operation between designer
and specification writer will produce
the best results, as I know that de-
signers have very little time to go into
the quality of material.

1923

Buildings

163

Another important factor is the
necessity of keeping in touch with the
chief draftsman, gaining through him
all of the information required, and
seeing that no mistake is made in de-
tailing the work. This supervision
will allow the specification writer to
investigate the conditions before the
final rush to get out the specifications.

The Specification Writer and Mate-
rials.— The specification writer should
keep in touch with new materials and
should make it a point to investigate
results of those he has used. He
should never fail to visit buildings
for which he has written specifications.
He should fairly constantly keep in
touch with the superintendent^ and
consult him f recjuently about specifica-
tions and drawings and seek informa-
tion about how he might improve his
work. He should consult with con-
tractors and sub-contractors, and
never refuse to give a few minutes of
his time to all material men.

In this connection a good catalog
system is of great value. I fear that
many of us neglect material men. I
appreciate the fact that if we would
allow it, they would come into our
offices in droves and bother the life
out of us. As a rule, I have these
men come in to see me at a certain
hour, which I have set aside during
the day to get acquainted with new
materials. The specification writer
should know about materials because
he writes about the grades and kinds
of materials the designer or drafts-
man places upon the drawing, and as
a consequence he must know more
about materials than anyone in the
office.

The Specification Writer and Work-
manship.— Workmanship, as I under-
stand it, means the skill and the
knowledge in the placing of certain
materials demanded of the workman
in order that the work may be exe-
cuted in a satisfactory manner. In
this connection, the specification writ-
er should discuss with the designer
the way in which he wants the mate-
rials prepared. For instance, the
specification writer may say that the
job is to be laid in cement mortar
perfect to the line, all joints troweled,
weather cut, etc. The designer goes
out to the job and sees it and then
rushes back to say that he had a cut
joint in mind and the workmanship
has practically destroyed his entire
scheme. This does not mean that the
designer should be hampered by the
specification writer or chief draftsman,

because the design should be studied
from every angle before being con-
demned as being impractical.

How does the specification writer
gain this information as to workman-
ship? First of all, he must be fa-
miliar with materials. He should
have spent a few years drafting, sev-
eral years as a superintendent, and
should have made it his business to
visit as many manufacturing plants as
possible to acquaint himself with the
manufacturing processes. Then he
should place his confidence with re-
liable contractors and sub-contractors
so that he can obtain first-class in-
formation from them. It is an excel-
lent plan to visit buildings of high-
grade contractors and architects and
compare them with similar work of
contractors of less ability. The speci-
fication writer learns much of work-
manship by observation, I think this
covers most of the important aspects
of materials and workmanship.

Preparing Specifications from
Working Drawings. — I want to talk
about my method of building speci-
fications from the working drawings.
We might at this point consider care-
fully that the specifications do not
serve the architect particularly but
that they concern the contractor, esti-
mator, material man, architect's su-
perintendent and manufacturer.
Therefore, in writing specifications,
these men should constantly be borne
in mind. When plans and specifica-
tions are ready, the contractor is sum-
moned, given prints and specifications,
and is requested to return with his
bid at some near future date. If a
satisfactory figure is to be obtained,
every consideration must be given to
the contractor to facilitate his work
by describing the work in the most
intelligent manner, and fully describ-
ing materials in detail as to quality
and construction, leaving nothing in
doubt. I might mention that I go this
far — I refer to catalogs and settle any
doubts by referring to an article by
its trade name. There have been some
questions raised as to this method, but
why not refer to an article by its trade
name — it saves the estimator a lot of
time in looking up catalogs for a thing
that fits the general specifications.

I keep in constant touch with the
chief draftsman, and when the draw-
ings are approximately 90 per cent
completed, I secure a set of prints and
a tablet, on which I make a list of
general headings in alphabetical order
as they occur, placing the name in the

164

Buildings

July,

lower right hand corner, and leaving
about two or three blank sheets after
each alphabetical heading, bearing in
mind the trades engaged in the work,
and freely consulting my pamphlet on
Jurisdictional Awards in selecting the
trades.

In dealing with materials which
enter into the work, I select my mate-
rial and place a note on the drawings
as to which material has been decided
upon, making sure that the informa-
tion is placed on all sections and in
plans and elevations to explain the
work more thoroughly. I do not allow
draftsmen to place notes on the draw-
ings; in fact, it is absolutely forbidden
in our office unless they are requested
to do so by me. These sheets of notes
which I make are to be kept as record
sheets, and my idea in doing this is to
avoid conflict after collecting mate-
rials in their proper headings on these
sheets. After collecting these various
materials properly, I assemble the
sheets in the order I wish to classify
the specifications, numbering with red
pencil the notes in the order I wish
to call attention to them. I then pro-
ceed to dictate the first draft of the
specifications, requesting the stenog-
rapher to leave plenty of margin for
corrections and additions. These
sheets I treasure.

In the first paragraph of each head-
ing I call attention to the general con-
ditions. Following this are notes such
as alternates, allowances, etc., calling
the contractor's attention to items
specified in other branches of the
work, and under these particular notes
the question of hoisting materials is
decided. We usually specify that the
contractor must hoist all materials at
the building or furnish hoist and
power, and the sub-contractor is to
place the material on the hoist and re-
move it at the proper floor level. The
sub-contractor readily sees he has
nothing to do with his material but
bring it there and deliver it to the
hoist.

The question of work, or scope of
work, or work included, is next dis-
cussed. The estimator's attention is
called to all work specified under this
particular heading, placing it in the
order as I have numbered the items in
red pencil on my notes. The various
materials are assembled in order so
that when the contractor takes off his
quantities he finds his materials all
listed in one place and not scattered
throughout the specifications.

I next mention workmanship, stat-
ing the quality of work we expect in
the type of building to be erected, and
bearing in mind that a warehouse is
not a hotel or a residence and should
not require the same quality of work-
manship.

Following workmanship, I treat the
items under extent of work and de-
scribe in detail materials and methods
of construction. In carpentry I in-
clude the work in general pertaining
to carpentry specifications; then from
my list of notes explain in detail ma-
terials and workmanship in various
items. I may discuss the joists and
describe them in detail, but I try as
much as I can to follow the job
through as the work progresses in the
building. The estimator likes best to
take it off that way.

Under cabinet work, marble work,
tile work and similar materials, I
specify general items under their pro-
per heading, such as trim, base, archi-
traves, picture moulds, etc. Then when
it comes to certain specially designed
rooms, I specify that room complete,
going on to the next special room for
its treatment.

Above all, I avoid the words "or
equal" as I find them a bugbear. I
never use them in my specifications
as I have invariably found there is no
"or equal."

During the time I am preparing
these preliminary specifications the
draftsmen are completing the draw-
ings. When the drawings are practi-
cally completed 1 make sure that all
materials are properly noted, selec-
tions properly made, and should any-
thing have been added, I make pencil
notes on the drawings and have them
completed. At the same time I correct
the specification draft and turn it over
to the stenographer for final writing.

I avoid the practice of sending out
letters after plans are issued calling
attention to errors, for fear that some
contractor may not be reached and
will submit his bid without correc-
tion. The specification writer should
be well versed and accurate and should
be responsible for any error in judg-
ment or selection of material.

There is one point I want to em-
phasize. The architect should realize
that the specification writer should
really be the man at the head of the
drawings. The chief draftsman should
control the men and constantly work
with the specification writer.

1923

Buildings

Roofing said StructuraJ Slates

165

Properties, Principal Feahu-es smd Suggestions on Standards and Tests

Discussed in Paper Presented at 26th Annual Meeting of

American Society for Testing Materials

By OLIVER BOWLES,

Mineral Technologist, U. S. Bureau of Mines

PROPERTIES ON WHICH USE

DEPENDS

Roofing Slate

Splitting Properties. — True and
easy splitting is one of the important
properties of a roofing slate. It is
generally recognized that slate splits
more freely when it is first quarried
before the "quarry water" or "sap"
has evaporated. For this reason,
water is thrown over a block, or it is
protected from evaporation by some
other means, imtil splitting is com-
pleted. It is claimed, and has been
successfully demonstrated, that sea-
soned slate may be readily split with
a slate splitting machine invented by
Vincent F. Lake. It would appear,
therefore, that when mechanical split-
ters are employed, the cleavage of
slate may be regarded as a more per-
manent and more stable property ^an
it is now generally considered. The
actual physical effect of seasoning on
the cleavability is a field of study that
has not yet been adequately covered.

Cur\-ature of cleavage planes is not
uncommon in slate deposits and is an
undesirable feature. Slight curvature
may not condemn slate for manufac-
ture into small squares, but prevents
its utilization for blackboards and
similar products of large surface area.
Advantage has been taken of curved
cleavage for roofing round towers, but
this use is exceptional.

Resistance to Weathering. — Slate
consists essential of insoluble and sta-
ble minerals that will withstand
weathering for hundreds of years.
However, small percentages of less re-
sistant minerals may be present. Cal-
cium, magnesium or iron carbonates
are slowly soluble in water containing
carbon dioxide, and their presence
may hasten deterioration. As a rule,
a determination of the carbonate pres-
ent would indicate fairly well the
probable resistance of a slate to
weathering when exposed on a roof.
Some slate in Pennsylvania contains
ribbons which consist of narrow orig-
inal beds usually containing carbon,
and darker in color than the main
body. There is a tendency for some

ribbons to contain an excessive
amount of the less resistant minerals
and they should not appear on ex-
posed svufaces.

Color Stability. — Slate colors may
be fast or changing. The fast colors
are due in the main to the presence
of iron oxide and other stable oxides.
As indicated in the preceding para-
graph a change in thevcolor may be
due to the oxidation of disseminated
carbonates. The terms "fading" and
"unfading" are unfortunate, as fading
always conveys the implication of in-
feriority. In some instances the
change in color is ^uite undesirable,
in others very pleasing tones of color
result. The terms "fast" and "chang-
ing" are more appropriate.

Spots and blotches are of common
occurrence in the slates of Vermont
and New York. Careful chemical and
microscopic studies as recorded by
Dale indicate that variations in color
are due to differences in the propor-
tion of carbonates, pyrite and hema-
tite present. It is probable that de-
caying organisms embedded in the
orginal shale have reduced the Feid
to FeO, and the latter has been re-
moved in solution. Usually in the
centers of the spots there is an ex-
cess of carbonate which may have or-
iginated from the shells of the organ-
isms. In general the spots are per-
manent features that are practically
as stable and unchangring as the col-
ors in the main body of the slate.

The oxidation of iron carbonate or
of the mixed carbonates of iron, Ume
or magnesia may cause rusty stains.
If the carbonates are evenly distrib-
uted they may on weathering change
the general color of the entire surface.
Stains are also caused by the oxida-
tion of iron pyrite. However, the
presence of pjTite is not a sure indi-
cation that the slate will stain upon
exposure, for some forms of pyrite
will remain unaltered for many years.
The whole question of the oxidation
of pyrite in building stones has been
fully discussed by the author in an-
other publication.

Strength. — As slate consists of

166

Buildings

Jifly,

overlapping scales firmly cemented
under intense pressure, it is remark-
ably strong. If slates are not split
excessively thin they possess sufficient
strength for any roofing demands.

STRUCTURAL SLATE
Porosity. — Slate is w^idely used for
sanitary purposes, and for such uses
a low porosity is requisite. An aver-
age of results obtained by the U. S.
Bureau of Standards from many
slates indicates a porosity as low as
0.38 per cent. Thus, average slate
is well adapted in this respect for
sanitary uses, and rejection of slate
on the basis of high porosity would
imply the attempted use of a very in-
ferior grade, such as slate from a
weathered ledge.

Strength. — ^For certain uses such as
steps, lintels, window sills or window
and doorcaps, a high transverse
strength is required. The peculiar
sheet-like structure of slate gives it
remarkable strength, a strength far in
excess of that possessed by nearly all
other building stones. Sandstones are
very variable because some are firmly
cemented while others tend to be loose
and friable. Expressed as the modu-
lus of rupture, the transverse strength
of sandstones varies from 350 lbs. per
sq. in. for the friable types 6,500 lbs.
per sq. in. for dense quartzites, 1,000
to 1,500 being a fair average. A
series of marbles shows an average
of 2,410 lbs. per sq. in. across the bed.
An average of 72 limestones recently
tested by the U. S. Bureau of Stand-
ards indicates a modulus of rupture
perpendicular to the bed of 1,253 lbs.
per sq. in. The modulus of rupture
of a series of roofing slates recently
tested in 8,216^ lbs. per sq. in., about
five or six times the strength of
average sandstone or limestone and
three or four times that of average
marble. Thus, slate more than satis-
fies all reasonable requirements for
building purposes.

There has been some hesitancy on
the part of architects to use ribboned
slate for structural purposes, because
the clearly defined borders of the rib-
bon suggest planes of weakness. The-
oretically, there should be no weak-
ness along the line of the ribbon, for
it represents an original bed, and the
complete recrystallization of the mass
has developed structures that are en-
tirely independent of the bedding. To
obtain definite information on the
question, slabs of ribboned slate were
recently tested for transverse strength
at the Bureau of Standards, and it

was found that when breakage oc-
curred the fractures were never coin-
cident with the ribbons but crossed
them at various angles. This proves
conclusively that the ribbons do not
constitute planes of weakness.

Abrasion. — For floor tile or steps,
resistance to abrasion is an important
requisite. In so far as this Bureau is
informed, a limited amount of work
has been done in determining the ac-
tual resistance of slate to abrasion.
Where ribboned slate is used in side-
walks, some of the ribbons, through
solubility are worn way as grooves,
while others containing an excessive
amount of silica stand up as ridges.
Such non-uniformity in ribboned slate
is an objection to its use, where sub-
jected either to weather conditions or
to excessive wear.

SUGGESTIONS ON STANDARDS

AND TESTS

Roofing Slate Standards

Standard Thickness. — In free-split-
ting slate there is a tendency to make
slates thin in order to obtain a maxi-
mum production from each ton of
rock. In consequence, the breakage
loss in transit may be high and break-
age on the roof may be frequent.
This is an unsatisfactory condition
for the user, as broken slates are not
easily or satisfactory replaced, and
new slates may not match in color
with the old roof. This reacts on the
producer, for broken slates may preju-
dice the user against slate in general.
It is generally regarded that 3/16 in.
should be the minimum thickness al-
lowed, and if this were established as
a standard it is highly probable that
greater satisfaction would exist
among consumers, and that the repu-
tation of slate would thereby be en-
hanced. The thickness should, of
course, be a factor of the transverse
strength, but until full information is
available on the average strength of
slates in various regions it would
seem advisable to establish a fixed
minimum that would cover all slates
of reasonable quality.

In fixing minimum thickness, it is
not presumed that every slate snail be m
exactly 3/16 in. thick. Slates are split ^
from natural blocks and are not milled
to exact thickness. Slight irregulari-
ties may cause the split to run one
way or another causing small varia-
tions which any specifications should
permit. The splitter's chisel with
which he measures and determines the
thickness should, however, be stand-
ardized for 3/16-in. slates.

192S

Buildings

167

Standards for Size. — Roofing slates
are now made in about 29 standard
sizes. It might appear at first sight
that the number of sizes is too great
and that a reduction in the number
would be an advantage to both pro-
ducer and consumer. There is a wide-
spread movement to reduce production
costs by simplif jing manufacture, but
in the slate industry conditions are
entirely different from those that exist
in industries where products are
molded or built up into finished form.
Roofing slates are trimmed to size,
and the size is largely governed by
the qualities or imperfections of the
natural slabs. It may be foimd that
a slate if perfect would trim to 10 by
20-in. size, but on account of some
imperfection it may be necessary to
trim it to a smaller size. It is note-
worthy that if there is a small range
of standard sizes, the gaps between
them will be relatively large and the
waste in trimming down from one size
to another will be correspondingly
great. A wide range of sizes is,
therefore, of definite advantage to the
slate manufacturer for it permits him
to utilize his raw material to best ad-
vantage with a minimum of waste.

A variety of sizes is also an advan-
tage to the roofer. Windy cities re-
quire small sizes, also large and mas-
sive structures demand larger sizes
than are best adapted for small dwell-
ings. Even for the same style of
structure quite different sizes are de-
manded in different cities. Thus in
Cincinnati, O., and Galveston, Tex.,
the principal demand is for 10 by 12-
in. slates; in Chicago, 10 by 16-in.; in
Columbus, 0., 12 by 24-in. A large
variety of sizes permits the manu-
facturer to cater to the demands of all
localities.

It is evident, therefore, that nothing
is to be gained by inaugurating any
movement toward reducing the num-
ber of standard sizes of roofing plates.

Standards for Color Stability. — It is
unfortunate that some of the trade
names applied to slates mask the per-
manence of their colors. Slate deal-
ers understand the peculiarities of
each type, but slate users who are
not so well informed are entitled to
a set of terms that are descriptive in
character and that represent actual
qualities. Thus, terms should be em-
ployed that clearly distinguish be-
tween fast and changing colors.

Standards of Endurance. — The En-
durance of slate may be measured ap-
proximately by the percentage of car-

bonates present, but other factors
such as porosity may influence it.
Where the ribbon is less enduring than
the clear slate, standards shouJd be
established on this basis. Slate from
the zone of weathering near the sur-
face of a deposit should not be used.
While slate has been known to en-
dure exposure on a roof for several
hundred years, it is imreasonable to
expect that material which has been
more or less exposed to the ravages
of weathering agencies in its natural
bed for several thousand years, may
give as satisfactory service on a roof
as that obtained from the deep-seated
deposits. Architects have lately de-
veloped great enthusiasm for varie-
gated, highly colored, thick, heavy
slates known as architectural grades.
The author has obser%-ed such slates
taken from the zone of weathering
where the attractive red, yellow and
orange colors were due to excessive
oxidation of the iron bearing miner-
als. Thus endurance was sacrificed
for an attractive color. No slate of
this character would stand a chem-
ical or microscopic test for enduring
qualities, and thus the need is em-
phasized of establishing definite tests
that will protect the user, and inci-
dentally the producer.

Standards for Placing Slate on the
Roof. — A product perfect in quality
and faultless in manufacture may fail
through improper application. Many
instances have occurred where good
slate has given unsatisfactory service
through improper laying. A 3-in.
head lap should be the universal stand-
ard. While this is generally recog-
nized, some roofers cut down the lap
to 2 in. in order to make a square of
slate cover more than 100 sq. ft. of
roof.

There is a wide difference of opin-
ion as to the best type of nail to use
with roofing slates. The nail should
be as permanent as the slate, and
standards should be fixed for length,
diameter, and point, both for new
roofs and for roofing over wooden
shingles, composition or other mate-
rials.

The strength and spacing of sup-
ports, the nature of the sheathing,
and the use of paper beneath the
slates are all matters that have a defi-
nite bearing on the quality of the com-
pleted roof.

Structural Slate Standards
Absorption. — Slate for sanitary uses
shpuld be graded according to its
porosity, and satisfactory service

168 Buildings July,

would be promoted by fixing a maxi- Trade Schools for Relieving

mum ratio of absorption. Shortage of Building

Strength.— There is a dearth of in- Mechanics

formation on the crushing strength of In a statement issued June 16 James
slate, and except for recent tests made Baird, president of George A. Fuller
at the Bureau of Standards there is a Co., contractors, and chairman of the
similar lack of data on transverse emergency committee of the Mason
strength. As already stated the lat- Builders' Association, declared that
ter figure is exceptionally high. Wider the problems attendant on the short-
publicity of this feature would bene- f^e of mechamcs m the building

%. .,„ „!„+ J ,„„^ A „4- +!,« ^ow,.^ trades in New York would be solved if

fit the slate producer, and at the same ^j^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ $100,000,000 building

time encourage the builder to use slate projects now delayed by scarcity of

with advantage as a substitute for skilled labor would invest $500,000 to

weaker materials. It is not uncom- establish schools for training mechan-

mon to see fractured stones in large ics. In an analysis of the present sit-

structures. Where the strain is ex- uation, coupled with a survey of the

cessive it is desirable to establisn a number of bricklayers now at work,

high standard which only the strong- made by the Mason Builders' Associa-

est natural products such as slate can tion, Mr. Baird said that the extent of

successfully meet. ^^^ building that can be done at any

time in New York is limited by the

Abrasion. — More definite knowledge amount of work that can or will be
of the resistance of slate to abrasion done by 3,500 or 4,000 resident brick-
is desirable. Some slate stairways layers. Mr. Baird's statement follows :
long in use are greatly worn, others The Emergency Committee of the
resist wear remarkably well. The Mason Builders' Association has just
first step in establishing abrasion completed a careful survey covering
standards would involve a long series feJ'fo^i^thn.arnnmhe^'h^^^^
of abrasion tests upon slate from vari- rj^^y ^j^ig ^^^rvey has developed the
ous localities on the basis of the f^ct that the total number of brick-
French coefficient of wear. The quali- layers working in Greater New York
ties should as far as possible be ex- on June 1 was 4,642.
pressed in terms that represent actual Further inquiries indicated that ap-
wearing conditions in comparison with proximately 500 men were not work-
other standard materials used in steps ing, due either to illness or lack of in-
and floors. clination. This demonstrates that the

number of available bricklayers at

Structural Designing. — The best present in Greater New York is ap-
work that has yet been accomplished proximately 5,000. Of this number,
in slate standards has appeared in a the reports indicate that from 1,000 to
series of bulletins by D. Knicker- 2,000 are transients. In other words,
bocker Boyd of the Structural Service ^^^ building that can be done in New
Bureau of Philadelphia, working in York is limited by the amount of woi-k
co-operation with the Structural Slate ^^^} f^^ofe'n^'^^.^nnn °"^ ^^ ^.P^- u"
Co. of Pen Argyl, Penn. These pam- {^f/r/ thoSeh^L times'likeX P^^^^
phlets give detailed specifications ^^^^ ^'^^^ bonus payments are added
with plans and elevations of wain- to the basic wage, an increment known
scots, stairways, toilet enclosures, as "floaters," to the extent of 1,000 to
laundry tubs, sinks, etc. The object 2,000 (depending upon the amounts of
has been to so standardize sizes and the bonus paid) comes to the city,
designs that ordering may be facili- The Need for More Bricklayers. —
tated, that manufacturing may be The entire country has a shortage of
simplified, and that standard mate- trained men in the building trades,
rials may be kept in stock. The lat- The records of the Department of La-
ter feature is an advantage to both ^^^ ^o^ a 10-year period are:

producer and consumer, for it saves Classes of Mechanics— 1910 1920

time in fiUino- nrdf^rtj nnH PnnhlPQ tViP ^"•''^ *"** ^t°"^ masons 161.000 131.000

Linie in niiing oraers, ana enaoies tne Plasterers 47.000 38.ooo

producer to operate and accumulate Roofers and slaters i4,ooo ii.ooo

stock during slack periods. It has also stonecutters 35.000 22.000

the advantage of giving steady em- Pa'"ters, glaziers. varni8he3..278.ooo 248.ooo

ployment to mill and quarry workers. Total _ 530.000 45o.o<>o

Buildings

169

The table shows a decline of 80,000
skilled workmen when there should
have been an increase of at least
100,000 to keep pace with the growth
of population. One of the chief rea-
sons for this shortage of mechanics
lies in the policy of labor unions of en-
forcing onerous rules and conditions
which have had the effect of restrict-
ing the number of apprentices.

The result has been that the re-
quirements for building construction
in Greater New York (as well as prac-
tically throughout the country) are
not regulated by the needs of the in-
dustry and of the public, but by a
small group of workers, the number
governing the situation in New York
being certainly not more than 4,000,
since the bricklayer is the key to the
building situation, and the shortage in
this trade controls the program.

This group has followed the prin-
ciple that it will not materially add to
its number and will fill just as much
of the building requirements as the or-
ganization is pleased to do and at
rates and under conditions that it is in
position largely to regulate.

This is a condition that can and
must be corrected. And how? Sim-
ilar situations are now being met in
many cities throughout the United
States, particularly in the West,
where schools for training building
mechanics are in operation, notable
examples being Cleveland, Chicago,
Los Angeles and San Antonio. In
San Francisco there are seven such
schools. While there are a few very
small, inadequate schools scattered
through the East, there is none of
anytlmig like sufficient capacity.

The method of expediting work in
New York has been for a builder who
requires men to go across the street to
a competitor's job and offer a higher
wage. One of the leaders in- labor
comments on this by asking, "What
could be expected of a workman when
a contractor meets him coming off
work and invites him to come across
the street to his job for twice as much
money and half as much work?"

This gets no more building done, but
it adds to the cost to the public, and
some other remedy must be found.

The Training School Plan. — Besides
the 2,000 to 4,000 additional bricklay-
ers needed in New York there are pro-
portional added requirements in other
trades. Training schools are needed.
I may suggest a way in which the
necessary schools could be supplied.

A committee of public-spirited citizens
could raise the necessary funds (the
amount needed certainly not exceeding
$500,000) to secure quarters and in-
structors competent to train the neces-
sary number of young men much more
easily and expeditiously than it was
during the war to train a much small-
er number of young men as soldiers.
Young men can become fairly good
working machanics, in most of thein-
dustries, within a six months' period,
after which they can be further in-
structed in the finer details for a
period of perhaps two years, and dur-
ing this time they can also be working
producers at good pay.

The fact is so obvious that there is
a shortage of trained mechanics in
New York that in all probability the
unions would not contend against tak-
ing trained men into their organiza-
tion as fast as they are developed. If
the imions should refuse, then, of
course, the young men that are
trained would of necessity have to un-
dertake work on their own account,
following which the unions would
without doubt take them into their or-
ganizations immediately.

As there is at present work in New
York to the extent of, say, $100,000,-
000 help up waiting an adequate sup-
ply of mechanics, it can readily be
seen that an investment of $500,000
to establish training schools would be
money well invested. I would urgent-
ly suggest that the situation be con-
sidered by a committee appointed by
the business interests of New York
now affected by the shortage of men.

As to stability of employment at
good wages, it is obvious that if an
adequate supply of mechanics were
continuously available in the City of
New York, wages would remain
stable, for there would be no unneces-
sary bidding among the contractors
on a "snowballing" basis. Nor would
there be the dissatisfaction and inclin-
ation to strike among the workers.

So far is the country behind in its
building, so rapidly is the country de-
veloping and its population increas-
ing, and so great is the volume of new
building needed to replace worn out or
obsolete buildings, that employment
would remain continuous indefinitely.
The shortage problem can be solved in
the very simple way suggested; but
unless it is solved, the menace not only
in the building industry but to all in-
dustries will become perpetual.

170 Buildings J«ly>

How the Quantity Survey Works in Milwaukee

Results From a Practical Survey Bureau Conducted By General Con-
tractors Described in The Constructor

By S. H. EIGEL,

Manager, Bureau of Quantity Survey, General Contractors Association, Milwaukee

This article has been written in re-
sponse to numerous requests from
contractors throughout the United
States, who are members of the Asso-
ciated General Contractors, and who
are contemplating organizing a Sur-
vey Bureau within their local associa-
tions.

It presents a practical survey bu-
reau operated and maintained by gen-
eral contractors in Milwaukee County,
Wisconsin, which is successful and
which has been in operation for the
past 12 years and is still going strong.

It is not the purpose in relating the
facts as to the method of operation to
have the readers presume that a bu-
reau operated by contractors is ideal,
but it is desired to convey the thought
that the Milwaukee Bureau is prac-
tical, successful, and in a healthy
financial condition. The fact which un-
doubtedly is most prominent and most
worthy of consideration, is that we are
helping to overcome prejudices which
may exist and promoting the idea
which is the forerunner in establishing
the thought of quantity survey bu-
reaus in the minds of all engaged in
the building business, and eventually
and finally placing all of the practical
material in a position to be of use for
further development.

Quantity Survey Bureau. — Quantity
surveys may truly be called one of the
A-B-C's of the construction business.
It is evident that contractors through-
out the United States, particularly
those affiliated with the A. G. C, are
beginning to see the necessity of
learning their A-B-C's well in this re-
spect. Milwaukee contractors some
12 years ago organized the General
Contractors' Association and in con-
nection with it established and have
operated a survey bureau. The proof
of its success is measured by its ex-
istence today. A brief outline as to
our method of operation will no doubt
be of benefit to contractors who are
contemplating a similar movement.

The scope of our work has been con-
fined to the following items:

1. Excavation.

2. Concrete (plain and reinforced).

3. Reinforcing steel.

4. Mason work.

5. Accessories in conjunction with
concrete and mason work such as set-
ting of miscellaneous steel and iron,
cut stone, terra cotta, etc.

General contractors only who have
been in business for at least two years,
are admitted to membership.

Service Charges. — An estimating
fee has been established on all work
in excess of $5,000. Thfese charges
have been arranged according to a
schedule and classified in percentages
which are as follows:

Size of Project.— $5,000 to $100,000,
0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent.

$100,000 to $300,000, .3 per cent to
0.2 per cent.

$300,000 to $1,000,000, slightly less
than 0.2 per cent to 0.1 per cent.

$1,000,000 to $3,000,000, about 0.1
per cent.

A schedule of fixed charges has been
adopted. The above percentages are
a close approximation of them.

The above charges consider only the
amounts for excavation, concrete and
mason work, and are payable 30 days
after signing of contract by the suc-
cessful bidder.

Rules Followed. — It necessarily fol-
lows that as a forerunner to main-
taining a practical survey bureau in a
contractors' association, certain rules
must be definitely established which
regulate the manner of taking off
quantities.

A fixed set of take-off rules is a first
consideration for all those contem-
plating a survey bureau to be oper-
ated by a local association, in which
all contractors in the association par-
ticipate, and a committee or any per-
son capable of drawing up a set,
should be appointed to do so. After
the rules have been temporarily estab-

1923

Buildings

171

lished final action should be taken in
an open meeting in order that uiu-
formity of take-off shall be estab-
lished. Take-off sheets should be
standardized, as well as the completed
survey.

The names or the number of bid-
ders on any project must not be dis-
closed from any source within the
bureau.

Accuracy Through Checking Back.
— Our experience has clearly demon-
strated that, though the greatest care
is exercised in endeavoring to furnish
quantities free from error, at inter-
vals mistakes will occur and perfect
quantities may be obtained only
through a system of checking back.

The membership of our association
ranges between 15 and 20, and survey
operations are principally in Milwau-
kee County. On practically any job
of consequence, there are at least four,
five or six bidders who are members
of the survey bureau figuring the
project.

Should a difference occur, or should
one of the members figuring feel that
error exists, he will call the bureau,
notifying it of the difference. The
bureau will then check back, and, if
error exists, all contractors who have
obtained the quantities will be noti-
fied, whether they have been parties
to the discovery of the error or not.
A system of this kind practically as-
sures correct quantities.

Many errors, misinterpretations,
omissions of material, etc., have been
detected through the medium of the
survey bureau, and we sincerely be-
lieve that the bureau is partly an in-
spiration for the furnishing for more
complete plans and specifications,
which in itself is an important factor.

Only general contractors who have
been invited to bid by the architect or
owner are entitled to receive quanti-
ties.

We do not operate for profit, that
is to say, all members in good stand-
ing are entitled to a refund in propor-
tion to the amounts which they have
paid in, after all expenses for main-
taining and operating the bureau have
been deducted. These moneys are not
distributed every year, but disbursed
at the discretion of the board of di-
rectors, usually after the accumulation
of a surplus fund.

At the close of 1922, we returned a
portion of the accumulated moneys to
the members.

Cost of Bureau Operation. — From
January 1, 1922, to January 1, 1923,
the total number of surveys furnished
to members by the Bureau for the
items of execavation, concrete and
mason work were as follows:

Warehouses, factories and garages-— — 31

Apartments
Stores and offices-
Schools

Churches

Hospitals, lodges and clubs —

Residences

Bank and theatre-

Grading, bridge and foundation-
Total

13
. 22
. 17
. 5
. 9
. 4
. 2
. 3

.106

Forty-one of these projects were ob-
tained by bureau members, 44 obtained
by contractors outside of the associa-
tion and 21 jobs were postponed.

The total volume of excavation, con-
crete and mason work obtained by
Bureau members, in dollars and cents,
amounted to between $2,500,000 and
$3,000,000.

The operating cost to execute the
volume of work mentioned amounted
to about $10,000 — of this amount
$7,000 to $7,500 applied to salaries
and the balance was for general over-
head, light, phone, rent, etc. The sal-
aries mentioned are for two estimators
and one stenographer.

A calculating machine and mimeo-
graph outfit for making take-off
forms, completed survey sheets, etc.,
should be part of the office equipment.

Opposition Overcome. — When our
bureau was first organized, it met with
opposition from many of the architects
and engineers, but that day is past,
and I daresay there is hardly an archi-
tect or engineer doing business in Mil-
waukee County who will not co-oper-
ate with our survey bureau and who
is not willing and ready at all times
to give due consideration to it in the
matter of plans and specifications and
postpone the closing of bids, if neces-
sary, if the Bureau has not had the
plans.

Architects and engineers are begin-
ning to realize that survey bureaus
are looming up as a necessary access-
ory to the building business. Owners
of building projects are beginning to
take cognizance of it. In other words,
we are helping every day to break the
ice in the proper direction.

To associations contemplating sur-
vey bureaus, it will undoubtedly be
easier to gain recognition from archi-
tects and engineers on account of the
pioneering which has been done, and

172

Buildings

July,

by reference to communities, where
the custom is established.

Agitation and propaganda are
needed and where enough has been
obtained, no doubt the work will be
earnestly considered in the proper
channel. The only way sufficient prop-
aganda and agitation may be obtained
is by starting something.

We are not of the opinion that
quantity surveys make new contract-
ors, but are firmly of the opinion that
they make better contractors of those
already engaged in the field because
of the fact that the detailed items are
more fully covered.

A quantity survey in itself is but
one phase of the contracting business,
and any man who contemplates going
into the business because of the fact
that he can obtain a survey is merely
parting with his money. If it is his
intention to venture into the business,
he will do so regardless of that fact,
and if he does, the contractors already
in the field will undoubtedly have bet-
ter competition because of the quan-
tity survey.

Safe Profits. — Considerable of the
guess, gamble, litigation, misinterpre-
tation of plans, specifications, mate-
rial, etc., will be eliminated when we
have reached the goal for which we
are striving. A more sincere feeling
of co-operation, a pleasanter and more
congenial atmosphere, will prevail
when we know that quantity surveys
will accompany the plans and speci-
fications, and with it eventually will
come the guarantee which many are
looking for.

On a certain building project in Mil-
waukee, the City Engineer's office fur-
nished a set of guaranteed quantities
with the plans and specifications, and
un several other building projects
quantities have been furnished as be-
ing reliable but were not guaranteed,
but served as a good basis for check-
ing and feeling safe.

If one really and truly wants a cer-
tain anything in this world and feels
that he earnestly needs it, should it
be the custom to call in a third party
to give a price on it without the third
party having a definite detailed knowl-
edge of the requirements. This may
seem a crude way of putting it, yet
that is a condition met with in many
plans and specifications. The fact
that one has a reputation of bein^ a
good speculator and sport, and having
taken losses before, does not consti-
tute a reason for continuing in this
path.

Apprentices and Craftsman-
ship in the Building Trades

Remarks Made At the 56th Annual
Convention of the American Insti-
tute of Architects in Washing-
ton, D. C.

By D. KNICKERBACKER BOYD.

At the many meetings which we
have had of the Philadelphia Building
Congress we have almost always come
down to the one subject, that of the
lack of apprentices, and the need of
apprenticeship training in the build-
ing crafts. These conditions seem
more accentuated today than ever be-
fore, because of the recent great in-
crease in the amount of building con-
struction. Notwithstanding this, the
facts are that during the last 10 years
the number of workers in the build-
ing trades has constantly decreased,
while, with the exception of the period
following the war, building itself has
greatly increased, so that you see the
situation we are confronted with today
is quite a natural one. But it should
have been recognized long ago.

Now, when we consider the problem
of the apprentice in the building
trades — or crafts, as I prefer to call
them— and debate whether the fault
lies with those who, it is often claimed,
are endeavoring to restrict the num-
ber of apprentices or with the employ-
ers who it is also claimed are not will-
ing to assume the responsibility of
training young men, we have before
us quite a large subject. And what
we need, as architects, I firmly be-
lieve, is to devote more attention to
craftsmen and not give all our
thoughts to draftsmen, although we
do need still to do much for the

The "White Collar" Day.— The dif-
ficulty seems to be, notwithstanding
the two claims made, that the boys
do not exist in sufficient numbers who
want to learn the crafts and trades.
The young men of today do not seem
to want to enter what they consider
the "laboring" field. So why go into
protracted academic discussions as to
who is responsible for the lack of
numbers? We need to discover the
cause of the lack of interest on the
part of the boys.

We must inculcate the idea in the
young men of America that the crafts
do offer a future for them, and we
must stimulate in their minds a desire
to achieve something dignified and

1923

Buildings

173

definite with their hands. The crav-
ing of every human being to create
and accomplish can be satisfied
through craftsmanship properly ap-
preciated.

The present difficulty does not rest
so much with the boys, it seems to me,
as it does with many of their parents,
and with most of the educational sys-
tems of the country. Traced back
into the homes of the children, I really
believe that the fault lies more with
the mothers, sisters and sweethearts
of the young men and boys, than it
iloes with almost anyone else. These
dear ladies, most of them, do not want
to see their boys, brothers or "boy
friends" dressed in overalls or the
clothes of workingmen, and littered
with mortar, plaster, sawdust, metal
filings or paint. They do not seem to
like that and they therefore use their
persuasion on their relatives and
friends to keep them from training
for or engaging in this sort of work.

We, therefore, feel as we see it in
Philadelphia and as I have observed
it throughout our movement else-
where, that we can, as a group, ac-
complish definite results, and as in-
dividual architects, achieve something
by directing our energies with equal
force to the present journeymen prob-
lem, as well as to the apprentice.

"I Don't Want My Son to Follow
My Trade."— After all, the greatest
discourager of the boy who might
want to become an apprentice in the
building trade can be, and most fre-
quently has been in recent years, the
father who is now working in the
trades. Fathers, uncles or relatives
who are employed in the so-called
building trades at this time will gen-
erally not urge or encourage their
sons, nephews or other young men to
enter the same calling.

The journeyman of the present gen-
eration now working on the buildings
we design realizes that he has lost
much time in the Eastern and other
sections of the country subject to cold
climates, through seasonal losses of
occupation. He has, in normal times,
been subject to intermittency of em-
ployment and he has been working at
what is almost always rated a haz-
ardous occupation. He is frequently
working out doors, subject to attend-
ant disadvantages as well as advan-
tages. His task is often a very heavy
one and involves a difficult piece of
work, and in spite of the skill required
and art he many times displays, he
tells his boy not to learn that trade.

These men can be the greatest enemies
of the building crafts today. I think
the fault lies partly with the construc-
tion groups, the public and with us
as individual architects.

Locally and nationally, studies of all
the difficulties involved can be made
and conditions alleviated through co-
operation of all, including the public,
by a sensible distribution of its new
construction and maintenance require-
ments.

The Architect's Part. — ^As for our
part as individuals, if we architects
recognize the fact that we are, as
our very name implies, master crafts-
men, it seems to me that we ought
to be able each to accomplish our part
in improving the status of other
craftsmen by encouraging and giving
recognition to the "workers on the
job." It is these men who, as a mat-
ter of actual fact, assume their part
with us in securing the results which
we are striving for when we design
our buildings and write our sometimes
hazy specifications.

Many of us, if we look back through
the years of our superintending, will
perhaps realize all too suddenly that
we have usually passed the worker by
— that he has not been given sufficient
recognition for services well per-
formed. We all have to condemn
work sometimes — but how much oft-
ener, when it should be commended,
do we do so ? That, it seems to me,
is one of the faults to which we can
address ourselves, and we can very
readily correct it if we will give heed
to the human side of our own indus-
trial relations. If our contact with
the workers on our buildings is such
that they know that real interest and
good work will cause favorable com-
ment, we will encourage them and
help them to believe that which they
may often be justified in doubting,
namely, that what each is doing is,
if well done, an accomplishment
worthy, often, to be called an art.

How the Worker Can Be Given
Recognition. — The consciousness on
the part of each that what he does
is something vitally important to the
success of the whole design and fabri-
cation will cause each to feel that he
must qualify as a craftsman, and not
be content to consider himself merely
one of a "gang" working on a "job."

I would like to give you one typical
illustration of an actual experience in
this direction:

Just before I left Philadelphia I at-
tended the opening of an exposition

174

Buildings

July,

there called the Palace of Progress.
For this exposition there has been
built under my direction one of the
numerous buildings called the "model
home." The management consented to
issue a book descriptive of the mate-
rials used, with which we should all
be more familiar than we are. It
was also decided to list the name of
every man who worked efficiently
night or day to make that building a
success.

In keeping the records to give this
recognition to the craftsmen and
workers, I asked some of the brick-
layers what the names of the men
were who worked with them in their
particular craft. I said to them, "How
about the mortar mixers and the hod
carriers?" One of the bricklayers
said, "My God! you don't want their
names, do you?" (Laughter). I said,
"Why certainly! You men must ad-
mit that you can't successfully per-
form your work, nor can the architect
get the best results for the owner if
you don't get good mortar and if you
haven't got good, strong shoulders to
carry the mortar and bricks to you
and place them efficiently for you. I
consider those men very important to
the rest of us."

The bricklayer said, "We only know
them by their numbers, as 1, 2 and 3.
That man over there is No. 2," (indi-
cating). I had to go to the man and
get his name personally, which I was
glad to do, though it caused much
astonishment on his part as to my
purpose.

As a result of that talk and others,
and of the fact that these men were
going to be given recognition in the
book, many of them who had been
working day and night during two
weeks said, "We will not accept any
excess pay for the overtime or the
night work, because our efforts to
please the public are being recog-
nized." (Applause).

The Advantages of Fair Recogni-
tion of Workers. — I have often talked
to workers collectively and individual-
ly and asked them if, they should be
requested to express one wish that
they would like to have gratified more
than any other, what that wish would
be. They have all said, strange as
that may sound to some, that what
they wanted most was some fair rec-
ognition for their work — or as they
have put it — a few words of appre-
ciation for work well done when they
try to do their best.

In that direction we, as architects.

can take advantage of many of the ,
opportunities that our calling pre-
sents. We can surely appreciate the
human factor and stop and talk with
the men. They can work with us and
not for us, and we can both learn and
teach if we say, "Well done, old man,"
or Tom or Dick or Harry, or whoever
he may be, if his methods and results
appeal to us.

We may not always be in a position
to say that they are doing their job
well, for they may know it a great
deal better than we do, but we cer-
tainly can let them know at least that
they are giving us the results that
we have tried to provide for in our
designs and that they are correctly
interpreting what are sometimes, per-
haps, vague specifications which
could be much improved as Mr. Jones
so well told us yesterday.

It seems to me, therefore, that the
problem can be rightly solved and in
part almost immediately solved if we
can begin at once to improve our spec-
ifications, our methods and ourselves
and by real human contact restore in- j
terest and pride of craft. I

If we make the workers feel that *
we recognize their part as real factors
in the success of any enterprise, that .
their efforts and the results of their ■
work form a large part of the success %
of our work, and the satisfaction of
our client — if we do that, the appren-
ticeship problem will largely solve
itself.

I would like to suggest, however, in
view of the points raised during this
convention on the apparent lack of
apprentices, that some step might be
agreed upon whereby the Industrial
Relationship Committee could appoint
a sub-committee on Apprenticeship. In
its title I would, however, include Vo-
cational Guidance, because the fault,
it seems to me, lies largely with the
lack of guidance toward manual labor
in the schools.

I believe that the Institute could
do nothing of much greater value than
to create such a committee if through
it a new Document might be prepared
which could well be entitled "The Ro-
mance of Building," and be made
available to the schools everywhere.
In this booklet could be portrayed in-
telligently and enthusiastically, the
advantages of being a worker on a
building and of having an opportunity
to co-operate with architects and all
other craftsmen in being of ever in«
creasing service to the people of this
country.

1923 Buildings 175

New Type of Pre-Cast Concrete Construction

Results of Tests of Reinforced Concrete Beams Given in The Carnegie

Technical Journal

By F. M. McCULLOUGH,

Professor of Civil Engineering, Carnegie Institute of Technology

The constantly increasing cost of
forms, due to advances in the price of
lumber and in wages of carpenters,
has led many types of pre-cast con-
crete construction in recent years.

The pre-cast units usually consist of
the following types:

1. Beams, slabs, columns, etc., in
which is embedded properly designed
reinforcement.

2. The ordinary tamped or poured
concrete block which has no provision
for reinforcement.

The Henderson Corporation of
Pittsburgh, Pa., has recently devel-
oped a unit out of this latter type. In
October, 1922, three reinforced con-

Fig. 1— Plan and Eleyation of 12x12x12 in.
Block.

Crete beams built of these units, which
are called universal building blocks,
were tested in cross-bending for the
Henderson Corporation in the Ma-
terials Laboratory of the Carnegie In-
stitute of Technology by Professor
F. A. Simmons and the writer.

General Features of the Blocks. —
As several new features are included
in the shape, manufacture and use of
the blocks, these features will be first
described in order that the report of
the tests may be more clearly under-
stood.

The units made under the Hender-
son Construction System consist of
blocks and specials. The blocks vary
in size from 12 in. x 12 in. x 12 in.
long to 4 in. X 4 in. x 12 in. long with
a few 9-in. and 6-in. lengths. The
specials include caps, reducers,
brackets, angles, corners, etc.

The units are made of portland ce-
ment, and the ordinary fine and course
aggregates of portland cement and

pulverized blast furnace slag may be
used. The mortar is placed in molds
and in machine tamped to a pressure
of about 500 lb. per square inch. After
the molds are removed, the blocks are
subjected to a steam-curing process.

The block has a number of holes
near its outside surface, the number
of holes increasing with the size of
the block. The holes extend between
the two end faces and are parallel to
the axis of the block. These holes
may be used for steel reinforcement if
it is required, and they are of suflfi-
cient size so that the reinforcement
may be surrounded by a rich portland
cement grout. The oval shape of the
hole provides for lapping the steel
bars. In the end faces of the block
and connecting the holes are recesses
in which stirrups may be placed and
grouted. Fig. 1 shows a 12-in. x 12-in.
X 12-in. block in plan and in elevation.

Construction of Beam. — In con-
structing a beam, the required number
of blocks is lined up on a flat surface,
the stirrups are placed in the recesses
at the ends of the blocks, and all sur-
faces in contact are brushed with a
grout. The horizontal steel is now
placed, the T-shaped plates are put in
a position on the two blocks at the
ends of the beam, and the nuts on the
horizontal steel bars tightened against
the end plates to give an initial ten-
sion in the bars. Grout is now poured
around the horizontal steel and the
stirrups through openings chipped
through the blocks in the middle of
their top joints. When the grout has
set, the beam is hoisted in place, the
end plates are bolted to plates in con-
necting members and all exposed
plates and nuts are grouted. Vertical
members such as columns, poles, etc.,
are built in a somewhat similar man-
ner. This construction may be carried
on at the factory where the blocks are
made or the blocks may be shipped to
the site of construction where they
may be assembled to form the differ-
ent structural elements.

Tests of the Beams. — The following
is taken from a report of the tests of
the beams which was mentioned in a
previous paragraph:

176

Buildings

July,

The beams were built of Universal
Building Blocks, 12 in. x 12 in. x 12 in.,
and were about 18 ft. long. The span
varied from 16 ft. 8^^ in. to 16 ft. 10
in., and the load was applied approxi-
mately at third points. The amount
and position of horizontal reinforce-

ment, the cross-section of the beams,
the span and position of the loads and
the development of cracks during the
test are all shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4.
The number of a crack agrees with the
number of the load at which the crack
appeared; thus crack No. 1 appeared

.6 ^ ee 1^— ^^ 1

1
1

;

®.

CAST SI 3C

i>4

Sooth Soppobt T*° ""T"" North Support

®,

• ®

WES-

■ SiDI

■^

North Sxjrforrr

UNWCRJSAL BUILDING PLCXKS

Load N?

ToTAU Load In Lba.
I^4CLUDES Wt Or Concbcti:
44090
fc0590

T4590

ISfeSO
83890 UuTiMATE

\r-

H — • — •-

« z

South Support

i: "^Stirrups At It'

5PAM ifc' lo'

Kd- 9 89

n. IS

Assembled Sept &, 1S?2

Tested Sept Vl.Wll

-font

riG-Z BEAM N? I
6fe' ,

-tii-

Ea; >t 3ipc

1® 1®

5o«jTH Support

North Support

West J>ide
®

htORTH

Support

UoAoN?

TOTW. Load In LBS

iMCcwoL* Wt Or

LOAON*

iie>c>5

iins

iiefeS

13915

I4015'

UNIVERSAL BUILDING BLOCKS

South Sopport

SPAtM Ifc'- St"
l* +♦ Stihrops At iT

n • IS
'♦ AsscM Sept fc.lS'll
Tested Sept Ti. ig^l

South Support

North Support

VA/ce T Si 3C

qj (^ |3)(n) I®

North SuF»r»oFtT
LoAoW Total Load In Lb%.

UMIVERSAL BUiudimg; BLOCKS

h-'^: — H

Load N? Total Load In Lbs

T440

8 I40

8315

9 890

lOtfcS

lOTIO

FJg». 2.

3 and 4-

UII5

I15IS

19350

11940

1 1

13O40 LtLT

riG 4-

SooTM Support
Spam Ifo'lO'
No StirruP":;.
Kd. ' 4 9n "
n. 15

AascM Sept S,i9ll
Tested Oct 13, i9?i

BCAM Ns? 3

■Reinforcement, Cross Section of Beams, Span and Position of Loads and
Development of Cracks.

iy23

Buildings

177

at a load of 44,090 lb. in Beam No. 1,
Fig. 2. The blocks were reported as
having been made during the latter
part of August, 1922. The weight of
the 12 in. x 12 in. beams was assumed
to be 2,700 lb. and that of the 12 in. x
24 in. beam, 5,400 lb. This corresponds
to a weight of 150 lb. per cubic foot.
All computations are based on the or-
dinary straight-line theory.

Test of Beam No. 1. — This beam
was 12 in. wide, 24 in. deep, and had
single loop, ^2 in. round stirrups
spaced 12 in. apart at the joints be-
tween blocks. The beam was as-
sembled Sept. 8, 1922, and tested Sept.
22, 1922. The superimposed load at
failure was 78,490 lb. and the weight
of beam was 5,400 lb., giving a total
load at failure of 83,890 lb. The bend-
ing moment corresponding to this
total load is 2,794,000 in. lb.

The bending moment of an ordinary
reinforced concrete beam ha\ang the
same cross-section and the same rein-
forcement, neglecting any effect of
end plates, is 744,000 in. lb. for a
working concrete stress of 650 lb. per
sq. in. It seems reasonable to base
the factor of safety for this beam on
the ratio of its actual bending moment
at the maximum load to this computed
bending moment at a stress of 650 lb.
per sq. in. in the concrete. On this
basis, the factory of safety is equal to
2,794,000

or 3.8.

744,000

The maximum tensile stress in the
steel corresponding to a stress of 650
Jb. per sq. in. in the concrete is 11,820
lb. per sq. in. This indicates that
more tension steel was used than
necessary.

The failure was due to the crushing
of a concrete block in the upper half
of the beam and just outside of the
third point load. (See No. 7 in sketch
of West Side of beam. Figs. 2 and 5).
Numerous diagonal tension (shear)
cracks developed. (See No. 3, No. 4,
and No. 7 on East Side and No. 6 on
West Side). Inclined crack No. 3
opened very wide during the latter
part of the test and for a time it ap-
peared that this crack might cause
failure. Small cracks appeared at sev-
eral vertical joints but did not in-
crease in size to a greater extent than
in an ordinary reinforced beam. A
few horizontal cracks opened up be-
tween the upper and lower layers of
blocks. (See No. 3, No. 4, and 5 over
north support on East, and No. 4 and
No. 5 on West Side). These cracks

did not affect any considerable area of
the horizontal joint.

Test of Beam No. 2. — This beam
was 12 in. wide, 12 in. deep, and had
single loop, %-in. round stirrups 12 in.
apart at the joints between blocks.
The dates of assembling and testing of
the beam were Sept. 6, 1922, and
Sept. 23, 1922, respectively. The sup-
erimposed load at failure was 20,865
lb. and the weight of beam was 2,700
lb. giving a total load at failure of
23,565 lb. The bending moment cor-
responding to this total load is 763,500
in. lb.

The bending moment for an ordi-
nary reinforced concrete beam having
the same cross-section and the same
reinforcement, neglected any "effect of
end plates, is 172,900 in. lb. for a
working stress in the concrete of 650
lb. per sq. in. The factors of safety
obtained as explained under Beam No.
1 is

763,500

or 4.4,

172,900

The maximum tensile stress in the
steel corresponding to a stress of 650
lb. per sq. in. in the concrete is 9,150
lb. per sq. in., thus indicating a
greater amount of tension steel than
necessary.

The failure was due to the crushing
of the upper part of two blocks just
inside of the third point load. (See
cracks No. 9 in sketches of East Side
and West Side, Fig. 3). Only one in-
clined crack was noted. A few small
cracks at the joints were observed.

Test of Beam No. 3. — This beam
was similar in size to Beam No. 2 and
had the same amount of horizontal
reinforcement, but had no stirrups.
The beam was assembled Sept. 5,
1922, and tested Oct. 13, 1922. The
superimposed load at failure was 20,-
340 lb. and the weight of beam was
2,700 lb., thus giving a total of 23,040
lb. The bending moment at this total
load at failure was 754,500 in. lb. and
the factor of safety, computed as for
Beam No. 2 was

754,500

of 4.4.

172,900

The maximum tensile stress in the
steel for a stress of 650 lb. per sq. in
in the concrete was 9,150 lb. per sq.
in., thus indicating more steel than
necessary, as was the case in Beam
No. 2.

The failure was caused by the
crushing of the upper part of the two
blocks at the center of the beam. ^See

178

Buildings

July,

crack No. 11 at the top of the beam,
Fig. 4). No inclined cracks were ob-
served. Several small vertical cracks
appeared at the joints and one vertical
crack was seen at the middle of each
of two blocks. (See vertical cracks
No. 10 and No. 11.)

Conclusions. — The outstanding fea-
ture of these tests was that the
crushing strength of the blocks lim-
ited the strength of the beams and
that therefore an increase in the
crushing strength of the blocks would
increase the strength of the beams.
This increased strength of the blocks
might be obtained by increasing the
proportion of cement, or by a more
careful §election of the aggregate or
by improving the methods of manu-
facturing the blocks. (The ordinary
materials and methods of manufactur-
ing were used in making these blocks).

It will be noted that the 12-in. x 24-
in. beam showed a dangerous diagonal
tension (shear) crack just before the
concrete block failed by crushing. It
would seem advisable for beams of
this cross-section and span, providing
the compressive strength of the blocks
is increased, to also increase the
amount of stirrup steel either by in-
creasing the size of stirrups or the
number of stirrups.

A comparison of the loads at failure
of the two 12-in. x 12-in. beams indi-
cated that the stirrups did not appre-
ciably increase the strength of Beam
No. 2. This may be explained by the
fact that no diagonal tension cracks
appeared in Beam No. 3, and only one
in Beam No. 2. The ratio of length to
depth for these beams (No. 2 and No.
3) was so great that the unit shearing
stress was not sufficient to cause
diagonal tension failure. However, if
the strength of beams of this cross-
section and span is increased by in-
creasing the crushing strength of the
concrete blocks, then stirrup reinforce-
ment would be necessary. Further-
more, these stirrups should be spaced
at a distance apart not greater than
one-half the depth of the beam.

The factors of safety obtained by
dividing the bending moment at
failure by the bending moment corres-
ponding to a unit stress in the con-
crete of 650 lb. per sq. in. average
about 4. The factor of safety for the
ordinary type of reinforced concrete
beam obtained by dividing the bending
moment at failure by the bending
moment corresponding to a unit stress

varies from 4 to 4.5 for 1:2:4 concrete
in the concrete of 650 lb. per sq. in.
at an age of 28 days, and therefore it
may be stated that the beams tested
compare very favorably with ordinary
reinforced concrete beams in regard to
factor of safety. Any increase in the
quality of the concrete blocks should
increase the factor of safety.

It was apparent that no serious
movement of the upper layer along
the lower layer of blocks occurred in
Beam No. 1. While a few cracks ap-
peared along the horizontal joint, they
were not in any sense continuous over
the length of the beam. Doubtless the
stirrups and the surrounding grout as-
sisted the brush coat of grout between
the blocks in preventing a horizontal
shear failure.

It will be seen that the maximum
tensile stress in the steel correspond-
ing to a unit stress in the concrete of
650 lb. per sq. in. varies from 9,150 to
11,820 lb. per sq. in. Thus the beams
are stronger in tension than in com-
pression. Since these stresses are con-
siderably less than the stress of 16,000
lb. per sq. in., which is ordinarily used
for steel, it is evident that these
beams are too heavily reinforced and
that some economy would result if the
amount of tensile steel were reduced.
However, if the strength of the con-
crete blocks is increased by improved
methods of manufacture, then it will
be necessary to use a fairly high per-
centage of reinforcement in order to
secure a beam equally strong in ten-
sion and compression.

The vertical cracks which opened up
between the blocks were no larger
than those appearing during the test
of an ordinary reinforced concrete
beam.

Fire Tests of Roofing Materials

The U. S. Bureau of Standards has
prepared a program of tests, equip-
ment is being procured, and test speci-
mens constructed for conducting a
series of fire tests of roofing materials
with particular reference to the rela-
tive merits of wood shingles and pre-
pared roofing. A conference has been
held with representatives of the wood
shingle manufacturers, the prepared
roofing manufacturers, and the fire
underwriters, at which agreement was
reached on the methods of testing, and
on an outline of the program of tests.

1923

Buildings

179

Models in Architectural Representation

vantages of Cardboard Modeling Described in The Kansas City

Engineer

By GILBERT L. GEERY

The position of the architect is
peculiar, for it is the custom of his
profession to sell first and then to
produce. The masters in each of the
allied arts invariably produce or cre-
ate first, and then sell the product;
but it is not so in architecture. The
architect finds that he must sell to
his client something yet to be erected
or constructed from the usual plans
and specifications. It is becaue of this
peculiar situation that the architect
finds it difficult to sell to his client.
He must represent, to his client's sat-
isfaction, the proposed work before
lie can realize on his ideas. And it
lb in this method of representation
that he meets his biggest problem.

The Diflferent Viewpoints of Archi-
tect and Qient. — Now the architect is
accustomed to thinking and drawing
in three dimensions. The client most
likely is not. The drawings appear
to the architect as an expression of
some actual structure, standing out
from the paper in all its dimensions;
whereas to the client they may appear
only as a maze of lines that represent
nothing. It is of course difficult for
the architect to believe that what ap-
pears to him as so simple a represen-
tation should be vmintelligible to an-
other, and yet that other is the man
with whom he must do business. How,
then, can the architect get his ideas
* across?" How can he get the client
to see the finished product as he him-
self sees it?

At present there are two ways.
Perspective views enable the architect
to give his client an idea of the ap-
pearance of the building as viewed
from a few defined station points, but
at their best, perspectives fail. The
model seems to be the ideal method of
representation. Though the use of
models is not new in architecture, it
is only of comparatively recent date
that cardboard models, easily and
cheaply constructed, have been used
successfully, and it is with this type
of modeling that we shall be chiefly
interested in this discussion.

Scale Models from Cardboard. —
Cardboard modeling is an art that is
still in its infancy. It is receiving a

lot of attention, and the near future
will undoubtedly see a marked de-
velopment. As soon as the public —
the artistic public — learns that it is
practical for architects to furnish
scale models as a part of preliminary
sketches, it will demand that they do
so, and will choose the architects that
furnish them, even if their fees are
higher. It is important, therefore,
that the architect of today consider
the advantage of the cardboard model
as a means of representation.

In the first place the model is an
exact replica of the building to be
built, though at a smaller scale. It is
as if the building were completed and
suddenly dwarfed, yet the model is
real in every aspect. The model is
truth telling, and not dependent upon
cleverness of line and color to give an
effect of reality. It is an honest and
obvious representation of the build-
ing as it is actually to be built. It
is concrete, is in three dimensions,
and can be viewed from all angles and
distances rather than from one or two
carefully selected places that will
show the design to best advantage, as
is the case with the perspective sketch.
The reduction in scale, practically the
same in both cases, is as easily read
off from the model as from the per-
spective. Then, too, at times even the
perspective sketches are hard for the
client to understand. Furthermore, it
is too often the case that sketches of
poor designs are "faked," carefully
rendered with a fairyland of entour-
age to attract the client's eye, in
which case of course the transaction
is that of selling a picture rather
than a building. The first and great-
est advantage to the client, then, is
that he may see exactly what he is
getting. Form, color, relation, pro-
portion, composition, and harmony —
all are truthfully portrayed.

Advantages of Models to Architect.

— The use of models also offers some
advantages to the architect. A model
gives the architect an opportunity to
study the design by assembling and
changing parts. Defects in design
that fail to show up in drawings or
perspectives stand out glaringly in a

180

Buildings

July

model. If models were used in the
study of the design of a building, such
incongruities of design that might
otherwise creep in could be cast out
before the building were completed or
under construction.

The use of the model is the ideal
method of securing harmony between
parts of a design. For instance,
dormers may be made to size, moved
about on the roof until their best
location is found, and then secured in
place. Roofs can be tried on as one
would try on hats in a shop. Thus
the model offers the best chance to
study the design of a structure in its
elementary components, and their re-
lation to the completed project. Models
give the architect a chance to create
first, and then market. Furthermore,
by the use of models an architect may
elfectually demonstrate his talking
points.

How much easier it is to lift the
roof off a model and point out to the
client the convenient arrangement of
I'ooms, or some other desirable fea-
ture; or perhaps to remove the side
wall of a model that the client may
see the inside of the proposed build-
ing— how much easier it is to perform
these slight operations than to spend
time in explaining to the client the
meaning of the floor plan, then that
of the elevation, and perhaps an in-
terior perspective, and in trying to fit
them together in such a manner that
he may get a picture of the completed
building. The model is indeed a time
saver for the architect.

Cost of Models. — Nor must we for-
get the cost. According to the stand-
ards of practice adopted by the Ameri-
can Institute of Architects, the archi-
tect gets for his services 6 per cent
of the cost of the building, and of
this amount one-fifth is for pre-
liminary studies. Let us see just what
this means. Since the working draw-
ings, specifications, and superin-
tendence are almost entirely matters
of engineering, it is in the preliminary
studies that architecture has an op-
portunity to express itself as an art.
A little over 1 per cent is actually
spent on architecture. Yet the thing
that occupies the attention of the
buyer of architectural set-vices is the
G per cent. The result is almost in-
evitable. Some unscrupulous architect
gains, and the community in which
the architectural misfit is erected,
suffers. A colored cardboard model
whose |)urpose is to show the general

design, composition, proportion, mass
central feature, color, etc., appeals tc
the senses of the client, and tends tc
get his mind away from the 6 pej
cent. And who would not pay mor(
if they knew exactly what they were
buying, that is, if they could see wha1
they were going to get, rather thar
pay less, and run the risk of getting
what the plans called for, and yet noi
what they expected, or wanted.

Then too, the actual' cost of the
models is not very great. Mr. LeRoj
Grumbine, who has had much experi
ence in the construction of cardboart
models, states in the American Archi
tect that one model may be con
structed for what two or three per
spective sketches would cost.

Use of Models in Competition. — Tc
the men of the profession of archi
tecture who really have the welfare
of the profession at heart, the mode
has another significant use — in com
petitions. It is the one and onlj
means by which the best design sub
mitted in a competition may be choser
entirely upon its own merits. Anc
when, in the course of human events
we reach the stage where such a selec
tion is made — then America will begii
to have all that is really good ir
architecture.

Since the public, when educated t(
appreciate and demand models, wil
require a colored model as a part ol
the preliminary sketches, it is perti
nent that the architect learn the
easiest and most economical ways oi
constructing models, which at th(
same time will give the best results

Models may be used to represen'
buildings, formal gardens, or land
scapes. The architect is primarilj
interested in the first group. The
second group may be used either bj
the architect or the landscape archi
tect, and the last is used only by the
landscape architect, unless of course
the nature of the project calls for the
services of the architect. However
the last two groups have more to dc
with the entourage, shrubberies
paths, walks, terraces, lakes, anc
streams, and we shall not be con-
cerned with them in this paper.

Types of Models. — There are three
main types of models of buildings
each of different construction. There
is the more common type constructec
by extensive developed surfaces as-
sembled in a permanent way. Thi^
type is used where the most interest
is centered upon the external appear-

i'j23

Buildings

181

\ ance of the buildings, for instance
; where several units are to be com-
bined, or where some new buildings
are shown in place with others already
constructed, to give an idea as to
how well they fit in with the sur-
rounding buildings. Then there is the
type which is constructed so that the
roof may be taken off, or the walls
removed, in order to get a view of the
interior. This type is particularly
adaptable to the study of churches
and theaters or similar buildings in
which the seating is an important
element. Then there is the type
■ known as "latero-sectional" models,
; developed by a Boston firm, and
unique in their origin, which was at
a court proceeding. In order to show
the damage done to a proposed ex-
pansion of a hotel building by a sub-
way tunnel cutting across the prop-
erty, a model was submitted as court
evidence. The part cut away by the
tunnel was separate, and could be re-
moved. The feature of this type is
in the construction by sections. The
stories are all separate pieces, placed
one upon another, and held in place
by small dowels. The body of each
section is a plank, carefully planed
to 1;he desired thickness, with the
cardboard exterior pasted on. The
plan of the floor is worked out on
each section, and the plan of the ceil-
ing of the next lower floor is drawn
on the under side of the same piece.
The advantage of this type is obvious.
Besides seeing the building as it will
be, the client may obtain a "look-in"
at any floor.

Methods of Constructing Models. —

There are many methods of construct-
ing models, and since each architect
sooner or later develops a particular
technique and style of execution, we
shall not try, in this brief paper, to
even summarize the methods of con-
struction. However, in passing, it is
of interest to notice some of the com-
mon practices, and some of the dif-
ferent materials.

The architect must choose the
proper scale; one that will leave out
no details of importance, and one that
will cause no excess in the work of
execution. The scale of % in. to the
foot is common, though Mr. Harvey
W. Corbett, of the firm of Helmle &
Corbett of New York finds that even
small scales are advisable. In the
smaller scales many of the projections
that would otherwise have to be con-

structed or built up are merely indi-
cated by rendering.

Though most any effect may be
obtained by rendering, there are some
papers that are especially adapted to
the representation of type surfaces.
Thus, corrugated cardboard with a
little alteration makes good tile roof-
ing. Certain tinted cardboards are
ideal as slate roofings. Ordinary gray
cardboard with the courses indicated
gives a good effect of rough stone
work. Shingles are represented by
roughing the cardboard vertically
with sandpaper and scoring hori-
zontally.

When coloring the parts, the archi-
tect has to consider the fact that
light has scale; that atmosphere and
reflection do not miniature themselves
to suit the model. Generally the color
scheme should be keyed lighter in
order that the model in a room will
truthfully represent the completed
building when viewed in normal sun-
light.

After all the parts have been com-
pleted and assembled, the model is
ready for mounting. If the grounds
surrounding the building are very un-
even and rolling, then the mount is
made up of a grid similar to the
sections of an egg case, with the sec-
tions cut to the contour of the land.
Over the whole grid a paper upon
which the roadways, walks, and path-
ways may be indicated, is mounted.
The finer effects are obtained by the
use of paper pulp. Life is added to
the setting by the judicious placing of
trains, automobiles, street cars, and
pedestrians about the grounds. Trees
and shrubbery add to the forceful
presentation of a mounted model.
These are made by dyeing bits of
sponge and mounting them upon
wires.

Photographing the Model. — And,
finally, when a model is completed it
is often necessary to preserve a record
of the model, if not the model itself.
If the model is not preserved, then
photographs of the models may be
taken and filed. And in the use of
composite photographs the architect
has a means of showing the client
how his completed building will look
upon its building site. To do this, a
photograph of the proposed site is
taken, and the distance from the site
to the exact position of the camera
noted. At a corresponding distance
from the model (measured to scale)
another picture is taken. If the dis-

182

Buildings

July,

tance from the model is too small for
the ordinary camera lens to function
properly, then a pin-hole camera may
be substituted. Now if these two
photographs be combined, the result-
ing composite photograph is an exact
reproduction of the building in place.

Application of Models in Engineer-
ing Lines. — Though the discusion has
thus far been confined to the use of
models in architectural representa-
tion, one can easily see the application
of the use of models to any engineer-
ing line. The engineering student, in
his drafting room, learns to picture
an object in straight orthographic
projection, or possibly in isometric or
perspective drawings. Since he is
constantly working in this style of
representation, he is accustomed to
visualizing objects in this manner.
And everyone recognizes the value of
this type of representation for office
and shop work. But when one stops
to think how all thees drawings ap-
pear to one outside the profession, to
one uninitiated in the art of reading
scale drawings, he can appreciate the
position of those who wonder what it
is all about. It is plain that another
means of representation is needed.

Of course when the project is of
such a nature that it requires the
services of an architect, then it is the
place of the architect to furnish those
models. But at times there are
projects in which the predominating
feature is some engineering feat, and
not an architectural accomplishment.
It is in these projects that the engi-
neer may show his skill and origi-
nality in constructing models. Just
as the architect may study his design
from the model, so may the engineer
study his larger problems from the
model.

Building Construction to Be Taught
at Yale.-*^A course in building con-
struction is being offered at Yale as
a development of the Civil Engineer-
ing course. The move is being made
upon the theory that building con-
struction is looked upon more as a
profession in itself than subordinate
to architecture. The course is made
possible by gifts from the trustees of
the Louis J. and Mary E. Horowitz
Foundation.

Standard Abbreviations of
of Terms Used in Lum-
ber Industry.

The Forest Products Laboratory of
the U. S. Forest Service recommends
as standard the following abbrevia-
tions of terras used by the lumber
industry. Most of the forms given
correspond to those already in com-
mon use. In a few cases new abbrevi-
ations have been suggested where the
old forms overlapped or were mis-
leading.

AD — Air-dried.

a. 1. — All lengths.

av. — Average.

av. w. — Average width.

av. 1. — Average length.

a. w. — All widths.
BIS — Beaded one side.
B2S — Beaded two sides.
BBS — Box bark strips,
bd. — Board.

bd. ft.— Board foot.

bdl. — Bundle.

bdl. bk. s. — Bundle bark strips.

Bev. — Bevelled.

B/Lr— Bill of lading.

b. m. — Board (foot) measure.
Btr. — Better. Also Bet.

c. i. f. — Cost, insurance and freight.

c. i. f. e. — Cost, insurance, freight and
exchange.

Clg.— Ceiling. Also C/G and Ceil.

Clr.— Clear. Also CI.

Com. — Common.

Coop. — Cooperage (stock).

CM — Center matched; 1. e., the tongue
and groove joints are worked along the
center of the edges of the piece.

Csg.— Casing. Also C/S.

Ctg. — Crating.

cu. ft. — Cubic foot.

Cust. — -Custom (sawed).

D&CM — Dressed (one or two sides) and
center matched.

D&H — Dressed and headed; I. e., dress-
ed one or two sides and worked to tongue
and groove joints on both the edges and
the ends.

D&M — Dressed and matched; i. e..
dressed one or two sides and tongued and
grooved on the edges. The match may
be center or standard.

D&SM — Dressed (one or two sides),
standard matched.

D2S&CM — Dressed two sides, center
matched.

D2S&M — Dressed two sides and (cen-
ter or standard) matched.

1)2S&SM — Dressed two sides and stand-
ard matched.

Dim. — Dimension.

D.S.— Drop siding. Also D/S. Sy-
nonymous with cove siding (C. S.), nov-
elty siding (N. S. and Nov. Sdg.), and
German siding (G. S.).

E— Edge. Also Ed. and Edg.

E&CBIS — Edge and center bead one
side; i. e., surfaced one or two sides and
with a longitudinal edge and center bead
on a surfaced face. Also B&CBIS.

E&CB2S — Edge and center bead two
sides; i. e., all four sides surfaced and
with a longitudinal edge and center bead
on the two faces. Also B&CB2S.

ECM — Ends center matched.

R&CVIS — Edge and center V one side.
Also V&CVIS.

1923

Buildings

183

E&CV2S — Edge Jind center V two sides.
Also V&CV2S.

EM — End matched — either center or
standard.

ESM — Ends standard matched.

exp. — Export (lumber or timber).

f. bk.— Flat back.

FAS — Firsts and Seconds — a combined
grade of the two upper grades of hard-
woods.

f. a. s. — ^Vessel (named port). Free along
side vessel at a named port.

Fcty. — Factory (lumber). Also Fact.

P. G. — Flat grain. Synonymous with
slash grain (S. G.) and plain sawed
(P. S.).

Fig. — Flooring. Also F/G.

f. o. b. (named point) — Free on board
at a named shipping point.

f. o. k. — Free of knots.

f. 0. w. — First open water.

Frm. — Framing.

ft. — Foot or feet.

ft. b. m. — Feet board measure.

ft. s. m. — Feet surface measure.

Furn. — Furniture (stock).

G. R. — Grooved roofing.

h. bk. — Hollow back.

Hdl.— Handle (stock).

hdwd. — Hardwood.

Hrt.— Heart.

Hrtwd. — Heartwood.

ls&2s — Ones and two — a combined grade
of the hardwood grades of Firsts and
Seconds.

Impl. — Implement (stock).

in. — ^Inch or inches. Also two accent
marks (").

KI>— Kiln-dried. Also K/D.

k. d. — Knocked down.

Ibr. — Lumber.

1. c. 1. — Less carload lots.

Igth. — Length.

Igr. — Longer.

lin. ft. — Lineal foot; i. e., 12 inches.

Lng. — Lining.

LR — Log run.

LR, MCO. — Log run, mill culls out.

Lth.— Lath.

M — Thousand.

M b. ra. — Thousand (feet) board mea-
sure.

MCO— Mill culls out.

Merch. — Merchantable.

m. 1. — Mixed lengths.

Mldg. — Molding.

MR— Mill run.

M s. m. — Thousand (feet) surface meas-
ure.

m. w. — ^Mixed widths.

Xo. — Number.

Ord. — Order.

P. — Planed — used synonymously with
dressed and surfaced as P2S&M, mean-
ing planed two sides and matched.

Pat.— Pattern.

Pky.— Pecky.

Pn. — Partition. Also Part'n.

Prod. — Production. Also Prod'n.

Qtd. — Quartered — when referring to
hardwoods. Also see V. G.

rd m .—Random .

Rfg. — Roofing.

res. — Resawed.

rip. — Ripped.

Rfrs. — Roofers.

r. 1. — Random lengths.

rnd. — Round. Also rd.

R. Sdg. — Rustic siding.

r. w. — Random widths.

S&E — Surfaced one side and edge.

SIE: — Surfaced one edge.

S2E — Surfaced two edges.

SIS — Surfaced one side.

S2S — Surfaced two sides.

SISIE — Surfaced one side and one
edge.

S2S1E — Surfaced two sides and one
edge.

S1S2E — Surfaced one side and two
edges.

S4S — Surfaced four sides.

S4SCS — Surfaced four sides with a calk-
ing seam on each edge.

S&CM — Surfaced (one or two sides)
and center matched.

S&M — Surfaced and matched; i. e., sur-
faced one or two sides and tongued and
frooved on the edges. The match may
e center or standard.

S&SM — Surfaced (one or two sides) and
standard matched.

S2S&CM — Surfaced two sides and cen-
ter matched.

S2S&M — Surfaced two sides and (center
or standard) matched.

S2S&SM — Surfaced two sides and stand-
ard matched.

Sap. — Sapwood.

SB — Standard bead.

• Sd. — Seasoned.

Sdg.— Siding. Also Sidg. and S/G.

SeL— Select.

S. E. Sdg. — Square -edge siding.

s. f. — Surface foot; i. e., an area of one
square foot.

Sftwd.— Softwood.

Sh. D. — Shipping dry.

Ship. — Shipment or shipments.

Ship. — Shiplap. Also S-L and S/L.

s. m. — Surface measure. Synonymous
with face measure (f. m.).

SM — Standard matched.

smkd. — Smoked (dried).

smk. stnd. — Smoke strained.

s. n. d.— Sap no defect.

snd. — Sound.

sq. — Square.

Sq. E&S — Square edged and sound.

Sqrs. — Squares.

Std. — Standard.

stnd. — Stained.

stk.— Stock.

Stp. — Stepping.

S. W. — Sound wormy.

T&G — Tongued and grooved.

TB&S — Top. bottom and sides.

Tbrs. — Timbers.

V1& — V one side; i. e., a longitudinal
V-shaped groove on one face of a piece
of lumber.

V2S — ^V two sides; i. e.. a longitudinal
V-shaped groove on two faces of a piece
of lumber.

V. G. — Vertical grain. Synonymous
with edge grain (E. G.), comb grain
(C. G.), quarter-sawed (Q. S.), quartered
(Qtd.), and rift-sawed (R. S.).

w. a. 1. — ^Wider, all lengths.

Wth.— Width.

wdr. — ^Wider.

Wgn. — ^Wagon (stock).

wt. — ^Weight.

184 ^ Buildings July,

Architecture and the Spirit of the Community

Paper Presented Before Washington State Chapter of American
Institute of Architects

By CARL F. GOULD,

President Washington State Chapter, A. I. A.

The American Institute of Archi-
tects, composed, as it is, of local chap-
ters distributed throughout the entire
United States, has a cohesive strength
and is of value to the various com-
munities and to the country at large
just to the extent that each individual
is impelled by that apparently inde-
finable impulse to create in our physi-
cal necessities, orderliness and beauty.
Just what is it that puts the spirit
into the architect and keeps him at his
work day by day when he knows from
the beginning to the end of his pro-
fession that he cannot obtain what
all the world seems most to desire —
worldly increment.

To an outsider who may happen to
be present at one of our conventions
such subjects as building ordinance,
competition codes, employment or la-
bor, schedule of charges, etc., would
appear to be those which are upper-
most in our minds.

These subjects are always discussed
with a fervor and intensity of feeling
by cultured and intelligent men, while
the very inner reasons for our exist-
ence are apparently ignored. T^-is
may be due to the fact that the inti-
mate things of the spirit we never
allow to appear in the foreground of
our consciousness; it may be we can-
not find words that adequately give
our feelings expression. We hesitate,
while the most obviously secondary
things slip easily into words and in-
hibit an expression of our real feel-
ings.

Beauty the Soul of the Profession.
— We cannot easily describe the fervor
of feeling of bringing into being some-
thing that the world wants — ^whether
it is a shelter for a family or a place
in which to worship or a bridge for
our traffic to cross upon — but there is
a fundamental impulse which when
expressed and we see its accomplish-
m.ent gives a sense of satisfaction.
When, however, to these creations we
add an element of what is recognized
as beauty, the pleasure of creation is
greatly intensified. This ingredient of
beauty, which is the very soul of our
profession, we seldom or ever allow
ourselves to consider.

I remember so well some years ago
at a convention held in Washington,
D. C, an address by Lloyd Warren,
who died recently, in which he said
that the artist in the architect must be
in command. I recall also an inspir-
ing statement made at the close of our
convention two years ago by Dr. Suz-
zallo, president of the University of
Washington, that we, the architects,
were the custodians of beauty, a
thought which places an uplifting re-
sponsibility upon us and one which we
should treasure. It must be just this
desire of creation in terms of beauty
that puts the spirit into our profession
and makes it possible for us to endure
its' hardships and the frequent lack
of public esteem.

Inherent Elements in a Building. —
I am going to try to analyze for a
moment a few of the ingredients of
which this term "beauty" in archi-
tecture is composed. I realize my
utter incapacity for doing this, and
beg you not to grow impatient. I
shall limit myself to the discussion of
a few of the inherent elements in a
building which are not usually con-
sidered factors in determining its
beauty, I shall not discuss proportion
or the charm and quality of detail,
which we so often think of as the only
medium of expressing architectural
beauty.

These can be best illustrated by tak-
ing you for a moment upon a trip to
a far country. The very wonder of
the Egyptian pyramids draws us to
them. We are lifted out of the monot-
ony of our own life into the realm of
the spirit of universal man in their
presence. No people ever^ strove
harder to divert more of their hard-
earned economic wealth to make ef-
fective and give beauty of expression
to their belief in the life of the soul
than the Egyptians. In the presence
of the sheer size of these pyramids
an emotion is aroused just as were
aroused the emotions of the Egyptians
5,000 years ago. Realize for a mo-
ment that their mass laid down upon,
for instance, the 40-story Smith Build-
ing, would completely encompass it
and rise many feet beyond its height.

1923

Buildings

185

I It is by the very extent of the mass
; alone that we are impressed.

The wonder which is engendered by
this external mass may also be en-
gendered by internal space, such as
the interior of St. Peter's at Rome,
the Pennsylvania Station at New
York, and to a less degree by the inte-
rior of the Forestry Building at the
university. Sheer size is one of the
means by which the architect caji
create an emotional appeal, and it
; must be taken into account as a factor
or element of beauty. The Egyptians
expressed the spirit of their race in
; terms of horizontality, the stability of
line of their temples, of the unbroken
i silhouette against the sky, of the un-
I pierced walls, of sturdy columns with
j their flat roofs and sombre interiors.
I Stability, endurance, finality, are the
i feelings we have in the presence of
' these big hypostyle halls. These were
1 the architectural elements to which
i the Egyptians attached importance,
I and to them these were the essence
j of their life, and it is these appealing
emotions of the ages which we travel
I many thousands of miles to obtain.

The Spirit of Mediaeval Architec-
! ture. — For a moment let us enter into
the spirit of the mediaeval architec-
tural expression, and we develop a
series of entirely different emotions.
The moment we set foot in the most
! marvelous of all buildings, a cathedral
1 of the Gothic period, the eye does not
I travel horizontally as in Egypt, but
! follows up the attentuated clustered
! supports into the mysterious maze of
pointed forms overhead. The whole
I seems not borne by earth, but some-
thing hung in the air. The weight of
tradition is not upon us; a precedent
plays no part. A vibrant atmosphere
grips us. Imperfect in its incom-
pleteness, maybe, but aspiring to in-
finity. Such is the emotional appeal
that the great architects of the middle
ages gave to the world a thousand
years ago and to which we still re-
spond.

The cool splendor of Greek archi-
tecture neither attempts to impress us
by its sheer mass nor by its aspiring
quality, but through the intellectual
relationship of its parts and the ex-
quisite refinement of all its elements,
which can only be perceived and en-
joyed by the highest type of mind;
while beauty to the Roman was not
primarily expressed in terms of re-
finement of parts, but by sumptuous-
ness of detail and by a variety of

forms, principally by the use of the
arch and the vault.

These are all qualities which we
usually do not consider as pertaining
to beauty, but without which the
monuments of the past could not have
emotionalized the world down through
the ages.

Until we can in our present forms
of building attain to something which
in its inherent mass expresses an in-
tention which is a natural outcome of
our present life and civilization, can
we really hope to give to the world
an architecture which vdll be of per-
mament beauty. At the present time
we are so overlaid with a confusion
of impressions and emotions that we
have apparently no dominating one
which gives a direction to our thought
and from which the architect can ob-
tain positive inspiration. On the one
hand we find a structure like the
Woolworth Building, piercing the air
with a vibrant vertical effect, appar-
ently satisfying all the elements which
make for beauty, an inspiration which
one would think would be followed.
A new office building, however, is con-
structed in its vicinity, notably the
new telephone building, the most
costly office .building in the world,
made up of a series of superimposed
Greek marble temples, having no ap-
parent intention of and totally con-
tradicting its magnificent neighbor.

Lack of Coherent Relationship. — We

have our court houses, post offices and
our libraries expressing calm horizon-
tality; we have our institutions of
learning, expressing verticality; our
city streets are made up of contra-
dicting elements, and beauty exists
only in isolated buildings here and
there, not in the coherent relationship
of a building to its neighbor. An
eminent Frenchman in a recent inter-
view states that "it is disconcerting to
turn from manifestations of Amer-
ican architectural genius to the un-
sightly streets nearby, in the building
of which all consideration apart from
the strictly utilitarian would seem to
have been banished. Houses big and
small, handsome and hideous, preten-
tious and insignificant, ornamental
and sordid, huddled sideby side in jar-
ring promiscuity, mute testimony of
the stem material necessities and the
preoccupations of the past. One is
tempted to liken New York architec-
tur^ly (he continues) to a garden
overgrown with gigantic weeds,
cleared in parts to make room for fair,
well-trimmed avenues. Yet on all

186

Buildings

July,

sides I see such strong evidence of a
swiftly developing national artistic
temperament that I am convinced the
present blemishes will in due course
be swept away."

The Selection of the Type. — The se-
lection of the type of architecture
with which we express a building for
our client is seldom if ever based on
a deep conviction, rarely if ever does
the client bring any intelligent reason
to bear on why he wants one type of
building rather than another; the only
demand he makes is that it be entirely
dissimilar to any building in the vicin-
ity. How, then, is it possible for us
to obtain beauty in the total effect of
our buildings if we cannot agree on
any singleness of purpose. Is it not
true that in this Northwest corner of
the United States, with Canada touch-
ing us on the north, here is a certain
individuality apparent which might be
translated and expressed in architec-
tural terms ? Are we not as a group
quite different in feeling and senti-
ment from the people of California?
Is it not the habit of mind of our peo-
ple different from that in the south?
Are not the variations in our climatic
conditions a partial cause for this dif-
ference? What little historic back-
ground we have is not the same. Do
not our conditions more closely ap-
proximate those of Northern Europe,
whereas California approximates the
conditions of the Mediterranean
basin? If this is true, the horizon-
tality, the calmness, and the massive
walls belong to California, while the
vibrant verticality, the small extent
of wall with large window area, are
characteristic of us. Therefore, it
seems to me that if our clients do not
help to bring unity out of chaos, is
it not our duty to attempt to do so by
conscious agreement ? However beau-
tiful an individual building may be, if
it does contain the fundamental ele-
of the community in which it is placed
it does contain the fnudamental ele-
ments of beauty. Even if the most
beautiful building in the world, such
as the Taj Mahal, were transported
to the British Isles, it would be an
exotic thing, just as an objet d'art
would be in a museum case.

It seems to me that we architects
should strive to discover or evolve or,
transport an architectural type which
most nearly seems to fit our condi-
tions and accept it as a basic point
of departure, and each one of us as
best we can evolve and apply such a
type, until either we or those who

come after us are able to wield it into
a form which perfectly expresses our
community, as did the temples of the
Egyptians and the churches of France
each express the spirit of their com-
munities.

Changes in Retail Cost of Food

The U. S. Department of Labor,
through the Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics, has completed the compilations
showing changes in the retail cost of
food in 23 of the 51 cities included in
the Bureau's report.

During the month from May 15,
1923, to June 15, 1923, 18 of the 23
cities showed increases as follows:
Newark and Washington, D. C, 3 per
cent; Cleveland, Detroit, and Norfolk,

2 per cent; Atlanta, Bridgeport, Butte,
Denver, Los Angeles, New Haven,
New York, Portland, Ore., and Rich-
mond, 1 per cent; and Birmingham,
Charleston, Manchester, and Scranton,
less than five-tenths of 1 per cent.
There was a decrease in the following
5 cities: Boston, Portland, Maine, St.
Louis, and St. Paul, 1 per cent, and
Philadelphia, less than five-tenths of 1
per cent.

For the year period, June 15, 1922,
to June 15, 1923, 22 of the 23 cities
showed increases. Bridgeport, 7 per
cent; Cleveland, Manchester, Newark,
and New Haven, 6 per cent; Boston, 5
per cent; Birmingham, Los Angeles
and Portland, Maine, 4 per cent; Butte,
Denver, Detroit, New York, Norfolk,
Philadelphia, and Washington, D. C,

3 per cent; Portland, Ore., and Scran-
ton, 2 per cent; Charleston and St.
Louis, 1 per cent; and Atlanta and
Richmond less than five-tenths of 1
per cent. In St. Paul there was a de-
crease of 1 per cent.

As compared with the average cost
in the year 1913, the retail cost of food
on June 15, 1923, was 56 per cent
higher in Richmond; 54 per cent in
Washington, D. C; 51 per cent in De-
troit and New York; 49 per cent in
Birmingham, Philadelphia, and Scran-
ton; 48 per cent in Charleston; 46 per
cent in Boston, Cleveland, and Man-
chester; 45 per cent in Newark and
New Haven; 43 per cent in St. Louis;
42 per cent in Atlanta; 39 per cent in
Los Angeles; 35 per cent in Denver;
and 31 per cent in Portland, Ore.
Prices were not obtained from Bridge-
port, Butte, Norfolk, Portland, Maine,
and St. Paul., in 1913, hence no com-
parison for the 10-year period can be
given for these cities.

1923 Buildings

The Professional Status of Engineering

187

Address Before Engineers* Club of Philadelphia

By JOHN LYLE HARRINGTON
Consalting Engrineer; President American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

I am disposed to talk on a subject

that has been in all our minds for a

great many years — and we have done

very little about it. I don't know how

we are going to do very much about

1 it, except by individual eflFort here and

! there. But the engineering profes-

; sion has occupied throughout history

; a very singular place. The history of

the early centuries of the human race

has been devoted almost entirely to

the doings of the King; then to the

doings of the Warrior, and a little

later to the professional man of a

kind. In the time of Hammurabi they

I wrote about the doctor, for the King

laid down laws for the punishment of

I the doctor if he failed to perform the

j duties of his office loyally and well.

In the days of their power the Greeks

i gave especial honor to the philosopher

j and the poet and the sculptor. The

\ priest has been well known through-

i out history. But the engineer has

been back of the scene — furnishing

the fundamental knowledge upon

which civilization has been developed

all the time, but has not been known

I at all. He has been content to occupy

; a singularly secluded sort of place.

1 So far as I recall there was no men-

i tion of the work of Leonardo de Vinci

I as an engineer vmtil comparatively

recent times. He was known as an

■ zation of engineers there were only

two kinds, the civil and the military.

The civils very shortly were unable

to agree among themselves, and they

split into one class and then another,

until today we have literally hundreds

of engineering societies. Someone in

the Mechanical Society has taken the

trouble to make a list of the different

societies of engineers, and he found

more than thirty organizations in the

United States devoting themselves

simply to mechanical lines of work.

! Engineers cannot get along with each

I other in their professional work, and

I they certainly do not get along with

I each other in their business relations,

I for today the ethics of the profession

of engineering is very much lower

I than the ethics of the medical pro-

j fession or of the law.

' Engineers contest with eng^ineers in

I public and in private in a way that

the members of other professions do
not do. Sometimes I think they show
each other very much less ethical con-
sideration than do the men in ordi-
nary business.

Must Acquire Professional Con-
sciousness.— In order to acquire a
professional consciousness which will
give unity as a profession, which will
enable us to present a xmited front
to the world and present our claims
for consideration, we must first real-
ize the position in which we now
stand. In our public affairs today the
engineer furnishes the knowledge
while the lawyer or the public official
does the talking; and the honor and
the consideration of the public go to
the official or the lawyer who does the
talking, even though the engineer
furnishes the energy and knowledge
for accomplishment.

Our governments, particularly of
our cities, depend upon engineers to
carry out their projects; but the gov-
ernments themselves are not operated
by engineers, they are not operated
by the men who know best how to
operate them; that is left to the men
who make more or less of a profession
of politics — while the engineers be-
hind the scenes furnish the special
knowledge and ability necessary to
conduct a modem city.

We have come to spend a large por-
tion of our income from taxation on
public works and the operation of
public works. Today the direct tax-
ation in the United States is approxi-
mately $80 per capita, a very large
proportion of the total value of the
nation's production; but the engineer,
who directs the expenditure of the
great bulk of this money, has a very
small part in the actual control, a
very small part in saying how it shall
be spent — because he does not work
to get such control, because he can-
not get on with his fellows, cannot
agree with his neighbor; and, there-
fore, he cannot secure the part in this
work that really belongs to him.

I don't know how we are going to
overcome the difficulty. We are to-
day, of course, educating our engi-
neers as never before (something like
5,000 men a year graduating from

188

Buildings

July,

our universities), giving them as high
ideals as the faculty can give them —
and that says a great deal for the
men who go out from the engineering
schools, but it does not give them the
ability to work with others, they do
not go out of school with any well-
defined degree of professional con-
sciousness.

Older Engineer Responsible for
Views of Younger Men. — We older
engineers are in some measure re-
sponsible for the fact that the young
men do not gain a proper view of
their profession. It is too commonly
the practice of the older men to tell
the recent graduate he is a "cub" and
doesn't know anything yet about the
profession, is a nuisance to the place,
has to be taught, and in a mental
sense kick him and cuff him and lead
him to believe he is of a lower order
and has some years to go before he
achieves a position in the profession
— instead of taking him in immedi-
ately on graduation and giving him
something of the professional view-
point, something of professional con-
sciousness, something of a willingness
to stand up with his fellows and
esteem his profession highly, he is
given a rather low viewpoint.

And you will find among the
younger men in the country a good
deal of fretting against that position,
and justly so. In the railroads and
other large corporations, particularly,
it is true the young men have been
given a place far beneath that which
belongs to professional men; and we
older men owe to the young men an
education in their professional status,
an education in the way of a view-
point regarding the high character of
the profession they are entering.

Not Enough Attention Given to
Ethical Side. — In our national socie-
ties we are not giving enough atten-
tion to the ethical and professional
side of our work; we are dealing pri-
marily with the scientific side, we are
dealing somewhat with the business
side, with economics, to some extent
with accountancy. We are aiding the
young men to a broader understand-
ing of business. Older engineers are
taking an increasingly higher place in
business, and there is an astonishing
number of engineers who have be-
come presidents of railroads, of
manufacturing companies, even of
banking corporations, and in various
works of that kind. I have acquaint-
ances in New York who are devoting

themselves entirely to the reshaping
of the finances of corporations in
difficulty, using their engineering
knowledge as a basis for their ac-
count and financial ideas. They are
doing splendid work along that line.

We find engineers undertaking a
good many lines of work that hereto-
fore were not considered engineering
work at all, but which are based on
engineering work, and which are
fundamentally dependent upon the en-
gineer. But as a profession we are
not taking cognizance of the fact that
the individual engineer is doing that
kind of work; we are not showing the
younger graduates that that is a part
of the engineering field, and we are
not fitting them in any way, in our
national societies, to deal with the
business problems built on engineer-
ing knowledge. I think it is high time
we should give a broader understand-
ing and training to the men who grad-
uate from our engineering schools.

Engineers Have Public Service to
Perform. — We have for some years
been trying to establish the fact en-
gineers have a public service to per-
form, that they owe the public a cer-
tain amount of professional service
for which they are not paid — a gratu-
itous service such as the lawyer ren-
ders when he goes into politics and
takes a vigorous part in shaping the
policies of our country, and such as
the doctor renders when he serves in
public health movements.

The engineer has done astonishingly
little in the way of performing public
service. We must take the onus of
giving public service — for there is an
onus attached to it: the moment you
perform public service, gratuitously or
otherwise, you are subject to attack
by those politically inclined and op-
posed. But we have to pay the price
of our "place in the sun" and take a
part in public work, regardless of the
mud that is slung, regardless of the
broadsides of calumny that sometimes
come to the public official.

Must Take Greater Part in Public
Service. — We must take our part in
public affairs in a much broader way,
if we are to convince the world that
we are truly professional men. We
are still looked on as a species of ar-
tisan. Coming from California the
other day I met a new kind of engi-
neer, an "Exhibition Engineer." He
told me he had been sent over to Ger-
many particularly to study how the
Hagenbeck people erected their tents,
and that he had then been brought

1923

Buildings

189

back and given charge of handling the

tents and arranging the stalls in the
food shows given by The National
Cash Register Company and the To-
ledo Scale Company. He was an "Ex-
hibiting Engineer."

Recently one of my friends, a grad-
uate of "Tech," explained he had been
down South looking at some coal prop-
erties, and the man who drove him
around in the Ford was a rather pecu-
liar individual, who wore a long beard,
didn't look particularly intelligent, and
was generally of the backwoods type.
But he told my friend he was an en-
gineer. My friend asked him how he
became an engineer, and this was his
story: Some time ago he went to the
Pacific Coast and got a job as dish-
washer in a construction camp. He
afterward became assistant cook, and
then cook. Still later they put him
to driving a team, and he became a
teamster. After he had been there
quite a while he was put to firing the
donkey engine, and in the course of
time was put in charge of the engine.
He said, "Yes, sir, I ran the engine,
and from that time I have been a
Civil Engineer."

I confess the world looks upon us
with just about that degree of under-
standing. It is astonishing at times
how little the work of the engineer is
understood by the public, how often it
is confused — and all because we have
not agreed among ourselves as to
what our profession is. The National
Societies have split off into their own
particular lines of work, because each
society in turn has been unwilling to
give scope to the individual groups
who wanted scope in that particular
line. The Engineering Institute of
Canada has been able to keep the bulk
of the engineers of that country to-
gether by dint of a very great effort,
but there are divisions even there; and
I suppose we must expect divisions,
but we should, in our separate organ-
izations, be able to work together in
harmony when it comes to matters of
public interest and to matters of gen-
eral professional interest. But we
find that difficult to do, because we are
civil, mechanical, electrical, refriger-
ating or some other kind of engineer
— I don't know how many there are
these days — and do our work without
regard to our fellows.

Need for Collaboration in Matters
of General Nature. — It is high time
that we should think very seriously
of collaborating in all matters of a
general nature. We have, as engi-
neers, looked with great interest on

your efforts here to develop a World's
Engineering Congress in connection
with the World's Fair. We had a dis-
cussion at New York recently regard-
ing the scope the Congress should
take, and I believe there were as
many opinions as men present. That
is commonly the case in engineering
matters — that the opinions vary very
greatly, and each man insists his pre-
vail. How it will "wash out" I don't
know; but there is an opportunity, if
the Congress is held, for the engineers
to show a united effort, not only to
this country, but to the world, and to
adopt a professional attitude; and I
hope in the course of three or four
years — possibly in that convention —
we can develop a united professional
position, and show the world how we
think and what we do. And I hope,
in that case, we will deal with the mat-
ter so very broadly that the world
v,'ill understand that the engineer's
function is not to make drawings, not
to wear high-topped boots and broad-
brimmed hats and run lines with in-
struments in the field, but that he is
a scientific business man, that he is
behind all the development in this
country, the development that has
only just beg:un, and that is depend-
ent to a large and increasing extent
upon the engineer.

The banker and the business man
each has his part to perform, but
fundamentally it is a secondary part;
the initial fight, the initial develop-
ment, must rest upon the engineer;
and I very much hope we can get to-
gether and have our country as a
whole know us, have our cities and
our states and the United States know
us as a unit, as a profession, and ap-
preciate the part we play.

We need to undertake a great deal
more of governmental work. When
the road development came it was ex-
pected the work would be very largely
in the hands of the engineers, but we
are backsliding. Two of our states
have recently kicked the engineer out
and put the politician in; and the en-
gineer sits quiet and lets it go. Un-
less we wake up and act as a unit in
our professional matters we have no
real reason to object to having some-
body else do our rightful work, and
do it badly. That will be the result
if we default in our responsibility.

I don't know how we are going to
arouse this professional consciousness,
but until we do arouse it we are going
to occupy a less desirable place in the
affairs of the world, and of our own
country in particular, than we deserve.

190 Buildings July,

Contract Between Architect and Owner

Form of Agreement Adopted by the Illinois Society of Architects

The following articles of agreement
between architect and owner have
been adopted by the Illinois Society of
Architects, and published in the
Monthly Bulletin of the Society, from
which it is reprinted below.

Articles of agreement between ar-
chitect and owner:

THIS AGREEMENT made the

in the year One Thousand

Nine Hundred and , by and be-
tween , Architect located for

the practice of his profession at

Street, in the City of ,

County of and State of

, doing business at , in

the City of , County of

, and State of , herein-
after called the owner.

Witnesseth: That the Architect and
the Owner for the consideration here-
inafter named agree as follows:

Article I. The Architect agrees to
render full and complete professional
services, including the furnishing of
Preliminary Studies, General Draw-
ings, Specifications, Scale and Full-
Sized Details and General Supervision

of the Work, for a proposed

Building, to be erected on lots owned
by the said Owner, described as

Article II. The Architect and Owner
agree that it is the professional serv-
ice of the Architect which is to he
furnished hereunder and that the in-
struments of service such as drawings
and specifications are merely incident
thereto and as such remain the prop-
erty of the Architect; that the items
of professional service are compre-
hended and proportioned to the com-
plete services as hereinafter stated,
namely:

(a) Preliminary Studies, amounting
to Two-Tenths of the complete pro-
fessional services, consisting of ^ the
necessary conferences, inspections,
studies and sketches modified and re-
modified to determine the client's
problem and illustrate a satisfactory
general solution of same, both as to
plan and elevation. Illustrative
sketches for this purpose need not be
to accurate scale, but should be ap-
proximately correct as to general di-
mensions and proportion.

(b) General Drawings, amounting
to Three-Tenths of the complete pro-
fessional services, consisting of fig-
ured scale plans of the various stories,

elevations of all the fronts, such gen-
eral vertical sections as may be neces-
saryto elucidate the design, and such
details, drawn to still larger scale, as,
with the assistance of printed notes,
and of the accompanying specifica-
tions, may make the whole scheme
clearly evident to the mind of the com-
petent builder and give him a full and
complete comprehension of all the
structural conditions as they affect the
vital questions of quality and quantity
of materials, of character of work-
manship, and of cost.

(c) Specifications, amounting to
One-Tenth of the complete profes-
sional services, consisting of a supple-
mentary statement in words, or at
least all those items of information
regarding the proposed building which
are not set forth in the drawings.

(d) Detail Drawings, amounting to
One-Tenth of the complete profes-
sional services, consisting of all the
necessary supplementary drawings re-
quired for the use of builders, to en-
able them to provide and shape their
material that it may be adjusted to its
proper place of function in the build-
ing with the least delay and the small-
est chance for errors and misfits. If
not prepared until after the contract
for the building is let they must not
impose on the contractor any labor or
material which is not called for by the
spirit and intent of the "General
Drawings and Specifications," except
with the consent and approval of both
the owner and the contractor.

(e) General Supervision of the
Work, amounting to Three-Tenths of
the complete professional services,
consisting of such inspection by the
architect or his deputy, of work in
studios and shops or at the building
or other work in process of erection,
completion or alteration, as he finds
necessary to ascertain whether it is
being executed in general conformity
with his drawings, specifications or di-
rections. In acting in this capacity
his authority and status will be as de-
fined in the "General Conditions of the
Contract" of the "Illinois Building
Contract Documents," which Illinois
Building Contracts Documents are by
reference made an express part of the
work which does not conform with the
spirit and intent of plans and speci-
fications and order its removal and

1923

Buildings

191

reconstruction. He has authority to
act in emergencies that may arise in
the course of construction, to order
necessary changes and to define the
meaning and intent of the drawings
and specifications. He is not required
to give continuous personal superin-
tendence, but should the Owner re-
quire this service, the Architect will
employ a clerk-of-works or inspector
to render such assistance under his
direction, at the Owner's expense.

Article III. Subject to additions
and deductions as provided in Article
V of this Agreement, the Owner
agress to pay the Architect for the
performance of the contract, a sum

equal to per cent reckoned on a

reasonable estimated total cost of exe-
cuting the work herein required, to
be designed, delineated, specified and
supervised in construction by the Ar-
chitect. Proportionate monthly pay-
ments shall be made by the Owner to
the Architect in current funds, on or
before the 10th day of each month ac-
cording to the proportionate amount
of the various items of hereinbefore
defined service which have been com-
pleted by the Architect before the 1st
day of that month.

Note: Total cost, wherever herein
used as base for determining the ulti-
mate fee due the Architect, shall be
interpreted as what would be the rea-
sonable cost of all materials and labor
necessary to complete the work re-
quired to be designed plus contract-
or's profit and expenses, as such cost
would be if all materials were new and
all labor fully paid at market prices
current when the work was ordered.

The Architect and Owner agree that
the question of cost of executing de-
signs for building is controlled by at
least three factors: — (1) Fluctuating
market conditions of labor and mate-
rial which are beyond the control of
either the Owner, the Contractor or
the Architect. (2) Quantity and elab-
oration of material and labor which is
entirely within the control of the
Owner with the advice of his Archi-
tect. (3) Purchasing skill which is
largely in the hands of the Architect.
It is therefore mutually agreed that it
shall be the duty of the Owner to
choose between fixing limits on the
character of design and quantity of
materials or on ultimate cost, since at
any time these two factors might be
made incompatible by changing mar-
ket conditions, or unforeseeable prac-
tical difficulties, and if the Owner
elects to fix an absolute limit on ulti-

mate cost, the Architect shall always
be at liberty to make such alteration
in design, specification and size, or
any of them, as shall make it possible
to bring the cost within the restric-
tions imposed by the Owner prescrib-
ing ultimate cost.

Article IV. The Architect and the
Owner agree that the Illinois Building
Contract Documents shall be used for
the General Conditions to contracts
between the Owner and Contractors,
and the status of the Architect and
relation between the Owner, Contract-
ors and the Architect shall be as here-
inafter especially enumerated, to-wit:

(a) In the supervision of the work,
if by any contract, the Architect is
made the interpreter of the drawings
and specifications forming a part of
any contract between the Owner and
any Contractor; as such, it is his duty
to define their true intent and mean-
ing without fear or favor. He is to act
in this capacity as an expert untram-
meled arbitrator licensed so as to act,
by the people of the State of Illinois.
In so acting, he is not the agent of
the Owner, and while acting in that
capacity the Owner shall have no right
to command his acts or decisions or in
any way threaten or intimidate him in
the honest discharge of his duty as an
arbitrator.

(b) In cases of emergency only, the
Architect has authority as a public
officer to order extra work or mate-
rials, in order to safeguard human life
or property.

(c) The Architect in his advisory
capacity will not recommend by speci-
fications or otherwise, any materials
nor any contracting companies in
which he has a financial interest, with-
out fully informing the Owner of his
connection or interest in same and ob-
taining owner's consent so to do. In
all such cases he shall be deemed in-
competent to act as arbitrator on ques-
tions between the Owner and the said
Contractor, in any matters which may
be disputed between them.

(d) Since by the terms and condi-
tions of this agreement it is made the
duty of the Architect to advise the
Owner as to design, construction and
methods of procedure, the Architect,
during the preparation or preliminary
studies, general drawings, specifica-
tions and details, shall not be consid-
ered as being guilty of insubordination
or failure to carry out the instructions
of the Owner if he submits design for
approval or makes recommendations
contrary to the Owner's previously ex-

192

Buildings

July,

pressed instructions, for it is mutually
understood between them that it is the
duty of the Architect to give the
Owner the full benefit of his skill and
experience.

Article V. The Architect and Owner
agree that the following items of pro-
fessional service are in addition to the
services required by this Agreement,
and if required by the Owner ur in
the judgment of the Architect are nec-
essary on account of unusual and pe-
culiar complications of the work, are
to be paid for as hereinafter stated,
to-wit :

(a) The Owner is to pay for the
service of any specialists which may
be required for additional service on
unusual problems in Heating, Venti-
lating, Mechanical, Structural, Elec-
trical and Sanitary problems. Nothing
in this clause, however, relieves the
Architect from the requirement to
carefully compute and prepare com-
plete detail plans and specifications for
these portions of the work, exercising
technical skill and usual care in the
preparation of same. The Owner is
to pay for special chemical and me-
chanical tests and service.

(b) The Owner is to pay for all nec-
essary traveling expenses other than
between the Architect's office and the
building site.

(c) If the Owner requires a special
clerk-of -works or inspector, he is to be
selected by the Architect and work un-
der his, the Architect's, direction, but
his salary is to be paid by the Owner
in addition to regular fee for pro-
fessional service.

(d) If, after a definite scheme has
been approved, changes in drawings,
specifications or other documents are
required by the owner; or if the ar-
chitect be put to extra labor or ex-
pense by the delinquency or insolvency
of a contractor, the architect shall be
paid for such additional services and
expense.

(e) What are commonly known as
"Shop-drawings" if necessary to the
execution of the work are to be fur-
nished by the contractor or otherwise
and are not required to be furnished
by the Architect.

Article VI. (Here fill in any addi-
tional conditions, which i^ay be re-
quired.)

"The Architect and the Owner, for
themselves, their heirs, successors,
executors, administrators and assigns,
hereby covenant and agree that they
will fully perform each and every con-

dition of the above-mentioned agree-
ment.

"In Witness Whereof the parties
have hereunto set their hands and
seals the day and year first above
written."

Architect (Seal).
Owner (Seal).

Specifications for Metal Lath
Construction

Specifications for metal lath con-
struction, the combined result of
many months of investigation into the
specifications of leading architects, in-
spection of actual construction in all
parts af the country, research into
scores of building codes, circulating
questionnaires among contractors and
composing the views of the competing
manufacturers, have been issued. The
specifications are written upon the
basis of weight only. This is the
method adopted at the public confer-
ence held by the U. S. Department
of Commerce through its Bureau of
Standards and used in the American
Concrete Institute Stucco Report.
Among other advantages to the archi-
tect, this system has reduced the 73
or more different styles, weights,
gauges and combinations of lath,
which the architect needed to be
familiar with, to only 10 different
weights distributed between expanded
metal lath, flat rib lath and %-in.
rib lath. The specifications have been
approved by the Associated Metal
Lath Manufacturers and the Ameri-
can Specification Institute. The speci-
fications cover the quality of materials
and methods of application of all
types of metal lath expanded from
sheets used for the following con-
structions :

Wood stud and joist construction;
back-plastered metal lath stucco con-
struction; stucco on metal lath over
sheathing; overcoating stucco on
metal lath; metal stud partitions,
solid or hollow (fireproof buildings) ;
metal stud partitions, solid or hollow
(non-fireproof buildings) ; wall fur-
ring; standing furring; attached ceil-
ings, steel floor beams; attached ceil-
ings under concrete (removable
forms) ; attached to concrete ceilings
(permanent forms) ; suspended ceil-
ings; beams and cornices; columns
and pilasters; corner and jamb rein-
forcement in block partition construc-
tion; metal lath in steel joist con-
struction; alternate specifications for
maximum economy.

1923

Buildings

193

Permanence of Timber Work
in Dikes

An extensive investigation has been
made recently in the First New York
Engineer District to determine how
far above the low water plane the per-
manence of timber work in the dike
can be counted on. Some interesting
results of the investigation are given
by John D. Myton, Assistant U. S.
Engineer, First New York District, in
the current issue of The Military En-
gineer.

As is generally known, the Hudson
River, although of ample depth for
navigation for many miles above New
York, was originally very shoal for
about 30 miles below Troy. Its im-
provement was undertaken by the
state as early as 1797, and by the
United States in 1834. This was ef-
fected by the construction of longi-
tudinal dikes and by dredging. In all,

Dike on West Shore of Coxsockie Island,
Showing: Hole in Rock Fill

31 miles of dike have been constructed,
some of which date back to 1834.
Many of the dikes consist of a double
row of round piling, with square tim-
ber walings on the front and back, tied
together with iron or timber ties, the
dike being filled with rubble stone to,
or above, the top of the piles. Most
of the piles are local pine and the
square timber is yellow pine.

The water in the river in the reach
under improvement is fresh, but the
level fluctuates with the tide during
the low-water season. The average
range of tide in the reach is 3.4 ft.

In the older dikes the timber work
is carried to about high tide elevation.
The upper part of this timber work,
which is exposed to the weather for
the greater part of the time, has de-
cayed and the bolts and tie rods have
become loosened. The deterioration

is shown on the accompanying photo-
graphs, both of which are of dikes con-
structed in 1893 with the top of the
timber work at about high tide level.

There is under contemplation an ex-
tensive program for the repair and
reconstruction of the dikes, including
the construction of superstructures to
raise all dikes to a grade line equiva-
lent to the 10-ft. freshet stage at

Dike on West Shore of Schermerhorn Island,
Fill Washed Out

Albany. In designing the work under
this program it was necessary to de-
termine the height above the mean
low-water plane at which the timber
would not be affected by decay. An
examination of some 200 piles in the
oldest of the existing structures was
made, generally by boring into the
piles from the top or, if the tie rods
or spikes prevented this, by boring
into the sides of the piles through the
heart. In these tests, it was found
that the wood was sound to heights
generally between one and two feet
above mean low-water. In but very
few cases had the decay of the piles
as a whole extended below the eleva-
tion of one ft. above mean low- water.

Tests of Timber Work in Hudson River Dikes
Troy to Albany

Elevation below

Age iof Elevation of top which wood was

Piles of pile above local found to be sound

Yrs. M. L. W.-Ft. Local M. L. W.

Ft.

26 1.70 1.30

27 1.65 1.45

28 3.60 3.10
28 3.70 3.20
28 3.70 2.70
28 3.60 2.70
45 2.01 1.60
45 2.01 1.85
49 2.50 1.00
49 2.45 1.95
52 2.95 1.45
52 2.85 1.05 .
55 2.20 1.70
55 1.60 1.20

194

Buildings

July,

Corrosion of Iron in Concrete

Results of Some Swiss Investigations

In a report on the corrosion of iron
in concrete Mr. Bruno Zschokke, of
the Zurich Institute for Testing Ma-
terials, according to Concrete and
Constructional Engineering, London,
recommends the following precau-
tions:

(1) The concrete should not be too
meagre, but should contain the best
percentage of cement so as to make
it impermeable to air. Thus, the pro-
portion of calcium hydrate, which
prevents oxidation, is increased, and
the concrete is also more impermeable
to carbonic acid, which neutralises the
lime.

(2) There must be no substances in
the concrete such as locomotive cin-
ders, often containing sulphur, which
exert a cherriical action on iron.

(3) Th3 layer of concrete covering
the iron should be of sufficient thick-
ness properly to coveir it, and should
not crack under pressure or through
shrinkage.

The report states:

The Gary Experiments. — It has
been demonstrated by the experiments
of Gary that a compact cement or con-
crete in sufficient thickness will pro-
tect iron against oxidation for a con-
siderable length of time, provided that
the cracks due to shrinkage do not
reach the iron.

The experiments also demonstrated
that a coating of red lead on the iron
will prevent rust during five years.
It must, however, be noted that the
concrete employed in the experiments
was not of the composition usually
used in building construction, but was
a mixture of 1 part of cement to 4
parts of sand, perfectly free from
cracks.

The problem of the prevention of
the formation of creeks in shrinkage
has not yet been solved, and as they
make their apeparance in rich con-
crete oftener than in meagre, the
question arises as to whether oxida-
tion cannot be more surely prevented
by other methods than those specified.

It has yet to be ascertained whether
the action of solutions of chromates
cannot be profitably applied to pro-
tect iron in concrete. To elucidate
this the point to be examined is
whether the effect of these solutions
when mixed with certain other saline
solutions, or even solid substances,
would not be more or less affected or

even nullified. This is the case with
alkaline sulphates, chlorides, and
alkaline earth, e.g., sea salt, calcium
chloride, magnesium chloride, Glauber
salts, etc. Thus, when iron is exposed
to the action of sea-water or salt
marshes the use of chromates is out
of the question.

Rust Prevention System s. — The
principal systems hitherto adopted to
prevent rust consist in the production
of a magnetic oxide film in coating
the iron with another non-oxidable
metal by galvanisation, electrolysis,
spraying by the Schoop method, etc.,
ordinary varnishing, or coating with
an oily substance.

The Zschokke method, however, con-
sists in the utilization of the known
property of some salts which makes
iron passive when immersed in aque-
ous solutions concentrated to a de-
gree exceeding a certain limit, usually
very low. The most energetic of these
salts comprise chromium salts, espe-
cially sodium bichromate and mono-
chromate.

Experiments to Find Influence of
Cement on Protective Chromates. — To
ascertain the influence of cement on
the protective chromates, especially in
mixing, when the calcium hydrate is
liberated, a small polished iron plate
was dipped into a 0.5 per cent solution
of potassium bichromate with 6
grammes of portland cement under-
neath. After a year the plate was
covered with a pale grey film of cal-
cium hydrate, without a trace of rust,
a proof that the calcium hydrate dis-
engaged by the cement had no action
on the chromates. Moreover, the
hydrate and potassium or sodium bi-
chromate form a potassium or sodium
mono-chromate and calcium chromate,
the last mentioned possessing passive
properties in a high degree, as demon-
strated by the experiments.

Then cements were made with solu-
tions of chromates to test the protec-
tive action, and also with ordinary
water, for comparison. A polished
steel plate was coated with this ce-
ment, the weight of the coat being
estimated dry and made equal for all
the plates of the same series. The
other side of the plate and edges were
washed over with an asphalte varnish.
It was noted, and this is a very im-
portant point, that adhesion _ of the
cement to the iron varies considerably
with the amount of water. When the
cement is too dry it separates from
the metal in drying, whilst with a
suitable quantity of water (40 per

1923

Buildings

195

cent to 50 per cent) a crust forms on
the metal. When frequently covered
with water during the first five or six
days this crust adheres so firmly that
it cannot be detached even by striking
it repeatedly with a hammer.

When the cement had hardened the
plates were laid with the cement side
uppermost in glass dishes containing
a layer of water. Then .the plates
were sprayed once daily with a mix-
ture of equal parts of distilled water
and Seltzer water, i.e., water contain-
ing carbonic acid. The dishes were
then closed with a glass lid, and kept
at an ordinary temperature. After a
few weeks or some months the plates
with ordinary cement were spotted
with rust, whereas the others were
absolutely free from rust.

How Iron Can Be Protected from
Oxidation. — According to these experi-
ments iron in concx-ete can be pro-
tected against oxidation in two ways.
In the first place it can be coated over
with a chi'omate cement and, when
this has set, embedded in concrete in
the ordinary way, or, second, the con-
crete can be mixed with the chromate
water.

The first method has the advantage
of thoroughly protecting the iron,
more so as the thin coat of cement
cannot crack when properly applied,
and the consumption of chromate is
relatively small. Plates thus treated
and kept for a year on the roof of the
Zurich Institute for Testing Building
Materials, exposed to all kinds of
weather, were perfectly free from
cracks and rust. There is no risk,
in this method, of the water in the
concrete affecting the chromate in the
cement, as demonstrated by the fol-
lowing test. Iron bars, 150 millimetres
long and 18 in diameter, were coated
with Portland cement and a concen-
trated solution of calcium chromate,
and other bars with the same cement
mixed with a 5 per cent potassium bi-
chromate solution, then left for 24
hours to set. They were then put
into an iron mould, which was after-
wards filled with concrete made with
1 part Portland and 3 parts of normal
sand, mixed with 10 per cent of water.
After eight days the two blocks were
worked with a hammer and chisel
until the thickness of the concrete on
the bars was only two or three milli-
metres. Finally the remaining con-
crete was filed off from the coating
of cement and the dust removed by
lengthy immersion in hot water. The

filtered water had not the least tint
of yellow, a proof that the chromate
cement was not affected by the wet
concrete.

In the second test the concrete
mixed with the chromate solution was
used. As yet the results of experi-
ments on a large scale are not avail-
able, but it may be taken for granted
that the effect is the same and per-
haps better than in the first method,
as the quantity of chromate is rela-
tively much greater compared with the
mass of iron, an important point, al-
ready noted by Heyn.

A test was made which demonstrat-
ed that chromates have no effect on
the setting and resistance of cement.

Only practical experiments, on a
large scale, can show which of these
two methods is preferable. Consump-
tion of chromate, the price of which is
not negligible, is much less in the first
than in the second method; moreover,
the cement coat protects the iron
against rust much better than a
meagre porous concrete. On the
other hand, coating iron with chro-
mate cement involves expense, whilst
the second method requires a greater
percentage of protective materials but
has the advantage of greater simplic-
ity as the chromate solution supplied
by the maker in the proper percentage
can be added to the water when mak-
ing the concrete. The extra expense
estimated on the basis of Zurich prices
would be 3 to 4 per cent. As previous-
ly observed, iron is thus only protected
against ordinary atmospheric effects.
Acid emanations, for example, would
decompose chromates.

Training School for Bricklayers

A training school for bricklayers
has been conducted by the General
Contractors of St. Paul and Minneap-
olis since March, 1921. A fund was
subscribed for it, and a competent
bricklayer hired as instructor. The re-
sponse to public notices given has been
quite ample, and the school is expected
to be permanent. The course is for
six months, at a tuition charge of $5,
which is refunded to those who attend
75 per cent of the sessions. There are
no age restrictions, and the best stu-
dents are found to be from 24 to 35.
The cost of training a man is about
?350; the average time required is five
months, at an average cost of $7 a
month; and 100 students are now
enrolled.

196

Buildings

•Tuly,

Why Some Structures Fail

Interesting Failures in Structural Work
Cited in The Canadian Engineer

By R. FLEMING,

American Bridge Co., New Yorlc.

Study of structural failures brings
to mind such monumental disasters as
the collapse of the Tay and Quebec
bridges or the more recent one of the
Knickerbocker theater, Washington.
But the whole history of structural
engineering is dotted with failures.
Their varied nature may be inferred
from the following titles taken from
Engineering News-Record of the past
three years:

Ford Car Wrecks Steel Bridge;

Floors Fall During Reconstruction
of a Philadelphia Building;

Rusted Columns of Tank Tower
Buckle;

Shallow Foundation Causes Build-
ing Failure;

Overloaded Wall Buckles;

30-Ton Gantry Crane Blown Off
Pier;

Dust Explosion at Large Chicago
Grain Elevator — Steel and Concrete
Superstructure Wrecked;

Bridge Accident at Chester, Pa.,
Causes 24 Deaths — Sidewalk Bracket
Falls Under Weight of- Crowd When
Cracked Gusset Plate Tears Apart;

Column and Truss Bracing Blamed
for Brooklyn Theater Collapse;

Flat-Slab Reservoir at Canton, Ohio,
Collapses;

Trestle Collapse Due to Freshet;

Part of Old Nine-Story Building
Collapses During Reconstruction;

Falsework Failure Wrecks Large
Highway Bridge;

Erection Derrick Falls with Steel
Framework of School.

The majority of failures, however,
are not reported in the technical press.
This is especially true if there are no
serious results. And it is these minor
failures that most interest the aver-
age structural engineer because they
come within the range of his own ex-
perience.

Typical Unrecorded Failures. — A

dozen failures and near-failures that
have been brought to the attention of
the writer and not heretofore recorded
will be mentioned in what follows.

The latches and end supports of a
railroad swing bridge were constantly
getting out of order. The cause was
finally attributed to long trains, most-
ly of coal cars, passing one way over
the bridge fully loaded while the
trains passing the other way were al-
most invariably of empty cars.

A railroad bridge in New York was
on a skew, one truss being fully a
panel ahead of fie other. After the
bridge had been in use two or three
months, word came to the fabricating
firm that the counters in one of the
panels were stressed under certain
conditions to 22,000 or 24,000 lb. per
sq. in. Those were the days of iron.
The erector on being asked where he
had placed the counters wrote back,
"I put the biggest diagonals where
there was the biggest strain." The
marking plan was none too clear, so
he discarded it and used his own
judgment with the result that he had
interchanged the main and counter
ties. An erection gang was sent at
once to correct his mistake. Why did
the structure stand during the few
months before the change was made?

A highway bridge in Texas rested
on cylinder piers, consisting of iron
cylinders filled with concrete. The butt
end of a tree brought down the river
by a freshet owing to an eddy in the
swift current entered between the two
cylinders at one end instead of pass-
ing by them. It was soon stopped, the
tree swung round and acting as a lever
overturned one of the piers and the
span dropped.

Bull Topples Bridge. — Some cattle
were being driven across a highway
bridge in Connecticut. The bull balked
and backed himself against the low
pony truss with such force that it
toppled over. The bull was killed and
the bridge wrecked.

A train shed with open sides and
sheet metal covering on roof and
gables was wrecked in a wind storm.
The wind blew from beneath and so
well was the covering fastened that
the trusses were wrenched from the
columns. In cup-shaped sections ex-
posed to wind the pressure is proble-
matical and a liberal assumption
should be made in design.

In one of the largest office buildings
in New York City the superintendent's
attention was directed to a certain
floor that showed signs of distress.
The tenant of the office in question

1923

Buildings

197

had filled it with steel shapes and
models, greatly overloading the floors.
This led to the employment of an en-
gineer to examine the loads on the
floors of every room in the building,
with the result that three or four of
more than ordinary weight were per-
emptorily ordered to be removed.

In another building a few blocks
away, occupied mostly by jewellers,
three or four columns were settling
considerably and cracking the walls.
It was found that on several floors
heavy safes had been set against the
walls in almost the same location.

The upper story of an industrial
building was used as an office. The
roof trusses had been built with rather
heavy bottom chords. So a light floor
was built upon them, and the space
gained used to store papers and rec-
ords. This was continued for several
years until a warning caused an inves-
tigation of strength to be made. The
haste with which boxes filled with
books and papers were removed was
quite remarkable.

Dust Load Disastrous. — During a
long dry season nearly an inch of dust
collected on one of the roofs of a
cement plant. A heavy shower came,
a cloud-burst, the dust was carried
into the valley gutter, making such
a load that several trusses sheared off
at the heel and dropped.

A yard crane runway was thrown
out of alignment by an outward move-
ment of the columns. Lateral pres-
sure was transmitted through the not
very compact soil by the great heaps
of scrap iron piled near the tops of
piers, pushing them and the bases of
columns sideways. The late James
Christie for his own work insisted
that out-of-door crane runways, espe-
cially those on made ground, should
have the supporting columns extended
to carry a system of horizontal brac-
ing above and across the runway. The
reason he gave was that if any set-
tlement of piers took place the rails
and girders would be kept the same
distance center to center. An instance,
however, where this is not sufficient
is a runway in a manufacturing build-
ing where the crane girders are at-
tached to the columns carrying the
roof trusses. Raw material piled near
the columns have pushed the piers
laterally. The bottom chords of the
roof trusses have buckled, throwing
the crane rails and girders badly out
of alignment.

The concrete piers supporting a
large tower of a transmission line
were filled with cracks and beginning
to disintegrate. The tower was of the
common 4-leg type with angle diagon-
als on each vertical face from the base
of each leg. The owners claimed that
the cracking of the piers was due to
the absence of a horizontal tie or
strut connecting the bottoms of the
legs. The engineer sent by the firm
fabricating the steel work to make an
investigation found that the anchor
bolts had been set in collars, that the
spaces left by the collars after being
withdrawn had not been filled with
concrete and were filled with water.
This gave the solution at once. Dur-
ing the previous winter the water had
frozen and cracked the concrete.

Frost Failures. — Failures from'
water freezing and bursting its con-
fines are not uncommon. In one case
a score of cast iron column bases that
had not been embedded in concrete be-
came filled with water and cracked
during the first winter from the water
freezing. They had to be replaced at
considerable expense. "Weep holes"
should always be provided for the
closed portions of castings. If not
done water is liable to collect at the
foundry before shipment, during
transportation, or at the site before
erection.

Can failures in structural work be
prevented ? Not altogether. Acci-
dents, which no amount of human
forethought can avert, will continue to
occur to the end of time. Even fail-
ures due to faulty design, poor details,
carelessness in erection, are prevent-
able only in a measure. Experience is
the great teacher. It is said that
Brunei would congratulate his em-
ployers upon the failure of a bridge
on the score of its preventing the erec-
tion of a hundred more on the same
plan. The failure of the Tay bridge
led to a new study of wind pressures
and wind stresses. The Quebec bridge
disaster led to a study of the latticing
of compression members. The fre-
quency of highway bridge failures un-
der motor trucks is leading to an ex-
amination of existing bridges. Sane
building regulations with competent
enforcement will undoubtedly do much
in the way of lessening the number of
failures and accidents but will not en-
tirely abolish them.

198

Buildings

July,

Comparative Test of Haydite

and Rock Concrete

Beams

On account of the proposal to use
Haydite concrete in several important
buildings in Oklahoma City, Okla., it
was decided to make a comparative
test, using concrete made with Hay-
dite aggregate in one case, and con-
crete made with the local rock and
sand aggregate in the other case. The
test is described in the Western Con-
tractor by B. S. Myers, Chief Engi-
neer, Capitol Steel & Iron Co., Okla-
homa City. We quote from his ar-
ticle as follows:

The quantity of the Haydite available
for this test was very limited, and
the size of the test beams were re-
stricted accordingly. The Haydite
used was obtained from a local con-
tractor who had been furnished the
material from regular stock of The
Haydite Co. of Kansas City, Mo.

The beams tested were "T" section,
being 6 in. deep and 5 in. wide, and
the flange 2 in. thick and 12 in. wide.
The beams were reinforced at the
bottom by 2%-in. round rods with
5/16-in. round stirrups at 5 in. centers.

The test beams were reinforced
sufficiently to guarantee failure in the
concrete in compression. In both
cases the concrete was proportioned
carefully by volume, a 1:2:4 mixture
being used. A minimum amount of
water was used to secure a workable
mixture, and the same care was used
in mixing and placing the concrete
in both cases.

After the beams were poured, they
were placed in a room in which the
temperature was kept at about 70°
day and night until the test was made
on the tenth day. The test specimens
were covered with sand and kept well
wet down twice each day.

How the Test Was Made. — The
beams were supported on rocker bear-
ings, consisting of two steel plates
6 in. by i/^ in. by 1 ft. 0 in. with a
IVh in. round steel rod between the
two plates. The loads were applied
iq increments of 1,000 lbs. and IM^
in. square reinforcing bars were used
for the loading. A wood block 5 in.
by 2 in. by 1 ft. 2 in. was placed in
the center of the beam to receive the
load and to prevent any of the load
being applied at the edge of the
flanges of the beam. The first layer

of bars had a total weight of 1,500
lbs. and were placed on the beam with
one end of the bars resting on a plat-
form scale. The bars were shifted in
position until the scale registered a
weight of exactly 500 lbs. The addi-
tional layers of bars, weighing 1,000
lbs. each were placed in position on
the beam so as to maintain the 500
lbs. balance on the scale.

Results of the Test. — The following
table shows the theoretical stresses
on the steel and the concrete, and
the deflection of the beams 7 in. from
the center line for the load indicated:

Deflection.
Stress, lb. per Stone and

Load, sq. in. sand. Haydite.

lbs. Steel. Concrete. In. In.

1.000 .. 6,000 425 .11 .13

2,000 ..12,000 850 .21 .24

3,000 ..18,000 1,275 .32 .36

4,000 ..24,000 1,700 .44 .48

5,000 ..30,000 2,125 .59 .61

6.000 ..36,000 2,550 .75 .75

7,000 ..42.000 2,975 1.02 .93

7.300 ..43,000 3,112

8,000 ..48,000 3,400 .... 1.60

The beam made of rock and sand
concrete required a load of 7,300 lbs.
to cause failure at which time the con-
crete was stressed to 3,112 lbs. per
square inch. The concrete in this
beam was very dense, and the beam
had a smooth, neat appearance when
the forms were removed. When the
forms were removed from the Hay-
dite beam, the concrete appeared to
be quite porous and of not as good a
quality as the other beam.

About 25 engineers and architects
witnessed the test, and it was their
unanimous opinion that the Haydite
beam would fail under a considerable
less load than the rock and sand con-
crete beam. However, a load of 8,000
lbs. was required to cause failure,
at which time the concrete was
stressed to 3,400 lbs. per square inch
maximimi. The beams were weighed
in order to determine the weight of
the concrete per cubic foot in each
beam. The Haydite concrete weighed
108 lbs. per cubic foot and the rock
and sand concrete 144 lbs. per cubic
foot.

Haydite is an artificial aggregate
for concrete, made by burning clay
or shale to a clinker in much the
same way as the clinker is formed
in the process of manufacturing ce-
ment. This clinker is placed in stock
piles and crushed to the desired sizes
required for the making of concrete.

1923

Buildings

199

The California Day Labor Law

The new law passed this year by the
Legislature of California relating to
public work done by day labor requires
the filing of a certificate by public
officials sho\\-ing the total cost of the
work they do by day labor. The pro-
visions of the law are as follows :

Section 1. — It shall be the duty of
the state highway engineer, the state
engineer, the state architect and of
! every county engineer, county _ sur-
veyor, city and county engineer,
county highway engineer, road com-
missioner, city engineer, commissioner
of public works, superintendent of
streets, harbor engineer, flood control
engineer, and the engineer of any
reclamation, irrigation or other dis-
trict, political subdivision or agency of
the state directing, super\'ising or
superintending the construction, or in
charge of enginf ering work for or in
connection with the construction of
any bridge, road, street, highway,
ditch, canal, dam, tunnel, excavation,
building or structure within the state
by day's labor or force account, except
emergency and maintenance work and
work costing le^^s than ten thousand
dollars.

(a) to keep accurate account of the
cost of such work,

(b) to prepare and file in his office,
prior to the commencement of the
work, full, complete and accurate
plans and specifications, and an esti-
mate of the cost thereof, except where
other and adequate pro\-ision is made
by law requiring the preparation and
filing of such plans, specifications and
estimates of cost by some other officer
or in some other office; and,

(c) upon completion of any work,
to prepare and file in the office of the
county clerk of the county in which
the work is performed, or if any such
reclamation, irrigation or other dis-
trict maintains an office then in the
office of his own such district instead
of the office of the county clerk, a cer-
tificate in writing verified by him, in
the same manner as complaints in ci\'il
actions, setting forth

(d) the estimate of cost,

(e) names of bidders with prices
bid,

(f ) changes in adopted or approved
plans and specifications.

(g) that the work performed has or
has not been done in accordance with
such plans and specifications,

(h) a list of any publicly-owned
equipment used in the work, and

(i) an itemized statement of the
actual cost of all labor, materials,
rentals, repairs, compensation, and
other insurance, transportation of
labor, equipment and materials, engi-
neering or architectural services in-
cluding the services of public em-
ployees in connection with the work,
and any and all other cost entering
into the work performed.

(j) including a reasonable amount
for depreciation of publicily-owned
equipment used in the work and the
cost of repairs thereon while so used.

Section 2. — Such plans, specifica-
tions and certificates shall be open to
inspection and examination as a pub-
lic record.

Sales of Federal Timber

Sales of timber from the national
forests during the fiscal year ending
June 30 were greater than in any like
period, the Forest Service, United
States Department of Agriculture, has
announced.

With the recent sale of 685 million
board feet, mostly Douglas fir, from
the Cascade National Forest in Ore-
gon, the total for the 12 months is
between 2,500 million and 3,000
million board feet, according to pre-
liminary figures. The estimated cut
will be between 900 million and 1,000
million board feet, the latter figure
representing an increase of nearly 250
million board feet over the cut of the
preceding fiscal year.

Management plans for the national
forests provide for the cutting and
removal of the matured crop of tim-
ber in such a manner that reforesta-
tion of the cut-over areas will insure a
perpetual timber supply. Units of
management called working circles are
laid out and a limitation of cut fixed
for each.

In some areas the timber is clean
cut, and a new stand is obtained by
leaving seed trees; but in most in-
stances the smaller trees left stand-
ing constitute the next potential cut.
Artificial restocking or planting of
young trees is confined almost entirely
to old burned-over areas upon which
nature is exceedingly slow in estab-
lishing tree growth.

From 40 to upwards of 100 years
are required to complete the cutting
and removal of timber from the usual
working circle, thus providing for a
new growth of matured timber by the
time the sawyer returns to the start-
ing point.

200

Buildings

July,

Engineering Office Standards

The need for universal standard for
the drafting room is pointed out by
Robert W. Shelmire in an article in
the Professional Engineer, from which
we quote the following:

Every company has its own set of
standards and how jealous they are of
them. But why do not engineers see
the desirability of universal standards
rather than standards useful in one
office only? Each plant must stand-
ardize work to suit its own equipment,
of course, but numerous things could
be standardized and made universal at
least throughout the English speaking
world.

Those who despise standards on
general principles probably want to
know, "What, for instance?" Threads,
rails, building codes, the sizes of
drawings and many other things. If
engineers could come to some agree-
ment on rail sections there would be
millions saved in the manufacture of
frogs, switches, angle bars, and at-
tachments not to mention the saving
in rolling-mill equipment. If engi-
neers had cooperated years ago and
adopted universal fire hose couplings,
part of Baltimore burned in the great
fire might have been saved. As it was,
engines from adjacent cities had dif-
ferent threads on their hose coup-
lings.

My present purpose, however, is not
so broad. It is not necessary to scrap
all the machinery now in use in order
that the world may be standardized.
It is only desired to call attention to a
few things that would tend to simplify
office details. To have a standard list
of abbreviations for use on drawings
among English speaking people would
be very useful. It should not be a
book containing all the words it is pos-
sible to shorten for this would defeat
the very object of simplicity. There
are now too many miscellaneous words
abbreviated. What we need is a short
list of abbreviations, of the words
used most frequently.

An examination of drawings from
various offices discloses a lack of uni-
formity on this point, and many words
are abbreviated in more than one way.
"Plate" is usually shortened to pi. but
sometimes to p. and pit. "Bottom";
bot., bott., btm. "Special"; sp., spc,
spl. What is the sense of abbreviat-
ing a word of only six letters to four
letters and a period ? And how absurd
to abbreviate such a word as "special"
in order to save two or three letters

and thereby interpose some doubt as
to its meaning when the very nature
of the word calls for particular atten-
tion. If R. C. indicates "rain con-
ductor" then it ought not to mean "re-
inforced concrete." H. P. stands for
"horse power." Therefore, it is best
not to abbreviate "high pressure" or
"hydraulic pressure" in the same way.
No one but a lazy draftsman would
abbreviate "steel" to stl. but it is often
done just to save two small e's.
T. C. D. according to one architect
means "terra cotta drain." E. O. T.
means "electric overhead traveling"
(crane). There is no limit to abbre-
viations such as these which cause no
amount of trouble.

Nearly every writer who gives a list
of abbreviations limits its use to one
particular branch of engineering.
Drawings circulate among all the va-
rious tradesmen and classes of engi-
neers so there is no justification for
limiting standards of this nature to
one class of work. What must the
carpenter and the plumber say when
they compare drawings with different
nomenclature on the same job ? The
problem is not a local one though, for
the work may be in Australia and the
drawings come from both England
and America. We need universal
standards because drafting is a uni-
varsal language. The world has
shrunk in the last few years. Amer-
ica is isolated no more. Methods of
projection, symbols, abbreviations,
systems of weights and measures and
numerous fundamentals used in engi-
neering and architectural office prac-
tice must eventually be made common
to all countries. Why not begin to
think about it now ?

Not the least of the benefits to be
derived from a more uniform practice
in the art of drafting is the greater
efficiency which follows any simplify-
ing process. Draftsmen who must
shift frequently from office to office,
instead of spending weeks and months
leai'ning office standards each time,
would have to learn them but once;
that is to say, those things which
would yield to a universal standard. I
have known a good engineering
draftsman to require four months to
pick up his accustomed speed after
shifting to a new office, much of this
time being spent in learning different
ways of doing the same things.
Standards should only be adopted
through a representative body. We
have too many one-man standards
now.

Buildings

201

Tests of Kollow Tile and Rein-
forced Concrete Floors

Some time ago the U. S. Bureau of
Standards conducted an investigation
of the stresses in certain of the floor
panels of the Arlington Building,
Washington, D. C. This building was
designed for use as a hotel, but was
purchased by the Government and oc-
cupied by a branch of the Treasury
Department. This change of occu-
pancy considerably increased the live
load which was taken care of by an
additional layer of concrete on top of
the floor panels. These panels are
constructed of hollow tile and rein-
forced concrete supported on rein-
forced concrete beams. The tests are
of unusual interest because they were
among the first made on this type of
construction and because of the pro-
vision above mentioned for carrying
the additional load.

The test loads, consisting of bags of
cement, were designed to produce the
maximum positive and negative mo-
ments. Strain measurements were
taken of the concrete and the rein-
forcing steel of the slabs and girders.
In addition the deflections of the slab
were measured, and it was found that
the maximum stresses were developed
at the positions of negative moment
in the vicinity of the supporting
beams. The beams at the edges of
the panels offered so little resistance
to torsion that the stresses in the
steel across these beams, due to nega-
tive moment, were but little affected
by transfer of load between adjacent
panels. While under load, the effect
of time was very pronounced during
the first 20 hours and comparatively
small later. The increase in the de-
formation, due to continued loading
was greater in the reinforcement than
in the concrete. The cracking of the
concrete and the resulting great in-
crease of the stresses in the reinforc-
ing steel show that at first the con-
crete carried a considerable portion
of the tensile stresses.

The moment coefficients were gener-
ally small, and the Bureau does not
sugge.st them for use in design, but
simply to show the relative amount
of the bending moment carried in the
two directions. The effect on the mo-
ment coefiicient of an increase in ratio
of length to \\idth of the panel was
a rapid increase of both positive and
negative moments in the direction of
the short span and a less rapid de-
crease of both moments in the direc-

tion of the long span. The factor of
safety in the structure was apparently
greater than 2.

This investigation is described in
Technologic Paper. No. 236 of the
Bureau of Standards which can be ob-
tained from the Superintendent of
Documents, Government Printing Of-
fice, Washington, D. C, at 15 cts. a
copy.

A. A. E. to Ask Congressional

Investigation of Davis

Dismissal

Request for a Congressional investi-
gation of the dismissal of Arthur P.
Davis as Director of the United States
Reclamation Service was decided upon
by President Webster L. Benham of
the American Association of Engi-
neers when he was in Chicago on July
14, and received reports on the situa-
tion. The Civil Service Reform
League has been requested to look into
the circumstances of the dismissal and
take appropriate action.

"Information from several sources
all point to this course as the wise
one," said President Webster L. Ben-
ham. "We admit at the outset that in
the selection of an executive, the per-
son directly responsible for the work
is entitled to exercise his judgment in
appointing his subordinates. While
this is the essence of executive con-
trol, we view with grave concern the
dismissal without notice of an ad-
mittedly capable engineer who has
been in administrative charge of an
important government service for
many years. We are particularly con-
cerned in that such discharge is pur-
ported to have been accompanied by
threats intended to intimidate Mr.
Da\is into giving out publicly a state-
ment that the resignation was in-
itiated by himself."

"As I see the Reclamation Service,
in its present stage," continued Presi-
dent Benham, "It is a question of ad-
ministration, in which understanding
of the engineering side is important.
An engineering administrator is the
kind of business man who can best
ser\-e the public in an essentially en-
gineering undertaking and many men
of this kind have been developed in
the Reclamation Service.

"An insistent demand, it is true, is
being made by farmers on the Re-
clamation projects to escape making
the low payments of principal without
interest for the works they are buying
from the Government. That the farm-

202

Buildivgs

July,

er has been badly off economically,
every one knows, but I do not believe
those on the Reclamation Projects are
any worse off than farmers in Kansas,
Iowa, Oklahoma, Illinois, or Ohio, or
should be any more readily excused
from paying their just debts,

"The Reclamation Law requires the
repayment of monies invested by those
benefited. Those who try to escape,
seek to discredit the work and thus
avoid repayment. By cutting off the
repayments, the large revolving fund
provided by the law will be destroyed,
and the whole work will stop, with the
consequent loss of potential homes for
the American people,

"These considerations have caused
the American Association of Engi-
neers, with its 175 chapters and 15,000
members, to instruct its Committee on
Political Policies to ask for Congres-
sional investigation."

The Effect of Accelerators on
Reinforcing Steel

A number of 1:2:4 concrete and 1:3
mortar specimens in which steel rods
have been embedded were broken dur-
ing the past month, and an examina-
tion made of the rods by the U, S,
Bureau of Standards, Calcium chlo-
ride solutions had been used for some
of the specimens as the gaging liquid.
An examination was also made of ex-
panded metal which had been embed-
ded in small slabs prepared from mor-
tar gaged with a proprietory com-
pound of the accelerator type.

Some of the foregoing specimens
were 5 and others 6 years old and
all had been stored out of doors and
exposed to the weather. According to
a Technical News Bulletin of the
Bureau, from this examination, it is
concluded that while calcium chloride
tends to corrode the reinforcement, the
corrosion does not seem serious or of
a progressive nature with age, in
cases where the reinforcement is com-
pletely embedded in the concrete.
However, when using accelerators care
should be taken to completely coat and
embed the reinforcement and avoid
pockets near it. The strength of the
specimens which had been exposed to
the weather was considerably higher
when calcium chloride had been used
than when it had not been employed.
Sufficient specimens remain to allow
another examination at a later date,
and a comparison of the rod condition
and strength will be made at different
ages.

Seasonable Operation in the Construc-
tion Industries

A committee has been appointed by
Herbert Hoover to make a study of
seasonable operation in construction.
Commenting on the work of this com-
mittee a news letter of the Associate
General Contractors says:

"Previous surveys have indicated
that most construction activity is con-
centrated in seven to ten months of
the year, which means that building
trades workers cannot find work in
their trade during several months and
that contractors' organizations and
equipment, architects, engineers,
building material producers, and
others connected with construction
must usually remain idle for similar
periods. This idle time represents
waste and direct losses to the con-
struction industries themselves, their
workers, and the public.

"The committee was formed in the
hope that by examining the facts and
proposed remedies it might be able to
suggest sound solutions and obtain
general cooperation in effecting them.
It is the general impression that sea-
sonal building has been due perhaps
more to custom than to weather, and
it is expected that the investigation
will throw light on this and other im-
portant points,"

Large Granite Block Quarried by
Means of Wedges. — An unusually
large split that separated a piece of
stone from the main sheet, 267 ft.
long, 20 ft, wide and an average depth
of 8 ft,, was made recently at the
quarry of the John L. Goss Corpora-
tion, at Stonington, Me,, according to
"Stone." Larger blocks have been
started in the Goss quarries, but with
powder, while this great shaft of
granite was split with 3-in. wedges.
A few deep holes were drilled in the
long line to explode powder in order
to loosen the split and save the
wedges, as there were some 2,400 of
them. The block is said to be perfect
in every way. Report? from Carrara,
Italy, state that there will shortly be
moved there a single block of marble
weighing 50,000 tons. It has taken
eight months to quarry this enormous
mass, it being necessary to construct a
35-yd. gallery for its removal from
the bed.

1923

Buildings

203

Monthly Statistics of the Building Industry

The accompanying tabulations are

taken from the Survey of Current

Business, a publication of the U. S.

Department of Commerce. They

show (1) the building contracts

awarded by thousands of square feet,

and thousands of dollars, (2) the in-

dex numbers for building contracts

? awarded, (3) the building material

price index for frame and bnck

. houses, (4) the cost index for con-

i structing factory buildings, and (5)

t the index numbers of wholesale prices

I for structural steel, iron and steel,

composite steel and composite finished

steel.

The figures on building contracts
are based on data compiled by the

F. W. Dodge Co., covering small
towns and rural districts as well as
large cities in 27 northeastern states.
Prior to May, 1921, the building
figures covered 25 northeastern states
and the District of Columbia. The
states are those north and east of, and
including. North Dakota, South Da-
kota, Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, and
Virginia, together with portions of
eastern Kansas and Nebraska. Be-
ginning May, 1921, North Carolina
and South Carolina were added to the
list, but this addition is stated to have
little effect upon the total.

The price indexes for frame and
brick houses are from the U. S. De-
partment of Commerce, Bureau of

Grand Total Index

Building Contracts Numbers

Building
Material
Price Cost

Indexes Index Wholesale Prices

Year and Month

1913 monthly av..

1914 monthly av..

1915 monthly av..

1916 monthly av..

1917 monthly av..

1918 monthly av

1919 monthly av 46,683

1920 monthly av 33,491

1921 monthly av 32,267

1922 monthly av 47,745

1921

January 15,513

February 16,807

March 26.709

April 34,494

May 35,751

June 35,738

July 31,717

August 35,246

September 41,702

October 40,436

November 37,818

December 35,272

1922

January .30,261

February 30,061

March .51,957

April 58,146

May 59.639

June 60,526

July .-_ 51,705

August 54,019

September 44,275

October 46,806

November 46,946

December 38,603

1923

January 38,947

February 41,611

March 64,920

April _„ 64.527

—

•O a

■3E?

■r.

=^^

C ^

c8 a

"5
>

- it

5 si

C
si

i-4

1
^1

0 i

ax
E-2

o =

S71,475

100

60.020

2(i

100

78.341

113.082

177

1.54

163

161

134,086

269

266

259

252

140,770

202

215

220

213

214.990

iob

100

174

191

193

188

211,102

187

249

211

222

196.648

179

131

155

156

1.52

279.410

102

130

182

186

170

115

144

134

111.608

100.677

164.092

220.886

103

242.094

113

176

146

165

170

166

227.711

106

172

146

159

165

1.59

212.491

167

139

145

153

148

220.721

103

161

123

137

144

141

246.186

115

160

123

134

138

136

222.480

103

157

116

135

134

192.311

166

173

154

106

132

133

128

198.518

173

179

153

129

130

127

166.320

174

179

152

127

126

124

177.473

169

174

152

125

124

121

293,637

111

137

169

173

152

125

122

353,162

125

164

168

172

152

131

126

125

362.590

128

169

173

176

157

106

139

127

343,440

130

160

178

181

169

106

140

129

130

350,081

111

163

181

184

171

109

142

130

131

322,007

116

150

189

193

174

116

151

137

138

271,493

126

193

197

190

137

166

146

253.137

100

118

196

199

192

141

166

149

148

244.366

101

114

196

201

192

136

160

149

146

215,213

100

192

198

192

132

154

149

147

217.333

101

195

199

192

132

156

151

149

229.938

107

198

201

197

139

162

158

157

333.518

139

155

209

197

146

179

165

163

357.475

138

166

204

Buildings

July,

Standards, Division of Building and
Housing and Bureau of Census, and
are based on prices paid for material
by contractors in some 60 cities of the
United States. The prices are
weighted by the relative importance of
each commodity in the construction of
a 6-room house.

The index number for constructing
factory buildings is furnished by
Aberthaw Construction Co., and is de-
signed to show the relative changes in
the cost of constructing a standard
concrete factory building. The com-
pany believes that the year 1914 gives
a normal base and that July, 1920,
with an index number of 265, repre-
sented the peak of costs.

The index numbers of wholesale
prices for structural steel, etc., are ob-
tained as follows: The prices for
structural steel beams are the average
of weekly prices from the U. S. De-
partment of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics. The figures for iron and
steel are the average of weekly prices
compiled by the Iron Trade Review on
the following 14 products: Pig iron,
billets, slabs, sheet bars, wire rods,
steel bars, plates, structural shapes,
black galvanized and blue annealed
sheets, tin plates, wire nails, and black
pipe. Pig iron average in turn is aver-
of 13 different quotations.

The figures for composite steel are
compiled by the American Metal Mar-
ket and represent the average price
per pound of steel products weighted
as follows: 2*/^ lb. bars, l'^^ lb. plates,
11/2 lb. shapes, 11/2 lb. pipe, 11/2 lb.
wire nails, 1 lb. galvanized sheets, and
V2 lb. tin plate.

The composite price of finished steel
products is compiled by the Iron Age.
It includes: Steel bars, beams, tank
plates, plain wire, open-hearth rails,
black pipe, and black sheets. These
products, according to the Iron Age,
constitute 88 per cent of the United
States output of finished steel.

Record Book for Wire Rope Users

Forms for keeping service records
of wire rope are an important feature
of a new reference book and catalog
of the Williamsport Wire Rope Co.,
Williamsport, Pa. These forms en-
able the user to keep an accurate his-
tory of the rope. In addition the pub-
lication contains useful information
on the most common causes that

shorten the life of wire rope in va-
rious operations; it gives directions
for splicing and data on finding break-
ing strength, lengths required to make
ropes endless, horsepower transmit-
ted by wire rope, etc. It also con-
tains numerous tables relating to the
various uses of wire rope, and infor-
mation on the various classes of rope
made by the company.

INDUSTRIAL NOTES

The Ginsbcrg-Penn Co., Inc., 50 Church St.,
New York, sales representatives for construc-
tion machinery, has recently been appointed,
effective Aug. 1, by the Byers Machine Co.,
Ravenna, O., to take on exclusive distribution
in their territory of its entire line of locomo-
tive, auto and truckranes. The Ginsberg-Penn
Co., Inc., consists of Frank I. Ginsberg, pres-
ident, formerly with R. E. Brooks and Insley,
and Hamilton O. Penn, formerly of the T. L.
Smith Co., Milwaukee.

The Portland Cement Association announces
the appointment of James A. Hudson as dis-
trict engineer in charge of a new association
office just opened in Memphis in the Exchange
building. This office will have charge of
association activities in Tennessee.

The Bucyrus Co., South Milwaukee, Wis.,
announces the appointment of E. J. Wilkie
as northern sales manager to succeed E. R.
Weber, resigned. Mr. Wilkie will have gen-
eral charge of the sale of Bucyrus products
in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South
Dakota, Upper Peninsula of Michigan and
Eastern Montana, with headquarters in South
Milwaukee, Wis.

Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co., 6-8 East 44th
St., New York, announces the removal of is
Philadelphia office and service department
from 140 Market St. to 237 North 12th St.

William C. Frye, for seven years president
of the Chain Belt Co., Milwaukee, Wis., has
retired from active participation in its affairs
and has been succeeded by C. R. Messinger,
vice president and general manager since 1!)17.
Mr. Frye is retiring after an active associa-
tion with the company for 28 years. During
this time he has occupied practically all the
important executive positions and just prev-
ious to his election as president in 1916 was
treasurer. Under his leadership the company
continued the steady growth inaugurated by
C. W. Levally, founder and first president,
and is today one of the largest and best known
producers of chain, concrete mixers and con-
voying machinery in the country, all of which
are manufactured under the trade name of
Rex. Mr. Messinger, who succeeds Mr. Frye,
became associated with the Chain Belt Co. in
1917 after eight years as general manager of
the Sivyer Steel Ca.sting Co. He is also pres-
ident of the Inter.state Drop Forge Co., vic3
president of the Sivyer Steel Casting Co.,
vice president of the Federal Malleable Co..
all of Milwaukee, and a director in the Nugent
Steel Castings Co. of Chicago and the First
Wisconsin National Bank of Milwaukee. Dur-
ing the term 1922-2.3 Mr. Messinger was pres-
ident of the American Foundrymen's Asso-
ciation and is also prominent in the affairs
of the American Malleable Castinsrs Associa-
tion.

Roads and Streets

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.

221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbert p. Gilxette, President and Editor

Lewis S. Louee, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacrc Bldg., 42d St and Broadway

RiCHABD E. Browk, Eastern Manager

Road and Streets — Ist Wednesday. |1
(a) Road Con- (c) Streets

(d) Street clean-

struction
(b) Road Main-
tenance

ing

Water Works— 2nd Wednesday. $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and Sanitation
Drainagre (d) Waterways

Railways — 3rd Wednesday, $1

(a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-

way Construe- way Construc-

tion and tion and

Maintenance Maintenance

Buildings — (th Wednesday. $1

(a) Buildings (d) Miscellaneous

(b) Bridges Structures

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., AUGUST 1, 1923

No. 2

The Wall Street Myth

So often has it been said that the
price level of stocks is an infallible
barometer of business conditions that
most men have come to believe the
statement. But a study of the curve
of stock prices discloses nothing else
than a sensitive weather vane which
is as apt to swing violently under a
puff of wind as under a hurricane.
The weather vane may show that the
direction of the wind has changed but
fail to show either how long it will
remain as it is or how violently the
wind will blow.
, Starting last March, the price level
1 of stocks began to fall, and as the
decline continued week after week,
many business men began to worry,
for the Wall Street m\i;h that stock
prices are a trade barometer still con-
trols many of the actions of many
men. But about a month ago the
wind veered and the stock market
weather vane responded. Stock prices
began to rise, and now the future
looks less dismal for those who follow
the ticker.

Almost exactly four years ago a
similar phenomenon occurred. Be-
tween July 14 and August 7, 1919,
stock prices declined from a level
of 112 to 100, and there was a near
panic among the mj-th believers. The
great post-war depression was at
hand, they said. But two weeks later
stock prices began to rise rapidly, and
by November 2 had reached a level of
120. Thereupon loud cries of delight
came from the stock myth worshipers.
Now they were sure that no business
reaction would occur for a long time.
Yet by April, 1920, the stock price
level had receded to 100, and the
"panic" of 1920 had begun.

Such experiences as this, and they
are many, show that while the price
level of stocks usually moves in ad-
vance of the price level of commodi-
ties, it furnishes no reliable criterion
of the trend of business prosperity.
In fact, so long as the price of stocks
is regarded by many men as being a
trade barometer it cannot act as a
reliable barometer, for the very fear
that a falling stock market forecasts
business decline tends to promote such

206

Roads and Streets

August

a decline in some measure, and in still
greater degree it promotes the decline
of stock prices. If there has been no ,
great over-production of commodities
in excess of the buying power of wage
incomes, a serious business depression
cannot occur; but even in the absence
of this condition, a frightened flock of
lambs, to whom the tickers' low tones
are the growls of the wolf, will rush
bleating away from stocks. It really
is an amusing example of economic
ignorance to attribute to such lambs
a power of foresight that none of
them individually dares claim and that
all of them collectively obviously do
not possess.

Once the stampede of the specu-
lative lambs has begun, its increasing
violence is assured, for large blocks
of stock are purposely thrown on the
market by the canny wolves of Wall
Street. The bleating increases in
pitch and violence, for a time, but at
last the lambs, wise prophets of future
business conditions, fall exhausted
and another world crisis ends.

There is nothing more astonishing
in the whole realm of economics than
the wide swings of this weather vane
of stock prices, so long miscalled a
barometer of trade. Today stocks in
companies having large surpluses and
great earning power are selling at
110; a month hence they may be sell-
ing at 90; two months later at 120.
And the average man who is buying
and selling in such a squall is seri-
ously said to possess business fore-
sight! For if he possesses no fore-
sight, then why dignify by the term
trade barometer the prices that he is
instrumental in creating ? Let us call
these stock prices by a truer title, the
stock market weather vane. And let
us realize that the wind that moves
it is very often only that caused by
the fanning of the air by the lambs in
panic flight.

$7,500,000 for Forest Roads. — Con-
gress has authorized the United States
Department of Agriculture to spend
$7,500,000 on roads serving the na-
tional forests during the fiscal year
ending July 1, 1924. Moreover, 25 per
cent of the receipts from timber sales
and grazing permits will yield around
$1,325,000, according to advance esti-
mates, which will be turned back as
usual to the States for use on county
schools and roads.

Mark Twain on Adver-
tising

If a man were to make the best
mouse traps in the world, and were
his workshop in the center of a forest,
the world would find him out and beat
a path to his door. We have seen this
anti-advertising sentiment ascribed
by some to Emerson, by others to
Hubbard, both idealists and ideal
phrase makers. By way of contrast
we may quote an anecdote about Mark
Twain : As editor of a Missouri news-
paper in his youth, he received a let-
ter from a superstitious merchant
who was a reader of Mark's editorials
but not a buyer of his advertising
space. The merchant opened his paper
one morning and finding a spider
crawling on the editorial page, wrote
Mark asking whether it meant bad
luck for him or for the editor. Mark
printed this reply next day:

"Old Subscriber: The spider was
merely looking over our paper to see
which merchant is not advertising, so
that he can go to that store, spin his
web across the door, and live a life
of undisturbed peace ever after-
wards."

Weak Spots in Road Slabs

Editorial in The Canadian Engineer

One of the definite conclusions
which may be drawn at the present
time from the remarkable road tests
that are being carried out on experi-
mental roads in Illinois, California
and Virginia, is that the edges and
corners of slabs are important sources
of weakness. It was found, for ex-
ample, for the Bates road that for the
edge close to which the traffic was al-
lowed to run, the number of failures
was very greatly in excess of those on
the other edge of the pavement where
traffic approached no closer than 2%
ft. This suggested the advisability
of thickening the edges of the road
slab, and such is being done on the
new standard slab design for Illinois
roads, based on the Bates tests. An-
other method of obviating edge fail-
ure would be to widen the road slab
and perhaps mark a longitudinal cen-
tre line on the pavement so that the
traffic would be coaxed away from the
edges. Illinois highway officials, how-
ever, regard the thickening of the
edges as the more desirable solution.

Corners of slabs are notoriously
susceptible to rupture from concen-

1923

Roads and Streets

207

:rated loads. This fact was well
■CTiown before large scale road tests
iemonstrated its existence experi-
mentally. If, for example, a wheel
ioad chances to pass over a transverse
joint near the edge of the pavement,
there is liability of the two outside
:orners being cracked off, unless the
slab is well supported by the sub-
^ade. If the temperature be low,
and particularly if the pavement be
dry, the comers will be curled up to
a certain extent and \\'ill be in a posi-
:ion of free cantilevers. It is only a
question of the magnitude of the load
and the impact produced as to
A'hether the corners will stand up
jnder this treatment. Since trans-
verse cracks are likely to occur at al-
tmost any cross-section of pavement
[which is not heavily reinforced, many
potential outside corners exist in a
road slab, with the result that a large
number of edge failures might be ex-
pected during the course of cool
weather or under night traffic.
Thickening of the edges of slabs will,
ito some extent, obviate the danger
from corner breakages, and the use
of a continuous rod dowel along the
idge, as is proposed by the Illinois
highway authorities, will mutually
support the two adjacent cantilevered
corners with a result that the
strength of each is perhaps doubled.

Observation and test have conNnnced
nany highway engineers that a longi-
:udinal joint in a wide pavement is
iesirablc. For pavements 16 or 18
"t. wide, it can hardly be expected
;hat freedom from longitudinal crack-
ng would be secured, having in mind
Ae rising and falling of the slab at
':he centre due to temperature and
noisture effects. Given a longitudinal
oint, there then arises the incidental
lifficulty of rupture at interior cor-
lers. Wherever a transverse joint
ntersects a longitudinal joint, or
vherever a transverse crack runs into
t, corners are produced which act in
some measure as cantilevers. The
'llinois revised slab section provides
'or transverse dowels every 5 ft.,
hus holding the edges of the slab
:ightly together at the longitudinal
oint and preventing free cantilever
iction. It is believed that much diffi-
>;ulty will be obviated by this simple
, jlevice.

; It is a matter of considerable sat-
j^sfaction to the engineering profes-
t^ion to find the problems of road slab
pesign being rapidly solved by inten-
sive experimental and theoretical

study. Some thirteen years ago in-
verted curbs or edge girders were
adopted on the concrete road on
Woodward avenue leading out of De-
troit, under the belief that the edges
were a source of weakness. Curiously
enough, this was regarded by many as
a bad design, and but few engineers
had the courage of their convictions
to thicken road slabs at the edges un-
til large-scale research showed it to
be desirable. However, it must be
said that in both Arizona and Califor-
nia, a number of pioneer engineers
did adopt this sound feature of design
before the days of large-scale tests.
^^^^at was a strong belief of certain
far-sighted engineers has become a
demonstrated fact, due to the concen-
trated efforts of scientific investi-
gators. Highway construction is
bound to benefit, and the people who
pay for the roads to reap correspond-
ing advantage, through the persist-
ence and foresight of those \vho are
attempting to solve the unknown ele-
ments in road slab design.

Pennsylvania Allows Low Bidders to
Withdraw Bids Not Read

The Pennsylvania State Highway
Department will, in the future, make
a practice of checking all bids re-
ceived and announcing the low bidder
immediately after the reading of bids
on each project. Where a concern is
announced, as being low, and desires
to withdraw any proposal which has
not been read, they will be given the
option of so doing, by personal request
from their duly authenticated agent.

As has been pointed out before, re-
marks the Highway Builder, whenever
there is a large letting of state high-
way work constructors who have
equipment and organization idle, nat-
iirally and quite properly inspect and
prepare bids on a larger number of
projects than they expect to be called
upon to build. This is necessary in
order for them to secure the amount
of work desired. In future, in Penn-
sylvania, when they find themselves
low bidders on as many contracts as
they feel capable of executing, they
will have the privilege of withdrawing
additional bids. This will protect them
against overloading and will also pro-
tect other bidders from losing work
through rejection of all proposals on a
particular job, on account of the in-
ability of the low bidder to qualify.

208 Roads and Streets Augus

Motor Vehicle Production in June increased less than five-tenths of :

The U. S. Department of Commerce Fifteen articles decreased in pric(

announces June production of auto- as follows: Cabbage, 23 per cent; but

mobiles and trucks, based on figures ter, 4 per cent; hens, 2 per cent; or

received by the Bureau of the Census anges, 3 per cent; plate beef, lard

m cooperation with the National sugar, coifee, prunes, and raisins, :

Automobile Chamber of Commerce per cent; pork chops, bacon, cannec

and covering approximately 90 pass- salmon, nut margarine, and whea

enger-car and 80 truck manufacturers cereal decreased less than five-tenthi

each month. of 1 per cent.

AUTOMOBILE PRODUCTION Fifteen articles showed on change

(Number of Machines) in price during the month. They weri

Passenger Cars Trucks ^^. f ol^ows : Fresh milk, evaporatec

1923 1922 1923 1922 milk, oleomargarine, bread, flour, con

January 223,706 81,693 19,398 9.416 meal, rolled oats, comflakes, macaroni

February 254,650 109,171 21,817 13,195 ^;„„ naw hMTi<3 hnkpH hMTiis pnTiner

March 319,638 152,959 34,681 19,761 "^^' "^^ Dcans, DaKea Deans, cannec

April 344,474 197,216 37,527 22,342 com, canned peas, and canned toma

May 350,180 232,431 *43,012 23,788 toes.

J""^- 336,317 263,027 40,565 25.984 por the year period, June 15, 1922

*Revised. to June 15, 1923, the increase in al

articles of food combined was 3 pe]

cent.

Changes in Retail Prices of Food ^°^ *^^^ ten-year period, June 15

v^nanges m i^eiau ''"ces or rooa ^g^g^ ^^ j^^^ ^5^ .^923, the increase ir

in the United states all articles of food combined was 4i

The retail food index issued by the P®^ cent.

United States Department ©f Labor

through the Bureau of Labor statis- Road and Street Contracts

tics, shows that there was an increase \ j j r* • *.!_ i i.

of 1 per cent in the retail cost of food Awarded Lluring the Last

in June, 1923, as compared with May, 42 Months
1923. In June, the index number was

144, in May, 143. The iaccompanying table shows
During the month from May 15, ^hree outstanding facts: First that
1923, to June 15, 1923, 13 articles on highway contracts awarded during
which monthly prices are secured in- the last half of each year have aver-
creased in price as follows: Potatoes, \ged only 25 per cent less m volume
19 per cent; round steak, 5 per cent; f*^an those awarded during the first
sirloin steak, leg of lamb and onions, palf ; second, that there is not a month
4 per cent; chuck roast and bananas, i" the year without a very large vol-
3 per cent; rib roast and cheese, 2 per ume of road and street contracts
cent; ham and fresh eggs, 1 per cent, awarded; third, that each year shows
Vegetable lard and substitute and tea a substantial gam over its prede-
cessor.

ROAD AND STREET CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $26,000 IN SIZE

1920

January „ JS 12,204,000

February 21,334,000

March- 26,221,000

April „ _ »:i.340,000

May „ - 30,258,000

June 31.441,000

July..„ 29,353,000

Augrust _ 18,565,000

September _ _ 26,537,000

October 12.894.000

November 12,448,000

December 10,884,000

1921

1922

1923

) $ 11.598,000

$ 14,424.000

$ 21.691.000

) 12,049,000

9,062,000

18.781.000

> 25.880,000

39,669,000

37.706.000

) 31.026,000

32,991.000

29,641,')nn

) 35,064.000

42.284.000

46.628,000

) 56.777,000

42.138.000

38.040.000

) 33,943,000

26.087,000

) 28.693,000

37,035,000

) 23,257.000

28,884,000

„_.

) 20.055.000

23,162,000

) 20.751,000

20,892,000

) 16,263,000

18,096.000

1 $316,356,000

$334,714,000

Total $265,424,000

Note. — About 100 per cent must be added to these totals to grive the grand total of higrhway
contracts in the United States.

Bridges are not included, and bridge contracts average 16 per cent as much In value ns road
and street contracts. A great deal of road and street work is done by directly hired labor and
is not included above.

1923 Roads and Streets 209

Effect of Ref>eated Loads on Concrete Slabs

Investigation of Fatigue Element of Cement Mortar Described in Paper

Presented June 28 at 26th Annual Meeting of American

Society for Testing Materials

By R. B. CREPPS

Assistant Professor of Testing Materials, Purdue University

The investigation of the fatigue ele-
ment with respect to cement mortar
is being carried on in the Testing Ma-
terials Laboratory of Purdue Uni-
versity as a co-operative project of
the Engineering Experiment Station
and the U. S. Bureau of Public Roads.

The.. Testing Apparatus — Deflec-
tions of a concrete slab occur in the
form of a wave action as a wheel
passes over the surface. The direc-
tion and nature of the resulting stress
is constantly changing from tension
of compression in the upper fibers to
tension or compression in the lower

tart

^ \\ \

■ Hi

Lm v>

t Jt

/ \

-1^

■ '^'A

° 1

1 1

Figr. 1. — Static Loading Curve.

fibers. With these facts in mind the
idea of investigating the effect of re-
versed stresses upon concrete was
conceived by W. K. Hatt and later in-
corporated in the design of an appa-
ratus with which to carry on the in-
vestigation. The original device pro-
vided for the inspection of only one
specimen at a time, while the impro-
vised machine allows four beams to
be inspected simultaneously.

The machine consists mainly of a
steel frame supporting test specimens,
a motor and the essential working
units. The principle of the applica-
tion of the loads to the test specimens
lies in the operation of an eccentric
cam, which raises and lowers a load
upon the ends of a horizontal strain-
ing member, supported in the center
by a vertical test specimen. Four
rocker arms, pivoted directly above

the same number of test specimens,
operate through a small angle by
means of the cams rotated from a
central line shaft. The U-shaped ends
of the rocker arms fit around the
cams. One end of a beam under test
is clamped rigidly to the base of the
steel frame and the upper end is
clamped to the straining member. The
operation of the machine subjects the
outer fibers of the beam to alternate
tension and compression at the rate of
ten cycles per minute. A revolution
counter attached to the machine in-
dicates the actual number of reversals
of stress for the separate beams.

Ten-inch Berry strain gages pro-
vided with Ames dials reading to
0.0001 in. are attached to both sides
of the specimen, and observations of
the total deformation from tension to
compression are taken at designated
intervals throughout the period of
tests.

Test Specimens — The original speci-
mens were 30 in. long and 4 by 4 in.
in cross-section. It was found, how-
ever, that beams of uniform cross-
section usually failed outside of the
strain gage range near the lower
support. In order to localize the fail-
ure within the strain gage points the
cross-section, outside of the 10-in.
gage length, was increased to 4 by 6
in.

Mortar specimens of a 1:2 mix have
been used in the investigation up to
the present time.

Strength of Specimens — Figure 1
illustrates the procedure used in de-
termining the strength of the speci-
mens. Duplicate test beams supported
as in the fatigue machine are broken
by the application of static loads in
10-lb. increments on one end of the
straining beam. The streng:th factor
as determined by the static-load
breaks is considered as representative
of the particvilar series of beams un-
der question. In spite of all possible
precaution observed in the construc-
tion of the test specimens, the max-
imum variation in strength from an
average of six beams was about 15

210

Roads and Streets

August

per cent. It is appreciated that this
variation creates a source of consider-
able error in the attempt to arrive at
definite conclusions concerning fa-
tigue of mortar.

Stanton Walker* has indicated that
a relation exists between the modu-
lus of elasticity and the compressive
strength of concrete. The method of
load application in the fatigue tests
has accentuated an exhaustive study
of the modulus of elasticity in tension
of the mortar beams. An analysis of
the data on hand indicates, however,
that the modulus of elasticity bears
to consistent relation to the trans-
verse strength which might be used
to advantage in more accurately de-

additional number of reversals nec-
essary for complete failure is less.
A parallel cycle of action is indicated,
nevertheless, by the general trend of
the deformation curves.

It is apparent that rupture or fail-
ure of the bond occurs first on the
extreme outer fibers where the de-
formation is a maximum. This action
is progressive toward the center of
the beam until complete failure is
imminent. Continual progressive de-
formation of the outer fibers is signifi-
cant of the fatigue element. Pro-
gressive deformation may occur in
some cases for a certain number of
reversals when it becomes evident
from the flatness of the deformation

Beam Ho 17

Size ri>y4"l,yi0'

M„ /.?

Aqe af Beginning of Tesf (dop) Z8

Gage Length, Inches 10

Locahon of fradore Middle of Sage

Pofe of Appttcafion of Load ' 10 per mi

Number of Pe^rsahfo cause failure 144^825

frqclure ■ Bond Failure Only o few of tht Softer
PebbL failed in Shear.

Reversals of Sircss.

Fig. 2. — Typical Fatigue Curve.

termining the strength of the individ-
ual specimens.

Discussion of Tests. — The curve
shown in Fig. 2 illustrates the typical
effect of reversed stresses which
caused failure of the mortar speci-
men. It is to be noted that there is
a progressive deformation in the ex-
treme fibers until failure of the test
specimen takes place. A straight line
of constant slope relation is indicated
up to 110,000 reversals of stress. At
this point, four cracks appeared on
the outermost fibers of the specimen,
and the slope of the line changed. An
additional 35,000 reversals of stress
were necessary to produce complete
failure. The critical point in the pro-
gressive deformation cycle is desig-
nated as the premature failure limit.

The curve is representative of the
tests completed to date, although in
many cases the premature failure
limit is not so pronounced and the

^Stanton Walker, "Modulus of Elasticity of
Concrete," Proceedings, Am. Soc. Testing
Mats., Vol. XIX, Part II. p, 510 (1919),

curve that the material is showing no
ill effects from repetitions of the load.
The assumption is made that loads
producing constant deformation are
below the endurance limit or the safe
working stress of the material.

Recovery Phenomenon During a
Period of Rest. — An interesting fea-
ture of the fatigue tests, shown in
Fig. 2 is that of the appreciable re-
covery during a period of rest of the
strength of mortar undergoing a fa-
tiguing action. It has been necessary
each night to stop the machine and,
as a result, the strength recovery
phenomenon is clearly illustrated on
the curve. A parallel action is com-
mon to many materials, such as,
metals, wood and soils when they are
stressed beyond a safe limit. The
amount of recovery in the case of
cement mortar is directly proportional
to the duration of the period of rest.
It is to be noted that no recovery oc-
curs after the premature failure limit
has been attained.

Fig. 3 illustrates some peculiar as

1923

Roads and Streets

211

well as interesting features of a series
of beams under test at the present
time. During this series of tests^ it
became necessary to stop the machine
for five weeks, and as a result the
effects of a prolonged rest period is
clearly evident from the trend of the
deformation curves. The beneficial or
strengthening effect of the rest period
is the most pronounced in the case of
the specimen represented by curve D.
In this instance it is believed that the
induced stress approached the critical
limit and that failure was imminent.
The degree of deformation following
the rest period indicates that the
beam had fully recovered from the
initial over-stressings. As these

believed that the influence of the in-
crease in strength due to age is neg-
ligible, although the prevailing humid-
ity and summer temperatures may
have accentuated the apparent in-
creasing resistance of the mortar.

Fig. 4 shows the sequence of de-
formation and the plastic set or fail-
ure of the mortar to return to its
original position in both tension and
compression. A marked contrast can
readily be detected in the magnitude
of the plastic set occArring at 18,800
and 23,760 reversals of stress, respec-
tively. The broken line appearing in
the cycle curve at 23,760 reversals
shows the unit deformation after the
beam had rested for a period of 16

1 1 1 1
ur^A- TO ftrctiit of Static Bftoting Load.
. BW-..^- - ••_

~ C 50

. D 5S

. C 54

L-fl

. r 50 -

. 0 10,

>»!

— '

^ /?«/

—

--fei— H —

__ '' ''■ \ ^

:;o:

-"■"^

ite/

\ \ F , . i ^

^1—

Duration ofHef Ptr^od 5 netki
1 1... .. J„ 1 1

Fig. 3. — Curves Showing Effect of Prolonged Rest Period.

beams were five months old, it is
thought that the increase in strength
due to age over the rest period ex-
erted a minor influence upon the sub-
sequent resistance of the mortar.

This phenomenon seems to indicate
that the rate or number of intermit-
tent applications of load ranging in
intensity above the endurance limit
would have considerable bearing upon
the life of the concrete structure.

It is to be noted that the effect of
the rest period is less pronounced in
the case of the specimens represented
by curves E, F and G. In these beams,
however, the induced stresses were
apparently below the endurance limit
and no fatiguing action had taken
place. The general trend of the de-
formation curves after 140,000 re-
versals seems to be in a downward
direction. As previously stated, it is

hours. These maximum deformations
are less than those of the same beam
just previous to the rest period, which
shows a partial recovery from the
fatigue action. This action is typical
of all tests in that progressive plastic
set simultaneously accompanies fa-
tigue.

Indications and Summary of Tests.
— The purpose of this paper has not
been at present finished data or to
draw definite conclusions concerning
the fatigue of mortar and concrete,
but more to stimulate interest and
discussion of the subject. There are,
however, several indications of prom-
inence which are emphasized by this
investigation :

1. (a) 28 Day Tests, 12 Beams, 1:2
Mix. — Results of this series of tests
indicate that no definite endurance
limit between 40 and 60 per cent of

212

Roads and Streets

August

that load required to break the beam
under a single application can be as-
signed to cement mortar of this age.

(b) 4 Month Tests, 8 Beams, 1:2
Mix. — Results of this series of tests
shown in Fig. 3 indicate that the en-
durance limit is approximately 50 to
55 per cent of the static load.

(c) 6 Month Tests, 6 Beams, 1:2
Mix. — Results of these tests shown in
Fig. 5 indicate that the endurance
limit is 54 to 55 per cent of the static
breaking load.

2. The number of reversals of
stress necessary to cause failure de-
creases in a proportion to the respec-
tive increase of the percentage of
stress above the apparent endurance
limit.

3. Stresses above the endurance
limit cause continual progressive de-
formation.

4. Stresses below the endurance
limit may cause progressive deforma-
tion within certain limits.

(In either 3 or 4, progressive de-
formation is not significant of per-
manent injury to the product unless
actual rupture of the bond occurs on
the extreme outermost fibers.)

5. The effect of a rest period in-
dicates that the rate and number of
intermittent applications of load rang-

• /tfftrBtamhadrt'.*^

FIgr. 4. — ^Typical Cycle Curves.

ing in intensity above the endurance
limit would have considerable bear-
ing upon the life of a concrete struc-
ture.

6. (a) The amount of recovery in
strength in the case of cement mortar
is directly proportional to the dura-
tion of the period of rest.

(b) Above the premature failure
limit no appreciable recovery occurs.

Future Investigations. — The effect
of rest periods upon the endurance
or life of cement products will be
carried on at a future date. In sev-

eral of these series of tests, it is
planned to subject beams to a limited
number of reversals of critical stress
every 24 hours, the stresses being
maintained above the endurance limit.
In other investigations it is planned
to determine the endurance limit when
the beams are not given these rest
periods. Specimens of concrete as
well as mortar will be studied in
fatigue.

Authoritative results of the fatigue
phenomena in mortar involve a time

[

•—

Af/j

/ 2

Aqe 6 months

0— •- Specimen noi Broken

1 1 1

•

Peversats of Sfrtss

Fig. 5. — Fatigue Endurance Limit of Cement
Mortar Beams.

element of considerable magnitude
and although these tests have been
conducted during the past two years,
this field of investigation is only
opened. Certain features of the fa-
tigue phenomena have already been
indicated, and it is thought, from this
foundation, that valuable information
will be secured from future tests to
aid in the proper design of concrete.

Road Material Survey Being Made
in Kentucky. — A survey of Kentucky
to locate and map road building ma-
terials is now being made by Dr.
Charles S. Richardson, head of the de-
partment of mineralogy, Syracuse
University. The department of State
Roads and Highways is co-operating
with the State Geological Survey in
carrying out the work. The survey
probably will be completed in Novem-
ber, and the report published by Dr.
Richardson. A recent survey of Ken-
tucky by Dr. Richardson showed that
there were 616 quarries in the State
where building stones were produced.

Use of Automobile for Business
Purposes. — According to estimates of
the Illinois Highway Commission 35
per cent of the automobiles on Illinois
roads are used for business purposes.

Roads and Streets 213

Gravel and Stone for Road Maintenance

Points in Preparation and Use in Indiana Practice Outlined in Paper
Presented at 1923 Road School, Purdue University

By A. H. HIXKLE
Superintendent of Maintenance, Indiana State Highway Commission.

_ 1 Gravel as used in road work
.L be classified as follows:
llj Bank or bar run gravel.

(2) Screened or prepared gravel.

(3) Crushed gravel.

Bank or Bar Run Gravel — This is
o variable that the term means but
ittle except in a particular job or as
t applies to a particular bar or pit.
'ifany pits or bars furnish native
mixed material which is very satis-
'actory for use In gravel road work.
Where bank gravel is intended to be
ised the specification should be made
accordingly — the object of the speci-
bcation being to secure the best grade
of bank gravel which it is practical
to secure in that particular locality.
It is poor practice to specify a bank
gravel and then draw a specification
that cannot be met by any gravel iS
nhe neighborhood.

Carelessness in writing a specifica-
tion and then even greater careless-
ness in seeing that the specification
is reasonably lived up to, has gotten
many an engineer and contractor in
o-ouble and occasionally the board of
accounts is called in to "clear up the
muss" and fix the responsibility for
the specifications not being properly
carried out. This carelessness in
writing specifications and then the
difficulty of getting them lived up to
has encouraged, in some places, a
specification which is in reality no
specification at all. For instance, in
one particular locality the only speci-
fication for gravel to be used in grav-
el roads and concrete work is, "It
shall be a good cementing gravel."
The specification might as well have
said, "a good gravel" and stopped at
that.

I will very frankly admit that it is
not the easiest thing in the world to
prepare a definite specification for
each particular locality, which will
secure the best local material whicb
it is practical to secure. However,
after sufficient study of the subject is
made by the engineer, he can arrive
at a proper specification. The State
Highway Department of one of the
states, just a few years ago, found it
so difficult in attempting to apply

the same specification to every com-
munity, that one of their representa-
tives in explaining their troubles said
that they finally became discouraged
and threw away the specifications en-
tirely and used such gravel as was
available in each particular commu-
nity.

The specification should be definite
enough that a good contractor would
ordinarily know whether bank run
or prepared gravel would be required.
If it is impracticable to secure the
gravel specified, greater care should
be taken thereafter in preparing the
specification. A practice which should
be of assistance would consist in sub-
mitting to a laboratory, for a test,
samples of the local gravels which it
is believed would be satisfactory for
the road work, and then prepare a
specification according to this test
which would permit these gravels to
be used. In this way the poorer local
gravels would be eliminated and the
best local gravels allowed.

Owing to the small cost of the lit-
tle equipment needed to make a
screen test on gravel and the ease
with which this test can be made,
every county should be equipped to
make this test. Quite frequently the
governing factor will be the percent-
age of gravel which will pass %-in.
circular opening or a No. 8 or No. 10
mesh sieve. With a little pair of
scales and screen and two buckets,
one can make this test in the field
quite as well as in the laboratory.

The gravel banks and bars of In-
diana, are almost universally found
with an excess of sand. Owing to
this fact quite frequently a roadbed
can be built up of the local material,
and thereafter the wearing course put
on and replenished py using a better
grade of gravel or stone from the
commercial plants. In this way a
properly sized and good quality of
material is furnished as a wearing sur-
face and a large initial cost saved by
using the bulk of the cheaper material
for a foundation which of course will
not be as good as the better grade of
material which might be shipped, but
which may be as good as the traffic

214

Roads and Streets

August

and finances available will justify
using.

Screened or Prepared Gravel. — This
is quite as variable in its make-up
as js the bank or bar run gravel. The
product from any plant naturally de-
pends upon the native supply and the
degree of screening and washing that
is done.

Dry screening is satisfactory to
take out the over-size gravel but it is
seldom satisfactory to take out the
fine sand because of the difficulty of
the fine screens clogging. Even the
shaker and vibrator screens appar-
ently are not proving satisfactory for
dry screening gravel. While a dry
screening plant will work in a very
few exceedingly clean gravels where
the sand and gravel particles are ex-
ceedingly hard and are almost totally
free from clay and silt, such ideal
conditions for its use are seldom
found.

A washing plant whereby the silt
and clay are removed from the gravel
by streams or sprays of water and
the gravel and sand sorted by screens
aided by the flowing water, is usually
the most practical method of cleaning
and sorting gravel and sand.

To make clean aggregate for con-
crete the washing is a necessity in
most plants. However, while the
coating of the pebbles and sand
grains with silt or clay is objection-
able when same are to be used In
concrete, it is not objectionable where
the gravel is to be used in a gravel
road. On the other hand it is a real
advantage provided, of course, there
is not an excess of the silt or clay.
Hence if it were practical to secure
the dry screened material for gravel
roads, it would frequently be more
desirable than the washed material.

Owing to the great variety of ma-
terial than can be furnished by dif-
ferent gravel plants. It may be neces-
sary to vary the specifications in
cases to accommodate the product
from the various plants. It is quite
easy to say that a definite specification
should be prepared and universally
used. Although a certain specifica-
tion may produce best results on the
road, it may be economy In many
cases to depart from this specifica-
tion, if you are going to pay dearly
for using It.

Crushed Gravel — Prepared gravel
made by crushing the over-size boul-
ders in the gravel makes a product
superior to uncrushed gravel for road

maintenance purposes. The mixture
of any amount of the crushed gravel
with the uncrushed gravel aids it in
compacting. A mixture of Vz crushed
and Yz uncrushed gravel is quite fre-
quently used and produces a very good
material.

Sizes of Gravel. — The maximum
sizes of gravel which it is desirable
to use for various purposes may be
listed as follows:

Sub-base course 6 -In,

Base course 2^ -In,

Top course not less than 4-in. deep IVi-in
Future maintenance . . . .1%-in. to 1 -in

If the gravel runs exceedingly fine
as it usually does in the Indiana pits,
a 11/^ -in. maximum size for mainte-
nance may be used very satisfactor-
ily; however, if the gravel runs coarse
or crushed gravel is used, 1%-in. or
1-in. should be the maximum size used
for general maintenance purposes
Much trouble and annoyance has been
caused by the use of too large a maxi-
mum size of aggregate in the mainte
nance of gravel roads. The large
sizes do not permit tike drag to smooth
up the surface so well as when the
finer sizes are used, and the surface
is inclined to wear rough and uneven
more rapidly with the coarse gravels
in the surafce.

The minimum sizes that might be
used are preferably not to exceed A0%
through i/4-in. and 10% through a No,
10 screen and 5% through a No. SC
screen; although gravels containing
as high as 60% through a %-in., 18%
through No. 10 and 8% through a
No. 30 screen are used frequently
with very good results. The most
objectionable material is the excess
of very fine sand and even material
practically all passing the %-in. with
not to exceed 18% through No. 10 and
8% through No. 30 screen, can be
used as a skim coat in the mainte-
nance of a gravel road with very fair
results if the trsiffie is light. This
brings us down almost to the sand-
clay roads which give very fair re-
sults under light trafiic, but which
ravel quite badly during the dry sea-
son and cut up quite badly during the
thaws, where heavy traffic comes on
them.

If will thus be seen that the excess
of v«ry fine sand Is the most objec-
tionable part of many gravels and if
this is controlled and the over-size
gravel eliminated, we can allow a
very large variation in the grading of
the Internal sizes and still get a very
good gravel road. While a gradation

1923

Roads and Streets

215

of the gravel and sand grains from
the largest to the smallest is desir-
able, especially where a heavy coat
of gravel is placed, as this gradation
makes a dense mixture and aids mate-
rially in compacting the gravel, yet
this requirement may be sacrificed
to a very large degree if we elimin-
ate the over-size gravel and the ex-
cess fine sand, for these two latter
requirements are the most essential.

It must ever be remembered that
the expense which we are justified in
creating in specifying a better and
more expensive grade of material, de-
I pends upon the amount of traffic we
are serving. Certain places in the
State the local gravel is of such poor
abrasion value that we find one yard
of good gravel or stone which has to
be shipped, is equal to 2 to 3 yd. of
local material, besides the better
grade of material produces much less
dust during the dry season and much
less mud and slop during the thaw-
ing. Hence the use of the better ma-
terial in these particular places, se-
cures results which may far outweigh
the additional cost where sufficient
traffic is served. However, one should
not be caught shipping material long
distances and hauling at great ex-
pense to build a road when a local
material practically as good may be
found near by. A departure from this
economic law in road maintenance
has frequently started the taxpayers
grumbling.

To determine which of such mate-
rials to use is one of the responsibili-
ties of the road official whoever he
may be. We will find much ground
tor a difference of opinion frequent-
ly, but if our knowledge is based upon
sufficient observation and investiga-
tions, these opinions would not so
frequently be at variance.

Crushed Stone. — Crushed or broken
stone has been used in the building
and maintenance of roads for centur-
ies. The method of its preparation
might be classified as follows:

(1) Hand broken.

(2) By local (small portable)
crushers.

(3) By large commercial plants.

Hand Broken Stone. — For road sur-
faces and maintenance has almost
entirely disappeared from use in this
country. It is still quite extensively
used in some of the foreign countries,
especially the less civilized countries
where the development of machinery
has not progressed as in the United
States. However, the hand breaking

method is still used to some small
extent in this State and in the hill
portions of the country in general
where small quantities of local stone
are used for building and repairing
light traveled roads. In such places
shipping facilities are not available
and it might not be economical to
import a crusher owing to the small
amount of stone that is used in any
one place.

We have found it practical to use
this method ourselves m a few cases
in filling holes with local stone and in
one case we have several miles of
foundation stone which was broken
with sledges after the stone was laid
on the road. In new country where
out-crops of good quality of limestone
prevail at the roadside, this method
no doubt will still be continued in use
in building road foundations, as the
large stone can be laid cheaply and
only a very limited .tmount of sledg-
ing is required. Where limestone
out-crops in the vicinity of the road
and it becomes necessary to plug up
breaks or mud holes in the road, I
know of no more effective way to
make a stable foundation hurriedly
while the road is carrying traffic than
by "sledging in" the large pieces of
stone gathered from the field or local
quarry. This coarse foundation stone
must of course be covered with
fine stone, preferably of two sizes,
the last coat not exceeding 1-in. in
size.

Hand breaking caters more to the
use of a coarser stone in the founda-
tion which is exceedingly desirable,
for if any great mistake has been
made in modern road building to take
care of the heavy traffic of today, it
is in the use of too finely crushed
stone for macadam foundation work.
While hand breaking is a method of
doing road work which in general be-
longs to past history, it is surprising
to note how rapidly the process of
breaking stone by hand can be done
by an experienced bunch of laborers.
Under special conditions such as
these mentioned above, it will still be
economical to use hand breaking in
building foundations where it is not
necessary to reduce the stone to a
small size. However, for surfacing a
road and maintenance work, the use
of a modern stone crusher to prepare
the stone is imperative.

Local (Small Portable) Crushers. —
One of the advantages of the local
or small portable crusher is 'that it
can be transported to districts where

216

Roads and Streets

August

out-crops of limestone are available
and the stone crushed near the road-
side and thus one of the expensive
features of all road work, namely,
that of the long haul, is reduced to a
minimum. The disadvantages of the
local crushers are (a) That it is more
expensive to produce stone with a
small crusher than with a large crush-
er; (b) It is difficult to produce the
sizes that are frequently desired and
the sizes that are absolutely neces-
sary for certain classes of first-class
macadam work. Of course it must
be understood that the local crusher
is only practical where suitable stone
is found in the local community and
an expensive haul or freight rate is
saved.

If a sufficient sized crusher and
proper screening plant is installed,
any desired size and grading of stone
can be produced from a portable out-
fit. We must weigh the cost, how-
ever, of such production, against the
cost of the shipped material. With a
local plant there is also only a lim-
ited demand for any one grade of
stone and more difficulty will usually
be experienced in disposing of the
off sizes than from a commercial
plant with shipping facilities, where
there is a wider range of market.

Large Commercial Plants. — Inas-
much as the bulk of the stone we use
is prepared at the large commercial
plants, it is dealing with their output
that we are mostly concerned. Large
commercial stone plants should be
equipped to produce any size of stone,
and stone with any degree of free-
dom from dusk.

Perhaps one of the defects in many
plants is that they are not made so
that they are sufficiently adjustable
to different conditions, that is, so that
they can shift from one size of grad-
ing of stone to anotner size without
an expensive operation. This lack
of adjustability in the plant is fre-
quently caused by the lack of suf-
ficient study and consideration being
given the details of the operation of
the machinery in designing the plant.
It is best that the superintendent of
every stone plant and the mechanic
who may have direct charge of the
designing of the machinery, should
have emphasized to him, the impor-
tance of being able to shift from one
grade of material to another when
the demand of the output oS the
quarry makes it necessary, instead of
restoring to the expensive method of
storing stone or sometimes, as has

been done, in shutting down the plant
because all of the product of the
quarry cannot be disposed of.

I one time happened upon a piece
of macadam work where the specifi-
cation provided that the maximum
size of stone should go through a 4-in.
circular opening. Some of the stone
that arrived on the job was so large
that it was quite evident that it had
not gone through a 4-in. circular open-
ing. I called by long distance 'phone
the stone company's office and they
assured me, after calling the plant
and talking to their superintendent,
that the stone was going through a
4-in. screen. I told them that I would
be down to the plant that afternoon.
After making a 60-mile drive across
country and arriving at the stone com-
pany's office, I was told that they had
made a further investigation and that
it was possible that the screen was
a 41^ -in. screen. We drove to the
plant, which is several miles out In
the country, and after going up some
70 ft. in the air and looking at the
screen in operation, the superintend-
ent agreed that it might be a 5-in.
screen. I prevailed upon him to shut
down the plant so that we could meas-
ure the size of holes whereupon we
found that the screen was a standard
5%-in. screen and being an old screen
badly worn in some places the open-
ings In it measured as much as 5%-in.
across. My experience on numerous
occasions of this kind has led me to
believe that too frequently the man-
ager of a plant and even the superin-
tendent does not give enough atten-
tion to the details of the screening,
which is so important a feature of
stone production In the preparation
of stone for the building of the higher
types of road.

Overloading of Screens. — It Is not
uncommon to see stone coming in
from a screen with 20 to 50 per cent
of the material that would readily go
through the openings in the screen
over which it passes. This is usually
due to the overloading of the screen.
While the angle of the screen, size
of openings and rate of revolution of
a screen determines the amount of
"fines" left in the product, yet every
screen has a capacity, which, if ex-
ceeded, will greatly increase the
amount of undersized stone left in
the product. Sufficient screen ca-
pacity Is just as important a part of
the plant as crusher capacity.

Removal of Dust and Clay from
Small Size Stone. — While use of the

1923

Roads and Streets

217

revolving circular screen is almost
universal in stone producing plants,
' the separation of the dust from the
; finer sizes of material where it is im-
I perative that those sizes be free and
i clean from dust, is now being done
' quite extensively by shaker and vi-
brator screens which perhaps clean
the material better than by any other
process. The ease with which the
dust and fine material is removed
from crushed stone depends very
largely upon: (a) The percentage of
I clay that it permitted to go into the
; crusher and mix with the stone; (b)
the moisture in the stone and clay;
and (c) the hardness of the stone.
It is very difl&cult to eliminate clay
from the fine stone when it is damp
as happens during a rain on the quar-
ry, and when the clay has been put
into the crusher with the stone.
Where it is imperative to produce
clean stone, as when the stone is
used in concrete and bituminous
roads, it is very imperative that
great pains be used in stripping the
quarry. During periods right after a
rain if a little care is used in filling
the cars in the quarry, frequently the
freedom of the finer stone from clay
will be very favorably affected. It is
not uncommon to happen in a quarry
after a rain in small plants where
hand loading is done, and find the
shovelers scooping up dirt, clay, stone
and all into the small dump cars.
One thing we can positively state is
that if clay does not go into the
crusher it will not come out in the
fine stone. The harder and flintier
stones naturally produce a cleaner,
small size product than the softer
stones.

Sizes of Aggregate top Various Pur-
poses.— There is such a large variety
of sizes of aggregate used for various
purposes, that it would almost make
one dizzy to enumerate all of them.
For this reason a number of years
ago an attempt was made to stand-
ardize on the size of aggregates. This
was done fairly satisfactorily. How-
ever, it seems that owing to the fact
that difference in various city, county
and state specifications and the dif-
ferent ideas of various stone crush-
ing companies as to what size they
should make, has caused us not to
make much progress in this standard-
ization of sizes. It is a fact, too, how-
ever, which must be taken into con-
sideration, that stones of different
hardness will permit the use of a lit-
tle different size; that is, generally

speaking, in macadam work the hard-
er the stone the smaller should be
the maximum size used for any par-
ticular purpose.

A general principle in the sizing of
stone for macadam work might be to
use as coarse a stone as can be used
without causing an objectionable
roughness of the particular type of
surface in which the stone is used.
The thickness of the surface course
may determine the maximum size
that can be used; that is, within cer-
tain limits a thin course will require
the use of smaller size stone than a
thick course. As a general guide the
following might be taken as a limita-
tion of sizes for various purposes:
Waterbound Macadam Top Course.

(a) If surface is to be maintained in.
the future by the applying of fine
stone and dragging, 1%-in. to %-
in. size.

(b) If surface is to be maintained in
the future with the use of bitumi-
nous surface treatments, 3^-in.
to 2^-in. 1-in. to dust for soft
stone.

Bituminous Macadam.

(a) Covering stone for first applica-
tion of tar or asphalt, 1%-in. to
%-in. size.

(b) Covering stone for last applica-
tion of tar or asphalt, %-in. to
14-in. size.

Bituminous Surface Treatments of
Tar or Asphalt.

(a) Treatments %-gal. per square
yard, i^-in. to ^^-in. size.

(b) Treatments %-gal. per square
yard, %-in. to %-in. size.

Stone road maintained with light
covering of stone and dragging op-
erations:

(a) Very light application of stone —
Hard stone, %-in. to %-in. size;
medium, 1-in, to %-in. size; soft
stone, 1%-in. to %-in. size.

(b) Heavy application of stone — 1%-
in. maximum size may be used,
preferably to be covered with one
of the above sizes.

Cold Bituminous Mix for Patching.

(a) To be put down with a roller or
under very heavy traffic, 1%-in.
to %-in.

(b) To be put down by hand tamp-
ing, %-in. to %-in.

While the above tabulated sizes are
more or less the ideal sizes, quite a

218

Roads and Streets

August

variation from these can be permit-
ted in some cases, and yet flrst-class
results be secured. In fact there may
be certain conditions where a de-
parture from these sizes would be de-
sired. For instance: Where a com-
paratively soft stone is used in bitu-
minous and waterbound macadam to
be later maintained by surface treat-
ment, the larger size stone might bet-
ter be a maximum size that will go
through a 4-in. circular opening in-
stead of a 3l^-in.

While for foundation stone, in or-
der to accommodate the quarry, fre-
quently 2-in. or smaller stone has
been used, it undoubtedly would be
better to use a much coarser stone.-
even as large as would go through a
6-in. opening, if the stone is to be
rolled and waterbound.

Wise Location of Gravel and Stone
Plants Necessary. — Proper selection
of quarry sites and location of gravel
plants both for the local plants and
large commercial plants, is very im-
portant. Before capital is invested
in such a plant, the gravel and stone
should be tested for all depths and
areas over which it is contemplated
to develop the plant. Capital cannot
be wisely invested unless this is done.
Too frequently a quarry or gravel
plant has been located only because
it was considered an economical
place to strip the stone or gravel. The
saving in this respect in a particular
location may be only a very small
part of the cost of production which
small saving might have been coun-
teracted several times by the better
quality of stone or gravel at some
other location. One thing is certain,
that if the quality of stone or gravel
is not present to start with, a good
product cannot be produced. In many
places a plant would not have been
opened up at all had sufficient exam-
ination been made. A plant that can
economically produce good gravel or
good stone is an asset to the state
and the taxpayers profit thereby. A
plant that produces poor grade ma-
terial and does not operate econom-
ically is a disturbing factor to good
society. A poor grade stone can fre-
quently be produced cheaper per ton
than a good hard stone. This cheap-
er cost of production is too frequent-
ly used in maintaining a big lobby
to force the sale of the poorer grade
material to the road officials. In such
cases the road official needs our sym-
pathy. Here is where a laboratory
test on the material may come to

your relief. The good material sells
itself and only necessitates a large
promotional expense when the other
fellow gets the best of the situation.
Let us hope that everything possible
will be done to overcome the over-
promotion of poorer grades of mate-
rial and material that is not econom-
ical to use. We can assist in this
somewhat by being fair to the legiti-
mate commercial plants which pro-
duce good material. Much capital is
invested in them. They are an asset
to the state and should be encour-
aged. We should not encourage the
establishment of local plants because
these can produce material about as
cheaply on the road. The local plants
should be encouraged only when be-
yond a doubt they can produce ma-
terial on the road cheaper than the
commercial plants, taking into con-
sideration the 'quality of the material.
The commercial plants have been hit
an awful blow the past few years be-
cause of the unstable situation of our
railroads and some of them will need
nursing if they survive another simi-
lar condition. However, the economic
law of production of road materials
must prevail and if this fluctuating
condition of our railroads is to con-
tinue in the future, the shipping of
road material will have to harmonize
with it.

Talent Needed in Manufacture of
Road Materials. — Although the road
material producers, and we in the
road maintenance and construction
work, may feel too proud and bigoted
to admit our work is not being done
to the maximum efficiency, we will
have to admit as part truth the state-
ment some one has made, namely,
"The brains of the world is now em-
ployed in the automotive industry!"
This industry has paid bigger salaries
and has offered greater inducement
to our young men than the road work.
Let us hope that we may stem the
tide eventually, and direct back into
the channels of road production some
of the talent that has been going into
the automotive industry. The advance
that this industry has made over
road production is too great. The
road work should keep abreast, if not
a few years ahead, of the industry
which wears out the roads. The pub-
lic must be made to see the truth. It
is not consistent that an automobile
owner should pay 12 ct. for operation
expense for every mile he drives his
car, and then object to paying 2 ct.
gasoline tax which on an average

1923

Roads and Streets

219

amounts to 1.6 ct. per mile, in order
to have good roads over which to
joperate the car. Any man who con-
itinues to study any subject and has a
treasonable education, eventually be-
f3omes more or less of an expert in
ithat subject. Certainly with more
talent directed into the production of
road materials, and doing road main-
itenance and road construction work
the industry would be benefited.

Test Road in Kentucky. — The Ken-
tucky State Highway Department is
ito build a 1-mile test road, divided
'into a number of sections, each built
under a separate specification. Local
material ■will be used on a majority
of the sections.

Forest Road and Trail Construction.

— During the calendar year 1922 the
amount of Federal funds spent on
highways by the United States De-
partment of Agriculture totaled
§5,603,100, which constructed 2,420
miles of forest roads and 4,190 miles
of forest trails. An additional $950,-
000 was secured for this construction
work from State and county authori-
ties. During this same year 4,550
miles of roads and 19,600 miles of
trails were maintained at a cost of
$500,000.

Effect of Center Lines on Traffic
Safety. — The National Highway
Traffic Association estimates that a
center line on a highway increases its
safety from 25 per cent to 50 per cent.

A Safety Saggestion for Highway Construction.

220 Roads and Streets Augus

Progressive Construction of Highways

Practice in Iowa and North Carolina Described in Papers Presente

at 20th Annual Convention of American Road

Builders' Association

Practice in Iowa

By C. COYKENDALL,

Assistant Chief Engineer, Iowa State
Highway Commission.

No single problem Is provocative of
more difference of opinion than that
of the proper policy for the develop-
ment of a highway transportation sys-
tem. Nor is it surprising that such
should be the case, for there is no
one proper solution to the problem.
Obviously, the proper solution of
Rhode Island's highway problem will
not apply equally well to the highway
problems arising in Texas, nor can a
solution that is proving effective in
Pennsylvania be unqualifiedly recom-
mended for Wyoming. The problems
arising in connection with the building
of a system of highways are manifold,
and fortunate indeed is the state
which has highway laws flexible
enough to fit all conditions within the
state, and officials in charge of high-
way work possesesd of sufficient
vision, courage and authority to apply
the proper solution to the various
problems confronting them. If such a
state there be, let it be known, in
order that the lawmakers and highway
officials of other states may journey
thence and become enlightened.

Iowa's road building problems are
not exactly duplicated elsewhere. The
state has 56,000 square miles in area
and more than 104,000 miles of rural
highway, with practically every one
of these miles, to a greater or less
degree, an essential part of the state's
highway transportation system. Every
section of the state is productive, and
consequently is inhabited. Excluding
the population resident in cities and
towns, it is found that the density of
rural population is remarkably uni-
form throughout the state, with a cor-
respondingly uniform need for a
usable system of rural highways
throughout the state.

Traffic on Iowa Highways. — Let us
consider for a moment the sources
and kinds of traffic that the roads of
Iowa are called upon to carry. The
surplus products of all sections of the
state must be hauled over rural high-
ways to the shipping and market

points, and from these same shippin
and market points, coal, machiner;
lumber and other materials and su]
plies must be hauled back to the farn
Heavy tractors for operating threshin
machines, corn shellers and silo fil
ers must be able to move from far]
to farm, and for this purpose, sul
stantial bridges are necessary. A coi
stantly increasing percentage of tb
children of the state are being edi
cated in modern, consolidated school
and the school busses in which thes
children ride to and from school 9 <
every 12 months of the year, mui
have safe and usable roads an
bridges over which to travel. In thos
sections of the state within a radit
of 50 miles of great meat packing cei
ters such as Sioux City, Omaha an
Nebraska City, it is found highly ec
nomical to market livestock by true
instead of train, as it is found thj
the increased transportation cost b
truck haulage is much more than ol
set by the small shrinkage in weigl
of the live stock hauled by truck, s
compared to the shrinkage Whe
hauled by train. In the vicinity (
all considerable centers of populatioi
slow and costly railway and expres
service is being supplemented by m^
tor transport. Two of the nation
best marked and most widely-know
transcontinental highways, and man
other important but less widely-know
interstate highways, cross the stat
Yearly the interstate traffic on thes
highways is increasing. Traffic coun1
taken during the past season at
point east of Ames, where for a shoi
distance the Lincoln Highway and th
Jefferson Highway use the same roai
show that of a total average dail
traffic amounting to 1,036 vehicles, U
vehicles, or 14.3 per cent of the toti
traffic, was motor cars with foreig
licenses. And last but by no mear
least, the 500,000 motor cars owne
in Iowa are decidedly active orgai
isms, penetrating every nook and co
ner of the state, on business or plea
ure bent, and requiring roads — usabl
roads.

Highway Construction Has Lagge
Behind Traffic Development. — Froi
the foregoing, it will be seen that th

1923

Roads and Streets

221

various classes of roads in Iowa are
called upon to carry almost every
known variety of modern highway
traffic, and the suddenness with which
most of this traffic has developed is
the element that makes the problem
of providing adequate highways so
stupendous. If the development of
highways in Iowa during the past dec-
ade were to have kept pace with the
development of traffic using those
highways, there should have been con-
structed during that time at least 2,500
miles of paved road, at least 25,000
miles of graveled or similarly sur-
faced roads, another 25,000 miles
graded and drained, and the remain-
ing mileage maintained in usable con-
dition and safely bridged. Such a
program of improvement would have
cost approximately $500,000,000,
whereas the actual total highway ex-
penditures during this period amount-
ed to approximately $195,000,000, or 39
per cent of what would have been
necessary had highway improvements
kept pace with the development of
highway traffic.

On the other hand, during the same
period of time the people of Iowa have
invested more than $750,000,000 in au-
tomobiles, thus showing a much
greater liberality in the financing of
privately owned rolling stock than in
the financing of publicly owned road
beds.

Iowa's Highway Policies Always
Conservative. — In most respects the
citizens of Iowa .are conservative
Having no great centers of population,
her policies as a state are formulated
largely by the people of the rural
communities — people whose personal
prosperity has resulted from conserva-
tism in their personal affairs and who
naturally are wont to apply the same
policies to public affairs. Logically
enough, therefore, Iowa's highway pol-
icies have always been conservative.
Until 1904, Iowa as a state took no
part whatever in road building activi-
ties. All such work was under the
supervision of county and township
officials. Bridges of 16 ft. span or
more were known as county bridges
and were built and maintained by the
county. In addition to this, county
boards of supervisors had authority
to levy a small tax, known as the
county road tax, the proceeds from
which could be spent on road work
by the county supervisors at their own
discretion as to location and type of
improvement. As the condition of
roads and bridges was a matter al-

most wholly of local concern, logically
enough the administration of highway
matters had remained vested in local
officials.

About 20 years ago, when it first
began to occur to some of the more
forward-looking that the existing
method of handling matters pertain-
ing to roads and bridges might not
be all that could be desired, it was
natural that bridges and culverts re-
ceived first consideration. Travelers
on the roads at that time could usually
choose favorable weather conditions
for making their trips, but the bridges
and culverts had to be crossed. Fur-
ther, about this time the heavy steam
tractor was coming into more general
use and was playing more or less
havoc with flimsy bridges. Naturally
the owners of these tractors wanted
better and safer bridges built, and
these same owners, though their
state threshermen's association, later
proved to be one of the most effective
agencies in securing progressive road
legislation.

Early Work of State Highway Com-
mission— The state highway commis-
sion, created by legislative enactment
in 1904, was vested with only advisory
powers. Such counties as desired could
avail themselves of the commission's
engineering services and advice, al-
though there was nothing obligatory
that such advice must be followed.
Accomplishments during the period
that this system was effective — 1904
to 1912, inclusive — were entirely along
the line of progressive construction.
A large number of counties com-
menced building bridges and culverts
of permanent construction and cut-
ting down hills and filling hollows
adjacent thereto. Toward the close of
this period the use of large blade
graders drawn by gasoline tractors be-
came quite general, resulting in the
building of a considerable mileage of
dirt roads to a natural grade, and to
sections closely approaching present
day standards. Very little surfacing
work of any kind was undertaken ex-
cept for short stretches of gravel sur-
facing here and there in progressive
communities where an abundance of
local gravel was available.

The Highway Legislation of 1913. —
In the spring of 1913, radical highway
legislation was enacted by the state
legislature, which resulted in a com-
plete change in the method of handling
highway work. This legislation reor-
ganized the state highway commission,
clothing it with drastic supervisory

222

Roads and Streets

August

powers, and providing adequate funds
for its support. Under this statute the
state continued its policy of non-par-
ticipation in the cost of road building,
but required all highway construction
work, both road and bridge, to be done
in accordance with plans and specifica-
tions either prepared by or approved
by the state highway commission.
Other outstanding features of this leg-
islation were the requiring of each
county to employ a county engineer to
supervise road and bridge construc-
tion work, and the classification of
highways into a county system and a
township system, the former being
placed entirely under the supervision
of county officials, and the latter re-
maining under the jurisdiction of
township officials, with the restriction
that any construction work upon the
township road system must be done
in accordance with plans prepared by
the county engineer and approved by
the state highway commission.

Under this scheme of operation, real
strides were made in the way of pro-
gressive road construction, particu-
farly upon the county road system. By
the end of 1916, approximately 1,600
miles had been built to established
grade in accordance with approved
plans; approximately 25,000 bridges
and culverts had been constructed of
so-called permanent construction;
practically the entire mileage of the
county road system — some 15,000
miles in all — had been constructed to
natural grade and standard section
and was being rather systematic-
ally maintained; in fact, Iowa had
acquired a reputation for having a
remarkable system of dirt roads —
remarkably good under favorable
weather conditions and remarkably
muddy during rainy weather. Still but
little surfacing work had been under-
taken, road building efforts and reve-
nues as yet being devoted to the
building of earth roads and substan-
tial bridges and culverts, with here
and there a few rather desultory at-
tempts at gravel surfacing.

Results of Federal Participation. —
The coming of federal participation in
highway building necessitated further
changes in Iowa's highway laws. Such
changes were brought about during
the legislative sessions of 1917 and
1919. A further classification of high-
ways was made, a limited trunk line
system of approximately 6,600 miles
being designated as the Primary Road
System, upon which all Federal Aid
allotted to the state, as well as all

revenues derived from the licensing
of motor vehicles, must be expended.
The remaining mileage of highways
was classified as secondary roads, ap-
proximately 11,000 miles. of which con-
stitute the county road system, and
the remaining 87,000 miles still being
under the supervision of the township
officials.

Improvements on Primary Road
System. — Under this revised legisla-
tion the policy of progressive con-
struction persists. The primary road
fund — Federal Aid and revenues de-
rived from the licensing of motor ve-
hicles— is divided among the various
counties of the state in proportion to
their area, providing a fund of approx-
imately $90,000 annually to the aver-
age county for improving and main-
taining approximately 67 miles of
primary road. Obviously this fund is
not sufficient to make possible any
considerable progress in building
roads having a high type of surfacing,
and except in those few counties that
have taken advantage of a provision
of the law which allows anticipation
of future allotments of primary road
funds through the issuance of county
bonds, the improvements undertaken
on the primary road system consist
largely of completing the construction
of roads to established grade, provid-
ing the necessary drainage and drain-
age structures, and when this has
been completed, surfacing with gravel
or sand-clay construction. In addition
to the inadequacy of funds heretofore
mentioned as restrictive to a paving
program, the law imposes further re-
strictions in requiring the question as
to wether or not the primary roads of
a county shall be hard surfaced to be
submitted to a vote of the people of
the county. The further provision that
when hard surfacing is authorized, 25
per cent of the cost thereof is as-
sessed to abutting and adjacent prop-
erty, acts as an additional deterrent
in getting a hard surfacing program
under way.

Accomplishments toward the im-
provement of the primary road system
since its establishment are therefore
largely along the line of progressive
construction. On Dec. 1, 1922, of the
3,653.5 miles of the primary road sys-
tem that had been constructed to es-
tablished grade and the necessary
drainage and drainage structures pro-
vided, 334.4 miles had been paved and
1,558 miles had been gravel surfaced,
leaving 1,761.1 miles without surfac-
ing of any kind. A large percentage

1923

Roads and Streets

223

;)f the mileage that has been gravel
mrfaced will reed to be paved some
Lime within the next decade if traflGIc
is to be adequately served. In tl^e
meantime, however, traffic on these
l,55S miles of gravel surfaced high-
s^ays is getting reasonably efficient
lighway service, whereas the same
unds invested in pavement would
lave given traffic a high grade of
lighway service on only approximately
.50 miles.

It will thus be seen that up to the

present time road building in Iowa

aas been hedged about with restric-

; ions that make ^ny policy other than

hat of progressive construction, en-

irely impractical. Neither is it be-

ieved that Iowa is the loser on that

Lccoimt, nor that the opposite policy

)f highway improvement; that is, the

concentration of available highway

•evenues upon a limited mileage of

ligh type roads, would have given

raffle upon the highways in Iowa a

lervice comparable to the service that

las been given. The dirt roads that

lave been constructed to established

prade and the necessary drainage and

Jrainage structures provided, give

astly better service than do the un-

^■aded, undrained and poorly bridged

iighways. Also, the highway that has

>een graded several years in advance

>£ the time that it is to be hard sur-

aced is in much better condition for

Lard surfacing than is a newly graded

Jghway, particularly so in locations

There the topography is rolUng. To

old to 6 per cent maximum grades

m some primary roads in Iowa re-

luires upward of 30,000 cubic yards of

arthwork per mile. EJxperience

eaches that the resulting fills under

hese conditions require two or three

ears to become stabilized and that a

igid type of surfacing should not be

ttempted on these fills until they

lave become thoroughly stabilized.

In conclusion, it may be said that

he policy of progressive construction

f highways in Iowa is a logical result

f its traffic needs and its highway

aws, which after all are in a measure

eflective of traffic needs. Under this

olicy, substantial progress has been

lade. If highway traffic is to be given

nything like the service it deserves,

lOwever, there must be no undue hes-

r.ation about taking the succeeding

teps so necessary to the success of

uch a policy. Based on present costs,

t least $100,000,000 must be spent

luring the next five years on con-

tmcting and maintaining the primary

road system alone, if traffic is to be
only reasonably well served. An
equally large expenditure should be
made during that period on secondary
highways. It is not a case of the state
not being able to afford such expendi-
tures; rather it is a case of the state
not being able to afford to do without
the highway service that will result
from such expenditures.

Practice in North Carolina

By C. M. UPHAM,

State Highway Engineer of
Xorth Carolina.

If a state had an unlimited supply
of money it would be a simple prob-
lem to construct a state highway sys-
tem, but practically all states are
limited in the amount of money they
have to spend in the construction of
their road systems.

The function of a state highway
commission is to provide a means of
transportation for the state, and not
the mere building of a few miles of
hard surface roads and bridges at a
few selected places throughout the
state. For a state to develop as a
whole, it is necessary that a connected
system of highways should be avail-
able for the purpose of providing a
means of transportation for the state's
development.

Traffic is concerned with the road-
way only to the extent of being pro-
vided with a 'smooth highway over
which it may travel at a minimum of
operation cost. The selection of the
type of highway to construct is the
problem of the engineer, after due
consideration of all affecting elements,
and should be a highway which will
adequately and efficiently carry the
traffic at a minimum maintenance ex-
pense.

It is absolutely essential that the
road should be selected and so con-
structed that the money invested in
the system of highways will at all
times be a minimum. To best do this,
means the construction of progressive
tj'pe roads, in which all the standards
of construction are the same, and by
the use of which the lighter traffic is
provided with a road suitable to its
needs, and the heavier traffic with a
hard surface road, which is the ulti-
mate surface of all progressive type
roads.

Method of Solution Differs in Differ-
ent States. — The solution of provid-
ing a means for traffic or the construc-
tion of a highway system in every

224

Roads and Streets

August

state necessarily depends upon the
local conditions in that state, and con-
sequently, the method of solution will
be different in the different states and
depends on the economic, industrial,
and social conditions throughout the
state.

Practically every state in the Union
has its cities and counties of high and
intensive development, as well as its
sparsely developed sections. To build
immediately a system of hard surface
roads throughout an entire state,
when the demands for such roads are
only within the highly developed sec-
tions, would be money wantonly
wasted.

Within the highly developed sec-
tions, no doubt the construction of a
hard surface pavement is the correct
and only answer. In the urban and
outlying districts, where the traffic is
less intense, a lighter and less expen-
sive road may adequately serve the
needs of traffic. This less expensive
road should be located, graded and
drained upon the same standards cus-
tomary with hard surface construction,
so that when the country through
which the road passes develops to the
extent that traffic requires a heavy
duty road, there will only be the nec-
essity of adding the hard surface in
order to adequately provide for the
heavy traffic which may at some fu-
ture time make demands on this high-
way. Still farther from the highly
developed centers, and far out into the
less developed country, there are still
lesser traffic demands. Few vehicles
and light loads generally constitute
the pioneers in transportation. Quite
often graded roads, with the proper
drainage structures, constructed upon
hard surface standards, will suitably
take care of this rural traffic.

After the construction of the graded
road provides a means of development,
and the traffic demands become great-
er, a higher type surface, possibly a
sand-clay, topsoil or gravel, can be
added to the previously graded road,
and when the locality still grows and
the sections become more highly devel-
oped and the traffic demands are
greater, there only remains for the
road builder to surface these progres-
sive roads with a hard surface. This
will efficiently provide for the heavy
traffic, which ultimately makes de-
mands on the roads in the developed
localities.

Conditions in Nortli Carolina. — North
Carolina has, three distinct geographi-
cal divisions. The mountain section
Is made up of farming and mining sec-

tions with numerous resorts so located
as to take advantage of the wonderful
scenery; the piedmont section or
foothills, with its farms and industries
highly developed; and the flat coastal
plain, with its excellent farms and in-
dustries claiming great attention for
their transportation needs. These
three great geographical divisions are
divided into one hundred counties, and
many more centers of population. It
is the work of the state highway com-
mission to connect these centers with
a highway system or a means of trans-
portation which will adequately pro-
vide for the class of traffic which now
exists and is expected in the near fu-
ture. The problem of selecting the
type of progressive road is somewhat
reduced when it is seen that hard sur-
face roads are immediately required to
efficiently and economically care for
traffic demands in connecting the de-
veloped industrial centers. This is also
true in the highly developed farming
sections. The remainder of the prob-
lem is to provide suitable and con-
tinuous roads to connect up the cen-
ters in a manner which will satisfac-
torily provide for the needs of trans-
portation, at the same time keeping
the money investment always at a
minimum.

The distances are long and it is
practically always the fact that the
state's development and the intensity
of traffic will not justify the construc-
tion of hard surface roads throughout
the entire system. The answer to the
problem of providing the state with a
means of transportation lies in the
construction of progressive type roads
so constructed on high standards that
they may be ultimately turned into
hard surface roads by the addition of
a higher type standard surface.

North Carolina Metiiod. — The North
Carolina method of progressive type
construction is to grade the road, using
the same standards for line and grade
that are used in hard surface con
struction. Only one standard of drain
age structures is used regardless ol
whether the road is merely graded or!
is to be covered with a hard surface;
This construction of graded road wi!
care for the light traffic which gener
ally exists in all newly developed lo
calities. This graded road is at al
times maintained and when the in
creased traffic creates a high cost o
maintenance, then it is indicated tha
it is time to construct the next hipli
er type of road surface. The next st
in the progressive type road is
cover the graded road with a selectee

923

Roads and Streets

225

)il material, such as sand-clay, top-
oil or gravel. This material is gen-
rally of higher bearing value than
le natural soil, and is a material

hich is less affected by moisture and
lerefore more suitable for use as a
jad surface. This selected surface
laterial is maintained as a subgrade
ighway until such time as the main-
mance cost becomes excessive and
le increased traffic indicates that a
ard surface roadway is necessary.

The cost of grading and the drain-
ge structures generally constitutes
bout one-sixth of the ultimate cost of
! hard surface road. To add a select-
id soil surface adds very little differ-
nce to the cost of this construction;
onsequently about six times as much
cad, with a selected soil surface, may
e constructed for the same money as
hough the money was spent for the
mmediate construction of hard sur-
ace roads. This makes it possible for
ransportation to be benefited to a
much greater extent and the state to
levelop at six points rather than in
tne.

It will be noted that the construe-
ion of the selected soil surface is an
iddition to the graded road, and no
irevious step in the grading or con-
truction of drainage structures has
leen lost or fhrown away in the con-
truction of this selected soil surface
oad.

In the progressive type road all
teps taken In its construction include
lie utilization of all previous construc-
ion when transforming the road to
he next higher type, and each step
nay be considered as a subgrade for
|:he next higher type surface. This in
Itself justifies the expenditure of a
jiufficient amount of money to select
iioils of a character which may, with
proper maintenance, be used as a sur-
face material until such a time as
i raffic demands, or the cost of mainte-
lance makes it necessary to construct
:he next higher type of hard surface.
liJy this method of construction the
"nTaded road or the selected soil sur-
face can truly be called a subgrade
lighway, and is often the economic
l-iolution for road construction over a
Sarge portion of a sfate system.
! The Ultimate Siep. — The ultimate
^tep in progressive type construction
|is the addition of the hard surface.
After the maintenance on the selected
^oil surface becomes excessive or when
the country and traffic develops to the
[extent that a hard surface road is nec-
essary, the next step is to construct
[the hard surface pavement directly on

the selected soil surface. This
method of progressive construc-
tion utilizes advantageously the se-
lected soil surface as a stabilized sub-
grade for the hard surface pavement,
and on account of the complete settle-
ment, and on account of the character
of the selected soil surface, the sub-
grade is stabilized sufficiently to aid
the hard surface in carrying the loads.

Therefore it may be seen that with
the construction of the progressive
type road, light traffic or a small ton-
nage is cared for by a graded road of
comparatively low cost. As the traffic
demands and tonnage increase, the
road is increased in strength, and the
increase of the investment is justified.
As the traffic and tonnage increase to
the maximum, a hard surface road is
constructed. The construction of
roads on progressive principles means
that the greatest percentage of the in-
vested money is in permanent con-
struction, and justifies the expendi-
ture of bond money in any progres-
sive type road.

North Carolina has constructed many
progressive type roads. It has already
completed its cycle by placing hard
surfaces on roads which were pre-
viously graded and stabilized with a
selected soil material, although at
present it has a reasonable mileage of
graded roads in the newly developed
localities; it is maintaining as sub-
grade highways' a large mileage of se-
lected soil roads and thus affording a
means of traffic to a great portion of
the state. The completion of about
400 miles of hard surface construction
in 1922, many miles of which was hard
surface, added to progressive type
roads, demonstrates the complete and
satisfactory manner, in which the pro-
gressive road is carrying for the traf-
fic in North Carolina and shows that
this method of road construction is no
longer in the experimetal stage, but
that this means of constructing a high-
way system is economically and prac-
tically sound and is highly recom-
mended where the geographical, in-
dustrial, social and economic condi-
tions are as found in North Carolina.

Street Qeaning Officials to Meet at
Chicago. — The annual conference of
the International Association of Street
Sanitation Officials will be held in
Chicago on Sept. 27 and 28, with head-
quarters at the Hotel LaSalle. W. J.
Galligan of the Bureau of Streets of
Chicago is president of the association
and A. M. Anderson, 10 South LaSalle
St., Chicago, 111., is secretary.

226

Roads and Streets

August

Street and Highway Lighting

Proper Illumination as a Means of Pre-
venting Accidents Discussed in
Paper Presented April 30 Be-
fore Allied Motor Com-
merce of Indiana

By CHARLES J. STAHL,

Manager Illuminating Engineering Bureau,
The Westinghouse Companies.

Street lighting has had a fascinat-
ing development which up to about 20
years ago was impelled almost entire-
ly by man's desire for safety, comfort
and peace of mind. The fundamental
motive was crime prevention. Today
it is still the fundamental considera-
tion but other motives have grown
to be of almost equal importance.
Briefly stated these other considera-
tions are:

1. Accident prevention.

2. The "City Beautiful" idea.

3. Business stimulation.

Traffic Requirements and Lighting.
— I am mentioning this to show that
up to recent times the requirements
of traffic were almost entirely neglect-
ed in the lighting of streets and as
for highways what little has been
done is hardly a beginning on the
thousands of miles of intercity high-
ways which along with the automobile
have grown to such great importance
in our national life. Fortunately the
requirements of good street lighting
from the standpoint of preventing
crime are to quite an extent the re-
quirements for safe and comfortable
traffic, except that the latter requires
higher intensities of lighting. But
unfortunately no national or civic or-
ganizations have consistently advo-
cated and fostered the use of ample
and efficient street lighting.

Our first thought is that the electric
light companies should be its advo-
cate, but they unfortunately are very
often forced to enter into contracts in
which the rates allow no profit and
not infrequently the street lighting
business is actually taken at a loss to
the electric light company supplying
the power. Naturally they make no
effort to increase unprofitable busi-
ness.

For its value as a business stimu-
lator merchants have here and there
fostered local improvements but no
highway association, or other allied
societies, have so far undertaken ex-
tensive propaganda or educational
work on the value of good street and

highway lighting which in comparison
with most other public services is
high in proportion to its cost.

Street Traffic Accidents Due to
Automobiles. — The time has come
when in connection with our street
lighting we must recognize that we
have entirely different problems to
face than ten or even five years ago,
and the cause is the automobile. To
the development of modern high speed
traffic brought about by its extensive
use must be charged practically all of
the increase in street-traffic accidents.

According to the latest surveys the
total annual fatal accidents on the
railways of this country are 7,800
as against 15,500 fatalities due to
traffic accidents. Therefore, the loss
of life in traffic accidents is twice as
great as in railway accidents. As to
an evaluation of the annual personal
and other property loss from auto-
mobile accidents. Dr. F. S. Crum, sta-
tistician for one of the large insur-
ance companies of this country, states
that while an accurate computation is
not possible, the annual sacrifice i.^
fully $1,000,000,000.

In 1906 there were less than 400
deaths in the United States from au-
tomobile accidents while in this year
the total will exceed 15,000 which is
an increase of about 3,800 per cent
and the total is steadily mounting
higher.

Proper Illumination a Factor in Ac-
cident Prevention. — Stringent traffic
regulations and educational publicity
work have brought good results in
many districts but they cannot over-
come the effects of faulty vision
caused by inadequate and improper
street lighting. To determine how
much value should be attributed to
the proper illumination of accidents, a
survey was made in a representative
group of cities. In order to obtain
uniformity in the reports, blank
forms were prepared by the Engi-
neering Department of the National
Lamp Works providing for a charting
or accurate tabulation of all traffic
accidents in a given city during the
period of one year. On these data
forms returns were obtained fi-om 32
representative cities such as Philadel-
phia, Boston and others, with a com
bined population of over 7,000,000
The period covered by the return.^
was in most cases from the middle of
1919 to the middle of 1920. Some of
the essential facts derived from the

1923

Roads and Streets

227

data compiled are in condensed form
iis follows:

1. That of the 31,475 accidents re-
ported, 1,678 or 17.6 per cent were
night accidents due to the inadequate
lighting,

2. Applying this rate to all cities
[if the U. S. we find that no less than
i>67 fatal accidents occur annually due
to inadequate lighting.

3. In addition to the suffering and
loss of life an evaluation of the eco-
nomic loss gives us the substantial
Eimount of $54,000,000 chargeable to
the lack of light and according to cen-
sus reports the total annual expendi-
:ure for street lighting in the United
States does not exceed $50,000,000.

The percentage of 17.6 arrived at
iS the proportion of night accidents
ivhich may be attributed to lack of
ight is undoubtedly an extremely con-
servative figure, for the streets of the
:ities covered by the survey were il-
uminated at night by artificial light-
ng of varying degrees of effective-
less. So in an indi\idual city where
;he need for better street lighting is
!specially evident, night accidents
chargeable to lack of light may run
IS high as 50 per cent.

Night Use of Streets in Trucking. —

Among manufacturers it is realized
hat great sa\ings in the cost of pro-
uction are brought about by a dou-
le-shift which spreads the overhead
r fixed charges over 24 hours as
gainst 8 or 12 hours. This practice
nay be followed with equal economies
y applying the double-shift to truck-
ng which, according to reports, has
n some cases reduced trucking costs
Imost one-half, due to the increased
itilization of equipment and terminal
acilities. This night use of streets
an be fully developed only by pro-
iding improved street lighting. The
louble utilization of crowded thor-
ughfares is advocated not only be-
ause of its economy from the oper-
tor's point of view, but to relieve day
ime congestion and to postpone the
ime when expensive duplicate thor-
ughfare construction will be required
)y the increasing volume of trafl[ic.

In driving at night, whether it be a
ruck, passenger bus, or private car,
lie driver's \ision depends upon the
airly constant illumination from the

ttreet lights, his own headlights, and
be spasmodic, violent influence of ap-
iroaching headlights. Excepting
:rade crossings, the greatest danger
0 automobile drivers is from glaring
eadlights and with the growth in au-

tomobile traffic it is evident that some
solution of the headlight problem
must be brought about. Apparently
there are only two really effective
solutions, namely:

1. The establishment of one way
streets and interurban or trunk high-
ways.

2. The lighting of trunk highways
so that with dirmned headlights cars
may be operated with safety and in
cornfort at the customary cross coun-
try speeds.

The Lighting of Highways. — Effi-
cient highway lighting fixtures have
been developed and their use is be-
ing advocated by the leading manu-
facturers of street lighting equipment,
and is sponsored by the Illuminating
Engineering Society after considera-
ble study and experimenting.

The cost of lighting a highway
usually does not exceed 5 per cent
of the cost of duplicating the high-
way in order to provide for one way
traffic, so it is obvious that the sec-
ond method is more economical than
the first.

Many states have put into effect
very definite regulations requiring
the use of improved headlight lenses,
goveraing their adjustment and va-
rious other details. Some have em-
ployed illuminating engineers and
maintained a substantial force of
traffic officers especially trained for
competency in enforcing headlight
legislation, but the most conscientious
and persistent supervision has met
with very little and imstable success.
The solution lies in applying sufficient
illumination to our main highways so
that drivers will not need their head-
lights except as markers to define the
width of the car or the limits of the
area to be avoided in passijig, and on
city streets to make the approach of
automobiles readily apparent to the
pedestrian.

The precautions taken to protect
the motoring public by posting all
sharp curves, narrow bridges, steep
grades and the like may be made to
serve their full usefulness by proper
highway lighting. At present this
protection does not extend adequately
beyond the hours of daylight.

Trucks as a rule operate at fairly
low speed and at slow speeds head-
lights often afford little illumination
so the driver is likely to strike ob-
structions or holes and do damage to
both truck and highway. Many a
load has been delayed for hours and
sometimes for days because the driver

228

Roads and Streets

August

misjudged the edge of the road bed
and sank into soft ground. In addi-
tion to disrupting schedules and low-
ering the equipment utilization factor
the road is injured when heavy loads
ride on the very edge of the road
bed.

The cost of good highway lighting
is justified by these considerations
alone and apart from thoughts of
comfort and fear of holdups.

Effect of Irregular Binds on
Concrete Test Cylinders

Some months ago the results of a
laboratory investigation made by D.
V. Terrell, testing engineer of the
Kentucky State Road Department, of
the effect of irregular ends of con-
crete cylinders on compressive test
were published in Engineering and
Contracting. Since that time the in-
vestigation has been carried further,
the idea being to arrive at a reliable
method of evening up the ends on
poorly-made cylinders in such a way
that the results of compressive tests
will be correct. This set of tests,
comprising a second series, is de-
scribed by Mr. Terrell in the Ken-
tucky Road Builder, from which the
notes following are taken:

In the first series the following re-
sults were obtained:

Per cent

Perfect ends 100

Sheet lead bearing...... 51

Beaver board bearing 64

Plaster of Paris bearing 74

No bearing uneven end 59

In this series the cylinders were
made 12 in. long, 1:2:4 mix Ohio
River sand and gravel.

AGE 28 DAYS
First — Three ends perfect finished.

Results.

Pounds per square inch 3,310

Pounds per square inch 3,160

Pounds per square inch 3,200

Mean— Pounds per square inch _ 3,223

Second — Three made as above with
the exception that the ends were left
rough 14 days before the test was
run; we put on a 1 in. cap oh each
end.

Results.

Pounds per square inch 3,280

Pounds per square inch 8,410

Pounds per square inch 2,900

Mean — Pounds per square inch 3,196

Third — Three made the same as
above, 1 in. cap added on each end 7
days before breaking.

Results.

Pounds per square inch 2,980

Pounds per square inch 3,225

Pounds per square inch 3,540

Mean— Pounds per square inch 3,248

Fourth — Three made same as
above; caps put on 4 days before test
was made.

Results.

Pounds per square inch 2,900

Pounds per square inch 2,870

Pounds per square inch 2,950

Mean — Pounds per square inch 2,906

It was then thought that there may
be some difference in the cylinder
being 14 in. long instead of 12 in.
Another set of cylinders were made
10 in. long with the idea of putting a
1 in. cap on each end. All cylinders
were made with the same material.

First — Three 12 in. long, capped
when made.

Results.

Pounds per square inch 2,760

Pounds per square inch 2,740

Pounds per square inch 2,800

Mean — Pounds per square inch 2,766

Second — Three same as above, but
10 in. long and rough 1 in. cap on
each end. Tested when cap was 21
days old.

Results.

Pounds per square inch 2,730

Pounds per square inch 2,820

Pounds per square inch 2,770

Mean — Pounds per square inch 2,773

Third — Three same as above.
Tested when cap was 14 days old.

Results.

Pounds per square inch _2,720

Pounds per square inch 2,660

Pounds per square inch 2,910

Mean— Pounds per square inch 2,763

Fourth — Three same as above.
Tested when cap was 7 days old.

Results.

Pounds per square inch 2,770

Pounds per square inch 2,880

Pounds per square inch _.2,740

Mean — Pounds per square inch 2,796

Both of these experiments proved
to be very satisfactory. It is now
recommended :

(1) That in the future all field cyl-
inders be made 10 in.

(2) That no attempt be made to fin-;
ish the ends. |

(3) That they be capped after they
reach the laboratory. 1

(4) That all caps be at least 7 days|
old.

It is believed that we will comt
nearer getting the actual strength oil
the specimen in this way than we havt t
in the past. \

923 Roads and Streets 229

Methods of Constructing Concrete Pavements

lodem Developments Described in Paper Presented at the 9th
Annual Michigan Conference on Highway Engineering
at University of Michigan.

By E. G. WILLEMIN

District Engineer, Michigan State Highway Department

The scarcity of labor and the un-
jrtainty of material delivery have
sen prime factors in inducing the
ighway construction industry to em-
oy more highly developed machin-
•y. The tendency is to more closely
andardize the product and in turn
crease its rate of production. In
"omoting this tendency we approach
ae industrial plant idea to place the

eration of supply and transport of
material is interlocked with local
aspects of the job such as soil, grad-
ients, width of subgrade, water sup-
ply, condition of adjacent roads,
length of the project, supply of com-
mon and skilled labor, length of live
and dead haul, availability of local
materials, time limit of the contract
and his capital investment.

Preparation of Sabgrade by Means of Sobgrader.

'oduct on a quantity production
isis

A new perspective has been gained
the consideration of a road project
i a co-ordinated entirety, rather
lan a conglomertaion of its parts,
he bidder now views a prospective
■b by analyzing its parts and then
Jsembling the parts into a whole,
he vital parts receive first consid-
■ation, his organization may be the
^art of his job, it makes the job go,
Ut his transportation facilities and

is material supply are equally as
tal to his well being as a builder
1 his arteries and life blood are to
;is personal well being. His consid-

The experience gained so far in the
design and fabrication of road equip-
ment has led to types that are labor
saving devices, dependable at all
times. Present construction demands
sturdy, heavy duty types. Standing
beside a modern mixer while in op-
eration, one can well experience the
same thrill, a feeling of awe, of sur-
plus power and strength that one gets
from the modern locomoti^. The
certainty of mechanical performance
is eliminating a source of risk to the
builder. Time-study analysis can well
be applied with profit to each of the
more costly major mechanical opera-
tions. Minor operations can then be

230

Roads and Streets

Augv

co-ordinated with the major opera-
tions to give a well balanced plant
and organization. In glancing over
a season's record, a sensational run
on a single day is striking, but to the
experienced builder the average runs
per day spread over the season's
work tells whether financial returns
will be written in black or red ink.
There are certain features with which
road building must always contend,
such as variable working location and
lack of protection from the weather.
The tendency now is to eliminate the
factor of seasonal work as much as
possible by starting work earlier. In
any event the factor that counts is
continuous production.

Economic and Social Aspects. — I

sidered absolutely necessary in go
practice. For convenience the si
ject will be handled in the sequen
of operation, that is, the metho
employed in (1) the preparation
the flat subgrade or earthgrade 1
the slab; (2) the movement and ma
pulation of material; (3) the finis
ing of the concrete surface. The si
ject of construction details will al
be considered as to their effect up
the builders' and users' viewpoints

Preparation of Subgrade. — In t
preparation of the flat subgrade 1
the slab, it is the practice in Mic
gan to channel out sufficient ear
from the full width of the slab to su
depth as to give the proper crc
section and volume of earth to co

Subgrade Prepared for Pavement Section, 9 in. at Side, Tapering to 6 in. in 2 ft.

have spoken of the physical and
mechanical aspects as they may affect
present methods. The economic and
social aspects also show signs of
recent development. Large contract-
ing firms, with unlimited capital, are
being attracted to this field of con-
struction. Due to the larger plant
investments and necessity of closer
supervision there is a decided im-
provement in the personnel of the
organizations. From the social stand-
point the use of more highly devel-
oped machinery tends toward a gen-
eral improvement of the class of
labor formerly employed.

In the consideration of the present
methods of construction of cement
concrete pavements, it will be as-
sumed that the foundation, subgrade
or earthgrade and the drainage fea-
tures of the road have received the
painstaking care that is now con-

plete the shoulders at the edge of t
slab. On fresh subgrade or up«
loose soils a grader serves well
remove the excess earth outside t
shoulder line for future use. On si
grades well packed by trafllc or
stiff soils it becomes necessary to u
heavier equipment in such tools
the plow, scarifier and grader. The
h|as been and still is consideral
discussion as to the merits of chj
neling for the slab. From the en
neering standpoint in controUi
volumes of earthwork it is necessaj
to use the surface of the fiat sij
grade or earthgrade as the pla
which eliminates the item of exca"
tion from further considertaion. '
the other hand, it means that t
earth channeled from fills Is hand!
twice. This fault is partly remedJ
by building our earthgrades 6 1
wider on each side than the finish

923

Roads and Streets

231

ndth with the idea of using the
/edge of earth of the inner ditch
lope as a source of filling material
or shoulders. In flat sandy country,
hanneling may be almost dispensed
.•ith while in rolling country it be-
omes more difficult for the engineer
0 balance the deficiency that may
xist in cuts and fills to avoid endwise
aul. In practice it has been found
dvantageous to have the engineer
ctually channel out a strip several
eet wide to the cross section as
hown on the plans to demonstrate
•hat in that class of soil sufficient
|epth has been reached, with or with-
out the wedge of earth on the should-
r, to adequately fill out the shoulders

usually guarantees a decreased cost.
Each time material is picked up to
move, costs rise also, due not only
to the cost of movement, but waste
of material as well. Yard layouts
are now designed to elevate raw
material but once, if possible, and to
take advantage of gravity movements
thereafter.

The Location* of the Mixer. — We
find that in general two classifications
may be made as to the location of
the mixer, viz.: (1) the mixing op-
erating on earthgrade fed by trans-
portation units; (2) the mixer operat-
ing off the grade and delivering a
wet batch to the transportation units.
Under the first classification we may

J ^

i^SS^

■^ ^

^:-\- ■■

Delivering Material to Mixer from Central Plant by Industrial Railway.

»n the edge of the slab to its proper
lope and section. The present ten-
Lency is to eliminate side ditches as
iiuch as possible, but still provide
dequate drainage and yet leave no
hastly borrow pits on the back
lopes. These restrictions imposed
pon the engineer makes close con-
rol of earth work necessary at all
imes.

The vital importance of the supply
ind transportation of material has
ilready been touched upon. The sup-
ily should always be at least equal to,
'Ut never less than consumption re-
uirements to insure continuous pro-
luction with a well balanced plant.
The facilities of unloading materials
rom a source involving railroad haul
ind for its proper storage is there-
fore given careful consideration. A
ayout that gives a minimum handling

subdivide into three types, the wheel-
barrow or stocking of subgrade sys-
tem, the central proportioning plant
or a type not used to any consider-
able extent, which consists of a mixer
over which storage bins are erected,
the bins being filled by a hoisting ar-
rangement and the whole cumber-
some affair mounted on rails. Due to
the fact that the transportation ele-
ment must also be considered with
each type of mixer layout, I will con-
tinue the enumertaion of types of
mixer layouts not operating on the
subgrade, then return to a closer
study of each type of layout in its
relation to transportation as well as
its peculiar advantages over other
types. Under the classification in
which the mixer does not operate on
the grade we have two types: (1)
central mixing plant with mixer fixed

282

Roads and Streets

Augus

and set up adjacent to main source
of material supply; (2) a modified
central mixing plant where the mixer
requires one or more set ups usually
adjacent to the road, its location de-
termined by stock pile or source of
supply. It will be noted that the
essential difference in types as far
as transportation is concerned is the
hauling of a dry 8r a wet batch.
There are other considerations pre-
viously mentioned, however, that
largely determine the location of the
mixer in respect to the road and the
methods of transportation. I will
repeat them, assoil of subgrade, grad-
ients, width of subgrade, water sup-
ply, condition of adjacent roads,

be made to the subgrade after th
aggregates are placed, are very costlj
For this reason unusual care must b
taken to correct all ruts and unevei
ness of the subgrade prior to stocl
ing. There is a considerable loss c
material, as aggregates cannot b
picked up clean and economicall
without combining parts of the sul
grade with it. This waste materij
may run as high as 10 per cent. Th
human element enters into this metl
od too largely, there is congestioi
questionable morale and heavy labo
turnover. There is no advantage i
stocking subgrade in anticipation c
scarcity of material that cannot no^
be offset by dry batch delivery froi

Central Proportioning: Plant on Arizona Road Job.

length of the project, supply of com-
mon and skilled labor, length of live
and dead haul, availability of local
material, time limit of the contract,
and capital investment.

The Wheelbarrow Method^-With
the mixer operating on the subgrade,
let us first consider the wheelbarrow
method. This method is still in use,
but usually In localities where un-
skilled labor is plentiful and cheap.
Aggregates are usually stocked upon
the subgrade. In such a case, it is
necessary to space the loads of each
type of aggregate with care to save
long distance wheeling. This require-
ment would mean a very trustworthy
foreman In charge of unloading.
Again, with materials stocked on the
subgrrade any corrections that must

the stock pile. A late development )
the use of belt conveyor as a sul
stitute for the wheelbarrow. Thi
contrivance eliminates the commo
labor element, but does not reduc
waste of material. When aggregate
are not stocked on the subgrade di
livery of material to the mixer may t
made by Industrial railroad, light (
heavy truck. The reliability of mix«;
supply, however. Is questionable i'
this method. Moreover it has bee I
demonstrated that the batch systeij
handles the transfer to the ml::<
more economically. Unless mated)
can be stocked at railroad sidin,
there Is a possibility of the accumuli
tlon of demurrage charges.

The Central Proportioning Plant-
As the name infers, the central pr

1'J23

Roads and Streets

233

portioning plant proportions the ag-
gregates in a dry batch to correspond
to the capacity of the mixer. The
plant may be composed of fixed or
movable loading bins that serve for
storage of aggregate, or a tunnel
arrangement designed to accommo-
date an industrial train. Batches may
be proportioned by hoppers on the
discharge chute of the loading bin or
tunnel or by volumetric measurements
In compartments of a batch box or
of partitional truck bodies. Batch
boxes may be of the tilting, side dis-
charge or drop bottom type. If cement
is included in the batch, separate
compartments for it are preferable.
Covers are now provided for cement
compartments as a safeguard against
wind and rain. The ideal layout for
loading is to elevate material but
once, so that handling of m'aterials to
the transportation units is by gravity.
In some large layouts using truck
haul, separate loading bins for each
aggregate are used. This arrange-
ment requires two stops. In smaller
layouts, where truck haul is used, it
is possible to have sand and gravel
compartments for each loading bin,
thus eliminating one extra stop of
the truck per trip. There are likewise
opportunities to design tunnels so as
to economize on train loading time
and d^ad storage of material.

In the consideration of the effective-
ness of the central proportioning
plant we are at once confronted with
our transportation problem. In gen-
eral the light or heavy truck or a
combination of both, or the industrial
train alone, or in truck combinations
is employed.

It is argued that the cost of de-
livery of material in this manner is
no more than with a wheelbarrow lay-
out and that the cost of operation
and wear of the light trucks does not
exceed the cost of reshaping the sub-
grade that is necessary with certain
soil conditions when heavy trucks
are used. On a long haul by truck
delivery it is also argued that a sav-
ing can be affected in handling of
material by delivery in heavy trucks
to a stock pile, provided the heavy
trucks can dump directly into hopper
of a l£adin° bin to be later discharged
into hoppers for loading light delivery
trucks. The cement may or may not
be added to the batch at the central
proportioning plant. Depending upon
the source of cement supply, it may
prove feasible to stock the cement in
a movable storage house on the road.

The methods mentioned contemplate
the material brought by truck or
train to the mixer, with the mixer
gradually progressing forward. A re-
cent plant layout using dry batch
heavy truck delivery was so arranged
as to temporarily fix the location of
the mixer every 1,500 ft. on the sub-
grade with the mixer discharging
concrete into light trucks for place-
ment on the subgrade. It is needless
to say that a turntable would be one
necessary piece of equipment in such
a layout.

Transportation Methods. — Among

Material Handling at Central Plant.

road builders, the problem of the
transportation unit to be used for a
given project creates considerable
discussion. One builder's experience
may have involved the light truck,
another the use of heavy truck, while
still another the industrial railroad.
Contracts have been completed by
the use of each type or of light and
heavy truck combinations equally suc-
cessful from the standpoint of the
contractor. It is my opinion that the
temperament of the contractor and
his organization e n te r s into the
choice, in other words, a personal
equation may be involved. Some
builders are willing to take more grief
from their equipment than others, as
manifested by the maintenance they

234

Roads and Streets

August

give the equipment. Besides this con-
sideration there are the more im-
portant ones of plant investment, fixed
and operating charges.

It has been found that certain eco-
nomical principles apply as well to
road equipment as to other types of
m ichinery. Det us consider a few of
these principles. It cannot be dis-
puted that where interest charge on
the investment plus depreciation is
exceeded by the loss due to costly
delays in the use of old equipment
that new or better equipment should
have been purchased. The economy
of new or well maintained equipment
is apparent where repairs or replace-
ments are difficult to obtain. A piece

ent advantage. Workmanship suffers
also.

Adapting Projects to Plant. — After
a road builder has bought his plant
and completed a successful season's
work, he has no assurance that his
plant will balance with the require-
ments of the next job. There is an
opportunity at times for the state and
counties to adapt projects to plants.
It has not always been possible to
do this, however, because of con-
siderations such as taking care of
traffic during construction. It is some-
times advantageous to advertise a
short job. A small job with a small
organization and small overhead can
compete favorably in unit price witn

'^^i^^^^^i^iiii^^^ij^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^i

Bui

Central Mixing Plant on Iowa Road Job.

of equipment is not justified in a well
balanced plant unless it co-ordinates
closely in output with other units of
the plant in giving continuous pro-
duction. This does not mean for in-
stance that the capacity of the clam
at the unloading plant per 10 hours
must be equal to the total aggregates
handled in 10 hours by the mixer. Its
capacity may be less, it may work
overtime to maintain the balance of
supply with demand, but its capacity
should be such that demurrage does
not pile up unnecessarily due to erra-
tic shipments, or delays caused to
other plant units. Equipment stand-
ardized such as mixers now are
should not be overloaded. The ma-
chine may stand the strain for a time,
but maintenance and depreciation
charges will soon discount the appar-

a large job with large organization
and high overhead. The risk of delay
is more costly in a large plant lay-
out. The small plant layout has
proven adaptable to a larger variety
of jobs. It is true that the large
plant may not have yet had the
chance to demonstrate its worth due
to the uncertainty of material sup-
ply. To date it is my opinion that the
average net return on the money in-
vested for the large plant has been
lower for a season's run than the
small plant. The efficiency of the con-
struction organization is responsible
to a great degree for its success or
failure. With Improper equipment an
eflJicient organization soon loses its
efficiency and its interest in the wel-
fare of the work.
Truck and Industrial Railroad Haul-

Roads and Streets

235

ge. — To return to the question of
-ansportation units, to those who
ad the opportunity to hear the ad-
ress on the effectiveness of the light
nd heavy truck and the industrial
ailroad at the recent Chicago con-
ention, the reasons for variances in
pinion are apparent. A few of the
oints brought out for each type will
e mentioned here. With light truck
aul, a light truck being considered
-ton capacity or less, the light truck
lakes up in speed what it lacks in
apacity. Its use is favorable with

less time to load than in four or
more light trucks, they are on the
subgrade a shorter time in unloading
the same volume, thus disturbing sub-
grader work less. The drivers take
more personal pride in the perform-
ance of their heavy truck. In fixed
charges, the storage charges per
heavy truck is less than for its ca-
pacity equivalent in light trucks,
license fees are accordingly reduced
while risks on insurance, liability, fire
and theft are less. The charge off for
the life of heavy trucks can be taken

Dumping Dry Batch ; Note Apron on Bottom of Mixer Skip.

comparatively short hauls, it is easier
on the subgrade, parts are more read-
ily replaced in case of breakdown,
the time lapse is shorter after a rain
for trucks to start running upon
roads, the interest charge on the
capital invested is less. An apparent
advantage is the fact that truck
drivers may be obtained at cheaper
rates than for heavy trucks, also
mechanics, but how true ultimate
costs will be cut is problematical.
The investment of the owner in
spare parts, however, is appreciably
cut. With heavy trucks, on the other
hand, a long haul is more advantag-
eous. Due to the fact that for a given
volume of haul, a less number of
heavy trucks are needed, they require
less field supervision, there are fewer
units on the road to pass each other.

as twice that of light trucks. Again
in subletting truck hauls, it usually
proves more satisfactory to sublet to
heavy truck haulage concerns, as
they are more substantial and trust-
worthy in general. There are evils
in subletting truck hauls, however,
due to the fact that the contractor
loses his absolute control over his
transportation units and condition of
his subgrade. Trucks equipped with
adequate tires for the capacity of the
truck are essential as a remedy for
subgrade troubles.

The heavy investment necessary for
industrial railway equipment is war-
ranted only on longer projects. Their
layout and operation require close
study in regard to soil conditions,
weight of track, grades, booster en-
gines, temporary and permanent

236

Roads and Streets

August

passing switches, loading facilities
and tracks using gravity wherever
possible in favor of the load. Un-
doubtedly railroad economies can be
profitably applied on some phases of
its operation. It has been found that
heavier loads should be drawn with
the same power unit, or it is more
economical to boost on heavy grade
than it is to cut the load. Within the
last two or three years the power
unit has increased in weight and
consequently increased the tractive
effort with the necessary power. The
industrial haul is more reliable in
general as a transportation unit than
the truck method. The reliability of
the industrial haul should lead to

clue that he seeks as to the type to
employ.

Central Mixing Plant. — As pre-
viously stated in the plant layout
where the mixer does not operate on
the subgrade, we are concerned with
the so-called central mixing plant or
a modification of it. In one case the
mixer is fixed quite permanently, in
the latter case the mixer can be
shifted from stock pile to stock pile.
The former must have materials
brought to it, in the latter the plant is
more flexible in that respect. The
operation of the central mixing plant
is particularly affected by its design.
The bins should deliver a uniformly
graded type of each aggregate. The

Curing Concrete by Ponding Method on Alabama Road Job.

continuity of production. Against this
advantage we must charge added in-
terest and depreciation of plant in-
vestment.

In the comparison of the effective-
ness and economy of any transporta-
tion unit, the cost per ton mile haul
seems the logical basis for compari-
son. On a given project with a given
output of the finished product, the
volume of material required in tons
is constant. The mileage and time
involved in hauling are the variable
factors of the ton mile basis. We
may decrease the tonnage per trans-
portation unit and increase the speed
of each unit or vice versa, and obtain
the same output within reasonable
limits. The analysis of these factors
for each project gives the builder the

proportioning of the batch should be
done just prior to discharge into the
mixer. The central mixing plant lay-
out centralizes activities; It would
therefore cut supervision costs. This
is not so true, however, of the modi-
fied type. The modified type might
be used economically where heavy
truck hauls are necessary to various
stock piles along the road, with the
soil conditions of the subgrade such
that only light trucks could be used
for hauling wet batch. Many differ-
ent types of portable elevators are
now on the market for handling ag-
gregates from stock pile to truck or
industrial railroad, that could be
adapted to the modified central mix-
ing plant.

Many specifications do not allow,

1923

Roads and Streets

237

others restrict the use of concrete
mixed by the central mixing plant
method. Those that oppose its use
contend that segregation of aggre-
gates occur in the concrete in its
transportation, especially where long
hauls are involved over rough roads.
Truck haul is advisable, as by it indi-
vidual batches are delivered to the
project in the least time. Tests were
made a year or more ago to deter-
mine the probable safe maximum haul
of concrete mixed in a central mixing
plant. The results as given in Pub-
lic Roads, the former official publica-
tion of the United States Office of
Public Roads, show in a general way
the relative strength and consistency
of gravel concrete when hauled in a
wet batch and tested at various pe-
riods of time up to three hours after
initial mixing. The concrete was
.' mixed to a consistency to conform to
! a 2-inch slump with standard appar-
I atus. Cylinder specimens were made
I for testing according to standard field
j practice. It is stated that the experi-
i ment indicates that the most practi-
i cal way to utilize the central mixing
plant in concrete road construction
is in connection with a machine fin-
isher. It also indicates that so long
as the concrete is workable after a
period of hauling the strength will
not be affected. P\irther experi-
mental work was to be conducted on
the effectiveness of this method.

The Inundation Method. — One of
the more recent developments in the
mixing of aggregates for concrete is
the so-called "Inundation Method." It
consists of measuring the sand aggre-
gate in a container which has pre-
viously been partly filled with water
in such quantity that when the con-
tainer is level full the sand is com-
pletely soaked. The effect of moisture
on sand is variable, depending upon
the physical characteristics of the
i sand. Experiments show that the
[ swell of dry sand measured after
j moistening by the addition of 2 per
i cent of water by weight may easily
I be 15 per cent. With like increments
I of water added, the volume tends to
I decrease to the saturation point.
■ With a soaked sand, volume measure-
1 ments become more constant. By
j this method the consistency of con-
j Crete can be more closely controlled.
Experiments indicate that the com-
pressive strength of concrete made
of a given grading of aggregate varies
inversely as the consistency of the
mix. By the use of the inundation

method of proportioning sand it may
be possible to specify concrete by its
strength rather than by its volu-
metric proportions. To my knowledge
no practical adaptation has yet been
made for using this method in actual
construction, although there are no
serious obstacles in the way of doing
so.

The use of bulk cement has not
been developed to the extent it
could be. The standard sack of ce-
ment has been used so long in pro-
portioning aggregates that the cus-
tom seems fixed. With storage bin
facilities it is used successfully on
both the central proportioning and
central mixing plant types.

Curing the Slab. — In the curing of
the slab, it is general practice to
maintain moisture and temperature
factors as near as may be at normal
conditions. The top of the subgrade
is kept moist, so that soil will absorb
as little moisture from the concrete
as possible. To retard evaporation
and to reduce internal stresses, can-
vas canopies are placed over the con-
crete surface after finishing, or as
soon as the concrete is sufficiently
hard the surface is covered with
water or moistened earth. These pre-
cautions make the rate of curing
more uniform. The addition of re-
inforcement to the slab has no bene-
ficial action in curing, as during con-
traction the steel has formed no bond
with concrete.

Considerable progress has been
made in the development of the fin-
ishing machine. It is a labor-saving
device and I might say a life-saving
device to humanely express its im-
provement over hand finishing. By
the use of such a machine, a drier,
consequently a stronger, concrete can
be properly laid. The tamping action
is particularly effective, tending to
make a denser concrete and to flush
grout to the surface for a smooth
finish.

Details of Design of Pavement. —
The design of the pavement is not
within the scope of this paper. There
are certain details of design, how-
ever, that affect construction meth-
ods, not materially, but sufficient to
cause the builder some wonder as
to how much work they will entail.
I mention but a few of the most note-
worthy developments. The central
longitudinal joint is generally placed
to prevent a long crooked longi-
tudinal crack. It is claimed that it
increases about four times the beam

238

Roads and Streets

August

strength of the half slab, acting as
a beam. Steel dowel bars are placed
transversely across the joint to act
as tie-bars. The placing of the stiff
dividing joint and the steel dowel
bars in advance of the placing of
concrete has not proven a drawback
whatever in the efficient prosecution
of the work. Systems of steel rein-
forcement of the slab are now so fab-
ricated that their placing above the
subgrade does not interfere with
other operations. The shape of the
cross section on the bottom of the
slab or the top of the subgrade has
not been standardized. This detail
works no particular hardships on the
builder, however, as far as memous
are concerned.

In regard to details of equipment,
some specifications require the use
of steel side forms exclusively. This
is quite necessary where a machine
finisher is used. With the tendency
towards concrete of firmer con-
sistency, mixers are provided with
accurate water gauging devices.
Timing devices are also considered
necessary. The boom and bucket sys-
tem of distribution, after discharge
from the mixer, is favored, as a
drier mix can be used satisfactorily
and segregation of aggregates pre-
vented.

With the opening of pavement to
traffic, the traveler is at once im-
pressed with its riding qualities. The
smoothness of finish, its freedom
from unevenness are factors of prime
importance to him, momentarily over-
shadowing the importance of the
strength of the pavement. In specifi-
cations, the limits of variation from
a true surface are being drawn still
closer. Expansion joints, where
placed, must have their top edges
truly flush with the adjacent con-
crete surface. Every detail of con-
struction in fact is given painstaking
care.

In conclusion a summation of the
most striking developments that af-
fect the methods used in this type
of pavement would include the ten-
dency towards the mechanical perfec-
tion of labor-saving devices, plant co-
ordination, security of material sup-
ply and large capital investments
with a well trained and efficient or-
ganization.

Economic Highway Bridge
Problems

A Paper Presented at 9th Annual

Michigar '^onference on Highway

Engineering at the University

of Michigan

BY LEWIS M. GRAM,

Professor of Structural Engineering,
University of Michigan.

The function of an engineer in con-
struction work is to solve his prob-
lems so that adequate service will be
rendered at minimum cost. This is
a basic principle easy to state but
difficult to carry out with any degree
of uniformity because just what con-
stitutes "adequate service at mini-
mum cost" is a matter of judgment
which in turn involves differences of
opinion. Furthermore, engineering
problems relating to highway bridges
cannot be entirely disconnected from
similar problems relating to the ad-
jacent roadway. The best solution
of a bridge problem might not be so
for the adjacent roadway, and vice
versa. The effect of each upon the
other in particular cases should be
carefully considered, and to a certain
extent it is one problem instead of
two, having in mind the best interests
of the highway as a whole.

Obviously the study of all highway
bridge problems from a broad eco-
nomic viewpoint involves the prob-
able permanency of the structure;
and it is to that particular phase of
the subject that this discussion will
relate. Again it must be remem-
bered that bridges are integral
parts of the highway, and as such the
extent of their future usefulness is
subject to the same uncertainties that
surround our highway transporta-
tional facilities in general. Difficult,
however, as it may be to forecast all
of the conditions affecting the useful
life period of the roadway portions
of a highway system, there are many
reasons why the problem relating to
bridges is even more complex. From
their very nature bridges have to per-
form a two fold service, that which is
incidental to the passage underneath
as well as that which is required by
the traffic over them. -Hence radical
changes in either respect from the
conditions for which any particular
structure was designed will affect the
useful life period of the bridge. Al-
though a fixed bridge, by which is
meant one that has no moving mech-

923

Roads and Streets

239

nism, does not wear out to any
reater extent than the roadway sur-
ace, which represents a small cost
ompared to that of the bridge as a
rhole, the materials in the bridge
roper may disintegrate more rapidly
han those in the roadway. , Repairs
r reconstruction may be long de-
erred in a roadway, while weak spots
1 a bridge require immediate atten-
ion.

Life of Structure and Initial Cost. —
.s a purely business proposition the
robable permanency of a structure
i a question that should be taken
ato account together with that of
nitial cost. It would be poor policy
Qdeed to buy a structure of low
iriginal cost but which required ex-
lensive repairs soon after its comple-
ion or which would have to be re-
(laced at a comparatively early date.
Jnfortunately, however, the useful
Lfe period of a structure involves so
aany uncertainties that it cannot be
definitely anticipated. Perhaps the
oest we can do is to base our judg-
ment of the future upon the past, al-
hough the disappointing thing about
uch a procedure has been to find as
ach year's developments passed into
istory, that our most liberal expecta-
ions for that particular period have
een far exceeded. In the light of
istorical data the outstanding fac-
ers affecting the useful life period of
bridge are:

1st. The relation between the ca-
acity for which the structure is de-
igned and that which may later be
equired.
2d. The deterioration of materials
t which the structure is built.
Other circumstances affecting the
ermanency of bridges such as relo-
ation of a section of highway or
adical change in profile for the pur-
ose of reducing grades do not fall
ithin the intended scope of this dis-
assion. Unfortunately from the
tandpoint of attractiveness of our
ublic structures, the appearance of
bridge has little influence upon its
«rmanency. and a structure un-
ightly when built must be endured
lUtil for some more practical reason
K Is discarded.

I Capacity and Life Period of Bridge.
I|-With reference to capacity, the life
'eriod of the structure can be partially
rontrolled by the designer depend-
ing upon how liberally he pro-
Mdes for future requirements. Just
Ihat might be considered reasonable
liberality in the matter of future in-

creases in traffic, however, is clearly

a matter of opinions, and it is not
unlikely that designs based upon
them will fall as wide of the mark in
the future as in the past. For the
purpose not of offering an explana-
tion for the inexcusable lack of fore-
sight on the part of the designers in
special cases, but rather to demon-
strate what little chance a real
prophet of a decade ago would have
had in convincing the average road
commissioners of the accuracy of his
vision regarding highway usage, some
statistics relating to the growth in
volume of highway transportation are
pertinent. The registration of motor
vehicles in the United States, by
which is meant both passenger cars
and motor trucks, increased from
1,033,096 in 1912 to 10,448,632 in 1921,
or over 1,000 per cent; the registra-
tion of vehicles in two states alone in
1921, namely. New York and Michi-
gan, exceeded by 222,700 the total reg-
istration in the United States in
1912; and the increase in registration
of 1921 over 1920 in the United States
despite a poor year for motor vehicle
production also exceeded the total
number of vehicles in 1912. With
these facts before us, it is no wonder
that many bridges constructed ten
years ago with allowances for future
increases in traffic which were then
considered reasonable by the de-
signer, are inadequate today. The
surprising thing about it is that so
many bridges have survived. A com-
parison of the volume of motor traffic
ol today with that of 20 years ago
shows an even more startling devel-
opment. Because of lack of registra-
tion we do not have at hand accurate
figures regarding number of vehicles
for that early period, but such pro-
duction records as are available Indi-
cate practically no motor trucks and
less than 5,000 passenger cars.

Difficulty of Making Roadway Fit
Traffic.— To add to the difficulty of
making the roadway fit the traffic,
motor vehicles are unlimited in their
field of action. Unlike the structures
of a railway which are designed to
meet the needs on particular systems,
the highways are public and may be
used by whomsoever desires to do so.
Scientists tell us that certain in-
sects which multiply with slightly
greater rapidity than motor vehicles
do not wander far from their place of
birth. It is not so with motor vehi-
cles. We in Ann Arbor are accus-
tomed to see quite a sprinkling of

240

Roads and Streets

August

vehicles from foreign states, occa-
sionally as remote as Florida and
California. A good road to an objec-
tive point, however distant, adver-
tises itself with remarkably prompt
and voluminous results. All of which
adds further to the uncertainty of
just what the future requirements in
any particular locality will be.

Furthermore, the above statistics
refer to increases in volume of traf-
fic, which is only half the story, as
the capacity of a highway may be
expressed in terms of either volume
or weight of traffic. In passing, it
might be noted that inadequacy of
bridges with respect to volume of
traffic has been more acute in recent
years than with respect to weight.
This is explained by the fact that the
margin of excess usually provided in
the design of highway bridges is
greater for weight than for volume
of traflBc. A two-way structure is
never more than that, while increases
in service loads are always permissi-
ble in properly designed structures.
In some respects this is a fortunate
situation, inasmuch as inadequate
volume capacity of a structure means
simply throttled traffic involving mod-
erate danger and delay, while failure
under excessive load may result in fa-
talities and prolonged tie-up of miles
of a highway system.

While the story of motor transpor-
tation reads almost like a fairy tale,
it has its parallel in what has been
done in a corresponding period in the
development of good roads. In fact it
is impossible to estimate the extent
to which each has contributed respec-
tively to cause and effect. The users
of motor cars are numerous and in-
fluential enough to bring about road
improvement. Road improvement in
turn stimulates the use of motor ve-
hicles and thus we have the one al-
ways chasing the other in an end-
less cycle as it were. Just when one
will catch up to the other is of course
impossible to tell, but naturally road
improvement and motor car produc-
tion will go hand in hand with ab-
normal speed until traffic on the high-
ways reaches its economic level in
the whole field of transportation.

Economic Position of Highway
Bridges. — As an important detail in
the process of road development to
which reference has been made, high-
way bridges have occupied a peculiar
economic position. Per foot of high-
way the average bridge is a com-
paratively expensive part of highway

construction. Naturally, therefore,
the cost of bridges is always reduced
to a minimum consistent with ser-
vice requirements. In the days of
horse drawn vehicles, a country
bridge was considered of ample vol-
ume capacity if wide enough for two
ordinary vehicles to pass at slow
speed or say a minimum of fourteen
feet, and high enough, if there was
overhead construction, to permit the
passing through of a load of hay or a
threshing machine. If perchance two
vehicles should meet at a bridge and
one be required to wait until the
other one had passed over, the value
of time in transit was not sufficiently
great even to cause serious mental
irritation. Nowadays, TEe situation is
vastly different. With the advent of
swiftly moving vehicles, transit time
has taken on new standards of value
and traffic interruptions are more se-
rious. The loss of time thereby may
have real or fancied value, but in
either case pressure is properly
brought to bear to remove the throt-
tle.

Aside from the more or less serious
delays referred to, there are other
good reasons which tend to terminate
the usefulness of many structures
long before the materials with which
they are constructed have danger-
ously deteriorated. A bridge which
is inadequate with respect to volume
of traffic is likely to be a real menace
to rapid highway transit in that it
contributes to many accidents either
by collision with portions of the struc-
ture which project above the road-
way, precipitation over high banks or
both. It must be borne in mind that
many drivers of highway vehicles
are unfamiliar with the roads over
which they are traveling and it goes
without saying that in the interest
of safety to the general public every
reasonable precaution should be
taken to minimize hazards.

Another feature of inadequacy ir
the design of bridges often resulting
in serious damage and sometimes tc
the extent of complete failure is wlttl
respect to the waterway. Major de
fects such as scant opening for th«
flow under flood conditions or shallov'
bearing on the soil will directly en
danger the piers and abutments; anc
stability of the superstructure beinf
dependent of course upon that of th«
sub-structure, it is doubly importam
that every deail of the foundations b<
carefully studied and liberally de
signed.

1923

Roads and Streets

241

Permanency of Bridges from Ma-
terial Standpoint. — In discussing the
permanency of bridges from the stand-
point of deterioration of the materials
of which they are constructed, we are
standing on firmer ground. That is
to say, the situation is not complexed
by such uncontrollable factors as the
development of vehicular traffic. The
useful life period of a bridge in so far
as the materials are concerned is
largely dependent first, upon the
kinds of materials used in construc-
tion, and second, upon the places
where used and the care which is
given in maintenance.

As a matter of common knowledge,
for example, timber when alternately
wet and dry will decay in a few years,
and the only way to preserve it in-
definitely is to keep it in either one
condition or the other all the time.
Practically it is easier to keep tim-
ber saturated with water than per-
fectly dry, and in substructure work
sound timber which is always sub-
merged in fresh water may be con-
sidered absolutely permanent. Sam-
ples taken from the timber in the sub-
structure of the Belle Isle Bridge
after about 30 years submersion
showed absolutely no deterioration.
Other similar observances are on rec-
ord. The critical zone for timber in
substructure work is adjacent to the
water line, where the material is nat-
urally subjected to alternately wet
and dry conditions. Timber piles and
grillages as frequently used in the
foundations for bridges bear silent
witness to that fact.

It is practically impossible on the
other hand to prevent timber which
is used in the superstructure of
bridges from being wet or dry inter-
mittently. Paint and various impreg-
nating processes will go a long way
toward preservation, although sooner
or later decay is likely to get started
at inaccessible joints. Complete
housing is the only effective way to
make the timber superstructure of a
bridge reasonably permanent, but
this is obviously an expensive ex-
pedient in the matter of first cost as
well as in maintenance of the hous-
ing itself. The average lifetime of
timber bridges in so far as the decay
of the material in the superstructure
is concerned may be estimated at
from 12 to 15 years when exposed to
the weather, notwithstanding the fact
that in some cases they have been
continued in service by careful main-
tenance for over 50 years. When

thoroughly protected from the
weather by housing, timber bridges
may last indefinitely with compara-
tively inexpensive maintenance costs
on the bridge proper. There are in
fact examples of enclosed timber
structures built nearly a century ago
which are still in service to the dis-
credit of so-called "permanent"
bridges in their immediate vicinity.
Danger of complete destruction by fire
is always a hazard which cannot be
avoided in a timber structure, and
unquestionably this fact had much to
do with causing metal structures to
become popular long before they com-
pared favorably with timber bridges
in the matter of cost.

Steel and Wrought Iron Bridges. —
Steel and wrought iron bridges would
be absolutely permanent with respect
to deterioration of materials if, as in
the case also of timber bridges, the
conditions to which they were ex-
posed were ideal. Steel and iron,
however, will slowly decay through
oxidation or rusting whenever they
come directly in contact with air and
moisture. This action is sometimes
referred to as a slow fire. Various
chemicals and gases and stray elec-
tric currents tend to accelerate the
oxidation. When submerged in water
the rusting process progresses more
slowly, depending upon the extent to
which the water is aerated. The best
way, therefore, of guarding against
deterioration of steel and iron in our
bridges is to prevent direct contact
with air and moisture; and a film of
paint is usually employed for that
purpose. The practical difficulties in
the way of perfect protection to the
metal in a bridge by such method,
however, are well known to those
who are familiar with maintenance
problems. Even though paint is ap-
plied at reasonably frequent intervals
there are many inaccessible places
where decay is inevitable and cannot
be checked. Under ordinary condi-
tions of exposure the most vulnerable
points for the disintegrating influ-
ences are at pin and riveted connec-
tions.

With reasonable care in mainte-
nance, however, the materials in a
metal bridge are likely to be in ser-
viceable condition when the struc-
ture has outlived its usefulness in
any particular locality for other rea-
sons. Wrought iron is less susceptible
to corrosive action than steel, and
as evidence of the durability of
wrought iron bridges, there is an arch

242

Roads and Streets

August

bridge of that material built in 1835
near Pittsburgh which is still in ser-
vice and in excellent condition from
a corrosive resistance standpoint.

Strange to say, there are cases on
record where metal bridges have
been completely destroyed as a re-
sult of fire in the wooden floor or
paving. In 1915, nine through spans
and half of the draw span of the old
Belle Isle Bridge in Detroit, were
completely destroyed in that manner
almost before the fire apparatus could
arrive on the scene.

Concrete and Reinforced Concrete
Structures. — Concrete and reinforced
concrete is popularly conceived to be
an absolutely permanent material
without maintenance, but an exami-
nation of many existing concrete
bridges or other outdoor concrete
structures will demonstrate that such
an impression is not unqualifiedly
true. For various reasons which will
not be referred to here except to say
that sometimes they are decidedly
ol^scure, concrete as placed in our
bridges has a wide range in quality,
and if in speaking of the absolute
permanency of concrete, material
properly designed, carefully mixed
and placed is meant, the statement is
doubtless warranted. If on the other
hand the material is defective either
with respect to design or fabrication
it will fall far short of absolute per-
ma,nency. As well expressed by Pro-
fessor McKibben, the owner of a con-
crete structure should not be led to
believe that in every case he will have
something as enduring as Verdi's
"II Trovatore" or Dante's "Divine
Comedia." Many outdoor concrete
structures do in fact show positive
deterioration after five, ten or fifteen
years of exposure. There is especial
danger when moisture can reach steel
reinforcement, as the formation of
rust sets up a tremendous pressure
and usually results in spalling off of
the surrounding concrete. It is only
fair to add in behalf of good concrete
as a bridge material that it will in-
crease in strength as it ages. The
ultimate strength in compression at
the end of a year is about fifty per
cent higher than at thirty days when
It should have ample strength to de-
velop the stresses assumed in design.
Furthermore, the weight of a con-
crete structure Is so great in propor-
tion to that of the traffic that large
increases in weight will have a rela-
tively small influence upon the inten-
sities of stresses in the concrete.

These facts are of distinct advantage
for concrete, considering the future
weight adequacy of structures In
which it is used.

Summary. — The factors which have
to do with the useful life period of
any particular structure may be
broadly summarized into three points:

1st. Materials,

2d. Design.

3d. Maintenance.

There are proper places in high-
way bridge construction for the use
of each of the three kinds of ma-
terials herein discussed, timber, steel
and concrete. Their advantages and
disadvantages respectively are well
known through observation and ex-
perimental investigations, and with
data at hand relative to comparative
prices the designer is enabled to
make a choice which will properly
meet the requirements in any par-
ticular case.

Under design is the presumption
that the materials regardless of kind
will be economically and yet wisely
proportioned. Full consideration
should be given to the historical fact,
that inadequacy either with respect
to volume or weight of traffic rather
than deterioration of materials of con-
struction has been the prevailing
cause of premature abandonment of
highway structures; and the design-
er should always keep in mind the
probability of required strengthening,
or expansion of a structure before the
materials have outlived their useful-
ness. Details especially should be lib-
erally proportioned. Comparatively
little expense may be added by excess
material at critical points, and yet
minor weaknesses may develop into a
case of the tail wagging the dog in the
matter of prolonged serviceability of
the structure as a whole. The gener-
al type of structure selected has an
important bearing on the practicabil-
ity of volume expansion, in case the
growth of traffic requires either a new
bridge or an increase in width of the
old one. If any structural portions
of a bridge extend above the roadway
it is in general impracticable to adopt
the latter expedient, while a deck
structure can usually be extended in-
definitely in a lateral direction with-
out interfering with a clear roadway.
The deck arch type is particularly
advantageous because of its expan-
siveness as well as appearance, and
because of the temptation to use it
quite generally for highway bridges,

1923

Roads and Streets

243

a word of caution should be expressed,
that is to make sure that the founda-
tion conditions which have so much
to do with the integrity of the arch
type, are favorable for it.

In the final analysis, the useful life
period of a bridge insofar as it may be
affected by decay of the materials de-
pends upon maintenance and repair.
Careful and systematic inspection fol-
lowed up by prompt attention to such
defects as may appear from time to
time is bound to result in prolonging
the life of a bridge, whatever the ma-
terials of construction may be. Pri-
vate corporations and especially rail-
way companies are keenly sensitive
to the value of thorough maintenance,
probably for the reason that the bene-
fits of longer structural life and unin-
terrupted service show up in the divi-
dends. It is a notable fact that most
steel and iron railway bridges replaced
by reason of inadequate capacity are
practically as good as new insofar as
the materials are concerned. Highway
bridges on the other hand are too
often sadly neglected, painting too
long deferred, shoe pockets allowed
to fill up with dirt and vegetable mat-
ter, with the inevitable result that the
life of many structures is unduly
shortened. For reasons pointed out,
there are some elements in the de-
sign of highway bridges which are
pardonably misjudged, but there is ab-
solutely no good excuse for careless
inspection and maintenance. What-
ever materials may be used in con-
structing a bridge, and whatever vol-
ume and weight of traffic it may have
been designed to carry, there is no
better and certainly no cheaper elixir
of life than reasonable care and at-
tention.

Economic Value of Good Roads

The following interesting item is
extracted from a paper presented
June 11 at the convention of the Cana-
dian Good Roads Association by Gteo.
Hogarth, chief engineer, Department
of Public Highways of Ontario:

There is a cash value to good roads
in the saving of wear and tear on
vehicles that cannot be too strongly
emphasized. The benefits of good
roads are sho\%'n by the reduced cost
of maintenance and longer life of
automobiles run over good roads on
one hand and bad roads on the other.
One type of car with which you are
all acquainted and of which the De-
partment has a number has been used
by us since 1917 when our highway
system w^as first assumed. The cars
bought in 1917 and 1918 were run
over the roads in the condition the
highways were in when taken over
and in some cases the cars were prac-
tically wrecked in a season's wear.
When turning in such cars and re-
newing them we were allowed a sum
of money which represented an aver-
age depreciation exclusive of repairs
of $240 per car per year. In 1923 we
turned in a number of cars for re-
placement and the actual depreciation
was $125 per car per year. This is a
saving in depreciation alone of $115
per car per year. With 272,000 cars
and trucks in Ontario, many of
which are more expensive than the
car above referred to and half of
which are owned outside the cities
there would be a saving of $15,500,000
per year on depreciation on cars and
trucks owned outside the cities, and
using the low value of $115 deprecia-
tion per car per year.

l: ad Scene in Vicinity of Toronto, Ont. Wehr Grader Leveling Off Surface After Steam Roller
and Scarifier Had Broken L'(t Old Macadam.

244 Roads and Streets August

Regulating the Parking of Automobiles

Present System and Suggested Methods for Providing Space for

Standing Cars

By JOHN IHLDER,

Manager, Civic Development Department, Chamber of Commerce of the United States

A few years ago automobile sales-
men talked about the saturation point
in terms of the public's buying power.
They calculated the possible number
of automobiles in a state by the num-
ber of families with a certain income.
Today such figures, except as applied
to the rural population, are going into
the discard. The saturation point for
automobiles is coming to be the inco-
pacity of streets n«t only in cities, but
even in towns and villages, to hold
more cars.

We have suddenly awakened to the
fact that the interesting game of reg-
ulating traffic, while the more dra-
matic, is not the more important part
of our problem after all. The more
important part is to find out what to
do with automobiles, not when they
are moving, but when they are stand-
ing still. Until some inventive genius
invents a collapsible car that can be
folded up and put into the hall closet
or a comer of the office this question
of what to do with an automobile
when it is not in use is going to cause
more and more concern to manufac-
turers and salesmen and to would-be
owners than ever has been caused by
justices of the peace with a keen eye
for local revenues.

Of course we have been making ten-
tative and superficial efforts to an-
swer this question for some time, but
with results so unsatisfactory that in
the largest cities car owners have
given up the attempt to drive to their
offices near the center and even in
moderate sized towns the merchants,
the police and the car owning public
are most dissatisfied with these re-
sults and with each other.

Limiting Use of Automobiles in
Downtown Area. — So recent is our
realization of this problem that there
are regulatory authorities who still
approach it from the point of view
that the autombile owner is more or
less of a nuisance who should be
thankful for whatever facilities are
grudgingly granted him, and some
traffic experts who maintain that inas-
much as two or three riders in an
automobile take up more space in a
city street than do several times that
number in trolley cars or subway

trains, therefore the answer is to
limit more and more strictly the use
of autombiles in downtown areas,
perhaps confining it to taxi-cabs
which, being more constantly in use,
serve a greater number of passengers
and call only a fraction of the parking
space.

Of course such a solution as this is
no solution, but is rather a method of
intensifying conditions that make for
further overcrowding of our already
overcrowded business and apartment
house areas. The means immediately
available for dealing with the stand-
ing automobile are limited and, are
largely in the nature of more or less
unsatisfactory expedients. The first
requisite is to approach the problem
from the point of view that the auto-
mobile, passenger car as well as deliv-
ery truck, is a necessity of modern
life and that our purpose is to facil-
itate its use.

Generalizations for Guides.— Tlie
degree in which various expedients
may be used will vary in different
cities and towns according to local
conditions. There are, however, some
generalizations which may be used as
guides.

First, the streets are designed
for transit. Consequently they must
be kept free from standing vehicles
to the extent necesary for an even,
uninterrupted flow of traffic.

Second, the entrances to hotels,
office buildings, large stores and other
buildings in which there is a great
amount of coming and going must be
kept accessible.

Third, so far as is consistent with
the foregoing, car owners should be
permitted to park their cars on the
public streets or other public space in
front of or close to their destination
and leave the cars there all day if
they so desire. The third generaliza-
tion is, of course, an ideal and as with
ideals can be only more or less ap-
proximated.

Between all day parking and the
stop to discharge passengers before a
hotel, there are gradations in time
limits the value of which is still large-
ly theoretical. Whether a 15 minute
parking limit is, as a rule, of practical

1923

Roads and St7-eets

245

ise, may be questioned. For the man
vho reads your gas meter this would
)e ample. Perhaps is should suffice
or the life insurance agent. But it is
:ot enough for the woman who is buy-
ag material for a new set of curtains
ir for the family dinner. Perhaps we
hall come to a simple three-fold
lassification of parking spaces on
usiness streets; stop to discharge
:assengers, shipping stops which may
ixtend from fifteen minutes to half a
iay, and all day parking.
I Providing Supplementary Parking
|^pace. — But with all the tinie limit
iixpedients we can devise our streets
l;i the business districts and in many
jipartment house districts are now in-
idequate to contain all the cars whose
iwners wish to park them there. Sup-
ilementary parking space must be
trovided.

In towns and cities where there are
:onsiderable areas near the business
Section — but not with valuable busi-
less frontage — still unbuilt upon, the
nunicipality should acquire these and
maintain them for automobile park-
ng. It may charge car owners a
feraall fee for this service on the prin-
iple that it charges users of city
■/ater, or it may give the accommoda-
ion free on the principle that it per-
(lits free use of the sewers, to take
are of what might otherwise become
I public nuisance.

In nearly all cities, large as well as
mall, there are considerable areas in
he centers of blocks, even in down-
own districts, now disused or waste-
ully and uneconomically used. So
ong as these block centers remain in
irivate ownership they are a constant
emptation to the erection of deep,
olid buildings the lighting and ven-
ilation of which is difficult and expen-
[ive. There is an economical depth,
lust as there is an economical height
[or a store or office building. Where
flocks or squares are so large that
iMs economical depth is exceeded, the
[■ear ends of the lots may well be
Lirown into one open space and used
or parking. Incidentally such a use,
meeting a real need, would greatly
Sghten the task of those called upon
|o enforce those sections of a building
^ode requiring light and ventilation,
ind it would maintain the rental value
fi rear offices which would no longer
•e^ shut in by the solid walls of a
leighboring structure.

Parking Provisions by Private En-
[erprise. — But as this phase of munic-
pal service is likely to be slow in de-
i'elopmg— though Chicago, for ex-

ample, is already using part of Grant
Park along Michigan Boulevard for
parking and Brockton, Mass., has
created an open space in the business
district for this purpose — and never
will meet fully the demand in the
present centers of existing cities,
there is a large field for private enter-
prise which would cater to those own-
ers who have the means to pay for
service, who wish their car protected
from storm and sun when not in use,
who need mechanical assistance or
who just feel more comfortable when
their cars are safe from thieves. To
meet this demand a number of meth-
ods are now being tried out, ranging
all the way from storage buildings
several stories in height equipped
with automobile elevators, to the use
of basements or cellars reached by
ramps. Private initiative also has
seized upon vacant lots and in some
cases the back yards of business
blocks and is using these temporarily
for automobile parks. What private
initiative ^ has here beg^un, indicates
that municipal service can more ade-
quately and systematically do. One
rule to use as a guide here is that all
such storage or parking spaces should
have their entrances and exits — and
they should have separate entrance
and exit — on side streets or minor
streets where the constant crossing of
sidewalks by automobiles will least
interfere with pedestrians.

But so far as we now laiow the use
of all these methods to the utmost
practicable extent will not meet the
demand. Washington, which has a
larger proportion of its downtown
area ^ven up to streets than any
other city, which has many downtown
streets so wide that cars can be
parked at an angle on both curbs,
seems to find the parking problem as
difficult as other cities. The reason
apparently is that the greater parking
area results in a greater use of auto-
mobiles. It is the antithesis of New
York City where in lower Manhattan
the very limited parking space almost
prevents the use of private cars. That
is, the greater parlang space puts off
the saturation point and thereby ben-
efits the community.

Providing for trucks. — So far I
have had in mind the passenger auto-
mobile, not the truck. The latter
presents problems peculiar to itself.
Except for the small retail delivery
truck, its size alone makes difficulty.
If parked parallel to the curb it takes
up a large amount of space and is
placed inconveniently for loading and

246

Roads and Streets

August

unloading. If parked at an angle it
projects so far into the roadway and
often so far over the sidewalk as to
be a very real impediment to traffic.

In towns and smaller cities with
their problems of size still in the
future, in the still spacious suburbs of
big cities, where city planning has to-
day a fairly free field, there is oppor-
tunity to provide for future needs.
The fundamental evil in our urban
centers is the crowding of people too
close together. The essential point to
bear in mind in our new developments
is the value of adequate open spaces.
To create great parks and well
equipped playgrounds as means of re-
lief for those living huddled together
in barrack tenements or packed into
suffocating subways is but to give a
mild antidote after administering a
dose of poison. Human beings need
space if they are to live and develop
properly. Even in the congested down
town areas of our old cities the auto-
mobile may have some effect in thin-
ning the population simply by occupy-
ing buildings or parts of buildings
that otherwise would shelter swarm-
ing masses of people. In the suburbs
and in the smaller cities they may
prevent congestion by reason of the
space they occupy.

Parking in Residence Districts. — In
residence districts there are at least
two considerations which make the
situation different from that in busi-
ness district. Nearly all the differ-
ences over which men become excited
are not differences of kind, but simply
differences of degree, differences of
emphasis. Here is such a difference.
A business street, the frontage of a
business block, is much more a com-
munity property than is a residence
street, the frontage of a residence
block. A citizen or a tourist may have
a perfect right, based upon the gen-
eral good, to park his car in front of
your store and leave it there, while he
may have no such right to park and
leave it in front of your house.

If only an occasional stranger parks
his car before your house and does it
only on occasional days, the annoy-
ance is so slight that you will prob-
ably pay no attention to it. But if the
curb in front of your house is con-
stantly occupied by the Cars of strang-
ers so that you can not drive up to
your own front door and so that your
visitors have to leave their cars at a
distance; if the starting of motors and
the smell of gas constantly wreck
your quiet and peace of mind, you
have legitimate cause of complaint.

The second consideration which dif-
ferentiates business district parking
from residence district parking, is
that in the former parking is nearly
always only a day time affair, or, near
theatres, an evening affair, while in
residence districts, especially in these
times of high building costs, it tends
to become an all night affair. While
admitting the practical difficulties
faced by the car owner due to building
costs, it should be the rule that all
night parking of cars on public streets
be forbidden. The owner may not be
able to build a garage now, but he
should at least drive his car on to his
own lot. If he lives in a row house
erected upon a lot so small that it con-
tains no space for a car, or if he lives
in an apartment house which provides
no storage facilities for its tenants,
then he is under the necessity of rent-
ing garage space somewhere else.

You will have noted that in this dis-
cussion there is no suggestion for
automobile subways or for double
decked streets or for sidewalks raised
a story above the roadway. All of
these have been suggested in more
than one city and in New York such
suggestions have assumed very defi-
nite form. My belief is that auto-
mobile subways would be not only
ruinously expensive but that they
would be community liabilities in
other ways. Double decked streets
might cost less to construct but they
would be quite as injurious to those
who must use the close lower level.
An argument may be made for such
construction if it is of small extent
and undertaken in connection with
other improvements, as on South
Water Street in Chicago, but this is
exceptional. Raised sidewalks would
provide a great amount of parking
space beneath, but, even assuming
that they can be hung on brackets oi
supported in some other way not
necessitating posts or pillars which
create a hazard for traffic, they, with
the required bridges acros intersect-
ing streets would shadow and darken
the roadways and parking spaces be-
low.

Suggestions for Taking Care of th«
Standing Car. — A generous provision
of open streets will prove far less ex-
pensive to construct and maintain thar
would such underground passageways
As a basis for determining what i?
adequate I would suggest:

On main streets in retail business
districts the roadway should be wid«
enough for a line of cars on each side

923

Roads and Streets

247

larked at an angle of 45 degrees, for
. line of traffic in each direction and
or two trolley car lines. In tliis case
le parked automobiles would be
long the curbs. If the street is
nough %vider to permit two lines of
raffic on each side, so that the
topping of an autombile for a mo-
lent would not halt traffic, the parked
utomobiles may be put near the cen-
■er of the street flanking the trolley
ar tracks so leaving the curbs avail-
ble for discharge of passengers. This
Iso has the advantage of preventing
utomobiles from using the traction
ight of way and so impeding trolley
er\*ice. Otherwise it is necessary to
eep the traction right of way avail-
ble for automobile traffic which will
ccasionally have to circle about a
tailed car.

On secondary business streets the
i-idth should permit of two lines of
ars parked parallel with the curb,
hough parking parallel is not so good
is parking at an angle.

In apartment house districts streets
hould be wide enough for parking at
m angle.

In one-fanuly house districts there
hould be no need of providing for
ontinuous lines of parked cars. Un-
lecessary \\idth of roadway means
innecessary cost for the home. It is
heaper to park one's car in the yard.

Economic Value of Reducing
Highway Grades

The 1922 annual report of E. L.
liles, county road superintendent of
'ictoria County, Ontario, contains the
ollowing interesting item on the
conomies of hill cutting:

Our traffic census returns for 1922
how that our provincial county roads
ire travelled by an average of 140
chicles per day, 120 being motors
ind 20 horse dra\%Ti, which we will
issume as correct for a period of 183
lays. For the balance of the year, or
82 days, we are safe to assume this
it one-half or 70 vehicles per day.
•Ve might also safely assume that the
raffic on our highways will increase
rom year to year at about a rate of
0 per cent.

The average speed of an automobile
unning on high gear is four times
[he running speed of low gear, and
he wear and tear on the engine and
mrts is in about the same proportion.

In the report for 1921, we find that
f 4 horses can operate a 6 per cent
jrade, that it takes 9 horses to oper-
ite a 15 per cent grade with the same

load, so that the actual difference in
the cost is 2V4 times.

Taking the actual cost of operation
of the county cars for 1922 at 4% ct.
per mile and the depreciation value at
about the same rate, or a total of
about 9^,i> ct., we have an actual loss
of 4% ct. for every car that operates
a 15 per cent grade on low gear for
a quarter mile run. Also if we take
the statistical value of the cost to
haul one ton — one mile at 4 ct. as
given by the Department of High-
ways, Ottawa, we have a loss of 2^
ct. every time a horse drawn vehicle
operates a 15 per cent grade for a
quarter mile run.

So that we find that the economical
saving in the operation of 6 per cent
grade over a 15 per cent grade is
$1,685.10 per year, or that the cost of
reducing the Ops-Fenelon Hill at
S5,123 is entirely wiped out in 3
years, and the cost of reducing Craw-
ford's Hill at $10,857 is entirely
wiped out in 6^ years, not consider-
ing the 10 per cent yearly increase in
traffic.

Wire Rope Guard Rail in Ontario

In Ontario our timber guardrails
were being continually \\-recked by
cars striking the boards and posts,
and many serious and costly accidents
occurred where cars plunged com-
pletely through the wooden rail. We
are therefore using today a % in.
wire rope threaded for the full length
of the guardrail through the posts,
and placed about 18 in. above the
ground. If the guardrail is at a par-
ticularly dangerous location on a high
embankment we use heavy posts and
two wire ropes, the lower 18 in. above
the ground and the upper 36 in. above
the ground. Experience with the
\\ire rope guardrail has shown that a
truck or car has not so far gone
through the wire rope but the vehicle
coming in contact with the rope has
been stopped or throvm back on to
the roadway. In such a collision one
or more posts may be broken but they
are easily and cheaply repaired. As
an instance of what the public thinks
of the wire rope guardrail, we have
been thanked for building it and have
been told by travellers that the wire
rope undoubtedly saved their lives by
preventing the car leaving the road.
— Extract from paper of Geo. Ho-
garth, chief engineer, Ontario Public
Highways Department, at recent con-
vention of Canadian Good Roads As-
sociation.

248

Roads and Streets

August

Development of Apparatus

for Field Testing of

Roads

A Paper Presented at Last Annual

Convention of American Road

Builders Association

By H. F. CLEMMER,

Engineer of Tests, Illinois Division of
Highways.

In the development of apparatus for
field testing of roads, the Illinois Divi-
sion of Highways has, so far, consid-
ered three points which vitally affect

Static Load Bearingr Power Determinator.

the eflaciency and lasting qualities of
concrete pavement: First, the bear-
ing power of soil in the subgrade;
second, the quality and proper thick-
ness of the slab; and third, the surface
irregularities which would produce ab-
normal conditions of loading. All of
these are factors which determine to
a great extent the endurance of pave-
ments, and we have endeavored to
develop apparatus which will allow a
better insight to these three points.

Machines for Testing the Subgrade.
— In 1921, in connection with the va-
rious tests being conducted on the
Bates experiment road, two machines

were designed and constructed, one
a static load bearing power determina
tor and the other a repeated load bear-
ing power determinator.

The static load bearing power de-
terminator consists of a three-legged
iron pipe frame, from which is sus-
pended a Toledo automatic hanging
scale supporting a pail, which contains
about 30 lb. of shot. The load is
applied to the subgrade by means oi
a steel rod terminating in a shoe. Oc
the top of this rod is a pan which
receives the shot from the apparatus
just described. An Ames dial measures
the movement of the rod and a thuml
screw set in the frame enables the
operator to stop the rod at will.

Initial readings are taten with the
shoe resting on the subgrade without
any load, after which the shot is re
leased and readings are taken for total
loads of 10, 20 and 30 lb. Additional
readings are taken for 2 minutes at
intervals of 30 seconds under the Sfl
lb. load. The load is then removed
and the upward movement of the road
is measured.

It has been ascertained that the load
distribution on rigid pavements in
some cases is as great as 17 ft. In
other words, a load on a pavement is
transmitted to the suDgraae over a
definite area. That is, a truck moving

Repeated Load Bearing Power Determinator

down the pavement approaches a cer
tain point, the subgrade at this poin
is sujected to an increasing pressun
which reaches a maximum when thi
truck is directly over the point i
series of trucks traveling on a pave
ment surface produces a repeated ac
tion such as described above.

923

Roads and Streets

249

Machine for Determining Repeated
_oad. — The repeated load bearing
•ower determinator approximates this
ondition of loading. This machine
onsists mainly of an iron frame in
/hich is mounted a spring for produc-
ag pressure. A revolving cam varies
he pressure which is exerted upon
he soil through a plunger. The move
aents of this plunger are recorded on
ji Ames dial. Power for this appara-
us is furnished by a unit carried on
he same truck as that which trans-
ports the machine.

Various other methods of determin-
ng the bearing power of soil were

59«

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Typical Bearing Power Carve from Deter-
minator Data.

ised and checked against the results
)btained with the determinator. In
:)ractically every case consistent re-
ults were obtained which gave fur-
her proof that the specially designed
ipparatus has promise of developing
nto a valuable aid in subgrade testing.
Investigation has proven to a great
extent that an ideal subgrade is not
aecessarily one which has the greatest
resistance to deformation from loads
but one which not only is fairly firm
but is also elastic enough to recover
E r o m deformations. The continual
movement of the pavement slab due
'O temperature stresses requires that
"he subgrade follow it to some extent
in order that contact be made. On a
perfectly rigid subgrade a slab would
soon fail due to the fact that at certain
! periods of the day the edges alone
I would be bearing on the subgrade.
Then, too, at night when the edges of
the slab curl up, a true cantilevered
slab would be developed, whereas with
■an elastic subgrade the tendency
! would be to follow the slab and form
j contact with the result that some
I bearing would be obtained. The re-
\ peated load bearing power determi-
Inator is so designed that it registers
j the recovery of the soil when the loads
[are released and in this way a meas-

ure of the elasticity of the subgrade
is obtained.

Though very little work has been
done with this apparatus except at the
Bates road test, it is practical to use
the determinator for general field
work. Due to its compactness and the
fact that the power is supplied by a
unit installed on the truck transport-
ing it, it may be used at any location
desired. As a means of comparing
the bearing power of various soils its
value can not be overestimated. Also,
the bearing power of the subgrade
under any portion of the slab may be
determined through core holes in the
pavement. This is especially valuable
when it is thought that non-uniformity
of the subgrade is responsible for cer-
tain actions.

Slab Tests with Caly Core Drill. —
Though the Division of Highways
maintains careful inspection of mate-
rials and equally careful inspection of
construction, it is believed that a
check of the results of this inspection
after the pavement has been in serv-
ice is of value, particularly to study
the possibility of improving future con-
struction.

The majority of the pavement is
accepted before any investigational
tests are made, the engineers being
confident that proper work was done.
But when there is any doubt as to the
proper construction, the final estimate
is held up until tests of the slab are
made.

The fact that valuable information
could be secured after the road was
built was realized several years ago
at which time the department pur-
chased a Caly core drill with which to
make observations. At the time of

.so

r.itti pe- Hovr

Effect of 8,000 lb. Moving Wheel Load Otcf
Smooth Surface.

the purchase it was felt that an ap-
paratus which would allow the secur-
ing of slabs for cross bending tests
would perhaps furnish better informa-
tion than compressive strength speci-
mens due to the fact that the Illinois
design depends on transverse strength
rather than compressive strength for
supporting traffic. This is better un-
derstood when it is considered that
the present pavement section of Dli-

250

Roads and Streets

August

nois is considered as being designed
as a cantilevered slab, support being
secured at the center with the edges
remaining free. This condition of little
or no support at the edges is appar-
ent during various changes of tem-
peratures and also in the fall and
spring of the year when the subgrade
is saturated with moisture.

A slab cutting apparatus, however,
was not available and the best ma-
chine to be obtained was the Caly core
drill. A machine for cutting speci-
mens, suitable for transverse test,
from the finished pavement is much
to be desired.

Method of Taking Cores.^At pres-
ent Illinois has two core drill outfits
in operation. One of these machines
was secured from the University of
Illinois and the other is owned by the
Division of Highways. Only one man
is necessary to take charge of a core
drill outfit and through orders from
the Springfield oflfice is able to travel
continuously from one district to an-
other. On reporting at the district
headquarters the operator is given in-

Effect of 8,000 lb. Moving Load Over % in.
Obstruction.

structions as to the location of the
pavement from which cores are to be
taken. On the average a core is taken
every 500 ft. of pavement, the first one
being taken about 1 ft. from the edge,
the next at the quarter point, the next
about 1 ft. from the center joint; con-
tinuing in this manner across the en-
tire width of the pavement. In some
sections more cores are taken, the
number, of course, depending upon
whether special investigation is de-
sired.

In conjunction with the taking of a
core a check is made of the crown of
the road, the object being to determine
the correctness of the distribution of
the concrete. A straight edge having
a level bubble and an adjustable leg
is used in taking readings of the cross
section of the slab. The readings are
taken in line with the point from
which the core was removed. The
stationary leg is placed on the center
line of the slab and the adjustable leg
at the edge where it is so set that the
straight edge is perfectly level. Read-

—

■

■^.^

— ■

—^

■^

)

>
let

) 1

t) 1
rH

i 1

5 1

♦ 1

b 1

k r

J 1

i 19

ings are taken from the bottom of the
straight edge to the surface of the
pavement at 2 ft. intervals. At super-
elevated curves computations are nec-
essary to determine the proper read-
ings. Observations are also taken at
the edges of the pavement by digging
into the shoulder and measuring the
thickness of the slab with a ruler.

After the core is removed it is meas-
ured, numbered, located on a sketch
and sent into the laboratory. Concrete
plugs which are carried in the truck
are used in filling up the holes made
by the drill. These plugs are grouted
in place with mortar and are not
noticeable to the public.

When the cores are received in the
laboratory they are carefully meas-
ured for diameter, capped with cement
paste to insure a uniform bearing, and
tested for compressive strength in a
Riehle machine. After the strength is
computed the data with the sketch is
sent to the office of the district from
which the cores were taken.

Cost of Taking Cores. — Labor is the
greatest expense connected with this
work. An outfit can take eight to
twelve cores a day depending on the
hardness of the aggregate in the con-
crete. About 2 lb. of shot are neces-
sary to drill one core. This shot,
known as Calyxite, costs 7 ct. a lb.
The cost of the concrete plugs runs
about 4 ct. apiece with labor. The
total cost of the operation including
the taking of cores, placing of plugs,
testing of cores for strength, express
charges and labor will not run on the
average of over 90 ct. per core. Con-
sidering the information obtained, this
cost can not be said to be prohibitive.

Tests of Surface Irregularities. —
Though the Illinois Division of High-
ways has a clause in its specifications
which permits no variation of surface
of over V4: in. in 10 ft. of longitudinal
distance, still this ruling was not
strictly enforced previous to one year
ago and there are some pavements in
the state which may be more or less
rough. Too, it is sometimes the case
that irregularities of surface at the
joints or transverse cracks come in
after construction or at the end of
long service of the pavements. The
question of the possible etfect of im-
pact caused by such irregularities is
one which has been much discussed.
A study of the effect of moving loads
dropping and mounting obstructions of

323

Roads and Streets

251

arious heights was made at the Bates
jad. The effects of the impact blows
ere measured in terms of static
•ading. A friction Ames dial was
jed to measure the maximum deflec-
on of the corner and a specially de-
gned strain gauge was used to de-
irmine the elongation o;-' *he upper
bres of the concrete. Work was con-
ucted for several months in order
lat an efficient check could be had of
pie results.
It is now intended to construct a
pecial corner upon which further
(jsts can be made. Though the in-
estigation is by no means completed,
; is evident from the results obtained
iius far that it will be possible to
pply much of the information ch-
ained to the various rigid type pave-
iients over the state. In other words,
f it is thought that a pavement con-
ains a rough spot or an uneven joint,
L truck carrying the suitable equip-
nent can determine within reasonable
imits the actual loadings imposed on
he pavements by moving traffic.

Apparatus for Measuring Upper
Elongation of Upper Fibers of Con-
crete.— In connection with the investi-
:,'ational work conducted by this bu-
:-eau, a new apparatus is being built to
neasure the elongation of the upper
libres of concrete. This machine was
lesigned by Mr. Clifford Older, chief
lighway engineer. It has such a high
nagnification power that movements
:)f l/100,000th of an inch can be read.
The principle of the apparatus is the
reflection of a beam of light from a
mirror, set on a shaft of very small
diameter, to a scale some distance
away. The shaft upon which the
mirror is set is so small that with the
scale the given distance away, the
ratios of the diameter of the shaft and
the arc upon which the scale is set
i allow an enormous magnification of
1 movement. The shaft is the movable
i point and is attached to the fixed point
by a thin copper wire, tension being
secured by use of a fine spring. Any
; elongation of the upper fibres of the
; concrete will cause movement of the
shaft which in turn through the mir-
ror will cause movement of a spot of
light on the scale. This light move-
i ment is recorded, on a movable film,
; as a continuous curve of the deforma-
tion as the stress varies upon the ap-
proacji and passage of the moving
load.

Gasoline Tax for Road Purposes

According to an article by Noel K.
Brown in the July 1 issue of the News
Letter of the Wyoming State High-
way Department, there are now 32
states that have gasoline tax laws. In
14 states the levy exceeds 1 ct. per
gallon, and in three states it exceeds
2 ct.

At the beginning of the year 1923
there were 17 states in which gasoline
tax laws were in operation, namely:
'Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Con-
necticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisi-
ana, Maryland, Missisippi, Montana,
New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South
Dakota and Washington. In three of
the states named (Maryland, Oregon
and South Carolina) the tax was 2 ct.
per gallon, and in other states it was
1 ct. per gallon. Since the first of
January the legislatures of several of
these states have increased the
amount of the levy, and the legisla-
tures of many other states have en-
acted laws providing for a gasoline
tax. The following table shows what
states have passed gasoline tax laws
to date, and the amount of the levy in
each state:

Tax Per

State Gal.— Ct.

Nevada 2

New Mexico 1

North Carolina 3

North Dakota..% to 1

Oklahoma 1

Oregon 2

Pennsylvania 1

South Carolina 2

South Dakota. 2

Tennessee 2

Texas 1

Utah 2- .

Vermont 1

Virginia 2

Washington 1

Wyoming 1

In several other states gasoline tax
bills are pending in the legislature.
In three of the states now levying a
1 ct. tax, provision has been made by
law for increasing the tax to 2 ct. at
the beginning of the year 1924.

State Highway Work in Ohio.— The

work placed under contract by the
State Highway Department of Ohio
during the past four years has been
as follows: 1919, 535,931 miles at a
contract price of $15,695,130.39; 1920,
412.167 miles at a contract price of
812,866,119.89; 1921, 393.806 miles at
a contract price of $13,774,596.47;
1922, 714.268 miles at a contract price
of $21,152,315.80.

State

Tax Per
Gal.— Ct.

Arkansas ..

Connecticut
Delaware _
Florida . _

. 1

Georgia

Kentucky .
Louisiana .

Maryland .
Mississippi
Montana ...

zoz

tcoaas ana ibtreets

Recent Trade Publications

A new bulletin describing its Im-
perial Type XPV Duplex steam driven
air and gas compressors has been is-
sued by the Ingersoll-Rand Co., 11
Broadway, New York City. This type
of compressor is built in a number of
different types and sizes. Standard
two-stage machines for 100 lb. dis-
charge pressure range from 246 to
4,150 cu. ft. per minute piston dis-
placement. Single-stage compressors
are built for furnishing air up to 50
lb. discharge pressure.

The Bloomsburg Locomotive Works,
Bloomsburg, Pa., has brought out a
bulletin illustrating and describing its
line of industrial locomotives. These
include a gasoline engine driven type,
a steam locomotive with vaporizing
type burner, and a steam locomotive
with the atomizing type burner.

The Asphalt Sales Department of
The Texas Company, 17 Battery PI.,
New York City, has just printed a 24-
page pocket-size booklet on the sub-
ject of Texaco cold patch, which de-
scribes and illustrates the cold patch
method of repairing all types of roads
and streets. The booklet gives the
proper proportions of stone and as-
phalt to be used, and takes you right
through the entire process, including
the mixing and curing of the batch,
the preparation of the hole or worn
area in the pavement, and the con-
struction of the patch.

Novo air compressor outfits are the
subject of a bulletin issued a short
time ago by the Novo Engine Co.,
Lansing, Mich. A feature of the
Novo unit is the belt drive. Individual
cooling systems have been provided
for both engine and compressor and
the engine can, if necessary, be used
as an independent power plant.

The Waukesha 4-cylinder motors
are illustrated and described in a
booklet just issued by the Waukesha
Motor Co., Waukesha, Wis. The book-
let contains specifications of the unit,
notes on installation and operation
and numerous illustrations showing
uses of Waukesha motors on construc-
tion machinery and operations.

The Byers Machine Co., Ravenna,
0., has brought out a bulletin on its
Truckrane. It contains specifications
of the crane and describes its many
uses in the construction field. Numer-
ous illustrations are included, showing
the machine in operation on various
construction jobs.

August

Fellowships in Highway Elngineer-
ing and Highway Transport

Two of the following Fellowships
at the University of Michigan will be
awarded not later than Sept. 10, and
two not later than Nov. 1, 1923, by
the Board of Regents of the Uni-
versity of Michigan:

The Roy D. Chapin Fellowship in
highway transport, which is offered to
provide for the investigation of an
approved subject relative to highway
transport.

The Roy D. Chapin Fellowship ir
highway engineering, which is offeree
to provide for the investigation of ar
approved subject relative to hard sur-
faced roads and pavements.

Two Detroit Edison Fellowships ir
highway engineering, which are of-
fered to provide for the investigatioi
of approved subjects relative to mod-
erate cost country roads.

General conditons : Each f ellowshii
pays the sum of $250 with an allow-
ance of $50 for expenses. The holders
of these fellowships do not have tc
pay tuition fees. A fellow must hole
a bachelor's degree from a college. oJ
recognized standing. He must enrol
as a graduate student in highway en-
gineering or highway transport anc
as a candidate for the degree of mas-
ter of science or master of science ir
engineering. He must be in residence
for one of the following periods : Firsi
semester (October to February); win-
ter period (December to March); sec-
ond semester (February to June). Ar
application for a fellowship must in-
clude a concise statement of the can-
didate's educational training and engi-
neering experience, and three refer-
ences. Applications and requests foi
information pertaining to the 25 ad-
vanced courses in highway engineer-
ing and highway transport offered bji
the graduate school should be sent to
Professor Arthur H. Blanchard, Engi-
neering Building, University of Mich-
igan, Ann Arbor, Mich.

$31,500,000 Spent in Iowa in 1922
on Roads. — Iowa spent in 1922 for
road work and bridges on the 104,000
miles of public highway $31,552,000.
Of this total primary road expendi-
tures on 6,615 miles were $13,858,-
727; county road expenditures on 10,-
890 miles were $4,255,371; township
road expenditures on 86,595 miles
were $6,048,746. Bridge and culvert
expenditures on all three systems to-
taled $7,389,529.

Y r:i

Water Works

MOSTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbebt p. Gillette, President and Editor

Lewis S. Loueh, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St. and Broadway

RiCHASD E. Bbown, Eastern Manager

Ro«da and Streets — Ist Wednesday. |1 Railways — 3rd Wednesday, 91

(a) Road Con- (c) Streets (a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-
stmction (d) Street clean- way Constmc- way Constmc-

(b) Road Main- ing tion and tion and
tenanee Maintenance Maintenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday, $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and Sanitation
Drainage (d) Wat«-ways

Bnildings — 1th Wednesday, $1

(a) Buildings (d) Miscellaneous

(b) Bridges Structures

Vol. LX,

CHICAGO, ILL., AUGUST 8, 1923

No. 2

President Harding

As Americans we mourn the death
of our President. As engineers and
constructors we regret the loss of a
L'hief whom we knew to have at heart
:he wise and substantial -development
of industry, commerce and native re-
sources. As men among men we feel
that there has gone from a high place
a brother of sterling character.

For many reasons we admired Mr.
Harding, and we are not concerned
over the verdict that history in due
;ime will pass upon him. Whether he
vvas greater or less than this or that
predecessor; whether in his own time
16 filled his office better or worse than
5ome other would have done, are not
Tiatters of present moment, nor ques-
ions that can be satisfactorily settled,
for of necessity, the answers to such
questions are largely but personal
opinions.

The facts are that he was confront-
ed with problems of tremendous and
inusual difficulty, even for presiden-
:ial problems; that for their solution
he gathered together a cabinet of un-
questionably great ability; that he
heeded the advice of cabinet members
and experts without subserviency
ithereto; that he believed in himself

and his mission, but never posed as a
super-man; that he was kindly and
human; and that his country's welfare
transcended every other motive with-
in him.

Our beliefs are that his acts in of-
fice were for the most part well di-
rected; that his mistakes were fewer
than might reasonably have been ex-
pected in the complications of the past
thirty months; that his policy of lead-
ership rather than of domination was
wise and practical, and represented
the true intent and spirit of American
government.

President Harding's unquestioned
interest in a progress which is bound
up with engineering brought him close
to the profession; and his economies
in governmental expenditures deserve
the admiration of those whose func-
tion has so often been stated as the
doing of things at a minimum of cost.

President Coolidge has stated his
intention of pursuing the policies of
his predecessor, but his past record is
a guarantee that such pursuit will be
no blind imitation. America looks to
him with a warrantable hope that he
will not only keep the good that has
been left him, but that he will add to
it from his own store.

254

Water Works

August

Increasing Fuel
Efficiencies

"A kilowatt-hour for a pound of
coal" — once looked upon by many
hard headed power producers as ex-
tremely improbable, if not hopeless —
now appears to be within grasp. We
say "appears to be," for although
reputable steam technicians have ex-
pressed their full confidence that the
attainment is a matter of but a brief
time, it is well to wait for a thorough
demonstration on a commercial scale
before acclaiming the triumph.

Elsewhere in this issue we print a
brief, non-technical account of the
way in which it is expected to reach
this goal through the use of pressures
up to 1200 pounds, or perhaps as in
the case of a British experimental
plant mentioned, up to the enormous
pressure of 3200 pounds. It is de-
clared that materials now available
have all the properties necessary for
use in machines operating at such
pressures and the very high tempera-
tures incident thereto.

Another line of experiment in the
development of higher efficiencies is
in the use of two distinct liquids of
different vaporizing temperatures, the
higher vaporizing liquid being used
first and its exhaust employed to boil
the other liquid. Report has it that
installations using water as the mate-
rial of higher vaporizing temperature
and carbon disulphide as the lower
are already in successful operation in
Germany. In our own country an ex-
periment is actually under way with
mercury as the higher and water as
the lower vaporizing liquid.

It is in such ways that progress is
being made. The rate is tremendous,
and discoveries and developments fail
to be sensational only because of our
habituation to them. Failures there
must be in great numbers — failures at
least as to the specific goal imme-
diately sought — but there is hardly an
experiment undertaken and prosecuted
seriously that fails to develop some
worth-while fact.

Pioneers

The suggestion of 3200 pound steam
pressures awakens thoughts which,
though far from new, may well from
time to time be reiterated. The world
is dull only as our minds are dull.

The days of pioneering and devel-
opment are still here — in fact always
will be here for those who will keep
their imaginations active. The squir-
rel rifle and the coon skin cap, the
six-shooter and chaps have been suc-
ceeded by no similarly conspicuous
badges of pioneering. Youth thinks
with envy of their wearers. Maturitj
grants admiration but also sees th(
pioneer's satisfaction in many an in-
conspicuous business or professional
man who has dared to venture int<
new fields of thought and activity.

To the adventurous spirit the un
known still beckons through politics
sociology, economics, science, art; noi
does its pursuit lack the thrill of dan
ger. Disappointment, poverty, loss o]
prestige — all may be in store for th«
man who departs from beaten paths
but thank God there are still thos(
who "find the hope of achievemeni
worth every risk as did the land pio
neers of other days.

Price of Portland Cement

A chart prepared for the Cemeni
Information Service covering the las'
four years -and the first six month;
of this year shows that the price o:
Portland cement is far below the peal
reached in 1920 and has been prac
tically unchanged since last Septera
ber.

On this basis, the average whole
sale price of Portland cement for Jun<
is $1,892 per barrel, exclusive of bags
In the period covered by the chart
cement declined from $2.22 per barre
in the latter part of 1920 to $1.7(
in the early part of 1922. Since tha
time there has been an advance o;
less than 19 cents per barrel or 1(
per cent, as compared with an advanc(
of approximately 49 per cent in build
ing materials in general.

The average yearly price receivet
by all cement producers for the pasi
40 years, according to the Geologica
Survey, is $1,505 per barrel. Th(
present wholesale price as shown bj
the Bureau of Labor Statistics ii
therefore only about 25 per cent abov(
the average yearly price for the pasi
40 years.

3 Water Works 255

^ater Works and Sewer Contracts Awarded
During the Last 42 Months

he accompanying tables show: each year shows a gain over its prede-

"st, that the waterworks and sewer cessor in the volume of contracts

t tracts awarded during the last half awarded in this "hydraulic field."
reach year exceed in volume those

;urded during the first half; second, The volume of irrigation and drain-
It there is not a month in the year age contracts will surprise any one
fhout a very large volume of water- who has not followed closely statistics
^'ks and sewer contracts; third, that of this sort.

WATERWORKS CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000 IN SIZE.

1920 1921 1922 1923

ixary $ 1,144.000 $ 519,000 $ 1,727,000 $ 4,720,000

ITUiry :. .T_.r_.... 2.172.0O0 2.927,000 652.000 2,730,000

di ;.„.. 2,213,000 2,028.000 1,093,000 15,149,000

il „. 2,719,000 3,342,000 2.673,000 8.544.000

.*. 1.382,000 4.944,000 3.568.000 7.329,000

1,461,000 3.485,000 5,124.000 4.045,000

„„ 3,793,000 3,106,000 811,000

ast : 775,000 2.404,000 4,494,000

ember U. 743,000 1,487,000 3,906,000

Bber J.^. 11,169,000 900,000 7,686,000

lember . ^. 2.151.000 4,698,000 2,161.000

^mber . .v! 1,051,000 10,752,000 1,835,000

iTotal — : $30,773,000 $40,602,000 $35,730,000

|Note. — About 100 per cent must be added to -the annual totals to give the srand total •£
[racts awarded in the. United States.

A great deal of waterworks construction is done by directly hired labor and is not included
e.
Waterworks buildings are not included above.

• SEWER CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000 IN SIZE.

1920 1921 1922 1923

iary $ 1,364.000 $ 3.147.000 $ 2,267.000 $ 3,322,000

Tiary ..„ 623,000 2,445,000 2,462,000 2,131,000

:h — 1.283.000 2,862,000 3.796.000 4,477,000

1 4.124,000 3.817,000 2,794,000 5,497,000

^ 2,315,000 2,162.00'i 5,722.000 9,052.000

i . 2.349.000 3.802.000 5.158,000 6,501,000

3.163.000 3,986,000 1.869,000

a9t 2.437.000 3.988,000 3.450,009

anber 2,319,000 5.064,000 3,340,006

'ber 8.052.000 2,829,000 4,996,000

anber 4,572,000 2,733,090 5,349,000

mber 2,967,000 2,549,000 2,381,000

Total $36,063,000 $39,384,000 $43,584,000 „ „

Note.— About 100 per cent must be added to the annual toUls to give the grand total of
racts awarded m the United States.

A considerable amount oif sewer construction is done by directly hired labor, which is not
wea m the above totals.

IRRIGATION, DRAINAGE AND EXCAV.\TION CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000.

1920 1921 1922 1923

SfL -■ -••- 5 ^'ll^'""" * 1,266,000 $ 2,091,000 $ 548,000

^ -^ — , 787,000 306,000 419.000 165.000

a . .^__.X^„„... 3.151.000 1,626.000 608.000 28,993,000

, _ ^...: 416,000 580.000 1,736,000 2,506,000

„ 404.000 2.632.000 776.000 3.553.000

« 605.000 1.240.000 2.628.000 1.174.000

-. 1.942.000 609,000 1,498,000

•mber *'H^°22 89,000 6,920.000 JZIZI

ber 859.000 9,025.060 876,000

imber ^'S^^""" 373,000 2,390,000 _! I

tnl^r II2'°25 726.000 1.741.000

"er . 477,000 707,000 864,000

^^^^ — $16,220,000 $19,179,000 $22,547,000 „ _„

St1-7wa^d'^'i°n t^e'lfnited'sut^. '^^'^ '° '^' """""' '^'^'' '" ^'^'« ^^^ ^-"^^ '°t-' "^

256 Water Works Augi

The O'Shaughnes&y Dam of San Francisco

341 ft. Structure Formally Dedicated on July 7

The O'Shaughnessy dam, the larg-
est undertaking of the Hetch Hetchy
project of San Francisco, one of the
most notable municipal water supply
developments in the country, was
formally dedicated on July 7. This
project, it will be remembered, is a
plan for a municipal water supply,
evolved by the city and county of
San Francisco, for the collection and

to be carried to a height 85
greater, which will increase stora
capacity 50 per cent. The pres<
capacity is 66 billion gallons.

To accomplish this work it w
necessary to construct four auxilis
dams, one on the upstream side
divert the main river into the tunn
one on the downstream side 1,000 ft
below to stop flood water from ba<

View taken June 7, 1923, of the O'Shanrhnessy Dam of San Francisco.

storage of waters of the Tuolumne
River and its tributaries near their
sources in the Sierra Nevada Moun-
tains, and the transmission of those
waters across the San Joaquin Valley
and through the Coast Range of
of mountains for delivery to the city
of San Francisco and its environs;
due advantage being taken of appro-
priate drops in the conduit routes for
the generation of the maiximum
quantity of hydro-electric power which
can thereby be economically de-
veloped.

The dam is of the arched gravity
type and is 341 ft. in height from the
bottom of the foundation to the pres-
ent crest the foundations have been
built strong enough to enable the dam

ing into the excavation, and a
excavation progressed it was nec<
sary to build two auxiliary dams, o
immediately above the excavation a
one below, before the pouring of cc
Crete was undertaken in the mt
foundation.

The whole floor of the valley w
entirely cleared of timber in two opi
ations, the first in 1915, when all t
lower portion of the valley w^
cleared of timber, and the second
1921-22, when the remainder of t
reservoir basin was cleared.

The dam, built in the shape of I
arch, with a 700 ft. radius, at the b'j
tom of the foundation is at elevatil
3386. The bottom valve elevation
3508, and the initial crest elevati,

Water Works

257

' ft.; the storage capacity, 66
a.uii gallons; drainage area is 294,-
acres, and the reservoir area is
0 acres. The total volume of con-
e is 398,976 cu. yds., and the ex-
fition required amounted to 207,-
cu. yds. The dam was constructed
the Utah Construction Co., the
re contract estimate was S6,114,-

The contract price for valves
6 in San Francisco, Philadelphia

Boston was $532,707, which
ces a total of $6,647,355.
he dam was designed by M. M.
^laughnessy, City Engineer of San

000 kilowatt hours. Practically 70,-
000,000 kilowatt hours will furnish the
City's immediate needs for street
lighting and driving the municipal
railways. There are possibilities for
developing over a billion kilowatt
hours of power still on this project,
one by building a tunnel from Hetch
Hetchy to Early Intake and putting in
a power house at that point, which
will develop possibly 80,000 hydro
horsepower, another by building a
high line canal from. Eleanor to above
Early Intake which will develop 40.-
000 hp. Other possibilities for power

n O'Shaughnessy Dam of the Hetch Hetchy Water Supply Project of San Francisco, Calif.

,<wcisco, and very fittingly by ac-
of city and county it has been
cially named after him.

few words regarding the progress
the other works of the Hetch
tchy Project may not be out of
ie. At a point 12 miles below the
II, at Early Intake, has been built
main aqueduct, practically 20
es in length, between Early Intake
1 Moccasin Creek. All but 4,000
of tunnel has been excavated on
5 work. It is programmed to have
finish lined with concrete within
months, when the power house
1 be all equipped, readv for serv-
. This will develop about 300,000,-

may be developed on the higher
Cherry and other reaches of the City's
watershed.

The Bay Division of the project be-
tween Inington and Crystal Springs
reservoir, about 22 miles in length, is
in a very forward condition. The
Pulgas Tunnel, through the Coast
Range of hills, 8,700 ft. long, will be
bored through inside of a month or
so and contract has been let for 21
miles of steel pressure pipe bj^ which
water from Calaveras and Niles Can-
yon can be brought across the bay
at Dumbarton and placed in Crystal
Springs Reservoir.

258

Water Works

AugU;

The New Well Water System
of Camden, N. J.

By JAMES H. LONG

Maintenance Engineer, Water Department,
Camden, N. J.

The water supply problem which
Camden, N. J., had to solve was by no
means an easy one.

We had two pumping stations. One
station secured 17,000,000 gals, per
day from 98 shallow wells, while the
other had 25 wells for its supply of

the mains at a pressure of 50 lb., ar
in the city the pressure was 25 1
Three years ago we were confrontf
with this problem: (1) equipmei
and wells working at maximum capa
ity, (2) 50 per cent of the pressu:
lost in the mains, (3) consumers di
satisfied.

We arranged with the Layne-Ne
York Co. of New York City, an ass(
ciate company of the Layne & Bowli
Co. of Memphis, for a survey by oi
of its engineers. The chief enginei
of the Layne-New York Co. made tl

Fig. 1

5,000,000 gal. per day. These wells
were spread over several acres of
ground and it was out of the question
to put down any more wells without
disturbing the yield of the existing
ones. Our equipment at that time
comprised a combination of steam
suction pumps, air compressors and
horizontal centrifugal units driven by
electric motors. Unfortanately our
stations were located seven miles
from the city so that the water pres-
sure was very appreciably decreased
when it reached the consumer. To be
specific, the water was pumped into

investigation and submitted to us
proposition along the following line

The Layne New York Co. guarai
teed to the City of Camden a ma3f|
mum production of 6,000,000 gal. p<|
dav, and a minimum production <i
4,000,000 gal. per day. To back x.\
their guarantee a bond was plac<j
with the city for the full value of tl!
contract. j

The work started. One element :
the installation I desire to mention
the Layne gravel wall well, which '
me was a novel feature in well co!
struction. A Layne shutter scree]

was placed in the ground opposite the

v.ater bearing sand formation; a test

pump was placed in the well and the

water and sand pumped out in large

■ lume. As the sand was pumped out

e gravel was fed in from the top so

at the gravel gradually replaced the

nd. This formed a gravel wall

around the shutter screen which

served as a filter, kept the sand out

and gave more area for the reception

of water into the well.

The wells were completed and

sted — Fig. 1 shows well No. 1 being

-sted and yielding at the rate of

259

power and the attendant at the new
station. The actual power consumed
was guaranteed by the Layne New
York Co. not to exceed 1.1 KW per
1000 gal. Upon test this was found
to be only .83 KW.

Each pump house was of the same
design — brick construction with a
white interior finish, and an interior
view of one of the houses is shown in
Fig. 2. A small switch board for the
vertical motor contained an oil s\\'itch
with overload relays, under voltage
release and the electrical meters.

Fig. 2

1.500,000 gal. per day. The four
)amping units when completed, gave
»s 6,500,000 gal. per day at a pressure
^f 40 lb. These stations were placed in

le city and pumped the water direct-
ly into the mains so that the pressure

.'as raised from 25 lb. to 40 lb.

It should be kept in mind that these
improved conditions were made with-
out replacing the mains or adding to
them in any way. In addition it was
found that the saving in fuel which we
made at the main pumping stations,
seven inilcs out of town, p?.:;l for t!io

One arrangement which I liked
particularly was that a Venturi meter
and a KM meter were placed in each
house so that by looking at the Ven-
turi meter I cculd tell if the required
amount of water was being pumped
into the mains, and by noting the KW
meter I knew if the motors were func-
tioning properly. The meters for
both the water and electricity were
complete in every detail, and in fact
we feel that the whole installation
could not be improvetl upon in any

2G0 Water Works August

Drag-Line Excavation Oper- ^^ average of 43,500 cu. yd. per ma-

. . . n • chine.
ation on irrigation Project The average excavation per machine
The U. S. Interior Department is P^^ ™?^^h o^ ^,^e class 91/2 electric
carrying on extensive construction t^fag hnes on the Fort Laramie di-
work on the North Platte irrigation '"^^^^'i' ^oj^^^^S two shifts per day,
project in the states of Nebraska and "^.^^ 33,600 cu. yd. for the 152.5 ma-
Wyoming in connection with excava- chine months.

tion of canal and drainage systems, Electric drag line operation, June,

and has excavated to date over 30,- 1922:

000,000 cu. yd. of material. During item No. 12 No. 43

1922 over 2,500,000 cu. yd. of material Excavation, class 1, cu. yd 48,060 52,393

have been moved in connection with Excavation, class 2, cu. yd 11.276 10,435

this work. Total 59,336 62,828

In connection with this work a Sunday repafrs**!.' '."!'.!!.'^!.!!? 56 6/8 57

large number of electric drag-line Average cu. yd. per shift i,043 1,104

excavators are in operation, and in co- Number of shifts, digging time.. 52 50

operation with the manufacturers S:.";d%:^-hSr,"^IgSng*"time:: 'itl 'fsl

there have been perfected types of Hish run in 8 hours, cu. yd i,867 1,886

excavating machines with which the l^f^^ '""" '" '^ hours, cu. yd 3.422 3,671

department has been able to make ex- Bouomwfdtt^ft"::::;:;:::;::::: ^'^2! ^'^24

cellent records of economy and effi- ' — — .

ciency. We are indebted to an article Depreciation, cost per cu. yd $0.0485 $0.0478

by L. G. Cairns in the June Reclam- Oi=«^'*ting cost per cu. yd -0245 .0274

mation Record for the following de- Total field cost per cu. yd 0730 .0752

tails: Both high runs made on June 21.

Machine No. 43, a class 9^/^ electric As an example of the adaptability

drag line excavated between July 8, of the drag-line excavators to other

1919, and June 24, 1922, approxi- work, it is interesting to note that

mately 1,300,000 cu. yd. of material, during the excavating of drains over

of which 17 per cent was class 2. The which pile bridges were constructed

machine was operated continuously the piles for bridges were driven by

two shifts per day except when tern- the drag-line excavators after excava-

porarily delayed by storms or other tion had been completed to the level

causes for which the machine was not at which the piles intersect the slope

responsible without losing two con- line. Adjustable leads were attached

secutive shifts on account of repairs. to the boom for driving these piles

Two class 9V2 electric drag lines, f^^ this permitted their removal be-

Nos. 12 and 43, working two shifts per ^^T^. moving to a new location without

day on the Fort Laramie main canal, l^'^^r^^ ^^ lowering the boom. About

excavated 790,747 cu. yd., of which fiv^ hours were lost from the excava-

24 per cent was class 2 material which ^^°" Z"" T i^Tu^ ^- ""^ i? ^'^^^'

required blasting. The average exca- ^".f ^^^ '^^^^ ^^ ^f\«,^' including car

vation per machine per month was "^^'^age, was about $16.

42,900 cu. yd. The average per shift, During the month of May, 1923, a

including repair shifts, was 805 cu. class 9^/^ electric drag line using a

vd. In addition to the 790,747 cu. yd., 1 V2 cu: yd. bucket and operating three

there were rehandled 25,270 cu. yd. on shifts, excavated 117,413 cu. yd. of

account of very heavy cuts. practically all class 1 material at a

r» • 4u 4.U r T moo i.u ^^'^ cost of 3% ct. per cu. yd.; high

During the month of June, 1922, the ^un in 8 hours, 2,358 cu. yd. high run

record for the two above-mentioned j^ 24 hours, 6,215 cu. yd.; average per

machines working tvvo shifts per day operating shift, 1,480 cu. yd.; average

was as shown in the accompanying per shift, including Sunday repairs,

^^"'^' 1,358 cu. yd. In the period from May

During Autrust, 1921, five class 9*4 21 to May 31 the machine excavated

electric draer lines on a two-shift basis 46,155 cu. yd. The machine prac-

oxcavated 212,643 cu. yd., or an aver- tically lost SVs shifts moving to new

age of 42,500 cu. yd. per machine. work and crossing a canyon.

In December, 1921, four class 9V, During the month of May 253,447

electric drag lines workiiT two shifts cu. yd. were excavated by drag line

per day excavated 174,060 cu. yd., or at a field cost of 5.6 ct. per cu. yd.

'23 Water Works 261

Water Wastes, Meters and Rates at Baltimore

-i Comprehensive Study and Analysis Based on Surveys Covering

Present Conditions, Anticipated Results, Financing Problems smd

Installation Details in a Review Presented to the Engineers'

Club of Baltimore, March 28, 1923

By V. BERNARD SIEMS, C. E.,

Associate Civil Engineer, Water Department, Baltimore, Md.

To be Published Serially in Engineering and Contracting
Part I — Wastes, Waste Surveys and Meters

Chapter I

Water Wastes and Waste Surveys.
-The Water Department of the City
f Baltimore is at present conducting
wo waste surveys in an endeavor to
revent a further increase in the aver-
ge daily consumption of water and
o eventually reduce the quantity now
ised. Practically every citizen knows
f the house inspectress who at one
ime or another has in the course of
er duties visited his home to deter-
oine if any leakage exists on the va-
ious plumbing fixtures found in
very household.

House Inspection. — This work was
>egun some four or five years ago
Luring the period of the World War,
/omen being employed because of the
aability to secure men for this work,
he nucleus of the organization being

group of women formerly employed
y the Street Cleaning and Health
)epartments. Others have been
ulded, some experienced in the work,
ome without previous training, until
he original corps of six has now in-
reased to an average during the past
'ear of sixteen inspectresses.

All readers may not be familiar
mth the fact that the local distribu-
ion system of Baltimore is divided
nto three zones, commonly referred
o as High, Low and Middle Services.
lx>w Service is fed by a gravity sup-
ply from a covered reservoir located
»t the Montebello Filtration Plant,
vhich also serves as suction for the
lumping stations supplying the Mid-
lie Service zone. Water for the High
Service zone is repumped, being lilt-

ed from a Middle Service Reservoir
in Druid Hill Park to the Arlington
and Roland Park Standpipes.

High and Low Service Defined. — It
is a common fallacy to assume that
High, Low and Middle refers to the
pressure available, i. e., that High
Service is somewhat analogous to the
High Service system of the Fire Ue-
partment. This is entirely wrong. The
purpose of the three zones ot dis-
tribution is to equalize the pressure
and to provide a service to consumers
located at high points, equivalent to
that received by those consumers ad-
joining the water front. If one drew
a line from, say, Wilkens Avenue and
Caton Avenue to North Avenue
Bridge and then eastward on North
Avenue with a deviation southward at
some points to Biddle Street, then all
the area south and east of this line
would be in Low Service. About two-
thirds of the entire consumption of
the City is absorbed by this district.
The term "Low" is applied because of
the topography, the elevation varying
between 0 ft. and 100 ft. A.M.T.

Conversely, High Service refers to
the northwestern and northern sub-
urbs— Windsor Hills, Forest Park,
Arlington, Ashburton, and the various
developments contiguous to the Green
Spring Road-Guilford development.
The boundary of this area begins in
Irvington, runs northeastward to the
Gwynns Falls, to North Avenue and
skirting the northern side of Druid
Hill Park, continues eastward past
Homewood and the area north of the
new Venable "Stadium. This territory.

EHstrict Area Sq. Miles

1 0.95

2 1.87

3 2.66

4 0.54

Table I — Resnits of Pitometer Survey

Length of Mains Water Saved

Population Miles G. P. D.

55,369 40.29 2,003,200

30,179 42.43 2,628,800

54,769 52.08 1,535,100

28,507 27.34 825,220

Value @ 65c

per 1,000 cu. ft. yr.

$63,575.50

82,460.60

49,756.73

26.613.97

Cktstof
Survey

$8,199.15
3,805.20

262

Water Works

Augusi

althou|j-h it is extensive, consumes but
little water, as it is not entirely de-
veloped and consists almost entirely
of detached suburban houses, about
two percent of the total consumption
being here used.

Middle Service, the intervening
strip between the High and Low
Zones of Distribution, stretches diag-
onally across the center of the city,
between elevations 100 ft. and 250 ft.
A.M.T. This zone of distribution con-
sumes about thirty-one percent of the
City's entire demand.

Inspection Periods and Procedure.
— Although the foregoing has appear-
ed somewhat of a digression, it was
necessary to explain the subject in
connection with waste surveys. The
entire city was formerly inspected
once a year, however, with the force
available the past two years, inspec-
tions have been made somewhat more
in ratio with the consumption; that
is, Low Service is inspected three
times. Middle Service, twice, while the
houses in High Service are inspected
but once each year. This is a far
more logical arrangement.

An inspectress is given at the l^-
ginning . of the day's work a book
showing the route which she is to
follow in inspecting a certain desig-
nated area. Entering a home on the
list she is to apply an aquaphone (a
sound amplifier resembling a tele-

phone receiver) to the nearest plumb-
ing fixture and to determine by tlu
sound if any water is running on tht
premises. If everything appears sat-
isfactory she proceeds to the next lo-
cation. If it appears, however, thai
waste is being allowed an inspectior
is made of every fixture in the hous(
and, if necessary, a notice served upor
the occupant requiring repairs to b(
made within seven days. Upon thf
expiration of this period another in-
spection is made by an inspector who
if he does not find the trouble elim-
inated, orders the water turned off a1
the curb stop.

Classification and Percentages ol
Leakage. — The total leakage elimin
ated in the course of each pitometei
survey is divided into undergrounc
leakage — waste on water mains
water supply service pipes, etc. — anc
housewaste, under which category ii
placed all forms of waste originating
within the curb stop. With surpris-
ing consistency we have found thai
house waste represents about fortj
per cent of the total leakage. This
waste is due entirely to the careless-
ness of the householder, as the citj
charges him merely a flat rate anc
the only check upon his consumptioi
is house inspection. If meters wen
installed and all water used paid for
we are confident that this house wastt
would be stopped. In other words

Table II — Consumption Data by Pilometer Districts

Aver. Daily Aver. Daily Aver. Daily

Total Metered Domestic

Consumption Consumption Consumption

Pitometer Dist. and Sec. Population (Gallons) (Gallons) (Gallons)

District 1 (6 sections) 55,359 7,700,800 2,383,80(1 5,517,000

District 2 (5 sections) 30,179 9.576,300 3.965,00(1 5,611,300

District 3 (8 sections) 54,768 8,214.200 3,6]2,i'.71 4,601,629

District 4 (4 sections) 28,507 3,947,000 1,633,358 2,313.642

(District 4 is chiefly residential in character.)

Pitometer Sections Where Consumptions Arc Principally Domestic (Unmet

Character of Dwellincrs (from Insurance Atlas)

Dist. 1

Sec. 2 14'-20' front 8.186 891,000 109,800 781.200

Sec. 4 14'-20' front 9.240 1,265,000 396.000 869,000

Sec. 5 *12'-15' front 22,110 3.138,000 1,238,000 1,900,000

Sec. 6 •12'-15' front 4.663 360.000 none 360.000

Dist. 2

Sec. 3 15' front 15.530 1,399,000 6,000 1,393,000

Sec. 4 'la'-lS' front 5,525 760,000 301,000 459.000

Dist. 3

Sec. 2 *12'-15' front (many

small houses in alleys)....* 3,863 264,500 14,065 250,435

Sec. 4 'For analysis see- Table

2 4,600 607,500 283,900 373,600

Sec. 5 *12'-15' front , 8,385 940,800 259,400 681,400

Dist. 4

Sec. 1 ♦12'-20' front (alleys

inhabited) 10,035 907,000 122.440 784, .560

Sec. 2 •12'-25' front (alleys

inhabited) 11,228 1,080,000 303;215 776,785

•Note the coincidence that the per capita domestic, consumption tends to remain

Bectiona having many small houses, and contfested alley inhabitants.

Aver. Daily
Per Capita
Domestic
Consumptioi
(Gallons)
99
186
84
81

ercd)

95
94
86

89
83

70
l)eIow 85 in

!'.'23

Water Works

263

ill most one-half of all the water now
leing wasted would be saved if meters
were installed.

Leaks occurring in streets and high
v\ ays are visible and arouse comment,
aut it is difficult to believe that these
-eemingly large sources of waste are
almost equaled by the numerous srnaii
leaks hidden within the homes of the
?ity. This, however, has been demon-
strated again and again. The most
-erious waste of water is caused by
leaking toilets, the construction ap-
parently being favorable to unob-
erved or uncared-for leakage; spigots
:ome second in the quantity of water
wasted, although in number they far
f'xceed any other form of waste.
f f aking hoppers are also frequently
iiuntered.

The above are all plumbing fixtures,
miscellaneous waste of water is
■ iUg continually found. The non-
automatic cellar drainer, the water
motor, the washing machine operated
y water, the troughs of running
water where poultry is kept, and
other uses to which water may be put,
aside from legitimate purposes, are
all encountered. All of these factors
fliay appear negligible, but the sum-
nation thereof creates values which
must be given consideration.

Inspection Costs Per Leak and Per
House. — The three types of leaks are
jpigots, toilets and hoppers, and are
classified as "slight", "medium" or
'bad", according to the quantity of
water escaping. During 1922 the cost
per leak varied on a yearly basis from

$0.22 and $0.29 for the two most pro-
ficient inspectresses to $1.03 and $1.05
for an inspectress of a directly oppo-
site type. For the entire corps tne
cost averaged $0,055 per house vis-
ited and $0.49 per leak located. Year-
ly averages are given, as the time of
the year, the character of the district
and the state of the weather all com-
bine as influencing factors.

It is believed that house inspection
is not actually decreasing the daily
consumption but has fulfilled that
function and is more of a deterrent
upon further increase. This view is
substantiated by the fact that very
few "bad" leaks are encountered; the
great majority being "medium" or
"slight". The general public has
come to appreciate the true meaning
of this work and is beginning to co-
operate to the fullest extent. Balti-
more is popularly known in other
cities as the home of white marble
steps, the belief being that the aver-
age housewife spends most of her
time in washing, getting ready to
wash, or looking to see if these orna-
ments to her home need washing. It
appears that in certain portions of the
city it is now as much of a social
stigma to have one of our inspectress-
es leave a leak notice as it is to have
the marble steps in need of laundry-
ing. Civic pride can go no farther.
To have secured this sense of cooper-
ation is particularly gratifying to the
Department.

Pitometer Surveys. — The second
waste preventive is the pitometer sur-

Table III — Analysis of the Domestic (Unmetcred) Consamption of Section 4 — District 3

Pitometer Survey

(An average section of those considered.)

iJoundaries : Columbia Ave. and Green St. to Lombard St., to Fremont Ave., to Hollins St.,

to Poppleton St., to Columbia Ave., to Green St.

Revenue
To be
Aver. Obtained
Aver. Daily Daily After
Per- Aver. Daily Per Capita Consurap- Meter-
. sons Consump- Consump- tion Per ing 50

Width No. of Present Present Popu- Per tion tion House Gal. Per

»f House Houses Rate Revenue lation House (Gallons) (Gallons) (Gallons) Capita

Jnder 12' 351 $ 3.25 $1,140.75 1,547 41^ 123.960 80 353 $ 5,408.91

2-13 148 5.00 745.00 671 41^ 54.080 (constant) 363 2,286.09

3-14 166 6.50 1,079.00 830 5 66,400 400 2,719.08

*-\^, 74 7.50 555.00 405 5% 32,400 437 1,284.64

1,-15, 79 9.00 711.00 395 5 31,800 „ 400 1,294.02

;,-l' 17 11-50 195.50 104 6 8,320 490 311 61

lr]t ^l 15.50 480.50 199 6% 15,920 513 598.30

»'l''l-" ?^ i^-^" ^^^-Sf* 303 8 24,240 734 797.61

4in' ^S l-A? 220.00 82 8 6.560 656 222.20

&^ialRate ' ''•"' '''■'' ^* '^ '''-' ~~~ 9««> ^0.02

|13'-14' 3 5.00 31.50 25 8 2,000 _ 666 ' 66.66

+extras

Av^age" ®"^* " ■■-• '^•'*21-75 4.660 „.... 373,600 ...._ $15,267.74

•Note: 740 houses have" a front footage-of" 15' or less.""" *" ^"° ■•

264

Water Works

August

vey now in progress, and which was
inaugurated in the summer of 1920.
Previous to this, however, much pito-
meter work had been done, but owing
to the war and the ensuing curtail-
ment in the number of employees it
was necessary to abandon the work.
The present survey is larger in the
scope of its operations and work of
a more minute and scientific character
is being accomplished.

For the same reason that more fre-
quent house inspection is made in Low
Service, all measuring activities are
confined at present to this zone. For
facility in measuring, entire Low Ser-
vice has been divided into a number
of areas known as districts, which
have been sub-divided into sections —
the units measured at an operation.
To date, four districts totaling twen-
ty-four sections have been surveyed.

Waste Prevention Not the Great-
est Benefit from Surveys. — Pitometer
sur\'eys are usually considered to be

conducted for the sole purpose of sav-
ing water, i. e., to reduce the daily
consumption with whatever financial
gain that may imply. Although local-
ly the survey was inaugurated pri-
marily for this purpose, it has been
our experience that the greatest value
of the work has been in other fields.
The close examination of the distribu-
tion system required by pitometer sur-
veys permits of much maintenance
work which would otherwise be left
undone. Aside from detecting broken
valves and underground leaks, the sur-
vey eliminates many minor m.atters
which, though in themselves of small
importance, combine to lower the ef-
ficiency of the distribution system and
to greatly increase the cost of mainte-
nance.

Procedure and Methods. — The
procedure followed is to completeh
isolate the section being measured
and to supply water through one
main, the flow on which is recorder!.

Table

IV — Population, Per Capita and Averagre Daily Consumption

Average Daily Per Capita Consumption — Gals

Average Daily Cons.-

Metered

Million Gals.

Unmetered

10 Yrs.

15 Yrs.

+
+

i
>*
0

Popu-

tfi CO

(1)
1-

■3 to CO

ojooc^

"J"^ II

Year

lation

a!^

0^11

0^1

eu ^^ 11

<" .

(1)

fL,

H N

H 00

H 2

!D ::J

S -!

S -

1906

546,000

123.50

67.43

550,000

128.00

70.40

559,000

126.00

70.43

.563,000

122.40

68.91

570,000

115.79

66.00

577,000

117.85

68.00

583,000

123.60

72.00

590,000

125.42

74.00

596,000

120.80

72.00

601,000

121.46

73.00

608,000

125.00

76.00

613,000

141.63

86.76

620,000

34.60

174.36

108.10

626,000

35.00

170.68

106.84

632,000

35.70

154.79

97.83

640,000

35.30

138.97

88.94

750,000

10.00

13.00

34.45

66.50

123.95

66.50

123.95

66.50

123.95

92.96

92. Oi;

760,000

10.00

13.00

34.60

67.95

125.55

65.81

123.41

66.52

124.12

95.42

93.79

94.:

770,000

10.00

13.00

35.00

69.40

127.40

64.91

122.91

66.40

124.40

98.10

94.64

95. V

780,000

10.00

13.00

35.30

70.85

129.05

63.79

122.09

66.14

124.44

100.66

95.23

97.11'

790,000

10.00

13.00

35.70

72.30

131.00

62.45

121.15

65.73

124.43

103.49

95.71

98.30

800,000

10.00

13.00

36.20

73.75

132.95

60.90

120.10

65.18

124.38

106.36

96.08

99.50

810,000

10.00

13.00

36.75

75.20

134.95

59.14

118.89

64.49

124.24

109.31

96.30

100.63

820,000

10.00

13.00

37.40

76.65

137.06

57.16

117.56

63.65

124.05

112.38

96.40

101.72

830,000

10.00

13.00

38.20

78.10

139.30

54.96

116.16

62.67

123.87

115.62

96.41

102.81

840,000

10.00

13.00

39.00

79.55

141.55

52.55

114.55

61.55

123.55

118.90

96.22

103.78

850,000

10.00

13.00

39.90

81.00

143.90

49.93

112.83

60.28

123.18

122.31

95.91

104.70

860,000

10.00

13.00

40.80

82.45

146.25

50.68

114.48

58.87

122.67

125.78

98.45

105.50

870,000

10.00

13.00

41.80

83.90

148.70

51.43

116.23

57.32

122.12

129.37

101.12

106.24

880,000

10.00

13.00

43.00

85.35

151.35

52.18

118.18

55.62

121.62

133.18

104.00

107.03

890,000

10.00

13.00

44.20

86.80

154.00

52.93

120.13

53.78

120.98

137.06

106.92

107.67

900,000

10.00

13.00

45.50

88.25

156.75

53.68

122.18

51.80

120.30

141.08

109.96

108.27

910,000

10.00

13.00

47.00

89.70

159.70

54.43

124.43

52.55

122.55

145.32

113.26

111.52

920,000

10.00

13.00

48.20

91.16

162.35

55.18

126.38

53.30

124.50

149.36

116.27

114.54

930,000

10.00

13.00

49.40

92.60

165.00

55.93

128.33

64.05

126.45

153.45

119.35

117.60

940,000

10.00

13.00

50.50

94.05

167.55

56.68

130.18

54.80

128.30

157.49

122.37

120.60

950,000

10.00

13.00

51.60

95.50

170.00

57.43

131.93

56.55

130.05

161.50

125.33

123.55

Water Works

265

\t the same time that this measure-
nent is made all large meters are
cad and the consumption of the
mailer ones estimated so as to divide
Ik total consumption into domestic
tnd commercial demands. Following
jULs measurement, subdivision or the
peaking up of the distribution sys-
em into the smallest possible units,
90 as to secure a rate of flow on each
iDition thereof is made. This work
done at night to eliminate any large
" s by consumers. Following this
plumbing fixtures are inspected,
according to the rates of flow in-
ited by subdivision, investigations
made to locate underground leak-
^e. Following the elimination of all
raste possible a final measurement

impounding, filtering, pumping and
delivering this quantity. Upon this
basis the water saved has cut down
operating expenses $61.44 per day, or
over $22,000.00 a year. A decrease in
water consumption will, therefore,
save money in the sense that it will
ward oif for additional years the ne-
cessity for enlarging the water works,
and avoid the sinking fund payments,
interest and operating expenses ap-
purtenant to such enlargements.

In all an area covering 5.93 square
miles having 152.74 miles of water
mains, a population of 163,015 and a
consumption at the time of the orig-
inal recordings of 30^73,333 gallons
has been measured. If sold at rates
in accordance with the proposed

mas 'tc

zur

F'u. 1. Plate No. 4. Diasram of PopniatioA and Water G>iuaaiptioiu — Paat and PiospectiTC.

aased upon the initial procedure is
iBade. By comparing these two meas-
wements all the pertinent informa-
tion and comparisons can be obtained."
It is rather di£Scult to state exactly
in terms of dollars what benefit the
pity derives from the surveys. Of
morse it is possible to make a sum-
iiation of the various quantities of
water saved and by appl3ring a water
■crvice consumption rate of $0.70 per
IjaOO cubic feet, give the equivalent
saving. Although such statements are
often made to justify the cost of the
survey, this method is a fallacy. The
water saved would have the value des-
ignated, if it could be sold; as it is
however, the gain to the City is mere-
ly the sum equivalent to the cost of

Schedule of Water Rates for the City
of Baltimore, this water would net a
yearly return of $218,937,60. During
the past year the cost of a survey has
varied from $633.05 to $1,639.11. The
cost of surveying a section has aver-
aged, therefore, approximately $1000.-
00, but by better coordination of the
various factors entering into the work
the cost is being slightly decreased,
although the scientific work done has
been enlarged upon.

Benefits Apiriy to Sewer Dept. as
Well as to Water Dept. — ^A pitometer
survey may indeed be regarded as fi-
nancially jostified. To the Water De-
partment itsdf , considering only a re-
duction in the expense of impounding,
filtering and delivering a certain

266

Water Works

August

quantity of water, the saving is large.
To the taxpayers in general, there is
a saving because the necessity for
enlarging the water works plant is
deferred for a number of years, and
the interest and sinking fund charges
on the investment required for such
increases, are saved. Thirdly, the
Sewer Division by a reduction of the
pumping charges is benefited, for
there is a direct relation between the
amount of water consumed on each
premises and the amount of sewage
and waste water issuing therefrom.
In the area now being measured,
sewage ilows by gravity to a pumping
station where it is raised to a point
sufficiently high to allow of a gravity
flow through the out-fall sewer to the
disposal plant. Any reduction in the
water consumption in this area is
therefore directly reflected by a corre-
sponding reduction in the quantity of
seM'age pumped, a reduction in the
water consumption being coincident
with a reduction in the amount of
sewage.

Increased Consumption in Balti-

more.— Despite the saving effected by
house inspection and by the pitometer
survey, which is estimated to be in
excess of ten million gallons per day,
the average daily consumption of the
City of Baltimore for 1922 was great-
er than that of the preceding year by
more than three and one-half million
gallons. For 1921 the average daily
consumption was 88.94 million gallons
while for 1922 this increased to 92..5
million gallons. The metered con-
sumption for 1922 increased one mil-
lion gallons over that of the preceding
year, being 28.8 and 27.4 million gal-
lons per day, respectively.

This increase in consumption is due
to several causes, business conditions
appear to be improving and many
large plants are again running on a
full or over time basis. Building in
the suburban developments continues
to be active and many extensions are
being made to care for these enlarged
communities. The acquisition and
partial supplying of the several pri-
vate water companies also contributes
an extra demand upon the water sup-

Table V — Consumption of Metered Services

Population
Year (1)

1906 546,000

1907 550,000

1908 559,000

1909 563,000

1910 570.000

1911 577,000

1912 583,000

1913 590.000

1914 596,000

1915 601,000

1916 608,000

1917 613.000

1918 620,000

1919 626,000

1920 632,000

1921 640.000

1921 750,000

1922 760,000

1923 778.000

1924 780,000

1925 790,000

1926 800.000

1927 — 810,000

1928 820.000

1929 830,000

1930 840,000

1931 850,000

1932 860,000

1983 870,000

1984 880,000

1985 890,000

1936 900,000

1937 910,000

1938 920,000

1939 930,000

1940 940,000

1941 ,..950,000

Averapre Daily

Metered Con-

Metered Per Capita Consumption-

—Gallons

sumption

% Metered

Com-

Domestic

Total

Mil. Gal.

10 Yrs. 15 Yrs.

tnercial

10 Yrs.

15 Yrs.

10 Yrs.

15 Yrs.

10 Yrs. 15 Yrs.

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)
4+5

(8)
4+6

(9) (10)
1x7 1x8

1.900

31.13

17.00

1.975

32.73

18.00

2.050

31.31

17.50

2.125

31.62

17.80

2.200

31.05

17.70

2.348

30.50

17.60

2.420

29.50

17.20

2.493

30.51

18.00

2.566

31.88

19.00

2.639

29.12

17.50

2.711

32.07

19.50

2.784

33.44

20.50

2.857

34.68

21.50

2.929

35.14

22.00

3.002

35.60

22.50

3.000

38.79

24.83

11.300

34.45

3.99

38.44

28.83

20.17

17.21

34.60

4.66

3.10

39.26

37.70

29.84 28.65

29.04

23.12

34.00

9.39

6.25

44.39

41.25

34.18 31.76

37.91

29.03

35.30

14.20

9.45

49.50

44.75

38.61 34.91

46.78

34.94

35.70

19.07

12.71

54.77

49.41

43.27 38.24

55.65

40.85

36.20

24.03

16.02

60.23

52.22

48.18 41.78

64.52

46.76

36.80

29.06

19.37

65.86

56.17

53.35 45.50

73.39

52.67

37.40

34.17

22.77

71.47

60.17

58.61 49.34

82.26

58.58

38.20

39.34

26.23

77.54

64.43

64.36 53.48

91.13

64.49

39.00

44.60

29.73

83.60

68.73

70.22 57.73

100.00

70.40

39.90

49.93

33.28

89.83

73.18

76.36 62.20

100.00

76.31

40.80

50.6K

36.89

91.48

77.69

78.67 66.81

100.00 1

82.22

41.80

51.43

40.54

92.23

82.34

81.11 71.64

100.00

88.13

43.00

52.18

44.24

95.18

87.24

83.76 76.77

100.00

94.04

44.20

52.93

4S.00

97.13

92.20

86.45 82.06

100.00 1

100.00

45.50

53.68

51.80

99.18

97.30

89.26 87. .'".7

100.00 ]

100.00

47.00

54.43

52.55

101.43

99.55

92.30 90.59

100.00 ]

too.oo

48.20

55.18

53.30

103.38

101.50

95.11 93.38

100.00 ]

LOO.OO

49.40

55.93

54.05

105.33

103.45

97.96 96.20

100.00 100.00

60.50

66.68

54.80

107.18

105.30

100.75 98.98

100.00 100.00

61.50

67.43

66.65

103.93

107.05

103.48 101.70

1923

Water Works

267

ply. Highlandtown and the area
formerly supplied by the Herring
Run plant of the former Baltimore
County Water & Electric Company,
lias been incorporated into the local
< i.-tribution system since September,
1921, when the first portion of the
section was added to our system
This area is now entirely supplied by
water from the Montebello Filtration
Plant and consumes approximately
four and one-half million gallons per
day. This section is now a part of
the Low Service zone of distribution.

The increased demands of Middle
Sen'ice were caused chiefly by the ex-
tension of water mains in the Belair
Road section. Highway Service re-
mains practically unchanged except
for the increase in consumption due
to an enlarged population. The sup-
plying of several small private water
companies with water from this zone
of distribution helped to increase the
figure.

Considering only a normal increase
in the population of the city and mak-
ing no allowance for extensive in-
crease in consumption due to resumed
commercial, or rather industrial activ-
ities, the average daily consumption
of the city will continue to increase
year by year, even with a continuance
of waste surveys.

Trend of Consumption. — The gross
consumption of the city after decreas-
ing over three billion gallons — ^from
thirty-five billion in 1920 to thirty-
two billion in 1921 — increased in 1922
to almost thirty-four billion gallons,
or an increase in the daily consump-
tion of 3.56 million gallons. In 1919
careful estimates were made of the
City's future development and various
curves plotted showing the trends of
consumption and the manner in which
they would be affected by certain fac-
tors, such as an unmetered, partial,
and one hundred per cent metered dis-
tribution system, with and without
private water companies, and other
modifying conditions. The average
daily consumption for 1922 is already
five million gallons greater than the
estimated figures given on these
trends of consumption, and with pres-
ent conditions this excess will continue
to grow greater and greater until
curbed by metering.

But three per cent of the services
in Baltimore were metered prior to
January 1, 1922, being confined to in-
dustrial and commercial supplies. The
acquisition of the private water com-
panies, however, which are one hun-
dred per cent metered has increased
the percentage of metered services 8.3
per cent, so that on January 1, 1922,

TABLE \a— AVERAGE

CONSUSIPTION

PEB

DAT-

iOLLION GALLONS

nnmetered

Metered In 10 Tears

High

.Middle

HiKh

:h[iddle

Tear

East

West

East

West

South

Low

ToUl

Ea.st

West

East

West

South

Low

ToUl

0.445

5.575

9.670

21.000

0.700

55.570

92.96

0.445

5.575

9.';70

21.000

0.700

55.570

92.96

0.471

5.89fi

9.778

21.888

0.750

56.637

95.45

0.351

4.386

9.778

21.888

0.750

56.637

93.79

0.507

5.328

9.886

22.776

0.800

57.804

98.10

0.2S0

3.124

9.886

22.776

0.800

57.804

M.64

0.535

6.097

9.994

23.664

0.858

58.911

100.66

0.261

3.266

9.402

22.600

0.790

58.911

95.23

_■;

0.576

7.202

10.102

24.552

0.910

60.148

103.49

0.272

3.403

9.207

21.900

0.780

60.148

95.71

0.617

7.718

10.210

25.440

0.970

61.405

106.30

0.284

3.552

9.069

21.000

0.770

61.405

96.08

"■

0.661
0.711

8.271
8.898

10.318
10.426

26.328
27.216

1.040
1.100

62.692
64.029

109J1
112.38

0.290
0.308

3.702
3.856

8.850

20.000

0.760

62.692
62.424

96.30

8.911

20.136

0.765

96.40

0.768

9.668

10.534

28.104

1.160

65.446

115.62

0.321

4.014

8.972

20.273

0.770

62.060

96.41

;•)

0.825

10.327

10.642

28.992

1.230

66.883

118.90

0.334

4.177

9.034

20.411

0.775

61.489

96.22

0.888

11.112

10.750

29.880

1.300

68.380

122.31

0.347

4.343

9.090

20.550

0.780

60.794

95.91

0.953

11.928

10.858

30.768

1.366

69.907

125.78

0.356

4.458

9.337

21.094

0.801

62.404

98.45

1.023

12.798

10.966

31.656

1.440

71.484

129.37

0.366

4.579

9.590

21.666

0.823

04.096

101.12

1.053

13.177

11.074

32.544

1.515

73.151

133.18

0.376

4.709

9.863

22.283

0.846

65.922

104.00

1.184

14.822

11.182

33.432

1.5S2

74.858

137.06

0.387

4.841

10.140

22.909

0.870

67.773

106.92

3ti

1.271

15.909

11.290

34.320

1.655

76.635

141.08

0.398

4.979

10.428

23.560

0.895

69.700

109.96

1.368

17.119

11.398

35.208

1.725

78.502

145.32

0.410

5.128

10.741

24.267

0.922

71.792

113.26

1.456

18.223

11.506

36.096

1.800

80.279

149..36

0.421

5.264

11.026

24.912

0.946

73.700

116.27

1.547

19.359

11.614

36.984

1.860

82.086

153.45

0.432

5.403

11.31&

25.572

0.971

75.652

119.35

1.636

20.467

11.722

37.872

1.930

83.863

1.57.49

0.443

5.540

11.604

26.219

0.996

77.566

122.37

1.721

21.539

11.830

38.760

2.000

85.610

161.50

0.454

5.674

11.885

26.853

1.020

79.442

125.33

1.758

21.996

11.938

39.648

2.060

87.600

165.00

0.464

5.795

12.138

27.425

1.042

81.134

128.00

1.805

22.593

12.046

40.536

2.130

89.700

169.00

0.474

5.922

12.404

28.025

1.065

82.909

130.80

1.S53

23.263

12.154

41.424

2.180

91.700

171.51

0.484

6.044

12.600

28.604

1.087

84.620

133.50

1.915

23.961

12.2G2

42.312

2.240

93.800

176.49

0.493

6.157

12.897

29.140

1.107

86.205

136.00

1.941

24.289

12.370

43.200

2.300

95.700

179.79

0.503

6.279

13.1.53

29.719

1.129

87.916

138.70

1.9S9

24.900

12.478

44.088

2.355

97.800

183.61

0.513

6.406

13.419

30.319

1.152

89.691

141.50

2.030

25.483

12.5SC

44.976

2.410

100.000

187.49

0.522

6.519

13.656

30.855

L172

91.276

144.00

2.071

25.911

12.694

45.864

2.460

102.000

191.00

0.531

6.628

13.884

31.369

1.192

92.797

146.40

'ti

2.119

26.517

12.802

46.752

2.510

104.000

194.70

0.541

6.759

14.159

31.990

1.216

94.635

149.30

2.153

26.942

12.910

47.640

2.555

106.000

198.20

0.549

6.863

14.377

32.483

1.235

96.093

151.60

2.224

27.830

13.018

48.528

2.600

107.800

202.00

0.558

6.972

14.605

32.997

1.255

97.614

154.00

2.229

27.894

13.126

49.416

2.635

109.800

204.83

0.567

7.085

14.842

33.533

1.275

99.199

156.50

2.234

27.958

13.234

50.304

2.670

111.600

208.00

0.577

7.207

15.098

34.112

1.297

100.910

159.20

2.314

28.952

13.342

51.192

2.700

113.500

212.00

0.586

7.325

15.345

34.669

1.318

102.558

161.80

'■"i

2.364

29.576

13.450

52.080

2.730

115.300

215.50

0.594

7.425

15.554

35.140

1.336

103.953

164.00

2.407

30.114

13.558

52.968

2.753

117.200

219.00

0.603

7.538

15.791

35.676

1.356

105.538

166.50

2.447

30.623

13.666

53.856

2.775

119.000

222.07

0.612

7.651

10.028

36.212

1.376

107.123

169.00

",:(

2.493

31.199

13.774

54.744

2.790

121.000

226.00

0.621

7.764

16.265

36.748

1.396

108.708

171.50

2.538

31.762

13.882

55.632

2.800

123.000

229.61

0.629

7.868

16.483

37.241

1.415

110.166

173.80

268

Water Works

August

11.3 per cent of the total number of
services in Greater Baltimore were
metered.

Classification of Water Used Per
Capita. — At present the average daily
per capita consumption is approxi-
mately 125 gallons, divided as follows :

Commercial and industrial 34.6 gals.

Public and Municipal 10.0 gals.

Waste 13.0 gals.

Domestic ^..67.4 gals.

This represents an average daily
consumption of 95,400,000 gallons.
The population is 760,000 with a nor-
mal increase for the Old City of 7,000
inhabitants per year.

Due to war conditions in 1918, the
population of Baltimore reached a
maximum of approximately 790,000.
With an average daily domestic per
capita consumption of 79.2 gallons
(based on actual number of residents,
see Plate No. 4), the average daily
domestic consumption is 62,596,0uu
gallons, commercial consumption, 27,-
334,000 gallons, and waste 18,170,000
gallons, giving a total of 108,100,000
gallons, or 20,000,000 gallons per day
above normal.

Such conditions will be eliminated
by metering, for the average daily
consumption with a one hundred per
cent metered system would have been

but 86,000,000 gallons or a saving of
22,100,000 gallons per day. In 1921
after conditions had become some-
what normal the average daily per
capita consumption dropped to 138.97
gallons (January 1, 1922). The con-
solidation of the metered private wa-
ter companies with the City distribu-
tion system decreased the daily per
capita consumption of Greater Balti-
more to 124 gallons.

Programs for Metering and Antici-
pated Results. — Consideration will
now be given to metering the City in
ten and fifteen years (using as a
base, 1921 upon which year the recom-
mended schedule of rates is based).

Plate No. 4, the present and fu-
ture consumption and the reduction
through the installation of meters
over a period of ten and of fifteen
years, shows that it is not necessary
to meter the water supply services
within a period of three years. The
Water Department can well handle
without any material enlargement of
its organization the installation of
9,200 meters per year for a fifteen-
year period or 13,800 meters per year
for a ten-year period. In a number of
municipalities contracts for the in-
stallation of meters were awarded
with consequent dissatisfaction to the

Table VII — Comparison of Water Consumption In Philadelphia, Detroit and Baltimore

Philadelphia Detroit Baltimore

1920 1920 1922

(1) Population 1,823,158 993,739 750.000

(2) Total service connections 388,000 164,779 155,000

(3) Number persons per service connection 5 6 4.84

(4) Number connections, 2-in. and others, supplying

industrial and commercial users 1,S54 1.219 1,217 (a)

(5) Number persons per connection of (4) .■ 983 816 616.2 (Ij)

(6) Number miles of water mains 1,911 1.483 993

(7) Percentage of all services metered 23 98-100 11.3%

(8) Gallons per capita daily consumption all purposes

within city 173 131.34 123.9

(9) Gallons per capita daily consumption, industrial

and commercial users meters, 2-in. and over 41.1 42.77 18.54 it

(10) Gallons per capita daily consumption, municipal

uses 13.7* 17.44 10

(11) Gallons per capita daily consumption all other pur-

poses, domestic, leaks in service connections and
mains, flushing mains, etc. (8) minus (9) and
(10) 118.2* 71.13 95.35

(12) Domestic metered and flat rate accounts 50.71 76.53

(13) Miscellaneous accounts, stores and commercial not

under (11) 6.63 5.67 (<1)

(14) Service connection leaks 5.45 0.04 (e)

(15) Leaks in mains and flushing mains _ 3.98 0.11 (o)

(16) Unaccounted for 4.36 13.00 (O

(17) Total (12) -}- (13) -f- (14) -\- (15) + (16) 118.2 71.13 " 95.35

•Estimated.

(a) — And 744 additional unmetered private fire protection supplies,
(b) — If fire supplies included, 882.4.
(c) — Based on 865 days in year.

(d) — Commercial meters less than 2-in. included in (11) but not in (9). Based on 365 days
in year.

(e) — Estimated from Pitometer Records,
(f) — Not 100% metered system.

1;'23

Water Works

269

T't^iators and it would be un\vise to

inaugurate such a program. It is

:er practice for the Water Depart-

iient to do this work than to let it

)ut by contract, as standard material

vili be used and better workmanship

vill be possible with constant adher-

nce to recognized practices.

The most economical method will be

"irst meter the High Service area,

this section has the largest per

■■vAi operating expense, Middle Ser-

ice next, and then Low Service, the

' "e required being two years for

h, four years for Middle, and four

rs for the Low Zone of Distribu-

. considering a ten-year period,

three, six and six years, respec-

ly, with a fifteen-year period.

1 these determinations the foUow-

assumptions were made:

ihe average daily unmetered per

apita consumption — based on past

onditions — \vill increase 1.45 gallons

»er year.

When totally metered the average
Laily per capita domestic consumption
-based on past conditions — will in-
rease 1.45 gallons per year.

When totally metered the average
aily per capita domestic consump-
ion will inci-ease 0.75 gallons per
ear.

The average daily per capita con-
umption will decrease to 50 gallons
rith one hundred per cent metering.
Metering will be uniform.
_The population due to probable in-
trial and commercial growth will
jase at a rate of 10,000 a year
in Old City).

le commercial consumption will
;ase as shown in Table No. 4.
Public and waste per capita con-
umption will remain constant at ten
■allons and thirteen gallons, respec-
ively.

From this the values of consump-
ion were calculated for the years fol-

lowing 1921 and the curves of Plate
No. 4 plotted.

The following interesting and im-
portant information is derived from
the preceding values. There is but a
slight difference in the saving in con-
sumption between metering in ten
and metering in fifteen years. The
saving of a metered over an un-
metered system is, however, qviite
large, amounting to over thirteen and
a half billion gallons for the year
1941, equivalent to twenty-three* per
cent of the immetered consumption.
The saving in consumption and oper-
ating expenses, etc., for various years
is shown in Table No. 17 (to be pub-
lished in a later issue). The public
and waste consumption in 1941 will
amount to 21,000,000 gallons per day.
The average daily metered domestic
consumption will be 53,000,000 gal-
lons per day. The average daily me-
tered domestic consumption will be
53,670,000 gallons per day, equivalent
to 43.28 per cent of the total con-
sumption, or by metering the average
daily domestic consumption will be
reduced forty-one per cent.

Due to the difference in consump-
tion between unmetered and metered
systems, the draft on Loch Raven will
be considerably reduced. As the
available supply is 146,000,000 gallons
per day, the dam must be raised or
some new source of supply selected
when the consumption of the city
reaches or exceeds this amount. With
an unmetered system this improve-
ment must be made in 1937 and with
a metered system in 1947 — a post-
ponement of ten years. All other im-
provements will likewise be deferred
from ten to fourteen years.

An article entitled "Universal Me-
tering Recommended for Philadel-
phia," in the Water Works News of
June, 1922, makes a comparison be-
tw-een the reduction in consumption

Table VIII — Per Capita Consamption on Various Sizes of Meters — 1921

i^eof

ticter
in.

!:%

Total

Number of
Meters in
Service
1.127
1,335
669
352
490
373
162
57
4.565

Constunption

Gallons

313.298,500

529,297,000

674,204,500

613,882,000

1,144,619,500

1.830,104,500

1.972,032.000

1.161.554,500

8,238.992.500

Percentage Population Supplied
of Metered Through Meters

Consumption

3.8

6.4

8.2

7.5
14.0
22.2
23.9
14.0
100.0

Gallons

8.691
20.188
19.763
18.423
26,056
28,291
27.107
16.499
165.018

Per Capita

Per Day

Gallons

120

177

199

136

270 Water Works August

by the installation of meters in Cleve- Dams Constructed by U. S.

land and in Detroit: Reclamation Service

"From 1890 to 1901 the daily per j^ connection with its irrigation

capita consumption in Cleveland in- project the U. S. Reclamation Service

creased with some variations in ^^^ ^^^jj^ ^j^^.^^ ^^^^^^ g^^^ ^^^^ 3qO

tendency from 101 to 172 gallons. At f^^ Yiigh, two dams between 200 and

that time only a few meters were in 30 ft. high, four dams between 100

use, but then rapid installation was and 200 ft. high, and nearly 100 dams

commenced and by 1909 the city was ranging from 2% ft. to nearly 100 ft.

practically entirely metered. During high. The three highest dams are:

the period of eight years the per Arrowrock in Idaho, 349 ft.; Shoshone

capita consumption decreased quite in Wyoming, 328 ft., and Elephant

uniformly from 172 to 94 gallons Butte in New Mexico, 306 ft. At the

daily, representing a reduction of 7 8 present time the Service has six dams

gallons. From 1909 to 1917 the con- under construction, their estimated

sumption increased quite uniformly to volume and height being as follows:

116 gallons per capita. In 1918 i Volume Hght.

was 137.5 gallons due largely to in- Name state Cu. Yd. Ft.

rrpaqpH indu'^trial demand from plants Tieton* Washington 1.850,000 244

creasea inaubLOcH ueiiiauuiiuiii piciiiwo M^Kay Oregon 2,300.000 159

operating day and night to iill war gij^^j^ Canyon Idaho 74,500 153

orders. The 1919 and 1920 Consump- Hubbard Montana 16.000 104

f\nn<s. hnwpver were about 130 sal- Willwood Wyoming 18,500 68

pons, nowever, were ctuuuu j.ov j,cii ^.^^ ^^.^^^ Wyoming 17.000 2T

Ions, and the engineers attacnecl to ^Maximum height to bottom of corewall is

the city's water organization estimate 321 ft.

that the per capita demand in 1; t

may be increased to 150 gallons daily. "Spear" Method of Increasing Flow
It is a singular fact that the indus- of Wells
tries in Cleveland now use sixty per j^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^ ^^^ ^j^^^ ^^^^,^^ ^^
cent of the total consumption, or ^^^^^ g j^_ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ j^j^^^..
about 78 gallons per capita while the ^^^ Irrigation Scheme, North
metered usage m Philadelphia and Queensland, lateral "spears" are
Detroit on connections 2-inch m size ^j^j^^^^ .^^^ ^j^^ surrounding drift from
and larger only slightly exceed 40 j^^gj^^ ^j^^ ^^jl^ rj,^^^^ gp^^^g p^^^e
gallons. The experience of Cleveland ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ tapping the large area
with complete metering of service ^^ ^^^^j. surrounding the well, and
connections indicates that the predict- permitting it to flow directly into the
ed reduction of per capita consump- ^^^^ instead of percolating through
tion daily of at least 40 gallons in ^^^^ ^j.^^^^ which of course would re-
Philadelphia through similar meas- ^ard its flow. These spears are sim-
ures is not unreasonable." ply galvanized iron piping from If 2
Table No. 8 states the per capita j^. to 2 in. diameter, perforated with
consumption per day on various size ' a good many % in. diameter holes,
meters based upon actual meter read- and vary in length from 4 or 5 to
ings taken within the 1888 boundary 16 or 18 ft., the average being about
line of the city during 1921. The 8 or 9 ft.

smaller sizes of meters are installed

principally in apartment houses and Large Mixers on Hydroelectric De-
stores, the larger sizes serving indus- velopment.— The T. L. Smith Co., of
trial and manufacturing plants, hotels Milwaukee, has just shipped to He-
and other large consumers. The av- bertsville, Canada, two 4-yanI
erage number of fixtures in the above (112-S) Smith tilting mixers for use
mentioned places is greater than in on the hydraulic dam project at Hr-
the usual one-family house and the bertsville. These mixers are dupli-
water is used for many purposes and cates of the two that were used at
in all except apartment houses and the Muscle Shoals. Four more 56-S
hotels the consumption continues (2-yd.) mixers of this same type are
throughout the usual working day. "ow being built for use on the Wilson
There is no question in my mind that Dam pro3ect across the Tennessed
the total per capita consumption for River, at the foot of Muscle Shoals,
one-family houses will be less than on which two of the Smith 4-yd. and
half of that shown in Table No. 8. two 2-yd. tilting mixers were former-

(Part II to be published in Engineering & Con- 1/ "^^d ^he Wllson Dam Will requirr

tracting for Sept. 12.) 1,260,000 cu. yd. of concrete.

'i:^

Water Works

271

Preparation of Water
Filtration

for

'roblems and Modem Methods of
Handling Described in Paper Pre-
sented Before Canadian Sec-
tion of American Water
Works Association

!y F. A. DALLYN and A. V. DELA-
PORTE,

tor, Sanitary Engineering Division,
tario Department of Health, Chemist

. . Charge of Experimental Station, On-

t 'lio Department of Health.

It is the purpose of the authors of

!iis paper to confine their remarks

■ a consideration of the existing

r supplies for the municipalities

Ontario.

:ie sources of supply for municipal
• >aerworks in Ontario are rather
uique in that with very few excep-
' ns they are known as "clear"
rs. The Great Lakes and the
-iiecting rivers, which form the
lajor sources of supply are ex-
emely clear, and such turbidity as
ccurs is of local origin, and as a
lie is confined to a small percentage
i the 365 days of the year. The
ower Detroit is an exception to this
nd carries more or less turbidity
uring the greater part of the year.
he Upper Detroit has some unusual
onditions during the spring run-off,
ruught about by the enormous quan-
lies of salmon-fly larvae, which are
uroduced from the creeks and shore
aters of Lake St. Clair. Lake Erie,
;>hich is comparatively shallow, is
:ore or less rile after every storm,
nd would have considerably more
irbidity than is encountered in any
- the other Great Lakes.

In addition to the Great Lakes and
)nnecting rivers there is a consider-
)le number of comparatively clear
reams and springs, the source of
hich have considerable iron in solu-
on. In Northern Ontario, and as-
)ciated with the waters of the Rideau
id Trent Valleys, there is quite an
nount of organic matter and definite
ilour. These waters again are com-
uatively clear, except as influenced
the spring run-off and the effect
he organic matter thrown into sus-
sion by convexion currents, or due
stream velocity affecting the de-
it of suspended matter.

v-sides these, there are a few
ices of supply, such as the Thames

and the Grand Rivers, which carry
considerable amounts of turbidity and
which rank as hard waters.

Problems in Filtration. — The prob-
lems of filtration, dealing with such
waters confine themselves in the main
to three problems:

(1) The removal of bacteria, intro-
duced from sewage contamination.

(2) The removal of occasional tur-
bidity.

(3) The removal of colour and or-
ganic matter and, for a few of the
supplies the removal of considerable
quantities of turbidity.

Economically the problem in the
main is a problem of the removal of
colour in the Northern parts of the
province; and for the Trent and
Rideau valleys, the removal of iron
and the removal of occasional tur-
bidity.

The operation of filtration plants
for the removal of over 95 per cent of
the bacteria, introduced by sewage
pollution, from the clear waters of
the Great Lakes, has lately been a
controversial subject. There appear
to be two schools of thought. One
is represented by the works man-
agers and economists, who insist that,
without impairing the appearance of
the water great economy can be ef-
fected by reducing the bacterial ef-
ficiency of the filtration process and
supplementing the treatment by ster-
ilization through the use of chlorine,
ozone, or ultra-violet ray. The other
school is represented by certain pub-
lic health oflicials, who take the posi-
tion that in connection with our
water supplies we cannot have too
great a factor of safety, and that
filtration should be formed in as ef-
ficient a manner as is possible with
the highest bacteria removal consis-
tent with the capacity of the plant;
and that this should be further sup-
plemented by chlorination.

In the larger plants, which can
afford laboratory control, the former
school undoubtedly have the advan-
tage of the argument, since with our
knowledge of the behavior of chlor-
ine as a sterilizing agent, we can
ascertain with great accuracy the ef-
ficacy of sterilization agencies, by the
colormetric determination of excess
chlorine in the water. The plant op-
erator knows if a certain excess chlor-
ine exists in the water that the water
is sterile and there is no occasion
to wait upon the laboratory 24 to 43

272

Water Works

Augiisl

hours to obtain the bacterial counts
and results of the fermentation tests.

The Trend of Practice. — The argu-
ment of economy is rather a difficult
one to combat in these days of high
taxes caused by our war indebtedness
when it is realized that the quantities
of alum required to give high bac-
terial efficiencies represent an annual
expenditure considerably in excess of
the annual amount of principal and in-
terest charges on the capital cost of
the plant itself.

One grain per gallon per plant ca-
pacity, applied daily, equals approxi-
mately the annual amount of the prin-
cipal and interest of the plant, at
iVz per cent 30 year debentures.

Where the water is to be treated
with approximately 214 grains of
alum, the cost of alum alone
is from two to three times the
actual costs of the interest and prin-
cipal in connection with the plant
itself. The trend of practice, there-
fore, is toward decreasing the bac-
terial efficiencies of filtration plants
of the rapid mechanical type and
supplementing filtration by chlorina-
tion. This trend, whether in the right
direction or not, fortunately at this
time is not accompanied with very
serious health hazards, owing to the
fact that the last ten years have wit-
nessed immense declines in incidences
of typhoid fever, so that water sup-
plies do not today represent the po-
tential danger that they did in the
last decade.

In the province of Ontario a great
deal of emphasis has been placed and
is still placed upon the location of
points of intake for sources of sup-
ply. There was a tradition some
years ago that American engineers
were prepared to purify any source
of supply and make it fit for domestic
use. And while the writers do not
wish to reflect at all upon the ability
of the American engineers to design
such plants, and have in fact wit-
nessed such achievements, they do
take issue with the practice of util-
izing sources of supply, with a view
to ecohomy, which are far from sat-
isfactory.

Selection of Point of Intake. — In
Ontario, the selection of the point of
intake as a rule is determined upon
only after a very considerable sur-
vey of the sources of sewage pollution
likely to affect the intake. In con-
sequence, there are very few plants

in the Province, furnishing domestic
water supplies, which have intakes
subject to the gross pollution that is
experienced in a great many of the
American cities.

As a result of this, lapses in th(
purification processes do not tend tc
contribute the complement of typhoic
fever which one would anticipate froir
the American situations, and it is
also possible to operate these plants
with jionsiderably less supervisioi
than is i-equired of those dealing witt
highly polluted waters. The densitj
of population in the United States
call for a size of plant which is rathei
larger than the general run of plants
in Ontario. This also is a factor ii
the extent to which supervision anc
laboratory services can be absorbed
in water rates.

In order that the trend of desigr
might follow more closely the presenl
practices in operation of filtration
plants, dealing with the clear, un
colored waters, such as are furnished
by the Great Lakes basin, the writers
believe that the discussion of the pre-
cipitation re-action of aluminum sul-
phate is a pertinent matter.

Heretofore, in standard plant de-
sign, it has been customary to provide
sedimentation and coagulation basins
for from two to eight hours' sedimen-
tation. These basins represent from
10 to 30 per cent of the total cost
of the filter works. They were in-
troduced originally to assist filtration
by settling out a portion of the sus-
pended matter, or turbidity. In many
of the older works where treatment
by chemicals and precipitation pre-
ceded treatment by filtration, the pre-
cipitation tanks were existent prior
to the installation of the sand filtra-
tion works, and were merely made
an adjunct to the new works.

The filter units themselves were
of both the open gravity and the
enclosed pressure type. It was also
believed by many of the workers that
economy could be effected in the quan-
tities of alum used, if advantage were
taken of the reacting interval of sev-
eral hours, which fact, we believe, has
been amply borne out in practice.

Colored and Iron Waters. — In On-
tario, in dealing with the colored
waters in the North, and in dealing
with the iron-bearing waters, coagula
tion and retention tanks prior to
filtration appear to offer distinct ad-
vantages, not only through economy

r.»23

Water Works

273

ill the use of alum, but, also, in pro-
viding a certain flexibility in plant
management, permitting aeration and
other adjuncts such as carbondioxide
removal, sometimes found necessary
in the treatment of these types of
waters.

There are numerous instances in
Ontario where pressure filters can be
operated so as to yield a satisfactory
water, but the difficulty of controlling
the requisite alum dosage required
fur rapid precipitation is so great
that this type of plant is not advo-

t Gated for waters which may be classed

V as resistant to treatment.

r On the other hand, there may be
Ija field for this type of filter when
ijdealing with the comparatively clear
jiwater of the Great Lakes basin since
♦jthey are capable of preparing it for
fleffective chlorination and are also
tiavailable for the removal of occasional
jiturbidity, provided a suitable labora-
Jjtory force is available to regulate the
administration of chlorine and the req-
uisite dosage of alum and chemicals
*, necessary when dealing with periodic
|i turbidities.

i The question which naturally arises
as to whether the saving of 15 to 20
per cent of the capital cost of the
plant is warranted, when it throws
the burden back upon the laboratory,
is a debatable one. Fifteen per cent
of the capital cost represents in an-
nual operation approximately one-
tenth the total cost of the water as
delivered from the pumping station
to the distribution system, so that
the item is not possibly as large as
one might anticipate.

Optimum Condition of Raw Water.

— During the past year the Board has
been carrying on special investiga-
tions in different parts of the Province
with a view to determining if possible
the optimum condition of the raw
waters associated with coagulation,
using aluminum sulphate. The ex-
perimental evidence in our possession
would indicate that for the soft, col-
ored waters the optimum is when the
natural water has a hydrogen ion
■ -^ncentration capable of adjustment
rough the use of alum to a pH value
J and that for the harder waters
and the Great Lakes basin the op-
timum condition is when the pH value
- adjusted to the neighborhood of 6.5.
The recent report of Theriault and
larke appearing in Public Health Re-
irts for February 2, 1923, under the

caption "The Experimental Study of
Hydrogen Ion Concentrations to the
Formation of Floe in Alimi Solutions"
is a notable contribution to the sub-
ject. They were able to show that
the time of the first appearance of the
floe in mixtures of alum ana water
containing definite salt concentrations
oehaves according to an equation,
which is graphically represented by
a parabolic curve; the axis of the
parabola is oriented at right angles
to the abscissa the optimum pH value.
In solutions having a high alum con-
centration, the parabola appears to
have a wider curve than where the
dilute solutions are used, the prac-
tical application of this phenomena
being that the hydrogen ion concen-
tration range in which precipitation
occurs is very much more limited
for dilute solutions than for solutions
of a higher concentration, and it is
also apparent from reference to the
curve that as one progresses from
the optimum pH the time for the first
appearance of the floe increases up to
a point where the curve becomes prac-
tically perpendicular to the abscissa,
so that beyond the confined range, in
which precipitation is observed to oc-
cur there appears to be no hope of
precipitation, even if the time of in-
terval be prolonged indefinitely.

The usp of salts other than alum
for the adjustment of the hydrogen
ion concentration has not as yet met
with a great deal of success. The two
salts most commonly used for this
purpose, sodium carbonate and lime,
both have an unfortunate effect on
the formation of floe. Under certain
conditions the aluminum hydrate ap-
parently acts as an acid, re-acting with
calcium hydrate to form a calcium alu-
minate and it would, also, appear to
react with sodium carbonate and bi-
carbonate to form a sodium aluminate
or some other compound. These re-
actions, which are reversible, have
not yet been carefully worked out,
but it is safe to assume that there will
be a loss of alum floe in the presence
of free hydroxide and generally in the
presence of sodium salts of the rather
weak carbonic acid.

Mechanical agitation of sand such
as in the ver Mehr filter, does not,
in the writer's opinion, accelerate
precipitation appreciably. Theoreti-
cally, it may, but the probability is
that the presence of a large volume
of sand in the filter has considerably

274

Water Works

August

more to do with precipitation than the
movement of the sand, so that in ac;
tual practice there is very -little to
choose between the precipitation ef-
ficiency of the ver Mehr filter, does
not, in the writer's opinion, acceler-
ate from the point of view, solely of
chemical application, the theoretical
advantage of the ver Mehr filter more
or less disappears.

Present Practice in Filter Operation.

— In summarizing the conclusions of
the writers it would appear that the
present trend of practice to operate
filters, more or less as a screen for
the protection of chlorination pro-
cesses on our clear lake waters, is a
sound one, in lespect to larger in-
stallations, provided the laboratory
facilities are adequate to keep a very
definite check on the residual chlorine,
and provided the situation is such
that the secondary application of
chlorine is possible, in order to cor-
rect any mischance in the dosage.

The use of sedimentation, or coag-
ulation units having a minimum of
two hours' storage is extremely ad-
vantageous for all colored waters and
iron-bearing waters. For iron-bear-
ing waters provision should be made
for the addition of supplementary
chemicals other than alum.

In this connection the experiments
of Alfred -Bechtel at AUentown in-
dicate that it takes 30 minutes after
the addition of calcium hydroxide,
either as the powder or as milk of
lime, before the calcium hydroxide is
in true solution so that where lime
is used to remove carbon dioxide the
treatment must take place at least 30
minutes before the use of alum.

The pressure type of filter without
coagulation basins is adequate, pro-
vided theoretical quantities of alum
are applied to take care of occasional
turbidity. If this turbidity is of fre-
quent appearance, or persists for any
considerable interval of the year, such
as a month or several months, it is
our opinion that the addition of coag-
ulation tanks and sedimentation is
economically sound, and lends itself
to plant management.

For the removal of excess carbon
dioxide following the use of alum, it
is recommended that the water be
treated after filtration with the req-
uisite quantities of sodium carbonate
or lime.

The Clogging of Intake Screens
by Fish

From a Paper Presented at the Con-
vention of the American Water
Works Association, May, 1923

By LEONARD METCALF

Metcalf and Eddy, Consulting Engineers,
Boston

In designing a new 54-in. intake
and supply conduit for the Portland,
Me., Water District, to bring water
from Sebago Lake into and thus in-
crease the capacity of the supply pipe
system, the writer chances to encoun-
ter the fish problem in an interesting
way. During the spawning season
considerable difficulty had been expe-
rienced at certain times in the screen
chamber, and as engineering litera-
ture upon the subject was meagre,
the actual experience in the past with
the old intake pipe was investigated
as the best evidence upon which to
predicate the new design. These data
are now presented to this Association
in the hope that they may call forth
the experience of others with fish in
their screen houses, and the methods
used for mitigating or removing the
difficulties.

Old Intake and Supply Conduit. —
The old intake consisting of about 480
ft. of 48-in. cast iron pipe, was laid
in 1898 from the gate house to the
inlet, which is 450 ft, from the shore
line of the lake. The pipe was laid in
trench, under cover, for a distance of
about 264 ft. from the shore, at which
point the depth of water over it is
from 7 to 8 ft., under average water
conditions, and 3V2 ft. at legal low
water limit.

The end of the intake consists of a
48 in. X 48 in. x 48 in. tee pointing up,
laid on the bottom of the lake, with
the top of the bell of the intake 14
ft. under water at mean lake level,
and 10.5 ft. at the legal limit for low
water. The bottom is covered with
large boulders and there is little, if
any, growth on the floor of the lake
at this point. The 48-in. intake en-
ters the gate house into a chamber 7
ft. long by 8 ft. wide, unfortunately
at a slight angle (about 25 degrees)
with the axis of the chamber.

At a distance of 7 ft. from the
point of entry the water passes
through the screens. These screens
are in duplicate, with little cages at
the bottom to catch the refuse as the

Water Works

275

^!eens are raised to clean them. In
le cleaning one set of screens and
len the other is raised, cleaned and
eplaced, so that ordinarily the water
asses through two sets of screens,
ach of the screens consists of a
?ries of units placed one on top of
nother, sufficient in number to cover
le water section from the under side
f the inlet pipe, to high water in the
ike, a distance of something over 10

The screening units have wooden
'ames of 1 in. x 3 in, lumber bolted
)gether with copper wire mesh se-
ared between them. The screen area

cut in two by a midrib of 1 in. x 3
I. stock. Each screen unit, 7 ft, 3 in.

27 in., has a gross wire mesh area
f 11.375 sq. ft., or a net water area
f 7.45 sq. ft., equivalent to 65.52 per
?nt of the gross wire area. The
lesh is of copper wire 0.065 in. in
iameter, 0.355 in. on centers longi-
idinally and 0.328 in. transversely.

As stated, the water from the lake
Iters the screen house unfortunately
a slight angle from the normal to
e screen, which prevents uniform
ctilinear flow to the screen and
lual distribution of velocity in the
reads of the stream and causes the
ain current to impinge against the
all diagonally opposite the opening,
1(1 to flow thence towards the fur-
er end of the screen instead of
wards its midsection.

P.xperience With Fish. — The writer
sited the screen house, with Mr.
scarry U. Fuller, Chief Engineer of
e Water District and the Resident
oreman, Mr. Marshall Higgins, at 8
clock on the evening of Jan. 22,
•23. The evening was clear and
Id. The lake was covered with ice,
ith a 2 ft. mantle of snow upon it.

There were relatively few fish in
e gate house above the screens —
'rhaps two quarts in volume and
veral hundred in number. The fish
tried in length from 3 to 4^^ in., the
ickness of the body being from 1%
, 1^/^ in. When the screens were
j moved about one quart of fish were
iken from the baskets upon them.
here were removed in the course of
[le 24-hour period 2^2 quarts of fish,
he fish were of a smaller type than
lose which run up to the lake to
)awn. The latter are usually from
) to 12 in. in length. The fish taken
ifre were apparently mature, how-

ever, because well-developed spawn,
in a condition about ready to be cast,
was found in a number of fish, vary-
ing from 3^2 to 4^/2 in. in length.
The fish appeared to swim readily
against the current, and were not
drawn up against the screens to any
great extent. Yet the dead fish in
the baskets indicated that they had
been drawn against the screens and
drowned before they wore able to get
away from them. The irregular flow
of the water in the screen house, with
the boiling tendency referred to, was
indicated by the way in which the fish
rolled up from time to time with the
current from the greater to the lesser
depths, showing their flashing bellies,
apparently unable to maintain their
vertical position.

Mr. Higgins stated that trouble was
experienced with the fish generally
during a three months' period from
Dec. 15 to March 15, though the run
of fish had sometimes begun as early
as the latter part of November and
continued for a longer or shorter pe-
riod than that referred to above. He
was of the belief that the worst con-
ditions were found immediately be-
fore bad storms even \\:ith ice and
snow on top of the water.

The worst experience, he said, was
had in the winters of 1904-5 and
1910-11, when one or two bushels of
fish were taken out in a 24-hour pe-
riod, instead of a few quarts. During
one of these periods the clogging of
the screens by the fish was so serious
that on one occasion the screens were
actually burst and the fish which came
through gave serious subsequent
trouble in the pipes. During more or
less of the three months' period re-
ferred to, it has been the custom to
visit the screens at frequent intervals
during the day and more recently, as
during the pa.^t year and this winter,
to have a man in the screen house
throughout the night, netting the fish
and removing them from the screens
as a precautionary measure to pre-
vent serious clogging. Mr. Higgins
was of the opinion that there had
been one or two nights in which, had
there not been a man present, there
might have been serious trouble from
the clogging of the screens.

The recent trouble was probably
due to two facts, — first, the increased
rate of water consumption of the
present, as compared with the past,

276

Water Works

August

and second the present low water
level of the lake.

Water Conditions and Fish
Troubles. — The record of water levels
in Sebago Lake was subsequently ex-
amined carefully, particularly with
reference to the minimum levels dur-
ing the months stated (Dec. 15 to
March 15) in the period of years from
1904 to date; and the mean daily con-
sumption was determined so nearly
as possible. These data were then
studied with reference to the conduit
capacity, the actual net water area of
the screens at different levels, and the
maximum hourly water consumption,
based upon an assumed maximum 50
per cent in excess of the mean daily
consumption during the year. The
result is interesting. It indicates the
reason for the conditions reported by
Mr. Higgins as having been observed
in the years 1904-1905 and 1910-11.

In the first instance the trouble was
clearly due to low water level in the
lake (El. 261.5), though in this con-
nection it is to be borne in mind that
the present minimum legal low water
level is above this (El. 262.5) and
that the water is not likely ag9.in to
re^ch the observed low level.

The trouble on the second occasion,
1910-11, was due to the combined ef-
fect of low water (El. 262.3) and the
relatively higher rate of consumption
in that year (8.7 Mgd. as compared
with 7.2 Mgd.)

The trouble during the last two
years has been due to the increased
consumption, which has averaged 13
Mgd. with a maximum of 20 Mgd.,
rather than to the lake level, the low-
est level of which was El. 264.4 in
1921-22, and El. 264.8 in 1922-23.

The developed facts indicate that
when the mean velocity of flow
through the water area of the screen,
based upon the mean daily water con-
sumption of the year, reaches an
amount of 0.8 of a foot per second,
or exceeds it, and when the maximum
rate of flow through the water area
of the screens, based upon an as-
sumed maximum rate of 50 per cent
in excess of the mean daily rate dur-
ing the year, is equal to 1.2 ft. per
second, or more, serious trouble has
been experienced from time to time
with these fish under the conditions
described as prevailing in this screen
house.

It may well be, however, that if the

48-in. cast-iron pipe, at its entrance
into the gate house, had been so lo-
cated as to discharge at right angles
to the face of the screens, the trouble
would not have been experienced, cer-
tainly at such low mean velocities as
those stated, because the velocity of
approach to the screen would have
been much more uniform than it is in
fact under existing conditions.

Minimum Velocity Desirable. — It

would be prudent, if practicable, in
designing the screens for the screen
house upon the new conduit, to keep
the velocity of flow through the water
area of the screen down to 0.5 ft. per
second, based upon the mean daily
consumption during the year. In this
connection it is to be borne in mind
that the water section of the ordinary
woven wire screen is approximately
two-thirds of its gross area, and of
the punched metal screens not over
one-half, and in. some punched metal
as little as one-fourth.

Conclusions Relative to Influence of
Fish. — It appears reasonable to con-
clude,—

First, that it is desirable to keep
the velocity of flow through the water
section of the screens down to 0.5 ft.
per second, on the basis of the mean
daily flow during the year;

Second, that this limit may be sub-
stantially exceeded if the velocity of
approach is uniform and normal to
the screen face;

Third, that if the approach to tlie
screens be rectilinear and the velocity
fairly uniformly distributed in the
section and if the flow be parallel to
the face of the screens as the water
passes through the screen chamber up
to the point of passage through the
screens, thus tending to make it much
easier for the fish to keep clear of the
screen surface, higher velocities can
probably be used with safety.

Civil Service Examinations. — The

U. S. Civil Service Commission,
Washington, D. C, has announced the
following open competitive examina-
tions: Hydrographer, U. S. Reclama-
tion Service, at entrance salaries
ranging from $1,680 to $1,920 plus
$20 per month; hydrographic and
topographic draftsman, U. S. Coast
and Geodetic Survey, at entrance
salary of $1,400 plus $20 per month.

;i:^3 Water Works 277

A $4,500,000 Texas Water Supply Project

Dams and Canal System Now Under Construction for Wichita County
Water Improvement District No. 1

By R. A. THOMPSON

Chief Engineer, Wichita County Water Improvement District No. 1

On Dec. 20, 1919, the Wichita
County Water Improvement District
No. 1 of Wichita Falls, Tex., a munici-
oal corporation, was organized to con-
struct a storage dam on the Wichita
River, about 42 miles out of Wichita

the storage dam and diversion dam
will be completed in October. The
main canals and distribution system
to irrigate 50,000 acres will be com-
pleted by the summer of 1924.

Storage Dam. — The storage dam is

Service Spillway at Storage Dam of Wichita County Water Improvement District No. 1.

Placing Hydraulic Fill in Storage Dam, Ttap Pipe Being Used to Reduce Volume at End of Pipe.

Falls, a diversion dam some 13 miles
below, and a canal system. The pur-
pose of the project was primarily to
provide a permanent water supply for
the city of Wichita Falls, but suffi-
cient water will be impounded to irri-
gate some 100,000 acres of fertile land
in the valley below.

On Sept. 7, 1920, $4,500,000 bonds
were voted to build the works. Con-
struction began Feb. 25, 1922. Both

a hydraulic fill structure, 100 ft. maxi-
mum height and 7,500 ft. long. It
contains 1,500,000 cu. yd., of which
200,000 cu. yd. was built with teams,
the remainder being placed with an
electrically operated hydraulic dredge
having a 20 in. discharge line. A
38,000 volt power line 41 miles long
was built to operate this dredge. The
pump is direct connected with a 1600
h. p. AC motor, 2200 volts, 60 cycle,

278

Water Works

August

speed 360 r.p.m. The capacity of the
dredge is from 200,000 to 250,000 cu.
yd. per month under normal condi-
tions.

The material for the embankment
was taken from the valley upstream,
and is composed of gravel, sand and
clay of most excellent proportions for
making a fill of this kind.

The upstream slope of the storage

diameter and 430 ft. long. Four con-
duits are for temporary use, to pass
floods during the construction period,
and will be closed. The two per-
manent conduits are fitted each with
two cast iron gates with bronze fac-
ings, and are operated by motor with
power generated by a small gasoline
unit. The conduits contain about 6,700
cu. yd. of concrete.

Core Pool of Storage Dam.

Upstream Slope of Storage Dam.

dam is 3:1 to spillway level, and 2:1
above spillway. The downstream slope
varies from 2:1 at top to 3:1 at bot-
tom. The upstream slope is riprapped
with 18 in. hand placed rubble rock
on 8 in. of gravel blanket. The dam
is 25 ft. wide on top and will be
graveled for a roadway.

At the south end of the dam are six
circular outlet conduits, each 7 ft. in

The service spillway is located at
the head of a natural depression near
the north end of the dam. It is of
semi-conical form with 180 ft. radius
at top and 45 ft. at bottom, and 90 ft.
deep. The slope is 1^/4 :1 and is paved
with heavy rubble rock, well grouted.
The surface is finished smooth. The
bottom of the spillway is paved with
30 in. grouted rubble and 6 in. of con-

Water Works

279

ete on top, and is 5 ft. below river
d at crossing. A 24 in. curtain wall
carried down 10 ft. deeper.
A hollow type reinforced concrete
im about 12 ft. high and 565 ft. long
sts on the cap rock at the top of the
ope. The slab is 8 in. thick and is
pported by buttresses spaced 8 ft.
An emergency spillway is built at
e extreme north end of the dam,

A cut-off wall of steel sheet piling
(35 lb. per square feet) was driven for
1,320 ft. across the valley into clay
and shale foundation from 6 to 8 ft.
A trench was first excavated to river
level 20 ft. wide at bottom, with side
slopes of 1:1, in the center of which
the piling was placed. The piling
stands 6 to 10 ft. high in the trench,
and is encased in the puddled fill.

Spillway Site and Headgates at Diversion Dam.

Backfilling Muck Ditch at Diversion Dam.

insisting of two low sections of em-
inkment between concrete headwalls,
16 70 ft. long and 8 ft. higher than
16 crest of the service spillway, and
16 other 335 ft. long and 10.5 ft.
sher. The combined capacity of all

iiillways is 200,000 second feet when
■ ft. deep on service spillway crest,
.0 ft. below top of dam. The spill-

. ays contain about 7,500 cu. yd. of

concrete masonry.

Under the remainder of the dam a
core trench was excavated from 5 to
10 ft. into the shale and carefully
puddled and tied with the central core
of the dam.

The total cost of the storage dam
will be about $1,400,000.

Diversion Dam. — The diversion dam
is built across the river valley about
13 miles below the storage dam, and
is for the purpose of diverting the

280

Water Works

Augus

water into the canal system. This
dam is 4,100 ft. long, 54 ft. maximum
height and 16 ft. wide on top. Its
upstream slope is 3:1 to spillway level
19 ft. below top, and 2:1 above spill-
way. The lower slope is 2:1. The
upstream slope will be paved with 12
in. hand laid stone on 6 in. of crushed
rock blanket. The embankment con-
tains 600,000 cu. yd., and was built
with teams in lifts varying from 2 to
4 ft. Each lift was thoroughly "irri-
gated" to complete saturation. A clay
core is carried up in the center, of
width equal to the height of the dam
above.

half of which is now being con
structed. The main canal has 1,00
second feet capacity for 15 miles, i
32 ft. wide at bottom, 8 ft. deep (
ft. freeboard in addition) with sid
slopes of 2:1.

At the diversion dam twelve 5 fl
by 8 ft. cast iron hand operareu head
gates are installed for diverting wate
into the canal.

R. A. Thompson is chief enginee
of the district and O. N. Floyd, as
sistant chief engineer. The work i
being done by W. E. Callahan Con
struction Co. of Dallas, Tex., genera
contractors. The Morgan Engineerin;

Diversion Pam, Looking North. View Taken March, 1923.

A steel sheet piling cut-off wall (35
lb. per square foot) is driven in the
center of the dam in a trench 12 ft.
wide at bottom, side slopes 1:1. The
piling is driven to substantial refusal
into clay and shale. The longest pil-
ing is 43 ft. About 2,225 tons were
used. The piling projects some 8 to
10 ft. in the puddle core above.

A concrete spillway of 0. G. type
and 308 ft. long is being built on the
river bank at the south end of the
dam. The capacity is 100,000 second
feet when 19 ft. deep on the crest.
The spillway is set on shale founda-
tion with apron 16 ft. below river bed,
and contains about 8,600 cu. yd. of
concrete.

The cost of this dam will be about
$975,000.

Canal System. — A canal system is
projected for 100,000 acres, only one-

Co. of Memphis, Tenn. (L. L. Hidingei
president) is consulting engineer fo
the bond purchasers.

Growth of City Manager Plan

At the beginning of July there wen
322 municipalities operating under thi
city manager plan. The foUowinj
table from the July City Manage;
Magazine shows the growth of thii
form of city government:

Put in Effect By Chart. By Ord. ToU
1908 0 1

1912 1 2 ;

1913 8 3 i:

1914 15 6 2:

1915 13 7 2(

1916 15 5 2(

1917 13 5 li

1918 20 9 2i

1919 20 11 81

1920 23 16 3i

1921 42 11 5;

1922 2!) 13 4i

1923 22 12 3<

1924 1 0 1

Totals 230 92 325

Water Works

281

Coagulation Control by Hydrogen Ion
Concentration.

Results of Tests at Various North Carolina Municipal Water Plants

Given in Paper Presented May 25 at AnnueJ Convention of

American Water Works Association

By G. F. CATLETT,

Principal Assistant Engineer, North Carolina State Board of Health.

At a conference of engineers and
liter plant superintendents of the
theastem States, held at Atlanta
July 1922, Mr. E. J. Theriault de-
r,ed verv comprehensively results
dned by the U. S. Public Health
vice in a very exhaustive labora-
study of the value of hydrogen ion
centration in the control of coagu-
lation at wiater purification plants.
nds study was made for the most
►art on artificially prepared turbidities
uid added buffers, though some re-
sults were obtained on natural Poto-
nac river water. As described by Mr.
rheriault the indications w^ere that
his determination would be of the
greatest value to the filter plant man
n controlling his dosage, so as to se-
cure economy of chemicals, efficiency
n filtration, the elimination of coag-
ilant in filter effluent and possibly the
prevention of the corrosive action of
«rtain low alkalinity filter plant ef-
iuents.
As suggested by Mr. Theriault this
" oratory research had reached the
e when the next logical procedure
the application of the same line of
estigation to the actual conditions
d in the various mvmicipal water
,nts. With this idea in mind, a
aeries of tests were undertaken by
the North Carolina State Department
yf Health, on the various public water
supplies in that state. As the types
rf water supply found in this state
7ary from the highly colored swamp
waters of the Atlantic Seaboard to the
dear mountain supplies of the Blue
Ridge, it was felt that conditions were
verj' favorable for such studies.
^ Method of Making the Determina-
tioii. — The determination of hydrogen
ion concentration by electrical methods
was not considered as the apparatus
is too expensive for the small water
plant and the technique too elaborate
frir the average operator. For the
!?e plants it is entirely suitable and
course furnishes the most reliable
ires. It is also useful for stand-
iizing the color methods.

In order to arrive at a suitable
colormetric technique, tests were
started at the Wilmington, N. C.,
plant. Close co-operation and assist-
ance was furnished by Mr. Geo. D.
Norcom, the superintendent of filtra-
tion. The standards supplied by the
LaMotte Chemical Co. were first tried,
but were found unsatisfactory as re-.
gards permanence, the methyl red
range especially spoiling very quickly.
Pure chemicals were next secured and
buffer solution made, from which
standards could be made up as needed.
Very good results were obtained in
this way, but only a well trained chem-
ist with a good laboratory could be re-
lied upon to make such standards.

In the book, "The Determination of
Hydrogen Ion Concentration," by Dr.
W. M. Clark, is a color chart repro-
ducing the colors of the various stand-
ards, made in accordance with the
method of Clark and Lubs. It was
found that using these charts in place
of the tube standards gave very sat-
isfactory results, that compared very
favorably with tubes made from
standard buffer solutions and with
fresh LaMotte Chemical Co. stand-
ards. In order to check possible var-
iation due to personal equation, deter-
minations were made using tube
standards and color chart, and by sev-
eral observers, some of whom had had
no previous experience in this class
of work. The results showed very
close conformity in results and suf-
ficient accuracy using charts for the
purpose of water treatment control.

In order to carry out this technique
it is only necessary to have one of the
charts, which are sold separate from
book, some indicator solutions, tubes
graduated to hold 10 cubic centimeter,
1 cc. pipette graduated in 1/lOths, and
a bottle of distilled water. The in-
dicator solutions are made from the
dry powder purchased from LaMotte
Chemical Co. and in accordance with
Clark's method, except that after rub-
bing up the dry indicator in a mortar
with the specified quantities of N/20

282

Water Works

August

soda, the final dilution was made with
85 per cent ethyl alcohol instead of
distilled water. These solutions are
20 times to strong in case of methyl
red and 10 times to strong in the case
of the other indicators.

It is necessary to make these con-
centrations in order to secure keeping
qualities, and for making the tests
they must be diluted with distilled
water. The concentrated alcoholic so-
lutions seem to keep almost indefinite-
ly, a set having been used over a
period of eight months with no deteri-
oration. All of the tests given in
Table I were made by this method,
with sufficient checking by tube stand-
ards to insure the uniformity of re-
sults. It is a significant fact that
tests made on the sartie water at be-
ginning of the eight months showed
the same results as at the end of this
time, though the same stock indicator
solutions were used for entire period.
The colors on the charts do not seem
to fade appreciably, and they are
cheap enough to make their replace-
ment no obstacle.

This technique seems to meet the
needs of the small plant operator, and
as described forms a much simpler

test than the determination alkalinity
by titration with acid.

Determination of Optima. — Clark
and Theriault (Public Health Reports,
Feb. 2, 1923), state that as a result
of their investigation:

"When other possible factors are
left out of consideration, optimum
conditions for floe formation will be
found with a narrow zone of pH cen-
tered for dilute solutions at pH 5.5."
J. R. Baylis (Proc. American Society
Civil Engineers, Dec, 1921) gives an
optimum for Baltimore city water at
6.5. Wagner and Enslow (Journal
American W. W. Association, May,
1922), give an optimum zone for "non
organic" waters 6.5 to 7.0 and for "or-
ganic waters" a zone as low as 5.7
and never above 6.5. These figures in
dicate quite a variation in optima.

Tables I, II and III give optima de-
termined on a number of North Caro-
lina waters. Those in Table I check
the figure set by Clark and Theriault.
These waters are practically all lo-
cated in the east central part of the
state and contain a certain amount of
colors as well as turbidity. Table II
shows some waters located in the
south central part of the state with

TABLE I— WATERS WITH

OPTIMUM 5.5

No.

Nature of

pH raw

Optimum

Test

Town

raw water

Alkalinity

Color

Turbidity

water

Rocky Mount

Tar River

6.4

5.0

Rocky Mount

Tar River

350

6.4

5.6

Rocky Mount

Tar River

6.4

5.6

Tarboro

Tar River

6.4

5.6

Tarboro

Tar River

300

6.4

5.C

Greenville

Tar River

6.4

5.0

Greenville

Tar River

300

6.4

5.6

Raleigh

Impounded Creek

6.4

5.6

Hickory

Creek

6.2

5.6

Salisbury

Yadkin River

350

6.4

5.6

Winston-Salem

Impounded Creek

100

6.8

5.G

Henderson

Impounded Creek

6.4

5.8

Wilson

Creek

6.4

5.6

Wilmington

Cape Fear River

200

6.3

4.8

Wilmington

Cape Fear River

6.3

5.C

Wilmington

Cape Fear River

150

6.6

5.6

Washington

Creek

6.4

5.6

Goldsboro

River

150

6.8

5.6

TABLE II— HIGH OPTIMUM TURBID

WATERS

No.

Nature of

pH raw

Optimum

Test

Town

raw water

Alkalinity

Color

Turbidity

water

Durham

Impounded Creek

6.8

6.6

Gastonia

Impounded Creek

7.6

7.0

Gastonia

Impounded Creek

800

7.0

6.6

Charlotte

.Catawba River

200

6.8

7.6

Concord

Creek

6.6

Wadesboro

Creek

6.6

6.4

Lexintrton

Creek

7.2

7.0

TABLE III— HIGH

COLORED

CLEAR

WATERS

No.

Nature of

pH raw

Optimum

test

Town

raw water

Alkalinity

Color

Turbidity

water

Lumberton

Lumber River

150

6.2

6.:5

Lumberton

Lumber River

150

5.4

5.2

Hamlet

Impounded Creek

6.4

5.7

Wilmington

Northeast River

250

5.9

4.3

Wilmington

Northeast River

150

6.3

5.0

Elizabeth City

Knobbs Creek

200

6.4

4.5

Hertford

Perquimans River

500

5.6

4.8

Water Works

283

wa. consistent with those found by

lylis, and Wagner and Enslow.

' lese waters are more or less turbid

th practically no color.

Table III gives the figures on the

?h colored clear waters. The water

ed at Hamlet and Lumberton with

< mparatively low colors, give optima

ound 5.5, while the three supplies

Wilmington (northeast river),

rtford and Elizabeth City, with an

cessive color show much lower op-

na. The first two are located in in-

rior of the state, while the latter

ree are on the coast.

The method used for determining

lima on these waters, consisting in

ing- the ordinary "jar test," and ap-

> iiig the results obtained with this

the plant itself. A series of 1 liter

IS are used, and alum, soda and lime

ilutions prepared so that each cubic

■ntimeter of alum solution put in a

)■ of raw water would be equivalent

' 2 grain per gallon, and each cubic

•ntimeter of alkali solution in same

ay was equivalent to % grain per

ill on. In this way any combination

of chemicals could be used. The pH
was then determined on each jar test,
and the jar furnishing a floe most
quickly was considered optimum. In
this connection it may be noted that
the obser\'ation of Clark and Theri-
ault, that the quickest forming floe is
always eventually the best floe, was
borne out in these tests.

On waters where there was suffi-
cient natural alkalinity to react with
the alum, the determination of the op-
timum is a simple matter, as it is
only necessary to run a series with
various amounts of alum. Where there
is required additional alkalinity the
tests were complicated by the two
variables. In the latter case a series
of jar tests must be made for each
quantity of alum, with the amount of
alum the same in each jar and added
alkali varied. In each case the pH is
carried to a point on acid side where
no floe forms after hours, and similar-
ly on the alkali side to a point of no
floe formation.

Tables IV, V and VI will illustrate
a typical set of tests.

TABLE IV

'. Test

Alum g.p.g.

Alkali p.p.m.

Floe

0.5

6.2

none

1.0

6.0

poor

1.5

5.6

excellent (optimum)

2.0

5.2

slow

•'

2.5

5.0

none

TABLE V

>. Test

Alum K.p.Jf.

Alkali p.p.m.

FIoc

3.5

4.8

none

3.5

5.2

IKJor

3.5

5.4

excellent

3.5

5.6

excellent

3.5

5.8

good (slow)

3.5

6.0

good (slow)

3.5

6.0

poor (very slow)

3.5

6.4

very poor

2.0

5.2

fair

2.0

5.4

poor

2.0

5.6

fair (optimum 2 grs. alum)

2.0

5.7

fair

2.0

5.8

fair

2.5

5.0

poor

2.5

5.2

poor

2.5

5.4

poor

2.5

5.6

good

2.5

5.7

good

2.5

5.7

good

2.5

5.8

slow

2.5

6.2

slow, fair

2.5

6.4

fair, smoky

2.5

6.6

fair, smoky

2.5

6.8

poor

2.5

6.8

poor

a.Test
1

TABLE VI

Alum g.p.g. Alkali p.p.m. pH

2.0 0 5.8

2.0 6 6.0

2.0 12 6.2

2.0 16 6.3

2.0 20 6.4

2-0 30 6.6

1-0 15 6.6

1-0 10 6.4

Floe
none
none
none
poor
I)oor
excellent
excellent
IKwr

284

Water Works

August

The alkalinity of the raw water
was 21 which was sufficient for neces-
sary alum. If sufficient alkali had
been used to bring pH on No. 5 test
to 5.5 an excellent floe was formed.
This is the water designated No. 1 in
Table I.

This water is the one listed in
table 3 from Hamlet. It has fairly
high color and no turbidity.

This is the water listed in Table II
as Concord. It will be noted that
there is no color and the natural
alkalinity is 39.

The tables IV, V and VI will give
an idea of how each test was carried
out.

High Optimum Waters — It is rather
difficult to offer explanation of the
high optimum water. The chemical
contents not differing appreciably
from those with lower optima. An
important fact, however, is that there
is quite a difference in the alkali re-
quirements on these waters from that
of the 5.5 series. It is generally true
that the latter require about 6 parts
per million for every grain of alum
per gallon. In the case of the waters
at Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia,
Wadesboro, etc., in Table II, although
there is found more than enough nat-
ural alkalinity to react with the alum
added, it is necessary to add excessive
amounts of alkali to get a good floe.
In the case of Charlotte the raw
water alkalinity was 21 p.p.m. and
this should be entirely sufficient for
2 grs. per gal. of alum. However, it
was necessary to add 30 p.p.m. addi-
tional alkalinity to get the best floe.
It was not possible to get CO2 deter-
minations on the various waters, but
at Charlotte and Wilmington these
are recorded daily and do not show
appreciable difference.

High Colored Water — The high col-
ored waters show low optima. The
excessively high colored waters at
Wilmington, Elizabeth City and Hart-
ford require optima as low as 4.5,
while partly colored waters at Hamlet
and Lumberton may run as high as
5.6. The water at Wilmington has
been especially studied, Mr. Geo. D.
Norcom, in charge of the filter plant,
having made numerous pH determina-
tions during the last year. This is
typical of the high colored waters, and
a low alkalinity treatment was worked
out for it by the author in 1916, and
is still in use. This treatment con-
sists in adding only enough alkali to
give 4 p.p.m. for each gr. per gal. of

alum, and adding additional alkali in
• a second basin, the principles involved
in the precipitation of colloids prompt-
ing this treatment as explained at
that time. The Elizabeth City water
and that at Hertford act similarly.

A very interesting condition exists
at Wilmington. Just below the filtra-
tion plant, the Cape Fear river forks
forming the main Cape Fear and
Northeast branch. The main river
usually is a low colored high turbidity
water, while the Northeast branch is
highly stained from cypress swamps.
Up to very recently water has been
taken from the Northeast branch,
where the tidal changes furnish a
clear colored water at times and
others a mixture of this with the main
Cape Fear water. The tests on the
Wilmington water under Table 3 are
made on this colored Northeast water
and show an optimum of about 4.5.
Recently the intake was extended
across to main river, and the Wil-
mington tests under Table I are made
on the new water. Thus we have the
main river showing an optimum about
5.5 and its branch fed from Cypress
swamps showing the lower optimum.

Controlling the pH by Adding Acid
— In the case of the Tar river waters
tests 1-7 in Table I, sulphuric acid
was used with the result that as good
floe was formed using 0.5 grains per
gal. alum as where 1.5 grains was
required without acid. It was neces-
sary to add 1.5 g.p.g. alum before
the optimum of 5.6 was reached and
by adding just sufficient sulphuric acid
to produce a pH of 5.6 with 0.5 g.p.g.
alum similar results were accom-
plished.

All attempts to cut the pH of the
high colored waters down with sul-
phuric acid, thus reducing the amount
of alum required, were unsuccessful.

A Colloidal Clay and Color as a
Reason for Variable Optimum. — A
possible explanation of the variable
optimum lies in the colloids in the
water. Clay in colloidal state has a
negative electric charge and color a
positive charge. The fairly heavy
clay particles have no influence. The
whole process of coagulating water
has two stages. This first reaction
is entirely a chemical one where
definite amounts of alkali combine
with definite amounts of aluminum
sulphate with the formation of
aluminum . hydrate. Even with tlie
tests where the pH is too high or too
low and no good floe is formed, there
is except when too little alum is used

Water Works

285

„ high colored water, a smoky
ipearance showing the formation of
iminum hydrate. This aluminum
drate is held in a colloidal state
d must be thrown down by physical
jans. There seems to be required a
finite pH or definite electrical
arge to precipitate the positively
arged aluminum hydrate and nega-
TBly charged coloring matter and
or particles.

Value of pH in Plant Control. —
ras far the practical application of
e pH determination indicates val-
|)le assistance to the plant oper
or. Haxing determined the opti-
iin pH, it is only necessary to take
tnples of water from the mixing
amber and determine the pH. If
low the optimum more alkali
ould be added and if above optimum
kali is reduced. If supposed opti-
m is shown and poor floe is form-
g, it would suggest a change in
timum, and a redetermination of
is made. Our experience so far
ows that the optimum does not
ange very frequently. In the case
the Tar river tests (Table I — tests
3) the first test was made in August
ter a long dry spell, the second
st was in October after heavy rains
d the third in February during cold
!ather conditions. In each case the
timum was the same.
Our experience also indicates that
agulation taking place at the opti-
im pH, gives a heavy, well defined
and that it takes place more

idly, thus requiring less mixing

iber and coagulation basin reten-

time. Attention is especially

to the influence of this control

'coagulation on mixing chamber

Conclusions. — The majority of wat-
3_in North Carolina coagulate most
tisfactorily at an optimum pH of
proximately 5.5. High colored
iters require a much lower optimum
proximately 4.5 pH. Some turbid
iters, free from color, have a much
?her optimum varying from 6.5 to
> pH.

A technique sufficiently simple for
e average small plant operator may
devised for determining hydrogen
1 concentration in water purifica-
>ll control.

Experience on a number of waters

North Carolina indicate that the

^n determinations furnish a very val-

J^Ble assistance in securing more ef-

]ctive and economical results.

Method of Stopping Flow of
Water From a Bore Hole

In drilling a 3-in. hole with a hand
diamond boring set to prove the
existence of lower seams at a coal
mine in England, a large flow of
water was struck. This water
drained off to a sump where a 50-gal.
per minute pump was in use. This
was soon unable to handle the rush
of water and steps were taken to

Sketch of Plug.

plug the bore hole. How this was
accomplished is told in Water and
Water Engineering, London:

The boring rods were drawn and
an attempt made to stop the out-
burst, which was shooting up and
striking the roof with no mean force.
Pieces of the core were dropped into
the hole, but they simply bobbed up
in the stream.

Wooden plugs were tried, driven
in by a weight raised and allowed
to fall by a rope over the headgear

286

Water Works

Augu

pulley. These were soon burst out.
The pressure of the water had been
ascertained to be 102 lb. per sq. in.

Successive wooden plugs were
tried, driving in one after the other,
the first plugs having a slit along
their length to allow the escape of
water. The slit in the proceeding
plug was made smaller, and so on,
and by alternating the position of
the slit the hole was in a way com-
pletely closed. But only for a short
time. The series of plugs were also
burst out. Pieces of chain and scrap
iron were put into the hole in an
endeavor to stop the flow, but it was
of no avail.

A pipe was then grouted in and
an attempt was made to force in
liquid cement. It seemed as if this
was going to succeed, but after the
flange had been bolted on for some
time, the pavement gave way and
things were soon as bad as ever.

The method that did succeed was
as follows: A lead plug was made
after the fashion of a cartridge of
gunpowder, with a conical hole in the
centre. A round tapered bar of iron
was put through the centre and solid
rods with a sledging piece lowered
down behind. When the plug rested
in the hole, the rods were raised and
lowered to strike the round piece of
iron through the lead plug and ex-
pand, so as to completely fill the
borehole. It did not, however, retain
its grip on the sides of the hole,
being forced up by the water and
down again when it was struck.

This led to the idea of projecting
pins in the plug.

Two recesses were made in the
sides for steel pins. These were kept
flush when lowering, but when the
tapered rod, which was through the
plug, was struck and driven further
in, these steel pins were forced out
and into the sides of the borehole,
retaining it in its position. Thus
held, the centre pin was driven
through the plug, expanding it and
finally closing the hole. When this
had been well pounded down, the
flow of water had nearly ceased, and
it was now possible to have the hole
filled with cement and the trouble
was ended.

The New 80-Ton Choutea
Ave. Incinerator Plant,
St. Louis, Mo.

Extract From Report of C. S. ButI
Engineer, Department of Public
Utilities, St. Louis

The foundation consists of 49 20-f
reinforced pre-cast concrete p i 1
driven to an elevation of 95.5, beir

6 in. in the concrete footings, whi(
are constructed to an elevation (
103.2, 1 ft. above the operating roo:
floor level. The outside dimensions (
the building are 38 ft. x 56 ft. 1 ir
built of brick with steel truss roo
The operating floor is on an elevatic
of 102.2, being 36 on river gauge.

Operating Floor. — A small office
ft. x 12 ft. and a wash and toil(
room 6 ft. x 12 ft. with shower ai
on this floor. Three furnaces (inclu(
ing combustion chamber) 14 ft. 9 i
X 32 ft. long by 11 ft. 6 in. high ai
built on this floor. Two forced dra
fans, one 10 h. p. and one 20 h. i
placed on floor at north end of fu
naces for furnishing the furnaces wil
forced draft.

Tipping Floor. — The tipping floor
built on an elevation of 123.2. Thei
are three holes 3 ft. x 3 ft. and thn
holes 1 ft. 6 in. X 4 ft., which tl
garbage is dumped into and goes d
rectly into a storage bin (the entii
length of furnaces), which is tr
angular shaped, 9 ft. 6 in. deep, wit
capacity for 60 tons of garbage. Ai
other hole 5 ft. 6V2 in. x 4 ft. 2 in._
left directly over the combustic
chamber for incinerating dead an
mals. There are also two coal hole

I ft. 6 in. X 2 ft. each, for dumpin
coal into chutes which empty on tl
operating floor in front of the fu
naces.

Clinker Pits. — There are two tracl
24 in. gauge with dump cars to r(
ceive the clinkers from the furnact
and dust from the combustion chan
bers. The space occupied by pits ;

II ft. 6 in. wide by 32 ft. long an

7 ft. high. These tracks lead out (
the south end of the building, then(
to the river bank.

Trestle Approach. — The trestle ai
proach leads out of double doors c
the tipping floor to the south. Tl
entrance to the plant being by Coi
vent St., a scale is located on tl

r2-\

Water Works

287

pproach direct to tipping floor. A
ft. X 125 ft. radial brick chimney is
lilt upon 25 25 ft. pre-cast concrete

lies and a reinforced concrete slab

7 ft. X 17 ft. X 4 in. The chimney
lined with fire brick 9 in. for 50 ft.,

'2 in. for 55 ft., making a total of

)5 ft. of lining.

Operation of Plant. — The garbage

hauled up the incline, passing over
:ales, where it is weighed, thence
to the south end of building onto
le tipping floor where it is dumped

holes in floor into a large storage
n holding about 60 ton. There are
openings left in the east side of bin
ith steel doors operated by pulleys
id weights. Immediately opposite
ich door is a hole 2 ft. 1 in. in
anieter closed by a cone-shaped
eight which is also operated by pul-
y>. Outside of this hole are other
eel doors, making a closed air lock.
he garbage is raked from the stor-
je bin into the 2 ft. 1 in. opening at
P of furnace, thence diverted onto a
ying arch from which it is raked
ito side grates where it is further
ied, thence raked into the fire box

the furnace. The side grates are

ft. long by 3 ft. 6 in. wide. The

\e box proper is 2 ft. 3 in. wide,

ft. 3 in. deep and 5 ft. long, making

total of about 60 sq. ft. of grate

if ace. After garbage is burned the

hes and clinkers are drawn into an

h bin and when cooled off are loaded

to small cars in basement of plant

id dumped in river. The furnaces

e operated with forced draft, being

ipplied by two fans, one 10 h. p. and

le 20 h. p., the air to supply these

ns is taken out of each of the three

h bins, over the hot clinkers into a

' in. vitrified pipe, then into an air

11 amber 3 ft. x 6 ft., thence through

e fans into two galvanized air-tight

' cts, one 1 ft. 6 in. x 2 ft. and one

ft. 6 in. X 3 ft. under the furnaces.

. r is also taken out of the garbage

1 through a 20 in. galvanized pipe

i-ough the fans and into the ducts.

ider each furnace and directly under

e grates are three 12 in. diameter

les in the ducts and are raised 12 in.

'^ e top of same. Two of these holes

'y air to the side gates and one

e fire box, the supply of air being

-lulated by dampers over each hole.

e fans are so connected and damp-

js located in the air pipes proper,

: that they can draw from ash pits,

•jmbustion chamber and garbage bin

separately and can be o'perated

singly or together. The gases from
the furnaces pass through a large
combustion chamber where a tempera-
ture of about 1200° is maintained.
Dead animals can be cinerated in this
chamber. The chamber connected to
the chimney, which is 5 ft. in diameter
by 125 ft. high. All gases and mal
odors disappear before reaching top
of chimney.

In connection with the plant a 280
gal. tank is provided for hot water,
being supplied by two 2 in. pipes
placed in the combustion chamber.
This hot water furnished two radiators
in office and toilet rooms and also
furnished hot water on tipping floor
and firing floor for cleaning purposes.

The building was constructed by
local contractors and the furnaces
were constructed by the Burke Fur-
nace Co. of Chicago. The plant is be-
ing operated by the Department of
Streets and Sewers, Clinton H. Fiske,
director.

Guarantee. — The guarantee made
was as follows: To incinerate 80 tons
of garbage in 24 hours without any
nuisance or mal odors; to use not over
8 k.w. electricity for forced draft fans
per ton of garbage; to use not more
than 6 per cent or 120 lbs. of coal
per ton of garbage. Tests show that
this capacity has been raised to at
least 100 ton in 24 hours and that it
required less than 1 k.w. electricity
for each ton of garbage and less than
100 lbs. of coal per ton of garbage.
It has therefore more thau fulfilled
the guarantee.

The plant is being operated 24
hours per day in three 8-hour shifts
and requires three men on the firing
floor, three on charging floor and one
foreman for each 8-hour shift, and is
incinerating garbage without any of-
fensive odors or smoke for $1.00 per
ton or showing a saving of $1.10 per
ton over the present contract of dump-
ing it on barges at $2.10 per ton.

Population in Illinois Supplied With
Purified Water. — The population in
Illinois supplied by the 39 water-puri-
fication plants, on the basis of figures
given by the 1920 census, amounted to
589,385, by the 13 sterilization plants,
3,074,000 (including Chicago), and by
the iron-removal and softening plants
53,515, making a total population of
3,697,231 supplied by artificially
treated water.

288

Water Works

Angus

Behavior of Concrete Exposed to Alkaline
Conditions

Investigations, Their Results and Present Status Outlined in Pape

Presented June 29 at 26th Annual Meeting of American

Society for Testing Materials

By G. M. WILLIAMS

Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

The deterioration of concrete in the
so-called alkaline soils has received
prominence during the last 15 or 20
years, following the development of
irrigation in the Western states. In
numerous instances, irrigation struc-
tures, foundations and other concrete
works have shown signs of failure
after short exposure to the salts in
the soil. Various theories as to the
cause of deterioration were advanced
and it was first believed to be due to
the crystallization of the soluble salts
in the pore space of the concrete,
which action was greatly accelerated
by the use of poor aggregate and
poor methods of preparation and cur-
ing. The problem was further com-
plicated by the fact that not all
concretes exposed to apparently simi-
lar conditions were attacked, tending
to substantiate the theory that aggre-
gates and workmanship were to
blame. The possibility that the de-
terioration was primarily due to re-
action between the salts in solution
and constituents of the cement was
also advanced but was not generally
accepted owing to lack of experimen-
tal verification and the knowledge
that materials and workmanship were
of inferior quality in some cases.

Deterioration Due to Alkali. — Dete-
rioration due to alkali has generally
occurred in the arid or semi-arid sec-
tions of the Western states. The
weathering and breaking down of
rocks by long exposure to the ele-
ments has resulted in the formation
of soil, and the salts of sodium, cal-
cium and magnesium which were once
among the constituents of the rocks
are now found distributed throughout
the soil, usually in greatest amount
in the clays and shales. While most
ground waters carry in solution ap-
preciable quantities of one or more
of these salth, it is in the arid regions
that concentrations are sufficiently

high to result in such waters beinj
classed as alkali waters.

In the humid region, heavy rainfal
for many years has washed most o
these salts from the soil, but in th(
arid and semi-arid districts, a smalle
rainfall together with soils less easil;
drained have resulted in the condi
tions as now found. The excessivi
application of il"rigation water, to
gether with poor drainage facilities
has resulted in a gradual raising o
the soil-water level which has brough
about a high concentration of salts a
the ground surface and a few fee
below.

It is this condition which is respon
sible for most cases of disintegratioi
that have been noted, although then
are localities outside of the irrigate(
sections where surface concentra
tions of salt are small and deterio
ration occurs some distance belov
near the surface has no doubt beei
accelerated by frost action, bu
action is generally absent.

Investigations Prior to 1910. —

Investigations to study the cause o:
deterioration were started in thos(
localities where the trouble was firs'
encountered. The discovery, at about
the same time, of disintegration o;
cement drain tile in Colorado' am
of concrete sewers and culverts al
Great Falls, Mont.,- led to labors
tory studies by State Agricultura
Colleges of Colorado and Montana
Soon after, the Structural Material;
Laboratories of the U. S. Geologica
Survey, then located at St. Louis
investigated conditions on irrigation
projects in South Dakota, Wyoming
and Montana and found cases oi
disintegration of concrete as well as
stones and brick.

The conclusions drawn from thesf
early laboratory investigations ar<
well summarized by the following

* Bulletin No. 13S, Colorado State AKricuUurBl College.
^ BuUetin No. 81, Montana State Agricultural College.'

Water Works

289

f otation from Bulletin No. 81 of

ana State Agricultural College:

18 disintegration of cement by

c'caii salts is principally due to

liction between these salts and the

' "''.im hydroxide necessarily present

: cement. As a result of these

. .ions relatively insoluble new

( Tipounds are formed in the body

f the cement structure. These new

I npounds have greater weight and

' v:.\re greater space than the

>H) replaced. New compounds

apart the particles of cement,

;> awakening or breaking the

hding material."

^ combined field and laboratory

tigation^ of the effect of both

^.^a soils and sea water upon port-

d cement was undertaken by the

ructural Materials Laboratories of

J Geological Survey, and later

msferred to the U. S. Bureau of

suidards. The conclusions drawn

\y be summarized briefly as fol-

Ts:

-Portland cement mortar or con-
ite can be disintegrated by me-
inical means exerted by the
rstallization of almost any salt in
pores if a sufficient amount of
is permitted to accumulate and a
3id formation of crystals is brought
out by drying. Porous stone,
^ck and other materials are dis-
egrated in the same manner. In
} presence of sea water and sim-
t sulfate chloride solutions the
soluble element in the cement
e lime. If the lime of the
t is carbonized it is practically

e."
^th of the foregoing investi-
tions, which were completed prior
1910, it is concluded that deteri-
adon is not due alone to mechan-
and physical disintegration, but
the dissolving effect of the soluble
its on constituents of the cement.
at Portland cement could be dis-
egrated in the laboratory was
U established, but it was also rec-
nized that laboratory conditions
re not in every way comparable
th those encountered in actual
:ictice.

'The Bureau of Standards' First

1 tensive Field Investigation. — The

extensive field investigation*

:hat undertaken by the Bureau

andards in 1913. This involved

the manufacture in a commercial
factory of sixteen varieties or types
of 8-in. cement drain tile and ship-
ment of a carload to each of eleven
localities, in eight of which severe
alkali conditions would be encoun-
tered. These tests of drain tile were
later supplemented by the installa-
tion of concrete blocks in eight dis-
tricts in the west. The ground
waters in these districts varied con-
siderably in concentrations and con-
stituents, but in most cases the
sulfates predominated. In one or
two instances the quantities of
chlorides and sulfates were practi-
cally equal. Sodium or magnesium
was the base usually present in
greatest quantity, with much calcium
in a few cases.

This investigation, comprising as
it does concretes and mortars of the
highest quality and identical speci-
mens exposed in widely separated
districts, has resulted in confirming
and extending the conclusions drawn
in the previous studies. These may
be summarized as follows:

1. The best quality of mortar or
concrete may be disintegrated in
sulfate soils and waters. The dete-
rioration in chloride or carbonate
waters appears to be very slow or
almost entirely lacking.

2. Rapidity of disintegration is
proportional to the sulfate content
of the water.

3. Frost action appears to accel-
erate disintegration in sulfate wa-
ters.

4. Carbonizing of the lime at and
near the outer surface of a struc-
ture will not prevent disintegration.
While this carbonized coat may be
immune or very slowly affected, it
is permeable and the uncarbonized
portions within may be attacked and
result in the shelling off of the car-
bonized surface.

5. Tar protective coatings are not
permanent.

6. Concentrations of alkali waters
may vary as much as several hun-
dred per cent in distances only a few
feet apart.

Field Investigations in Canada. —
The alkali-concrete problem of the
Western states is also encountered
in the Prairie Provinces of Canada.
In 1918, the Calgary Branch of the
Engineering Institute of Canada

r. S. Bureau of Standards, Technologic Paper No. 12.
■" U. S. Bureau of Standards, Technologic Papers Nos. 95 and 2H.
' Journal, Engineering Institute of Canada, September, 1921.

290

Water Works

Augus

started a field investigation' by ex-
posing blocks of different qualities
of concrete, some of which were
coated with various surface prepa-
rations, to sulfate waters. Observa-
tion of changes taking place has led
to practically the same conclusions
as were drawn from the Bureau of
Standards' study.

In 1919, test specimens were pre-
pared at the University of Saskatch-
ewan and exposed to sulfate wa-
ters at Saskatoon. Here the water
was encountered at a depth of 6 to
8 ft. below the ground surface,
thereby eliminating possibility of
frost action in the tests. Good qual-
ity of concrete was affected and in
one instance an inferior quality a
small distance away was apparently
unaffected. Analyses of the soil
waters showed a much higher con-
centration surrounding the higher
quality concrete.

In 1921, the Structural Materials
Research Laboratory of Lewis Insti-
tute commenced an extensive field
investigation by installing concrete
specimens of widely different quali-
ties in two alkali districts in the
United States and supplemented by
the exposure of smaller groups in
three districts in Western Canada.
While sufficient time has not elapsed
to draw definite or final conclusions,
the results obtained after one year's
exposure are very similar to those
found in the same length of time
by the previous investigations.

The Second Phase of the Investi-
gation.— All of the foregoing in-
vestigations may be considered as
establishing the first phase of the
investigation — definitely fixing the
problem — and demonstrating the
fact that disintegration is primarily
a chemical action, rather than a
physical disruption, and indicating
the variable factors and conditions
which must be met in practical work.
The second phase of the work in-
volves the discovery of means, ma-
terials and methods for eliminating
the possibility of disintegration in
future work. Two distinct methods of
approach are available. It is possi-
ble that a continuation of the field
studies by the preparation of many
different concretes containing various
materials may lead to the produc-
tion of a concrete which will be
immune to attack. The second
method is to study in the laboratory

the constituents of cement and th
reactions which take place whe
they come in contact with the dif
ferent salts found in the soil. This
of course, requires a study of th
reactions involved in the hardenin;
and setting of cement, which in itsel
is a subject concerning which muc'
is yet unknown. This second metho
is the scientific method of attack an
will no doubt be more effective tha
the former. ■

A Committee on Deterioration o
Concrete in Alkali Soils, appoint©
by the Engineering Institute o
Canada in 1921, after considerin]
the conclusions reached by previou
investigators, decided that little fui
ther progress could be made by fiel
studies and that its energies shoul
be mainly directed towards a stud
of the chemical reactions involvec
As a result, only sufficient field wor
is being done to try out in a practica
way a number of waterproofing an
alkaliproofing compounds which ar
now on the market, while th
greater portion of a $40,000 fun^
contributed by the Research Counci
of Canada, the Prairie Provinces
cities and interested corporations i
being devoted to chemical researcli
While it will be some time befor
definite results can be expected fv'"i
the chemical research, it is intei
ing to note that conclusions dr;
from previous investigations as ti
the action being primarily chemica
have again been verified. No nev
conclusions are as yet available fron
the field tests except that the re
suits obtained with admixtures an(
integral compounds have withou
exception been discouraging, whicl
further emphasizes the committee';
decision that all efforts at presen
should be directed toward the chem
ical research.

Additional investigative work whicl
should add much to our knowledg*
of this problem is that now beint
conducted in connection with th(
work of the Society's Committee C-(
on Drain Tile. At Iowa State Col
lege the effects of various salt solu
tions on mortars are being studied
while the Drainage Division of th(
U. S. Bureau of Public Roads, ii
cooperation with the state of Min-
nesota, is doing much to improve th(
quality of drain tile in that statf
where deterioration of cement tilt
has occurred.

Status of Use of Concrete in

Water Works

291

vikaline Soils. — The status of the
of concret"? in alkaline soils may
ammed up briefly as follows:

i. In many districts of the West-
ni states and Canada there are
leas where the salt content of the
3il is high and concrete cannot be
-ed with assurance of success.

2. Study of field conditions indi-
ates that deterioration of concrete
.ructures is almost entirely confined
) regions where the sulfate type
renominates. Good quality concrete

apparently being successfully used
1 chloride and carbonate soils.

S. Rapidity of disintegration va-

e> directly as the sulfate concentra-

011.

4. Where concentrations are per-
lanently low, good quality concrete
p pears to have a life which fully
i-tifies its use.

Concentration of salt in ground
er may be extremely variable at
•jiiits short distances apart. There
!so appears to be seasonal or yearly
ariation in some districts.
tj. Concrete of high quality is
ust resistant to action. High qual-
y for exposure to alkaline condi-
uiiri is measured by impermeability
resistance to passage of water
iiough the mass under pressure.
he one big factor necessary to
■cure low permeability is high ce-
ent content, so that high compres-
ve strength can generally be used
i a criterion of low permeability,
onsistency, within practical work-
ig limits, and gradation of aggre-
gate are secondary factors in obtain-
g a concrete of low permeability.

7. Where alkali conditions are
lad, the factor of safety against

dlure can be greatly increased by
Inploying proper drainage precau-
)ns.

8. The employment of a mem-
ji-ane waterproofing may prevent

'■:tion for a time at least, but such
method is not practicable under
1 conditions.

9. Portland cement, as now con-
ituted, is inherently subject to
tack by sulfates in the soil and
ound water and the practical and
\a[ settlement of the alkali-concrete
roblem is dependent upon modifica-
on of, or the discovery of some

[laterial which may be added to,
"rtland cement to make it immune
>uch action.

New Development in Apprentice-
ship Training

A novel scheme for the training of
apprentices has been worked out by
the Associated Tile Manufacturers,
the Tile and Mantel Contractors' As-
sociation of America, and the Brick-
layers', Masons' and Plasterers' In-
ternational Union of America, accord-
ing to the Weekly Bulletin of the
National Association Building Trades
Employers. The plan provides for 20
scholarships at the Dunwoody Insti-
tute, Minneapolis, Minn., for a period
beginning June 4th and ending Aug.
31st, the entire cost of which will be
borne by the Associated Tile Manufac-
turers. One scholarship will be
awarded in each of the following
cities to the candidate selected by the
local Joint Arbitration Board of the
Tile and Mantel Contractors' Associa-
tion and the Bricklayers', Masons' and
Plasterers' International Union of
America: Atlanta, Baltimore, Bos-
ton, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati,
Kansas City, Louisville, Milwaukee,
Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Duluth,
Minneapolis, New Orleans, Omaha,
Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, St. Louis
and Washington.

Each scholarship includes carfare
to and from Minneapolis, $10 per week
for 13 weeks to cover board and room;
all tuition and text material; use of
all tools needed and construction ma-
terials. All candidates for scholar-
ships must be over 16 years of age
and under 25, and must have a med-
ical certificate showing their physical
fitness to follow the trade.

All candidates must be without pre-
vious experience or training in tile
setting or helping and agree to serve
out his apprenticeship of three years
with the agreement that the success-
ful completion of the three months'
course at Dunwoody Institute will be
recognized as the first six months of
such term.

A course of instruction has been
worked out which will furnish the
apprentices with the fundamental
principles of the trade, and if care-
fully followed should result in de-
veloping unusually high type work-
men.

292

Water Works

Augu

Higher Steam Pressures and

Improvement in Station

Economy

A Paper Read at the 1923 Convention
of National Electric Light Asso-
ciation in New York

By F. H. BUSHNEL

Development in the art of steam
power production is just now proceed-
ing with such rapidity that it is some-
what difficult to preserve a clear con-
ception of its progress. However, the
measure of station economy which it
already promises can be expressed in
the slogan — a kilowatt hour for a
pound of coal. Designers of power
stations and of station equipment are
now entirely confident of attaining
this mark. They feel that the means
for its accomplishment have finally
presented themselves, and that only
the perfection of detail is now re-
quired. One of these means is the
use of much higher steam pressures
than have heretofore been considered
practicable.

Following the general replacement
of reciprocating engines by turbines,
which first made the use of relatively
high steam pressures and tempera-
tures really practically on a large
scale, there were many years dur-
ing which a pressure of 200 pounds
and a total temperature of about 500
degrees were looked upon as stand-
ard for even the largest installations.
It is but two or three years since
the advance to 350 pounds and 700
degrees made it appear that the limit
of efficiency was being closely ap-
proached. Even within the past year,
the discussion of improvement has
centered largely about the arrange-
ment of auxiliaries rather than about
more basic changes. Now, and with
some suddenness, we are made to
realize that the development of mate-
rials and methods will permit the use
of two or three times the customary
steam pressures and that the higher
efficiency theoretically permitted by
such pressures may be realized with-
out involving temperatures which are
unsafe for our materials. Higher
pressures can be provided for — higher
temperatures which must await fur-
ther development in metallurgy.

It has long been appreciated that
the percentage of the total heat in
steam theoretically available for con-
version into work, continues to in-
crease with rising pressure up to ex-

tremely high pressures, although
a decreasing rate. This advantai
cannot, however, be fully realiz(
while using the customary straig'
condensing cycle, as the efficieni
with which the turbin can utilize tl
available heat falls off quite rapid
with the increasing pressure. Tl
economical compromise between the
two conflicting factors indicates th
there is little net advantage in e
ceeding pressures of 350 or 4(
pounds while using the customai
cycle of operation. If it were pra
ticable to supply the high pressu:
steam at a sufficiently high initi
temperature, straight condensing tu
bines would doubtless continue ■
maintain a satisfactory efficiency ui
der the higher initial pressure. Wil
the practicable temperatures definit
ly limited, the increased range of e:
pansion causes the steam to becon
saturated too early to permit tl
lower stages of the turbine to pe
form their function most advantag
ously.

The obvious method of preventir
too early saturation is to restore tl
temperature of the steam by passir
it through a reheater at an inte
mediate point in its expansion, thi
maintaining favorable conditioi
throughout the turbine, and permi
ting the advantage of high pressui
to be realized. Although this methc
is similar in some respects to the ui
of the reheating receiver in conne^
tion with reciprocating engines,
differs greatly in that the additioni
heat is supplied directly from tl
furnace instead of through the nie(
ium of steam. The method is ne
only in its application to the problei
of utilizing higher pressures.

As a sequence to these develo]
ments, it is already being definite!
planned to use steam pressures up 1
1,200 pounds in commercial installi
tions. We are even informed, throug
the technical press, that for an e>
perimental plant in England, steal
is to be generated at the critical pre;
sure of 3,200 pounds, where water an
steam are one.

We are asked for assurance thJ
the pursuit of higher _ efficienc
through higher pressures is procee(
ing along lines which are reall
sound and that this new developmer
promises to secure greater econom
in dollars as well as to satisfy tl;
engineers' pride of performance. W
are confident that such assuranc
may be given. Our boilermakers ar

Water Works

293

)ine builders do not question their
ity to produce reliable equipment
generating and utilizing steam up
it least 1,200 pounds. There is no
posal to exceed temperatures
ch materials have not already
zed their ability to -withstand.
ely our station designers may be
*ed to provide the remaining re-
dtes of proper coordination and
mgement. An analysis of the re-
lements shows no problems of a
libitive nature, nor any measures
idi may be termed too experiment-
er commercial application.
I order to be economically war-
i«d, any station improvement
!t show an operating saving
iter than the increase in carrving
rges which it occasions. There
strong indications that the em-
inent of higher steam pressure
meet this requirement in a way
; is almost without precedent. The
cost of a high pressure station
nises to be comparable with that
I station of equal generating ca-
ty using the lower pressures now
ddered standard. The anticipated
Bg in operation should therefore
>ractically a net saWng. This re-
S from the fact that the extra
of heavier construction or addi-
al equipment required for the use
he higher pressure will be largely
iterbalanced by the additional
idty which is made available,
kilowatt output per rated boiler
je power will be greatly increased.
^ "^ will be thicker, but smaller in

nust not be inferred that all of
nprovement is to come without
le and effort, or that any one
L^ement will fit all load condi-

or that the initial installations
leave nothing to be desired.

is already a variety of arrange-

offered for utilizing the higher
ires in conjunction with the re-
V? cycle. We may choose be-

a single turbine arranged for
ction and return of the reheated
, and tandem arrangement with
and low pressure turbines driv-
e sanie generator, and the cross-
lund arrangement of two or

distinct units which may be

adjacent or widely separated

e station. Problems of design

to demand that the pressure

:he single reheating unit be

'i to 500 or 600 pounds. For

r pressures one of the other two

ngements is probably to be pre-

ferred. The efficiency of the cycle de-
mands that the reheating be accom-
plished with the lowest possible loss
of pressure and this requirement ac-
cordingly has an important bearing
upon the arrangement selected. Con-
trol of the temperature of the re-
heated steam must likewise be care-
fully provided for, especially where a
varying load is to be carried. In one
arrangement promising reasonable
flexibility as well as the highest effi-
ciency, a relatively small and simple
high pressure turbine will, for each
individual boiler, reduce the pressure
of the steam from 1,200 pounds to
375 pounds and deliver it through a
reheater, in the same boiler setting,
to a main header supphing turbines
of the present standard type. Some
variations of this method are already
being considered for extending or re-
habilitating existing stations.

There is no intention to iniply that
high steam pressure alone will be re-
sponsible for all of the promised im-
provement in station economy. Heat-
ing of the feed water by multi-stage
bleeding of the main turbines is an
important measure still remaining to
be fully applied. Auxiliaries must be
more carefully selected to reduce
their power demand at all station
loads — and such power should be de-
rived from the main turbines where
it is most economically produced. The
design of stokers and furnaces and
the arrangement of heating surfaces
in boilers, superheaters and econo-
mizers, have shown marked improve-
ment. Improvement in stokers and
the development of pulverized coal
equipment now permit all commercial
grades of coal to be burned with sur-
prisingly high efficiency.

As the means for securing higher
economy have increased in number,
there has also been an increase in
the complexity of their interrelation.
More than ever will the over-all re-
sult depend upon their proper co-
ordination for the conditions to be
met. By utilizing these available
means and with their harmony of
operation assured, the performance of
even a 350 pound station may, under
favorable load, approach within a fair
range of the immediate goal which
we have set. It is by adding the
further improvement of about ten per
cent, which calculations promise for
the change to 1,000 pounds pressure
and the reheating cvcle, that we mav
deliver a kilowatt hour for a pound
of gDod coal.

294 Water Works Augu

Effect of Industrial Wastes on Water Supplies

Progress Report of Committee Presented May 24 at Annual Coi
vention of American Water Works Association

With the rapid growth of industries
the injurious etiects of industrial
wastes on water supplies and water
purification processes are becoming
more and more important. Serious
trouble from this source has already
been experienced in numerous places,
as this report shows.

Effect on Public Water Supplies.

— Certain wastes, alone or in combi-
nation, may have beneficial effects on
the water supply by disinfecting ac-
tion or clarification, but most indus-
trial wastes are detrimental to water
supplies. The injury depends upon
the character and relative quantities
of the substances discharged, with
effects which may be classified as fol-
lows :

1. Suspended or colloidal mineral
matters which increase turbidity and
add to the difficulty and expense of
coagulation or of filtration, as, for
example, coal and ore washing wastes.

2. Dissolved mineral matter im-
pairing the quality of the water and
increasing the difficulty and expense
of water purification, as, for example,
acid mine drainage and salt water
from oil wells.

3. Vegetable and animal organic
matters in solution or in suspension,
which increase the color, turbidity,
suspended matter and bacterial con-
tent, thereby increasing the difficulty
and expense of water purification, as,
for example, beet sugar refinery
wastes and tannery wastes.

4. Taste and odor producing sub-
stances, either organic or mineral in
nature, as, for example, phenols in
the wastes from gas and coke manu-
facturing, and sulphite liquors from
paper pulp mills.

5. Substances, either organic or
mineral, tending to stimulate growths
of organisms and thereby increase the
difficulty and expense of treatment,
as, for example, organic sulphur com-
pounds in wool scouring wastes, and
mineralized nitrogen from oxidation
of organic wastes of various kinds.

6. Harmful bacteria, as, for ex-
ample, the anthrax bacilli in tannery
wastes.

7. Poisons, as, for example, cyanide

from the cyanide process of gold e
traction.

The committee has obtained info
mation through a questionnaire fro
public officials, water works manage
and other sources indicating that 2'
water supplies, widely aistribut
throughout the United States ai
Canada, have been affected by indu
trial wastes. The information o
tained is valuable but incomplete.

Sugar Refinery Waste s. — T I
water supplies oi Defiance, Napoiei
and Toledo, G., derived from t
Maumee River, encountered disagn
able tastes and odors during the wi
ter months of 1920 when the strea
was completely frozen over. T
trouble was attributed to oxygen c
pletion and anaerobic decompositi
of vegetable organic matter, believ
to be due in large part to wastes fn
beet sugar refineries. Color and hi
teria in the river water increased a
ordinary purification facilities, i
eluding storage, aeration, filtrati
and chlorination, were only partia
effective.

Along the same line the Michig
Department of Health reports fi
killed and offensive odors created
the Raisin River below a large b<
sugar plant, though no water su
plies were affected in this case.

Coal Washery Wastes. — In IS
the pollution of the Philadelpl
water supply by finely divided a
and dirt from washing of anthrac
coal was a subject of litigation. Wai
from some of the coal washeries c(
tained over 63,000 parts per milli
of suspended solids. Other water sv
plies in the anthracite regions
Pennsylvania and West Virginia a
in the southern bituminous fie
have been affected in a simil
manner. '

Acid Wastes From Coal Mining
The acid wastes from coal mini
operations, by reason of the numl
of supplies affected, probably outra
all other sources of industrial pol
tion. In Pennsylvania alone it is es
mated th^t over 850 million gallon.s
water are pumped each day from 1
mines of anthracite field and nea
as much more from the bituminc

Water Works

295

strict. It is estimated that these
aters and the discharge irom the
asheries carry more than 3,000 tons
-r day oi' free sulphuric acid and
:d salts. In this state 96 public
ater works, supplying nearly 45 per
nt of the total population, are af-
•ted. The estimated cost to the
ate of such pollution is more than
ght million dollars annually. At
McKeesport, Pa., the Youghi'ogheny
River, formerly used for water sup-
'y after filtration and softening, he-
me polluted to such an extent as to
irecssitate a change in the source of
apply. The acidity of the river
water was at times as high as 390
parts per million. The Pennsylvania
Department of Health reports other
cases in the state where a change of
supply has been made necessary on
account of hea^•y acid pollution.

In West Virginia, the Department
of Health reports 10 water supplies
affected by acid mine drainage.

Unneutralized acid mine drainage,
although tending to reduce bacteria
by disinfection, affects the appear-
ance of the stream, destroys fish life,
causes corrosion of pumps, distribu-
tion systems and house plumbing and
entails extra expense for treatment.
One great difficulty is that old and
abandoned coal mines continue to
3rield acid drainage for years, due to
the extraction of sulphur by water
flowing through gob piles both within
and without the mines.

k Neutralization of mine drainage
ith lime, followed by filtration, has
;en found effective at some places
but the resulting sulphate of lime
may assume such proportions as to
affect prejudically the water for
steam raising purposes. Softening
by soda ash is sometimes resorted to,
but is expensive and has certain limi-
tations in practice.

Mountain Water Supply Co. vs.
lelcroft Coal Co.— On Dec. 26, 1922,
idge Van Swearingen of the Com-
)n Pleas Court of Fayette County,
Bnnsylvania, handed down an opinion
id decree refusing an injunction
Jught by the Mountain Water Sup-
ply Co., a subsidiary of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad, to restrain coal com-
panies operating in Indian Creek Val-
ley above the reservoir of the water
company from permitting mine water
to flow into the Indian Creek or its
tributaries. The litigation began in
1920 when the plaintiffs filed a bill in

equity against the Melcroft Coal Co.,

and It IS oi: great importance in re-
lation to the pollution of streams by
acid wastes resulting from coal min-
ing operations. Some of the basic
elements of the case are taken from
the extensive opinion of the court, em-
bracing some 98 typewritten pages,
as follows:

1. Indian Creek has a drainage area
of about 130 square miles. Its head
waters are in Westmoreland County
and it flows in a southwesterly direc-
tion across Fayette Coimty, entering
the Youghiogheny River about ten
miles above the city of Connellsville.
Up to ten or fifteen years ago this
watershed was of rural character,
occupied by a population of about
2,50u, who were largely engaged in
farming operations and who operated
a few small country mines for local
use. The waters of Indian Creek
were then fairly pure and well
adapted for domestic use and steam-
raising purposes.

2. About sixteen years ago the water
company built a storage reservoir
holding 251 mg. and also about 141
miles of pipe lines for distributing
this water along the branch lines of
the Pennsylvania Railroad extending
as far west as Pittsburgh. The dry
weather flow of this stream is nomi-
nally rated at 6.5 million gallons
daily, but, with the aid of storage,
something like 10 million gallons
daily have been delivered to the rail-
road and to the Westmoreland Water
Co., for supplementing its limited
supply for industrial and domestic
consumers in the Greensburg district.

3. When the reservoir was built, it
was kno\\-n that the watershed was
underlaid by seams of the lower pro-
ductive measures of bituminous coal.
The lower Kittanning seam ranges
from about 36 to 58 in. in thickness
and above the storage reservoir there
are about 43,000 acres of this coal vein.
Coal mining has been quite extensively
developed with the aid of a railroad
now extending well toward the head-
waters. The tonnage of coal shipped
by rail from this valley prior to 1914
approximated 15,800 tons in the ag-
gregate, but later acti\ities increased
the output in 1918 to 181,000. in 1921
to 329.600 and during the first half
of 1922 to 300,000 tons. The mined
out area increased from about three
acres in 1914 to about fifty acres in
1922. The population is now esti-

296

Water Works

August

mated at from 6,000 to 6,500, mostly
in villages near the stream.

4. The flow of mine water depends
upon rainfall and other local condi-
tions, but approximated 1,760 gal.
daily per acre mined out. This flow
diminishes somewhat after mining op-
erations cease but the acid content
due to sulphuric acid may continue
high and even increase due to drain-
age passing through the bone coal and
gob piles.

5. The reservoir water now needs
filtratioi. to make it suitable for do-
mestic use and for some ten years the
expected acidity of the mine water
will not require neutralization and
softening to a greater extent than is
now practiced by many public water
companies and municipalities.

6. After a period of ten years the
construction of storage dams on the
upper parts of Indian Creek or some
of its tributaries may provide diluting
water so that the water of the present
reservoir may be handled by usual
and customary methods of treatment
to make it fit for domestic and indus-
trial purposes.

7. In considering the remedial
measures it was held that it is not
feasible or practicable for any or all
of the coal operators of this valley to
treat the mine water at the mines
?.nd that such treatment would entail
an unreasonable expenditure. Further,
on account of practical and eco-
nomical difficulties it is not feasible
for the coal operators to carry mine
water below the storage reservoir.

8. The court ruled that neutraliza-
tion or softening or other treatment
of the Indian Creek water by the
water company if, when and as neces-
sary, will not entail an unreasonable
burden on the plaintiff water com-
pany.

This decision is in line with the
Sanderson case (113 Pa. 126) decided
nearly 40 years ago in favor of a
coal company as against a lower
riparian owner through whose estate
f-owed a brook which was fouled by
coal mine drainage and the water
made unsuitable for domestic pur-
poses. In the Melcroft case, the court
balanced equities under local condi-
tions where the coal mine operators
were held to be pursuing a proper and
natural use of their lands, with cost
of remedial measures approaching
property confiscation and where the

Mountain Water Supply Co. was held
to have no power oi eminent domain
and with the Westmoreland Water
Co. viewed as nothing more than a
purchaser of water from the Moun-
tain Water Supply Co. The state
Department of Health of Pennsyl-
vania has no jurisdiction in respect
to coal mine drainage or discharges]
from tanneries. This litigation re-j
lated therefore to common law and'
not to statutory proceedings.

Gas and By-product Coke Wastes.

— The great increase in the coal dis-
tillation industry has had a marked
and widespread effect on water sup-
plies, by imparting disagreeable
tastes and odors to the water, par-
ticularly after chlorination. The
state Boards of Health of Indiana,
Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsyl-
vania, West Virginia and Wisconsin
report altogether some 50 water sup-
plies affected in this way. The indus-
trial plants giving rise to this kind
of pollution are gas works, producer
gas plants, by-product coke ovens and
manufacturies receiving the products
of these plants and extracting chem-
icals by further distillation and sep-
arating processes. The objectionable
wastes come very largely from the
tar saparators, ammonia, benzol and
naplithalene stills, together with thSj
residues and sludges from various]
parts of the plant.

It is becoming generally recognized
that the odor and taste from these
"creosotes" or "phenols" is greatly
accentuated by chlorination of the
water supply due to formation of
chlorphenols or other substitution
products.

The tastes produced have been
variously described as "chemical,";
"creosote," "hospital," "medicinal,'
"carbolic acid," or "iodoform." Per-
sistence of the taste in dilution as i
great as 1 part of waste to 10 million
parts of water or after passage by
stream as far as 70 miles has been
reliably reported.

At Milwaukee obnoxious tastes in
the chlorinated water supply were
shown to be due to coal tar derivatives
discharged from coke and phenol
plants directly or indirectly into Lake
Michigan from which the city takes
its water supply. Tastes in the
chlorinated water were reported in
dilutions of one part of phenol to 500
million parts of water.

Pollution by c^al distillation wastes

1923

Water Works

297

have been studied in several states of
the middle ■vpest and along the Atlantic
coast in the last few years.

An extended series of tests to de-
termine the cause of tastes and odors
in the Cleveland water supply led to
the conclusion that they were due
principally to the waste liquors from
ammonia stills of by-product coke
oven plants.

An extensive joint investigation has
recently been made by the city of
Chicago and the Chicago Sanitary
District to determine the effect of pol-
lution, including coal tar wastes, en-
tering the Calumet River and Lake
Michigan upon the quality of the
water supply taken from the 68th
Street and Dunne cribs. The con-
clusion reached was that the probable
concentration of polluting material,
'. reaching the two cribs, was insufB-
I cient to cause taste in the supply. In
Appendix IV of the report of the
Chief Engineer of the Chicago Sani-
tary District, are given results of
tests to determine the lowest dilutions
of various phenol wastes required to
give taste with chlorinated impolluted
lake water. Wastes from gas and
coke industries could be detected in
dilutions of 1,000 to 100,000 volumes
of lake water. The intensification of
the tastes due to chlorine was found
to be much less than reported by ob-
servers in other localities.

No satisfactory method for water
purification has been found to elimi-
nate the tastes and odors due to
phenol wastes. At Youngstown, O.,
excess lime treatment is reported as
being successful in reducing objection-
able odors and tastes. At Newcastle,
Pa., a considerable reduction of the
phenol content of the raw water by
the use of iron and lime as coagulant
in connection with filtration has been
reported.

For taking care of the wastes at
the source the West Virginia Depart-
ment of Health reports success in one
case by pooling in porous ground.

The Pennsylvania Department of
Health has been obliged to take meas-
ures to prevent entry of such indus-
trial wastes in the streams above the
water supply intake. A practical and
effective remedy in some cases has
been foimd in the evaporation of the
objectionable wastes from by-product
coke plants by using them for quench-
ing the glowing coke. In one case the
residual wastes from a water gas

plant remaining after re-circulation
of the settling basin eflfiuent through
the gas scrubbers were treated with
ferrous-sulphate and filtered through
coke breeze, after which it is used for
boiler water.

Plants suggested in Wisconsin for
the treatment of gas house wastes
have been described by E. J. Tulley.
They comprise retention imits for
separation of tar and light oil, aera-
tion, chemical treatment with lime or
copper and lime, sedimentation and
double filtration through coke contact
beds and gravel sand filters. No in-
formation is available as to the prac-
tical workings of this process.

In connection with the activated
sludge process of sewage treatment
at Milwaukee, Mr. Copeland has
found (7th annual report of the Sew-
age Commission, 1920) that the ac-
tivated sludge process was able to
handle sewage containing consider-
able amounts of phenol and that the
process removed a substantial portion
of them. The results of these tests
indicate that the activated sludge
plant now being constructed in Mil-
waukee will materially protect the
lake water supply from tastes pro-
duced by phenol discharge into the
city sewers.

Wood Distillation Wastes. — Plants
employing the destructive distillation
of wood for the recovery of wood
alcohol, acetate of lime, creosote oils
and charcoal are reported as affecting
water supplies in a number of the
states and in the Province of Quebec.

Troublesome wastes consist of the
spent still liquors, residues from the
stills and certain sludges and crude
tars. These wastes impart a pro-
nounced "smok3r" taste and character-
istic "creosote" ordor. Unlike the coal
tar phenols, the taste and odor from
the wood distillation wastes appear to
be intensified little by chlorination.

The Wisconsin Department of
Health reports tastes and odors from
wood distillation plants to have oc-
curred mainly during the winter
months when the lakes were frozen.

In Pennsylvania evaporation of the
wastes, discharge into abandoned
quarries or distribution on the ground
surfaces at distances from the
streams, are methods found effective
according to the Department of
Health.

At Marquette, Mich., the remedy

298

Water Works

August

proposed was the evaporation of the
most objectionable wastes to 25 per
cent of their original volume and
utilization of this residue as liquid
fuel.

A disagreeable taste in the water
supply of Elizabeth, N. J., was found
to be due to creosote oils spilled
around the building and washed into
a brook contributing to the water
supply. In this case chlorination was
found to increase the taste materially,
but aeration caused a marked reduc-
tion.

Aeration by means of fine spray
nozzles is being tried at one Penn-
sylvania water plant for the elimina-
tion of tastes and odors due to wood
distillation wastes, after experience
had shown that ordinary aeration fol-
lowed by filtration failed to eliminate
the disagreeable qualities.

Corn Products Wastes. — One water
supply in Indiana is reported as being
polluted by wastes from gluten set-
tlers at a corn products factory.
These wastes affected the appearance
of the raw water, caused a marked
increase in bacterial growth and im-
parted an odor and taste. Increased
amounts of chemicals were required
in coagulation and the chlorine dose
had to be raised. A testing station
for the experimental treatment of
corn products wastes is being oper-
ated by the Chicago Sanitary District
at Argo, 111., to determine the best
method of treating such wastes.

Wastes From Manufacture of Dyes
and Intermediates. — Two water sup-
plies in New Jersey afre reported to
have been affected by the wastes from
the manufacture of dyes and inter-
mediates, the trouble manifesting it-
self in an objectionable taste in the
water,

The New Jersey State Department
of Health reports that, as the result
of injunction proceedings brought to
prevent the pollution of the Rahway
River, the source of water supply for
the city of Rahway, by wastes from
the manufacture of dyes, the manu-
facturing concern is now treating the
industrial wastes by the method of
chemical precipitation witii lime and
copperas, followed by filtration
through sand.

Wastes From Manufacture of Mu-
nitions.— The wastes from munitions
plants are in much the same class as
those from dye works. At Kenvil,
N. J., the State Department of Health

found that the "ether" and "chemical"
tastes in the water from individual
wells on the outskirts of the town
were caused by wastes from a inuni-
tions plant taken in solution by storm
water and gradually percolating into
the underground stratum in which the
wells are located. A new source of
water supply will probably be neces-
sary.

The New York State Department
of Health reports one water supply
affected by picric acid from a TNT
plant. This imparted a yellow color
to the water and produced very objec-
tionable odors and tastes against
which the ordinary purification facil-
ities were ineffective.

The Superior Board of Health of
the Province of Quebec reports one
water supply affected by acid wastes
from a powder works. The remedy
consisted in neutralizing the acidity
prior to the discharge of the wastes.

Leatherboard Wastes. — The Board
of Health of New Hampshire reports
one water supply affected by leather-
board wastes which clog the slow
sand filter. The amount of suspended
solids discharged into the stream has
been greatly reduced in recent years
by sedimentation.

Metal Pickling and Galvanizing
Wastes. — Seven water supplies in
Ohio are reported to be affected by
metal pickling and galvanizing
wastes. The objectionable substances
consist of free acid and acid salts
which affect the appearance of the
raw water, and interfere with coagu-
lation. Lime treatment and filtration
have been found effective, although
soda in addition would be required to
offset the increased sulfate hardness
resulting from neutralization.

Metallurgical Mining Wastes. — In

the mining industry considerable ore
is milled by the oil flotation process
from which comes a very large vol-
ume of waste consisting mostly of
finely pulverized rock. This material
is usually ponded without difficulty,
but one water supply in California is
reported by the State Board of Health
to have been affected. Increase of
turbidity was the only objectionable
effect in this instance.

In Colorado some of the most beau-
tiful streams have been ruined by the
tailings from mines against which
pollution some court injunctions have
been issued, as is true of the cyanide
process for ore extraction where

Water Works

299

tanks might drain into the
arce of water supply.
In California the pollution of water
pplies by the cyanide process has
en occasionally alleged although not
finitely established.
The California Board of Health re-
rts one case where the spent
luors from the plant of a copper
mpany appeared to have a benefi-
»1 effect by reason of its disinfect-
g action on the sewage contami-
.ted river used as a source of water
pply.

Oil Wells— Crude Oil and Salt
ater. — Crude oil spilled into water
pplies affects appearance, odor and
ste, interferes with coagulation, fil-
ation and chlorination. The slow
nd filtration plant at Pittsburgh has
i«i reported as troubled with par-
Sns which encrust the sand grains
id interfere with normal operation

the filters.

By far the most serious effect on

ater supplies of oil well operation

that due to the discharge of s^t
ater from the wells with the oil.
16 salt wastes affect palatability of
e water and limit the usefulness of
e water for boiler use and indus-
ial purposes. The trouble from salt
illution is quite widespread and has
the subject of litigation in many
ates and has resulted in more than
le city changing its source of supply.
In Oklahoma not only the streams
■e reported to be generally affected
it the ground water as well, by rea-
m of ineffectively plugged and aban-
med oil wells.
Oil Refinery Wastes. — Much trouble

reported from Kansas and other
I producing states on account of the
aste waters from oil refineries
hich sometimes affect the water
applies by causing very serious
stes and odors. The Kansas State
oard of Health reports many Kan-
is supplies affected by the wash
ater from the agitators in which
ude gasoline and kerosene are puri-
ijd. Independence, Missouri, is re-
>rted to have been affected by oil
ifinery wastes. Water supplies at
le south end of Lake Michigan at
ast Chicago and Whiting, have been
milarly affected. Other cases of
oUution by oil refineries are reported
lOm Pennsylvania, Texas and the
rovince of Quebec.

Paper Pulp Mills. — Water supplies
I a number of states are reported as

having trouble with wastes incident
to manufacture of woodpulp. The
wood fibre itself has caused some
trouble, but the greatest damage done
to the stream by mills of this char-
acter is due to the discharge of waste
sulphite liquor which imparts a very
high color, difficult to remove, even
when greatly diluted. The presence
of these wastes retard coagulation,
call for a greatly increased dose of
coagulant and of chlorine required to
stenlize. Aeration after coagulation
and sedimentation has been of value,
in at least one instance, in treatment
of a water supply contaminated with
sulphite waste. Disagreeable tastes
and odors are caused by sulphite
wastes, if present in appreciable
quantities.

Sawdust. — The State Department
of Health of New Hampshire reports
that in a few instances the operation
of saw mills has affected water sup-
plies by imparting color.

The State Board of Health of Ore-
gon reports that chlorination plants,
located in small cities, have been af-
fected by sawdust discharged from
sawmills on the streams used for
water supply.

Tannery Wastes. — Replies to the
questionnaire show one supply in New
York, two in Pennsylvania and four
in West Virginia affected by tannery
wastes. This number is probably far
short of the number of supplies more
or less affected. Tannery wastes con-
tain much organic matter and
markedly increase the color and in
some cases the turbidity and bacterial
content of the supply.

Treatment of these wastes at the
source has been partially successful
in West Virginia where lagooning is
used. Tannery wastes are susceptible
to treatment by sewage purification
processes. There are a number of
such treatment plants in Massachu-
setts where well purified effluents are
produced.

Studies made by the United States
Public Service and published in Bul-
letin 100 indicate that tannery wastes
may be treated so that the effluent
will not unduly affect water purifica-
tion plants provided the same factors
of time and dilution are allowed as
considered necessary in dealing with
a water supply containing sewage.
Consideration must be given to pos-
sible danger from anthrax germs
when dealing with tannery wastes.

300

Water Works

Augu

Textile Wastes. — Spent dye liquors,
scouring and washing wastes and
bleach liquors are the substances re-
ported as most troublesome from
textile industry. These wastes affect
the appearance and oxygen demand
of the stream and have been the cause
of tastes in water supplies.

Solution for Water Supply Prob-
lems Due to Industrial Wastes. —
There are three general methods of
attacking problems of water supply
resulting from the discharge of in-
dustrial wastes.

1. Treatment of the polluted water.

2. Treatment of industrial wastes
prior to discharge.

3. Elimination of industrial wastes
from the source of water supply.

There are some kinds of industrial
waste which may be handled by water
purification plants without serious
overload or impairment of the quality
of purified water. In other cases, the
pollution may be of such nature and
of such amount as to necessitate spe-
cial treatment at the water purifica-
tion plant with closer supervision and
increased operating cost. There are
some wastes, however, which are of
such obnoxious character that ordi-
nary purification plants are not able
to handle them successfully. Feasi-
bility of recovery of valuable by-
products from industrial wastes must
not be overlooked.

Preventive measures are needed to
control the discharge of industriai
wastes into existing or potential
sources of water supply. Due regard
must be had for established industries
and arbitrary and unreasonable meas-
ures should not be used against them.
The problem must be considered from
the broad viewpoint of public welfare.

When these problems are confined
to a single state the control should
be placed in the hands of State
Boards of Health and new laws and
modification of existing laws should
be enacted wherever necessary to ena->
ble these boards to control effectively
the situation. Adeauate appropria-
tions for field and laboratory investi-
gations are essential. The policy of
many states must be broadened in
these rsepects in order properly to
protect the public interests. Investi-
gation should precede legislation and
drastic action should be employed
only when found necessary.

In the case of interstate problems
of this kind the Federal government

should not be overlooked. The Unii
States Public Health Service has i
ready made extensive investigatioi
along this line and should be fortifi(
with adequate legislation and appr
priation to carry out the work alrea<
started.

A study of existing and need*
legislation, local, state and feden
relating to the pollution of wat
supplies by industrial wastes, has n
been completed by your committe
Attention is called to an excelle
digest of judicial decisions and a cor
pilation of legislation relating to tl
subject of stream pollution prepari
by Montgomery and Phelps, and pu
lished by the United States Pub]
Health Service as Bulletin No. 87
November, 1917.

While it is important to set \
wisely drawn statutes and to arm ce
tral health boards with reasonab
authority, it is not to be overlook(
that large industries frequently reso
to the courts and thus defer for
long time a final settlement of tJ
problems of industrial wastes di
posal. The latter have their econora
aspects and in Europe such probler
were not much advanced until Distri
Drainage Boards or River Conser
ancy Boards were established f
bringing about coordinated cooper
tive effort so that all concerned cou
proceed with a unified progressr
policy and working program. Owne
of industrial plants are given repr
sentation on these boards and as it
largely their money which is to 1
spent for treatment of these waste
it is no more than fair that th(
should have a voice in remedying t
types of pollution in a given valley (
locality.

Small Irrigation Projects in Cai
ada. — The construction of small ind
vidual projects is interesting mar
farmers in Canada whose lands cs
be irrigated by direct diversion fro
nearby streams in the semi-arid arej
and the waters of some of the:
streams have been practically all a]
propriated. Some of these sma
projects have been operated succes
fully for many years and there wei
in 1921 483 licensed or authorize
schemes, while applications for 25
new schemes were recorded in 192
making a total of 711 small projed
in operation or under construction ui
der the supervision of the Canadia
Reclamation Service.

Railways

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.

221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbert p. Gillette, President and Editor

Lewis S. Lol'er, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St. and Broadway

Richard E. Brown, Eastern Manager *

^ iie specialized publishing plan of Engineering and Contracting provides
four rotating monthly magazines, each of which is $1 a year. All four
may be subscribed for at $4 a year, and thus taken they provide a weekly
service completely covering the construction field.

Soads and Streets — 1st Wednesday, $1

(a) Road Con- (c) Streets

(d) Street clean-

st ruction
(b) Road Main-
tenance

Railways — 3rd Wednesday, $1

(a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-

ing

way Construc-
tion
Maintenance

way Construc-
tion and
Maintenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday, $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and Sanitation
Drainage (d) Waterways

Buildings — 1th Wednesday, $1

(a) Buildings (d) Miscellaneous

(b) Bridges Structures

»LLX.

CHICAGO, ILL., AUGUST 15, 1923

No. 2

Relieved

Upon recommendation of the utili-
s and finance committees of the City
•uncil the Seattle Municipal Railway
s been relieved of the requirement
at it pay for paving between its
acks. In September, 1921 it was re-
ved of jitney bus competition by
ijislation ruling jitneys off the
i^eets. As a minor measure of relief,
ije rides for police and firemen were
olished when the City acquired the
es in 1919. Increased fares have
en established to relieve the finan-
il burdens of the system. But in
ite of these measures Seattle has not
t found a way to pay operating ex-
ases and capital charges on its rail-
lys.

Seattle has learned two lessons from
ese and correlative facts although as
t she is unable to profit from them,
le first lesson is that municipal oper-
ion of this class of utilities is a dif-
nlt and dangerous undertaking; and
e second is that from their own
andpoint and on as selfish a basis as

any cjmic may choose to state, the citi-
zens would profit by fair treatment of
the privately owned utilities that serve
them. We use "fair treatment" in its
exact sense and with no inferential
meaning of special favors or public
largesse to the utility companies.

If Seattle had granted to the pri-
vate owners of the lines prior to 1919
even a part of the relief that has been
granted to the municipally owned and
operated system, those owners would
have rendered the same ser\'ice that is
now being rendered while the City
would have been saved many hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars in oper-
ating losses accrued to date, and
would have had the benefit of the an-
nual taxes on the property. In addi-
tion the owners would have had the
incentive to progress and development
which follows knowledge of a reason-
able opportunity for financial success
— an opportunity which had been ab-
sent for years prior to the transfer of
the property.

There were, we believe, two prin-
cipal reasons for the failure of the

302

Railways

August,

City to grant to the company the relief
which it needed in order best to per-
form its functions. The first of these
was a disbelief in the company's state-
ments that it could not prosper or
render thoroughly good service under
conditions as they existed. The expe-
rience with public ownership has gone
far to convince Seattle citizens that
they were wrong in this regard. The
second reason was a meanness of
spirit which said in effect: "We are
not concerned with the Company's
prosperity: we'll take everything we
can get out of it." This attitude is
maintained by an unfortunately large
number of people — not alone toward
the public utilities but in almost every
relation of their lines. Such people
are not a majority but they are often
stubborn.

The paving requirement, which is
generally in effect throughout the
country, is a relic of the days of horse
cars, inaugurated on account of the
concentrated wear incident to that
system. Its continuance under elec-
tric traction follows merely from cus-
tom, and results in the company's pay-
ing for an installation chiefly for the
benefit of others. The maintenance of
the strips of pavement next the rails
is another matter. The requirement
for the paving of all track between
rails has no basis of logic under pres-
ent conditions. If the company owes
anything to the City, it were better
that it be paid in cash or adjusted
through reductions in fare. Few
people who have not studied these
problems have any conception of the
huge investments — ^both absolute and
proportional — which the street rail-
ways of the country have made in
pavements.

Whatever one's personal views may
be as to the advisability of prohibiting
jitneys the fact is that in Seattle the
street car company was compelled to
accept their competition, while the
City lines were relieved from it. It
may be that few of our cities can
maintain the two quite different
classes of transportation furnished by
the street cars and the jitney buses.

Fare changes under municipal own-
ership have been numerous and rad-
ical, and demonstrate clearly that in-
creased travel under a 5 cent fare is
far from sufficient to compensate for a
reduction from 10 cents. The com-
pany's fare when it sold out to the
City and for some time before was 5
cents. Within a year the fare was
raised to 10 cents cash or 6% cents

token. In March of this year it was
made 5 cents cash, and in June it was
raised to 10 cents cash or 8 1-3 cents
token.

The City of Seattle took over its
railways because it was dissatisfied,
and thought it could do better with
them than could the company. The
company sold because it could do no
better than to sell. The $15,000,000 in
5 per cent bonds issued by the City in
payment approximated the original
cost of the lines but owing to the in-
crease in the price levels of labor and
materials was less than cost of repro-
duction minus depreciation. In other
words the City could not have in-
stalled a competing system anywhere
nearly as economically as it secured
the old system. The interest rate is
less than a private company would
have to pay but even with this and the
various "reliefs" the City failed to do
as well with its plant as the private
company had done. If Seattle had
granted merely a fair chance to her
street railway company she would to-
day be the gainer in everything but
experience.

Possibilities of Increased Serv-
iceable Time With Electric
Locomotives

Editorial in Railway Review, August 4

Have the advocates of railway elec-
trification overlooked their hand in
failing to emphasize the higher per-
centage of serviceable time which it is
possible to obtain from electric motive
power than is ordinarily developed by
steam locomotives? If electric loco-
motives can be operated for an aver-
age of 16 hours per day as compart'
with the 8 serviceable hours produc
by the average steam locomotive, tl-
would have a material bearing upon
the size of the investment that the
railways could afford to place in elec-
tric equipment in order to realize the
direct operating savings accruing
from electrification. With the elimi-
nation of fire building, fire dumping,
boiler washing and other routine
operations as well as the current re-
pairs incident to steam locomotive
operation it would seem possible to
keep the electric locomotive on the
road many more hours per day. This,
in a measure, has been accomplished
on the New Haven as described by
the electrical engineer of that system

923

Railways

^Oo

n article for the Railway Review

anuary 6. On the New York Cen-

rol, however, it is understood that

.ie electric locomotives handling

assenger trains between the Grand

entral Terminal and Harmon, a dis-
mce of 33 miles, do not average
luch over 3500 miles per month.

his undoubtedly is on account of the
lort run and frequent terminal lay-
vers. Coming now to a system on

hich electric locomotives are em-

loyed on long freight runs, it is

<)und that the electric locomotives in

;^i-eight service do not average more

^lan nine serviceable hours per day

r the entire year as contrasted with
average of seven hours per day

r the steam locomotives in freight

rvice on the same railway. As the
y serviceable hours for the elec-

ic locomotives averages as high as

en and one-half hours for some

ths and it has been found entirely

Tactical to hold these locomotives in

ve service for 48 hours at a time

is probable that the manner in

hich these locomotives are operated
xttier than the physical limitations
f this class of power is primarily
Bsponsible for failure to produce a
ig^her percentage of serviceable
ours. The density and irregularity
f traffic movement together with the
ecessity for equalizing the current
aquirements and utilizing this cur-
ent so as to obtain it at the lowest
■/erage cost are conditions that may
Hither tend to curtail electric loco-
iotive output. These observations on
le performance of electric loco-
motives further suggest the thought
lat the output of steam locomotives,
:«asured in serviceable hours, is
•dng limited more by conventional
nutations in the method of their
peration than by inherent limitations
I this type of motive power. Un-
'jubtedly, the most severe physical
nutation to increased steam loco-
"iOtive output is to be found in in-
<iequate terminal facilities. Possibly
tie electrical engineers have believed
tiat in this respect, electric motive
ower possessed no fundamental ad-
antage over the steam locomotive,
iven adequate terminals and assum-
es progressive operating methods.

Ten Crossing Tragedies on One
Sunday

Editorial in Railway Agre for Aagnst 4

Requiring every automobile driver
to bring his car to a stop before cross-
ing a railroad track is, admittedly, a
crude regulation; and, as in the case
of all crude regulations embodied in
statutes, enforcement is attended by
varied difficulties. Already the Fed-
eral Bureau of Public Roads calls
attention to the fact that laws like
those of Virginia, Tennessee and
North Carolina, fit some situations
very badly; as, for example a crossing
where the number of railroad trains
is perhaps two a day, while the auto-
mobiles on the highway are numbered
by the hundreds. It is reported that
the bureau disapproves of state legis-
lation like that in the states named;
the railroad trains ought to be
stopped instead of the automobiles.
There are, of course, cases where this
would be the proper remedy. But, as
was suggested in our note on this
subject on July 28, the present need
is agitation. It is probable that vig-
orous action looking to enforcement
of the present laws will be the best
way to secure such modification as
may be found feasible and desirable.
Changing the statutes is slow busi-
ness. Whatever the deficiencies of
the statute, every driver is bound,
under the common law, to observe the
rule at places where it is necessary
and reasonable, even if there be a
hundred cases where a jury would
exonerate him in case he disobeyed
it. The trouble is that so large a
number (though perhaps a small per-
centage of all drivers) prefer to have
no law at all. These must be awak-
ened, in some way, unless all trains
are to be brought down to 10 miles an
hour. The present slaughtering can-
not go on indefinitely. The number
killed in automobiles on crossings in
the United States last Sunday was
thirty-six, as noted in another column.
Every responsible public officer in
each of the nine states reporting these
tragedies is bcund to take cognizance
of the whole list. Moreover, railroad
officers, as the best informed citizens,
have a serious duty as agitators. Our
legislators are, as yet, only half
awake.

304

Railway.8

Current Material Prices

August,

Iron and Steel Prices

(From the Iron Age, Aug. 2, 1923)

Prices as of July 31, f. o. b. Pittsburgh:
Open hearth rails, heavy, per gross,

ton $43.00

Light rails (25-45 lb. section), per 100

lb 2.25

Track spikes, 9/16 in. and larger base,

per 100 lb 3.15

Track spikes, % in., 7/16 in. and % in.,

100 lb $3.50 to 3.75

Track spikes, 5/16 in 3.50 to 3.75

Spikes, boat and barge, base, per 100

lb $3.50 to 3.75

Track bolts, % in. and larger, base, per

100 lb $4.00 to 4.25

Track bolts, % in. and % in., base,

per 100 lb $5.00 to 5.50

Tie plates, per 100 lb 2.55 to 2.60

Angle bars, base, per lb 2.75

Finished Iron and Steel

Per lb. to

large buyers.

Cents

Iron bars, Philadelphia 2.67

Iron bars, Chicago 2.50

Steel bars. Pittsburgh 2.40

Steel bars. Chicago 2.60

Steel bars. New York 2.74

Tank plates, Pittsburgh 2.50

Tank plates, Chicago 2.80

Tank plates. New York 2.84

Beams, Pittsburgh 2.50

Beams, Chicago '. 2.70

Beams, New York 2.84

Steel hoops, Pittsburgh.—. 3.15

Freight Rates

All Tail freight rates from Pittsburgh on
domestic shipments of finished iron and steel
products, in carload lots, to points named, per
100 lb., are as follows:

Philadelphia $0.32

Baltimore 0.31

New York 0.34

Boston _ 0.365

Buffalo 0.265

Cleveland 0.215

Cleveland, Youngstown, comb 0.19

Detroit 0.29

Cincinnati ....„ 0.29

Indianapolis — _ 0.31

Chicago 0.34

St. Louis 0.43

Kansas City 0.735

Kansas City (pipe) 0.705

St. Paul „ 0.60

Omaha • ■•• 0-735

Omaha (pipe) 0.705

Denver _.^.._ 1-27

Denver (pipe) 1.215

Pacific Coast 1.34

Pacific Coast, ship plates.. 1.20

Birmingham 0.58

Memphis 0.56

Jacksonville, all rail 0.70

Jacksonville, rail and water 0.415

New Orleans 0.67

Rails and Track Supplies at Chicago

Standard Bessemer and open-hearth rails, $43 ;
light rails, rolled steel. 2.25c, f. o. b. makers'
mills.

Standard railroad spikes, 3.25c mill track
bolts with square nuts, 4.25c mill ; iron tie
plates. 2.85c steel tie plates, 2.60c, f. o. b.
mill ; angle bars, 2.75c, f. o. b. mill.

Jobbers quote standard spikes out of ware-
house at 3.90c base and track bolts, 4.90c base.

Cement Prices

Recent quotations, per bbl., in carload lots,
exclusive of package :

Pittsburgh $2.24

Cincinnati 2.54

Detroit „ 2.50

Chicago 2.20

Milwaukee 2.37

Duluth _.. 2.20

Minneapolis 2.50

Davenport. la 2.43

Cross Tie and Lumber Prices

(From Lumber, Aug. 3, 1923)

White Oak Ties
F. o. b. cars, Chicago, Aug. 1.

No. 5—7x9x8 $1.85

No. 3 — 6x8x8 . 1.55

No. 1—6x6x8 „ _ 1.35

No. 4—7x8x8 1.75

No. 2—6x7x8 1.45

Red oak ties, 10@15c less than white oak.
Sap pine and sap cypress, 10c less than red
oak.

White oak switch-ties, per M. ft $55 to $58

Red Oak switch-ties, per M. ft 49 to 51

White Oak Ties
F. o. b. cars, St. Louis, Aug. 1.

No. 5 — 7x9x8 „ $1.5<>

No. 4—7x8x8 1.37

No. 3—6x8x8 1.25

No. 2—6x7x8 1.15

No. 1—6x6x8 1.05

Red oak ties. 10c per tie less than white oak
prices. Heart pine and heart cypress, same
prices as red oak. Sap pine and sap cypress,
25c less than white oak.

White oak switch ties, per M. ft $48.00

Red oak switch ties, per M. ft 45.00

Bridge and crossing plank, same prices as
switch ties.

Market Prices of Lumber

Flooring, 2x4.

1x4, 16 ft..
No. 1 common No. 1 common

Boston — Yel. Pine

New York— Yel. Pine $52.00 $45.75

Buffalo— Yel. Pine 56.00

Chicago— Yel. Pine 49.00 35.00

St. Louis— Yel. Pine 45.50 32.50

Seattle, Wash.— D. Fir 56.00 20.50

Southern Mill Prices
Flooring,

1x4. 2x4,

No. 1 flat 16 ft.. No. 1

Alexandria— So. Pine $39.50 $27.50

Birmingham— So. Pine „ 41.05 27.00

Hnttiesburg — So. Pine 40.82 26.52

Kansas City— So. Pine 27.34

Timbers,

6x6

$55Ca 57.00

50^52.00

28.00

Timbers,

No. 1.
4x4 to 8x8

$30.65

Timbers,

12x12

$63.00fff66.00

59.00(f?66.5n

47.5Or(?51.50

47.00rf?r)6.00

41.5Ofrj42.50

25.00

Timbers,

No. 1.

3x12 to 12x12

$.1.-

13 Raihvays 30o

The Chicago Union Station Development

Paper Presented July 12 at 53rd Annual Convention of Am. Soc. C. E.

By J. D'ESPOSITO

Chief Engineer. Chicago Union Station

The general principles governing the
ocation, design and construction of a
nodem passenger terminal are today
or all practical purposes the common
)roperty of the engineering profes-
aon. It is true that there is no uni-
ersal agreement among engineers on
ill matters involved in the creation of
I large, modem passenger terminal,
>ut nevertheless, the fact remains
hat most of the recently built great
erminals show a uniformity of con-

worked into a scheme of a city beau-
tiful plan; it involved real estate
transactions of the most complex na-
ture; it necessitated the creation of
new freight terminals for several
railroads; it furnished the opportu-
nity for the building of the first large
railway mail terminal building in the
United States and made possible a
station layout which, while placed
below the general street level, owing
to the limitations imposed by the site,

nrr

rpnTFifFjif:

General View of Station.

. n Sheds in Foreground Across River : Head House and Main Building at Back Left ; Pro-
osed Government Building in Center Existing Chicago & Northwestern Station at Right.

:eption and arrangement which bids
"air to become a fixed type.

The claim is not made that the new

icago Union Station is a radical
leparture from the accepted idea of
i modem passenger terminal of its
Mje, nevertheless it is felt that this
lewest of stations, in the negotiations
eading to its development, in the
provisions made to meet its peculiar
equirements, in the arrangement of
1 combined station and oflBce building,
ind in the solution of the mail han-
dling problem, possesses many charac-
eristics which invest the subject with

rinctive interest.

Features, Requirements and Limita-
;>oris. — The Chicago Union Station
-■.ad to be co-ordinated with and

is a one-level station in the full mean-
ing of the word; that is, one in which
the users find all the facilities of the
station on one floor, and that the
track level floor.

The present station was built in
1880, at which time Chicago had a
population of 500,000 people. The
population of Chicago today is 3,000,-
000 and the railroads entering the
station have grown to a correspond-
ing extent.

Coordination With Qty Plan.— The
earliest scheme contemplating the re-
building of the station dates back to
1901, at which time less thought was
being given to co-ordinating a passen-
ger terminal with plans of city devel-
opment than is being given to such

306

Railways

August,

matters today. The plan which was
eventually adopted for the new Chi-
cago Union Station was laid out in
the year 1906, and as a matter of
course did not coincide with the con-
ception of railroad terminal arrange-
ment and location as set forth by
civic bodies and other well meaning
persons who had endeavored to solve
the Chicago railway terminal prob-
lem. The railroads interested in the
proposed improvement, having
reached an agreement upon the major
elements involved in readjusting the
facilities absorbed by the proposed re-
arrangement, in the spring of X913
applied to the council of the City of
Chicago for an ordinance covering
every phase of the proposed improve-
ment.

At that time three suggested solu-
tions of the Chicago Terminal prob-
lem were prominently in the public's
eye. First, the so-called Delano
scheme, which located all passenger
terminals south of 12th Street, now
Roosevelt Road; second, the Chicago
Beautiful Plan scheme, which located
a number of terminals west of the
River above the street level in the
block between Canal Street and Clin-
ton Street, and the third scheme,
fathered by the Architect Jarvis Hunt,
which proposed a single huge termi-
nal for all the railroads entering
Chicago to be located between State
Street and the River, extending from
Harrison Street to 12th Street.

Numerous suggestions were made
by many others having various ends
in view, but the three solutions above
mentioned were the only ones which
had any elements of practicability and
carried weight, by reason of their
sponsors as well as through the ad-
vertising given to the projects by the
local press for a long period of time.
The IJnion Station Company's preject
did not happen to coincide with any
of the solutions above mentioned, and
it became necessary to find some
means of convincing the city as to the
soundness of the railroad project,
making such secondary changes as
the demands of the situation required
and the needs of the railroads would
permit.

The Problem of Relocating Freight
Terminals. — One of the most im-
portant and most complex elements
of the problem was necessity of hav-
ing to provide new freight terminals
for the Pennsylvania Railroad, the
Chicago & Alton Railroad and the C.
B. & Q. railroad, in order to make

possible the construction of the pro-
posed passenger terminal. Of the
three problems, that of the Pennsyl-
vania freight terminals was the most
difficult for the reason that the pro-
posed passenger station layout ab-
sorbed every foot of space occupied
by the old Pennsylvania freight facil-
ities. In the case of the Alton road,
the problem, while not so large in
magnitude, was equally difficult, the
Union Station layout absorbing over
50 per cent of the area of the Alton's
freight terminal, and in order to make
good this loss it was necessary to pur-
chase all the land adjacent to its
tracks east of Canal Street between
Harrison Street and 16th Street, and
on this land it was possible to rebuild
freight terminals adequate for its
needs.

The Pennsylvania railroad at an
early stage in the negotiations reached
the decision to relocate its freight
terminal in a district which up to that
time had been free of railroad en-
croachment, namely the area between
Van Buren and Polk Streets, Jeffei>-
son Street and Desplaines Street,
being approximately 300 ft. in width
and 1600 ft. in length, and containing
about half a million square feet. All
of this land, which was made up of
hundreds of individual parcels, was
quietly purchased before the scheme
was presented to the city for enabling
legislation, and it was around this
portion of the project that the storm
of disapproval broke loose and threat-
ened to wreck the entire scheme. It
was found, for instance, that the
Pennsylvania freight house would in-
terfere with a proposed east and west
street on a line of the present Con-
gress Street as laid out in the Chicago
Beautiful Plan, and it was also main-
tained that it would be unwise to per-
mit railroad encroachment on a dis-
trict which heretofore had been free
of such detraction.

Special Investigations and Reports.
— At about this time a body of public
spirited citizens, members of the City
Club, engaged Mr. Bion J. Arnold to
investigate and report on the general
scheme of terminal development for
Chicago, having especially in view the
proposed Union Station project and
the relation of that project to an
ideal solution; and simultaneously the
City Council engaged the services of
the late John F. Wallace for practi-
cally the same purpose.

The conclusions of Mr. Arnold's re-
port were to the effect that the pro-

Railways

307

o:~ed passenger terminal at Adams
:reet might better be located about
,200 ft. south, at Harrison street.
Ir. Arnold rejected the Pennsyl-
ania's proposition for a freight ter-
linal between Jefferson and Des-
laines streets, his view being that
0 additional freight property need be
cquired by the railroad companies
est of Canal street and that such
development would be detrimental
) the interests of the west side. He
arther said that if an ordinance
ere to be given to the Pennsylvania
ailroad granting them the right to

grouping all the stations soutk of
Twelfth street, neither did he look
with favor on the project of a single
union station as proposed in the Hunt
plan. In regard to the Pennsylvania
freight terminal project, Mr. Wallace
reported in favor of granting the
necessary ordinance, but suggested
that the approach tracks and the en-
tire development be depressed in a
manner similar to that suggested in
Mr. Arnold's report. At this stage of
the negotiations the operating officers
of the Pennsylvania railroad decided-
not to accept the freight house ordi-

The Completed Postal Building.

'Uild a freight terminal in that local-
ly, then the approach tracks and the
reight terminal tracks should be
laced below the general street level
nd covered over so as to make them
nobjectionable from every stand-
oint.

The conclusions of Mr. Wallace
ere in favor of granting to the rail-
oads the right to build the station
s contemplated, his solution for the
eneral terminal problem being to lo-
cate all the remaining passenger ter-
linals, other than those of the union
station and the Northwestern in a
station to be built at the lake front
^nd Twelfth street. Mr. Wallace re-
ported adversely on the scheme of

nance with the limitations imposed by
the recommendation of the engineers'
reports, and the whole subject of the
union station improvement came to a
standstill for the time being.

Following several months of more
or less exasperating negotiation, it
finally became possible to secure an
ordinance authorizing the construc-
tion of a new passenger terminal, to-
gether with the necessary freight ter-
minal, in the location and of a type
as originally proposed by the rail-
roads, with the exception that the
original Pennsylvania freight terminal
scheme was abandoned in its entirety
and a new location substituted im-
mediately west of the Chicago river

308

Railways

August,

and south of Polk street, substan-
tially as recommended in the reports
of Messrs. Arnold and Wallace.

Losses Through Lack of Coopera-
tion.— Looking at the matter in retro-
spect today, it is permissible to make
a statement that a larger amount of
cooperation at a very early stage in
the negotiations between the rail-
roads, civic bodies and the city would
have simplified matters to a consider-
able extent and unquestionably would
have saved considerable time and
eventually considerable expense to all
parties concerned. As it turned out,
the year which was lost in the nego-
tiations with the city in this one in-
stance was suflScient to throw the be-
ginning of the work into the war
times, with a resulting increase in
the cost of construction and labor
difficulties, together with inevitable
delay in the time of completion.

Provisions of the City Ordinance. —

The Chicago Union Station ordi-
nance was approved by the City Coun-
cil on March 23, 1914, and accepted
by the railroads on September 23, of
the same year. Its principal provi-
sions in the order of their importance
can be classified as follows:

1. — The creation of a district
bounded by the Chicago river on the
east, Canal street on the west, Kinzie
street on the north, and Twelfth
street, now Roosevelt road, on the
south, within which district the rail-
roads operating in the new station
have the right of readjusting their
passenger and freight terminal in any
manner not in conflict with the re-
quirements and limitations set forth
in the ordinance.

2. — The vacation of all the streets
and alleys in the territory embraced
by the limits above set forth, and the
vacation of all the streets and alleys
in an additional district bounded by
the Chicago river. Canal street,
Roosevelt road and Sixteenth street,
giving to the railroads using the sta-
tion the right of rearranging only
their freight facilities in this second
district.

3, — The railroads were granted the
right to occupy the entire space un-
der new viaducts to be built for all
intersecting east and west streets,
from the east line of Canal street to
the river.

4. — Rights were granted to the
railroads to remove from the district
above named sewers and all other city
improvements, so as to permit of the

free and full use of the properties in
question without interference.

On the other hand the railroads
were obligated:

1. — To pay a certain sum of money
as a compensation for street vacation
and other grants made by the city
($2,686,558.92).

2. — To rebuild at their own expense
all the viaducts within the area above
noted of a type acceptable
city, and perpetually to me
them.

3. — To rebuild a sewer system out-
side of the district in such a way as
to take care of the portion of the
sewer system removed from the rail-
road properties.

4. — To widen and rebuild Canal
street at a uniform grade all the way
from Washington street to Roosevelt
road, without any compensation from
the city other than the cost of the air
rights over the 20-ft. strip required
for street widening.

It was agreed in the ordinance that
the railroads should build two bridges
over the Chicago river, one at Mon-
roe street and another at Kinzie
street, deducting the cost of such
bridges from the money due to the
city for street vacations.

Land Acquisition. — The district af-
fected by this grant within the limits
of which all the existing structures,
streets and public facilities have been
changed or are in the course of being
changed is almost 100 acres in extent,
35 acres of which are required for the
passenger terminal itself, the remain-
der being needed for the several
freight terminals of the railroads,
owners or tenants of the union sta-
tion. Within this district thousands
of individual parcels of land had to
be secured, the most important being
as follows:

Western Electric Co.'s plant, south
of Polk street, 208,000 sq. ft.; Illinois
Tunnel Co.'s plant, 223,000 sq. ft.;
Com Products Co., 227,000 sq. ft.;
B. & O. C. T. Co., parcel of 313,000
sq. ft.; two large warehouses of Mar-
shall Field & Co., north of Polk street,
the Commonwealth Edison Co.'s power
plant at Harrison street and the
river; warehouses of the Anheuser-
Busch Brewing Co., south of Harrison
street, Butler Bros.' warehouse, north
of Washington street.

Negotiations leading to the pur-
chase of these properties were carried
on simultaneously with the negotia-
tions with the City of Chicago in re-
gard to the ordinance, and in no case

Railways

309

i it necessary to resort to con-

< mnation proceedings. In the case

the purchase of the warehouse

Butler Bros, the owners pre-

■A to have their compensation in

-hape of a new warehouse to be

ed by the Station company at its

e cost and expense, in lieu of the

iiehouses taken over by it, which

' al resulted in the Station company

1 dertaking and carrying out the

i ligation of building a warehouse of

-:out 10,000,000 cu. ft., in accordance

t;j plans and specifications previous-

rreed upon between the Station

■any and the owners.

ihe Scheme As It Stood in 1914.—

e scheme of station improvement

c contemplated at that time consisted

( the following units:

I A low monumental building

of Canal street, containing a

neral waiting room, ticket office,

ich rooms, rest rooms, and other

ated facilities.

(b) A concourse and train sheds
3t of Canal street.

(c) Two groups of stub tracks, 14
the south end of the station and 11
the north end, each pair of tracks
ing ser\'ed by a common platform,
s platform to be used by passen-
rs and for baggage, mail and ex-
ass trucking.

(d) A baggageroom placed below
} concourse with a system of tun-
[s reaching the outer end of all
ttforms, with elevators at both ends

the platforms for Lifting trucks

4 handling baggage, mail and ex-

(e) A large express building locat-
east of the southern group of

«ks in the approximate location of

5 present Railway Mail building.

(f) A mail unloading platform
•Bg the river between Jackson
Jlevard and Adams street, at the
it end of the concourse.

nie Scheme As Changed. — The
ms which are now being carried
~- depart from the original scheme
the following particulars:
j- — The low monumental type of
ilding west of Canal street has
ai changed to a combined station
a office building 29 stories high,
oviding all told over 500,000 sq. ft.
office space.

2- — The large express building, in-
cased to twice its original size and
MHfied to meet additional require-
^nts, has now become the Railwav

Mail building, the upper stories being
leased to the government for the
classification of parcel post matter.

3. — In addition to passenger plat-
forms, separate platforms for han-
dling baggage, mail and express have
been provided, alternating with the
passenger platforms.

After the introduction of parcel
post service in 1917 it was obvious
that the facilities as originally pro-
vided in the basement would prove
inadequate to meet the changed con-
ditions. The Federal government was
giving serious study to the entire mail
situation in Chicago, and the Post-
master General in 1919 appointed a
committee of the Railway Mail Serv-
ice, \vith Mr. William I. Denning, then
superintendent of the Railway Mail
Service, as chairman, to investigate
and report on additional facilities and
methods of operation. This commit-
tee reached the conclusion that a site
conveniently located for both railway
mail cars and motor trucks should
be secured and a building of adequate
dimensions to handle the mails
erected, a very intensive application of
mechanical handling apparatus being
recommended to reduce operating
costs. Protracted negotiations be-
tween the Railway Maol Service and
the Union Station Company culmi-
nated in an agreement in December,
1920, whereby the Station company
should erect a new mail building and
lease the six stories above track level
to the Federal government, the Sta-
tion company retaining the track level
story and basement for its own opera-
tions.

The site formerly proposed to be
used for an express building, between
Harrison and Van Buren streets, and
just east of the proposed station
tracks, met all the requirements of
the government as to accessibility of
railroad tracks and the affording of
tailboard space for motor trucks, and
it was on this site that the building
was erected. The Union Station com-
pany's agreement with the govern-
ment provided for the building being
erected and put in service by Dec. 16,
1922, and on December 1 of that year
the Station company had completed
construction and the government pro-
ceeded to take possession.

The building is 796 ft. 5 in. long
and 75 ft. 6 in. wide. Its total cubic
content is 8,715,000 cu, ft. It is
flanked on the east by a driveway 30
ft. wide. Its construction involved the

310

Railways

Augusi

use of 7,500 tons of structural steel,
5,000,000 bricks and 32,000 cu. yds.
of concrete. Approximately 3,000 tons
of mail per day are being handled at
the building, about 60 per cent there-
of being handled by the railroads at
the terminal as inbound and outbound
mail. Outbound mail from other ter-
minals is received at the north end
of the tailboard space at driveway
level and is deposited in chutes which
deliver to track level or basement.
This mail is then taken by tractors
and trailers and raised to the tail-
board space at the south end, whence
it is dispatched to other terminals.
Inbound mail destined to the post-
office in the upper floors in the build-
ing is taken direct by elevator to
these floors. The intervening tail-
board space between the north end
(used for outbound mail) and the
south end (used for inbound mail) is
devoted to the requirements of the
postoffice, all parcel post being re-
ceived there. This mail is wheeled
across the floor in small trucks to con-
veying belts which carry it to the
third floor. On arriving at the third
floor the mail is deposited on a feed
belt from which it is taken off by sort-
ers and placed on classification belts.
The mail separated on the classifica-
tion belts is transmitted through
openings in the floor and over other
belts to working tables on the second
floor, and final separation and classi-
fication is made at these tables. Two
inclined belts reaching the fourth
floor also make primary classification
similar to the belts reaching the third
floor. After final classification, mail
is dropped through chutes to belts be-
low the ceilings which lead to spirals
leading to track level. Over 8 miles
of conveyor belts were used in the
installation.

The building is equippeji with nine
6-ft. 6-in. by 17-ft. and five 6-ft. 6-in.
by 18-ft. freight elevators. Five hun-
dred and eighty ft. of clear tailboard
is available on driveway, or enough
for 60 vehicles at one time. When all
the tracks are completed there will
be a car capacity of 61 postal cars.
A tunnel running from the north end
of the terminal to the basement of the
concourse will afford connection with
cars at the union station platform.

A noteworthy structural feature of
the building is the 49-ft. 4^^-in. steel
truss weighing 365 tons, which car-
ries the upper floor over a track en-
tering the building at its west wall,
at the south end.

The work of construction of th
Chicago Union Station and its relate
facilities was delayed by war condi
tions and was entirely suspended o
that account for over one year; i
was interfered with by several strikes
the longest causing a nine months
suspension of all construction activit
in 1916-1917, and naturally was de
layed again in 1921, when the deci
sion was reached to change the orij
inal scheme to one providing for a
office building. It now seems pos
sible to complete the entire project b
the end of 1924, providing that th
labor situation does not become moi
acute than it is today and that w
will be free from strikes or othe
labor disturbances.

Portland Cement Production in
First 5 Months of 1923

A report compiled by the U. S. Gei
logical Survey shows that in the firs
five months of 1923 a much large
part of the year's requirements fc
Portland cement in building and roa
construction has been produced an
shipped than in the same period c
any previous year. Ordinarily thes
are months of light demand but on a<
count of increased building activity
efforts have been made by the cemei
manufacturers to spread the deman
over the entire year in order to reliev
the peak load on this industry and t
insure prompt delivery as well as a
adequate supply. Both production an
shipments of cement during the firs
five months of this year exceeded a
previous records for the same perio(
The increase over last year was mor
than 40 per cent, for the period. Eac
month also shows an increase ove
last year in both production and shit
ments. Shipments up to May 31st thi
year exceeded shipments in the sam
period last year by upwards of 14
000,000 bbl. It is believed that a con
siderable part of this excess repre
sents shipments that otherwise woul
be called for later in the year whe
the demand is usually greater and de
Hvery less certain on account of th
increase in business activity generallj
Production of cement from Jan. 1 t
May 31 this year was approximate!
50,000,000 bbl. as against approxi
mately 35,600,000 bbl. produced in th
same period in 1922. Shipment
totalled approximately 48,900,000 bbi
as against about 34.600,000 bbl
shipped during the first five months o
1922. the best previous record.

.;.3

Railways

Street Development and Railroad Terminals

311

lie Relation of the Two Discussed in Paper Presented June 12 at 53rd
Annual Convention of the American Society of Civil Elngineers

By JACOB L. CRANE, Jr.

Municipal Development Engineer, Chicago

Che problem of economical and con-

nt handling of railroad terminal

ess is made up of two elements,

ansfer before reaching or after

g the terminal, and the transfer

V nm the terminal itself. It does not

el at the door of the passenger

bminal nor at the platform of the

f ight terminal. In fact, of the total

ct in time and money, to deliver

pjple or goods from their point of

the streets by the municipalities, with-
out adequate opportunity for them to
work out together their joint problem
of handling the terminal business. In
late years, the latter diflSculty is be-
ing overcome by the action of city
plan commissions, railway terminal
commissions, and joint committees,
assigned to that particular problem.
Such bodies are developing a definite
technique of street planning in rela-

General Plan of Chicago Railway Terminals as Developed by Chicago Plan Commission.

to a railway car, say, at least

alf must usually be assigned to

t t part of the journey over public

s eets before the portal of the termi-

N reached. Moreover, the field for

ing future economies in the

'er of passengers and goods is

promising in the consideration

-tter facilities over the city streets

ttn within the terminals themselves.

.Although these facts seem obvious,

tfcy have often not received the at-

tition they deserve. This is true be-

cise, first, the railway terminals are

Binned by the railway companies and

tion to railway terminals. It is this
technique which the writer wishes to
suggest, at least in some of its fvmda-
mental aspects.

Requirements for Streets Serving
Terminals. — In general, the require-
ments for streets intended to serve
passenger terminals are somewhat
different from those for freight termi-
nals. These requirements will, there-
fore, be outlined separately. Street
planning in relation to passenger
terminals is concerned with the move-
ment of passengers and baggage back
and forth between a terminal and the

312

Railways

Augus

business s nd hotel section, the transit
lines, an(/ other terminals. The pas-
sengers and baggage are moved on
foot, in taxicabs, private cars, trucks,
and busses, and by transit lines. This
movement over the streets should
ideally be carried on with speed,
safety and convenience, and at low
cost, which means, first, direct routes,
second, pavements adequately wide
and properly graded and surfaced,
and, finally convenient access and
parking space at the terminals.

Street planning in relation to freight
terminals is concerned with the move-
ment of freight by truck and team
between the terminal in question and
industrial districts, warehouse and
commercial districts, and other termi-
nals. Separate routes are desirable
for this slower moving traffic which
requires a different type of street for
its greatest convenience; heavier,
rougher pavements, wider traffic lines,
flatter grades, little or no provision
for pedestrian movement, and spe-
cially designed loading and turning
coui-ts at the freight terminals.

Under each general heading there
are special cases which involve spe-
cial consideration, such as produce
freight terminals, and exclusively
suburban passenger terminals.

Volume of Traffic as Main Factor.
— These fundamental requirements
for streets to serve passenger and
freight terminals are simple enough
in their mere statement, but they are
more difficult to meet in actual prac-
tice. And, as has been suggested, the
main point of the whole topic is that
most city street systems have de-
veloped without even an attempt to
outline these simple fundamental re-
quirements. Let us see if the volume
of traffic created by the railroad termi-
nals is sufficient to justify taking it
into consideration as one among the
main factors which must control the
planning of city streets.

The total traffic load on the busiest
streets of Chicago varies from 3,000
vehicles and 3,000 pedestrians to
30,000 vehicles and 30,000 pedestrians
per day. These figures can be com-
pared with the volume of traffic pro-
duced by typical terminals in this
country. In Boston the North station
handles about 25,000 through pas-
sengers and 70,000 suburban pas-
sengers each day, a total of 95,000;
the South station handles a total of
more than 125,000 persons daily. It
is estimated that 1 per cent of the

suburban passengers and 10 per cei
of the through passengers leave tJ:
terminal in motor vehicles of one kic
or another. Allowing two people 1
a motor car, this Boston terminal pai
senger business develops upwards (
4,000 motor vehicle trips and mo]
than 240,000 pedestrian ti'ips eac
day.

This volume of business is t)
source of half of all the passeng(
and pedestrian traffic at certain poini
in the most crowded streets of Bo
ton, and is the cause of intolerab
congestion outside the stations then
selves. When it is considered thi
the peak of this traffic load coincide
with the rush hour load of other stre(
business, between 5 and 6 p. m., tl
importance of the terminal traffic
even more striking.

Passenger, vehicle and pedestrij
traffic in volumes comparable to thoi
estimated for Boston are produced i
New York and Chicago, although tl
effect is less critical blecause of the
somewhat more convenient street sy
tems, and in Chicago, because the pa
senger business is divided among s:
main stations instead of two.

Some Figures on Chicago Traffic-
Using the most recent available figun
on Chicago package freight, it
found that about 17,000 tons (
freight per working day are handh
over team trucks, 7,000 tons are d^
livered by teams and trucks to ou
bound freight houses, and 5,000 toi
are taken by teams and trucks fro
inbound freight houses, a total (
30,000 tons per day. This figure re]
resents at least 25,000 truck movi
ments per day over city streets. A
though there is no peak to this trafl
load to coincide with the rush hour
it does continue through those ho"
and a large part of it does necess:
move over streets already congi
by other traffic, and on those street
by its own bulk and slow speed,
offers the largest single obstructic
to free traffic movement.

One-quarter of all the daily pa
senger vehicle traffic on the Washinj
ton Boulevard bridge is made up <
the taxicabs going to and from tl
Chicago & Northwestern Static:
More teams and trucks pass ov(
South Water Street in and out of t?
Illinois Central freight terminal in
day than pass along any other strei
in the city of Chicago. One-quart(
of all the pedestrian traffic in dowi

Railways

313

Chicago flows to and from the
ad terminals every day.

\\ hat the Designers Should Know
■tore Actually Planning Streets. —
^ figures give an idea of the im-
iice of terminal traffic in any
: planning project. They also
st the fundamentals of street
ing and development, namely,
-uch planning should be done for
^ -iticular anticipated volume and
aracter of traffic. Before actually
aiming streets, the designers should
-ve figures drawn up to indicate:
) The character of the various
quotas of traffic for which the
street is to be planned, distin-
guishing them as pedestrian and
vehicular, commercial and pleas-
ure, trucks and light vehicles.
i) The volume of these quotas of
traffic and the hourly and daily
variation in the volume.
) The speed of the typical vehicles;
which will depend less on the
potential speed of the vehicle it-
self than upon the conditons of
travel, such as crowding and
character of pavemei\t. '
) The width, length and weight of

the vehicles to be handled.
) The origin and destination of the

vehicles and pedestrians.
) The nature of parking and load-
ing space required, and the time
for loading or waiting.
l) Special factors such as traffic
regulations, and, of course, pro-
jected rearrangements of streets.
"in order to anticipate the volume
id character of the traffic which a
rtain street or system of streets is
, accommodate, a traffic census each
I '^x for a series of years will indi-
t te the rate of increase in volume of
I, affic and also tendencies in- its chang-
t g character — the kind, size, speed
» id weight of vehicles. Automobile
•■ affic has been increasing at a rapidly
f id now it is possible to anticipate
< is increase up to the point of satura-
^ >n for an existing density of busi-
' !ss and population. After that point
saturation is reached, the problem
f-comes one of anticipating the rate
■■ ^ growth of business, industrial and
»c-sidential sections, and particularly
1 "^^e tendencies toward large move-
ments in the location of these dis-
ricts.

Importance of Zoning Plans. — Zon-
- plan> are a great assistance in

these studies. They show the pros-
pective character and density ot de-
velopment in all parts of a city for a
period of 20 to 40 years ahead, and
usually in fact, for all time to come.
If the same group that prepares the
accelerating rate for the last 10 years,
zoning plans also co-operates in work-
ing out the street plan, the most
fundamental and authentic informa-
tion will be available for anticipating
the grov^th and tendencies in indus-
trial and residential development.
This information is also useful in
planning the railroad terminals them-
selves as well as in planning the
streets to serve the terminals.

Almost equally important to the
anticpation of growth and develop-
ment of the city are considerations of
tendencies in terminal design. The
projected intensive business develop-
ment in buildings constructed over the
electrified terminals in Chicago will
produce an enormous voltime of street
traffic of different character and re-
quirements from the terminal traffic
proper. The tendency to consolidate
terminals and to create general freight
stations promises larger volumes of
traffic from the sites of the enlarged
plants, with a corresponding decrease
from the abandoned sites, unless the
•latter may be developed for other
Sises.

Traffic Load Decreased by Branch
Terminals. — Branch terminals,
through routing, extension of trap car,
tunnel, or water transfer, all tend to
decrease the traffic load on crowded
streets and sometimes to distribute it
on less crowded thoroughfares. In
fact, this is one good reason for adopt-
ing these expedients where the de-
velopment of terminals has exceeded
the capacity of the street system to
handle the traffic produced, and the
improvement of the street system is
impracticable or less economical than
the expedients named.

The dominant conclusion of all these
considerations is that the street sys-
tem and terminal should be worked
out together. The common sense ne-
cessity of this plan of procedure is
further reinforced when the topic of
grade crossing elimination is sug-
gested. No program of making safer
streets by eliminating grade crossings
can be conceived without involving the
whole question of terminal location.

Considerations from Architectural
Standpoint. — There is also an im-

314

Railways

AagUSi

portant consideration from the archi-
tectural standpoint. The newer rail-
way terminals of North America are
easily the handsomest in the world.
Their settings, however, are almost
without exception so inadequate that
the fine architecture is largely wasted
because it cannot be seen. The ideal
situation for a fine terminal building
seems to be on a large plaza opening
off special streets which in turn con-
nect with main thoroughfares, and in
each case located in full view on the
axis of two or more streets, converg-
ing on the plaza. The accompanying
plans illustrate several examples.

Where the rearrangement of streets
is necessary to provide for terminal

Typical Situations for Railroad Passenger

Terminals Located at Axis of Two

or More Streets.

business, the cost has usually been
borne by the municipalities, or by spe-
cial assessment against abutting prop-
erty, or by a combination of the two.
In a few cases the terminal companies
have borne part or all of the cost. It
is understood that the cost of widen-
ing Canal Street in Chicago is borne
by the Union Station Co., whose prop-
erty it serves.

The Chicago Terminal Plan.— Prob-
ably the most notable example in this
country of street planning and de-
velopment to serve adequately a huge
and comprehensive terminal plan is
that worked out by the Chicago Plan
Commission and now being adapted
by that commission in conjunction
with the railroads and other interests
and carried out in construction by the
board of local improvements of the

city and, in the case of the lake fror
improvements, by the South Pari
Commission. The general plan is i
lustrated. At this time the ne^
Michigan Ave. bridge and the lowe
level crossing from the Illinois Cei
tral yards under Michigan Ave. hav
been completed. The Roosevelt Roa
project is under construction. Th
South Water St. project is under ord
nance; the outer drives along the lal
are definitely projected; and tl
Market St. project only waits for
final settlement of the terminal plar
to take concrete shape for actual coi
struction.

From this discussion certain definil
conclusions may be briefly stated. ]
planning and developing the strei
system of a city the traffic to ar
from and between railroad termina
must be considered as one of the mai
factors, and the plans must definite!
propose to serve this traffic. Su(
plans can sensibly and adequately 1:
prepared only by the co-ordinat(
effort of the various interests coi
cerned; municipal, railroad and pr
vate. The necessary studies incluc
not only the present tendencies i
traffic increase but also a fundament
examination of the future growth ar
development of the city and its indu
trial, business and residential district
In some cases it is reasonable 1
charge the cost of necessary street ri
arrangements to the terminal in
provement itself. The whole questic
has a direct and vital relation to tl
orderly growth of the city as a whol

It seems unnecessary to sugge
that our cities need not stop wil
small measures when heroic projec
are necessary. When it is considers
that an unnecessary delay of five mii
utes to each vehicle and one minu1
to each pedestrian in the traffic pr(
duced by the Chicago terminals onl
would correspond to an annual eci
nomic loss of at least $2,000,000, ar
that several times this amount will 1
saved by the completed street pla
now proposed in Chicago, the feas
bility of improvements on a larj
scale is demonstrated. The actual ai
complishment on the huge Chicaj!
project indicates that farsighted ol
jectives can be realized when the ei
gineers are inspired by great drean
and are working on a sound foundi
tion of facts and common sense.

923

Railways

315

Methods of Grouting in Shaft
Sinking

jctract from Article, "Present Practice

in Design and Sinking of Mine

Shafts," in May Proceedings of

Engineers' Society of

Western Pennsyl-

Tania

By R. G. JOHNSON,

resident, R. G. Johnson Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.

The handling of water which is en-
ountered in the sinking of shafts de-
ends largely upon the amount of
/ater and the nature of the rock.
Jrouting is the only method of pre-
. enting the water from coming into
he shaft, and today provision for the
ealing of water by injecting cement
ito the fissures of the water-bearing

Lifting Eye

,^B^;

Totai Weiqhf empty 500 lb
1 — Groat Mixing Tank and Connections.

rata is a part of all specifications,
oday, all prices in contracts for sink-
ig shafts are based on the assump-
on that if water is encountered
routing will be started and paid for
ccording to provisions in the con-
ract. Usually grouting is paid for
er barrel of cement injected, but it
'ould seem that a method fairer to
oth parties would be an agreement
io pay for the cost of grouting on a

basis of cost plus a fee per barrel,
the fee to include the use of the con-
tractor's plant, and his profit. The
grouting clause and its price today
takes the place of the water clause in
the contracts of 12 and 15 years ago.
This clause in former contracts pro-
vided for additional prices per verti-
cal foot sunk in case certain quanti-
ties of water were struck, the prices
to increase as the quantity increased,
but this was an inequitable manner
of paying for the cost.

The fairest water clause for pump-
ing is the one based on paying by the
million-ft.-gals. for all water pumped.
This form of water clause (in addi-
tion to the clause for grouting) was
used in the contracts for the shafts
and tunnels for the Catskill aqueduct
which was completed several years
ago.

The First Use of Grouting. — In

grouting, cement mixed with water to
the consistency of cream is forced into
the crevices under high pressure
through drill holes in the rock, or
pipes through the lining. The proc-
ess was used first in shaft sinking in
this country about 1910 on the con-
struction of the Catskill aqueduct, al-
though in Germany and in Northern
France the principle was used several
years before in cementing around the
outside of the shaft before sinking
was started.

Resistance Fundamental Require-
ment of Grouting. — The fundamental
requirement to grouting is resistance.
You cannot grout a length of 2-in.
pipe open at both ends, but plug one
end and you can pack it full of grout
under pressure, and it will be solid
and very dense.

If the ground 4 or 5 ft. above the
stratum is solid, the grouting can be
done very easily. If the strata above
the water-bearing seam are full of
crevices, naturally or through shat-
tering, these cracks will allow the
grout to work out because there is not
enough resistance to the pressure of
the grout. Such a condition will often
take care of itself by the gradual
setting of the thin layers of cement
in the cracks, and the forcing in of
additional cement at low pressure on
successive days. Often oatmeal, bran,
or dry sawdust is forced in with the
cement and settling in the water seals
the cracks. If the cracks in the bot-
tom of the shaft cannot be sealed in
this manner, it is necessary to put a

316

Railways

Augus

concrete mattress over the shaft bot-
tom to provide resistance. This
scheme, while expensive, has always
been successful.

The Grout Mixing Tank. — The grout
is usually mixed by compressed air in
a grouting tank, as in Fig. 1,, and
forced into the crevices by turning
the pressure of air in at the top of
the tank; or the grout may be forced
into the crevices by a pump, with
equally good results. The scheme of
grouting in rock in the shaft bottom
is shown in Fig. 2.

The' pressure used in grouting
varies greatly according to conditions.
If you are grouting in solid rock, the
higher the pressure the more efficient
will be the grouting. Usually with a
grout tank you will use up to 125 lbs.
pressure. If you are using a pump,
the pressure available is limited, of
course, by the steam pressure and the
ratio of the cylinders on the pump.
In several cases on the Catskill aque-
duct grouting was done under pres-
sures as high as 500 lbs., and my
recollection is that in one or two cases
a pressure of 600 lbs. was used
through the use of special equipment.
Little high-pressure work is done in
this section.

Grouting Behind a Shaft Lining. —
In grouting behind a shaft lining spe-
cial care must be taken to gage the
pressure properly, and definite results
can never be guaranteed. If the holes
to be grouted are in a round shaft,
or in round ends of a long shaft, they
will, of course, stand more air pres-
sure than in the flat side of a shaft,
but it is practically impossible to
force grout behind a lining with less
than 20 lbs. of air, and the possibili-
ties of breaking a flat lining under
even 20 lbs. of air are very great.
When grouting behind linings was
first started, pans or blisters of tin
were usually put against the rock rib
where the water ran out when the
lining was being poured, and a hole
was punched in the tin from which a
pipe led to the concrete lining form,
and the grout was forced through this
pipe. This is still done in many cases,
but if it is possible to drive a pipe
into the water-bearing crevice and
calk the rock seam so that all water
will lead into the pipe, a much better
grouting job can be done, for higher
pressures can be used since there is
not the area of lining over which the
pressure of the grout can act.

Grouting in Slopes. — Grouting ir
slopes is a more difficult proposition
Since the strata are usually horizon-
tal, the grout injected into the crev-
ices must travel over a greater are£
to be effective. In water-bearing coun
try it is wise to keep a test hol<
ahead pointed downward at a greatei
angle than the angle of the slope. I
water is struck, more holes are drille(
and grouted to refusal, but in driving
a slope through a horizontal water

Fig. 2 — General Layout for Grouting Oper«
tions in Shaft Sinking

bearing crevice it requires a long hoi
izontal distance to get beyond th
drainage area of that crevice, so tha
the sealing of water from a singl
crevice often requires several grout
ing operations. Each operation re
quires not only the time for the in
jecting of the grout, but a longer tim
to allow it to set before again shoot
ing the face.

The Timber Shortage.— Col. Wil
liam B. Greeley, chief of the Unite
States Bureau of Forestry, warn
that the predicted timber famine ha
already overtaken the eastern an
central sections of the United States
Colonel Greeley says that smaller an
poorer houses are being built in thos
sections, timber is being destroys
faster than it is being replaced, qua!
ity is growing poorer and prices ar
becoming higher.

Railways

317

Transportation — The Ateries of Commerce

iportant Elements Discussed in Paper Presented June 11 at 53rd
Annual Convention of American Society of Civil Engineers

By J. ROWLAND BIBBINS

Consulting Engineer, Transportation, Washington, D. C.

At the time of the Civil War the

il roads of the United States handled

0.000,000 tons of revenue freight

r vear; at the end of the century,

)00,000,000 tons; today, 2,500.000,000

' ■^. What does it mean to lift 2,500,-

00 over 180 miles average haul,

1,250,000,000 passengers an aver-

if 40 miles. One naturally thinks

tons of parcel post and 7,600,000 tons
of express matter, all of which is
largely high-class, expedited freight
tonnage. Parcel post, in fact, has be-
come the biggest merchandise busi-
ness in the world, which has twice
doubled its tonnage within a period
of seven years.

Load Characteristics. — One neg-

^f 400,000 miles of railroad and

lal tracks, 2,500,000 cars and

locomotives to haul this traffic.

jit there are over 15,000,000 gross

las of shipping big and little, 45,000

pes of electric railways, 12,000,000

"lotors and 2,500,000 miles of high-

. of which 186,000 miles are al-

y designated as the main im-

jved road system of the country.

jl of these agencies form part of our

"jansportation system. And we shoulo

j-t neglect a little matter of 2,250,000

lected aspect of this great transport
plant is that, in no small degree, it is
a problem of financing a peak load
just as in the case of a power plant
or street railway. These peaks occur
every fall season with the movement
of commodities, also witn every wide
fluctuation in the business condition
of the country as a whole. Usually
the railroad commodities loading in-
creases between spring and fall
months by about 30 per cent, then
drops abruptly in mid-winter to about

318

Raihvays

Augus

40 per cent below the October peak.
The fall peak of the northwestern
district is about 60 per cent above
spring.

The reflex of business condition is
shown by the fact that between Janu-
ary and October, 1922, the railway car
service ranged from a surplus of
nearly 500,000 cars to d shortage of
nearly 180,000 cars, representing with-
in 10 months a swing of over 25 per
cent of the car equipment of the coun-
try or perhaps 75 per cent of the
average number of cars loaded weekly
throughout the year.

On top of this comes the continuing
problem of normal growth and the
present situation is worthy of hope-
ful comment. Business activity is
widespread. Revenues and tonnage
are moving to new high levels. Last
fall occurred practically the highest
loading and car shortage in railroad
history. Instead of a normal traffic
drop in the spring of 1923, the rail-
roads recently reached a spring load-
ing equal to that of the maximum fall
peak loads, of 1922 and 1920, with
only a fraction of the car shortage
which occurred last fall in handling
the same traffic. Here is an evidence
of the flexibility of the system when
unhampered by labor conditions or
feverish business demands of a nation-
wide character. But while we may
felicitate on present good fortune,
this does not necessarily imply a solu-
tion for the future — ^which is one of
the main objects of this discussion.

A Long-Haul System. — America is
pre-eminently the long haul country
of the world and is vitally dependent
upon its rail carriers. Compare the
1,000 to 1,500 miles of haul to sea-
board from our granger states with
the comparatively short haul of 200
or 300 miles for grain from Argen-
tine, Morocco, Australia or Southern
Russia, which sends its grain to sea
by waterways. It is said that a coun-
try's prosperity is based upon its sur-
plus production, and it is more truth
than fiction that what the American
farmer receives for his grain is di-
rectly dependent upon the world price
established at the local market at
Liverpool less the cost of transporta-
tion; not the cost of his production
plus transportation. Even the long
water haul M'hich our competitors in
the various parts of the world have to
endure is not as serious as the long
land haul necessary in our countrv.
For roughly speaking the cost ratio

of water and rail haul is about 1 to
These factors are what produce tra^
routes. And it is possible to outli
quite definitely, various "Econorr
Divides" running diagonally aero
our country, tracing the competiti
points of movement from the interi
to various overseas points by Norl
South, Gulf and Pacific ports. (
this theory of the country as a gre
economic drainage basin, the gre
arteries of commerce— the railroads
must provide the logical channels
movement dictated by economic nee
and conditions throughout the wor
as well as here. The fact that t
preponderant movement is now e?
and west «>,cross the Appalachi
range, simply reflects a natural c
velopment under the urge of Eui
pean demand. But the South Se
are rapidly drawing from the Norl
often resulting in the famous "tra
triangle" so much prized as an an
dote for empty European bottoi
homeward bound. In fact the gn
development of southern and weste
ports points to a gradual shifting
the "trade vector" southward. T
railroads will have to meet this situ
tion as it developes.

Rate Control. — This great railro
network of some 265,000 miles of li
is clearly the main stay of our r
tional life. And the rate system, t
most sensitive part of the mechanis
whether rightly or wrongly, has i
suited in the establishment of the
sands of communities where fores
and deserts formerly existed. It
evident that a considerable distorti
of these complex rate relationshi
must inevitably force a gradual rea
justment of the location of industrii
due to the relative importance of t
factors of labor, raw materials a
transportation. For instance, doul
ing rates of seaboard would me
that the great grain producing i
terior would suddenly be thrust twi
as far into the interior as compar
with seaboard production. In fact
is conceivable that greatly distort
long haul rates might result in t
forcing of all industries to the co
gested seaboard.

Decentralization. — But this is e
actly the opposite to a policy whi
will bring about a homegenous nati
with as nearly uniform distributi
of population as topographv and clii
ate will permit. The railroads a
the rate structure are the most ii

Railways

319

> mt elements in this national con-

>f settlement. There is a great

of decentralization both in pop-

• n and industry, not only coun-

ide but also in the cities them-

K es. While the growing percentage

city population may be due simply

accretion rather than migration

3m the country districts, it is clear

at it has brought about problems

city congestion which may soon

require drastic treatment. Highway
development is undoubtedly aiding in
this decentralization. But the rail-
roads are the main avenue through
which this desired redistribution will
be brought about. And it is not in-
conceivable that such further decen-
tralization may gradually help to cure
labor troubles with which the coun-
try is afflicted especially in the con-
gested centers.

30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 120 140 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 120 145

Population

O -O

O — .cvi ^-i

Fig. 2.

320

Railways

August,

The Future a Large Problem. — To

visualize the probable demands of the
future, attention is drawn to an orig-
inal study made by the writer on
transportation growth and develop-
ment of the country. The logarithmic
diagram Fig 2 traces the general
trend of investment, facilities and
commerce since the Civil War in re-
lation to the population growth of
the country. The uniformity of these
trends is most striking — most of all
the basic curve of "Revenue-Tons
Handled" which is here practically a

7 'y

'J'

«2S^

Fig. 3.

straight line, its divergence from the
tonnage curve simply reflecting the in-
crease of average rail haul through-
out the country. (Oregon apples,
California spinach, Colorado mellons.)
If today we could press a magic but-
ton and double the tonnage capacity
of the railroads, this curve shows this
expedient would last, perhaps only
15 years. For this tonnage has
doubled in 12, 14 and 18 years suc-
cessively. Then if we assume a rea-
sonable population of 130,000,000 peo-
ple by 1940 a revenue traffic of nearly
4,000,000,000 revenue tons per year
must be provided for. To meet this
growth at least $10,000,000,000 new
capital must be found, if invested
along present standards.

"Commerce" has moved upward
quite as fast — viz. coal and steel pro-
duction, manufacturing and post office
receipts (a good index of small busi-
ness). And the farmer has not suf-
fered, judging by the striking incre-
ment in value of farm property. In
fact by 1940 farm and forrest ton-
nage will probably equal the tonnage
of the entire country in 1900.

Capital Input. — But most striking is
the investment in highway transport
as compared with that of the rail-
roads. This is shown by better ad-
vantage in Fig. 3 representing Capital

Input in 10 years periods. Thus for
the decade ending 1910, Highway
Transport commanded about one-third
of the capital put into railroads; in
the decade ending 1920, it commanded
four times as much capital as rail-
roads, i. e., approximately $16,000,-
000,000, out of a total for all trans-
portation of $23,000,000,000, against
$4,000,000,000 for railroads.

These facts indeed challenge atten-
tion. While the gross railroad in-
vestment per ton handled has reduced
from about $17 in 1880 is around $8.00
today, little reduction has been made
within the past twenty years in spite
of greatly increased traffic and effi-
ciency— a fact that seems to indicate
that the majority of the new capital
has gone into expensive terminals,
which is also indicated by an anaylsis
of the track mileage additions through
the years.

Status Today. — The investment sit-
uation today is shown in a general
way in Fig 4 representing an en-
gineering estimate approximating the
pre-war level of values without deduc-
tion for accrued depreciation or such
violent depletion in values as in ship-
ping, brought about by the absence
of a "going market." This estimate
shows that Transportation is the sec-
ond industry in the United States
costing approximately $50,000,000,000

to build, which is about twice our na-
tional debt. It is next to Agriculture,
$80,000,000,000 and exceeds Manufac-
turing, $45,000,000,000. In general
terms, the cost ration is approximate-
ly 2-2 for Railroads, Highways trans-
port and other agencies respectively.
This great transport plant has grown
from $14,000,000,000 in 1900 to $26,-

1923

Railways

321

000,000,000 in 1910 and $50,000,000,-
000 in 1920. Railroads held the stage
from 1900 to 1910; highway transport
and shipping since then. It would be
a wise prophet who could foretell the
future cost of highway transport.

By 1940 if all transportation in-
creased onlv as fast as railroads, by
1940 325,000,000,000 new capital will
be required at the nriinimum with
probably §25,000,000,000 more for
replacements of depreciable property
retired. It is incredible that railroad
development is going to recede. It is
more likely that other transport will
advance so that these total figures are
probably far to conserv^ative.

Does not this analysis point out
that the utmost economy in facilities
and draft on the capital supply of the
nation is a great public need partic-
ularly during the long drawn out
process of war-time deflation; with
the lowest possible transport cost per
ton mile, origin to destination and the
quickest possible service and turn-
around, whatever' the method used ?
Does not the fact that the cost of our
highway transport plant has grown to
nearly equal that of the railroads,
and possibly 40 times that of inland
water-ways construction, emphasize
the need of a broader treatment of
transportation of the future so as to
include not only the Arteries but also
the Heart and the Capillary system ?

The fact is that the trafl[ic of the
nation has grown in geometric ratio
to the population, while facilities in
freight houses, team tracks, wharves
transit lines and particularly streets,
and roadways in the large centers
have increased if at all only in artih-
metic ratio. Thus railroad tonnage
has increased nearly as the cube and
ton-mileage nearly as the fourth
power of the population. And term-
inal tonnage is probably increasing

(a) Some e\-idence of possibilities in this
regard is offered by the American Railroad
Association's betterment program for 1923
which encourages, as its major feature, higher
efficiency in_ railroad operation by increasing
the daily mileage of the average freight car,
the average load per car handled and de-
creasing the number of bad order cars laid
up. This very moderate program of better-
ment could probably add over 20 per cent to
the existing service capacity of the rail sys-
tem -without additional equipment of capital
investment. But no such program can be a
complete success without the proper coopera-
tion of the Public and its delivery agencies
which in the last analysis simply recognized
the fact that transiiortation is after all a
complete movement from origin to destination
and that terminal delivery as well as the
rail hauls are involved.

as the cube of the population, especi-
ally in view of the growing propor-
tion of city population to the total in
the country.

On the other hand, the motors are
increasing far beyond the fourth
power of the population and city
motors probably as fast if not faster.
Yet in the great majority of cities,
practically nothing is being done to
survey and develop the capacity of
the street system for handling this
enormous flood of passenger and
freight traffic — for transfer and city
destination. Instead building heights
are being forced upwards which only
intensifies the problem. In many cities
today local transportation is becom-
ing a crucial problem largely due to
the interference of these conflicting
sources of traffic.

Metropolitan Transportation Plan-
ning.— It is becoming apparent that
our cities and railroads have many
problems in common which would
seem to gra\itate to two immediate
questions of national importance.

(1) A Metropolitan District Trans-
portation Plan for the larger indus-
trial districts, ports and gate-ways.

(2) Terminal Planning based upon
such surveys which will merge into
the larger Metropolitan Plan.

The elements of a Metropolitan
Transportation Plan embrace:

(a) Streets and Highways.

(b) Transit — local and interurban.

(d) Railroads — Passenger entrances
and terminals.

(e) Railroad freight lines, termi-
nals and clearing.

(f) Freight transfer and delivery,
city and suburban.

(g) Port -terminals and barge term-
inals.

(h) Grade separation — way and
traffic.

(i ) Warehousing — ^local and mar-
ine.

(j) Air ports and airways.

(k) Industrial expansion and Zon-
ing.

(1 ) Relation to the general City
Plan — governing all other city fea-
tures such as parks, public buildings,
schools, water supply and drainage,
and all other matters of city welfare.

Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and
Baltimore are considering such metro-
politan planning, and in the interest

322

Railways

August,

of the major carriers of the country,
the railroads, it would seem that im-
mediate steps should be taken to de-
velop in a broader way such an im-
portant phase of metropolitian plan
as terminals.

Various government agencies are at
work upon the vastly important sub-
jects of consolidations, labor, rates,
valuation, etc. Assuming, of course,
that a fair solution will ultimately
be found, it is perhaps no exaggera-
tion to say that the larger question
of future transport will undoubtedly
focus in the terminals and that some
form of physical, financial or operat-

and use of facilities. For cities very
widely in traffic characteristics. Re-
cent terminal surveys showed that in
Chicago, (a), over half of the car
movement is through interchange; in
New York only about 17 per cent, (c),
excluding the Marine traffic; the same
in New Orleans, (b). Such a survey
reveals immediate probabilities in the
better use of facilities. Thus Fig 5 and
6 compare the actual and the useful
work of a switching Belt Line in
a large port terminal city — ^which is
not equipped with clearing or storage
yards and the necessary facilities to
handle interchange outside of the con-

f!EC£/PrS tleftofAxis)
li* From Loading Pblnh (Loads)

DELIVERIE5(lfiqhtofAxis)
L'ToUnhodin^ f'oinis(LoaA)

Ifia} ]

inrna t* ErotnInitnliin^s( Loads AEmpiits) I'hInhixtianqes(Looclsand£iv/>,
t E' from UntoadiryMnis (Empties) B- To Loac/myfbinh (Empties) \;

Fig. 5.

ing unification will be evolved to in-
sure command of the transport situ-
ation;— i. e., that terminal evolution
in the gateways and large centers
offers the greatest opportunity of in-
creased capacity and minimum invest-
ment in which ship barge, motor and
trolley as well as rail must each play
its part. Here in a large degree iie
the controllable wastes in transpor-
tation both off and on rail and it is
evident that the maximum efficiency
of the arteries of commerce — the rail
lines — can never be secured until the
heart of the system — the terminals —
and their distributing agencies — are
able to function as they should.

Terminal Planning. — A basic sur-
vey is of the greatest value in term-
inal planning to show the actual traffic
movement and the relative placemeiu

gested centers. Here the largest part
of the interchange (1), is actually
done in the congested marine zone
whereas it should be done outside at
stragetic points of contact with con-
necting rail systems. In obtaining
these results the writer, Engineer-in-
Charge, conducted a complete origin-
destination count of all freight traffic
of the terminal district for a typical
month.

Terminal Band Values. — Such a
survey should also comprehend a
study of land values with respect to
proper use and possible relocation.
These values offer one of the greatest
undeveloped resources of the rail-
roads today. These values have

(a) Arnold report.

fl)) Hoard of Advisory Engineers Report.

1923

Railways

323

grown by accretion of neighborhood
land values until there values for
commercial purposes are far above
those for railroad purposes. It is
probably not far from true that hau
of the entire railroad investment of
the country is in other than mainline
track, i. e., largely terminals. Gen-
erally speaking, the entire terminal
system of the country is developed
upon a one-story plan except in nota-
ble cases like New York and Chicago.
In many cities, these terminal lands
are strangling the future expansion of
the business districts.

It is now" a serious question of
policy whether the roads can afford

crease terminal efficiency and release
these tremendous land values for
further profitable development, more
in consonance with the needs of the
city and districts where in they are
located. The development studies in
New York and Chicago are cases in
point, and there would seem to be
much opportunity for progress in New
England, particularly Boston.

Figure 8 shows in a striking way
the situation in Chicago where Loop
land values are greatly exaggerated
due to the iron band of rail operations
surrounding the Loop. It is obvious
that Chicago cannot expand until
some re-organization of terminal fa-

Fig. 6.

to retain these expensive properties
in their present locations for single
deck freight house and team track
development in the face of their great
rental value if intensively developed
by the use of the "air-rights" and
through the use of the motor truck
for collection and delivery. One Chi-
cago road found that it could afford
to recede its inljing terminals 2 or
3 miles south using motors for haul-
ing all city freight, and still make a
profit out of the operation, using the
present terminals for office, ware-
houses and loft building development
at an additional profit from rentals.
Thus it may be that motorizing
terminal sen'ice may become an in-
terim measure which will largely in-

cilities takes place especially toward
the south and probably with a reces-
sion of the freight operations to a
point where this tonnage debouched
upon the public streets will not be so
concentrated as at present. When the
"Valleys" are filled up the enormous
capital resources in these reclaimed
lands will be realized as in the Park
Ave., development New York.

Motorways and Rapid Transit. —
Here it is appropriated to direct at-
tention to the future strategy of more
effective use of the immensely valu-
able railroad rights-of-way entering
our city terminal districts. These
rights-of-way in many cases are well
located for heavy motor-ways along-
side to handle the city freight from

324

Railways

August,

the receded freight terminals and also
for rapid-transit lines from the de-
velopment of which the railroads may
better participate in commuter busi-
ness and at the same time save the
community duplicate investments in
parallel rights-of-way for subways
and elevated lines which can only be
procured today at a tremendous cost
for land condemnation and damages.
By such a joint plan it seems clear
that very large savings both capital
and operating expense could be made
for the benefit of all, and more im-
portant still, such accommodation of
rapid transit facilities would relieve

more than the per diem received to
switch a foreign car over its lines and"
various estimates are on record in
which the terminal costs were equal
to the cost of a 400 or even a 1,000
mile haul. On the average it is prob-
ably not far from true the terminal
cost loading on the country's freight
is more than the cost of rail haul
for the average distance hauled —
about 180 miles, and with a further
refinement of terminal accounting
this equivalent would probably be
greater. In the motor industries this
is one of the great issues today and
adequate cost accounting has barely

1\ 1 ^nn^Ii1^pj|ipM|l|iqn|n|m|mini|||i||ir

Fig. 7.

the railroad from the heavy capital
burden of maintaining monumental
passenger stations for a type of busi-
ness which should be carried on rapid
transit rails with their stations dis-
tributed through instead of concen-
trated at one point in the business
district.

Accounting. — It is a curious fact
that the accounting system of the
Interstate Commerce Commission does
not provide a setup for the specific
determination of terminal costs. Some
of the larger roads have made these
determinations independently and the
results are striking. Recently one
road in the Chicago gateway found
that it cost them nearly 40 per cent

begun, owing to the laxity and un-
familiarity with cost factors of those
in the business. But this alone will
determine in the future the range of
economic possibilities for the motor.
Street and Highway Capacity. —
Another issue is clear, that if 'the
railroad terminals are to be relieved
by motorizing, serious study must be
given to the problem of the capacity
of streets and highways to serve
them. This problem has received
practically no thought or concerted
action in the past and only the grow-
ing congestion of today has brought it
to the front. Passenger and freight
traffic is today interferring on our
business streets to such an extent, as

1923

Railways

325

to choke business and actually bring
about a resession in values of busi-
ness properties which should other-
wise be on the increase. In Chicago,
(a), just before the war a survey of
L. C. L. freight movement showed
that 60 per cent was transferred
through the city to connecting roads;
over half of it by trucks using the
down town business streets; less than
half by trapcars and freight tunnels.
In Cincinnati, this trap car freight is
now being handled between various
stations by motor cars with inter-
changeable bodies, this traffic is all
going through the business streets
of the city. Here is another problem
which must be solved in a reasonable

ity at the boundaries of the Loop dis-
trict for all-day storage of business
men's cars, thus entirely avoiding the
terminal congestion.

The Water and Road Arteries. —
There should be no misapprehension
in the minds of anyone analyzing na-
tional transportation as to the func-
tions waterways and highways should
play in the whole scheme. Both are
districtly supplemental carriers, one
long haul and the other short haul.
In both cases, future development
must envisage the integration of these
systems with the great railroad net-
work, in order to fulfill the proper
demand of the American public for
the best, quickest and cheapest over

Fig. 8.

way for the larger benefit of the en-
tire community. It points clearly to
the need of trucking by-pass streets
and detour routes avoiding the central
districts and yet giving the motor
freight a chance to reach all parts of
the city with reasonable speed. In
Chicago, the first enterprise of this
kind has ben started, known as the
South Water Street Improvement.
This will provide a wide, double deck
detour thoroughfare around the Loop
district, next to the river bank, with
high speed vehicles above and trucks
below. In addition, it will provide a
very large automobile storage capac-

(a) Arnold Report.

all transportation, origin to destina-
tion regardless of the method. Amer-
ica has but one great long haul in-
ternal waterway — the Mississippi and
its tributaries, with its new canal con-
nection with the Great Lakes. Such
a waterway naturally constitutes a
great intercepting trunk line for
through-movement in large units be-
tween strategic rail connecting points.

It is difficult to see how such a
waterway system can ever become of
maximum utility without joint-rates
and through-routes with the railroad
system, due to the comparative
limited littora which can be served
by the waterways. In the interest of

326

Railways

August,

national efficiency, it would seem that
all the people should have the ad-
vantage of water-transport where
they can use it to advantage. And
under such circumstances, it is logic
and justice that the economies of
water-transport which will automatic-
ally develop with increased traffic
should be reflected back in to the rail-
road system in some equitable man-
ner through rates, so that both rail
and water haul may participate in
these economies. A system of con-
tract-agency operation equitable to all
parties could be devised to fulfill this
condition.

Outside of the Mississippi system
the Warrior is the longest navigat-
able river not even excluding the
Hudson. This means that the major-
its'^ of the inland rivers will be con-
fined to local or comparatively short
haul tonnage which must stop at sea-
board until the inter-costal canal sys-
tem is developed as a Water Belt Line
inter-connecting all these river es-
tuaries with each other and with all
sea-board points and cities. As this
whole waterway system matures and
tonnage develops, water transport
may .reveal unlocked for economies
especially if linked up with railroad
hauls where economic conditions war-
rant.

The cost of waterway development
will probably never mount into the
large figures needed for rails and
motor transport. It is demonstrable
today that the total cost of developing
the lower Mississippi, about $100,000,-
000 (less than half of which went
into new construction) has been paid
back many times by accretion in
values and production within the ter-
ritory now released from flood and
destruction. This is Conservation,
more than navigation. Who are the
beneficiaries ? Obviously not only land
owners, but also the cities, highways
and railways, State and Nation. Again
the total cost of developing and main-
taining the inland waterways of the
country excluding harbors and estu-
aries, since the beginning of the na-
tion's history is probably not more
than one-half what the country spends
in one year on public roads and will
spend on railroads for the next year.
There is therefore much idle talk
about the "pork-barrel." When a fair
operating plan is worked out by con-
tract-agency or otherwise, by which
these waterways can be properly in-

tergrated with the railroad system, as
they must be for achieving their
larger usefulness the opposition will
probably disappear over-night.

The Highway System is in very
much the same category. Highways
are the capillaries of the railroad
system but only since the War has
attention been directed to the fact
that the great problem of collection
and distribution of rail freight rests
largely upon the highways. In fact
it is demonstrable that it costs the
country as much to haul freight to
and from the railroad as to haul it
on the rails and highways must in the
end transport the greater part. Motor
competition with the railroad sinks
into insignificance beside the larger
problem of efficient terminal collec-
tion and delivery. The economic re-
lation of long and short haul costs,
road versus rail is rapidly being de-
veloped by the Connecticut Road Tests
and other studies and before long will
be reasonably well known.

What is now needed is a better or-
ganization of the ofif-rail movement
to and from railroads in order to re-
lease the full line capacity of the lat-
ter and enable the terminals to oper-
ate in movement rather than storage.
This will provide a quicker turn-
around not only for cars, but also
for ships and motors themselves. It
will provide the much needed "Vac-
uum pump" to clear the terminals
more quickly.

It is a curious fact that the Trans-
portation Act, 1920, does not visualize
in any degree this function of high-
way transport as a railroad auxiliary
in through transport, origin to des-
tination. This places the burden of
working out a practicable plan of
coordination upon the carriers them-
selves. And there are evidences to-
day of a sincere desire on the part of
both motor and rail executives to
unite on a better organization of this
ofF-rail movement.

Cost and Benefit. — Another great
need today is a better understanding
of the economic relation of Cost and
Benefit in these great public improve-
ments, both waterways and highways.
This lies at the verv basis of all Pub-
lic Aids projects. The three most im-
portant elements in this problem of
allocation are: (1) The general Pub-
lic at large, (2) Property Owners and
(3) The User or Carrier. The curve
of rise in value of farm property

1923

Railways

327

since the Civil War, especially since
1900, figure 2, indicates clearly that
some effective agency has been at
work. The same rise has taken place
in city property where great public
improvements are involved. Yet, while
local district assessment has long
been used for city improvement, tun-
nels, street widenings, etc., only a
blanket assessment or general spread
of assessment has been used in the
country. Conservation has raised
flood lands from practically no value
to perhaps the highest value of farm
lands in the state. Highway con-
struction has brought farm lands to
values corresponding with suburban
property levels.

There is disposition on the part
of some of the carriers to advocate
placing upon the waterways and high-
ways user the total costs of both
development and maintenance, which
must, of course, be reflected in the
operating costs and rates of their new
agencies. This does not seem to be
either a constructive or far-sighted
policy. And this is quite evident
from the very reasonable assumption
that ultimately, existing carriers may
be enabled to use these water\vays
and highways for their own traffic,
through some form of contract agency
of even direct operation under proper
regulation.

The real question then is to ascer-
tain a fair economic division of costs
and benefits for the good of the whole
country. And in the case of highways
particularly, it is probable that high-
way transport will soen drift down
to a basis of true Cost-of Ser\'ice
just as in public utility properties to-
day and that a Pay-as-you-use policy
will in the long run bring economic
stability to this new transport agency
which has shown such remarkable
virility in its development.

Caption 01 — ■

Examination for Junior Engineer,
U. S. Geological Survey. — The U. S.
Civil Service Commission, Washing-
ton, D. C, has announced an open
competitve examination to fill vacan-
cies in the above position in the-
Water Resources Branch at an en-
trance salary of $1,620 plus S20 per
month.

Track Mower Economically Pro-
duced by Attaching Car Wheels
to Ordinary Farm Implement

From "Traction" Junior for July

Two 36 in. wheels, an ordinary
standard farm mowing machine and a
little ingenuity on the part of J. T.
Mcintosh, general superintendent, and
W. E. McLaughlin, master mechanic
of the Chicago & Interurban Traction
Co., operating a line from Chicago to
Kankakee, has solved the problem of
weed cutting on this busy suburban
and interurban road.

The mower was first modified by
lengthening the axle a sufficient
amount to carry out the wheels to fit
standard gauge of 4 ft. 8^ in. This
was done with a sleeve arrangement.
Two 36 in. car wheels were subjected
to the action of a cutting torch. The
center of both wheels were then cut
out, a hole 12 in. in diameter being
made, and all the metal removed.
The hubs of the mower wheels were
inserted in these holes, the outer face
of the mower wheels abutting the in-
side face of the car wheels. ^

Bolt holes were then burned
through the car wheel to accommo-
date hook l^plts for each of the spokes
of the mower wheels. The hook bolts
fit around the spokes and are tight-
ened by nuts against the outer face of
the car wheels, thus securely holding
the mower wheels against the car
wheels in proper concentric position.
The use of 36 in. wheels gives about
IVz in. clearance for the mower
wheels above crossing plank. In or-
der to cover the hole at the wheel
center a disc of sheet iron was put on
the mower axle.

At the proper place to one side of
the mower shoe, was attached a plate
metal shoe to ride the rail.

Other than to lengthen the mower
axle and attach the shoe, no changes
were necessary in the standard
mower.

A pivot attachment is used to
couple the mower to the car. A line
car is used to pull the mower and a
special off center coupler is supplied
to fit the off center pull of the mower.
The utilization of a standard mower
with only two changes and the using
of two old car wheels makes a very
economical assembly for weed cutting.
The whole outlay including labor for
this equipment did not exceed over
$100.

328

Railways

August,

Some Phases of Present Day Railroad
Transportation

A Paper Presented July 11 at 53rd Annual Convention of American
Society of Civil Engineers

By J. W. KENDRICK,

Consulting Engineer, New York and Chicago.

The railroad system of the United
States, as it exists today, constitutes
a monument to the ingenuity of the
civil engineer and his conferres, the
mechanical and electrical engineer,
for the science of transportation has
come to embrace everything that is
knovi'n in all of the applied sciences
and is not the task or duty of one
profession but of all these professions
combined.

Anyone wrho traverses our great
transcontinental systems, or the rail-
roads of early construction extending
through the Appalachian or other
mountain ranges, cannot fail to be im-
pressed with the accomplishment
that they represent vi^ith respect to
boldness of conception and wisdom of
execution. Our engineers were obliged
to Wild for the then present condi-
tions. No matter how correct their
concept of future development of the
country might have been* they were
limited as to means and were obliged
to consider the factor of economic
worth of the facility when completed.

With the growth of business it be-
came necessary for the railroads to
improve their properties. This re-
quired the expenditure of enormous
sums, and the additional investment
justified increases in the rates charged
for transportation, which were not
forthcorning, however.

Early Railway Operation. — Until
1890 the operation of railroads was
conducted along lines dictated by the
comparatively short practical expe-
rience that had been gained. The
necessity for the adoption of system-
atic methods was beginning to become
apparent and early in the decade that
followed there was instituted in the
Northwest a system of reports as to
current operation that, in a general
sense, constituted the foundation of
the present system of accounting pre-
scribed by the Interstate Commerce
Commission. Other movements of a
similar character may have been in-
augurated in other parts of the coun-
try at the same time, or earlier, but
this particular movement affected in a
very large way the railroad systems

of the West and Northwest and, later,
of the East.

Many of the Western and North-
western railroads doubled their train-
load during the ten years ended in
1900. Some roads had systematically
reduced their grades, and all had im-
proved the quality of their power to
some extent. It is fair to say, how-
ever, that a large percentage of the
improvement that took place in this
period was due to closer and more in-
telligent supervision.

The records of the Interstate Com-
merce Commission are available for
the history of the growth of the rail-
road systems and their business from
1890 up to, and including, 1921,
though complete statistics are not yet
available for the latter year.

Accomplishments of 1890 and 1920.
— Comparing the accomplishments of
1920 with those of 1890, we find that
the road mileage of all railroads in
the United States increased 60 per
cent, miles of all tracks operated in-
creased 97 per cent, operating rev-
enues increased 500 per cent, but oper-
ating expenses increased 760 per cent
and, unfortunately, net operating rev-
enues were 3 per cent less than those
of 1890. , ,

The tons of freight carried one mile
increased during this period 440 per
cent. Passengers carried one mile in-
creased 300 per cent, and, be it noted,
average revenues per ton mile in-
creased only 13 per cent and per pass-
enger mile only 27 per cent.

During the same period the number
of employes increased 177 per cent,
their total compensation increased 800
per cent, and their individual annual
compensation increased 225 per cent.

During the same time, taxes in-
creased 787 per cent.

The expansion of 1920 was, to a cer-
tain extent, spasmodic, and, as is well
known, it was followed by a falling off
in business in 1921. The onward
march has, however, commenced
again. The magnitude of operations
in 1922 was greater than in the pre-
ceding year, but, whereas the tonnage
is apparently going to be greater this

1923

Railways

329

year than ever before, the revenues
are not increasing in like proportion.

We have enjoyed the blessings of
cheap and unlimited transportation
for so long a time that the genera-
tions that were born in this era, and
many who have survived the period
when the railroad was still a strug-
gling enterprise, have come to look
upon it as a matter of course, have, in
fact, come to look upon it as some-
thing that was given, if not by the
Gods, by that portion of the public
which, having faith in their country
and their fellow men, invested their
substance in railroad securities.

This country has fallen upon evil
days in which it has become a matter
of interest to some and an obsession
in the case of others to preach the
doctrine that the transportation sys-
tems of the country are owned by the
representatives of concentrated
wealth, and that in the processes of
their operation the masses are ground
down and compelled to pay extortion-
ate prices for the transportation of
their persons and property for the en-
richment of these relatively few and
enormously rich people.

Ownership of Railroad Securities. —
A %'ast number of both men and
women of the United States are in
about equal proportions interested in
railroad securities in small lots, not
only directly as individual investors
but also severally because of their
participation in many great enter-
prises that are investors in railway
securities, notably the companies that
insure their lives and property, for it
is a fact that 57,000,000 insurance pol-
icies are now in force in this country.
The savings banks represent the same
and other millions of citizens who are
investors in railroad securities. The
general public is again represented in
great educational and charitable insti-
tutions which are investors in the se-
curities of the carriers, so that the
owTiership of the railroads constitutes
an important part of practically all
that is best and noblest in a great
country.

Rates must be sufficient to properly
maintain the railroads. In no way can
the people at large escape the cost
made necessary by adequate rates. If
taxation is resorted to it will bear
upon those who have property which
is taxable. Those who have property
derive it from industry, by the em-
ployment of those who may not have
property that can be taxed, but those
who pay the taxes must collect the

money from the general commiinity in
the dealings common in all society, so
manifestly no one can escape.

Average revenues per ton and per
passenger mile have shown little in-
crease during long periods, although
there were wide fluctuations in prices
of labor, material and merchandise of
all kinds.

The Mistake of the Past.— In the
past we have made the mistake of be-
ing more concerned about the cheap-
ness of transportation than about the
ability of the railroads to handle
promptly all the traffic offered. As a
result of the constant pressure for
lower rates, railway expansion was
arrested at a time when there was a
tremendous increase in the capacity
for production. Recurrent transpor-
tation shortages during the last sev-
eral years have serv-ed to prove that
we are following a shortsighted pol-
icy. Good transportation is cheap at
any price fairly commensurate with
the cost of its performance.

It is well kiio\vn that for many
years practically all railway financing
has been accomplished through bor-
rowings, as investors have been re-
luctant to purchase the stocks of any
but the strongest companies and thus
assume the greater risk of partner-
ship in the business. Railway capitali-
zation has therefore become top-heax^y
with debt at the expense of the secur-
ity of railway stocks. What is needed
is the bringing of new partners into
the business of the financing of rail-
way expansion and improvement
through the sale of stock issues.

Even our strongest companies have
had to pay during the past few year?
for equipment upon a so-called equip-
ment trust plan, which provides for a
payment of part of the principal in
cash at the outset and the balance
during a term of years, a plan that
does not enable a railroad to finance
such an undertaking upon as good
terms as it is entitled to receive, for
such securities run only for a short
period and command comparatively
high rates of interest.

The Effect of Government Regula-
tion.— The course of economic develop-
ments during the last 20 years throws
much lisrht upon the reason why the
policv of government regulation which
has been followed has produced the
effect it has upon the development of
our railroads. The Hepburn Act giv-
ing the Interstate Commerce Commis-
sion real power to regulate railwav
rates went into effect in 1906. At ap-

330

Railways

August,

proximately the same time the legis-
latures of numerous states passed
laws requiring reductions of freight
and passenger rates and created or
strengthened railroad or public utility
commissions which themselves soon
ordered reductions in rates.

We can now look back over the his-
tory of prices and wages in this coun-
try and determine beyond question
that at this point there were begin-
ning great economic changes which
made this the worst time that could
have been selected to commence to re-
duce railway rates. The history of
prices shows that it was at just about
this time that there began general ad-
vances in the prices of commodities
which were due to worldwide economic
conditions and causes. This advancing
tendency of prices caused increases in
the cost of living, and naturally
prompted railway employes to seek
advances in their wages. It is a mat-
ter of history that the first large ad-
vance in railway wages made in years
occurred in 1907.

These advances in prices and wages
tended, of course, to increase the oper-
ating expenses of railways. In con-
sequence the railways in 1910 sought
to make a general advance of about 10
per cent in freight rates. This was
prevented by an act of Congress which
authorized the Interstate Commerce
Commission to prohibit any advance
in rates which it found unreasonable,
and by a decision of the Commission
holding that this proposed advance
was unreasonable.

Conditions in 1914.— While the In-
terstate Commerce Commission could
and did prevent a general advance in
rates, there was not and could not be
legislation to prevent a continuance of
the general increase in prices. The
consequence was that in the year 1914,
when the war in Europe began, the
average wholesale price of all com-
modities in the United States was
more than 16 per cent higher than in
1906 when effective regulation of
railway rates was begun. In 1917,
when this country entered the war, al-
though the average railway freight
rate actually was lower than in 1906,
the average wholesale price of all
commodities was more than 100 per
cent high. In 1918 it was 128 per
cent higher than in 1906. In 1919 it
was 146 per cent higher, and in 1920
almost 183 per cent higher.

Of course, this general and almost
unprecedented increase in prices
caused a corresponding increase in the

cost of living, and made necessary
further advances in the wages of labor
and in other railway operating ex-
penses. Meantime, the railway regu-
lating authorities continued persist-
ently to refuse to make advances in
rates which even approached these in-
creases in prices. In 1919, through-
out which year the advance in rates
made by the Railroad Administration
under government control was in
effect, the average freight revenue per
ton mile was only 13 ^^ per cent high-
er than in 1906, and even the large
general advance granted in 1920 made
the average revenue per ton mile less
than 70 per cent higher than it was in
1906, although, as I have said, the
average wholesale price of commodi-
ties in that year was 183 per cent
higher than in 1906.

Ratio of Operating Expense and
Revenue. — One of the best measures
of the prosperity of a railroad or any
other business is the number of cents
out of each dollar earned by it that is
paid out for earning it, that is, for
operating expenses. If you apply this
measure to the results of railroad
operation in this country before and
since the effective and drastic regula-
tion of rates was adopted it discloses
certain significant facts. That is, that
during the earlier period of less rigid
regulation, say, from 1890 to 1910,
there was only one year, namely, 1908,
which was a year of depression, when
the ratio of operating expenses to
operating revenues of the railways ex-
ceeded 70 per cent. On the other
hand, there never has been a year
since 1911, when the Interstate Com-
merce Commission rendered its deci-
sion denying the railways the first
general advance in rates for which
they asked, that the ratio of the ex-
penses of railways to their earnings
has not exceeded 70 per cent, and in
some years 80 per cent. It is also a
notable fact that from 1911 on there
was, until recently, a decline in in-
vestments in railroad facilities and in
the expansion of the capacity of the
railroads.

Reduction in Ton Mile Cost. — Ap-
parently, the railroad situation has so
far been saved in this country by the
reduction of ton mile costs through the
untiring and persistent effort to in-
crease the net tons per train mile,
which has offset, to a considerable ex-
tent, the enormous increases in ex-
penses that have resulted from other
causes heretofore mentioned.

The following table shows the aver-

1923

Railways

331

age net tons of revenue freight hauled
per freight train mile and the total
freight train miles for the year
named :

Year
1890
1900
1910
1920

Net Revenue Tons

Per Train Mile

175

270
380
647

Total Freight
Train Miles
435,171,000
492,568,000
671.258.000
634,294.000

In 1921 the net revenue tons per
train mile only decreased to 596 (or
8 per cent) in spite of a falling off
of over a hundred billion ton miles (or
34 per cent) from the total of the
previous year.

It should be understood in what fol-
lows that the term "Variable Cost,"
means the expense of such functions
of operation as vary in accordance
with the number of trains run. It is
obvious that there are various ex-
penses, such as superintendence and
wages of station employes, which are
practically fixed regardless of the
number of trains run, while there are
others that vary in proportion to the
increase or decrease of train miles.

Total ton miles in 1910 were about
2.56 million, and in 1920 they had in-
creased to over 411 billion, or 61 per
cent. I call your attention to the fact
that, in spite of this increase, there
was an actual decrease of 6 per cent in
freight train miles. This performance
is nothing short of wonderful, and ex-
plains the principal reason for the
vitality and strength of our transpor-
tation system, which has been obliged
to endure much. It is a grave ques-
tion how long the railroads can main-
tain this wonderful financial resiliency.
The Reduction in Train Mileage. —
In arriving at savings on account of
the handling of an equal, or greater,
tonnage with a reduction in train
miles the items which vary with fluc-
tuations in train miles have been se-
lected from the analysis of operating
expenses of Class I railways for the
year 1920, published by the Interstate
Commerce Commission. The expenses
under the various heads were appor-
tioned to freight train service accord-
ing to the method prescribed by the
Commission.

The total of these selected items
was found to be $1,404,000,000, and
represents 69 per cent of the total
charges to the accoimts from which
those items were drawn, the balance
being chargeable to passenger and
allied services and arbitrarily appor-
tioned to such services, and a small
amount is unrelated to either freight
or passenger services.

The total freight train mileage in
1920 was 634,294,101, so that the vari-
able cost per freight train mile was
$2.21.

In 1910 no attempt was made to al-
locate operating expenses to freight
and passenger operation separately,
but the com.bined cost of these se-
lected items was $628,632,126, and if
the same percentage was properly
chargeable to freight ser\ice in that
year as in 1920, namely 69 per cent,
the amount of these expenses which
was subject to variation, or fluctua-
tion, with increase or decrease in
freight train miles was $433,756,080,
which divided by the total freight
train miles run in 1910, or 671,257,-
888, gives 65 cts. as the variable cost
of a freight train mile in that year,
so that, upon this basis the increase in
the variable cost during the ten years
from 1910 to 1920 was $1.56, or 240
per cent.

While a portion of this increase is
undoubtedly due to increased size of
locomotives, by far the iarger portion
is accounted for by the tremendous
increases in wage rates of train and
enginemen, prices of fuel, together
with the increased wages paid the
various shop crafts, and other rea-
sons that are well known.

The Wages of Railway Employes. —
The wages of a standard through
freight train crew, consisting of an en-
gineer, a fireman, a conductor and two
brakemen, increased 124 per cent dur-
ing the decade under consideration;
the price of locomotive coal per ton
at the mines increased 187 per cent
and wages of machinists (taken as
typical of the shop crafts) increased
138 per cent.

These increased wages and fuel
costs are, of course, due to changing
economic conditions, but the rates re-
ceived by the railroads for transpor-
tation should also vary in accordance
with the same changing conditions.

In 1910 the average ton miles of
revenue freight per train mile was
380, and in 1920 it was 647, an in-
crease of 267 ton miles, or 70 per
cent. The total freight train miles in
1920 was 634,294,101, and if the
trainload had not been increased, that
is, if it had remained 380 tons as in
1910, it would have required approxi-
mately 444,000,000 more trains to
have handled the net ton miles of
1920. Multipljing this by the vari-
able cost per freight train mile in
1920. S2.21, gives the astonishing total
of $981,240,000.

332

Raikvays

August,

Increase in tractive power of loco-
motives undoubtedly was a factor in
this remarkable result. While it is
impossible to segregate locomotives as-
signed wholly or principally to road
freight service, it is known that the
average weight per locomotive owned
by Class I railways in 1910 was 73^/^
tons, while in 1920 it was 94 tons, an
increase of 28 per cent.

In my opinion, the building up, or
increase, in trainload has been due to
increased weight of locomotives,
greater capacity and heavier loading
of cars, and to some extent to reduc-
tion of grades and elimination of
curvature, but very largely to the
supervisory movement for this pur-
pose that has extended throughout the
country.

Railroads Have InsuflScient Working
Balance. — It is evident that a decrease
of a billion dollars per year, or even
of half that sum, resulting from a
period of lean business, which it would
be impossible to offset by reduced oper-
ating expenses, would bring bank-
ruptcy to many railroads. In other
words, the railroads have an insuffi-
cient working balance and are receiv-
ing rates that are too low in view of
the serious fluctuations in tonnage,
regional or general, by which they are
constantly threatened.

Increase in trainload during the
decade ended with 1920 was respon-
sible for a reduction of almost a bil-
lion dollars in operating expenses.
The amount saved ($981,240,000) is
equivalent to a rate of return of over
5 per cent on the property investment
in that year, and also on the tentative
valuation of the Interstate Commerce
Commision for rate-making purposes,
$18,900,000,000.

There is another point: Railroads
have invested an enormous sum in
passenger locomotives, facilities and
eouipment. If the subject of variable
train mile costs were considered from
a passenger standpoint ?s it has been
from the standpoint of freierht move-
ment there would be a still further
large sum for which the railroads
would he entitled to receive credit on
account of greater economy due to bet-

ter devices and the superior quality
of supervision with which they have
been managed.

I would like to state most definitely
and emphatically that the greatest
reduction in expenses that has ever
been secured in the operation of the
railroads has been through the in-
crease in train tonnage and the di-
minution in train mileage.

Railroad Operation Under the
Transportation Act. — In conclusion, I
quote from a pamphlet issued by the
Association of Railway Executives,
and entitled, "Three Years of Rail-
road Operation under the Transpor-
tation Act":

"The net operating income on Class I roads
for the year 1920 was only $17,226,902. The
guarantee by the Government for the six
months' period, therefore, was the only thing
that saved a large number of roads from
bankruptcy.

"The statutory return, the net railway oper-
ating income, deficit below statutory return,
and the rate of return, both on the property
investment of the carriers and on the ten-
tative valuation for rate-making purposes by
the Commission, are shown in the following
table. It is obvious from this table how much
Class I roads fell below the realization of a
return which was declared by the Commission
to be, in its judgment, a fair return. Thus
the public's transportation bill, as represented
by freight and passenger charges, for the
years in question was reduced substantially
two billion dollars at the expense of a fair
return to railroad owners on their property
devoted to public use.

The Transportation Act became ef-
fective on February 29, 1920. It is
the first act of constructive legislation
affecting the railroads for many years.
It should not be amended or changed
in any way to adversely affect its
value to the railroads or the public,
i. e., it should be given a fair trial
extending over such periods as may be
necessary to point out the defects
which it undoubtedly contains. To
proceed hurriedly will certainly bring
costly errors. It is sincerely to be
hoped that a faithful observance of
its provisions, both by the Government
and the carriers, will prove its worth,
but the railroads are entitled to receive
a fair return on the value of their in-
vestment, and that the return has not
been fair during the three years that
have nassed must be conceded by all
fair thinking persons.

Rate of Return on

•Statutory

Net Railway

Deficit Below

Property Tentative

Year

Return

Operating Income

Statutory Return

Investment Valuation

1920

$1,1.34.000,000

$ 17,226,902

$1,116,773,098

0.09% 0.10 %t

1921

1,134,000,000

600,888,351

533,111,649

3.08% 3.29%

1922

1,094,625,000

759,946,000
$1,378,061,253

334,679,000

3.82% 4.09%

Total

$3,362,625,000

$1,984,563,747

tEstimated.

♦Six per cent on tentative valuation by Interstate Commerce Commission for rate-making
purposes, years 1920 and 1921, and 5% per cent in 1922.

1923 Railways 333

Trolley Construction for Heavy Ellectric Traction

Satisfactory Tests on Currents Elxceeding 5000 Amperes Described in
Railway Age of July 21, 1923

A new type of overhead trolley
construction has been developed by
the General Electric Company which
is extremely flexible and which makes
possible the collection of currents of
more than 5,000 amperes from a
single pantagraph. A series of tests
to show the qualities of the overhead
construction were made during this
week on test tracks at Erie, Pa., for
the benefit of a large group of invited
guests.

The test train consisted of a 110-ton
passenger type locomotive arranged
for operation on 750 or 1,500 volts
and equipped with four bipolar gear-
less motors, a gondola and a New
York Central observation coach. On
account of the short length of the

used to collect 4,000 amperes at 850
volts. 3. At 30 miles an hour, two
pantagraphs were used to collect 5,000
amperes at 850 volts. 4. At 60 miles
an hour two pantagraphs were used
to collect 5,000 amperes at 850 volts.
5. At 58 miles an hour one » panta-
graph was used to collect 5,400 am-

A Section of the Overhead TroDey
Construction.

cab, the second pantagraph was
mounted on the gondola to simulate
operating conditions. The normal
pressure of the pantagraph against
the trolley wire was between 30 and
35 lbs. By means of remote controlled
contactors, sections of loading grids
indicated in the gondola were inserted
or removed so as to draw whatever
current was called for under each
particular test.

Some of the guests were invited to
ride in the locomotive cab. Others
rode in the obsen-ation coach which
was equipped with indicating instru-
ments to show the amount of current
collected and the speed of the train.

Five tests were made as follows:

1. With the train running at 60 miles
an hour, one pantagraph was used to
collect 4,000 amperes at 1,500 volts.

2. At a speed varying from 50 to 60
miles an hour, one pantagraph was

Latticed Channel Bracket Pole.

peres at 850 volts. It was necessary
to make the higher amperage tests
at the lower voltage because of the
limited i)ower available. Witnesses
of the tests stationed on obser\'ation
towers remarked on the complete ab-
sence of sparking.

To proNide facilities, the General

334

Railways

August,

Electric Company made use of the
eastern division of the East Erie Com-
mercial Railroad. These tracks are
equipped with up-to-date overhead
line construction and third rail and
are supplied from a sub-station with
whatever trolley voltage may be re-
quired.

That portion of the track which is
used for testing purposes is at pres^
ent 23.4 miles in length. An exten-
sion is now under construction which
will give a total length of 4% miles.
The length of track used for high
speed running is about 2% miles long,
the remainder being used for slowing
down the train. Included in this high
speed section, there is one mile of
level tangent track. Beyond this tan-
gent there is a slightly ascending

extending up to bridge No. 13.
Bridges No. 14 to 18, inclusive, are
Bethlehem column bridges. The struc-
tures from No. 19 to 23 are latticed
channel bracket poles; from No. 24
to 28, inclusive, 10-in. Bethlehem
bracket poles; from 29 to 33, inclu-
sive, 9-in. Bethlehem bracket poles.
Bridge No. 34 is latticed column type
used for an anchor. The steel struc-
tures are spaced 300 ft. throughout.
All of the steel structural work was
supplied by the Archibald Brady
Company, Syracuse, N. Y.

The primary messenger consists of
a %-in. 7-strand high strength steel
cable, from structure No. 1 to 34. The
secondary messenger is a 1,000,000
circular mil stranded copper cable
between bridges No. 1 and 15, and a

Test Train and Section Df trolley.

grade with curves of from 1 to 1%
deg. The rail used is of 100-lb. sec-
tion which is laid with 24-in. tie spac-
ing in slag or stone ballast. There
is also about one mile of extra rail
which is used for testing odd gage
locomotives.

The working conductor is located
22 ft. above the rail. The overhead
construction is compound catenary
with a steel messenger and a sec-
ondary copper messenger to which is
"laced" duplex copper working con-
ductors. The two contact wires are
supported at alternate points by the
lacing. A portion of the secondary
messenger is 1,000,000 cm. copper and
the remainder 750,000 cm. The over-
head line is fed at one point from
the substation in building No. 60 of
the G. E. plant.

The steel supporting structures be-
gin about 600 ft. west of the sub-
station with latticed column bridges

750,000 circular mil stranded copper
cable from bridges No. 15 to 34.

From bridges No. 1 to 16 and from
No. 20 to 34, the working conductor
consists of two 0000 grooved hard
drawn copper wires hanging side by
side. From bridges No. 16 to 20
two 000000 copper wires are used.

The laced suspension is installed
throughout with a No. 0 stranded cop-
per cable supporting the working con-
ductors from the secondary messen-
ger. Droppers from the primary mes-
senger support the secondary messen-
ger at points 30 ft. apart. The work-
ing conductors are supported from the
secondary messenger by clips spaced
15 ft. apart on each wire.

To permit witnessing conveniently
the current collection observation tow-
ers had been erected to a height of
approximately the top of the panta-
graph, at various points along the
track.

1923 Railways 835

The substation contains two sjm- consequent decay. A few had been

chronous motor generator sets with burned by transmission lines, ar-

switching equipment suitable for con- resters being defective. At that time,

necting there units to supply any the inspection report stated that there

trolley potential from 600 to 3,000 were a few more pools that should be

volts. One of these sets has a rated renewed, but that the line generally

capacity of 1,000 kw. and consists of was in fine condition and should easily

two 500 kw. 1,500/3,000-volt gener- give 15 years more service,

ators direct connected to a synchron- Of the poles, 1,290 (about 40 percent

ous motor. The second unit is of sim- loblolly) were treated at Slidell, La.,

ilar construction but with two 750 in the following manner: The poles

kw. generators. Full capacity can be were first steamed six hours at 30 lb.,

obtained with both series and par- 274° F. They were next subjected to

allel connection, and lower voltages a vacuum for four hours at 26 in. Oil

can be obtained by adjusting the rheo- pressure was then applied for one-half

stats in the generator fields. Both of to one hour at 60 to 90 lb. English

these sets are designed to operate at coal-tar creosote was used, and

three times normal load for short showed the following analysis:

periods, and a total of 6,000 kw. can DistuiaUon

be obtained, the limit of the power Temperature, Deg. C Percent

SUpplv. 0 tx) 170 _ 1.00

170 to 205 5.00

C • £ n _x • D •! 205 to 210 4.50

clxpenences or tlectnc Railway 210 to 235 „ as.so

With Pressure Treated Wood 235 to 300 _j6^

Poles Above 300, residue..^ „_ „24.50

Loss _ . .50

In 1907 the Chicago, Lake Shore &

South Bend Ry. installed 2,500 treated „ .. •..,= ., ^ i°?-°?

poles on its line between Kensington ^"r^r aS'pL^^nl !^L r." " %

(Chicago), 111., and South Bend, Ind.,

a distance of about 75 miles. The ex- The oil used for treating 1,500 poles

periences of this railway with this in- at Pascagoula, Miss., showed the fol-

stallation are given by Howard H. lowing analysis:

George, in a recent issue of the Elec- Distillation

trie Railway Journal, from which the Temperature, Deg. C. Per Cent

matter following is taken. 0 to 210 _ 1.50

The poles were of Southern yellow 935*0270 • ^2.50

pine, about 40 per cent loblolly; they 270 to 31s _.'.!Z"...!Z"1 "T" "" iiiso

were 45 ft. long, and measured at ., ^,„ .,

least 2914 in. in circumference at the ^^"^ ^^^- '"^'•'^''^ z!^

top and at least 39h^ in. 6 ft. from 100.00

the butt. The treatment was by the Specific gravity at 35 deg. c 1.047

full-cell pressure process, with 12 lb. These poles were treated without

absorption per cubic foot. They were any preliminary seasoning, that is,

<iyAn T ^^ Pascagoula, Miss., and some of them had been cut two weeks

rf ^ ' h^' , , ,. , and some two months. The majoritv

Ihe line runs through a slightly were cut from longleaf vellow pine or

rolling country. In the section be- second-growth longleaf pine, although

tween New Cariisle and South Bend about 40 per cent were loblolly. They

the soil IS sandy clay and black loam, were steamed twelve hours at 35 lb.,

Between Kensington and Hammond followed by a vacuum period of six

the soil IS black mud, and between hours at 23 to 24 in. It required from

Hammond and New Cariisle it is sand. two to four hours at 100 to 125 lb.

Poles in Good Condition. — The poles pressure to impregnate with 12 lb. oil

carry an average equipment of two per cubic foot.

10-ft. crossarms supporting single-

phase and three-phase 33,000-volt cir- 90 Miles an Hour in France.— The

cuits, telephone and signal lines, as General Electric Co. is completing a

well as mastarm trolley, etc. The poles 120-ton locomotive for use on the

were all set in concrete because of Paris-Orleans Railway in France,

ground conditions. This machine is expected to make

The last official inspection was in more than 90 miles an hour. It is

November, 1922. At that time 60 62 ft. long and operates at 1,500

poles had been removed, mostly due to volts with gearless motors on two 3-

the presence of woodpecker holes and axle driWng trucks.

336

Railways

August,

The College Graduate and His First Job

Some, Useful Advice to the Newly Fledged Engineer Given in The

Colorado Engineer

By ROBERT L. CATLETT

In this article, an attempt will be
made to try to give you an idea of
what is in store for you when you first
turn to this serious business of mak-
ing a living. The fact as to whether
your four years have been properly
spent is of little interest to you now.
You want to get out and earn money
and fame, lots of it, and in a hurry.
You have a good education and you
have confidence, but it is this confi-
dence that is likely to cause the initial
upset.

There is, perhaps, not one of you
who has not the feeling that you pos-
sess unusual ability which is being
held back for the "proper time." The
proper time, of course, is, when in
some meager capacity, j'^ou are drudg-
ing along the engineering field and the
great situation arises, the solution to
which, you, a young inexperienced
graduate, are the only one to give at
the moment. The result is both pro-
motion, and a big boost in salary.
Now and then such things do happen.
History records such deeds at any
rate. But we are not dealing with
this 100 to 1 shot in this article. The
only trouble with this whole scheme
is that the situation you rise to meet
so magnificently in your mind, is also
a product of your mind, which, in turn,
is the result of some assignment in
your text book. No wonder you can
meet it! Engineering practice but
rarely is a party of the second part
to such coincidence.

The foregoing may appear vague as
an explanation of an upset in confi-
dence, but it does justify the state-
ment when it is said that your confi-
dence is one-sided. In other words,
you have never been closely allied
with industry and you do not know
what is required. To put it another
way, the fellows with whom you now
associate are of the same age and the
same group with whom you have
struggled through grammar school,
through preparatory school, and lastly
through college. Your ideas, your
ideals, your very actions are the same.
You have been in the so-called "pro-
tected atmosphere." You do not have,
nor can you be expected to have, the
practical conception of the manner in

which business is conducted in a busi-
ness man's way.

Now comes the change. You are
going to associate with men younger
and older, as well as with those of
your own age;; men who have not had
as much education as yourself as well
as those whio have had the same, or
more education than you. How are
you going to get along with these fel-
lows?

By this time you have tolerated in
a bored manner advice which has been
given you on -how to become a suc-
cess. You know you won't follow it,
but it may be well to remember it, be-
cause in all events it will help you
to place yourself in a self-appointed
category later on. There is no group
of people that dislike advice like high
school and college graduates, besides,
who is the individual who does not
like to find out things for himself.
You know full well the destination, but
it is the experience of the trip that
appeals before and which you regret
later.

Choosing the First Job.— The mat-
ter of choosing your first job is also
filled with a volley of advice. Some
will advise going away from home,
others that it is foolish; yet there
is not one that will perhaps consider
your temperament in offering a solu-
tion to your future. All advice in a
degree is based on what that person
would do if he himself were concerned.
If you make your own decision on your
first job, you will either justify your
convictions for your future work if it
is satisfactory, or you will satisfy
yourself that your first impression was
wrong and be willing to try some-
thing else. The second condition is
the rule more than the first. In fact,
an executive of the largest and most
powerful corporation of its kind in
the United States stated: "I have
always been in favor of a young man
just out of school changing positions
every three or four months unless he
happens to be in a position where he
can secure varied experience. After
about two years of this miscellaneous
work a man is in a position to go into
office, design, or business engineering
with a much better foundation than

1923

Railivays

337

if he started into office work right
away."

It might be well at this point to
outline in a general way what a grad-
uate is likely to expect if he chooses
one of the many groups of industries
to gain his experience.

Industrial Plants. — All industries
can be classified under two distinct
heads, production and merchandizing.
Due to the wide range of products
that are produced, it can easily be de-
duced that there is a range equally
as ydde, to which engineering is as-
sociated in realizing these products;
that is, engineering may bear a direct
relation to production in one factory,
and in another only indirectly. The
important point to remember in this
regard is, that the greatest remunera-
tion goes to those directly concerned
in producing a product or in selling it.

Included in this group is the test
floor experience, the details of which
have doubtless been presented to you
by this time. Opinion is about equally
di\-ided over the value of the time
spent in this work. Usually those
who praise it are those whose posi-
tions call for this experience; while
those who discount it have never had
occasion to apply the experience to the
work they follow.

Wages paid while in this work are
usually small, and the hours are likely
to be long.

Let us consider the plant that has
its own power plant, water works, re-
frigeration plant, etc., such as steel
mills, smelters, or chemical plants.
In addition to operation and mainte-
nance experience, there is always a
large amount of construction work go-
ing on at all times.

Many of these industries have no
definite procedure for the graduate to
follow when he is first employed.
They simply start you in as a helper
wherever there is a vacancy. You
learn how a building is actually built
by helping to build it; how a machine
acts under actual working conditions
by installing it, and then keeping it
in operation. In other words, you put
on a pair of overalls and learn to
work with your hands as well as use
your head. This sort of work throws
you on your owti resources and gives
a reasonable latitude in demonstrating
your ability.

You observ'e other men, how they
do a job, hpw long it takes them to
do it, why it is one foreman has the
respect of his men while another is
held in contempt. It is a course for

which no text book has been written.
You might term it a laboratory course
in human nature.

Usually it is in this class of work
that you get your worst "hazing."
Regardless of how imassuming you
are you simply shout, "I am a college
graduate." It is in your manner and
simply cannot be disguised from the
practical man. The result is that
you will perhaps be given some dirti^
disagreeable job, not because the forffl|
man has a grudge against you, but ap
one foreman put it, "I always giv«
them that sort of work when they first
come to me to see if they have any-,
'guts.' " As a rule, your conceit and
false pride are the only things that
suffer while going through this initial
stage.

It would appear as though an at-
tempt is being made to create the
impression that the practical man re-
sents a college graduate in general.
This is indeed not the case. With
very few exceptions they are eager
to show you all they know if they are
approached properly, and it is that
ability to gain the respect of these
men that can help you, which the fore-
man or superintendent is quick to ob-
ser\"e.

Taken as a whole, this sort of ex-
perience is filled with long hours, hard,
disagreeable work, and tends to break
your spirit. Yet after it is all over
you have just as much pride over
having gone through with it as
Charles M. Schwab, retired head of the
Bethlehem Steel Co., gets in still be-
ing able to drive railroad spikes,
which was his first job.

Another redeeming feature is that
you can earn a wage equal to any-
thing that is offered to a graduate due
to the fact that you are on an hourly
basis.

Public Utilities. — Under public util-
ities are included those industries
which are subject to commission rul-
ings.

K there is not a cadet or an ap-
prentice course established by the
company, the experience obtained with
a public utility is about the same as
can be expected in an industrial plant.

For those who choose a company
offering a cadet course, a very inter-
esting line of experience can be ex-
pected. It is two weeks in a "white
collar job" followed possibly by two
weeks of hard manual labor with some
of the construction forces, and so on
through the various departments until
you have made a complete circuit of

388

Railways

August,

each phase of the business. The
amount that you learn depends en-
tirely upon yourself; in fact, such
courses are designed for your benefit
because at that period your service
would hardly be placed under assets
on the company's balance sheet. Here
again you will find, that what is
looked for most in your conduct is
how you get along with the men,
whether you have enough initiative to
go ahead without always being told,
and if you show any signs of leader-
ship.

After a year or so of such shifting
about, an office job is offered, and you
breathe a sigh of relief to think that
at last you are to get into some real
engineering. Giadually you realize
the job you have is nothing but that
of a high grade clerk, and further-
more that you are up against some
real competition, because there are
"many other graduates ahead of you.
It is from this point with its keen
competition that you gradually begin
to gravitate to work oest suited for
you. How far you advance depends
entirely upon yourself because there
is every opportunity to just simply
drift along doing the work that is re-
quired rather than put up a fight
against the keen competition in order
to rise out of a rut.

As a rule, salaries are lower than
those paid by industrial plants for
the same degree of responsibility, yet
it is a business that does not slump
off materially during business depres-
sion.

Position in Foreign Countries. — For
the man who craves excitement, a for-
eign job in most cases will satisfy the
keenest appetite, but it is well to re-
member that American firms discount
very heavily experience gained in for-
eign countries if the applicant applies
for a position in the United States at
the expiration of his commission.

In places like Central and South
America, American and British ex-
porting firms offer attractive salaries,
transportation to and from the job,
long vacations, bonuses and so forth,
but require to sign a contract for from
two to five years. Of course, this does
not mean that you are compelled to
stay the limit of your contract, but
your compensation in the form of
bonus is so arranged that you do not
get full benefit of it until the expira-
tion of your contract.

Several years ago, the writer had
an interview with the representative
of a large holding company regarding

a position with a company which they
operated in Guatemala, Central Amer-
ica. This is the manner in which the
representative summarized the entire
question of foreign jobs. "Before you
think about going to a foreign coun-
try, especially Guatemala, you should
know what you are going into. In the
first place, Guatemala is in the trop-
ics, and some cannot stand the cli-
mate. There are frequent earth-
quakes, and an active volcano is al-
ways on the job, and in case these fail
to bring about enough excitement,
revolution breaks out every so often.
I myself went down to the tropics
after graduating, to be gone three
months. But the fact is, I have been
back to New York only three times in
twelve years. Many men are like my-
self. Once they start working in the
tropics it is impossible to get them to
work any place else."

The point seems to be a question
as to whether you are willing to live
in foreign countries for the rest of
your life. There is no doubt about the
opportunities that present themselves
in many foreign countries at the pres-
ent time, and for the person who has
a restless disposition, one who knows
full well that he could not make good
by staying in small surroundings, a
job of this nature may be the very
thing that will help you find your-
self.

No Infallible Prescription for Suc-
cess.— As previously stated, attempt
has been made to give an idea of
what is waiting for you when you
enter the practical field, but no at-
tempt has been made to give a specific
solution to the difficulties you will get
into. If there exists an individual
who could write an infallible prescrip-
tion for success applicable to every
one, a new billionaire would be added
to the list and the world would not
be half as interesting to live in.

There are going to be many times
during the first few years out of
school that you will be ready to give
up the whole business. Advancement
will not be fast enough to^ suit you,
increases in salary will be infrequent
and small, perhaps, and you will be
thoroughly discouraged and disil-
lusioned. At this stage you will no
doubt ask yourself: "Is it I, or is
it the Company? Why don't I ad-
vance faster?" You will signal out
department heads about you who have
not had college training, and wonder
how they ever hold their jobs. Inex-
perienced graduates are very critical!

1923

Railways

339

Yet all you need to do is look about
you to see men who are a success and
if you ask them they will no doubt
tell you that they too had to "flounder"
about before they found themselves.

"Finding" yourself and "success in
this world is gained by taking advan-
tage of things as they exist, and not
through wasting time on talking about
things as they ought to be or might
have been."*

'Industrial Miiagement, November, 1922.

Cutting Concrete Piles With
Djmamite

How an Otherwise DifRcult Job Was
Simply and Effectively Accomplished

Bv LIEUT. COMMANDER S. GOR-
DON (C. E. C.) U. S. N.

Reprinted From "The Explosives Engineer,"
July, 1923

Since, in the construction of a re-
inforced concrete wharf at the Pearl

off timber piles below the mud line,
decided to try this method for cutting
off the concrete piles. After explod-
ing a stick of 60 9o dynamite in a
1-in. horizontal hole cored at the butt
of a test pile, the shattered concrete
was cut away, the surface smoothed
with carborundum, tests for cleavage
made on the concrete with magnify-
ing glass and hammer, and the rein-
forcing rods subjected to bending
tests.

As both concrete and rods were
found undamaged, holes were then
cored around the butts of the remain-
ing piles, which were shot in batteries
of eight. This method enabled the
whole piling to be sheared in a re-
markably short time, and in no case
was the disruptive damage found to
extend beyond 18 in. from the center
of the charge. By bending the ex-
posed reinforcing rods into the beams
to be carried by them, an excellent
bond between piling and superstruc-
ture was obtained. That the wharf

Concrete Piles Cut by Dynamite.

Harbor Naval Station, the depth to
which the concrete piling would sink
could only be determined roughly be-
forehand, it was not surprising that
the driven piles should come to re-
fusal with the butts approximately 7
ft. above the desired level. The writ-
er, having noticed the clean break
made by dynamite when used to cut

foundations were not weakened by the
shots was shown after completion of
the wharf when the damage done by
a 250-ton coal barge, in capsizing
alongside, extended no further than a
small area of shattered deck, which
could be repaired at a nominal cost,
and did not in any way affect either
the beams or the piling.

340

Railways

August,

The Explosive Contractor

The Field and Equipment Required,

Outlined by the 1 echnical Division

of the Atlas Power Co.

There are few vocations which offer
more opportunities for expansion
than that of explosive contractor.
While it is not a profession, it is an
occupation in which the field is un-
limited and not over crowded as in
many professional fields.

The handling of explosives is not
particularly hazardous if ordinary
precautions are taken, but in spite of
this fact the lay mind is apt to re-
gard explosives as something to be
avoided and consequently is willing
to pay a very attractive compensation
to someone else to do the work.

An explosive contractor's duties re-
quire him to be in the open a great
part of the time, leading a pleasant,
healthful life. In the Northern
States there may be about two months
during a very severe winter in which
operations with explosives are at a
sandstill, but in the Southern States
it is a year 'round occupation. Even
in Northern States a successful ex-
plosive contractor is not idle. He is
either giving talks on the agricultural •
use of explosives to Granges, sending
out literature and calling on trade
to line up business for Spring, or else
selling explosives and supplies to
quarries, farmers and other users of"
explosives. Cold weather does not
stop an explosive contractor's activ-
ities, for he has non-freezing powders
available, which can be used at any
temperature no matter how cold.

How the Contractors Take Work. —

The explosive contractor usually takes
work at a firm figure. In some cases,
however, he is paid per man per day
for each man on his crew and ex-
plosives and supplied are paid for in
addition. Some contractors work on
a cost plus basis and still others
charge a certain figure per pound of
explosive used, which figure includes
labor and everjrthing.

The work done according to specifi-
cations at a contract price is generally
the most satisfactory, both from the
point of view of employer and con-
tractor as the proposition is cut and
dried in the beginning. Sometimes a
clause is put in the contract freeing
the employer from all liability against
injury to person or property. The

explosive contractor usually makes an
additional charge ior assuming this
liability and to cover any contingencies
that may arise. As accidents are very
rare outside of an occasional broken
window, this additional charge is a
greater profit. A provision for W ork-
men's Compensation Insurance is
sonjetimes written into a contract.

When the work to be done is oi
such a nature that it can be stopped
at any time, such as clearing a large
acreage of stumps or boulders, blov/-
ing long stretches of ditch, or sub-
soiling large fields, the employer and
explosive contractor agree on a labor
and material basis. The contractor
charges for his own time and in addi-
tion a profit on each of his men atid
the explosives and other material sup-
plied. On this basis work can be
stoiiped at any time.

The cost plus basis, while guar-
anteeing the contractor against loss,
is usually less profitable.

The method of charging per pound
of explosive used is not always satis-
factory. The contractor uses more
explosive than is necessary in order
to minimize labor and results in in-
efficiency and is a contributing cause
for disputes.

In nearly every case the explosive
contractor can save money for his
customer by doing work with ex-
plosives that the customer would do
by some other method. Employers
will also save money by employing an
experienced explosive contractor to
superintend their blasting operations,
as he will show how the work can be
done better and quicker and save
powder.

There is hardly any section in the
United States that does not offer an
unlimited amount of work for an ex-
plosive contractor. A live wire will
find plenty of work anywhere — city,
suburban or country. Some contractors
use from 5 to 10 tons of explosives
per month and in addition sell from
1 to 2 tons per month.

There are at present many success-
ful explosive contractors operating all
over the country. For example, in
Indiana alone one contractor uses
80,000 lb. of explosives per year and
employs several crews, another con-
tractor earns over $800 profit in some
months, and in other states there are
explosive contractors earning from
$2,500 to $8,000 per year.

Equipment Required. — Befoi-e en-

1923

Railways

341

gaging in a business of this nature a
man should be well equipped with two
essentials: a thorough knowledge of
explosives, their characteristics and
uses, and a complete stock of sup-
plies. The powder companies are al-
ways willing to give a man complete
instruction in the handling, care, use,
storage and properties of explosives
in order that a man may become thor-
oughly familiar with them. In addi-
tion to this the powder companies will
furnish instructive literature and also
help them to get business through
inquiries received at the companies
offices.

Experience comes through training
and it will soon become as easy for
the explosive contractor to prescribe
the proper dose of explosive for a
given blast as for a doctor to pre-
scribe the proper medicine.

The equipment which an explosive
contractor needs depends on the ex-
tent of his operations. For the be-
ginner the money investment is small.
To start out successfully he should
provide himself with the following
list of supplies, increasing them as
his business grows:

Small Magazine.

100 Blasting Caps, No. 6.

100 Electric Blasting Caps, No. 6, 4 ft.
copper wires.

Blasting Machine, No. 3.

Cap Carrier.

Cap Crimper.

500 ft. Duplex Leading Wire.

2 lb. Spool Connecting Wire.

500 ft. Safety Fuse for Damp Work.

500 ft. Safety Fuse for Wet Work.

1% in. or 2 in. Earth Auger.

Duplex Ditching Bar.

10 lb. to 16 lb. Sledge Hammer.

Steel Probing Rod, 14 in. to 7 '16 in. diam.,
3 ft. long.

Cotton Gloves.

Powder Punch.

Ball of Twine.

Tamping Rod.

The following are not absolutely es-
sential to the beginner but -will be
found very useful and needed much
more as he progresses:

1% in. Wood Auger.

Galvanometer.

Rheostat.

Thawing Kettle for cold weather.

Cap Sealing Compound.

No mention is made of the quantity
of explosives to purchase. This will
be governed entirely by the nature of
the work he is to do. It is always
well, however, to keep on hand in the
magazine a case each of

Extra L. F. Dynamite, 60 per cent.
Farm Powder.
Straight N. G., 60 per cent.
Non-Freezing Farm Powder.

The Nature of the Work. — Tiie na-
ture of an explosive contractor's work
is varied. When once established he
is considered an authority in his lo-
cality on the use of explosives and
this necesitates his giving talks before
Granges, County Agents' Meetings
and other bodies of men on the use
of explosives for agricultural pur-
poses. He is also called in to give ad-
vice to those desiring to do their own
blasting or even to supervise the work
for them. Having a magazine, he is
in a position to furnish explosives on
short notice. His work in the field
will consist of such blasting oper-
ations as

Blasting stumps.

Breaking boulders.

Blasting ditches (this can be done at any
season of the year).

Subsoiling (should be done when the ground
is dry, preferably in the fall after harvest).

Draining swamps (there are 75 million acres
of swamp land to be drained).

Excavating cellars or loosening ground

Blasting post and po'e holes.

Road grading.

Removing trees.

Renovating orchards.

Planting trees.

Destroying burrowing animals.

Breaking ice and log jams.

Loosening frozen material.

Blasting concrete walls and foundations.

Quarrying.

Blasting out for fish ponds and swimming
pools.

Blasting buffalo wallows in the West.

Blasting pine stumps for turpentine com-
panies in the South.

There are dozens of other uses for
which explosives are advantageously
used. Some of these uses require the
explosive contractor to be ready in an
emergency. His experience will en-
able him at times to save much prop-
erty through the judicial use of ex-
plosives in such cases as breaking log
and ice jams and in checking the
spread of fires.

Although there are many explosive
contractors in the United States, the
field has not been even scratched.
There are opportunities awaiting in
the four corners of the land for men
to engage in this lucrative business.

Roadmasters and Maintenance of Way
Association Convention

The forty-first annual convention
of the Roadmasters & Maintenance
of Wav Association of America will
be held Sept. 18, 19 and 20 at the
Hotel Sherman, Chicago.

Committee reports, special papers,
trips to industrial plants and enter-
tainment comprise the program.

342

Railways

August,

New Guard Plate for Railway
Switches

One of the most expensive items of
upkeep in railway maintenance of way
is the repair and replacement of
switch points. A device for the pro-
tection of the switch points has been
placed in production by J. R. Fleming
& Sons Co., Inc., Scranton, Pa. It is
designed to reduce the wear on the
ends of the switch point; to avoid
wearing the extremities of switch
rails to a cutting edge; to reduce the
shock of impact on the switch rails,
and to overcome the possibilities of
derailment on switches. It provides
a guard plate which has an upper
outwardly curved surface and which
is rounded over to approximately the

Britain Speeding Up Passenger
Trains. — On July 9 the British rail-
ways put into operation their full
summer passenger schedule, including
a number of new trains and accele-
rated timings for trains already in
operation. The Great Western will
have a new train from Cheltenham to
Paddington (London) which will
make the run from Swindon to Pad-
dington (77V4, miles) in 75 minutes,
or 61.8 miles per hour, the fastest
train in the world. Other trains on
the G. W. R. include a non-stop train
to Exeter (173% miles), a non-stop
train to Torquay (200 miles in 215
minutes) and many others. On the
other railways similar improvements
have been effected by the addition of

Mack Railway Switch Point Protector

shape of the head of the railway rail.
Chamfered comers are provided to
receive the impact of the flange and
thrust it laterally to separate it from
the inner side of the rail head. Four
bolt holes are formed in the guard
plate to receive the fastening bolts,
and the heads of the bolts rest in a
channel plate made to conform to the
space between the flange web and the
head of the railway rail.

new trains and the speeding up of
existing schedules ranging from five
minutes to more than an hour. — [Rail-
way Age for July 28.]

S-Mile Extension at Alexandria, La.

The Alexandria & Western Ry. is
reported to be calling for bids for the
construction of a 5-mile extension at
Alexandria, La.

Street Car Riding in America. — The

people of the United States spend
more than $900,000,000 a year for
what is commonly called trolley car
service. In the year 1922 the electric
railways of the United States carried
15,000,000 more passengers than they
did in 1921, according to estimates
given out by Pennsylvania Public
Service Information Committee. Fif-
teen billion passengers were carried
on the electric railways of the coun-
try last year.

1923

Railways

Construction News of the Railways

343

Track Elevation on Northern Texas
Traction

The Northern Texas Traction Co.
of Fort Worth has let a contract to
Stone & Webster of Boston for track
elevation to cost about $500,000.

Proposed Interurban in Tennessee

Leroy Parks of Greene\'ille on July
31 made formal application to the
State Public Utilities Commission for
permission to construct an electric in-
terurban railroad from Bristol to
Knoxville. He filed data and asked
authority for constructing the road,
assuring the commission that financ-
ing was positive.

Thirteen Miles in Missouri

Kansas City & GrandWew Ry. has
applied to the Interstate Commerce
Commission for authority to build
from Kansas City to Grandview, Mo.,
13 miles.

Improvements by Pere Marquette at
Lansing

Right-of-way has been procured by
the Pere Marquette Ry. for the con-
struction of nearly 15 blocks of track
less than 200 ft. west of the present
niain line right-of-way through the
city of Lansing, Mich. Switching
tracks will be constructed along the
new line for all leading east side in-
dustrial plants. Included in the plan
is the moving of the Pere Marquette
freight depot some distance south, to
permit the proposed new line to
branch \vestward from the main line
at a point about where the freight
house is now located.

Four Tracks from Pittsburgh to
Youngstown

Surveys have been completed and
within a few weeks the contract will
be awarded by the Pittsburgh & Lake
Erie Ry. for grading preparatorv to
the laying of two addit«nal tracks
between Fallston and the Beaver
Falls-New Brighton station. Ulti-
mately the four-track system will be
extended through Beaver Falls and
the only other remaining two-track
section of the road, west of New
Castle Junction also will be \nidened
by two additional tracks. With the
work completed, Lake Erie will have
a four-track line from Pittsburgh to
Youngstown, its full extent.

303-Mile Project

A request for authority to con-
struct an extensive new railroad sys-
tem in Texas and New Mexico was
filed with the Interstate Commerce
Commission by the Texas, Pan Handle
& Gulf Ry. The company proposes to
build a line from Tucumcari, N. M.,
to Dimmitt, Tex., a distance of 303
miles, to acquire an existing 100-mile
railroad from Seyinour to Salesville,
both in Texas, which is now operated
by the Gulf, Texas & Western Co.,
and to construct an additional new
line from Perrin to Fort Worth, both
in Texas, a distance of 57 miles.

New Line in Washington

At the Wenatchee Southern hearing
recently held by the Interstate Com-
merce Commission, Commissioner
Clyde B. Aitchison announced that
the comriiission would grant a permit
to build a railroad down the Columbia
river from Wenatchee to Kennewick,
connecting with the lines of the Chi-
cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, North-
em Pacific, the S. P. & S., and the
O.W.

$3,000,000 Project Approved

Approval for the construction of a
new railroad in Washington has been
granted by the Interstate Commerce
Commission. The Longview, Portland
& Northern Railroad Co. will proceed
with construction of a line from a
point on the N. P. railroad near Kelso
to Olequa. The cost is estimated at
$2,991,772.

I^ew Engine House at Erie, Mich.

The Arnold Co. of Chicago has re-
ceived a contract from the Pere Mar-
quette Ry. for construction of a new
16-stall brick engine house, and the
installation of a 100-ft. turntable at
Erie, Mich.

Oregon Short Line Permitted to Build
98 Miles
In granting permission to the Ore-
gon Short Line Ry. to build 98 miles
of new line between Rogerson, Idaho,
and Wells, Nev., the Interstate Com-
merce Commission required the road
to begin construction by Jan. 1, 1924,
and to conclude it by June 30, 1925.
The new line will shorten present
railroad distances between San Fran-
cisco and Southern Idaho.

344

Railways

August,

Okmulgee Northern Ry. Wants to Build
41 Miles

This road has filed an application
with the Interstate Commerce Com-
mission for authority to make a
southwest extension of 15 miles and
build a "cut-off" of 26 miles to con-
nect with the Katy at Oktaha, The
first line would pass through Okmul-
gee and Oksfee counties, tapping the
Henryetta field, and would furnish
fuel to industries around Okmulgee
at a cheaper cost than from the more
distant mines, as at present.

44-Mile Line in California

Approval for a plan of constructing
44 miles of new railroad in California
has been sought from the Interstate
Commerce Commission by the Mina-
rets & Western Ry. Co. The line
would tun from Friant to Crane Val-
ley Dam. No estimates of costs were
filed.

Santa Fe Installs Timber Preserving
Plant

The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
has awarded a contract to the Truscon
Steel Co. for the material and erec-
tion of two of its standard steel
buildings 50 ft. by 64 ft. and 32 ft.
by 150 ft., respectively, for its timber
preserving plant now under construc-
tion at National City, Cal.

Detroit & Mackinac to Build 12 Miles

The Detroit & Mackinac Ry. has
been granted permission by the In-
terstate Commerce Commission to
build a 12-mile branch line from Al-
pena to Rockport, Mich., at a cost of
$154,571.

Extensive Plans by Long Island Rail-
road

This road will expend $84,000,000 in
the next 10 years for improvements
to uphold its reputation for carrying
more daily commuters than any other
American railroad, George Le Boutil-
lier, vice president, stated recently.

New Passenger Station and Car Repair
Sheds to be Built by "Q"

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
R. R. has asked for bids for the con-
struction of a new passenger station
at Lament, la. This company will
also build a 600-ft. car repair shed at
Dayton's BluflF, St. Paul, and is said
to be asking bids for the completion
of its new Chicago freight terminal.

Oregon Short Line Begins Big Job in
Idaho

Awarding of the contract for con-
struction of the Orchard-Boise and
Nampa loop line, at a cost of more
than $3,000,000, has been made, it is
announced by H. V. Piatt, general
manager of the Oregon Short Line.
The project includes the building of
27.78 miles of new track, 6.42 miles
of side track, the rehabilitation of
14.19 miles of track on the Boise
branch and the building of the new
Nampa loop of 2.66 miles of track.
The bid of the Utah Construction Co.
covered the building of new depots at
Nampa and Boise. The new line will
put Boise on the main line of the
Union Pacific to the northwest and
will be standard main line construc-
tion throughout. The work will begin
just as soon as outfits can be as-
sembled by the Utah Construction
Co., which should be in less than 60
days, Mr. Piatt said. It is expected
that the line will be in operation by
next spring.

New OfBce Building for Nashville,
Chattanooga & St. Louis

This company is about to begin con-
struction of an 8-story office building
at Nashville, Tenn.

Pennsylvania Builds in Ohio and
* Michigan

Authorizations for three big con-
struction jobs — a third track from
Crestline, O., to Toledo Junction, elim-
ination of three grade crossings at
Mansfield, 0., and the construction of
a new freight house at Cadillac, Mich.
— have been made by the board of
directors of the Pennsylvania. The
entire work will cost nearly half a
million dollars and is part of the
Pennsylvania's program of improve-
ments to provide better transportation
facilities. The new track on the To-
ledo division will extend for about six
miles, providing additional freight
movement facilities into and out of
Crestline. The construction job,
which will cost $299,280, will prob-
ably be completed by November 1.

N., C. & St. L. Plans $250,000 Pas-
senger Station for Paducah

The Nashville, Chattanooga & St.
Louis Ry. plans the construction of a
new two-story passenger station and
office building at Paducah, Ky., to cost
approximately $250,000.

1923

Railways

345

23-Mile Logging Road Under Construc-
tion in Washington
A contract for the building of 23
miles of standard gage logging rail-
road north of Hayden lake into the
Burnt Cabin creek district has been
awarded to R. A. Biggs, construction
engineer of Spokane by the Ohio
Match Co. Announcement of the
award was made yesterday by A. P.
Bailey, general western manager for
the company. While the amount of
the contract is not stated, it is under-
stood to be in excess of $400,000, with
an average construction cost per mile
of more than $17,000. In addition to
this, the rolling stock will make it
practically a $500,000 investment.
Fifty men are already on the job and
a force of between 300 and 400 men
will be employed as soon as the de-
tails have been worked out. Work
will be undertaken from both ends
and from three intermediate construc-
tion camps along the line.

Cinder Handling Plant at Detroit

The Detroit Terminal Co. has
awarded a contract to the Roberts &
Schaefer Co., Chicago, for the in-
stallation of an electric cinder han-
dling plant at Detroit, Mich.

Illinois Traction Plans $1,880,000
Improvements

The Illinois Traction System, the
McKinley lines, is planning an ex-
penditure of 31,880,000 on various
improvements, among which are: A
new power house at Venice, estimated
to cost 81,200,000; track improve-
ments at Burlington to cost $32,000;
a $20,000 addition to its power plant
in Peoria; $19,500 for the purchase
of real estate with which to enlarge
the yards at Springfield; $10,000 for
an interlocker at Lincoln; $93,862 for
a new turbine at Venice, and $25,000
for a new pump at Venice. There are
about 50 other items for improve-
ments, ranging from $3,000 to $6,000.

Atlantic Coast Line to Extend Double
Track

The Atlantic Coast Line Rv. Co.
has a construction force at wort near
Buie, N. C, putting in new cement
bridges under the trestle and also
making them wide enough for another
track. The work is being done be-
tween Parkton, N. C, and Latta, S. C.
Another track will soon be started be-
tween these places, making this divi-
sion of the line a double track svstem.

New Shops at San Bernardino

Construction by the Atchison, To-
peka & Santa Fe of two major shop
units, costing nearly $1,500,000, in-
cluding their equipment, ^^ill begin
early in September. With the new
units, a boiler and erecting shop, the
San Bernardino shops will be the
largest on the Santa Fe lines and
employ more than 3,200 men. At
present the shop personnel is 1,850
employes. The new boiler and erect-
ing shops -will be erected on a site
now occupied by the old boiler shop,
the first mechanical department build-
ing erected by the Santa Fe Ry. in
Southern California. Construction
will require several months. The
buildings will be of concrete, iron and
glass, the walls being almost entire-
ly glass, giving adequate lighting and
ventilation.

$2,500,000 for Track Elevation at Fort
Wayne
The Pennsylvania Railroad is pre-
paring plans for the elevation of its
tracks at Lafayette street. Fort
Wayne, Ind., at a cost of approxi-
mately $2,500,000. The necessary re-
arrangement of shops at a cost of
$1,500,000 is included in the project.

New Power Plant for Brainerd Shops

It is announced that the Northern
Pacific Ry. shops at Brainerd, among
the largest locomotive repair shops in
the West, are to have a new steam
power plant added, for which the
initial budget of the railway provides
approximately $650,000.

Contract Let for 1,200 Miles of Rail-
road in China

Contracts for the construction of
1,200 miles of railroad in China in-
volving an expenditure of about $20,-
000,000, have been received by the
Northern Construction Co. of Van-
couver, B. C. The new line will ex-
tend from Canton to Chengtu and will
pass through some difficult country,
necessitating the building of tunnels.

$1,000,000 Bridge on Florida East
Coast

The Florida East Coast R. R. will
build a bridge over St. John's river
at Jacksonville, at an approximate
cost of $1,000,000. W. G. Brown is
engineer of road work, Florida East
Coast R. R., St. Augustine, Fla.

346

Railways

August,

Personals

E. E. Moberly, for seven years assistant divi-
sion engineer on the Oregon Short Line on
the Utah division, has been appointed division
engineer of the Utah division to fill the va-
cancy caused by the death of Richard B.
Reasoner. He has been with the Short Line
since 1910, with the single break of his
service between May, 1915, and June, 1916,
when he was in government service. In 1910
he was appointed assistant division engineer
at Salt Lake. In February, 1915, he was
transferred to the Idaho division at Pocatello.
In June, 1916, after returning from service
he re-entered the O. S. L. service as assist-
ant division engineer in the same division.
In March, 1921, he was transferred to the
Utah division, where he served until the time
of his appointment as division engineer of
that division.

R. H. Keays of Alaben, N. Y., was appointed
chief engineer for the construction of the Mof-
fat tunnel by the Moffat tunnel commission
on July 13. Mr. Keays was one of the en-
gineers for the famous McAdoo tunnel under
the Hudson river from New York to Jersey
City, where four tunnels were built for the
Hudson & Manhattan Terminal Co. He also
constructed the subway tunnel under Central
Park for the Interboro Rapid Transit system
in New York City. Other big projects on
which he has been the chief engineer include
the Wallkill tunnel for the Catskill aqueduct
system of five miles in length, recently com-
pleted, and the Shandaken tunnels, 18 miles
in length, to bring water from the Catskills
to New York City. Mr. Keays was graduated
from Cornell University in 1896.

Maj. L. D. Blauvelt has retired as chief en-
gineer for the Moffat tunnel commission, but
continues with the commission as a consultant.

I. M. Sommer & Co., consulting engineers,
have removed their offices to 901 Bryant street,
San Francisco.

G. W. Stickney has been appointed city en-
gineer of Wheaton, 111., to succeed L. J.
Ruddock. Mr. Stickney, who is a graduate
of the University of Maine, was on the en-
gineering force of the Metropolitan Water
Board of Boston for two years and on the
New York State Barge Canal for 11 years.
At the outbreak of the war he left the posi-
tion of chief engineer of the Rivers and Lakes
Commission of Illinois at Chicago to enter
the service, being commissioned as captain
• and assigned to the command of Co. C, 26th
engineers (water supply), with which outfit
he served throughout the war with 11 months
overseas. Since the war he has specialized
in municipal and drainage work, being con-
nected with Marr Green & Co. of Chicago,
and for the past three years with Arthur L.
Webster of Wheaton, 111.

J. A. Lcnecek has been appointed Chief En-
gineer of the Quito-Esmeraldas Ry. in Ecuador.
Mr. Lenecek's latest position in the United
States was in the engineering and construction
department of the Erie. Previous to that he
was engaged in engineering in Czecho-Slo-
vakia, Bolivia and New York City. Mr. Lenecek
was graduated from the Engineering Univers-
ity of Prague, Bohemia, in 1912.

E. G. Chenoweth, mechanical engineer of the
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, with head-
quarters at Chicago, has been promoted tq
superintendent of the car departnient, with the
same headquarters.

Obituaries

John N. Reynolds, for many years engaged
in railroad publication work, died in San
Diego, Calif., on July 10. Mr. Reynolds was
born in England in 1846. In 1872 he became
associated with Edward Vernon and others in
preparing and publishing, in 1873 and 1874,
the "American Railroad Manual of the United
States and the Dominion." From 1874 to 1881
he was connected with Poor's Manual of Rail-
roads. From 1875 to 1883 he did his first
work in the business department of the Rail-
road Gazette. From 1881 to 1894 he was con-
nected with the National Car and Locomotive
Builder ; and in 1881 he published the first
directory of street railways of the United
States, Canada, Mexico and South America.
From 1894 to 1901 Mr. Reynolds was western
representative of the Railroad Gazette. In
May, 1901, he became vice president of the
Railway Age, which position he held until
May. 1908. On June 1, 1908, the Railroad
Gazette, which was published in New York,
and the Railway Age, which was published in
Chicago, were consolidated, and Mr. Reynolds
was appointed western manager of the con-
solidated paper. He continued to hold this
position until January, 1913, when he retired,
later moving from Chicago to San Diego, Cal.,
where he lived uitil the time of his death.
Mr. Reynolds' active connection with railroad
publications extended over a period of 40 years.

Joseph Gaston Legrand, bridge engineer of
the Canadian National railways, western re-
gion, died in Winnipeg on July 2. Born in -
France in 1861, he came to Canada in 1891
and was appointed bridge engineer of the
Grand Trunk Pacific in 1906 and came to
reside in Winnipeg two years later. In 1920
he was promoted to the position he held at
his death. During the intervening years he
supervised the design and construction of
bridges aggregating in value $12,000,000.

William Dailey, railroad contractor, died at
his home in Montreal on July 9. He was born
in Newton Upper Falls, Mass., in January,
1848, and came to Montreal in 1872. He was
engaged on the aqueduct intake enlargement,
the Lachine Canal, Wellington Basin, and later
joined the Canadian Pacific Railway, with
which company he spent several years as su-
perintendent of construction. In 1890 he went
to British Columbia, where he spent four years
in charge of the new Westminster water
works and the B. C. electric lines. Returning
to Montreal, he became associated with the
late W. G. Reid, and constructed the United
Counties Railway and the Pearl Island Lines
to Back River, Cartierville and Lachine. As
manager of the Canadian Construction Co.,
Ltd., he directed the enlargement of the Far-
rans Point Canal, C. P. R. grade revision
and T. & N. O. Ry. branches in Northern
Ontario.

Capt. Robert Woolston Hunt, founder and
president of the Robert W. Hunt company,
consulting engineers, died at his home in Chi-
cago on July 11, at the age of 84. Capt,
Hunt was born on Dec. 9, 1838, in Fallsing-
ton. Buck county. Pa. He came to ChicaKO
in 1888 and established the Bureau Of Inspec-
tion, Tests and Consultation, which later be-
came Robert W. Hunt & Co. In 1912 he was
awarded the John Fritz medal for his con-
tributions to the early development of the
Bessemer steel process, and last June was
given the Washington award by the various
societies also in recognition of his achieve-
ment.

Buildings

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbekt p. Gillette, President and Editor

Lewis S. Loueb, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St. and Broadway

Richard E. Bkown, Eastern Manager

Roads and Streets — 1st Wednesday, |1 Railways — 3rd Wednesday, {1

(a) Road Con- (c) Streets (a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rall-
struction • (d) Street clean- way Construe- way Construc-

(b) Road Main- ing tion and tion and
tenance Maintenance Maintenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday, |1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrisation and Sanitation
Drainage (d) Waterways

Bnildinss — ith Wednesday. SI

(a) Buildings (d) Miscellaneous

(b) Bridges Structures

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., AUGUST 22, 1923

No. 2

Building in Installments

— A Neglected Means

to a Proper End

The house of a man's (or a
woman's ) desires is all too frequently
beyond his financial means. Still
worse, the house that he hopes and
actually expects to attain is almost as
often beyond his reach, for it is easy
to underrate both the difficulties and
the cost of things with which we are
unfamiliar, and the initiated in the
building field are after all compara-
tively few. Also, as ever, the wish
is father to the thought. And lastly
these conditions apply to people pretty
much regardless of their bank ac-
counts.

It is strange that what would fre-
quently be the least painful route of
escape from the strait is one most
seldom taken. Ordinarily the dis-
appointed would-be house-holder sees
only three courses open — to give up,
for the time at least, the idea of own-
ing his home, and to continue as a
tenant in either house or apartment;
to buy the best second hand home that
he can find within his means; or to

build a house substantially below his
ideals.

Seldom does he think, or does his
architect suggest, that it might be
well to expend his present building
fund on a portion of his ideal — modi-
fied as may be required to meet neces-
sities— while he plans for a second or
perhaps even a third installment to
be made when his resources shall have
increased.

Such planning will not suit every
case. If a couple is getting on in
years prolonged delay in completion
may be the least desirable procedure;
and the course would be positively
foolish for people of any age who do
not have definite and specific prospect
of acquiring the funds for completion
within a reasonable time. For thou-
sands, however, who can fairly foresee
increased resources the opportunities
of this arrangement excell all others.

Unsightliness is not a necessary
feature of the first installment by
itself. Rare as the practice is, there
are sufficient examples to prove this;
but good results can be assured only
through the services of competent
architectural talent. Finally, al-
though the beginning must be based

348

Buildings

August,

upon a complete general plan, that
plan is not unchangeable, and cases
will be rare where the conclusion can
not be bettered through the added ex-
perience of the builders or the plan
advantageously altered to meet
changed conditions.

Appropriate Beauty in Indus-
trial Plants

The accompanying view of a por-
tion of the boiler works of Messrs
Willans & Robinson,
Ltd., at Queensferry,
Flint, England, affords
an excellent example of
the simple and digni-
fied beauty which may
be given to an indus-
trial building. It illus-
trates the slowly devel-
oping tendency to make
of our work places
something more than
mere shelters for men
and materials.

In commercial archi-
tecture beauty is con-
sidered necessary for
business reasons, in
addition to which there
are in most cases, the
pride and satisfaction
of the builders as im-
pelling motives. The
industrial establish-
ment, it is true, is
usually seen by fewer
and less critical eyes,
but that fact can hard-
ly exclude the elements
of pride and satisfac-
tion altogether. What
may be the commercial
value of good architec-
ture in a factory or
plant building we can-
not say, but we believe
that the value is real.
The skilled workman
may be counted upon
to take more pride in
the organization that
employs him and more
satisfaction in his
work, if his employers have given him
a good and creditable working place.
He may not be able to analyze the
architecture but he is the exception
if he fails to sense real merit. Even
the unskilled worker is not devoid of
these perceptions; and furthermore
if the thing is good, the word of those

who know will find a ready accept-
ance.

That appropriate beauty need not
involve great cost is well illustrated
by the Willans & Robinson Works.
The case also indicates the advantage
to be gained in the employment of
an architect, and it is no detraction
from the prestige of the engineer to
say that only rarely is he qualified
to handle truly architectural work.
If he attempts architecture, his great-

Boiler Works, Queensferry, Flint, England, H. Bulkeley Creswell,
F. R. I. B. A., Architect.

est danger is perhaps to depend upon
applied ornament, and to forget that
the prime requisite is a simple and
straightforward treatment of struc-
tural facts.

We are indebted for the illustra-
tion to "The American Architect and
The Architectural Review."

1923

Buildings

349

Halting Building Operations

Because of Intolerable

Costs

Editorial in The Chronicle, New York
May 12.

According to the report of the Su-
perintendent of the Bureau of Build-
ings, the plans for new construction
filed in this city in the first four
months of this year showed an in-
crease over 1922 of 117 in number and
a little over two millions in cost, but
in April alone there was a falling-ofE
of 20 in number and a little over a
half-million in cost. Probably a de-
crease is not to be deemed of itself
an unfavorable symptom, and certainly
it should not be if it can be inter-
preted as due to a lightening of the
feverish desire to crowd into great
cities; but other reasons for it are
more plainly at hand. What Mr.
Stewart Browne, head of the United
Real Estate Owners' Association,
thinks about the effect of the tem-
porary tax exemption which was
prominent among the emergency laws
and has been extended by the late
session is of interest. The intended
object of encouraging new construc-
tion, he says, has been attained to
the extent of 1322,621,385 in such con-
struction, of which $244,170,325 is tax-
exempt, but the other object of pre-
venting a rise and inducing a fall
in rents has been accomplished slight-
ly "from the top downward but not
from the bottom up." The higher
prices have been cut somewhat, but
the lower ones, which were most im-
portant in any view of the popular
welfare, as an emergency objective,
have not been touched. Some specula-
tive builders may have been bene-
fited, "but many have lost their shirts,
as they can't sell." The doubts as
to the real value and permanent ex-
pediency of coercive emergency meas-
ures have not been removed.

A halt in building, moreover, not
only seems imminent but has begun.
On Monday the trustees of Columbia
University voted "temporarily" to sus-
pend their ten-million building pro-
gram, and the Thompson-Starrett Co.
followed by deferring work on a large
contract until conditions are stabil-
ized: an orphan asylum similarly laid
aside its plans for a new building;
the telephone company's new 29-story
central office and administration build-
ing which was to start next month
and to cost over 11 millions, has been

halted, "in the hope that the cost of
building work may become more rea-
sonable," and the total of projects
which have recently been suspended
has been variously estimated as from
21 to 50 millions; whether this kind
of "buyers' strike" will bring a gen-
eral halt of building is a matter of
conjecture, awaiting "developments."
A part of those developments is the
return of a lot of striking stone cut-
ters, to submit to "arbitration" (so-
called) their demand for $2 more. As
one builder puts it, the bricklayer is
but one in a long procession; the
painter, the plasterer, the plumber,
the steam fitter, the tile-layer, and the
rest all fall in, not only piling up
costs, but so delaying work that build-
ings cannot be finished according to
the time contract; as the "Chronicle"
has pointed out repeatedly, all their
mutiny spreads by example, and as
the wage exacted rises the work done
decreases. The blame continues to be
passed around. The head of the Build-
ing Trades Council affirms that 63
ct. out of the dollar of construction
cost go to the makers of building
material and only 37 ct. go to labor,
and he offers a pleasant challenge that
he will be glad "to propose to the new
Building Trades Council a prohibition
of exorbitant wage scales" if the build-
ing material makers and the contrac-
tors will take similar action. What
is an exorbitant wage scale is still
left open to determination, presumably
by those who receive it; on the other
hand, the head of one concern offers,
on behalf of building material dealers
and brick retailers in particular, to
open their books to any responsible
inquiry and return any high profits
discovered ; he thinks his class of busi-
ness men would gladly be limited for
the rest of their lives to a guaranteed
5 per cent, and the news story ap-
pends the remark that outside his
windows crews were then unloading
brick from barges at a wage of $25
a day.

Particularly since the war period
began, union labor has been proceed-
ing upon the assumption that world
trouble and public extremity meant
labor opportunity; the forcibly closed
shop, a periodical increase in wages,
and a periodical decrease in produc-
tion have been its three great objec-
tives; plenty in money and scarcity
in all else have been the union idea
of union prosperity, and as for the
prosperity and welfare of the strike-
i)reakers and the other non-workers

350

Buildings

August,

outside of unions, unionism has not
cared. Over and over we have pointed
out that all this is economic false-
hood, and have urged — with reiter-
ated earnestness of late — that the time
has come not only for a firm stand
against re-inflation of wages, but for
a serious and thoughtful effort by em-
ployers to counteract, by a presenta-
tion of economic truths, this long
mis-teaching by union leaders. It is
encouraging to note indications that
a movement to this end, which doubt-
less has long been going on quietly,
seems to be taking new force. At
one group meeting, on Tuesday, of
the session of the U. S. Chamber of
Commerce, which has drawn a large
attendance to the city in the past
week, the head of the Bridgeport
Brass Co., by talk and by use of series
of colored blocks, showed how such
topics as the function of the dollar
in company with buying and selling,
in wage relations and otherwise, is
illustrated to the workers in his plant.
He said this is done, in part, in re-
sponse to a desire of the workers to
know about such matters, and said
the company is trying to make the
worker understand his share in the
finished article of product. Why not?
Is not this suggestive and also en-
couraging? If economic truth is ab-
solute, like the truths of mathematics,
it must be assumed that the union
member — who does not lose his na-
tural mental ability merely by being
deceived into surrendering it to union
control — is capable of seeing things
when they are shown him. To undo
and combat falsehood, exhibit truth.
Is it not now time seriously to un-
dertake and carry on that showing?

London to Have 600 Ft. Observa-
tion Tower. — London is soon to have
an Eiffel Tower, built of concrete, 600
feet high, it is learned through press
announcements. It will be erected at
Wembley, the seat of the British Em-
pire Exhibition. Although falling
short of the height of the Woolworth
Building in New York and the Eiffel
Tower in Paris, the structure will give
visitors to the exhibition a panoramic
view of the country for miles.

The tower will be surmounted by a
searchlight so powerful that it can be
seen from France. Visitors will be
taken up in a giant cage, which will
rotate around the exterior at the rate
of fourteen miles an hour.

[From The American Architect and The
Architectural Review.]

Bankers and Builders

Editorial in The Building Review

Few people realize how great the
responsibility banks must assume in
connection with the building industry.
Their work in financing large, busi-
ness or semi-public buildings is taken
for granted; but these constitute a
small percentage of the total number
of building operations, and in many
cases the financing is privately man-
aged.

On the other hand, the great bulk
of building contracts is made up of
small, individual housing propositions,
and most of these must be financed.
Building and loan and insurance com-
panies take care of the comparatively
small portion; it is upon the banks
of the country that the responsibility
mainly rests.

At present the banks have an
abundance of money to invest, and it
is not only a problem but a duty,
to so lend their funds as to insure
safe returns for the loan and a proper
stimulation of business as developed
in the building- industry and its man-
ifold ramifications.

Two things affect these objects
most vitally; poor construction, re-
sulting in early and undue deprecia-
tion, and the increase of costs, which
naturally lowers the ultimate value of
investment.

The work of bank appraisers there-
fore is now a most important and
difficult one. Upon the impelling urge
of keeping bank funds in circulation
they must still assure themselves that
each investment is safe and wise.

It is obviously to the permanent
advantage of the building industry,
including architects, labor, contrac-
tors, and manufacturers, and of the
home-needing public, to co-operate
with banks in these two fundamental
matters; good construction and the
reasonable contiol of costs. The temp-
tation to seize a temporary oppor-
tunity to "get while the getting is
good" is apt to blind men to the dan-
gers affecting the future of the in-
dustry, like a fire-fly glittering over
a marsh. And hurried, cheap con-
struction, is the poorest kind of in-
vestment, for the owner as well as
the financing interest.

1923

Buildmgs

Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices

351

An "index number" is really a per-
centage, and in the case of an "index
price" shows the relative price level
at different times. In the accompany-
ing table the price level, or "index
price," is 100 for the year 1913; and

the indexes for other periods are those
calculated by the U. S. Department of
Labor.

The index for building materials is
a weighted average of the principal
building materials except steel.

Bb a

1913 100

January 98

October 103

1914 103

January 103

July 103

October 101

1915 104

January 104

July 104

October 106

1915 123

January 110

April 113

July 117

October 136

1917 190

January 152

AprU 184

July 196

October 207

1918 218

January 211

April 213

July 217

October 225

1919 231

January 224

April V 230

July 241

October 227

1920 218

January 247

April 243

July 233

October 187

1921 124

January 143

February 133

March 127

April 117

May 118

June 114

July 119

AugTist 123

September 124

October 124

.N'ovember 121

December 120

1922 133

January 122

February 131

March 130

April 129

>Iay 132

June 131

July 135

A-u^st 131

September 133

October 138

November 143

December 145

1923—

January I43

February \ 142

March 143

April ; 141

May 139

June 138

Juiy 135

C .

rite

Ibi

1£

1 c

?.i

CO
•D
0

55»

CDE

arc

c: e

100

107

101

100

106

100

102

101

102

100

101

102

101

100

101

100

106

108

100

105

134

100

101

106

108

104

106

130

100

102

101

105

151

100

102

121

127

126

162

120

181

106

121

127

109

110

113

133

110

103

110

lis

114

118

120

164

120

200

104

110

121

117

125

121

158

120

175

107

120

123

134

137

128

164

124

164

109

132

116

167

175

169

231

157

202

125

148

177

149

15S

171

198

138

173

118

149

153

164

230

155

186

121

153

173

169

181

176

292

168

205

129

153

188

180

185

153

207

156

231

131

142

183

188

228

170

187

172

215

153

156

194

182

201

164

183

161

223

137

145

184

181

220

166

184

169

228

144

152

190

185

238

175

189

177

209

159

196

198

245

176

192

177

211

164

163

202

207

253

181

162

201

169

184

175

206

203

220

178

175

176

181

167

166

199

205

177

153

169

160

167

160

199

210

262

181

160

209

167

183

177

212

205

291

189

162

229

173

194

187

211

220

295

241

192

264

200

254

196

226

231

339

194

175

274

189

239

194

233

238

336

231

203

300

210

242

206

245

238

300

259

202

269

212

275

203

241

201

245

280

191

240

198

271

188

211

144

180

199

129

165

136

195

128

147

162

196

247

153

192

153

217

154

170

151

188

225

147

180

149

217

147

160

151

183

212

140

173

143

216

139

155

144

176

205

138

167

135

216

130

148

139

173

200

138

165

134

209

126

145

137

172

191

133

163

133

196

125

142

141

172

186

124

160

129

180

123

141

146

171

184

117

156

129

179

119

142

178

181

116

156

131

179

118

141

140

180

189

116

159

131

180

118

142

139

180

197

114

163

129

178

119

141

136

180

199

113

158

127

178

121

140

139

180

220

122

169

124

176

117

149

131

176

196

112

157

124

178

117

138

135

174

191

110

156

123

177

117

141

137

172

191

109

155

125

175

117

142

137

171

194

113

156

124

175

116

143

138

175

216

119

160

122

176

116

148

140

179

225

120

167

122

176

114

150

142

180

254

121

170

121

173

114

155

138

181

271

126

172

122

173

115

155

138

183

244

134

180

124

173

116

153

140

188

226

135

183

124

176

120

154

143

192

218

133

185

127

179

122

156

144

194

216

131

185

130

182

122

156

141

196

218

133

188

131

184

124

156

141

199

212

139

192

132

184

126

157

143

201

206

149

19S

135

1R5

127

159

144

205

200

154

204

136

187

126

159

144

201

190

152

202

134

187

125

156

142

198

186

148

194

131

187

123

153

141

193

1S3

145

190

12s

187

121

151

352

Buildings

August,

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1923

Buildings

358

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354

Buildings

August,

Value of Haunching for
Steel Beams

Editorial in The Canadian Engineer.

Results of great value to the struc-
tural engineer are recorded in the re-
port of the committee of engineers ap-
pointed by the Steel Fabricators' Sec-
tion of the Canadian Manufacturers'
Association to investigate the value of
beam haunching. Most engineers be-
lieve that structural steel beams en-
cased or haunched with concrete are
considerably reinforced or strength-
ened by such protective material.
Specifications as they now exist, and
in particular the building codes of
cities and towns, do not, however,
grant any consideration for the value
of haunching. The beams are de-
signed as if they were wholly unpro-
tected. Believing that this method of
design is wasteful, the fabricating
companies engaged a special commit-
tee of engineers to conduct experi-
mental investigation of the matter
with results that are undoubtedly
gratifying.

An interesting conclusion of the re-
port is that to the effect that the ordi-
nary theory of reinforced concrete can
be applied to the combination of steel
beams encased in concrete. Indeed,
the usual hypothesis of no tension in
the concrete which forms the basis of
most practical reinforced concrete
theory is much too severe in the case
of haunched beams. Actual tests in-
dicate that such beams will carry a
total loading, that is dead and live
load, 42 per cent greater than would
be indicated by the application of the
usual reinforced concrete theory.
Placing the comparison on the basis
of live load only, it is seen that the
construction would carry 63 per cent
more superimposed live load than the
no-tension theory would permit. This
advantage increases as the ratio of
the live load to the total load in-
creases.

The report of the committee is very
properly cautious on certain matters
which have yet to be elucidated by
further experiment. The concrete
used for encasing purposes in the
present tests was of very high quality
and it is not known if an equal or even
proportionate benefit would accrue
from the use of leaner mixes. The
matter of bond .strength between the
concrete and the beam flanges is also
still somewhat indefinite. In the tests
reported, the bond resistance was

found to be adequate for the develop-
ment of high carrying capacity, but it
cannot be said with certainty that the
necessary bond strength would con-
tinue under heavy vibratory loads.
Some investigation of the effect of
these loads was made, but the commit-
tee admits that it was not carried on
a sufficiently long time to give con-
clusive evidence. It is probable that
since the bond strength is not a factor
so far as dead loads are concerned, the
addition of vibratory loads will not be
able to break down the integrity of the
combined construction; but for this we
must await the evidence of jFurther
tests.

Period of Timber Shortage Is
Faced by United States

Three Alleviating Measures Suggested
by Department of Agriculture

Because this country's timber sup-
ply has been mined from the forest
much as coal has been mined from the
ground — without thought of replace-
ment— America faces an inevitable
timber shortage, foresters of the
United States Department of Agri-
culture declare in a recent report on
the timber situation printed for free
distribution.

However, if timber crops were to
be grown and intensive forestry meth-
ods observed on all forest land in the
country — some 470,000,000 acres — the
Nation's timber problem could be al-
leviated, it is stated.

"Three outstanding measures are
necessary to bring about the growing
of timber crops on forest lands," ac-
cording to the report. "The first step
is to stop unrestrained forest ex-
ploitation and the denuding which is
a direct result of timber mining. The
second step required is to reduce
waste in the use of timber, and the
third objective of paramount im-
portance is to increase timber produc-
tion to the full capacity of the land.
Protection from fire, insects, and dis-
ease, of course, must go hand in hand
with all reforestation projects.

"In short, with the utmost that can
be done many years must pass before
we can make our forests produce
through growth as much timber as is
now yearly taken from them, and a
period of shortage is inescapable."

923

Buildings

855

>ome Features of the S. W. Straus Building Now
Being Erected in Chicago

The new 32 story building now
eing erected by S. W. Straus & Co.,
t the comer of Michigan Avenue and
ackson Boulevard Chicago, at a cost
f about $15,000,000 will be the
irgest structure on the Michigan
ive. skyline, and is expected to be
eady for occupancy by May 1, 1924.

Perspective of the New Straus BuildinK,
iraham, Anderson, Probst & White, Archi-
tects.

t will contain approximately 400,000
q. ft. of rentable office space in addi-
ion to the six floors to be occupied
y the owners.
Architectural Features. — The main
haft will be 22 stories high and will
arry a 10 story tower centered on
le Michigan avenue side. The plan
^ in the form of a hollow square,
■ ith an inside court surrounded bv

offices. The exterior finish will be of
Bedford stone with Florentine details
up to the sixth floor, above which
there will be a plain ashlar finish with
perpendicular lines emphasized to ac-
centuate the height of the building.

On the Michigan avenue side the
center section of the building for a
width of more than 80 feet, will be set
back two or three feet from the line
of the corner sections and will be thus
carried up the entire height of the
structure into the tower.

Graham, Anderson, Probst and
White of Chicago are the architects.

Fabrication in Different Plants
Hastens Work, — The steel work totals
approximately 12,000 tons, and early
in the spring of this year it was found
that it would be impossible to have
any one plant fabricate all of it if the
building was to be completed on time.
The Straus organization thereupon
made divisional contracts with seven
fabrication plants located in five dif-
ferent states, thus permitting the
general contractors, Thompson-Star-
rett Company, to obtain the steel in
time for completion according to
schedule.

These divisional contracts were
given on a tier rather than on a ton-
nage basis, so that the structural
details could be completed without
unnecessary delay.

The first tier steel is being fabri-
cated by the Morava Construction
Company of Chicago; the second tier
by the Vanderkloot Steel Works of
Chicago. The third tier columns,
spandrels and interior girders are
being made by the Minneapolis Steel
and Machinery Co., of Minneapolis;
the girders in the third tier by the
Lakeside Bridge and Steel Co., of
North Milwaukee, Wisconsin; the floor
beams in the third tier by the Morava
Construction Co., and the two large
girders over the main entrance by the
Phoenix Bridge Co., of Phoenix\ille,
Pennsylvania. The fourth tier col-
umns are being fabricated bv the
Kansas City Structural Steel Co., of
Kansas City, Missouri; the floor
beams by Morava, and the court span-
drel girders by the Kansas City Sti-uc-
tural Steel Co. The contract for the
fifth tier columns is being handled
tv the Vanderkloot Steel Works; the
sixth and seventh tiers by the Hansel-

356

Buildings

August,

Elcock Co., of Chicago. Work for the
eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and
twelfth tiers is being done by the
Morava Company. The fabrication
work for the ten story tower is being
handled by the Vanderkloot Steel
Works. Each tier embraces two
floors with the exception of the third
tier which includes three floors.

The steel for the new building is
being purchased from the Inland Steel

Co., of Chicago. Supplies and mate-
rials for actual construction are being
purchased on sub-contract by the
Thompson-Starrett Co.

Underpinning and Foundations. —
The foundations are carried to bed
rock 115 ft. below street level. This
is done by the open well method
which has long been used and is
pretty well standardized in Chicago.
Two of the 78 footing wells of the

Foundation Work — Columns Lying: on the Ground to Right of One of the WelU Into
Which Two Men Are Being Lowered on Steel Worli for the Footing.

L923

Buildings

357

Straus Building are, however, re-
markable as being the largest ever
mnk in Chicago. Their diameter is
LI ft. 9 in.'

Concrete is placed in each well to a
leight of 62 ft. above bed rock, and
)n this rests a steel grillage and the
irst tier columns 30 ft. long.

Adjoining the Straus Bviilding site
>n the south is the 7 story Leschin
Building, and a contract with its own-
ers requires the owners of the Straus
Building to provide footings between
:he two properties for a double line
ivall. The work in this case is diffi-

The Protection of Bufldings

Against Lightning

The Sectional Committee on Pro-
tection Against Lightning organized
jointly by the Bureau of Standards
and the American Institute of Elec-
trical Engineers, has been active in
the preparation of a tentative stand-
ard for the protection of bviildings
and other property against lightning.
A joint meeting of Group I of the Sec-
tional Committee in charge of the
work, together with the National Fire
Protection Association's Committee on
the same subject, was held in Chicago

Underpinning of the Leschin Wall.

cult because of the 92 ft. of soft clay
soil. While these footings are being
constructed the Leschin wall is sup-
ported by underpinning with jacks
every two feet.

Protective underpinning is also
being carried on under the Illinois
Theatre across the alley to the west,
although the problem there has not
presented the difficulties met with on
the underpinning to the south.

on May 7 so as to secure the view of
the various members. Copies of the
tentative standard have also been cir-
culated generally for comment by
those interested, and the final draft is
now being worked out.

There is a gneat difference between
a lighting fixture that will merely
light and one that supplements the
decorative detail of the room as well.

358

Buildings August,

Effect of Accelerators in Concrete

Results of Laboratory Tests on Accelerators of Calcium Chloride Type

Given in Committee Report Presented at 26th Annual Meeting

of the American Society for Testing Materials

During the past two years a sub-
committee of Committee C-9, of which
A. T. Goldbeck is chairman, and J. C.
Pearson, secretary, has conducted a
co-operative series of tests on accel-
erators of the calcium chloride type.
The results are set forth in a report
presented at the 1923 meeting of the

lit]

7ity

3 months

28 day
Age of Specimen

Fig. 1. Relative Compressive Strength of
1 :2 :4 Concrete Containing Accelerators.

Each curve is the average of the results
obtained with the acceleration indicated 'there-
on by letter. The figures in parenthesis in-
dicate roughly the average percentage of an-
hydrous chloride by weight of cement.

American Society for Testing Mate-
rials. The reports follows.

In the fall of 1920, Sub-Committee
XI of Committee C-9 was created to
study and report on accelerators for
concrete. Early in 1921 the sub-com-
mittee proposed a program involving
a limited series of tests by a number
of laboratories on accelerators of the
calcium chloride type. This program
was approved by the general commit-
tee, and was in brief as follows:

The Test Program. — A number of
laboratories were to be requested to
carry out a series of compression
tests on 1:2:4 concrete and 1:2 ^^ mor-
tar (volume proportions) using local
materials and three or more commer-
cial accelerators. The tests were to
be made in such manner as to afford
a direct comparison of the strengths
of the mixtures with and without the
accelerators at the ages of 2 days, 7
days, 28 days, 3 months and 1 year.
The purpose of the tests was primarily
to determine whether the effects of
any or all of the acbelerators were,
or were not, considerable after the 28-
day period; incidentally, it was hoped
that the tests would indicate whether

or not different brands of cement re-
spond in the same general manner to
a given accelerator, also whether the
different accelerators have different
effects on a given brand of cement,
and if so, whether such differences
could be accounted for by differences
in calcium chloride content.

Co-operating Laboratories. — The
laboratories which offered to carry
out the series of tests as outlined
were as follows:

U. S. Bureau of Standards, Wash-
ington, D. C; U. S. Bureau of Stand-
ards, Denver, Colo.; Lehigh Portland
Cement Co., Allentown, Pa.; City of
Philadelphia, Bureau of Surveys,
Philadelphia, Pa.; Lewis Institute,
Chicago, 111.; Hydro-Electric Power
Commission, Toronto, Ont., Canada;
Pennsylvania State Highway Commis-
sion, Harrisburg, Pa.; Delaware State
Highway Commission, Dover, Del.;
New Jersey State Highway Commis-
sion, Trenton, N. J.

Unfortunately, not all of these lab-
oratories followed the procedure out-
lined by the sub-committee, so that

7ilay

3monHis

26d<y
Aqc of Speci"-^.

Fig. 2. Relative Compressive Strengths
1:21/^ Mortar Containing Accelerators.
Each curve is the average of the results
obtained with the accelerator indicated thereon
by letter. The figures in parentheses indicpte
roughly the average percentage of anhydrous
chloride by weight of cement.

direct comparisons of results are
somewhat less numerous than the list
would indicate. For example, the
Lewis Institute undertook a very
much more extensive program than
that contemplated by the committee,
but the work was not laid out in such
manner as to include the mixes speci-
fied in the committee's program. De-
tailed data from the Lewis Institute

Buildings

359

ire, therefore, omitted from this re-
)ort, but reference is made to the
^ewis Institute results in the general
:onclusions reached by the sub-com-
nittee. Some of the laboratories
ailed to submit all their results in
ime to be incorporated in this re-
)ort, and others departed in various
s^ays from the fixed program. Nev-
irtheless, in the attempt at a general
inalysis of results, all data that could
le used are included.
Materials. — The accelerators were
b t a i n e d from several different

sources, arrangements being made
with the manufacturers or distribu-
tors to contribute these materials in
the quantities required by the co-op-
erating laboratories. A condition was
imposed by the committee that those
manufacturers who cared to have their
materials included in the test should
furnish full information in regard to
to the nature and composition of the
accelerators. The result of this was
to eliminate one or two materials that
the committee had contemplated us-
ing, and to reduce the number of ac-

Table I. — Sammary of Accelerator Tests

Laboratory

1 :2 :4 Concrete
BCD

1 :2Vi Mortar
B C

Delaware 155 173 168 13"

Denver „_ 141 135 157

Lehigh B' _ - 149 107 115

Lehigh D:* 127 141 106

Pennsylvania - 114 147 165

Philadelphia 171 207 215 176

Washington 150 170 172 127

New Jersey _ — 211 279 274 214

Ontario __ 159 119 154 172

145
103

141
127

187
236

156 155

108 110
162 112

153

168
127
211
271

Average 164

164

171

155

156

170

Average 1 20

124

121

120

116

133

169
175
129
191
148

149

118

141

125

i"28
152
109
189
129

139

Delaware - 128 145 144 126 109 125 121 118

Denver— 118 107 126 88 107 106

Lehigh B 119 98 139 136 103 123

Lehigh D 89 105 89

Pennsylvania 129 112 128 112 117 99

Philadelphia 117 138 136 114 123 132 125 118

Washington 113 122 122 101 105 107 110 91

New Jersey - 132 158 143 128 130 146 137 140

Ontario 113 108 107 134 128 194 126 IDS

114

98
104

Delaware

Denver

Lehigh B

Lehigh D „

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia

Washington

New Jersey..

Ontario _ _ 95

103
96

104
118
111
91
113
100
105

113»
118
92
92
121
107
111

111

117

113

106

121

117

115

116

101

111

104

105

109

104

111

109

Average..

125

109

152
116

99
108

95
100

Delaware

Denver

Lehigh B

Lehigh D

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia

Wa.shington_ _

New Jersey

Ontario

93»
86

117
90

97»

93»

100

102

115

100

116

117

118

103

101

113

107

105

i'o3

112

120

126

103

120

Average..

138
112

108

118

98
145
121

Til

115

106

126

112

104

Delaware

Denver..

107

Lehigh B

Lehigh D _ „

Pennsylvania .

Philadelphia 1 04

Washington 84

New Jersey

Ontario 81

110
113
87
109
102
112
104

"84

Average..

'High-Silica Cement. -Low-Silica Cement.

'Some of these specimens exceeded the capacity of the machine.

105

i'2'5

160
121
97

~89

106

360

Buildings

August,

celerators used throughout the tests
to three. In all cases, however, one
or more of the accelerators were used
in different proportions, and in a few
cases, accelerators from other sources
were included.

It is obviously impossible in this
report to list all the materials and
tests thereof that were submitted with
the data from che co-operating labor-
atories. Local aggregates of estab-
lished quality were used in all cases,
and as it happened, each laboratory
used a different brand of cement. Be-
sides a number of brands used in the
Lewis Institute investigation, the fol-
lowing were included in the tests:
Tidewater, Ideal, Lehigh, Pennsyl-
vania, Pyramid, Whitehall and Bath.

General Instructions for Carrying
Out the Tests. — Bearing in mind the
main purpose of the tests, the sub-
committee laid down only general in-
structions that would insure in so far
as possible comparable procedure in
the several laboratories and elimina-
tion of extraneous variables in any
one laboratory. In general, the meth-
ods followed were those outlined in
the Tentative Methods of Making
Compression Tests of Concrete. Defi-
nite instructions based on manufac-
turers' recommendations were given
for the preparation and use of the
accelerators. The desired consistency
and method of curing were indicated,
but greater importance was placed on
uniformity of conditions in any one
laboratory than an absolute agree-
ment among the several laboratories.

Summary of Results. — The results
of the tests carried out by the co-op-
erating laboratories and included in
the general program are summarized
in Table I. The absolute strengths
are not given, but the figures indicate
the relative strengths obtained at the
different ages from the mixtures con-
taining the accelerators, on the basis
of 100 for the strength of the mix-
tures without accelerators.

The accelerators are designated in
the table by the letters A. B, C and
D. _A and B refer to a commercial
calcium chloride and are, respectively,
solutions of 2 per cent and 4 per cent
of the chloride as marketed, in the
mixing water. C and D and proprie-
tary materials comparing very
roughly with B and A, respectively, in
content of anhydrous calcium chloride.

The averages of the results given in
Table I are plotted in Figs. 1 and 2,

the former showing the effects of the
accelerators on 1:2:4 concrete at the
different ages, and the latter the cor-
responding effects on 1:2^/^ mortars.

As in Table I, the letters on the
curves indicate the different acceler-
ators and the figures in parentheses
indicate roughly the average amounts
of anhydrous chloride by weight of
cement.

Discussion of Results. — The indi-
vidual results as given in Table I
show a very wide range and numerous
inconsistencies. However, the aver-
age of all the results seem to estab-
lish the general conclusion that the
beneficial effects of the accelerators
are confined to the early ages under
the prescribed laboratory conditions
of curing and storage. Under these
conditions the effect of the calcium
chloride is to accelerate the hydration
of the cement markedly during the
first few days, but the resulting gain
in strength largely disappears at the
28-day period and thereafter. The
results of the Lewis Institute investi-
gation substantiate this general con-
clusion. It will be noted, however,
that the relative strengths of the mod-
tars containing the accelerators after
the 28-day period are slightly higher
than those of the concretes and of the
plain mortars for the later periods.

The marked differences in the re-
sults reported from the different lab-
oratories indicate that different
brands of cement respond in different
degree to the accelerators but the in-
consistencies in the results are suffi-
ciently numerous to warn against
any positive conclusions in this re-
spect. The Lewis Institute investiga-
tion seems to establish this fact with
certainty, and affords comparative
data on a limited number of cements.
While the action of calcium chloride
on cement is not well understood, it
is to be presumed that it is effective in
promoting the hydration of one or
more of the main constituents of the
cement, and as these constituents are
known to exist in different propor-
tions in different cements, and even
in different lots of the same brand
of cement, it should be anticipated
that different brands or lots would
respond in different degree to the ac-
tion of accelerators.

Comparative Effect of Different Ac-
celerators.— In regard to the compara-
tive effects of different accelerators,
the data obtained in this investigation

1923

Buildings

361

suggest that the acceleration of hard-
ening is probably dependent either
upon the proportion of calcium chlor-
ide to the cement, or the concentration
of calcium chloride in the gaging
liquid. A considerable amount of time
was therefore given to an analysis of
the complete data from three of the
co-operating laboratories, in which the
relative strengths were plotted against
the two factors: ratio of anhydrous
chloride to cement, and concentration
of anhydrous chloride in the gaging
water. Curves of the same type were
obtained in both cases but the wide
range of individual results made it im-
possible to determine to which of these
two factors the relative strengths
were more closely related. It would
undoubtedly be of interest to know
more than we do at the present time
regarding the relation of quantity or
strength of calcium chloride to the
acceleration of the hardening of con-
crete, and in fact to know more about
the action of calcium chloride on ce-
ment, but this Information must come
from a more comprehensive and care-
fully planned investigation. So far as
the data from these tests can be in-
terpreted, the different accelerators
produce effects which are mainly de-
pendent upon their calcium chloride
content. It is not to be inferred,
however, that the acceleration of
hardening is directly proportional to
quantity or concentration of calcium
chloride, for while the range of cal-
cium chloride content in the acceler-
ators used in the sub-committee's
tests was not sufficiently great to in-
dicate a maximum effect upon the
strength of concrete, the Lewis Insti-
tute investigation showed that such a
maximum exists, on the average not
much beyond the maximum concentra-
tions employed in these tests.

In conclusion, the sub-committee
would recommend that if further data
were to be sought on the effects of ac-
celerators, perhaps the information of
greatest practical value would be
forthcoming from their effects upon
I Jiortar or concrete at temperatures in
inhe neighborhood of the freezing
jiooint, and also under conditions where
■vet curing is impracticable. Results
j:>btained in the Lewis Institute investi-
j}?ation indicate that calcium chloride
;|is more effective under dry curing
|than under moist curing, and this is
ubstantiated by data from other
■ources. It is important also that defl-
ate knowledge be obtained regarding
:he effect of accelerators upon the

steel in reinforced concrete. Such
meager information as is available at
the present time mdicates that when
steel is completely embedded in dense
concrete, the danger of serious corro-
sion from the chloride is negligible,
but it is doubtful whether this state-
ment applies to all types of reinforced
concrete construction under all con-
ditions of exposure.

Cement Making Pictured in New Film

Much of the unusual equipment in-
volved in making cement is interest-
ingly illustrated in a two reel moving
picture called "The Story of the
Manufacture of Portland Cement,"
just released for general showing.
Starting with \aews of one of the
large plants in which the countr>^'s
cement is made, the film pictures in a
non-technical way the essential steps
in transforming thousands of tons of
raw materials into Portland cement.
Scenes taken at a number of plants
are included. From the moment that
a great blast breaks loose a cliff of
limestone in the quarry to the time
when the finished cement goes into
storage in big concrete bins, the proc-
ess of manufacture is almost entirely
mechanical — otherwise present day
outputs would be impossible. In ad-
dition to straight photography, am-
mated drawings have been inserted to
make clear what occurs inside the
grinding mills, what goes on within
the white-hot interior of the huge
kilns, and how the cement sacks, sus-
pended upside down, are filled after
they have been tied. This film can
be secured without charge by inter-
ested organizations through any office
of the Portland Cement Association,
or from Association headquarters at
111 W. Washington St., Chicago.

2k>ning for Providence. — The adop-
tion by the City Council on June 6 of
a zoning ordinance assures for Provi-
dence proper supervision covering
such points as height, area and use
of buildings. The ordinance was ex-
amined closely by hundreds of citizens
whose property is affected, and yet
no opposition to the restriction devel-
oped. The committee in charge had
the benefit of expert knowledge on
zoning, and before laying out the dis-
tricts every part of the city was in-
spected. The municipal government
asks that citizens cooperate with the
Inspector of Buildings and the Board
of Review in carrying out the pro-
visions of the zoning ordinance.

362

Buildings

August,

Construction Costs of Jail for
St. Louis County, Minn.

By W. C. BROCKWAY

Assoc. M., Am. Soc. C. E., 213 Torrey Build-
ing, Duluth, Minnesota

The unit cost of the county jail now
under construction at Duluth, Minne-
sota, will be more than $1.45 per cubic
foot. The total cost on completion of
work will be about $620,000. The
building is 132 feet by 47 feet in plan,
and about 67 feet in height, of rein-
forced concrete construction, with
granite facing.

In the basement room is provided
for the following: kitchen, store-
room, garage, storage, incline to tun-
nel, elevator machinery. A tunnel has
been constructed, connecting the
courthouse with the jail. This is
about 125 feet long, and is for the
purpose of taking prisoners from one
building to the other.

On the first floor, provision is made
for a laundry, warden's room, offices,
six wards, probate and examination
room, nurses' duty room, matron's
room, kitchen, elevators, and small
storerooms.

The second and third floors each
consist of 24 cells in one block, and 8
cells in another. The cell blocks, each
with two rows of cells with a utility
corridor between, are located through
the longitudinal center of the build-
ing. On the outside of the cell blocks
are the prisoners' corridors, and out-
side of these are the guards' corridors,
next to the exterior wall. The two
cell blocks are separated by a central
corridor.

On the fourth floor is one cell block
of 24 cells, laid out with cells in two
rows with a light court between. A
prisoners' corridor is on each side of
the cell block next to the exterior
walls. Juvenile and women's recrea-
tion rooms are provided. Four isola-
tion cells and a school room are also
on this floor.

This building is being constructed
to harmonize with the present court-
house, the proposed city hall, and the
proposed postoffice, all of which were
originally laid out in a group, known
as the "Burnham Plan."

The following contracts have been
let up to July first:

General Construction $429,700

Tool P;-oo'f Steel for Cells 24,000

Additional Contract for Clark

Granite 11,535

Contract for substitution of
granite for architectural
terra cotta 26,500

Additional excavation in base-
ment 7,960

Heating, ventilating and

plumbing 74,929

Electrical Work 13,248

Power Plant Extensions,
Court House, including
switch board, engine and
steam equipment 29,089

Total to date $616,961

The Contractor has informally
stated that $200,000 is the approxi-
mate figure incident to jail construc-
tion.

Omitting the item of tool proof
steel, the cost per cubic foot of the
contracts already let is $1.42, taking
the size of the building at 416,000
cubic feet.

The building is to be heated and
lighted from the plants in the Court-
house. The maximum daily demand
estimated for the Courthouse in 1924
is 142 K. W. The estimated jail load
is 100 K. W., making the total 252
K. W. The jail has minute and exten-
sive electrical equipment.

The County Commissioners on the
jail committee are: Alex Eraser,
Walter Swansti-om, W. E. Fay, D. M.
McKenzie.

John Q. Adams, engineer of the
courthouse building, was later ap-
pointed to this committee. Holstead
& Sullivan, Duluth, Minn., are the
architects.

Jacobson Brothers, contractors,
were awarded the contract for gen-
eral construction. D. R. Black &
Company were awarded the contract
for heating, ventilating a!nd plumbing.
The Commercial Electric Company
received the contract for the switch-
board, and John Smith for the engine
and steam equipment.

City Planning Courses at Harvard.

— By action of the faculty, the Har-
vard School of Landscape Architecture
is empowered to announce a full
course in city planning leading to a
master's degree, — an M. L. A. in the
field of city planning. This will be
one of two options offered to students
entering the school in September,
1923, the other option fitting a man
for private problems of landscape
architecture, especially estates and
gardens, and for designing parks and
pleasure grounds.

1923 Buildings

Proposed Loading for Highway Bridges

863

An Analysis of Common Practice as to Assumed Loads, and a Com-
parison With Results Under More Accurate Assumptions,
Showing That Older Methods Are Unsatisfactory
for Modern Conditions

A Paper Published in Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers
for August, and to be Presented to the Society Sept. 5, 1923

By HAROLD D. HUSSEY, ESQ.

Asst. Engineer, American Bridge Co., New York City

This paper is a discussion of high-
way bridge loads with a proposed
new loading system for use in high-
way bridge design.

During 1921, the writer was en-
gaged in developing a set of designs
of highway bridges suitable to carry
heavy modern traffic. The study of
the live load to be used in these de-
signs is the basis of this paper.

Development. — It was decided to
confine this study to a load of 20-ton
trucks. State Specifications of 20-
ton truck loads were studied, and
were found mainly to specify a slid-
ing scale of uniform loads for the
trusses and girders, but for the floor
system and hangers of the trusses,
the actual truck loads were to be
used. A common uniform load for
the trusses was 100 lb. per sq. ft. for
spans up to 100 ft., 80 lb. per sq. ft.
for spans of more than 200 ft., and
proportionate loads for intermediate
spans.

It was felt that, although this load-
ing may be satisfactory for long
spans, the constant load of 100 lb. per
sq. ft. for all spans up to 100 ft. was
hardly sufficient when compared with
the 20-ton truck on the floor. In order
to examine this point thoroughly the
equivalent uniform loads, for both
moment and shear, for a 20-ton truck,
were computed and plotted as on Fig.
1. This diagram shows very high
values of equivalent uniform loads for
short spans, which diminish as the
span increases, until they equal 100
lb. per sq. ft. at spans between 70
and 80 ft. Further study developed
the results in Table 1, which gives
the span lengths at which a uniform
load of 100 lb. per sq. ft., covering
the width of a truck, will cause the
same shear and moment at various
points as a single 20-ton truck.

Thus, a single 20-ton truck stand-
ing in the center of a bridge will
give a greater shear at the center
than a uniform load of 100 lb. per

sq. ft., over a 10-ft. width for all
spans up to 152 ft., or, for all spans
up to 152 ft., two 20-ton truck, stand-
ing side by side in the center of a
span, with a 20-ft. roadway, will give
a greater shear at the center than
100 lb. per sq. ft. over the entire
width of roadway.

Table 1. — A Comparison of the 2U-Ton Track

of Fig. 1 With 100 Lb. Per Sq. Ft. on a 10-Ft.

Width.

End

9/10 .„

8/10

7/10

6/10

. 84

. 95

109

127

^4 I>oint
Center

75
72

5/10 (center) 152

4/10 (for counter shears).. 190 _.

The equivalent uniform load value
for a single truck decreases rapidly
as the span increases, as shown by
Fig. 1. In order to illustrate the
effect of several trucks on the bridge
at the same time, computations were
made of maximum moment and shear
for a line of trucks 50 ft., center
to center of adjacent trucks, any
number of tioicks being used and
placed in the most unfavorable posi-
tion on the spans, and these results
were plotted on Fig. 1. The curves
for this load coincide with those for
the single truck load to a point at
which the additional trucks add their
load, where they leave the curves for
the single truck and tend to flatten
out at about 80 lb. per sq. ft. The
reason for this is that 80 lb. is the
square-foot equivalent load for a 20-
ton truck over a width of 10 ft. and
a length of 50 ft. These curves (Fig.
1) show a large difference in value
between end shear and maximuni

364

Buildings

August,

moment for any span, whereas the
difference between the maximum
moment and shear at any intermedi-
ate point is even greater. This is
true of any system of concentrated
loads that are spaced far apart. It
is evident, therefore, that a single
uniform load cannot equal any multi-
ple truck loading for all moments
and shears in a span — ^either the web
members will be over-stressed, or the
chord members will be under-stressed,
both of which result in an unbalanced
and uneconomical design.

To correct this serious defect of the
old uniform load several different
loading systems were tried. An at-
tempt was made to modify the uni-
form load system by adopting a heavy
load — comparable to the equivalent
uniform load for a single truck — for
a span of 35 ft., decreasing in a
broken line which would approximate
as closely as possible the multiple-
truck load. This type of loading was

considered an improvement over the
old uniform loading.

A study was made of a loading
consisting of a fixed amount per
linear foot for each line of traffic
accommodated on a bridge, using a
sliding scale of loads similar to the
modified uniform load just mentioned.
Considered on the basis of pounds
per square foot of roadway, this type
of loading has little practical differ-
ence from the modified uniform load
system.

In both the preceding systems, an
attempt was made by means of a
system of uniform loads to match as
closely as possible the equivalent uni-
form loads of the actual trucks. In
doing so, it was necessary to assign
a single uniform load for use in com-
puting both shear and moments,
which, as previously demonstrated,
results in both an unbalanced and an
uneconomical design.

It became more and more evident

(10 Si) 100 120 IK) 100 180 200 220 210
L(ii(,'tli III Sp;iii in I'Vcl
Fig. 1.

280 :!oa i

1923

Buildings

365

that, in order to obtain the most uni-
form results, the actual wheel loads
of the trucks themselves should be
used in the loading system, and it was
finally decided to do so. A system
of loads in which the truck concen-
trations are followed by a uniform
load was considered as being the most
satisfactory form, and a system of

-a

JUL

CLASS T.IO TRUCK LWOINQ

Fig. 2.

this kind was used in the immediate
work at hand.

Since the work was completed, fur-
ther study of highway loadings has
been made, and valuable criticism has
been received, to the end that some
changes have been made in the load-
ing as originally developed, without
altering its character. The proposed

loading is shown in Fig. 2. This is
a loading for 20-ton trucks and is
called "Class T-20 Truck Loading."
It is based on a line of traffic 9 ft.
wide, as shown. A bridge will accom-
modate as many of these line of traf-
fic as the width of roadway ^\^ll per-
mit.

Some explanation of this loading
is necessary. The width of 9 ft. is
based on the practice of highway en-
gineers of building paved roads to
accommodate two lines of traffic with
a width of 18 ft. Two trucks will
readily pass on a bridge with an 18-
ft. roadway.

The uniform load following the
truck concentrations is equivalent to
80 lb. per sq. ft., which seems suffi-
cient from a study of Figs. 1 and 3.
A load of 80 lb. per sq. ft. has been
recommended by the Committee on
Iron and Steel Structures of the
American Railway Engineering As-
sociation in its proposed General

J SO
•JGO

t 220

J 200
g 180

I 160

tr.

"i 120

? 100

■i 80

^ 60
40
20

\ I

CLASS T-20 TRUCK LOADING

t±]

ISO b. per Un. ft.

^Maximom end shesri

Momenta mt < lurter poiiit

40 60 80 100

Typical uniform load

120 140 160 180 200

JLensth of Span in Feet

220 240 260 280 300

Fig. 3.

366

Buildings

August,

Specifications for Steel Highway
Bridges.*

The concentrations used are for a
single truck. Although there are
many 20-ton trucks on the roads, the
tendency in State control of traffic
is to limit the maximum truck load
to somewhat less than 20 tons, which
means that the major part of traffic
will be made up of trucks of less
than 20 tons. If the major part of
the traffic were of 20-ton trucks, it
would be necessary to adopt a load-
ing that would satisfy this condition,
and either use two or more trucks
followed by a uniform load, or one
truck followed by a very heavy uni-
form load. It was not considered
necessary to meet this condition,
however, and the present loading is
the normal requirements of present-
day traffic, and the probable require-
ments of future traffic.

Objections might perhaps be raised
to any departure from a simple uni-
form load for highway bridges on
the ground of difficulty of application.
There should be no objections for that

reason if another type of load stands
analysis better than the uniform load.
The different loading systems should
be rated on their merits. However,
for actual use, it is proposed to com-
pile shear and moment tables for a
line of traffic 9 ft. wide for a T-10
loading, for various panel and span
lengths, similar to tables that have
been made for the railroad loadings,
E-10 and M-10, as presented by the
Special Committee on Specifications
for Bridge Design and Construction
of the Society.! The tabulated mo-
ments and shears could then be mul-
tiplied by 2 to obtain values for a
T-20 loading, or by a simple factor
to obtain such values for any other
desired T-loading, for a traffic lane
9 ft. wide. This will simplify the
application of this loading system so
that it will be as easy to use as the
uniform loading system. It is regret-
ted that lack of time prevents the
writer from submitting complete
moment and shear tables with this
paper.

For the application of this system

♦Bulletin 252, Am. Ry. Eng. Assoc, De-
cember, 1922.

tProceedings, Am. Soc. C. E., January,
1923, p. B3.

4.00

COEFFICIENTS FOr| TRUSS LOADS.
ASSUMING THAT THE TRUSS LOAD

3.50

FOR A R

:)ADv^/<y 9

-T. WIDE 1

5 UNITY.

//'"

«» 3.00

1- 1

1 11 k

. n — n (

oks close to 01

1 — fii:_i
..J

^-''

5 2.00

1.50

„-''

—

I.fO

13 17 21 25 29

Width of roadway lu feet
FIs. 4.

1923

Buildings

367

of loads to different classes of
bridges, the following is proposed:

Class of Bridge Live Load

Class A, for bridges carrying city and

primary highway traffic — T-20

Class B, for bridges carrying secondary

highway traffic „.. T-17.5

Class C, for bridges carrying country

traffic _ T-15

For a roadway of 18 ft. it would

then be necessary for total moments

and shears to multiply the moments

and shear for a 9-ft. line of traffic

by a factor of = 2. For a road-

9
way of, say, 24 ft., it would seem to
be satisfactory to apply a factor of
24
, which is on the safe side, and

9
slightly more than would be found
by placing two parallel 9-ft. lines of
traffic near one truss and calculating
the truss loads from the actual trans-
verse distances. Fig. 4 shows a com-
parison of the results obtained by
this method with the actual truss
loads obtained by placing the lines
of traffic against one truss. It is
seen that the difference between the
two curves is not great for roadway
widths of more than 20 ft., whereas
for a width of 16 ft. it would provide
for passing trucks of less than 20
tons each.

Conclusion. — This study of bridge
loads has demonstrated that the ordi-
nary uniform loading system is un-
satisfactory for modem bridges. A
few of the advantages claimed fox
the proposed new loading system are
as follows:

1. — Standardization of highway
loads. (Those for railroads stand-
ardized in 1895 by the introduction
of the Cooper E- Loading.)

2. — Simplicity of specifications.

3. — A definite load for each class
of bridge applicable to floor and
trusses alike.

4. — A constant longitudinal spacing
of loads.

5. — All parts of the load for each
class of bridge proportional to a basic
typical load.

6. — Moment and shear tables easily
prepared and printed for the typical
load.

7. — Stresses for any load are found
from those for the typical load by
simply multiplying by a constant fac-
tor.

8.— -Encouragement toward uni-
formity of design and the resulting
economy in construction.

9. — Ease of comparison of various
designs by establishing a standard
basis of comparison.

10. — Uniformity in rating all
bridges by establishing a standard
basis of rating.

While engaged on this work, the
Samuel J. Ott, M. Am. Soc. C. E.,
Engineer in Charge of Bridge De-
sign, American Bridge Company, to
whom acknowledgment is due for sug-
gestions and criticism. Acknowledg-
ment is also due to Mr. Clement Ken-
dall for co-operation in the early
stages of the work. Later, this study
of live load came under the observa-
tion of Otis E. Hovey, M. Am. Soc.
C. E., to whom acknowledgment is
due for suggestions leading to its con-
tinued development.

Trade School Education in
Los Angeles

More than 150 apprentice plumb-
ers recently passed examinations and
were admitted to the new trade ex-
tension school at Los Angeles, con-
ducted by the Board of Education.
The examinations consisted of two
sets of tests. Ability to master the
first test placed the apprentice in the
second year work, while those who
were able to pass both were graded
as third year students.

The course of instruction at the
new trades school consists of four
hours study a day in both theoretical
and practical work. The school does
not enroll a student unless he has had
previous experience of some kind in
the work of his selection. For the
actual time spent in the classes of
instruction the apprentice-student is
paid in full by local contractors who
contend that it is good economy to
create new recruits to the ranks of
their craftsmen rather than outbid
other communities for skilled labor.

The tremendous influx of unskilled
workers to Los Angeles from all parts
of the country where labor unionism
is in control made it absolutely im-
perative that a trades school be es-
tablished where those who had had
some training might become proficient
at the trade they had chosen. Being
definitely pledged to an open market
for material and labor, the Southern
California Chapter of the Associated
General Contractors has not only
heartily indorsed th« new trades
school but has promised to give it is
full moral support and co-operation.

368

Buildings August,

Transmission of Sound by Masonry Partitions

By PAUL E. SABINE

Riverbank Laboratories, Geneva, 111.
Reprinted from The American Architect and Architectural Review for July 4

In an earlier article, the results of
experiments or the transmission of
sound by simple stiff structural units
of wood, glass, and steel were given.
The net result of that investigation
was that the sound insulating merits
of such units depend more upon the
massiveness and stiffness of the struc-
tures as a whole than upon the physi-
cal properties of the materials
employed. Thus a window of A in.
glass of small leaded panes proved
on the whole m.ore effective in reduc-
ing sound than a single large pane of
glass U: in. thick. The experiments
also showed that the reduction of in-
tensity varied widely with variation
in pitch, but that in general it was
greater for high pitched than for low
pitched sounds. In a later paper, the
effect of materials of what was
termed a "quilt-like" character, in re-
ducing sound intensity was considered
and the results of tests upon a num-
ber of such materials were given.

From those tests, it was possible to
give a mathematical expression, in-
volving two experimentally deter-
mined coefficients from which the re-
duction of sound by any thickness
could be computed for materials in
which the damping forces are great in
comparison with the elastic forces.
Further, it was shown that interpos-
ing layers of impervious material
such as heavy building paper in-
creased in a marked degree the effec-
tiveness of porous felt-like materials
of this sort is in general in the order
of their densities, the more dense ma-
terials producing the greater reduc-
tion.

The present paper deals with what
may be called standard partitions and
gives the result of an investigation
extending over a period of some two
years to determine the relative merits
of the various types of masonry par-
titions commonly employed in modern
fireproof buildings. These tests have
been made upon an entirely ex parte
basis. Manufacturers' associations
interested in the various ma'terials
tested have very kindly supplied in-
formation as to standard practice in
the use of their respective materials,
and it is a pleasure to acknowledge
this co-operation.

The method of measurement was
essentially that employed in the pre-
vious work and described in the ear-
lier papers. The partition walls of
uniform size 8 ft. 2 in. x 6 ft. 2 in.
were built in a doorway between a
large room 27 ft. x 19 ft. x 20 ft., the
Sound Chamber in which the sound
was produced, and a smaller room, the
Test Chamber 10 ft. 6 in. x 6 ft. 2 in.
X 11 ft. 6 in. These two rooms are
built upon separate foundations and
have no structural connection. Due
to the low absorbing power of the
Sound Chamber, the sound from the
organ pipe sources persists for a con-
siderable time after the pipe has
ceased, a matter of some 16 seconds
for the lower tones and 6 seconds for
the highest tone. By a careful deter-
mination of the difference of times
which this residual sound can be heard
on opposite sides of the test wall, and
from the rate of decrease of intensity
known from a careful preliminary
study of the Sound Chamber, the
ratio of the intensities in the two
rooms with the test partition inter-
vening can be easily computed. This
ratio has been called the Reduction
Factor, for the partition, and is a
measure of .its sound insulating prop-
erties. The experiments show that,
for a given partition, this Reduction
Factor varies widely with the pitch
of the sound, so that a complete story
can be told only as a result of tests
with a large number of tones cover-
ing the whole musical scale. In pre-
senting the results graphically, the
logarithm of the Reduction Factor
rather than the quantity itself will
be employed. This mode of repre-
sentation gives a truer notion of the
phenomena as recorded in terms of
loudness sensation, since the latter is
roughly proportional to the logarithm
of the physical intensity of the sound.
On the logarithmic scale, zero repre-
sents a barely audible sound, 6, a
sound of moderate intensity such as
that from a violin or a violincello in
an empty room of moderate size, and
12, a sound so loud as to be painful.
Thus for a complete audible extinc-
tion of a moderately loud sound, a
logarithmic reduction of 6, which
means a reduction in the physical in-

1923

Buildings

869

tensity in the ratio of 1,000,000 to 1
is required.

Since the reader of the present
paper will be more interested in the
final results than in the experimental
details, the latter may well be omit-
ted. In the earlier investigations the
tests were confined to six or seven
tones at octave intervals ranging in
pitch from 64 to 4096 vibrations per
second. In most of the later work,
the number of tones was increased to
twenty-three. In most cases the par-
titions were built a stage at a time
and the measurement of the sound re-
duction produced at each stage was
made, each m^easurement requiring
some 1800 separate observations. In
this way, knowledge of the relative
influence of the separate constituents
of the finished partition could be ob-
tained. Careful tests were made to
determine the effect of acoustical
conditions in the receiving Test Cham-
ber upon the observed intensity.
While this effect was not and indeed
cannot be wholly eliminated, yet it is
quantitatively known and the results
given are for constant conditions as
between the various types of parti-
tions tested, so that it is believed that
they represent the relative merits of
these partitions in reducing the pas-
sage of sound between adjoining
rooms.

Detailed Results for Plaster Walls.
— The partitions tested were of three
types, namely gypsum block, both
solid and hollow, hollow clay tile, and
solid plaster on metal lath. The plas-
ter applied to these bases in each case
was unfibered gypsum plaster mixed
in equal parts with clean sand. This
was applied to an equal and uniform
thickness on the various bases.

The results for the plaster on metal '
lath partition will be given somewhat
in detail as typical of the whole gen-
eral procedure. They are instructive
as showing the effect of thickness
upon the reduction of transmitted
sound by what may be considered as
practically homogeneous masonry.
The specifications for the metal lath
base called for % in. channel irons
set on 12 in. centers and expanded
metal lath weighing 3.1 pounds to the
square yard attached by tie wire.
The plaster was applied to equal
thickness on the two sides, first to a
total thickness of Ih^ in. Reduction
measurements were made on this wall
the results of which are shown in the
lowest curve of Figure 1. An addi-
tional inch of plaster was added, and

measurements were again made. The
reductions produced by thicknesses up
to 4% in. are shown in Figure 1.
One notes that there is a gradual
transition in the curves from the form
for the thin wall to that for the thick-
est, indicating that the influence of
the metal lath base plays a less and
less important part in the transmis-
sion of sound as the thickness of the
plaster is increased, and that there is
generally increased reduction pro-
duced by all thicknesses as the pitch
of the sound rises. The abrupt in-
crease in the reduction of intensity
with rising pitch for the thicker walls
in the neighborhood of the tone Ci is
also interesting as indicating a pos-
sible difference in the mechanics of
transmission of sound above and be-
low this pitch. In practically all the
walls tested this same phenomenon

Fig. 1. Reduction of Sound Transmitted by

Plaster on Metal Lath Partitions of Different

Thicknesses.

was noted. The anomalous case for
the tone just below d in which the
reduction produced by the 2^/2 in. wall
is actually less than that due to the
1^/2 in. wall emphasizes the fact al-
ready pointed out that comparative
tests using a single tone may lead to
erroneous conclusions as to the gen-
eral sound insulating merits of dif-
ferent constructions. Control experi-
ments were performed to determine
whether the abnormally small reduc-
tion for this particular tone might be
due to resonance of the Test Cham-
ber. A small portion of the latter
was walled off by means of heavily
felted panels, giving a small receiving
chamber with high absorbing power.
This change was without effect so far
as this particular tone was concerned.
The question of the effect of the
dimension of the test wall upon the
reduction of intensity was also inves-
tigated by building a similar wall 2*/^
in. thick in an opening 3 ft. x 8 ft.
The results showed that on the whole

370

Buildings

August,

the wall of smaller dimensions re-
duced the tones below C4 appreciably
more than did the larger wall of equal
thickness, but that the results above
this tone were not appreciably af-
fected by the area tested. This result
is quite in agreement with the theory
set forth in earlier papers, that for
low tones at least the energy is trans-
mitted mainly by flexural vibrations

Fig.

T/i/cAness m /nc/ies
^ 2 3 T

2. Average Reduction for the Whole

,^ =

Fe/t

Musical Range Plotted Against the Thickness

of the Partition. Upper Curve for Plaster

on Metal Lath; Lower Curve for Uncovered

Hair Felt.

of the structure as a whole or in large
segments.

Attention is further called to the
fact that equal increments of thick-
ness do not produce equal increments
in the logarithm of the reduction,
that is the first added inch of plaster
makes decidedly more difference than
does the last. This is especially true
for the highest tones. This general
fact is most clearly shown by the
upper curve of Figure 2, in which the
average logarithmic reduction for all
the tones is plotted against the total
thickness of the wall. The straight
line in the figure is similarly drawn
from the data obtained in earlier ex-
periments with hair felt. The latter
indicates that in a porous material
like felt the reduction of intensity in
transmission is a true absorption
process in which each unit of thick-
ness absorbs the same fraction of the
energy that enters it as does every
other unit, and that any desired de-
gree of sound insulation may^ be
secured by employing a sufficient
thickness of the material. The case

with the plaster is obviously quite
different, and the shape of the curve
indicates that there is a limiting value
beyond which increasing the thickness
produces only a negligible decrease in
the transmitted sound. As a matter
of practical importance, it may be
said that the difference between the
ZVi in. and the 4% in. walls would
not be noted by the ear under ordi-
nary conditions, so that it is safe to
say that, practically considered, noth-
ing is to be gained in the way of
reduced transmission by building par-
titions of this character more than
3V2 in. thick.

Walls With Tile Base.— Hereafter,
the graphical presentation of the re-
sults will be smooth curves. It should
once more be emphasized that the ex-
perimental points especially in the
two lower octaves do not lie upon
smooth curves, the reduction in cer-
tain cases varying rather widely from
tone to tone due to resonance in the
walls themselves. The smooth curves
give what may be called average val-
ues and present the general trend of
change of reduction with changing
pitch over the whole range of tones.

In Figure 3 the results of tests on
unplastered gypsum tile walls are
shown. The tiles were 30 in. x 12 in.,
and were laid in gypsum mortar. The
manufacturers give the composition
as 96 per cent calcined gypsum and

^ cT c, G « G

Fig. 3. Reduction of Sound Transmitted by
Unplastered Gypsum Tile Partitions.

4 per cent fibre. The weights per
square foot including the mortar are
given below.

1. 2 in. Solid Tile 10.4 pounds

2. 3 in. Hollow Tile 11.1 pounds

3. 3 in. Solid Tile 14.2 pounds

The very slightly higher values of
the Reduction Factor for the 3 in.
hollow tile over the 2 in. solid tile of
nearly equal weight indicate the neg-
ligible effect of the air spaces in the

1923

Buildings

371

former. As will appear later in the
general consideration of all the re-
sults, the factor of weight seems to
predominate in determining the re-
duction of sound in transmission.

The lower curves in Figure 4 show
the effect of the addition of plaster to
the 2 in. solid tile base. A coat ^ in.
thick was applied first on one side.
Sound reduction measurements were
made, a similar coat was applied to
the other side and measurements were

Fig. 4. Curves Showingr the Effects of Plas-
tering Gypsum Tile Partitions on the Reduc-
tion of Transmitted Sound.

again made. Finally a smooth trowel
finish coat of neat gypsum plaster
% in. thick was applied to both sides
and measurements made on the fin-
ished wall. The very slight change
produced by the addition of the finish
coat is significant as showing the
negligible importance of surface con-
ditions upon the transmission of
sound by partition walls. The upper
curves of Figure 4, are similarly
drawn for the 3 in. tile base and for
the finished wall.

In Fig. 5, the reduction produced
by a 4-in. hollow clay tile wall in
the various stages of construction is
presented. These tile, ll^^xll^i in.,
w-ere set in Portland cement, the un-
plastered wall weighing 17 lbs. per
square foot. The general similarity
I in the shape of the cur\'e to those
preceding is to be noted with the ex-
ception that there is a more pro-
nounced falling off in the reduction
of tones of the highest octave than
occurs with the other types. How-
ever, the fact that the shape of the
curve for the finished wall conforms
closely to those for the other plas-
tered surfaces shows that in the fin-
ished structure any peculiarities of

the base material are pretty well
masked.

Analysis of the Data. — The pri-
mary purpose of the present investi-
gation was to secure quantitative data
as to the relative importance of the
various factors involved in determin-
ing the degree of sound reduction
produced by masonry partitions. Sci-
entifically we are interested in know-
ing why wall A rfeduces transmitted
sound more than does wall B, rather
than in the bare fact that it does.
The passage of energy from room to
room through partition walls is a
mechanical problem, and one for
which no complete theoretical solu-
tion has been obtained. The three
physical properties involved are mass,
stiffness and damping, due to inter-
nal friction, of the wall considered as
a whole. In the investigation, two of
these quantities were measured. The
mass per square foot of surface has
been chosen as a measure of the first.
By subjecting the walls to small pres-
sures and on one side and measuring
the displacement of the middle point
produced thereby, relative values of
the stiffness were obtained. Unfor-
tunately no feasible means of measur-
ing the dampness has yet been de-
vised.

In measuring the relative stiffness,
advantage was taken of the fact that
the Sound Chamber was sufliiciently
air-tight so that by admitting air
from the organ wind chest into the
room the atmospheric pressure could
be raised an appreciable amount

Reduction of Sound Transmitted by
Hollow Clay Tile Partitions.

above the pressure of the Test Cham-
ber on the opposite side of the test
wall. This difference of pressure was
measured by means of a very sensi-
tive differential pressure gauge. At
the same time, the displacement of
the middle point of the wall was
measured by means of a delicate op-
tical micrometer, that magnified the
minute displacements about two thou-
sandfold. The relative stiffness of

372

Buildings

August,

the different walls may be expressed
by numbers which are proportional
to the pressures necessary to produce
a given deflection.

In order to have a single numerical
value as a measure of the reduction
of sound intensity, the value of the
logarithm of the reduction factor
averaged for all the tones has been
chosen. This procedure is justified
by the fact, that with few exceptions,
there is a general similarity in the
shapes of the curves given above,

3.»

,ff

r.^

.IV

?r>

r.»

!(•

Z.Z

ffe/y>

/■ />ef

Sot/Q

re/^o,

Fig. 6. Average Reduction of Sound Over
the Whole Musical Range Produced by Ma-
sonry Partitions Plotted Against the Weight
Per Square Foot of Surface.

and therefore the average affords a
fair measure of the relative merits
of the various walls as sound in-
sulators.

In the following table, the results of
all the tests are summarized. The
figures in the column headed "Rela-
tive Stiffness" are computed from the
displacements described above, and
are the hydrostatic pressures in hun-
dredths of a pound per square inch

necessary to produce a yielding of .01
in. at the middle point of the wall.

Inspection of this table shows im-
mediately which of the two factors,
mass or stiffness, is determinative in
the reduction of intensity of trans-
mitted sound by walls of this general
character. Sound reduction and mass
per square foot run in the same order.
On the other hand, there is no ob-
vious correspondence between stiffness
and sound reduction. Thus, for ex-
ample, No. 11, the stiffest wall, does
not give the greatest reduction. No.
8 and No. 14, about equally stiff,
differ widely in the average reduction
factors.

In Fig. 6, the figures for mass and
reduction factor are plotted. The de-
parture of the experimental points
from the smooth curve are no greater
than can be accounted for by the un-
avoidable uncertainty in estimating
the weight of the walls. Obviously
the conclusion to be drawn is that
within the limits of variation of phys-
ical properties set by the scope of the
present investigation, mass is the de-
ciding factor in the matter of sound
transmission, and that any advantage
of one wall as compared with another
is a matter simply of its greater
weight, rather than of any intrinsic
merit in the material employed in its
construction. It appears then that
the sound insulation between adja-
cent rooms separated by masonry par-
titions, is determined by the weight
per square foot of such partitions.
Moreover from the data of the table
and the curve of Fig. 6, it is possible
to state the reduction of general sound
intensity produced by any wall of
this general character solely from
consideration of its weight.

From a purely practical point of
view, it appears that the advantage
in sound insulation of any one of
the types of construction tested, over

Average
Logarithm Wt. per
Wall of Reduction sq. ft.

Gypsum Tile, unplastered 2.36 10.4

Hollow Tile, unplastered 2.42 11.1

in. Plaster on Metal Lath 2.53 13.9

Solid Gypsum Tile, unplastered 2.67 14.2

Solid Gypsum and 1% in. Plaster 2.72 15.

Hollow Clay Tile, unplastered 2.83 17.

Gypsum and 1 in. Plaster 2.95 19.6

Gypsum and 1% in. Plaster 3.05 21.4

Clay Tile and i^ in. Plaster 3.07 22.

n. Plaster on Metal Lath 3.24 23.2

Solid Gypsum and li/4 >n. Plaster „ 3.28 25.4

Hollow Clay Tile ahd 1 in. Plaster „ 3.86 27.

Hollow Clay Tile and 1^ in. Plaster 3.40 28.8

n. Plaster on Metal Lath 3.60 32.5

n. Plaster on Metal Lath „ 3.82 41.8

No.

2 ii

3 ii

3 it

2 ii

4 ii

2 ii

4 ii

2Vj

3 ir

4 ir

Relative Average

Stiffness Reduction

230

260

4 340

468

525

677

892

84 1120

1180

17 1740

130 1910

2300

120 2500

77 4000

6600

1923 Buildings 373

the others does not make a very and to the limits of the Metropolitan
strong "talking point" in favor of Police area be not more than one pen-
its use. For walls of equal thick- ny less than the X rate in the City
ness the solid plaster gives the and County of London— to be effective
greater sound reduction, because of for the three months, October, No-
its greater weight. For the same vember and December, 1922.
reason solid tile of a given thickness j^ ^-^^ following schedule the labor-
is more effective than hollow tile of gj-g. ^ate equals -'X"; for the City and
the same thickness. As between th^ county of London the laborers' rate is
finished walls on the tile bases and jg ^^ ^32 ^t )
the 2^/2-in plaster wall, on the metal ' ' (d = 2 ct.)

lath base the difference in sound re- „, . .JE""^^^- v ^^"^.[?-^®-

] .. . , . „v 4. J? ,_ Blacksmith X plus 4^2(1

duction IS not great enough to fur- concrete leveler X plus —

nish a very strong argument in favor Duct or earthenware

of the use of any one of them as p.^[*'" ^^^^^ ^ Pj"^ 11^

compared with the others. Granfte' ' ' mason ' ' ' (curb, ^ "^ ^

. ,. etc.) XplusS^d

The investigation serves to indicate Granite sett dresser x plus 4^d

the limitations of ordinary partition Jointer — x plus id

walls in reducing the transmission of g^4 ""^ '. ". '. '. ". ". *. '. '. '. '. '. '.'.'. X plus t^d

sound. Roughly speaking, a logarith- Petrol locomotive "or VoYl-

mic reduction of 3 may be expected er driver X plus 2d

for walls as ordinarily built. This re- ffiliaylr labof;; x Sul - '°

duces sounds of moderate loudness Pneumatic pick operator. X plus Id

from 1,000,000 times to 1,000 times Rammerman X plus id

minimum audibility. The latter are fcrfeder '' x plus id

faint but distinctly audible. For the steam roller dViVeV. '.'.'.'.'.' x plus 4d

complete extinction of ordinary sounds Street mason and flag

a further reduction of 3 on the loga- Ta^rp^ot "Sian X plul ^**

rithmic scale (1,000 to 1 in physical Timberman ■■.■.■.■.'.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■ X phis id

intensities) would be required. Ob- Wood block layer X plus id

viously from the curve of Fig. 6, this Watchman x plus 7s 6d»

would require walls of prohibitively •Minimum day or night.

great weight and thickness. Even a extti" ^■°'"'^*"^ *" "boots" id per hour

total logarithmic reduction of 4 would -nr ' , , , , ^- ^
„ • 11 • !-• Ai. cA Workmen working in dirty or danger-
require a wall weighing more than 50 ous places subject to special rates and
lbs. per square foot, a figure for par- conditions.

titions which probably could not for Boys 14 to 16 years % of X

structural reasons be tolerated save i^y^ H to H years % of x

in exceptional cases. The investiga- ^°''^ ^^ *° ^o years % of x

tion is now being extended to distinct- -n^e hours of labor and overtime

ly different types of construction with ^ates to remain as agreed on March

the hope of finding a more practicable ,, ,Q«f^ TinniAiv

method of reducing the passage of ' ^^'^"' °^°^eiy.

sound from room to room. "The recognized working week shall

consist of forty-seven hours, and when

--, - _ 1 mir 1 overtime is worked at the request of

Wages of Contractors Workmen the employer, or his agent, the follow-

i in London, England, Area i°& rates shall apply: For the first

two hours in any one day, time and a

(From the Surveyor, London.) quarter; for the second two hours,

rvh^ T3„i.n„ -nr u n, i- ^- time and a half; after that, double

; ine Public Works Conciliation ^- o. ^ j ^ . a.i

RnarH tr^r. fi,^ T^ ^ i time; Saturdays noon to 4 p. m., time

I coard for the London area — namely, j v i« j «* xu ^ j vi ^j

the City and County of London and and a half, and after that double time;

the whole of the districts of all the f.^^^ays and Bank Holidays, double

local authorities, the whole or any ^^"l^" ^^^ working day to commence

part of whose district lies within the ^^' ,^J^' ^'t T n ^^ "^^ . °°^ ^"^^

Metropolitan Police district-has de- t half hours to be allowed for meals.

led that the present rate of wages Saturdays commence 7 a. m and end

X in the schedule) for the City and r^^tf .^•- ^" '"

■unty of London remain at Is. 4d., oreakfast.

2 ct) and that the rate for the area This award supercedes all others of

yond the City and County of London earlier date.

374

Buildings

August,

Opportunities and Purposes of the
American Institute of Architects

as Stated in a Section of the
Report of the Board of
Directors Rendered
May 16, 1923
Herein lies perhaps the greatest
opportunity for service to the indus-
try that is open to the architect, and
it appears to be a service that no
other branch of the Industry is so
naturally equipped to render. And it
is by such activities that the Institute
of today stands in quite sharp con-
trast to the Institute of a decade ago.
Then our activities relatively speak-
ing were largely self-centered. Our
educational work was almost entirely
concerned v^dth the professional train-
ing of architects; our membership
was exclusive rather than inclusive,
intended as a mark of a certain de-
gree of distinction rather than a gen-
eral token of honorable and competent
practice; there were 35 Chapters; our
discussions of competitions dealt
largely with provisions for the con-
trol of our own actions; we main-
tained a dignified aloofness from la-
bor, which was regarded as a problem
of the contractor with which it were
best for the architect to have no con-
nection; we were concerned with
standardizing contract procedure for
the benefit of architects and their
clients and contractors; we were ac-
tive in support of public measures for
the protection of the Capital City, but
too often opposed by a lack of under-
standing of our qualifications and
purpose.

Today there are significant changes
to be recorded. Our educational work,
while not neglecting the professional
practitioner, is actively dealing with
the great problem of primary art
education of the public; our member-
ship basis has broadened and has for
its goal the inclusion of every honor-
able and competent architect, having
52 Chapters and a membership more
than doubled; our consideration of
competitions is developing standards
not merely for ourselves, but for the
use and enlightenment of our legis-
lators in order that wise procedure
may be laid down in the public's in-
terest; we have extended the hand of
friendship and cooperation not only
to labor, but to all of the other ele-
ments so intimately related to our
own. as vital factors in our industry,
with interests that are more clearly

seen to be in common rather than in
conflict; we are reaching out to in-
form the public of our ideals, our
purposes and functions, rather than
contenting ourselves with mutual
confessions of the public's ignorance;
the almost insolvable problem of the
small house builder has been accepted
as a task worthy of the profession,
not only as a unit, but in its group
significance as a community planning
problem, and we begin to build up a
practical denial of the slur that was
once just, that in spite of our noble
professions our art was available only
to the classes that could afford it, and
not to the great masses that needed
it even more; the perplexing modern
structural problems are having a due
share of our attention and we are
forming for the first time direct con-
tact with the great body of material
producers; our study of contract pro-
visions has spread to include all those
other branches of the Building Indus-
try in which the architect plays but a
minor part, but yet in which his own
work is now furnishing the chief con-
tribution; and at last our desire to be
of assistance to our Government in
the solution of its building problems
sees new reasons for hope _ in the
awakening respect for the opinion of
the profession and the growing ap-
preciation of its capacity for public
service.

"In all this broadening of the activ-
ities and infiuence of the Institute and
the profession there is cause for no
little satisfaction, tempered, however,
by the sober realization of the stead-
ily increasing labors that lie ahead,
in the performance of which the In-
stitute will need in varying degree
the personal service of its members,'
but in a uniform and generous degree I
their thoughtful, sympathetic andi
loyal support."

Servicised Products Incorporates.

On Aug. 15 the Servicised Productij
Corporation, A. C. Fisher, President
took over Mr. Fischer's Chicago offic^
at 38 S. Dearborn St. and the plant
Desplaines, 111., which was formerly
operated by Mr. Fischer as the Servj
icised Products Company (not incoi
porated). The new organization i|
incorporated under the laws of lUi
nois, and is expected greatly to facili
tate the Servicised Products busines
in expansion joints, roofing materialtj
fibers, waterproofings, etc.

1923 Buildings 375

Co-operation Between Engineer and Architect

Abstract in the Southern Architect and Building News of an Address
Before the Municipal Engineers' Society of New York City

By ROBERT D. KOHN

Vice-President American Institute of Architects

There has always been a misunder-
standing between architects and en-
gineers as to their particular func-
tions. In recent times this has become
more noticeable because there have
been distinct instances where the en-
gineers felt that the achitects have
intruded on their field, and there were
frequent occasions when the archi-
tect felt that the engineer had in-
vaded the field of architecture. What
we need more than anjrthing else as
between the two professions is a clear
understanding of the respective func-
tions of the two professions. The
field is large enough to need no
rivalry. The subject itself is one that
would lead us far afield and take
much time to cover. Let us suffice for
the moment to point out that what
is needed is co-operation and not com-
petition. The two professions supple-
ment each other.

What Architecture Is. — Architec-
ture is not the art of applying decor-
ation or ornament, or "piling up"
ornament on a structural form. It is
the art of seeing into every elemental
form and into the complete structureb
certain fundamental conditions that
make for better-looking structures.
The beauty that we all desire in
everything that surrounds us has to
be of the essence of the structure or
form, not merely applied to it. By
proper co-operation between the en-
; gineer and architects these results can
j be attained. And incidentally, the
j study of good form and beauty is not
} the sole function of the architect. But
until now he has alone studied ade-
quately the amenities of life in many
directions; in other words, those
gracious features which make a struc-
ture something other than merely a
shelter against the intemperance of
the climate or weather.

Perhaps the whole thing can be
-ummed up by such a case as the
Pittsburgh bridge which was the sub-
ject of endless debate a year or two
Hgo among the Pittsburgh engineer-
-• societies because the design of a
- at highway bridge was given to a
■ irm of architects. The protest was

in part justified. The design should
have been jointly into the hands of
engineer and architect. The element
of good appearance should at the very
outset be kept in mind in the design
of a bridge as well as any other
public structure, street development
or parkway. It is unnecessary to
point out to an audience of this kind
how successful such co-operations of
engineer and architect have been.

Co-operation in War Time Building.

— A splendid illustration of what co-
operation can do is furnished by some
of the war-time building in the vari-
ous services of the government. The
particular service in which the speak-
er was engaged (the housing division
of the Shipping Board) was partic-
ularly fortunate to have had the co-
operation of all the professional men
joined in it. The engineering division
in charge of Morris Knowles of Pitts-
burgh, the construction division un-
der W. G. Luce of New York, and the
design division under F. L; Ackerman
of New York, very soon realized what
could be accomplished by a joint
study of every problem at the very
beginning of every procedure. In other
words, during that strenuous period
of war-time activity, the architect,
the engineer, the construction man,
the division man in charge of ma-
terials and transportation, the men
in charge of layouts for water sup-
ply, gas and electricity and street
layouts, all sat down together and
discussed everything from available
material to the nature of the soil
and possible schemes of sewerage dis-
posal. The full import of every hous-
ing project was thus at least touched
upon at the very outset, and each
division responsible for the solution of
any part of the problem was con-
scious of the elements of the problem
faced by the others. By the middle
of 1918 the whole procedure had been
immensely improved by reason of this
co-operation. Shortly after the arm-
istice, at a conference held in Phila-
delphia attended by probably a hun-
dred of the leading engrineers, archi-
tects and construction men associated

376

Buildings

August,

with the Shipping Board housing div-
ision, there was only one sentiment
expressed as to the most marked in-
fluence of joint work in that govern-
ment service. It was that each one
realized the inestimable value of co-
operation in the whole construction
field.

The Congress of the Building In-
dustry.— There has been one exceed-
ingly interesting outcome of this war-
time work. In a measure it was re-
sponsible for the creation of what
has been called the Congress of the
Building Industry. This congress
movement started about two years
ago, and now has local branches in
New York, San Francisco, Portland,
Boston and Philadelphia, in which the
membership consists of seven or eight
groups of men connected with or in-
terested in the building industry. Gen-
erally, the groups are engineers,
architects, contractors, sub-contrac-
tors, labor, real estate and finance.

The congress was formed to bring
together all of those elements for
joint discussion of their problems. It
was agreed at the start that all con-
tentious subjects like wage rates and
conditions of labor, on which there is
always a disagreement between em-
ployer and employee, should be elim-
inated from the discussions of the
congress. It was recognized that
these topics would always be a source
of disagreement, but it was felt that
there are innumerable problems with
which the building industry is faced
which can only be solved by joint
study of all those interested. That
the principle on which the building
congress is based is correct is evi-
denced by the results already attained
in the establishing of an apprentice-
ship school for carpenters, sheetmetal
workers, painters and others, and the
studies of seasonal unemployment
and other subjects of importance to
the building industry. What has been
most effective is the fact that the best
results here and elsewhere are al-
ways attained when all the elements
concerned in any particular problem
work them out together, rather than
one group imposing its will on the
rest.

Results of Co-operation. — In con-
clusion, it seems important to point
out that what can be accomplished by
the engineer can be accomplished by
the engineer and architect co-operat-
ing in their own field can in a still

greater measure be advanced by rea-
son of the professional men getting
to advance the causes of value to the
public. The professional man is im-
potent in public affairs — as a rule he
is in the minority. It is rare in any
public service of the government to
find a man of technical ability at the
head of any department. Some lay-
man is generally put in charge, and
he goes through the motions of direct-
ing the, work, whereas the men who
really know how to do it are gen-
erally in the position where they have
to take orders and fight ignorance
and in some cases worse. With the
exception of Mr. Herbert Hoover,
who, perhaps as the result of his war-
time service, is now in the govern-
ment service, it is hard to find an-
other technical man who has ever
held a position of importance in the
Federal government service.

Almost every subject in the way of
public improvement interests all of
the professions. The subject of hous-
ing, which has been endlessly dis-
cussed in the last few years, is not,
for instance, a subject for the archi-
tect alone nor for the engineer alone.
It interests those two professions, but
it also interests the physician in the
matter of public health; it interests
the social worker from the point of
view of the family in certain fields,
the law, items of land ownership, the
proposition of maintenance and com-
munity ownership and utilities, etc.

When all the professions are
brought together in some joint body
to act on public questions that arise
— when the weakness of a single pro-
fession acting on any public matter
is overcome by the weight that can
be put behind any movement by joint
action, then the professionally-trained
men of the country will receive from
the government the consideration that
they should have. Then and then
alone will we begin to get into the
government an adequate measure of
that competence and technique which
private corporations are wise enough
to buy, but which our municipal, state
and National governments have never
seemed to be willing to pay for or
get by any other means. It is to
that larger vision of the possibility
of co-operation that the speaker ap-
peals for your individual support and
for the support of organization like
the municipal engineers.

1923

The Architect and Illuminat-
ing Practice

Extracts From Paper Presented June

6 Before San Francisco

Architectural Club

By W, L. STOCKWELL

Illuminating Engineer, San Francisco Division,
Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

The illminating authorities of today
feel that in general the architects are
lagging behind in illuminating prac-
tice, and as a rule, that they are not
providing for sufficient lighting facili-
ties when making up their plans and
specifications. No great blame at-
taches to them for this as it is recog-
nized that illumiajiting practice has
advanced so fast as to make it rather
difficult to keep fully abreast of the
art when one has so many other mat-
ters demanding attention.

Advantages of Increasirtg Light In-
tensity.— Wiring plans and illuminat-
ing layouts that were good practice
and entirely satisfactory yesterday,
are apt to prove poor practice and
very unsatisfactory today, as witness
the following instances:

Recent tests conducted by the Post-
office Department have shown that by
I'aising the intensity of light used in
one of their offices from 3.6 foot-
candles to 8 foot-candles there was a
gain in labor output to the amount of
three dollars for each dollar that was
expended in the improvement of the
lighting installation.

After 16 months of careful testing,
the Detroit Piston Ring Company of
Detroit, Mich., found that by increas-
ing their light intensity from 1.2 foot-
candles to 14 foot-candles their pro-
duction was increased 25 per cent at
a cost to them of an amount approxi-
mating but 2 per cent of their payroll.
As a result of these and many other
tests and surveys that have been
made, engineers estimate that there is
lost through poor lighting in the in-
dustries, labor output to the value of
20 ct. per day per man, a total for
1 the United States as a whole, of two
I and one-half billion dollars annually.
j In the merchandising field also,
I higher intensities of light are being
coined into dollars. Great material
benefits are therefore derived from
the use of higher light intensities,
evoluting practice ever tendine to ac-
centuate nossibilities to the full.

When it is realized that daylight
intensities measure hundreds and

Buildings 377

thousands of foot-candles while an
average of but 10 foot-candles of arti-
ficial light is not yet standard prac-
tice, some idea may be gained of what
the future holds in probabilities.

The Factor of Quality. — In addition
to intensity in lighting, there must
also be considered the factor of
quality. To maintain a fixed intensity
of light and enhance its quality de-
mands as a rule, an additional ex-
penditure of electric energy, and these
two factors, i. e., higher intensity and
better quality of light necessitates ac-
cess to greater electrical energy at
the wiring outlet.

Great educational forces are at
work bringing these factors to the at-
tention of the general public and it
is highly desirable that the architect
should lead rather than follow this
trend.

It might interest you to know that
right here in California there has
been installed by one mercantile firm,
lighting intensities in its show win-
dows comparable to broad daylight.
Some two thousand foot-candles in
fact, or putting it another way, their
installation calls for approximately
200 watts of electrical energy demand
per sq. ft. of area of the window floor.

Among other advantages derived
from this installation may be men-
tioned the overcoming of specular re-
flection in the plate glass front mak-
ing it possible for the observer to
gaze at the window display without
suffering annoyance from reflected
images of the street, opposite build-
ings, etc. To anyone who is familiar
with the objectionable nature of
specular reflection in display windows
this result alone would seem to justify
the expense of installation and maint-
enance.

Formula for Lighting Installation.
—For the purpose of engineering a
lighting installation, a very simple
formula has been found adequate, to-
wit: The square feet of floor area
multiplied by the desired foot-candle
intensity, divided by the coefficient of
utilization, the result being expressed
in lumens, or units of light flux emit-
ted by the light source. All standard
lamps are now rated in lumen output.

This application of the formula de-
termines the size of the lamp neces-
sary to produce a given foot-candle
intensity. Per contra', by multiplying
the lumen output of a lamp by the
coefficient of utilization and dividing
by the area in square feet, you arrive

378

Buildings

August,

at the foot-candle intensity that will
be available.

How the Architect Functions Effi-
ciently as an Illuminating Engineer.—

Permit me then to visualize the archi-
tect functioning efficiently as an il-
luminating engineer. He first turns
to his table of recommended intensi-
ties, then knowing the dimensions of
the room and the color of the walls
and ceiling and having at least an
approximate idea as to the type of
luminaire to be used, he turns again
to his table and secures the coefficient
of utilization, applies the simple
formula aforementioned and accu-
rately ascertains the necessary watt-
age.

When it is appreciated that one
watt per sq. ft., for instance, will
produce either, V2 foot-candle or 7
foot-candles, depending upon the con-
ditions involved, the necessity for an
accurate method of estimation is ap-
parent.

Concrete Building Block and
Concrete Building Tile

Proposed Standard Specifications Sub-
mitted by Committee P-1, on
Standard Building Units at 1923
Convention of American
Concrete Institute

1. The purpose of these specifica-
tions is to define the requirements for
concrete block to be used in construc-
tion.

2. The word "concrete" shall be
understood to mean portland cement
concrete.

Strength Requirements.

3. The average compressive
strength of concrete block 28 days
after being manufactured or when
shipped shall not be less than 1,500 lb.
per sq. in. of gross cross-sectional
area as laid in the wall, and the com-
pressive strength of any individual
block shall not be less than 1,000 lb.
per sq. in. of gross cross-sectional
area as laid in the wall.

4. The gross cross-sectional area
of a block shall be considered as the
product of the length times the width
of the unit as laid in the wall.
Absorption Requirements.

5. Concrete block shall not absorb
more than 12 per cent of the dry
weight of the block when tested as
hereinafter specified except when they
are made of concrete weighing less

than 140 lb. per cu. ft. For block
made of concrete weighing less than
40 lb. per cu. ft., the average absorp-
tion in per c6nt by weight shall not
be more than 10 multiplied by 140 and
divided by the unit weight in lb. per
cu. ft. of the concrete under consid-
eration.
Sampling.

6. Specimens for tests shall be rep-
resentative of the commercial product
of the plant.

7. Five specimens shall be required
for each test.

8. The specimens used in the ab-
sorption test may be used for the
strength test provided they have been
dried at approximately seventy (70)
degrees Fahrenheit for not less than
three days.

Methods of Testing
Strength Test,

9. The specimens to be tested shall
be carefully measured for overall di-
mensions of length, width and thick-
ness.

10. Bearing surfaces shall be made
plane by capping with plaster of paris
or a mixture of portland cement and
plaster which shall be allowed to thor-
oughly harden before the test;

11. Specimens shall be accurately
centered in the testing machine;

12. The load shall be applied
through a spherical bearing block
placed on top of the specimen;

13. Metal plates of sufficient thick-
ness to prevent appreciable bending
shall be placed between the spherical
bearing block and the specimen;

14. The specimen shall be loaded
to failure;

15. The compressive strength in
lb. per sq. in. of gross cross-sectional
area is the total applied load in lb.
divided by the gross cross-sectional
area in sq. in.
Absorption Test.

16. The specimens shall be dried t(P
constant weight at a temperature of
from two hundred and twelve (212) to j
two hundred and fifty (250) degrees
Fahrenheit and the weight recorded. "
After drying, the specimens shall ho
immersed in clean water at approxi
mately seventy (70) degrees Fahren-
heit for a period of twenty-four (24)
hours. They shall then be removed, ,
the surface water wiped off' and the |
specimens re-weighed. The absorption 1
is the weight of the water absorbed,
divided by the weight of the dry speci-
men and multiplied by one hundred
(100).

1928 Buildings 379

The Workability of Concrete Mixtures

Results of Simple Penetration Test Described in Paper Presented

June 28 at 26th Annual Meeting of American Society

for Testing Materials

By J. C. PEARSON and F. A. HITCHCOCK,

Physicist and Associate Engineer Physicist, U. S. Bureau of Standards

It is not easy to define the terms
"workability," "plasticity," "consist-
ency," etc., as applied to concrete mix-
tures. Some authorities use these
terms more or less synonymously,
others prefer to distinguish between
workability and consistency, consider-
ing the latter as a property directly
related to water content and measur-
able by the slump, flow, and other
tests, whereas workability is regarded
as more intrinsically a characteristic
of a given mixture, dependent not only
on the water content, but essentially
upon the other ingredients of the mix-
ture. We incline to this latter view,
and without attempting to give an ex-
act definition of workability, we con-
sider one concrete mixture more work-
able than another when the processes
of mixing, handling and placing are
accomplished with less effort in the
one case than in the other. The direct
quantitative measurement of this
effort, for example, in placing a con-
crete mixture in any sort of a form or
mold is a very difficult thing, chiefly
because there is no telling when one
arrives at a deflnite condition that
may be taken as a stopping point in
the placing operation. We have made
attempts to measure the workability
of various concrete mixtures in this
w^ay, but thus far without success.

A Direct Segregation Test. — Dur-
ing the past two or three years we
have given a great deal of thought to
the possibilities of measuring the
workability of concrete by some in-
direct method. If one has had consid-
erable experience in handling concrete
mixtures in the laboratory, one gets
the impression that those mixtures are
the most workable which tend to pre-
serve their homogeneity in greatest
degree as they are being handled and
placed in forms. Thus a relation is
suggested between the workability of
a mixture and its tendency to segre-
gate, and we felt that the development
of a satisfactory method of measuring
segregation would help to solve the
problem. After trying and discarding
numerous schemes we developed a di-

rect segregation lest which was briefly
as follows:

A concrete mixture was brought by
trial to a given consistency (flow) and
then placed in a 6 by 12-in. cylindrical
mold made of two 6 by 6-in. sections,
the lower section having a water-tight
bottom. The mold was fastened upon
the flow table, and the latter was
raised and dropped for a definite num-
ber of times, causing the concrete to
settle in the mold. The amounts of

FiK- 1 — Penetration Apparatus.

coarse aggregate in the upper and
lower sections of the mold were then
determined by washing the fine ma-
terial through a No. 3 sieve, and
weighing the residues. Comparing
different concretes in this manner, we
found that large differences in segre-
gation were clearly indicated, but the
uncertainty of the determination was
such that small differences were ob-
scured. After doing a great deal of
work in the endeavor to improve the
accuracy of this test, we discarded it
with a feeling that some simpler solu-
tion must be found.

In the course of the segregation ex-
periments the impression grew upon
us that the most noticeable character-
istic of the harsher working mixtures
was a greater tendency to settle and
pack in the container — this was notice-
able even in the mixing pan and on the

380

Buildings

August,

flow table, as well as in the segrega-
tion mold. While this tendency to
pack seemed to be due to segregation,
the test described above indicated that
segregation was not the only factor
involved. Thus we were led to devise
some comparative measure of the
packing, and following the usual pro-
cedure of starting with complex
schemes and proceeding to the sim-
ple, we eventually came to the pene-
tration test which is the subject of
this paper.

Apparatus Used in Penetration
Test. — The apparatus used in the pen-
etration test is shown in Fig, 1. M is
a 6 by 12-in. pipe mold with a water-
tight bottom, fitted with slotted lugs,
L, by means of which the mold is
fastened to the small drop table T.
The latter is in reality an ordinary
flow table with a special top carrying
two clamp nuts, B, which engage the
lugs, L, of the pipe mold. The table
top can be raised and dropped through

a height of % in. by means of a cam
on the end of the shaft P. Fitting the
top of the pipe mold closely is a de-
tachable brass spider F carrying a
fixed sleeve S, which, when the frame
is in position on top of the mold, is
exactly in alignment with the axis of
the mold. The sleeve S is % in. in-
side diameter and 6 in. long. A steel
rod, R, % in. diameter, 20 in. long,
weighing 1100 g. completes the appa-
ratus. The lowei end of the rod R is
hemispherical, and the upper portion
is graduated in 0.1 in. in such manner
as to read directly the depth of the
lower end below the top of the mold
when inserted in che sleeve S.

Method of Test.— The mold M with
the brass spider F clamped to the top
is fastened to the table by means of
the clamp nuts. The batch of con-
crete to be tested is scooped into M
until the latter is filled to the brim.
No attempt is made to puddle the con-
crete into the mold, but a rod is used

Table I — Materials Used in Penetration Test.

Material

Gradation

AOOREOATGS

Potomac River Gravel

101 2

100.1
120.5

2.65

2.65
2.65

} to ^ in., 50 per cent
5 to } in., 50 per cent

Sample

Retained on Sieve, per cent

Fineness
Modulus

Surface
Modulus

No. 4

No. 8

No. 16

No. 30

No. 50

No. 100

Potomac River Sand

No. 1..
No. 2.
No. 3. .
No. 4. .
No. 5. .

2.5
1.9
2.2
2.2
2.1

15 8
15.2
15.5
15.5
15.7

26.7,
26.8
26.8
26.9
28.1

40.4
41 0
40.8
41.0
42.5

70.3
71.1
71.0

71 2
72.2

90 4
90.9
91.0

91 1
91 3

2.48
2 49
2 47
2.48
2 52

30 0
29 6
29.5
29.3
28.7

Aver. .

2.2

15.6

27.1

41.2

71.2

91.0

2.48

29 4

Mixed Aggregate

Admixtures

Percentage finer than

0 .01 mm.o

0.02 mm. a

No. 200 Sieve

Cditent

89.46
31.86
34.6*
10.46

3.16
2 25
2.55
2 00

21.0
79.8
63 8
100c

31. 9
95.1
90.0

82 7

Hydrated Lime

Kaolin

Celite

98 8

99 6

o Determined by air elutriation

b Determined by the method specified for fine aggregates of the Standard Method of Teat for.Unit Weight of Aggre-
gate for Concrete (C 29 - 21), 1921 Book of A.S.T.M. Standards.
e Determined by water sedimentation.

1923

Buildings

381

to spread the concrete uniformly as it
falls from the scoop. After the mold
is filled, the table top is raised and
dropped a given number of times to
subject the concrete to a definite
amount of compacting force. Our
practice throughout has been to give
the concrete thirty %-in. drops. At
the completion of the preliminary
jolting or settling, the rod R is in-
serted in the sleeve S and lowered
gently into the concrete until it comes
to rest under its own weight. The
table is then raised and dropped, and
from the force of the impact the rod
penetrates a certain distance into the
concrete, indicated by the reading of
the scale. The impacts are repeated
and the successive penetrations of the
rod are noted until the latter has
reached nearly to the bottom of the
mold. In practically all of our tests
the penetration has been carried to a
depth of 11 in.

In order to obtain comparable re-
sults in the penetration tests, we felt
it necessary to use the same grading
of coarse aggregate in all mixtures.
This aggregate was selected from the
results of preliminary experiments,
and composed of Potomac River
gravel, 50 per cent M to % in., and 50
per cent hk to % in. We should have
preferred to use coarser material as
more typical of commonly used aggre-
gates, but it is obvious that the pene-
tration of the rod into the concrete
involves the displacement of aggre-
gates in an annular space of 2% in., if

anything too small, rather than too
large, for the free movement of the
aggregate. We did not wish to in-
crease the size of the mold, and con-
sequently the size of the batches, un-
less it seemed necessary to do so; on
the other hand, the aggregate as
selected was entirely suitable for cer-
tain types of reinforced concrete in
which the working qualities are per-
haps of greatest importance. It was
especially important also that the sand
be as uniform as possible throughout
the tests wherein the effects of other
variables were being studied. In or-
der to insure the uniformity of the
sand without going to the very great
labor of screening and recombining in
definite proportions, the entire lot
(about five tons) was mixed on the
floor of the laboratory in a damp con-
dition, sacked in that condition and al-
lowed to dry in the sacks. When the
mixing was completed, five widely
separated samples were taken for
sieve analysis. The results of the
sieve tests are given in Table I. The
very close agreement in the sieve an-
alyses shows that the method is quite
satisfactory. In weighing out the
batches, the sand was scooped from
the sacks, thus minimizing any ten-
dency toward segregation in the in-
dividual sacks.

Significance of the Test. — Even if
one has never seen or used the pene-
tration test it is quite obvious that dif-
ferent mixtures should show different
resistances to the penetration of the

Table II — Summary of Test Data From Series II.

Vhut«K.<

Uaubtn.

.\JauIaR. ;

Vutt

:^.

'""

W<«kt

C<ant

C<a»t

W i_b«*.l.

<ITau

Miky
SbUtM..

Wfticr-

C<K«

Rum

FWr>

.■««*'

t:J:«

1:! S:S 1

•

«»

1 *t

111

1014

I 7C

14 4

?«

1 M

100

llSi

l«2

3 3C

S 1

M 7

1 SI

107

1120

144

I ^,

S •€

a 1

7»

II 1

1 »

i*K

ISO

( 1

1 41

111

M(S

143

M AK

a 4

103

1 40

MOO

111

U fK

la s

1 SS

110

1022

123

SOI

H 1

1 10

I2S

!• OL

11 1

14 0

10 1

1 4S

1202

140

IS OL

41 1

21 0

10 s

1 SO

lit

list

1«

l:U:«

•

1.10:4:4

■• 0

1 M

110

1S03

118

1 7C

1 >c

14 4

10 4

1 27

111

lOI

lis

a 7

11 1

1 IS

100

ISSO

S OK

( !

10 1

1 a

M«

1474

10 OK

ISO

11 1

1 2*

1242

n..

SOL

14 I

7 a

1 21

110

14S4

141

10 OL

a 1

14 0

1 24

1410

120

If '

1:1:4

0
1 7C

1:1 (:SS

* 0

009

111

2107

M .

!4 4.

7 S

1 00

112

2100

ISC

M.7

11 <

1 10

2I2S

S OK

ISO

«:

10 4

I 04

»U

to OK

ISO

11 4

11 0

t 10

1044

SOL
lOOL

14 1

7 0

M 1

1 01

100

»40

n 1

14 0

10 (

1 06

100

1074

s. .

l:lj:>

1:1 2:10

10 2

0 W

100

MS!

l:J:»

10 oc

ISOC

l:i S:S 1

■ M 1

IS 1

12 (

1 11

100

J J

I2» 5

23 7

14 S

200

7 0

77t

I:I|:»

soc

NOC

1:10:4 4

U 1

11 S

1 M

III

1172

•■-'

M 1

ISS

II 4

1 a

100

IIM

l:t:4

SOC

woe

I.I *:)S

4S 1
M 1

7»

ISt

12 0
14 2

I JO

1 »

■07

1 0

10(0

ISTO

;C.C*fcK^KMfa.L.

HrkUalUx

•Slna^lWuw

wSMUaayllK l:I:t.l 2) SMdl:2 4

e tke ivence » fnm M imUl

382

Buildings

August,

rod, the more plastic mixtures allow-
ing the rod to penetrate readily, the
harsher mixes offering high resist-
ance. As stated in the introduction,
the property that we were admittedly
trying to measure was the tendency of
a mixture to pack under a definite
amount of settling or compacting.
This we seemed to have accomplished,
judging from the results of a consid-
erable number of preliminary experi-
ments, but a more complete interpre-
tation was lacking. It was primarily
to furnish an interpretation of this
test that the present investigation was
undertaken; incidentally the investi-
gation was so planned as to contribute
some interesting information regard-
ing the effects of certain powdered
admixtures.

Results Obtained From the Penetra-
tion Test. — The first series of experi-
ments selected to check the indications
of the penetration test was performed

on a range of concrete mixtures with
and without additions of high-calcium
hydrated lime, Delaware kaolin, and
"celite," a variety of diatomaceous
earth furnished by the Celite Co., of
Los Angeles, California. This series
involved 25 different concrete mix-
tures, each tested on a number of dif-
ferent days, and all gaged as nearly as
possible to the same consistency as
measured by the flow table. The con-
sistency selected for these experi-
ments was such as would be suitable
for good reinforced concrete, and gave
a flow of 110, corresponding to a cone
slump of 7 to 8 in.

The 25 concrete mixtures used in
Series I are listed in Table II, to-
gether with a summary of the test
data. In explanation, it may be stated
that the series was first planned and
carried out with an arbitrary selection
of admixtures, in amount 5, 10, and 15
per cent, respectively, (by weight of

Njjmber of Impacts,
Vig. 2 — Penetration Impact Curves for 25 Concrete Mixtures Gaged to the Same
Consistency (Flow).

1923

Buildings

383

cement) for the 1:3:6 mixtures, and 5
and 10 per cent for the 1:2^2 :5 and the
1:2:4 mixtures. The unexpectedly
large effects produced by the celite
rendered it advisable to reduce the
quantity of this admixture to one-
third of these amounts in order that
the effects might be more nearly com-
parable with those produced by the
kaolin and the hydrated lime. The re-
sults obtained with the larger addi-
tions of celite are listed at the bottom
of Table II.

After considerable thought, the pro-
portions of the ingredients of the con-
cretes were selected on a weight basis,
partly for convenience, chiefly to in-
sure the use of definite quantities of
the admixtures. There is no standard
method of determining the weights of
unit volumes of fine powders, and such
determinations are subject to great
variations depending on the method
used. However, certain values were
obtained by using the method pre-
scribed for measuring fine aggregates,
and on the basis of these values, the
proportions by volume were determ-
ined and are included in Table II. As
there are certain arguments for com-
paring the effects of different admix-
tures on the basis of absolute volumes,
the proportion of cement to admixture
on this basis for each concrete mixture
is also given in Table II.

The penetration tests on the 25 mix-
tures given in Table II yielded the set
of curves shown in Fig. 2, which is in-
cluded mainly for the purpose of
illustrating the method of plotting
penetration against the number of im-
pacts, and showing the range of re-
sults obtained on concrete mixtures
gaged to the same consistency. The
interesting feature is that with very
few exceptions, these curves occur in
the order of the workability of the
concretes to which they correspond, so
far as we were able to judge by the
behavior of the mixtures during the
operations of mixing, handling and
placing in the molds. Thus the nearer
a cur\'e is to the left-hand side of the
diagram, the more workable the con-
crete from which it is obtained, or, in
other words, the fewer the number of
impacts required to cause the rod to
penetrate to a given depth, the more
workable the mixture. This general
relation immediately suggests that the
number of impacts required for the
rod to reach a given depth, say 11 in.,
in a given concrete mixture might be
taken as a workabilitv figure for that
mixture. The objection to this is that

the curves do not all show the regu-
larity of a mathematical family, and
it is, therefore, advisable to find some
workability figure which depends, not
on any one point of a curve, but upon
the curve as a whole. We have tried
a number of methods of doing this,
but none seems more satisfactory than
the computation of the area under
each curve as shown in the diagram,
that is, the area enclosed by the
curve, the axis of penetration and the
11-in. penetration line. The order of
these areas agrees very satisfactorily
with our estimate of the order in
which the curves occur, and these are
the figures given in the last column
of Table II. It is not to be inferred
that these empirical figures are direct-

Fig. 3 — Effect of Different Quantities of Celite,
Kaolin and Hydrated Lime on Strength and
Workability of Concrete Mixtures. Worka-
bility Figures Connected by FuU Lines;
Strength Values Connected by
Dotted Lines.

ly proportional to the actual workabil-
ity of the concrete mixtures, but they
do serve to indicate the order of work-
ability and to permit comparisons to
be made of different mixtures in this
respect.

In Fig. 3 the workability figures and
the strength values from Table II are
plotted opposite the various concrete
mixtures arranged approximately in
order of increasing workability. It is
to be noted that the workability
figures decrease as the workability in-
creases, hence, these figures increase
from the top to the bottom of the dia-
gram in order that the workability
curves may have the u^al signifi-
cance, that is, the curves rise as the
workability increases. It is seen that
the compressive strengths tend to
drop with increasing proportions of
the admixtures, and that as a rule in-
creased workability involves a sacri-

884

Buildings

August,

fice in strength. In the case of the
1:3:6 mixtures, however, practically
no loss in strength resulted from any
of the admixtures, but on the other
hand a gain in strength was usually
obtained; up to nearly 20 per cent for
the 5 per cent and 10 per cent admix-
tures of hydrated lime. It will be ob-
served here and subsequently that the
workability figures for the lime ad-
mixtures are noticeably more erratic
than the others, due, we believe, to the
fact that the lime admixtures pro-
duced very rapid changes in consist-
ency during the first four or five min-
utes after the concrete was mixed,
within which period both the flow and
penetration tests were made. The
highest workability for the 1:3:6 mix-
tures was obtained with 5 per cent of
celite, which gave a value about equal

0 1.7 3 J 5

Admixture, percent by Weigtit of Cerncnl^,

Fig. 4 — Relation Between Quantity of Admix-
ture and Workability of Concrete Mixtures.

to that of the 1:2:4 mixture, with
practically no loss in strength. In gen-
eral, the strengths of the richer mix-
tures drop to some extent when ad-
mixtures are used, but it should be re-
membered that the cylinders are cured
under damp conditions, whereas under
job conditions the effects of the ad-
mixtures might, and probably would,
be very much more favorable. This is
a very important consideration, and
should be adequately covered in anj>^
subsequent investigation of the effects
of admixtures upon the strength of
concrete. This is also an increased
yield in the concretes containing the
admixtures, and this fact should not
be overlooked in the final balancing of
accounts.

In Hg. 4 the workability figures for

the mixtures of Table II are plotted
against percentages of admixture (by
weight of cement). Curves are thus
obtained which show clearly the rela-
tive effects of the various admixtures.
Incidentally, the curves show where
apparently inconsistent results have
been obtained; for example, there is
no explanation of the fact that 15 per
cent of kaolin gave a lower workabil-
ity than 10 per cent of kaolin in a
1:3:6 concrete mixture, nor that an
addition of 5 per cent of hydrated lime
lowered the workability of a 1:2:4
mixture. On the other hand, the curves
indicate with certainty thatt he effect
of celite upon workability is greatest
for all mixtures, and that the effect of
kaolin is intermediate between that of
celite and hydrated lime. It is pos-
sible also to get roughly approximate
comparisons of the amounts of the va-
rious admixtures which give the same
workability. For example, 10 per
cent of hydrated lime in the various
mixtures has about the same effect, on
the average, as 5 per cent of kaolin,
2.5 to 3 per cent of celite and about 20
per cent of cement. The workability
figures are not determined with suffi-
cient accuracy, however, to justify
putting too much weight on direct
quantitative comparisons of this sort.

It appears from the foregoing tests
that the effect of any admixture on
the workability of concrete is depend-
ent mainly upon fineness, not neces-
sarily upon the fineness of the powder
in the dry state, but the fineness of
the material as measured by the com-
pleteness of its distribution in the
mixture. Thus, the celite, which is ex-
ceedingly fine in the dry state, appears
to be very thoroughly dispersed in the
concrete mixture, required a consider-
able increase in the amount of mixing
water. Both the kaolin and the lime,
if thoroughly soaked in water before
being added to the concrete, would un-
doubtedly have a greater effect upon
workability than they do under the
conditions of these tests, but in the
few minutes which are available for
wetting them when added as dry
powders, they do not have opportunity
to break up and thus produce the de-
gree of plasticity obtained with the
celite. The increased plasticity of the
matrix which the admixtures bring
about seems to have a double effect in
that it tends to preserve the homo-
geneity of the concrete mixture as a
whole, and at the same time to have a
distinct lubricating effect. Any ten-
dency to lessen segregation must fa-

1923

Buildings

385

cilitate the movement of the penetra-
tion rod as it goes deeper into the con-
crete mixture, but where previous ex-
perience, as stated in the introduction
to this paper, has shown that the seg-
regation is not appreciably lessened,
the easier penetration of the rod must
be accounted for by easier displace-
ment of the aggregates.

Relation Between Workability and
Consistency. — In the tests of Series I
every effort was made to maintain the
flow of the various concrete mixtures
at a figure of 110. In Series II an
equal amount of effort was devoted to
using such quantities of mixing water
as would produce flows of 80, 95, 125
and 140 in a number of typical mix-
tures. For this purpose 15 of the mix-
tures used in Series I were employed,
namely, the 1:1 1/2:8, 1:2:4 and 1:3:6
mixtures without admixtures, and the
1:2:4 and 1:3:6 mixtures each with
two percentages of celite, lime and
kaolin, respectively. Flow and pene-
tration tests were made on each mix-
ture and on each consistency on five
different days. The results of these
tests, together with the results ob-
tained from the same mixtures in
Series I, are shown graphically in Fig.
5. In this diagram the workability
figures obtained from the penetration
tests are plotted against flows.

The irregularities of the curves in
Fig. 5 indicate very clearly that the
penetration test is not a precision test,
but in spite of this fact some very in-
teresting general relations are evi-
dent. In the first place it is apparent
that the effect of change in consist-
ency on the penetration is much less
marked than the effect of changes in
the character and proportions of the
solid ingredients. Thus the 1:2:4 and
the 1:3:6 mixtures each show a range
in workability of about 40 points from
the driest to the wettest mixtures,
whereas the 1:2:4 curve is roughly 80
points above the 1:3:6 curve. We are
led to the conclusion, therefore, that
the workability of a concrete mixture,
as indicated by the penetration test, is
dependent not so much upon the water
as upon the solid materials in the mix-
ture. If this is actually the case, it
calls for a somewhat different concep-
tion of workability than that indicated
in the introduction to this paper. It
must be admitted upon first consider-
ation that the workability as indicated
by the results of these tests is not in
line with our former notions of work-
ability, but recalling our intimate con-
tact with the 400 or 500 batches upon

which the curves in Fig. 5 are based,
we believe there is a point of view
from which we may see a direct and
valuable relation between the results
of the penetration tests and work-
ability. If we use the term "work-
ability" to mean, not merely the de-
gree of effort required in handling and
placing concrete, but the degree of
effort required in handling and placing
concrete in such manner as to give a
uniform and homogeneous finished
product, then we may declare that the
results of the penetration tests con-
firm our judgment on the workability
of concrete mixtures.

It seems to us that this is quite an
important conception and one which
emphasizes the proper course to pur-
sue in selecting the type of concrete
mixture for any particular purpose.
Within the limits of accepted practice

Fig. 5 — Relation Between Workability and
Flow of 15 Concrete Mixtures.

the consistency of reinforced concrete
will generally correspond to a flow
somewhere between 110 and 140.
Without taking into account the in-
crease in strength obtained by the use
of less water, the penetration test in-
dicates, as shown by the "average"
curve in Fig. 5, that there is not a
great difference in workability be-
tween these consistencies if we take
into account the work required to get
an equally good distribution of con-
crete in the finished job. In other
words, if one wants a good job of con-
creting, he can get it with a flow of
110 about as easily as with any wetter
mixture. The over-wet mix may be
chuted with a minimum of labor, but
excessive segregation gives poor dis-
tribution unless additional labor is
supplied to take care of this. On the
other hand, if too dry a mixture is

386 Buildings August,

used, the lack of lubrication lowers the mixture. No. 1, unless otherwise

workability, and additional work must stated.

be done to insure elimination of Nq^ 1.— Normal 1:2:4 mixture, the

pockets and voids. .... same in all respects as the corre-

Perhaps the most mterestmg mdica- gponding mixture in Series I, except

tion from these tests, aside from that \^ brand of cement,

which has just been discussed, is that No. 2.— Same as* No. 1, except that

a maximum workability is mdicated at the fine aggregate was prepared by

a flow of 125, This maximum would removing the portion (29 per cent) of

be somewhat more pronounced on the the normal fine aggregate passing the

"average" curve were it not for the m- j^q_ 59 sieve.

explicable rise of the three lowest Nq^ 3.— Same as No. 1, except that

curves between flows of 125 and 140. the fine aggregate was prepared by

This again emphasizes that depend- removing the portion (27 per cent) of

able quantitative values of workability the normal fine aggregate retained on

cannot always be obtained from a the No. 16 sieve.

small number of penetration tests as xhe approximate sieve analyses of

made with the present apparatus. In the fine aggregates in these first three

passing, it may be noted that the mixtures was as follows :

curves for the lime admixtures tend p f

to be more erratic than the others and centlge Passing s?lvc ^

that the position of the curves con- sieve No. 1 No. 2 No. 8

firms the relative eif ectiveness of the No. 4 98 97 100

various admixtures as obtained from jj°- f^ |^ ^| J^^

the tests of Series I. It is interesting no! 30 !!!!!!!!!!"!!!"!"""!!!; 59 42 81

to note also that the effects of the ad- No. 50 29 0 40

mixtures on the 1 :2 :4 concrete are on ^°- ^^^ ^ " ^^ i

the whole as marked as on the 1:3:6 4^ g^gig Magnesium Carbonate.— '

concretes. ^ very light powder, comparable with

The Workability of 1:2:4 Concrete celite in appearance and weight per

as Affected By a Variety of Admix- unit volume. This material produced

tures and Changes in Fine Aggregate. an unexpectedly quick set in the con-

— Having carried the investigation to crete, the mixture being quite hard

a point where a reasonable interpreta- within 30 minutes after mixing,

tion of the penetration test could be 5. Short Fiber Asbestos,

made, we decided to check its indica- 6. Asbestine. — Finely pulverized

tions on a number of additional mix- asbestos, used as an extending pig-

tures. These were compounded on a ment for paints.

1:2:4 basis with a number of new ad- 7. Carbon Black. — Used commer-

mixtures, and included two modifica- dally as a rubber filler, and purchased

tions of the fine aggregate. The con- on an order specifying "best grade gas

sistency or flow was held throughout black."

at very nearly 110, as in the first g. Zinc Oxide. — Used commercially
series. Test cylinders were also made as a rubber filler. This material inter-
from these mixtures for the determin- fered seriously with the set of the con-
ation of compressive strength at 28 crete, which was barely hard enough
days. In all cases, penetration tests to remove from the molds 24 hours
and cylinders were made for each mix- after mixing,
ture on five different days, the results 9. Flake Graphite,
being obtained from the average of 10. Caustic Magnesia. — L 0 w -
five tests. burned magnesite which hydrates

The cement used was a different rapidly when fresh. The sample used

brand from that used in Series I and had been stored for some months and

II, but both fine and coarse aggre- was not noticeably active,

gates were the same as before, except 11. Pulverized Talc,

as noted below for mixtures Nos. 2 12. Pulverized Blast-Furnace Slag,

and 3. The admixtures were selected 13. Calcium Chloride. — A 4 per

from materials close at hand, some of cent solution of commercial chloride

them probably representing nearly the was used as gaging liquid,

attainable limit in respect to fineness. 14. Accelerator "A." — A proprie-

For brevity, the following list of mix- tary material containing calcium chlo-

tures names only the admixture in ride and hydrated lime in the form of

most cases, it being understood that 5 calcium oxychloride.

per cent of the admixture by weight 15. Accelerator "B." — A proprie-

of cement was added to the basic 1:2:4 tary material in liquid form said to

923

Buildings

387

ontain calcium chloride and organic
urpassed all others in workability as
:idicated by the penetration test. The
xplanation of this unexpected result
5 the fact that the fine sand matrix
Imost completely prevented segrega-
ompounds and known to have a lower
urface tension than a plain calcium
hloride solution.

16. Aluminum Chloride and Hy-
rated Lime. — An aluminum chloride
olution was prepared containing an
.mount of anhydrous salt equal to 2.5
ler cent of the weight of the cement.
in equivalent amount of hydrated
ime was stirred into this solution pro-
lucing a gelatinous precipitate of
iluminum hydroxide. This was poured
nto the concrete mixture and enough
idditional water was added to give the
lesired consistency.

17. Bentonite. — A highly colloidal
Jay, added to the mixture as a thin

?•«*

■.

■■

>«

1 I

<•

■f

■ lit

^ S.

"r-A

scJiio|

1 4

f»

■'ig. S^Effect of Varions Admixtures and

Changes in Fine Aggregate on Strength

and Workability of 1:2:4 Concrete

Mixtures.

lip containing 1.25 per cent of the dry
naterial by weight of cement.

18. Celite. — Similar to the ma-
terial used in Series I and II, but from
!in old lot which had been stored in the
siboratory for a year or more.

19. Crude Oil. — A heavy residuum
'il, incorporated in the wet concrete
iiixture by vigorous mixing.

Results of Tests.— The results of
le penetration and compression tests
f this series are shown graphically in
'ig. 6. The mixtures are plotted ap-
roximately in the order of their
: orkability as indicated by the heavy
ine curve. It is seen that the strength
[nds to decrease with increasing
[orkability and that the water-
iment-radio curve tends to reflect the
i 1 rength curve. There are numerous
I regularities, however, and in some

cases these are of considerable signifi-
cance.

The results of the variations in fine
aggregate are particularly interesting.
The normal 1:2:4 mixture gave a
workability considerably higher, and a
strength about 20 per cent lower, than
the corresponding mixture in Series I.
This indicates a considerable differ-
ence in the characteristics of the ce-
ments used in the two series of tests.
The coarse sand mixture, requiring a
water ratio of 0.94 for the medium
consistency, was very harsh and gave
a lower workability than the normal
1:3:6 mixture in Series I. The fine
sand mixture requiring a water ratio
of 1.09 gave the highest workability
obtained, but the strength of this mix-
ture, and also of the coarse sand mix-
ture, was practically identical with
that of the normal mixture.

The authors consider the results of
the tests on these three sand mixtures
as almost convincing evidence of the
fallacy of specifying gradation limits
for a fine aggregate without regard to
the concrete mixture in which it is to
be used. The fine sand, which is un-
questionably the best for the concrete
used in these tests, would be rejected
as unsuitable for fine aggregate on
most existing specifications.

What is more important in connec-
tion with this investigation, however,
is the fact that the fine sand mixture
tion, this apparently having greater
effect on workability than the higher
lubrication afforded by such admix-
tures as bentonite and aluminum hy-
droxide.

Space is not available for a descrip-
tion of the behavior of all the admix-
tures, and a brief reference to the
outstanding results obtained will con-
clude the paper. Basic magnesium car-
bonate and zinc oxide gave low
strengths, each of these interfering
with the normal setting and hardening
of the concrete. Short fiber asbestos
and carbon black gave very high
workability, but low strength due to
excessive quantity of mixing water re-
quired. Pulverized blast-furnace slag
did not greatly improve workability
but increased the strength about 11
per cent. Bentonite and aluminum hy-
droxide seemed to give the highest de-
gree of lubrication, and consequently
high workability, but serious reduction
in strength resulted from the excess
of mixing water required. Crude oil
gave good lubrication, but the great
objection to this material is the diflS-

888

Buildings

August,

culty of incorporating it thoroughly in
the mixture. Its tendency to rise to
the surface of the concrete is also a
serious objection to its practical use.
The celite used in this series was
somewhat less effective in increasing
the workability than that used in the
first series of tests; nevertheless, in
this series also it leads the admixtures
that might be consireded from a com-
mercial standpoint. Under the condi-
tions of these tests it reduces the
strength about 10 per cent. The re-
sults from the accelerators are inter-
esting in confirming to some slight ex-
tent our theories of workability and
strength. Accelerator "A" is a calcium
oxychloride which quickly decomposes
to calcium chloride and hydrated lime
when mixed with water. The hydrated
lime thus freed is much more effective
upon workability, as indicated by the
results of these tests than the dry hy-
drated lime alone, which seems to con-
firm our belief that in the duration of
the mixing process the dry material is
not effectually dispersed. Accelerator
"B" gave the highest strength ob-
tained and an appreciable improve-
ment in workability. Whether or not
the reduced surface tension of this
compound is responsible for these
effects we cannot say, but the fact that
a smaller amount of mixing water was
required for the desired consistency
seems to point to this conclusion.

Summary and Conclusions. — The

penetration test described in this
paper is the first worthwhile solution
of the problem of measuring the
workability of concrete which the au-
thors have found in a research extend-
ing over a period of several years. As
used in this 'investigation, the test is
lacking in desirable precision; it fur-
nishes a measurement of workability
in arbitrary units only, and it is not
applicable to the entire range of con-
crete mixtures. On the other hand,
these faults can probably be elimi-
nated, and even in its present stage of
development, its indications seem cor-
rect and in accord with the best judg-
ment of a number of experienced oper-
ators. This is true if workability is
defined as that property of a concrete
mixture upon which depends the
amount of work required to handle
and place the concrete uniformly, un-
der the ordinary conditions of use.

As indicated by the penetration test,
the workability of a concrete mixture
seems to depend upon two factors,
segregation and lubrication. It ap-

pears that both of these factors can
be controlled by a suitable selection
of ingredients, an increasingly fine ag-
gregate reducing the segregation, and
powdered admixtures reducing segre-
gation and promoting lubrication.
This increase in workability brought
about by the use of finely divided ad-
mixtures seems to be proportional to
the fineness as measured by the com-
pleteness or extent of dispersion of
the material in the mixture. Thus,
celite was found to have greater effect
in improving the workability of con-
crete mixtures than kaolin, and kaolin
a greater effect than hydrated lime.

In studying the relation between
workability and consistency, as indi-
cated by the penetration and flow
tests, respectively, the interesting con-
clusion was reached that workability
depends more on the character and
proportions of the solid ingredients in
the concrete than on the amount of
mixing water used. Although this
conclusion may appear open to ques-
tion, the authors believe it to be cor-
rect, and they also believe that false
notions in regard to workability of
concrete have been created by refer-
ence to chuting operations. The facil-
ity with which concrete flows down a
chute is probably dependent both upon
workability and water, the effect of
the latter predominating in the over-
wet mixes. Whatever the facts may
be, the indications of the penetration
test substantiate the authors' opinion
that there is no premium upon, and
rarely an excuse for, employing a con-
sistency higher than that giving the
maximum workability obtained in
these tests.

Under damp storage conditions,
small quantities of admixtures gen- i
erally increase the strength of lean |
mixtures, even though they require an
increase in the amount of mixing
water for a given consistency. The
richer mixtures under the same condi-
tions suffer a slight loss in strength.
It is important, however, that further
work be done to establish the effects
of admixtures under drying conditions,
where it is quite probable that
strength, as well as workability, will
be benefited. It is important also that
further work on the subject include
studies of the relative yield and!
shrinkage of concretes with and with-i
out admixtures, since these factor-
must be taken into account in detei
mining the resultant effect in the fin
ished product.

Buildings

389

Safety G>de for Contractors

The following safety code for the
•otection of workmen on construc-
3n operations has been prepared by
le General Contractors Association
' Cleveland:

General. — Superintendents and fore-
en should feel their responsibility
the endeavor to prevent accidents,
id it is their duty to see that tools,
}uipment and materials used are in
3od condition.

Use judgment in assigning men to
5 certain work, and be sure they are
ipable.

Call attention of men to any danger-
as conditions on the job so that they
in be on the lookout.
Post conspicuous signs warning the
ublic to keep out.

Post danger signs where necessary.

Station watchmen where necessary.

See that the instructions of the

lain office as to the proper way of

laking out accident reports are car-

ied out.

Instruct your men to report all acci-
ents no matter how trivial. Minor
ijuries neglected produce most of the
ifection cases.

The change or increase of any par-
icular hazard, or a new undertaking
hat increases the possibilities of acci-
ent, should be reported by telephone
■) the main office.
In case of accident or injury to
quipment requiring inspection or re-
airs, before resuming operations call
le main office.
If observation shows evidence of
nything more than the most casual
azard to pedestrians or the public,
icluding employes of other con-
ractors, or the owner, notify the head
jffice immediately, so that insurance
bverage may be sufficient,
1 Follow the code — do not take long
hances. Men have no right to do so,
pr others may have to take the conse-
jiiences. Careless workmen cause ac—
Edents, so insist on your men being
isreful.

j Eyesight Protection.— See that each
japloye whose work requires it is
rovided with and wears a pair of
ji'ggles which are suited to the work
be performed and which fit him
operly.

Do not give goggles from one work-
;m to another without their being

Virilized. Goggles are classified as

: Hows :

(a) To protect eyes from flying ob-
jects and molten metal.

(b) To protect eyes from injurious
light and heat rays,

(d) To protect eyes from dust and
wind.

See that you have them on the job.

Respirators should be provided for
men working with cement, lime and
other dusty material; also in smoky
and gaseous places.

Sanitation. — Typhoid fever, dysen-
tery and other diseases are often
caused by lack of proper sanitation
on the job.

It is essential that adequate and
suitable toilet conveniences be pro-
vided at the start of operations.

If sewerage is available, connections
should be made at once and running
water provided to keep closet flushed.

Flush tank closets should be in-
stalled where practicable.

A privy is not recommended, but if
used, it should be disinfected daily by
the use of chloride of lime or other
suitable disinfectant.

See that all buildings used as tem-
porary toilets are kept in a clean and
sanitary condition.

Drinking Water. — Fresh and pure
drinking water must be provided.
Make connections with city water line,
if possible. Drinking bubblers of ap-
proved type should be installed when
possible.

See that pail and dipper used by
water boys are kept clean.

On outlying jobs, if drinking water
is obtained from wells or other local
sources, its purity should be assured.
Have it tested if there is any question.

Lumber Lasts Well

The oldest landmark in Orange,
Texas, a frame building located on
the old Henry Thompson place, oppo-
site the Holland Hotel on Division St.,
was recently torn down.

More than 50 years ago the Thomp-
son's store building, a two-story
structure said to be the most commo-
dious of its day, was constructed of
Orange manufactured lumber, within
a few feet of the Sabine River on
what is now Division and Water
streets.

In demolishing the old-time struc-
ture, the carpenters found that the
lumber was in a splendid state of
preservation.

390

Buildings

August,

Length of Working Week Cut 36

Minutes in 2 Years; Now

Average Is 50.3

Hours

That the length of the working
week of the average American em-
ployee declined 36 minutes during the
last two years is indicated by the re-
port Employment, Hours, and Earn-
ings, in Prosperity and Depression
which gives in detail the results of a
survey made by the National Bureau
of Economic Research for President
Harding's Conference.

According to some historians, our
great-grandfathers thought 12 hours
a reasonable day's work. For more
than a hundred years, however, the
length of the working day has been
declining steadily until, as the report
"Employment, Hours, and Earnings,
in Prosperity and Depression" shows,
the average American in the first
quarter of 1922 was expected by his
employer to work only 50.3 hours per
week, just a trifle more than the eight
hours for six days set forth as an
ideal by reformers of a generation or
two ago. The detailed figures cover-
ing all industries in the United States
show that the lengths of the working
wieek declined 36 minutes during the
two years covered by the study. The
recent reduction of hours in the steel
industry will lower still further the
average of 50.3 hours.

Of all classes of employers report-
ing, those engaged in rendering do-
mestic and personal service record the
longest full-time hours for those
working under their direction, the
average being slightly more than
eight hours daily for a seven-day
week. Farmers and retail merchants
each require over 53 hours of work
per week from their employees.

Builders Below Average. — Employ-
ers in a considerable group of indus-
tries usually call for less than 48
hours per week from their workers.
This group includes building and con-
struction, finance, public and profes-
sional service, paper and printing
establishments, and factories making
textiles, clothing, leather, and leather
goods.

The figures presented in the report
indicate that the man who is anxious
to have a steady job in dull times as
well as in good times should seek a
position with a small employer.
However, if he followed this course
during the last few years, he may

have discovered that he gained less
than he expected by the choice, for
the tables show that in the last quar-
ter for which reports are available he
was asked to work 53 hours each week
in the small enterprise instead of 47.8
that the large establishment on the
average required him to serve. This
difference is partly accounted for by
the fact that farmers form so large a
portion of small employers. However,
the farmers are not the only ones of
this class that call for longer hours
than the average.

Shorter Work Day in Big Houses. —

In 9 out of 17 industries, employers
hiring fewer than 21 workers required
their employees to work over fifty
hours per week in the first quarter of
1922.

In the group employing 21 to 100
workers, long hours for employees
proved to be even more common than
in the smaller enterprises at the same
date, for 12 out of the 17 industrial
groups had full time hours of more
than 50 per week. Only in concerns
employing over 100 men were shorter
hours the rule. In that group, only
7 of the 17 industries expected their
men to work as much as 50 hours
per week.

Chicago Zoning Commission. — It is

gratifying to note that Mayor Dever,
of Chicago, has appointed Allen B.
Pond, F. A. I. A., to be chairman of
the Zoning Beard of Appeals. It is
right and proper that an architect
should be chairman of such an im-
portant Board. Mr. Pond has, with
his brother and partner, Irving K.
Pond, always been active in move-
ments for the betterment of Chicago
and has served on important com-
mittees of the City Club. It is par-
ticularly important that this Board be
well selected as it will have a tre-
mendous amount of work to do in con-
nection with the zoning ordinance re-
cently adopted in that city. Another
appointment to this Board is Charles
Bostrom, Building Commissioner. Mr.
Bostrom has filled that important post
for the past eight years with entire
satisfaction, and was chairman of the
Zoning Commission and very influen-
tial in securing the adoption of the
new ordinance. With these two, a |
real estate expert, an attorney and
an engineer will constitute the Board.

[Editorial in The American Architect ami
The Architectural Review.]

923

Buildings

391

Maple, Beech and Birch
Flooring

[Comparative Merits and Other Fea-
tures Discussed in an Article Con-
tributed to "Architecture and
Building" by the Indiana
Flooring Co.

While the architect or builder must
)f necessity almost daily figure on
lardwood floors, it is safe to say that
)f no item of building material is
;here such a misconception of grades,
:izes and general qualifications as
;here is of maple, beech and birch
looring.

The architect or builder will figure
jn a certain building. He knows that
maple floors are desirable. Therefore
lie specifies maple. He probably says,
'Best grade of maple flooring, 13/16
x2^ in. and lets it go at that, for-
getting, if he has ever known, that
the chances are at least even that
some other grade but the "best"
?rade, some other size but 18/16x2^
and, in many cases, beech or birch
flooring will suit the requirements
much better than the stock he has
really specified, and that he can not
only save money but can render his
client a distinct service by a better
knowledge of these floors.

The "three sisters" of the strip
flooring world as maple, beech and
birch flooring have come to be known,
are produced in the same mills in
Michigan. Where maple is found,
there, as a rule, will be beech and
birch also, and a better understanding
3f what these three woods are, where
:hey are best adapted for use and
.heir points of resemblance or dis-
.similarity would be extremely valu-
able to everyone connected with con-
Lstruction work.

1 There is many a maple floor in this
Country that has stood daily wear and
use for half a century. In the old days
ihese floors were worked by hand, but
iietween 1880 and 1890 a new craze
i- truck this country — roller skating
jinks. This craze was responsible
nore than any one thing for the
I mpetus given the manufacture of this

ooring. It was soon found that no
s.ood but maple would stand the con-
tent wear and tear of the rollers.
le other woods quickly succumbed,
ie stood the test and, instead of

(raring out or becoming rough and
in even, the constant use in the roller

nks only made the maple floor bet-

ter. The flintlike resistance to wear
and the glassy surface made an in-
stant appeal and the demand grew so
great that in a very short time the
maple flooring industry had grown to
undreamed-of proportions. Machin-
ery had taken the place of the jack-
plane and the floor as we now know
it came into being.

A glance at the comparative wear-
ing qualities of wood flooring, as
given below, show instantly why
maple, beech or birch flooring have
won the place they have. Tests made
show that the comparative wearing
qualities of these woods as compared
■with oak are:

First, maple.

Second, beech and birch.

Third, quarter sawn oak.

Fourth, plain sawn oak.

Oak, the floor for the home, will
be taken up in a later article, but
this story deals only with maple,
beech and birch, the floors of utility
and ser\ice. Maple, particularly, is
the floor for hard usage, but is very
often used and is very satisfactory
for kitchens and other rooms in a
home where the decorative quality is
not so much a consideration. Waxed
or varnished maple assumes a yellow
or golden color. Beech can be used
for almost any work where maple
might be specified. Birch has a- richer
color than either of maple or beech,
and takes a finer stain or finish.

Where maple is supreme, however,
is in its wearing quality, as shown
above. For factories, warehouses,
schools, department stores, dance
halls, in fact, for any building where
long life and ability to withstand
heavy traffic is the great considera-
tion, there maple comes into its own
and leads the field in floors. The
statement that maple \\ill outwear
stone is literally true.

The manufacture of maple, beech
and birch flooring has become a high-
ly specialized industry in recent years.
Those in the industry have realized
that the conservation of the Nation's
timber resources was a very \ital
matter, and the result has been that
the manufacturers have united in an
eff'ort to utilize, by standardizing
sizes, grades and lengths, every foot
of lumber possible. The result has
been that four standard widths of
these floorings have been adopted,
these widths being 1^/2 in., 2 in., 2V4
in. and 3^ in. These widths cover
the flooring.tongued and grooved only

392

Buildings

August,

as, in addition, square-edged or joint-
ed flooring, 3% in. wide, is manufac-
tured, but all the product, tongued
and grooved or jointed, is endmatched.
The width most commonly used is
2^/4 in. face, but there is hardly a
place where 2% in. can be used where
1^/4 in. or 2 in. is not just as desir-
able, and where these widths cannot
be substituted, and the lesser cost of
the flooring, as a rule, will make up
for the extra laying cost. In fact,
many who have used the narrower
stock prefer it to 2% in., as the nar-
rower the piece the more uniform it
will run for color and the fewer
blemishes or defects will be found.

The 3% in. face and jointed stock
are used largely in factory or indus-
trial buildings where there is a large
area to be covered and where the
cost of laying is a feature. The wider
stock naturally goes down faster and
the saving in this regard is consider-
able.

Besides the 13/16 in. flooring, two
other thicknesses of maple flooring
are in ordinary use. 1 1/16 in. stock
made from 1^/4 in. lumber is used
often in buildings where there is an
extraordinary strain or where heavy
trucking is done. This stock natur-
ally has much greater wearing qual-
ity than the 13/16 in. flooring and its
use has been largely increased in the
last few years. Flooring % in. thick
is also manufactured, this, as a rule,
being laid over old floors. Where a
new hardwood floor is desired over
an old softwood or other hardwood
floor, the % in. has proven highly
satisfactory. The % in. floor can also
be procured in beech and birch, but
in the 1 1/16 in. thickness only maple
is used as, where this thick flooring
is required, wearing quality is the
first consideration.

How to figure the amount of floor-
ing required to cover a given area is
a question that often bothers the
builder or architect. Inasmuch as
% in. is allowed over the actual width
to take care of the matching of this
flooring and, in measuring say 13/16x
2% in. flooring the size really used
is 1 in.x3 in., the following table,
which shows the percentage it is nec-
essary to add to the floor space to
ascertain the number of feet, board
measure, required to cover, may be
of value:

Matched Stock 13/16 in. thick

1^/^ in. face, 50% or V2 additional.

2 in. face, 37V2% or % additional.

214 in. face, 33 1-3% or 1-3 addi-
tional.

SVi in. face, 23 1-13% or 3-13 ad-
ditional.

For 1 1/16 in. flooring, 25% addi-
tional must be added to the above.
The % in. flooring, as a rule, is made
only in IV^ in. face, for which
33 1-3% must be added, and 2 in.
face, for which an additional 25% is
required.

It is a cause of common complaint
that the grade names of maple, beech
and birch flooring are misnomers.
There are three standard grades,
"CLEAR," "NUMBER ONE" and
"FACTORY," and while these names
have by long usage become familiar
to users, there is still considerable
misunderstanding of what the grades
stand for.

The "Clear" is the highest grade
manufactured and in ordinary use,
although occasionally a special grade
selected for color is made, further
mention of which is made below. The
rules governing the grading of maple,
beech and birch flooring say that the
clear grade shall be practically free
from all defects, but the question of
color shall not be considered. Thus,
in practical terms, the grade must
have a fact that will not materially
mar the appearance of the finished
floor or impair its durability. Small
pin knots (if not too many), burls
or black or green streaks are not
prohibited, short tongue is to some
extent admitted, but the face must
be free of checks and shake and the
wood must be live and sound.

The "Number One" grade is just
as serviceable as is the clear and is
equally as desirable where there is
no objection to the appearance, and
can be used in the same class of
buildings as the clear as a material
saving in cost. The best description
that can be given of this grade is
found in the official rules of the
Maple Flooring Manufacturers' As-
sociation, and is as follows:

"This grade is made for service
rather than appearance. It admits of
tight, sound knots, prominent discol-
orations, numerous dark green or
black spots or streaks, slight checks
not exceeding three inches in length
and running parallel with and well
inside of the edges of the strip, dark
spots or streaks with slight checks
in center, small rough spots which

923

Buildings

393

;annot be wholly removed by the ordi-
lary method of smoothing the floor
vhen it is laid, slightly torn edges,
short tongue is sufficient to hold prop-
;rly in the floor, shallow or waney
jack if piece has sufficient bearings
)f full thickness to support it in floor,
ind slight variation in angle of end
natching. While these and similar
"eatures are admissible, sufficient at-
ention is given to appearance to
nake this grade desirable and satis-
factory for use in stores, school
louses and similar places where a
vaxed or varnished floor is not re-
quired.

The rules say that "Factory" grade
'must be of such character as will
ay and give a good ser\'iceable floor
ivith some cutting." This grade is
suitable for factories, warehouses and
ike uses, and, where a low priced
loor is wanted for wear alone, noth-
ng better can be obtained.

In addition to the standard grades,
t is also possible to secure a clear
?rade of maple flooring, all white, or
I clear grade of either beech or birch,
ill red. The manufacturers sort this
stock for special work. The clear
vhite grade of maple flooring is al-
Tiost ivory white, while the clear red
leech and clear red birch are free
■rom all defects, as is the maple, and
;hese three grades are the finest that
t is possible to produce.

While maple, beech and birch floor-
ng will now show as long lengths
is some woods, it must be remem-
)ered that the fact that the shorter
engths are utilized means so much
nore lumber conserved to the Nation
-nd that the day when these valuable
K'oods will be exhausted is so much
further away. The short lengths are
jeally as valuable as the longer ones,
is the stock is all end matched, and,
'hort or long, the pieces go together
into one solid floor. From the stand-
point of conser\'ation and economy,
iierefore, the specifying of special
engths in these products is a mis-
uke.

I In econ6my and in ability to with-

•and wear, maple, beech and birch

coring, the "three sisters," stand in

class alone. No matter what the

pe of building, wood flooring has a

ace in it, and each day is bringing

clearer understanding of the won-

rful possibilities of these woods

^ the northern forests.

Right of Architect to Deunages

for Unauthorized Use by

Owner of Building Plans

and Specifications

By LESLIE CHILDS

From Architecture and Building for July

The question of the right of an
architect to damages, for the unau-
thorized use by an owner of plans
and specifications drawn by him, is
one upon which there appears to be
little authority in the books. The
point was, however, passed upon in
the recent Connecticut case of John-
son & Burns, Inc., vs. Hayden, 119
Atl. 50, and, because of the paucity
of authority directly on the question,
this decision appears to be one of in-
terest and value to architects in gen-
eral.

In this case the defendant, the
owner, entered into a contract with
the plaintiflf whereby the latter was
to draw the plans and specifications
for a house, and to supervise its erec-
tion in case the defendant decided to
build. The consideration moving to
the plaintiff for such services was to
be 5 per cent, of the cost of the house,
less $310 which was to be credited
on the total bill.

The plaintiff made the preliminary
plans, obtained data for specifications,
obtained estimates, etc., after which
the defendant informed the plaintiff
that as the estimates showed the
house would cost more than $12,000,
he could not build. The defendant
thereupon informed the plaintiff that
he was through with its services as
an architect, and desired to have a
settlement for the services rendered.
After some negotiations, the plain-
tiff accepted the sum of $50 as settle-
ment in full of all claims under the
contract.

Now, it appears, that the defendant
before returning the original plans to
the plaintiff, after the settlement
noted above, had photographic copies
of the plans made. Thereafter the
defendant employed another architect,
and gave him the photographic copies
of the plans to be used in the making
of plans which were substantially the
same as the plans made by the plain-
tiff. The house was thereupon erected
in accordance with the plans so pre-
pared at a total cost of $14,430.

Thereafter the plaintiff brought the
instant action against the defendant

394

Buildings

August,

for damages for an alleged breach
of contract. The plaintiff set forth
that it had accepted the sum of $50,
as an accord and satisfaction of all
claims under the contract, but claimed
that the settlement was obtained by
the fraudulent representations of the
defendant. The trial in the lower
court resulted in a judgment in favor
of the defendant. The plaintiff pros-
ecuted an appeal to the higher court,
where in passing upon the effect of
the untrue representations of the de-
fendant, in obtaining the accord and
satisfaction made with the plaintiff,
it was, in part, said:

"The defendant's representation
that he was through with plaintiff's
services as an architect was the in-
ducement for the making of the ac-
cord and satisfaction. The represen-
tation was untrue, since at that time
the defendant was using and purposed
using plaintiff's plans in the making
of plans for a house and in the con-
struction of same. * * * The defend-
ant made this representation for the
purpose of inducing the plaintiff to
act upon it. The plaintiff relied upon
this representation to his prejudice.
This constituted a fraud on the plain-
tiff, and voided the accord and satis-
faction. * * *

"The defendant's motive in refrain-
ing from making the disclosures was
intentional, and arose from his de-
sire to get rid of his contract with
the plaintiff and at the same time
to avail himself of the fruits of his
labor. When the defendant secured
the acquiesence of the plaintiff to the
accord and satisfaction by these
means he took an unfair and uncon-
scientious advantage of the plaintiff.
* * * And he obtained an unfair se*:-
tlement to the prejudice of the plain-
tiff, which cannot be permitted to
stand.

"Unquestionably the defendant had
the right to withdraw from his con-
tract with plaintiff upon paying him
just damages for his breach of the
contract, but he could not accornplish
his end by overreaching the plaintiff.
An accord and satisfaction obtained
in this way will be treated as wholly
nugatory because in law obtained by
fraud. * * *"

Following the foregoing statement
of the invalidity of the accord and
satisfaction relied upon by the de-
fendant, the court directed its atten-
tion to the question of the measure of
the plaintiff's damages. In this con-

nection it was, among other things,
said:

"As a result of the prevention of its
performance of its contract with the
defendant, the plaintiff was entitled
to recover compensatory damages for
the loss it had sustained by the de-
fendant's breach. * * * This included,
not merely for the value of the serv-
ices the plaintiff had rendered, but
in addition such benefit to it to have
made the completed plans and speci-
fications and to have supervised the
construction of the house according
to its own plans. This item should
be arrived at by ascertaining what
the cost and the expense of the com-
pletion of the contract would have
been to it, and then the difference
between the contract price, less the
$310 agreed upon, and this item of
cost and expense should represent the
profit accruing to it on account of the
breach of the contract by the defend-
ant. * * *"

In conclusion the court set aside
the judgment rendered below in favor
of the defendant, owner, and ordered
judgment to be rendered in favor of
the plaintiff in accordance with the
rule announced above for ascertaining
the damages. Holding, as outlined in
the opinion, that the accord and satis-
faction relied upon by the defendant
was of no avail because of the man-
ner in which it had been procured,
and that the plaintiff was entitled to
damages for the breach of the con-
tract by the defendant.

Roof Panel Tests Under Way. — Mr.

S. H. Ingberg, of the U. S. Bureau of
Standards, reports the equipment
practically complete for the series of
brand tests of shingle roofs and pre-
pared roofings which are to be con-
ducted for the purpose of determining
the fire resistive qualities of roof cov-
erings and thus either confirm or cor-
rect the statements in the report of
the Building Code Committee of the
Department of Commerce in the pam-
phlet entitled "Recommended Mini-
mum Requirements for Small Dwell-
ing Construction" to which shingle
manufacturers have taken exception
on the ground that the data and rec-
ommendations were unfairly prejudi-
cial to wooden shingles.

The tests will probably run over a
period of two months. Fire brands
weighing 5, 25 and 100 grams, made
in the form of a grid, will be used.

[From The National Lumber Bulletin of
August 7th.]

1923

Buildings

395

The Architect as a Contractor

Viewpoint of Contractor Set Forth in

Address Before Southern California

Chapter, American Institute of

Architects

By J. C. EDWARDS

President Southern California Chapter,
Associated General Contractors

From the subject which has been
given me, it would appear that you,
gentlemen, as architects, have awak-
ened to the fact that there is a gi-ow-
ing tendency to depart from what has
heretofore been generally recognized
as the proper procedure in construc-
tion— that of an owner commissioning
an architect or an engineer, and he,
in turn, letting a general contract by
the competitive bid method.

This procedure is well established
and sound and, if the principles in-
volved therein are adhered to, there
is no occasion for nor will there be
any departure therefrom.

Thei-e is no denying the fact, how-
ever, that owners, architects, and
contractors are departing from this
procedure; and it necessarily follows
that their departure is the result of a
belief that by so doing they can better
accomplish their purpose.

It is to be expected that my view-
point of the situation is from the
standpoint of a contractor, or perhaps
I should say from a gi-oup of con-
tractors, as I am speaking for the
Southern California Chapter of the
Associated General Contractors, and
1 debire to say here that our associa-
tion deems it a privilege and an honor
to be given the opportunity of ad-
dressing you on this subject.

Why do some owners, architects,
and contractors feel that their pur-
poses can better be served by a de-
parture from the regular procedure?

In so far as the owner is concerned
there is only one reason — he is made
to believe that by so doing he is in-
creasing the purchasing power of his
dollar.

Generally speaking, this is not true.
Whether the departure be along the
pathway of day-labor methods, per-
centage contracts, fixed-fee contracts,
segregated contracts or what not, the
owner's interest will not, in the long
run, be as well served by any of them
as by a lump-sum form of contract in
which the contract price has been de-
termined by the taking of competitive
! bids.

I can only assume as to why the
architect ventures a departure. It
may be due to the influence of the
owner. It is probably very often due
to the additional fee he receives, and
just as often because he feels that by
so doing he will obtain a more satis-
factory execution of his plans and
specifications.

A contractor's reasons are many,
some of them fancied and some of
them real. A goodly number have no
foundation whatever, and these are
generally the result of his lack of
appreciation of the obligation he as-
sumes by the signing of a contract.

I intend to be very frank and name
a few of the real reasons why con-
tractors, who feel themselves capable,
encroach on the architect's field.

The construction industry, of which
we are both such a vital part, is now
conceded to be the second largest in-
dustry in the country, second only
to agriculture. There has been a de-
cided change in the personnel of the
general contractors in that industry
during the past 20 years or even dur-
ing the past 10 years. Improved
methods are definitely eliminating the
rule-of-thumb contractor, and the
contractor of today feels that he is
entitled to and should receive the
same recognition as the architect or
engineer.

Your profession has permitted com-
mercialism to gain such a foothold
that, in many cases, completeness of
plans and specifications is sacrificed
in order that more of the fee may be
retained as a net profit. Where this
is done controversies arise, extras are
claimed, and both owner and con-
contractor are dissatisfied.

The thing that makes government
red tape on construction work bear-
able is the wonderful completness of
the plans and specifications and the
exactitude with which one can deter-
mine the volume and kind of work to
be done.

The custom of calling for such a
multitude of alternate bids is not
looked on with favor by the con-
tractor. He feels that it is part of
your service to the owner to prede-
termine the volume of work to be
done and the kind of materials to be
used.

Contractors feel that in many cases
bids are requested and their time con-
sumed in preparing estimates on
work, when the architect knews there
is not even a remote possibility of the

396

Buildings

August,

work going ahead; and it is a very
common occurrence for a contractor
to submit a proposal to an architect
and for that proposal to be held for
a month or more without being ac-
cepted or rejected, the contractor be-
ing unable to obtain any information
regarding same. This is obviously
unjust and should not be continued if
it is your intention to recognize the
service rendered to the industry by
the contractor.

Draw your contracts so as to show
fairness to both parties concerned, the
owner and the contractor. Insert an
arbitration clause in them so that
honest differences may be settled out
of court. This may be working a
hardship on our friends, the attor-
neys, but nevertheless it is a most sat-
isfactory way of adjusting disputes.

In your contracts and specifications
avoid the shifting of responsibility.
I have seen contracts based on speci-
fications which provided that the con-
tractor was to assume all responsi-
bility for plans and specifications
complying with city ordinances.

Conditions such as I have men-
tioned have a tendency to create a
desire in the contractor to undertake
himself the architectural service nec-
essary to a construction project, and
it is with increasing frequency that
you hear of it from the larger con-
tracting firms.

Please do not think for one moment
that I fail to appreciate the fact that
in many instances contractors have,
by their unsatisfactory methods, driv-
en the architect to seek a method
whereby they might be eliminated.

It is necessary, however, that we
tell you our troubles and you tell us
yours if anything is to be done to
check this tendency to encroach on
one another's field.

There never was a truer saying
than this : "A man who is his own
attorney has a fool for a client." The
principle is applicable to construction.
We each have a distinctive service to
perform and I doubt very much the
ability of either of us to successfully
assume the other's position.

Our association will heartily en-
dorse any effort on your part to
eliminate the undesirable man in the
business, because by so doing we both
will be rendering a really honest serv-
ice to the public. Unless such a serv-
ice is rendered there is no justification
for the existence of your, ours, or any
similar organization.

New Type of Ventilating Shade
for Center Swing Sash

From The American Builder for July

The center swing steel sash so
popular in the fenestration of various
types of buildings no longer presents
any obstacles to proper shading
against too strong or hot sunlight.

A manufacturer is producing a
shade which is applied direct to the
steel sash, eliminating the expensive
and troublesome boring of the con-
crete or brick walls, and whose con-
struction of stained wood strips,

"•x..

Shade in Place Over Tilting: Sash Window.

twine-woven, tend toward easy oper-
ation and lasting qualities over a long
period of use.

Naturally, a shade to be properly
considered as such must be of a type
which does not interfere with the ven-
tilator, even while it shields against
the light. Its lower portion must be
out of the way of the workers passing
by, and out of the way of possible
flapping against machinery. The
shade illustrated is suspended from a
bracket attached to the steel ribs, and
is automatically brought in flush
against the wall at the base of the
sash.

1923

Buildings

397

Some Considerations in the
Design of Truck Garages

Dimensions of Trucks, Floor Space and
Head Room, Structural Arrange-
ments, and Variety of Trucks
to Be Anticipated

The Ramp Buildings Corporation,
115 Broad St., New York City, spe-
cialists in the design of commercial
garages, have furnished the informa-
tion from which the following is an
excerpt :

In laying out a garage for trucks, it
is essential to have information re-
garding truck dimensions. The fig-
ures of interest of course are the
over-all length, width and height.

Below are some typical truck
dimensions. The list is not complete,
as regards makes, but the variety of
sizes is sufficient for all practical
purposes.

to the truck. If the sides of the body
are low, the total height of the truck
may not be over 7 ft. On the other
hand, if the body with high sides is
fitted, the height may even exceed 10
ft. The all-over length of this chas-
sis is 224 inches, but nearly all truck
bodies overhang the rear end of the
chassis to some extent. The exact
amount depends upon the body
builder. In this case it is assumed
that the body will overhang the
chassis 18 in., and therefore the
maximum over-all length of the truck
is assumed to be 20 ft. 2 in.

The height and length in the table
herewith must therefore be considered
as maximum figures. The height of
the truck probably will be 2 or 3 ft.
less than the figures stated.

There are two ways of laying out a
truck garage. One is to assume a
single average truck size, and the
other is to assume tw^o or three truck

V'^im

Ton Capacity
%

Height
7 ft. 8 in.

7 ft. 10 in.

8 ft. 0 in.
8 ft. 0 in.
8 ft. 8 in.
8 ft. 3 in.

8 ft. 6 in.

9 ft. 5 in.
9 ft. 4 in.
9 ft. 4 in.
9 ft. 2 in.
9 ft. 2 in.

10 ft. 0 in.
10 ft. 0 in.
10 ft. 0 in.

10 ft. 10 in.

11 ft. 1 in.
11 ft. 1 in.
10 ft. 11 in.

5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
6
5
5
5
7
5
6
6
7
7
7

Width
ft. 1 in.
ft. 3 in.
ft. 6 in.
ft. 5 in.
ft. 8 in.
ft. 10 in.
ft. 7 in.
ft. 10 in.
ft. 4 in.
ft. 8 in.
ft. 9 in.
ft. 3 in.
ft. 2 in.
ft. 8 in.
ft. 9 in.
ft. 11 in.
ft. 6 in.
ft. 8 in.
ft. 2 in.

Len
13 ft.

15 ft.

16 ft.

17 ft.

18 ft.

16 ft.

17 ft.
13 ft.
15 ft.

18 ft.

19 ft.

20 ft.

21 ft.

22 ft.

20 ft.

21 ft.

gth
1 in.

Beo _ ...

Ranier -

Federal

Mack _ __

. - %
%

„1

2 in.

2 in.
11 in.
10 in.

Maxwell .. _ _

Packard

\utocar

Federal

Mnr-V

-1%
1%

Z.'.ZZZ.Z.~.~.2

11 in.
7 in.
6 in.
5 in.
0 in.

Packard

1 in.

Federal

Vfar-k

2 in.

3 in.

Packard

Packard . _ ... _

Federal

Mack

Z'ZZ"'''"'""'l5

„...5

1 in.
lin.

2 in.

Packard

1 in.

In using this table, the reader may
fall into serious error unless he fully
understands just how the table should
be used. In the first place, the
over-all widths of the trucks men-
tioned were obtained from manufac-
turers' specifications. The width is
always the same for any particular
make and model, but this does not
hold true for the over-all height and
length. These two figures are deter-
mined by the body builder, and it
should be remarked that truck bodies
are usually built locally and the truck
manufacturer has no control over the
body dimensions. Because of this
situation, it is correct to say that a
3H ton Federal Truck, for example,
has a width of 7 ft. 2 inches, but it is
impossible to say what length or
height it will be, because these things
depend upon the kind of body fitted

sizes — say, small, medium and large.
At least 50 per cent of the trucks in
use are delivery cars and the like, and
are no larger than passenger cars.
These may be termed small trucks
and a space 6^x15 ft. is sufficient for
parking one of them. This figure is
the same as that usually employed in
laying out passenger car garages.

About 40 per cent of all trucks in
use are of less than 2-ton capacity
but in excess of the passenger car
size considered in the preceding para-
graph. On the average these will fit
very nicely into a space 7x18 ft. The
remaining 10 per cent of trucks \vill
require a space about 7% or 8x20 ft.
From these figures it is plain that if
the garage is designed for a single
average-size truck, the size should be
about 7x16 ft.

398

Buildings

August,

But the same figures cannot be ap-
plied to every truck garage. A truck
garage in one neighborhood may cater
largely to three and five ton trucks,
and in another neighborhood to de-
livery cars. Some information
regarding the character of the trade
must be obtained before the garage
building is designed. In many cases
it is possible to obtain an extremely
accurate analysis of the size of trucks
used by prospective garage customers.

The problem of laying out a truck
garage is still further complicated by
the fact that some of the floors may
be used for passenger cars and other
floors for trucks.

In any case, it is desirable to obtain
an extremely economical layout re-
gardless of what the demands are.
The fact is not generally realized that
in a great many garage buildings it is
possible to arrange the columns in
such a way that in one direction eco-
nomical storage for passenger cars
and small trucks may be obtained,
while economical storage for medium
and large trucks can be obtained by
arranging them at right angles to the
arrangement that would be used for
small trucks and passenger cars.
This idea of arranging the columns
so that cars can be parked more than
one way is not only applicable to
large buildings but frequently to
small ones, and it happens that it
works very well in buildings 60 ft.
wide.

When it is impossible to arrange
columns satisfactorily so that in one
direction the space is suitable for
passenger cars, and at right angles
is suitable for trucks, it is usually
best to use some four-car bays in-
stead of the more ordinary three-car
bays, for the reason that a three-car
bay is only suitable for housing two
large trucks, whereas a four-car bay
will house three large trucks. This
results in a considerable saving of
space.

A net head room of 8 or 8^/^ ft. is
sufl^icient for the general run of me- .
dium and small size trucks while a
few of the very largest trucks with
the very largest bodies will require a
net head room of 11 ft., and if the
occasional large truck is to be accom-
modated, a net head room of 12 ft.
will be required. The net head room
for medium trucks should be about 10
ft. In most cases a satisfactory solu-

tion of the problem may be arrived at
by making the net head room of the
first floor 11 or 12 ft., and the net
head room of the upper floors 8 ft.
If there are several floors above the
first floor, it may be advisable to make
the net head room of the second floor
9V2 or 10 ft.

Timely Subjects Discussed and
Acted Upon at Midsummer
Conference of Ohio Build-
ers Exchanges

The Midsummer Conference of the
Builders Exchanges of Ohio which
was held at Cedar Point Monday, July
23rd, was given over mainly,

1. To a review of the status of the
Building Industry of the State from
the standpoint of legislation recently
enacted and to plans for cooperating
with other state agencies in bringing
about the passage of the Constitu- .
tional Amendment next November
whereby the present Open Liability
will be enacted.

2. To a discussion of the proposed
program of the newly created State
Board of Building Standards. In this
connection a Committee was ap-
pointed with the power to select from
a list of available men a suitable rep-
resentative of the Builders of the
State and recommend his name to
Governor Donahey for appointment on
the Board. The Committee met after
the Conference and agreed on Mr.
John Clemmer of Akron, Ohio, and
Governor Donahey was good enough
to name Mr. Clemmer on the Board.

3. To a discussion as to the ad-
visability of the State Association of
Builders Exchanges cooperating in an
eifort to centralize in one State body
all the different groups of Builders
in the State. It was the consensus of
opinion that the new Safety Code to-
gether with the new status of the law
relating to injured employees since
the recent Hannah Fender Case de-
cision and the possible new status of
the Compensation Law next year with
its penalty feature, all combine to
make it important that the Builders
Exchanges, General Contractors,
Building Supply Dealers and all
groups directly connected with the
Construction Industry affiliate to fur-
ther and protect the interests of the
Construction Industry of the State.

1923

Buildings

399

Garage Door Arrangement

From The American Builder for July

Many of the modern garage re-
quirements cannot be readily satisfied
by the common methods of hanging
doors. Garage doors demand special
consideration, and illustrated is an
equipment specially designed and
which is used quite extensively on
public and private garage entrances.

Plan of Doors and Diagram of Movement.

The two edges of the door are hung
independently by a swivel hanger, one
mounted in a trackway over the open-
ing and the other in a trackway along
the side wall. In closing these doors
go snugly up against the casings and
are practically as tight as a swing
door. When open they stand back
against the side wall. The tracks
cross at the center (side track under)
and each enters the wall about fouf

Swivel Hanger With Vertical Adjustment

I inches to provide space for the hanger
j trucks inside. For double doors the
I front track is in sections, one back of
ithe other, so that the doors overlap
I each other at the center in closing.
{This gives room in the independent
i;rackways for the hanger wheeLs

Ijvhich project well beyond the door
pdges.

A tight job is obtained however,
by filling in behind the track as indi-
cated and properly arranging the
jamb and sill for this door. The
hangers have vertical adjustment, and
have hardened ball bearings, and are
made in two sizes, for a door weigh-
ing up to 350 pounds, and a door
weighing up to 1000 pounds, respec-
tively. Doors may be hung in pairs
also by this system, as illustrated in
the diagram. It is particularly useful
where the opening is wide, and the
door or doors must be kept inside the
building instead of being opened out.

Oilproofing Concrete Tanks

From London Times Trade Supplement.

Although concrete tanks can read-
ily be made waterproof and suitable
for the storage of some varieties of
oil. without the use of special coat-
ings, it is not easy to render them
impervious to light oils, distillates,
and acids generated in vegetable oils.
With the object of finding some ma-
terial capable of giving better and
more permanent results than those
which have hitherto been tried: Pro-
fessor Marcusson of Berlin was led
to undertake a long series of experi-
ments and tests, and the outcome -is
an artificial pitch, produced by the
condensation of formaldehyde with
phenol, and claimed to be capable of
forming a lining which complies with
all practical requirements.

The product in question, designat-
ed "margalit," has the consistency of
molasses and is applied with a brush,
like paint. As it rapidly becomes
heavy and sticky, it is kept in small
pots into which the brush is dipped,
and small quantities of aloohol are
added from time to time to thin down
the material. The first coat should
be as thin as possible, covering the
whole surface so as to fill all pores,
the second coat being added a day
later, and a third coat the next day,
on very rough surfaces. Professor
Marcusson states that after one week
the concrete becomes absolutely oil-
tight, the margalit changing into an
insoluble substance by oxidation and
polymerization. Tanks lined thus are
stated to have proved impervious to
fuel oil, benzine, lubricating oil, lin-
seed oil, cottonseed oil, and cod-liver
oil. but it should be noted that the
lining is attacked by liquids such a.s
creosote and alcohol.

400

Buildings

August,

Steel Joists

The two cuts herewith illustrate the
use of light steel joists now being
made by the Truscon Steel Company
of Youngstown, Ohio. The advantage
of this material lies in the substantial,
non-combustible construction which it
furnishes at a cost much below that
of ordinary structural steel. The
manufacturers have just issued a 3'Z
page, profusely illustrated volume en-
titled "The Steel Joist Data Book" in
which very full information is given
on the properties and uses of these
joists. It is stated therein that floors
of this construction weigh from 40

fire tests have proven that % in. of
cement ceiling plaster will protect
Steel Joist Construction against tem-
peratures of as high as 1700 degrees,
such conditions developing less than
550 degrees around the joists. The
fireproofness of Steel Joists has been
developed not only in tests but in ac-
tual fires in comparison with other
constructions."

The sectional perspective shows a
wooden floor laid on a concrete filler
with wooden nailing screeds. The
right section shows an all-wooden type
of floor. Numerous solid concrete
and other types of floors, as well as
roof construction with the joists as

0^m

Truscon Steel Joist Construction With Wood Floor Finish.

and Ceiling.

%-In. Hy-Rib Lath for Floor

per cent to 70 per cent less than do
other fireproof floors. Regarding
fireproof qualities the following state-
ment is made:

"Structural steel shapes, because of
their process of production, have their
fibres distorted in their manufacture.
When heat is applied, around 700 de-
grees, the internal stress is released
and the steel member becomes dis- .
torted and twisted in shape. The

purlines, are illustrated in the data
book.

For Joist Spacings Up to 24 inch

Arrangement for Wooden Floor and Joist
Spacinga Up to 24 Inches.

process of manufacture of Steel Joists
causes no internal stress, with the
result that ample strength is available
up to temperatures around 1000 de-
grees to 1200 degrees, with no ten-
dency to twist or distort. Repeated

Pittsburgh Zoning Ordinance
Passed by Council

The Zoning Ordinance prepared by
the City Planning Committee and
amended by City Council passed that
body on July 30 by a seven to one
vote.

The limit to the height of buildings
in the downtown section is 265 feet
which is about the height of the Wil-
liam Penn Hotel.

The ordinance divides the city into
five classes; namely, A. and B. resi-
dential. Heavy industrial, light in-
dustrial and commercial.

It is not considered that this ordi-
nance is absolutely perfect. It will
be necessary to make slight changes
from time to time, but it is conceded
that its passage will be a great bene-
fit to property owners in all zones,
but more particularly in the residen-
tial districts.

1923

Buildings

401

Monthly Statistics of the Building Industry

The accompanying tabulations are
taken from the Survey of Current
Business, a publication of the U. b.
Department of Commerce. They
show (1) the building contracts
awarded by thousands of square feet,
and thousands of dollars, (2) the in-
dex numbers for building contracts
awarded, (3) the building material
price index for frame and brick
houses, (4) the cost index for con-
structing factory buildings, and (5)
the index numbers of wholesale prices
for structural steel, iron and steel,
composite steel and composite finished
steel.

The figures on building contracts
are based on data compiled by the

F. W. Dodge Co., covering small
towns and rural districts as well as
large cities in 27 northeastern states.
Prior to May, 1921, the building
figures covered 25 northeastern states
and the District of Columbia. The
states are those north and east of, and
including, North Dakota, South Da-
kota, Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, and
Virginia, together with portions of
eastern Kansas and Nebraska. ■ Be-
ginning May, 1921, North Carolina
and South Carolina were added to the
list, but this addition is stated to have
little effect upon the total.

The price indexes for frame and
brick houses are from the U. S. De-
partment of Commerce, Bureau of

Year and Month

1913 iponthly av

Grand
Building

m
•0

1 w

C go

E- O

ToUl Index
Ck)ntracta Numbers

|3 = 1

Ho OT >
$71,475 ...„. 33

60,020 28

78,341 36

113.082 53

134.086 . — 63

140.770 ..._. 65
214.990 100 100
211.102 72 98
196.648 69 91
279.410 102 180

111.608 33 52
100.677 36 47
164.092 57 76
220.886 74 103

242,094 77 113
227.711 77 106
212.491 68 99
220.721 76 108

246.186 89 115
222.480 87 108
192.311 81 89
198.518 76 92

166,320 65 77
177,473 64 83
293,637 111 137
353,162 125 164

362,590 128 169
343,440 130 160
350.081 111 163
322.007 116 150

271.493 95 126
253.137 100 118
244.366 101 114
215.213 88 100

217.333 83 101
229.938 89 107
333.518 139 155
357.475 138 166
374.400 129 174

Building:

Material

Price

Indexes

s
§ s

o *

b a

10* 10*

182 186

166 173

173 179

174 179
169 174
169 173
168 172

173 176
178 181
181 184
189 193

193 197
196 199
196 201
192 198

195 199
198 201
209 209
206 209
212 214

Cost
Index

^^
100

179
170

176
172
167
161

160
157
154
153

152
152
152
152

157
169
171
174

190
192
192
192

192
197
197
204
204

Wholesale Pric

-2 1

m i 1

^A 5 1
^1= 2 II

100 100 10*

83 87 88

93 94 95

177 154 163

269 266 259

202 215 220
174 191 193
187 249 211

131 155 156

115 144 134

146 165 170
146 159 165
139 145 153
128 137 144

123 134 138

116 136 134
106 182 183

99 129 130

99 127 126
99 126 124
96 125 122
99 131 126

10« 139 127
106 140 129
109 142 130
116 151 137

187 166 146
141 166 149
136 160 149

132 154 149

132 156 151
139 162 158
146 179 165

s *
©"5

190

1915 monthly av

1916 monthly av

92
161
252

1918 monthly av

1919 monthly av..

IZ46i683

213
188

1920 monthly av

1921 monthly av

33.491

32.267

222
152

1922 monthly av „

47,745

134

1921
January _

15.513

Fohmary

16.807

March _

26.709

April

.. 34.494

May „ ..

35.751

166

Jane _ . ._

35,738

159

July . ..
Augrust . „

September „

31,717

35,246

41,702

148
141

136

October

... 40.436

134

November . _. „ _

...37.818

128

December

35.272

1?7

1922

Jannary

, 30,961

124

February .

30.061

121

March

_ 51.957

122

April _ .

58.146

1?.5

May ._ . __

59,639

127

Jnn«
July

60,526

51.705

ISO
181

Aosost

54,019

138

September

October .. _.

44,275

46.806

146
148

November _

46,946

146

December

. 38,608

147

1923

January

38.947

149

February

41 611

157

' March

64.920

163

64 527

60.430

402

Buildings

August,

The figures for composite steel are
compiled by the American Metal Mar-
ket and represent the average price
per pound of steel products weighted
as follows: 2% lb. bars, 1^/^ lb. plates,
1^/^ lb. shapes, 1^/^ lb. pipe, 1^/^ lb.
wire nails, 1 lb. galvanized sheets, and
V2 lb. tin plate.

Raymond Concrete Pile Co. Opens
Office in Los Angeles. — The Raymond
Concrete Pile Company has recently
opened a Pacific Coast office in the
Washington Building, Los Angeles,
California. Mr. 0. C. Struthers, for-
merly with Pratt & Thompson, Gen-
eral Contractors, Kansas City, will be
in charge.

Some Ideals in Planning for

New York

The following from the pen of the
late Charles D. Norton, chairman of
the "Committee on the Regional Plan
of New York and Its Environs," pro-
moter of "The Burnham Plan" for
Chicago, and otherwise leader in city
planning activities, states some of the
ideals for which plans exist.

Let some Daniel H. Burnham do for
this immense community what Burn-
ham did for Chicago and its environs;
spend the best years of his life study-
ing all the varied possibilities which
lie within an area so infinitely attrac-
tive physically, with a population so
dense, a commerce so great — let him
show how the isolated Palisades Park,
with its thirty square miles of wilder-
ness, and the east side of New York
only six miles away, with its million
and a half of tenement dwellers, may
be brought nearer together; how the
commuters of small incomes in Jersey
or the Bronx may more easily reach
the beaches; how the merchants and
the railroads and the public author-
ities may combine to reduce the cost
of handling goods and maintain the
supremacy of this port; where mar-
kets and parks may be created. Let
him demonstrate with unfailing logic
where the civic centres of this vast
population really are and how they
should be developed and embellished.
In short, let him make a big, daring,
imaginative plan such as George
Washington and his French engineer
L'Enfant had the courage to make for
the City of Washington 115 years
ago — and New York will not fail to
recognize and adopt her city plan.

Metal Lath Specifications. — The As-
sociated Metal Lath Manufacturers,
123 W. Madison Street, Chicago, have
decided to confine their products to
ten different weights, and in connec-
tion with The American Specification
Institute, they have issued a series of
17 specifications for the erection of
metal lath for various uses. The book
consists of 16 pages, fully illusti-ated
with details.

C.OD

Equipment Review

Ql'AKTERLY ISSli: OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.

221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbert p. Gillette, President and Editor

Lewis S. Louer, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St. and Broadway

Richard E. Brown, Eastern Manager

Roads and Streets — 1st Wednesday, |1

(a) Road Con- (c) Streets

(d) Street clean-

struction
(b) Road Main-
tenance

ing

Railways — 3rd Wednesday, $1

(a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-

way Construe- way Construc-

tion tion and

Maintenance Maintenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday, $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and Sanitation
Drainage (d) Waterways

Buildings — Ith Wednesday, $1

(a) Buildings (d) Miscellaneous

(b) Bridges Structures
(c) Harbor Structures

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., AUGUST 29, 1923

No. 1

Elquipment

Equipment grows daily in impor-
tance to constructors in every field
and so again claims a quarterly issue
of Engineering and Contracting. The
displacem.ent of hand labor by ma-
chines is an evolutionary process — its
rate depending upon a number of con-
trolling factors, most conspicuous
among which, and perhaps most im-
portant, are the availability and cost
of labor.

Neither cheaper nor more plentiful
labor than we now have is to be ex-
pected in this country. In fact sober
anticipation points to exactly the re-
verse of these conditions, and so to
continued developments and exten-
sions in the use of equipment. With-
out doubt many sorts of work on
'•-^ b-ich machinery is still generally con-
iered as a means of saving expense
■1 increasing profit will soon cease
: ' be economically possible by hand
methods.

Developments come for the most
.:t as improvements in existing ma-
ines, and only rarely as novel or

surprising inventions. Wherefore the
reader will find many old friends in
the pages following; but if he looks
closely he will see that like the better
sort of human friends, they are stead-
ily improving. Novelties he may find
also, but we believe only meritorious
novelties. Whether the development is
an innovation, a radical improvement,
or a betterment in detail only, it is
worth while to the equipment user.

The Index to Engineering and
Contracting

The index to this paper is sent only
to subscribers who are known to de-
sire it. If you wish to receive the in-
dex regularly, and have not heretofore
notified us to that effect, write to our
subscription department, and they will
very gladly add your name to the list
to which the index is sent twice each
year.

The index to Volume LIX, January
to June 1923, is now off the press, and
has been mailed to all our standing
list. It will be sent promptly to all
others who will notify us of their de-
sire for it.

404

Equifmient Review

August,

Recent Developments in Construction
and Engineering Equipment

A New Gasoline Dipper Shovel

A gasoline driven power shovel
operated entirely with gears and
shafts, is the latest improvement in
this type of machinery, announced by
the Orton & Steinbrenner Co., Manu-
facturers of cranes, shovels, and
buckets, of 608 So. Dearborn St., Chi-
cago, with factory at Huntington, Ind.

The steam driven type of shovel has
long been in use and has proved very
successful. During the past few
years, on account of the development
of the gasoline motor, various schemes
have been put forward, attempting to
adapt this form of power to a dipper
shovel. The greatest diflficulty in the
adaptation of gasoline power to shovel
use is in the arrangement necessary
for the reversible crowding motion of

Orton & Steinbrenner Gasoline Shovel.

the dipper stick. With steam oper-
ated shovels, this is accomplished by
means of a small steam engme geared
directly to the shipper shaft. But
with the gasoline or electric type, this
method was not feasible, and other
means had to be developed.

The movement is secured in the new
Orton & Steinbrenner machine with
a gear drive which is simple and has
a small number of parts. At the bot-
tom of the boom connection is a shaft
carrying double steel bevel gears and
bronze friction clutches. This shaft
is concentric with the pivot of the
boom and consequently being inde-
)iendent of its position, the boom
can be used at any angle to suit the
exigencies of the work.

Along the boom is a steel shaft car-

rying two bevel pinions, one meshing
at the bottom with the gears on the
horizontal shaft, and the other at the
top meshing with gears on a counter-
shaft located about half way up the
boom. This latter shaft carries a
brake and "slip friction," and is gear-
ed directly to the cast steel rack on
the dipper stick.

The hoisting mechanism is simple in
construction and is in fact the same
as in the locomotive cranes built by
the Orton & Steinbrenner Co. for fif-
teen years. The simplicity of parts
is also of great advantage in convert-
ing the shovel into a clam shell outfit,
drag line, or skimmer rig.

The power is supplied by a heavy
duty 4-cylinder "Climax" motor, which
is designed with a view of economical
use of gasoline.

Another feature of the machine is
the flexible crawling tread. Full ad-
vantage has been taken of the experi-
ence gained in the design of tanks
used in the World War. It was proved
conclusively that flexibility and lubri-
cation of the tread and tread rollers
was absolutely necessary to their
proper operation. These flexible treads
adjust themselves readily to the
ground surface, equalizing the weight
of the machine and distributing it
over a considerable length of tread.

On the main horizontal drive shaft
are two brake wheels by means of
which each tread may be operated in-
dependently or both may act together.
The mechanical diff'erential arrange-
ment is exactly similar to that used
on automobiles.

When used as a crane, the only
thing reauired is to take off the shove!
boom and attach the crane boom; the
crowding frictions for operating the
dipper being carried by the shovel
boom and an integral part of it are
removed with it. The shovel, when
furnished with double drums can be
used interchangeably with the crane.
With the crane boom attached, any
of the various types of buckets or
scoops can be used, such as clam shell,
drag line, skimmer scoop, or trench
'^oe: pile driver leads may be swung
from the tip of the boom.

^^923

Equipmejit Review

405

The Biggest Paver

The 32-E Koehring paving mixer
shown herewith is the largest machine
of this tj-pe so far produced. It han-
dles batches of 34 cu. ft. each, and has
a record of one mile of 18 ft. pave-
lent in four days.

This machine is a self contained
mit like the smaller Koehring mixers,
md is operated by one man except
irhen the derrick is used, in which

Koehring 32-E Paver.

ise an additional man operates the
)ower hoist and sluing arrangement.

Designed and built for the bigger
jobs where adequate supplies of ma-
terials necessary to feed it continu-
ously are available, the Koehring 32-
E Paver handles the work at top
speed and most effectively on the larg-
est scale of operations.

A complete batch of 56 cu. ft. of
aggregate is handled from one truck
or batch box.

The charging skip, 9 to 12 feet
wide, and 20 feet long, is of ample
size for a truck with a full batch
capacity to back into and discharge
its load. When using the industrial
system, a power operated derrick with
power hoist and power sluing attach-
ment quickly transfers the batch
boxes containing the full batch, from
the cars to charging skip.

Double sets of cables are placed on
the charging skip, each one of which
is sufficiently strong to hoist the load;
the skip cannot drop if one cable
breaks. Skip is raised in 1.5 seconds
to an angle of 55 degs. where an au-
tomatic brake stops and holds it in
charging position. An auxiliary water
tank is furnished which safeguards
the water supply at all times.

The Koehring Company, makers of
the 32-E, is located at Milwaukee, Wis.

New Track Shifter

A labor-saving machine designed
for shifting or raising track has been
brought out by the Lake Superior
Loader Co., Providence Bldg., Duluth,
Minn. The machine is propelled and
operated by a standard gasoline en-
gine. The lifting action is obtained
by means of a spud and gears. One
operator drives and operates all rack-
ing and lifting motions through sim-
ple controls and standard clutches. In
shifting track, the rail clamps are
hooked over ball of rail and the spud
is racked down with shoe between
ties on side of track toward intended
shift. The entire machine is then
racked up on the spud, thus raising
the rails and ties up on one side.
The tilt of the spud then starts the
whole raised mass sliding over to in-
tended side. After reaching maxi-
mum height of lift, the leverage ex-
erted gently slides the entire track
section over to new position. The
rail clamps are then loosened, machine

Track Shifter on Waste Dnmp on Mesabi
Range

moved forward two rail lengths and
operation is repeated. In lifting track
the spud is racked down in center
of track with no tilt. The machine,
clamped to the rail, is then racked
up, thus lifting the entire track sec-
tion and allowing ample room for bal-
lasting and tamping. The accompany-
ing illustration shows the machine
working on a waste dump on the
Mesabi Range, where it replaced 8
men from a gang of 18. In this op-
eration the track and ties have been
lifted about 15 in.

406

Equipment Review

August,

Convertible Crane-Pile Driver

Industrial Works of Bay City,
Mich., makes a pile driving equipment
for use with its Type KA locomotive
crane, and terms the combination its
Type KA-P Crane-Pile Driver.

In this combination the Type KA
locomotive crane is equipped with
heavy-duty pile driving leaders and
truss and forms a very powerful and

Driving Piles 30 Ft. From Track With Type
KA-P Crane-Pile Driver

efficient, full-revolving railroad pile
driver. It is selected in preference to
regular pile drivers on some railroads
on account of the full-revolving fea-
ture it offers and the unusually long
reach ahead of the front axle and
over the sides of the car.

The truss and leaders are similar to
those used on the regular Type No. 2
and No. 4 pile drivers with battering
attachment to swing the leaders for
driving inclined piles. They are very
strongly built to allow for crowding
piles into position by slewing the
crane.

As the crane may be swung through
a full circle, piles may be driven from
either end of the car without turning
the car around. Outriggers are pro-
vided under the car body, and with
these blocked, piles may be driven
with truss and leaders swung at right
angles to the car.

The leader truss is easily removed
and a regular crane boom substituted
for locomotive crane service.

A large-size vertical boiler is usually
provided, but when required this ma-
chine may be equipped with a special

horizontal locomotive-type boiler. Such
a boiler is especially useful when the
machine is required to propel for con-
siderable distances.

This locomotive crane may be
geared to travel 10 miles per hour
under its own power. It is always
equipped with the standard Industrial
gear shifter, which allows the pro-
pelling gears to be completely and
quickly disengaged for hauling over
the road.

Improvements on Stockleuid Road
Grader

Below is a top view of the circle
assembly on the "Peerless Patrol
Quick Lift" grader made by the
Stockland Road Machinery Co. of
Minneapolis, Minn. The trussing on
this assembly gives a very accurate
blade adjustment and a responsive
control. It also removes all side strain
from the draft bars.

The casting supports, upon which
the circle turns, are provided with
shims. As wear occurs the removal
of one or more shims again restores
the tight, smooth operation of the
circle.

The lifting arm connections are also
provided with a take-up which keeps
them closely connected and smooth
operating.

The trussed construction on the

Circle Assembly of Stockland Grader.

draft bars eliminates the possibility
of developing play between the con-
necting rods and the draft bars as
they are raised or lowered.

The worm gear at the handwheels
is also built against wearing — both
end-wear and side-wear. Shims and
tightening bolts are used to accom-
plish this.

1923

Equipment Review

407

Truckrane on Reservoir Job

The crane here shown in the nearly
completed Fairmont Reservoir at
Cleveland, Ohio, was originally pur-
chased as a model "1" Auto-Crane
from The Byers Machine Com-
pany of Ravenna, Ohio. It was then
a regular crane without truck mount-
ing, but set up on some kind of a

Truckrane in Fairmont Reservoir, Cleveland, Ohio

rmanent foundation, electrically op-
ated and used to hoist skips of ex-
a-ated material from the tunnel car-
ing the mains leading up to the gate
ouse in the basin itself. The crane
i'.s used in this service for several

weeks and when that phase of the
work was completed, was taken down,
mounted on a trailer and gas power
substituted for electricity. It then be-
came, in effect, a standard "Truck-
rane." It is owned by the Peter F.
Connoly Co. of Cleveland.

Within the Reservoir basin, the
crane was first used for rehandling
concrete aggi-egates — picking these up
with clamshell as they
■ were dumped down the
side of the Reservoir
from tracks and load-
ing them into trucks to
be hauled to the site of
the gate house. The
latter is the concrete
structure shown at the
right in the picture.
Moving then to the site
of the gate house, the
Truckrane was used to
hoist batches of mixed
concrete, dumping into
the forms. For this and
succeeding work, the
owners spliced an addi-
tional length of boom
to the standard boom
to provide the neces-
sary height for placing
the concrete and doing
steel erecting which
was the crane's next
biggest job. The top of
the gate house is ap-
proached by a roadway
which is carried on two
steel girders. Each of
these is an I-beam 28x
14x52 ft. 8 in. long and
each was placed by
first sliding the beam
down the bank of the
Reservoir and then lift-
ing the lower end into
place by the power of
the Truckrane. The
owner now plans to
mount the crane on a
new 5-ton truck to use in general con-
tract work. It is interesting to note
that a similar operation is to be un-
dertaken in an adjoining basin of the
Fairmont Reservoir.

408

Equipment Review

August,

An Improved Blasting Machine

By N. S. GREENSFELDER

Hercules Powder Co.

During the War the Ordnance De-
partment and Engineers Corps of the
Army required a large number of
blasting machines. It was soon dis-
covered that the machine commonly

:'^^»^»:>l»«W. ■*^'t^W^^

veloped. It is now sold for industrial
work by the Hercules Powder Co.

One of the principal advantages of
the new Hercules machine is in the
generator. Practically all of the old
types consisted of a short-circuited,
series-wound motor, in which a heavy
current is built up during the stroke.
At the end of the stroke, the short
circuit is opened, which allows the
field discharge from the generator to
pass into the cap circuit. The new
Hercules machine, on the other hand,
has a shunt-wound generator. All of
the energy of the operator is accumu-
lated as the rack bar descends. The
switch remains open until the stroke
is nearly ended. At the instant of
maximum amperage and voltage, cur-
rent enters the cap circuit and this
current is sustained for a consider-
ably longer period than in the old
t^pe. Tests made at the United
States Bureau of Standards at Wash-
ington show that even a moderate
current sustained for 1/5 of a second
is much more effective than a current
many times higher, but which is sus-
tained only 1/1000 of a second.

While this new machine has actual-
ly fired many more than 50 electric
blasting caps, its capacity is rated at
50 blasting caps, because experience
has shown that, under proper working
conditions, it is not advisable to at-
tempt to connect more than 50 electric
blasting caps in one series.

Crusher for Quantity Production

The machine shown in the accom-
panying illustration is one of the
large size units developed by the Uni-
versal Crusher Company of Cedar

'"^ "l|i^.

Interior of New Improved Hercules Blasting
Machine.

used on industrial work failed repeat-
edly on the battlefield. After the in-
ability of the old type of machine to
meet military requirements was dis-
covered, the Bureau of Engineers
requested electrical manufacturers to
assist them in designing a machine
that would be absolutely reliable and
would possess sufficient reserve capac-
ity to guarantee against failure to fire
any electric blasting cap in circuits
up to 100 caps. A machine that ful-
filled these requirements was soon de-

All-Steel Universal Crusher for Fine CrushinK.

Rapids, Iowa, to supplement its long
established line of medium capacity
crushers.

The Universal Crusher has long
been recognized as a machine which

1923

Equipment Review

409

would give a highly uniform and fine
product in medium quantities, and the
solution of the problem caused by the
vast increase in road development and
the use of concrete, was found in the
construction of a machine having the
same basic working principles but of
larger capacity. The design shown
herewith is that of the fine crushing
line in sizes 8x16 in., 8x18 in., 8x24
in. and 8x36 in. These sizes together
with six other large opening machines
for boulders, trap-rock, granite, lime-
stone, etc., constituting a complete line
of all-steel crushers, are furnished in
either stationary or portable styles,
with or without elevators, of the
straight or folding types. A cut-
under truck provides a convenient,
practical and up-to-date mounting.

New 21/2 HP. Gasoline Engine

A new 21^-h. p. Model N gasoline
engine has been added to the line of
the Fuller & Johnson Mfg. Co., Madi-
son, Wis. This new size, as well as
their entire line of Model N engines,
is stated to embody many new im-
provements and refinements, which
have added to the durability and ef-
ficiency of the engines and at the

2»4-HP. Model "N" Gasoline Engine.

same time to the operator's conven-
ience. A new filler pipe to fuel tank
as shown in the illustration has in-
creased the ease and convenience of
filling the fuel tank. A double throw
switch, for giving uninterrupted ser-
vice, is now standard equipment on
a^l sizes with magneto ignition; and
the new magneto mounting, in addi-
tion to being convenient is high and
dry— away from oil and grease. The
^^®ii ^^^^y fly wheels, the heavy
crank shaft and bearing give unusual
strength and rigidity to the engine.

Full-Crawler Attachment for
Fordsons

The Full- Crawler attachment to be
used on the Fordson tractor has re-
cently been put upon the market by
The Full-Crawler Company, a depart-
ment of the Geo. H. Smith Steel Cast-
ing Company, of Milwaukee, Wis-
consin.

This equipment when substituted
for the ordinary four round wheels of
the Fordson tractor, changes the
Fordson into a crawler or caterpillar
tractor.

The tracks of electric alloy steel of
special ground-gripping design take

Fnll-Crawler Fordson Palling Road Machine.

firm hold of the surface whether it be
hard or soft. The track surface
which is in constant contact with the
ground consists of over 1,000 square
inches. Being of crawler design, the
machine travels on top of the ground.

Steering is accomplished by means
of brakes on the rear sprockets.
These brakes are so connected with
the Fordson steering handwheel that
a slight turn of the wheel to either
side as in ordinary steering causes
one brake to tighten and the other to
loosen. The track on the inside of
the turn locks while the other runs
freely. The Full-Crawler equipped
Fordson will turn about in a 10-ft.
circle, about half of the usual Fordson
turning radius.

The total weight of this crawler
equipment is 1570 pounds. As the
four round wheels of the Fordson are
removed, the additional weight added
to the Fordson tractor is about 1000
pounds, making the total weight of
the Fordson and the Full-Crawler
amount to about 3600 pounds. This
added weight helps to give better
traction, yet, being spread over such
a large track area, does not greatly
increase the ground pressure. The
Full-Crawler Fordson has a ground
pressure of only 3% pounds per sq.

410

Equipment Review

August,

in., so that it is possible to use this
equipment on very soft soil.

It is made to be used only on the
•Fordson tractor and is very easily
attached. There are no holes to be
drilled nor is any machine work nec-
essary. No change is required in the
Fordson. No reduction gears are
used. The speeds of the Fordson
tractor remain the same after the
substitution of the Full-Crawler for
the four wheels.

Compact Crusher Outfit

A "one piece crushing outfit"
has been brought out recently by the

veyors, equipped with 12-in. x 18-in.
steel split head pulleys. Each con-
veyor equipped with two 40-in. x 5-in.
steel wheels for portability. The 30-
ft. conveyor feeds the material from
the pit into the screen, where the
separation is made. The screenings
go down the large chute into the 35-
ft. conveyor, which takes the material
to the finished bin. Rejections drop
into crusher, are reduced to desired
size down a chute into elevator, and
are returned into the screen. The
power for the various units is taken
off the crusher shaft by sprocket and
chain drive to a counter-shaft on the

"One-Piece Crusher Outfit.'

Iowa Manufacturing Co., Cedar Rap-
ids, la. In this outfit a No. 936
Cedar Rapids crusher is mounted on
the rear end of a 1 in. 15 ft. steel
1-bear truck. Ahead of and above the
crusher is mounted a screen which has
a 5 in. I-beam frame, 36 in. x 8 ft.
inside screen, 48 in. x 7 ft. outside
screen. Inside screen of 1 in. perfor-
ations; outside 2 in., of course this
is optional. On the outside of the
truck frame, but fastened to it, is a
6-in. channel iron frame elevator,
equipped with 14x7 14-gauge steel
continuous type buckets. There also
are one 30-ft. and one 35-ft. belt con-

truck frame, thence, by sprockets and
chain to the various units.

Portable Pumper Attachment for
Ford Cars

A pump attachment for Ford cars,
adaptable for use in construction op-
erations, has been brought out by the
Barton Products Co., Jackson, Mich.
The pump is of the well known
centrifugal type, of special design,
and is equipped with an open run-
ner which makes it possible to pump
water containing small sticks, gravel
and mud, such as the contractor is

1923

Equipment Review

411

likely to encounter in construction
work. The connections used between
the pumper and the car are of simple
construction and strong enough to
carry the pump on the front end of a
Ford, and it can be left on while driv-
ing with no danger of strain or break-
age to the car, for the weight of the

Barton Attachment Ready to Attach Pump
to Car

pumper is carried entirely on the
frame, relieving crank shaft and
motor of all strain. The first instal-
lation of the pump and attachment
on the Ford requires about lh'2 hours
work and thereafter the pump may
be connected or disconnected in two
minutes. It is stated that the pumper
will lift water by suction 26 ft. and
has a normal discharge capacity of
250 gals, per minute with an engine
speed equal to 20 miles per hour on
the road. The pump is designed and
built by the American Steam Pump
Co., Battle Creek, Mich.

Motor Driven Power Lift Scarifier

A scarifier attachment for the
Avery 10-ton road roller, designed for
operation by the power of the motor.

Avery Scarifier Attachment.

has been brought out by the Avery
Co., Peoria, 111. The teeth of the scari-
fier are raised or driven into the
ground by the motor power direct and
controlled by one lever. A suitable

reducing mechanism driven by a
clutch on the motor crank shaft drives
a crank shaft mounted under the aub-
frame of the machine through a tim-
ing clutch. This crank shaft drives a
rock shaft at the rear end of the ma-
chine through spring loaded pitman
rods, which raise or lower the teeth.
These springs act as shock absorbers
to the mechanism. Teeth are driven
into the ground by a toggle mechan-
ism under great pressure. The tooth
bar is 4 in. square steel turned down
at ends for 20 in. gauge wheels. The
teeth are carried in holders clamped
to square bar, are adjustable as to
side spacing, depth and angularity to
ground. Seven teeth of 1% in. square
tool steel, 32 in. long and pointed on
both ends are furnished. All pull
strains are taken on the draw bar.
When teeth enter ground 9 in., they
will clear 11 in. when lifted. The dis-
tance over gauge wheels is 83 in.

Barber-Greene Improve Vertical
Boom Ditcher

The view below shows the latest
form of vertical boom ditcher made by
Barber-Greene Co. of Aurora, 111.

[

J^^^

>-.>^

'4 w-M ^

\ ^^

-■ - - ••■"-I,"*

New Vertical Boom Ditcher at Work-

This carries several improvement, the
most noteworthy of which is the addi-
tion of carrying shoes which aid in
supporting the digging boom. These
are well illustrated in the picture.
They not only aid in supporting the
boom, but as may be seen they aid in
keeping the excavated materials from
falling back into the ditch.

The machine works to a depth of 5
ft. It is mounted on the standard
chassis of the Barber-Greene self-
feeding bucket loader. Power is sup-
plied by a 25 horsepower Buda engine
which gives it traveling speeds of 36
ft., 72 ft. and 144 ft. per minute and
a reverse speed of 42 ft. per minute.

412

Equipment Review

August,

A New Development in

Reinforced Concrete Construction

A new construction that combines
the self-maintaining feature of struc-
tural steel with the steel economy of
reinforced concrete has come into ex-
tensive use during the past year or so.
This method of reinforced concrete
construction — known as Truscon-I
construction — consists of a series of
I-beams with the top flange sheared
to form rigidly connected diagonals
extending into the concrete above.
The Truscon I's are thus integral with
the concrete, making a unit of rein-
forced concrete beam and slab. A

the forms, construction can be in-
stalled on two or three floors at one
time. The simplicity in placing the
forms, together with their early re-
moval, also adds to the speed of con-
struction. In an emergency the Trus-
con I-beams in themselves are strong
enough to carry the dead load without
failure, so it is practically impossible
to have a collapse with this type of ,
construction. The carrying capacity
of the I-beam by itself gives an added
strength which is ordinarily not com-
puted in the calculations. Due to the
fact that the I-beams carry the dead
load it is possible to remove the slab
forms in a comparatively short time,

Truscon-I Construction Before Concreting. Showing Truscon I's for Beams and Girders, and
Removable Truscon Steel Forms. Note that the Steel Forms are Suspended from the Truscon
I's and no Other Forms are Required.

complete system of removable steel
forms which are suspended from the
Truscon I's is provided. The Truscon
I's thus serve the double purpose of
providing supports for the forms until
the concrete is set and of rigid rein-
forcement for the completed rein-
forced concrete structure. The only
centering is usually one upright sup-
port at the center of the span. Trus-
con steel floretyles are also used with
Truscon I's and can be removed three
times before they are permanently in-
stalled in the construction. Owing to
the fact that the Truscon I's support

thus hastening construction and sav-
ing expense.

Tests made on full sized panels of
Truscon-I construction are stated to
have invariably developed a strength
much higher than would be expected
from calculations. The University of
Nebraska recently completed a test in
which failure was expected at about
22,000 lbs., based on conservative
methods of calculation. The beam
actually failed at 29,000 lb. In the
tests a stress of 64,700 lb. and 58,400
lb. per square inch was developed in
the steel.

1923

Equipment Review

413

A 1923 Improvement in Mixer

Construction

One of the interesting improve-
ments in concrete mixers this year is
the new device used on a 7-S mixer
made by The T. L. Smith Co. of Mil-
waukee, Wis., for operating the dis-
charge chute. The simplicity of this
mechanism is shown in the accom-
panying illustration. The operating
lever is pivoted to a short arm that is
keyed to the shaft to which the chute
is attached. When the operating lever
is moved, a small roller, attached to
the end of the lever, follows the out-
line of a cam that is bolted to the

to the other. The operator simply
takes hold of the handle and moves
the handle forward or backward, ac-
cording to the position of the chute.
By this new method the chute operates
easily and quickly.

Chute Discharge Mechanism for 7-S Smith Mixer.

mixer frame. Except for the rod
which extends across the mixer to en-
able the chute to be operated from
the other side, these few simple parts
constitute the complte discharge oper-
ating mechanism. In the illustration
the lever is shown in its extreme for-
ward position. The chute is locked
securely in the position for mixing
and where it in no way interferes
with the mixing action. Pushing the
lever back moves the chute into the

discharging position. In the full dis-
arge position the chute is locked and
les not have to be held. The pecu-
liar shape of the cam provides the
locking feature in each position, no

•ther arrangement being necessary.

Releasing the chute from either posi-

nn is merely a part of the operation

moving the chute from one position

The Hoar Underground Shovel

A power shovel for use under
ground or in surface operations where
loading space, selective loading, type
of carriage used or other reasons ex-
clude the standard steam shovel or
other form of loader, is manufactured
by The Hoar Shovel Co.. Inc.. of
Duluth, Minn.

With the exception
of the dipper stick ar-
rangement, this shovel
is a duplicate in meth-
od of operation of the
standard steam shovel.
General principle and
operating cycle are the
same, except that the
dipper stick to which
is attached the dipper,
is in three parts, the
carriage, which slides
on top of the frame, the
floating dipper stick
which furnishes the
leverage and the dou-
ble dipper stick, to
which is attached the
dipper proper. A lev-
erage of 15^ to 1 in-
sures ample capacity
using small power
units.

The standard No. 2

machine is designed

for operation in a 7 by

section. The shovel

high, 6 ft. long and

7 ft. tunnel
is 6 ft., ^ in.

weighs 6,000 pounds. In addition to
the leverage provided, a clean-up
radius of 7 ft. 6 in. is assured by the
use of the double dipper stick, a
further advantage provided being the
ability to dig below grade, possessed
by no other machine, as well as the
ability to follow a very uneven bot-
tom. Mounted on trucks and built to
any track gauge desired, it can be
stripped in a few minutes to pass
through a shaft or opening 42 in.
square.

With proper haulage system pro-
vided, a capacity of 200 tons per shift
in metallic ores, stone, etc., is possible
and is being readily accomplished, us-
ing one operator and one helper. The

414

Equipment Revieiv

August,

shovel is capable of loading a dead
weight of 2000 lbs.

Compressed air, usually available in
mining and tunnel operations, is used
as power, 300 cubic feet of free air
per minute, at 80 lb. pressure, being
ample.

The original machines have shown a
long life. One seven years old is still
functioning, minor repairs having
been made from time to time, but at
no time has it been necessary to re-
build the shovel, nor has it been re-
built.

1-Man Box Car Loader

A 1-man portable belt loader de-
signed for handling sand, gravel,
crushed rock, bulk lime, cement, etc.,
has been placed on the market by the
Ottumwa Box Car Loader Co., Ot-
tumwa, la. The loader has a large
front wheel with wide tread and two
large rear casters, resulting in easy
propelling. In fact, it is stated, due
to this arrangement, one man can
push the machine from place to place.
Another advantage claimed for the
loader is that the conveyor can be

ottumwa Portable Belt Loader

easily adjusted — raised or lowered as
desired. This makes it possible to
push the machine through a low door
with the conveyor end lowered. The
belt speed is stated to be 500 to 1,000
ft. per minute, depending on the ma-
terial to be loaded, and the capacity
is about 40 cu. ft. per minute. The
power required is about a 2 to 3 hp.;
electric motor or gasoline engine.

Portable Gyratory Crushing Plant

/ ml'' /m

Austin Portable Gyratory Crusher With GraVei

Feeding Conveyor, Grizzly Screen

and Elevator.

is substantial, and so arranged that
the power unit is located at right an-
gles with the plant where it is out of
the way of teams or cars bringing the
stone or gravel from the pit or quarry.
Numerous combinations of crusher,
elevator, screen and conveyor, each
adapting itself to some particular
local conditions are available. The
illustration shows the outfit for han-
dling gravel. It consists of a crusher,
portable gravel feeding conveyor,
grizzly screen, and folding elevator.
The conveyor is made in lengths from
30 to 50 ft. and has a belt 18 in. in
width. The lower end of the conveyor
is set in a shallow excavation and
a trap built over the hopper. The
gravel can then be brought directly to
the trap by wagons, wheelers, drags
or fresnos. The belt conveyor pro-
vides a uniform continuous feed to the
crusher, thereby greatly increasing its
capacity. The conveyor is raised and
lowered by means of a crank and
worm wheel raising device. It is easily
portable by attaching its lower end to
the rear of a truck or wagon. The
outfits described above are made by
the Austin Manufacturing Co., Chi-
cago, 111.

1923

Equipment Review

415

A Compact Utility Hoist

A four horsepower, non-reversing,
single drum, gasoline hoist, has been
placed on the market by the Clyde
Iron Works of Duluth, Minnesota.
The new machine is the smallest in
the Clyde line, being designed for a
load of 500 lbs. at single line at a
speed of 1-55 ft. per minute.

The hoist proper is built according

Clyde Iron Works Gasoline Utility Hoist.

to the standard Clyde design, with a
one-piece semi-steel bed frame of the
"skid" type. The drum gear meshes
directly with the motor pinion, elim-
inating the intermediate shaft. The
drum is bronze bushed and friction
driven and has a ratchet and pawl.
it has a large diameter barrel which
allows the rope to spool readily, not-
withstanding the light load. A winch
head is keyed to the drum shaft ex-
tension. Gearing is of semi-steel with
machine cut teeth. The Alemite sys-
tem of lubrication is used, with Ale-
mite industrial type grease cups.

The engine is a single cylinder 3%
X 4% in. Le Roi, hopper cooled. An
automatic governor controls the flow
of gasoline, which may be shut off
entirely by closing the gas valve. A
high-tension magneto, carburetor with
chake rod, muffler and 2% gallon
fuel tank ai-e included among the ac-
cessories. The engine is provided with

a highly efficient splash and pump cir-
culating system of lubrication, with
oil guage.

The light weight of the hoist and
the skid type base make it a very
portable unit which can be hauled
onto a truck under its own power.

The hoist is of sufficient capacity
to handle a single cage elevator and
small steel work or framework jobs.

Evinrude Portable High Pressure
Pump

This pump made by the Evinrude
Motor Co. of Milwaukee, Wis. was de-
signed primarily for use in fighting
forest fires, but has been adapted to
a wide variety of services including
private water supply, small fire de-
partments, and use on road and other
construction work. Its weight of 109^,2
lbs. and dimensions of 11^2x17x31 in.
are remarkably small for its pressure
and capacity. It will deliver 1500 gal-
lons per hour at a head of 277 ft.

The pump is of the gear type, es-
pecially designed for simplicity and
endurance. Extra long bearings insure
freedom from wear or leakage.

The power plant is directly con-
nected to the pump shaft by an Old-
nam coupling, insuring strength and
proper alignment. The engine is the
well known Evinrude 4-5 H.P., two
cylinder. The Evinrude Magneto —

Evinrude High Pressure Pump.

built-in-the-flyv\-heel type, furnishes
dependable ignition. Quick starting is
assured when cranking. Standard
equipment includes, besides the above,
high grade float carburetor, aluminum
base, spark plug covers, gasoline tank
and necessary tools. The tank capac-
ity is 1 1/3 gallons. Openings in the
base provide easy carriage on poles.

416

Equipment Review

August,

Steel Bin and Measuring Devices

On the majority of concrete road
contracts in the state of Wisconsin
the "batch haul by truck" method is
used to transport the aggregate from
the railway unloading point dumping
direct into skip of the mixer, thereby,
keeping the subgrade clear of all ma-
terials and eliminating the labor

Butler Measuring Hopper Dumping Into Batch
Trucks.

otherwise necessary in shoveling up
and wheelbarrowing into the mixer.

The accompanying view shows ag-
gregate being discharged from a steel
bin into trucks on Highway No. 12
near the city of Whitewater. This
bin, made by the Butler Equipment
Company of Waukesha, Wis., con-
tains separate compartments for sand
and gravel. In addition it is equipped
with a set of Butler Measuring De-
vices as shown.

Stoughton trucks with the bodies
divided into two compartments are
used to haul the aggregate from the
bin to the mixer. A 5-bag Koehring
Mixer is used to mix concrete on the
grade. The truck backs under the
bin and the front compartment is
loaded from the measuring devices
with the correct measured amount of
sand and gravel. It then i»;oves ahead
so that the rear compartment is under
the measuring devices and receives

the scond batch. One man on the
ground operates the levers and gates
on the measuring devices and loads
the two batches into the truck in less
than 30 seconds. The truck then
stops at the cement shed and receives
five bags of cement in each compart-
ment and then proceeds to the mixer.

The man at the bin has a tally sheet
to keep track of the number of
batches each truck hauls. Three hun-
dred and sixty-eight batches have
been loaded from this equipment in
one day.

The measuring devices can be at-
tached to a wood bin and are adjust-
able for any mix on the average pav-
ing mixer.

Two New Contractors' Barrows

The Akron Barrow Co. of Cleve-
land, Ohio, have developed and added
to their line two new wheelbarrows
for fireproofing and concrete and
masonry contractors. These comprise
a tile barrow and a mortar and con-
crete barrow, both designed to move
larger loads without additional strain

Mortar and Tile Barrows Developed by The
Akron Barrow Co.

on the operator. Both these barrows
were developed under actual working
conditions. On the Union Trust Co.
Building, Cleveland, the T. G. Nichol-
son Co. of Chicago found that their
men handled one-third more tile per
load with the new Akron barrow than
with previous equipment and did it
with less effort and greater speed. In

1923

Equipment Review

417

addition, the new barrows were easier
on crowded runways and platforms
and elevators and proved to have
longer life, due to greater thickness
of hardwood (full 1 in.) used in the
bed and dash.

The "Jumbo" mortar barrow has
capacity of full 4 cu. ft. of wet ma-
terial in wheeling position, and is
easily handled with that load.

Model R-6 Climax Engine

In designing this engine six 5\^ x 7
in. cylinders were decided upon as
fitting in best with the demand for an
engine of 80 to 120 H. P., the idea be-
ing that six cylinders of not too large
size would deliver a smoother and
better quality of power than a large,
slow speed, four cylinder engine.

The crankcase has a deep section
for strength and rigidity ; provides for
mounting the engine on flanges below

ra.

Climax Six Cylinder Engine.

the center line — a logical method of
mounting a large engine of this type,
which will be used chiefly in stationary
and semi-stationary service. This type
of mounting also makes it possible to
tise large hand holes in the upper half
of the crankcase, which makes the in-
terior very accessible. The arrange-
ment of the accessory drives is such
that they do not interef ere with this
accessibility.

Timing gears are mounted next to
the flywheel to secure quiet running
and lasting service. In this location,
they are not lashed by the torsional
vibration and whip of the crankshaft.
No idler gear is used in the timing
gear train, which, of course, simplifies
the construction.

Flywheel housing is detachable and
forms, also, a cover for the timing
gears. This construction permits of
changes to meet special requirements.

The oil pump is bolted to the crank-
case near the center and is a complete

unit. It is driven by means of a shaft
through spiral gears off the camshaft,
the driving shaft being also a complete
removable unit.

The oil pump discharges through a
drilled hole in the crankcase to a steel
manifold, which is bolted on the out-
side of the crankcase and which dis-
tributes oil through four drilled holes
to each of the main and camshaft
bearings. At the rear end of the mani-
fold is the relief valve for controlling
the pressure, the overflow from which '
passes through the crankcase and
spills over onto the timing gears. The
removable steel oil manifold makes a
simple and reliable construction, re-
quires fewer long drilled holes in the
crankcase and makes the entire system
easily cleaned.

The cylinder barrels are in the form
of renewable sleeves of the semi-float-
ing type. By this construction, a cyl-
inder wall of proper and uniform
hardness can be obtained and the wall
thickness can be maintained uniform-
ly, and thin enough to secure the de-
sired cooling. The cooling water comes
into direct contact with the cylinder
sleeves. With the semi-floating fea-
ture, the cylinder barrel does not tend
to go out of round under the influence
of temperature changes.

In an effort to keep the sides of the
engine clear for accessibility through
the hand holes, all of the accessories
are placed at the ends of the engine
and no lay shaft is used.

The water pump is driven by means
of a cross-shaft through helical gears
at the front end of camshaft. The
pump, including the shaft and bear-
ing, is a complete assembly which may
be removed as a unit. The governor
assembly, including the spring and
control linkage is also a complete unit.

The magneto bracket assembly is
compact and can easily be removed as
a unit. The assembly includes mag-
neto, battery distributor, drive shaft
and bearings, drive gear, governor fly-
balls, and the linkage for synchroniz-
ing the magneto and battery spark.

The ignition is an independent dual
system, battery and magneto. The
timing of the two distributors is syn-
chronized by special linkage so that
the engine may be operated with two
sparks, which is a decided advantage
in heavy duty engines. There are two
spark plugs per cylinder.

This engine is made by the Climax
Engineering Company, 2 West 18th
Ave., Clinton, Iowa.

418

Equipment Review

August,

Traction Wheel Mountings for
Railroad Type Steam Shovels

The Osgood Co., Marion, 0. has re-
cently built, and successful tests have
been made of traction wheel mount-
ings for one of the heaviest railroad
type steam shovels. The shovel, an Os-
good 120, 6 cu. yd. has heretofore been
mounted only upon standard railroad
trucks. On account of the time nec-
essary in laying track for moving the
shovel, railroad truck mountings were
slow in getting from one point to
another. This size shovel is much
used in big rock quarries and open
mines and usually when blasting oper-
ations were in progress it was nec-
essary to lay track and move the

slewing the rear axle and wheels in
the direction desired. The screw
shaft is operated by a separate re-
versible steering engine mounted
above deck alongside the boiler, out of
the way yet readily accessible. Re-
versing the engine causes traveling
nut to move in opposite direction.
The engine is controlled and steering
accomplished by means of a single
lever from the engineer's position in
the forward end of the cab.

In recent tests made in a large
Pennsylvania stone quarry the shovel
was moved a distance in one day that
under old track laying methods would
have required at least ten days.

The advantages claimed for traction

6 Cu. Yd. Shove] on Traction Wheels in Operation in Pennsylvania Quarry.

wheels over railroad trucks for large
railroad type steam shovels briefly
summarized are: greater mobility of
machine, elimination of pit crew, ea-
sier accessibility to face of excavation,
elimination of tracks and reduction of
side strains and racking to the ma-
chine in general. Traction wheels also
have a decided advantage over any
other type of mounting in that the
traction wheels are much less compli-
cated, simpler to operate and have a
much lower upkeep cost.

Some idea of the size of the shovel
can be gathered from a few figures.
The shovel has an over all length of
slightly more than 85 ft. and the over
all width is 20 ft. with a maximum
height over the cab of 15 ft. while the
bopm extends to a height of 32 ft.

1923

Equipment Review

4id

Mounted 24-Inch Symons Disc

Crusher

The machine here illustrated was
designed to meet the demand for a
portable crusher that would produce a
well graded product for repairing
macadamized roads. There are many
sections of the country where roads
have been completed and now require

A 25 hp. motor is ample for driving
the crusher and countershaft, the ac-
tual power requirements being 18 to
20 hp., when under full load. The
crushing faces are manganese steel,
and as they wear uniformly the same
character of product is produced
throughout the life of the crushing
members.

This crusher is made by Chalmers

Chalmers & Williams Portable Disc Crusher.

top dressing to keep them in condi-
tion, for which service there is use for
a crusher that can be easily trans-
ported from place to place and that
will re-crush either gravel or stone
up to about 2^/2 in. diameter and turn
out a well graded product \2 in. to
% in. with a certain percentage of
fine crushed rock and a small per-
centage of dust.

The Symons Disc Crusher has
proved to be an efficient machine for
this work. It is mounted on a sub-
stantially built steel truck on which
are also mounted countershaft, bear-
ings and pulleys.

It has been found in practice, that
I when the crusher is adjusted so that
! all of the product would be reduced
to pass a slot V2 in. in width, the
j capacity ranges from 10 to 15 tons
I per hour, depending upon the charac-
jter of material being crushed and the
jmethod of feeding. Fifteen tons can
peadily be secured, crushing gravel
[or limestone, provided the feed does

ot contain any pieces over 2% in.

iameter.

& Williams, Incorporated, Chicago
Heights, 111.

A New House Insulating Material

House insulation against heat, cold
and sound is a form of building
economy that is becoming more and
more popular. One of the latest de-
velopments in insulating material is
that of the Wood Conversion Co., Clo-
quet, Minn. For some years this com-
pany has been making an investiga-
tion with a view to determining some
way of improving the well recognized
heat insulating properties of natural
wood. It was reasoned that if wood
could be made lighter in weight and
more porous, so as to have a greater
volume of still air spaces, its natural
heat resistance would be increased. It
was along this line that research was
directed, with the result that a method
was discovered whereby a product
could be made from wood that
weighed only one-fifth as much as the
original wood and has numerably
more still air spaces. The woods used
primarily were white pine, spruce and

420

Equipment Review

August,

balsam. The natural weight of these
woods when thoroughly dry is about
20 to 25 lbs. per cu. ft. The new
heat insulating product made from
them weighs only 4 lbs. per cu. ft.
The process by which the natural
wood is converted into this new form
of heat insulation consists in first cut-
ting the wood into chips. The chips
are then placed in digesters and
cooked under pressure until they are
reduced to a pulp. The pulp is then
combed out so that the fibres are
separted one from another and in this
condition are chemically treated to
render them water or fireproof. The

Installing Balsam-Wool Insulation

pulp is then dried and passed through
shredding engines, which pick the
fibres apart and blow them through
distributing hoods against a moving
screen. This screen permits the air
to pass through it but catches the
fibres, which deposit themselves upon
the screen in the form of a blanket
1 in. or more in thickness. By this
method of deposition the fibres ar-
range themselves in all three cubical
dimensions and not in one plane, as
in the art of paper making. It is
because of this peculiar arrangement
of the fibres that the resulting prod-
uct is so light in weight and possesses
such a large number of still air
spaces. As the fibres are depositing
themselves upon the moving screen
they pass through an atmosphere of
adhesive. This causes the fibres to

be tacky or sticky when they strike
the screen. The screen then moves
through a dryer, where the moisture
in the adhesive and fibres is removed
and in this form the fibres are ce-
mented together into a porous sheet
or blanket. This blanket is then
passed between two moving sheets of
waterproofed kraft paper and is ce-
mented to the sheets by a thin film
of high melt point asphalt. The con-
tinuous ribbon thus formed is then
slit to the desired width and auto-
matically cut off to the desired length
and rolled into bundles. The bundles
ordinarily produced for house insula-
tion are of two widths — 16% in. and
32 in. — containing respectively 125
and 250 sq. ft. to the roll. The
weight of the finished product, includ-
ing the package, is under 250 lbs. per
sq. ft., V2 in. in thickness. A plant
has been constructed at Cloquet,
Minn., for manufacturing this new
house insulation and the product has
been given the trade name of "Bal-
sam-Wool."

Portable Bin With Screen

The bin illustrated herewith in its
lowered position for moving is made
by the United Iron Works of Kansas
City, Mo. When the bin is raised the
discharge spouts are at the proper
height for discharging into wagons.
Braced steel frames for supporting

'United" Portable Bin Ready to Move.

the bin in its raised position are
folded up and out of sight in the view
here shown. Lifting and lowering are
accomplished in a few minutes time
by blocks and tackles which are shown
in the picture.

1923

Equipment Review

421

Improved Hoisting Outfit

To add to the usefulness of heavy
duty hoisting outfits for contractors'
or constructors' use, the Novo Engine
Company, Lansing, Michigan, has per-
fected an independent clutch sheave
which is applied to their reversible
heavy duty type DH hoists.

The independent sheave is con-
trolled from the operating side of the
hoist, the operating lever being clear-
ly shown in the photograph below.
The sheave is mounted on the rear
drum shaft and is driven by a posi-
tive friction clutch. The clutch is of
the expanding ring type, turned to
size and peened to provide contraction
when released.

Reversing the direction of rotation

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IB^ '^,

Novo Hoisting Outfit With Independent Clntch
Sheave.

of the independent sheave is accom-
plished by a shifting lever above and
slightly back of the clutch sheave
shifter lever. It is unnecessary to
ilisengage the sheave clutch to reverse
the direction of rotation of the sheave,
as the intermediate shaft reverse
clutch will perform this function by
simply moving the shifter lever
toward or from the operator, as the
case may be.

A powerful brake, of the contract-
ing type controls the load, the same
foot pedal operating the rear drum
brake and the clutch sheave brake. A
ratchet locks the clutch sheave brake
in any position and is released by a
hand lever on the operator's side of
the hoist.

; "V" shaped hard maple friction
rings eliminate any possibility of oil
getting in the friction drive mechan-
ism of the drums proper. This fea-

ire is especially noteworthy, as the

V" shaped blocks furnish double the

riction surface obtainable with the

ordinary type of drum friction drive.

The drums are also controlled by con-
tracting brakes, foot operated.

Another improvement is in the
"screw thrust" mechanism operating
the drum frictions. A high carbon
steel thrust screw, hardened on the
thrust end, operates against a hard
bronze washer, which is interposed
between the thrust screw and drum
shifting collar mechanism, all of
which runs in a bath of heavy oil.
The oil is distributed over the parts
by means of dippers or arms on the
collar which is screwed and pinned on
the end of the drum shaft. This ar-
rangement provides a very sensitive
control, with the wear reduced to one
part, the hard bronze washer, which
is easily replaceable.

The photograph depicts the oper-
ator using both drums and the inae-
pendent clutch sheave. His left hand
is regulating the throttle of the 40
hp. Novo engine, his right hand the
front drum shifter lever. The oper-
ator is using but his thumb and fore-
finger to operate the drum shifter
lever.

The front drum of the hoist in this
picture is being used to raise a con-
crete bucket, the rear drum to hoist
lumber, while the independent sheave
is being used as a dragline to keep
the materials close to a concrete
mixer. The contractor and owner of
the hoist is the Anton Kettler Con-
struction Co., Omaha, Nebr.

Improvements in Guns for Air
Brush Painting

The air brush illustrated below has
air and material outlets entirely sepa-
rate. Air only enters the air cham-
ber— the paint, varnish or other

Model N, Paasche Air Brush.

material is supplied through another
outlet and release of trigger auto-
matically seals both outlets against
dripping and gumming with conse-
quent elimination of clogging. This
tool is manufactured by the Paasche
Air Brush Co., 1909-23 Diversey Park-
way, Chicago.

422

Equipment Review

August,

New 1 li Yd. Heavy Duty Steam
Shovel

The Osgood Co., Marion, 0., has
added another unit to its line of re-
volving steam shovels in the new 1^/4-
yd. heavy duty which is now ready for
the market. The l^A-yd. heavy duty
is of the full revolving type and has
incorporated in its construction the
standard Osgood features of proven
merit, such as horizontal hoisting en-
gines; submerged tube type vertical

Osgood l^A Yd. Heavy Duty Steam Shovel

boiler; centering gudgeon for con-
necting main body casting to path
gear; simplified continuous tread
mounting; power steering on both
continuous tread and traction mount-
ing; double geared shipper shaft; au-
tomatic trip rope tension, etc. The
hoisting, swinging and crowding en-
gines are of ample size and stroke to
furnish a surplus of power for all
ordinary uses. The entire machine is
designed for heavy work with over-
sized shaftings and large bearing
surfaces at points of great stress. The
hoisting and swinging units are as-
sembled above deck on the upper body
center member, a one-piece open
hearth steel casting. The truck frame
is a one-piece open hearth steel cast-
ing completely machined to take
either continuous tread, traction or
railroad trucks, all of which are read-
ily interchanged. The machine can
be equipped with high-lift boom or
trenching dipper, and is stated to be
especially adapted for use with clam-
shell or dragline bucket or as a crane.
The drums furnished for clamshell or
dragline equipment are of sufficient
power to operate the buckets with
single lines. In general design the
machine is modeled after the Osgood
%-yd. heavy duty machine.

Removable Teeth for Caterpillar

Wheel Save Time of Sprocket

Changing

The picture below shows a trench
machine caterpillar sprocket wheel
made with removeable teeth, so that
when it becomes worn the teeth may
be replaced without the necessity of
jacking up the machine and removing
the caterpillar units in order to re-
move the worn sprockets from the
shafts and replace them with new
ones. The center of the new wheel
is not subject to wear, and therefore
remains in place when once installed.
The teeth are easily changeable while
all other parts in the caterpillar re-
main in place.

A second feature of the wheel is
the provision of sets of teeth in two
sizes — the first a small size for use
when the chain is new, and the second
a larger set to provide for the elong-
ation of the chain through wear. One
of the larger teeth is shown in the

New Caterpillar Sprocket Wheel.

lower right hand corner of the pic-
ture, and shows clearly the extra
thickness of the rim section which af-
fects the circumferential pitch and
takes up the looseness of the worn
chain. This greatly increases the use-
ful life of the chain.

The new wheel is made by the In-
land Engineering Co., 6 North Michi-
gan Ave., Chicago. Mr. R. C. Rora-
beck, Consulting Engineer was the de-
signer.

1923

Egtiipment Review

423

Improved Haiss Loader

The creeper path-digging loader
here illustrated presents several re-
cent improvements over its predeces-
sors. It is now equipped wnth a 37
hp. gasoline engine, enclosed trans-
mission box, clutches running in oil,
and the transmission is equipped with
a differential as hea\y as that used in

<^^

Haiss Creeper Path Digging Loader.

a 5-ton motor truck. The creeper
links have been materially improved,
having been made heavier and are so
designed that the wedged tooth
sprocket which drives the link pushes
any dirt that may get into it out on
either side. The creeper links are
overlapping and are of 35 carbon steel
electric made by the Sivyer Steel
Casting Co. of Milwaukee.

The mechanism of the Haiss pa-
tented slow speed crowding device has
been improved, and this device crowds
the Loader into the material at a
speed of 24 in. a minute. The eleva-
tor is now equipped with a raising
and lowering device consisting of
sheer legs actuated through a gear
and worm operated by the operator.
One man can raise and lower the ele-
vator, and this device is especially val-
uable when working on uneven ground

vhere it is desired to raise or lower

he elevator an inch or two.

An improvement on the Loader con-

|iists of long side guards nearly the

itire length of the elevator which

prevents any material that may spill
from the buckets from dropping on

'le operator.

WTiile the machine has a rated ca-
pacity of l*/2 yds. per minute, tests
m.ade by the City of New York with
their machine show that it has loaded
as high as 3 yds. in 55 seconds.

The engine is a Waukesha type de-
veloping 37 hp. at 1000 r.p.m. It is
equipped with an air cleaner, mag-
netor, inbuilt governor, and very sim-
ple controls. The machine is operated
by one man who stands on the plat-
form built on the left side of the ma-
chine. The propelling speed is 100
ft. forward, 60 ft. reverse and 24 in.
a minute into the pile.

This machine is made by the George
Haiss Manufacturing Co., Inc., of
New York City.

New Tractor Hoist

A new tractor hoist designed for
use in the oil fields and for all kinds
of industrial hoisting work within its
capacity, has been brought out by the
Twin City Co., Minneapolis, Minn.
For oil field work, its principal use
is for pulling pump rods, tubes, and
casings and for driving the bull gear

Twin City Tractor Hoist,

in the derrick off a sprocket provided
on the hoist drum shaft. It is equip-
ped with the positive reverse and the
drum is so designed that it will be
allowed to spin free when lowering
operations are in progress. For in-
dustrial work, the tractor hoist may

424

Equipment Review

August,

be used for such work as pile driv-
ing, hoisting material on construction
work, land clearing and stump pull-
ing, and it may be used on any kind
of hoisting commonly done with
steam. A simple pipe frame work can
be furnished for handling sections of
industrial railroad tracks used in
building concrete highways. Assem-
bled sections of industrial track, 30
ft. long, can be handled by three men
and the tractor hoist can be used for
moving loaded cars forward over
freshly laid track as the work
progresses. The tractor hoist has a
pull of 5000 lb. at 160 ft. per min-
ute on a single line and a lowering
speed of 232 ft. per minute. It is
equipped with double brakes capable
of holding a full load with ease.

Details of De Laval Centrifugal

Pump

The section below shows the small,
single stage centrifugal pump made in
1 in. and 2 in. sizes by De Laval
Steam Turbine Co. of Trenton, N. J.
In this design very little wear comes
on the main parts of the pump, prac-

Scctional View of De Laval Pump.

tically all wear being taken by small
and easily replaceable parts. The
large bearings, heavy shaft, guide
bearings, and the arrangement of the
packing gland all insure long life,
and at the same time, if the parts
do become worn they can be easily and
quickly replaced. Each part is man-
ufactured to limit gages and after
manufacture it is again gaged be-
fore going to the store room. No hand
fitting of any kind is permitted dur-
ing the assembly of the pump, thus
insuring that all parts will be per-

fectly interchangeable, and eliminat-
ing the annoyance and expense of
fitting repair parts.

The impeller, which is of the en-
closed tj'pe, is designed to give high
efficiency, and is accurately balanced
dynamically and hydraulically. The
leakage joint, where the impeller runs
close to the casing, is in the form of
a wide sealing ring, to reduce leakage
and insure long life. The large clear-
ance between impeller and casing ren-
ders unnecessary accurate adjustment
of the position of the shaft. The shaft
is of large size, providing rigidity to
resist vibration and large area for the
bearings. A machined thrust collar is
attached to the shaft to maintain
endwise adjustment and also acts as
an oil slinger to prevent loss of oil
from the bearing. The oil well is of
large size to permit settling of dirt
from the oil. There is an opening for
cleaning, and a convenient oil indica-
tor for determining the height of the
oil. A cast iron cover permits in-
spection of the bearing and oil ring.
Adjacent to the impeller is a guide
bushing made of bronze. The bore is
reamed and the outside is ground to
gage. This bushing is lubricated by
the water, but is also equipped for
grease lubrication where desired. It
adds greatly to the life of the running
parts as it avoids overhang and vibra-
tion of the shaft and wear of pack-
ings and destruction of the main bear-
ing. The stuffing box, which is sepa-
rate from the guide bushing, is extra
deep and allows the packing to be run
loose, insuring long life to both pack-
ing and shaft. It is relieved of all
strain by the guide bushing.

New Atlas Gelatin

1923

Equipment Review

425

Non-Jacketed Fire Hydrant

The Waterous Fife Engine Co. of
St. Paul, Minn, has recently brought
out a non-jacketed fire hydrant, a
sectional view of the base of which
is g^ven herewith. The new hydrant
is of the compression type, and is
thoroughly non-freezing in spite of
its jacketless design.

The hydrant spindle nut mechanism
is not exposed to water, thus eliminat-

Details of Drain of New Wateroas Hydrant.

ing possibility of freezing during the
winter. The packing gland is below,
i thus eliminating water and moisture.
This also permits lubricating; insur-
ing an easy operating hydrant. Should
threads become stripped, due to abuse
or ignorance, the hydrant will auto-
matically shut itself off. It is also
possible to open valve even with
thread stripped.

The number of moving parts is
-^niall, and there are no toggle motion,
otter pins or wedging actions.

The drain consists of a cylindrical
plunger which moves in exact syn-
ichronism with the hydrant valve spin-
dle. This plunger performs its func-
tions as follows: When the hydrant

is opened the drain plunger moves
downward with the valve spindle and
overrides the circular drain opening,
absolutely sealing and preventing
water from escaping at this location.
Likewise, when the hydrant is closed
the plunger moves upward and at the
instant the valve closes the plunger
uncovers the circular drain opening,
permitting the hydrant to quickly free
itself from water.

Motor Pick-Up Street Sweeper

The illustration below shows the
latest development in street cleaning
equipment made by the Foamite-
Childs Corporation, of Utica, New
York. The exclusive features most
emphasized by the manufacturers are
the automatic gutter broom which
sweeps clean to the curb, and the con-
venience of control of all main parts
from the driver's seat. Other speci-
fied advantages are as follows:

Large rear broom so designed that
wear automatically shortens distance
between broom and conveyor.

Broom stops when shear pins break,
making it impossible to foul the con-
veyor.

A non-clogging type of conveyor of
larger carrying capacity. No choking
on heavy sweepings.

Foamite-Childs Motor Pick-Up Sweeper.

Conveyor has a removable bottom,
easily replaced.

A straight-side hopper, without
shelves or bridges to hold back the
sweepings when dump is operated.

Only six drive chains on the entire
machine, including the conveyor.
Half the usual number of chains.

All mechanical parts are more ac-
cessible.

Sweeper will operate while machine
stands still.

Working speed, nine (9) miles per
hour.

Improved water sprinkling system.

426

Equipment Review

August,

The Westco-Chippewa Rotary
Pump

The character and arrangement of
parts of the rotary pump made by
the Westco-Chippewa Pump Co. (for-
merly the Western Pump Co.) of
Davenport, Iowa, are well illustrated
in the cut herewith.

This pump has but one moving part
— a circular disc, or wheel, called the
impeller. It is fastened to the shaft
and has a certain determined number
of blades on each side of the outer
rim. The impeller, rotating at high
velocity in the water channel, causes
the water to be drawn by powerful

Wcstco Chippewa Pump Opened to Show
Impeller.

suction from the source of supply and
discharged under pressure at the out-
let.

As the water is taken in at the
periphery and discharged at the peri-
phery, it is apparent that the Westco
pump is entirely different from
the centrifugal type, which takes the
water in at the center and discharges
it by centrifugal force to the outlet
at its circumference.

Most Westco pumps are directly
connected by means of a flexible coup-
ling from shaft to electric motor. The
shaft revolves in two bearings. The
only parts subject to wear are these
bearings, which will give years of
service, but are so constructed that
they can be easily replaced, if neces-
sary.

The majority of Westco pumps are
made for standard 1800 r.p.m. electric
motors, which generally operate un-
der a full load speed of 1750 r.p.m.
However, they are also made for belt
connections to gas engines, electric
motors, and line shafts.

Bucyrus Improves Heavy Duty
Shovel

The 320-B revolving shovel replac-
ing the 225-B shovel has recently been
brought out by The Bucyrus Company
of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The 320-B in general is a heavier
and more powerful shovel than the
225-B. It retains features character-
istic of its predecessor, chief among
which may be mentioned the follow-
ing:

The deep box girder type revolv-
ing frame, which provides the most
rigid possible support for the ma-
chinery, with the least possible num-
ber of connections and rivets.

Short rear end radius which per-
mits the shovel to work in deeper cuts
and to be placed closer to the bank.

The characteristic box girder type
boom with outside dipper sticks,
which is a Bucyrus patent. This type
of boom is designed to withstand the
heavy bending and twisting strains of
digging, while affording minimum
weight for a given strength. The
one part hoist, besides being an effi-
cient means of transmitting power
from the engines to the dipper, makes
the shovel very fast in action. It is
never forced in maintaining a work-
ing speed of a cycle in 45 seconds and
has a surplus power to be speeded up
if an occasional demand arises.

The boom has been made extra long-
between the shipper shaft and the
sheave at the point of the boom. This
not only increases the leverage of the
hoist rope, resulting in greater dig-
ging power, but greatly reduces the
work for the boom engines, lessens
the power thrust in the dipper sticks
and the heavy ware on the racks and
pinions.

Another feature is the large scale
chamber boiler set crosswise. The
scale chamber feature permits mud
and sediment to collect in this cham-
ber instead of on the crown sheet
and in the water legs. The method
of setting the boiler crosswise makes
it more convenient for the fireman,
and means also a less exposed crown
sheet when digging or moving on a
grade.

The mechanical equalizer is abso-
lutely fool-proof and reliable.

The trucks are placed directly un-
der the corners of the base, 30 feet
apart each way. They are of the
three-point type, extremely flexible
and distribute the loads evenly over

1923

Equipment Review

421

all four wheels. With this type of
truck it is possible to use 100 lb. rails.
This new machine weighs 625,000
lbs. in shipping condition, and with
an 85 foot bottom, may be equipped
with a 58 foot dipper handle and a 6
cubic yard dipper, holding IM cubic
yards when heaped, or a 54 foot han-
dle with a 7^/2 cubic yard dipper,
which can hold 8% cubic yards of
material. It may be had as a drag-
line excavator and may be operated
either by steam or electricity.

New Shank and Bit Punch

To meet the demand for a device
to punch holes when shanking and
bitting hollow drill steel, the Inger-
soll-Rand Company, 11 Broadway,
New York, now has on the market a
new type of machine for this pur-

"IRLP" Shank and Bit Punch.

pose, known as the "IRLP" Shank
and Bit Punch.

Realizing that some would desire a
punch as part of their sharpener,
while others would prefer to have the
punching machine as a separate in-
dependent unit, the manufacturer has
produced this new type of punch in
two patterns.

(1) The attached to sharpener pat-
tern which can be attached to any of
their No. 4, 5 and 50 Sharpener.

(2) The pedestal pattern, which is
an independent, self-contained ma-
chine with pneumatic clamp, mounted
on its own substantial cast iron ped-

\ estal base.

Special features which the manu-
facturer claims for this pimch are:

(1) Simplicity of design and opera-
tion.

(2) Automatic centering.

(3) Clamping capacity.

(4) Sturdiness.

(5) Compactness.

The pimch is very compact. The
attached-to-sharpener pattern weighs
but 227 lbs. No extra floor space is
needed for this type. The pedestal
type weighs 610 lbs and requires a
floor space of 2 ft. 6 in. by 4 ft. 6 in.

The entire punch is under single
lever control. By holding this hand
lever forward, compressed air is ad-
mitted to a hammer cylinder and by
a series of rapid hammer blows, the
hammer cylinder with punching pin
attached is moved forward, thus
punching a hole in the drill steel
shank or bit which is held firmly in
position by the clamping device.

To remove the pin from the drill
steel it is only necessary to release
the hand lever. Springs attached to
this lever return it to its normal posi-
tion, whereby air is admitted to the
opposite end of the hammer cylinder
and the pin is withdrawn by a series
of hammer blows. It will be seen that
this hammering action will have a
good eff'ect on the drill steel for me-
chanical hammering or working of
the steel will increase the strength.

The centering device assures holes
which are centrally located and, ac-
cording to the manufacturer, will
eliminate the chief cause for break-
ing water tubes. This device is auto-
matic in action and will accommodate
any shape of steel % in. to 1^4 in. in
diameter.

The clamping of the steel for the
attached-to-sharpener pattern is done
by the sharpener crosshead and with
the IR-50 sharpener, the clamping
pressure is 14^/2 tons at the 100 lb.
air pressure. In the pedestal type,
the clamping jaws are operated thru
a toggle arrangement and the clamp-
ing pressure is much greater than
will ever be required. This assures
the steel being held rigidly in position
while the hole is being punched.

All parts subject to wear are spe-
cially heat treated to give maximum
standing up qualities. All parts are
manufactured within limit gauges
and the machines are constructed on
the interchangeability system.

428

Equipment Review

August,

Portable Screening Outfit

The equipment here shown was de-
signed especially for maintenance
work by its makers, the Beach Manu-
facturing Co. of Charlotte, Mich.

It is built entirely of steel, the body
of which is only 9 ft. long and 4 ft.
wide and when folded down can be
run into a common box car. It will

The Beach Screen.

take wet, sticky gravel or material out
of the water and screen it and do a
satisfactory job. It also works well
as a washing plant. The screened
material is picked up by an elevator
and put either into a truck or bin.
The capacity of the machine is from
three to four hundred yards per day.
It is built light, is on trucks and can
be moved readily from point to point.

They will pull one 8-ft. Road Grader
weighing 3,000 lbs.

They will pull one Miami Trailer
with a load of 3 tons net.

They will pull two 17^/^ cu. ft. wheel
scrapers in tandem.

They will pull a large size Road or
Contractors plow.

They will pull any size Road Rooter.

They will travel about 2^/^ mi. per
hour in second speed when hauling a
load and not slip.

They will travel about 1 mi. per
hour in low speed when hauling a me-
dium load.

They will plow 1% acres per hour
with three 14-in. bottom plows.

They will haul loads of 3 to 5 tons
up grades of 15 to 25 per cent.

They will travel over sand or muck
where wheels cannot go.

They will turn as short as a regular
wheel type tractor.

They will operate on the Fordson
only.

They will not pack plowed ground
like wheel type tractor.

Rigid Rail Tracks for Fordson

The accompanying cut shows a rigid
rail crawler made by The Hadtield-
Penfield Steel Co., of Bucyrus, Ohio,
attached to a Fordson tractor. This
attachment is especially designed for
adaptation to the Fordson. The parts
are a minimum in number. The track

National Junior Hoist

The illustration herewith shows the
double drum hoist made by National
Hoisting Engine Co. of Harrison, N.
J. The name "National Junior" is
also applied to the single drum unit.
These are small hoists built for all-
round service. Four-cylinder Le Roi
engines furnish the power.

The ratchet ring is replaceable so
that breaks in that quarter cause a

Fordson Equipped with Hadfield-Penficld Rigid
Rail Crawler.

links are manganese steel castings, in-
terlocking when on the ground to form
a smooth, rigid track.

The power and abilities of these ma-
chines are listed as follows:

They will increase the drawbar pull
of the Fordson from 50 to 100 per
cent.

National Junior Hoist.

minimum of inconvenience and ex-
pense. Drum bearings are bronze
bushed. There is a self-oiling pin and
screw thrust. The clutch is of the
double-cone friction type. The hoist,
as shown, is mounted on skids, but
swinging gears can be provided. The
single drum unit is designed for the
addition of a second drum, easily at-
tached is desired.

1923

Improvements in Humdinger
Pump

The Ralph B. Carter Company, 152
Chambers St., New York Cityr have
recently improved their well-known
'•Humdinger" pump by changes in the
valve chamber design, which make the
valves interchangeable. These valves
are very readily accessible, and ease
of clean-out has been made a prime
end, thus reducing to a minimum the
delays from the ine\'itable obstruc-
tions on many classes of work. The
valve chamber cover is held in place
by a yoke and hand wheel, by which
arrangement it is stated that the
chamber can be opened and obstruc-
tions removed in about 30 seconds.

This unit was designed to fill the
need of a diaphragm pump for a wide
range of work under varying condi-
tions. Power transmission is from

Equipment Review

429

Humdinger Pump on Truck.

the engine or motor to an intermediate
gear and thence through a double pin-
ion to two large crankshaft gears on
the rack proper. This eliminates any
side play in the walking beam action.
The closed discharge of the Hum-
' linger makes it especially suitable for
lanhole pumping without the neces-
ty of temporary trough construction,
and adapts it to the pumping of cess-
pools and all similar work. It also
makes the pump a satisfactory unit
for deep excavation pumping. It is
stated that discharge can be made to
heights of about 30 ft.

Improved Garbage Wagon

George H. Holzbog & Bro., Jeffer-
sonville, Ind., makers of sanitary
garbage vehicles, have added to their
line the steel-bodied wagon here
shown, designed especially for the
.handling of "mixed garbage" — that is

both wet and dry garbage in one
vehicle. This wagon is built for two
horses and has a capacity of about
3 cu. yd. of liquid matter. Of course,
where dry rubbish is hauled, this can

HolzboK Seel Garbage Wagon.

be heaped up to the top of the side
wings, thereby increasing the ca-
pacity. It is built with open top,
though if desired to cover the contents
the wagon can be equipped with ridge
pole and braces so that a canvas cover
may be thrown across the top.

Fresno With Improved Details

While the Fresno scraper remains
an essentially simple machine, im-
provements in detail are not impos-
sible. The Stockland Road Machinery
Co. of Minneapolis, Minn., has added
the following features to the Fresno
made by it — an angle iron facing to
the cross, or leveling bar which pro-
tects this bar agains splintering or
excessive wear; extra heavy, full

Stockland Fresno With Improvements.

length bowl shoes; handle braces at-
tached through the bowl at a point
where the bowl is reinforced by angle
irons or runner shoes which is of
particular interest to the contractor
as it protects the bowl against tearing
out of the handle when being used
in extremely hard work by two men.

430

Equipment Review

August,

Lumber Dumping Trailmobile

The "Lumber Dumping Trailmo-
bile" here shown is one of seven
models, the general features of which
were described in Engineering & Con-
tracting for May 30, 1923. This one
is Model "Z-5-J," and is of 5 ton ca-
pacity. The tongue which rests on
the housing of the tractor is carried
on spring suspension at the platform
Qf the Trailmobile. This important

by the tilting frame. This frame
comes practically down to ground
level so that there is only a few
inch^' drop to the load, and conse-
quently no damage to the lumber.

By putting a block under the wheel
of the Trailmobile and starting the
tractor, the frame rights itself and
automatically locks. (This can also
be accomplished with the brake on
the Trailmobile, if care is taken to

Lumber Dumping Trailmobile.

feature relieves the tractor and load
of the road shocks and vibration
which result from hauling heavy ton-
nages. The regular equipment as il-
lustrated includes steel bridge for
rear axle of Fordson; draw-bar; steel
chassis frame with stout wood floor
full length; stake pockets and stakes;
hand-operated brake for service or
emergency.

Directions for operating are as fol-
lows:

Release the frame lock by moving
the handle at the side of the frame;
roll the load back by means of the
ratchets and the rollers on the rear
platform until the weight of the load
overbalances the tilting frame. Then
the end of the load comes gently down
against the ground. Drive slowly
forward, and the forward end of the
load slides down the incline formed

see that the brake pawl is not en-
gaged.)

The makers are The Trailmobile
Company of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Simple Attachment to Fordson
Furnishes Belt Power

A device made by the Dallman Ma-
chine Co., 919-935 Winnebago ,St.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and known as
the "Smith Unit" adapts the Fordson
tractor to the furnishing of powe
for general purposes. This unit i
bolted in place, and once attached,
need not be removed. It is started
and stopped by a simple pull of the
locking lever, and there is not even
a necessary stopping of the engiiu'
when a change of use is made from
hauling to power supply or vice versa.

The Smith Unit does not change the
pulley speed. A pull of the lever
slides the sleeve enclosing the idling

1923

Equipment Review

431

pulley shaft, well on to the splined
live drive shaft, locking the two firmly
for rigid power transmission. When
the lever is pushed in the sleeve
slides back releasing the idling shaft.
In either position the unit is effectu-
ally locked by a hea\'y movable cot-
ter-pin— easily renewed if misplaced.
No matter how great the vibration
there is absolutely no chance of jar-

S«ctionaI View of Smith Unit.

ring into or out of mesh. The spiral
beveled gear is always in mesh, there-
by protecting both the tractor and the
unit against damage from possible
misengagement.

The Smith Unit comes complete
with a special laminated composition
pulley. The two pulley bearings, one
at either end, are interchangeable
with the bearings used on the Ford-
son tractor itself. They run in a con-
stant bath of oil from the crank case.

This Unit makes it very easy for
the contractor who owns a Fordson
to shift from drawbar or hauling
work to belt jobs.

Improved Rex Mixers

Chain Belt Company, Milwaukee,
manufacturers of Rex Concrete Mix-
ers and Pavers have recently an-
nounced nev/ Rex Mixer Models, Nos.
234 and 237. The new machines are
notable for fast charging and dis-
charging. It takes but 8 seconds to
discharge the Rex mixing drum on
these models, and on the Rex 234 the
charging skip can be raised in 5 sec-
onds.

The machines are equipped with
several new and distinctive features

including a self-contained counter-
shaft supported by self-aligning bear-
ings, a new chain take-up feature, au-
tomobile type clutches and a very
short wheel base. The entire machine
is unsually compact in design, making
it an easy machine to handle in close
quarters as well as in the open. The
design of the blades and buckets has
been changed so as to effect faster
handling of all consistencies of con-
crete.

The Rex 237 is equipped with an 8
hp. LeRoi 2-cyl. hopper-cooled engine,
while a Novo engine is standard equip-
ment on the 234.

Attachment Converts Fordson to

Track Locomotive

The illustration following shows a
Fordson tractor converted into a loco-
motive rimning on rails by means of
a device made by the Adamson Motor
Cornpany of Birmingham, Ala. This
attachment is built for use in coal
mines, ore mines, quarries, brick
yards, cement plants, saw mills, sugar
plantations and other industries. It
is most flexible and economical to
operate and is low in first cost.

A Fordson Tractor may be set into
the Adamson or changed back into its

Fordson Converted to Locomotive by Adamson
Attachment.

original form, in three hours, with-
out impairment of the tractor. All
parts are built standard, the different
gauges being accommodated in the
changes of the wheels.

The machine is provided in either of
two gears — standard or a special part
gear. Handling capacities of the
standard gear operating on suitable
rail at level grade are — High, 34.7
gross tons; Intermediate, 104.2 gross
tons; Low, 158.0 gross tons; Reverse,
86.9 gross tons.

432

Equipment Review

August,

An All-Steel Road Maintenance
Scraper

The Root Spring Scraper Co. of
Kalamazoo, Mich., is the maker of the
road scraper here shown attached to a
truck.

The truck equipped with scraper
can be backed up by raising the
scraper and backing the truck, thereby
perfecting any bad pieces of road
without having to turn around.

By reason of a long chassis it does
away with waves or uneveness of the
road, having a planing effect and be-
cause of springs the scraper cannot

Root Spring Scraper Attached to Truck.

be fouled or truck stalled, thereby
eliminating all danger of damage or
crystalization that might occur in a
solid or rigid machine.

As a snow remover it works well.

With a slow-going machine, wind-
rows of snow are formed on each side
of the road. Snow being blown across
the road, lodges and fills up the space
between the rows, which in time have
to be removed by hand. The only
way this can be avoided is by a last-
moving machine that deposits the
snow on level or far enough away to
avoid the above conditions. Six to
eight inches of snow can be handled
at a speed of 15 to 25 miles per hour.

The scraper-blade is 10 ft. long and
is made of high carbon spring steel,
8 in. by % in. with extra strip of
high carbon steel, oil-tempered, 3 in.
by ^/4 in. on the lower or cutting edge
to prolong the life of the blade, which
is practically the only part of the
scraper that is subjected to hard wear.
This strip is so made that when one
edge is worn off, it can be turned
over and the other edge used, thus
giving you practically two blades in
one.

The principle of this scraper, the

spring, is not a new one. This same
principle replaced the old spike-tooth
drag. The springs are 6 in. wide and
^/4 in. thick, made to withstand the
strain to which they are subjected
when the truck is moving at a fast
rate of speed.

The scraper, 10 ft. long, is mounted
between the wheels of the truck on an
angle of 45 ° across the body of same,
and is operated by a windlass double
rachet wheel and chain running in a
12 in. shive on scraper shaft. The
top of hanger board is mounted to
frame or bracket, 21 in. above the
ground. The ends of chain are fas-
tened opposite each other on the staff ;
one holds the scraper up out of com-
mission, the other holds it to its work
with any pressure desired.

Tar and Asphalt Heater for

Mounting on Trailer

Chassis

A tar and asphalt heater designed
for mounting on an army trailer
chassis has been placed on the market
by Littleford Bros., 453 East Pearl
St., Cincinnati, 0. The kettle of this
heater has a capaicty of 300 gal. All
seams are electric welded. A 2-in.
draw-off valve is provided on each
side. The cover is arranged with a

Littleford Trail O Heater in Service at a Cen-
tral Mixing Plant for Kentuclcy State
Highway Dept.

warming hood under which a barrel
of tar or asphalt may be placed for
draining. The furnace shell completely
surrounds the kettle. It is supported
on each side and bolts securely to the
chassis frame. A large fire box, with
an improved type of fire door and re-
newable grate bars, is conveniently
located at the rear. It is provided
with a large ash pit and draft control
door.

1923

Equipment Review

433

Oil Burning Tool and Surface
Heaters

The Chausse Oil Burner Co., 206
Lincoln Building, Detroit, Mich., is
the maker of the machines shown in
the two accompanying cuts. They
burn either kerosene or distillate, and
are therefore without ashes or sparks.
They are also practically smokeless
and are not affected by wind or rain.

The tool heater can be set going
full blast in less than 5 minutes, and
will bring 14 or 15 cold tools to proper
heat in 15 minutes. Its two tanks
hold 36 gallons which is sufficient for
12 hours continuous burning at max-
imum heat> or a cost of about 27c
per hour. As it is frequently unnec-
essary to use all burners full on, this
amount can be appreciably reduced.

The dimensions of 'Model A-4, with
solid rubber tires, Timken bearings
and artillery wood wheels (Model A-1
has plain bearings and iron spoke,
iron rim wheels) are as follows:

Weight 1200 lbs.

Tread 54 in.

Width over all 62 in.

Length, including tongue 9 ft.

Size of fire chamber 44x36x12 in.

Fuel capacity 36 gallons

The surface heaters are portable,
and made in two sizes. Model B-1 has
heating chamber 6 ft. square and can
resurface 500 to 600 square yards in
an 8-hour day, heating to a depth of
one inch. Two men and one machine

Tool Heater Model A-4.

%in replace four hand-choppers.
Model B-4 has surface heating space
3x6 ft. and a capacity of 250 to 300
square yards in 8 hours, to depth of
one inch. This depth is reached in
four to five minutes. Model B-4 was
especially designed for work along
street car tracks and it will operate
right along the rail head without
stopping cars.

Both machines fold up so that they
m be readily hauled. They are

mounted on springs to minimize road
shocks and to prevent jars from loos-
ening pipe connections. The maximum
burning period on one filling of tanks
with burners on full blast is 8 to 10
hours for Model B-1 which has six
burners, and is 20 to 22 hours on
Model B-4 which has three burners.
Model B-6 is a rut heater designed
to expeditiously repair ruts made by
heavy vehicles, cracks and places

Surface Heater Model B-1 Ready to Operate.

where pavements have been opened to
reach underground pipes. The pan is
6 ft. long and 9 in. wide and with
one man about 72 sq. yds. of pave-
ments can be resurfaced in an 8-hour
day, or as much as two or three men
usually do in hand chopping ruts.

Data on the surface heaters are as
follows :

Model Model Model
B-1 B-4 B-6

Size heating pan 6x6 ft. 3x6 ft. 6 ft.x9 in.

Fuel Capacity 48 gal. 60 gal. IS gal.

Maximum burning.. 15 hrs. 25 hrs. 10 hrs.

Weight _ 1200 lbs. 900 lbs. 300 lbs.

Tread 54i^ in. 48 in. 30 in.

Length fided 10 ft. 9 ft. 10 ft.

Length unfolded 15 ft

Width unfolded 7 ft

Small Reflector for Industrial
Lighting

The National X-Ray Reflector Com-
pany has developed the reflector here
illustrated to meet the needs of a new

New Mill Type X-Ray Reflector.

lamp. It is called the "mill" and
is of a sturdy round bulb design to be
used where there is a jar or vibration.
It completely hides the brilliant fila-
ment of the lamp and is designed es-
pecially for localized industrial light-
ing.

484

Equipment Review

August,

Pacific Type Oil Burning Sand
Drier

The Pacific Type oil burning sand
drier here shown is manufactured by
Warren Brothers Company, Boston,
Mass., and furnished in connection
with new asphalt plant installations as
well as for use in connection with
existing paving plants.

This drier embodies improvements
in sand drying equipment, involving a
high degree of efficiency and a mini-
mum of upkeep and operating cost.
It is sold under a guaranteed capacity

plete on a substantial steel I-beam
frame, the axis of the drier being hori-
zontally parallel with the frame, and
the entire outfit placed at the proper
pitch to afford the necessary rate of
travel of the sand from the cold end
to the discharge end.

Heat is furnished by burning ordi-
nary low gravity fuel oil, which is
pumped to the burners by the chain
driven rotary pump, the oil being va-
porized at the burners by live steam
from the plant boiler.

The combustion chamber involves a
novel arrangement which permits

Pacific Type Sand Drier.

to dry and heat twenty tons per hour
of sheet asphalt sand or equivalent.

This drier is furnished equipped
with driven ring gear, driving pinion
and pinion shaft, cold sand elevator,
cold sand elevator drive and a fuel
oil pumping system consisting of a
chain driven rotary fuel oil pump,
pressure gauge, relief valve and two
fuel oil burners, which burners operate
in connection with a cylindrical steel
fire brick lined combustion chamber.
There are also furnished an exhaust
fan and dust piping to connect the fan
with the drier.

The entire drier is mounted corn-

turning it when desired on the grooved
trunnion wheels which support it, this
arrangement providing for a greatly
prolonged term of service of the fire
brick lining, as when some particular
spot in this lining may have become
unduly affected it is only necessary to
revolve the chamber slightly in either
direction to such a point as will bring
the less affected part of the brick lin-
ing into service. The combustion
chamber is also equipped with a per-
forated air regulating damper.

Another feature of this drier which
adds greatly to its serviceability anc
long life is its extra heavy weldleSa

1923

Equipment Review

435

locomotive steel tires, these tires being
jointless and turned to a true face.

A pronounced innovation in connec-
tion with the Pacific Type drier is the
provision made for keeping it in its
proper position on the trunnion wheels
— that is, preventing it sliding for-
ward or backward lengthwise — this ar-
rangement consisting of special bear-
ings at the charging end of the drier.
The bearing proper can be slightly ro-
tated horizontally in either direction
and held in perfect adjustment by set
screws and lock nuts. A tendency for
the drum to crawl in either direction is
definitely overcome by a very slight
swing of the entire bearing, and this
arrangement permits the elimination
of flanged trunnions and side rollers
operating against the sides of the
tires.

The Pacific Type Drier permits the
elimination of an outer casing; does
away with the cost of maintaining
brick firebox lining; eliminates ex-
pensive grate bar renewals and, owing
to the omission of the casing, the life
of the drier is greatly prolonged as it
is allowed to uniformly cool when shut
down, eliminating the unequal stress
in alternate heating and cooling.

Combination Cutting and Welding
Torch

The Alexander Milburn Co., 1416-
1428 West Baltimore St., Baltimore,
Md., is maker of the torch illustrated
herewith.

To change from cutting to welding
or vice versa it is merely necessary to

Milbarn C4>mbination Torch.

tmscrew the tip lock nut and insert
the proper tip. It obviates the neces-
sity of using two torches and connect-
ing up new hoses.

The torch is as eflficient for either

purpose as is a single non-convertible

torch. One-half minute is the time

required to make the change. One of

the distinct advantages of this tool is

'that a torch for each purpose is on

and on each job and always available

'or the unexpected requirements that

re bound to arise.

A New Type of Hand Power
Mixer

The two views herewith show a 6
cu. ft. mixer in the drum of which are
two large circular blades with curved
vanes on each side. In operation the
drum is shaken by hand, and the in-
gredients are gravitated and thrown
back and forth from the blades on op-

Adams Shaker Mixer in Loading Position.

posite sides of the drum passing
through two grates located about 5 in.
on each side of the axis of the drum.
It is claimed that this arrangement
greatly reduces the amount of work
required for thorough mixing.

The platforms and bumping posts
are of wood; all the rest of the ma-
chine of steel. The drum revolves or
shakes on ball bearings, and is so bal-
anced that two men can operate it at
full capacity. The daily output is 20
to 30 cu. yd.

The drum is arranged for discharg-
ing directly into forms, thus saving

Adams Shaker Mixer Discharging Into Forms.

handling. The mixer complete weighs
400 lbs. and requires less operating
space than the ordinary mixing board
that it is designed to repilace.

The G. W. Adams Shaker Concrete
Mixer Co., 158 RockAvood Ct., San
Antonio, Texas, is the maker.

486

Equipment Review

August,

The Chain Drive of Monarch
Tractors

Herewith is an illustration of the
chain drive crawler chassis made by
Monarch Tractors, Inc., Watertown,
Wis. The form of sprocket tooth
used in this drive, which is the stand-
ard set by the S. A. E., A. S. M. E.,
and A. G. M. A. and used by the
chain manufacturers in the United
States, is a decided improvement over
the old style so long in use. The new
tooth form produces a softer and
quieter action with less tendency to
wear the teeth hook-shaped and dis-

sprockets, absence of lubrication and
misalignment and is easily adapted to
the most efficient gear ratio for the
speed and load.

In chains the greatest wear is con-
centrated in a part easily and cheaply
removed or repaired. This type of
drive being accessible and easy of re-
pair is designed to take most of the
driving punishment between the road
and transmission. It absorbs all the
twists, turns and jerks of bad roads
and irregular ground and spends it-
self to save the more delicate and
expensive parts, which are not so
easily accessible and quickly repaired.

6-60 Model Monarch Crawler Chassis.

tributes the load over a larger num-
ber of teeth.

The life and service of the chain de-
pends to a certain extent upon the
speed of the driving sprocket. The
chain manufacturers themselves rec-
ommend a maximum speed of 325
r.p.m. for 2-in. pitch chain and 200
r.p.m. for 2i/^-in. pitch chain. In the
Monarch installation there is, there-
fore, a very large factor of safety due
to the fact that the speed of the differ-
ential shaft, carrying the driving
sprocket, at the maximum motor
speed of 1,200 r.p.m. runs only 178
r.p.in.

Several well-known automotive en-
gineers have made tests showing that
chain drives are 95 per cent to 99%
per cent mechanically efficient.

The chain drive, through the direct
simplicity of its action, through its
elasticity and the efficiency of its rol-
lers, compensates with no loss of
power for inaccuracy of teeth in the

For this reason wear is likely to
appear first in the chains, yet the
wear on a properly designed cham
and sprocket does not seriously inter-
fere with the mechanical efficiency
until a breakage actually occurs.

Improvements in Lakewood Road
Finisher

Several important improvements
were made in the Lakewood road fin-
isher for 1923. The 1923 model is
equipped with an adjustable strikeoff,

1923 Model Lakewood Road Finisher.

which can be raised or lowered from
either side of the road. This will
strike off concrete as much as 4 m.

1923

Equipment Review

437

below the top of the side forms, and
is particularly useful in placing re-
inforcement or for two course work.
Another improvement is a new style
pitman assembly fitted with bronze
pitman boxes. The new arrangement
gives more efficient action to the
strike-off and tamper, and minimizes
wear. Transportation wheels are pro-
^•ided so that the machine can be
hauled by motor truck or team rela-
tively short distances while assem-
bled. Various mechanical refinements
are apparent, such as improved
clutches, a drive chain idler which
minimizes the effect of slack, im-
proved rail cleaners, etc. This fin-
isher is manufactured by the Lake-
d Engineering Co., Cleveland, O.

eversible Hoist for Builders and
Contractors

The O. K. Clutch and Machinery
Co. of Columbia, Pa., are makers of
the reversible hoist here illustrated
for use in building construction, with

double cage elevators, logging, car

hauling and other hauling or hoisting.

Double platform elevators, as gen-
erally used by contractors, are op-
erated by a cable sheave. The cable
is given one or two wraps aroimd the
sheave, just enough to prevent slip-
page. When the hoist is nm in one
direction one elevator goes up, while
the other comes down. By reversing
the hoist the direction of the plat-
forms are reversed.

A winch head is provided for log-
ging, etc. This is keyed fast to shaft.

It is not necessary to disturb cables
either on drum or sheave, as both can
be engaged and disengaged inde-
pendently of each other.

A differential brake, with ratchet
and pawl, sufficiently strong to hold
any load that may be placed on the
hoist is provided.

The two friction clutches are very
simple and strong, have no delicate
parts to get out of order and only
one screw adjustment. They have a
very large frictional contact surface
and are lined with special asbestos
friction lining, which is water and oil
proof. Shold they wear to such an
extent that new frictions are required,
they can be easily renewed — which
makes practically a new clutch.

The differential brake is extra large
and lined with asbestos brake lining.
A ratchet and pawl is also provided
on the brake.

"Hercules" High Pressure Pump

The "Hercules" outfit here shown is
a product of The Barnes Manufactur-
ing Co. of Mansfield, Ohio. It is a high
pressure, outside packed machine with
a capacity from 900 to 4,500 gallons
per hour depending upon pressure. It
is adapted to pressures ranging from
175 to 500 lbs. per sq. in.

There are no cup leathers or brass
linings; instead, machined iron plung-
ers are provided. One piece, aU bronze
wing type valves rest on heavy brass
tapered valve seats. Any part of the

Barnes Manafacturing- Co. High Pressure
Pomp on Hand Truck.

pump may be removed for inspection
or repair in five minutes. The plung-
ers can be repacked in half an hour or
less.

In addition to the horizontal gaso-
line engine outfit sho'wn, "Hercules"
outfits are furnished with oil engines,
steam engines or electric motor, either
mounted on truck of on steel skids.

438

Equipment Review

August,

The Geophone

While the geophone has come into
prominence through its spectacular
use in certain recent mine disasters,
and while it is also fairly well known
as a means of detecting leaks in water
pipes, its construction and principles
of operation have remained very
largely a mystery. The following de-
scription, abstracted from an article
in the Coal Age, reveals a surprising
simplicity:

The geophone is an instrument in-
vented by the French during the war
to detect, through the earth, the sap-
ping and underground mining oper-
ations of the enemy. It was improved
by the United States engineers, and

Set of Geophones in Carrying Case.

more recently has been further im-
proved by the engineers of the U. S.
Bureau of Mines, and its use in con-
nection with special sounds has been
developed.

The instrument, though small,
works on the same principle as the
seismograph, the ponderous apparatus
by which earthquake tremors are
recorded. It consists of an iron ring
about SVz in. in diameter, within the
center of which is suspended a lead
weight that is fastened by a single
bolt passing through two metal disks
(pure nickel disks 0.025 in. thick are
used), one of which covers the top
and the other the bottom of the ring.

There are two brass cap pieces, the
top one having an opening in the cen-
ter to which is fastened a rubber tube
leading to a stethoscopic ear-piece.
These cap pieces are fastened with
bolts to the iron ring and serve also
to hold the metal disks in place.

We then have really nothing but a
lead weight suspended between two
thin disks that extend across a small
airtight box. If the instrument is

placed on the ground and anyone is
pounding or digging in the vicinity,
energy is transmitted in wave motion
through the earth, and the earth
waves shake the geophone case.

The lead weight, on account of its
mass and because it is suspended be-
tween the disks, remains compara-
tively motionless. There is thus pro-
duced a relative motion between the
instrument case and the lead weight.
The result is that in the thin space
over the disk a compression and rarefi-
cation of the air alternately takes
place which is magnified at the small
outlet.

Since the rubber tube leading to the
stethoscopic ear-piece is connected
with this space in the geophone, the
vibrations are transmitted to the ear
drum and, like other rapid air waves,
produce sound effects. Usually two
instruments are used, one for each
ear.

When the observer is so equipped it
is found that the sound is apparently
louder from the instrument that is
nearer the source of sound, even
though the geophones are placed not
more than 2 ft. apart. It is evident
that by moving the instruments a
point can be fovmd where the sound
will be of the same apparent intensity
in both ears. The direction of the
point of origin of the sound is then
on a perpendicular to the line connect-
ing the centers of the two instru-
ments, either in front of or behind
the observer. Further observation
will show which side. Direction is
quite accurately determined in this
way.

The sound is not actually louder in
one ear than in the other, but the ear
is capable of distinguishing the slight
differences in time at which the sounds
arrive in the two instruments. Since
this is the case persons who are
slightly deaf in one ear are able to
determine direction with the instru-
ments.

In coal mines it has been deter-
mined that the geophone should rest
On a solid shelf of coal or on the floor
of a niche cut into the coal. The floor
of the mine is likely to be covered
with dirt, and is seldom solid enough
to transmit sound well. In metal
mines the geophones will, of course,
be held against or placed upon the
natural rock.

If the geophones are held with the
hands against the coal, vibrations are
set up by the circulation of the blood

1923

Equipment Review

439

within the hands, which greatly inter-
fere with successful observations. On
the other hand, rock appears to with-
stand these vibrations, and successful
results can be obtained by simply
holding the instruments in place upon
the rock.

Sledge pounding can be detected in
mined-out areas at least 1,500 ft.,
through solid coal 2,000 ft., and
through solid rock about one-half
mile. Blows of a pick, tamping bar
or heavy rock can be detected at two-
thirds of those distances. Talking
can be understood fairly well through
a 50-ft. coal pillar and can be de-
tected about 150 ft. away.

The geophone is made by the Globe
Phone Manufacturing Co., Reading,
Mass.

New Capstan Car Puller

A new electric capstan car puller
brought out recently by the Gifford-
Wood Co., Hudson, N. Y., is illustrated
below. In car "spotting" with this
capstan it is simply necessary to hook
the rope onto the car to be pulled.

G-W Electric Capstan Car Puller.

Ldve it a few turns around the cap-
stan head, and throw the motor
Switch. No manual effort is required,
IS the free end of the rope is gently
pulled in as it comes off. The capstan
Occupies a space 2 ft. 8 in. by 2 ft. 9
plus room for gear guard and
)tor housings. It gives a rope speed
\f 44 ft. per minute^ and a pull on

rope of 2,630 lb. The capstan has a
cast iron housing enclosing the bevel
gears and one pair of cut gears. Bear-
ings are babbitted and provided with
grease cup lubrication. Bronze thrust
collars on vertical shaft. Gear guard
and motor housing of No. 14 gauge
steel. Shafts of cold rolled steel.
Bevel gears of cast iron with cast
teeth, 36 and 22 teeth, 1% in. pitch.
Spur gears of cast iron with cut teeth,
64 and 15 teeth, 4 diametrical pitch;
120 and 15 teeth, 5 diametrical pitch.

Wallis Tractor 15-27

The "New Wallis O. K." tractor
made by the J. I. Case Plow Works,
Racine, Wis. is pictured below. It is
a medium sized tractor rated at 15

Wallis O. K. Tractor Working on Streets in
Racine, Wisconsin.

hp. at the draw bar and 27 hp. on the
belt but runs substantially above these
ratings. The total weight is 3660 lbs.
exclusive of water, fuel and oil, which
is low enough to give reasonable free-
dom from bogging in wet ground. All
working parts are accessible for in-
spection and adjustment.

In connection with the use of the
machine to furnish belt power the
makers list the following points :

One— The "New Wallis OK" can be
lined up to any belt driven machinery
quickly and easily.

Two — There is absolute clearance.
There are no parts to be removed nor
are there any to obstruct or injure
the belt.

Three — The belt pulley is "lagged"
with Vi inch durable fabric which pre-
vents slippage and consequent waste
of fuel.

Four — The proper speed of belt pul-
ley for standard belt speed can be
readily and easily maintained.

Five — Improved Construction. The
newly designed exclusive Wallis gov-
ernor, coupled with the use of a tubu-
lar radiator and oblong butterfly
valve, doubles the governor action
and accelerates its "pick-up."

440

Equipment Review

August,

Winch for Clay Tunnel Work

The W. H. Anderson Tool & Supply
Co., Dubois and Franklin Streets, De-
troit, Mich., is the maker of a small
winch especially designed for pulling
a clay tunnelling knife, as shown in
the sketch here reproduced.

The winch is placed from 15 ft. to
50 ft. back of where excavation is to
be made. The knife is attached to the
pulling cable. As the winch operator
starts the pulling drum the digger
holding the knife places it at an angle

width over all being but 26 in. and the
extreme length 48 in.

Cut gears are used with special cut
fabroid gear on motor to reduce noise
to minimum. The machine is fitted
with a 7% h. p. Howell motor, espe-
cially built to withstand excessive
moisture to which the machines are
often subjected.

The manufacturers do not recom-
mend the use of the Anderson winch
and knife except on heavy clay dig-
ging, but on this class of work they

t-.

Sketch of Tunnel Work With Anderson Winch.

which causes the cutting blade to cut
into the clay to its entire depth. The
winch then continues to pull the knife
forward at this depth until the end
of cut is reached. This leaves a strip
of clay approximately half round in
cross section and from 8 ft. to 15 ft.
in length. These strips are then cut
into convenient lengths by muckers
and loaders who load the material
into mud boxes or cars for removal.
At the end of the cut the winch op-
erator releases the friction on the
pulling drum, which permits the dig-
ger to pull the knife back for the next
cut without effort or unnecessary
friction.

It is not necessary that the winch
shall be placed centrally with the cut
for the front end is fitted with rollers,
mounted securely to the frame, which
guide the cable direct to drum regard-
less of the angle of cable to knife.

The Anderson tunnelling winch is
made extremely compact to permit of
its use in small sewers, the extreme

claim greater yardage at less cost
than by any of the usual methods em-
ployed.

Flat Type Truck Bodies

The illustrations following show
two different bodies recently brought
out by the American Production and
Trading C». , 4805 South Morgan St.,
Chicago, 111.

Aineri<-aii rrodurlion and Trading I'o.'s No.
2050 Truck Body.

The No. 2510 body is built especially
for Ford one-ton trucks and is ar-
ranged to comply with the best engi-
neering practice in load distribution

1923

Equipment Review

441

on the Ford chassis. The center of
gravity of the load is low and is well
forward of the rear axle, permitting a
capacity load with the least wear and
tear on equipment.

This body has special features, such
as double-acting tail gate, double
spring check chain, double positive
locking latches, rolling dogs, and so
forth.

This body, as is our policy, gives the
buyer the most for his money. With
it the contractor is able to obtain the

No. 2510, 1 Yd Flat Type Body for
One Ion Ford Truck

lowest of material handling costs and
finds that it serves a wide range of
uses.

No. 2050 is made in 2 and 3 yard
capacities for all makes of trucks. In
its construction all points of strain are
heavily reinforced. No. 10 and No. 8
gauge steel is used, all rivets are hot
riveted, and all castings are steel cast-
ings. It has numerous exclusive fea-
tures, such as double-locking latches
with positive safety device, double-
roUing dogs holding the rear end down,
double heavy spring check chains and
double-acting tail gate with automatic
trip and self-locking device on the
return.

Quick-Setting Lime Blocks Devel-
oped by U. S. Bureau of
Standards

A cast lime building tile for use in
making partitions has been developed
at the Bureau of Standards by the
Fellow of the National Lime Associa-
tion. The material of which it is
made sets so that it can be removed
from the mold at the end of ten min-
utes. After twenty minutes it can
be handled, and after seven days it
has a compressive strength of one
I hundred pounds per square inch. It
I can be sawed, and nails can be driven
'■■ into it.

i The material is composed of five
, parts by volume of ground quick lime,
! ten of hydrate or slaked lime, and one

of wood fiber. It is found to cure
best when outdoors exposed to the
weather. The new tile is about
twenty per cent heavier than gypsum
tile of the same size, and experiments
are being conducted to see if the core
volume can be increased without too
great a sacrifice of strength.

The quick setting lime of which the
tile is made was developed several
months ago by the Bureau of Stand-
ards, and can also be used for other
purposes. Difficulty is found in ship-
ping it, however.

A Mixer That Can Be Towed as
Fast as a Truck Can Go

The mixer here illustrated travels
on its two rear wheels alone but on the
job the double castor wheel in front
provides a fully adequate bearing sur-
face on the gi-ound and in addition
facilitates moving aroimd. This de-
sigri of mounting permits of trailing
behind a truck with a maximum of
ease and convenience, without any sac-
rifice of stability when in use.

This trailer mounted mixer unit,
known as the "Universal" is a product

"UniTcrsal" Trailer Mounted Mixer.

of the Marsh-Capron Company of Chi-
cago, 111.

The steel disk wheels have 3^/^ in. x
24 in. solid rubber tires, and turn on 5
in. Timken bearings on a 1% in. heat-
treated automobile axle.

The springs are of the best auto-
mobile truck design, silicon manganese
steel, 9 leaves ^A in. thick by 2 in.
wide, 32 in. long overall.

The front castor has two roller t3npe
wheels, each Z^A in. face by 15 in.
diameter, carried in a hea\^ cast steel
fork, with the pivot pin integral.

442

Equipment Review

August,

A General Utility Grader

The "Ohio Utility," made by The
Oberlin Machinery Co. of Oberlin,
Ohio, is a heavy grader that can be
used in any capacity, being made for
severe service and having all the ad-
justments of the Ohio Standard, and
constructed along the same lines.

The frame is made of heavy 5-in.
channels and braced so as to insure a
rigid construction, for the strains in-
cident to the operation of this grader
in hard and stony soils.

The sub-frame and circle to which
the blade is attached are constructed
of heavy angle and channel and the
blade, which is 7 ft. long, is attached

Recent Production Records

Julius H. Barnes, president of the
Chamber of Commerce of the United
States, in an address on Aug. 22 be-
fore the National Association of In-
surance Agents, at Buffalo, N. Y.,
cited ten production records that have
been established in industry during
the last few months. They are:

"The largest pig iron production;

"The largest cotton consumption;

"The largest steel ingot production;

"The largest crude oil production;

"The largest automobile and truck
production ;

"The largest residential construc-
tion;

Ohio Standard Grader.

to the circle frame with heavy steel
castings or forgings.

The Ohio Utility weighs 2,800 lbs.
with the tractor or engine hitch, and
has a wheelbase of 11 ft. 8 in. The
rear wheels are 42 in. in diameter,
the rim being 4 in. wide and % in.
diameter, the rim being 4 in. wide and
thick. The front wheels are 30 in, in
% in. thick.

The tractor hitch is made of 2% in.
tube with proper fixtures for attach-
ment to the tractor. A pole can be
substituted for the tractor hitch so
that the grader can be horse drawn.
In his change there will be no disturb-
ing of the steering connection, as the
steering apparatus is not attached to
the tractor hitch.

The rear axle is constructed simi-
larly to the rear axle in the Ohio
Standard, with both lateral and
swinging adjustments.

"The largest production of locomo-
tives ;

"The largest volume of mail-order
sales;

"The largest volume of retail sales;

"The largest volume of railroad car
loadings."

Mr. Barnes also made several sig-
nificant comparisons of changes that
have taken place in the United States
since the pre-war year of 1913. The
more important of these comparisons
are :

"The population of the United
States has increased fourteen millions
of people, with their enlarged require-
ments.

"The annual national income has in-
creased from thirty-four billion to
fifty billion.

"The aggregate savings deposits
have increased from six billion to
fourteen billion dollars.

"The deposits in national banks
have increased from six billion to sev-
enteen billion dollars."

1923

Equipment Review

443

New Friction Drum Hoist

The Domestic Engine & Pump Co.
of Shippensburg, Pa. has recently an-
nounced the hoisting unit shown be-
low. As may be seen, the outfit is
compact and largely housed.

The unit frame is made of steel
channels with steel re-inforcing cor-
ner angles, thus insuring rigid found-
ation and true alignment of engine
and hoist.

The thrust apparatus consists of a
heavy steel screw and yoke which
pushes against the hub of the drum
through a thrust bearing consisting
•of two hardened and ground steel
plates with a bronze plate between.
The screw also pulls the drum out of
engagement by a positive movement.
No spring is used to push drum away
from friction. This obviates any pos-

Domestic Engine & Pump Co.'s New Hoisting
Unit.

sibility of friction sticking and gives
operator absolute control of load.

The brakes are of band type with
toggle to foot levers and top spring
adjustment for taking up wear.

The drums are cast iron. They are
bushed with anti-friction metal which
insures free running.

On these units one winch head is
attached to each drum shaft. The
winch is large, polished smooth and
keyed on the shaft outside the journal
boxes.

The engine is a 15 hp., 4 cylinder
Le Roi.

All gears are machine cut. The
^peed reduction gears that run at
iighest speeds are enclosed in metal
housing, are made of special alloy
-teel, heat treated, and run in oil.
rhe slow speed gears are heavy stub
ooth gears and the driving pinion
T ^ an outboard bearing.

The engine is controlled by a gov-

ernor of the flyball throttling t3ri)e
which gives it a very steady running
speed. A control lever attached to
the governor gives the operator a
choice of a wide range of speeds. It is
equipped with friction clutch thus
permitting starting and running of
engine, for inspection or adjustments,
free of the hoist and gearing.

A speed control lever within easy
reach of operator permits the speed
of engine to be minimized when not
hoisting and quickly increased when
about to hoist.

To the friction there is attached a
lever which extends to within easy
reach of the hoist operator thus giv-
ing him control of the winch as well
as hoist drum. This winch control,
starting and stopping at will of oper-
ator, is often of great value as it
prevents accidents when load line
over-rides on winch.

A New Tructractor

A new model tructractor, has been
placed on the market by the Clark
Tructractor Co., 1130 Days Ave.,
Buchanan, Mich. Among the impor-
tant features of this new tructractor
are special 2-ton Clark internal gear
axle; 27 in. x 10 in. extra heavy steel
wheels with reinforced web, wheels
are rim cast integral or 28 in. x 7 in.
wheels if Giant rubber tires are used

Special Contractors Model Tructractor.

on the driving wheels; an improved
air cleaner which keeps dust from
the carburetor feed. The tructractor
is of all steel construction; hot riv-
eted steel channel chassis frame; elec-
tric furnace steel castings used for
spring hangers, differential housing,
rear cross member and all other imits
subject to stress and strain. It will
carry 22 cu. ft. of wet concrete, 30
cu. ft. of dry aggregate. It has a
speed of 10 miles per hour, and can
climb a 15 per cent grade under full
load.

444

Equipment Review

August,

Self-Propelling Tool for Cutting

Roots in Sewers

Three years ago an ingenious tool
was placed on the market for remov-
ing obstructions in clogged sewers,
pipes, drains and culverts. This de-
vice was operated primarily as a
water propelled tractor. It contained
a relatively circular chamber with a
small forward opening, and a number
of large rearward openings sur-
rounded the intake. The tool was
attached to hose, which in turn was

Self-Propelling Root Cutter.

attached to a fire hydrant. Upon
water being introduced through the
hose, to the tool, the force of the water
striking on the relatively circular for-
ward structure of the tool, and then
rebounding and escaping through the
rearward holes produced a recoil
which drove the tool forward in the
opening at the rate of several feet a
minute. Shortly after its introduc-
tion, diagonal vanes were placed in
the intake and the body of the tool
was connected with a threaded con-
nection by a thrust-bearing which
caused the tool to revolve. This fea-
ture materially increased its efficiency.
During the past thl-ee years the
engineers who were responsible for
the tool have been trying to add one
more essential feature, to enable it to
chop the roots of trees which grow
into sewers and form a large mass
therein; also chop small sticks which
become lodged in sewers and cause
other material to back it and blockade
the sewer. The result of their work
is the self propelling root cutter,
which operates on exactly the same
principle as the self propelling nozzle.
It is self-propelling, and does not re-
quire the use of ropes, rods, or wind-
lasses. It is provided with a combina-
tion steel and monel-metal ball bear-
ing which will not rust or freeze to-
gether. The tool is made by the Self
Propelling Nozzle Co., 99 Water St.,
New York City.

Concrete Levelling Target

A laborer with a good eye will level
or smooth a concrete slab with very
little variance over a distance of 5 ft.
if he has points given him which are
permanent and ridged. The very
simple target shown in the illustra-
tion herewith is designed to supersede
the wood block ordinarily used for
this purpose, and thus to avoid an-
noyance through the tendency of the
block to tip over. The M. & M. Wire
Clamp Co., of Minneapolis, is the pro-
ducer of the special part of this
target.

The targets are made up with 60d
spikes or quarter-inch rods cut to the
desired length. It is also advisable
to put on a small piece of wire, as
shown in the cut, for a flag in case
the top of the pin is covered with
concrete. This eliminates losing the
pins when they are lined up both
ways.

These targets are prepared by com-
mon labor on a bench, and a man
will make up five or more per minute

M. & M. Target Set Up Ready for Use.

to the exact height desired. * In view
of the variability of slab thickness
from job to job, this complete adjust-
ability is of great advantage. The
targets can be set with an instrument

1923

Equipment Review

445

if desired. If desired they can be
used as pivot points to turn on with
screeds to level the concrete.

An improvement consists of a small
cap which fits on top of the quarter-
inch rod and is inserted in 5-16-in.
holes 4 ft. on centers in. Ix2-in. strips
12 ft. long. This permits 4 targets
to each 12-ft. strip. The strips are
set up parallel to each other from 10
to 12 ft. apart, so that a straight
edge can be used on top of them to
level the concrete. By using these
caps and targets with quarter-inch
rods and lx2-in. strips a contractor
in very little time can set up very
accurately a screed gauge. After the
concrete is leveled the strips can be
lifted off the targets and moved for-
ward. With this method the screed
gauges can also be set with an instru-
ment, which is an additional ad-
vantage, as slabs can be accurately
leveled or sloped.

AuxQiary Transmission System

for Increasing Power of 1-

Ton Truck

An auxiliary transmission system
that is claimed to double the power
of the Ford 1-ton truck has been
brought out by the Tractor-Train Co.,
of Indiana, Connersville, Ind., a Ford
truck equipped with this transmission
has four speeds forward and two re-
verse. The principal feature is the
intermediate speed which is half way
between the present Ford high and
low, 100 per cent more powerful than
the high and twice as fast as the low,

Tmck Equipped with Moore Tranamission.

'without holding down the foot pedal.
This intermediate gear is a direct
irive from the high speed clutch and
eliminates the constant relining of the
transmission bands. In addition to
he intermediate speed, the power of
he low and reverse speeds is in-
■reased 100 per cent. This in no
vay changes the original high, low
and reverse, nor the driving method
of the Ford. The transmission has
■3. positive neutral point which allows
:asy cranking by eliminating the

drag on the Ford clutch. In the in-
termediate speed it is stated to be
possible to carry very heavy loads
over the most difficult roads and up
steep grades without overheating or
racing the engine. The transmission
system can be installed easily with
aid of only an ordinary hacksaw and
the regular Ford wrenches. It is
bolted directly onto the differential
housing and all the original Ford
parts are retained throughout. It
does not alter or interfere with the
original Ford mechanism in any way.
It makes no change in the method
of operating the regular Ford foot
pedals — ^but when once installed be-
comes a permanent part of the car.

"Anti-Splash" Pumper

A compact trench pump named the
"Anti-Splash" by its makers. The
Barnes Manufacturing Co., of Mans-

Barne8 Anti-Splash Pamper.

field, Ohio, is shown in the cut be-
low. It is furnished in single 3-in. or
single, double or quadruple 4-in. sizes,
mounted on skids or trucks. The dou-
ble or quadruple sizes are arranged
for separate suctions from more than
one excavation at the same time, or
for one common suction, as may be
desired.

Among the special features distin-
guishing this pump are :

One-piece unbreakable drop forged
steel crank shaft.

Spring loaded suction and discharge
valves.

Interior of the pump can be cleaned
through hand hole.

Diaphragm can be replaced in 20
minutes without removing jack.

Suction valve can be removed with-
out disturbing hose.

Can be converted into the "Odofor"
Pump by simply interchanging seven
parts.

446

Equipment Review

August,

Anti-Chatter Bump Machine

The device here shown attached un-
derneath a truck has been used with
much success in the maintenance of
earth and gravel roads in Michigan.
It is the invention of Mr. David E.
Burns, of Grand Rapids.

According to published reports
work done by this machine costs only
one sixth of what it was costing under
the methods immediately preceding its
introduction. Its field of usefulness
is described as follows:

It will plane the road, obliterating
chatter.

so that the road can be crowned or
decrowned. In front, are blocks on
hangers with set screws letting the
whole blade be lowered or raised at
will, and when the device is not in
actual operation, it can be raised by a
hand wheel operated from the driver's
seat and rolled up under the truck,
and the truck can be used for any
other work without interference.

These scrapers can be installed on
any truck and can be driven at the
rate of eight to ten miles an hour, and
do perfect work. By reason of the
long chassis and the heavy weight on
top of it, it pares and smooths the

Anti-Chatter Bump Machine With Blade Lowered.

It will gather loose gravel from
the shoulder, spreading it evenly over
the road in one continuous operation.

It can be used for finishing sub-
grades and for leveling gravel on new
roads. When not in use it may be
rolled up under the truck so as to be
out of the way.

It will remove snow and slush from
city streets and country roads.

As shown in the accompanying
photograph it carries a coiled U-
shaped spring, which is fastened
around a sleeve, the rock shaft pass-
ing through the sleeve. The sleeve
being made fast to the rock shaft by
U-bolts, and should the springs ever
weaken — which all springs do — added
tension can be had by simply loosen-
ing the 2 U-bolts, turning the jacket
around and increasing the tension as
desired.

Also the adjustment of fastening
the spring to the blade in such a way
that the blade can be let down as worn
out, thereby using up practically the
entire blade, and can readily be tilted

road, doing away with chatter bumps
and waves.

The manufacturer is the Grand
Rapids Road Equipment Co., House-
man Building, Grand Rapids, Mich.

The Mound Traffic Marker

The traffic marker illustrated here-
with is the E-48 made by the Mound
Traffic Equipment Co., No. 7 Hunt-
ington National Bank Bldg., Colum-
bus, Ohio.

The E-48 stands 5V2 in. above the
street level at the highest point.

The dual lighting unit and sub-
base is self-contained under the
marker with sufficient clearance above
the street level to eliminate the nec-
essity of excavation. There are no
water trap and no water pocket under
this marker. The electrical connec-
tions are all high and dry. The
marker is water tight inside and of-
fers no depositing place outside.

Lens is bolted into place by a speci-
ally developed metal to metal gasket,

1923

Equipment Review

447

and projects a concentrated beam of
light in all directions.

Enough heat is generated under the
lens to keep ice and snow melted in
the coldest weather.

The Lens is so placed that dirt and
dust blown in on it will blow through
and out the other side. There are no
sharp projections to cut tires should
marker be accidentally struck.

The angle of the slope of the sides

Mound Traffic Marker.

of this marker were very carefully
developed after exhaustive investiga-
tion, research and tests.

Speed-up mo\'ing pictures were
made to aid in determining the con-
cussion and rebound of vehicles of
different sizes and weights striking
the marker at various speeds. Im-
prints were also registered of the
treads of tires passing over the de-
vices on test. At speeds of 30 miles
per hour, imprints from the treads
were as pronounced leaving the
marker, as was the approach on the
opposite side.

Somerville Gasoline Hammer
Dnll

A gasoline impact drill of the air
hammer tjT^e known as the Somerville

Somerville Drill Complete with Various Tools.

asoline Hammer Drill is now manu-
ictured by the Pennsylvania Gasoline
lill Company of Philadelphia, Pa.

This drilling unit is a self-contained
gasoline hammer for one man opera-
tion. It is also readily carried by one
man. It was originally developed for
drilling rock, but, because of its port-
ability and simplicity, is claimed by its
makers as adaptable to a great variety
of uses including: cutting asphalt
streets, breaking concrete, picking
hard earth, ramming back fill in
trenches, removing granite or wood
block, drilling foundations, drilling
through walls, driving tie spikes, ram-
ming tie ballast, mining operations,
etc.

The full weight of the Somerville
Drill unit is 70 lb. It consumes about
1^/2 gallons of gasoline per day in use.

An Improved One-Man Saw

R. W. Graves, 2306 Chafee Ave.,
Aiken, South Carolina, is the maker
of the one-man saw shown in the

Graves One-Man Saw in the Forest.

illustration following. The design of
the frame and handle provides easy
and efficient operation under all con-
ditions ordinarily encountered. The
total weight of the saw is 6 lbs., and
it folds into compact space for carry-
ing in the woods. This tool is
adapted to all the ordinary uses to
which one-man saws are put, and in
addition it extends the field of one-
man operation.

448

Equipment Review

August,

The Penberthy Automatic Cellar
Drainer

The cellar drainer illustrated here-
with and manufactured by the Pen-
berthy Injector Co., of Detroit, Mich.,
is a device of admirable simplicity in
both construction and operation. It
operates under either water pressure
or steam, and although its commonest
use is in the drainage of cellars, it
is adaptable to service in any place
where water accumulates.

The device as shown is provided
with an ejector or siphon jet, to
which is attached a quick-opening.

Automatic Cellar Drainer.

float-controlled valve. The drainer is
placed in the sump, or place where
the water or seepage collects, a line
from the city water supply attached
at one side, and a line leading to dis-
charge point (sewer, gutter, or
wherever it may be) to the other side.
As the water rises in the pit the float
is raised and when the right height
is reached the valve is opened in-
stantly, allowing the city water to
flow through the ejector, cause a suc-
tion, and carry the sump water with
it to the discharge. As the water
goes down the float follows, and when
the low point is reached the valve
closes to remain closed until enough
water collects to again raise the float,
when the whole operation is repeated,
and the drainer continues this work
without any attention whatsoever.

Convertible Level

The latest model of convertible level
and transit, made by the Warren-
Knight Co., 136 North 12th St., Phila-
delphia, Pa., is illustrated herewith.
This is known as the No. 40 Sterling.

It consists of a high grade level so
designed that it can be changed in
10 seconds for use as a transit with-
out the use of detachable parts.

No. 40 Sterling as a Level.

Specifications for this instrument
are, briefly: Telescope 13% in. long,
balanced and dust-proof throughout,
with IVi in. aperture, clear field, high
power and abundant light. It will
show objects clearly up to within 4 or
5 ft., making it particularly useful on
building and highway construction
work. The convertible uprights fold
down when not in use, in which posi-

No. 40 StcriinK as a Transit.

tion the instrument is free from pro-
jections, affording a full view of the
fifth level vial and a clear line of
sight over the telescope, and permits
of the telescope being rotated in the
Wyes for testing the adjustments.

The Wye Clips are secured by
patented self-contained quick-opening
lock screws. A positive stop pin is
provided for securing the cross hairs

1923

Equipment Review

449

in perfect vertical and horizontal
alignment.

The le\el bar and center spindle
are cast in one piece of special formula
hard government bronze. Other es-
sential features of this combination
instrument adapting it especially to
present day requirements are shifting
plate providing full %-in. adjustment
on tripod (for quickly setting over
any given point) , non-cramping level-
ing head, leveling screws provided
with permanently attached ball socket
shoes. The graduated horizontal
circle is held by spring tension and
can be instantly set to zero, eliminat-
ing the necessity for addition or sub-
traction in laying out or measuring

New Guard Plate for Railway
Switches

One of the most expensive items of
upkeep in railway maintenance of way
is the repair and replacement of
switch points. A device for the pro-
tection of the switch points has been
placed in production by J. R. Fleming
& Son Co., Inc., Scranton, Pa. It is
designed to reduce the wear on the
ends of the switch point; to avoid
wearing the extremities of switch
rails to a cutting edge; to reduce the
shock of impact on the switch rails,
and to overcome the possibilities of
derailment on switches. It provides
a guard plate which has an upper

Mack Railway Switch Point Protector.

angles. The vernier, which reads to
five minutes, is conveniently located
at 45° to the line of sight.

There are no removable parts as it
is entirely self-contained, consisting
• of two permanently attached hinged
uprights which, when in use, are se-
cured in place by a downward thrust
of the lock lever within the triangle
3f a three point support. Spring
Trunnion clips provide sufficient fric-
tion to hold the telescope in any de-
■ired position in the vertical plane,
through a. range of 45° above or be-
low the horizontal.

outwardly cui-ved surface and which
is rounded over to approximately the
shape of the head of the railway rail.
Chamfered corners are provided to
receive the impact of the flange and
thrust it laterally to separate it from
the inner side of the rail head. Four
bolt holes are formed in the guard
plate to receive the fastening bolts,
and the heads of the bolts rest in a
channel plate made to conform to the
space between the flange web and the
head of the railway rail.

450

Equipment Review

August,

High Pressure Triplex Pump

The Domestic Engine & Pump Co.
of Shippensburg, Pa., has recently
placed on the market the unit shown
in the illustration herewith.

The engine speed can be so regu-
lated that any quantity of water from
40 to 60 gallons per minute can be
delivered. With a vertical elevation
of 100 feet in the line 40 gallons per

New Domestic Pump Unit.

minute can be delivered through 3
miles of 2-inch pipe or 60 gallons per
minute through 4% miles of 2% -inch
pipe.

The engine is a Le Roi 4 cylinder,
15 hp., developed especially for indus-
trial use, and equipped with radiator,
cooling fan, magneto, governor, air
filter, carburetor, etc.

There is a friction clutch, thus per-
mitting starting and running of en-
gine, for inspection or adjustments,
free of the pump and gearing-.

A very efficient radiator and air
circulating fan insure proper engine
cooling.

All gears are machine cut. The
speed reduction gears that run at
highest speeds are enclosed in metal
housing, are made of special alloy
steel, heat treated and run in oil. The
slow speed pinion and gear that drives
the pump crank shaft are the only
ones not in housing. These gears
have heavy stub teeth and the driving
pinion is mounted on a shaft that has
an outboard bronze bearing mounted
on the pump frame. A control lever
attached to governor gives the oper-
ator a choice of a wide range of
speeds.

The complete unit is mounted on a
tinick having 24-inch steel wheels with
4-inch tires and is equipped with pole,
trees and neck yoke for two horses.

New Concrete Block Machine

A new machine for the manufacture
of concrete blocks has been brought
out by the Ideal Concrete Machinery
Co., Cincinnati, O. The principle of
this machine is a carefully balanced
mold box which rolls on a track. In
the loading and tamping position, the
mold box is back under the tamper,
and the scraping hopper is forward
over the box. The operator handles
the tamper in the regular way, throw-
ing in all the tamp feet at once, at
the same time feeds the concrete in-
to the box, using the standard con-
veyor and feeder for this purpose, as
shown. As soon as the tamping is
completed, the scraping hopper is
pulled back by power,* carrying the
surplus concrete back on to a plate
ready to be used in the next block.
The mold box is then rolled over in-
to position. The operator presses a
foot lever which throws in a clutch
shown on the end of the tamper shaft,
and this, by means of cams, forces the
block out of the mold box downward
onto a pallet placed on a counter-
balanced table. As soon as the block
is stripped, the mold box is rolled

View of New Roll-Over Machine After the
Block Is Stripped

back and the scraping hopper brought
forward for loading, and the opor
ation repeated. While this block i
being made, the off-bearer carries
away the block just completed and
places an empty pallet on the table
ready to receive the next block.

1923

Equipment Review

451

Two New Le Roi Elngines

The Le Roi Company of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, builders of light weight,
heavy duty engines, have placed on
the market a one cylinder 3 to 4 hp.
engine and a two cylinder 5 to 8 hp.
engine. They are of the hopper cooled

Heavy

Engine.

type, but are distinguished by their
i peculiarly light weight. This does not
mean that they will not give good
service, but rather due to correct de-
sign as well as the use of high grade
-teels and a large amount of cast iron
being eliminated, the strength is
placed in the wearing parts, such as
crankshaft and bearings.

The single cylinder engine weighs
335 lbs. while the two cylinder engine
•veighs 400 lbs. All the reciprocating
ind rotating parts of these engines
ire balanced, which makes them oper-
ate very free from vibration. Natur-
ally this is a desirable feature where
"he engines are used on portable
•qaipment, as absence of vibration
.ves the equipment as well as the
gine and guarantees longer life.
These engines are of the vertical
pe which permits of enclosing the
Under and thereby reducing wear.
11 the other vital wearing parts are

fully enclosed and properly lubricated
by pump that forces oil under pres-
sure to all bearings, and also the
splash system of lubrication.

These engines have removable bear-
ings that can be taken up by means
of shims, and are so designed that
the hopper head is removable, a fea-
ture that is found in no other hopper
cooled engine in the country. This
feature alone will save a great deal
of time and money, when the user
cleans out the carbon or grinds in the
valves, which work is necessary on
any gas engine.

A float type carburetor and high
tension magneto of the latest im-
proved design are used, which guar-
antees easy starting under all weather
conditions. An enclosed, flyball throt-
tling type governing running in oil,
properly governs the speed. On tests
that have been made, these engines
have shown remarkable fuel and oil
economy. In the design of these en-
gines the makers placed dependability
foremost among the requisites.

Special Asphalt Wagon

The view below shows one of a
group of wagons recently purchased
by the Rock Asphalt Co. of Buffalo
from the Watson Truck Corporation
of Canastota, N. Y.

These wagons are built to handle
full 3 yds. of material and are equip-
ped with roller bearing axles;
lined with steel and asbestos. They

Watson Asphalt Wagon in Service in Bnffalo

are hauled at speeds of from 8 to 12
mi. per hour by Fordson tractors.

While the wagon here shown is
equipped with steel tires, the manu-
facturers furnish the same type with
rubber tires when desired.

452

Equipment Review

August,

New Water Measuring Tank for
Concrete Mixers

The new water measuring tank, de-
signed by The T. L. Smith Company
of Milwaukee, Wis., for use on its con-
crete mixers and pavers, is unique in
the device by which the water from
the tank is measured. This device
consists of an open-top trough, piv-

T. L. Smith Co. Water Measuring Tank.

oted at both ends within the water-
tight outer shell of the tank. By tilt-
ing this trough at different angles, it
is made to hold more or less water
and in this unusual way to regulate
the amount of water that can be
drawn from the tank.

The action of this trough can per-
haps be more easily understood by
taking up the operation of the tank,
step by step. Let us consider that the
trough is in an upright position. The
operator first allows water to run into
the tank until it is full. Then, as soon
as he is ready, he opens the valve at
the bottom of the tank and allows
the water to run out of the tank into
the mixer drum. But the water that
is held in the trough cannot run out.
The amount of water that does run
out is equal to the tank full less the
amount held in the trough. Tilting
the trough so that it will retain less
water permits more water to flow
from the tank. When the trough is
tilted to a position where it will no
longer hold any water, the entire ca-
pacity of the tank can be drawn off.

A short arm at the end of the tank
enables the operator to set the trough
in the position that will allow just
the right amount of water to be drawn

off for each batch. A graduated
sector, along which this arm rotates,
indicates the amount of water being
used. A lock is provided to lock the
arm at any point along the sector if
desired.

The water enters and empties from
the tank through a 2^^-in. valve lo-
cated at the bottom of the tank. This
large valve insures fast filling and
emptying.

In place of the usual three-way
valve the new Smith tank is equipnev.
with a piston-type, two-way valve.
The piston operates horizontally and
the seating surfaces, which are rubber
and finished cast iron, are in a ver-
tical position. This makes it practi-
cally impossible for dirt to cling to the
seating surfaces because the incoming
and outgoing water is continually
washing them clean. Any dirt that
may be caught in the valve will drop
to the bottom of the valve housing
where it can do no damage and from
which it can be drained off occasion-
ally through a small plug.

Shovel and Dragline Work in

Conjunction on Irrigation

Ditch

On the Merced Irrigation District
in California two excavators made by
the Pawling & Harnishfeger Co. of
Milwaukee, Wis. are being used by

p. & H. No. 206 Excavator Working on Irri-
gation Canal in California.

C. R. Adams, contractor. In digging
the canal to the necessary uniform
grade it was impossible in this case to
use a dragline alone as is ordinarily
done because the underlying strata
was hard pan which a dragline can-
not cut.

Mr. Adams therefore equipped one
of his excavators as a dragline and

1923

Equipment Revietv

453

the other as a shovel. The dragline
goes ahead and digs away the top
soil on the cuts and builds up the fills
by borrowing. The shovel follows in
the ditch cut by the dragline ripping
out the hardpan, sloping the banks
and leveling the bottom. This com-
bination works very efficiently.

Special Snow Loader

The development of special snow
loading equipment in recent years has

Barber-Greene Snow Loader Working at Night.

done much to relieve the difficult situ-
ation in which every large city street
department in the North finds itself
whenever there is a hard winter. The
machine here shown working at night
is made by the Barber-Greene Co, of
Aurora, 111. It has a record of having
loaded more than 3 cu. yd. of snow
per minute without any special prep-
aration of the snow for its handling.
On one job it was operated in temper-
atures ranging from 32° above to 5°
below zero without any observable
change in efficiency. During this same
period the snow ranged from slush to
almost frozen, the loader apparently
handling the different types of snow
with equal success. The loader was
operated with equal success on bitu-
lithic, wood block, granite and cable
pavements.

Fordson Mounted Self -Propelling,
Self-Feeding and Self-
Crowding Loader

A self-feeding bucket loader
mounted on a standard Fordson trac-
tor is the latest product of the N. P.
Nelson Iron Works, of Brooklyn,
N. Y. In this machine by connecting
the elevator directly to the engine,
the elevator with its toothed digging
spiral runs full speed, while the trac-
tor may be inched backwards into the
pile. The spirals level a 6-ft. cut and
material once started in motion keeps
moving continuously until picked up
by the elevator buckets. Buckets are
fitted with digging teeth. An over-
load release gives the operator ample
warning of boulders or undiggable
material. The capacity of the ma-
chine is stated to be 40-yd. per hour
of material 2-in. and under that a
man can shovel without the use of a
pick. A governor is installed to con-

l-Man Track Loader.

trol the fuel consumption to the ac-
tual requirements. The power take-
off remains available should the own-
er require its use for operating other
machinery, while the entire loader at-
tachment can be readily removed and
the tractor used for other purposes.
A swivel or turning spout is attached
to the loader, permitting discharge
sideways into truck if necessary. 8
ft. 6 in. clearance is given under the
discharge chute. The general con-
struction of the machine is substan-
tial. The elevator frame is of truss
design. The elevator buckets, chains,
sprockets, etc., are in keeping with
the regular design of the maker.

454

Equipment Review

August,

Lakewood "Light Seven" Mixer

This mixer, made by The Lakewood
Engineering Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, is
a lighter type of one bag machine —
capacity 7 cu. ft. mixed concrete per
batch. It is furnished on either steel
tired truck or with solid rubber tires
and spring suspension, and is designed
as a substantial machine yet one that
can be easily moved between widely
separated jobs. It has either low
charge platform or power loader and
water tank.

The wheels, which run on a 2^/^ -in.
high carbon, heat-treated axle, are
equipped with solid rubber tires and
Hyatt roller bearings. The standard
equipment includes the structural
tongue which attaches to the front of
the mixer frame and it is all so de-
signed that it can be easily attached
to a mixer in the field.

Folding legs are provided which can
be dropped down from under the front

The Light Seven or Type "M isu. 7S Mixer.

of the mixer frame as shown when
the machine is set up for operation.

The engine house is large and
roomy. The charging opening in the
drum is unusually large, being 26 in.
in diameter. This means quick and
easy charging with wheelbarrows. The
low charge platform which is hinged
to the frame is only 19 in. from the
ground and has steel legs which fold
up against the platform when the ma-
chine is being moved.

The main drive gears are complete-
ly enclosed in guards. Grease cup
lubrication is provided at all points
and the grease cups can be easily
reached and attended to.

The frames of the Lakewood Light
Seven Mixers are made of 6-in. steel
channels, hot riveted, with gussets at
the corners. This gives a solid foun-
dation for the mixer drum and plat-
form. The parts will stay in align-
ment and reduce wear to a minimum.

The machine is designed to stand long,
hard and continuous service. There is
a grease cup on each drum roller and
also on the drive shaft. The front
axle is of the built-up type and com-
posed of 2-3-in. channels. The rear
axle is cold rolled steel shaft 1% in.
in diameter with a 4-in. face. The
rear wheels are 26 in. in diameter with
a 4-in. face. The tread is the same
for both rear and front wheels.

The Lakewood Light Seven Mixer
has an exceptionally large charging
opening. It is 26 in. in diameter,
which allows plenty of room for
wheelbarrow charging. The discharge
opening is 17 in. in diameter and the
discharge chute is of the same type
as used on all larger Lakewood mix-
ers. The large size discharge open-
ing and the steep angle of the dis-
charge chute assures rapid and easy
flow from the drum. When not in
use, the discharge chute swings out
and upward, effectively closing the
opening and returning any accumula-
tion of grout into the drum.

A friction clutch is always fur-
nished with the Lakewood Light
Seven Mixer. This clutch consists of
a steel band lined with hard maple
block. One end of the band is fast-
ened and the other end is movable by
means of a bell crank. A tighter grip
on the clutch can be obtained by turn-
ing the screw with an ordinary
wrench. A dust cover completely en-
closes the friction surfaces, greatly
adding to the life of the clutch, and a
large guard completely encloses the
gears.

The drum gear is of semi-steel, cast
in four equal parts, which are inter-
changeable. A segment of the gear
may be removed and replaced in a
few minutes — a feature of real value
on the job.

One-Man Portable Derrick

The Barrett-Cravens Co., 1328 West
Monroe St., Chicago, 111., have pro-
duced the small portable derrick which
is here shown attached to a gondola
car from which it is unloading cast
iron pipe. Quickness and ease of in-
stallation are the characteristics of
this derrick. It is made in two tjrpes
— the standard for use in building op-
erations, attachment to trucks, etc.,
and the gondola type for use on cars
as here shown. It is adaptable as a
permanent installation for loading
platforms. For handling long, heavy

1923

Equipment Review

455

materials these derricks are some-
times used in pairs. There are but
two major parts — a beam, which in-
cludes the hoisting mechanism, and a
bore. One man can carry either sec-
tion and can easily install the derrick
alone.

It is equipped with two handles so
the operator can push with one hand
and pull with the other, the best
method for easy and fast operation.

larrett Portable Derrick Unloading Gondola
Car.

General specifications are as fol-

'ws:

Reach of beam, 3 ft. 4 in.
Maximum lift above floor level that
errick is bolted to, 5 ft.
Height over all, 7 ft.
Capacity of drum, 300 ft. of cable.
Weight, standard type, 285 lbs.
Weight, gondola type, 450 lbs.
The loads and speeds of convenient
'ting by one man are: With one
rand of cable 300 lbs., 50 ft. per
in.; with two strands, 600 lbs., 25 ft.
min.; with three strands, 1,000 lbs.,
: t. per min.

Machine for Salvaging Bricks

The Maroa Manufacturing Co.,

iroa, 111. is the maker of the ma-

' ne shown herewith for the cleaning

i 1 salvaging of bricks from old

1 Idings.

'Jnder general conditions it requires
p. to operate the disc. To take
e of exceptional conditions either

a 4 hp. water-cooler radiator type
Cushman engine or a New-Way air-
cooled 5 hp. engine is furnished. Air
intake of engines provided with dust
cleaners, and all bearings are dust
proof.

Clutch is provided on engine pulley,
and lever within easy reach of opera-
tor is provided so engine can be dis-
engaged if necessary.

The makers have made elaborate
tests to determine the best cutting
tool, and have found that nothing
else does as well as the special white
iron used. It not only stands up under
the work of removing mortar from
used brick, but it is very economical

Model No. 2, Eureka Brick Cleaning Machine.

to replace. The average cost for cut-
ting tools will be less than 8 cents a
thousand brick. They are quickly put
in place. There are 6 of these V-
shaped sections in the disc.

In the illustration the broad side
of the brick is in contact with the
disc, and is held in place either by
foot lever or by hand. When the foot
lever is released the plate on the side
of the brick drops back and the slant-
ing plate on which the brick rests
causea the brick to fall away from
the rotating disc.

The operator sits close enough to
the ground to pick up the brick out of
the pile and toss them to one side
when clean. The outfit can be moved
right along by the pile by the opera-
tor. The mortar from the cleaned
brick accumulates at about the edge
of the outfit where it can be easily
shoveled out of the w^ay or the outfit
can be backed off of it if moved to
the left, as this end of the outfit
swings clear of the ground.

456

Equipment Review

August,

New Drum Type 1-Man Puller

A number of improvements in its
one-man drum type of stump puller
have been made by A. J. Kirstin Co.,
Escanaba, Mich. The development of
a four-speed puller recently an-
nounced by the Kirstin company has
greatly increased the field in which
the puller can be advantageously
used. For maximum power speed
must naturally be sacrificed to some

l-Maii i>iJe Stump I'uller.

extent in an outfit which is depend-
ant upon a single man for its power.
But with its present range of three
forward speeds and a reverse speed,
power and speed can be regulated ac-
cording to need just as they are in an
automobile. The reverse speed of the
new drum type puller is stated to
make it especially suited for use as a
hoist, since the load can be lowered
undei- full control just as easily as it
can be raised.

A New %-Yard Gasoline Shovel

A new %-yd. gasoline rope-thrust
revolving shovel, known as the 20-B,
has just been announced by the Bu-
cyrus Company, South Milwaukee,
Wis.

This shovel contains the same fea-
tures which are embodied in their
30-B gasoline machine which has been
on the market for the past year.

Like the 30-B, the feature which
makes this machine unique among
shovels of its type is the rope-thi-ust
arrangement, patents on which are
held by the Bucyrus Company, which
not only does away with the necessity
of engines or other complicated mech-
anism on the boom, but at the same
time gives this shovel a drive behind
the thrust more powerful than it is

possible to obtain with a steam shovel
of the same size, since the whole
power of the main engine is behind it.
This device has proved itself on the
30-B shovel under the toughest dig-
ging conditions in all parts of the
world.

Briefly stated, the shovel is driven
by a single, rugged, slow-speed gaso-
line engine. The motions of the dip-
per handle are controlled by a small
drum on a shaft under
the boom, which shaft
has keyed to it pinions
for engaging with the
racks on the handle.
The drum is turned
either way by two
ropes around this
drum in opposite di-
rections, both ropes
leading to drums in
the main machinery.

'^ The striking fact
about the perform-
ance of this shovel is
the ease with which
the operator can con-
trol the motions of the
dipper, even to shake
it to relieve it of sticky material.

This shovel may also be had with
high lift or extra high lift booms, or
with dragline, clamshell excavator or
crane attachments.

'l'l:e control is exceedingly simple,
and the machinery arranged with
convenience of the operator in mind.
Whatever clutches are necessary are
sufficiently large to obviate the danger
of burning. The caterpillars and
frame in general are the same as the
20-B steam machine.

Explosives Used In April, 1923

Sales of explosives in the United
States in April, 1923, reported to the
Bureau of Mines by manufacturers,
amounted to 598,622 kegs of black
blasting powder, 5,443,735 lb. of per-
missible explosives, and 23,466,571 lbs.
of high explosives other than per-
missible. Each of these figures repre-
sents a large increase over April sales
during the past four years with the
single exception of black powder sales
for April, 1920, which amounted to
611,979 kegs. The figures presented
are based upon reports to the Bureau
of Mnies from manufacturers whose
sales amount to about 90 per cent of
the total sales of explosives in the
United States.

1923

Equipment Review

457

21/2 Ton Dump Trailer

The trailer here showTi behind a
Fordson is made by The Miami Trailer
Co. of Troy, Ohio. It is especially de-
signed for road and street work —
either construction or maintenance,

Miami Fordson Trailer.

but is also suitable for building and
other construction. It is adapted to
the hauling of dry materials, concrete
mix, or hot asphalt. This trailer is
distinctly a high speed machine for
use singly or in trains.

Model 14-L Jaeger Mixer

The Jaeger Machine Co., Columbus,

Ohio, has added to its line a model

lesignated as the "14-L." This is a

arger size mixer, built along the

ame lines as other Jaeger models.

The machine has been given a thor-

'Ugh tryout, under conditions for

vhich it was designed, to assure com-

^ilete satisfaction before being offered

|o the trade. For the past year this

nodel has been through the experi-

nental stage, and has now been

dopted as a standardized unit.

The Jaeger 14-L has a capacity of

4 cu. ft. per batch of mixed concrete

nd will accommodate 21 cu. ft. of un-

lixed materials, using 3 cu. ft. ce-

vent, 6 cu. ft. sand and 12 cu. ft.

|one. The mixing drum is the stand-

ird Jaeger tilting type, for quick

fading and discharging. Drum is 52

>. in diameter and 44 in. deep.

The engine is 4-cylinder, 15 h. p.

itomobile type — an engine known to

satisfactory for heavy duty service

i furnished with reduction gears to

verate mixer at proper speed.

jThe loader bucket is easy to load,

f d unloads without pounding. It is

lifted to unloading position by quick-
acting cone clutch — equipped with
brake for perfect control.

Yoke to carry mixing drum is of
hollow design — semi-steel.

Water tank is of the Jaeger tip over
type — of ample size for full
capacity wet batch — automa-
tic in action.

Front wheels, 28x5. Rear
wheels, 30x6. Truck 72 in.
wide. Top of truck made of 6
in. I-beams. Frame of mixer
made of 6 in. I-beams and 4x4
angles — all steel construc-
tion. Heavy in design but
light as possible in weight.

Distance between axles, 88

in.

Distance from floor to cen-
ter of top shaft, 96 in.

Distance from floor to ex-
treme top of loader bucket
when raised up to dumping
position, 128 in.
Width of loader bucket, 45 in.
Diameter of water tank, 16 in.
Extreme width with loader bucket
down, 125 in.

Weight complete, 6,645 lbs.
The discharge is semi-automatic
and drum is evenly balanced — con-
trolled by operator at will with little
effort.

Ammite — A New Explosive

The Atlas Powder Co. of Wilming-
ton, Del., has recently brought out an
explosive named "Ammite" which it
claims to possess all the desirable
qualities of dynamite in strength, ve-
locity, water-resistance, sensitiveness
and stability combined viith the addi-
tional advantages of being non-freez-
ing and of not causing headaches
when handled.

In addition, it is equally satisfactory
in either summer or winter, and may
be kept in proper storage indefinitely
without hamiing its strength, sensi-
tiveness and stability in the least.

Ammite is graded as to its per-
centage strength in the same manner
that the various forms of dynamite
are graded. It is made in six grades
— 75, 60, 50, 40, 35 and 30 per cent —
sufficient to meet practically every re-
quirement encountered in any kind of
blasting, be it mine, quarry, clay pit
or construction work, either above or
below ground.

458

Equipment Review

August,

Garage Door Arrangement

From The American Builder for July

Plan of Doors and Diagram of Movement.

Swivel Hanger With Vertical Adjustment.

inches to provide space for the hanger
trucks inside. For double doors the
front track is in sections, one back of
the other, so that the doors overlap
each other at the center in closing.
This gives room in the independent
trackways for the hanger wheels
which project well beyond the door
edges.

Highway Widths

Editorial from the September Highway

Bulletin of the South Carolina

Highway Department.

In the old days when horse drawn
vehicles constituted the traffic, a road
surface 15 ft. wide was considered
adequate on all suburban roads, and
in many cases a surface 12 ft. wide
was sufficient. The same roads now
need surfaces at least 18 ft. wide, and
in many Instances 24 ft. Of late years
the standard highway requirement has
been 8 ft. of width per stream of
traffic. This naturally resulted in thd
16-ft. standard width of roadway, so
long and so generally employed
throughout the country, except where
traffic was of extreme density. It is
thought that now on main through
lines of travel where the number of
vehicles per day is sometimes as high
as 3,000 the width should be at least
20 ft., with a sufficient width of suit-
able shoulder to make a total avail-
able width in emergencies of 26 ft.

The American Roadbuilders' Asso-
ciation at its 19th annual convention
in Chicago, Jan. 17-20, 1922, went on
record as favoring a pavement width
of not less than 20 feet for all truck
highways or roads carrying dense traf-
fic. This resolution had as preamble
that it was the experience of road
engineers that 18-ft. pavement widths
carrying dense traffic in the vicinity
of large cities were not adequate. The
reason for the endorsement of 20 ft.
as the standard minimum width was
principally because in addition to oc-
cupying space actually needed for traf-
fic, the shoulders of narrow concrete
roads are much more badly damaged
by heavy vehicles overrunning on
them, which also jeopardize the edges
of the concrete, which is likely to be
much more broken than when the traf-
Hc IS retained within a foot of the
edge. The increased width of bltu-

Vj2S

Equipment Review

459

minous roads will also tend strongly
to prevent the development of ruts
that are tound in narrow roads.

One chief engineer stated that the
cost of shoulder maintenance of an 18-
ft roadway, when added to the cost
of the roadway itself, greatly exceeded
the cost of a 20-ft. road and its main-
tenance. He thought the width of the
road should be increased with the in-
crease of traffic, allowing at least 10
feet for each lane of traffic.

The chief engineer of the Massa-
chusetts highway department reported
that Massachusetts is now specifying
a 20-ft. standard for main highways
and preparing for 26-ft. roads, as on
the Boston highway, where the foun-
dation is 26 ft. wide, although the
present wearing surface is only 20
ft In districts where not more
than 200 or 300 vehicles pass daily.
18-ft. width suffices unless the traf-
fic is chiefly of motor trucks.

Motor trucks 8 ft. wide over all are
now in service on many highways and
two of them cannot safely pass on an
^■ft. roadway.

An English engineer was quoted as
saying that roads near New York City
should have a minimum width of pave-
ment of 30 ft., adding that if Ameri-
can traffic continues to grow, roads
150 ft. wide, such as now exists be-
tween London and Edinburgh, will be
required on American main trunk
highways and especially near large
cities. An official of the United States
Bureau of Public Roads advocated the
minimum width of 20 ft. and stated
that bridges were now recommended
to be 22 ft. and whenever possible 24
ft. in width.

The Federal law now fixes a mini-
mum width of 18 ft. for the surface of
roads on the primary systems of the
several states, and in general a mini-
mum width of 18 ft. for hard surfaced
roads is recommended by the Bureau
of Public Roads of the United States
Department of Agriculture. The maxi-
mum width of truck body generally
permitted is 8 ft., and oVz ft. is the
ordinary clearance width of automo-
biles. "At an average speed of 30
miles per hour it is unreasonable to
expect the driver of an automobile to
drive with his wheels closer than ly^
■' to the edge of the pavement. For
rucks at an average speed of 15 miles
an hour, this distance should not be
less than 1% ft. on account of the
?reat width of the rear wheel. Three
eet seems to be a minimum safe

clearance between bodies. Inasmuch
as a certain amount of truck traffic
is to be expected on all main country
roads, the minimum width of surface
should be 18 ft. to provide the above
clearance."

Where the frequency with which
trucks pass each other becomes a big
factor, as in the neighborhood of large
cities, the minimum width of pave-
ment should be 20 ft., to provide a
clearance of 3% ft. and a safe dis-
tance of wheels from edge of pave-
ment.

In the South Carolina highway act,
the width of trucks is limited to 7%
ft., but as traffic develops the increased
width will without doubt be authorized
and, therefore, the 8 ft. width should
govern.

In the opinion of the state highway
engineer, the conditions in South Caro-
lina are such that an 18-ft. pavement
is sufficient for most locations. A less
width than 18 ft., however, is not con-
sidered desirable for any so-called per-
manent type of pavement; because,
when the traffic warrants such a pave-
ment, it will undoubtedly soon war-
rant the 18-ft. width.

Bonus System for Workmen
on Road Job

To stimulate the interest of the
workmen and encourage team work,
the Kaiser PaWng Co., of Mt. Vernon,
Wash., inaugurated a system of wage
payment based on the amount of work
accomplished. The system was in-
augrurated on a 7.7 miles concrete
paving job on the Pacific Highway in
Skagit County, Washington. We are
indebted to the' Western Highways
Builder for the following details:

The pax-ing on this contract was
under the direction of the Washington
State Highway commission and was
20 ft. wide, 6 in. thick at the sides
and 7*2 in. thick at the center. It
was found that twelve 30-ft. slabs
constituted an average fair day's
work, and the system adopted, offered
each man a fixed bonus for every
additional slab placed during the day.

The piece rate for each man per
slab was fixed at his day's wages
divided by twelve, the number of slabs
considered a fair day's run. Only
the mixer operator and the foreman
were paid a straight salary and bonus

Equipment Review

460

basis. Other men in the mixer crew
were paid as follows:

Preparing Subgrade —

3 men at 46^^ ct. per slab.
Wheelbarrow Men —

3 on sand at 46% ct. per slab.

8 on gravel at 46^^ ct. per slab.

2 cement men at 46% ct. per. slab.
Placing Concrete —

2 spreaders at 50 ct. per slab.

2 template men at 50 ct. per slab.

1 finisher at 75 ct. per slab.
Miscellaneous —

1 material spotter at 46% ct. per slab.

1 general man at 46% ct. per slab.

Curing the pavement was done un-
der sub-contract. Aggregates were
hauled partially under contract at 25
ct. per ton mile and partially by the
contractor's trucks, the driver being
paid by the hour. All cement was
hauled by contract, 16 ct. per barrel
for all hauls up to 2 miles with 5 ct.
per barrel extra where the distance
hauled exceeded 2 miles.

Under this system excellent pro-
gress was made, the average daily run
being 16 slabs per 8-hour day. The
same payment system was in force
on other jobs undertaken by the same
contractor and a friendly spirit of
rivalry between the various crcws
was encouraged. It was the ambition
of each crew to "break the record"
and each crew was notified of the
other crew's progress for the preced-
ing day. .

The workmen were thus able by m-
dividual effort to increase their day's
wages and the crew would not allow
a drone in their midst. The contrac-
tor also had the advantage of know-
ing just what his labor charges were
per slab and the assurance that the
utmost possible progress was being
made, consistent with standard work-
manship.

A 4-sack Koehring mixer, holdmg
24 cu. ft., loose measurement per
batch was used. A. B. Ordway was
the Kaiser Paving Co.'s superintend-
ent and Richard H. Wilson was resi-
dent engineer for the State highway
commission.

Canadian National Railways Lets Con-
tract for Work at Fort William,
Ont.

J. C. Milligan, Fort William, Ont.,
has been awarded a contract by the
Canadian National railways for mam
line alterations immediately west ot
Fort William. The contract will be in
connection with the double-track con-
struction from Mokoman west for
three miles to connect with the exist-
ing Canadian National main line.

August,

New Type of Ventilating Shade
for Center Swing Sash

From The American Builder for July

The center swing steel sash so
popular in the fenestration of various
types of buildings no longer presents
any obstacles to proper shading
against too strong or hot sunlight.

A manufacturer is producing a
shade which is applied direct to the
steel sash, eliminating the expensive
and troublesome boring of the con-
crete or brick walls, and whose con-

Shade in Place Over Tilting Sash Window.

struction of stained wood strips,
twine-woven, tend toward easy oper-
ation and lasting qualities over a long
period of use.

Naturally, a shade to be properly
considered as such must be of a type
which does not interefere with the ven-
tilator, even while it shields against
the light. Its lower portion mustbe
out of the way of the workers passing
by, and out of the way of possible
flapping against machinery. The
shade illustrated is suspended from a
bracket attached to the steel ribs, and
is automatically brought in flush
against the wall at the base of the
sash.

1923

Equipment Review

461

Steel Joists

The two cuts herewith illustrate the
use of light steel joists now being
made by the Truscon Steel Company
of Youngstown, Ohio. The advantage
of this material lies in the substantial,
non-combustible construction which it
furnishes at a cost much below that
of ordinary structural steel. The
manufacturers have just issued a 32
page, profuselv illustrated volume en-
titled "The Steel Joist Data Book" in
which very full information is given
on the properties and uses of these
joists. It is stated therein that floors
of this construction weigh from 40

cement ceiling plaster will protect
Steel Joist Construction against tem-
peratures of as high as 1700 degrees,
such conditions developing less than
550 degrees around the joists. The
fireproofness of Steel Joists has been
developed not only in tests but in ac-
tual fires in comparison with other
constructions."

con Steel Joist Construction With Wood Floor Finish.

and Ceiling.

•Hi-ln. Hy-Rib Lath for Floor

per cent to 70 per cent less than do
other fireproof floors. Regarding
fireprof qualities the following state-
ment is made:

purlines, are illustrated in the data
book.

rangement for Wooden Floor and Joist
Spacings Up to 24 Inches.

The Ohio Leader Road Machine

The Ohio Leader, made by The
Oberlin Machinery Co., Oberlin, Ohio,
is a team machine only, sufficiently
strong to be operated with two heavy
teams. It is equipped with a digger
or without. The digger can be op-
erated in conjunction with the blade.
The blade is equipped with fenders,
and is a highly efficient grader for
leveling material or sub-grading. The
vertical adjustment of the blade is
the latch wheel and chain hoist mech-
anism. The lateral adjustment is the
pin side feature.

The rear wheels are equipped with
or without flanges.

Weight complete 1,750 lbs.

The machine is operated from the
rear platform with the hand wheels
and operating machanism in reach of
the operator.

462

Equipment Review

August,

Methods of Grouting in Shaft
Sinking

Extract from Article, "Present Practice

in Design and Sinking of Mine

Shafts," in May Proceedings of

Engineers' Society of

Western Pennsyl-

By R. G. JOHNSON,

President, R. G. Johnson Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.

The handling of water which is en-
countered in the sinking of shafts de-
pends largely upon the amount of
water and the nature of the rock.
Grouting is the only method of pre-
venting the water from coming into
the shaft, and today provision for the
sealing of water by injecting cement
into the fissures of the water-bearing

Lifting Eye
Steel Casting ^-^ ^' Slotted Hole
inBracket

'//////////■'//

Total Weiqht empty 500 lb
Fig. 1 — Grout Mixing Tank and Connections

strata is a part of all specifications.
Today, all prices in contracts for sink-
ing shafts are based on the assump-
tion that if water is encountered
grouting will be started and paid for
according to provisions in the con-
tract. Usually grouting is paid for
per barrel of cement injected, but it
would seem that a method fairer to
both parties would be an agreement
to pay for the cost of grouting on a
basis of cost plus a fee per barrel.

the fee to include the use of the con-
tractor's plant, and his profit. The
grouting clause and its price today
takes the place of the water clause in
the contracts of 12 and 15 years ago.
This clause in former contracts pro-
vided for additional prices per verti-
cal foot sunk in case certain quanti-
ties of water were struck, the prices
to increase as the quantity increased,
but this was an inequitable manner
of paying for the cost.

The First Use of Grouting. — In
grouting, cement mixed with water to
the consistency of cream is forced into
the crevices under high pressure
through drill holes in the rock, or
pipes through the lining. The proc-
ess was used first in shaft sinking in
this country about 1910 on the con-
struction of the Catskill aqueduct, al-
though in Germany and in Northern
France the principle was used several
years before in cementing around the
outside of the shaft before sinking
was started.

If the ground 4 or 5 ft. above the
stratum is solid, the grouting can be
done very easily. If the strata above
the water-bearing seam are full of
crevices, naturally or through shat
tering, these cracks will allow in*
grout to work out because there is not
enough resistance to the pressure of
the grout. Such a condition will often
t.ake care of itself by the gradual
setting of the thin layers of cement
in the cracks, and the forcing in of
additional cement at low pressure on
successive days. Often oatmeal, bran
or dry sawdust is forced in with thr
cement and settling in the water seal
the cracks. If the cracks in the bot
torn of the shaft cannot be sealed iii
this manner, it is necessary to put .i
concrete mattress over the shaft bot-
tom to provide resistance. This

1923

Equipment Review

463

scheme, while expensive, has always
been successful.

The Grout Mixing Tank.— The grout
is usually mixed by compressed air in
a grouting tank, as in Fig. 1, and
forced into the crevices by turning
the pressure of air in at the top of
the tank; or the grout may be forced
into the crevices by a pump, with
equally good results. The scheme of
grouting in rock in the shaft bottom
is shown in Fig. 2.

The pressure used in grouting
varies greatly according to conditions.
If you are grouting in solid rock, the
higher the pressure the more efficient
will be the grouting. Usually with a
grout tank you will use up to 125 lbs.
pressure. If you are using a pump,
the pressure available is limited, of
course, by the steam pressure and the
ratio of the cylinders on the pump.
In several cases on the Catskill aque-
duct grouting was done under pres-
sures as high as 500 lbs., and my
recollection is that in one or two cases
a pressure ot 600 lbs. was used
through the use of special equipment.
Little high pressure work is done in
this section.

Grouting Behind a Shaft Lining. —
In grouting behind a shaft lining spe-
cial care must be taken to gage the
pressure properly, and definite results
i can never be guaranteed. If the holes
i to be grouted are in a round shaft,
1 or in round ends of a long shaft, they
j will, of course, stand more air pres-
sure than in the flat side of a shaft,
but it is practically impossible to
force grout behind a lining with less
' than 20 lbs. of air, and the possibili-
1 ties of breaking a flat lining under
even 20 lbs. of air are very great.
When grouting behind linings was
first started, pans or blisters of tin
were usually put against the rock rib
1 where the water ran out when the
i lining was being poured, and a hole
was punched in the tin from which a
pipe led to the concrete lining form,
1 and the grout was forced through this
' pipe. This is, still done in many cases,
but if it is possible to drive a pipe
! into the water-bearing crevice and
calk the rock seam so that all water
will lead into the pipe, a much better
grouting job can be done, for higher
I pressures can be used since there is
I not the area of lining over which the
pressure of the grout can get.

Grouting in Slopes. — Grouting in
I slopes is a more difficult proposition.
I Since the strata are usually horizon-

tal, the grout injected into the crev-
ices must travel over a greater area
to be effective. In M'ater-bearing coun-
try it is wise to keep a test hole
ahead pointed dowTiward at a greater
angle than the angle of the slope. If
water is struck, more holes are drilled
and grouted to refusal, but in driving
a slope through a horizontal water-

Fig.

/ / !

2 — General Layout for Grouting Opera-
tions in Shaft Sinking

bearing crevice it requires a long hor-
izontal distance to get beyond the
drainage area of that crevice, so that
the sealing of water from a single
crevice often requires several grout-
ing operations. Each operation re-
quires not only the time for the in-
jecting of the grout, but a longer time
to allow it to set before again shoot-
ing the face.

Unloading Sticky Clay From
Dump Cars

The peculiar consistency of the ma-
terial excavated on certain sections of
Welland Canal, makes it very difficult
to handle. The material is like plas-
tic clay and the steam shovels load on
the dump cars great balls of this ma-
terial about 6 ft. in diameter. At
first, states Successful Methods, the
contractors used straw to keep this
clay from sticking to the bottom of
the cars. Then they hit upon better
plan — they turned the hose on the
slopes where the cars were being
dumped. They had also turned water
on the sides and bottom of the cars
before loading.

464

Equipment Review

August,

Regulation of Overloading of
Motor Trucks

Progress Report Presented May 10 at

Meeting of National Highway

Traffic Association

By D. C. FENNER

Manager, Public Works Department, Inter-
national Motor Co., New York City

While the last 40 years have wit-
nessed most of the real development
in rail transportation what might be
considered real development in high-
way transport has only just begun
and in the future we will probably
look back upon the years of 1922-1923,
as marking the start of a develop-
ment of the proper basis for the reg-
ulation of weights and loads for
motor trucks.

In January 1923 the Motor Truck
Division of the National Automobile
Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation
with the Society of Automotive En-
gineers and at the request of Motor
Vehicle Administrators adopted a re-
vised "Standard Caution Plate for
Motor Trucks."

The new plate provides space for
all the weights needed for purposes
of rating, classification, licensing,
operation and regulation of the motor
truck; for the promotion of safety,
the enforcement of law and the pro-
tection of the highway.

All these weights can and will be
furnished by the manufacturer at the
time he attaches one of these plates
to each individual chassis and before
the chassis leaves his factory. This
means that nothing is left to the
judgment, the discretion or the in-
clination of the vendor, the vendee,
the operator or even the Enforce-
ment Officer. Information necessary
to settle any dispute comes from the
maker, attached permanently to each
individual chassis.

Enforcement of State Motor Ve-
hicle Laws.— During 1922-19,23 many
states have strictly enforced their
motor vehicle laws. Due to the fact
that a large proportion of the trucks
in operation had been "underrated
but oversold" many operators, fearful
of competition, applied for and in
most cases received a rerating of
their vehicles. In the main this re-
rating has been handled in a conser-

vative manner and on an intelligent
basis by both officials and manufac-
turers. It was probably the best .solu-
tion of the difficulties developed by a
stricter interpretation and a more
rigid enforcement of the law. It
should be regarded as a temporary
expedient, the need for which will
pass as trucks on which the old form
of caution plate was used, go out of
service.

Many state laws use the term
"Manufacturers Rated Capacity."
Much of the present misunderstand-
ing is due to the fact that manufac-
turers once assumed that this would
be determined and stamped on the
plate by the vendee before he made
application for a license. Space was
provided on the old form of plate for
recording it, but under two headings
"Standard" and "Actual." Under the
heading of "Standard" the manufac-
turer stamped his standard tonnage
rating of pay load capacity, the basis
on which motor trucks have always
been rated and sold. The correspond-
ing space in the column headed "Ac-
tual" was left blank by the manufac-
turer. No one could tell what the
"actual" carrying capacity might be
until the complete truck with body
and equipment mounted had been
weighed and the "actual tare" de-
ducted from the "standard gross."
The manufacturers assumption was
rarely justified.

"Manufacturer's Rated Capacity."

— Very few pendees paid any atten-
t'on to the old form of caution plate.
They loaded on a big body and plenty
of equipment and then made out their
application on the basis of manufac-
turers "Standard rated capacity.''
For a long time the state sold licenses
on this basis. The only attempt which
the state made to check up matters
was to secure from the manufacturer
the relation between chassis number
and standard tonnage rating. Then
some states started to enforce their
law and limit loads to "manufacturers
rated capacity" and they discovered
that if they added the actual tare
weight of the average truck light to
the manufacturers "standard pay load
capacity" the result, in most cases,
was in excess of the manufacturer's
"standard gross weight." Due to the
failure of the manufacturer, the ven-
dor and the state to insist that the
vendee should use the old form of
plate in the manner laid out by th«

1923

Equipment Review

465

manufacturer, the average motor
truck when loaded to the manufactur-
er's "standard pay load capacity" is
actually overloaded to the extent that
the actual weight of body and equip-
ment exceeds the manufacturers
"standard body weight allowance."

The New Plate. — In the new plate
the weight of the load is purposely
lumped with the weight of the body
and the weight of the equipment.
The manufacturer if he so desires
may place the size or tonnage rating
in the center section but you will not
find any direct reference to "manu-
facturers rated capacity" or "pay load
capacity" in the right hand weight
section.

We believe that the use of this new
plate will discourage under-rating and
that it will prevent over-selling. Its
use is not compulsory. Manufac-
turers have suggested that state
motor vehicle commissioners should
refuse a state motor vehicle license
for any truck which is not equipped
with a manufacturers caution plate on
which all the weights called for are
not properly stamped. Irrespective of
whether a truck is equipped ^^ith an
old or a new form of plate we believe
that the National Highway Traffic
Association should support this sug-
gestion, and further that we should
urge the adoption and use of the new
plate at an early date.

We further urge:

1. The restriction of loads per inch
width of tire, per wheel and per axle.

2. Recognition of the type, condi-
tion and factor of resiliency of tire
equipment, taken at the time vehicle
is weighed, for use in regulating
speeds and the determination of li-
cense fees according to wheel load.

3. The restriction of the minimum
thickness of solid and cushion tires
when measured between the tire
flange and a flat metal surface on
which the wheel stands.

4. The recognition of the tractor
and semi-trailer as separate units so

; that we may encourage the distribu-
1 tion of the very heavy loads over

naore than four wheels.
; 5. Rigid enforcement of the pro-
l^isions of the Proposed Uniform Ve-
1 licle Law and existing state laws.
1 6. Active cooperation in every

movement to nroperly regulate loads

land speeds of motor trucks on the

pighway.

Wonder Mixer with Fuller &

Johnson Engine

The Construction Machinery Com-
pany of Waterloo, Iowa, manufactur-
ers of WONDER Mixers, recently an-
nounced the adoption of engines made
by Fuller & Johnson Manufacturing
Co. of Madison, Wis., as power plant
on all models and sizes of Wonder
equipment.

The sizes of Wonder Mixers range
in capacities from 3 cu. ft. up to and
including 7 cu. ft. of mixed concrete
to each batch. Wonder "4", "5" and
"7" cu. ft. sizes are furnished either
with or without loaders and water
tanks, and the Wonder "3" and "4"
cu. ft. sizes without loaders are
equipped with either road trucks or
pneumatic tired steel roller bearing
wheels.

Skip Bonding With Electric Bonding
Machine

By H. K. FERRELL

Asst. Elec. Engineer, Kansas City, Clay
County & St. Joe Railway

From "Traction" Junior for July

After a period of years on any elec-
tric railway, bad bonds will begin to
show up, due to the usual wear and
tear on the track and to the action of
the elements. Generally the worst
spots are to be found at sidings and
public road crossings, manv of which,
on the K. C. C. C. & St. Joe Ry., are
a mile or more apart.

To take care of this work with a
bonding machine attached to an extra
train or with a bonding machine
pushed from place to place by a spe-
cial crew is both expensive and in-
efficient.

A simple way out of this difficulty
was found in the use of a Lincoln
bonding machine mounted on a light
push car, made from discarded motor
car wheels and axles and weighing
but 570 lbs.

Using a motor car to move the
bonder from place to place it is pos-
sible to stop, repair or renew a bond
and be on the way again with this
outfit in from three to five minutes'
time. This insures that bond mainte-
nance is always kept up and does not
in the least interfere with the regular
train schedule.

466

Equipment Review

August,

U. S. Civil Service Elxamination

The United States Civil Service
Commission announces the following
open competitive examinations:

Superintendent of Construction. —

Receipt of applications will close Sep-
tember 25. The examination is to fill
vacancies in the Central Office of the
Veterans Bureau, Washington, D. C,
at entrance salaries ranging from
$3,000 to $3,600 a year, and vacancies
in positions requiring similar qualifi-
cations.

The duties consist of complete
charge of labor, materials, and con-
struction on such building projects
as are undertaken by the Bureau; the
estimation on such building projects
as are undertaken by the Bureau ; the
estimation of labor and materials re-
quired, their efficiejit distribution, and
the maintenance of complete and ac-
curate accounts thereof.

Competitors will not be required to
report for examination at any place,
but will be rated on their education,
experience and fitness, on a scale of
100, such ratings being based upon
competitors' sworn statements in
their applications and upon corrobora-
tive evidence.

Computer. — The examination will
be held throughout the country on
October 4 and 5. It is to fill vacan-
cies in the Coast and Geodetic Sur-
vey, for duty in Washington, D. C,
at an entrance salary of $1,400 a year,
plus the increase of $20 a month; for
duty in the Manila, P. I., office at an
entrance salary of $2,000 a year, plus
the increase of $20 a month; and for
duty in computing the triangulation
of the Hawaiian Islands, at an en-
trance salary of $1,860 a year.

The work of a computer in the
Coast and Geodetic Survey is tech-
nical in character. It involves the
computation and adjustment of the
data obtained from the field work in
one or more of the various branches
of geodesy, terrestrial magnetism,
tides and currents, and the prepara-
tion of the results for publication.

Competitors will be rated on the
subjects of mathematics, astronomy,
physics, surveying, practical computa-
tions, and foreign language (French,
Italian, Spanish, or German).

Apprentice Draftsman. — The re-
ceipt of applications will close Oc-
tober 2. The examination is to fill
vacancies in the office of the Chief

of Ordnance, War Department, at an
entrance salary of $600 a year, plus
the increase of $20 a month granted
by Congress, and vacancies in posi-
tions requiring similar qualifications.

Applicants must show that they
have had training and actual experi-
ence in mechanical drafting, obtained
either in the drafting room of a
manufacturing establishment or a
Government establishment, in the
drafting classes of day or night
schools, or in drafting courses of cor-
respondence schools.

Competitors will not be required to
report for examination at any place,
but will be rated on their education,
training and experience, and prac-
tical tests to be submitted with the
application.

Assistant Examiner. — The exam-
ination will be held throughout the
country on October 4, 5, and 6. It is
to fill vacancies in the Patent Office
at an entrance salary of $1,500 a year,
plus the increase of $20 a month
granted by Congress.

Applicants must select one of the
following optional subjects: Chem-
ical engineering, civil engineering,
electrical engineering, electrochemis-
try, general chemistry, mechanical en-
gineering.

Competitors will be rated on the
subjects of physics, mechanical draw-
ings, technics, mathemetics, langauge
(French and Gernian), and the op-
tional subject chosen.

Junior Engineer and Deck Officer. —

Applications will be rated as received
until December 28. The examination
is to fill vacancies in the Coast and
Geodetic Survey, at an entrance sal-
ary of $2,000 a year, and vacancies in
positions requiring similar qualifica-
tions.

Applicants must have completed at
least three and one-half years of a
course in civil engineering leading to
the degree of C. E. or B. S. in civil
engineering in a college or technical
school of recognized standing, but
graduation with one of these degrees
will be required before appointment.

Full information and application
blanks for these examinations may be
obtained from the United States Civil
Service Commission, Washington, D.
C, or the secretary of the board of
U. S. civil service examiners at the
post office or customhouse in any city.

Roads and Streets

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbest p. Gillettk, President and Editor

Lxwis S. LouES, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St. and Broadway

RiCBASD E. Browm, Eastern Manager

Roads and Streets — Ist Wednesday, $1 RaUways — 3rd Wednesday. SI

(a) Road Con- (e) Streets (a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-
stmction (d) Street clean- way Constmc- way Constmc-

(b) Road Main- ins tion and tion and
tenanoe Maintenance Maintenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday, $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and Sanitation
Drainage (d) Waterways

BnildinKS — tth Wednesday, $1

(a) Buildings (d) Miscellaneous

(b) Bridges Stroctores

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., SEPTEMBER 5, 1923

No. 3

Education and Punishment for Reckless Drivers

Reckless driving is so conspicuous,
and in the aggregate so disastrous,
that the offense brings a measure of
odium upon the whole tribe of motor-
ists. That this is undeserved by the
great majority is indicated by the
statement from Pennsylvania Railroad
representatives quoted elsewhere in
this issue to the effect that reasonable
caution was exercised by 97 per cent
of the auto drivers observed crossing
".racks. But while it is probable that
he percentage exercising caution is
greater at railroad crossings than else-
where, the figures furnish good reason
;t'or a belief that recklessness at any
lime is limited to a comparatively
•niall minority.

■ "nje problem is how to protect the
piAlic from the reckless few, and to a
issser extent, how to protect the few
^rom their own foolhardiness. The
!' Cross Crossings Cautiously" cam-
paign of the railroads has been car-
ried on with most commendable en-
■i"gy and presumably with worth while
esults. It can scarcely have escaped
nyone's notice, and it is not conceiv-

able in any event that a considerable
number of drivers fail to realize that
there is danger at crossings. Yet the
reckless 3 per cent remains, and in the
aggregate numbers scores of thou-
sands.

It is unnecessary here to attempt a
psychological analysis sho^^'ing why
persons who know the danger so often
act as if they did not know it, but
one consideration in such an analysis
must be taken: man is prone to gam-
ble when the odds are in his favor.
True, he "gambles" of necessity every
day of his life, but there are certain
activities which more often than
others lead men to overrate their odds,
and automobile dri\ang is one of them.
Education may be counted upon to
help but not to cure this condition,
and as in so many phases of our com-
plex life we must look to a variety of
means to accomplish the desired end.

Active enforcement of a stiff legal
penalty seems likely to remain the
most practical curb on general reck-
lessness. Without it there is the inev-
itable tendency to trust to skill and

468

Roads and Streets

Sept.

good luck where the trust is not war-
ranted; but a knowledge that the traf-
fic force means business is a different
matter. Then the game is changed by
a side bet with odds against the driver.
He may be just as confident as ever
that he will have no accident but he
cannot escape the prospect of a session
with the Judge.

Not long ago there was a marked
stiffening of enforcement of traffic
laws in Chicago followed very shortly
by a period of four days in which not
one death by automobile occurred. The
record since then has not been so good
but still it shows an improvement over
that which preceded it. Jail sentences
and heavy fines are being handed out
quite liberally even in cases where no
damage has resulted from the reck-
lessness. Intoxicated drivers in par-
ticular have drawn the wrath of the
Law, and the prospect is good for a
marked increase in safety from auto
accidents.

The work of the motor clubs in this
campaign must by no means be over-
looked. Not only have they most ve-
hemently and constantly urged careful
operation upon their drivers but they
have lent active assistance in the ap-
prehension and prosecution of of-
fenders.

Auto fools, and auto criminals can-
not be wholly eliminated, but many
fools can be taught and criminals
freightened. Enforcement of sensible
(not needlessly restrictive) laws, and
continuous educational work by all
proper agencies must be depended up-
on to make our roads and streets safer
for all who use them.

To Mark Historical Points.— The

Pennsylvania Department of High-
ways is completing plans for the erec-
tion of permanent markers at all im-
portant historical points along State
Highways in Pennsylvania. At this
time few such places are indicated by
markers. The Department is also
planning to erect signs at each stream
over ten feet wide so that passersby
will know the name of streams.
Standard markers are now being pre-
pared for the named highways in
Pennsylvania. These in addition to
the trans-state name of the thorough-
fare will give the through-route num-
ber and the local name of the road.

Sound Road Policies

Editorial in The Canadian Engineer.

Food for much thought was con-
tained in the address of M. A. Lyons,
chief engineer of the Good Roads
Board of Manitoba, at the general
professional meeting of the Engineer-
ing Institute of Canada in Win-
nipeg. While local improvements are
carried out in a large measure by
those who live near by, highways
must be constructed and maintained
to serve those persons who make use
of them whether they come near or
far. Policies must, therefore, of
necessity be county, provincial or
perhaps Dominion-wide. The adop-
tion of a program, then, is a matter
tor the people of the large rather than
the small, community.

Convincing demonstration of the im-
portance of highway problems from
the economic point of view was pre-
sented by Mr. Lyons in comparative
figures of railway and highway traffic
in Canada. For example, he pointed
out that the cost of hauling freight
on highways in Canada was for
1919 about 54 per cent of what
was spent for freight on the rail-
ways, whereas the cost of moving
passengers on roads was about
142 per cent greater than the
cost of moving passengers on rail-
ways. When the enormous past ex-
penditures, and those to which we
are committed, on railways are con-
sidered, and the relative importance
of highway to railway traffic is re-
membered, some idea is gained of the
support which might reasonably be
asked for highway construction. There
is danger in the severe effort which
Canada is putting forth at the pres-
ent time to solve the railway muddle
that the tremendous importance of
primary transport may be forgotten.
If such should unfortunately be the
case, it will be found to have reacted
prejudically on the railway problem
itself. Only by providing and main-
taining first-class highways through-
out the country would it be possible
to feed and support the railways to
the extent necessary if they are ever
to be placed on a paying basis.

Pennsylvania Mileage Completed in
1923.— Up to Aug. 19 the Department
of Highways had completed 150 mi.
of durable highway during the 1923
construction sea.<=;on. There are now
approximately 140 construction jobs
in progress.

1923

Roads and Streets

469

Grade Separation at Railway and Highway

Crossings

Dangers Overcome, Joint Obligations and Benefits, Types, Designs,

and Other Considerations as Treated in the Concrete

Highway Magazine for August

Each morning as we read news-
paper reports of the preceding day's
crossing accidents the dangers at
these points become more and more
evident. In one case the driver
thought be could beat the limited to
the crossing. In another the gates
were not closed. In a third it was
the brakes on the car that were at
fault. At still another point no special
warning or protecting measures had
been installed as it was considered a
safe crossing, the view being clear in
each direction. Careful drivers will
not start across railroad tracks until
they are sure there is no danger, but
even careful drivers are sometimes
negligent.

Whatever may be the reason — or
lack of reason — the fact remains that
crossing accidents not only continue

but are ever increasing in frequency.
After two or three accidents at a
crossing, agitation is started for its
elimination. Or one particularly hor-
rible accident may arouse public opin-
ion and start action.

In many cases progress is seriously
hindered by failure of one oi both
parties to give reasonable considera-
tion to the other side of the argument
on division of cost. Ordinarily in-
ability to reach an agreement means
long legal proceedings before the Util-
ity or other Commission empowered to
act in such matters. The questions of
life and property are so important
that unnecessary delay is inexcusable
and all parties should co-operate to
expedite elimination of the crossing.

The public benefits greatly from
grade separations through elimination

^^&

'Creditable Crossing of Naturally Separated

trades on the Line of Pittsburgh and

Shawmut R. R. near Colwell, Pa,

470

Roads and Streets

Sept.

of delays at blocked
crossings and in
greater safety. ^ It
should be willing to
pay for those benefits.
The railroad benefits
through elimination
of liability for dam-
ages, maintenance of
crossings, and opera-
tion of gates or
watchmen. Probable
reductions in mainte-
nance and operating
costs are easily deter-
mined and these sav-

A Safe Crossing That Was Dangerous on Scranton Division of
Delaware, Lacltawanna and Western.

Delaware. Lackawanna and Western Crossing at Morris, N. J., Showing Street Realignment t(

Improve View Ahead.

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western at Montclair, N. J.

ings, capitalized
are often suffi
cient to pay for s
large part of th(
railroad's shar(
of the cost. A1
the same time
the saving in de-
lays to the publi<
will usually re
turn a large par
of the public':
share of the cost
Thus the net cos
of the adde(
safety and con
venience is rela
tively small.
Other question!

Roads and Streets

Erie R. R. Crossing at Kenmore, N. Y.

471

penses. In other cases
raising the tracks
maj- be equally objec-
tionable. For that
reason the railroad
is usually allowed to
choose between an
over and an under
crossing. On the
other hand, if either
party insists upon one
t\-pe of crossing in a
case where the other
would be less expen-
sive, it should be
willing to bear the

New York Central Viaduct at Tonowanda. X. Y.

involved in grade
separation are
ruUy as impor-
tant as the divi-
sion of cost. The
railroad must
consider its oper-
f;ing efficiencv.
^^ cannot agree
1 lower its
racks where the
•esulting grades
\ould be exces-
I'^e, causing de-
^ys to traffic,
'"Lining the
^nrth of trains,
^ d increasing
Perating ex-

-Ve« York Central Track Elevation. Kenmore

N. Y.

472

Roads and Streets

Sept.

greater portion of any excess cost.

Many underpasses have been built
at right angles to the railroad regard-
less of the direction of the highway
in order to reduce the size of struc-
ture required and save expense.
Where such construction places
"kinks" in the highway, the view is
apt to be obscured and new hazards
introduced, which in some cases may
make the underpass more dangerous
than the grade crossing it replaced.
To avoid such new hazards every ef-
fort should be made to give the motor-
ist a clear view, even if it is neces-
sary to build the subway at an acute
angle or to relocate the highway.

A Pennsylvania Grade Separation.

Occasionally this situation occurs at
an overhead crossing, but such cases
are less common.

Where conditions are such that it is
decided to carry the highway over the
railroad the desirability of concrete
construction is especially evident.
Concrete cannot catch fire from sparks
or cinders blown out with the ex-
haust, nor is good concrete affected by
locomotive gases or blast. Ordinarily
the clearance between the top of rail
and an overhead bridge is around 22
ft. But in the yards of the Chicago
and Western Indiana Railroad in Chi-
cago there is a bridge with only 17 ¥2-
ft. clearance. After being exposed to
the blasts of the heaviest locomotive
traffic for seven years the concrete on
that bridge is in excellent shape, the
form marks still being plainly visible.

For spans up to 30 ft. reinforced
concrete slabs are ordinarily used.
For longer spans, reinforced concrete
girders carrying short floor slabs are
usually more economical. Where

clearances are sufficient deck girders
are usually favored, not only on ac-
count of greater economy but also
because they permit a more attractive
design. Where clearances are ample
and foundations good a concrete arch
is often used, the attractive appear-
ance of a well proportioned arch fre-
quently influencing a decision in its
favor. Because of this factor, a fac-
ing is sometimes applied to a slab or
girder to give an arch effect.

The same principles are true where
the railroad crosses over the highway.
In that case less clearance is neces-
sary, fourteen feet being a common
requirement, but the loads carried by
the structure are heavier. Very at-
tractive structures have been designed
in many instances. Precast concrete
slabs are often used in order to mini-
mize interference with normal railroad
operation during construction. Some
highway authorities object to putting
a pier in the center of the highway
while others not only do not object,
but actually prefer such a pier as
tending to separate traffic and pre-
vent accidents.

Although thousands of grade cross-*
ings have been eliminated in the last
decade, grade separation is still in
its infancy. One prominent railroad
estimates that grade separation work
that will probably be required on its
lines in the next twenty years will
necessitate an expenditure larger than
that railroad's present capitalization.
All grade crossings can not be elimi-
nated at once, of course, but the indi-
cations are that progress on this work
will be rapid in the next few years.

Lincoln Highway Improvements Includ-
ing Five Grade Crossing Elimina-
tions in Iowa

Crawford County with the aid of
the Iowa State Highway Commission
plans to straighten out ten miles of
the Lincoln Highway between here and
Dow City, eliminating three double
track crossings of the Chicago and
Northwestern Railroad and two single
track crossings of the Illinois Central

At present the Lincoln Highwa
runs north of the Chicago and North-
western and the proposed plan calls
for a new right-of-way, to be ulti-
mately paved, following a practically
straight line along the foothills. This 1
alignment will also do away with :
many right angle turns and approxi- 1
mately a mile and a half will be ^
eliminated from the distance.

1923

Roads and Streets

Concrete Single Track Highways

473

Experiences of Brant County, Ontario, in Construction of 9 ft. Con-
crete and 9 ft. Gravel Roads Described in Paper Presented
June 12 at Annual Convention of Canadian Good
Roads Association

By A. M. JACKSON,

Engineer, Brant County, Ontario.

Single track roads are, in the writ-
er's opinion, a financial expedient. No-
body would build a hard surfaced road
wide enough for one vehicle only at a
time, if they could afford to build it
wide enough for two. A single track
road, however, will go twice the dis-
tance a double track will go for the

It Avill readily be seen that the ac-
tual grading and ditching for both
types would be the same, that the
water supply for mixing and curing
the concrete would be the same for
both types, that the cost of actual lay-
ing would be slightly greater in the
case of the narrow type on account of

:•**•

Track Loaded with One Batch in Each of 5 Compartments DischarginK a Compartment In-
to Mixer on Construction of Single Concrete Track.

ame money, and the question resolves
itself into this: will you have twice
'he length and half the width, or twice
'he width and half the length?

These statements are not absolutely

I'recise, but I have found that a 9-ft.

oncrete slab laid on one side of the

entre line of a road, with a 9-ft.

ravel track on the other side of the

entre line costs from 57 to 60 per

?nt of the price of an 18-ft. slab.

nis comparison is made on the basis

the turnpike required by the On-

rio Department of Highways for a

ovincial county road, viz., 28 ft.

om shoulder to shoulder.

the increased amount of moving of
the plant and forms, and finally, the
principal reason why the one type
costs more than one-half of the other
is the addition of a gravel track be-
side the concrete.

Half Width Concrete Roads.— The
Brantford Suburban Area Commission
was on the principle of pay-as-you-go
in 1920 in the position of having just
sufficient money to maintain their
roads and to build one mile of 18-ft.
concrete road each year. Their two
heaviest travelled roads were the two
main market roads with a subsequent
area of 4 miles on each; eight miles of

474

Roads and Streets

Sept.

full-width concrete road would mean
that it would be eight years before the
last rate-payers were served. The
Commission decided to build half-
width concrete and to place the slab
on one side of the centre line. Two
miles were built in 1921 and two miles
in 1922 and the other half of the road-
way constructed of crushed, pit-run
gravel. The experiment appears to
have justified itself and at the end of
four years instead of eight, the rate-
payers on both these roads will have
an every-day-in-the-year road to their
market town.

Preparation of Subgrade. — Stand-
ard practice in the laying of concrete
roads has undergone marked improve-
ment and change since 1917, and it

Gravel Overlapping and Protecting^ Edge of
Slab.

seems unnecessary that I should dwell
on this phase of the subject. How-
ever, it would appear to me that a
number of the failures in concrete
pavements have been partly due to the
want of uniformity in the sub-grade.
I feel that in so severe a climate as we
have, the sub-grade for a payment
should always be prepared a year
ahead of the actual concrete laying.

The prepared sub-grade should con-
form as nearly as possible to the
contour that will be adopted under the
pavement. For an 18-ft. slab this
would be flat, while for a half-width
slab on one side it might have a fall
of 2 in. towards the ditch. The proper
banking on curves should be provided
in the sub-grade at the same time so
that the whole will settle uniformly.

The sub-grade should be coated
with gravel or stone and a fall, winter
and spring allowed to pass before any
concrete is laid. This coating of 6 in.
of gravel or stone should be strength-
ened where weaknesses have shown
and would provide a uniformity of
sub-grade not usually obtained when
the work is done immediately in ad-

vance of the mixer. This coating wil
not only serve the trafl^ic over the pre
pared sub-grade, but will tend to re
duce the condensation and accumula
tion of water under the concrete whicl
is a prolific cause of iieaving, unever
settlement and cracks.

Construction of Concrete Section.—
On four miles of concrete pavemeni
laid by the Brantford Suburban Ares
Commission in 1921 and 1922, on one
side of the centre line, the sub-grade
was prepared as stated. The slab was
7 in. thick throughout and was tilted
2 in. One edge was laid on the centre
line of the turnpike and 9 ft. of pit-
run crushed gravel was laid alongside
in two layers and consolidated by
traffic. The concrete was 1:1% rS^^
using 2 in. to % in. crushed stone and
a grade of coarse sand which proved
satisfactory under the standard color
test with sodium-hydroxide.

The stone was hauled to a central
stock pile in the winter and a central
proportioning plant was established at
this point. Measured -batches of stone
and sand were hauled by trucks
divided into separate compartments to
the mixer, the trucks backing down
between the side-forms set 9 ft. apart
to receive the concrete. At the mixer
the trucks were up-ended as for dump-
ing, and one batch at a time was shot
into the hopper of the mixer where
two bags of cement were added. Ow-
ing to the sub-grade having been pre-
pared the previous year, and simply
skimmed to true contour ahead of the
mixer, the tracks seldom made any
impression on the sub-grade; when
they did, soft material was removed
and crushed gravel added and rolled.
This test of the sub-grade has the
obvious advantage of showing up
weak spots before they are coated i
and finally put out of sight to cause:
subsequent cracks and settlement.
Mixing was for 1 to 1% minutes in
the drum after water had been added
by an automatic measuring device and
placing was by boom and bucket..
Hand tamping was used and this
heavy work as well as the firiishing
was found easier to do well on the
narrow pavement, than it is on an
18-ft. slab.

Water was supplied from a 2-in.
pipe line and pumped from a creek by
a triplex pump with a booster pump
one and a half miles up the line. The
water had to be pumped an extreme,
distance of 3% miles.

An average of about 400 lin. ft. laifi
per day was obtained, with big day^

1923

Roads and Streets

47-:

• of from fiOO to 650 ft.; %-in. elastite
joints were placed every 40 ft. in 1921,
and 50 ft. in 1922 and also at stop-
pages. The green concrete was cov-
ered for a day with canvas on frames
and then coated with earth and wetted
continuously for three weeks. The
slump test was used and up to a 2 in.
slump allowed. This has resulted in
a pavement without any longitudinal
cracks.

There are 46 transverse cracks in 4
miles, including one diiagonal corner
crack. Many of these are hair cracks
and not open sufficiently to be re-
paired with tar. In several cases two
cracks have occurred in the one slab
and they have invariably occurred a
little below the summit on rises. No
increase in number seems to be due
to the extra length of slab adopted
latterly, and the entire absence of
longitudinal cracks due to the half-
width type is very satisfactory.

All curves were banked, but in the
first season's work where the slab was
on the outer side of a curve, no widen-
ing was used because it was figured
I .the widening would be added on the
I • inner side of the second slab when the
road was double tracked. This was a
mistake which ha*d to be remedied the
second season. Widening of the
curves on a single track road is even
more necessary than on a double
track, and should, I think, be propor-
tionately somewhat more. The stand-
ard allowance of H in. per ft. for
banking on cur\-es of 300 ft. radius
was used and this I consider should be
increased where the curve is also on a
grade, otherwise the destructive ac-
tion of side-slipping is liable to be-
come evident and with insufficient
' idening would call for heavy main-
enance of the gravel at the edge of
:ie slab.

No Rutting Has Developed. — Criti-
cism of the method of having one-half
of the surface of gravel and the other
of concrete has been that there would
be a rut formed at the centre of the
road along the edge of the slab. Up
to date this has not been the case, but
banking and widening on curves
iiould be carefully provided for or
:ch ruts would form.
The gravel part of the surface has
jeen kept dragged smooth and well up
'•i the concrete, our endeavor having
'een to keep the gravel slightly over-
apping the edge of the slab. Extra
material has been added to the gravel
"hen it has become consolidated below
"he slab and the ready adherence of

new material in very thin layers to
the existing gravel road is one point
which, I think, makes this type of con-
struction more suitable in gravel
counties than in those where only ma-
cadam is used.

The cost of dragging on this road
has been approximately one-fifth of
what it was when the whole surface
was gravelled, and I estimate that
with a vehicular traffic of something
over 500 per day during the summer,
that 90 per cent of the travel is on the
slab.

No TraflSc Accidents Due to Method
of Construction. — There have been
several accidents on this road since it
was paved but none due to the method
of paving on one side of the centre

Carre on Grade Superelevated 9 Inches.

line, which has the effect of so clearly
showing where the middle of the road
is that there can be no mistake made
about it by the most inexperienced
driver. The side of the road paved
was that going out of town because
changes in the alignment .of the old
grade gave heavy fills on the other
side. I think there is probably argu-
ment in favor of the pavement being
laid on the in-to-town side, though the
gravel road can be kept so smooth
that some vehicles will keep on it en-
tirely rather than bother to run on the
slab and turn out when overtaken.
There is no perceptible jar in turning
on or off the concrete. Notice boards
stating that west bound traffic has
right-of-way on the concrete were set
at conspicuous points on the road and
have apparently served their purpose,
as no difficulty has been experienced
with person not observing the rules of
the road.

Main market roads as a rule are
those constructed by the county and to
finance the full pavement of all a
county's main mai-ket roads would be
a burden greater than any county

476 , Roads and Streets Sept.

could bear unless it were assisted to Construction and Maintenance Costs.

an unusual degree by contributions — Regarding costs, I would say that

from the state and urban areas. The these are bound to vary tremendously

great majority of main market roads in different localities, so that the

in this province would undoubtedly figures which I give are more for com-

fall into the class with a vehicular parison than to be taken as the actual

traffic of up to 500 per day, while a cost today of the different types,

small percentage would come in the From data I have been able to obtain

class of 500 to 1,000 vehicles per day, and check from my own experience,

and it seems doubtful if any road an approximation of construction and

carrying more than 1,000 vehicles still maintenance costs on such a compara-

belong to a county system as such tive basis is as follows:

Table I

Maint. up Maint. up Maint. up
Coetto to 500 to 1000 to 1500

build vehicles vehicles vehicles

Type per mile per day per day per day

18 ft. concrete $40,000 $100 $200 $300

9 ft. concrete and 9 ft. gravel 23,000 200 400 1,600

18 ft. gravel 6,000 1,000 2,000 4,000

have ere now been assumed by the To retire the cost of a concrete
province as provincial highways. At pavement 18 ft. wide in 15 years at
the same time there must come a pe- 5V2 per cent per annum will require
riod on almost all main market roads an annual payment of approximately
when the matter of a hard top has to 10 per cent of the principal sum or
be considered, and it seems that to $4,000, and with $100 per mile for
build only full-width pavement would maintenance would represent an an-
mean leaving out of the program a nual cost of $4,100. Treating the cost
very large proportion of the main of a half and half gravel and concrete
market roads because of the great road in the same manner would repre-
cost of such paving. sent an annual cost of $2,500, and
The question of finance must then similarly for a gravel road an annual
bring up the desirability for some ex- cost of $1,600. Now taking the case
pedient where traffic reaches 500 ve- of roads with a vehicular traffic up to
hides per day and this seems to me 1.000 per day, these three costs would
to be met satisfactorily by a half- become— for concrete $4,200, for
width strip of concrete laid beside a gravel and concrete $2,700, and fori
strip of the same width of gravel. It plain gravel $2,600. |
must always be borne in mind that the From a study of the foregoing, it
people can only have that type of road will be seen that where gravel is used
for which they can afford to pay. for one track and concrete for the
When it becomes economical to pro- other, with the traffic from 500 to
vide a single track of hard surface, I 1,000 vehicles per day, the half and
believe the logical place to put that half type of road will be more eco-
single track is with one edge on the nomical than a full-width concrete
centre line of the road and not in the pavement and preferable to a full-
centre of the turnpike. There are sev- width gravel road in that the cost per
eral reasons for this opinion; the other mile over a period of 15 years is al-
half of the road surface can be more most the same, but the advantage of a
easily and effectively constructed than hard surface on part of the width
where the hard surface is in the centre would far out-measure any such small
and the balance has to be made up of difference in cost as $100 per mile,
two narrow strips, one on each side. The type of construction which I
The duplication of the hard surface have been describing would appear
can be more easily and economically more suitable in what I would call a
constructed in one wide strip than in gravel and concrete county than in one
two narrow ones, only one longitud- in which no gravel is to be found, and
inal joint is formed when traffic war- where all roads must be constructed
rants the widening of the hard surface by some of the various combinations
and this, in the centre, forms a good of crushed stone and bitumen,
division line for traffic. With the I have not had the experience of
edge of the hard surface on the constructing macadam on one-half of
centre line on whom the onus of turn- the road surface with concrete on the
ing out falls, can not be a matter of other. On account, however, of the
dispute. tremendous destruction caused by

1923

Roads and Streets

477

motor trucks during the war of the
finest macadam roads to be found any-
where, I refer to the roads in Scot-
land, where Macadam was born, the
Transportation Commission for Great
Britain advocated 2-ft. concrete wheel
tracks in the existing macadam roads,
so that it was obviously considered
that this form of construction was
quite feasible.

Let me say, however, to those build-
ing roads in counties where no gravel
exists but only stone, that I have built
in some gravel road stretches com-
posed of pit-run crushed stone with
all stone over 1 in. removed.

These stretches were laid and
treated in exactly the same manner as
the adjacent stretches of crushed
gravel and under a heavy traffic of
narrow tired overloaded Ford trucks
running to a milk factory have stood
up satisfactorily and like a gravel
road can be dragged and kept smooth
throughout their life. When such
roads are worn down to half their
original thickness they still have this
advantage over macadam, that they
can always be kept as smooth as when
newly constructed, by the simple proc-
ejs of dragging.

Business Conditions and Prospects

as Seen by the Guarauity

Trust Co.

Respite the strength of restraining
;ences upon trade, both domestic
auu foreign, including the customary
seasonal factors tending to lessen ac-
tivity, there has been only a mod-
e curtailment recently in produc-
and distribution in* the United
es, according to "The Guaranty
ey," published on August 27, by
Guaranty Trust Company of New

"It is evident," the "Sur\-ey" con-
ifiues, "from a general view of domes-
• 'ic production and distribution that
, :he volume of current business re-
"nains large when measured by any
i >ther than peak standards. The de-
"''"e in prices and recession in the
!ne of business are not accom-
led by the usual initial character-
> of a major depression. Inven-
ts are generally conser\-ative,
-'ank credit is not over-extended, and
interest rates remain moderate. In-
A'i of the over-expansion of con-
ction which has usually preceded

drastic and prolonged depression,
there remains a general shortage of
housing and other construction. The
reaction both in security and commod-
ity markets from the levels of the
early months of the year has pre-
pared the way for more nearly stable
and normal business. And the fall
seasonal stimulus may be expected to
quicken the pace of industry and
trade. The railroads have prepared
for the movement of an unprecedented
volume of freight. Altogether, there
are conditions favorable to a contin-
uation of good business.

"On the other hand, the sharp de-
cline in prices both in security and
commodity markets, accompanied by
a reduction in forward buying, has
somewhat weakened general confi-
dence.

"A fundamental difficulty confront-
ing American business is the de-
pressed condition of the export trade.
The volume of exports — allowance be-
ing made for price changes — is run-
ing far below what may be consid-
ered normal and has been less this
summer than last, although the abso-
lute values differ only slightly. The
volume of imports, however, reached
an unprecedented level in March, fol-
lowed by a considerable decline with
the relaxation of demand for foreign
raw materials. Preliminary figures
show an excess of exports in July to
the value of S26,000,000, the first
monthly export balance since Feb-
ruarv.

County Superintendents of Road
Maintenance in Pennsylvania Classi-
fied.— The Pennsylvania State Depart-
ment of Highways has adopted a
classification scheme for county super-
intendents of road maintenance. The
Department has established three
classes of maintenance superintend-
ents. Class "A" positions carry a
salary of $225 per month and head
those districts which spend from
S200,000 to $500,000 per year. Class
"B" superintendents are those whose
districts spend from $100,000 to $200,-
000 per year, and the salary is $200
per month. Class "C" positions, in
those districts which spend less than
$100,000 per year, have a salary of
$175 per month.

478

Roads and Streets

Sept.

Culverts smd Small Bridges

Abstract of Paper Presented June 13

at Annual Convention of Canadian

Good Roads Association

By E. L. MILES,

County Road Superintendent, Lindsay, Ont.

Water is by far the greatest enemy
to road builders in the province of
Ontario, owing to the fact that our
winters are severe, the spring run-off
rapid, and our summer storms heavy.
No matter how well the surface of the
road is constructed for the traffic it is
expected to serve, if water is allowed
to accumulate and soak into the road,
or to run over it, the surface is bound
to be injured by heavings, washings
or softenings.

Three Points to Watch.— With this
knowledge at hand, there are at least
three essential points to watch:

(1) That the spring run off and
summer storms shall be allowed to
pass freely through culverts.

(2) That the surface of the road
should be well above the capillary at-
traction from ordinary water level in
the ditches in the fall of the year.

(3) That the drainage from the sur-
face of the road should be to the
ditches and not allowed to stand and
soak back into it.

Of these three points, the first is
probably the most important. Many
land owners, and a few road builders
consider that the road ditches should
be used as drainage canals, carrying
water for long distances to definite
outlets or bridges. The result is that
snow and ice blockade cause the water
to dam up and run over the surface as
well as to soak into it. Efficient road
drainage is an essential to road build-
ing as land drainage is to agriculture,
and the water must be allowed to pass
from one side of the road to the other
as quickly and as often as possible,
and thence away from the road alto-
gether in original and natural course.

Sizes Pipe Culverts. — It is economy
to place culverts in all runways, not-
withstanding the fact that they may
operate but once a year, and it is
wise to adopt a policy of minimum
size in order that their operation may
be assured, and not always subject to
ice and snow, or grass and weed
blockades.

There is but little value in an 8 or
10-in. pipe culvert either across the
road or at farm crossings in the
ditches. 12-in. pipes might be used

in ditches near the summit of the
watershed, but 15 in. should be the
minimum for ordinary cases. The
minimum across the road should be 18
in. and larger sizes used according to
the acreage drained, and the slope of
the land. The maximum pipe culvert
should be 30 in. limited because of the
additional area obtained in the box
type without extra expense. Head-
walls should be constructed on all pipe
culverts after the construction of the
road, allowing the full standard width
of road between them. Careful in-
spection of all pipe culverts should
be made in the fall of the year in
order to clear them of grass, weeds,
driftwood, etc., and then again in the
spring when the run off is taking
place.

Of the second point, it might be
said that if the road surface can be
lifted away from the influence of ca-
pillary attraction that there need be
no worry from standing water in
swamps, or low lands. Three feet
above ordinary water level in such
cases is usually sufficient.

Of the third point, it might be said
that the ruling crown of roads built
for fast and frequent traffic will not "
effectively discharge the water from
the clay or gravel shoulders, and
therefore the shoulder should be
crossed at regular intervals of not
less than 50 ft. by stone drains. These
drains so constructed as to allow effi-
cient drainage a few inches below the
metalled or paved portion of the drive-
way. The water will then run along
the edge of the pavement to the drains
and thence to the ditches without
soaking under it.

Tests of Gravel in Field. — Gravel is
the principal material used for con-
crete aggregate, and almost every pit
is graded differently. To get the
greatest efficiency from the gravel as
we find it, a few simple field tests ,
should be made as follows: (a) vege-i
tation; (b) silt; (c) coarse aggregate; ■
(d) voids.

Vegetation can be seen by careful
examination, or by washing the mate-
rial in a bottle. Silt can be measured
by washing in a bottle and allowing
the mixture to settle. It should not
be more than 3 per cent. Coarse ag-
gregate should be over one-half of
the total material retained on a H-in.
mesh screen. Voids: The proportion
of water that can be poured into a
given quantity of gravel will equal
the proportion of cement required.

The proper quantity of water is

1923

Roads and Streets

479

measured by the slump test. That is,
a column of fresh concrete should re-
tain its shape when turned out of a
cone and not run or settle down in a
shapeless mass. For the foundation
work, it should not settle more than
12^ per cent and for reinforced con-
crete not more than 20.8 per cent.

Tamping and spading is a great
factor in securing good concrete, and
this should be done as much as pos-
sible while it is being deposited in the
forms. Not only are all the air bub-
bles removed, but the concrete surface
shows the results when the forms are
taken off, and much less rubbing and
plastering is required.

In the construction of all beams,
floors and head walls, it is considered
safe, sane and economical practice to
wash the gravel. That is, to run it
through the mixer just prior to use,
and to pour off the dirty water.

Foundations for Bridges.^With re-
gard to the foundations for small
bridges, it is of course essential that
a secure bottom shall be found, and
in most cases this is not difficult. In
swamps, however, where the stream is
winding and sluggish, it so happens
that encounter considerable depths of
muck and soft clay. In these cases, it
is not essential to reach the bottom
of the muck with the concrete, but in-
stead, a pile foundation can be driven,
using a follow block so that the head
of the pile will be three or four feet
doA^Ti in the muck. Then by driving
Wakefield piling to act as forms, the
muck can be pumped out to the depth
required, and the concrete placed a
foot or so below the top of the pile
and brought to a point about 6 in.
above water level. On top of these
foundations the bridge can be con-
structed without danger of settlement
or collapse.

Concrete can be successfully poured

under water by using a little care. A

very good method is to pipe it through

the water, keeping the pipe always

filled above the water line and by

moving it around on the bottom so as

; to let the concrete out. After the bot-

jtom course of about 8 in. has been

placed, the forms can be pumped out

iaCnd the concrete continued under or-

I'iinary conditions.

1 Reinforcing in concrete culverts and
pridges is placed mainly as a strength-
ener for good concrete but it should
jalso be placed as insurance against
poor workmanship, such as in wing
kails where no load is to be carried.
j In conclusion I would suggest that

every concrete structure should bear a
date stamp such as "1923" in some
conspicuous place along the coping
wall. It vnll be interesting for the
future generations to note two fea-
tures: First — The conditions of the
concrete according to its age. Second
— The wisdom and foresight of the
present day designers. Already we
are blasting our narrow concrete cul-
verts that were erected as "perma-
nent" structures 10 years ago. In
some cases the concrete is too poor to
even use in a foundation for a new
structure.

Roadside Trees Protected by
Highway Department

Division and District Engineers in
the employ of the Pennsylvania De-
partment of Highways have been in-
structed by the Department heads that
they must be zealous in protecting
trees on the right of way during con-
struction work. A letter sent to these
employes says:

"You will appreciate that it is of
the utmost importance that no trees
shall be cut down in connection with
highway improvement unless it is ab-
solutely necessary. Plan your work
in such manner as to take full ad-
vantage of shade trees. In working
up your construction plans where
shade trees of considerable growth
can be saved without interfering with
proper alignment and with due regard
to proper construction, this must be
done. There is no excuse whatever
for any trees being unnecessarily de-
stroyed or injured during the progress
of the work."

The Pennsylvania Department of
Highways in co-operation with the
State Forestry Department is also un-
dertaking to plant additional trees
along sections of the main highways
\yhere trees are lacking. It is be-
lieved that Pennsylvania is the only
state in the Union w^hich to date has
used portions of its highway fund to
undertake beautifications of the state
routes. Ultimately, it is believed that
the proper beautification of roadsides
will be considered a portion of the
cost of main highway improvement.
The Lincoln Highway across Pennsyl-
vania is considered by many to be one
of the most beautiful drives in the
United States and much of its exist-
ing beauty is due to the ancient trees
which line the route through the A'-
leghenies.

480 Roads and Streets Sept.

Road Maintenance in Monroe County, Michigan

Methods, Materials and Organization

By GEORGE E. MARTIN,

Consulting Engineer, The Barrett Company, Chicago, III.

Monroe County, Michigan, lies mid-
way between the cities of Detroit and
Toledo, and as a result of this loca-
tion is confronted with the necessity
of caring for a large amount of
through traffic across the country in
addition to local traffic. This condi-
tion has been m.et by the construction
of pavements on the through traffic
roads in general, although a twelve-
inch water-bound macadam, main-
tained by surface treatments of re-

macadam base. A surface treatment
with one-half gallon per square yard
of tar is included in the specifications.
This treatment can not be applied,
however, until the road has been un-
der traffic for several months and is
perfectly clean. The price per square
yard bid on the surface treatment
ranges from 12 to 15 cts. per square
yard on a treatment taking from one-
half to two-thirds gal. per square
yard. It is optional with the County

Loading Slag Into Distributer.

fined tar, successfully carries the traf-
fic on one section of the Dixie High-
way.

The local roads are practically all
built of water-bound macadam and
surface treated with refined tar. A
total of about 125 mi. of macadam
roads is maintained in this manner.
The earlier roads were built six inches
thick and fourteen feet wide. Present
practice in the country is to build
water-bound macadam eight inches
thick in two four-inch courses and from
14 to 20 ft. wide. Both limestone and
slag are used for this work. All
turns are constructed with a three-
inch penetration top on a water-bound

whether this work is done by it or by
the contractor who built the road.

Shortage of labor and rising costs
induced the County Highway Commis-
sioners to adopt various labor saving
machines for their maintenance work
this year. All of the work is done
by the County by force account ami
all of the machinery and apparatus is
owned by the County. Maintenance
of the water-bound macadam roads in-
volves patching and cleaning of the
road and application of the tar ana
cover. On old roads where only the
carpet coat is broken, skin patches are
made with Tarvia "B" and slag cover.
Deeper holes are repaired with Tarvia

1923

Roads and Streets

481

K. P. mix or by making penetration
patches with Tar\'ia X. The patch-
ing outfit consists of a truck to haul
the mix or stone aggregate and a
trailer filled with barrels of the bitu-
minous material. Where hot mate-

Distributing Slag.

rial is used a tar kettle is added to
".he outfit. Two men do the patching
operations.

i Dust and dirt are removed from the
'road ahead of the surface treatment

consists of one-third gallon per square
yard and succeeding years about one-
fourth gallon per square yard of cold
tar. After the third year it has been
found possible to omit one year's
treatment in some cases and in a few
instances it has been omitted for two
years. The condition of the road in
the Spring is the determining factor
in deciding whether to treat a road
that season or not.

Number six air-cooled slag is used
for cover on the surface treatments.
This material ranges in sizes from
one-half inch to one-eighth inch. It
is received in cars, unloaded with a
clam shell bucket into trucks and
hauled to 40-ton stock piles at con-
venient loading places along the road.
A Bangert distributor has been at-
tached to one of the County trucks
and is used to spread the cover on the
tar treatment. Somewhat less than
fifteen pounds of siag per square yard
is used for cover.

Five men handle the actual surface
treatment operations. One man drives
the sweeper and blower which cleans
the road. The tar is shipped to con-
venient points in tank cars and ap-

Blowing Dust Off Road Before Treating.

"ation by sweeping and blowing.

' sweeper and blower are mounted

a truck which works ahead of the

distributor.

iXew roads are given from one-half

1 two-thirds gal. per square yard of

S^d refined tar in two applications.

lie road is closed to traffic and the

"*t application allowed to soak in

about four hours before the sec-

i application is made. Cover is

Bid on the last application only.

Tj^atment the second year usually

plied with a 750-gal. distributor owned
by the County. One man drives the
distributor and the foreman operates
the rear end of the distributor. Slag
is loaded from the stock pile with a
portable clam shell bucket mounted
on a truck, into the truck fitted with
the Bangert distributor. This truck
backs over the fresh tar distributing
the slag from the rear end. One man
operates this truck and the clam shell
with the assistance of the fifth man
as a helper. This outfit covers about

482

Roads and Streets

Sep1

one and one-half miles of fourteen-
foot road in a day.

The successive surface treatments
of the older roads has resulted in ma-
terially widening them. While this
additional shoulder of bituminous ma-
terial is not very solid, it has been
sufficient to carry the traffic which
turned out on it and has protected
the edges of the original road.

By following a definite maintenance
program, Monroe County has been
able to build up a mileage of most
excellent local roads, which are dust-
less in the summer and in good usable
condition during the entire year at a
comparatively low cost.

General plans for financing and
carrying on the work are made by the
County Highway Commissioners,
Messrs. Wm. Heiss, James Vance and
John Hayward, while the actual do-
tails of the construction and mainte-
nance operations are carried out by
Mr. W. S. Cumming, County High-
way Engineer.

Crossing Accidents Almost Whol-
ly Due to the Fault of Three Per
Cent of the Drivers of Autos

From "The Golden Circle." Journal of the
North Shore Motor Club, Chicago

Sponsored by the American Rail-
way association in an effort to cut
down accidents at grade crossings,
the second annual Careful Crossing-
campaign now is under way to con-
tinue until September 30. Broadcast-
ing the slogan "Cross Crossings Cau-
tiously" to motorists throughout the
United States, a large four-colored
poster drives home the idea that beat-
ing the train across the crossing is a
poor way to save time.

Employing everv available means
"^blicity, the Chicago Safety coun-
cil, in charge of the campaign in Chi-
cago, holds the hope that the efforts
this year will be rewarded by a rec-
ord which will show far fewer cross-
ing deaths than the 758 fatalities rec-
orded during the summer months of
1922.

In addition to its use on the large
poster, this impressive design por-
traving immediate disaster to the
reckless motorist and showing how
9,101 persons lost their lives in five
years, has been adapted to many other
uses. Railroads and other agencies
for outgoing mail are using corre-
spondence stickers, and automobile
windshields are displaying a miniature
of the poster. Publishers of the au-

tomobile blue book and road mai
have agreed to stress the campaig
in the publications, and a large nun
ber of motion picture houses throug]
out the country will flash reprodu
tions of the poster on their screen
Included in the Safety council's pr(
gram for Chicago are special instrui
tion for school childen, distribution (
thousands of the posters, pamphle'
and windshield stickers, safety a(
dresses to be made at the motor dr
vers' school on the Municipal pier, ar
radio talks via several of the local st;
tions.

Just where responsibility for tl
majority of grade crossing acciden
lies is forcibly brought out by an ai
alysis of 384 accidents occurring i
one year on the Baltimore & Oh:
railroad. Negligence of railway en
ployes was responsible for two ace
dents; three were undetermined, ar
the remaining 379 were clearly a
tributable to the driver of the V(
hide.

Vehicles attempting to beat ti
train over the crossing were respol
sible for 183 disasters and the mj
chine stalling on the track account*
for sixty-eight more. Fifty automc
biles crashed through crossing gat<
into moving trains, with forty moi
meeting the same fate at crossing
having no such protection. In on
instance it is reported that a mote
car struck the twenty-seventh car c
a freight train.

Twelve accidents were caused b
defective brakes and twelve more b
stopping the car too close to the trad
Eight accidents were due to intox
cated drivers and six to crossing froi
behind one train into the path of ar
other.

Officials of the Pennsylvania syp*'^'
report that in observing the cor
of 100,000 motorists at grade ci\;
ings it was found that 97 per cent c
them exercised reasonable care — th
remaining three per cent conductin
themselves in a manner that in man
cases was grossly careless.

Experience shows that practical!
all highway crossing accidents can b
avoided with the exercise of ordinar
care on the part of the driver of th
motor vehicle, the Safety council a.-
serts. Even in those cases where th
negligence of the railroad employe oi
viouslv has been at fault, the disa;,
ter might have been averted had th
driver depended on his own eyes an
Pars than place too much confidenc
in the watchfulness of others.

1923

Roads and Streets

483

Transfer Company Provides

for the Moving of Heavy

Exiuipment

A novelty in service which may be
the pioneer of some radical changes
in contractors' transportation meth-
ods has been introduced by the Doug-
las Transfer Company of Pittsburgh,
Penn. This concern has added to its
equipment a new truck trailer espe-
cially designed for the hauling of
steam shovels, road rollers, concrete
mixers, gas engines and transform-
ers. The cut below shows this truck
in use.

In the past two years, the exces-
sively heavy traffic on streets and
roads in territory in which the Doug-

the removal of their heavy equipment
are eliminated by the use of the
trailer.

Recently the Douglas Transfer
Company moved an Erie ^-yd. shovel
on its trailer a distance of 11 miles
over an extremely hilly section in
3^2 hours, actual hauling time. It
was necessary to load and unload the
shovel three times during this trip on
account of overhead bridges, low
steam pipes and wires, and other ob-
structions. ' The unloading and load-
ing was accomplished, in one instance,
in 7 minutes from the time the trailer
was stopped until it was ready to
move again.

Another job by the same company
was the moving of a type B-20 Bu-
cyrus shovel a distance of 12 miles

^P- company operates has caused a
remand for transportation that will
.•eliminate the serious injuries to roaa
iKurfaces and the traffic blockades in-
cident to the moving of heavy equip-
iment of the types named. The
mo\ing of steam shovels un-
'ler their own power is slow and
ijedious with many drawbacks, and is
luard on the mechanism of the shovel.
''he new trailer makes it possible to
love any type of shovel or road rol-
ler in a small part of the time re-
fittired to move under its ow^n power,
!»nd the trailer is so designed that
iie^ loading and unloading is very
asxly accomplished. The resultant
ncrease in working time of equip-
ment needs no comment. Contractors'
ays through failure to receive per-
-sion of municipal authorities for

Steam Shovel Being Moved by Transfer Company,

from East Liberty, Pittsburgh, to
Dormont, Pa., for the Netherlands
Construction Company of Pittsburgh.
This was an exceptionally difficult
piece of moving, due to adverse
weather conditions, overhead obstruc-
tions and the steep grades encoun-
tered. Some of these grades were as
steep as 25 per cent, and the maxi-
mum length of grade exceeded 3
miles. This moving was accomplished
in 5 hours, 30 minutes, actual hauling
time.

Indiana County Commissioners to
Meet. — The County Commissioners
Association of Indiana, will hold a
convention at Evansville, Ind., Sent.
24 to Sept. 27. Arthur C. Stone,
Evansville, Ind., is in charge of pre-
liminaries.

484

Roads and Streets

Sept.

Motor Truck Transportation

Address Presented April 30 at Annual
Convention of Allied Motor Com-
merce of Indiana

By H. W. HOWARD,

General Motors Truck Co., Pontiac, Mich.

Transportation by motor truck lies
entirely within the 20th century.
While the railroads have been build-
ing since the fifties and have taken
over half a century to acquire their
present proportions, the first motor
truck was built as late as 1900.

I should like to illustrate by figures
relating to 1921, just how freight
haulage by motor transport compares
with that carried by steam railroads,
(1922 figures are not yet complete) :

Railroads carried 1,642,251,000 tons
of freight.

Motor trucks carried 1,430,000,000
tons or 87 per cent as much as the
railroads; truly a remarkable show-
ing.

The Widening Field for Motor
Transport. — Someone has well said
that "the future development of any
type of transportation will be govern-
ed by the economic value which it will
be able to show the communities it
serves."

The past few years have witnessed
an economic shift greatly favoring
motor transport. The field for motor
transport has consistently widened.

Railway officials have readily ad-
mitted that for intra-city movement
and for inter-suburban service motor
transport fills a much needed gap,
handling less-than-car-lot business
more efficiently and economically.

Mr. Gerrit Fort, Vice-President of
the Boston and Maine Railroad, has
stated, "the motor truck has come to
stay. It represents an economic
change in transportation conditions
which is little short of revolutionary.
There is no use in fighting the motor
truck. Within their own field the
trucks are unbeatable."

We do not think that we can take
the place of the steam railway in
long distance hauls. We do not think
we can move freight as cheaply as
the waterways. We concede cheer-
fully the function of other mediums,
but we do insist that our place be
Cv-jually recognized.

Motor Vehicles Feeders to Rail-
roads.— The motor bus, the truck, and
the passenger car, have temporarily

taken some traffic from the railroads
and trolleys, but isn't it true that
they have been feeders which helped
to increase traffic as a whole? Much
produce would never reach the market
if it were not for trucks to bring it to
the railroad station, while scores of
people now travel on trains who sel-
dom left home prior to the general
introduction of the automobile.

The truck is daily proving its own
case. Its increasing use would not be
possible if it were not efficient.
Whether the truck be placed at work
in the city on short or long hauls or
in suburban or inter-city work it will
usually show a decided saving over
the horse-drawn vehicle. There are
cases, of course, where the horse
should still be used. This is a ques-
tion to be decided upon on a dollars
and cents basis and should be con-
sidered by a competent transporta-
tion engineer. The cause of some dis-
satisfaction with trucks in the past
has been inefficient operation and cost
keeping. I will discuss this point a
little farther along.

Looking at the motor truck in a
broad way it possesses the following
important advantages over horse-
drawn equipment:

First: Speed.

Second: Increased Power.

Third: Adaptability to difficult
work.

Fourth: Regularity of service.

Fifth: Greater effective delivery
range.

Sixth: Publicity value.

Motor Truck Benefits Farmer.— -It
is not the city man or his family
which benefits most from the motor
truck. The farmer is typical of one
who gets the greatest benefits. When
joined with good roads, the motor
truck: Gives access to the nearbsP
town and thus ends his isolation; it
enables his children to go to better
schools (bus lines are now operating
that take school children to more than
12,000 schools of a much better type
than the one-room school house of old :
It gives him more time to work on
the farm; the land he buys can be
bought for productivity irrespective
of whether or not it is near a rail-
road; it brings supplies of all kinds
to his door, including the daily paper
and the magazines. It is his connect-
ing link with his market and perrnits
him to move his produce when prices
are right.

The truck-using corporations form

1923

Roads and Streets

485

but an infinitesimal part of those who
gain from motor transportation.

Why Shippers Prefer Trucks. — We
find very generally that, aside from
the rates, the reasons why shippers
prefer motor trucks include: 0%%"n
control of the shipment; no boxing;
door-to-door delivery; regularity of
delivery and operation of plants; sav-
ing of time; permit carrying lighter
stocks with saving in interest.

The truck may have temporarily
taken some traffic from the railroads,
but in return it has given them a lot
of traffic which otherwise might not
have been available. Prominent rail-
road men ask that the truck take the
short haul business, which to them
has been unprofitable because of con-
gested terminal facilities.

The truck undoubtedly takes traffic
from some short haul railroads. Of
the 649 railroads in the short line
association, more than two-thirds are
listed as having less than 25 miles of
track, which, imder the new order of
things, means that they will have dif-
ficulty competing with the motor
truck and are, to some extent, an eco-
'lomic waste.

;; Railroads Using Motor Busses. — W'e

.iind, too, that instead of extending

ind building branch lines, railroads,

rolleys, and even the Chicago "L"

■5ad, are making use of motor busses

"eeders. President Harding in his

message said: "The motor

uck should become a co-ordinate
actor in our great distributing svs-
im."

Vice-President Lee, of the Pennsyl-

ania, says many bus and truck lines

ave failed. Undoubtedly many lines

ere started over routes where profits

r fere not possible, while many others

•■'th good prospects were ruined by

management, operating costs and

ncient operation. And yet hasn't

It same thing been true of many

our railroads in past years?

The shipper is interested not alone

railroad or truck transportation,

in complete transportation. He

^ examine his total costs, not that

";on which goes to one carrier. It

le public duty of all agencies of

• sportation so to co-ordinate their

lities as to give the public the best

ible service at the lowest possible

ess Than Car Load Business. —

- ->m 20 to 25 per cent of the total
rflroad eciuipment is absorbed in the
cinage of less than 5 per cent of

the business and less than 10 per cent
of the carriers' earnings comes from
this source: less-than-carload freight.

Fifty per cent of the capital invest-
ment of the rails is tied up in other
than main line facilities. Is it not the
duty, then, of the transportation agen-
cies to examine their less-than-carload
freight business and to make changes
in practice which will cut down their
operating expenditure while increas-
ing their net income?

Railroad men generally agree that
the short haul field is unprofitable
in most cases and belongs properly
to the motor truck. The door-deliv-
ery service, the terminal and intra-
yard use and the service of generat-
ing of new business for the rail lines
indicate the real sphere of use of the
motor truck.

The fields within which complete
transportation of goods can be fur-
nished by highway alone or by rail-
way alone are limited. Let me ex-
plain that complete transportation
covers the moving of the goods all
the way from the premises of the
shipper to the premises of the con-
signee.

Trucking Distance 25 to 150 Miles.
— There are very few industries or
residences in the continental United
States, which are not connected with
each other by highway and it is phys-
ically possible to perform complete
transportation of goods by high-
way, between almost any two in-
dustries or residences. But such
transportation is most economical
only when limited to the movement
of goods between homes or industries
which are within reasonable trucking
distance from each other. The deter-
mination of such reasonable distance
depends on many conditions and a
competent truck expert will place it
anywhere between 25 and 150 miles.
Of course, there are emergencies and
peculiar industrial conditions which,
in rare cases, make trucking econom-
ical over a distance of several hun-
dred miles, but such cases are negli-
gible in the consideration of the whole
field of highway transportation.

On the other hand, comparatively
few industries and practically no res-
idences are connected with each other
by raihvaj". Therefore the field for
complete transportation of goods by
railway is restricted to the movement
of car-load freight between those in-
dustries which have direct rail con-
nections.

486

Roads and Streets

Sept.

In view of this situation it is inevi-
table that there will be an increased
common carrier use of the truck. In
these cases franchises should be
granted and the carriers required to
operate on fixed schedules over defi-
nite routes. Since any charge against
transportation is a charge against the
consumer, we do not believe in trans-
portation taxes, but we do not ask
that other agencies be taxed and we
exempt. All we demand is that there
shall be no discrimination in taxes
against any unit in completed trans-
portation.

Some people like to say, tax the
motor truck operator. He gets the
benefit. Did you ever know anyone
who drove a motor truck for pleasure?
He drives because the consuming pub-
lic demands the service.

Occasionally we hear a complaint
from a railroad official that it is un-
fair to build roads alongside of rail-
road tracks because they put highway
transportation in direct competition
with the railroads, which in turn have
to pay part of the cost of construc-
tion of the highway. That seems a
a reasonable basis for a complaint
until we begin to analyze the ques-
tion.

Railroads Paralleled Highways. — It

should not be overlooked that the rail-
roads were the first to parallel our
highways. Later the trolley lines
paralleled the railroads, and now pub-
lic demand requires the improvement
of the highway to care for increasing
travel.

The highways thus impi-oved are
intercity roads over which there is ten
times as much passenger travel as
truck travel. These car owners are
probably the biggest payers of taxes
in that vicinity.

A major part of the trucks using
it are owned by business men or cor-
porations in that vicinity, who have
contributed heavily in taxes for the
building of the highways.

Much of the travel on those high-
ways are with trucks and busses
bringing merchandise and people to
railroad stations for long haul travel.

These intercity roads are required
by the community. Light feeder roads
are built back into the agricultural
sections, all leading to the main high-
ways and the big towns where the
markets are located. These big towns
are naturally connected up by the

highways the same as they are bj
railways. The rail lines undoubtedlj
lose some traffic, but in the long rur
their gains far outweigh their losses

Congress, in its last federal ap
propriation for highways, provided tc
some degree for the upkeep of thest
main traveled lines used by everybodj
in the state, and even by those out ol
the state.

Cost Keeping for Motor Truck
Operation. — I have mentioned tht
necessity for efficient operation anc
cost-keeping covering motor truci
equipment. Motor trucks are wage
earners. They prove the right to con
sideration in our transportation by the
extent of the economy which they ef-
fect. Whether to use motor trucks
or not must be determined upon a
dollars and cents basis.

Bear in mind that the cost of oper
ation per day, of the unit, does not
tell the whole story. The work capac-
ity of the unit involved is even more
important. That is, how much work
will the respective units perform per
day? It all must be broug;ht down to
a cost per ton mile basis in order to
obtain a comparison. Even with the
cost per ton mile at hand you will
not have the true answer unless you
are sure your equipment is being
operated efficiently. I will discuss this
point a little later.

It is only in recent years that
proper attention has been given to the
question of securing the real cost of
operating delivery equipment. We
know fairly well what it costs to oper-
ate gasoline trucks, but without ques-
tion there is still room for improve-
men in this direction. Without '
standard cost system, comparat
figures will not mean much. Unh
costs are figured on the same ba
and in the same manner a compari. >
of these figures will cause endless con
fusion and argument. I recommend
to you the adoption of a standard set
of forms in compiling your delivery
costs, covering both motor trucks and
horses and other delivery equipment.
By using a standard method, a com-
parison of cost figures would mean
something and if one member found
his cost above the average, he could
quickly find out why and endeavor
to correct the situation.

The Truck Owners' Conference,
Inc., have formulated a National
Standard truck cost system. Their
first effort resulted in such a compli-

1923

Roads and Streets

487

cated system that it was not practical
in many cases. They have a simpli-
fied form, however, which is proving
to be very popular and at the same
time tells the truck operator what he
should know about his operating costs.

Let us consider for a moment the
subject of efficient operation of deliv-
ery equipment. The amount of work
that a truck can perform depends
largely upon the efficiency with which
it is handled.

I wonder how many truck operators
realize the importance of the lost time
factor and what it is costing them
every day? How many traffic manag-
ers in control of trucks have set out
to study first hand what is a satis-
factory day's work for a truck? How
many traffic managers have ridden all
day on delivery vehicles, making time
studies of the vehicle, the driver and
the helper, during the work day?

The Question of Lost Time Factor.

— The question of the lost time factor
is worthy of our earnest considera-
.tion. The lost time factor usually
contributes more toward the operat-
ing cost of motor trucks than do the
items of depreciation, repairs, gaso-
line, etc., put together.

In a general way, most progressive
truck operators have realized this.
They will tell you that "it doesn't
pay to have a truck stand around
doing nothing," and they seek in
probably a halfhearted way to keep
their trucks moving.

But if the prime importance of this
)st time factor was fully understood
motor truck owners and if it were
Jgnized what enormous savings or
imings could be effected in transpor-
Ition costs by reducing this factor to
ie absolute minimum, the demand for
^Qotor trucks would be so great as to
"•amp the manufacturers completely.
Fiow shall we arrive at the lost time
actor? The best way is to make a
,uine study of the truck's operation.
An analysis of the time during which
e truck is not in motion will quick-
show why the truck is not earning
jUore money. This unprodutcive time
should then be cut down to the very
nimum by endeavoring to improve
^ loading and unloading conditions
- well as eliminating other delays
iiich are made apparent by the time
-idy. This will permit the operator
arrive at a standard trip time
-linst which the daily record of
•"ration should hp rhppl-«»r)

Need for Standards.^As a basis
for comparison of trips a standard
should be established covering the
following items:

1. Minimum loading time.

2. Minimum unloading time.

3. Running time per mile.

4. Average loss of time on account
of poor drivers, traffic delays, etc.

Such standards should be estab-
lished for various lengths of haul.
This gives an exact basis for figuring
the time required for any length of
trip. A definition of a day's work
should be conceived by the traffic
manager at his office, but determined
by studies of actual conditions in the
field.

In the short time available for the
discussion of such a large and impor-
tant subject, I could only hope to
touch upon a few of the high spots. I
will feel well repaid if I have im-
pressed upon you the value of making
a real analysis of your transportation
problems. The adoption of a
standard cost system would be well
worth careful consideration. I can
summarize my message in two short
sentences.

Be sure your delivery costs are ac-
curate. Make sure you are operating
your delivery equipment efficiently.

Special Committee Starts Survey of
California Highway Needs. — A com-
mittee of nine prominent citizens has
been appointed by the governor of
California to study the highway
needs of that state, following the pass-
age of a bill by the last legislature
providing for a survey of the highway
system. This committee is authorized
to study the highway needs and road
financing problems of the state. The
members of the committee, who serve
without pay, also are authorized to
propose a complete system of state
roads, study types of construction and
materials to be used, to recommend the
inclusion of additional mileage, the
exclusion of certain legislative roads
now included in the system, and the
time to be occupied in the completion
of the system. The committee is re-
quired to submit to the legislature two
years hence some plan for financing
the enterprise. State Highway En-
gineer R. M. Morton estimates that it
will require $200,000,000 to complete
the 6,.500 miles of highway now in-

488

Roads and Streets

Sept.

The Use and Care of Road Machinery

By W. E. VOORHEES,

Kennett Square, Pennsylvania

The best results in road building
can only be obtained by the use of
machinery. The most conclusive evi-
dence that can be offered to prove
this statement is found in the fact
that every forward step in road im-
provement has been paralleled by a
corresponding advance in the develop-
ment of road building machinery. The
marvelous progress that has been
made during the past quarter of a

equipment than the present day re-
versible road grader. In cities and
in the more wealthy country districts
some permanent roads, mostly of the
water bound macadam type, were to
be found. The two machines used in
the construction and maintenance of
such roads were the rock crusher and
the heavy steam roller.

It is safe to say that the fingers of
one hand would count the only types

Loading Gravel from a Pit Into a Bin in New York State.

•century in the work of building types
of roadways calculated to withstand
the ravage of modern traffic can be
attributed largely to the fact that im-
proved mechanical appliances have
made possible the economical construc-
tion of such highways.

Twenty-five years ago practically
the only roads we had in this
country were of the common earth
variety. The machine that was used
almost exclusively in caring for these
roads was the four-wheeled road ma-
chine or road scraper such as we have
in use today, except that the machine
turned out at that time was naturally
a cruder and less efficient piece of

of machines that were used in ro;.
construction thirty years ago. Toda\,
if you will examine the advertising
columns of Engineering and Con-
tracting, you will find there are more
than fifty different machines that
have some place in modei-n road work.
Today, in the construction and main-
tenance of dirt roads, several different
types of road graders, ranging in
weight from 500 to 8,000 lbs are being
used. Steam and gasoline tractors
are gradually taking the place of
horses or mules as the motive power
for such machines. In the West,
where wide roads are the rule, it is
not at all common to see a mammoth

1923

Roads and Streets

489

road machine, with a scraper bar
twelve feet long, being pulled with an
eighty horsepower gasoline tractor.
The road planer, unknown in the East,
is also being used to a considerable
extent in some of the Middle Western
rates. This machine is equipped
ith two sets of long blades and is
capable of planing off the entire sur-
face of a wide road at one operation.
For dirt highway maintenance small
road graders and all kinds of road
drags, from the crude split log affair
to the modern steel drag with adjust-
able blades, are being used.

In permanent road building many
varieties of machines are used. Among
others, might be mentioned the rock
crusher, with elevators, screens, bins

ing machinery and supplies of all
kinds. Some idea as to the part that
road machinery is playing in modern
road building can be grasped when we
stop to consider the immense amount
of money involved in the annual pur-
chases of equipment.

It will only be necessary in this
article to speak generally as to the
use of road machinery. Any man can
operate a road machine — not every
man is an expert at the job. Manu-
facturers publish plan instructions for
the operation and care of their ma-
chines. Necessarily they can not fur-
nish the brains and judgment for put-
ting these instructions into effect.
Road graders are built very simply
and have been on the market for so

Making a Good Dirt Road with a Grader and Gasoline Tractor in California.

and conveyors; steam and gasoline
road rollers of the three-wheeled and
two-wheeled types; steel scarifiers for
picking up old roads; various kinds
of appliances for spreading oil; ket-
tles for heating heavy bituminous ma-
terials; street sweepers, street sprin-
klers, concrete mixers, steam shovels
and motor trucks for hauling mate-
rials. This does not include such
Hpols for asphalt work as fire wagons,
[■ttnpers, pavers, etc.

It would be quite interesting to
know how much money is yearly ex-
jnded in the purchase of road" and
eet making machinery. It has been
_ ited that in this country we are
pending close to one billion dollars
'er year in making new and repair-
ng old roads. Of this fabulous sum
has been estimated that close to
'tie hundred million dollars per year
roes into the purchase of road build-

many years that they are a familiar
mechanical appliance. In every com-
munity men can be found who can
operate such machines with very sat-
isfactory results.

In the use of the road drag there
are only a very few rules which it is
necessary to observe. These might
be summed up briefly as follows:
Don't drag a road when it is either
wet or dry; do the work when the
soil is damp. Don't use a drag on a
stony road. In dragging a road, work
from the sides toward the center and
thus retain the crown of the road.

The construction and maintenance of
any t>T)e of permanent highway such
as the bituminous bound macadam or
concrete is becoming more and more
the work of experts. By this is meant
that men must know how to build
such roads before they successfully
carry on the business. The fact that

490

Roads and Streets

Sept.

a man knows how to build a high
class road presupposes that he is ac-
quainted with the proper kind of ma-
chinery to use in its construction. If
he does not make a thorough study of
machinery in its application to his
work, he will most assuredly lose out
in the end. The operation of a rock
crusher, a big paving mixer or a
steam road roller requires the serv-
ices of a mechanic. A man must
know his machine to get the best re-
sults from it.

Nothing responds to good treatment
like a piece of machinery. Judging
from the way somie men treat them-
selves I should say that the average
man will stand a lot of abuse and still
come up smiling. With a machine it
is different. Let one little nut get
lose, a gear work out of place, or a
spark plug spring a leak and the
whole mechanism is out of order. Two
different men own and use exactly the
same make of machine. One of them
gets well nigh perfect satisfaction;
the other declares that he has a lemon.
A little investigation will usually
show that the fault is with the human
and not with the mechanical factor.
One man is constantly looking oyer
his machine and correcting the diffi-
culties even before they come to the
surface; the result is a machine that
gives good satisfaction. The other
man leaves the machine to take care
of itself; the result is that he is sub-
jected to continuous trouble and an-
noyance.

Eternal vigilance is said to be the
price of liberty. Eternal vigilance is
also the price of smooth, satisfactory
limning road building machinery.
Road machinery should be looked over
frequently and thoroughly. Bolts
should be kept tight; worn and broken
parts should be replaced; bearings
should be lined up so that lost motion
will be eliminated. In the use of road
machinery an ounce of prevention is
always worth a pound of cure, and a
little money spent in keeping a ma-
chine in proper working order in the
beginning may save a great deal of
money if the machine should break
down in some important part at a
time when it is badly needed.

Road machinery is playing an in-
creasingly important part in the work
of improving the highways of this
country. Millions of dollars are now
invested in road building equipment:
many more millions will be expended

within the next few years. It is there-
fore, of the utmost importance that
every man who has anything to do
with the practical work of road con-
struction should feel alive to the nec-
essity of learning all that he possibly
can concerning the use and care of
road building equipment.

The Dignity of the Road Builder

We hear much about the "dignity
of labor". Many other professions
and callings have their own particular
graces and embellishments. But what
about the dignity of the road builder?
We seldom hear such an expression
in the ordinary transmission of
thoughts and ideals which govern the
everyday information of the world
Nevertheless when mentioned, the
road builder enjoys dignity of no low
degree. Centuries ago the inhabi-
tants of Thebes wished to disgrace
ii;paminondas because he had failed
in an attempt to capture the city of
Corinth, so they elected him telearch,
or street cleaner. Thereupon Epamin-
ondas rebuilt, ornamented, and beau-
tified the streets until he raised the
position of telearch from one of ill
repute to that of the highest dignity
in the city. H. G. Wells selected the
six greatest men in the history of the
world, and one of the reasons he gave
for leaving the name of Alexander the
Great off the list, was because with
all his great conquests and brilliant
victories, he had failed to establish
any good roads. John Tyler at his
retirement from the Presidency of the
United States, had fallen so low in the
scale of popularity that his neighbors
elected him road overseer in his home
precinct. The law at that time em- i
powered the overseer to call out the f
farmers to work the roads whenever
he saw fit. To the surprise of all, _
Tyler accepted the job, and worked m
the roads with such frequency and en- ^
ergy that he developed the best roads
in the county. Two years ago a great
American statesman said in speaking
to the young men of Lincoln, that the
safest, sanest, strongest, and soundest
principle for a politician to advocate
was this, "A hard road to every farm-
er's door in America." So it is that
he who buildeth a good road is
greater than he that taketh a city. —
From a Report of the Nebraska State
Department of Public Works.

1923

Roads and Streets

491

Behavior of Concrete Roads Under Service
Conditions

Factors That Influence Condition of Surfacing Outlined in Paper

Presented June 28 at 26th Annual Meeting of American

Society for Testing Materials

By A. T. GOLDBECK

Chief Division of Tests, U. S. Bureau of Public Roads

It is difficult to conceive of any type
of concrete structure which is sub-
jected to a more complex set of in-
fluences than is a concrete road sur-
facing. Investigations of the past few
years are just beginning to show us
something of the stresses to which
concrete roads are subjected by the
many kinds of forces acting upon
them.

Let us consider the concrete road
beginning from the day the concrete
is laid, and let us look into the many
factors whicii are at work to influence
the condition of the surfacing through-
out its period of life. The concrete
is deposited on the subgrade and slow-
'v hardens. At the very beginning
the hardening mass for it is at
is stage that hair cracks develop.
Action of Natural Influences on Con-
crete.— The concrete is "cured" by the
tise of some means for keeping the sur-
ace wet, such as frequent sprinkling
and with the use of a wet earth cover-
i"g> by ponding, by straw covering,
and in the last few years by a sprin-
kling of calcium chloride which acts as
a hygroscopic material. After a short
period of curing, the moisture is al-
[ lowed to dry out from the concrete,
i and, as has been well established,
; shrinkage now takes place and the
I concrete slab by contraction slowly
moves over the subgrade. The forces
of friction thus developed between the
subgrade and the slab produce tensile
' stress in the concrete, and when this
stress exceeds the tensile strength,
transverse cracks form at frequent in-
-er\'als. Changes in temperature of
-he slab also expand and contract it
md cause it to slide over the sub-
grade, again producing compressive
>T tensile stress in the slab. During
he day, the top surface is heated by
iihe sun to a higher temperature than
jthe bottom surface and naturally the
-)ab is warped downward at the edges
■] corners. During the night the
"erse is true; the comers warp up-
ird. In many cases they actually
uve the subgrade. During periods

of dry weather, the top surface be-
comes quite dry, while the bottom
surface is in contact with the more or
less moist subgrade. Under such con-
ditons the concrete might be warped
and bent upward at the sides and ends.
In the meantime the varying moisture
conditions in the subgrade are swelling
and shrinking the soil in a most non-
uniform manner and the road is of-
fered non-uniform support. When cold
weather comes, the ground freezes.
Very naturally the entire road is
raised, due to the expanding action of
the frost, and if it happens that snow
is cleared from the center of the road
and is heaped up along the sides, the
insulating blanket of snow prevents
as deep a penetration of frost at the
sides as at the center. The center of
the road is then heaved more than
the sides, which then overhang their
center support like two cantilever
beams, and through overstress thus
created, the slab is cracked down the
center. Frost action within the con-
crete itself also must be resisted, and
this requires a dense, strong concrete
of low absorption. A number of nat-
ural influences then have been at work
even before traffic is turned onto the
road.

Action of Traffic. — ^The heavy fast-
moving loads of the present day pro-
duce high stress in concrete slabs
under certain conditons. This is espe-
cially so with heavy fast -moving ve-
hicles having well-worn solid rubber
tires. Impact stresses are apt to be
high and this. is especially true in the
^icinity of joints and on roughly
finished spots in the road. Not only
does this heavy impact produce high
bending stress, but the local pressure
on the immediate surface is consider-
able. There are concrete roads in
which exceptionally poor coarse ag-
gregates have been used largely as a
matter of expediency, which are now
showing signs of distress from the
action of traffic.

When we add to all of these in-
fluences the troubles which are apt to

492

Roads and Streets

Sept,

occur due to the use of unsuitable
materials, too much water, or greatly
interior workmanship, coupled with a
design ill-adapted to the conditions of
subgrade and traffic, the wonder is
that concrete roads are capable of giv-
ing the most excellent service which,
in general, they are giving under our
present-day rubber-tired traffic.

The concrete road, however, like all
other types of roads, develops certain
defects, some of which are serious and
some of which are of little conse-
quence in their effect on the service
value of the road.

In collecting information on defects
in concrete roads I have been for-
tunate in having recourse to data sup-
plied by the District Engineers of the
J. S. Bureau of Public lioads, having
headquarters in various parts of tne
country. The bureau representatives
in the various states likewise have
presented their ideas through the Dis-
trict Engineers, so that the principal
defects now occurring in concrete
roads should in this way have been
pretty well observed ancl reported.

Defective Design. — The concrete
road has had its share of failures due
to the use of a design which has been
ill-fitted for the traffic and subgrade
conditions. There have been reasons
for poor design in the past, for many
principles are only now beginning to
be recognized and understood, and
moreover, our oldest concrete roads
have witnessed an increase in variety
and intensity of traffic such as has
never been recorded in a similar period
in history. Again, the phenomena
in connection with the movement and
accumulation of moisture in the sub-
grade and the action of moisture on
various kinds of subgrade materials
have never been given through study.

Truck wheel loads have been in-
creasing in weight with great rapidity;
speeds have been ever increasing, and
in the absence of sufficient legal re-
straint on such loads, very naturally
cases have arisen where the high
stresses produced by loads coupled
with inadequate and non-uniform sup-
port offered by the subgrade have re-
sulted in the structural failure of the
surfacing. The means for overcoming
defective soils, the knowledge neces-
sary for adequate design, and legal
re.strictions necessary for the control
of maximum wheel loads and speed
are now almost at hand, and will
serve to eliminate structural failures
from these causes in the future.

Defects in Concrete Roads Other
Than Those Due to Faulty Design.-—

There are other defects occurring in
concrete roads, some of which are of
no particular importance, and others
of which that are quite serious. These
defects as observed by the District
Engineers of the U. S. Bureau of
Public Roads, by their assistants and
by the author are listed as follows:

1. Cracking:

(a) Transverse;

(b) Longitudinal;

(d) Corner cracking.

2. Hair Checking of the Concrete
Surface.

3. Surface Irregularities in the
Pavement as Constructed:

(a) Due to lack of uniform con-
sistency of the mix;

(b) High joints;

(d) Unevenness of side forms.

4. Settlement of the Pavement.

5. "Blow-ups" of the Pavement.

6. Slipping of Joints.

7. Spalling at Concealed Joints.

8. Surface Scaling:

(a) Due to fine aggregate;

(b) Too wet a mixture or ex-
cessive finishing;

(d) Freezing.

9. Surface Raveling.

10. Surface Wear.

11. Concrete Disintegration:

(a) Due to alkali;

(b) Defective materials.

12. Surface Pockets:

(a) Due to dirty aggregate,
balls of clay, coal, wood
chips, soft material.

Perhaps the most common defect
noticeable in the concrete pavement is
that of cracking, the most frequent
cracks being transverse cracks across
the width of the pavement. Longi-
tudinal cracks parallel with the edges
of the pavement, diagonal cracks aiui
corner cracking also occur.

Transverse Cracks. — It seems in-
evitable that transverse cracks must
form in concrete pavements, because
concrete will not stretch to the amount
made necessary by shrinkage produced
through drying out of moisture and
by decrease in temperature. This be-
comes evident when we realize that
concrpte shrinks approximatelv 0.0001
to O-OOOf) in, per inch of lemrth due to
drying out of moisture and approxi-
mately 0.0005 in. per inch of length

1923

Roads and Streets

493

due to 100'' F. fall in temperature, a
possibility of 0.001 in. shrinkage per
inch of length due to these combined
causes. This is equivalent to 0.1 ft.
per 100 ft. with a combination of
these extreme conditions.

The probable deformation of road
concrete when cracking takes place
does not exceed 0.02 ft. per 100 ft.
With a deformation of this amount,
transverse cracks are bound to form
in any considerable length of concrete
road. It is a question, however,
whether they should be considered as
a defect, as they may be maintained
with little expense and in such a
manner that no harm results from
their presence. No doubt, transverse
cracks likewise form through sub-
grade settlement and through the
bending action of heavy loads which
produce a too high fiber stress.

Longitudinal C r a c k i n g. — Longi-
tudinal cracks occur, in general, due
•to non-uniform support offered by the
subgrade. In those parts of the coun-
try where frost penetrates to a con-
siderable depth, longitudinal cracking
is quite prevalent. This is due, per-
haps, to the unequal depth of frost
penetration at the side of the road as
compared with the center. It has been
observed, especially where snow is
piled at the sides of the road, the
center being exposed, that frost will
penetrate deeper at the center than at
he sides, thereby producing greater
'/ertical motion at the center through
the expanding action of a deeper layer
•f ice. The concrete surface having
asufficient resistance to bending de-
I'elops longitudinal cracking. The
practice of allowing wood side forms
0 remain in place seems to have led
Q cracking. The forms are raised by
rost, a water reserv'oir is thus formed
nder them, and this aids in saturat-
ig the subgrade.

Another condition which produces

V'Hgitudinal cracking has been ob-

''n,-ed in accentuated form particu-

rly in the adobe soils of California.

tiese soils swell and shrink to a con-

derable degree "when their moisture

ntent changes. Very naturally the

■i>ture changes are apt to be higher

the sides of the road than at the

ter. Cases are on record of the

'grade having shrunk 1^2 in. away

')m the under side of the concrete

b. Under such conditions, longi-

inal cracks might form within sev-

il feet of the side of the road. The

;^.edy for such conditions, in part at

least, lies in a proper treatment of
the subgrade. It is stated that sub-
grade preparation by plowing, har-
rowing and re-rolling to a consider-
able depth, making for homogeneity
and waterproofness, greatly inhibits
cracking from subgrade causes. An-
other treatment under the same con-
ditions involves the use of a layer of
sand between the subgrade and the
slab. Experiments in which admix-
tures such as Portland cement, hy-
drated lime, sand and bituminous ma-
terials have been harrowed and plowed
into the underlying subgrade to de-
crease its shrinkage factor, have
shown promising results.

Longitudinal cracks of themselves
are not parti«ularly harmful. There
is a tendency, however, to develop
forked cracking which produces weak
spots in the road surfaces, and for
this reason the more recent pavement
designs have called for a center longi-
tudinal joint in the road so that the
positon of the longitudinal crack is
predetermined and confined to a
straight line. Certain types of longi-
tudinal cracks seem to develop, begin-
ning at the transverse expansion joint
and extending perhaps ten or more
feet into the slab. Investigation of
such cases seems to point to defective
installation of the bituminous expan-
sion joint, which has allowed the con-
crete no room for expansion at the
sides owing to the use of too short a
length of joint-filling material. On
the other hand, the lateral resisting
moment of the slab is least near the
joint, and for this reason it is natural
that longitudinal cracks should begin
at the joint.

Diagonal Cracking. — Diagonal
cracking is another type of cracking
which is particularly objectionable
since it produces acute-angled projec-
tions in the slab which are readily
broken off. Proper design will elimi-
nate this trouble.

Corner Cracking. — Corner cracking
is noticeable particularly under soft
subgrade conditions, heavy loads and
narrow surfacing. It is claimed that
the frequency of such cracking is ac-
centuated by a sudden lowering of the
surface temperature such as occurs at
night, the corners of the slab then
being warped away from the sub-
grade. Such cracks occur on the aver-
age from, perhaps 2 to 3^ ft. from
the corner. The small slab thus pro-
duced is readily pounded into the sub-
grade and high maintenance expense

494

Roads and Streets

Sept.

results. Under unfavorable condi-
tions, this becomes a serious defect in
concrete roads which is now being
remedied by a design which calls for
a surface thicker at the sides than at
the center, just the reverse of con-
crete road practice of several years
ago.

Hair Checking. — In a number of
concrete road projects, minute cracks
appear on the surface of the pavement
very shortly after the concerte is
placed, and these constitute a minor
defect which might possibly interfere
with the future integrity of the pave-
ment. Several causes for this defect
seem to have been demonstrated. It
seems to be pretty definitely estab-
lished that hair checkitig is due in
some cases to a subgrade condition
caused by the unusual capacity of
some soils to draw water and moisture
rapidly from, the concrete. Then, too,
the non-uniform swelling of a non-
homogenous subgrade upon the ab-
sorption of moisture is a possible
cause for hair checking and cracking.
Wetting down of the subgrade for
several days previous to the placing
of the concrete lessens this defect. It
has been observed likewise that hair
checking is accentuated on very warm
and windy days. The careful laying
of strips of wet burlap over the sur-
face as soon as practicable after
finishing seems to be an aid in reduc-
ing hair checking. Observation seems
to point to dirty aggregate as another
cause for this trouble. In a number
of pavements, hair checking does not
seem to be extending with the con-
tinued use of the pavement, nor does
any particular harm seem to result.
Nevertheless, this is a structural de-
fect which offers possibility for harm.

Surface Irregularities in Pavement
as Constructed. — Smoothness of the
concrete pavement surface is some-
times rendered impossible, notwith-
standing good finishing, due to lack
of uniformity in the consistency of
various batches of concrete. Because
of unequal settlement of the alternate
wet and dry mixtures, bad riding
qualities and rapid depreciation of the
pavement result. This defect can be
avoided by proper care to maintain a
uniform consistency.

High joints are a defect produced
through poor surface finishing at the
joints and can be eliminated if the
proper use is made of a templet for
insuring the evenness of the surface
finishing.

It has often been observed on grades
of over 4 or 5 per cent that the pave-
ment is noticeably rougher than on
level stretches. This is due to the
fact that the wet concrete has slumped
or moved down grade after it has
been finished to an even surface. This
probably is aggravated in cool weather
when the concrete sets very slowly.
It is difficult to overcome when a com-
bination of heavy grades and cool
weather is encountered during con-
struction. In such cases the final
finishing must be delayed until the
concrete is stiff enough to retain its
position after finishing.

Unevenness of side forms is an in-
excusable construction defect and re-
sults in an uneven surface.

Settlement of the Pavement.— Many

pavements become defective in time
due to settlement of new fills on which
they are constructed, particularly ad-
jacent to bridge abutments. The,
surest remedy seems to be to defer
the placing of the pavement until the
vertical settlement of the earth is
complete. Heavy reinforcement is
also of value under these conditions.

Pavement "BIow-Ups." — Blow-ups
of the pavement are almost always
occasioned by the expansion of the
concrete and they occur at the apex
of grades and at other places which
can be traced to faulty construction.
In a number of cases examined, it has
been found without exception that
these blow-ups occur on pavements
which were laid during cold weather
without expansion joints, and resulted
largely from what might be called
"tapered noon-day joints." In cases
where no attempt has been made to
construct a vertical joint at the noon-
day interval and the length of time is
such as to permit the initial setting of
the concrete, a "tapered joint" re-
sults. These joints in all cases con-
stitute a plane of weakness which
ruptures usually from expansion
stresses.

Slipping of Joints.^ — Where bitumi-
nous-filled joints are* used, in a num- ;
ber of instances there seems to have i
been a decided tendency for adjacent !
slabs to slip. Extraordinary care
should be taken to insure the placing
of these joints at right anrrles to the
pavement surface. A few degrees !
variation from a right angle can cause j
trouble. Such slipping constitutes a |
very serious defect and generally re- i
suits in very rapid disintegration of

1923

Roads and Streets

495

the slab and the necessity for its
renewal.
Spalling at Concealed Joints. —

Oftentimes the mistake is made of
placing prepared joint fillers so as to
form "concealed expansion joints," a
thin layer, say one inch, of concrete
covering the joint material. This de-
feats the purpose of the joint filler.
When the concrete expands, the ex-
cessive compression produced in the
thin web of concrete at the surface
spalls off a layer of the surface a:.d
produces an inequality which requires
expensive maintenance and seriously
mars the appearance of the pavement.
Such defects can be entirely avoided
by proper design of the joint.

Surface Scaling. — It seems to be
evident that sand containing too high
a percentage of particles passing a
100-mesh sieve will produce surface
scaling, probably because of the ac-
cumulation of the finest material at
the surface. For this reason it is
I well to limit the amount of material
j by elutriation to less than 3 per cent,
I and there should be not more than
5 per cent of particles passing the
100-mesh sieve.

i Too wet a mixture and excessive
j finishing are probable causes for the
; accumulation of a weak surface layer
Jwhich will begin to scale at the end
jof several years. Particular care
i {must be taken not to use a consistency
;jwetter than is necessary for the
^(proper working of the concrete.
'\ Concrete road construction is often
:j:arried on beyond the safe working
ipeason, and notwithstanding precau-
i lions against freezing, many concrete
ibavements have been nipped by frost.
h n most cases, the surface only is at-
f acked, and as a result the surface
ayer becomes detached from the main
5dy pf the concrete, exposing the
oarse aggregate and leaving a rough
iirface which is subjected to the pos-
ibility of rapid deterioration. The
ifest plan is to stop concrete pave-
ent construction when the tempera-
re is apt to approach a freezing
mperature, but if economy demands
:at the road be finished before the
'proach of winter then the usual cold
"ather precautions for concreting
ould be applied. It would seem also
at an accelerator might well be used
■er such conditions.
"Surface Raveling. — In a number of
ances it has been noted that the
face of the concrete, especially in
0 vicinity of cracks and expansion

joints, is showing excessive deteriora-
tion due to raveling. In other cases
the entire surface is showing signs of
disintegration. In some of these in-
stances, undoubtedly the extremely
smooth surfaces presented by the
coarse aggregate are responsible. In
others, the extremely poor quality of
the coarse aggregate and of the fine
aggregate, or of the concrete in gen-
eral is responsible for rapid deteriora-
tion.

Surface Wear. — The general surface
wear which takes place on concrete
pavements is quite insignificant, al-
though there are several cases where
very noticeable wear has taken place.
For illustration, pavements finished
late in the fall and thrown open to
winter traffic have been badly grooved
in localities where snow has led to
the tracking of motor vehicles
equipped with tire chains. In certain
localities the local aggregates are ex-
ceedingly soft and friable. Pavements
constructed of excessively soft ma-
terials such as these are showing
signs of wear which may be a deter-
mining factor in their life. In gen-
eral, however, well-constructed con-
crete pavements in which aggregates
of a satisfactory quality are used do
not wear excessively under the action
of our present-day rubber-tired traffic
and it is hardly likely that general
surface wear through abrasion will
ever be a factor in determining the
life of a concrete pavement.

Disintegration of Concrete. — The
disintegrating effect of certain types
of alkali, principally the sulfates of
sodium, potassium and magnesium,
are well established, and cases are on
record in our western districts in
which alkali seems to have played a
prominent part in causing rapid dis-
integration of certain concrete pave-
ments. As the. alkali must reach the
pavement through capillary action, it
would seem that where concrete pave-
ments are to be laid on a soil highly
charged with alkali salts there should
be interposed between the concrete
and the underlying soil a layer of ma-
terial having low capillary action.
Several inches of sand should be quite
effective for this pui'pose.

Defective Materials. — Concrete
roads, like other concrete structures,
have disintegrated because defective
materials have been used. Projects
have been constructed in spite of
laboratory reports condemning the
fine aggregate, and these projects

496

Roads and Streets

Sept.

have shown signs of disintegration
within a comparatively short period
after opening them to traffic. Dirty
aggregates, especially those contain-
ing clay-covered particles, organic
matter in the sand, fine aggregate
which has too high a percentage of
fine particles and clay, all have been
used in concrete road construction,
and all have resulted in poor concrete.
Screenings for use as a fine aggre-
gate are to be looked on with consid-
erable suspicion and certainly when
they are permitted their grading must
be governed so as to insure a work-
able concrete which will not be highly
aborbent and which will not contain
a high percentage of dust.

There is no excuse for poor concrete
roads from any of the above causes.
Unfortunately, however, careless or
ignorant inspection coupled with
studied neglect of laboratory warning
has resulted in poor materials being
used in a number of concrete roads in
the past.

Surface Pockets. — Surface pockets
are to be found in a number of con-
crete roads. These are caused by
soft pieces of material in the aggre-
gate which have been deposited or
have gravitated toward the top sur-
face during the finishing process.
Such pockets are to be found in roads
built with all types of aggregates but
particularly in those having gravel
aggregate. They are due to clay balls,
soft pieces of gravel, chips, coal or
other foreign substances which have
come to the surface of the concrete.

Light slag aggregate when used jn
concrete road surfaces produces pit-
ting of the surfacing. In general,
however, when these pits are of com-
paratively small size, say not over one
inch in diameter, they do no particular
harm and are not to be considered as
a particularly serious defect.

Defects Can Be Eliminated by
Proper Design and Construction. —
With the possible exception of crack-
ing, there is hardly a defect listed and
described above which cannot be al-
most entirely eliminated from con-
crete roads through the use of proper
design and construction methods, sat-
i.sfactory materials and their intelli-
gent combination. The facts which
have been gained by observation of
existing roads and by special investi-
gations are giving the progressive en-
gineer informUtion which will place
him in a position to practically elimi-
nate all of thei serious defects of con-

crete roads. Lack of knowledge of
the mechanical principles of design,
in appreciation of the necessity for
careful attention to details of con-
struction, the use of poor materials,
failure to apply the known principles
of good concrete manufacture, failure
to obtain homogeneity to both sub-
grade and concrete have led to all of
the defects we have been discussing.
Probably, defective materials which
our ordinary tests have not detected
are responsible for some concrete road
failures. Certainly, however, these
defects are but a small fraction of a
per cent of the total concrete mileage
and the main defects can be avoided
through the application of pi'esent
knowledge.

Concrete for pavements must have
high flexural and tensile strength in
order to minimize the frequency of
cracking, it must have high density
to better enable it to exclude moisture;
the aggregates must be well bonded
together to resist the disintegrating
action of traffic, and the mixture must
be homogeneous in proportions and
consistency.

Perfect concrete road building is an
intricate operation which too often is
entirely under the control of in-
spectors who are not well versed in
the technique of m.aterials or con-
struction. They do not undei'stand
the great importance of careful atten-
tion to details. By all means, concrete
road inspectors and, in fact, inspectors
on other types of concrete construc-
tion should be scli">oled in the causes
and effects in connection with the
various operations under their con-
trol. It is absurd that millions of
dollars worth of materials and ex-
pensive construction should be left at
the mercy of any but the most com-
petent of inspectors.

I think I can safely say, notwith-
standing the fact that the above de-
fects in one form or another are to be
found distributed over the thousands
of miles of concrete roads in this
country, the concrete pavement lias
paid for itself in traffic returns many-
fold and has rendered most excellent

12,000 Men Employed on Missouri
Road Work.— The State Highway
Commission of Missouii lias work
under way on 412 different road build-
ing projects with an average of at
least 30 men per project.

1923

Roads- and Streets

497

Testing Road Oils

Use of Air Bath in Determination of

Solid Residue Described in Paper

Presented June 28 at 26th Annual

Meeting of American Society

for Testing Materials

By H. F. CLEMMER and H. C.
HELMLE,

Engineer of Materials, and Assistant Engineer
of Materials, Illinois Division of Highways

During the past few years the in-
creased use of road oils in Illinois
has made it necessary that these ma-
terials be purchased from a great
number of refineries whose processes
and products vary to a considerable
degree. In making the tests on these
oils, difficulty has been experienced in
securing uniform results on the test
known as "Solid residue of 100 pene-
tration."

Methods of Evaporating Road Oil.

— There have been in general use two
methods of evaporating a road oil to
a residue of desired penetration,
namely, the sand bath and the hot
plate. Since 1915, however, the test-
ing laboratory of the Illinois Division
of Highways has made use of the or-
dinary gas hot plate, finding that it
■ orJs greater ease of temperature
!.trol as well as greater accuracy
test than was possible with the
iid bath.

In recent years, many road oils ob-
tained by pressure distillations and
acking process have been sold in the
ate. Due to the nature of these ma-
'erials, considerable trouble has been
experienced in obtaining, with exist-
ing methods, uniform results in solid
residue determinations. The appear-
ance of a coky residue or of coKe de-
posits on the sides of the residue box
has led to the belief that the incon-
sistencies in results are caused by
local heating, during the evaporation,
jf the oil on the sides or bottom of
:he residue box. Cracked or burned
"oad oils, being originally of a coky
lature, contribute more readily to
hese conditions of irregular heating
r;d it is with these materials that the
reatest discrepancies in results occur.

The Air Bath Apparatus. — In order
' provide a method which would
iminate these conditions of local
>^ating and give uniform results on
jth cracked and skimmed products,
le air-bath apparatus was designed
ud has now replaced both previous

methods in the inspection of oils by
the Illinois Highway Laboratory. The
apparatus shown in Fig. 1 is the same
as that used in the pervious gas hot
plate method with the addition of a
metal ring 3 in. in diameter and 1^4
in. in height. The residue box fits
snugly through the top of the ring
and is supported at a distance of ^4
in. from the surface of the hot plate
by a wire shelf constructed inside the
ring. The inside diameter of this

Fie. 1.

Air Bath Used in Determination of
Solid Residue.

ring is % in. greater than that of the
residue box, so that on the side and
bottom of the box there is an air
space of M in. The air bath may be
used in conjunction with either an
electric or gas hot plate and in either
case provides for an even temperature
at all points where the oil would come
in contact with the sides and bottom
of the residue box during its evapora-
tion to a solid residue. In addition to

498

Roads and Streets

Sept.

the fact that the air bath eliminated
local heating and coke deposits, it
\yas noted during the tests that very
little attention of the operator is re-
quired to maintain a constant temper-
ature throughout the period required
to evaporate the oil.

Effect of Temperature Control. — In

order to determine the effect of tem-
perature control upon the solid resi-
due test, seven grades of oil were
evaporated between three separate
temperature ranges: 230 to 240 deg.
C, 250 to 260 deg. C, and 270 to 280
deg. C. Four samples of each grade
of oil were heated at each temperature
range, making in all 84 determina-
tions. Table I gives the average of
four determinations for each grade
of oil at each temperature range and
shows the variation in the percentages
of solid residue due to the difference
in temperature at which the tests were
run. The importance of a uniform
temperature is demonstrated in the
results obtained, being especially il-
lustrated in the case of sample 22-2096
which varied 12 per cent with 40 deg.
C. difference in temperature. The
number of hours required to make
each run was also recorded and shows
a proportionate increase in variations
of results with the increase in length
of time required to evaporate the oils.
From this investigation it has been
shown that temperature control, be-
ing a vital factor, should be consid-
ered in all methods for the determina-
tion of solid residues. In the sand
bath method it is difficult to control
the temperature of the oil and al-
though even temperature is more easi-
ly maintained on the hot plate, direct
contact of the residue box with the
hot plate lends to the formation of a
coky residue and causes wide varia-
tion in the percentages obtained. The
air bath, quickly adjusted to the
proper temperature and easily con-
trolled, has been found to be adapt-
able to the determination of solid resi-
due on all types of road oil.

A Hauling Record

The . Consumers Company of Chi
cago reports the following record o:
haul during one day with a Warnei
semi-trailer.

During this day, they hauled 63(
tons of crushed rock with the singh
semi-trailer unit. This was done ir
the following manner: The time' o:
operation was eleven hours; the nei
load each time was fifteen tons; forty
two trips were made during this day
and the round trip was three miles.

Conditions were very favorable, th(
truck being loaded with a steam shove
and dumped with no delay at all. Th(
hauling cost, as near as we can fig-
ure, amounted to four dollars an hour
or forty-four dollars for the day
which made the cost per ton approxi-
mately seven cents.

Geodetic Control of City Surveys

While the use of geodetic control
and methods by the cities of thij
country has grown very slowly in fa-
vor with city engineering officials, yel
that growth has been sufficient to in-
dicate a strong tendency toward the
ideal of precise and comprehensive
surveys for all city planning work,
For this reason a recent publicatior
of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Sur-
vey is particularly timely. The pub-
lication presents to municipal engi-
neers a comprehensive report on the
methods by which geodetic control,
already covering a large portion of
our country, can be utilized and to
suggest the use of geodetic methods
to other engineers. A copy of Spe-
cial Publication No. 91 can be ob-
tained from the Superintendent of
Documents, Government Printing Of-
fice, Washington, D. C, for 20c.

TABLE I.— PERCENTAGES OF SOLID RESIDUE (100 PENETRATION) AT DIFFERENT

TEMPERATURE RANGES
Each value is average of four determinations
Temperature Ranges

230 to 240 deg. C. 250 to 260 deg. C. 270 to 280 deg. C.

Solid Time of Solid Time of Solid Time of

Laboratory Residue, Evapoi-ation, Residue, Evaporation, Residue, Evaporation,

Number per cent hours per cent hours per cent hours

22-1899 66 9 64 6 61 4 I

22-2265 G3 4 62 2.5 61 2

22-1968 63 4.5 61 8 59 2.:.

22-1969 70 4.5 68 8.25 66 3

22-2030 73 S3 68 22 64 13

22-2059 70 37 66 27 62 20

22-2096 72 30 65 " 23 60 16

1923

Roads and Streets

Regional and Metropolitan Planning

499

Principles and Methods Discussed in a Paper Before the Fifteenth
National Conference on City Planning, Badtimore, Md., 1923

By GEORGE B. FORD

Consultant in City Planning, New York City

What Is Regional Planning?

A farming village can be complete
in itself. Within its political limits it
can have nearly ever>i;hing necessary
for the complete functioning of its
community life. The people who use
the stores and industries in the center
can often be supported by the sur-
rounding farming belt, all within the
limits of the municipality.

However, as the village grows to a
town and the town grows to a city
rarely are the corporate limits of the
municipality expanded to the point
where they include the whole sur-
rounding contributory area. As a
rule, the larger the community grows,
the greater the area outside the city
limits which supports and is depen-
lent upon the municipality at the hub.
Controlled as it is by our State
laws, the planning of cities and towns
lias been confined so far to their often
' itrary corporate limits, regardless
]ie fact that the metropolitan area
- an economic unit bears little rela-
ion to these limits.
Therefore the logical next step in
and town planning is to find a
. of controlling and directing the
evelopment of the whole contribu-
•ry region in the common interest of
I li\ing within it. Study of this
iibject has brought us to the f ollow-
- general conclusions-

The character and direction of

vth of contributory area beyond

city limits should be controlled by

'letropolitan or Regional Planning

imission, or where such areas lie

irely within a county by a County

anning Commission.

2. Such a Commission should in-

de official delegates from each mu-

ipality affected. Each municipality

aid contribute to the support of

work on a pro rata basis or if that

lot feasible it should be supported

private subscription.

. There should also be a Citizens'

^'■ional Plan Committee composed of

resentatives of the leading civic

« I economic organizations of each

cjamunity within the area. This

ciimittee should cooperate with the

o^ial Commission at every stage of

its work. This Committee should in-
terpret the official plans to the public
and to the authorities in their respec-
tive towTiS and should aid in securing
local backing and support. The Com-
mittee should also act as a watch dog
over changing official commissions to
maintain the continuity of the plans.

4. The official Commission should
cause a regional plan to be made
which should include every physical
feature which could affect more than
one municipal unit. It should be
made for many years to come and
such a plan should be officially recog-
nized by each of the municipalities
affected by it.

5. No project affecting more than
one community, be it for a thorough-
fare, bridge, transit line, railroad,
waterfront development, park, public
or private reservation, subdivision,
building code or zoning ordinance,
should be executed without ha\dng re-
ceived the sanction of the Regional
Commission as well as of the local
bodies affected.

6. All physical improvements af-
fecting more than one community
should be paid for by prorating the
cost among the municipalities inter-
ested.

7. If in a given case the State con-
stitution or laws prevent or hamper
any of the above operations, steps
should be taken to amend them.

8. Serious consideration should be
given to the causes and the effects bf
concentration of population and, in so
far as an undue "load on the land" is
found to cause harm, the effect should
be mitigated by regulation and means
found of encouraging decentralization.

9. Guess work and unscientific
judgment should be reduced to a mini-
mum in regional as well as in city
planning. Every plan recommended
should be the logical deduction from
a quantitative as well as a qualitative
analysis of all the contributory facts.

10. Everything possible should be
done to counteract the sordidness of
most larger agglomerations and to
bring back to the environment of the
city dweller the charm that he craves.

How Regional Planning Differs

500

Roads and Streets

Sept.

From City Planning. — Regional or
metropolitan planning is the coopera-
tive solving of problems common to
the various m.unicipalities within a
given unit economic area. Any serv-
ice or feature that can be made and
should be used by only one municipal-
ity should not be considered in region-
al planning unless its location or
character is detrimental to the region
or to some other community.

Regional planning usually differs
from city planning in the relative area
of ground covered. In a city like
Worcester, Mass., for example, where
the built-up area is completely sur-
rounded by a wide belt of farming
land within the corporate limits of the
city, with nothing but farm land in
the adjoining towns, regional plan-
ning is reduced to a matter of being
sure that the thoroughfares, transit
lines, bus lines and railroads leading
in and out of the city are effectively
located and that they can be adjusted
to take care of future growth without
waste.

In other cities of exceptionally large
area in proportion to their popula-
tion, like Los Angeles with its 350
square miles, or even Cincinnati with
its 72 square miles, or Baltimore, the
city plan covers most of the contribu-
tory area which on the other hand
would have to be covered by a re-
gional plan in the case of a relatively
smaller sized city, such as Boston,
New Haven or Pittsburgh.

This contributory area goes to the
limits of the commuting belt and in-
cludes all those communities which
are daily dependent on the central
city for their livelihood, social life or
for the supply of commodities. In
Buffalo, Boston, St. Louis and Cleve-
land this area has a radius of 20 to
25 miles; in New York the radius is
40 to 50 miles; in New Haven, Nor-
folk and Omaha the radius is about
15 miles.

Zoning. — In cities like Cleveland,
Boston, New Haven or Philadelphia,
each relatively small in area, with a
large number of well-developed sub-
urban or satellite municipalities im-
mediately adjacent, certain problems
of regional or metropolitan planning
become quite serious. For example,
a number of the cities and towns
around Cleveland have been adopting
stringent building zone ordinances
which often exclude all industry and
severely limit the spread of business.
In other words, they have zoned

against the city of Cleveland which
will thus be obliged to provide com-
mon, economic facilities for the sur-
rounding communities. The 40-odd
municipalities around New York City
that have adopted zoning ordinances
have each naturally framed them to
protect their own local interests, al-
though perhaps unintentionally doing
harm to other communities and to the
region as a whole. It is in recognition
of this fact, that Milwaukee is at-
tempting county zoning and that the
new Nassau County (Long Island)
charter includes county zoning and
city planning. However, unless the
county includes within its limits the
whole metropolitan area, a Metropol-
itan Planning Commission should zone
the whole area as a part of a compre-
hensive plan and then insist that each
included municipality should adopt the
part of the plan within its limits and
that the counties adopt the rest.

Building Codes. — Building codes
have been generally adopted by the
smaller municipalities surrounding
large cities, but no two are alike.
Some are far more stringent than
others. The result is an unwarranted
confusion which tends to waste and
often seriously affects the orderly ex-
pansion of housing facilities through-
out the area. There are now many
features of building construction that
have become standardized in practice.
These should be consolidated in State
codes. The other features of building
codes which should be drafted by each
municipality to meet its peculiar local
conditions should be approved by the
Metropolitan Planning Commission in
so far as they may affect surroundin
communities.

Subdivisions. — Each city and town
grows by the accretion of subdivision
plats. As the land within the cor-
porate limits of the central munic-
ipality is more and more developed
these plats extend into the territory
beyond. Already some States, sucli
as Ohio, New York and Virginia, have
recognized how necessary it is that
the city should control the layout of
these plats from three to even fifteen
miles beyond the city limits. The
reason for this control lies in the fad
that as the city grows the problem of
getting in and out of the city by
means of radiating thoroughfares be- I
comes more and more serious. Unre-
stricted subdivision platting often ren-
ders impossible the cutting through
of new traffic ways. However, these
plats can be so laid out that they will

1923

Roads and Streets

501

fit in with the development of a sys-
tem of thoroughfares that will satisfy
the needs of the region for a great
many years to come and so that it
will never be necessary to plow thor-
oughfares ruthlessly across existing
built-up subdivisions. On the other
hand it is unfair for the central city
to impose its plan on the surrounding
communities without their sanction.

The Cleveland Metropolitan Plat-
ting Commission, authorized by the
State Law, points the way. It was to
consist of official delegates from each
municipality in the metropolitan area
whose common platting of highways
and control of all plats was to have
been supported by pro rata assess-
ment. The creation of such commis-
sions is of the greatest importance,
but to avoid overlapping such com-
missions should be merged in the
more inclusive Metropolitan Planning
Commissions.

Thoroughfares. — The federal, state
and county highway systems now cur-
rent throughout the country, are
going far to solve the rapidly growing
problems of intercommunication be-
tween municipalities. However, with-
in most metropolitan areas such con-
trol is inadequate. The result is a
series of tortuous and often much too
narrow traffic ways leailing in and out
of the city and from one suburban
center to another. A Metropolitan
interurban Planning Commission
could plan to meet this situation as
!i.! the Newark Conference on Inter-
irban Improvements, each local city
or town engineer contributing his
lime as needed. The cost of execu-
tion of the metropolitan highway sys-
■m should be prorated over the area
is the metropolitan sewer, water
r park system about Boston.
Traffic Regulation. — Traffic regula-
ions in the various cities and towns
ire often widely different from one
[.nother. This is extremely confusing
|'> the through motorist. Therefore,
is desirable that uniform regula-
Rions should be worked out for a
^hole area similar to those now being
rked out for the State of Ohio by
[Committee recently appointed by
State Legislature. Standardized
fitional regulation should be the ulti-
mate goal.
Parking Control. — The control of
xtomobile parking is likewise a re-
tonal planning problem in so far as
Vose driving from one town to an-
iher on business or pleasure have

difficulty in finding a place to park
their cars. On the other hand the
encumbrance of main traffic ways by
local parking often retards through
travel, and to the extent that it does
should be controlled by the Regional
Planning Commission.

Bridges and Viaducts. — Locating
bridges and viaducts is a regional
planning problem in so far as they
facilitate intercommunication between
municipalities, especially where they
cross, as they often do, the border
line between two communities. In
such cases their location and the lay-
out of their approaches should be de-
termined as a part of the regional
plan.

Interurban Trolleys and Busses. —

Interurban transit lines and bus lines
present distinctly regional planning
problems because they often provide
the chief means of intercommunica-
tion between communities or between
the suburbs and the city. The long
distances that have to be traversed
in going from the central city to the
outlying communities often necessi-
tate the provision of rapid transit
facilities, such as the Hudson tubes or
the Boston elevated system, which
take large numbers of commuters
quickly from the city to an outlying
distributing point, from which they
continue to their destination by trol-
ley or bus. Where trolleys or busses
follow a main traffic way and espe-
cially where both are running in com-
petition on the same street they often
congest thi^ough traffic. These are all
problems that can only be solved re-
gionally, as is also the fixing of fare
zones, for it is just as logical that
trolley and bus fares should vary with
the length of ride as it is for steam
railroad fares.

Railroads. — Obviously the location
of railroads and of their passenger
and freight stations and yards is a
regional planning problem, for they
should make it easy for the commuter
to get back and forth to town and for
commodities to be delivered locally.
At the same time the railroad rights
r.f way and yards should be so located
as not to interfere with the reason-
able growth of the individual commu-
nities through which they pass. They
should not be allowed to create "Chin-
ese walls." They present, too, a
serious problem where they cross
thoroughfares, for it is obvious that
all grade crossings should be elim-
inated where there is any considerable

502

Roads and Streets

Sept.

density of traffic on either the rail-
roads 01- the thoroughfares. Smoke
is a problem, especially in suburban
residential communities and therefore
the electrification of the railroads
where they pass through such towns
becomes- a regional planning matter.
Again, it is evident that freight ap-
proaching or leaving the city should
cause as little congestion as possible.
This often suggests the provision of
belt-lines or intercommunicating lines
so that through trains can be sent
around the city instead of across it
and so that freight cars can be
spotted on the siding or yard nearest
to the consumer. This again means
careful planning by a Metropolitan
Commission working in harmony with
the railroad companies and at the
same time coordinating these studies
with the rest of the plan.

Waterways. — If the metropolitan
area is situated on the ocean or on a
navigable lake or river the waterfront
tracts best suited to commercial and
industrial use should manifestly be
developed for that purpose regardless
of the arbitrary corporate limits of
any individual municipalities. This
can be done only by a regional Port
Authority as in the case of Portland,
Ore., New York or London, but unlike
these cases such plans should form an
integral part of a comprehensive
metropolitan plan. This should in-
clude a study of the accessibility of
these waterfronts by truck and by
rail and the reclamation of marshes
and bottom lands.

Aviation. — With the growing use of
aeroplanes, provision must be made
nearer the larger cities for adequate
landing fields easily accessible from
the central city. From the standpoint
of topography there are usually a lim-
ited number of tracts that are suit-
able. Therefore, as a part of a
regiohal plan such possible fields
should be preserved for aviation use
and the thoroughfare system should
be connected with them for ease of
access.

Sanitation. — The more communities
are grouped the more difficult it is for
each separate municipality to provide
its own water supply and sewerage
and refuse disposal. Stream pollution
becomes more and more of a menace.
The only alternative is a co-operative
development of common facilities such
as has been worked out*by the Metro-
politan District Commission, about'
Boston cr by the Cuyahoga County
Sanitary Commission about Cleveland.

The choice of areas to be used for
water supply, or sewerage "or refuse
disposal, obviously must be made re-
gardless of the limits of the individual
towns, if the problem is going to be
solved in the interest of the whole
area. Therefore, again regional plan-
ning_;.^nd ^State or County control is
necessary.

Superpower Lines. — The considera-
tion of superpower lines is becoming
morfe and more a feature of our mod-
ern economic development. They, too,
have to be located with the sanction
of a Regional Commission in the in-
terest of the whole area and often
contrary to the individual interest of
a particular community.

Parks. — Parks and playgrounds
should be provided by each individual
town for the use of its own inhab-
itants, but with the rapid growth of
suburban areas it often becomes im-
possible for a particular community
to find adequate space for recreation
within its own borders. At the same
time in other nearby communities
there are often large tracts on steep
hillsides, along brooks, around ponds
or in swampy bottom lands, perhaps
with beautiful outlooks or exception-
ally attractive by Nature, which, on
account of their topography or damp-
ness, are impracticable for building
development, but which nevertheless,
would make ideal sites for parks or
reservations. * * *

Reservations. — T here are also
botanical and zoological gardens, wild
flower, tree or game preserves, amuse-
ment parks and camping sites and
also cemeteries and the larger wel-
fare institutions, most of -which it is ,
often difficult for each separate mu- i
nicipality to supply for its own resi-
dents, but which can be readily sup-
plied for the whole metropolitan area
if planned jointly. The same is true
of golf courses, athletic fields anil
race tracks. -The location and shai
of all of these reservations affect r
gional development, for unless gee
care is taken in making the region
plan they are liable, by their bulk,
T)lock the normal development of tii<
district, especially if they are groupt^'
in a thick belt as in the southwestern i
part of Worcester. These problems
are especially worthy of consideration'
by a Metropolitan Planning Commis-
sion and while under "our present la^
it can have little legal control ovi
them it can, through a citizens' coi
mittee, often exercise effective moi
persuasion.

1923

Roads and Streets

503

Public Buildings. — The schools in
many outlying rural or often in sub-
urban districts, especially the higher
schools, could be combined so that one
more efficient plant could serve sev-
eral communities, as is the current
practice in rural Ohio. In a group
of smaller communities there are
many other types of buildings that
could be used in common with a con-
siderable saving to each community.
For example, auditoriums and exhibi-
tion halls, welfare buildings and hos-
pitals and charitable institutions could
possibly be built cooperatively or per-
haps by the county. Even public
markets and neighborhood centers can
often be so located in a regional plan
as to serve effectively a group of com-
munities. Again, this implies the
guidance of a far-seeing Regional
Commission.'

The Comprehensive Regional Plan.
— None of the above listed features
of a regional plan can be studied
separately any more than they can in
a city or town plan. They are all
interdependent. There must be a
constant interplay and give and take
in studying them. Even from the
beginning they should all be studied
together as integral parts of the com-
prehensive plan so that it can grow
as one unit and overlapping be
avoided.

Principles of Regional Planning —
Decentralization. — The most obvious
fundamental principle of regional
planning is the provision of adequate
circulation in and out of and about
the city, and second the planning for
a normal and desirable growth of the
city into the surrounding area. How-
ever, the real function of regional
planning goes much deeper than this.
The planner asks himself if our great
agglomerations are really desirable;
'whether or not it wouldn't be better
|lx) retard the intensive growth of our
"arger cities and force them to spread
lout or to decentralize.

English town planners have come to
elieve that no city group should be
arger than 30,000 to 50,000 people,
perman town planners have long been
f the opinion that 75,000 to 100,000
eople is the maximum, practicable
ize of a city. In France there seems
oi be much the same feeling. In
merica there has been no conscious
ttempt to limit the size of cities, but
[t is coming to be felt by many who
re studying the problem that when
n American city exceeds 100,000 to
'50,000 inhabitants the economic and

social disadvantages tend to exceed
the advantages of concentration.
They believe that the excessive cost
of counteracting the evils of congested
streets, transit, railroads, waterways,
parks, tenements, schools, places of
work and public services, outweighs
any gains there may be in being
nearer a choice of livelihood, a large
labor market, a large clientele, or ex-
ceptional facilities in the way of
schools, recreation or welfare ser\-ices.

In England remarkably interesting
experiments in decentralization have
been conducted in the two garden
cities of Letchworth and Welwyn. In
the first of these the ultimate popu-
lation is limited to 30,000 and in the
second to 50,000, and in each case
growth beyond that amount is pre-
vented by restrictions on the number
of families per acre and by the crea-
tion, in perpetuity, by covenant of
agricultural belts around the eventual
built-up portions of the town. Letch-
worth is self-contained economically
and socially, while Welwyn is near
enough to London so that part of the
population commutes. Both are prov-
ing highly successful in practice.

Various regional plans for English
and continental cities provide for
moulding the future growth of the
metropolitan area in a series of units
of not over 50,000 to 100,000 inhabi-
tants, each separated from the others
by permanent agricultural and park
belts and all connected with the hub
by rapid transit.

Several interesting American
schemes for regional decentralization
have been worked out, notably the
recent regional planning theory de-
veloped by Mr. Arthur Comey. Mr.
Harland Bartholomew has, in his
study of "The Load on the Land," ar-
rived at desirable standards of popu-
lation distribution. Until something
better can be evolved they can well
serve as standards for the decentral-
ization of population.

Decentralizing Industry. — As long
as the great majority of the inhabi-
tants of a metropolitan area continue
to earn their livelihood in the central
city, decentralization will be difficult,
if not impossible. Obviously the
means of livelihood must first be de-
centralized as at Letchworth. This
means that industry and wholesale
business must be legislated or pushed
or encouraged to move out into the
suburbs. Fortunately, there is
throughout the country a marked
tendency in this direction. However,

504

Roads and Streets

Sept.

it is a well-known fact that the ma-
jority of workers, in many if not most,
of the larger industrial plants that
have moved out into the suburbs are
still living in the heart of the city
and daily spending much time and
energy in commuting back and forth.

Investigation would seem to show
that some of the chief reasons why
the workers will not move out to the
neighborhood of the outlying indus-
trial plants is because it is difficult to
find desirable, cheap housing in the
vicinity. Then, too, school facilities
are apt to be poor, churches and sect
groups, theatres, billiard parlors and
other leisure time employments are
lacking or inadequate; it is difficult
for their friends or compatriots to
get in and out to see them and if
the worker loses his job he has to
pull up stakes and move to some
other part of the metropolitan area
where he can get work. On the other
hand, the great development of the
"movie," the "radio," the talking ma-
chine and the cheap automobile have
facilitated decentralization.

The manufacturer, the wholesaler,
and those who maintain general of-
fices find that they have more to gain
than they have to lose by being near
the "center of things." On the other
hand the rapidly increasing use of the
motor truck is making it much easier
to transport to and from the suburbs
all commodities except the bulkiest.
At best it is going to be no easy mat-
ter to attract even a small part of
them to move out and even if they
do, the endeavor must be repeated
with the workers. In any case it is
a legitimate function of regional plan-
ning to see if there is not some way
of satisfying these various demands
and at the same time finding a way
of encouraging industries and general
businesses to move out.

Eliminating Guess Work from
Regional Planning. — It is easy enough
to give a horseback judgment upon
these intricate problems, but if their
solution is going to be convincing,
guess work must be reduced to a
minimum and solutions be based on
logical deduction from the facts. This
means that a searching, quantitative
study should be made of all the con-
tributory factors. Then every possi-
ble solution, one after another, should
be tried out and tested by the facts
until almost automatically the one
most effective solution stands out.

Effect of Topography. — For exam-
ple, what is the effect of topography
in the location of industry and busi-
ness ? Quantitative tests in a number
of eastern cities show that heavy in-
dustries will rarely locate on a slope
of more than two or three per cent.
Lighter industries will locate accord-
ing to their character on slopes up to
seven and eight per cent, but rarely
more except where there is exceptional
water power. Industries requiring
heavy machinery or many stories will
not locate on filled land unless it be
the only land available where they can
rail sidings.

Similar tests show that business will
rarely locate on a slope greater than
seven per cent, while residences will
locate on almost any slope up to 15
to 18 per cent and sometimes even
up to 25 per cent provided there is
quick and easy access to thorough-
fares and transit facilities.

Industrial Area Per Worker. — Other
tests in a number of cities show that
the square feet of ground area per
worker in industrial area varies from
about 30 in the Manhattan loft dis-
tricts and 50 in the textile and shoe
mills of Massachusetts, up to about
1,500 sq. ft. per worker in the varied
and rather opened industry of Eliza-
beth, N. J., and up to a maximum of
about 4,000 sq. ft. per worker in the
heavy open industrial districts of the
Newark meadows. The cost of land
varies roughly in inverse ratio to the
above areas per worker.

These figures give some definite
units and standards to use in the dis-
tribution of regional industrial areas.
They already give a rough idea of
how large and how far apart, and in
what locations such industrial dis-
tricts could and should be placed.

Laws of Growth. — A study of the
laws of growth of a great many ag-
glomerations make it possible to pre-
dict, other things being equal, to what
extent and about how fast a commu-
nity or area should grow. Every
existing community is gound event
ually to approach a saturated popula-
tion. A further study of the laws of
growth shows how this situation can
be controlled or modified by intelli
gent planning. Therefore it become
feasible as a part of a regional plan
to determine approximately the event-
ual possible and the controlled destiny
of population within each part of tiio
metropolitan area at any given date.
This is accomplished in practice by
making a "Spot Map" with not over

1923

Roads and Streets

505

25 people per dot for 1920, 1900, and
olten lor 1910 to show in detail past
tendencies in distribution and rate of
growth. Then on a basis of tentative
zoning, circulation and park studies
the calculated population for about 25
years hence is distributed on the same
map by adding a different kind of dots
and crossing out 1920 dots where
there must be decreases. With this
map in hand it is easy by the simple
method of counting the dots present
and future within any given area to
determine quantitatively, the approxi-
mate location and size and date of
undertaking of almost every feature
of the city and regional plan. Thus
it is also possible to determine fairly
closely a complete program and
budget of execution over a long period
of years.

Tenement Area. — Other investiga-
tions show that there is little eco-
nomic or social reason why more than
12 per cent of the population of any
district should live in houses contain-
ing more than two families. The
"Load on the Land" studies show the
lot area per family that should be al-
lowed for given land values. Realiz-
ing that the majority of tenement
i dwellers work in industrial plants,
these facts indicate approximately the
amount of tenement area which re-
gional zoning should provide about
suburban industrial plants.

Business Area Per Inhabitant. — In-
vestigation in a number of cities
ihows that the number of inhabitants
Jer store averaging 25 ft. frontage
varies from about 60 persons to 150.
The United Department of Commerce
hows 27 families per store avei-age
hroughout the country, while investi-
gations in the suburban communities
round New York show an average
jf about 100 people per store. These
'acts again give a fairly definite basis
'or properly distributing and provid-
ing sufficiently large business areas to
■ike care of the determined future
ijcrowth of any given district, particu-
irly when coupled with the fact
liown by investigation that the great
aiority of people ordinarily will not
:ljdk more than a half mile to a store.
This distance tends to decrease with
' e increase of density in population.
\\ Farm Area Per Inhabitant. — An
j^lnalysis of the statistics of the De-
irtment of Asrriculture indicates that
supply all of the food that one man
ts in a year six acres of farming
{ Ind are needed. For a city of 100,-
t )0 inhabitants this would mean an

encircling farm belt 18 mi. in radius
from the center of the citv or for a
city of 1,000,000 inhabitants a farm
belt 60 mi. in radius would be needed.
Of course, in practice these belts are
vastly smaller as most of our food-
stuffs must come from elsewhere.

Further Data and Methods. — At the

National City Planning Conference,
held in Springfield last year, Mr. E.
P. Goodrich brought out a number
of facts, proved by experiment, which
showed the relation of street traffic
and transit to the size of a commu-
nity, to the distance from the center
of a community, to the distances be-
tween commurities of various sizes,
and which also showed the relation
of population and to the character
and use of property, street and tran-
sit facilities, etc. The many laws de-
duced from these investigations are
fully as applicable to regional plan-
ning as they aie to city or town plan-
ning.

Similar investigations have been
and are being made by Mr. Goodrich
and others with regard to every phase
of city and regional planning. In
other words, everything that affects
the economic and social life of a com-
munity and its growth is being probed
so as to reduce guess work to a
minimum and to bring definiteness
into regional as well as city planning.

Executing and Financing the Re-
gional Plan. — Where original planning
by annexation was feasible as in Bal-
timore, Norfolk or Cincinnati, the exe-
cution of the plan is relatively sim-
ple. It is simply an enlarged city
plan. However, in the case of the
majority of cities this is hardly prac-
ticable. A review of regional plan-
ning progress shows that there are
several methods now being used of
effecting the regional plan:

First; there is city and county con-
solidation which, unfortunately, has
been recently defeated in Alameda
County in California, but which is
authorized in the State of Montana.
This is really a modified form of an-
nexation.

Second; there is the creation of a
Metropolitan Planning Commission,
such as was created and then dis-
banded about Philadelphia, which wai>
just on the point of functioning in the
case of Cleveland until a change of
administration in the citv delayed its
work, and the Regional or County
Planning Commission such as is now

506

Roads and Streets

Sept.

being formed about Boston, Pittsburgh
and Milwaukee.

Third; there is the creation of an
unofficial Citizens' Regional Plan Com-
mittee such as is being formed in
Buffalo and Chicago.

Fourth; there is the Foundation
Plan such as is being made for the
New York metropolitan area by the
Russell Sage Foundation.

Each of these methods has its good
and bad features. Obviously, where
annexation is practicable it is the
easiest solution of the problem, but
in most of our large cities even a
suggestion of annexation immediately
puts the surrounding communities on
the defensive. They are afraid of be-
ing swallowed up by the central city.

The official Regional Planning Com-
mission method used in Philadelphia
was declared unconstitutional. In any
case, in each particular State the
courts must decide whether it is con-
stitutional for communities to trans-
fer part of their legislative and tax-
ing powers to a body which they can
not control. li it is not constitutional
then an attempt should be made to
raise the necessary funds by private
subscription.

The Sage Foundation method, while
likely the only one feasible in an ag-
gregation as huge and unwieldy as
New York, is too arbitrary for gen-
eral acceptance in much smaller cities.

Probably the best method of all, at
least for the first stages of regional
planning, is the creation of a Citi-
zens' Regional Plan Committee con-
sisting of representatives of the lead-
ing civic and economic organizations
from each of the communities within
the region. It would be the duty of
such a Citizens' Committee to make
a reconnaissance survey of the whole
situation and perhaps to prepare ten-
tative general regional plans as a
demonstration and in any case to work
up public sentiment to the point where
these plans can be officially under-
taken in detail and carried into ef-
fect by an official Metropolitan, Re-
gional or County Planning Commis-
sion representative of all the commu-
nities affected. A permanent Citizens'
Committee constantly co-operating
with the official Commission would act
as its interpreter to the public and
at the same time serve as a watch dog
over it to assure the continuity and
stability of its plans.

This means a great deal of publicity
and educational work among the sur-
rounding communities and the enlist-
ing of financial support by voluntary
contributions or by levying a pro rata
contribution on local civic or improve-
ment associations. The experience of
Buffalo, Chicago, Los Angeles and
Boston in thus securing enthusiastic
regional co-operation is good evidence
of the effectiveness of this method.

The cost of executing each improve-
ment that affects more than one mu-
nicipality should be pro-rated among
the units benefited according to meth-
ods sanctioned by many court deci-
sions. These units would almost al-
ways include the central city as the
principal benefitter and often a
county, as well as various suburban
municipalities. In practice assess-
ments are prorated according to the
population, the area, or the valuation
of each municipality or according to
its ability to pay or the frontage
benefited or any combination of the
above. The payment of these assess-
ments can often be spread over the
life of the improvement where earlier
payment would cause undue hardship.

Needed Legislation. — No State has
yet granted to a Metropolitan, Re-
gional or County Commission all of
the powers above outlined as essen-
tial to its proper functioning. The
nearest approach was the Pennsyl-
vania Act of 191.3 which was declared
unconstitutional. The Regional or
Metropolitan Planning Commission
bills now before the Ohio and Massa-
chusetts legislatures are excellent
models except that the Massachusetts
bill does not provide for metropolitan
control of zoning, building codes, pri-
vate reservations and subdivisions.
The Ohio bill is virtually complete in
all its essentials.

Summary. — We are confronted by
one of the most serious pi-oblems of
the age: What shall we do with our
ungainly metropolitan groups ? The
problem can not be solved except by
intensive scientific study of all of the
factors involved. There should be an
appropriately constituted Regional
Planning Commission aided by a Citi-
zens' Regional Plan Committee con-
stantly planning improved develop
ment of the area and fostering tlic
execution of the plans as needed. We
must make a united effort to counter-
act the sordidness and the social and
economic ills of our larger city
groups.

1923 Roads and Strests

How to Avoid Waste of Explosives

507

Method of Reducing Quarry Blaisting Costs Described in the Elxplosives

Engineer

By R. N. yAN WINKLE,

General Manager, Hawkeye Quarries Co.

While quarries in the United States
consume a large percentage of the
high explosives manufactured for
commercial purposes, there is much
seemingly wilful waste of high ex-
plosives in the industry. Honest con-
sideration is now being given by some
companies to the highly important
subject of how to avoid this waste.

Blasting Cost Next in Importance to
Labor Cost. — In limestone quarrying,
with which this article deals, the item
of dynamite or blasting cost is next
in importance to the item of labor,
and at times it is even questionable in
the mind of the writer whether or
not blasting cost in the average
crushed stone quarry operation does
not supersede in importance the item
of labor cost. Blasting is, therefore,
■:he basic operation which governs
labor and various other operating
costs. Improperly blasted stone means
not only wasted dynamite but in-
cTeased secondary blasting expense,
•acreased drilling and labor costs, cur-
lailment of production, and the loss
f organization morale; the latter is
•omething which is too often ignored,
.^rood blasting practice and results are
'andamental to the successful oper-
tion of every quarry.
It is a simple matter to criticize
find fault, but what we in the
hed stone industry need badly, is
ore serious, unbiased, constructive
dvice and criticism of our blasting
roblems together with simple, scien-
ce but non-technical solutions of our
ifficulties. It is unreasonable to be-
ve that any of us who are quarry-
^n have the time, if the inclination,
go into the technical phase of blast-
? or the use of high explosives and
en if we did we would soon find out
' j at the information and reference
-oks pertaining to quarry blasting
very meager. The writer speaks
m experience, as he was foolish
^gh to try it, just once.
iHow Information on Blasting Can
' )btained. — A fund of very valuable
rmation for your guidance, how-
ep, can be gathered from the read-
er and studying of articles written
A magazines and trade journals on

this most highly important phase of
quarrying. The writer not only rec-
ommends reading and studying such
articles, tables, etc.; he cuts them out
and files them in a loose-leaf book for
constant reference.

There was a time in the crushed
stone and quarry industry when it was
not so important to watch blasting
costs, for a little dynamite wasted
was not a serious matter. That was
in the "Good Old Days" when dyna-
mite was selling around 10 cts. a
pound; but now it is a quite different
story. Blasting is one of your heavi-
est expenses; so giye it the attention
and thought it is entitled to.

Prices of explosives and blasting
supplies are uniform; that is to say,
you get about the same price regard-
less of which manufacturer quotes
you, so the manufacturers can no
longer expect to obtain orders on just
a competitive or price basis, but must
get their orders on quality of ex-
plosives and supplies offered, coupled
with the service they are willing to
render to the customer. Personally
the writer feels that this ser\'ice when
properly rendered by the explosives
manufacturer is of great assistance to
the quarry operator. The manufac-
turer who is not ready and willing to
give ser\'ice is making a serious mis-
take, because while blasting is just
one operation — although a highly im-
portant one — of the many the quarry-
man has to deal with, it is the heart
of the manufacturer's business.

After all, ser\-ice is the keynote of
present day business and if a man is
getting service and results, price is
almost a secondary consideration. It
is a rare thing to hear a man in a
hotel or cafe complain about the price
of a meal that tickles his palate and
has been properly sers'ed; neither do
you hear a quarryman kick about the
price of explosives if he is getting
results and making money.

Educating the Men in Handling Ex-
plosives.— Too much gamble and guess
has been practiced in the use of ex-
plosives in quarrying operations and
the direct cause of this can be laid,
the writer feels, at the door of the

508

Roads and Streets

Sept.

quarry executive, who ought to get out
once in a while and visit with his
men, or, better still, live with them
and while so doing, educate those who
handle explosives. This is a simple
method which has been tried out in
our own operations and is worthy of
consideration as a method to discour-
age waste of explosives.

Educate your men in handling dyna-
mite; teach them to think not in
pounds of dynamite, number of caps
or electric exploders, feet of fuse or
Cordeau, but in dollars and cents.
Take a little time some day and as-
semble all the men, from the superin-
tendent down, who handle or use ex-
plosives and blasting supplies. Have
a cartridge of every size explosive
you use, a piece of fuse a foot long,
a piece of Cordeau a foot long, one of
each size blasting caps, and an elec-
tric exploder with the length wire
most commonly used. Talk to them
like a "Dutch Uncle"; explain to them
that this one cartridge of 1% in. by
8 in. of special ammonia dynamite
you are showing them is worth 7 cts;
that tills cartridge of 40 per cent 5x10
straight nitroglycerin dynamite is
worth $1.47. Tell them that this
small, .nsignificant little No. 6 copper
blasting cap that you have in your
hand costs 1^/^ cts., while just 1 ft. of
fuse they are so generous in using
costs 1 ct.; that 1 ft. of Cordeau costs
you 5 cts.; that a No. 8 copper wire
electric cap with 30-ft. wires is worth
18% cts. These men have their hands
deeper in your pocketbook than any-
one around your operations, so teach
them the value of explosives and sup-
plies and encourage them to think in
dollars and cents instead of pounds,
feet, and number of caps and explod-
ers and you will find a wonderful im-
provement in your blasting costs and
dynamite and blasting supply con-
sumption.

Teaching Them to Think in Terms
of Dollars and Cents. — The writer is
a constant and firm believer in edu-
cating workmen, not only to think in
terms of dollars and cents as far as
explosives are concerned, but to teach
the more apt employes how to figure
tonnages in blank shots, how to figure
explosives retjuired per foot of drill
hole, tons of stone per foot of drill
hole in shots, hole spacings, etc.

When your powder monkey, or
shooter, is of foreign extraction and
unschooled, as is often the case, you
can reach him with the dollar and

cents idea, but where large shots are
put off the writer makes it a prac-
tice to relieve the quarry superin-
tendent from all other duties, and re-
quires that he actually supervise all
large shots; for after all the superin-
tendent is the man most interested,
as he is strictly accountable for final
results and, therefore, must be in au-
thority. Bank shots in our operations
are platted on paper, depths of holes
accurately measured, toe considered,
and burden and spacing are checked.
Then the superintendent comes in with
this data and, with some other mem-
ber of our organization, figures out
the loadings for each of the holes
which have been previously numbered
on the plat or drawing.

Educating employes will surprise
even the most skeptical employer, and
if you can get men to thinking they
need not expect promotion until they
have made others to fill their places,
you will soon be getting full value
for your labor payroll.

Municipal Bus Lines

Salient Facts of Public Bus Operation

in Five Cities Outlined in The Toledo

City Journal of August 1 1

Most of the municipally-owned bus
lines now operated in this country,
are primarily for the purpose of
transporting people to the large city
parks.

Small municipal park bus lines are
operated in Detroit, San Francisco,
Los Angeles and St. Louis. New
York City with its 27 city bus lines is
the only outstanding example of a
municipal bus system on a large scale.

Other cities, notably Buffalo and
Milwaukee, are now seriously consid-
ering the matter of starting city bus
lines but nothing concrete has been
done.

The above cities were queried by
the Toledo Commission of Publicity
and Efficiency because of the discus-
sion in the Toledo city council rela-
tive to starting city bus lines to fill
the transportation needs set out in
the transit survey.

Comprehensive information was re-
ceived from all of the above cities
with the exception of New York wliich
will be obtaineil soon. With tlie ex-
ception of New York City, the before-
mentioned city bus systems are mere-

1923

Roads and Streets

509

ly a matter of convenience for the
citizens to assist them in getting to
the parks. For this reason the matter
of revenues has not been consi<lered
absolutely essential. Only one, that
in Los Angeles with a 10 cent fare,
can be fairly considered self-sup-
porting.

These city bus lines were started as
follows: Detroit, 1911; San Fran-
cisco, 1917; Los Angeles, 1920; St.
Louis, 1916 and New York City, 1919.
Most Routes Are Short. — All of
these lines with the exception of that
in San Francisco and New York City,
operate only one route. San Fran-
cisco has two and New York 27 lines.
The length of the routes are as fol-
lows: Detroit, 1.5 miles; San Fran-
cisco, 2:08 and 4.25 miles; Los
Angeles, 7 miles; St. Louis, 5 miles
and New York (1920) 25 miles.

The number of busses are as fol-
lows: Detroit, 10 busses; San Fran-
cisco, 5; Los Angeles, 5; St. Louis, 5
and New York City in 1920, 170
j busses.

I All the cities except New York
'which is not reported, financed the
'purchase of the original busses by an
appropriation.

Nickel Fare Is Rule.— The "nickel"
are is the rule, mainly for the reason
that the lines are not supposed to be
revenue producers. Five cents is
harged in Detroit, San Francisco, St.
!x)uis and New York (1920) while in
.05 Angeles the rate is 10 cents for
liults and five cents for children with
. 35 cent rate for the round trip of
=ven miles.
Last year the Detroit bus line of
0 machines operated under the park
epartment, took in $81,538.83 in pas-
enger revenue while the cost of
deration including repairs and over-
ruling amounted to $80,237. Evi-
•Mitly nothing is set aside for depre-
ation or renewals.
Deficit in Frisco. — The revenues of
e San Francisco bus line in 1922
tailed $38,900 while the operation
pense was $68,000. No charge was
le for superintendence or over-
d. The • transfers and school
«ts at 2^2 cents largely accounted
'this deficit. A charge of $5,141
8 per cent of the receipts was set
le for depreciation. The net loss
day was $73.11.

e five Los Angeles municipal

3^s also under the park depart-

nt, brought in sufficient revenue to

operating charges and lay up a

er\e of $5,000. But no charge is

made for depreciation, Van Griffith,
the motor bus commissioner, says. He
asserts that even if ample deprecia-
tion were to be charged against the
S5,000 reserve, there would be a
balance.

The Commissioner of Public Affairs
of Buff"alo recently recommended that
the city buy 50 to 100 double deck
busses to operate between the public
square and the different city parks.

A Milwaukee aldermanic committee
is now considering the feasibility of
operating municipal bus lines there.

N. Y. Has Large System. — New
York City is the only large munici-
pality which has had experience with
a city-owned bus system on a big
scale. Detailed information has not
yet been received by the City Journal.
By coui-t order 27 city bus lines which
serve about 250,000 people, were tied
up recently. The city's right to oper-
ate busses was questioned. An at-
tempt to call a special session of the
legislature to give the city such
power, is being made.

Grover Whalen, commissioner of
plants and structures of New York
City, under whom the busses are run,
declared in an address at the High-
way Transport Conference in 1920
that busses can be profitably operated
on populous routes, at a 5 cent fare.
The New York busses have been run-
ning since 1919. In 1920, the city
operated 170 busses on 10 routes over
25 miles of public highways at a five
cent fare.

Mr. Whalen pointed out that the
use of a one-man bus as compared
with a two-man trolley, results in
greater economy.

Model System Suggested. — T h e
Commissioner outlined a suggested
motor bus system based on the expe-
riences of his department; 100 busses
with extra parts and garage equip-
ment, $570,000; fixed charges for one
year including liability insurance,
depreciation and 220 employees,
$635,000; 94 busses in operation and
six in reser\'e; daily cost, fixetl
charges, $1,740, gasoline, oil and tires,
$663 or a total of $2,423. 60,000 pas-
sengers dailv at a five cent fare would
bring in $3',000; daily profit of $376
or an annual profit of $137,000.

There may be a few other cities
which operate city bus lines and as
data on these is obtained, it will be
turned over to the council sub-com-
mittee which now has this matter
under consideration.

510

Roads and Streets

Sept.

General Instructions for Sur-
veys for Highway
Pavements

The location of the center line of
a highway pavement is a matter on
which no two engineers would produce
the same results. There is as much
chance for differences as there would
be in competitive designs for a build-
ing submitted by various architects.

It is realized that no set of sugges-
tions, regulations or rules can be writ-
ten that will apply to all problems of
location as they present themselves
to survey parties in the field. While
the following instruction prepared by
G. N. Lamb. District Engineer, Illinois
Division of Highways are not intended
to apply to all types of highway im-
provements, nor to conditions in all
parts of the country they contain
many points of interest to all engi-
neers . The instructions are based on
observations of topographical and
other natural features, and of the re-
quirements of modern traffic as ap-
plied to road conditions in northern
Illinois, within a radius of 75 miles
from the city of Chicago; surrounded,
as it is, by densely populated suburban
districts. The instructions are offered
to enable field parties to work more
nearly toward the same standard in
the location surveys, and to insure
more uniformity in the methods of
securing and recording information
necessary to the completion of road
plans in accordance with the policies
of the Bureau of Design of the Illinois
Division of Highways.

Mr. Lamb's instructions follow:

Direction. — In general, surveys on a
given section will proceed from west
to east or from south to north. This
will enable the maps and profiles to
be platted so as to face north or
west.

BencFi Line. — ^Prior to making the
transit survey a line of precise levels
should be run and B. M.'s should be
set at intervals not to exceed V4, mile.
The levels will be checked when
cross-sections are taken but unless it
is found that a distinct error has been
made, the original B. M.'s will be ac-
cepted as correct. Benches should be
selected with reference to permanency
and convenience to the line. If possi-
ble avoid driving nails for B. M.'s in
poles or posts; a nail driven into a
tree or root is preferable. Benches
should be so described In the notes
that there can be no question of their

identity for future work. All benches
and turning points should be read and
recorded to the nearest hundredth of
a foot. Begin with a datum of 100,
unless there is a possibility of a fall
in the grade exceeding 100 ft.

The Transit Line. — Frequently the
located line will follow the center line
between highway fences, but the re-
quirements of good alignment will of-
ten necessitate the acquisition of ad-
ditional right-of-way and in many
cases a radical , relocation may be
justified. On a long tangent it may be
advisable to find tentative centers at
frequent intervals along the line.
Prom the center points thus found a
tangent may be located that will be
as near the average center as circum-
stances will permit, due consideration
being given to any existing embank-
ments, deep cuts, permanent bridges
or drainage conditions. It is advisable
to run to a foresight rather than to
produce a long tangent by reversing
the telescope or by turning angles of
180 degrees at convenient transit
points. All angles should be read
clockwise without reversing the tele-
scope. Referenced hubs should be set
on long tangents at intervals not to
exceed 14 mile.

The location of a paved highway
presents diversified problems of ap-
pearance, the importance of which is
apt to be greatly undervalued. The
eye delights in straight lines or grace-
ful curves; and conversely is annoyed
by broken lines, unsightly kinks or ill-
fitting curves. Tangents should pre-
sent to the vision an unbroken aspect.
If small angles or curves are unavoid-
able they should if possible be placed
at major summits, or there should be
a distinct object or obstruction to cut
off from view that portion of the ad-
jacent tangent beyond the angle or
curve. Horizontal curves in alignment
should be introduced only when there
is a logical reason, aside from existing
right-of-way fences to justify a change
in direction of the center line.

The transit line will be the center
line of construction and will be the
basis of all measurements. The great-
est skill and care should be exercised
to see that the located center line,
with respect to appearance as well as
usefulness, will be the most consistent
location possible. The selection should
be such that there can be no excuse
to tinker with the alignment during
construction. Bear in mind that the
old right-of-way was selected to serve
traffic in the days of the ox-cart or

1923

Roads and Streets

511

the horse drawn vehicle. The newly
selected alignment will not only be
the basis of a high priced improve-
ment to serve intense modern traffic,
but must stand subject to commenda-
tion or condemnation by both present
and future generations— a monument
to the skill or to the incompetence of
the locating engineer. The selected
center line should be so located as to
serve for a pavement that perhaps
may eventually be widened to two or
more times the present contemplated
width. The modern paved highway is
worthy of its right-of-way.

Standards of Curvature. — The fol-
lowing standards of curvature should
be observed, or if conditions will not
permit compliance thereto, the Dis-
trict Engineer should be consulted be-
fore a decision is made:

Select the curve that will best fit
the ground, giving preference to the
longer curve. Avoid odd minute curves
and select curves of even degree if
possible. Avoid terminating a curve
less than 100 ft. distant from a bridge.
All curves having radii less than 1,000
ft. will be spiraled and widened. Run
in all curves having a central angle
exceeding one degree.

The use of the compound curve will
often be advisable and in many cases
will fit the right-of-way better than a
simple curVe. Curves may be com-
pounded as many times as desirable.
If a compound curve is employed, the
lengths of the component curves may
be decreased, provided the total length
of compound curvature will be not less
than the simple curvature indicated
above. For reasons stated in the pre-
ceeding paragraph curves having radii
less than 1,000 ft. should not be com-
pounded with curves having radii
1,000 ft. or greater.

In many cases it will be advantage-
ous to make a paper location from a
topographical or contour map made
previous to the location survey.

P. C. and P. T. hubs should" be set
by measuring off the calculated tang-
ent distances from the P. I. The sta-
tioning should be carried around the
curve; that is, the station number of
the P. T. will be the station nu.nber
of the P. C. plus the curve length.

This method will eliminate the confu-
sion of an equation of stations. Ordin-
arily cross-sections and all distances
should be measured from the center
line of curvature and not from the
tangents.

The following curve data should be
recorded in the notes:

(1) Stations and reference points
of P. C.

(2) Station and reference points of
P. I.

(3) Station and reference points of
P. T.

(4) Central Angle.

(5) Degree of curvature.

(6) Length of tangents.

(7) Length of curve.

(8) Chord lengths used.

(9) Deflection angles used at each
station.

(10) Magnetic and calculated bear-
ings on the tangent from the P. T.

For reference points use a nail driv-
en through a tin washer into a tree or
root or into a stake driven to within
% in. of the ground surface. The
stake should be set near a post or
other object easily described; it
should be measured off in even fe^t
and the nail should be set accurately
within one-hundredth of a foot. Re-
ference points should be so placed
that they will not be disturbed during
construction.

Chaining. — The accuracy of chain-
ing should be in keeping with the high
class improvement contemplated in
the survey. All measurements of
alignment should be made with the
chain held truly horizontal, using the
plumb-bob or "breaking chain" as oc-
casion may require.

Stakes. — Temporary center stakes
or markers will be set at every 100-
ft. station; but more permanent stakes
should be set along the fences at right
angles to the center line. These stakes
should be at intervals not to exceed
500 ft. on tangent, and 50 ft. to 100 ft.
on curves.

Stakes placed at the side should
bear the station number on the face,
and the distance from the center line
on the rear. If possible, the side

MINIMUM LENGTH OF RADII.
(1) Curves having an intersection angle exceeding 45° (Bond Issue Roads) 500 ft.
J2) Curves having an intersection angle exceeding 45° (Secondary Roads) 300 ft.

(3) Curves having an intersection angle of from 25" to 45° ." 1,000 ft.

(4) Curves having an intersection angle of from 5° to 25° 2,000 ft.

(a) Minimum length of curves 1,000 ft.

(b) Minimum distance between broken back curves 1,000 ft.

(a), (b) and (c) subject to modification under special conditions.

512

Roads avd Streets

Sept.

stakes should be at even feet and at
uniform distances out.

On all relocations, a stake at each
station should be set at the center
line and driven to within 1 or 2 in. of
the ground; also a reinforced hub-
stake should be placed at each inter-
secting fence line. Every precaution
should be taken to avoid leaving nails
or stakes in the public highway in u
manner to endanger rubber tires. The
engineer in charge of the party must
be held personally responsible for in-
juries from such causes.

Right-of-Way. — The names of all
abutting property owners should be
given. Measurements to right-of-way
lines or fences should be taken at
right angles to the center line at each
station, or at closer intervals if neces-
sary, to show all the angles or irregu-
larities. The distances should be re-
corded in feet and tenths. All state,
county, township or corporation lines
and all sections and half section lines
should be located and recorded, giving
the station number at the intersection
and the angle with the center line.
When a section line is crossed, a meas-
urement should be taken to the near-
est section corner or quarter corner.
All property lines adjacent to the high-
way should be shown with respect to
location and direction. The notes
should show the location of all inter-
secting or near-by streams, waterways,
highways, bridges, culverts, tile lines,
and public utilities; and all buildings,
driveways, private entrances and field
entrances, as well as polo lines, trees,
hedges or shrubbery adjacent to the
line. All information pertaining to
right-of-way should be recorded in the
transit notes.

Drainage. — The survey should deter-
mine how all water enters, crosses,
travels along, or leaves the right-of-
way. The direction of flow should be
indicated by arrows. The meander of
all streams or important ditches should
be shown for a distance of 200 ft. each
side of the center line. Sufficient
levels should be taken to determine
the direction of flow and the gradient
of the stream and the elevations at
the right-of-way lines and at the up-
stream and downstream ends of the
present structure. Take levels along
the ditch lines of intersecting roads,
and indicate wliether such ditches
may be utilized to dispose! of water
from the right-of-way. All possible in-
formation regarding tile lines or tile
Inlets or outlets along the road should
be noted. Note where all new drain-

age structures and all replacements of
existing one will be necessary. If an
existing culvert is to be replaced, note
the width and height of the waterway
of the old one and the elevation of the
flow line. If an old culvert or bridge
is to remain as a part of the new im-
provement, make a detailed sketch
showing both plan and elevation in re-
lation to the center line. The data for
the larger culverts and for the bridges
should be shown on the regular bridge
inspection blank. The following data
should be secured:

(1) Drainage area served.

(2) Nature of area drained (level,
rolling or hilly).

(3) Size of opening of near-by struc-
tures serving the same stream.

(4) The amount of water flowing in
normal times and the elevation and
cross-section area of extreme high
water.

(5) The nature and bearing quali-
ties of the soil at the probable eleva-
tion of the bottom of the footings, and
the possibilities of scour in the stream
bed.

(6) Levels should be taken to show
the true profile across the bed of the
stream and the bank slopes.

Recommendations should be noted
as to tb,e required size of opening for
the new structure. The county super-
intendent of highways, the local high-
way commissioner, and adjacent prop-
erty owners should be consulted free-
ly as an aid in deciding the size of
waterways required. Note the loca-
tion of all required entrance culverts
and the necessary size. So far as pos-
sible, preference should be given to
summit entrances rather than to cul-
vert entrances.

Cross Sections. — Cross sections
should be taken at each station at
such plusses as may be necessary to
show truly plain surfaces between
readings. Readings should be taken
for a width of 30 ft. each side of the
center line, or in cases of deep cuts
or fills they should be taken for a cor-
responding greater distance. Cross
sections extending 100 ft. or more to
the side should be taken at all inter-
secting roads and at private entrances.

The level notes should indicate any
conditions that might restrict the
depth or width of cut or fill for a given
distance and the extent of such re-
striction; they should indicate any
condition that might influence leaving
out the standard side ditch, or the
substitution of tile in place of surface
drainage.

1923

Roads and Streets

513

If borrow pits are required a center
line should be established and well
referenced. Cross sections should
then be taken at right angles to this
center line.

Data at Railroad Crossings. — A sub-
stantial hub driven flush with the
ground should be set at the center
line between rails, or between tracks;
and referenced. The exact plus to the
hub and to the gage line of all rails
as well as the angle of the tracks
should be recorded. If the tracks are
on a curve, the angles to the ceister
line at intervals of 50 ft. each direc-
tion for several hundred feet should
be recorded. In case the highway is on
a curve the angles should be read to
the tangent to the curve at the inter-
section. The number of the nearest
milepost and the distance thereto
should be shown. In case of a con-
templated grade separation there
should be at least 150 ft. of tangent
before starting a curve either side of
the tracks.

Record in hundredths the elevation
of the tops of all rails on the exact
line of intersection and take top of
rail levels for one or two thousand feet
each side of the crossing. If possible,
take a reading on one of the railroad
B. M.'s and note the equation of levels.
Record the length of cross-ties, the
height of the steel tail and the dis-
tance to near-by switches or turnouts.
Note all drainage conditions affecting
a grade crossing or a grade separation.

The Field Book. — Number the pages
of the field book. The first four pages
should be reserved for keeping the
time of the men employed and for cost
data pertaining to the survey. Each
day's work should be dated, the
weather conditions noted, and the
names of the men and their various
duties recorded. Before the book is
forwarded to the office, the cover
should be lettered in ink as follows:
Route

or Section County

Project

From to

Station to station

Forest Roads. — During the past 11
years the United States Department
of Agriculture has spent $20,435,200
in the construction of 5,950 miles of
roads and 8,960 miles of trails within
or adjacent to the national forests. In
addition, $7,44fi,000 of co-operative
funds from States and counties was
expended upon this construction.

The First City Manager

An Article in the July City Manager
Magazine

By LOUIS BROWNLOW

City Manager, Petersburg, Va. ; President City-
Managers' Association

When the council of the city of
Stockton in California decided that
they wanted a particular man for
City Manager they wrote to him and
asked him if he would consider taking
the position and, if so, what salary
he would require. The man replied,
substantially, "Yes. ?20,000." And
then he forgot it.

But the council of the city of Stock-
ton did not. They wanted that par-
ticular man. They responded, sub-
stantially, "0. K. Will expect you
September 1."

Thereupon the man went to a meet-
ing of his council and resigned. His
council didn't want him to go. So
they said, substantially, "We'll see the
raise and make it $20,000 to stay."

But the man couldn't do that. He
couldn't trade with a city that he had
served so well. Another city had
asked him to come to it and to name
his own salary. Unexpectedly they
had taken him at his word. His word
was his first consideration.

Therefore on September 1, 1923,
Charles Edward Ashburner will be-
come City Manager of Stockton, Cal-
ifornia. The city council of Norfolk,
V'irginia, will choose some one else to
take his place.

Mr. Ashburner is not a man who
measures his work in terms of money,
and neither do the other members of
his profession. Yet it is interesting
to everybody connected with the
movement for the City Manager form
of municipal government to note that
Stockton, California, a city of less
than fifty thousand inhabitants, is
paying the largest salary ever paid to
a City Manager. It is equally inter-
esting to note that already Mr. Ash-
burner was the best paid man in the
profession. His salary at Norfolk
now is $14,000 a year, he having re-
duced it himself from $16,000, which
amount he received last year.

More interesting than these things,
however, is the fact that Charles E.
Ashburner was the first City Man-
ager.

Whatever may have been the exact

514

Roads and Streets

Sept.

circumstances leading up to the mo-
mentous decision (tor Asnburner is
poor at autobiography and I have
tried unsuccesstully to get the tuli
details of the story out of him) the
fact remains that the first city to
select a City Manager and, therefore,
to launch the city manager movement
in America was the city of Staunton
in the Old Dominion of Virginia, and
that the man they selected was
Charles E. Ashburner.

That was in 1908. After serving
there for three years as City Manager
he resigned to undertake some special
engineering work for the American
Railways of Philadelphia. On Jan-
uary 1, 1914, he again became a city
manager, this time at Springfield,
Ohio. There he remained until Sep-
tember, 1918, when he became City
Manager of Norfolk, whence he will
go at the end of a crowded, useful,
successful five years,

Mr. Ashburner was the first City
Manager. He was the first president
of the City Managers' Association.
He has been for some time and still
is the highest paid City Manager in
the country. He now goes to a small
city which is willing to pay for his
services as municipal executive a sal-
ary larger than ever before fixed for
a municipal executive, although no
larger a sum than hundreds of cities
uncomplainingly have paid by pro-
cesses of law to fee officers and by
processes of corrupt politics to bosses.

In Norfolk, a great seaport of more
than a hundred and fifty thousand
people, under the administration of
Mr. Ashburner, as much has been
done in five years as could have been
done in a quarter of a century under
the old regime.

There is not the time, nor have I
the space, to tell of what has been
done in Norfolk. Its quality may be
inferred from the fact that when the
newspapers came out with the an-
nouncement of Br. Ashburner's resig-
nation, most of the important civic
bodies, through their boards of direc-
tors and, in at least one instance,
general meetings, called on the city
council to raise his salary and keep
him. The council did Its part and
offered to raise the salary, but Mr.
Ashburner had given his word to
Stockton.

It is the time, however, to say some-
thinpT about Ashburner. He is a work-
ing whirlwind of a man who has^ a
clever vision of the future of munic-

ipal government and the faith to
count that vision among the realities
of life. Sometimes, like other whii'l-
wintls, he is tactless of phrase. Some-
times, like other seers, he is im-
patient with those who cannot see.
Always, like other true believers, he
wastes no time on those who have
no faith.

It is his reward to be ranked first
in accomplishment in that profession
in which he ranked first in history.

Born in Bombay, India, in 1870, the
son of a British army officer, he was
educated in England, France and
Germany. The chum of his school
days was that Eric Geddes who, when
the strain of the World War came,
was to serve England as its supreme
organizer of transport on land and
sea.

He came early to the United States
to seek his fortune, having nothing
but a degree of civil engineer from
Heidelberg. He found a minor job on
the James River under the Army en-
gineers.

It was not long, however, until his
special talent for municipal engineer-
ing found its opportunity for man-
ifestation, for in 1890, when he was
only twenty years old, he was en-
gaged by Major Lewis Ginter as en-
gineer in charge of the development
of Ginter Park, now an important
part of the city of Richmond. He fol-
lowed this interest in municipal en-
gineering for years, as an engineer
employed by railways and electric
companies, as an independent con-
tractor and as a consultant. In 1908
the decisive step was taken and he
became City Manager of Staunton,
the first of a new profession.

In Staunton, in Springfield and in
Norfolk, the name Ashburner is
wrought into the living history of the
development of the community. So
will it be, we are sure, in Stockton.
And in the United States he will al-
ways be "the first City Manager."

Construction on Lincoln Highway in
Nevada. — Construction work on a five-
mile section of asphalt-paved Lincoln
Highway has been started between
Fallon, Nevada, and Grime's Ranch to
the east. This new improvement will
connect with the concrete paving on
the Lincoln Highway through Fallon.
The new pavement will be 15 ft. wide
and surfaced with asphaltic macadam,
one of the few sections of this type
of improvement in Nevada.

1923 Roads and Streets 515

Quality Standards in Commodity Production

Experiences of Portland Cement Industry in Their Setting
Described in Paper Presented May 8 Before Fabricated
Production Group, U. 5. Chamber of Commerce

By F. W. KELLEY,
President, Portland Cement Association.

Quality and quantity standards are
essential for the free interchange of
commodities in commerce beyond the
stage of first-hand transactions in
which personal observation and opin-
ion govern. Progress in civilization is"
measured by commerce, standards are
at the base of civilization as well as of
commerce.

Standards of time, space, weight,
value and conduct are as old as his-
tory. They are so much a part of the
environment into which each genera-
tion is born that there is no conscious
recognition of a period when they did
not exist, any more than in the case
of the air we breathe. But all these
standards had to be determined and
established. Probably the first gener-
ally recognized minimum quality
standard was that of conduct.

Every thinking man must recognize
the necessity for standards and the
desirability of providing recognized
quality standards in almost every line
of industry. There are in each indus-
try, however, the practical questions
— what should the standards be; how
should they be determined; how can
their acceptance be best accomplished ?

There are at least twenty industries
in which nation-wide quality standard-
ization has been undertaken to a
greater or less degree. The one with
which I am most familiar Is the port-
land cement industry, in which a qual-
ity standard for cement accepted
throughout the United States was vol-
untarily established through the co-
operation of a large number of public
and private engineering and technical
organizations concerned with the use
of cement.

Each industry has its special condi-
tions and special problems, but I be-
lieve the same principles apply to
quality standardization in all indus-
tries, and that properly worked out,
favorable results in them all will fol-
low. The experience of the Portland
cement industry may therefore be
useful to other industries, and I hope
you will bear with me while I bring
out a few facts which will show why
a nation-wide standard was essential.

and will make clear how it was estab-
lished.

Portland Cement Industry. — Port-r
land cement, as is well known, is a
powder which when mixed with water
and sand, broken stone, or other ag-
gregate, gradually hardens and binds
the mass together in a solid stone
known as concrete.

Portland cement was discovered
and patented in England 99 years ago.
Its manufacture was carried on prin-
cipally in England, France, and Ger-
many until about 1872, when its pro-
duction was begun in a small way in
the United States. The average an-
nual production in the United States
in the '70s was about 9,000 bbls. It
had grown to a little over 5.000,000
bbls. in 1892; to about 17,000,000 bbls.
in 1902; and to nearly 115,000,000
bbls. in 1922. Estimates just made
public by the U. S. Geological Sur-
vey give the estimated productive ca-
pacity of the United States as 146,-
500,000 bbls. annually.

The manufacture of cement is an
exact chemical-mechanical process in
which natural raw materials are
ground and mixed; combined at a
white heat to form a new artificial
materia] called clinker, which is again
ground to a finished product. The
process is exactly controlled techni-
cally; uses large quantities of fuel
and power; has large plant invest-
ment and slow capital turnover. Man-
ufacturers must rely upon a large
volume of business to make profits
on this heavy commodity wtiich is of
limited shipping radius, and which
sells at a pound price lower than any
other highly manufactured article.

Portland cement when completely
manufactured and ready for the con-
sumer is, in its relation of usefulness
to the community, a means and not
an end. Its useful end is that of an
essential ingredient in making con-
crete.

Concrete has a wide use because of
its adaptability; of the ease with
which it can be handled and formed
into manifold structures; and of its

516

Roads and Streets

Sept.

qualities of permanence, fireproofness
and artistic appearance.

Cement, unlike many commodities,
is not consumed. A concrete struc-
ture properly made has a permanent
asset value. Full realization of this
asset value, continued demand for
cement, and the prosperity of the in-
dustry, depend upon right quality
cement and right quality concrete.

Anybody anywhere may attempt to
make concrete and the results reflect
for all time the materials and meth-
ods used in the first few hours of its
history. It is essential to all inter-
ests that the user of cement make
good' concrete.

Factors in Cement Industry. — The
work of the Portland Cement Associa-
tion, organized in 1902, which is a
recognization of this mutuality of in-
terest between cement user and man-
ufacturer, is so closely bound up in
the development of the industry that
it must be here mentioned.

The Portland Cement Association
is a national organization of cement
manufacturers whose aim is to in-
crease the knowledge, utility, and use
of Portland cement through scientific
investigation, public education and
national promotion.

It "sells" the use of cement, but
not the commodity. Hence it is not.
concerned with prices nor other trad-
ing relations between its members and
their customers.

It performs only such functions as
cannot as well if all be performed by
its members individually.

It undertakes only such activities
as are for the common good and
whose benefits when utilized flow
alike to all contributing members.

Its conduct is jealously guarded and
made to scrupulously conform in all
respects to a high conception of
commercial morality and a strict in-
terpretation of the law.

It is much concerned with the
quality of cement marketed by its
members, suice a poor quality cement
furnished by any member would re-
flfct upon the industry, decrease the
use of cement, and hence injure every
member.

The association has been especially
concerned not only with right quality
cement, but with learning how to us.;
cement right, and with making thi^^
information universally known. It
maintains a research laboratory and
field forces for these special purpose-;.
When it is realized that an apparent-
ly simple matter like the quantity of

water used in mixing concrete may
make the difference between good and
bad results, the need for this service
work may be appreciated.

Mention should also be made of the
American Society for Testing Mate-
rials, organized in 1902 "for the Pro-
motion of Knowledge of the Materials
of EIngineering and the Standardiza-
tion of Specifications and the Methods
of Testing."

Its members are both producers
and consumers familiar with the mat-
ters covered. Specifications are
, formulated and adopted under care-
fully prepared rules or procedure in-
suring to the highest degree sound,
unbiased results.

Important factors in the situation
are the Bureau of Standards of the
U. S. Department of Commerce, with
its group of trained experts and ex-
tensive laboratory equipment, and the
several engineering societies to be
hereafter mentioned.

Development of Specifications. —
With this background of conditions
and factors affecting the industry we
can now more intelligently trace the
development of quality standards for
cement.

In the early years when the indus-
try in this country was small, its qual-
ity standards were imported. As the
industry- developed, the American So-
ciety of Civil Engineers undertook to
formulate a uniform method of tests
for cement, and from 1885 to 1903 this
was considered the most reliable
guide to a proper method of pro-
cedure.

In this period many engineers and
architects seemed to feel, perhaps to
avoid refiection upon their profes-
sional skill and progressiveness, that
it was necessary to add to an old
cement specification some new re-
quirement on each new job. A com-
nilation of 91 cement specifica-
tions made in 1898 by Mr. R. W.
Lesley, who later became first presi-
dent of the Portland Cement Associa-
tion, showed that scarcely two were
alike. In many cases, the specifica-
tion requirements were contradictory,
and if strictly followed, would some-
times impair the quality of the ce-
ment. The result was endless an-
noyance, confusion, delay, and diffi-
culty for the consumer and manufac-
turer alike. A standard specification
was becoming a necessity.

The American Society for Testing
Materials took the lead in supplement-
ing the investigations of the Ameri-

1923

Roads and Streets

517

can Society of Civil Engineers and in
1904 the first American Society for
Testing Materials specitication for
cement was adopted. The American
Railway Engineering Association,
American Institute of Architects, the
United States Bureau of Standards,
the U. S. Government Engineers, and
the Portland Cement Association, as
well as the American Society for Test-
ing Materials and the American So-
ciety of Civil Engineers, continued to
study and to modify cement specifica-
tions and methods of tests sometimes
within their respective organizations,
and sometimes through joint commit-
tees.

The method of the American So-
ciety for Testing Materials was unique
in that its committee on cement speci-
fications represented engineers, archi-
tects and other consumers who were
always a majority, as well as pro-
ducers, who were always a minority.
This brought to bear upon the speci-
fication requirements a knowledge not
only of the needs but also of the pos-
sibilities. Specifications made under
these conditions are much more apt
to be well balanced and useful than
if made from one point of view only.

Adoption of Specifications. — The
final revision of the cement specifica-
tion was unique also, because its re-
quirements were subject to the most
careful laboratory research and
checked with experience in the field.
The substitution of the facts of re-
search, for unsupported opinion, had
its logical effect in reconciling views
of men with engineering training. A.
single standard cement specification
became an accomplished fact and was
recognized by all established organi-
zations in the United States in 1921.
This was adopted on March 31, 1922,
by the American Engineering Stand-
ards Committee as its Specification
Number One.

As the standard cement specifica-
tions were developed, much work was
required to secure their general use.
Engineers who for 20 years had been
active in the engine2ring societies
which formulated and later adopted
the specifications, readily accepted
them. Others not as familiar with
the progress made, continued to use
their own specifications until the
mass of data and authority back of
the standard specification was
brought to their attention, when they
generally were glad to join in estab-
lishing a single standard, the advan-
tage of which they at once recognized.

Neither did all producers at once
take up the specifications as devel-
oped. In the early days of the in-
dustry, blended and adulterated ce-
ments were sold under many brands.
Membership in the Portland Cement
Association was later open only to
those making true Portland cement.

Producers in some cases were re-
luctant to give up making cement to
conforxn to certain special specifica-
tions because of a supposed advantage
in marketing thus obtained by them.

The research work and tests made
in establishing the standard specifica-
tions showed, however, that the exist-
ing variations from the standard were
without economic value to the con-
sumer. The general adoption of the
standard specification by the engineer
and consumer decreased the demand
for cement made to special specifica-
tion^, but it should be accounted a
credit to these producers that they
were willing to cut out the '"bunk"' so
frequently used in selling, and pro-
vided a product having known and
tried qualities and value.

On June 28, 1922, the Portland
Cement Association, representing" a
large part of the manufacturers oi
Portland cement in the United States,
adopted a by-law making membership
in the association contingent upon
members' product meeting the re-
quirements of the standard specifica-
tion.

Features of Specifications. — At the
present time the standard specifica-
tion for cement Is almost universally
used In this country. Thus we now
have a nation-wide quality standard
for Portland cement voluntarily ac-
cepted by both consumers and pro-
ducers. It is the highest standard for
cement in the world and has had an
important effect in promoting, extend-
ing, and improving the use of a con-
crete In this country.

When compared with earlier speci-
fications it is particularly noticeable
that the fineness^ of cement is now-
measured with a sieve having 40,000
openings per square inch, a weave so
fine it will hold water; instead of with
relatively coarse sieves which have
now been discarded.

The strength requirements are near-
ly double those of early specifications
and are determined by improved meth-
ods.

The standard cement specifications
establish in mo?t essential particulars
minimum requirements, thus encour-

518

Roads and Streets

Sept.

aging improvement. A quality stand-
ard must be responsive to changes
demanded by new conditions in use
or in production.

The Cement Committee of the
American Society for Testing Mate-
rials is charged with the duty of
studying proposed improvements in
the cement specifications. Each sug-
gestion is carefully tested and
weighed, for in a material of such
fundamental importance there must
be certainty that changes are im-
provemients. Laboratory practice has
now reached a point where it is possi-
ble to determine this with a high de-
gree of accuracy and laboratory re-
sults can always be supplemented by
field tests.

Advantages of Single Standard. —
The working out of this situation and
establishment of a single stancjard
quality specificatirai for cement has
had, and must continue to have, many
advantages for consumers, producers,
and the community as a whole.

The engineer and designer can re-
ly upon getting anywhere the stand-
ard quality cement contemplated by
the plans.

Concrete can be designed of definite
strength and quality.

Simple rules have been made by
which even the inexperienced can
with care get good concrete.

Greater efficiency in production, low-
er cost has been made possible through
continued operation a standard prod-
uct,

A standard product can always be
kept in stock ready for use.

Wider production of cement has
been made possible by eliminating un-
necessary limitations on raw mate-
rials. In 1922 cement was produced
in 118 plants in 27 states, compared
with 65 plants in 19 states in 1902.

Nearness of production to markets
has followed wider production. When
it is known that the freight charges
on a barrel of cement for an average
100-mile haul are about 30 per cent
of the average mill price per barrel
for the last three years reported by
the U. S. Geological Survey, the iiji-
portance of this will be appreciated.

Each standard established makes
easier the establishment of other
standards. The establishment of the
cement specification makes easier the
establishment of a specification for
concrete. In the concrete speciflca
tion now in process of formation, the
cement specification and specifications
for twelve other materials or methods

entering into the making of concrete
are included.

Better and cheaper concrete struc-
tures are the net result.

Conclusion.— The Bureau of Stand-
ards deserves the very highest credit
for the sturdy support and valuable
assistance it has given to all cement
standardization work. The industries
of this country will do well to become
familiar with and utilize its facilities
and knowledge readily placed at their
disposal. The opportunity offered by
the American Society for Testing
Materials for co-operative work on
specifications within its field is worthy
of attention.

Industries which have not already
established standards may well con-
sider carefully the advantage of de-
termining standard specification re-
quirements through voluntary action
by consumers and producers, rather
than wait for a specification deter-
mined by some outside authority to
be imposed upon them.

The principle underlying this stand-
ardization is that underlying all prog-
ress— the movement from the indef-
inite to the definite. The trend is
certain. To voluntarily accelerate
progress in the direction it will in-
evitably take, is the part of wisdom.

Remove Signs from Right of Way.

— Secretary Wright of the Depart-
ment of Highways of Pennsylvania
calls attention of candidates for of-
fice to the fact that under the state
law no advertising matter of any
kind may be posted within the legal
limits of the roadway.

"Candidates for office, managements
of fair associations, automobile deal-
ers, hotel and restaurant men, and
others," said Mr. Wright recently,
"will be money in pocket if they re-
frain from posting advertising matter
within the legal limit of the roadway.
These signs, if posted, will imme-
diately be destroyed by caretakers and
patrolmen."

Prof Hatt Returns to Purdue. —

Prof. W. K. Hatt will resume his
duties as Professor of Civil Engineer-
ing at Purdue University, Lafayette,
Indiana, having completed two years
leave of absence in the service if the
Advisory Board on Highway Research
of the National Research Council. He
will continue to direct the affairs of
the Advisory Board during the imme-
diate future.

Water Works

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbskt p. Gillette, President and Editor

Lewis S. Louex, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St. and Broadway

RiCHAXD E. Bbown, Eastern Manager

Roads and Streets — 1st Wednesday. $1 Railways — 3rd Wednesday, $1

(a) Road Con- (e) StreeU (a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric BaU-
stmction (d) Street clean- way Construe- way Constmc-

(b) Road Main- inz tion and tion and
tenance Maintenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday, $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrieation and Sanitation
Drainase (d) Waterways

Maintenance

BuUdings — 4th Wednesday, $1

(a) Boildines (d) Miscellaneoos

(b) Bridges Strnctures

Copyrisht. 1923, by the Engineering and Contracting Pablishing Company

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., SEPTEMBER 12, 1923

No. 3

Developing Inland Water Trzmsportation

The public in its attitude toward
our inland waterways may be divided
roughly into five groups — the great
mass which takes no interest and
scarcely knows of their existence; the
few who still find satisfaction in de-
claiming on our "limitless natural re-
sources" and "unequaled achieve-
ments;" the pork barrelers who boost
incontinently so long as construction
funds can be turned their way; the
opposition comprising a mixture of
certain of the least public spirited
railway interests and of persons dis-
gruntled over past waterway failures ;
and finally the unprejudiced students
and observers who, while regretting
the wastes and grafting which have
been so conspicuously associated with
public waterway expenditures, never-
theless see and hope to realize the
really great opportunities that exist
in this field.

Why have our waterways not pros-
pered? Why have they been so little
favored for many years? For some
of them the answer obviously is that
they never should have been built.

These for most part are the pork
barrel waterways. The better class
of projects — those that had real merit
in conception and reasonable efficiency
in construction — have disappointed,
we believe, principally because they
lacked an adequate and eflRcient oper-
ating organization.

For obvious reasons the transpor-
tation of high priced and perishable
goods goes to the rail in preference
to the water routes; but the railroads
also get a vast tonnage of non-per-
ishable commodities of large bulk and
weight in proportion to their value
which undoubtedly could be handled
more economically by water. That
these commodities are not so handled
through territory in which water
routes exist must be attributed to the
failure of water carriers to make this
form of transportation attractive.
The shipping public has acquired "the
railroad habit" because the railroads
give a service that can be depended
upon within reasonable limits, and at
the same time actively and intelli-
gently sell that service; while neither

520

Water Works

Sept.

To the Engineers of America

Owing to the awful calamity that has just occurred in Japan, many
of our brother engineers in that country must be in dire need, and will
be for some time to come — as will be also the families of those engi-
neers who have perished. It has struck me that it would be a kind and
friendly act for the engineers of America to contribute individually
but as engineers through the New York City Branch of the Yokohama
Specie Bank, one half of the money thus sent being used immediately
for general relief of the suffering populace, and the other half later
for engineers and their families. I have arranged with the Manager
of the Bank to receive and distribute in that manner all moneys thus
sent, working later through the Civil Engineering Society of Japan.
Please make checks payable to Engineers' Relief Fund of Yokohama
Specie Bank, the address being 120 Broadway, New York City.

For years it has been an earnest desire of mine to see the peoples
of Japan and America brought permanently into harmony and close
friendship, and if we Americans now help the Japanese generously in
their hour of need, they will never forget it; because, from long per-
sonal experience, I know them to be a truly grateful and appreciative
people.

I trust that each of you will contribute as liberally as he can, but
even small amounts would help — on the principle that "mony a little
maks a muckle."

J. A. L. WADDELL,
Consulting Engineer,
New York.

corresponding reliability nor equal
salesmanship have been forthcoming
from the water carriers.

We would not suggest that it is
wholly an easy matter to operate a
line of boats on schedule and to ad-
vertise that fact to every possible
shipper; still less that these are the
only problems in the case. For one
thing, terminal facilities are as es-
sential as are boats, and like boats
and operation and selling the serv-
ice, they are costly. But the prob-
lems are not insoluble, and we firmly
believe that a profitable private in-
dustry can.be built up, and a public
benefit conferred by the development
of inland water transportation.

The development Will require con-
fidence, skill and patience. Capital,
which will be required in substantial
amount, will not be forthcoming until
there is clear evidence that the enter-
prise is both safe and profitable.
Then following all preparatory ex-
penditures and the commencement of
operation will come the development
period in which the bulk of the busi-
ness must be acquired. The better
the salesmanship, the shorter will be
this period, but patience must be ex-

ercised, for no salesmanship or other
ability can reduce the period to zero.
The hostile factions of the public must
be conquered or won over; shippers
in the indifferent group must be edu-
cated ; and pork barrel practices must
be combated so that construction may
be carried on where it is most needed.
The problems are man-size, but for-
tunately the supply of men keeps up,
and we believe that the opportunities
in inland water transportation will
not much longer lie in the neglect in
which they have reposed for a genera-
tion or more.

Mineral Contamination
of Water

In spite of the large amount of
creditable work that has been done in
the correction of mineral impurities
in public water supplies, there are
still many places throughout the coun-
try in which the supplies have a high-
ly objectionable mineral content, and
in which it is important that improve-
ments be secured. Since the more
pressing problem of eliminating dis-
ease breeding bacteria has been solved

1923

Water Works

521

almost perfectly, it is not unreason-
able to expect more attention hence-
forth to be given to mineral purifica-
tion.

The problem of eliminating miner-
als is in some respects at least simpler
than that which faced sanitarians in
their fight against bacteria. The
mineral content of water in most
cases is a definite quantity that does
not require constant watching as does
bacterial contamination, and it is sus-
ceptible of definite and easy chemical
analysis.

Its treatment on an economic com-
mercial scale, however, is a problem
of the first rank. There is great
variety in the number, kind and quan-
tities of minerals involved, and a
variety of means must be used in con-
tending with them.

Simple hardness, objectionable
tastes, unheal thfulness, and colors
which stain goods in washing are
some of the defects which are found
in public water supplies in this coun-
try, and which are felt by almost
every user. Special industrial proc-
esses often require large quantities
of water of a purity considerably
above what would suffice for most
purposes.

Mineral purification should afford
an attractive field of experiment, for
success with even one class of im-
purities means a worth while benefit
to mankind.

First 9 Years* Operation of
Panama Canal

The Panama Canal completed 9
years of operation at the close of
business on Aug. 14, 1923, having
been opened to commerce on Aug. 15,
1914. The operation during these 9
years is summarized as follows in the
Panama Canal Record:

During the 9 years of operation the
total number of commercial vessels
transiting the canal was 20,474. They

carried 84,284,474 tons of cargo
through the canal.

The canal was opened to commer-
cial traffic shortly after the beginning
of the war in Europe. The war and
the interruptions of traffic due to
slides, the last serious one of which
came to an end on April 15, 1916, in-
terfered with the normal use of the
canal in earlier years. These years
were followed by a period of scarcity
of tonnage, high freights and finan-
cial and industrial uncertainties,
which in turn led to a period of wide-
spread commercial stagnation wherein
cargo offerings reached a low ebb and
a large proportion of the tonnage of
all the maritime nations were with-
drawn from service.

During all this period, however, ex-
cept for temporary depressions, traffic
through the canal has shown a con-
sistent increase. The past year has
been by far the best of all, and has
been marked by an almost uninter-
rupted succession of record months,
wherein the shipping of practically all
of the leading maritime nations
routed through the canal has shown
a healthy increase. The largest in-
crease has been in vessels of United
States registry, resulting from the
increase in the intercoastal trade.
The increased intercoastal trade in
turn is largely due to the develop-
ment of the California oil fields and
the consequent heavy movement of
tanker tonnage through the canal.

In Table I, a summary of traffic
through the canal during the first 9
years of operation is shown, listing
the number of vessels, the Panama
Canal net tonnage, cargo tonnage,
and tolls collected. This tabulation
lists only vessels paying tolls. The
amounts given for tolls are approxi-
mately correct; to arrive at the re-
ceipts for the periods 15th to 31st
and 1st to 14th of each August except
1914 and 1923, the total for the month
was divided in proportion to the num-
ber of days:

Aug.

*eriod from —
15. 1914 to
15. 1915 to
15. 1916 to
15. 1917 to
15. 1918 to
15, 1919 to
15. 1920 to
15. 1921 to
15. 1922 to

rotal to Aug,

Aug.
Aug.
Aug.
Aug.
Aug.
Aug.
Aug.
Aug.
Aug.

. 15,

1923

1915

Table I

No. of
Vessels
. . 1,311

Panama

Canal Net

Tonnage

4.560.774

2.310.408

5,904.580

6,487.214

6,198,874

8,905,818

11.527.138

11.788,742

20,283,394

Cargo

Tonnage

5,861,785

2,973.206

7.132.694

7.431.495

6,981.996

9.839.918

11.330.400

11.522.018

21.210.962

Tolls
$5,171,757

Aug.

1916

. . .. 729

2 251 433

Aug.

1917. ..

1.854

5,753.156

Aug.

1918 ..

?,nsi

6,365.203

6.286.927

8.965.342

11,247.739

11.532.596

18.976.189

Aug.
Aug.

1919

1920

_ 2,027

Aug.

1921 ..

_ 2,860

Aug.

1922

„ . 2.790

Aug.

1923.._.

4.272

84,284,474

20,474

77,966.942

176.649,346

'^22 Water Works Sept.

Water Works and Sewer Contracts Awarded
During the Last 43 Months

The accompanying tables show: each year shows a gain over its prede-

First, that the waterworks and sewer cessor in the volume of contracts

contracts awarded during the last half awarded in this "hydraulic field."
of each year exceed in volume those

WATERWORKS CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000 IN SIZE.
1920

January $ 1,144.000

February 2,172,000

March 2,213,000

April 2,719,000

May „ 1,382,000

June 1,461,000

July „ 3.793.000

August 776,000

September 743,000

October . 11,169,000

November 2,151,000

December 1,051,000

1921

1922

1923

$ 519.000

$ 1.727.000

$ 4.720.000

2,927,000

652.000

2.730.000

2.028.000

1.093.000

15.149.000

3.342.000

2.673.000

8.644.000

4,944.000

3,568,000

7.329.000

3.485.000

5.124,000

4.045.000

3.106,000

811.000

3.803,000

2.404.000

4,494.000

1.487.000

3.906.000

900.000

7.686.000

4.698.000

2.161.000

..............

10.752.000

1.835.000

Total .._ _ $30,773,000 $40,602,000 $35,730,000

Note. — About 100 per cent must be added to the annual totals to give the grand total of
contracts awarded in the United States.

A great deal of waterworks construction is done by directly hired labor and is not included
above.

Waterworks buildings are not included above.

SEWER CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000 IN SIZE.

1920

January $ 1.864.000

February 623,000

March 1.283.000

April 4.124.000

May 2.3 1 5,000

June - 2.349.000

July 3.163,000

August 2,437.000

September 2.319,000

October 8.052.000

November „ 4.572,000

December 2.967.000

1921

1922

1923

$ 8.147.000

$ 2.267.000

$ 3.322,000

2.445.000

2.462.000

2,181,000

2.862.000

3.796.000

4,477,000

3.817.000

2.794.000

5,497.000

2.162,000

5.722,000

9,052,000

3.802.000

5,168.000

6.501,000

3,986,000

1,869.000

3,183,000

8.988.000

3.450.000

6.064.000

3.840.006

2.829.000

4.996.000

2,783.000

5.S49.000

2.649.000

2.881,000

ToUl „ $36,068,000 $39,384,000 $43,584,000

Note. — About 100 per cent must be added to the annual totals to give the grand total of
contracts awarded in the United States.

A considerable amount of sewer construction is done by directly hired labor, which is not
included in the above totals.

IRRIGATION. DRAINAGE AND EXCAVATION CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000.

1920 1921 1922 ^ 1923

January „ „ $ 1.642.000 $ 1.266.000 $ 2.091.000 $ 548.000

February 787.000 806.000 419.000 866.000

March 8.151.000 1.626.000 608.000 28,998.000

April „.; 416,000 680.000 1.786.000 2.506.000

May __ _ 404.000 2.632.000 776,000 8,563,000

June 606,000 1,240,000 2,628.000 1,174,000

•'uly 1.942.000 609,000 1.498.000 6,902.000

August 4,179,000 89.000 6.920,000

September 869.000 9.026.060 876.000

October 1.086.000 878.000 2.890.000

November : 772.000 726.000 1.741.000

December _. 477.000 707.000 864.000

Total $16,220,000 $19,179,000 $22,547,000

Note.— About 100 per cent must be added to the annual totals to give the grand total of
contracts awarded in the United States.

1923 Water Works 523

Waterproofing a Reinforced Concrete Standpipe

Method of Preventing Leakage in 16-Year Old Structure
at Waltheun, Mass.

One of the most interesting accom-
plishments of the Water Division of
Waltham, Mass., in 1922, was the
waterproofing of a reinforced concrete
standpipe. The work is described by
George C. Brehm, City Engineer and
Director of the Department of Public
Works, in the annual report of his
Department, from which we quote as
follows :

This reinforced concrete standpipe
was constructed in 1906 and was at
that time the largest of its type in

Open Reservoir. Concrete Standpipe and Tem-
porary Standpipe in Foreground.

the country. The construction was of
1:2:4 concrete, the wall being rein-
forced with steel bars arranged in
three rows up to 20 ft., two rows for
the next 17 ft. and one row to the top,
same being designed to keep tensile
stress within a 12,000-lb. limit. The
roof consists of a concrete slab 3 in.
thick supported by steel trusses radi-
ating from a central concrete covered
pipe column, which served also as an
overflow.

The standpipe is 100 ft. in diameter,
43 ft. high with a capacitv of a little
over 2,000,000 gal. of water, and is sit-
uated in the western end of the city on
a ledge knoll. The original cost of
this reservoir was about $26,000. The
specifications for this construction

were prepared with the greatest care.
The engineers in charge did every-
thing possible to produce a concrete
which would be absolutely watertight.
E\-ery precaution kno\^^l at the time
was taken to insure against the slight-
est seepage.

The First Attempts at Waterproof-
ing.— In spite of the precautions at
the time of construction leakage de-
veloped after a few years. In 1914,
an ill-advised attempt was made at
waterproofing by the application of a
coat of pitch to the inside wall. This
amounted to very little and another
attempt was made shortly after by
the application of cement, using a ce-
ment gun, on the outside, but neither
of these methods proved satisfactorj-,
the seepage continued and successive
frost action caused several large areas
of the outside wall to disintegrate,
the surface breaking in several places
to such an extent that the reinforcing
rods became slightly exposed at sev-
eral spots.

The water level of the standpipe
when full is 256 ft. above sea level.
The city also has adjacent to this
standpipe an open reserve reservoir
with a capacity of 6,000,000 gal., the
elevation being, when filled, approxi-
mately 205 ft. above sea level. Be-
tween the year 1914, when the first
attempts were made at waterproofing,
and the present, the water system of
this city has been extended to the
developed outlying sections of .the
city, and at the present time requires
an elevation of not less than 235 ft.
at all times for the convenience and
safety of the whole city, especially
the outlying sections.

The problem therefore confronting
the city officials was to keep suflBcient
pressure to insure the convenience and
safety of the whole city with their
water supply while a thorough and
final job of waterproofing was being
done. It was obvious that the reserve
reser\'oir at an elevation of 205 ft.
would not insure the supply.

The Temporary Standpipe. — The
idea was conceived of erecting an 8-rn.
pipe in the vicinity of this standpipe,
tapping the 24-rn. feeding main with a
24x8-in. Smith tapping sleeve and
valve, and, by keeping the pumps con-

524

Water Works

Sept.

tinuously operating, maintaining a
head of water at all times at sufficient
height to insure the city supply. A
wrought iron, 8-in. pipe was therefore
erected to a height of 276 ft. above
sea level, and guyed for safety. The
pumps at the pumping stations were

The Temporary Standpipe.

then set in operation, the pumping
continued for 24 hrs. per day, the
speed of the pumps being regulated
to .maintain enough pressure to drive
the water to the top of this pipe
sufficiently to have a slight overflow,
the pipe being erected so as to allow
this overflow spill to drop into the
open reserve reservoir.

The "Waterproofing Operations. —
The contract for the waterproofing
having been previously let and all de-
tails arranged, the large concrete
standpipe was emptied, the inside wall
thoroughly cleaned and dried, a num-
ber of salamanders being used to
hasten the drying. After the walls
were thoroughly dried, the water-
proofing was started. It consisted,
first, of a mop coat of Texaco No. 56
Waterproofing material applied hot to
the inside face of the wall. Imme-
diately outside of this was applied a
coat of waterproofing felt, the surface

of the same being mopped with an-
other coat of Texaco No. 56 Water-
proofing asphalt. This operation was
repeated for five layers, the outside
layer, however, being of 6-oz. satu-
rated duck fabric, and the outside
surface of this finally mopped with
the waterproofing asphalt. Imme-
diately following this, a 4-in. brick
core was constructed from the floor to
the top of the wall, great care being
taken to obtain a %-in. mortar course
between the outside asphalt course
All of this work, of course, was start-
ed at the bottom and built up the en-
tire inside circumference of the wall
and the inside face of the brick work,
in 6-ft. sections.

The work was started Nov. 20 in
spite of the most inclement weather
and was finally completed and the
reservoir refilled on Dec. 23. As the
stagings on the side of the wall were
taken down, the whole inside face of
the brick core was thoroughly cleaned
by washing.

Tractor Used in Hoisting Materials.
— It is of interest to note that all the
materials used in this work had to be
hauled to the very inaccessible point
where the reservoir is located, raised
to the top and lowered through a 4x4
ft. hole made in the concrete roof.
Instead of the usual steam or electric

Method of Hoistins Material.

power for hoisting, the contractor
used a medium sized tractor, rigging
a boom derrick on top of the reservoir,
fastening the hoistmg cable to the
front of the tractor, which moved up

1923

Water Works

525

and down the country road at the side
of the standpipe, raising and lowering
all the materials in a hoisting pan in
this manner.

Simpson Brothers of Boston were
the general contractors on the work,
W. A, Murtfeldt Company of Boston
sub-contractor on the waterproofing,
and M. F. Stankard of Waltham sub-
contractor on the brick work. The
engineer's estimate on the whole of
this work was $16,500, while the low
bid of the contractor for the whole
work was $16,543. The materials
used in the work were about as fol-
lows:

15 tons of Texaco No. 56 Waterproofing
asphalt.

150 rolls of felt.
550 bags of cement.
100 bags of lime.
85,000 brick.

The reservoir has been refilled and
every indication shows that a com-
plete waterproofing job has been ob-
tained and that no further seepage is
possible. As soon as the weather per-
mits it is recommended that the out-
side walls be touched up with mortar
where disintegration has taken place
and the whole outside walls be given a
thin stucco finish for the sake of ap-
pearance and protection.

Boiler Plant Operation at St.
Louis With Fuel Oil

As a result of the general coal
strike of last year the water works
of St.. Louis, Mo., were compelled to
resort to oil as fuel for the operation
of the boiler rooms of the pumping
stations. We are indebted to the re-
cently issued annual report of Edward
E. Woll, Water Commissioner, for the
following details:

The strike, starting in the early
part of April, did not affect the oper-
ation of the boiler rooms until the
middle of June, because of the use of
coal from the reserve storage sheds
and from the large quantity of screen-
ings furnished under contract and
stored on the grounds surrounding the
Boiler Rooms. As the reserve supply
diminished, additional coal was pur-

chased from West Virginia, Alabama
and Kentucky. With the Kentucky
coal averaging 12,500 B.T.U. per lb.,
the evaporations at all plants were
increased. Toward the latter part of
July the Water Division was com-
pelled to resort to oil as fuel for the
operation of the boiler rooms. Table
I is a record of the boiler rooms at
the respective stations operating with
fuel oil.

For the three stations the average
fuel oil cost per 1000 lb. steam was
$0.5263 as compared to the average
coal cost per 1000 lb. steam of $0.2999.
The increased cost of steam, due to
burning oil, was $0.2264 per 1000 lb.
or 75.5 per cent. The average cost of
the oil burned during the strike was
4.7 ct. per gallon, which is equivalent
to coal at $7.13 per ton, with a heat
value of 19,000 B.T.U. for oil and
10,700 B.T.U. for coal, which is an
average B.T.U. value for coal burned
this year at all stations.

The stoker furnaces at all stations
were changed to oil burning in 24
working hours. The changes in the
furnaces consisted of removing the
feed gates from the stokers and lay-
ing a floor of fire brick on top of the
chain grates from the bridge wall to
a front wall or seal in the stoker hop-
per. This front wall had three open-
ings for the burners. The burners
were of the flat spray outside mijdng
type. Steam was used for atomizing
and the oil was preheated for better
volatization. Had the stokers been
removed from the furnaces, a larger
combustion space would have been
available and a better evaporation
secured but the extra cost of labor
for removing and dismantling the
stokers would probably have dis-
counted the small increase in effi-
ciency. While the burning of fuel oil
was an emergency proposition, the
efficient operation of the boiler rooms
was maintained.

With the settlement of the strike
the Bissell's Point plant changed back
to coal on Oct. 7, and the plants at
Baden and the Chain of Rocks re-
turned to coal the latter part of the
same month.

Pounds of
Station Oil Burned

Bissell's Point 4,568,400

Baden 5,782,800

Chain of Rocks 7,108,200

Total __ 17,459,400

Table I

Coot of OU Per

Steam

1,000 Lbs.

Cost of Oil

Generated

of Steam

$28,921

54,061,570

$0.5349

36,525

69,597,007

0.5248

45,083

86.370.206

0.5219

$110,529

210,028.783

$0.5263 Ave.

526 Water Works Sept.

Repumping vs. Increased Pressure for Fires

A Paper Presented Before Canadian Section of the American Water

Works Association

By ARTHUR JENSEN,

Superintendent Water Works, Minneapolis, Minn.

Municipalities of any considerable the nature and mode of supply which

size depend upon both water and fire present physical conditions not adapt-

departments for protection against able to the application of changes of

fire lossfes. They are interdependent pressures as well as the strength of

in their obligations but they are by no the pipe system,

means the only agencies to be relied Methods of Distribution in 155

upon for this protection. Another im- Cities.— In the Statistics of Cities for

portant factor is that of fire protec- 1915, issued by the Department of

tion and fire prevention. There niay Commerce, data is given covering 155

be a difference of viewpoint of the fire ^ater supplies of principal citits in

chief and the water superintendent in the United States. The tables for

these matters because of the variation sources of supply and modes of distri-

in the nature of the services rendered bution show the following facts:

by their respective departments. It is .. ,

thp rturnosp of thp<?p rpmark<; t/> noint ^ Modes of Distribution Per cent of Total

me purpose 01 Xnese remarKS to pomx Gravity of practically all gravity 13

out some of the conditions met with Pumping with impounding and dis-

in the matter of auxiliary pressures tributing reservoirs 12

in a water system as compared with Pu^pms with standpipes and tanks ^

pressures raised by the use of fire ap- 47

paratus. These remarks are set forth Direct or semi-direct pumping 53

from the standpoint of the water ,p^^^j -—

works superintendent. ;

Duty of the Water Works. — A This proportion is applicable, gen-
water works system is installed for eraily speaking, to all water supplies,
the purpose of providing water sup- It may be assumed that about 53 per
plies for the following purposes : cent of water supplies are distributed

A. 1. Domestic supply. 2. Sani- by more or less direct pumping and
tary use. 3. Industrial purposes. 4. that 47 per cent have some form of
Public use. reservoir in the distribution system.

B. 1. Fire protection. The presence of reservoirs, tank and
The reason for placing the use of standpipes in the gridiron indicate the

water under two headings is due to practice of maintaining constant pres-
the fact that the supplies may be fur- sures in the distribution of water. The
nished under different conditions of application of higher pressures is not
pressure and quantity. For group A possible without closing off reservoir
the water may be supplied by gravity, structures during the time required,
by semi-direct pumping, by pumping The above data show such procedure
to a reservoir and from thence by is not possible in 47 per cent of the
gravity or by direct pumping. If the water plants without more or less
water is purified it may complicate complication. In the 53 per cent of
any of the gravity and pumping fea- supplies having direct pumping, in-
tures by reason of the necessity of creased pressures are possible, pro-
separation of raw and filtered water. vided that the pumps, mains and
For group B the water may be sup- other water carrying structures will
plied by any of the above methods permit.

augmented by increased pressures in It has already been pointed out that

certain cases. Only where direct or the demands for fire fighting are such

semi-direct pumping is employed is it that the ordinary increase of pressure

very practicable to secure increased possible and allowable in a water

pressures for fire supply. plant is insufficient for the require-

Water supply development has kept ments of today. Pumping plants are

pace with municipal growth but ordi- not, as a rule, adapted to carry in-

narily few changes have been made creased pressures. Centrifugal pumps

in the matter of changes of pressure operating at constant speeds at given

for either ordinary use or for fire pur- pressures and at the highest point on 1

poses. The reasons for this are due to the efficiency curve fall off in both |

1923

Water Works

527

capacity and efficiency under pressure
conditions. The attendant grave dan-
ger and risk of damage to pumps,
mains, services, plumbing and other
structures as well as the cost and in-
adequacy of such service has brought
about a decrease in the practice of
raising the pressures in water systems
for fire protection.

This statement is borne out by a
report covering 143 cities in the
United States having a population of
50,000 and over in 1920, by Charles
R. Henderson, manager of the Daven-
port Water Works. It is shown in
this report that only 26 per cent of
the cities listed indicate that it is pos-
sible to increase their pressure for
fires. Most of the increases are made
in the smaller plants. Some of the
changes of pressure are made only on
special request or for very important
fires. In some cases the increases
ranged only from 4 to 15 lb. which is
of no material benefit. The average
increase of all the cities is only 24 lb.

In the report notations are made
that certain cities are giving up the
practice or that increases are possible
if required, indicating that in those
cities the increases are not being
made. By eliminating these, it is
found that only 18 per cent of these
cities are actually making a practice
of raising pressures in the water sys-
tem upon fire alarms.

It is quite clear that water plants
are not suited for actual fire fighting
and that it is not common practice to
raise pressures for the purpose. It
also appears that where pressures are
raised that are still lower than that
required for effective fire fighting in
important cases. A large investment
has been made in water plants for
pumps, large mains and hydrants for
delivery of water for fire use. In the
application of the means at hand, the
duty that falls upon the water depart-
ment, under the circumstances, is to
furnish an ample supply of water at
sufficient hydrant outlets for fire pur-
poses, but it is not incumbent upon
the department to put the water on
the fire.

Duty of the Fire Department. —
Thoroughly drilled men form highly
efficient units for fire duty. They are
skilled and resourceful and ready for
any emergency. High buildings and
extensive structures require added fa-
cilities for fire protection. These have
been developed to meet the require-
ments. Higher water pressures are
provided by powerful motor driven

pumps which are an integral part of
the equipment. Towers, turrets, pipes
and various scaling devices are em-
ployed for high buildings.

In addition to the portable equip-
ment, there have been installed in
some cities high pressure distribution
systems for fire service. These are
virtually powerful stationary fire en-
gines attached to high pressure mains
distributing water to high value
areas. The water is applied by ordi-
nary methods from special hydrants.
These systems are prohibitive in cost
except in limited districts, but are
very effective. Their general develop-
ment has been retarded by these lim-
itations and by the advancement of
design of fire apparatus available for
service in all parts of the city.

Fire Protection and Prevention. —
There is another phase of this subject
that is as important as the water
works plant and the fire department.
An ounce of fire prevention is worth
a ton of cure in that way of later
effort on the part of the fire and
water departments. Fire protection
and prevention is the effort that can
be made to take a part of the burden
off from both departments.

The principal remedies offered un-
der this head consists of the effective
use of construction materials of fire-
proof qualities, the absence of perm-
anent combustible fixtures so far as
practicable, and the adequate employ-
ment of automatic sprinkler systems.
To this may be added such auxiliaries
as automatic alarms, extinguishers,
hose reels and nozzles. The human
agencies that may be employed are
watchmen, inspection of premises and
disciplining of tenants.

The hydrant brings the water to the
curb, but ordinarily it must be applied
from that point by human agencies.
By the sprinkler system the water is
carried into the structure, requiring
only a critical temperature for its ap-
plication. It forms a trap for the
incipient fire and is very effective in
the prevention of monetary losses.

In a report of the National Fire
Protection Association, covering 14
years and embracing 11,257 fires in
premises protected by sprinkler sys-
tems, the following interesting facts
are shown:

Per
Manner of terminatinpr fire Number cent

Extinguished by sprinklers 7.181 6S.8

Held in check by sprinklers 3,514 31.2

Unsatisfactory 562 5.0

Total „ _ 11,2.^7 ino.n

528

Water Works

Sept.

The 5 per cent of unsatisfactory
cases are tabulated in detail and it is
shown that they were due to such
causes as water being shut off, crip-
pled by explosion, freezing, obsolete
equipment, shut down for repairs and
like interference. The lesson is clear,
however, and the importance of
sprinklers is admitted. The use of
fireproof materials of construction is
of similar importance but there is no
data available for numerical tabula-
tion showing the reduction of possible
fires.

Cost of Increased Pressures.— Ap-
parently there is no data available
whereby it is possible to compare the
cost of fire engine pumping with the
cost of increasing pressures in the
water system, due to the fact that the
latter costs are concealed in the gen-
eral expense of the pumping and dis-
tribution plant. Ignoring a-iy nice-
ties, a basis can be made upon which
certain costs may be constructed to
illustrate the economics involved and
will be offered for what they may be
worth.

The frequency for the necessity of
higher pressures is indicated by fig-
ures compiled in New York City by
Freitag for the year 1908. They are
as follows:

Total number of fires 8,642

Extinguished, no engine used 5,258 60.8%

Extinguished, one engine used 2,657 80.7%

Extinguished, two engines used.... 562 6.5%
Extinguished, three or more en-
gines and high pressure system
used 165 1.9%

The number of fires covered in this
table is sufficient to make the figures
significant. In scarcely 2 per cent of
the fires were more than two engines
or the high pressure fire system used
or needed. If this ratio is applied to
smaller cities, it appears that the im-
portance of increased pressures is
equivalent in numerical value to about
2 per cent of the number of fires.
The amount of water used by New
York City in that year for fires is re-
ported as 191,791,000 gallons or less
than one day's average consumption.
This ration will also apply to most
large cities.

In view of these facts it is a simple
matter to show approximately how
much water must be pumped by fire
engine pumps per year in any of the
larger cities. The relative costs of re-
pumping this water must be compared
with the cost of maintaining increased
pressures by the water works pump-
ing station during the hours required.

As a basis for this comparison the

data is made up for a city having a
population of 400,000 people. The
distribution system is constructed of
pipe which is equivalent to Class B,
and the pressure averages about 70 lb.
It is assumed that it is desirable to
raise the pressure for fire protection.
To be at all effective such increased
pressure should be at least 50 lb.
This would require Class C pipe
which would permit a pressure of 130
lb. In this case such a situation
would allow an increased pressure of
60 1b.

In order to make a distribution sys-
tem adequate for this pressure it
should be constructed of Class C pipe.
An analysis shows that the additional
weights of pipe would increase the
cost of the distribution system 4.45
per cent. Valves and specials are
considered ample for the additional
charge of from $5 to $10, but as most
services are the property of private
parties, the item will be omitted for
conservative reasons only. The in-
creased cost of pumping machinery
will probably be not less than 10 per
cent.

It is found that on the above items
alone the additional investment neces-
sary to properly permit increased
pressures as a regular safe practice
in this case is $412,000. The fixed
charges, including depreciation, may
safely be placed at 6 per cent. This
will represent an annual charge of
$24,720.

The number of fires over one hour
in duration in 1922 was 259, and the
number of fires over two hour's dura-
tion was 79. Average duration of
these fires was 3.7 hours. In this dis-
cussion it is reasonably assumed that
additional pressure would be supplied
at the above 79 fires. It is also as-
sumed that the total amount of water
used for fire purposes for the year
was 30,000,000 gal.

The summarized data is given as
follows :

Number of fires requiring additional

pressure « 79

Total hours of increased pressure.... 292

Equivalent days 12.16

Average daily consumption, million

gallons 40

Total million gallons pumped against

increased pressure ~ 486

Average cost of power per M. G. per

foot $0.0840

Increased pressure, pounds ._. 60

Equivalent head in feet 138

Total pressure in pounds 180

Cost of power for pumping against
138 additional feet per million gal-
lons $4.69

Cost of pumping 488 M. G. against

138 additional feet of head $2,279.84

1923 Water Works 529

Annual fixed charges, 6% $24,720.00 either by motor pumps, separate high

Nmnber of million gal'ons applied Jto ^^ pressure systemS, Or both.

Cost^Lr"pumping pSTiT GTappHed It Is apparent that with greater ap-

water $75.97 plication of Sprinkler system and well

Cost for fixed charges per M. G. of ^^ organized fire fighting units equipped

Totaf 'cost"^^/ m; GrS;" p'^ping " with modern appliances, that water

high pressure water into distribu- departments may function m their

tion system . $899.97 proper Sphere, viz., to deliver water

The cost of re-pumping by motor under economical and safe conditions

pumps of fire apparatus against a for the general use of the community.

similar pressure may be approximated

in a similar manner. Using 1,000 gal. Comparison of Lead, Leadite and

per minute as the capacity of the retn«»nt Iomt«t

pumpers, the number of pump-hours cement joinis

for 30,000,000 gal. would be 500. A series of electrical resistance

The data is as follows : tests on three lines of 3 in, cast iron

Number of gallons of gasoline per pipe, One laid with lead joints, one

hour „ _ _ — 12 with cement and the third with leadite

Total pressure pumped against. were made during the past vear by

or'^eretc:::::::"": $0.50 the Distribution section of the Water

C!ost of gasoline $3.00 Division of St. Louis, Mo. After fin-

Totel cost of power to pump 30 ishlng the tests, both with the pipes

N^b?; of-pumps-consideTed- "fiTr ' " f«" of water and empty, the lines

maximum demand, equivalent of were put through a very Severe de-
present capacity - 10 flection test bv raising and lowering

Ck)st of 10 pumpers $130,000.00 j ,..,-*.y, „ HprTnVk Tbp rnnHu-

Toui annual charges at 10% $13,000.00 ^ne eno wizn a aerncK. ine conciu

Cost per M. G. pumping expense ._ $58.33 sions are summarized as follows in

Cost per M. G. annual charges $433.33 the recentlv issued annual report of

Total cost per M. G. supplied by Edward E. Wall, Water Commissioner

pumpers $491.66 ^^ g^_ ^^^^^

The items of maintenance and re- i. Cement and leadite are far su-
pairs have not been included, but in perior to lead as insulators and the
the water plant they certainly would insulating value of these materials is
be greater than the amounts needed not vitiated bv the water in the pipe,
for the upkeep of fire apparatus whose Their use would have prevented most
action in hours per year m actual of the electrolytic trouble to which
pumping is not very great. It ap- our cast iron system is subject at
pears that the actual cost of pumping present. This statement is made in
in the water plant is nearly 30 per fuH cognizance of the fact that the
cent greater than in the case of motor insertion of an occasional insulating
pumps and the total cost nearly double joint may lead to joint electrolysis
when the investment is considered. caused bv the current leaping arovmd
The items used in these computations this particular joint and continuing
are unsatisfactory from the stand- along the pipe line. The point is that
point of exactness but they serve to jf every joint were insulated the cur-
shed some light upon the subject j-gnf would not have the incentive to
which may lead to further discussion. travel the main in the first place.

Conclusion. — In conclusion it may 2. Cement and leadite will stand

be said that re-pumping by motor far more deflection than lead without

pumpers is more economical when serious leakage.

adequate pressures are considered 3. Lead and leadite joints can be
than increased pressures in the water made in any season and under ad-
system. Fire apparatus is more flexi- verse conditions, while cement is at a
ble, mobile and efficient for fire fight- disadvantage in winter and in wet
ing than ordinary hydrant pressures. trenches.

Its use obviates the risk of applying 4. Lead and leadite joints permit

additional pressures to water mains, the water to be turned on and the line

services and plumbing at critical put in service immediately, while ce-

hours, ment requires a period of preliminary

Statistics indicate that about 80 setting,

per cent of water plants do not in- 5. Cement joints are very hard to

crease their pressures for fires and gouge out.

that fire departments do not depend 6. The sulphur fumes given off by

upon water systems for such pres- the molted leadite might become very

sures but develop their own pressures oppressive in a confined space.

530 Water Works

Deflection Measurements on Arch Dam in
Switzerland

Sept.

Swiss Tests on 75 Ft. High Variable Radius Type Diversion Dam on

River Reuss

By F. A. NOETZLI,

structural and Hydraulic Engineer. San Francisco

A very slender arch dam was re-
cently constructed in Switzerland, and
the deflections of this dam were meas-
ured at various elevations and for
different depths of water when the
reservoir was filled for the first time.
The deflection measurements were
made with an unusual degree of ac-

the dam is approximately 100_ ft. and
the canyon walls consist of solid gran-
ite, so that the conditions were very
favorable for the construction of a
thin arch dam. The structure is of the
variable radius type, and it was de-
signed according to the modern meth-
od of combined cantilever and arch

FiK 1. View of Downstream Face of Amsteg Dam . (Locations of the 6 targets and the 3 instru-
riK. i. Ti*-" " ^^^^ pjgj.g j^^g indicated).

curacy, and these tests seem to con-
firm, in a measure, the correctness
of the assumption of elastical canti-
lever and arch action in this struc-
ture.

The dam is located on the river
Reuss near the town of Amsteg, and
is used for diversion purposes in con-
nection with a power development for
the electrification of the St. Gotthard
railroad. The dam is about 75 ft.
high above stream bed and spans a
very narrow gorge of the river. The
width of the canyon at the crest of

action. The dam is built of cut gran-
ite with very thin mortar joints be-
tween the individual blocks which
were cut and placed by expert Italian

masons. ^ ^, ,

The up-stream radius of the dam is
66 ft. at the crest and decreased to
46 ft. at about stream bed. The arch-
es are 3.3 ft. thick at the crest and
11 5 ft. at a depth of 70 ft. below the
top. Below this point the curvature
and the thickness of the arches are
uniform.

The deflections of the dam were

1923

Water Works

531

measured at various reservoir levels,
when the dam came under pressure
for the _ first time in July, 1922. The
reservoir created by the dam has a
very small capacity (about 160 ac.
ft.) as it is used only as a forebay
for the power plant. At the time of
the test the flow of the river was
such that the reservoir filled in about
half a day. The conditions were

suitable shape were set into the ma-
sonry at various elevations of the
dam. Fig. 1 is a view of the down-
stream face of the dam, and the loca-
tion of the targets is marked by the
points 1 to 6. Two instrument piers
I and II, were built on solid rock near
the abutments of the dam, and the
movements of the targets were meas-
ured by "intersection" from these

Torort 3 \

Dtflcciian'O.i}'

Toraf^J

fWI

Graphical Dtterminoiion of
■^ of ToT^ a

Plan, of Dam

Tig. 2.

Fiff. 2. Plan of Dam and Triangulation System.
Fig:. 3. Graphical Determination of Deflections.

therefore ideal for ascertaining the
arch deflections due to water pressure
alone, inasmuch as the rapid rate of
filling did probably not permit the
temperature of the dam to change ma-
terially during the period of the ob-
servations.

Arrangement of Deflection Meas-
urements.— On the down-stream side
of the arch crowns, six targets of

piers. Fig. 2 is a plan of the dam,
showing also the location of the ob-
servation piers and of the targets.

It was anticipated that the deflec-
tions of the dam would be very small,
particularly during the initial stages
of the filling of the reservoir. The
use of the most accurate instruments
available and the services of the best

532

Water Works

Sept.

trained observers were therefore im-
perative.

The making of the tests v^^as en-
trusted to the Swiss Geodetic Survey,
and the observations were made by its
Chief Engineer, H. Zoelly and his as-
sistant, W. Lang. The instruments
were high grade theodolites as used
for primary triangulations, and which
permitted to read the angles with an
accuracy of about 1 in. by means of

distance from the dam and at such
points that could not possibly be af-
fected measurably by the pressure of
the dam or the rising water in the
reservoir. It may be stated afore-
hand that within an accuracy of ob-
servation of about four thousands of
an inch, this check triangulation
proved the position of the Piers I and
11 to be the same for reservoir empty
and full.

719.4.

Fiff. 4. Cross Section of Dam and Deflection Lines.
Fiff. 5. Alignment of Deflections.

Nay i9i3

microscopes and micrometer screws.

In order to ascertain whether the
piers, with the instruments suitably
fixed thereon, remained absolutely sta-
tionary during the period of observa-
tion, a very accurate triangulation
was made before and after the de-
flection measurements on the dam.
For this purpose, a number of fixed
targets had been set in the rock at a

Observations.— On July 12, 1922,
between 7:30 a. m. and 12:30 p. m.,
the water in the river was allowed to
back up against the dam for the first
time. By means of gates of ample
capacity the water level in the reser-
voir was kept more or less stationary
at various elevations and for about
half hour intervals, during each of
which a series of observations was

1923

Water Works

583

made for determining the deflection of
the dam for the respective depth of
water in the reservoir.

In addition to the deflection meas-
urements by "intersection," the move-
ment of the arch crown was directly
observed by means of a theodolite set
on Pier III. An accurately graduated
measuring scale was set horizontally
on top of the dam near the arch
crown, and the deflection of the arch
relative a line of sight between the
theodolite on Pier III and a fixed tar-
get on the opposite hillside was read
on this scale. These alignment meas-
urements checked very well the corre-
sponding deflections of the crest arch
as determined by "intersection."

Calculation of Deflections. — As

stated previously, special triangula-
tion measurements proved that the
observation piers were not subject to
any measurable dislocation under the
influence of the rising water in the
reservoir and of the corresponding
pressure of the arches upon the side
abutments. From each series of de-
flection measurements made when the
water in the reservoir stood at a cer-
tain level, the angle between the line
I — II and the sights to the targets
from each pier was obtained. The
changes of these angles in seconds
relative the initial size of the angles
for empty reservoir were obtained,
and the apparent linear movement of
the targets in a perpendicular direc-
tion to the lines of sight were calcu-
lated. Fig. 3 shows how the move-
ment of a target was then obtained
graphically. As an example, the de-
termination of the deflection of Tar-
get 3 for the water surface at Elev.
2647 is given. The distance between
Piers I and II (95.5 ft.) was platted
to a suitable scale, and the location
of the Target 3 for reservoir empty
was obtained by laying off the calcu-
lated lengths of the sides 1-3=44.5 ft.
and 11=3-64.2 ft. The readings of
the angles showed that for the water
surface at El. 2647, the Target 3 had
been moved by 42.0 in. as observed
from Pier I, and by 30.8 in. as ob-
served from Pier II. Both movements
were in a down-stream direction. The
linear movements perpendicularly to
the line of sight were then readilv
calculated at 0.109 in. and 0.115 in.
respectively. By drawing a line par-
allel to 1-3 at a distance of 0.109 in.,
and another line parallel to II-3 at a
distance of 0.115 in., the location of
the Target 3 after deflection was ob-

tained at the point of intersection of
these two lines. In this manner the
movements of all the targets were
determined.

Deflection Lines. — Figure 4 shows
the deflection lines of the dam for five
different depths of water in the reser-
voir. The deflections were platted
horizontally from a vertical so-called
"line of zero-deflection which repre-
sents for this purpose the location of
the targets when the reservoir was
empty.

In Fig. 4a is given the alignment of
the deflections as they occurred ap-
proximately in horizontal planes.

Discussion of Results. — The deflec-
tion measurements on this dam were
made with a particularly high degree
of accuracy. The instruments, meth-
ods of measurements, etc., and the
observers were of the highest class,
and it was estimated that the prob-
able error of the measured deflections
is not more than 0.004 in. The de-
flection curves are comparatively reg-
ular, and at the base of the dam
they appear to go smoothly over into
the line of zero-deflection as a tan-
gent, thus indicating elastical canti-
lever action such as assumed in the
design. The bed-rock seems not to
have moved any measurable amount,
and the dam may therefore be con-
sidered "fixed" at the base. The lin-
ear size of the deflection is very small
(0.13 in. at a maximum) owing to the
short radii of the arches and also on
account of the fact that the dam is
built of cut granite.

It is intended to repeat the deflec-
tion measurements at a later date
and under different temperature con-
ditions. The instruments, piers, tri-
angulation points, etc., and the tar-
gets on the dam are permanently se-
cured in place, and any slight dislo-
cation due to the "time factor" or
other causes could therefore be de-
tected by such future measurements.

A description of the deflection
measurements on this dam is given
in "Schweizerische Bauzeitung," Jan.
20, 1923.

Water Supplies in California. — Ap-
proximately 50 per cent of the 253
municipalities in California depend
solely upon underground water and
15 per cent are partially supplied
from such sources. There were also
in California in 1920, according to the
last U. S. census, 26,800 irrigation
wells with a total capacity of 10,900,-
000 gal. per minute.

r»34 Water Works Sept.

Watershed Protection for Public Supplies

Progress Report of Committee Presented at Annual Convention of
American Water Works Association

Watershed protection is viewed
quite differently in the several sec-
tions of the country owing to the
striking variations in local condi-
tions, such as size of watershed,
extent to which the watersheds are
exposed to transient and permanent
population, physical condition of the
watershed, extent to which the sup-
ply is impounded and particularly as
to whether or not purification is
used. It became quickly apparent, in
order to bring coordination of view-
points and to set forth topics on
which discussion might be advan-
tageously held, that it is essential to
call attention at the outset to dif-
ferent types of watersheds from
which public supplies are derived.
We point out four main types as
follows :

1. Relatively large watersheds
where conditions are such as to re-
quire filtration.

2. Very small watersheds, unin-
habited and controlled by the water-
works authorities and where there
is little or no storage in impounding
reservoirs.

3. Watersheds with storage reser-
voirs large enough to hold the aver-
age runoff of many months or a
year or more.

4. The intermediate type of water-
shed, relatively small, exposed to
pollution, where filtration is not
adopted and where geological and
other conditions are such that a
moderately satisfactory water supply
is procurable in the absence of filtra-
tion, provided that the protection of
the watershed is given due care.

In this present report, attention is
particularly directed to that inter-
mediate type of watershed men-
tioned above as Type 4, on which
there are many topics which may be
advantageously discussed by the
members of the association, as fol-
lows:

1. Ownership of watershed.

2. Physical character of water-
sheds and water courses.

3. Data on water-borne diseases.

4. Elimination of nuisances.

5. The laboratory as an aid in
watershed protection.

6. Needed legislation to provide
authority for watershed protection.

7. Means of enforcing needed reg-
ulations.

We will outline briefly prevailing
views on each of the foregoing
topics, paying particular attention to
points upon which there is unanimity
of opinion and also noting those
where there are variations in pre-
vailing practices and viewpoints. On
these subjects the committee greatly
desires to secure the benefit of views
of members of the association, par-
ticularly where such views are based
upon practical experiences.

Ownership of Watersheds. — The

purchase of much or all of the land
on the intermediate type of water-
shed is seldom negotiable. Even
where this step has been taken it
does not afford protection against
trespass, except in rare circum-
stances where the area is isolated or
where patrol is unusually effective.
It must be remembered that over-
confidence on the part of water
users may exist because they do not
realize that the occasional trespasser
or careless patrolman may bring
about pollution thought to be impos-
sible.

On the basis of specific merit, this
question of purchase of watershed
becomes essentially one of whether
the investment is worth while. This
in turn depends largely upon
whether or not the area may be
maintained in a much more sanitary
condition if owned by the water-
works authorities, than would be
possible if the area were privately
owned. Generally speaking, pur-
chase of the land of a watershed is
not worth while, except in instances
where the land is very cheap or
where it is highly important to elim-
inate objectionable conditions which
cannot otherwise be brought under
control.

Experience in handling watersheds
shows that ownership of land be-
comes less and less practicable as
the size of the watershed increases.
Investments in land have been found
to approach the cost of investments
in large storage reservoirs or more

lyzij

rraier wovks

particularly in filter plants, and the
protection from the latter is greater
than that derived from attempts to
depopulate many watersheds. Fur-
thermore, it is only a question of
time when the vast majority of all
surface water supplies will require
filtration in order to secure a water
of satisfactory appearance and re-
liable hygienic quality at all times.
When filters are adopted, land pur-
chases are not as a rule found to
be good investments and money so
applied might better have been put
into a fund and allowed to accumu-
late for meeting the expense of
filtration.

This general viewpoint is not
without its exceptions which apply
more particularly to the small water-
sheds and to the economic aspects
of whether efficient protection of the
catchment area may be assured by
land purchase to an extent sufficient
to justify such a step. When the
step has been taken, its effectiveness
is continually dependent upon the
program of watershed control, which
involves both the enactment of ade-
quate laws and the efficacy with
which the laws are enforced.

Marginal strips about reservoirs
are sometimes purchased in inhab-
ited watersheds to prevent easy
access to the shores or to allow the
most advantageous relocation of
roads. They are of doubtful value
as a means of reducing pollution in
the majority of cases and sometimes
serve to instill in the minds of the
water consumers a false idea of
security.

Physical Character of Watersheds
and Water Courses. — The contour,
geological formation, shape and loca-
tion of a watershed have considerable
bearing upon the effectiveness of the
various methods of watershed pro-
tection. Precipitous, rocky areas
unsuited to cultivation often give
opportunity for protection by land
purchase. The majority of water-
sheds include flat valleys and gentle
slopes suited to cultivation so that
the land is valuable in proportion to
its nearness to a center of popula-
tion. Land purchase is prohibitive
and the wastes from the inhabitants
of the watershed must be cared for
in the most effective manner. In
these circumstances, the geological
formation of the area, together with
the absence of existence of freezing
conditions during part of the year

are factors in determining the extent
of natural purification of the pollut-
ing materials.

Porous sandy soils of considerable
depth act as filters for polluted
wastes entering them. In northern
climates they may be robbed of their
usefulness in winter by the freezing
and ice coating of the surface, so
that filth discharged on the ground
may be washed long distances into
streams, but where freezing tem-
peratures are infrequent and of short
duration, the water from a sandy
area may be kept free from gross
pollution. Exceptions are found
where the sandy covering is thin and
the underlying material is seamy or
porous rock or coarse gravel.

Where the surface soil is imper-
vious, filth deposited on the surface
either directly or by overflowing re-
ceivers will find its way into water
courses to a certain extent at^ all
times and in great concentrations
during heavy rains. If seamy rock
or coarse gravel layers exist close to
the surface, wastes from privies and
cesspools entering them directly will
flow rapidly with little purification
underground to the stream courses.

Enough has been outlined above
to demonstrate the inadvisability of
formulating general rules for water-
shed protection for all watersheds.
While leaching cesspools and privies
are efficient means of disposal in
deep sandy areas, they will overflow
in impervious soils and will directly
pollute streams where access is ob-
tained to seams in rock or large
voids in gravel. Such a general set
of rules might be needlessly strin-
gent for one area and hopelessly
inadequate for another.

Data on Water-Borne Diseases. —
The early detection of water-borne
diseases on a watershed is an im-
portant duty of the watershed police.
Immediate steps should then be
taken to secure safe disposal of all
wastes from the house sheltering a
patient, and vigilance should be exer-
cised to see that the special sanitary
precautions are carried out until all
traces of the disease have disap-
peared. The history of each case
should be recorded with evidence as
to source of infection and if other
inhabitants of the watershed were
known to have been exposed to the
suspected source their health should
be reported daily until the expira-
tion of the maximum incubation

rr uLKT rr w/ics

oepb.

period (about three weeks) and
steps should be taken to compel their
use of facilities provided for safe
disposal of excreta and urine.

The relatively long period of incu-
bation of typhoid fever and the
persistence of the bacteria in the
discharges after convalescence, to-
gether with the development of
occasional carriers, are factors which
limit the effectiveness of attempts
to check the spread of infection.
The most that can be done along
these lines is at best no more than
half-way protection, but even this is
well worth all that it costs for all
unfiltered surface supplies.

Elimination of Nuisances. — For

isolated residences or small com-
munities in seamy rock formations,
watertight privy vaults of approved
design should be used. The soil
should be removed regularly to_ a
safe point for burial or deposition
on the land. Sewage in chemical
tanks or equivalent appliances should
be disposed of in a similar manner.
Water carried sewerage should be
prohibited as far as possible and, if
allowed, the sewage should be puri-
fied to the highest possible degree
before being discharged into a
stream. Sedimentation tanks fol-
lowed by intermittent filtration and
chlorination have proved effective.

If the soil is sandy and deep,
leaching privies properly protected
against surface wash may be allowed
in locations reasonably remote from
water courses. Septic tanks with sub-
surface irrigation or cesspools may
be employed in approved locations for
disposing of water carried sewage
from isolated residences and broad
irrigation on suitable land may be
used for sewage from small commu-
nities or institutions.

When all things are done that can
be done to minimize pollution from
isolated residences and communities,
there still remains the pollution from
casual frequenters of the watershed
traversing it on foot, in trains or by
automobile on the highways. No
measures now in force are thorough
in preventing pollution from such
sources, although intensive education-
al campaigns supplemented with fre-
quent signs to notify strangers that
they are on the watershed of a public
supply may tend to reduce it. The
locking of toilets on trains crossing
some watersheds greatly reduces the

danger from them, but this measure
cannot be enforced at all times.

Proper disposal of garbage, the
elimination of leachings into streams
from manure piles and barn yards
and the purification of wastes from
creameries, cheese factories or other
industrial enterprises on a watershed
are important in safeguarding the
purity of the water supply. Disposal
of garbage should be of such charac-
ter as to prevent it from being thrown
into water courses or placed upon the
ground in such a way that it may be
washed into them by heavy rains.
Manure piles should be placed where
leachings from them will soak into
the ground, thus conserving their
value as fertilizer and preventing the
pollution of the stream. Disposal
plants should be installed to clean up
the wastes from industrial enterprises
on the watershed.

Where the amount of sewage is
considerable, it should be carried to a
central disposal point where works
should be built and operated to pro-
duce adequate purification. Where
the physical character of the ground
is such that leachings from privies
and cesspools would find their way
rapidly into stream courses, it is
sometimes advisable to sewer com-
pletely a small community, furnish it
with a water supply and to carry the
sewage to a central disposal plant of
this character.

In attempting to eliminate nui-
sances on a watershed, all of the
money available for this purpose
should be spent first in removing
gross pollution. It would avail little
to build and maintain signs designed
to prevent pollution from individuals
traversing the area, while the dis-
charge of raw sewage from a commu-
nity into the supply were allowed to
continue. The effectiveness of water-
shed protection depends largely upon
the ability of the authorities to apply
the money in directions which will ac-
tually give the greatest results.

The Laboratory as an Aid in
Watershed Protection. — In a number
of the larger cities, the unfiltered
water supplies are controlled to bet-
ter advantage as a result of current
data from water laboratories than
would otherwise be the case. This
results not only from tests at fre-
quent intervals to show the extent of
pollution at points known to be open
to pollution, but also from tests of
water in streams feeding reservoirs

1923

Water Works

&37

as well as the water in reservoirs
themselves, which furnish consider-
able information of practical value in
maintaining the supply in a condition
moderately free from color, turbidity,
tastes and odors.

The vast majority of water supplies
are not subjected to frequent analyses
in the laboratory of the water depart-
ment, although a great deal of aid is
secured from the analyses made from
time to time of samples sent to out-
side laboratories, especially those of
State Departments of Health or of
State Water Surveys.

In instances where the aid of the
laboratory may be secured only in-
frequently or perhaps not at all, it is
important that those in charge of the
water supply which is not filtered
should make an unusual effort to de-
rive full benefit from frequent, care-
ful inspection of various conditions on
the watershed related not only to pol-
lution, but to matters associated with
the appearance of the water and its
tastes and odors.

Needed Legislation to Provide Au-
thority for Watershed Protection. — A
great many of the states and prov-
inces have adopted acts of the Legis-
lature prohibiting the pollution of
streams from which public water sup-
plies are derived. Such statutes are
founded upon the police powers of the
sovereign states and procedures are
set forth whereby the State Depart-
ment of Health takes jurisdiction in
carrying out steps under various local
conditions.

There is a wide variability in the
laws of different states and there is
need of variability as to rules and
regulations depending upon the local
conditions of particular watersheds.
This is shown by the fact that differ-
ent rules and regulations have been
set forth in some particulars by the
same state health authority, as for
instance, in Massachusetts, where nu-
j merous sets of rules have been pro-
j mulgated.

i The committee finds that it is out

I of the question at this time to attempt
to unify statutory regulations in the
different states, although there is a
great deal that may be done towards
U coordinating and improving the prac-
tical accomplishments which come
from state regulation.

It is only necessary here to point
out that fishing and bathing are pro-
hibited in some supplies even where
filters have been adopted, while in the

instance of unfiltered supplies else-
where, bathing and boating are per-
mitted by definite enactment.

The influence of this association
should be directed toward the restric-
tion by statute of all activities tend-
ing markedly to pollute unfiltered
water supplies and those tending to
pollute filtered water supplies to such
an extent as to overload or to
threaten to overload seriously ordi-
nary purification processes.

Another point upon which the posi-
tion of this Association should be
made clear is that statutory proce-
dures and the regulations promul-
gated by health authorities should
carry with them a practical and effec-
tive program for punishing those who
violate the rules made in the interests
of public health. That is to say, it is
of comparatively little benefit to set
up statutes aimed to protect the pur-
ity of inland waters and to follow
them with rules and regvdations as a
guide to local authorities in proceed'
ing under such statutes, if those in
charge of the water supplies have no
ready effective means of punishing
all who offend the rules and regvda-
tions. Obviously, a law or a rule
which may be broken with impunity
is no better than no law at all.

Means of Enforcing Statutes and
Regulations Aimed to Protect Water
Supplies. — This question has two as-
pects. One relates to the establish-
ment of what may be termed police
patrol or inspectors on a watershed,
and the other deals with procedures
for punishing those who violate the
rules. The latter question is one on
which the Committee desires to secure
experiences from members of the As-
sociation, because it is believed that
the arm of the law has not ordinarily
been of great help to those in charge
of the protection of water supplies.
It is too easy to circumvent the pro-
visions of the law and actions in
courts, dragging along for months
and years, have produced a spirit of
indifference on the part of the resi-
dents of a watershed. They learn
that they are not likely to be punished
severely by any court or jury resident
in the vicinity and their humane in-
terests in the water users of a neigh-
boring city are remote in comparison
with their own individual wishes and
time honored customs.

As to the means of patrolling the
watershed to guard it against objec-
tionable pollution, the best procedure

538 Water Works Sept

is not capable of ready definition, he used 175 to 200 lb. of what he calls

Some prefer to use residents of the a complete fertilizer, with a mixture

locality who will talk tactfully the of 2-10-4 (2 phosphoric acid, 10 nitro-

language of the district and will do a gen, 4 potash), in another a sodium

great deal of good in restricting gross nitrate containing the same amount

pollution. Others who are connected of nitrogen as was in the sludge, that

with the watersheds of larger cities is, a total of 8 per cent, AVz per cent

favor police patrol with men mounted of which was available, and in the

and uniformed and equipped with au- other case, the sludge was used.

'XUll-iTS r en-iin. the poI- .J^L^'^SuH wnfJSlots'" ^"''

lution of water supplies that are used ^^"^ ^^^ ^^^"^^ "^^^ ^^ tollows.

or may be used without involving un- Complete Fertilizer 3120 lb. corn silage

vpnQnnnhlp rn«tc: nrp wpll worth whilp Sludge 2710 lb. corn silage

leasonaoie costs are weii wortn wmie, godium Nitrate 2860 lb. com silage

but are not thoroughly effective even

when the entire watershed is owned. At Marshfield, Prof. A. R. Albert

They should be carried out thoroughly in charge, made much more extensive

in an attempt to maintain the great- investigations, both at his farm and

est possible degree of purity in sup- at that of a neighboring one, called

plies which are drawn unfiltered, but the Malthe Farm,

where filtration is provided the steps -t.l, j. 4. 4. j-i, tt ^ -c^ ^ ,„„^

taken to control the quality of the The test at the Hancock Farm was

raw water may be satisfactorily and "^^^f «^ ^^^^^ ^"^ potatoes, and the

most economically directed toward the l'^\^^, ^^ <=orn are recorded on the dry

elimination of gross sources of poUu- "^sis. ^^^ ^^^ ^^^

tion. (grain) Stover toes

Bu. Lbs. Bu.

Plot Treatment per A. per A. per A.

Tests of Value of Sludge As ^^ ^ ^ o"'y 23 1888 61.3

I esis or V oiue or oiuage .^v» gQ p .j^ pi^^ ^^q ,j,. Nitrate

F*»H-iliT*»r Soda 24.3 1615 58.7

1 CI linger 54 p _jf jQQQ jjj Sludge 30.8 1488 98.7

Growing tests of sludge from the '' P-^- 5" 'b- Dried Blood... 29.5 3020 102.7
sewage disposal plant of Milwaukee, Tc supply P. 100 lb. treble super-
Wis., were conducted in 1922 at state phosphate per A. were used. To sup-
experimental farms at Hancock and pjy k. 150 lb, of muriate of potash
Marshfield, Wis,, and at the Wauwa- were used,

tosa Farm,, to determine its value as . ^, ,, ,., t^ ^i j. n

a fertilizer. The results are sum- At the Malthe Farm the following

marized as follows in the recently is- records were obtained:

sued 1922 report of the Milwaukee com Sudan Pota-

Sewerage Commission, of which T, <Tu"' Lb^ T.

Chalkley Hatton is chief engineer, ?'°^ rn ,u ,?'"?^j"'g^' ., i ^*''^- ''"•*^- ^"■'^^

mi M i TT 1 • ^ J • J J 1 150 lb. Dried Blood plus

The soil at Hancock is of a decided 300 ib. 0-12-4 25.7 2490 104.4

sandy quality, whereas that at Marsh- 2 150 ib. Nitrate Soda

field is heavy clay. The Wauwatosa , T^\?.^Wn\VA ■ ?21 ?flt tH

Tr<„„™ u^r, „ 4!^i^v.i^ „^i^ ^f ^^^A 3 Only 300 lb. 0-12-4 18.3 1415 80.2

Farm has a friable soil of good 4 Activated Sludge plus

quality, capable of growing the ordi- 300 ib. 0-12-4 19.1 2255 71.2

nary plant with little fertilzer, _ „ , . , o^, . . j.

Five hundred pounds of dried sludge, The soi on which these two tests

just as it came from the dryer, was were made is_ known as Plainfield

delivered at each place. At Wauwa- sand, deficient in^ fertility and subject

tosa it was used in comparison with ^^ drouth and winds.

other fertilizers, each having the same

quantity of ammonia, potash and Method of Lowering Tank Into

phosphoric acid. These different fer- Deep Pit. — A novel method was used

tilizers were used for growing oats, in lowering of a large tank into a

beets, onions and corn. No actual deep pit, without any tackle, to serve

measurements were made of the re- as an oil reservoir for a power plant,

suits, but judging from the eye during According to the Contract Record the

the growth, no difference could be concrete pit was filled with water and

detected between the yield from any the steel tank simply rolled in. It

of the fertilizers, naturally floated on the surface of the

At Mar.shfield, F, L. Musbach, super- water, which was then pumped out,

intendent in charge, used the sludge allowing the tank to settle to its

for growing of silage. In one case, proper seating.

1923

Water Works

539

Concrete Lining of Irrigation Canals sind Laterals

Costs and Economic Advemtages on Orland Project, California, Given
in the Reclamation Record

By R. C. E. WEBER,

Project Manager, Orland Project of U. S. Reclamation Service

At the conclusion of work of plac-
ing concrete lining for the season of
1922-23, there had been placed 755,400
sq. yd. of lining on 79.8 miles of the
canals and laterals comprising the
distribution system of the Orland pro-
ject. The first work performed during
1911 in this connection consisted of
lining several high fills on the High
Line Canal and various sections, also

agreement with the Secretary of the
Interior, agreemg to an increased
building charge of $11 per acre to be
expended in placing concrete lining.
Construction under this supplement
agreement was subsequently com-
menced and has since been prosecuted
each \vinter season, the work being
performed after the close of the irri-
gation season in the fall and prior to

Mixing and Placing Concrete for Lining Irrigation Canal of Orland Project.

in fill, of laterals located in fertile
black sandy loam, where plant growth
was so luxuriant as to require clean-
ing several times during the irrigation
season in order to permit regrular
water deliveries. The work first per-
formed was limited in extent, but was
followed by expenditures from reve-
nues of the original construction
charge of the project, which provided
for lining about 30 miles of distribu-
tary channels. The results of the lin-
ing thus placed were so satisfactory
that, with the realization of inevitable
high maintenance costs unless a com-
prehensive program of lining was
adopted, the Orland water users in
1917 entered into a supplemental

its beginning in the spring. There
still remain unexpended from the sup-
plemental revenue sufficient funds for
lining 10 miles of laterals, so that at
the conclusion of the supplemental
work 90 of the 148 miles, or 60 per
cent, of the project distribution sys-
tem will be lined with concrete.

Maintenance Costs of Earth and
Concrete Lined Sections. — Compara-
tive costs of maintaining the earth
and concrete-lined sections* are avail-
able coveiing a season's work of
cleaning 66 miles of the former and
31 miles of the latter, from which is
obtained a cost of $55.70 per mile for
earth and $19.50 for concrete-lined
sections. The data apply to laterals

540

Water Works

Sept.

of an average capacity of 25 second-
feet. A reduction of 65 per cent in
the maintenance cost of earth laterals
results from the use of concrete lin-
ing, and this may reasonably be ex-
pected to increase as the system is
more and more comprehensively lined.
The work of cleaning earth sections is
performed with teams and scrapers
and consists in the removal of silt de-

Finishingr Concrete Lininir.

posits and all plant growth. The
maintenance work in connection with
lined sections consists of the removal
by hand of the small slit deposits and
of making minor repairs to the lining.

Reduction of Seepage and Evapora-
tion.— A reduction in seepage and
evaporation losses is an additional
factor in favor of the concrete-lined
section. By means of current-meter
measurements and discharges over
weirs, seepage and evaporation losses
of laterals located in the different soil
types of the project and in concrete-
lined sections have been determined
during each irrigation season from
1912 to 1922, the means of which are
tabulated as follows:

Loss in
feet per day
of unit of
^ wetted

Type of section perimeter.

Concrete lining ..„ 0.29

Clay - 1 68

Gravelly clay 1.88

Loam - — ...... 1.40

Gravelly loam ~ 1.47

Sand and gravel 2.86

From the foregoing tabulation a

material reduction in seepage and
evaporation losses (as much as 90 per
cent in sand and gravel sections) is
possible by the application of concrete
lining to the earth section. Another
important factor in favor of the con-
crete-lined section over the unlined
channel in earth is that of the in-
creased degree of operating safety as
a result of the comparative freedom
from washouts and breaks, with the
consequent expense for repairs and
possible great crop loss resulting from
an interruption to regular water de-
liveries.

The irrigable area of the project is
20,500 acres, of which 15,000 acres
were under irrigation during the sea-
son of 1922 and which was all served,
either directly or indirectly, through
concrete-lined channels. With the ex-
ception of about 4,000 lin. ft. of the
South Canal (which it is deemed im-
practical to line on account of winter
ground-water conditions), all the
canals on the project distribution sys-
tem, together with all laterals of ca-
pacity in excess of 25 second-feet,
have been concrete lined. There re-
main unlined, therefore, only laterals

Irrigation Canal Lined With Concrete.

of less than 25 second-feet capacity,
and these consist mainly of secondary
laterals or constitute the extremities
of primary laterals where water is de-
livered only intermittently on the reg-
ular rotation periods.

Cost of Concrete Lining. — The cost
for all concrete lining placed on the

1923

Water Works

541

distribution system of the project is
38.9 cents per sq. yd. for 755,400 sq.
yd. placed on 79.8 miles of canals and
laterals with capacities varying from
10 to 225 second-feet. The period of
time over which this cost was incurred
extends from 1911 to 1923, during
which there has been a large variation
in price of materials and wages of
labor, as illustrated by the maximum
of $4 per day of eight hours for labor
in 1920 to a minimum of $2.24 in 1911.

Cost of Concrete Lining Placed Daring Season
of 1922-23, Orland Project

Cost per

Total square

Item of Cost cost yard

Preparing section for lining t 5,914 $0,076

Cement (including hauling to

field) 10,129 .130

Gravel . 3,921 .050

Mixing 1,944 .025

Placing 3.253 .042

Finishing 414 .005

Sprinkling and protecting 130 .002

Water _ 827 .004

Repairs and supplies 227 .003

Elquipment charge 365 .005

Total labor and material cost. 26,674 .342

Superintendence — 177 .002

Engineering .._ 509 .007

General expense 3,498 .044

Total overhead cost. 4,184 .053

Total cost „ 30,858 .395

Quantities

Cost per
Item Unit Quantity unit

Lining Square yard.. 77.919 $0,395

Concrete....™... Cubic yard.„. 2,882.7 10.70

Lateral lined... Mile 9.05 3,410

Do Linear foot .. 44,776 0.646

Thickness of lining, 1% in.

Average haul : Gravel, 1% miles ; cement,
4 ',4 miles.

Labor costs per day : Finishers, $4.75 ;
placers, $4 ; laborers, $3 to $3.50 ; teamsters
with 2 horses, 5.50.

Cement (at project warehouse), 2.80 per bbl.

Section lined : Bottom width, 3 to 15 ft. :
vertical height, 1.5 to 4.75 ft. ; side slopes, 1%
to 1 and 2 to 1 ; capacity, 15 to 75 second-feet.

With labor and material prices as
those prevailing prior to 1916, con-
crete lining has been placed at a cost
of 34.3 cents per sq. yd., 27.8 ct. of
which was for labor and material and
6.5 ct. for overhead charges, consist-
ing of general expense, engineering,
and superintendence. The average
labor wage for lining placed at the
foregoing cost was $2.50 per day for
laborers and $4.50 for teamsters with
two-horse teams. Cement cost was $2
per barrel. As there is little hope to
be entertained that prices in the near
future for labor and materials will
approach^ the foregoing low figures,
the detailed analysis above is sub-

mitted for the cost of lining placed
during the season of 1922-23 with a
\aew of illustrating probable costs for
future work of this nature.

Durability of Lining. — ^With regard
to the durability of lining of 1^ in.
thickness without reinforcement it can
be said that lining placed in 1911 and
in continuous use each irrigation sea-
son since is still in excellent condition,
with no indications of disintegration
or failure. The mild California win-
ters in the Orland vicinity, where tem-

Concrete Lined Irrigation Canal.

peratures reach only a minimum of
21° above zero, make possible the use
of an extremely thin slab of concrete
for lining purposes.

New Irrigation Project in India. — A

big irrigation project is being planned
for the Gwalior Durbar — Central In-
dia— by the Durbar's own Irrigation
Department. The Maharajah Scindia
of Gwalior is taking a personal inter-
est in. the project which, it is stated,
will cost about 300 lakhs of rupees.
The object is to bring under cultiva-
tion many hundred square miles of
fallow land by the damming of the
Chambal and a few other rivers which
flow through the Gwalior State. It is
understood that the Maharajah in-
tends to spend about 60 lakhs of
rupees on this project in the ensuing
year.

542

Water Works

Sept.

Double Coagulation in Water
Filtration

Experiences at Portsmouth, O., De-
scribed in Paper Presented at Ohio
Conference on Water Purification

By F. E. SHEEHAN

Superintendent of Filtration, Portsmouth, O.

Portsmouth uses double coagulation
of the filtration process to treat the
badly polluted Ohio River water used
as the source of public water supply.
Double coagulation is accomplished
with two settling basins operated in
series, the water entering each re-
ceiving a dose of coagulant. The
practice of double coagulation is not
entirely new to water works practice,
for it is being used regularly in sev-
eral of the western water purification
plants that treat very muddy and
highly polluted waters. So far as is
known, however, the Portsmouth plant
is the first one in Ohio or in this sec-
tion of the central states to have em-
ployed the practice regularly.

The Filtration Plant.— The city of
Portsmouth has a population of
about 40,000 and is located on
the Ohio River at the confluence of
the latter stream with Scioto River.
The source of public water supply is
Ohio River, the intake being located
just above the city. A rapid sand fil-
tration plant of eight million gallons
daily capacity was installed in 1915.
As originally laid out the treatment
included plain sedimentation in a set-
tling basin of about eight hours' re-
tention, followed by a coagulation in
a three-hour secondary basin. The
filters are of the New York Conti-
nental Jewell type, low rate wash
water with air agitation, eight in
number and having one million gal-
lons capacity each. The plain settling

basin was designed with horizontal
baifles arranged for over and under
flow or vertical travel of the water
through the basin. The coagulants
used at first were sulphate of iron and
lime. These were later changed to
sulphate of alumina, assisted by lime
at times.

In 1918, changes were made in the
construction of the plain sedimenta-
tion basin at the suggestion of the
State Department of Health. The
baffles were rebuilt to cause hori-
zontal travel of the water instead of
vertical, the water passing around
the ends of the baffles. At the same
time the coagulant lines were laid so
that the settling basin now became a
primary coagulation basin.

Condition of Ohio River Water. —
The extent to which water treatment
is necessary at Portsmouth may be
gained from a study of the analytical
results of the past six years. On an
average, the Ohio River carries a
turbidity of about 160 and may reach
a maximum of 2,000. Bacteria per
cc. at 20° C average about 6,000, but
may reach as high as 100,000. B.
Coli per 100 cc. averages about 2,000,
but may reach as high as 15,000. Suc-
cessful clarification of the water has
not been obtained heretofore, except
with the assistance of chlorination.
Since the installing of double coagula-
tion the filters have been able to pro-
duce a water of satisfactory bacterial
quality without the assistance of
chlorination and comparing favorably
with the standards of the State De-
partment of Health for unchlorinated
filter effluent.

In Table II are given figures show-
ing the performance of the Ports-
mouth Water Purification Plant dur-
ing the year 1918 when single coagu-
lation was used and during the year
1922 when double coagulation was

Table I — Comparison of Operating Results i

Using Single Coagulation

During

February, 1918.

With Results Usingr Double Coagulation During March, 1922

Coagu-

Turbidity

Presumptive

Iant.s

(P.

P.M.)

Bacteria per (

CC. @20°C.

B. Coli (Per-

Used

cent Positive)

(Grains

- .c

Disin-

per Gal.)

Filtered fected

2 g
9 E

4->

a
w

u CI cj 9

< 3

" 2 " 2

% % % %

February, 1918 —

(Single Coagula-

tion) 1.7 1.6

3.5

344

290

20,000

17.000

6,000

425

50 90 25 25

March, 1922— (Double

Coagulation) 1.1 0

1.5

226

16,200

3.900

2,340

100

0 3 0 0

iyz6

water worKS

04CJ

regularly employed. Table I compares
the results of plant operation for the
month of February, 1918, with the
month of March, 1922. During these
months the raw water had very simi-
lar characteristics; in 1918, however,
plain settling was used for the pre-
liminary treatment, whereas in 1922
double coagulation was used. The
conclusions to be drawn from a care-
ful perusal of the figures given seems
to be as follows: The total amounts
of coagulants used during the period
of double coagulation is less than the
total amounts of coagulants used dur-
ing periods of plain sedimentation
followed by single coagulation. It is
further noted that the clarification by
the preliminary treatment processes
was greatest using double coagulation ;
that the removal of bacteria was by
far greater using double coagulation;
that the wash water required was 50
per cent less with double coagulation;
that the filter effluent was of satis-
factory sanitary quality without as-
sistance by chlorination when double
coagulation was used.

It has been observed that a better
reaction of the coagulant seems to ob-
tain when the dose is divided into
two portions such as is the case with
double coagulation ; the water entering
the secondary coagulation basin seems
to be in a more receptive condition
for the reaction to take place and the
character of the floe thus formed is
much more satisfactory. Ease of
operation is afforded by the double
coagulation practice, for the operator
can use as an index of raw water con-
ditions the effluent from the primary
coagulation basin; sufficient leeway
is given for shifts in quantities of
chemicals applied such that the in-
fluent water to the filters may be held
of almost uniform character.

Experience at Portsmouth would in-
dicate that double coagulation is par-
ticularly applicable to those raw
waters having a highly polluted char-
acter subject to rapid changes. In
the past it has been impossible to
obtain a plain filter effluent approach-
ing satisfactory sanitary quality
chiefly because influent water to the
filters carried high turbidities and a
high bacterial content. It is now pos-
sible to control the influent to the
filters to an average turbidity of less
than 35 and to an average B. Coli
content of less than 100 B. Coli per
100 c.c. Experience at Portsmouth
further indicates that such water may
be filtered readily to obtain the stand-
ards desired in plain effluent before
chlorination.

Conclusions. — Advantages of double
coagulation are: (1) Less total co-
agulant is required to obtain equal
or better results as measured by clari-
fication and removal of bacteria.
(2) A highly polluted raw water may
be treated more successfully and still
have the effluent from the filters sub-
stantially equal the most rigid bac-
terial standards. (3) Ease of operat-
ing control is established much more
satisfactorily if two entirely separate
coagulation basins are installed in
series operation. (4) The character
of floe obtained in influent water to
the filters, so important to good fil-
tration, seems to be improved by
dividing the dosage of coagulant into
two distinct steps in the process.
(5) A primary coagulation basin
more than fulfills every duty of per-
formance of a plain sedimentation
basin and is much cheaper to con-
struct than a plain sedimentation
basin on account of reduced capacity
needed.

Table II — Comparison of Operating Results Using Single Coagulation Daring Year 1918 With
Results Using Double Coagulation During Year 1922

Coagu-

Turbidity

lants

(P.

P. M.^

Used

(Grains

B S

per Gal.)

a n

« >.

h d

i P

< 2

fll

f^ ^

Bacteria per CC. @ 20 ° C.

•S 3
S n

Presumptive
B. Coli (Per-
cent Positive)
Disin-
Filtered fected

Year 1918 —(Single
Coagnlation ) 1.4

Year 1922 — (Double
Coagulation) 1.4

0.9 3.2 144 90 38 5.800

£ -M

M n

fc< C _ S .H S

% % % %

120 23 68 U

0.1 1.7 163 24 10 6,200 1,800 1.000 S4 8 0 13

^Double coagulation placed into regular use May, 1919.
'Iron sulphate used instead of alum greater part of year 1918.

544

Water Works

Sept.

Form for Keeping Records of

Water Services

A form designed to facilitate the
keeping of records of water services,
where the consumer or property
owner pays the cost of them is illus-

industrial centers, will be strength-
ened, thus assuring the continuance
of one of the supplemental sources
of income which is important in many
of the departments of France, says
Commercial Attache C. L. Jones in a
report to the U. S. Department of

cm OF COSHOCTON. OHIO WATER DEPT,

OTY OF COSHOCTON. OHIO WATER DEPT.

MATERIAL EXPENSE SERVICE UNES |

AfPLICATION No. -

CoiJioclon. Ohio - . .19

£3". No. . . - Sl

:s"";;»'.T°;j °ji;: No. _

CoshocHn. Ohio. 19

.^^ No S.

Quantum

ITEU

FHa

A.«,«,l

" Corp. cock

T\« ujuUrtiffntd harehy tnakts application /or Utm*

! V

Ikmt

" surbox

i ■■ Nip.

Discontinue SrrviM OFF

1 Tum Waur OFF

•■ IMmn

■■ Umm

New "line main to curb

1 Vn. •■ Kwmoiiijoncrt

•■ r.«i

Replacing old lint with

1 RerloCf M ■■ ailk

■• a>,pi«.tH

Pip* tanter ««t« at „ |

KptlDtnUTCvrbal

Line: Change loentian : Meter

; Lii« CJionff* tMotiim Mttrr

LABOR EXPENSE 1

' Line: Temporain toe : Metrr

Linf Ttmporary uu M*Ur

Ann 1 tt:»nln

gtu

AmoiBU

Line: CUaningout .- Meter

Line: Repairint : Meter

Lind Rtmovina Mettrr

fV»«M.

Line: Removing : Meter

Lint Rtpairing M*Ur

Uiom

' DtUver Meltr Set

Delivtr M*Ur Set i

1 !

nMd (Uelares that he is tha owtur of property within

tht city and wil GUARANTEE to pay alt txpevtt in-
eurred for labor, mattrial or other tnetdeiUal work upon
demand, all in aceordanet with the rulea and regvlattona
now in force in the Cit}/ ofCothoclon and Water Oepart-

FLAT
Gtn. PuVpoM

KETER
Su> Nc.

OTHER EXPENSE |

Bal» W.C.

MaJiM

Molor SpriokU

Stad,

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1 TOTAL TAF CHARGES

i>x*aIion oj c
valvt auppiy

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t Tvrn im ekarpt

Memoranda

Rtmarka

8 Temporary ttae eharoi

r StUofMiUr

S DtlinirirKt aetnunt*

TOmlt

Form for Water Service Application, Work Order and Report of Work.

trated below. As will be noted the
form is a combination of consumer's
application, foreman's work order and
report of work. The form was pre-
pared by Ray S. Blinn, while Director
of Public Service of Coshocton, O.

French Plan Electric Farming

In the closing days of the session
of 1923 the French Parliament passed
a long advocated measure for the ex-
tension of electrical service to rural
communities. More general use of
electricity on the farms, it is believed,
will partly offset shortage of farm
labor caused by the depletion of man
power during the war years. Besides
household industries, now hard
pressed by manufacturers in the great

Commerce. By the same means it is
believed agricultural production may
be increased and the general attract-
iveness of farm life heightened in a
way which will help to check the
drift toward the cities which has be-
come even more marked since the war
than before.

The general purpose of the new law
is to place at the disposition of the
National Office of Agricultural Credit
a maximum sum of 600,000,000 francs
to be employed in rural electrical de-
velopment through advances of cash
made to the smaller political units or
associations of individuals. The de-
tail of administration is to be pro-
vided by regulations issued by the
government to supplement the terms
of the law.

1923

Water Works

545

The Importance of Competent Investigations of

Water Supply Before Commencement of

Construction

Abstract of a Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Illinois Section
of the American Water Works Association

By ALEX. VAN PRAAG, Jr.,

of Holbrook, Warren & Van Praag, Consulting Engineers, Decatur, 111.

Perhaps no one element is more
directly responsible for the uneconom-
ical operation and high maintenance
costs, and the ultimate failure and
abandonment of mimicipal water
works stations than the failure to
conduct a comprehensive and syste-
matic study of the communitjr's water
resources prior to the construction of
the water works system. By a com-
prehensive and systematic study of
the possibilities of the chosen soiirce
of supply with respect to future ex-
tensions and enlargement; and also
a complete anaylsis of the relative
costs of developing the available
sources of water supply, including
operation and maintenance costs. The
object of this paper is to discuss the
value of such preliminary studies in
so far as they apply to shallow ground
water sources.

That an accusation of this charac-
ter is based upon soxmd facts and is
just, is evidenced by the substantial
number of mimicipalities which from
time to time entirely abandon one
source of supply in favor of a newly
located source, not infrequently in
close proximity to the original or for-
mer source of supply.

The Effect of Local Conditions. —
It is manifest, if the above men-
tioned preliminary studies are to be
made, that one of the first and most
vital determinations in the study is
an assembly of the facts concerning
the water bearing strata. Now,
throughout certain sections of Illinois
the nature of the geological structure
is relatively well known and the rec-
ords thereof are reasonably com-
plete. For example, in most of our
northern counties it is reasonably
certain that an ample water supply
of good quality is readily obtainable
if wells are drilled to St. Peter or
Potsdam standstone. In such a case
a preliminary study requires no ex-
tensive prospective or test drillings
to determine the local geological struc-
ture, but may be considered pri-

marily, if not solely, for the purpose
of ascertaining the type and prob-
able cost of any proposed installation.

In other sections of Illinois, how-
ever, the prevailing conditions are de-
cidedly different. In central Illinois,
for example, the major number of our
public water supplies are derived
from shallow ground sources, more
generally from water bearing glacial
drift deposits. The records of drill-
ings in one community are of little if
any value to a neighboring com-
munity, and in general the records
themselves are very meager. More-
over, the glacial drift is peculiarly
irregular and non-homogeneous and
there is no certainty of securing any
appreciable volume of water until ex-
tended drillings and extensive pump-
ing tests have been made. Under
these conditions the preliminary
studies in connection with a proposed
water supply installation are of grade
importance, for on their throughness
not only depends the possibility of
the installation from a financial
standpoint, but also the feasibility
of any installation being made at all.
Still further, the reliability and oper-
erating success and the cost of main-
tenance in such cases is entirely de-
pendent upon the action taken as a
result of the preliminary investiga-
tion.

The Mistake of Niggardliness in
Expenditure on Investigation. — All
too frequently preliminary investi-
gations of ground water supplies
are not made at all or they are
directed by the unqualified judgment
of local persons in preference to being
based upon an assembly and study of
facts and data best interpreted by en-
gineers experienced in water supply
developments. It seems to be the gen-
eral, mistaken impression of public
officials that the first available funds
should be expended at once for a part
of the necessary equipment for the
water works instead of using the first
modest expenditure for investigation

546

Water Works

Sept.

to insure the water works installation
being a permanent and economical
one.

In order to elaborate somewhat on
the necessity of preliminary studies
and suitable test drillings the author
assumes the liberty of referring to,
and analyzing, the water supply his-
tory of a particular city with which
he is personally familiar.

Mt. Pulaski, 111., is a city of 1,510
population. It is built upon the peak
of an abrupt hill, one of a few high
points in central Illinois. The sur-
rounding territory is quite flat and
the nearest well defined watercourse
is approximately 3J4 miles distant.

The original water works at Mt.
Pulaski were installed in 1895 and
the source of supply then comprised
a single well about 85 ft. in depth,
penetrating fine sand, and located at
the public square on the very peak
of the hill. About 1907, only twelve
years later, a new water works sta-
tion was constructed in the southwest
part of the city, the supply then
being derived from three dug wells,
penetrating a layer of fine yellow
sand of more or less indefinite depth.
Each well was 33 ft. in depth and
was walled with stone. These three
wells, which are still in service, are
all located on a single tract of land
enclosing about ^ of an acre. An-
other similar well, but with a 23-ft.
tubular extension in its bottom, was
also located nearby and formerly was
held in reserve to meet excessive de-
mands though it later was entirely
discarded as a part of the public
water supply.

Since their construction these wells
have ever been subject to clogging
with fine sand, thereby reducing their
capacities, causing undue wear on
pumping equipment, and resulting in
exorbitant maintenance costs. Their
yields have accordingly been totally
inadequate and the cause of a gen-
eral restricted use of water. The
restricted use of water has resulted in
a general tendency to depend upon
private wells, all of which circum-
stances of course, assist in raising
the unit operating costs of the public
supply.

For some time the city council has
realized the necessity of improving
the city's water supply resources and
during the past year it was prevailed
upon by its engineers to conduct a
series of test drillings in the hopes

of locating a more satisfactory source
of supply.

The engineers outlined a systematic
program of drilling based upon a
study of the surrounding topography,
assembled records of previous drill-
ings, and a knowledge of the general
structure in the vicinity, and the drill-
ing program was instituted.

A series of holes were drilled pro-
gressively to the east and south along
a more or less meandering line lying
just south of the city, where the
available data indicated a satisfactory
supply was most likely to be located.
As each test well was drilled samples
of the drillings were collected for
examination and accurate logs of the
wells were drawn. The logs were
platted in section to their true eleva-
tion along sections drawn through
the principal lines of the drills, and
an accurate plat was made showing
the location of each test hole. This
data not only served its purpose dur-
ing the progress of the drillings, but
is now a matter of permanent record.
A total of 22 test holes were
drilled before a supply of satisfactory
volume was located and the final
location determined for a new pump-
ing station. As a result of the drill-
ings, however, the city has located
a water bearing strata consisting of
coarse sand and clean coarse blue
gravel approximately 17.5 ft. in depth
and lying between depths of 40 and
57.5 ft. below the surface. The de-
posit is under a static head of water
which rises to within 14 ft. of the
surface.

Before concluding the test drillings
the city conducted a pumping test on
an 8-in. well located at the site of one
of the test drillings. The test was
conducted under the direction of the
Illinois States Water Survey and the
State Department of Public Health.
It concluded a continuous pumping
of the well for 26 hours, more or less,
during which time measurements of
the well discharge and of the draw-
down both at the well itself and at
other nearby points where simultane-
ously recorded. It should be noted
that while the draw-down when
first pumping the well was marked
and rapid, yet with continued pump-
ing the water level gradually assumed
a more or less permanent level and at
no time was it lowered to the top of
the water bearing strata.

The test data secured indicates
that the city can produce from a

1923

Water yVorks

547

single well in the vicinity a sufficient
supply of water to satisfy its present
demand with less than six hours of
continuous pumping. Heretofore the
present wells have been exhausted
after a relatively short period of
pumping, and it became necessary
to discontinue . pumping until they
again were replenished, and the sup-
ply accordingrly has been extremely
doubtful at all times.

Cost of Tests at Mt. Pulaski.— The
total cost to the city for conducting
the test drillings approximated $1,500
and the city is now having prepared
the necessary plans and specifications
for a new pumping station. This new
pumping station will probably be con-
structed during the coming year. It
makes the third water pumping sta-
tion to be constructed in a period of
28 years. It is 16 years since the
construction of the present station.

It should not be assumed that the
Mt. Pulaski situation is an unusual
one and that it did not offer its diffi-
culties all during the period of the
drilling. As a matter of fact it was
necessary at the outset, in order to
satisfy certain members of the city
council, to drill two holes on the
present pumping station lot. Both
of these holes were drilled to more
than twice the depth of the present
dug wells and each penetrated but
a negligible depth of fine yellow sand,
water bearing, and thus showed con-
clusively that the present location is a
most unsatisfactory one.

Again, after sinking some 7 or 8
holes with only moderate success the
city, against the advice of its en-
gineers, again returned to the present
water works site and sunk in the im-
mediate vicinity at least two more
holes.

Also during the course of the drill-
ing it was necessary to satisfy the de-
mands of certain council members
who have a religious belief in the un-
failing "water witch."

Now it should be noted also that
at Mt. Pulaski there were no visible
or outstanding assurances of success
in locating a satisfactory water sup-
ply if the test holes were sunk except-
ing the convictions of the engineers
who had devoted some time and study
to the local situation. To be sure,
many of the first holes sunk indi-
dicated discouraging results and it
was not until entire 22 holes were
sunk that conditions were considered
satisfactory to warrant discontinuing

further investigations. On the other
hand in a similar study at Witt,
111., it was found necessary to sink but
5 holes when sufficient data were se-
cured to warrant stopping drilling.

Savings that Might Have Been
Made. — Now it is not of general in-
terest that Mt. Pulaski has experi-
enced particular success in improving
its water supply by drilling. The
Mt. Pulaski experience is discussed
herein because it embraces a typical
experience and illustrates the one
point the author wished to impress,
and that is this, by a modest expendi-
ture for test drillings and prelim-
inary investigations and by truly
studying and investigating its water
supply resources this city has located
a source of water supply sufficient to
warrant the abandonment of its pres-
ent supply in favor of a new one. This
new supply was only recently inves-
tigated, but had it been properly in-
vestigated before the preceding two
water pumping stations w-ere installed
it would doubtless have made unneces-
sary the very large expenditure for
rebuilding at least twice, and also
it would have eliminated very largely
the relatively exorbitant maintenance
costs which have been experienced by
the city for the past 28 years. Many
other cities have had much the same
history as Mt. Pulaski.

As engineers or persons otherwise
interested in the proper development
of public water supplies it remains
with us to exert every effort to make
sure that future water supply in-
stallations will be made based upon
sound facts and not upon chance
judgment. In other words, if we wish
to insure proper and economical water
supply installations, and assist in
preventing expensive rebuilding pro-
grams, we must impress the respon-
sible officials with the necessity of
comprehensive and systematic pre-
liminary water supply investigations
directed by competent engineers. By
such means only can we prevent the
continued recurrence of experiences
such as those of Mt. Pulaski.

Welland Canal Construction Prog-
ress.— An appropriation of 811,800,-
000 has been made to cover construc-
tion operations for the current year
on the Welland Canal. About $34,-
000,000 has been expended, so far,
and the cost will be $80,000,000 alto-
gether. It is expected the canal will
be completed in 1927.

548 Water Works Sept.

Sealing Permeable Foundation of Dam With Grout

Method, Dispensing With Cut-off Trench, Elmployee on Small Structure
in Quebec Described in The Contract Record

By W. S. LEA,

Of R. S. & W. S. Lea, Consulting Engineers, Montreal

On July 28th, 1920, a contract was
awarded to the W. I. Bishop Co. of
Montreal, for the construction of a
dam on the Jacques Cartier River at
Pont Rouge, P. Q., for F. W. Bird &
Son. The company operates a paper
mill there, situated on the west bank
of the river, which flows in a south-
erly direction. The plant is operated
by hydraulic power, the water wheels
being located in a flume across the
east end of the mill buildings, which
extends into the stream and serves
as a dam for a distance of about 50
ft. The natural head at the site is
about 8 ft., increased in the original
development to a total of 18 ft. by a
low wooden dam extending from the
northeast corner of the mill to the
east bank. The alignment of the dam
follows the crest of the rapids which
cross the river at an angle running
upstream from the mill. This old
structure had served its time, and it
was proposed to replace it by a con-
crete dam built across the river from
50 to 100 ft. below the wood dam, and
between the mill and the east bank.

Seams in the Rock Open Enough to
Carry Water. — The bed and banks of
the river at the site are of rock,
stratified in horizontal layers of from
one inch to six inches in thickness.
Most of the seams in the rock are
very fine, but it was known from pre-
vious excavations in the mill base-
ment that some of them were open
enough in places to form small chan-
nels which carried water freely.
There is a low section in the crest of
the rapids near the east bank of the
river through which practically the
total low water flow used to be
diverted, and in the course of time it
had worn a channel about 20 ft. wide
and from 10 ft. to 15 ft. deep along
the east shore of the river for about
400 ft. downstream to the foot of the
rapids. The mill is located about
midway down the rapids and a tail-
race had been blasted out of the rock
along the west bank from beneath
the wheel pit to the foot of the rapids.
I may say that the east bank, where
there was a natural tailrace avail-
able, was not suitable for a mill site.

The total flow of the river is re-
quired to supply the draft of the
wheels in the low water months.
Therefore when the work started in
midsummer, the bed of the river for
about 100 ft. or more, both above and
below the site of the new dam, was
exposed rock from 5 ft. to 10 ft. above
the level of the tailrace; excepting
of course, the natural channel into
which the tail water backed and stood
almost dead, the only flow through it
being the leakage from the old dam.

Provision for Increasing the Height
of the Dam. — The new dam has an
overall length of 143 ft. and consists
of 7 piers from 25 to 30 ft. high on 23
ft. centres. The piers rest on a con-
crete sill from 2 ft. to 3 ft. thick,
except in the channel, where the depth
of the sill is increased to 12 ft. and
where the total height of the dam
exceeds 40 ft. The intention is to
eventually add 20 ft. to the height of
both the sill and the piers.

The seams in the rock were exposed
on the sides of the channel, a condi-
tion which was regarded as both a
menace and a help so far as uplift
pressure under the dam was con-
cerned; because although it undoubt-
edly offered a favorable opportunity
for the water to penetrate the founda-
tion right against the heel of the dam,
the chances were that it could readily
escape near the toe of the dam
through the seams exposed on the
sides of both the natural channel and
the tail race.

On the whole it will be seen that
the conditions were unusually favor-
able for the work in hand. Our chief
worry was that it was already well
along in August before anything
could be done, the fall rains were due
in October, and the Jacques Cartier
was well known as a flashy river,
with a flood flow of over 25,000 sec.
ft., from a water-shed of 1,100 sq.
miles. The contractor could team his
sand to the site from pits in the
vicinity, but everything else had to
be brought in by rail, the cement from
Exshaw, Alta., at a cost of $6.60 per
bbl. Labor and materials were both

1923

Water Works

549

scarce, and prices were at the peak
at this time.

As intimated above, we were really
building the substructure of a dam
which would eventually have an aver-
age height of over 45 ft. and a maxi-
mum height of 60 ft. At current
prices, the extent to which uplift
pressure was provided against in the
design was an important factor affect-
ing the cost of both the initial and
final structures. In the end, practi-
cally no allowance was made for up-
lift, apart from the eight 1% in. ver-
tical rods placed in the nose of each
pier and anchored into the rock
foundation. There was little to be
feared from ice pressure. The river
turned through a sharp 90 deg. angle
immediately above the old dam and
springs along the bank kept the outer
shore of the bend free from ice. As
matter of fact, however, our decision
concerning uplift did not mean that
all the bridges were burned behind us,
because it was intended during the
progress of the work to try and deter-
mine the maximum uplift pressure
which would prevail in the foundation
from the proposed future forebay
level. If this could be done, or £f
considerable uplift pressure were
found to be unavoidable, then the de-
sign of the sills in the future dam
could be modified to take care of the
contingency, although it would de-
tract to some extent from the final
appearance of the dam.

No Preliminary Investigation of the
Foundation. — Under the circumstances
attending the inception of the project,
there was no opportunity to drill and
test the foundation in advance of the
preparation of the plans. This was
one of the main reasons for letting
the contract on a commission basis;
there was very little about the
foundation in either the plans or
specifications. A concrete cut-off 5 ft.
deep was shown along the heel of the
dam, and it was specified that any
seams below this depth would be
grouted through holes drilled in the
bottom of the trench to the number
and depth deemed advisable after the
nature of the foundation had been
revealed by tests. When the work
was started, it was found after shoot-
ing a couple of blasts that a cut-off
trench of a reasonable width could
not be provided without very close
drilling. Moreover, as the rock had
a tendency to shatter beyond the lines
of the trench, it was decided to dis-
pense with the cut-off and rely on

grouting to seal the foundation
through 2 in. holes drilled at 4 ft.
centres in a row parallel to and about
2 ft. upstream from the heel of the
dam. These holes, through which it
was intended to both test and grout
the foundation, are referred to as
"grout" holes to distinguish them
from "test" holes drilled in other
places for testing purposes only.
Steam, water, or air were available
from the mill at suitable pressures
for testing and grouting.

It was, of course, necessary to de-
termine the elevations of the lowest
seams in order to determine the depth
to which the holes should be drilled,
and also to determine the approxi-
mate area of the seams, particularly
the upper seams, in order to fix a safe
limit for the pressures applied in
testing and grouting.

In nearly all the holes the water
stood within 2 or 3 ft. of the surface,
and the elevations of the lowest seam
in any hole could be closely deter-
mined by exhausting the water from
each hole in succession, and noting
the levels to which the water dropped
in all the other holes and finally came
to rest. It was decided in the first
place to tentatively adopt 25 ft. for
the depth of the holes and since, ac-
cording to the tests, seams did not
appear at any hole below 15 ft. from
the surface, the 25 ft. drilling was
adhered to throughout. In making
these tests a steam ejector was used
to exhaust the water from the holes.
Determining the Size of the Seams.
— We never succeed in getting a good
idea of the areas and distribution of
any of the seams, except that it was
certain there were neither large nor
continuous over wide areas. This
became fairly apparent in testing for
the elevations of the deepest seams.
This test was, however, supplemented
by others, in which water or air was
applied under pressure to the seams,
through short pipes cemented into
the tops of the holes. Water was the
best indicator of the capacity of the
seams, as the rate of discharge could
be easily metered in the supply line,
but in attempting to determine their
distribution air gave better results.
Once the air was turned into a hole
it was easy to detect its slightest es-
cape at the other holes, on account of
the distribution of the water standing
in them, air bubbles in water being a
very sensitive indicator.

Where the water carrying capacity
of the seams is small it is feasible to

550

Water Works

Sept.

determine the number and elevation
of the largest of them at most of the
holes with but little interference with
the drilling. This can be done by first
drilling and inserting the nipples in
say every fourth hole in the row, so
that water can be applied under pres-
sure to one or more holes adjacent to
each intermediate hole as it is being
drilled. The instant each intercon-
necting seam is pierced by the drill
will be indicated by an increase in
the rate of discharge through the
meter placed on the supply line.

Both steam and air pressure were
used for grouting at a pressure lim-
ited to 40 lb. per square inch. At
this pressure scarcely two pails of
grout per hole could on the average
be forced into the seams. A 1:1 mix-
ture was tried but it did not work so
well as the neat cement grout. It
was sluggish and too slow in respond-
ing to such pressures as we thought
it safe to apply. In fact a very thin
mixture had to be used before we
could get the grout to appear at adja-
cent holes at all. I do not know the
ratio of the water to the cement, but
it must have been at least 5 to 1. We
had no special equipment in the way
of grout machines or tanks, but had
facilities for quickly connecting the
air or steam line to the holes and for
easily controlling the pressure ap-
plied. The usual procedure was to fill
the hole with grout, apply the pres-
sure and leave it on for 15 or 20
minutes, or until the escape of air or
steam at some other hole showed that
the grout had been forced down below
the level of a seam when the pressure
line would be disconnected and the
operation repeated.

Test to Determine Uplift Pressure.
— In addition to the row of grout
holes along the heel of the dam, a
number of test holes were provided
both upstream and downstream for
the grout holes. The downstream row
was piped through the sill of the
dam. These test holes were used in
making the experiments already de-
scribed, but served their real purpose
in connection with the final and most
important test of all, viz., the test to
predetermine what the uplift pressure
would be in the seams immediately
below the dam under future condi-
tions. Obviously this test was simply
a matter of supplying water to the
upstream holes and maintaining it
there under a head equivalent to the
future forebay level, and at the same
time noting the pressure in the holes

under the dam. The fact that the
water did not overflow the holes piped
through the sill of the dam was proof
that whatever leakage there might be
past the grout holes did not at all
over tax the capacity of the seams to
discharge it to the tailrace or to the
natural .channel below the dam.

Grouting gave good results at Pont
Rouge, and at much less cost than
even a 5 ft. deep cut-off. Moreover,
dispensing with the trench expedited
the work considerably, as the contrac-
tor could start pouring the sill as
soon as the debris and loose rock were
removed from the site.

Filter Plant Operation at St. Louis

The following notes on the opera-
tion of the Chain of Rocks Filters of
St. Louis, Mo., for the year ending
April 1 last, are taken from the an-
nual report of Edward E. Wall, Water
Commissioner:

During the year 40,900 million gal-
lons of water were filtered, an aver-
age of 112.3 million gallons per day
at a C)Ost of $4.01 per million gallons.
The cost includes the operation, main-
tenance, repairs, light, power, coal
and the chemicals used in the applied
and filtered water.

During the year each filter was
washed on an average of 154.4 times,
making a total of 6,177 washes, using
576.41 million gallons of water,
amounting to 1.409 per cent of the
water filtered. The rate of filtration
has varied during the year from a
maximum of 117.6 million gallons per
day to a minimum of 67.4, the aver-
age for the year being 87.50 million
gallons per acre per day. The maxi-
mum run of a filter was 169.08 hours,
filtering 21.50 million gallons; the
minimum was 12.50 hours, filtering
1.48 million gallons; the average
being 57.90 hours, and filtering 6.69
million gallons.

The 40 filters were continually in
service, except for short periods when
minor repairs were being made. The
rate of washing filters has not been
changed throughout the past year,
and is at the rate of 15 gallons per
square ft. per minute. By washing at
this rate there has been no noticeable
change in the size and number of mud
balls. Once each month a '4 -inch
screen is pulled through one section
of each half of filter when washed,
then mud balls are counted, and in
this way a good check is kept on con-
ditions of sand bed.

rr liter rr vi m^

Water Wastes, Meters and Rates at Baltimore

A Comprehensive Study and Analysis Based on Surveys Covering

Present Conditions, Anticipated Results, Financing Problems and

Installation Details in a Review Presented to the Engineers*

Club of Baltimore, March 28, 1923

By V. BERNARD SIEMS, C. E.,

Associate Civil En^neer. Water Department, Baltimore. Md.

Published Serially in Engineering and Contracting
Part II — Meters, Rates, Comparisons and Costs

Meters may be divided into two
types, positive displacement meters,
in which the volume of water is
actually measured, and inferential
meters, in which the volume of water
is inferred from the velocity of the
current. The various disc meters
represent the first type. The meter
usually consists of the main casting
or housing, having inlet and outlet
spuds, an inner chamber containing
the measuring chamber, the gear
train, and the register.

Current meters typify the class of
inferential meters. The volume of
water flowing through this tj'pe is
measured by its velocity, the water
flowing through a chamber wherein is
located a propeller, the latter revolv-
ing in proportion to the pitch of
blades and the velocity of the water.
The meter thus indicates velocity, ti.e
revolutions of the propeller being
transmitted to the dial by suitable
mechanism and the quantity of water
passing through the propeller cham-
ber thereby recorded. All types of
velocity meters are variations of this
principle, in some types, however, the
propeller being replaced by a turbine
shaped piston.

Another class of meter is the pro-
portional meter, whereby a large
volume of water flowing at a rela-
tively high velocity is measured by a
disc meter placed on a bypass. Within
certain limits the flow of water
through the bypass ^^-ill be a fixed
percentage of that through the main,
and by a suitable arrangement of
gears the register of the meter indi-
cates the total quantity of water.

Combinations of large and small
rneters are also manufactured to pro-
vide an efficient unit to measure nor-
mal small flows and also unusually
large drafts. These compound meters
are merely combinations of current
meters and positive displacement me-

ters, the former for measuring large
flows, the latter to indicate the small
draws, the displacement meter of the
disc type, being placed on a bypass
with a controlling valve in the main
line so constructed as to remain closed
normally, and to open automatically
only for large flows. That is, the disc
meter always records but when the
volume being drawn is too great the
larger current meter becomes opera-
tive through the opening of the by-
pass valve. The efficiency of a com-
pound meter depends entirely upon
this controlling valve, for if the valve
does not respond quickly and mucn
water is drawn at a rate varying
about this transitional point, the me-
ter will not register correctly.

Costs of Meter Installation. — The
various sizes and combinations of the
different tjiies of meters provide ac-
curate and flexible instruments to
efficiently record most any type of
water consumption. From data avail-
able in the Engineering and Construc-
tion Di\'ision of the Water Depart-
ment it is computed that a foreman
and four men can install four %-in.
meters per day (outside vault instal-
lation) in isolated locations at a cost
of S23.00 per meter, comprising the
following items:

Meter

1 '"^-in. meter

2 Valves $1.46

$9.45

Connections: 2 %-in. Ells .15

7 ft. %-in. Wrought

Iron Pipe .58

$2.19. say 2.20
Meter Vanlt: Frame and Cover ..$2.50
Armco or Terra

Cotta Pipe ._... 2.50 5.00

Total Materials $16.65

-$ 4.00

Labor Cost

Depreciation on tools 5 per cent
of labor .20

Overhead 10 \>er cent

$20.85
2.08

$22.93
say. $23.00

552

Water Works

Sept.

Whereas in locations where there
are a number of meters to be placed
in the same vicinity (100 per cent me-
tering system), a water pipe con-
struction foreman with from four to
six laborers can install from seven to
ten meters (outside vault installa-
tion) per day, the cost per meter in-
stallation being as follows:

Materials $ 16.60

Labor Cost — _ 3.00

Depreciation on tools 5 per cent
of labor 15

$19.80
Overhead 10 per cent. 1.98

$21.78

$22.00

In the writer's "Investigation of
the Water Supply Improvements for
Greater Baltimore (December, 1919 ».
it was estimated that seventy per
cent of the %-in., %-in., l^^-in. and
2-in. meters could be installed inside
of the building and thirty per cent in
the sidewalk near the curb. Refer-
ence is here made to prevailing con-
ditions in most old sections of Balti-
more where the building wall of the

houses coincide with the building line
of the public highway.

The estimated cost for installing a
%-in. meter inside of the building
wall is as follows:

1 %-in. meter

Meter 2 Valves $1.46

Connec 2 %-ln. Ells 15

tions: 4 ft. %-in. Pipe 33

$9.45

$1.94, say 1.95

$11.40

Labor $ 1.75

Depreciation on tools 5

per cent of labor 09

$13.24
Overhead 10 per cent 1.32

$14.56
say, $16.00

Cost of Meter Installations (Jan-
uary, 1922) 100 Per Cent Metered
System. — The following gives the
total cost of installation on a 100 per
cent metered system, the number and
size of water supply service connec-
tions in January, 1922, as given in
"Recommended Schedule of Rates for
the Water Department of the City of
Baltimore" being used as a basis:

%-in. meter at a total cost of $15.00 (inside,
total cost of installation, respectivelv.
134.292— %-in. @ $9.45 per meter"
plus labor, etc. —

(Inside) 94.004.4

(Outside) 40.287.6

70 per cent) and $22.00 (outside 30 per cent)-

$15.00 = $1,410,066.00
22.00 = 886.327.20

227-

(Inside)
(Outside)

-%-in. @ $14.18 per meter
plus labor, etc. —

193.9 @ $20.00 =
83.1 @ 30.00 =

706 — 1-in. @ $20.79 per meter
plus labor, etc. —

(Inside)

( Outside)

277.0

492.2 (
211.8 I

706.0

1,523 — 1%-in. @ $38.00 per meter
plus labor, etc. —

(Inside) 1,066.1

(Outside) 456.8

2-in. meter @ $57.00 per
meter plus labor, etc. —

1,528.0

(Inside) ..
(Outside)

Complete Cost of Installation of

Private Fire Protection Supplies: —

119— 8-in. meters— $ 91.80 plus labor, etc.

223 — 4-in. meters —

351 — 6-in. meters —

35 — 8-in. meters —

14 — 10-in, meters —

2 — 12-in. meters —

$25.00
35.00

$45.00
60.00

$65.00
) 80.00

$3,876.00
2,493.00

$12,355.00
7.413.00

$47,974.50
27.414.00

$2,296,393.20

6,871.00

19,768.00

75,388.50

$2,397,920.70

158.00 plus labor, etc.... —

306.00 plus labor, etc

702.00 plus labor, etc

936.00 plus labor, etc

1,425.00 plus labor, etc

..$ 185.00
.. 275.00
.. 465.00
.. 920.00
.. 1,200.00
.. 1,800.00

say,

$ 22,015.00

61.325.00

163.215.00

32.200.00

16.800.00

3.600.00

$299,155.00

$2,400,000.00

300,000.00

Total $2,700,000.00

i^'za

water worKs

Meter Repairing. — The present me-
ter repair shop occupies a corner of
the Water Department machine shop,
being merely a space about fifteen
feet wide and twice as long. The
equipment here is rather simple, con-
sisting of a meter testing bench with
tank and scale for meters varying
from % in. to 2 in. in size, a testing
bench for 3 in. and 4 in. meters and

General Arrangement of Standard Water Meter
Setting — City of Baltimore, Water Department.

the necessary work tables and cab-
inets.

Small meters, tested and ready for
installation, are stored in a balcony
over the shop, larger sizes being
placed on the floor in portions of the
adjoining shop. On account of lack
of space large meters are kept in an
open shed in the yard. Meter parts
required in repair work are under the
jurisdiction of the Water Department
Storekeeper, and located in another
building because of insufficient room.
Due to this arrangement time is lost
in securing material.

Despite the simplicity and inade-
quacy of the present arrangements,
all of the meters now used in the city,
varying from % in. to 6 in. in size,
are here repaired and tested. In con-
nection with the extension of metered
water supply services, however,
whether on a partially or universally
metered basis, it will be necessary to
reorganize and enlarge the present
equipment.

Features of an Efficient Meter
Shop. — It would perhaps be more ad-
vantageous to design and erect a
building arranged primarily for the
efficient testing and handling of me-
ters rather than to modify an ideal
arrangement so as to conform to the

limited space now available. The
design of this building should be such
as to permit a logical progression of
events to occur in the simplest and
quickest order.

To begin with, there should be a
receiving platform with a chain fall
on overhead tracks, these tracks to
run throughout the shop over the
course to be taken by the meter from
its arrival to its final shipment to the
consumer. At this platform should
be stationed a stock clerk, who, after
making a record of all the details re-
quired for identification, forwards the
meter to the space equipped for clean-
ing, scraping and, if necessary,
painting. Here should be located the
acid tanks for the cleaning of bronze
parts, and benches where the meter
may be taken apart and cleaned.

Further on sho.uld be located repair
benches capable of holding several
meters. Still further on should be
placed the testing benches, then
equipment for painting, and finally an
adequate storage space for all sized
meters. In conjunction with this, of
course, it will be necessary that a
completely equipped office be estab-
lished. It is also desirable that a
stock room be located immediately ad-

, SMltaplKorGnxtxl U'

Moonote Fnamc* Cover

. GoNooizad ttmtifit iTyi
Ltod Lined npa

Detail of Standard Water Meter Setting — City
of Baltimore, Water Department.

joining the repair benches. Miscel-
laneous equipment, such as a lathe,
drill press and emery wheel should
also be included.

In the basement should be located
a 10,000 gallon capacity tank on a
platform scale — ^the beam being on
the upper floor — and storage space
for small meters and bins for salable
scrap, such as bronze and hard
rubber.

For a distribution system compris-

554

Water Works

Sept.

ing 50,000 meters, two repair men
would be sufficient, an additional
workman to be added for each incre-
ment of 50,000 meters, that is, the
force should be doubled when a total
of 150,000 meters are in service. For
100,000 meters there should be a
single and a multiple meter testing
bench, the latter to be used for new
meters only. For 150,000 meters an
additional single testing bench should
be secured. Each bench is to have
its individual scale and tank, the
benches to be for meters from % in,
to 2 in. in size, as these sizes are
greatly in the majority. There
should, however, be facilities for test-
ing meters from 3 in. to 6 in. in size
and also a testing bench for meters 8
in. to 12 in.

Plans have already been completed
for the erection of a modem meter
testing shop on spsfce now available
in the Gay Street Yards. This pro-
posed building will not only overcome
the deficiencies of the present equip-

ment but will also embody the salient
features of the meter testing equip-
ment of the most progressive private
water companies.

Cost of Repairing and Testing
Meters. — The total estimated cost of
repairing meters is approximately
$45,000.00 for the 155,006 services
($7,334.00 for the present 17,464
metered water supply services rang-
ing in size from % in. to 6 in., and
$38,547.20 for 137,542 unmetered
water supply services ranging in sizes
from % in. to 12 in.). We have found
it more economical on small meters to
replace and send them to the testing
station for repairs, although minor
repairs on all sizes are usually made
with the meter in position. With the
present system of making connection
from service pipe to meter the meter
can be readily removed and replaced.
This is true only of % in., % in., 1 in.
and IVz in. meters. On compound
meters of a special type it is possible
to remove one unit for repair, regis-

Table IX — Table of Consumption of Water by Meters of Consumers Using 2,250,000 Gallons
(300,000 Cu. Ft.) or Over for Year (Year 1919)
Low service :

Av. Daily

Consumption

Through

Av. Yearly Average Av. Daily Each

No. of Total Consumption Daily Consumption Water

No. of Water Yearly for Each Consumption for Each Supply

Con- Service Consumption Consumer

sumei

Industrial Plants 147

Manufacturing of Food

Products 56

Sales of Commodities

Stores 19

Apartment Hotels,
Hotels 59

(300 Days) Consumer Service

281
Middle service:

Industrial Plants 27

Manufacturing of Food

Products 18

Apartment Hotels,
Hotels 24

69
High service:

Industrial Plants 1

Apartment Hotels,
Hotels 2

luppl
198

ies in Gal.
2,766,897,'000

in Gal.

18,822,000

in Gal.
9,222,990

in Gal.
62,740

in Gal.

46,581

806.532,000

14,402,000

2,688,440

48,000

38,406

316,869,000

16,677,000

1,056,230

55,590

48,010

828,952,000

14,050,000

2,763,180

46,830

35,885

367

4,719,250,000

15,730,840

431,170,000

16,000,000

1,437,230

53.330

49,560

429,556.000

23,864,000

1,431,850

79,550

49,374

319,506,000

13,313,000

1,065,020

44,370

23,154

104

1,180,232.000

3,934,100

8,017,000

8,017.000

26,720

5.605,000

2.753,000

18,350
45,070

9,180

13.522.000

Total average daily water consumption through 4.187 meters year 1919 21,897,309 gallons

19.710.010 gallons

Total average daily water consumption through 474 meters year 1919 )

For consumers using 2.250.000 gal. (300.000 cu. ft.) per year or over

cut

Total average daily water consumption through 3.713 meters year 1919

For consumers using less than 2.250.000 gal. per year J

cut 2,187,299 gallons

Average number of gallons per day passing through meters of consumers

using 2,250,000 gal. (300,000 cu. ft.) or over for year 43,780 gallons

Average number of gallons per day passing through meters of consumers

using less than 2,250,000 gal. per year 590 gallons

Average number of gallons per day passing through meters of industrial

plants using 2,250.000 gal. or over per year 61.068 gallons

Total number of water supply services year ending Dec. 30, 1919 140.000 (approx.)

3 Per C!ent of Water Supply Services Metered.

1923

Water Works

555

tration being continued by the second
meter. In some instances duplicate
installations are made on the water
supply service pipe so as to give un-
interrupted service in the case of nec-
essary repairs.

The following gives the present
cost of, and the forces employed in,
repairing meters and assisting in the
reading and installing of new meters
on application:

Field work:
Junior Civil Engineer in charge of

testing meters $ 1,600.00

2 Water Meter Repairmen at 72c hr.

(8-hr. day) _. 3.456.00

2 Laborers at 40c hr. (8-hr. day) 1,920.00

2 Auto Trucks (1-ton capacity) 76c

hr. (8-hr. day) 3,600.00

Testing station :

1 Meter Repairman at 72c hr. (8-hr.

day) _ _ 1,728.00

2 Laborers at 40c hr. (8-hr. day) 1,920.00

Total labor for meters in sizes % in.

to 6 in.

..$14,224.00
Cost of material for repairing 1,500

meters of the 17,464 total at present 4,500,00

Total present repair cost per year....$l 8,724.00

The present labor and material cost

per meter per year is $1,072 ($0,814
for labor and $0,258 for material).
The labor cost is excessive as these
same forces can take care of three
times the present number of meters
or about 50,000 meters at the same
cost, e. g.j'one Junior Civil Engineer
in Charge of Testing Meters can care
for 155,000 meters. The Old City dis-
tricts, New Annex and counties re-
quire an- organization at the costs
given. It would be more economical,
therefore, to enlarge the number of
meters, as at the present time, Jan-
uary 1, 1923, they aggregate approx-
imately 22,000, the same forces taking
care of them.

The average cost of repairs per
year for a % in. meter in service
twenty years (original cost $7.50 to
$7.90) has been from $0.18 to $0.32;
or $0.03 to $0.04 per 1000 cubic feet
of water registered; on a % in. meter
(original cost $11.25 to $14.25) in
service twenty years, from $0.26 to
$0.67, or $0.0052 to $0.0195 per 1000
cubic feet of water registered; and on

Table X — Maintenance of Meters and Supplies of Varioos Sizes (Based on Usefnl Life of 20 Years)

Yearly Aver.

Unit Yearly

Mainte- Unit Cost

nanoe of Labor

Depreciation Total Average

Charse for and

Per Y'ear ToUl Yearly Yearly Cost

Number of

Metered Water

Water Material

Determined Maintenance of Labor

Water Supply

Supply Senrices

Supply for

Straieht Charge for and Material

Services

Size of Size of

Service Meter

Cost of

Line Water Supply for Repair-

January, 1922

Pipe Meter

Pipe Repairs

Meter

Method Service Pipes ing Meiers

(1)

(2)

(•■!) (4)

(5)

(6) (7) (8)

7 = 1x3 8 = 1x4

UNMETERED

Discs:

134,292 .._ % in. % in. $1.25 $ .25 $ 9.45 $ .47 $167,865.00 $33,573.00

277 1 in. % in. 1.40 .35 14.18 .71 387,80 96.95

706 - _..1% in. 1 in. 1.55 .50 20.79 1.04' 1,094.30 353.00

1,523 2 in. 1% in. 1.70 .90 38.00 1.90 2,589.10 1,370.70

0 3 in. 2 in. 1.95 1.35 57.00 2.85

Comp. or Similar :

119 4 in. 3 in. 2.25 2.15 91.80 4.59 267.75 255.85

223 6 in. 4 in. 2.60 3.65 153.00 7.65 579.80 813.95

351 8 in. 6 in. 3.05 7.50 306.00 15.30 1,070.55 2,632.50

35 10 in. 8 in. 3.60 17.00 702.00 35.10 126.00 595.00

14 12 in. 10 in. 4.25 22.50 936.00 46.00 59.50 315.00

2 14 in. 12 in. 5.00 32.50 1,425.00 70.70 10.00 65.00

137,542 Total $174,049.80 $40,070.95

METERED
Discs :

12,365 % in. % in. $1.25 $ .25 $ 9.45 $ .47 $ 15,456.25 $ 3,091.25

2,460 1 in. % in. 1.40 .35 14.18 .71 3,444.00 861.00

982 1% in. 1 in. 1.55 .50 20.79 1.04 1,522.10 481.00

440 2 in. 1% in. 1.70 .90 38.00 1.90 748.00 396.00

Comp. or Similar :

547 3 in. 2 in. 1.95 1.35 57.00 2.85 1,066.65 738.45

396 4 in. 3 in. 2.25 2.15 91.80 4.59 891.00 851.00

202 6 in. 4 in. 2.60 3.65 153.00 7.65 525.20 737.30

72 8 in. 6 in. 3.05 7.50 306.00 15.30 219.60 540.00

t7.464 $ 23,872.80 $ 7,706.40

155,006 Grand Total $197,921.60 $47,777.35

Say $198,000.00 $52,650.00

Columns 3. 4, 7 and 8 are embodied in the consumers' charge, which is 25 per cent of the

fixed service charge. The fixed service charge equals the capacity or readiness to serve charge

(75 per cent) plus consumers' charge (25 per cent), or 40 per cent of the general water service

revenue.

556

Water Works

Sept.

a 1 in. meter (original cost $15.00 to
$19.80) twenty years in service $0.26
to $0.41, or an average of $0.0073 to
$0,011 per 1000 cubic feet registered.

Table No. 10 shows the cost of labor
and materials for repairing, based on
life of twenty years.

The total cost of labor and material
for the average yearly repairing of
meters is $52,650.00 or $0.34 per year
per meter. According to statistics
collected on various makes of meters
and covering a period of twenty years,
approximately ten per cent, or 15,000
meters, per year of the total of 155,-
006 metered services (100 per cent
metering) will require repairs at an
average cost of $3.50 per meter or
$52,500.00, which almost equals the
total estimated for repairs. An im-
portant consideration in this estimate
is that only about four standard
makes of meters will be used (in pri-
vate water companies one standard
make is used, which is preferable),
these four types to be zoned, one cer-
tain section of the City using one
specified type of meter. By this
means the district meter repair men
will become experts on one type,
thereby increasing their efficiency.
Another advantage will be a decrease
in the multiplicity of repair parts,
and a marked decrease in operating
cost and repair cost will be experi-
enced if this is made an established
practice.

The following organization is nec-
essary for repairing meters by the
Engineering and Construction Divi-
sion of the Water Department with
a completely metered system:

Shoi) meter testintj station :

Junior Civil Engineer — meters $ 1,800,00

1 Water Meter liepairnian at 72c hr.

(8-hr. day) 1,728.00

1 Water Meter Tester (Engineering

Aid) 1,300.00

2. Water Meter Repairmen at 64c hr.

(8-hr. (lay) 3.072.00

:! Water Meter Repairmenhelpers at

lOc hr. (8-hr. day) 2.880.00

Field work :

2 Water Meter Repairmen at 72c hr.

(8-hr. day) 3,456.00

"> Water Meter Repairmen at 64c hr.

(8-hr. day) 4,608.00

5 Water Meter Repairmen helpers at

40c hr. (8-hr. day) 4,800.00

5 Auto Ti-ucks at 75c hr. (8-hr. day) 9,000.00

Total cost of labor for repairing

meters (155,000) $32,644.00

Say $32,650.00

The City of Detroit ha.s sixteen
water meter repairmen receiving
$0.55 per hour, whereas in the City of
Baltimore eight meter repairmen at
$0.64 to $0.72 per hour will be used.

Meter repairmen should be men spe-
cially trained in the work, our present
men being occasionally sent to meter
plants for instruction.

An assumption of 15,000 meters to
repair per year, or 50 per day on a
basis of 300 working days, requires
that on an average each field water
meter repairman has to remove and
replace 10 meters per day and make
minor repairs, and that each shop
water meter repairman repair 16 or
17 meters per day. This is good effi-
ciency and is paralleled by our pres-
ent system. Meters should be tested
every two years if possible; this
makes an added cost with the present
organization, but is necessary to give
the maximum registration and
revenue.

History of Certain Old Meters. — In
1902, twenty years ago, the first % in.
disc meter of a certain type was in-
stalled. Records of the first five
installations show that these meters^
cost $7.50 each, or $37.50 for the
group. In their twenty years of serv-
ice those meters have registered
almost a half million cubic feet of
water and have cost $17.95 for re-
pairs, or an average repair cost of
less than $0.18 per meter per year,
and an average cost of repairs per
thousand cubic feet registered of ap-
proximately $0,035. A % in. meter
installed in May, 1901, almost twenty-
two years ago, has registered 92,000
cubic feet and has cost but $2.60, or
less than $0.12 per year for repairs,
while another % in. meter installed
in October, 1898, over twenty-four
years ago, has registered 73,000 cubic
feet and has cost but $3.55, or less
than $0.15 per year for repairs. A %
in. disc meter, similar to the tjrpe
which we propose to install, installed
in April, 1899, almost twenty-four
years ago, has registered 226,000
cubic feet and has cost but $6.30, or
$0.26 per year in repairs, or less than
$0.03 per thousand cubic feet reg-
istered.

These figures conclusively show
that the repair costs of meters is not
high and we have, moreover, not
given figures for large sized meters,
where the repair costs are always
lower, but have purposely limited the
examples to the small meters of the
type which will be installed in the
average residence.

Meter Reading. — During the past
year the Meter Account Subdivision
(for Old City) employed four readers,
the bills being rendered quarterly,

1923

Water Works

567

readings being made in March, June,
September, and December. As these
four men read but 4,000 meters quar-
terly, or 1,000 meters per man per
year, at first glance it would appear
that any increase in the number of
meters would proportionately increase
the number of meter readers. This,
however, is entirely wrong, as several
factors enter into the problem. The
present routes for a meter reader
vary from six to thirty-three miles
in extent; some of the assignments
being composed of a comparatively
few locations very widely scattered,
causing much loss in time and natur-
ally increasing the cost of each" read.
If universal, or practically universal,
metering is adopted the Department's
problem of reading is immediately
placed on a par with that of the Gas
Company. The meters would be im-
mediately adjoining, as every prop-
erty would be metered, and instead of
reading one meter in this block, two
meters, say, in the next block and
then proceeding some six or seven
blocks away to read the fourth one,
and continuing this procedure all day
long, it would merely be a matter of
going from door to door.

The present read lasts about two
weeks each quarter, i. e., each man
reads about 500 meters a week. The
remainder of the time between the
quarterly readings is spent on in-
specting services and miscellaneous
landred duties. If, however, this as-
sociate work were transferred to men
employed thereon continually, say two
or three additional men, the meter
readers could be continually assigned
to the actual work of reading. If this
were done the reader would in the
course of a year — based upon an aver-
age of 150 meters a day — make 45,000
readings a year, or sixteen men could
care for the entire system. To permit
of such an arrangement under the
present system, it has been decided
to divide the entire city into sections.
A new series of quarters would then
begin, perhaps every two weeks. For
instance, in a certain portion of the
dty the quarters would be March 1st,
June 1st, September 1st, and Decem-
ber 1st, the second series March 15th,
June 15th, September 15th and De-
cember 15th, the third would be April
1st, July 1st, October 1st and Jan-
uary 1st, and larger intervals between
the quarters, but the principle thereof
IS seen, i. e., to permit continuous
reading.

The present cost of reading 17,464

meters (January, 1922) varying in
size from % in. to 12 in. is $0.66 per
meter per year, or S0.165 per meter
per read. This includes 12,899 meters
from ^ in. to 6 in. belonging to the
former private water companies, and
4,565 meters % in. to 12 in. on the
City's distribution system:

4 Water Meter Readers at $1,200 per

annum 4 4,800.00

4 Water Meter Readers Helpers at

3714c hr. (8-hr. day) 3.600.00

2 Autos at 65c per hr. (8-hr. day) 3,120.00

Total

$11,520.00

Two of these Water Meter Readers
assist in the recording and computing
of the City meter accoimts. The cost
of reading water meters only is ex-
cessive in that the water meter read-
ers assist in the computing of
charges, make inspections and must
travel long distances from meter to
meter when on the quarterly read.
The cost of reading meters on a one
hundred per cent metered system will
be very much less and will be some-
what comparable with the district in
the former private water companies'
territories.

On a cloudy day in the Towson dis-
trict (system 100 per cent metered)
of the former Baltimore County
Water &. Electric Company, 330
meters were read at a cost of $17.58
per day, or a cost per reading of
S0.0533, or $0.2132 per year per
meter. In the Govans district on a
clear day 690 meters were read at a
cost per day of S17.58, or a cost per
reading of $0.0255, or $0.1020 per
year per meter. These meter readers
do not assist in the computing of
charges for the billing of consumers.

It is possible to say that, for a con-
servative estimate, the cost of reading
meters on a one hundred per cent,
metered distribution system will be
S0.0455 per meter read, or $0.1935 per
meter per year for 155,006 metered
water supply sei-vices. Meters will be
read according to size, that is, % in.,
% in., 1 in. and 1^ in. meters will be
read in quarterly periods; 2 in., 3 in.
and 4 in. meters will be read monthly;
and 6 in., 8 in., 10 in. and 12 in.
meters, weekly. There were (Jan-
uary, 1922) 136,798 supplies to be
metered and 16,247 metered supplies,
or 153,045 meters to be read in quar-
terly periods (four times a year or
612,180 meter readings); 342 un-
metered supplies to be metered and
1,145 metered supplies, or 1,487 me-
ters to be read in monthly periods (12

558

Water Works

Sept.

times a year or 17,844 readings); and
402 unmetered supplies to be metered
and 72 metered supplies, or 474 me-
ters to be read in weekly periods (52
times a year or 24,648 readings).
The estimated grand total number of
meters to be read in one year (1922,
January) is 654,672, or in round num-
bers 660,000 to be read in 300 working
days.

There were (January, 1922) 134,292
% in., 277 % in., 706 1 in., 1,523 11/2
in., 119 3 in., 223 4 in., 351 6 in., 35
8 in., 14 10 in. and 2 12 in. unmetered
fire protection supplies; the sizes of
the metered supplies being: 12,365
% in., 2,460 % in., 982 1 in., 440 IV2
in., 547 2 in., 396 3 in., 202 4 in. and
72 6 in., respectively, or a total of
155,006 supplies (137,542 unmetered
and 17,464 metered).

A conservative assumption of 150
meters to be read per day per reader
will require sixteen meter readers.
This corresponds to conditions in De-
troit, Mich., where the water system
is one hundred per cent metered.

The cost of meter reading is as
follows:

16 Water Meter Readers at $1,200

per annum $19,200.00

6 Water Meter Reader Helpers at

35c per hr. (8-hr. day) 5,040.00

3 Autos at 65c per hr. (8-hr. day).. 4,680.00

Total $28,920.00

Say, $30,000.00 or $3'0,000.00 = $0.0455 per

660,000
meter per read, or

$30,000 = $0.1935 per meter per year.

1 55,066

There will be no office work for
meter readers as this is to be handled
independently (see cost of billing and
collecting).

The above figures show that with a
one hundred per cent metered dis-
tribution system the cost per meter
per read will be considerably less in
that more meters will be read in a
day and the distance between meters
will be from 12 to 100 feet. The diffi-
culties encountered in reading a water
meter are very much greater than
those of reading a gas meter, as out-
side vaults often become filled with
surface water or other debris. In the
suburban districts it will be necessary
to place the water meter on the side-
walk for, as a rule, the dwelling
houses are set back a considerable dis-
tance from the building line of the
highway. The cost of reading meters
in such instances will probably be a
little greater than the cost of reading
in the congested residential section

where the meters are inside of the
building wall.

Should a good type of meter man-
hole construction be used — the esti-
mated cost is based on such construc-
tion— and the vault tops be nearly
water tight to prevent the entrance
of surface water, and of a nature to
prevent freezing; the cost of reading
will approximate to that of reading
meters inside of dwellings. The esti-
mated cost for the reading of meters,
exclusive of accounts, collections, etc.,
on a one hundred per cent metered
system (155,006 water supply services
January, 1922), that is, reading 660,-
000 in 300 days, will be $30,000.00 per
annum, or $0.0455 per meter per read
and $0.1935 per meter per year. The
present cost of house to house inspec-
tions is $15,000.00 per annum which
will be discontinued upon the installa-
tion of a completely metered system,
and, therefore there is only an addi-
tional cost of $15,000.00 to be charged
against reading meters.

Billing and Collecting. — The follow-
ing gives the present cost of billing
and collecting for 155,006 metered and
flat rate services — 17,464 metered ac-
counts and 137,542 flat rate accounts:

Office of collector of water rent.s and licenses:

Salaries $46,600.00

Expenses 9.000.00

Total ;■ $55,600.00

Engineerinsr and construction di-
vision— water department :
Salaries — •
Principal Meter Clerk $ 1,800.00

1 Clerk 1,100.00

2 Cleiks (Water Meter
Readers) 2,400.00

1 Typist 1,000.00

$ 6,300.00
100,00

Expenses

6.400.00

Total $62,000.00

or a total cost for both the offices of the Col-
lector of Water Rents and Licenses and the
Engineering and Construction Division, Water
Department for metered and flat rate accounts
of $62,000.00. The present cost of accounting,
billing and collecting is $0,402 per service per
year.

By using modern billing machines
and other work-saving office equip-
ment, the following employees will be
required on a 100 per cent metered
system :

Water Rent Collector (under Dept.
of Finance City Charter) $ 3,500.00

Principal Meter Clerk (E. & C. Div.,

Water Dopt.) 2,500.00

6 lA'dger Clerks, handling 2,400 ac-
counts per day. or 400 accounts per
day each, and 55 per hour, at
$1.. 500.00 each (E. & C. Div.,
Water Dept.) 9,000.00

4 Billing Machine Operators (Typist)

1923

Water Works

559

2,400 bills per day, oi- 600 each, or
90 per hour, at $1,200.00 each (E.
& C. Div., Water Dept.) 4.800.00

2 Addressograph Operators (Typist)
2,400 per day. or 1.200 each, or 180
per hear, at §1,000.000 each (E. &

C. Div.. Water Dept.) 2,000.00

3 Stencil Operators (stamp bills and
check computed accounts) 800 per
day. or 115 per hour, at $1,300.00

each (E. & C. Div.. Water Dept.) 3,900.00

4 Cashiers (alternate on balancing
and receiving cash) 600 accounts
per day, or 85 per hour, at
$1,500.00 each (Dept. of Finance) 6.000.00

4 Filing and Indexing Clerks and
determining inoperative meters. 600
per day each, or 85 per hour, at
$1,300.00 each (E. & C. Div.,
Water Dept.) 5.200.00

3 Bookkeepers, post up daily collec-
tions and review accounts and de-
linquent accounts. 800 per day. or
115 per hour, at $1,800.00 each
(Dept. of Finance) 5,400.00

2 Application Clerks (also to be em-
ployed to direct consumers about
complaints), at $1,300.00 each (E.
& C. Div.. Water Dept. or Dept. of
Finance) 2,600.00

Total $44.9'00.00

Present accounting and comemrcial
expense ($19,650.00) of Auditing
Division. Water Dept.. not consid-
ered, as this amount remains con-
stant.

Say. $45,000.00
Expenses — stationery, printing, de-
livering of bills, etc 17,000.00

Total $62.0-00.00

It is proposed that all of the billing,
preparation of accounts, etc., be taken
care of by the Principal Meter Clerk,
Engineering and Construction Divi-
.sion, Water Department; and that
collection only be handled by the De-
partment of Finance. The above
mentioned figures are comparable
with those of Detroit, Mich., where

the water distribution system is 98.5
per cent metered, with 156,632 rev-
enue producing water supply services.
The proposed cost of accounting,
billing and collecting for a completely
metered system is $0,094 per meter
per read or S0.40 per meter per year,
which is practically the same as for
the present metered and flat rate sys-
tem. Progressive meter reading will
— although the bills are rendered in
quarterly periods — allow the office
forces to perform a uniform amount
of work each day, and it will there-
fore require the same appropriation
as is now necessary.

Metering Private Fire Systems. —
For the past two years the Depart-
ment has followed the policy of
metering all private fire protection
supplies. Although there has been
intermittent opposition to this prac-
tice, the justice and advisability of
the theory is becoming more accept-
able to all concerned. All plants of
sufficient size to require a private fire
protection supply are usually large
enough to consume much water, which
is distributed through a rather intri-
cate system of piping. A source of
water which is not paid for and not
depleted by any previous drafts — as
is often the case with the domestic
supply — appears to be a constant in-
ducement for illegal or unauthorized
use. For instance, the outlets de-
signed to serve as hose connections in
case of fire are more often used as a
source of water for washing drive-
ways or yards. One large local cor-
poration illustrates this point, the

I Table XI — Comparison of Present Cost of Metered and Unmetered System With Estimated
Costs for 100 Per Cent Metered System
:

PRESENT COSTS

I Present cost of reading 17,464

meters _ _ $11,520.00

$0,660 per meter per year
$0,165 per meter per read

ESTIMATED COSTS

Estimated cost of reading 155,006

meters _ $30,000.fin

$0.1935 ijer meter per year
$0.0455 per meter per read

|Cost of present house to house in-
spection for eliminating leaking
fixtures 1 5.000.00

Present accounting and collecting .
costs for 17,464 metered supplies
and 136,798 flat rate accounts —
$0,402 per service per year 62,000.00

Present cost of repairing meters, in-
cluding labor and materials — 17,464 "
metered supplies — $1,072 per meter

per year

.... 18,724.00

Estimated cost of accounting and col-

lesting for 155,000 metered supplies 62.000. Oo
$0.40 per meter per year
$0,094 per meter per year

Estimated cost of repairing 155.006
meters, including labor and ma-
terial 52,650.00

$0.34 per meter per year

Total „ $107,244.00

Total $144,650.00

Added necessary expense to maintain a 100 per cent metered system against the present
(11 per cent +) metered and (89 per cent — ) flat rate system is $144,650.00 less $107,244.00.
which equals $37,406.00, or approximately $37,500.00.

560

Water Works

Sept.

sidewalks and streets adjoining its
property being washed every Satur-
day afternoon with water taken from
the fire supply. When one considers
that the water is allowed to flow some
two or three hours and the property
covers several city blocks, the quan-
tity of water so wasted is appreciated.
Sometimes it is a far simpler matter
to tap the fire line and run a connec-
tion therefrom, instead of extending
a line from the authorized supply.
Convincing arguments are also offered
to explain why so many interconnec-
tions exist between the domestic and
the fire supplies. One or more such
connections are necessary, legal and
justified, but they also offer a con-
stant inducement to reduce the meter
bill by leaving open a valve or two.

If, however, all water entering the
property is measured the Department
has no interest in the interior con-
nections, the only further interested
outside agencies being the Plumbing
Inspector and the Health Department,
the latter in order to discourage any
connection between the City distribu-
tion system and any piping convejdng
water from wells and sumps which
may be polluted.

Efficiency of a 100 Per Cent Me-
tered System. — When we consider the
operation of a water works utility to
obtain the efficiency thereof, we must
compare the records of a master
measuring device with the summation
of the records of all the smaller units,
the master meters being located at
the impounding works, filtration
plant, and the various pumping sta-
tions, the smaller units being on the
individual water supply service pipes.
By comparing a certain portion of the
water distribution system which is
secured from Venturi Meters placed
on the large feeder water mains with
the gross registration of all of the
metered services, the ratio of water
entering the section and of water
legitimately used is determined. In
other words, the efficiency of that par-
ticular section is quickly arrived at.

On a completely measured water
distribution system twenty per cent
of the water is usually unaccounted
for, that is, the system is eighty per
cent efficient. This unaccounted for
water includes the consumption of
municipal buildings, the Fire Depart-
ment, Street Cleaning Department
and water used in the paving of
streets, the installation of sanitary

sewers and storm water drains, and
miscellaneous uses, such as fountains
and horse troughs. With the exiSep-
tion of water secured from fire
hydrants for several purposes, all of
these demands could be measured by
the installation of meters so that the
only water unaccounted for would be
actual leakage, and the Department
would be constantly aware of the
amount of underground waste to be
eliminated.

At the present time the water dis-
tribution system of the City of Balti-
more is approximately 900 miles in
extent, which in conjunction with the
100 miles of water main formerly
belonging to the several private water
companies, gives a total extent of
1000 miles. As previously mentioned
the records of the pitometer survey
indicate that sixty per cent of the
leakage found is outside of the curb
stops and on the distribution system
proper. The remaining forty per cent
would be removed by the installation
of meters so that the percentage of
unaccounted for water would be di-
rectly dependent upon the rapidity of
the pitometer work and its decrease
would constantly allow the efficiency
of the system to approach one hun-
dred per cent. Our present records,
based upon a survey of over one-tenth
of the entire mileage of distribution
system indicate that four per cent of
the total water filtered each day is
lost through underground leakage.

Flat Rate Injustices. — ^It has been

repeatedly stated and admitted by
householders of all classes that the
present front footage water service
rates are unjust in that there is abso-
lutely no relationship between the
width of the dwelling and the amount
of water consumed. There are now
in certain of the older portions of the
city many large houses occupied by
only one family; these houses despite
the small number of occupants are,
because of their wide front footage,
assessed as great consumers of water
and a comparatively high water bill
is rendered. Upon the other hand,
every day more and more of the usual
three-story or sixteen-foot front
houses are being converted or adapted
for use as flats or apartments for two
or three families. Despite the large
number of occupants in this type of
house the water rent, because it Is
fixed upon the front footage, remains
unchanged, so that we have the para-
dox of a household of three or four

1923

Water Works

561

individuals paying $11.50 because
their property has a footage of seven-
teen feet, while the fifteen-foot house,
occupied by several families, con-
tinues to pay $7.50.

Innumerable examples of such ap-
parent discriminations can be cited
but everyone is familiar with this
condition, and if he possesses a sense
of justice, must admit the absolute
inadequacy of the present system of
water rates. It must be brought
home to the general public that an
adequate water supply is one of the
greatest essentials for the develop-
ment of any community; and that to
provide this a large investment for
impounding works, filtration works,
distribution system, etc., must be
made. Upon the cost of this eqmp-
ment, its operation and depreciation,
the rate charged for water service
must be based. The public is apt to
forget that the water furnished here
in Baltimore might almost be re-
garded as a manufactured product,
for it must be filtered, deodorized if
necessary, and all harmful bacteria
destroyed and they cannot expect to
continue to pay a nominal sum for a
service when they are securing not
only service, that is a supply of
potable water brought to their prem-
ises, but are buying a commodity each
unit of which costs a definite amount
to so deliver.

Gas and Water Metering Compared.

— Although at first the comparison
seems far-fetched, upon consideration
a complete analogy between the water
supply and the gas supply can be
established, and any argument in
favor of gas meters is equally ap-
plicable to the sale of water. Gas is
used everywhere as a source of heat
for preparing food, for illumination,
and in a lesser degree for heating.
As the volume used is measured, the
housewife is careful to use it only in
such quantities and as long as the
occasion demands, and then turns it
off. The fact that gas is compara-

tively costly does not prevent its use
for all legitimate purposes, and it
does prevent its waste. The oppo-
nents of water metering constantly
produce as a climax to their argu-
ments the statement that metering
\vill endanger the health of a commu-
nity as the use of the water for wash-
ing, bathing and all household pur-
poses will be rigidly curtailed. This
is untrue. It will limit the use of
water to necessary uses only, but will
also prevent the continuance of the
innumerable small house leaks which
now occur. The comparison which I
wish to make is that selling water on
a metered basis will no more cause
ill health through the excessive reduc-
tion of its use than does the sale of
gas on a metered basis cause cold and
unlighted homes and insufficiently
cooked food.

The Department's estimate that
universal metering will decrease the
consumption twenty per cent is based
upon the elimination of this house
waste and a somewhat curtailed use
of water. We have no desire to ham-
per in any manner the consumer's use
of water as we will gladly sell any
quantity he may desire, but we do
wish to discontinue the present prac-
tice of a householder paying merely a
nominal sum and then wasting water
worth several times the revenue
which we receive.

How Metering Will Affect Taxes. —

It is comparatively easy to conceive
in what manner a decrease in the
water consumption will decrease the
tax rate. The only thing necessary is
to follow the water from the im-
pounding dam at Loch Raven to the
Filtration Plant at Montebello, where
it is pumped, filtered and purified,
then to the various parts of the City
which require another pumping and
in some cases a re-pumping to a
higher level, and then after its use as
wash water; or perhaps merely as a
flow from a leaking spigot, its dis-
charge into the sewer system and

Table XII — Relation of Water and Tax Rates for Properties of Various Widths

Width of
Property
in Feet
cut

12 $1,600

Average

Assessed Present
Value of Tax

House

13
14
15
16
17

1,800
... 2.100
-„ 2,500
.... 3.000
-.. 3.500

Rate

$2.97
2.97
2.97
2.97
2.97
2.97

Total
Taxes

$47.52
53.46
62.37
74.25
89.10

103.95

Tax Rate
With Water

Dept. Self-
Sustaining

$2.82
2.82
2.82
2.82
2.82
2.82

Total
Taxes

$45.12
50.76
59.22
70.50
84.60
98.70

Present
Flat Rate Approx. Additional
Saving in Water Minimum Payment
Tax Rate Rent Charge Necessary

$2.40
2.70
3.15
3.75
4.50
5.25

$3.25
3.25
5.00
6.50
7.50
9.00

11.50

$12.50
12.50
12.50
12.50
12.50
12.50
12.50

-f $6.85

-f- 6.85

-I- 4.80

-f- 2.85

-{- 1.25

— 1.00

— 4.25

562 Water Works Sept.

then its final pumping to the Back the Department, considering a 30-gal-

River sewage disposal plant. Reduce Ion per capita consumption,

the initial quantity of water required It must be borne in mind that an

in the City a certain proportion and adjustment of the water rates is nec-

a corresponding proportion of the essary, even if the flat rate system is

expense of all the subsequent opera- maintained, if the Water Department

tions will follow. It is this reduc- be made self-sustaining. To retain

tion of operating expenses — ^together low rates on the smaller width houses

with the increased revenue of the and to increase the rental on the

Water Department and the corre- wider frontages would be inequitable

sponding elimination of an appropria- and create difficulties, as any con-

tion to make up the deficit now caused sumer can obtain an injunction to

by insufficient revenue — ^which will restrain the Water Department from

cause a decrease in the tax rate. charging inequitable and exorbitant

rates. This was recently done by

Metered System and Landlord and garage owners where flat rate charges

Tenant. — There has been much discus- were assessed, resulting in a decision

sion about the effect of a completely of the Water Board to meter all

metered system upon landlord and garages over 2,000 square feet in

tenant. A report of the Committee area,
on a Survey of Housing Conditions

dated March 1, 1921, gives the fol- Making the Water Department self-
lowing statistics concerning owned sustaining would decrease the tax
and rented houses: rate from $0.13 to $0.15, assuming

Vacant — •

Occupied Probably Total Percent of Homes

District by Owner Rented Rented Dwellings Owned Rented

Northern _.... 12,097 4,048 517 16,662 74.9 25.1

Northwestern 14,895 12,013 416 27,324 55.3 44.7

Northeastern 21.023 9,398 486 30,907 69.1 30.9

Eastern _ 13,106 4,361 237 17,704 75.0 25.0

Western „ 1,921 4,530 76 6,527 29.8 70.2

Central 1.929 2,103 113 4,145 47.8 52.2

Southern :... 5.486 5,975 141 11.602 47.9 52.1

Southwestern 9,969 6,587 284 16,840 60.2 39.8

Total 80,426 49,015 2,270 131,711 62.2 37.8

Of the total of 131,711 houses, $0.01 on the tax rate produces ap-
80,426 are occupied by the owner and proximately $70,000.00 revenue. At
51,285 are rented (49,015 plus 2,270 the present time consumers paying
vacine, presumed to be for rent). It water rents more than $12.50 are pay-
appears that consideration need only ing in their tax rate amounts to cover
be given the rented houses, as the the deficit in the Water Department
houses occupied by owners are not af- created by supplying properties pay-
fected. It is assumed that within a ing less than this rental. In 1922 this
year all adjustments between owner deficit amounted to approximately
and tenant can be made as to the $831,000.00. Table No. 12 shows the
legitimate use of water, for the expe- amount assessed as taxes on houses
rience of the private water companies from twelve to seventeen feet front
proved that this is an individual and the additional amount necessary
problem. should an approximate fixed rate of

XT 1.^ * J «r ^ .o . $12.50 be applied.

House I*rontages and Water Costs.

r»r> rt/j/./^TviK/^v Q1 1Q1Q 'i-Unv.^ -..r^-../^ (Part II will be continued in the Oct. 10

— Un December 31, 1919, there were Engineering and Contracting.)

according to the records of the Collec-
tor of Water Rents and Licenses,

27,659 12-ft. front houses, 19,746 13- Blasting Drilled Wells.— A pam-

ft., 30,027 14-ft., 17,088 15-ft., 8,966 P^et entitled "Blasting Drilled Wells

16-ft., and 4,610 17-ft. front houses, to Increase the Flow of Water," by

paying water rents of $3.25, $5.00, S. R. Russell, C. E., has just been

$6.50, $7.50, $9.00 and $11.50, respec- issued by E. I. du Pont de Nemour

tively, or a total of 108,096 houses & Co., Wilmington, Del. The pam-

paying a total of $645,666.25. Houses phlet embodies the result of studies

18-ft. and over in width will hardly made extending over a great number

pay more than the rate established by of years.

1923 Water Works 563

Comparison of Flood Control Measures

The Causes of Floods and Methods for Their Control Outlined in
Address Before American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science

By HARRY TAYLOR,

Brigadier-General, U. S. A., Assistant Chief of Engineers

It may be well to ask at the outset
what are the causes of floods ? The
answer is, briefly, abnormal rainfall.
This rainfall may be either in the
shape of what is popularly known as
a "cloudburst," such as occurred at
Pueblo, Colo., in June, 1921; in the
shape of heavy, long-continued rains,
such as produced the floods in the
lower Mississippi River in February
and March, 1922, or heavy rains fall-
ing on snow or frozen ground, such
as produced the floods which devas-
tated Dayton and other cities of Ohio
a few years ago.

Warm winds blowing on a heavy
blanket of snow may also produce a
serious flood. Floods of this charac-
ter are most common in the Pacific
Northwest where a warm southwest
wind, known as a "Chinook" wind, oc-
curs during the winter months and
causes the snow on the mountains to
melt with great rapidity.

The floods caused by the so-called
cloudburst are usually local in char-
acter and commonly occur on small
streams. Floods caused by long, heavy
rainfall usually cover a large territory
and it often happens that such rain-
fall will produce a flood in the main
stream when none of the tributaries
is subject to excessive flood. This oc-
curred recently in the lower Missis-
sippi, when that stream carried an
unusual flood, but all of the lower
tributaries carried moderate quotas.
The floods caused by rains falling on
snow or frozen ground generally af-
fect an area intermediate between the
other two types.

Little Thought Given to Control of
Floods. — Outside of the Mississippi
Valley the people of the United States
ordinarily give little thought to the
control of floods. It is only when
some serious flood occurs that atten-
tion is focused on the prevention of a
repetition of the disasters caused by
such flood, and then the matter is of
extreme interest for a short time, with
all sorts of remedies proposed. Day-
ton, O., is one exception.

It is characteristic of the American

people that when we suffer from any
cause such as a flood, a contagious
disease, or war, we are wildly enthu-
siastic for steps to prevent a repeti-
tion of the disaster, but as soon as the
time of stress has passed, we forget
that trouble has occurred and delay
taking the steps necessary to prevent
a repetition.

This is well illustrated by the pres-
ent attitude of the American people
toward the army. Five years ago
there was nothing too good for the
army. Today, many seem to desire
its absolute abolition, forgetting that
it is an insurance against trouble in
the future. I wish I could believe that
we will never be involved in another
war. I wish also that I could believe
that we will never have a disastrous
flood, but I am certain that floods
will come until we know how to con-
trol the distribution of rainfall, and I
am equally certain that the services
of the army will be required in the
future.

The control of floods appears to be
considered by the majority of our peo-
ple as a simple problem. It is true
that different people have different so-
lutions. The most common solutions
are reforestation, reservoirs at the
sources of streams, levees, outlets or
spillways, and straightening and en-
larging river beds. We frequently
have other solutions suggested, as for
example, one proposed to install boil-
ers on the banks of the Mississippi
River to evaporate the flood waters,
thus causing clouds to form and pro-
duce rain over the Middle West where
needed.

In the solutions proposed, the con-
trol of floods is quite commonly linked
with other beneficial effects, most com-
monly with waterpower development.
It is generally assumed that the same
work which will control floods will
produce power, improve navigation,
and provide drainage.

One very troublesome problem that
comes before the engineer department
is the problem of the Fox River and
Lake Winnebago, Wis. At the outlet

564

Water Works

Sept.

of Lake Winnebago are constructed
two dams with gates for controlling
the water outflow from this lake. The
lake is surrounded by flat land over
which the flowage rights were pur-
chased and paid for by the United
States some 50 years ago. Since that
time these lands have been sold and
the buyers in many cases have appar-
ently made their purchases unaware
of the rights of the government. In-
variably, during floods on this stream,
the people above the dams insist on
the gates being open so as to permit
the water to flow out rapidly; the peo-
ple below the dams insist on the gates
being closed so as to prevent the
water from coming down on them;
power interests on the lower river de-
sire to have the water retained and
released during periods of low water
for the purpose of developing addi-
tional power; for the benefit of navi-
gation, the flow should be as uniform
as possible.

With reference to reforestation. I
desire to say that I am a thorough
believer in a sensible and sane system
of reforestation. I believe that the
proper exploitation of our few remain-
ing forests and intelligent reforesta-
tion is one of the great needs of the
country. Reforestation has sufficient
merit in itself to stand on its own
feet and should not be confused with
flood control. The price of lumber
today is a sufficient argument for
planting trees without attempting to
associate forestry with the climate or
with flood conditions on our rivers.

Influence of Forests on Stream
Flow. — There appears to exist in the
public mind an impression that the
prime cause of floods in this country
has been the destruction of the for-
ests, and that the surest way to pre-
vent them is by reforestation. The
influence of forests on stream flow has
been extensively discussed both by
European and American engineers
since Gustave Wex, imperial and min-
isterial counselor and engineer of the
improvement of the Danube River at
Vienna in 1873 submitted a series of
papers on the decrease of water in
springs, creeks and rivers which were
translated into English by the late
General Weitzel, C. E,

There is a great diversity of opin-
ion on the subject, some maintaining
that the cutting of forests will ulti-
mately convert Europe into a Numid-
ian desert, while others claim that a
moderate cutting of the forests even

increases the rainfall. Whatever may
be the theoretical principles involved,
their practical application is fraught
with great difficulty.

When a country acquires a popula-
tion of 100,000,000 people, the forest
primeval which existed when it was
settled has to disappear. It is all
very well to bemoan the fact that if
the black walnut which once covered
the state of Ohio had not been de-
stroyed and was sold as lumber at the
present market rates, it would equal
the assessed valuation of the prop-
erty of the state, but there have now
been created the cities of Cleveland
and Cincinnati, whose people can not
live on black walnut alone, but re-
quire grain and meat. The black wal-
nut of Ohio has gone, never to return,
and the same is true of the forests in
other sections of the country.

The fertile lands will not be taken
away from the farmer. They are too
valuable for raising potatoes and
hogs. Only the poorer soils can be
used for forest culture, and only a
limited reforestation, then, is pos-
sible.

The effect of forests on rainfall in
Europe has been carefully investi-
gated and the records at many Euro-
pean localities, where the rain has
been recorded for long periods, fail
to show any tendency to a pronounced
change of fall in recent years.

The Merrimack River Studies. — The
meteorological records of the United
States have not been maintained a
sufficient length of time to be of much
value in solving the problem. The
best existing data in this country of
which I am aware are those for the
Merrimack River, on which a daily
record of the stage of the river has
been observed since 1849, on a gauge
established below the dam at Law-
rence, Mass. An exhaustive study of
this stream was made about 12 years
ago by Col. Edward Burr, C. E., and
a report submitted by him which is
published as a government document.
Colonel Burr's conclusions as summar-
ized for the basin of the Merrimack
River were as follows:

"Deforestation of the basin contin-
ued progressively from the early set-
tlements until about 1860-1870, and
since that period forested areas have
increased through natural causes by
25 per cent or more of the entire
basin, notwithstanding the continu-
ance of lumbering operations.
"There has been no decrease in pre-

1923

Water Works

565

cipitation in the basin as a result of
deforestation or any increase with the
reforestation of 25 per cent or more
of its area. The precipitation for 50
to 90 years at points within the basin
or within a few miles of its borders
shows tendencies, or cycles, that bear
no relation to the change in forest
areas.

"The average run-off through the
river varies with the precipitation
over its basin, and the percentage of
run-off to precipitation is not appre-
ciably affected by forest changes as
great as 25 per cent or more of the
basin. The frequency of floods has
not been decreased by reforestation
or increased by deforestation.

"Exceptionally high floods have oc-
curred at intervals without respect to
forest conditions. Flood heights have
not been decreased by forestation or
increased by deforestation, and the
principal characteristics of floods are
unaffected by forest changes. The
duration of flood stages and the
amount of run-off during such stages
have not been affected adversely by
deforestation or beneficially by re-
forestation.

"Deforestation has not lessened the
height of the river at low water or
increased the duration of low-water
periods, and the reforestation of 25
per cent or more of the basin has not
had any beneficial effect on low stages
of the river.

"Variations in stream flow are de-
termined essentially by variations in
climatic conditions which move in ir-
regular cycles independent of forest
changes. Correct deductions as to
climatic variations and as to varying
conditions of stream flow may be ex-
pected only from the analysis of sat-
isfactory records covering periods of
60 years or more, and conclusions
drawn from records extending
through 40 years or less may, and
probably will, be misleading or incor-
rect."

Reforestation as a Means of Reduc-
ing Flood Heights. — The greatest
flood of the Mississippi at St. Louis
occurred in 1844; the next largest in
1875. On the Great Lakes the high
water of 1838 is the greatest on rec-
ord. On the Ohio, the flood of 1884
exceeded that of 1913 at Cincinnati;
and that of 1832, while 5 ft. lower at
Cincinnati, was 5 ft, higher at Pitts-
burgh than the 1913 flood. The gauge
records at the bridges over the upper
Mississippi which cover a period of

30 years, would indicate that the flow
from Minnesota and Wisconsin, where
the forests have been most extensively
destroyed during the period, has been
slightly improved, though the river
shows signs of deterioration where it
receives the flow from the prairie
lands of Iowa and Illinois. They ap-
pear to confirm the conclusion of the
European forestry authorities that the
influence of forests on drainage is con-
cealed by other causes more powerful
in their effects.

It is argued by some that if the
floods were occasionally high, they
would not be as frequent with refor-
estation. Again let us search the rec-
ords of the past. It is hopeless to ex-
pect to reproduce by reforestation the
forest growth that existed at the close
of the Civil War. Yet, from 1857 to
1867, the Mississippi Valley was vis-
ited by a most remarkable series of
great floods. These floods occurred as
frequently as any that have been re-
corded since that time.

It requires from 20 to 50 years to
produce a good forest growth, and
over a century for the leaves of that
forest to decay in sufficient quantities
to produce the humus which will be
satisfactory as an absorbent of rain-
fall. We are more vitally interested
in the height that a river will attain
in the next few months than in what
will occur in the year 2022 or 2072.

Reforestation as a means of reduc-
ing flood heights on the Mississippi
River, for example, requires the con-
version of too much farm land into a
wilderness to be practicable. The
waste land can profitably be converted
into forest reservations is too limited
in area to produce an appreciable ef-
fect on the floods.

Flood Control by Reserve irs.^Next
to reforestation, reservoirs as a means
of controlling floods appear to have
the most advocates. The reservoir
theory is particularly attractive, as
we have before us in the Great Lakes
a practical illustration of flood re-
straint by means of natural reservoirs.
Reservoir control of the Mississippi
was discussed by Humphreys and Ab-
bot in 1858, and on the upper Missis-
sippi the Corps of Engineers has con-
structed the largest system of reser-
voirs for regulating rivers that has
been built in any country. These res-
ervoirs have been most successful, not
only for increasing the low-water dis-
charge of the Mississippi River above
St. Paul, the purpose for which they

566

Water Works

Sept.

were constructed, but also for reduc-
ing floods in that portion of the river.

There is nothing novel in the propo-
sition to control rivers by reservoirs.
We have not only studied its advan-
tages, but we know its limitations.
Conditions are extremely favorable
for reservoir construction at the
headwaters of the Mississippi, but
while they materially increase the
low-water discharge at St. Paul and
markedly reduce flood heights, yet 100
miles farther down the river it is im-
possible to detect their influence dur-
ing either high or low water.

A reservoir must be close to the lo-
cality to be benefitted or its value rap-
idly diminishes, and this is a serious
trouble with any project for regulat-
ing the lower Mississippi by reser-
voirs.

Reservoir Problem on the Missis-
sippi.— To have retained the Missis-
sippi flood of 1912 within its banks
would have required a reservoir in the
vicinity of Cairo, Illinois, having an
area of 7,000 square miles, slightly
less than that of the state of Massa-
chusetts, and a depth of about 15 ft.,
assuming that it would be empty when
the river attained a bank-full stage.

Cairo is the logical location for a
reservoir to regulate the discharge of
the lower Mississippi. It will not only
control the floods from the Ohio, but
also the discharge from the Missouri
and upper Mississippi But if the res-
ervoirs be transferred from the mouth
of the tributaries to the headwaters,
their capacity must be largely in-
creased. No two floods have the same
origin, unless they are referred back
to the Gulf of Mexico. If the prevail-
ing winds in the early spring are from
the Southwest, the southern tribu-
taries of the Ohio furnish the crest of
the year's flood; if more nearly from
the South, reservoirs will be required
on the streams of Ohio, Indiana and
Illinois; a slight varying of the wind
will produce a flood in the upper Mis-
sissippi while, if it blows from the
Southeast, the principal sources of
trouble will be the Red, the Arkansas
and Missouri Rivers. To control the
flow of every stream in the Mississippi
Valley by reservoirs is a pretty large
job, even for the United States gov-
ernment, but that is what the control
of the Mississippi during floods by
reservoirs signifies.

The 1913 flood affords data for de-
termining the effect of such a system

of reservoirs. When, on April 2, 1913,
the gauge at Cairo attained a height
of 54 ft., there was flowing down the
Mississippi River at least 2,000,000 cu.
ft. of water per second. It requires
about 11 days for a flood wave to be
transmitted the 966 mi. between Pitts-
burgh and Cairo. On March 22, the
Pittsburgh gauge read 5.3 ft., which is
produced by a flow in the Ohio River
at that locality of about 15,000 second-
feet. In 10 days a flood travels the
858 mi. between St. Paul and Cairo.
On March 2, the reading of the St.
Paul gauge was 0.5 ft., corresponding
to a discharge of the Mississippi of
about 2,500 second-feet. In 8 days the
effect of a flood at St. Joseph, Mo., is
felt at Cairo. On March 25, the gauge
at St. Joseph read minus 0.1 ft., rep-
resenting a discharge of the Missouri
River of about 17,000 second-feet. If
a system of reservoirs had been con-
structed which would have prevented
all flow from the Allegheny, the Mo-
nongahela, the Mississippi above St.
Paul, and the Missouri above St.
Joseph, it would have reduced the 2,-
000,000 second-feet discharge by the
Mississippi River at Cairo on April 2
less than 35,000 second-feet.

The water which passed Cairo on
the 2d of April came principally from
the White and Wabash and the lower
tributaries of the Ohio, and after the
water of these rivers started to sub-
side, the flood from Cincinnati, though
increasing from 57 to 69 ft. on the
Cincinnati gauge, could increase Agfltl
heights at Cairo less than 1 ft,/''l*he^^
flood of 30 ft. at Pittsburgh orv March
28 produced its effect on the Cairo
gauge on April 8. It prolonged the
flood without increasing its height.

The proposed system of reservoirs
would have cost hundreds of millions
of dollars, and its effect on the flood
height of the lower Mississippi could
not possibly have exceeded 6 in.

General Limitations on Reservoirs.

— Great floods do not arise from aver-
age conditions, but from exceptional
conditions such as are caused by heavy
rains rapidly succeeding one another.
Each rainstorm starts down a stream
a flood, the volume of which can be
absorbed by a reservoir with com-
paratively little trouble, but if a sec-
ond storm sweeps over the valley the
reservoir, to be effective, must be
emptied or its capacity doubled. To
hold all the excess rainfall till low
water would require reservoirs of

1923

Water Works

567

enormous capacity. Economic consid-
erations usually require that the res-
er\'oirs should be emptied as soon as
the flood crest passes, in order to util-
ize the same space for a second rain-
fall; so that while reducing the crest
of a flood at a given locality they nec-
essarily prolong the period during
which the river remains at a high
stage.

Reservoirs are necessary for munic-
ipal water supplies, for purposes or
irrigation, for the development of
power, and for feeders to canals. They
can be successfully employed on small
streams to diminish floods or increase
the low water flow. The trouble arises
when an attempt is made to utilize
them for too many purposes at the
same time. There must be a para-
mount issue to which the others will
be subsidiary.

If the main purpose is to supply a
city with water, as a rule only the
excess can be used for power develop-
ment. In the case of the new San
Francisco water supply, now under
construction, a large amount of power
will be developed, but in this case the
main storage reservoir is over 4,000
ft. above the city and the topography
is such that at one point the supply
line drops about 1,300 ft., and at an-
other point it drops 1,000 ft. in a near-
ly vertical line, giving an excellent op-
portunity for a power development at
a minimum expense and without inter-
fering with the main object of the
construction. If the dams are con-
structed to produce power, the reduc-
tion of floods and the improvement
of river navigation must be subordi-
nate thereto. Water required for ir-
rigation can be used to develop power
when the dam of the storage reservoir
is given a greater height than is nec-
essary for its flow over the land to be
reclaimed.

During the next decade there will be
an enormous development of reser-
voirs, both for irrigation and for
power purposes, which I hope will be
dtilized to correct man's folly and
prevent many disasters similar to
those which have occurred in the past.

Levees as Flood Protection Meas-
ures.— Levees, properly located and
constructed, are an effective means of
protection against floods. Levees have
been used for many years on the Eu-
ropean rivers and to a great extent
for the protection of the lands border-
ing the Mississippi River. At the

present time there are 1,779 mi. of ef-
fective levees in place between Rock
Island, 111., and the mouth of the
Mississippi. These levees contain
about 400,421,000 cu. yds. of material.
The levee system protects about 27,-
628 sq. mi. of land. At the present
time, the question of providing addi-
tional outlets or spillways on the
lower Mississippi is being given great
consideration. That the spillway will
cause a temporary lowering of the
flood water is beyond question, but it
is not quite so certain that the ulti-
mate effect of a spillway will be bene-
ficial to the Mississippi, for there is a
possibility that the abstraction of the
water will cause shoaling of the chan-
nel below the spillway, which may
produce serious results in time.
Levees combined with channel en-
largement and spillways are being
used in the flood control of the Sac-
ramento River. The spillways, how-
ever, are of secondary importance, the
main dependence being placed upon
levees and the straightening and en-
larging of the channel of the river
near its mouth, so as to afford a freer
escape of the flood waters.

In locating levees, care must be ex-
ercised not to place them so near the
banks of the river as to unduly crowd
the stream and reduce the cross-sec-
tional area sufficiently to prevent the
escape of flood waters without caus-
ing their rise to such a height that
they will overtop the levees. The
great tendency is for the owners of
the land on each side of the stream to
crowd the levee as close to the bank
of the stream as possible, leaving too
little space for the escape of flood
waters, with disastrous results to both
sides.

Annual Meeting of Iowa Section of
American Water Works.— The 9th
Annual Meeting of the Iowa Section
of the American Water Works Asso-
ciation, will be held at Ames, la.,
Oct. 24th-5th-6th, with headquarters
at Iowa State College. Immediately
preceding the meeting of the Iowa
Section will be held the 5th Confer-
ence on Sewage Treatment, which will
begin on Oct. 22nd. Those members
of the section who are interested in
sewage treatment are invited by the
Iowa State College to attend the con-
ference. Prof. Jack J. Hinman, Jr.,
State University of Iowa, Iowa City,
la., is Secretary of the Iowa Section.

568

Water Works

Sept.

ELconomies in Cleaning Irrigation Canals

How the Work Is Handled on the Boise Project of the U. S. Bureau of
Reclamation, Described in the Reclamation Record

By C. L. TUCKER

Assistant Engineer, U. S. Bureau of Reclamation

The project is divided into four
water master's divisions of approxi-
mately 36,000 acres each. The water
masters have direct charge of all
operation and maintenance forces
within their territory and act as su-
perintendents on maintenance work.
The cleaning foremen are selected
from among the ditch riders. It is
possible to drive with an automobile
along or on the banks of all canals
and along practically all of the later-
als. The structure numbers repre-
sent the distance the structure is from
the head of the canal or lateral.
These conditions allow inspection to
be made rapidly and without difficulty.
On large canals it is possible to in-
spect from 20 to 25 miles in one day.

The description of organization of
forces and the supervision of work is
for convenience divided into the fol-
lowing headings: Inspection, Rec-
ords, Silt removal, and Results.

Inspection. — The water master, in
company with the writer, inspected
the canals and laterals of his division.
Notations were made directly on a
chart as to what should and should
not be cleaned. If the work was ex-
ceptionally heavy, an "H" was shown
in the record of the portion to be
cleaned. If exceptionally light, an
"L" was shown. The chart is ex-
plained later under the heading
"Records." When inspecting canals
considerable benefit is derived other
than that relating to the cleaning.

On this project, in order that pressure
might be maintained on headgates, it
has been necessary to install checks
in canals of shallow depths. These
checks naturally decrease the velocity,
resulting in heavy silt deposit and
moss growth. It is the tendency of
most cleaning foremen and even some
water masters to gouge the bottom
and sides of canals of this character,
especially if they have knowledge of
any trouble during the previous
water season. This kind of cleaning
is expensive and increases the trouble
rather than overcoming it. If the
canals are widened, the velocity is
naturally decreased with a given
quantity of water. When conditions
of this kind are found, the bottom of
the canals is allowed to narrow and
all silt is being put on the banks.
Eventually the water depth and veloc-
ity will be increased until little check-
ing is required. This will eliminate to
a great extent moss growth and silt
deposit. The water master and irri-
gation manager also become familiar
with the system and secure first-hand
information as to the condition of
structures and weak places in the
canal banks. At the time of cleaning,
such banks can be strengthened or
riprapped which will probably prevent
a break the following season. The
water master is more capable of judg-
ing what requires cleaning than the
cleaning foreman. If the water mas-
ter is in any doubt as to the grade of

Form No. 5 — Canal Cleaning Costs, Detailed Estimate After Inspection, Division "Sample"

Class A Canals ■ Class B Laterals •

Stations Stations Stations Stations

•Total
Canal or lateral stations

Waldvogel 668

North Power

South Power _

Dirkman „ _....„„..„

Butte

North McEJroy ~^...Z. !..."."_™.."..!..!~

Sol

Hyer „ „

South McElroy _

Delta „_ 4. _

Torrence .......__....___.....„.„„_..„

Dcmke ~ „

Total (89 other items omitted) 2,515

'Stations each 100 ft. in lensrth.

spected
668

clean

275

1,543

275 8,355 2,798

Total

in-

stations

spected

clean

362

862

184

220

214

114

132

136

739

1923

Water Works

569

certain sections, grade stakes are
furnished by the engineers. It is un-
doubtedly a fact that without such
supervision thousands of dollars
would be expended each year for
cleaning canals the bottoms of which
were already below the original
grade.

Records. — As a foundation for
cleaning records a chart was prepared
on which all canals and laterals in
each water-master's di\'ision are
shown. A miniature chart (Chart
No. 1) is shown in the accompanying
illustration. The original chart is

son's work these charts can be filed
for future reference. Form No. 5 is
used for assembling the estimated
cleaning. The canals and laterals are
divided into two classes and each class
is estimated separately. Before
adopting the present system it was
nearly impossible to estimate cleaning
costs with any accuracy. During the
past season in one water-master's
division and after 4,341 stations out
of 10,870 stations had been inspected
it was estimated that it would be
necessary to clean 2,540 stations at a
cost of S4,205.08. When cold weather

Chart Vo. 1. — Condition of Canal and Status of Cleaning Operations, Boise Project, Idaho.

plotted to a scale sufficiently large to
show each station. A copy is kept in
each water-master's office as a refer-
ence, showing the status of canals
and laterals, such as end of Govern-
ment construction, Government oper-
ation, or Government maintenance.
At the time of inspection any portions
f the ditch not requiring cleaning
ire blocked in solid with a colored
pencil. The remaining portions are
left blank and filled in, as shown on
the chart illustrated, as the cleaning
progresses. At the end of the sea-

caused a suspension of the work,
which was practically completed,
2,301 stations had been cleaned at a
cost of $3,858.31, or within 1.1 per
cent of the estimate.

As the work progresses each fore-
man's results are segregated in the
water master's office and submitted
weekly to the writer. If any fore-
man's costs greatly exceed the esti-
mate his work is immediately investi-
gated. Sometimes it is found that
the work is heavier than estimated
or that the foreman is using slips

570

Water Works

Sept.

where he should use fresnos, or the
reverse. Usually, though, it is found
that the foreman is using more teams
than is economical. Each water mas-
ter has from 10 to 15 cleaning crews
working simultaneously, and it is well
to know immediately if any are ex-
ceeding the estimate. The results
reported weekly by each water master
are summarized in the office and the
totals are shown on Form No. 4,
which shows the progress as well as
comparative costs. At the completion
of the cleaning season Form No. 3 is
prepared, which summarizes the total
stations cleaned and the cost by fore-
men. The foremen are grouped under
their respective water masters and
are arranged according to the unit
cost of their work. The totals shown
on Form No. 3 are carried to Form
No. 1, and are arranged according to
unit costs. On this form the water
master cleaning at the lowest cost is
given a standing of 100 per cent. The

others are rated, using the cost which
is given 100 per cent as a basis. This
form also compares the actual cost
with the estimated cost for the entire
project. Form No. 2 shows the stand-
ing in percentage of each foreman,
taking the project as a whole. For
determining the basis of percentages
an average cost was taken from one-
half of the total stations cleaned at
the lowest costs.

Silt Removal. — From Chart No. 1,
or Form No. 5, the water master
groups the cleaning work in a certain
locality and furnishes the foreman
with a work order which shows exact-
ly the portion of each canal he is to
clean. The water master knows from
the classification about how many
teams the foreman can use econom-
ically. It has been found by com-
parison that not more than from three
to five teams can be used to advantage
on small laterals. The foreman on
this size crew takes the place of one

Form No. 4 — Canal Cleaning Costs, Estimate and Progress, Division C
ESTIMATE

Total stations in division „ _ 10,870

Inspected to date 4,341

Inspected stations that require cleaning :„ 1,014

1,014

Estimated total to clean X 10,870 2,540

4,341

2,540 at $1.53 $3,886.20

Weir pools $318.88

Total $4,205.08

PROGRESS

Cost
Total Unit

$161.16 $1.66

1,342.00 1.42

Date Stations

To Oct. 31, 1922. 97

Nov. 1 to 10, 1922 947

Per Cent Complete
Cost Stations

4.1 3.8

34.6 37.3

Weir Pools
No. Cost

$258.63

23.60

Total 1,044

Nov. 11 to 20, 1922 846

Total - 1,890

Nov. 21 to 30, 1922 411

Total

...2.301

1,503.16
1,474.72

2,977.88
561.55

3,539.43

1.44
1.74

1.57
1.37

1.54

38.7
38.0

76.7
14.5

91.2

41.1
33.8

74.4
16.2

90.6

282.13
29.25

311.38
7.50

318.88

Form No. 3 — Canal Cleaning Costs, Division C Summary, 1922

Class A Canals
Foreman Station Cost Unit Cost

Station

Class B Laterals

Weir Pools

Cost

Unit Cost No.

.....

101
4

4
5

—

11
12
11V

—

Total.

106

$392.09
29.67

$3.88
7.42

$421.76

$4.02

$53.42

251

317.83

269

343.00

274

351.33

290

379.22

230

304.63

143.00

216

321.44

500

873.80

30.00

1.27
1.27
1.28
1.31
1.32
1.46
1.49
1.75
2.00

2.196
SUMMARY

Class A canals: 1.99 miles: cost. $211.94 per mile.
Class B laterals: 41.60 miles; cost. $74.94 per mile.
Estimated stations to clean : 2.540.
Cleaned: 2,301, or 90.6 per cent.
Estimated field cost: $4,205.08.
Actual cost to date: $3,858.31, or 91.7 per cent.

$3,117.67

$1.42

34
20
24
16
11

288
16

486

Cost

15.00

28.67

11.60

8.25

160.26
12.00
57.86

$318.88

1923

Water Works

571

single hand. Where larger crews are
used it often becomes necessary to
move several times during the day.
The tim3 taken for moving is abso-
lutely a loss. With smaller crews

are required to go to and from work
on their own time, this eliminates a
move during working hours. A large
saving can be made by inspecting the
ditches before the commencement of

Total

,''

Cost conv erfed fo dfjuol lab^r rate \

~ -

■fe

Actual

■?

/^(J *

1 rthnf

ffate

__-. _

,^oA

^ 3

CoEHH

2fl_L3Ssi*

^^"

■-■<._

i$ i

\ '

\'f

^A'^

.o<^'^

or*9'

J3I6

1917

I9IB

1913

I9ZO

1921

I9ZZ

zo9/e

Chart No. 2. — Cost by Years of Removing Silt From Canals and Laterals of One
Division, Boise Project, Idaho.

less moves will be made per thousand
feet of lateral cleaned. Long moves
can be arranged to occur at the end
of the day's work. As cleaning crews

cleaning operations. Under the pres-
ent system the foreman is credited
with only the actual stations cleaned
and not the distance traveled. If the

Division
A .

%Effic
100

arm No.

Station

440

105

590

1— Canal

Class A Ca

Cost

$1,283.34

170.29

421.76

Cleaning Costs, T«

Dais
Unit Cost Station

$2.92

3.79

4.02

2,196

922

624

$3.18 3,742

>tal Summary,

Class B Laters

Cost I

$3,117.67
1,397.59
1,408.90

1922
lis
Jnit Cost

$T42
1.52
2.26

$1.58

Wei
No.

436

192

690

r Pools
Cost

C _

.. . 73

. . „ 100

$318.88

146.00

46.97

Total

$1,875.39

$5,924.16

$511.85

SUMMARY

Class A canals: 11.18 miles; cost, $167.75 per mile.
Class B laterals : 70.88 miles ; cost, $83.58 per mile.
Estimated stations to clean : 6,270.

Actually cleaned to date : 4,332 ; per cent completed. 69.2.
Estimated field cost: $12,358.18.
Actual cost to date: $7,799.55; per cent of estimate, 63.1.

Form No. 2 — Canal Cleaning Costs, Relative Efficiency of Foremen, 1922

CLASS A CANALS

Foreman

•Total

1
2
3

4
6
6
7
8
9
10

tTotal __ 3,742

* 5 other items omitted for lack of simce.
T 16 other items omitted for lack of space.

Division

Station

Cost

Unit Cost

% Efflc.

105

$236.00

$2.25

124

150.88

2.27

123

61.83

2.29

122

21.00

2.63

106

264.50

3.01

149

484.06

3.25

101
590

392.09

3.88
$3.18

$1,875.39

CLASS B

LATERALS

$53.42

$1.01

132

115

117.25

1.02

130

103.14

1.15

116

251

317.83

1.27

105

269

343.00

1.27

105

274

351.33

1.28

104

290

379.22

1.31

102

230

304.63

1.32

101

61.17

1.42

183

261.18

1.43

$5,924.16

$1.58

572

Water Works

Sept.

cleaning is very light and scattered,
smaller crews are used. No trouble is
experienced on this project in secur-
ing teams from water users, and as
it is the policy to apportion the work
among as many farmers as possible,
those living nearest the work are em-
ployed.

Results. — The present method of
supervising cleaning work was put
into effect during the fall of 1921.
The accompanying table shows a com-
parison of costs between the work
done in the fall of 1921 and 1922.

Unit Cleaning Costs, by Teams

Class A Canals Class B Laterals
Year Miles Unit Cost Miles Unit Cost

1921 (fall)..-. 5.85 $247.00 70.33 $120.00

1922 (fall).... 11.18 167.75 70.88 83.58

The wage scale during the falls of

1921 and 1922 was the same. The

1922 results show a saving over 1921
of 32 per cent on the canals and 30
per cent on the laterals. The work
was better organized in 1922 and the
water masters and foremen, realizing
that their efficiency was to be rated,
desired to at least make a good show-
ing. For a matter of further com-
parison a chart (chart No. 2) has been
prepared and is also illustrated. This
chart shows the total cost by years of
removing silt from the canals and
laterals of one division. The present
method of supervision was put partly
into effect in this division in 1920 and
fully into effect during the years 1921
and 1922.

Per Capita Water Consumption in
Metropolitan Water District

Water consumption in the Metro-
politan Water District of Massachu-
setts, in order of per capita consump-
tion, beginning with the lowest, was
as follows for the year 1922 :

Gallons

• Per Ct.

Total

Per Cap.

Services

City or Town

Per Day

Metered

Milton ...

436.000

100

Meclforrt

. 2,193,400

100

Maiden

. 2,698,000

Arlington

,. 1,059,600

100

Winthrop

902.400

Belmont

673,200

100

1.167,800

Stoneham

523.200

Lexington

440.000

Revere

. 2,202,200

Watertown ...

.. 1,621.800

100

Swampscott .

629.800

100

Chelsea

3,416.500

Somerville ...

.. 7,357,300

Uuincy

. 4,253,700

•91

3,648,900

Boston

.. 85,871,000

110

Nahant

172,800

120

Total Dist

.119.267,100

The New England Water

Works Association

Convention

All indications point to a large at-
tendance at the 42nd annual conven-
tion of the New England Water
Works Association which is to be held
Sept. 18-21 at Burlington, Vt. An ex-
cellent program of technical and prac-
tical papers has been prepared, and
the space already taken for exhibits
of water works machinery and appli-
ances indicates that this feature of
the convention will be unusually in-
teresting.

The convention will be held in the
Hotel Van Ness, the manufacturers'
exhibit being in the main dining hall.
The office of the Secretary will be
open on the street floor of the hotel
at 9 a. m., Sept. 18, for registration.

The program of the convention
follows:

TUESDAY AFTERNOON. SEPT. 18th
2:00 o'clock

Addresses of Welcome :

Hon. J. Holmes Jackson. Mayor of Burling-
ton. C. S. Ordway, President Burlington
Chamber of Commerce.

Presentation of Honorary Membership to
Mr. John Ripley Freeman.

Award of Dexter Brackett Memorial Medal.

"Filtration of Burlington's Water." by Oli-
ver J. Channing. Pumping Engineer, Bur-
lington.

Election of Officers.

WEDNESDAY MORNING, SEPT. 19th
9:15 o'clock

Public Water Supplies of Vermont, by
Charles P. Moat, Chemist of Vermont State
Board of Health, Burlington. Vt.

The Covering of Open Service Reservoirs in
Which Filtered or Ground Water Are Stored,
by George C. Bunker (in charge of Water
Purification. The Panama Canal. Ancon.
C. Z.) and August G. Nolte (asst. engineer in
charge of Water Purification, The Panama
Canal, Ancon, C. Z.). Presented by Robert
Spurr Weston, Consulting Engineer, Boston,
Mass.

Some Additions to New England Water
Works Plants, by Allen Hazen. Consulting
Encrineer, New York, N. Y.

Sub-Surface Collecting System and Quality
of Water of Newton, Mass.. by Edwin H.
Rogers, City Engineer, Newton. Mass.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. SEPT 19th
2:00 o'clock

Rapid Sand Filtration at Cambridge. Mass.,
by Col. George A. Johnson. Consulting Engi-
neer, New York, N. Y.

The Laying of the 16-inch Cast Iron Water
Main Under Portland Harbor, by Harry U.
Fuller, Chief Engineer, Portland Water
District.

The Care of Large Water Sheds, by Frederic
I. Winslow, Consulting Engineer, Framing-
ham, Mass.

WEDNESDAY EVENING. SEPT. 18th
8:00 o'clock
Worcester's Reservoirs ; Present and Pro-

1923

Water Works

573

posed, by George W. Batchelder, Water Com-
missioner, Worcester, Mass.

The Selection of Pumping Equipment From
the Standpoint of Station Economy, by Frank
A. Mazzur, Mechanical Engineer, Boston,
Mass.

Some Applications of the Ventnri Principle,
by Frederick N. Connet, Chief Engineer,
Builder's Iron Foundry, Providence, R. I.

SUPERINTENDENTS' SESSION

THURSDAY EVENING, SEPT. 20th
8:00 o'clock

Eliminating Water Hammer From a High
Pressure Regulating Valve and Experiences
With Universal Pipe on Curves, by Sydney
Lee Ruggles, City Engineer, Barre. Vt.

Hydrant Connections for Fire Engines, by
Frank A. Marston, Consulting Engineer, Bos-
ton, Mass.

Discussion of the following subjects, or
others which may be presented: (Members
are requested to present additional subjects
to the Secretary at any time before the open-
ing of the session.)

Standardization of Water Meter Registers.

Use of Brass Pipe for Services.

Protection of Water Mains Crossing Bridges.

Should Valve Boxes Be Placed at the Main
or the Curb?

Exi)erience With Power Tampers.

Experience With Valve Inserting Machine.

Standardization of Corporation Cocks.

"Trenching and Back Filling Machines.

MANUFACTURERS' DAY

FRIDAY MORNING, SEPT. 21st
9:15 o'clock

The Manufacture of Wrought Iron Pipe,
illustrated, by A. A. Gatheman, of A. M.
Byers Co., Boston, Mass.

Testing, Maintenance and Operation of
Large Gate Valves, by Payne Dean, of Payne
Dean Limited, New York, N. Y.

Records of Stream Flow ; Their Use and
the Best Methods for Obtaining Them for
Municipal and Industrial Purposes, by C. C.
Covert, of W. & L. E. Gurley, Troy, N. Y.

Latest Developments in the Chlorine Control
Apparatus for the Sterilization of Water
Supplies, by Gilbert H. Pratt, New EIngland
Representative of Wallace & Tieman Com-
pany, Newark, N. J.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON, SEPT. 21st
2:00 o'clock
Some Recent Developments in Steel Pipe, by
H. T. Miller, Metallurgical Dept., National
Tube Co., Boston, Mass.
Report of Secretary.
Report of Treasurer.
Report of Editor.
President's Address.

ENTERTAINMENT

The Local Committee of Arrangements and
the Water Works Manufacturers' Association
have arranged the following tentative pro-
gram of entertainment:

TUESDAY, SEPT. 18th
At the close of the afternoon session elec-
tric cars will be taken to Fort Ethan Allen.
By the courtesy of the Commanding Officer a
cavalry drill and concert will be given.

Reception and Dance
Direction of Mr. Henry S. Charron
8 :30 p. m. Informal reception with danc-
ing on the roof garden of the Hotel Vermont.
The day's entertainment by the courtesy of
the City of Burlington.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 19th
Afternoon Tea
Direction of Mrs. C. H. Beecher
For the Ladies — Afternoon tea on the Hotel
Vermont Roof Garden, where wonderful views
may be had of Lake Champlain, the Adiron-
dack Mountains and Green Mountains.

WEDNESDAY EVENING

Whist Party

Direction of Mrs. Laura B. Landon

President of Athena Qub

For the Ladies — A whist party on the Hotel

Vermont Roof Garden.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20th

Excursion to Ausable Chasm
Direction of Mr. Burt B. Hodgman
8 :30 a. m. Leave Burlington on the regular
boat of the Champlain Transportation Co., ar-
riving at the Chasm about 10 :00 a. m. Visit
to the Chasm, having dinner at the Chasm
Hotel. Leave Chasm at 3 :30 p. m., arriving
in Burlington at 4 :30 p. m.

Further information and details of the trip
will be announced at the Wednesday evening
:5ession.

The day's entertainment by courtesy of the
Water Works Manufacturers' Association.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 21st

Automobile Trip

Direction of Mr. Eben Sutton

Automobile trip for the ladies, covering the

principal parts of the city and surroundings.

GOLF TOURNAMENT
R. K. Blanchard, Chairman of Committee.
One of the best short courses in New En-
gland is going to be available for all golfers
attending the convention, and arrangements
have been made for automobiles to carry the
members from their hotels directly to the golf
course.

The tentative schedule of events is as
follows :

Tuesday Afternon, Sept. 18, 1923
Preliminary Handicap Tournament. Prizes
will be given for best net and best gross score.
Wednesday Morning, Sept. 19, 1923
18 Holes Qualifying Round (Handicap) for
match_ play_. Eight to qualify in first division
and eight in second division. Prizes will be
awarded for best net and best gross score in
qualifying round.

Wednesday Afternoon, Sept. 19, 1923
First round match play, both divisions, 18
holes.

Thursday, Sept. 20, 1923
On account of the boat ride which is a very
attractive trip and which most of the members
will want to attend, the finals will have to be
played off on Friday morning, Sept. 21, 1923.
Friday Morning, Sept. 21, 1923
Final round, 18 holes, match play, both divi-
sions. Prizes will be awarded to winner and
runner-up in both divisions.

Water Purification in Dlinois. — At

the present time there are in Illinois
39 supplies subjected to fairly com-
plete purification; 2 that are softened,
2 where iron is removed, 14 which are
more or less continually sterilized by
the use of liquid chlorine or hypo-
chlorite, without coagnlation or filtra-
tion, and 4 where sterilization is used
only under emergency conditions.

574

Water Works

Sept.

Siphon Spillway in the
O'Shaughnessy Dam

By G. F. STICKNEY

Consulting Engineer, Albany, N. Y.

The recently completed O'Shaugh-
nessy Dam, in the Hetch Hetchy
Valley, in California, forming a part
of the new water supply system for
the City and County of San Francisco,
is the largest dam in which a siphon
spillway is used and the spillway has
a greater capacity than any other of
this type, heretofore constructed.
The dam is a concrete structure of
gravity section, curved in plan, with
a length on crest of 600 ft., and hav-
ing a maximum height of 344 ft.
above the foundation.

The reservoir, created by the dam,
has an area of 2.5 square miles and

Fig. 1. Cross Section Through One of the
Siphons.

a storage capacity of 206,000 acre
feet. The drainage area, above the
dam site, is 459 square miles.

Provision has been made for in-
creasing the height of the dam 86 ft.
whenever an additional storage of
water becomes necessary. The reser-
voir filled during the latter part of
May and the siphons then operated
for the first time.

The spillway occupies a length of
250 ft. in the top of the dam and
consists of 18 siphons — 14 4 ft. high
by 10 ft. wide and 4 4 ft. high by 9 ft.
2 in. wide — all operating under a head
of 29 ft., with total capacity of about
20,000 cu. ft. per second. A cross-
.section, through one of the siphons,
is .shown in Fig. 1. The crests of the

siphons are on three levels, with
variation of 3 in. in elevations, and
they are so arranged for the purpose
of making the units prime at different
water stages, thus varying the dis-
charge of the spillway. There are
two air vents, 12 in. x 24 in. in area,
in the upstream wall of each siphon.
These vents become submerged when
the water level raises from 1 to 1.5
ft., sealing the siphon against the
admission of air, and priming then
quickly occurs. The siphonic flow
having been established, the full dis-
charge is maintained until the water
level drops sufficient to expose the
vents and admit a large volume of air
and when this happens the flow
ceases.

It may be noted that a raise of
from 1 to 1.5 ft. in the water level,
gives a discharge of 114 c.f.s. per
foot width of siphon and that such a
volume of flow, per lineal foot of
weir, would require a depth over the
crest of about 10 feet. Siphons of
much larger size and capacity, than
those in the O'Shaughnessy Dam, are
entirely practicable and, where the
full siphonic head is available, a dis-
charge of more than 225 c.f.s. per lin-
eal foot may be attained. The plans
for the siphon spillway were prepared
from studies and experiments made
by the writer.

Cost of Icing Public Drinking Fountains

The city of Cambridge, Mass.,
maintains 9 public ice water foun-
tains. The cost of furnishing the
fountains with ice during the summer
months for the past 18 years is given
as follows in the 1922 report of Tim-
othy W. Good, general superintendent
of the Cambridge waterworks:

Average

Cost Per

Total Cost Day Per

Year Per Year Fountain

I))04 $460.35 $1.20

li)05 514.18 .94

1906 795.64 1.57

1907 ~ 655.49 1.09

1908 705.99 1.04

1909 „ - 823.48 1.15

1910 712.65 1.24

1911 734.20 1.34

1912 918.75 1.25

1913 970.81 .97

1914 747.68 .78

1915 719.83 .74

1916 ~ 623.64 .T;>

1917 766.65 !.:T

1918 1,216.04 l.oT

1919 1,086.17 1.68

1920 1,062.69 1.82

lO'JI 1,508.17 !/•«

1923

Water Works

575

A Successful Shipment of

Large Tanks by Inland

Water Route

A novel shipment by water was re-
cently made from the Old Hickory
Powder Plant at Jacksonville, Tennes-
see, to St. Louis. Six tanks already
erected at the Old Hickory Plant were
purchased by the Monsanto Chemical
Works for their Plant B in East St.
Louis. As these tanks have a diam-
eter of 20 ft. and a height of 12 ft.,
and weigh approximately 13 tons
each, their size made it impractical to
ship them by rail. It would first have
been necessary to dismantle them and
later reassemble them in their new
location, incurring unnecessary ex-

Upkeep of Fire Hydrant Systems

The increasing use of motor trucks
is causing a noticeable addition to
our work in the upkeep of the fire
hydrant system, as many hydrants
are broken by the operation of these
vehicles in our streets. In most cases
the department is able to obtain a
setlement for the amount of the dam-
ages.

Other hydrants are put out of order
by contractors and other inexperi-
enced men using them without
authority.

Our fire service system, covering
about 1,200 hydrants, has been in-
stalled at large expense for protect-
ive purposes only and should not be

Ft. Diameter Tanks Loaded for Shipment.

pense. It was possible, however, to
ship them by barge without disman-
tling them.

The tanks which were a part of the
war-time equipment of the Old Hick-
ory Powder Plant, rested upon a 20
ft. platform, and were lowered upon
railway flat cars by means of two
locomotive cranes. The flat cars were
hauled to a concrete road which
traverses the plant and the tanks
were there transferred to low wagons,
which were hauled down the concrete
road to the river edge by caterpillar
tractors. The distance from the orig-
inal location of the tanks to the river
is 1 V2 miles and was covered six times
without mishap.

From the loading point the barge
descended the Cumberland River
through a series of locks to the Ohio,
thence down the Ohio to the Missis-
.sippi, which it ascended to St. Louis,
where the tanks were unloaded and
installed in their new locations.

used except by firemen in the dis-
charge of their duties or by author-
ized waterworks employes. Our city
ordinances prescribe penalties for vm-
lawful use of fire hydrants and it may
be necessary to bring offenders before
the courts for punishment. Some con-
tractors argue that because the city
gives them water without charge in
doing work for the city that they are
entitled to get it by operating the fire
hydrants. In every such contract
made by the city it should be clearly
stated, so that there can be no mis-
understanding, that the fire hydrants
must NOT be opened bv contractors.
—From 1922 Report of Frank E. Mer-
rill, Water Commissioner of Somer-
ville, Mass.

Annual Convention of American So-
ciety for Municipal Improvements. —

This society will hold its next annual
convention at Atlanta, Ga., Nov. 12-16,
with headquarters at the Ansley Hotel.

576

Water Works

Sept.

Fine Screening at Activated
Sludge Plant, Milwaukee

For the next twelve months the at-
tention of sanitary engineers will be
locussed on Milwaukee where the
largest activated sludge sewage dis-
posal plant in the world is now near-
ing completion. Under the direction
of T. Chalkley Hatton, chief engineer,
a group of buildings, aeration tanks
and sedimentation tanks, covering an
area of 30 acres on Jones Island, are
now being constructed, after some six
or eight years spent in preliminary
studies and experiment.

The district served by the Milwau-
kee sewerage system includes, in ad-
dition to the city of Milwaukee, a
number of nearby towns, the territory
drained by the sewers comprising an
area of 96,800 acres with a population
of nearly 600,000 persons. The dry
weather flow of sewage in this area
is at present about 75 million gallons
daily, but the plant is designed to
treat 300 million gallons daily, this
(it is estimated) being the volume of
sewage that will have to be handled
in 1950.

The sanitary sewage and trade
wastes originating in Milwaukee
County will be brought to the dis-
posal plant on Jones Island through
a comprehensive system of intercept-
ing sewers terminating in four siphons
(2 low and 2 high level), but under
the harbor entrance 75 ft. below water
fevel.

The raw sewage, after passing
through bar screens to remove the
large materials, flows through grit
chambers where the mineral matter
settles out. From the grit chambers
the sewage passes through Tark
Screens — a new type of fine screen
developed by the Link-Belt Company
— the effluent passing from the fine
screens into an aerated conduit where
it is mixed with 15 to 20 per cent by
volume of activated sludge returned
from the sedimentation tanks. The
sewage and sludge, called "mixed
liquor," is then distributed to the
aeration tanks in the bottom of which
are filtros plates through which air
at 8 to 10 lbs. pressure is forced so
as to produce a continuous stream of
tiny bubbles.

After 6 hours' contact with air and
returned sludge, about 95 per cent
of the organic matter in the raw sew-
age is precipitated and a remarkable
purification is effected. The "mixed

1 * ^ It J2 11 •_!._ li !._

tion tanks where, after approximately
30 minutes settling, the granular pre-
cipitate settles to the bottom and the
purified effluent flows out at the top
and is discharged into a conduit
emptying into Lake Michigan.

In the brief time of 6 to 7 hours
the raw sewage undergoes such puri-
fication that the liquor emptying into
the lake is as clear and colorless as
drinking water and will show an av-
erage reduction of 98 per cent bac-
teria and 97 per cent suspended
matter.

To the sanitary engineer one of
the most interesting features of the
new Milwaukee sewage disposal plant
is the battery of 8 Tark Screens
which will be used for the fine screen-
ing of the influent. In practically
all modern systems of sewage dis-
posal fine screens play an important
part and the Tark Screen is interest-
ing as being one of the most recent
developments in the art of screening
municipal and industrial wastes.

As will be seen from the accompany-
ing illustration each screen is a self-
contained unit consisting of a rotat-
ing drum (carrying the screen plates),
a number of revolving brushes which
constantly sweep the surface of the
screen (permitting the use of ex-
tremely fine apertures without danger
of clogging), and motor and reducing
gears mounted on a steel frame
which extends across the influent
channel above the drum.

The drum itself is installed in the
influent channel across the line of
sewage flow. The liquid portion of
the sewage after flowing through the
apertures in the screen plates passes
through one end of the drum into the
effluent channel, while the intercepted
solids are swept from the outside sur-
face of the drum into a sludge bucket,
or mechanical conveyor, by the re-
volving brushes previously referred to.

At intervals in the drum, slots are
left between the screen plates from
which curved metal "fins" protrude.
These "sludge-reclaiming plates," as
they are called, serve to scoop up
sediment from the bottom of the in-
fluent channel, as well as the scum
that accumulates on the surface of the
sewage, and carries all such debris up
to the brushes which sweep it away.
A cam mechanism automatically re-
tracts the sludge reclaiming plates
to a position within the drum as they
aproach the brushes.

The drum is built up of small

1923

Water Works

577

each of which can be easily handled
by one man, and all parts of the ap-
paratus are in plain sight and easily
accessible for inspection and adjust-
ment.

The first two screens of the Tark
type were installed in the sewage dis-
posal plant of the little town of Pleas-
antville, N. J. (five miles from At-
lantic City), in August, 1921, and it
was the performance of these screens,
and their freedom from trouble and

Wages of Water Works Employees
at St. Louis. — The average monthly
wage paid employees in the supply
and purifying section of the Water
Works of St. Louis, Mo., has de-
creased from $120.76 in 1921 to
$118.24 during the year ending April,
1923. The average wage is 168 per
cent of the average wage during the
year ending April 1, 1914. The num-
ber of employees averaged 229 for the
year.

Tark Sewage Screen Similar to Those to Be Used in Milwaukee Activated Sludge
Sewage Disposal Plant.

^fcpair, that led T. Chalkley Hatton,
^■lief engineer of the Milwaukee Sew-
WftSLge Commission, to adopt them
^after his return from a European trip
during which he visited most of the
largest and most modem sewage dis-
posal plants of Europe.

The Tark sewage screen is made at
the Nicetown, Philadelphia, plant of
the Link-Belt Company.

Increasing Life of Agitator Blades
in Lime Mixing Tanks. — The life of
the agitator blades in the lime mixing
tanks at the St. Louis, Mo., filter
plant was over 60 per cent during
the past year, by using tool steel
without annealing, for the purpose of
drilling as was formerly done. The
drilling is now done with a high speed
straight fiuted drill.

578

Water Works

Sept.

Blasting Frozen Ground in Exca-
vating for Dam Foundation

Excavation for the foundation of
Hubbart Dam, Flathead (Indian) proj-
ect, Montana, disclosed rather unusual
conditions, according to the June Rec-
lamation Record. To reach bedrock
for the left half of the dam it was
necessary to remove from 8 to 85 ft.
of overburden. This was in the form
of a talus slope at the foot of an
almost vertical cliff about 175 ft. high,
and the material graded from rocks of
several cubic yards each through
coarse rock, fine rock, gravel and sand
to a fine rock meal and clay. This
mixture was solidly frozen and all
interstices were filled with solid ice,
so that the whole lower portion of the
material to be excavated was in the
solid mass or sheet from 6 to 12 ft.
in thickness.

All efforts to dig this material with
the 1%-yd. steam shovels were futile,
so shooting was resorted to. As at-
tempts to drill into the mass were
unsuccessful, bulldozing was tried
with fair success, T. N. T. placed in
shallow holes being used. By this
means, successive thin layers of the
material were broken up so that it
could be removed by a scraper bucket.
Unfrozen ground was finally reached,
but not until 6 to 12 ft. of the ice-
bound mass had been shot away over
an area of about 50 to 140 ft. As
many as 80 holes per shift were shot.

The encountering of ice and frost
was no surprise, as test drifts and pits
had indicated their presence, but it
was not thought that the thickness
would be so great nor that the frost
and ice would extend below the water
level of the creek as it did. Also it
was expected that the mass would
thaw out when exposed, but despite
the fact that a considerable area was
uncovered and exposed to the sun as
early as Sept. 1, and that water from
the shovel and supply lines ran over
it, very little thawing took place, the
clay, sand, and rock meal apparently
constituting almost perfect insulation.

That ice keeps forming seems to be
indicated by the fact that huge icicles
have formed in the test drifts, and
test holes sunk below the floor of the
drift have filled with solid ice. In one
drift, which had been fitted with a
rough door so as to serve for a refrig-
erator for the camp mess, ice thawed
but little even during July and
August.

Industriad Notes

A. D. Parhm has opened a Chicago branch
at 1515 Howard Ave. for the Westco-Chippewa
Pump Co., operating factories in Chippewa
Falls, Wis., Davenport, la., and Molina, 111.
The Westco-Chippewa Pump Co. formerly-
operated as the Western Pump Co., the name
being changed about 3 months ago after the
purchase 7 months ago of the Chippewa Pump
Co., manufacturers of deep well heads.

The Four Wheel Drive Auto Co., Clinton-
ville, Wis., has secured from the International
Earth Boring Machine Co. (Chicago, 111.) the
exclusive rights to the sale of the Interna-
tional Earth Boring Machine. The boring
machine will be sold as extra equipment and
when attached to the FWD truck is especially
adapted for digging pole holes for telephone
systems, telegraph lines, electric car lines and
municipal work.

Graver Corporation, East Chicago, Ind.,
manufacturers of water softeners, filters,
tanks and general steel plate construction,
announces the following changes in its district
sales offices : The office formerly located at
2084 W. 29th St., Los Angeles, Calif., has
been discontinued and the Water Works Sup-
ply Co., 536 Call Bldg.. San Francisco, Calif.,
will represent the company in the entire state
of California. The Seattle office, formerly
located at 912 Post Bldg., has been discontin-
ued and states of Washington and Oregon will
be in charge of H. K. Mead, 409 Bd. of
Trade Bldg., Portland. Ore. The Philadelphia
office, formerly located at 528 Perry Bldg., has
been discontinued and L. C. Holmes, 918
Buchanan St., N. W., Washington, D. C, will
have charge of sales in this district.

New Trade Publications

The following trade publications of interest
to water works men, engineers and contrac-
tors, have been issued recently:

Crane Excavator. — The Bay City Dredge
Works, Bay City, Mich., has issued Bulletins
Nos. 13 to 16, describing its convertible crane
excavator. Model 16-B, with its various attach-
ments, including a %-yard shovel type dipper,
skimmer scoop for stripping or road_ and
street excavation, clamshell bucket and ditcher
scoop for sewer, trench, or ditch excavation.

Chains and Sprockets. — A 96 page catalog
devoted entirely to chains and sprockets for
drives, conveyors and elevators and other
services has been published by the Webster
Mfg. Co., Chicago. Illustrations and descrip-
tions of the various types, together with
specifications and price lists are included.

Multistage Series Pumps. — A new style of
centrifugal pump, called a "series pump," is
described in a catalog just issued by the De
Laval Steam Turbine Co., Trenton, N. J. In
this pump double suction impellers and volute
diffusers are used, as in single stage centrifu-
gal pumps. The connecting passages from
stage to stage, however, are included in the
pump case casting, as in the ordinary multi-
stage pump.

Water Filters.— A bulletin describing the
Graver hori'?ontal pressure water filters has
been issued by the Graver Corporation, East
Chicago, Ind. It contains a description of
the process together with specifications, useful
tables and drawings of the various units.

> 7 ^

Railways

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbest p. Gillxtts, Presidtnt and Editor

Lewis S. Lodes, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St and Broadway

RiCHAXD E. Browk, Eastern Manager

Roads and Streets— 1st Wcdnesdaj, fl Railways— 3rd Wednesday, fl

(a) Boad Con- (c) Streets (a) Steam RaU- (b) Ele«trie Rail-
rtraetion (d) Street clean- way Constmc- way Constnie-

(b) Road Main- ins tion and tion and
tenanoe Maintenance Maintenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday. $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irritation and Sanitation
Drainaffo (d) Waterways

Buildings — Ith Wednesday, $1

(a) Boildinss (d) Hiscellaneoos

(b) Bridarea Stmetores

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., SEPTEMBER 19, 1923

No. 3

Is It Practical to Improve the Calendar?

A year of 12 months is good, but
months of 4 3/7 or 4 2/7 weeks are
bad; while the month of February
differs so much from the other 11 that
it forms an added aggravation in
spite of its simplicity of exactly 4
weeks. The inconvenience of being
unable, without consulting a calendar
or making a mathematical calculation,
to tell on what day of the week the
11th of next month will fall may be
a petty matter but it happens daily
to all of us.

Changes in a system as firmly
established and of as widespread use
as our reckoning of time obviously
are not easy; yet aside from customs
and prejudices to be overcome, the
difficulties are certainly far less than
in changes from the old systems of
weights and measures to the metric.
Considering the success of the metric
system in continental Europe and the
large amovmt of attention that has
been given to its development and
promotion in this country, it is some-
what strange that so little has been

heard of possible improvements in the
calendar. Even precedent is not lack-
ing, for there have been changes in
times past, and our present calendar
is but the latest of several that have
done service. Another change to a
substantially more convenient form
would be warranted if it could be ac-
complished without too great expense
and inconvenience. The editor believes
that it can be so accomplished.

Suggestions for improved forms,
and even attempted improvements,
have varied. The French of the revo-
lutionary period tried out a decimal
system and failed. While a decimal
arrangement has admitted attractive-
ness, the use of decimals in time
measures has fewer advantages than
in many other fields. Furthermore
we must deal with a year of 365 days
(366 on leap year), which at the out-
set makes any ideal decimal system
impossible. The seven-day week may,
we believe, be considered a fixture.
Its antiquity, our habituation to it,
and its religious importance to many

580

Railways

Sept.

people would constitute most difficult,
if not insuperable, obstacles to any
change from it. Furthermore it is
difficult to think in what manner the
seven-day period could be bettered.
It is comparatively seldom necessary
to divide it into equal parts, and such
divisions as are made are generally
of the working week of 6 days so that
both halves and thirds came out with
complete convenience.

The suggestion has been made more
than once that the seven-day week be
retained, and the year divided into 13
months of 28 days each, with the
365th day as a holiday — probably
New Year's — not included in any
month or any week. In this way
every month would begin on the first
day of the week, and each succeeding
day of the month would have its un-
varying week day. The thirteenth
month would be given a name of its
own and probably placed at the end
of the year.

Months all of exactly equal length,
all exactly divisible by either weeks
or days into halves and quarters, and
an unvarying relation between day of
week and day of month certainly
possess an advantage that the year
would no longer be divisible by
months into halves, quarters and
thirds, is small by comparison with
the gains. The occasions for such
divisions of the year are compara-
tively rare but even divisions of the
month meet us at every turn.

The segregation of the 365th day
outside of any month or week would
cause practically no more inconveni-
ence than is already caused by every
important holiday. The interruption
of the sequence of 7 day cycles on the
first day of each year is scarcely
likely to arouse serious objection on
religious grounds from many persons,
even among the strictest Sabbath ob-
servers; and its treatment as a holi-
day already partly religious in char-
acter and which might be observed
wholly as a religious holiday by those
who chose, would go still further to
remove this objection. "Leap Year
Day," when it occurs, would be simi-
larly converted into a holiday de-
tached from any week or month and
introduced probably at the middle of
the year.

Change to such a system would in-
volve negligible inconvenience and ex-
pense. Contracts and other docu-
ments calling for payments or per-

formances on specific dates in future
years would be covered by law so that
the total number of days to their
maturity would be the same under the
new system as under the old, and no
difficulty or confusion whatever re-
sult. In general the 30 and the 31-
day month would merely have passed
into and become a part of history.
There would be none of the expense
of changing measures and the incon-
venience of dealing with machines
and commodities made under the old
system that has' proved so Serious an
obstacle to the introduction of the
metric.

The project should be fairly easy of
accomplishment in the United States,
and the greatest difficulty might
easily be the securing of sufficient in-
ternational co-operation to warrant
the undertaking. On the other hand
it ought to be possible to enlist the
support of the most important and
progressive of the European nations
in such a movement of mutual benefit.
We hope to see the effort made and
carried to success.

Buses and Ellectric Railways

Editorial in The Canadian Engineer.

Following the phenomenal develop-
ment of jitney bus traffic there has
been a disposition in many cities of
America for buses to enter into com-
petition with street railways. The
unpopularity of street railway man-
agements in some of these cities has
brought about a favorable public atti-
tude to this competition. It was
thought that the street railways
would be brought to time by the com-
petition and that the result would
be a much improved service and an
improvement in the attitude of the
railway to the city.

Where such competition has been
permitted on streets accommodating
electric railways, the result has been
anything but that expected. Com-
petitive jitney operations was one of
the causes which lead to the collapse
of street railway service in Seattle
and compelled the city to take over
and operate the system in 1920.
Thereafter jitney licenses were re-
fused if they would compete with the
municipal railway system. In Toledo
jitneys were formerly allowed to
compete with the street railway but
the effect on the railway revenues and
service was so adverse that their op-

1923

Railways

581

eration was prohibited in a downtown
district of about 50 blocks. In FroNi-
dence, competition with the street
railway ser\-ice has been prohibited
and regulations greatly reducing the
competition in the city of Richmond,
Va., have been put into effect. In
some cases street railway operation
was suspended altogether for a time,
as in Des Moines, la., but whether
the service has been wholly sus-
pended or greatly reduced, the out-
come has been the same, namely, that
it is impracticable to permit unre-
stricted competition of buses with a
street railway and expect to have
adequate street railway service. The
legitimate field of the bus in trans-
port in large cities is an auxiliary to
the street railway and any policy
which goes beyond this, is a \icious
one.

A Big Construction Program
for the Railways

Editorial in the Railway Age.

In spite of the fact that the rail-
ways are now in the midst of the
most active construction program
which they have undertaken during
the last ten years, more work has
been authorized during the last few
weeks than in any similar period for
a long time. Among these projects,
that of the Illinois Central for the
construction of a new line from Edge-
wood, 111., south 175 miles to Fulton,
Ky., involving an expenditure of more
than $17,000,000 is the most impor-
tant. Immediately following the ap-
proval by the Interstate Commerce
Commission of its application for au-
thority to build this line, officers of
the road announced that work on this
improvement would start at once.
About the same time Julius Krutt-
schnitt, chairman of the board of the
Southern Pacific, stated that in view
of the announced decision of the gov-
ernment not to appeal the decision
"eaving coiitrol of the Central Pacific
in the hands of the Southern Pa-
cific, that road w^ould proceed at once
to^ build the Natron cut-off of 118
nailes in eastern Oregon which will cost

Bnore than $16,000,000. With the
Jnion Pacific's extension from Rog-
ETSon, Idaho, south 98 miles to Wells,
Mev., which was authorized by the In-
;erstate Commerce Commission re-

cently, work on nearly 400 miles of
new lines will be started promptly.

The authorization of these new
lines is indicative of the large amount
of improvement work of other charac-
ter which is also being undertaken.
The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul
has awarded contracts within the last
month for the construction of 36 miles
of second track in Illinois and In-
diana, and the Louisville & Nashville
has contracted for the building of 55
miles of second track which is esti-
mated to cost $3,500,000. The Kansas
City Southern has authorized the re-
duction of grades costing more than
83,000,000; the Chicago Union Station
Company has awarded a contract for
the building of a headhouse at a cost
of more than $10,000,000; bids are
now being received for the dri\'ing of
the Moffat tunnel under the conti-
nental divide in Colorado, which is
approximately six miles long and is
estimated to cost more than $6,000,-
000; the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
has started the construction of a ten-
story general office building at To-
peka, Kan., while the Union Pacific
has authorized the expenditure of
$3,000,000 this year for preliminary
work in the development of an in-
dustrial district at Kansas City, Kan.

With the demand for increased fa-
cilities e\idenced by the continuation
of a record-breaking traffic and with
the improvement in earnings resulting
from this traffic, the roads are show-
ing evidences of a willingness to ex-
pand their facilities which character-
ized their activities prior to 15 years
ago. Since the reason is so far ad-
vanced that most of the projects now
being authorized must, of necessity,
be continued over into 1924, indica-
tions point to the continuance of con-
struction activities through next year.

Railway Operating Results. — Class
I railroads of the United States, ac-
cording to reports from 193 roads
representing a total mileage of 235,-
670 miles, in July earned an annual
rate of return of 4.93 per cent on
their tentative valuation as fixed by
the Interstate Commerce Commission
for rate making purposes, including
additions and betterments up to Jan.
1. 1923. This rate represented a net
operating income for the month of
$84,591,400.

582

Railways

Current Material Prices

Sept

Iron and Steel Prices

(From the Iron Age, Sept. 6, 1923)

Prices as of Sept. 4, f . o. b. Pittsburgh :
Open hearth rails, heavy, per gross,

ton „ $43.00

Light rails (25-45 lb. section), per 100

lb ^ 2.25

Track spikes, 9/16 in. and larger base,

per 100 lb 3.15

Track spikes, ^^ in., 7/16 in. and % in.,

100 lb $3.25 to 3.75

Track spikes, 5/16 in $3.25 to 3.50

Spikes, boat and barge, base, per lUO

lb $3.50 to 3.75

Track bolts, % in. and larger, base, per

100 lb 4.75 to 5.50

Track bolts, % in. and % in., base,

per 100 lb $4.15 to 4.50

Tie plates, per 100 lb 2.55 to 2.60

Angle bars, base, per lb 2.75

Finished Iron and Steel

Per lb. to

large buyers.

(Jents

Iron bars, Philadelphia 2.67

Iron bars, Chicago 2.40

Steel bars, Pittsburgh 2.40

Steel bars, Chicago 2.50

Steel bars. New York 2.74

Tank plates, Pittsburgh 2.50

Tank plates, Chicago 2.60

Tank plates. New York 2.84

Beams, Pittsburgh 2.50

Beams, Chicago 2.60

Beams. New York 2.84

Steel hoops, Pittsburgh 3.15

Freight Rates

All rail freight rates from Pittsburgh on
domestic shipments of finished iron and steel
products, in carload lots, to points named, per
100 lb., are as follows:

Philadelphia $0.32

Baltimore 0.31

New York 0.34

Boston — 0.365

Buffalo 0.265 .

Cleveland 0.215

Cleveland, Youngstown, comb 0.19

Detroit 0.29

Cincinnati . — 0.29

Indianapolis 0.31

Chicago 0.34

St. Louis 0.43

Kansas City 0.735

Kansas City (pipe) 0.705

St. Paul 0.60

Omaha 0-735

Omaha (pipe) ..- -. 0.705

Denver 1-27

Denver (pipe) - 1.215

Pacific Coast 1.34

Pacific Coast, ship plates 1.20

Birmingham 0.58

Memphis o.56

Jacksonville, all rail 0.70

Jacksonville, rail and water 0.415

New Orleans 0.67

Rails and Track Supplies at Chicago

Standard Bessemer and open-hearth rails,
$43 ; light rails, rolled steel, 2.25c, f . o. b.
makers' mills.

Standard railroad spikes, 3.25c mill ; track
bolts with square nuts, 4.26c mill ; iron tie
plates, 2.85c mill ; steel tie plates, 2.60c, f . o. b.
mill; angle bars, 2.75c, f. o. b. mill.

Jobbers quote standard spikes out of ware-
house at 3.90c base and track bolts, 4.90c base.

Cement Prices

Recent quotations, per bbl., in carload lots,
exclusive o£ package:

Pittsburgh _ $2.24

Cincinnati „ 2.54

Detroit _ „ ".". 2.6O

Chicago „ „ 2.20

Milwaukee _ _ _ 2.37

Duluth """ 2.25

Minneapolis 2.50

Davenport, la """] 2!43

Cross Tie and Lumber Prices

(From Lumber, SepL. 7, 1923)

White Oak Ties

F. o. b. cars, Chicago, Sept. 5.

No. 5 — 7x9x8 $1.85

No. 4 — 7x8x8 1.75

No. 3 — 6x8x8 1.55

No. 2 — 6x7x8 1.45

No. 1 — 6x6x8 1.35

Red oak ties. 10@15c less than white oak.
Sap pine and sap cypress, 10c less than red
oak.

White oak switch-ties, per M. ft $55 to $58

Red Oak switch-ties, per M. ft 49 to 61

White Oak Ties
F. o. b. cars, St. Louis, Aug. 1.

No. 5—7x9x8 $1.60

No. 4 — 7x8x8 1.47

No. .3—6x8x8 1,30

No. 2—6x7x8 1.20

No. 1 — 6x6x8 1.10

Red oak ties. 10c per tie less than white oak
prices. Heart pine and heart cypress, same
prices as red oak. Sap pine and sap cypress,
25c less than white oak.

White oak switch ties, per M. ft $48.00

Red oak switch ties, per M. ft 45.00

Bridge and crossing plank, same prices a
switch ties.

Market Pricei of Lumber

Flooring, 2x4,

1x4, 16 ft..
No. 1 common No. 1 common

Boston —Yei. Pine

New York— Yel. Pine $57.00 $45.76

Buffalo- Yel. Pine 53.00

Chicago -Yel. Pine 45.00

St. Louis— Yel. Pine 43.00

Seattle. Wash.— D. Fir 56.00 20.50

Southern Mill Prices
Flooring.

1x4. 2x4.

No. 1 flat 16 ft.. No. 1

Pine $88.00 $26.00

Alexandria-
Birmingham
Hattiesburg -
Kansas City

So.
So. Pine
So. Pine ..
So. Pine..

38.78
39.73

26.71
25.72

Timbers.
6x6

$55Ca)57.00
50@52.00

28.00

Timbers.

No. 1,
4x4 to 8x8

$28. .50
28.84

Timbers,

12x12

$63.00@66.i

57. 5061)63. li

47.50(S)51..,>

51.1-

25.0(1

Timl>ers,

No. 1,

8x12 to 12x1

1923 Railways 583

Methods and Cost of Cleaning Ball2ist

Abstract In Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Committee

Report Presented Aug. 11 Before Metropolitan Track

Supervisors* Club, New York City

Among the requirements of stone
ballast, which is the ballast in gen-
eral use under heavy traffic, is that
it must be clean in order to perform
its necessary function of drainage.
Dirty ballat produces rough track on
account of pumping in summer and
heaving in the winter. To obtain clean
ballast it is necessary to screen out
the dirt. This is almost universally
done by means of hand labor with
ballast forks. On account of the enor-
mous expense of this work and the in-

(4) Deposit clean stone where de-
sired.

(5) Clean tie cribs.

(6) Obstruct no more than one
track when in use.

(7) Show a very large saving over
hand labor.

(8) Cover a large yardage daily.
Such a machine, we understand, is

now being worked on by different
people.

Probably the first effort to get away
from the forking of ballast by hand

Cleanine Railway Ballast by Means of Ditchers and Clam Shell Buckets.

ability to keep up with it under pres-
ent labor conditions, considerable
study has been given to the develop--
ment of machinery which will not
only cut the cost of screening, but will
permit an output sufficient to produce
clean ballast at a reasonable cost.

The development of such a machine
is not at all impossible. The chief
obstacle to its achievement is the ap-
parent endeavor to produce a machine
at a low cost, 'by which we mean sev-
eral thousand dollars. It is thought
that an expenditure of $50,000 to
$100,000 would result in a machine
which would do the work and save
enough money to justify the invest-
ment.

What the Ideal Ballast Cleaner
Should do. — The ballast cleaner should
do the following:

(1) Thoroughly clean stone.

(2) Load screened dirt in cars.

(3) Require a minimum of hand
labor (no shoveling).

consisted of a screen onto which the
ballast was thrown by hand, to sepa-
rate the stone from the dirt. This
was improved some years ago and the
result was the Trench-Zepp ballast
screen.

This screen has done some very
good work on a number of railroads.
The screen is set at an angle and held
by supports in the rear, the dirt going
through the wire mesh and the stone
falling at the foot of the screen. Pro-
vision is made for lowering the screen
to clear passing trains and with this
feature some roads used the screens
in the inter-track space, dropping
them when trains passed on either
side.

The Trench-Zepp machine was tried
by many roads and used extensively
by the Baltimore & Ohio, but in ac-
tual use it showed very little merit
over the ordinary hand method of
cleaning other than saving stone,
which, figuring a 10 per cent loss.

584 Railways Sept.

amounts to 79 cents per rail length, slope of about 45 deg. It is 9 ft. wide

resulting in a net cost of $2.31 per on top and tapers to about 2 ft. at

rail length to clean ballast by this the bottom.

Although this machine will not do

The Pratt mechanical ballast cleaner as thorough work as can be done by

was an effort to make a machine that hand, it will cover ground much more

\vould work in the center ditch con- rapidly and is helping to meet the

tinuously, without interference with present labor shortage by relieving

passing trains, arid do the work me- track gangs of much important work,

chanically. And endless chain, carry- Usually two ditchers are operated in

ing three small buckets, was driven one train, each working with a screen

by a one-cylinder gasoline engine, on a gondola car, although as many

The dirty ballast was lifted by these as three ditchers have been worked

buckets and thrown on a shaking as one train unit. With a two-ditcher

screen. The dirt went through the train the average day's work has been

screen onto a pan, where it was shov- found to be about 55 rail lengths of

eled out by hand. The stone passed center ditch. The cost of this work,

over the screen to the inter-track for a 9-hour day, is as follows:

space. Engine crew $ 16.45

On ax^count of the close cleamnce J^^J^'^ZZZZZZ^^^:::::::. \lfo

the buckets could not be turned from Foreman 5.27

side to side, but had to be kept di- Ditcher engineers (2) 9.31

rectly in the center, between the tI-I'^'I^ o™^^ ^q^^;""/S;"«R kIH

J. 1 mi • i ji J . 1 . Irain expenses (9 hr. m 56.50) 58.50

tracks. This meant that, m order to Ditcher expenses 20.00

cover the entire ditch, one man had

to help the dirty ballast into the '^''^^^ ^i^e.es

buckets. The machine traveled for- Operation of the Harris-MufF Ma-
ward on a caterpillar tractor, pro- chine.— The Harris-Muff power ballast
pelled by one man working a lever cleaner consists of a moving belt in
m the rear This forward movement ^ trough, into which the dirty ballast
was later attached to the engine, but ig shoveled. This ballast is carried
without success, as it was found that to a circular screen which separates
the speed forward had to be changed the dirt from stone. The stone is sent
as the material, with which the nria- through a chute to the track, either
chine worked, varied. This machine center or between tracks, and the dirt
would average six rail lengths per jg carried on a moving belt and de-
day with five men under favorable posited clear of the ballast shoulder,
conditions. The repairs, however. The entire mechanism is operated by
were heavy on account of the severe ^ gasoline engine, which also serves
duty required of such a comparatively to propel the ballast cleaner at a rate
light machine, which, including stone of about 15 miles per hour when go-
saved, showed a net cost of $2.34 per j^g to or from work or clearing trains,
rail length. Skids are also provided, which enable
Cleaning by Ditcher and Clam Shell ^^^ machine to be set off the track in
Buckets.— The cleaning of ballast with ^^^^^ «^sht minutes,
a ditcher and clam shell is being done The customary operation is to skel-
by several railroads. The dirty bal- etonize the track in advance of the
last IS lifted out of the center ditch machine. This can be done while the
with a clam shell and dropped on a machine is clearing for trains so that
movable screen which is mounted on ^o time is lost on that account. The
a gondola car. The dirt goes through ballast that has been taken out of
the screen and the stone is directed the cribs and the stone in the inter-
through a steel chute back into the track space are shoveled into the ma-
inter-track space. The clam shell ^hine where it is screened and re-
vanes from_ -^-yd. to 1 yd., depending turned to the track,
upon the width of the space between

tracks and to about 1 ft. below the The proper number of men to work

bottom of the ties. At the same time this machine is about 15 and the cost

it breaks up the area between tracks will run about $2.50 per rail length,

to a depth considerably below this. Including the ballast saved, this figure

The screen is made of ^/4-in. rods is reduced to $1.71 per rail length,

with a IV^-in. mesh, and is set at a This figure is based on 16 rail lengths

1923

Railways

585

of track cleaned in a 9-hour day and
is arrived at as follows:

15 Laborers (9 hr. each) <^ $3.60 $54.00

1 Foreman „ 5.00 5.00

6 gal. Gasoline 23 1.38

14 qt. oil 23 .06

1 lb. grease .15 .15

Total cost to clean 16 rail lengths.... $60.59
Cost per rail length _ $ 3.75

This does not include the cost to
skeletonize the track, but includes one
6-ft. space and one shoulder. As, for
purposes of comparison, we desire to
consider the cost to clean the 6-ft.
space alone, and as two-thirds of the

Harris-Moff Power Ball„,.L .l-ich

operating force is used to shovel stone
from the 6-ft. space into the machine,
we take two-thirds of $3.75, or $2.50,
as the cost to clean a 6-ft. width per
rail length. The stone saved per rail
length (10 per cent) is valued at
79 cts. This brings the cost to clean
the 6-ft. strip per rail length to $1.71.

As the dirty ballast is shoveled onto
the moving belt by men directly op-
posite each other, attention is called
to the wooden guard placed directly
over the belt, which requires all stone
to fall on the belt and prevents it
from reaching the men on the op-
posite side of the track. This ma-
chine could be improved by extending
the receiving belt to clear the body
of the machine, which would permit

he belt to be lowered so that the men

would not have to lift the ballast so
liigh. This would increase produc-
tion. Some mechanical means for

'eeding the machine should be devised
to eliminate hand labor. The capacity

>f the machine is far in excess of
what hand labor can keep up with.

Some interest has been shown lately
in the possibility of cleaning ballast
yy vacuum suction, and plans for such

a machine have been drawn up. Such
a machine could lift dirt and stone
with a separating process. There are
no doubt possibilities along this line
if the necessary money can be se-
cured.

It is thought that the cleaning of
cribs can be done cheaply, and as
quickly, by hand forking as by first
skeletonizing track and then rehan-
dling stone to pass it through a ma-
chine, for the reason that, with the
usual hand method, a few cribs are
first cleaned out in advance and as
ballast is forked out of
! the dirty cribs it is
shaken, and clean stone
thrown directly into
the empty cribs with
one handling. In skele-
tonizing the track and
then passing dirty bal-
last through a machine,
two handlings are nec-
essary. With present
machine methods we
therefore eliminate the
cleaning of cribs except
by hand and show be-
low the cost per rail
,^ length to clean a 6-ft.

width by the various
methods in use at the present time;
with tracks at 13-ft. centers:

Depth Cost per

Method Below Ties Rail Length

Trench-Zepp 6 in. $2.31

Pratt 3 in. 2.34

Clam Shell awo ditch-
ers in one train) 12 in. 1.86

Power Ballast Cleaner 6 in. 1.71

Hand 6 in. 3.10

For purposes of comparison the dif-
ferent depths attained in the 6-ft.
areas have been disregarded, but the
results obtained, for obvious reasons,
favor the method reaching the great-
est depth.

The committee concluded that the
power ballast cleaner is the most eco-
nomical of the present known methods,
with the clam shells and gondola
screens second in cost. The chief ob-
jection to the power ballast cleaner,
as compared with the clam shell and
screen, is that the former will not
cover enough ground per day to keep
up with the amount of cleaning neces-
sary to make clean track. The com-
mittee, therefore, recommended the
use of the power ballast cleaner where
its production can meet requirements,
and the use of the clam shell where

586

Railways

Sept.

the amount of dirty track is excessive
and large production is necessary.

The committee emphasized, how-
ever, that none of the machines de-
scribed answer the requirements fully
and reiterated the belief that a proper
machine can and will be developed
when a sufficient expenditure is made.
Results of Test on Erie Railroad. —
As an appendix the committee pre-
sented a report of the performance of
a power ballast cleaner on the Erie
Railroad at Elmira, N. Y. As the fig-
ures for this report include the cost
of a skeletonizing gang it cannot be
compared with the figures already
quoted, except in a general way. It,
however, is interesting as showing the
savings effected by the use of this
machine.

In an 8-hour day the fuel consump-
tion approximated 10 gal. of gasoline
and 2 qts. of oil. The stone to be
cleaned was first cribbed from the
track to the shoulder by a force of
men well in advance of the machine,
and then shoveled into a long trough
through which a belt operates carry-
ing the stone to the revolving screen.
The cleaned stone was returned to the
track at any point desired by means
of a metal chute at the rear of the
machine which can be shifted so as
to place the stone either between the
rails or outside the rail to the end of
the ties. The dirt was delivered onto
a moving belt, which placed it on the
shoulder at the 7-ft. line.

The force required for efficient oper-
ation of the machine depended on local
conditions. At Elmira the organiza-
tion after several changes was as
follows:

1 foreman.
10 men cribbinK out in advance of the machine.
7 men placing the stone in the machine ; 3

on the outside shoulder and 4 in the space

between tracks.
1 man disiwsinR of the dirt at the 7-ft. line.
1 assistant foreman in charge of the machine

and operating the stone chute.
1 machine operator.
1 flagman.

This organization was able to clean
an average of 96 ft. of track per hour.
At the location where the machine
was used the traffic is quite dense,
an average of 95 trains being oper-
ated over the two tracks in 24 hours.
The machine was delayed by passing
trains 22 per cent of the total time
it was in use. The average cost per
lineal foot of track cleaned was 15
cts., the average cost per cubic yard

of stone cleaned being 42 cts. This
effected a saving in favor of the ma-
chine of about $700 per mile of track
and an approximate saving of 25 per
cent in stone, as there was no waste
of stone in cleaning by this method.

When there are sufficient men, the
work should be arranged so that the
tie renewals are made while track is
open, since by doing this a consider-
able saving can be effected in the cost
of renewals. At Elmira the ties were
renewed after the ballast had been
cleaned, at which time the track was
given a 2-in. raise, surfaced, lined
and dressed and had the appearance
of newly stone ballasted track. The
work was carried on under W. J.
Flynn, supervisor of track, with N.
Manberg, section foreman, in direct
charge.

Concrete Railway Ties in India

The North Western Railway of In-
dia has made exhaustive tests of a new
type of concrete railway tie patented
by a Delhi Consulting Engineer. Ex-
periments have been made on 50 mi.
of main track near Delhi and the re-
sults have been so satisfactory that
a further 70 mi. of track will be sim-
ilarly equipped as soon as the neces-
sary ties are manufactured, says a re-
port to the U. S. Department of Com-
merce from Vice Consul Robert F.
Kelley at Calcutta. The tie consists
of two concrete blocks joined together
by a tie bar, the rails being fastened
by means of a screw or dog spike
driven into wood plugs, specially
treated and compressed, set in the
bed of the concrete block. The other
Indian railways are interested in con-
crete ties. The East Indian Railway
has been using a large number of
Green-Moore patent reinforced con-
crete ties for seven years and has now
nearly completed factory for manu-
facturing 500,000 railway ties per an-
num. The Green-Moore tie is the in-
vention of the Deputy Chief Engineer
of the East Indian Railway and i.s
similar in construction to the type in
use on the North Western Railway.
They have been favorably reported on
by the Senior Government Inspector
of Railways since 1915-1916, who
states that they are still in perfect
condition and show no signs of weak-
ness. The Bengal Nagpur Railway
has decided to adopt the Green-Moore
tie and has acquired a license to manu;
facture 300,000.

11>23 Railways

The Outlook for the Street Railways

587

The Future for the Industry Outlined in a Paper Presented at Recent
Meeting of Missouri Public Utilities Association

By F. G. BUFFE,

General Manager for the Receivers, Kansas City Railways Co.,

Kansas City, Mo.

Several days ago in a discussion of
utility problems and prospects, in con-
nection with reorganizations and con-
solidations that have been recently of-
fering their securities to the public, I
was asked what, in my opinion, was
the outlook for the street railways.
Coming from a man whose business
lies largely with the financing of util-
ities, the question naturally meant
what was the outlook for the street
railways from the investor's stand-
point.

The answer was that any service
as necessary and essential to our cen-
ters of population as street railway
transportation, must of necessity have
a future, and that this future must
include some assurance of an earning
power to those whose money made
the service possible. Furthermore,
any industry that had stood the pun-
ishment and survived the blows of the
last five years, could only have done
so because of this very element of
necessity.

The Size of the Industry. — There is
today invested in street railway prop-
erties over $5,000,000, or almost one-
third of the total investment in the
entire public utility industry. It has
44,000 miles of track, employs 300,000
people, and has a gross revenue of
approximately $500,000,000.

Two hundred and twenty-five com-
panies, comprising 50 per cent of the
total in the country, and 43 per cent
of all interurbans, report to the Amer-
ican Electric Railway Association.
These companies in 1922 had railway
operating revenues of $464,365,210.
They gave over 1,000,000,000 mi. of
service and carried a total of 7,806,-
296,180 passengers. The net income
of these companies increased from
$22,852,418 in 1921 to $37,237,680 in
1922, an increase of 63 per cent.

It is estimated that at the present
time between $200,00,000 and $250,-
000,000 of new money is required
yearly if extensions now needed are
built and necessary public betterments
made.

Surely an industry of this nature,
absolutely vital to the social and civic

well-being of millions of people, must
not only have a future, but this future
must be such as to make possible its
absolutely essential growth.

Railways a Necessity. — The essen-
tial nature of the street railway busi-
ness is now admitted by all students
of the question, even including those
radicals who at one time were pre-
dicting its relegation in favor of bus
or other trackless methods of trans-
portation. While it is admitted that
in some places and under certain con-
ditions a limited field for bus trans-
portation may be found, it can only
be as a feeder or subsidiary, and that
neither the economics nor the physical
limitations in the situation will per-
mit their substitution for street rail-
ways.

It is generally conceded that rub-
ber tires and gasoline cannot and will
not compete in mass transportation
methods with electric power and steel
rails, or that a vehicle limited both as
to carrying capacity and to life can
take the place of a unit capable of
handling large numbers of people with
a minimum of life at least four or
five times greater than the bus.

The two big single steps forward in
the last five years, and for both of
which the industry has been forced to
pay dearly in loss of interest and de-
preciated securities, have been, first,
the changed attitude on the part of
the public as indexed by newspapers
and the decisions of courts and com-
missions; and, second, the advanced
methods of operation to which we
have all been driven in our efforts to
prevent total submergence in the sea
of financial depression.

Fares and Expenses. — The fixed
fare has gone, never to return. It
was an economic mistake in the begin-
ning, and was the sort of handcuff
upon progress which no business could
endure and survive.

The average fare today for the 275
cities in the United States of over
25,000 population, is 7.27 cts., and
there has been only a reduction of a
small fraction of a cent from the peak
of car fares.

588

Kailways

Sept.

Until there is some radical change
in conditions affecting expenses, there
can be but few and small reductions
in prevailing fares. Since the pre-war
period there has been an increase of
over 100 per cent in wages, and such
small reductions as were effected a
year ago are being made up today by
increases and the demand for in-
creases, many of which must doubt-
less be met either voluntarily or
through arbitration. Material prices,
which showed some decrease last year
as against the peak in 1920, have in
the past six months taken a sharp
rise, until today materials and sup-
plies are from 10 to 20 per cent higher
than they were in the fall of 1922.

Coal prices are fixed for the next
year at a level very little if any under
that of a year ago. Therefore if there
is to be no radical change this year
in the price of labor, coal and mate-
rials, which represent from 80 to 90
per cent of operation expense, there
can be little hope of any change in
the fare situation.

The general statement can be made
that expenses are today practically
100 per cent greater than in 1915,
whereas the average level of fares is
approximately 45 per cent.

Advanced Methods of Operation. —

Operating methods have without ques-
tion improved in the past few years.
One-man operation has become estab-
lished, only seeing its beginning. In
Kansas City approximately 23 per
cent of all car hours operated are
one-man hours, and we are making
changes in our equipment that will
permit an increase in this percentage.
We have hopes of at least operating
50 per cent of our service in this way,
using the reconstructed one-man, two-
men cars. The public has in large
measure become sold to the one-man
theory of operation and its installa-
tion is no longer looked upon ad-
versely or with unnecessary criticism
or comment.

Improved Relations Between Com-
pany, Employes and Public. — Perhaps
one of the most effective advances in
operating methods has been the
changed relations existing between
management, employes and the pub-
lic. The idea of merchandising our
transportation product or selling it
against competition of both private
automobiles and jitneys, and the pos-
sibility of giving the public a better
and finer car service for the increased

fare has been sold to employes in all
branches of service.

We have at last to some extent
made our men realize that they are
selling representatives and that their
wages come through the fare box
from our passengers. This has been
reflected in a changed feeling between
employes and passengers, and the de-
sire on the part of the former to
give more service, better service, and
a more courteous service, and of a
recognition by the latter that their
fares, although higher, were buying
them more than ever before.

There has been a changed spirit be-
tween men and management. In the
first place better wages and a higher
standard of living have attracted a
superior class of platform men to the
service. They have realized that they
must work hand in hand with their
officers if they were to insure the con-
tinuity of their employment and if
they were to maintain the high wage
standard that had been set by in-
creased living costs.

Street railways will never again of-
fer a speculative method of making
money. If there was ever any water
in their securities, it has been dried
out long since by war conditions and
by the efforts on the part of the pub-
lic and public authority to hold fare
increases to the minimum. In re-
turn, however, the realization of their
absolute necessity on the part of the
public will in the future insure at least
a fair interest return upon the capital
actually and honestly invested.

This feeling has been refiected in
commission decisions as well as in the
courts, and returns of 7 and 8 per
cent are now permitted in many
states.

An Obstacle That Must Be Over-
come.— One of the great obstacles that
still remains to be overcome and which
is being vigorously taken up by the
American Electric Railway Associa-
tion and other allied interests, is the
subject of taxation, both direct and
indirect, but more especially indirect
taxes. Such taxes are an outgrowth
of old taxing methods when it was
the theory on the part of public au-
thority to get every dollar out of their
utilities possible.

There was little or no regulation as
to earning ability, very little compe-
tion from other modes of transporta-
tion, and from a taxation standpoint,
all that the traffic would bear was the
prevailing idea. As a result, street

1923

Railways

589

railway companies in practically
every city are carrjring paving re-
quirements; viaduct obligations; street
cleaning taxes; car License taxes; park
taxes; and all sorts and conditions of
taxes, in addition to the general state,
county and city taxes which have been
yearly increasing.

In some places where the theory of
service-at-cost has been definitely es-
tablished, and where the public and
public authorities realize that such
methods of taxation are placed upon
the shoulders of those least able to
bear them, namely, the car riders,
these indirect taxes have been re-
moved.

The Competition of Motor Vehicles.
— The most serious inroad, of course,
upon the earning power and the abil-
ity to serve of the street railway
companies in the past decade has been
the tremendous increase in the use
of private automobiles. Some recent
figures on this in Kansas City, Mo.,
alone, are but indicative of the situa-
tion throughout the country. In 1914
there were not to exceed 8,000 private
cars in the city limits, not counting
Kansas City, Kan. Their use was to
a large extent restricted to pleasure
purposes, or they were owned by those
who formerly owned and used car-
riages. Therefore their total effect
upon the street railway ride habit was
negligible. The latest figures in Kan-
sas City, Mo., show a registration of
53,500 private cars, and from an occa-
sional pleasure use they have become
an every day affair. In 1917 the Kan-
sas City Railways carried 137,000,000
people, whereas in 1922, which for us
was a good year in everv respect, we
carried 136,000,000, despite an in-
crease in population of at least 35,000.

However, it would seem that a limit
has been reached in our large Amer-
ican cities to the use of the private
automobile for every-day ordinary
business purposes. This limit is not
economic, is not due to the price of
gasoline or to any habit of thrift on
the part of those owning cars, but
purely due to the physical limitations
of the cities. Either the use of auto-
mobiles will have to be restricted or
our congested districts will have to be
rebuilt. Conditions are rapidly ap-
proaching the point where there is
no longer room in the streets and at
street intersections for a further in-
crease in vehicular traffiic. Parking or-
dinances and traffic regulations are
daily becoming stricter, and are hav-

ing an increasing tendency to reduce
the use of machines.

A Summary of the Street Railway
Situation. — Perhaps the present and
future situation for the street railway
may be summarized somewhat as fol-
lows :

A service-at-cost fare is here to
stay.

There has been a change in the re-
lations between management and em-
ployes and the public for the better-
ment of all concerned.

Public authority, reflecting public
opinion, realizes the necessity of the
street railway for mass transporta-
tion.

Relief from indirect taxes will be
secured.

The use of the private automobile
is limiting itself to some degree and
street railways may expect to get
back some proportion of the increase
due to population.

Speculative returns are gone, but a
fair interest return on capital actually
invested will be not only permitted
but encouraged.

Operating methods have advanced
and will continue to advance on the
side of economy, particularly in the
use of the one-man car.

The street railway is an economic
necessity and as such its future to
some ejctent will be guaranteed.

The above is a rather hasty, horse-
back review of the present day situa-
tion. There is one feature, however,
that seems so apparent as to be almost
unnecessary to mention. This is the
fact that the public will and does ex-
pect a higher grade of service for the
higher fare than ever before and
that it is willing to pay for it. The
cornerstone of our whole structure
from now on is service, coupled with
the fact that those who avail them-
selves of this ser\-ice must pay its
cost, and that this cost will include
and must include a reasonable return
upon the dollars of those investors
who have made this service possible.

Engineers for U. S. Bureau of
Standards. — The U. S. Civil Service
Commission, Washington, D. C, will
hold an open competitive examination
on Dec. 5 for junior engineer, junior
physicist and junior technologist to
fill vacancies in the U. S. Bureau of
Standards. Entrance salaries range
from $1,200 to $1,500 plus $20 per
month.

590

liaihvaija

Sept.

Concrete Slab Highway Grade Crossings

General Features, Construction Details and Suggestions on Installing
Given in Concrete Highway Magazine

Grade crossings have always been
a source of anxiety and trouble for
railroad and highway officials, not
only because of the ever present
danger of accidents but even more
because of the difficulty of maintain-
ing the crossings in good condition.
The growth of highway traffic and
the increasing use of heavy motor
trucks in the last decade have greatly
aggravated the situation. Smooth,
easily maintained crossings are daily
becoming more necessary. Crossmgs
that seemed excellent to the traffic

through the ballast to the subgrade.
Unless the subgrade is firm, the bal-
last is pounded into it and the cross-
ing soon becomes rough and uneven
for both railway and highway traffic.

Good drainage is the first essential.
Surface and ground water must be
carried away quickly before it cari
soften the subgrade. Sun and wmd
will help dry ordinary track, but at
crossings the crossing surface,
whether of wood planks, macadam^ or
concrete slabs, prevents their action.

Even with good drainage the cross-

Concrete Slab Crossing Installation on Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R.

carried by the dirt roads of ten years
ago are woefully rough and unpleas-
ant to the automobile traffic on the
concrete roads of today.

Railway roadbeds at crossings do
double duty. They must support
heavy, high speed trains at least as
well as adjacent tracks— rough spots
shake up passengers, wrack equip-
ment and are a source of danger,
whether in crossings or other places,
In addition, at crossings railway
roadbeds must support heavy automo-
bile traffic, lighter than rail traffic, it
is true, but far more frequent and,
because of the flangeways, causing
heavy impact. This double load rests
on the ties, which distribute it

ing must usually be taken up at least
once a year to permit tamping the
ties. Wooden crossing plank, fas-
tened to the ties by spikes or lag
screws, are apt to be damaged when
they are taken up, or to be broken
by heavy trucks. Consequently their
life is short. Some crossings require
repairs as often as once a month.

Concrete crossing slabs eliminate
many of these difficulties. They are
precast in exact widths that will fit
the gauge without the necessity of
alteration or adjustment in the field.
By the use of lifting sockets cast m
the slabs at the time of manufacture
it is the work of but a few minutes
to remove the entire crossing. There

192;

Railways

are no spikes to pull and no planks
to split. When the slabs are removed
the track can be tamped, ties renewed
if necessary, nuts tightened and the
track put in general good condition.
A few minutes more and the slabs
are replaced. No trimming or spik-
ing is required.

591

prevent displacement during the plac-
mg of the concrete.

The concrete should be placed in
the forms in layers, and each layer
thoroughly tamped to avoid the for-
mation of honeycomb spots. Finish-
ing may best be done with a wooden
float which will work the mortar to

"Close Up" of Cl

Construction Details.— Concrete in

highway grade crossing slabs should
be of the highest qualitv, for the
ser\ace required of it is severe. Care
should be taken to secure good ma-
terials and thorough mixing. Too

Slab Crossing on Illinois Central R. R. at North Riverside, III.

the top, but which will not produce
a surface that is too smooth.
_ As with all concrete work, curing
IS important. The slabs should be
kept wet for at least the first 10 days
and better for 20 davs. They should

■^ j^«i.-*a

Installing the Slabs at Buffington, Ind. Completed Crossing

"^'i*^"]^^^."^ ^^^^^ should be avoided.
Metal torms are to be preferred
and will be found cheaper in the long
run. i.xperience has shown that it is
wise to protect the edges of the slabs
Dy armor plate or curb bars. These
shapes and the lifting sockets should
be securely fastened to the forms to

in Wayne County, Mich.

not be placed in the track until they
are at least a month old.

Suggestions on Installing.— Before
u i!^^^ ^^^ installed, the track
should, of course, be put in good con-
dition. Sawed ties only should be
used and they should be accurately
spaced so that all joints between slabs

592

Railways

Sept.

will be supported. The tie should be
well tamped to an even bearing. The
surface of the ballast should be at
least 2 in. below the top of the ties
in order to avoid heaving action due
to frost.

Some roads use lag screws through
the holes in the lifting sockets to
fasten the slabs .to the ties — others
think this unnecessary. In some cases
small wooden wedges are driven into
the joints to keep the slabs tight.

There are several methods of pro-
viding flangeways. If a metal guard
is used care must be exercised to pre-
vent short-circuitng the signals. As-
phalt, felt or wooden strips have
sometimes been used for insulation.

The Motor Bus and the Elec-
tric Railway

Abstract of a Paper Read at the August

Meeting of the Wisconsin Utilities

Association

By JAMES W. WELSH,

Executive Secretary, American Electric Rail-
way Association

The motor bus is proving itself
today to be a very useful ally to the
electric railway industry. It has been
taken up by many companies to de-
velop extensions into districts not pre-
viously served and in some cases to
replace non-profitable routes when ex-
pensive track and paving replacements
became necessary.

Owing to its low capital investment
it has saved electric railway com-
panies from making the large expen-
ditures ultimately required for a per-
manent rail system. The latter is de-
ferred until traffic is developed to the
point where the lower operating costs
of the rail installation is sufficient to
justify its larger capital requirement.

The question of fitting the bus to
transportation service is, however, a
detail to be worked out in accordance
with local requirements. It is vastly
more important that communities
should recognize the necessity of co-
ordinating their transportation serv-
ice as a whole, from the standpoint
of public convenience, safety, comfort
and economy.

It is disastrous to the public as well
as to the private interests concerned
to encourage or permit the competi-
tion of unregulated buses with the
closely circumscribed service and fares
of the electric railway. To be fair.

both must come under the same au-
thority, and be subject to the same
restrictions. The alternative is to re-
move all restraints from both and let
the electric railway run the service it
pleases at any fare it sees fit to ask.

State Regulation of Motor Buses.
— Every state in the Union has taken
official action with respect to the mo-
tor bus, except six. Public Utility
Commissions have some sort of juris-
diction in 32 states and in 17 of these
the commission has issued general or-
ders governing their operation.
Thirty-six states have imposed a gaso-
line tax. The certificate of conven-
ience and necessity under which com-
petition with electric railways or other
buses is either completely eliminated
or restricted is effective in 20 states.
Unfortunately, however, in some of
these states this requirement is of re-
cent origin and does not apply to
buses previously in service. Issuance
of indemnity bonds is required in 23
states and reporting of accidents in 15.

The Commission has authority over
rates of fare in 19 states and regula-
tions regarding routes are prescribed
by the commission in 14 and schedules
in 16. It is the larger and more im-
portant states that have taken the lead
in these matters and consequently it
may be said that the country as a
whole has progressed well in accord-
ing the bus a legitimate place in trans-
portation.

The Question of Bus Fare. — When
it comes to the question of fare to be
charged, it is even more important
that the community as a whole should
be considered. Every electric railway
man knows that the cost per passen-
ger carried varies through the widest
possible limits on the various routes
of any system of any size. He would
gladly agree to carry passengers for
a 5 ct. fare if he could choose certain
routes only on which this would ap-
ply. Other routes of the same sys-
tem less favored by density of traffic,
length of haul, and other factors,
would require fares ranging from 10
cts. to a dollar or more. If the great-
est good to the greatest number is to
be the principle, then the fare should
be averaged within the limits of the
areas where a common interest is rec-
ognized.

Thus it is that the bus when al-
lowed to compete unrestrictedly witli
the established rail service has been i
able to choose a favorble route and
seemingly operate successfully at a

1923

Railways

593

low fare. In the city of New York
today, the operators of buses on the
Grand Concourse are finding they are
losing money on the 5 ct. fare pre-
scribed by the city administration.
Uregulated competition may, there-
fore, be counted as only a passing
phase in the application of the motor
vehicle.

Effect of Motor Vehicles on Passen-
ger Traffic. — A more vital question, I
believe, is the ultimate effect of the
motor vehicle, including all its forms,
on the riding habit. If the riding
habit is increasing, then the transpor-
tation industry is stable and may look
to the future with confidence.

What has been the effect of the 11,-
000,00 pleasure automobiles on the
number of riders on public convey-
ances such as the electric railway and
the legitimately operated motor bus.
To determine this we have prepared
an index number representd by the
daily car riders averaged for the
month and going back for several
years. There are, of course, numer-
ous factors which affect this figure,
such as general business conditions,
employment, etc., which are reflected
in this study.

The index is based on the average
of 1920, as this represented the best
year since the war. It is noted that
the trend is downward to the ^vinter
of 1921-22, since when it has been
climbing upward and now has gone
above the 1920 average. As this in-
cludes no bus passengers, and repre-
sents 80 tj-pical railways picked at
random over the country it is a most
significant and encouraging sign of the
inherent stability of the electric rail-
way.

This represents a total of over 15,-
000,000,000 passengers for the coun-
try and an annual gross revenue of
$1,100,000,000, of which $50,000,000 is
from the carrying of freight. This
gives the electric railway seventh
place among the industries in the
value of its output. There are 45,000
I mi. of railway track today in active
I service and the total capital invested
t is $5,600,000,000. These are large fig-
ures and are significant of the magni-
tude of the industry.

Electric Railways and Taxes. — As a
tax collector, the electric railway has
been quite successful. It contributes
today 892,000,000 annually in the
form of direct taxes plus the other
imposts levied upon it such as pav-
ing, street cleaning, snow removal,

etc. These charges amovmt to 10 per
cent of fares collected on the aver-
age while in individual cases they
amount to as much as 15 per cent.

In other words, from % ct. to 1 ct.
out of every street car fare is collected
as taxes. This is the culmination of a
burden which has been increasing at
an alarming rate in recent years. For
the vear 1922, the direct taxes alone
amounted to $70,000,000 and with the
other imposts to $92,000,000, while
the net income was but $84,000,000.
Thus the electric railways paid more
money into the public treasury last
year than they paid to their stock-
holders and to the various reserve
funds combined.

Since 1890, operating revenues in-
creased 1,000 per cent while taxes in-
creased over 2,000 per cent, and net
income increased a Uttle over 500 per
cent.

Improved Conditions of Railways.
— Comparing the first half of 1923
with 1922, the Association's returns
from companies throughout the coun-
try are most favorable.

There has been a 6.6 per cent in-
crease in passengers carried; a 3.5
per cent increase in gross revenue; a
6 per cent increase in net revenue and
a 3.7 per cent increase in service
measured by car miles operated.

This has been accomplished in spite
of a 2.5 per cent increase in wages
paid; a 3.6 per cent reduction in aver-
age fare per passenger.

In other words the industry as a
whole has increased wages and de-
creased fares. It has increased the
services rendered, and carried more
passengers. At the same time it has
increased its net revenues, or the com-
pany's own share of the receipts. If
this doesn't indicate a promising con-
dition and a wide-awake and efficiently
conducted business, I will leave it to
the professional investigators.

Evidences of good management and
an active and searching study for im-
provement in the industry are many.
Labor-sa\ing machinery in track con-
struction has permitted track to be
relaid under traffic conditions at a
minimum cost.

The welded rail joint is saving rnil-
lions while it offers a smooth riding
surface, which is the despair of the
jitnev. The Association has raised a
fund" of $23,000 to study this further.
The automatic substation is a saver
in power costs. Lightweight one-man
cars have been important in aiding

594

Railways

Sept.

service in certain places while still
larger cars with trailer operation are
providing a rapid and comfortable
ride in others. Shop practice and
maintenance methods have lowered
upkeep costs.

These are a few of the improve-
ments. Many others are under way.
In all this the electric railway has not
had the benefit of as many competing
manufacturers striving to serve it as
has the motor vehicle, but has had to
solve its problems with comparatively
very much limited resources. The
use of higher priced materials and
the release of inventive and mechan-
ical genius will undoubtedly add great-
ly to the further development of the
industry.

Summary. — The motor vehicle is a
new tool in the hands of the railways
offering a. cheap method of expansion
as a forerunner to the installation of
the permanent rail system. It has
taught the riding habit to those who
used to walk and increased the oppor-
tunities for transportation service.

Nothing has developed or is likely
to which will destroy the necessity
for public transportation.

Regulation by public authorities are
overcoming the inequities of the past
and unjust competition is being elim-
inated.

Taxation and the additional burdens
due to franchise obligations are re-
ceiving close study and the future
should see a material alleviation in
this direction.

Wonderful opportunities for inven-
tive genius exist in improving the
mechanical forms and economies of
transportation facilities and with
these should come corresponding re-
turn to the industry.

Record Car Loadings. — During the
week ending Aug. 26 a total of 1,-
069,932 cars were loaded with revenue
freight. This exceeded by 28,888
cars the previous record, which was
established during the week which
ended on July 28 this year, when 1,-
041,044 cars were loaded. This also
exceeded by 51,393 cars the record of
1,018,539 cars established in the fall
of 1920, and which stood until this
year.

Liquid Oxygen Explosives

A liquid oxygen explosive as made
today consists of a permeable organic
container, filled with the absorbent
material, which is soaked in liquid
oxygen immediately before use, states
C. A. Taylor and W. H. Rinkenbach,
assistant explosive chemists of the U.
S. Department of the Interior, in Bul-
letin 219, recently issued by the
Bureau of Mines. This cartridge is
inserted in the borehole and exploded
either by an electric detonator or by
a special safety fuse and cap.

An inactive absorbing material,
such as kieselguhr or aluminum oxide,
is sometimes added. The proportions
of the various ingredients of the car-
tridge should be such that they will
absorb sufficient or more than suffi-
cient liquid oxygen to completely oxi-
dize the combustible matter present.
Kieselguhr is unaffected, but is sup-
posed to assist in the propagation of
the explosion wave.

The cartridge is usually a tube of
paper toweling, which serves as an
insulator cloth and as a combustible.
A permeable envelope of a material
such as cheese cloth is so constructed
that it will fit into the insulator. This
envelope holds the absorbent and com-
bustible materials and also serves as
a combustible. The material within
the envelope may be classified as (1)
absorptive and (2) combustible.

The absorbents that do not take
part in the chemical action are usually
kieselguhr (diatomaceous earth) and
aluminum oxide, although the latter
has not been used much. The com-
bustibles sometimes serve also as ab-
sorbents, as was originally intended.
Wood pulp, cotton, lampblack, coal
dust, wood charcoal, and cork charcoal
serve a double purpose, whereas crude
oil, paraffin, other liquid hydrocarbons,
and naphthalene are combustibles
only.

Fillers for Cartridges for Liquid
Oxygen Explosives. — An investiga-
tion of fillers for cartridges of liquid
oxygen explosives is being made by
the Department of the Interior at the
Pittsburgh experiment station of the
Bureau of Mines. The work includes
a study of the physical and chemical
properties of fillers, the absorption
of oxygen and the retention of oxygen
and finally their effect as ingredients
of the explosive mixture.

1923

Railways

595

Important Features of Modem Locomotive
Terminals

Committee Report' Presented June 21 at the Annual Meeting of the
American Railway Association

The following is a summary of the
data gathered in 1922 by the Ameri-
can Railroad Association committee on
Design and Operation of Engine Ter-
minals, plus a certain amount of in-
formation published by the American
Railway Engineering Association on
this subject.

General Layout of Terminal. — Ter-
minals are all more or less of a com-
promise. There are so many circum-
scribed elements affecting each point
that no matter whether the terminal
is built by gradual expansion or is
constructed new, the final arrange-
ment will generally reveal some unde-
sirable features. A good labor mar-
ket will often overbalance the selec-
tion of a site which would have been
of greater strategic value.

The site selected should be such that
soil water will not drain into the
house or turntable pit. Enough land
should be acquired to allow for 100 per
cent expansion in the future. Many
ariable factors enter into the best
election of a site; proximity of trans-
portation yards, cost and availability
of land, distance from passenger sta-
tion, necessity for smoke abatement,
treet car or other transportation, etc.
Studies along broad lines should be
made before a terminal layout best
suited to meet present conditions and
future demands can be adopted. In-
vestigation will frequently reveal the
fact that a reduction in delay at
modernized terminals will be equiva-
lent to adding power to the division.
The typical engine terminal is consid-
ered as a division clearing house and
it is assumed that it literally controls
the amount of freight and passenger-
ervice that can be furnished by the
i ansportation department.

Summarizing, engine terminals
must be laid out so that one operation
will not interfere with another. The
importance of this cannot be over-em-
phasized. If one operation depends
pon another for its success, unless
that one is a success, the other will be
a failure. Each facility should be in-
dependent to an extent that if any one
nit or operation should fail it would
ot have the effect of stopping or re-
arding the operation of the terminal.
Few operations can be conducted

efficiently for any leng^th of time if the
facilities are strained to the limit. To
this end each facility should be de-
signed to perform double the work
ordinarily required and at important
terminals duplicate facilities should be
provided. A single track lead to an
engine house is inexcusable. With
three or more tracks available a ma-
jority should be assigned to incoming
engines. Sufficient leads, switches, and
crossovers must be provided to avoid
delays at coaling station, ash pit, in-
spection pit, or other facility. As a
general rule a number of short leads
are preferable to a single long load as
this enables one engine to move inde-
pendently of others. Where number
of leads is restricted frequent cross-
over switches should be provided to
prevent blocking any locomotive. Lead
track to turntable should line up with
corresponding tracks in engine house
for convenience in placing dead en-
gines in the house.

Enginehouse Design — General Fea-
tures.— Modem enginehouses divide
themselves into three classes; a brick
wall with wood frame and roof, rein-
forced concrete frame and roof, and a
combination of steel frame and rein-
forced concrete. The first mentioned
type is cheapest and most generally
used, but the trend has been toward
reinforced concrete. All enginehouses
should be of fire-proof construction as
far as possible. In designing an en-
ginehouse provision should be made
for doubling the capacity needed. It
is first necessary to determine the
class of repairs to be made and the
extent of such repairs. This involves
a study of the capacity for doing such
work at other terminals to which the
engines run. Also the proximity of a
back shop largely determines the ex-
tent of repairs necessary in the en-
ginehouse. It is desirable to locate
the house some distance from a city in
order to get cheaper land, but in
leaving the city care should be taken
from an adequate labor market. The
number of stalls to be provided is a
function of the engines to be handled
and the expected detention. If 100 en-
gines are to be cared for and each may

♦From the Railway Age.

596

Railways

Sept.

occupy a pit 12 hours, then 50 pits will
be needed. If the average detention is
only 8 hours a day then 34 stalls will
be ample. Quality of water, as affect-
ing boilers, and amount of local
switching may also exert considerable
influence upon the number of stalls
necessary.

Enginehouses are made in various
cross sections to suit local conditions,
facilities, funds and taste. The modern
house for a large terminal may have
an overhead crane with down draft
system, boiler washing plant, drop
pits for driving, engine truck and ten-
der wheels, jib cranes at frequent in-
tervals and many other up-to-date
facilities. Practically all of the later
designed enginehouses have increased
head room to improve ventilation and
lighting. The continuous monitor type
of house, single or double, is now be-
ing more generally adopted. The
depth of the house, over all length of
section, has now increased to 132 ft.
on several large roads. The rear walls
of the house (outer circle walls)
should be practically all windows if
good lighting is desired. Window sills
should be about four feet from the
floor.

Shape of House. — In some localities
the shape of the property makes a
rectangular house fit better than a
round house. For large stations a
transfer table may be located between
two transverse rectangular engine-
houses and some rectangular layouts
will require both a transfer table and
a turntable. A transverse rectangular
house is preferable to a longitudinal
arrangement. The rectangular house,
owing to its parallel spacing of pits, is
much easier and cheaper to build than
a round house. One particular advan-
tage of the rectangular house with a
wye is the saving in space permitted
inside the building on account of the
parallel track arrangement. Also the
building may be designed so that it
may be increased by adding multiples
as desired. Leads and wye tracks cost
less to maintain than turntables. The
vulnerability of the turntable to acci-
dent is pointed out as a reason for the
wye arrangement.

Enginehouses should be designed so
that both engine and tender trucks can
be removed at the same time, with
tender cut loose, if desired. The dis-
tance from the engine pilot to the
outer wall varies from 8 to 15 ft. and
from tender to inside doors, 5 to 10
ft.; distance from engine to side walls
from 5 to 10 ft. Doors vary from 12
to 14 ft. wide and from 14 to 18 ft.

high. Doors are made of wood or steel
frame, swinging, and rolling wood or
steel slats. Columns may be omitted
in the drop pit section and trusses sub-
stituted. This provides a clear pass-
age for moving wheels from pits to
rear of house. Outer row of columns
should be made strong enough to sup-
port jib cranes, which may then be in-
stalled at any time desired.

In January, 1921, a committee of
the American Railway Engineering
Association collaborating with a com-
mittee of the Mechanical Division,
American Railway Association sent
out a questionnaire covering the prin-
cipal features of enginehouse design.
Here follows a short quotation from
the 1922 report of this committee.

Floors and Doors. — The Mechanical
Division committee recommends a
permanent floor, preferably wood
block or brick on a concrete founda-
tion for the outer half of the house
where most trucking is done. Con-
crete is satisfactory for the remainder
of the floor. The floor should slope
from the line of columns between pits
to drain into pits, about Vs in. per ft.
The committee considers the ideal
floor to be of creosoted wood block
(12 lb. per cu. ft.), laid direct on a
6-in. concrete base with a bituminous
cushion and filler. Such a floor is easy
to truck over and work on and does
not damage engine parts and tools
dropped on it. The floor will be water-
proof. Floor between pits can be made
cheaper than in the outside circle
where most trucking is done, The roof
structure recommended is to be fire-
proof and is a combination of rein-
forced concrete and tile. Non-fire-
proof roof to be wood of slow burning
construction.

Replies to the questionnaire indi-
cated a marked preference for swing-
ing wood doors. Rolling lift doors are
not as satisfactory on account of the
liability of getting out of order and
the difficulty in repairing damage done
by engines. The committee recom-
mends the wood swinging door as sat-
isfactory and easy to keep in repair.
Door openings should not be less than
17 ft. in clear height and 13 ft. in clear
width. The replies to questionnaire
developed the general opinion that
there is no satisfactory smoke jack.
Cast iron is the first choice, asbestos
second, and wood third. Wood, fire-
proofed appears to be as satisfactory
as any other type. The smoke jack
hood recommended is 42 to 48 in. wide
and at least 10 ft. and preferably 12
ft. long with a flue opening of at least

1923

Railways

597

7 sq. ft. All piping, etc., should as far
as possible be maintained outside the
path an engine would take in passing
through the outer wall of the house,
account of accident.

Turntable, Tractor and Pit. — Turn-
tables are now generally 100 to 110 ft.
long and 120 ft. is being used for Mal-
let engines. All turntables should be
equipped with a suitable tractor or
tractors. A Mechanical Division Com-
mittee of the American Railway Asso-
ciation at a meeting December 15,
1920, concluded that one turntable was
ordinarily sufficient for a 50-stall en-
ginehouse. A 50-stall house would
provide for dispatching 100 engines
per day if, for example, each engine
was detained in the house (average)
12 hours a day. This would mean 200
moves of the table dailv if each dis-
patchment required two moves, one in
and one out, and all engines were dis-
patched. In other words, the table
must turn once every 7.2 minutes. If
a peak load period occurs in which 25
per cent of the movements are made
i", four hours this would require the
table to turn once in everv 4.8 min-
utes which is about as fast as de-
pendable operation will justifv. An-
other consideration is the delav on
account of failure of power or table
which in some cases may justifv one
table for enginehouses with less" than
oO stalls.

_ The size of the turntable has a con-
siderable bearing upon the number of
stalls in the house and longer tables
permit more approaches without Hav-
ing frogs in the track at edge of table.
Generally, the longer the table the
less waste floor space at outer circle
of house, this results from reducing
the angle of stalls. The turntable
deck should be wide enough to provide
a walk each side with handrail protec-
tion. The turntable pit should be paved
and drained. The turntable should be
long enough to balance the engine
When tender is empty. A deck turn-
table with plate girders below in pit is
preferable to a through plate tvpe
with shallow pit. when the cost of con-
.«!truction IS not ereater and when
drainage will permit.

There are two recognized tvpes of
turntables:

1- Balanced.

2. Three point support.

(a) continuous — through beams.

(b) non-continuous — bolted or

riveted beams.
The minimum length of balanced
turntable should be such that no part

of the engine or tender will project
beyond the edge of the table when the
engine with tender empty is balanced
on the table. With an adequate three-
point support table no part of the en-
gine or tender will ever project be-
yond the ends of the table as the bal-
ancing feature is not necessary with
this type.

Cranes, Tractors and Hoists. —

Where heavy repairs are contem-
plated, an enginehouse may be
equipped with overhead cranes. When
the house is not equipped with a down
draft exhaust system, the crane may
only extend from the smoke jack to
the tender but with the down draft
system the crane may be extended to
the outer circle wall of the house.
This emphasizes one particular ad-
vantage resulting from down draft
methods. Portable cranes are always
useful and should be generally em-
ployed. Jib cranes are recommended,
even when an overhead crane is pro-
vided, if quick material movement is
desired. Without an overhead crane,
jib cranes of two- or three-ton capac-
ity, swinging on outer circle columns
between working pits, are very desir-
able. Jib cranes at drop pits are best
located on the nearest column to the
pits. Tractors, where floors are suit-
able and specially provided, will
greatly expedite the movement of ma-
terial. Many commonly removed parts
of modern engines have now out-
grown the hand operated truck.

A joint committee of the American
Railway Engineering Association and
American Railway Association made a
report in 1922 in part as follows:
"Replies received from forty-two
roads regarding cranes showed that
twenty-one roads used no mechanical
devices at all, seven used traveling
cranes, eight used some jib cranes,
eight used monorails and chain hoists
and five used tractors. Six roads con-
templated using traveling cranes. In
general, the crane equipment is de-
pendent upon the nature of repairs to
be made, proximity of back shop, etc.
A terminal handling 75 or more loco-
motives per day should have overhead
cranes or be well supplied with jib
cranes. The general feeling regard-
ing the use of unwheeling hoists in en-
gine houses seems to be that they will
prove economical where all drivers are
to be dropped and work done on them,
but where no work is to be done on
the wheels or on a few pairs only, the
drop pits are more economical. The
same remarks apply to the drop table

598

Railways

Sept.

in this case as to the unwheeling
hoists."

Engine Pits and Drop Pits. — A

Mechanical Division committee of the
American Railway Association con-
cluded that the following characteris-
tics of engine pits were desirable.

Distance from inner fa<;e of outer wall
of engine house to inner face of pit
wall 13 ft.

Distance inner circle columns to pit

wall 10 ft.

Clear width of pit 4 ft.

Clear depth of pit below top of rail 21^ ft.

Jack timbers should run the full
length of the pit. Pits should be
crowned at the center with a gutter on
each side. Drainage should be toward
the turntable with a sewer grate at
the extreme end of the pit. The slope
for drainage should be at least 6 in.
total.

The majority of roads recommend
drop pits to take care of main trailer,
engine truck and tender truck wheels.
Pits for the engine wheels are espe-
cially desirable. Installation of pits
for removing tender wheels would
raise the standard of maintenance.
Where Mallet engines are handled a
double drop pit is recommended. Drop
tables are favorably mentioned for en-
ginehouses. A hydraulic jack is fav-
ored for drop pit work although sev-
eral roads prefer air jacks since the
telescoping feature requires less depth
of it. There is reference to a special
compressed air telescoping jack which
gives reliable service. Drop pits
should be located near the machine
shop so that wheels can easily run in,
if desired. Drop pits or drop tables
are necesary in every house and the
installation of a hoist does not do
away with need for a drop pit when a
pair of wheels must be removed.

Shops and Tool Equipments. — The

extent of the shop facilities will de-
pend upon the location of the house
with reference to the back shop. The
machine shop should be in an annex,
or adjacent to the enginehouse and
generally contain only such machinery
as is necessary for light or running
repairs. It is not good practice to in-
stall machinery in the circle or engine-
house proper. The boiler, smith and
tin shops may be located in the ma-
chine shop for small terminals, or ad-
jacent to it for larger houses.

The following machines and facili-
ties have been recommended by previ-

ous committees for enginehouses oper-
ating independently of back shops:

— 36-in. by 36-in. by 8 ft. planer
• — 36-in. drill press
— 30-in. radial drill press
— 20-in. drill press
— 44-in. boring mill
— lathe for largest piston head
— 24-in. by 16-ft. engine lathe
— 16-in. by 6-ft. portable lathe
— 16-in. by 6 ft. stationary lathe
— 28-in. D. H. crank shaper
2 — double grinders
■grindstone
50-ton press
4-inch pit)e threader
•li/^-in. bolt cutter
— double punch and sear — 24-in. by 36-in. metal

up to li/^-in. thick
— flanging clamp, 10-ft.
— 800-lb. steam hammer
— set tin shop toois
2 — 1 man electric welders
1 — acetylene torch outfit
Blacksmith forges and an annealing furnace.

It is well to located the machine
shop as far away as practicable from
enginehouse gases. The American
Railway Engineering Association typ-
ical terminal layout shows the ma-
chine shop extending out from the cir-
cle of the house with one enginehouse
track passing through it. The black-
smith shop, foreman's office and tool-
room, also storeroom, are shown in the
machine shop or adjacent to it. An-
other alternative plan shows the en-
gine and drop pits in the machine
shop and two enginehouse tracks en-
tering the machine shop but not pass-
ing through it. The boiler and smith
shops are in the machine shop with
the office and storehouse building ad-
jacent. The boiler, tin and pipe, flue
and smith shops in large terminals are
best located in separate rooms or
buildings adjacent to the machine
shops.

Boiler Washing System. — The ma-
jority of roads questioned by the com-
mittee favored equipping all engine-
house stalls with hot water wash-out
and refilling facilities. A few roads
prefer only one-half of the engine-
house so equipped. The general opin-
ion is that washing boilers with hot
water is at all times desirable from
the standpoint of saving in time, fuel
and water and reduction in fire box
and flue repairs. When a house is not
equipped with a washing system the
blow-off steam from boilers should
discharge outside the house. All hot
water and steam pipes should be
lagged.

A committee of the American Rail-
way Engineering Association consid-
ered it good practice to place a set of
blow-off boxes not far from the cinder
pit so that locomotive boilers may be

1923

Railways

599

blown off a little before entering the
enginehouse. This arrangement re-
duces the chances of clogging the
blow-off line in the enginehouse, and
where boiler washing plants are in-
stalled gives cleaner water for wash-
ing out and less sediment to dispose
of.

Plans have recently been advanced
which aim to fill boilers with steam at
100 lb. pressure or over, steam to be
obtained direct from power house. It
is claimed that this procedure results
in much saving of time and is more
economical than present practices.
Your committee recommend that this
matter be investigated further and re-
port made.

Ash Handling Facilities. — ^There is
some difference of opinion as to the
best location for ash handling facili-
ties. It is generally conceded, partic-
ularly in cold climates that ash pits
should be located near the engine-
house so that engines can readily en-
ter the house, on their own steam,
with fires dumped. Also the time of
exposure of firebox sheets to the cold
is shortened by this location. The ash
pit is unquestionably the governing
facility outside of the enginehouse.
This is due to the length of time re-
quired for this operation. New ash
pits should be designed to take care of
a peak load of 25 per cent more en-
gines than the ordinary maximum and
50 per cent more would be better.

The kind and type of ash handling
facility depends entirely upon local
conditions. The length and capacity
of pits depends upon the maximum
number of engines handled at the ter-
minal in 24 hours. At terminals where
a large number of engines must be
handled quickly probably the water
pit type is the best. At terminals
where there is no congestion of en-
gines the bucket conveyor type of ash
pit works out satisfactorily. Water
pits do not function as well in cold
weather account of steam rising from
the water and tendency for loaded
wet ashes to freeze solid in cars. In
designing water pits, care should be
taken to safeguard all approaches so
that men will not fall into them. A
well-designed water pit will allow
from four to six engines to be handled
at one time and the pit capacity
should be sufficient to hold ashes for
several days, if necessary, account of
damages to crane or lack of car sup-
ply. Water pits require a minimum
number of men for the service ren-
dered and the force may be easily ad-

justed to the demand. The capacity of
pits may be increased readily by
lengthening at either end. Length of
each pit handling two engines per
track should be from IM to 1% times
the length of engine and tender, and
length of pit handling 3 engines per
track should be from 2^/^ to 2% times
length of engine and tender. The type
of engine selected should reflect fu-
ture operating needs.

A new type of ash pit having many
unusual features has been described
recently in technical publications.
This pit is located in the roundhouse
and runs transversely under each stall.
Engines come direct from train to
stalls in house. The pit is a sloping
trough 14 ft. wide at top in which a
stream of water flows constantly.
Ashes dropped into this trough are
washed down to an outside storage pit
from which they are loaded into cars
with clam shell buckets. The top of
the trough is level with the bottom of
engine pit and when not in use is cov-
ered with a movable plate to preserve
the continuity of the engine pit floor.
Your committee suggests that this ar-
rangement be investigated and re-
ported on by a future committee.

Ash pit design obviously depends
upon the number of engines handled.
A check of over 7,000 fire cleanings
showed 1.41 cu. yd. of ashes removed
per engine, with a good grade of coal.
Your committee recommends from 2
to 3 cu. yd. of ashes per engine for
average storage capacity. Where local
data has not been secured it is rec-
ommended to design pit capacity on
basis of engine standing 45 miles on
pit for cleaning operation. This in-
cludes two men working 30 minutes.

Coaling Station, Sand Storage and
Water Cranes. — Coaling stations may
be of the modem mechanical tjrpe or
the older gravity tipple. The type
selected usually depends upon the
number of engines handled, the num-
ber of tracks available for coaling en-
gines and the kind of coal used. Sta-
tion capacity should be at least 24
hours' supply and better 48 hours, for
rnaximum demand. The coal storage
bins should be made self-cleaning as
much as possible by proper sloping of
forces. Gravity tipple outlet fixtures
may be of the under-cut or over-cut
type. Preference is shown for the
over-cut fixture as it seems to provide
more even mixing of coal delivered.

Mechanical coaling stations should
be of the transverse type and a station
serving several tracks is preferable to

600

Railways

Sept.

the longitudinal type because it facili-
tates engine movement to and from
the station. When it is necessary to
deliver coal to two or more tracks it is
best to install a mechanical type of
station. Loaded coal car tracks should
have a down grade toward the track
hopper to permit easy feeding of cars.
The receiving hopper must be long
and wide enough tb handle a complete
car and provide sufficient room for un-
loading and handling coal. The hopper
should be protected from the weather.
It is not good practice to have a steel
car chute to close to ash pits on ac-
count of fumes from wet ashes cor-
roding the steel. A good many
modern mechanical stations are built
of concrete, with usual bucket type
conveyor. Under certain conditions a
belt conveyor has been found satis-
factory and economical. A coal meas-
uring or weighing device is recom-
mended for all coaling stations.

A longitudinal coaling station de-
signed recently and described in tech-
nical papers shows coal dumped into a
pit below the ground level. A clam
shell with traveling crane lifts the
coal to gravity chutes which deliver
direct to dealers. This type of coaling
station has a number of new features
which may prove superior in operation
or economy to other types. Your com-
mittee suggests that this arrangement
be studied and reported on by a future
committee.

Sanding facilities are usually found
in common with coal chute so that
sanding may be accomplished while
taking coal. Also in small terminals
the duties of men operating tipple and
sand facilities may be combined. Sand
should be dumped from road cars into
a pit beneath the track or trestle.
Storage capacity of green sand should
be sufficient for several months' sup-
ply; a winter's supply should be pro-
vided in cold climates. Modern sand-
ing facilities are recommended for all
large terminals. One well-known ar-
rangement provides for dumping wet
sand through a hopper to an under-
ground storage pit, from there it is
elevated in conveyor buckets to dry-
ers which in turn discharge dry sand
by gravity into tanks. These tanks
are charged with air which forces dry
sand to other tanks high enough to
discharge by gravity to engine boxes.
Smaller terminals may be equipped
with dryers preferably of the stove
type, on ground level which discharge
dry sifted sand by gravity into under-

ground tanks from which sand is
forced by air to overhead gravity
tanks similar to mechanical arrange-
ment just described.

The location and number of water
cranes or columns depends upon the
importance of the terminal and local
conditions in the terminal and yard.
Water supply for yard engines should
be especially considered and water
storage tanks should always be of
very liberal proportions. No water
crane should be located where the
overflow will freeze on switches.
Suitable sewer gratings should always
be furnished to carry away surplus
water. Water columns should also be
located near the entrance to the ter-
minal and water should be equally
available for inbound and outbound
engines. Engines taking water should
not block the movement of other en-
gines.

Inspection Pits and Washing Plat-
form.— A number of roads have found
inspection pits to be an important ad-
dition to the terminal. In cold cli-
mates pits should be covered with a
protection shed. Pits should be con-
nected by transverse tunnels with
steps up to ground level in the clear.
The inspector's office should have a
pneumatic tube connection with en-
ginehouse foreman's office to expedite
writing up and issuing orders for
making repairs necessary. Track
space for two times their capacity
should be allowed front and rear for
power waiting for and leaving the in-
spection pits. Inspection pits are best
made of concrete with floor ci-owned in
the middle for drainage. Sufficient
sockets for portable and fixed lights
should be provided. The inspection pit
is really the entrance or beginning of
the terminal. Here the crews are
usually released and it is a convenient
location for locker, wash and toilet
rooms for crews, also the inspector's
office.

Buildings and Offices. — The location
of the wash platform is subject to con-
siderable difference of opinion. In
some cases it is thought best to wash
engines first on entering the terminal
and before inspection. Others prefer
to wash last, after engines leave ash
pits and just before entering house.
Some roads, particularly in cold cli-
mates, prefer the washing facilities in
the enginehouse and one stall is occu-
pied for this purpose. The wash plat-
form should be arranged so that oper-

1923

Raihvays

601

ators can climb up easily when wash-
ing upper parts of engines and ten-
ders.

The officer in charge of enginehouse
should have an office adjacent to the
house. This building should provide
rooms for usual clerks and dispatchers.
Suitable locker and wash rooms and
toilets should be provided for all en-
gine house employees, also an ample
supply of drinking water conveniently
located. A proper telephone connec-
tion for all offices at the terminal is
very important. This may be handled
through a private branch exchange.

The supply house should be so lo-
cated that supplies may be taken from
incoming engines, checked into house
and out again to out-going engines.
The location depends upon the general
design of the terminal and should be
so convenient as to cause no delay to
arriving and depailing engines. At
small terminals the supply house, if
large enough, may be used jointly
with other houses or offices which may
be located nearby.

Light repair sheds are not in gen-
eral use. A considerable number of
engines do not have to go into the
house and these may be very readily
cared for in the repair shed. Shed
should be located near the machine
shop. Light repair sheds provide cheap
floor space for tightening and testing
engines and thus conserve the high-
priced floor space in the enginehouse
for heavier repairs. It is recom-
mended that more data be obtained
relative to the economy and usefulness
of this facility.

Storehouse and Oil House. — The

storehouse and its facilities should be
centrally located, preferably close to
enginehouse and machine shop. Walls
should have plenty of windows and
material handling should be expedited
by suitable roadways, platforms and
racks. The oil and storehouses should
be of fireproof construction. Store-
house should be placed so that men
will not have to cross enginehouse
leads to get materials.

Oil requirements at large terminals
necessitate a separate oil house with
attendant, located conveniently to en-
ginehouse and machine shop. At a ter-
minal where oil requirements are light
the oil house may be made a part of
the .storehouse but separated from it
by fire walls. In any case, the oil
house should be adjacent to store-
house.

Government Ownership of

Railways and the Attack

on Valuation

Extracts From an Address June 12

Before the National Association

of Credit Men

By ALFRED P. THOM,

General Counsel, Association Railway
Executives.

L'nder a system of government own-
ership, the rates would still have to
be fixed by a governmental tribunal —
just as now — the only difference being
that then, on one side, would be ar-
raj-ed all the taxpayers demanding
that those who use transportation
shall pay for it in the proportion to
the use they respectively make of it,
and, on the other, some of the users of
transportation would be asking that a
substantial part of the burden be
shifted from their shoulders to the
shoulders of the general taxpayers.

In the event of government owner-
ship, the railroads would no longer be
taxpayers and contribute in the way
of taxes to the public treasury, for
they would then belong to the govern-
ment, which does not tax its own
property. It would withdraw from the
states the power to tax railroad prop-
erty, because they cannot tax prop-
erty belonging to the federal govern-
ment. This would mean that more
than S.300,000,000 per year, now paid
by the railroads in the way of taxes,
would have to be made up to the state
and Federal governments from other
sources.

These cardinal facts are undeniable.
Whether or not particular rates are
out of line or rates on special descrip-
tions of traffic are too high, is, as
above stated, a matter to be deter-
mined by the appropriate govern-
mental tribunal. Manifestly, the con-
troversy, whatever may be its merits,
is not a justification for discarding the
system of private enterprise and own-
ership which has wrought the mar\'el
of achievement now standing to its
credit, and for replacing it with a
system of governmental operation
which is opposed to the fundamental
conception in the American mind of
the proper relationship of govern-
ment to business and which failed to
command the public approval the only
time it was ever tried in American
history.

It may be that there is distress in
the agricultural industry, although I

bUZ

Hallways

Sept.

am happy to believe that conditions
there have greatly improved since the
low prices following the deflation
after the war, and that the industry
along with all others is distinctly on
the up-grade. If, however, there is
distress in that or in any other in-
dustry, it is not my purpose to be in-
different to it or to minimize it.

But we must look at this problem,
which involves a broad governmental
policy, in a clearer way than from out
of the shadow of the dislocations and
readjustments following the war. We
must look beyond the temporary dis-
tress of even a great industry, and
try to safeguard and perpetuate the
forces and the policies which will es-
tablish and maintain on an enduring
foundation the welfare and prosperity
of our people.

Danger of a Government Founded
on a Transitory Condition. — We must
remember that in times of distress,
there is danger, in a democracy such
as ours, that discontent may seek to
translate itself, without consideration
or delay, into a fixed governmental
policy. Nothing could be worse than
a government founded upon a transi-
tory condition of distress and discon-
tent. It is especially dangerous in re-
spect to an essential industry which
has become subject to political control,
for designing politicians will at once
seize upon it as a means of promoting
their political ambitions. This great
transportation industry is now being
made to struggle not only with its
OAvn internal business problems, but
with constant political agitation
started by designing and ambitious
men, some with conscience but mis-
taken, others utterly devoid of con-
science and thinking alone of their
own political fortunes.

Let us not forget that in these latter
days we have erected among us a
marvelous temple of constitutional
liberty, where our patriotic citizens
gather to worship and to give thanks
for the blessings of representative
government and for the safeguards of
human rights which our constitution
guarantees. No blind Samson of dis-
tress and discontent must come near
its pillars to pull it down in wreck
and ruin upon the heads of our de-
voted people!

It is interesting to observe that this
clamor for governmental ownership
and operation of railroads comes just
at the time when the government, al-
ready owning sufficient tonnage by
water to move the water-borne com-

merce of the world, is acknowledging
its inability to operate it successfully;
is seeking from Congress a subsidy to
make good deficits which it declares to
inevitable, and, in the absence of a
subsidy, is seeking to find private pur-
chasers to do the business which it
acknowledges it cannot itself do.

Government Operation During and
After the War. — It is also interesting
to observe that those who advocate
governmental ownership as a means
of securing lower rates, must confront
the object lesson furnished by govern-
mental operation during and after the
great war, when the government, for
the 26 months of federal control, ac-
cording to the statement of the Di-
rector General of Railroads, excluding
the six months guaranty period in
1920, suffered a loss of approximately
$1,200,000,000— an average deficit for
the 26 months of over $46,000,000 per
month — not a deficit of earnings to
meet operating expenses, but a deficit
in respect to paying operating ex-
penses and a return on the property
used, which the President and Con-
gress declared to be fair during a
period in which the carriers were ex-
cluded from participation in the
prosperity enjoyed by all other indus-
tries arising out of war profits.

There is little in this experience to
justify the hope of lower rates under
government management, unless the
general taxpayer is to supply the
defficiency which the lower rates
create; in other words, unless the tax-
payers are willing to pay a subsidy to
support rail transportation which they
have refused to pay in support of
water transportation.

The Attack on Valuation. — But
driven to the conclusions I have stated
by the inexorable logic of these facts,
and realizing that they cannot hope
for lower rates if the values found b>
the government for these properties
are respected, the advocates of gov-
ernment ownership have already in-
augurated a campaign for the destruc-
tion of that valuation.

That valuation, with the additional
investment which has since been made
up to Dec. 31, 1921, amounts, for Class
I roads, to $19,734,683,000. A conven-
tion of the advocates of government
ownership recently held proposes to
reduce these figures to $9,734,683,000
by the simple method of striking off
ten billions of dollars.

Let us apply to this proposal a very
simple test — employing the method
used by President Markham in his

1923

Railways

603

striking demonstration of the fact that
the Illinois Central is not over-cap-
italized :

The railroads included in this valua-
tion, as of Dec. 31, 1921, owned 68,718
locomtives, 56,900 passenger train
cars, and 2,378,682 freight train cars.
The existence of these assets and the
use of them in the public service can-
not be disputed. Estimating them at
even one-half of their present cost,
they would be worth $4,643,328,800.
Add to this, cash working capital and
the value of materials and supplies on
hand, which at the time mentioned ap-
proximated $652,677,192, and we have
an aggregate of $5,296,005,992. De-
duct this from the $9,734,683,000
which these advocates of government
ownership declare to be the proper
value, and there will be left, as the
value per mile of the 241,399 miles in-
cluded in the valuation, a little less
than $18,400, which covers the road-
bed and track, bridges, tunnels, sig-
nals, telephone and telegraph lines,
lands, yards and buildings, including
shops, roundhouses, stations, and ter-
minals everywhere, some of which are
located in great cities and are of vast
value. When this figure of less than
$18,400 per mile is contrasted with the
cost to the various states of construct-
ing the hard-surface county roads,
which averages, according to the De-
partment of Public Roads of the U. S.
Department of Agriculture, $36,801
per mile, and in which nothing has to
be included for tunnels, signals, tele-
phone or telegraph lines, yards, shops,
roundhouses, station buildings, ter-
minals or any other buildings, lands
for right of way, or the cost of enter-
ing any municipality or city, and rela-
tively little for the construction of
bridges and for the elimination of
cur\^es and grades, the monstrous
scheme of confiscation proposed by
these advocates of government owner-
ship begins to disclose itself.

The foregoing will give an idea of
the extremes of confiscation to which
these advocates of government owner-
ship are willing to go.

We are told that in the early days,
lere were gentlemen, piratically in-
lined, who made large sums out of
istful investors by a system of rail-
)ad wrecking, in which they were
id to be past masters. These men
rere pygmies as compared with the
lilroad wreckers of today; for the
latter, by the simple fiat of a Congress
which they hope to control, are seek-
ing to deprive the owners of these

properties of ten billions of dollars of
the value placed upon them by an in-
dependent and informed government
tribunal.

But they contend that a large part
of the investment in these properties
was made by the public which paid
the rates, and the amounts thus paid,
in excess of certain standards which
they fix, does not belong to the rail-
roads but to the public; and they fur-
ther claim that no part of the increase
in the value of lands ownied by the
railroads, over their original cost, can
be included in the value of the railroad
properties.

The thing which the railroad pro-
duces and sells is transportation. The
price of it has for many years been
fixed by the government, and was al-
ways the amount permitted by law. It
was sold in the market on terms either
prescribed by governmental authority
or otherwise as lawful as the prices
received by the farmer for his cotton
or his grain.

Suppose a party of public men were
to come forward now with the claim
that the prices received for cotton and
for wheat during the late war were
excessive — ^wrung from the necessities
of the people by the exigencies of war
— and, if invested in the farmer's busi-
ness or in additional lands or other
property, the public and not the farm-
er created and is the owner of the
values thus acquired. What would the
farmer say to such a proposal ?

Lands in cities and in rural districts
the country over have increased in
value many thousand fold due to the
building of railroads, the establish-
ment and growth of cities, the devel-
opment of markets, the construction
of highways, and the carrying out of
drainage and irrigation programs at
public expense. The growth in the
value of lands due to these causes is
known as "the unearned increment."
Will the individual owner admit that
this increase in value does not belong
to him ? And yet, when part of these
lands happen to belong to a railroad
company, this daring political philos-
ophy denies that the increased value
is the property of the railroad owners.
If this claim is ever admitted, the
same principle will apply to other
classes of property essential to the
public, when the system of govern-
mental regulation is extended over
them.

604

Railways

The Wear and Care of Wire Rope

Sept.

Useful Suggestions for Care of Wire Rope Given in Paper Presented
Aug. 30 at Annual Meeting of Lake Superior Mining Institute

By WILLIAM CONSTABLE

Mechanical and Electrical Engineer, Republic Iron & Steel Co.

Wire rope is in 'itself the most re-
liable of all structural materials, but
it is also a sensitive and complex
structure. Therefore, in order to ob-
tain the most satisfactory results
from a wire rope, it is necessary to
follow certain definite rules, and if
these rules are ignorantly or other-
wise disregarded, short rope life and
often disaster is the result. Hence,
by the application of a few of the
more important rules by the user
towards the care of wire rope, the
abuse will be considerably reduced
and better rope life will result.

Hoisting and Haulage. — The ropes
used for this class of service range
in sizes anywhere from 1 in. dia. to
2% in. dia. and lengths suitable to
meet conditions.

Drums used for hoisting and haul-
age purposes should be made of cast
steel material whenever a cast iron
drum shows wear, and as large in
diameter as practicable. The use of a
grooved drum is far better and more
economical than a flat face drum.
Where a flat face drum is used it is
absolutely necessary that the first
layer wind uniformly to guide the ad-
ditional layers because the first layer
of rope on the drum is the groove for
all additional layers. This can be
greatly aided by using a steel start-
ing piece to guide the first wrap of the
first layer so that the rope may be
wound on the drum in a true helix,
otherwise the rope may wind in a
wavy manner causing severe abrasion
to the rope due to this condition.

When installing a new rope on a
flat face drum, care should be taken
not to hammer hard each additional
wrap of idle rope against the adjacent
wrap already on the drum, it is only
necessary to tap with a light hammer
and wooden block to bear against the
adjacent wrap of rope. If this is done
too forcibly it will reduce the pitch
of the fir.st layer by interlocking of
the idle wraps of first layer and the
second and additional layers of rope
will be subject to severe abrasion due
to close winding of the first layer.
Furthermore, to avoid interlocking of

ropes on installations winding only
one layer on a small diameter straight
face drum with a severe fleet angle
existing, it is preferable to use a left
lay rope when overwind rope winds
from right to left and under-wind
rope winds from left to right. A
right lay rope is preferable when the
under-wind rope winds from right to
left and the over-wind rope winds
from left to right. There should al-
ways be at least three to four turns
of dead rope left on a drum.

Where severe rope abrasion occurs
at flanges when changing from one
layer to another, or at other points
due to the crossover, it is advisable
to order a little reserve rope to per-
mit the cutting off of the rope at the
drum end at frequent intervals. Where
there is not much reserve rope on the
drum and where the abuse is quite
severe and requiring frequent cutting
at the drum end, it has in some cases
been found satisfactory to cut 30 in.
at a time every three or four weeks.
In other cases these need not be cut
oftener than three or four months.
This will dpend upon the total rope
life and the rapidity of rope wear on
the drum.

As stated before a grooved drum is
more economical and wherever feas-
ible it is strongly recommended in
preference to a flat face drum. Where
a grooved drum is used, and rope
wound more than one layer the pitch
of the grooves should be not more nor
less than %-in. larger than the rope
diameter; this will give an ideal wind-
ing condition of the first layer, if the
fleet angle is not too great, and will
permit a good groove condition for
the second layer. If the pitch is too
small it is apt to cause crowding or
rubbing of one wrap of rope against
the other and if a second or third
layer is added on a close pitch groove
drum the additional layers of rope
will be subject to severe abrasion.
The grooves should also be made of
a slightly larger radius than the rope
so that the rope will not wedge or
pinch in the groove.

Another advantage of a grooved

1923

Railways

605

drum is that the rope in the groove
is given a far better and continuous
support, hence the actual pressure of
rope on drum becomes less and more
uniform and not concentrated as when
a flat face drum is used. It will be
found that most of the latest high
speed hoist installations are using
grooved drums. It is the general
practice for the diameter of a drum
to be not less than 60 times the rope
diameter.

Sheaves. — The head sheave of a
shaft hoist installation has a great
bearing on the life of the rope and
if they are not made of the proper
material nor machined true and their
upkeep is neglected, good rope service
will not be secured. Sheaves are gen-
erally made of cast iron, cast steel,
or maganese steel. If a cast iron
sheave does not wear with any given
rope tension, it will be satisfactory
to use cast iron. If, however, the
cast iron sheave wears so much as to
influence the life of the rope a cast
steel sheave should be used, but if a
cast steel sheave wears so much as to
influence the life of the rope, then a
manganese steel sheave should be
used if other operating conditions
permit.

It is very necessary that head
sheaves be machined very true, round
and in perfect balance if good rope
service is to be secured. It is also
very important that the sheave is in
alignment with the center line of the
drum or if the drum is not entirely
filled it should be in line with the cen-
ter of that portion of the drum on
which the rope winds, to avoid sheave
flange wear as much as possible,
which is caused by the rope fleeting
back and forth across the drum. It
is almost impossible to exercise too
much care and attention for the pre-
vention of side flange wear, but is also
very dangerous if a portion of the
sheave flange cracks and breaks out,
throwing the rope out of the sheave
groove.

With high speed hoists, the head
sheaves should be as light as possible.
Where a sheave of heavy section is
used, there is a tendency for the ropes
to slip on the sheave when the veloc-
ity of winding changes quickly which
will wear the rope very severely. If
sheaves become badly scored or the
groove diameters are worn small
from a rope which has been in service
for a considerable time, it is most ad-
visable to change the sheave or turn

out the groves before a new rope is
installed, to insure the best condition
for rope service in the future. A
pinching groove condition should be
avoided with a new rope as this re-
sults in a restriction of the rope ro-
tation and the strand movement. The
general practice is to have a groove
diameter slightly larger than the rope
diameter and the following groove
diameters are recommended for new
and remachined grooves:

For rope %-in. to 1^4 -in. dia. — iW-
in. larger grooved diameter.

For ropes lA— in. to 2^2 -in. dia. —
^,s-in. larger grooved diameter.

For ropes 2*8 -in. up — A-in. larger
grooved diameter.

In regard to the proper diameter
sheave for a certain size rope, the
general practice is to figure it at 72
times the rope diameter, but 80 times
the rope diameter would be better.

Fleet Angle. — The fleet angle is the
maximum angle formed by a line run-
ning through the center line of the
head she&ve at right angles with the
center line of the drum and a line
running from the center of the head
sheave to the center line of the outer-
most wrap of rope on the drum. This
angle should be kept as small as pos-
sible. The permissible fleet angle fo/
shaft hoists is stated by some authori-
ties as a maximum of m degrees,
but others allow 2 degrees as a maxi-
mum. These values are governed by
a number of conditions, for example,
a 2-degree maximum fleet angle may
be permissible for large diameter
grooved drums, but without question
where a small diameter straight-faced
drum is used a maximum fleet angle
of 1^2 degrees is excessive. Too
large a fleet angle results in an over-
lapping of the rope on the drum
which should be avoided as it will
mash, distort, and severely abrade
the rope causing a short rope life.
Many ropes have been decreased in
life from thirty to fifty per cent be-
cause of this condition. As the fleet
angle is governed by many conditioss,
before installing a new equipment it
would be very advisable to submit all
data to the rope engineer for his ex-
amination, study and suggestions from
a wire rope viewpoint.

Attachment to Cage or Skip. —
Where the rope is attached to the
cage or skip it is most advisable to
use a wire rope socket with zinc at-
tachment, when properly made, will
develop the full streng^th of the rope.

606

Railways

Sept.

If a socket attachment is used it will
be necessary to cut off the end of
the rope at frequent intervals and re-
socket it again. This should be done
at six equal intervals during the life
of the rope and the rope should be cut
anywhere from 2 to 20 ft., depending
upon the deterioration of the rope
near the attachment. This is neces-
sary because a rope running over a
head sheave of a hoist is restricted in
rotation due to the friction of the
rope in the groove of the sheave. This
accumulates an excess of twist in the
rope at the socket. This accumula-
tion of twist together with the con-
stant vibration of the running rope,
concentrating at the socket attach-
ment, causes an additional fatiguing
action in the steel wires which re-
quires that this portion be cut off at
frequent intervals. An additional
length of rope should be ordered to
meet the condition.

Where clips are used for an attach-
ment, be sure that the "U" bolt bears
on the slack side of the rope. Other-
wise a crimp is placed on the tension
side of the rope, damaging it and at
this point the rope generally fails. Be
sure to use a sufficient number of
clips to properly hold the rope and
the larger the rope diameter the
greater number of clips are required.
Clips should be spaced so that the
distance between center line of clips is
equal to six times the rope diameter.
It is very important that the nuts are
tightened up frequently when the
rope is put into service, because the
stretch of the rope reduces the hold-
ing power and may cause an accident.
It is also considered advisable to re-
clip an attachment in case of re-sock-
eting. Where the clip attachment is
used it is advisable to use a solid
thimble so that the pin hole may be
offset from the center line of the thim-
ble a distance equal to one-half the
rope diameter so that the pull of the
rope may come in direct line with the
bear of the pin.

In shaft hoist or haulage work, if a
shut-down becomes necessary the rope
should not hang in the shaft or lay
out on the slope, but both skips or
cages should be brought to the sur-
face with the rope wound on the en-
gine drums so that if thoroughly
lubricated they will be protected from
deterioration.

Haulage. — In inclined haulage work
a good track equipment is very essen-

tial. Care should be taken regarding
the true alignment of sheaves and
track rollers. These should be well
lubricated so that the rope may ride
with the least possible friction. Roll-
ers often stop or freeze fast and
though made of softer material will
cause wear on the rope. Knuckle
sheaves should be located at points
where change of direction of rope is
such that the length of the arc of
contact is six times the rope diameter
or more. The knuckle sheave diam-
eter should not be less than 48 times
the rope diameter for 6x19 construc-
tion, nor 84 times for 6x7 construction
and should be equipped with properly
machined grooves.

Abrasion and rubbing of rope on an
incline haulage should be avoided by
the proper installation of rollers. Con-
sidering the rollers on a uniform
grade, it is found economical to use
the wide mouth type of track roller,
which should be not less than 6 times
the rope diameter, and they should
be spaced 25 to 30 ft. apart. If it
is found that this system of track
equipment wears down quickly it may
be necessary to install steel sheaves.

In both hoisting and haulage work
it is very important to avoid high
accelerating stresses. It may not, on
the surface, appear dangerous to the
wire structure, but if the comparison
were made of the micro-structure of
the steel before and after such stres-
sing a visible change would be per-
ceptible. It is by far the wisest plan
to apply the load gradually so that
the rope may not be subjected to sud-
stresses, which have a great bearing
on the life of a rope.

Overloading a wire rope is also
very detrimental toward good rope
life and should be avoided and
guarded against. The safety factor
should not be less than that specified
in the wire rope catalogs and for
short lengths of rope the safety factor
should be increased.

Ropes on Excavating Shovels. — A
good many of the most modern shovels
today use wire rope exclusively for
digging in place of chain which
was formerly considered indispensable
for shovel work. Ropes for this class
of service range in sizes from %-in.
dia. for boom ropes up to 2% -in. dia.
for main hoist ropes, as used on one
of the largest type.

When installing a new rope on a
shovel care should be taken not to

1923

Railways

607

damage the rope in any way nor cause
it to become kinked, for any abuse in-
curred by a shovel rope during in-
stallation may cause an early failure.
After removing an old rope, and be-
fore installing the new one, examine
all the sheaves carefully and check
the groove diameters accurately to see
that they have not been worn small
nor scored by the old rope. A sheave
groove which has been worn down to
the diameter of the worn rope, which
IS generally less than the diameter of
the new rope, will cause a pinching
action on the new rope resulting in
the new rope becoming damaged in
the first few days of operation. It
would be much cheaper to re-machine
the worn groove to the proper groove
diameter or replace the sheave be-
fore installing the new rope.

Avoid the rubbing of the rope on
the steel structure of the boom by in-
stalling guide rollers. Where such
rollers are installed the bearings must
be kept well greased so they will al-
ways be free to revolve. If this is
neglected and rollers become fast the
ropes continually rubbing over them
will severely wear the rope and
shorten its life. Precautions should
be taken against sudden heavy dig-
ging stresses as the normal load
stresses run high in this class of
work. Furthermore, a good operator
will avoid reckless handling which is
apt to impart severe damage to the
ropes. The rope should wind uni-
formly on the drum and avoid the
piling up of the rope on the drum
in one place, as this will mash and
abrade the rope and greatly reduce
its life. It is also important where
possible to have the drum of suf-
ficient diameter and length so that
the rope may wind upon it in one
layer.

Seizings. — As stated before, a wire
rope is a mechanism of somewhat
complex construction and its original
efficiency can only be retained as a
unit when it is not distorted. In the
manufacture of wire rope great care
is exercised to twist the wire in the
strands and the strands in the rope
under uniform tension. Therefore, it
is very important that the ends of a
wire rope are properly secured with
the proper number of wire seizings.
If the ends are not properly secured,
the original relation of tension, as
manufactured, will be disturbed and
:',e maximum service \y\\\ not be se-

cured, due to the fact that some
strands are carrjing the greater por-
tion of the load.

When cutting steel wire rope, it is
very essential to place three sets of
seizings each side of the cut to pre-
vent disturbing the uniformity of the
rope. Use annealed iron wire for
seizing purposes.

Right and Wrong Way of Handling
Rope. — When installing a piece of
wire rope it is not probable that any-
one would intentionally mishandle it,
nevertheless, a word of caution should
be given. In the first place, a wire
rope should not be handled like a
manila rope for it is structurally dif-
ferent. It must not be uncoiled like
a hemp rope. A wire rope received
in a coil should be unrolled on the
ground like a hoop and straightened
out before attempting to pass it
around the sheaves. Where long
lengths of rope are shipped on reels
the reels should be jacked up on a
shaft at a point convenient to the in-
stallation and ' allowed to unwind
slowly until the entire length of rope
has been installed. Avoid kinking a
rope when installing it, for if a rope
is kinked during installation, it is al-
most certain to fail in service at that
point.

\^'hen handling a Lang lay rope
never wind directly from the reel or
coil to the drum. Lay out rope in full
length if possible or set the reel or
coil as far from the drum as possible.
A Lang lay rope is more springy than
a regular lay and should be carefully
installed and where possible always
keep tension on the rope.

Lubrication. — Lubrication of a wire
rope is highly important, as it per-
forms two necessary functions; that
is, to reduce internal and surface fric-
tion and to prevent corrosion. Ropes
being operated in vapors or fumes,
or in water must be thoroughly lubri-
cated to prevent corrosion. There is
not much value in a lubricant which
will run easily and drip from the rope.
The ideal lubricant is one which will
not harden upon exposure nor at low
temperatures and which can be made
thin enough to penetrate. Therefore,
a lubricant applied hot will generally
give good ser\'ice because in its
heated condition it will penetrate and
then upon cooling will congeal into a
plastic filler throughout the rope.

A wire rope operating over sheaves
must be well lubricated because it is

608

Railwaij

Sept.

subjected to considerable internal
friction and in order to overcome this
friction the lubrication must be such
that it will work in between the wires
of the strands, thus permitting the
wires to be free to adjust themselves
to all degrees of bending.

Connections. — Wherever a spliced
eye, clip or clamp connection is used
it is very necessary to use a wire rope
thimble, around which the rope is
passed to protect it from becoming
mashed and distorted when strain is
applied to the rope.

Reverse Bending. — Reverse bending;
that is, passing of a rope over one
sheave in one direction and over a
second sheave in the opposite direc-
tion, so that the two bends are dia-
metrically opposite. This is an ex-
ceedingly severe condition of rope
service and its use should be avoided
wherever possible. The use of a re-
versed bend will wear out a wire rope
more rapidly than straight bending.
The result of a reverse bend is simi-
lar to taking a sample or wire and
bending it backward and forward un-
til it breaks at the pcdnt of bending.
It is quite surprising how few reverse
bends are required to cause failure,
therefore, M'here a wire rope is sub-
ject to similar reverse bends short
rope life will result.

Explosibility of Ammonium
Nitrate

A preliminary study of the proper-
ties of ammonium nitrate that influ-
ence safety in storage, handling and
use has been completed by the U. S.
Department of the Interior through
the Bureau of Mines. This work is
conducted m co-operation with the
National Research Council, which es-
tablished a committee for the investi-
gation of the explosibility of ammo-
nium compounds, as the result of a
number of explosions of ammonium
nitrate, in chemical works and other
places. The committee is composed
of members of the Bureau of Explo-
sives, Army, Navy, Fixed Nitrogen
Research Laboratory, and Bureau of
Mines. Ammonium nitrate is exten-
sively used in making mining and
military explosives, and in the manu-
facture of fertilizers. The Bureau's
experiments have yielded definite data
on the effects of heat, pressure, and
density of packing on the stability
and sensitivity of ammonium nitrate.

Steam Shovels Operated by
Compressed Air

Methods Employed in Excavating at

Cleveland, O., Described in Mine

and Quarry

By RALPH T. STONE

The adaptability of compressed air
to various angles of construction work
recently found an interesting applica-
tion in the city of Cleveland, in lay-
ing several miles of water intake
mains from the Kirtland Pumping Sta-
tion to the new Baldwin Reservoir and
purification plant, in the highest part
of the city.

The intake consists of two 5-ft. lock
bar steel pipes laid side by side in a
trench 15 ft. wide. The depth varied

Air-operated ShoMi in the C'u!.

from about 9 ft. to 20 ft. according
to the conformation of the surface.

For about 6,000 ft. the mains run
through Wade and Rockefeller Parks,
which are contiguous, consisting of a
long rather narrow parkway travers-
ing one of the finest residence sec-
tions of the city and crossing several
heavily traveled streets.

A. B. Roberts, director of utilities,
decided not to permit the use of steam
equipment in the parks in order to
avoid damage from the smoke and
soot. As the work was prosecuted
day and night it was also necessary
to avoid the noisy exhaust of steam
engines.

Air Power Adopted. — It was found
that by installing an air compressor
plant this result could be accom-
plished, while the contractor could
utilize standard excavating equipment
which can be used on future work
where steam is not objectionable.

1923

Railttays

609

Peter F. Connolly of Boston, Mass.,
the contractor, installed two Sullivan
angle compound belt driven air com-
pressors. They have a rated capacity
of 784 cu. ft. per minute at 250 r.p.m.
and supplied an abundance of air at
125 lb. pressure. Each compressor
was driven by short belt connection
from a General Electric 220 volt three
phase slip ring motor of 150 h. p. The
air intakes were led under the floor
to the outside of the building and
were hooded over to prevent foreign
matter from entering the cylinders.

Alternating current for the com-
pressors was supplied by the Cleve-
land Electric Illuminating Co., special
transformers being installed just out-
side the building.

shovel to the main. It was led
through one of the openings in the
side of the sectional track and was
connected with the hollow swivel pin
on which the shovel revolves. Thence
it ran into the boiler and there was
reheated by means of a light wood
fire in the boiler.

Considerable rock was encountered
and was drilled with hand hammer
drills of the self rotating type. In
the hard pan, compressed air spades
with long handles were found very
useful. For tamping the fill solidly
under the pipes, compressed air tamp-
ing tools or sand rammers were used.

On the 6-in. line a water trap was
installed at a low point for the pur-
pose of drawing off accumulated

One of the Air-operated Drag Lines Making the Surface Cut, in Wade Park.

From the compressor house a 6-in.
main led about 4,000 ft. north and a
4-in. main for about 3.600 ft. in the
other direction along the trench.
These mains were equipped with nu-
merous tees for machine connection.

Adaptable Steam Shovels. — The ex-
cavators consisted of three Erie
Model 'B" shovels, mounted on sec-
tional track with interchangeable
boom equipment. In accordance with
the necessities of the work they were
used as steam shovels, drag line ex-
cavators, clam shells or cranes for
placing the pipe.

A Keystone excavator was used for
back-filling the trench after the pipe
was laid and tested.

Reheating Air for the Shovels. —

An ingenious method was used in
furnishing the air power to the ma-
chinery. Two-inch hose connected the

moisture before delivery to the
shovels and drills.

As the work progressed both day
and night, proper illumination was
important. A number of locomotive
type steam turbine generators fur-
nished current to 150 watt incandes-
cent lamps. These turbines were light
enough to be handled by two men,
required no foundation and ran ex-
cellently on compressed air. They
were placed wherever needed along
the line and connected to the air main
with %-in. hose. In addition each
shovel was equipped with a generator
on the roof.

The work was continuously under
the close personal supervision of A.
B. Roberts, director of utilities of the
city of Cleveland; A. V. Ruggles, com-
missioner of water; G. W. Bowers and
F. R. Sullivan, assistant engineers in
direct charge of the work.

610

Railways

Sept.

Early Railroad Grading Camps
in Kansas

An interesting account of a railway
grading camp of 45 years ago is
given by W. G. Norton in the Santa
Fe Magazine, from which we quote
the following:

When the Santa Fe line was built
from Florence to Ellinwood, Kan., (in
1879) it was my good fortune — as a
green farmer's boy with an empty
purse, a rare appetite and a strong
span of mules — to be induced or
rather projected into a railroad grad-
ing camp, most of which was made
up of western Kansas farmers whose
crops had dried up and whose families
were in need.

The veterans of the gang dubbed
us "Sorghum Lappers" and "Clod
Hoppers," but it did not take long to
develop mule skinners and scraper
rustlers from such material.

My first job was to hitch my span
of mules to one end of a four-horse
evener, and my partner hitched his
m'^le to the other end. The evener
was attached to a big breaking plow,
with a stout Dutchman at the handle.
It was our duty from 7 until 12 and
from 1 until 6 to plow dirt enough
ahead to keep the scraper gang on
the jump, and had we fallen down
ever so little there would have been
another set of teams in our place
without any argument.

The work was supervised by husky
gang bosses, who knew how dirt could
be moved from cuts or dumps, built
with neatness and dispatch, mingled
with much sweat of the brow and
language that was far from pious.

The housing problem was settled
by whatever means happened to be
at hand. Some had tents; some built
dugouts or shacks from old lumber,
and many lived in covered wagons of
the prairie schooner type, while some
resided in bunk-houses,, the beds of
which usually were infested by hordes
of hungry grey-backs and bed bugs.

The majority of the men formed
mess crews and boarded themselves.
Beans, bacon and bread were staples
of consumption on week days, and
potatoes, dried apples and peaches,
rice, eggs — boiled, scrambled or fried
— oceans of black coffee and flap
jacks comprised the Sunday menu.

Sunday was not a day of rest.

Washing muddy clothes, repairing
shacks and harness, mending tents,
etc., took up most of the time on
such days. Satan seldom found an
idle hand around a grading camp.

Sometimes we would play scrub
games of baseball, and sometimes
practical jokers would successfully
ply their favorite pastime on other
members of the gang. I recall one
of the latter instances very vividly:
"Dad" Poor, a man of unusual avoir-
dupois, was enjoying his after-dinner
nap in his covered wagon. One of
the boys quietly worked "Dad's" long
shirt-tail out through a crack in the
side of the wagon, drew it down as
tightly as was practicable and pushed
about a dozen tacks through it. He
then ran around to the back of the
wagon and called out to "Dad" that
his mules were loose. No pen of mine
could possibly describe what hap-
pened next! Perhaps the eruption of
a volcano or an earthquake or a live
tornado might afford a fair compari-
son.

"Dad's" shirt was constructed of
very stout cloth, but not stout enough;
and his vocabulary was sure spilled
a-plenty. No one in the gang, how-
ever, told who actually did the job,
so that murder was avoided.

Camp fire stories were not lacking
during these moments of relaxation.
I shall never forget the remark made
by a typical Irishman after he had
quietly sat through the telling of sev-
eral Irish stories. He jumped to his
feet and slapping his thigh, spit this
out: "I say to yez, there's not more
than half of the d — lies yez tell on
the Irish that is true."

The weather was unusually fine
during this particular summer, and
the grading was finished in time for
the track laying. I worked at every
job: Mule skinner, scraper, holder,
patty and grade finisher. Two of us
remained on the job for two weeks
after the rest of the force had gone,
ditching in cuts and picking up rem-
nants from the fills. The camp was
T. A. Butler's, near Lyons, Kan.

A Correction. — A typographical
error made us credit the article "The
Explosive Contractor," in our August
issue, to the Atlas Power Co. The
article was prepared by the Atlas
Powder Co.

1923

Railivu;fs

611

Concrete Slab Supports for Chicago Union Station

Tracks

New Tracks in Service Since 1920 Give Remarkably Low Mainte-
nance Cost

Owing to the low supporting power
of the clay sub-grade, the approach
and station tracks of the new Chicago
Union Station are carried on concrete
slabs. Although this concrete track
support is not unique, it is probably
the most extensive installation that
has yet been made. The total area at
present authorized amounts to 1,-
125,000 sq. ft. of 10 in. slabs, of which
nearly 800,000 sq. ft. is reinforced
either with wire mesh or deformed

being used under the crossovers and
approach tracks between the south
end of the south station platforms
(just north of Harrison Street) and
Polk Street, under the tracks and
crossovers between Taylor Street and
Roosevelt Road, and from Canal to
Harrison streets under the "joint
tracks" used for transferring cars be-
tween the north and south yards of
the development.

All necessary conduits and pipes

Completed Section of Sta'ion T.ack.

steel rods, while the remainder, which
was used between tracks in the train-
sheds, is plain concrete. An interest-
ing description of the installation is
given by Joshua D'Esposito, chief en-
gineer of the Chicago Union Station
Co., Chicago, in Railway Engineering
and Maintenance, from which the
matter in this article is taken.

Approach Tracks Slabs. — Begin-
ning near the east line of Canal
Street, about 600 ft. north of Lake
Street and extending south to the
north end of the north station plat-
forms between Washington and Madi-
son streets, a 10-in. slab reinforced
with wire mesh is being laid to serve
as a support for approach tracks and
crossovers of the usual ballasted con-
struction. The same type of slab is

are laid in concrete ducts below the
subgrade, after which a 6-in. layer of
cinders is spread over it. This layer
of cinders is rolled to a plane parallel
to the required finished surface of the
slab. No other subgrade drainage is
provided, but a system of drains is
being built to take care of water fall-
ing on top of the slabs. Precast in-
lets or catch basins are placed be-
tween all tracks at intervals of about
8 ft. and the slabs are sloped so as
to drain to them. The latter are con-
nected to pipes running across the
yard which in turn empty into longi-
tudial drains that carry the water to
sumps located at the low points of
each yard. Automatic electric pumps
transfer the water from the sumps to
the river.

612

Railways

Sept.

Construction Features. — Aggregates
are dumped as near as possible to
the location of the slab to be laid in
order to avoid unnecessary wheelings.
It is often possible to unload cement
directly from the car door to the
mixer. An ordinary paving mixer is
used. Because of the necessity for
maintaining traffic it is necessary to
complete a portion of the work at a
time. The tracks are laid 13 ft. center
to center and the slabs are con-
structed in sections 13 ft. wide by 21
ft. long. The sections are laid in a
checkerboard pattern, alternate sec-
tions being placed after the first ones
have hardened. Tar paper joints are
placed between adjacent sections. A
wooden strike-off is used to strike the
surface level with the forms, further
finishing being done with wooden
floats.

On these slabs the usual ballasted
track of heavy construction is laid.

— Adjacent to the station platforms
and including some of the special
work at the ends of the trainsheds an
altogether different type of track con-
struction is being used, although the
concrete slab is quite similar to the
one described above. It is 10 in. thick
and 14 ft. wide, and is reinforced at
the top and bottom with mats of re-
inforcement as shown. The drainage
inlets are located in the center of
each track instead of between tracks.
Instead of ties in ballast, creosoted
wood blocks 6 in. by 8 in. by 2 ft. 6
in. are set in a concrete roadbed rest-
ing on the concrete slab. The thick-
ness of this concrete varies from 3 in.
between the rails, and below the
blocks to 8^/4 in. at the outside edges
of the blocks. The concrete is a
1:1^/^:3 mix. Alternate sections are
placed as in the slab, care being taken
to make sure that the joints coincide.
Finishing is done with a wood float.

Details of Slab Construction

Twenty creosoted red oak ties, 7 in.
by 9 in. by 8 ft. 6 in. are used to a
33-ft. rail. The depth of ballast be-
low the ties varies from 6 to 10 in.,
on account of grading the slabs to
drain to the inlets. The rail is stand-
ard Pennsylvania 130-lb. section.

Approximately 440,000 sq. ft. of
this type of slab will be used. The
work is being done by contract, at
prices varying from 33 ct. to 43 ct.
per sq. ft., depending on the time and
conditions of the work. As the slab
has to be laid a little at a time, and
the work so arranged as to affect
train movements as little as possible,
this cost is higher than it would be
under better working conditions.

Preliminary loading tests on the
subgrade indicated that it had a sup-
porting power of between 2,000 and
3,000 lb, per square foot. It is be-
lieved that with the track construc-
tion above described the pressure on
the subgrades will not reach 1,000 lb.
per square foot as a maximum. With
such a low pressure it is thought that,
even if the slab does crack to some
extent, no trouble will result.

Station Tracks of Special Design.

Between the rails and surface is
shaped to form a trough which car-
ries the water to drainage inlets at
80 ft. intervals. This trough is fin-
ished with a 1:1 mix after the rest
of the roadbed has been placed.

The rails are spiked to the blocks,
using 6V2-in. spikes and 11-in. by
7-in. by %-in. tie plates, before start-
ing to place the roadbed. Wedges
are- then driven under every sixth
block to bring the track to grade.
The gauge is held during construc-
tion by wooden struts spiked across
between clocks at frequent intervals.
After the concrete has been placed
there is no further need of the struts
and they are removed. The rails used
on the station tracks are 100-lb.
Pennsylvania section.

The concrete base slab used for the
station tracks, reinforced with steel
bars, has cost from 40 ct. to 51 ct.
per square foot, depending upon
prices of materials at the time the
contracts were let. Approximately
420,000 sq. ft. of it will be used. This
type of roadbed was adopted because
of the ease with which it could be
kept clean. The trains on these

1923

Railways

613

tracks will be running at low speed,
which, it was thought, will eliminate
any possible objection to the lack of
resilience in the solid concrete con-
struction. Some of these tracks which
have been in place for several months
have been ser\'ing as approach tracks
for the present Union Station farther
north and are handling heavy traffic
at a much higher speed than they
were designed for or will ever be re-
quired to stand when the station
project is complete.

Plain Slabs Beneath Platforms. —
Separate platforms on opposite sides
of each track are being provided for
passengers and baggage. Each plat-
form will serv'e two tracks, one plat-
form being exclusively for passengers
and the next exclusively for baggage.
Thus there will be no interference
between passengers and baggage
trucks. Passenger platforms will be
13 ft. 9^/4 in. wide and 8 in. above
the top of rail; baggage platforms
will be 10 ft. 9 in. wide and 20 in.
above the top of rail.

In order to prevent the soft blue
clay foundation from working up into
the cinder fill below the platforms
and permitting settlement of the
track slabs, 10-in. slabs of plain con-
crete of 1:3:5 mix will be laid be-
tween the track slabs and at the same
elevation, thus making a continuous
pavement across the trainsheds. The
space between these platform slabs
and the platforms proper will be
fileld with fine stone screenings. Ap-
proxim.ately 265,000 sq. ft. of this
type of slab will be placed.

Conclusions. — The first slab was
laid during the summer of 1920,
under the slip switches in the south
approach tracks in the block just
north of Polk Street and was placed
in service the following November.
It was the ballasted type of construc-
tion. These tracks have been carry-
ing 198 scheduled trains per day, each
of which must back into the station
before leaving, or back out after ar-
riving. In addition there has been
considerable transfer, interchange,
freight and mail movement so that
the total number of movements has
been in excess of 500 per day. Under
that traffic the ordinary type of track
structure would have required heavy
maintenance, which would not only
have been expensive but would have
obstructed train movements in a re-
gion that is congested at best. Fur-

thermore the track would never be
in as good condition as we are now
able to keep it continually, at very
low cost.

The tracks in the block just south
of Polk Street do not contain any
special work and were built at the
same time (1920) as those described
above, and of the same heavy bal-
lasted construction, but without the
concrete slab; they carry the same
traffic. Ordinarily, due to the special
work, track maintenance in the block
north of Polk Street would have been
much higher than in the block just
south; actually maintenance of the
tracks containing the special work,
and laid on a concrete slab, has been
less than a quarter of that required
in the other block without special
work and without a concrete slab.
This saving will pay for the concrete
slab in a short time.

Device for Determining Air Move-
ment in Tunneb

In studies of mine and tunnel venti-
lation conducted by engineers of the
Bureau of Mines, U. S. Department of
the Interior, various smokes are used
to determine the flow of air, the di-
rection of the currents, and the rate
of mixing. A specially devised in-
strument for generating streams of
sulphur trioxide smoke has been found
convenient for such purposes; it is also
especially useful in some places where
fire for generating smokes is not per-
missible.

The apparatus consists simply of a
glass tube containing fuming sulphuric
acid on granular pumice stone, at-
tached to a rubber syringe bulb. When
a squeeze of the bulb blows air
through the tube, a stream of dense
white smoke evolves, which follows
and makes visible the movement of
the air currents. A description of this
instrument is given in Serial 2505, by
S. H. Katz, associate physical organic
chemist, and J. J. Bloomfield, junior
chemist, which may be obtained from
the Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Mines, Washington, D. C.

Motor Buses in Wisconsin. — Re-
ports to the American Electric Rail-
way Association show that five elec-
tric railway companies in Wisconsin
are operating 50 motor buses over
540 miles of route.

614 Railways Sept.

Design of Street Railway Track in Paved Streets

Problems Faced by Maintenance Engineers of Public Utility Companies

Outlined in Paper Presented Before State Engineers' Section of

the Annual Conference of Mayors and Other Public Officials

By HOWARD H. GEORGE,

Engineer, Maintenance of Way, Public Service Ry. Co. of New Jersey

I believe that, as engineers, you will
acknowledge the impracticability of
preparing a definite specification for
street railway track construction
which would be suitable for all pos-
sible conditions. Neither is it desir-
able to set up one, two or three types
as standard and say to the railway in-
dustry, "Use this type here, or that
type there." Such a specification or
standard design would work an un-
necessary financial hardship on a large
percentage of street railway compan-
ies, and would probably not give the
best results to a great many others
who were financially able to build in
accordance with it. And not only
must economy in first cost be consid-
ered, but economy in subsequent main-
tenance as well. And last, there is
still the fact to face that track wears
out and must be completely rebuilt
and it should be so designed in the
first place as to permit the maximum
amount of salvage at the time of
reconstrution. This feature is equally
desirable in the case of pavement.
This is an item which is apt to be
frequently disturbed during the life
of a track, and the cheapest in first
cost is often the most expensive in
the long run.

Standard specifications for the mis-
cellaneous materials entering into a
track can and should be prepared, but
to say that any given combination will
result in the best track for all condi-
tions would be about as ridiculous as
to say that there is one best automo-
bile or one best anything else that is
manufactured by assembling a num-
ber of different units together. The
experience of others is a good guide
as to what may be expected from
any particular type of construction,
but this experience should be deter-
mined from careful personal observa-
tion and not from camouflaged re-
ports.

Factors That Determine Type of
Track Construction. — Street railway
engineers are confronted with a very
large and important problem in the

determination of the type of track ]
construction most suitable for the con- ■
ditions on their property. Several !
factors enter largely into this ques-
tion. Probably the first is the maxi-
mum weight and type of equipment to
be operated and volume of traffic to
be carried.

The next factor is that of the con-
dition of the soil on which the track
must be placed, and its ability to sup-
port the loads. This subject, together
with that of the actual stresses exist-
ing in the track, is one to which, un-
fortunately, too little attention has
been paid in many cases in the past,
and has undoubtedly been responsible
for many cases of failure of the track
structure and consequently of the pav-
ing.

Soil which, under ordinary or na-
tural conditions, would be entirely un-
suitable for supporting any kind of
track structure, may be made entirely
satisfactory in several different ways.
It may be accomplished by the use
of cinders or other light, porous ma-
terial rolled into the soil so as to form
a binder.

Sometimes crushed stone or slag
will best answer this purpose, and in
the latter case it may be that the run
of the crusher will accomplish the
best results rather than the use of a
uniformly graded ballast. Then again,
conditions may be such that drainage
of some kind or another should be re-
sorted to. The existence of storm
water sewers in the streets has, in
many cases, a very large effect on
the condition of the sub-surface soil.

The Matter of Ballast.— The last im-
portant factor is that of economy, and
it is in meeting this requirement that
the engineer is called upon to exer-
cise his greatest ingenuity and is
largely responsible for the many dif-
ferent details of track construction in
use by electric railway companies in
this country today.

One engineer will advocate stone
ballast. According to his idea C in.
of such ballast should be placed un-

1923

Railxvays

615

(ler the ties. Another engineer, while
agreeing that stone ballast is the
proper material to use, will say that
4 in. under the ties is sufficient. Still
another engineer will say that just as
satisfactory results are obtained by
the use of gravel, crushed slag, or per-
haps cinders for this purpose. Prob-
ably all three are obtaining satisfac-
tory results, and it is here that local
conditions play a very important part.

In one locality crushed stone may be
scarce, it may have to be h^uied a
long distance, while gravel is obtain-
able locally at a low cost. In the
other case, it may be that good cin-
ders are obtainable, whereas neither
stone nor gravel are to be had at a
reasonable cost. Or it may be that
the natural soil condition is such as to
make it unnecessary to use any other
than the natural soil for ballast.

Ties and Tie Plates. — In the matter
of ties, some engineers specify white
oak ties because they can still obtain
them locally, or within a reasonable
distance of their property. But it
would be out of the question to re-
quire ever> property to use white oak
for this purpose, for it could not be
obtained in sufficient quantities at any
price. There are plenty of other woods
which answer the same purpose for
electric railway track conditions equal-
ly as well at considerably less cost.
Many otherwise inferior classes of
woods are made entirely suitable for
railway ties by the use of a proper
preservative treatment.

The use of tie plates may or may not
be necessary or desirable. This de-
pends entirely on the weight to be
carried by each tie, and the compress-
ive strength of the wood at right an-
gles to the fibre. If the rail base
and the tie at the rail bearing point
are wide enough to provide a bearing
area sufficient to keep the unit com-
pressive stresses within the proper
working limits and prevent excessive
cutting during the life of the tie, then
tie plates are not necessary, and their
use adds nothing to the life of the
track and only serves to increase its
cost.

Question of Rails and Joints. — As

to the question of rails and joints, we
are again confronted with a large as-
sortment from which to choose. Heinz
with his "57 Varieties" has nothing on
us when it comes to selecting a rail,
and the worst of all is the fact that
the rail manufacturers are apparently

willing to continue to make new sec-
tions as often as a railway company
with sufficient influence makes a re-
quest for one, sometimes making that
company pay for the cost of the new
rolls, and sometimes absorbing this
cost in its general manufacturing
overhead. In many cases the differ-
ences between rails are so slight as to
be hardly noticeable. Here again
weight of equipment, volume of traf-
fic, design of wheel treads and flanges,
as well as details of the track struc-
ture must enter into the discussion.
I will not attempt to express an opin-
ion of the relative merits of the vari-
ous types of rails, either as to details
of design or on what are ordinarily
referred to as T-rails, as compared
with what are commonly known as
girder rails, as this is a subject that
would start an argument which would
in itself take up more time than is
available at this meeting.

It is generally admitted that street
railway engineers are divided into two
camps, one of which advocates a rigid
track structure, that is either steel
ties encased in concrete or some form
of concrete beam support, while the
other advocates an elastic or resilient
supporting structure for their rails.

The Pavement Types. — A concrete
pavement in a track area can be put
down at a very reasonable figure,
and when it is first laid it looks fine.
But unfortunately rails have a pecu-
liar habit of breaking occasionally,
joints go bad and the concrete has to
be taken up in order to make the nec-
essary repairs, and it is almost im-
possible to make an entirely satisfac-
tory repair job on concrete paving. In
addition, when the time comes to en-
tirely rebuild the track, the salvage
on the paving is practically nothing.

Brick and wood block pavements
both have found considerable use in
track areas, but while more econom-
ical in first cost than granite, and al-
though under some conditions giving
satisfactory results, in the majority of
cases they are not the most satisfac-
tory pavements for track areas, and
economy in first cost is very often re-
sponsible for subsequent expensive
paving maintenance and practically no
salvage value at the time it becomes
necessary to entirely rebuild.

The same statement is true for as-
phalt paving, and especially where the
asphalt has been laid in direct contact
with the rails. Experience has shown

616

Railways

Sept.

that, where asphalt paving is laid in
the track area, at least one and pre-
ferably two or more rows of stone
block should be laid on each side of
the rail. There is always some vibra-
tion of the rail and where the asphalt
is laid in direct contact with the rail
this vibration opens up a small joint
between the rail and the asphalt into
which water penetrates and the action
of the vehicular wheel loads on the
pavement at this point soon disinte-
grates the asphalt immediately ad-
joining the rail.

Stone block pavement on the other
hand, while costing more in the first
place, lends itself readily to repairs,
has a long, useful life under the most
severe traffic conditions, and after
years of service can generally be re-
clipped and relaid at a relatively small
cost and give a pavement as good as
new. As a matter of fact old block
which have been reclipped should
make a better wearing and more de-
pendable pavement than new block,
because of their previous long expo-
sure to the weather, and the fact that
in this way all soft stone has been
eliminated.

Eflfect of the Other Utilities.— If

no other utilities occupied the streets
the problem of track and paving
maintenance would be simplified. The
problem of the location of the vari-
ous utilities in the public streets be-
comes more complicated every year,
not only to the municipal engineer, but
those of the utilities as well. The
street railways, as one of the utilities,
is the only one which occupies the sur-
face of the street. In addition to the
street railways there are no less than
six other utilities which may occupy
the streets in some manner.

We have sewers, water, electricity,
gas, telephone, steam mains and some-
times mail tubes, all of which occupy
more or less space and require fre-
quent service connections to the ad-
jacent structures along the street.
Some streets also carry exceedingly
large trunk sewers and water mains
which are frequently independent of
the regular local mains. Practically
all of these utilities have manholes
and valve boxes which extend to the
surface at frequent intervals and
these often form quite a collection at
street intersections.

Instances have been noted of as
many as 11 manhole covers at one
location within the confines of two

50 ft. intersecting streets. When there
are many manhole heads in the vicin-
ity of the car track, curves and special
trackwork, it becomes a nice problem
to design tracks to dodge them, and
their presence usually causes great
difficulty in properly constructing and
maintaing the tracks and track pave-
ment.

There is a need for closer co-opera-
tion among municipal and utility engi-
neers in relation to matters of loca-
tion, and many cities are finding it
very desirable to set up bureaus
charged with the design and location
of sub-surface structures.

Prior Construction of Sub-Surface
Utilities. — The construction of sub-
surface utlities prior to the construc-
tion of street railway tracks of a per-
manent character is greatly to be de-
sired, and until the streets are prop-
erly graded, curbed, paved and have
all their normal underground sab-sur-
face mains in place, it is not desirable
to attempt to construct tracks of b.
permanent nature.

The sidewalk spaces might be more
generally used for locating many util-
ities, although in some places there
may be objections from a legal view-
point relating to the use and occu-
pancy of such spaces. And, of course,
vaults under the sidewalks occasion-
ally cause some trouble.

My understanding, however, is that
there are no legal objections to utiliz-
ing sub-sidewalk space for utilities,
whatever personal objections property
owners may have. Also in most places
vaults under sidewalks are illegally
located, even though tolerated by com-
plaisant officials. On new streets
these objections would not obtain to a
very great extent.

No attempt has been made to con-
sider what may be the best location
for all of the sub-surface utilities.
They are mentioned because the sub-
ject seems to call for their discus-
sion, and when we see the complicated
installations of pipes and conduits in
some of the streets of our large cities,
we are forced to conclude that much
of the confusion could have been
avoided if early attention had been
given to their proper location.

Location of Tracks in Street. — The
central location of tracks in streets is
considered by all competent authori-
ties to be the best for cities. Such a
location is the most logical, convenient
and safest for the public. Where

1923

Railways

617

possible, on wide thoroughfares, there
are good reasons for considering the
use of parked spaces for the tracks.
Such spaces or areas are safer for all
other forms of street traflfic and for
car passengers. Better car schedules
can be maintained due to less inter-
ference from vehicular traffic, and
parked areas are more quiet, as there
are no pavements acting as sounding
boards. Also the tracks are cleaner,
thus lessening noise due to wheels
passing over grit on the rails. The
railways can more economically main-
tain the parked strip and the tendency
to neglect such track, in times of
stress, is much less than where pave-
ments must be opened in order to
make track repairs. Probably four
times as much effective track work
can be done in parked areas, as com-
pared with paved areas, for an equal
expense.

One of the most frequent sources
of trouble with tracks in central loca-
tions comes from disturbances of the
sub-grade which are due to settle-
ments over cross trenches made for
ser\'ice connections or for additional
mains of one kind or another. The
railway has had little or no control
over such trenches and until the pres-
ent time it has been difficult to con-
vince municipal highway engineers of
the importance of special inspection
of all such openings, not only during
the work, but also during the restora-
tion of back-fill and to prevent undue
haste in repaving.

This matter, of course, is not di-
rectly concerned with the location of
the utilities as a part of the original
design, but it is to be considered in
respect to the street railway as a
located utility, upon which, at pres-
ent, is placed the burden of care and
maintenance, not only of tracks but
also of the pavement, wherein this
utility distinctly differs from all
others occupjdng our streets. No
other utility is obliged to install and
maintain pavements for others to use.
Any undue influence causing unwar-
ranted expense to the railway in such
circumstances should have our atten-
tion, and the co-operation of munici-
pal and utility engineers is of vital
importance in lessening the trouble
incidental to poor track and pavement
conditions which are all too frequently
caused by outside influences, entirely
beyond the control of the railway.

Who Should Pay for Paving and Its

Maintenance. — A paper of this char-
acter can hardly be considered com-
plete without some discussion of the
very important subject of track re-
sponsibility for paving and mainte-
nance of the same in railway tracks
in city streets. What should be the
responsibility of the street railway
company with respect to the cost of
installation and maintenance of pave-
ment? Payment annually of large
sums by street railway compames for
pavements and their maintenance se-
cures nothing of value to the utilities.

The materials which go into pave-
ments are really purchased by the
railway company and turned over to
the municipality for the benefit of the
community at large. The railway
company derives no special or peculiar
benefit from the construction of the
pavement.

On the contrary, it is a burden
rather than a benefit. This principle
has been established by no less an
authority than the Court of Errors
and Appeals of your own State of
New York. The duty to pave and
maintain the paving of the so-called
track area is imposed for the pecu-
niary benefit of the municipality. It
is not dependent upon conditions that
the street railway creates, such as the
interference with the surface of the
highway due to the presence of the
track in the street.

A Relic of Horse Car Days.— The
obligation to pave and maintain the
pavement in the tracks is a relic of
horse car days. In the old days when
all the cars were drawn by mules or
horses, the paving charge or tax lev-
ied on the street railway was admit-
tedly a fair and equitable assessment.
Undoubtedly the horses pounding on
the narrow strip between the rails,
day in and day out, all the year
round, did wear the pavement and the
street car operator of those days prob-
ably acknowledged the responsibility
readily enough, but those days have
long since passed.

With modem track construction and
electrically operated cars, the damage
done to the pavement from the oper-
ation of cars is relatively small, and
in any event, is limited to the pave-
ment immediately adjoining the rails.
This fact has been recognized in the
State of Connecticut, where the pav-
ing burden has been materially re-
duced by limiting the responsibility
of the railway companies to a width

tiauways

jsept.

of 8 in. on either side of the rail.
Street car loads are carried down to
a substantial bearing area over the
sub-soil through the rails, ties and
ballast, and not through the pave-
ment. With modern rail joints the
pounding of the cars over loose joints
has been practically eliminated. What
then is the principal cause of paving
damage ?

Damage to Pavements by Motor
Trucks. — I was very much interested
in reading the editorial review in the
Engineering News-Record of May 10,
1923, on the subject of damage to
pavement by automobile trucks. A
survey of twenty large cities through-
out the United States showed that
trucks weighing, with their loads,
from 15 to 25 tons are not uncommon,
and such loads, operating over pav-
ing at relatively high speeds, are the
cause of most of the cases of pave-
ment failures,, sometimes even break-
ing through the concrete paving foun-
dation. A truck load of even 25 tons
distributed over four wheels gives a
wheel concentration heavier than will
be found on almost any ordinary 8-
wheel trolley car.

Tests of impact stresses conducted
recently by a committee of the Amer-
ican Society of Civil Engineers show
that these are actually much higher
than for electric railway cars. The
conclusion reached in the Engineering
News-Record survey was that the
pavements generally as constructed in
the last 10 yrs. will break down com-
paratively rapidly under the extreme
truck loads of 15 to 25 tons which
now prevail to some extent in most
large cities. I personally know that
we have such loads in New Jersey, for
I have had occasion to check total
weights of trucks operating over our
ferry between Edgewater and New
York City, and have found weights
on four wheels as high as 23 tons.

Electric Railways and Taxes. — It is

a notorious fact that the electric rail-
ways are the most heavily taxed in-
dustry, statistics show that if you
add up all the taxes, state and local,
for the steam railroads in the State
of New York, these companies pay
about 27.3 per cent of their net prof-
its in regular taxes. The electric rail-
ways, say. 44.4 per cent, telephone
and telegraph, 16.2 per cent, and gas
and electric, 23 per cent. Referring
to Virginia, for instance, in 1921 the

electric railways paid in taxes 36.6
per cent of their total net revenue, an
increase of over 100 per cent since
1917, when they paid 13.61 per cent,
and these figures do not include any
federal taxes.

The American Electric Railway En-
gineering Association statistics show
that, taking the country at large,
about 6.5 per cent of all our gross
operating revenue goes into taxes and
about 3.5 per cent into paving and
similar charges, a total of about 10
per cent of the gross operating reve-
nue for taxes. This represents ap-
proximately V2 ct. of. the fare paid
per passenger. And this fact must be
remembered, the rider pays the pav-
ing bill, whether it is in the forrn of
increased fare or increased municipal
taxes.

Street Railways Spend $22,000,000
Per Year for Pavements. — Compar-
able figures on the mileage of elec-
tric railways then and now show that
in 1890, when the electrification of
lines was just getting under way,
there were about 8,123 mi. of single
track operated by street railway com-
panies. In 1917, according to the
United States Census, there were 44,-
835 mi. Although the only justifiable
basis for the imposition of the paving
impost disappeared with the horse
cars, the companies today pave and
maintain a right-of-way more than
five times as long merely because,
when the change was made from the
horse-drawn vehicles to electrical pro-
pulsion, no consideration was given to
changed conditions as far as the re-
sultant wear on pavement was con-
cerned.

As the street railway companies ex-
tended their lines the paving burden
became proportionately heavier, for
of course, the outlying lines did not
pay as well as those of the thickly
populated towns, while the cost of
paving increased more or less uni-
formly throughout the system.

Nor is this the whole story. The
type of pavement used at the time
these paving taxes were imposed was
usually nothing more than a rough
gravel, cobble stone or macadam pav-
ing, comparatively inexpensive types
as compared with those required to
meet the demands of modern heavy
vehicular traffic. Thus the process of
piling up the burden on the street
railway company is still going on.

1923

Railways

619

A conservative estimate of the total
amount expended each year for pav-
ing by street railway companies is
about $22,000,000, of which about $15,-
000,000 is for construction and about
$7,000,000 for maintenance. This is
slightly less than 25 per cent of the
estimated total net income of the in-
dustry in 1921. In other words, if the
industry could be relieved of these ob-
solete imposts it would mean an in-
crease of approximately 25 per cent
in their net income, and would also
mean a healthier condition of the trac-
tion systems, and greater ability to
maintain their lines in conditions to
meet increased demands upon them.

Street railway fares are not read-
ily susceptible to changes from time
to time. Only under the stress of
extraordinary circumstances are in-
creases in fares granted. Periodical
variations in the rate of fare merely
to cover taxation would not be tol-
erated by the public.

If the private merchant finds that
the selling price of his various wares
is not sufficient to meet the needs of
his business there is nothing to pre-
vent his increasing the sale price to
meet the requirements, but this is not
so easy with a utility like a street
railway company.

With the merchant an increase of a
cent on each article sold may produce
the necessary revenue, and this is
usually a small percentage of the total
cost of the article, but in the case of
a car ride an additional one cent,
which is the smallest unit of our
monetary system, added to the rate of
fare means anywhere from 10 to 20
per cent increase.

Relief from Paving Burden. — The

question of relief from the paving
burden is a vital one to the street
railway industry. Relief has been
granted in a certain relatively small
number of cases through special legis-
lation. A good beginning has been
made and the sentiment for complete
relief is gaining ground among
thoughtful people. It would appear to
be high time that laws making bur-
densome paving requirements should
be repealed and the justice of the
street railway's claim for relief from
the responsibility for paving expense
recognized, and this burden placed
where it properly belongs.

Old Bridge Ties as Crossing Plank

Second-hand 6 in. by 8 in. bridge
ties can be utilized to advantage for
highway crossings, writes G. E.
Stewart, assistant engineer. Southern
Pacific Ry., in Railway Engineering
and Maintenance. The sketch shows
the construction of an improved high-
way plank crossing using 50-lb. guard
rail. The old 6 in. by 8 in. ties are
placed directly on the track ties and

yV^ 3<r/act coofmg efrtct Mnmmt/t mhtdmiMi limty mi

A Crossingr Built With 6 In. by 8 In. Timbers.

fastened with lag screws and the
joints are poured with hot oil or
asphaltum.

This is an ideal layout for 90-lb. or
100-lb. rail, the tie plates elevating
the rail above the stringers a dis-
tance of ^ in., and allowing the
planking to be covered with a top
coating of rock screenings. A 3 in.
strip can be substituted for the guard
rail if preferred.

Locomotive Production

The Department of Commerce an-
nounces August shipments of railroad
locomotives from the principal manu-
facturing plants, based on reports re-
ceived from the individual establish-
ments. The following table compares
the August, 1923, figures with the
previous month and with the corre-
sponding month last year, as well as
totals for the year to date, compared
with a year ago, in number of loco-
motives :

8 Mo. ToUl
Au?. July Au^r. Jan. to Aug.
1923 1923 1922 1923 1922
Shipments :

Domestic 259 211 130 1,802 472

Foreign 13 28 21 114 169

ToUl 272

239

151 1,916 641

Unfilled orders (end of month) :

Domestic 1,406 1,652 926

Foreign 81 86 109

Total 1,497 1,738 1,035

(iliO

Railways

Sept.

Construction News of the Railways

Bids Opened for Moffat Tunnel

Bids were opened Sept. 12 at
Denver, Colo., for the construction of
the Moffat Tunnel. Ulen & Co., New
York and Chicago, bid $6,075,000 for
the work. The tunnel will be 6 miles
long, extending through James Peak,
west of Denver,

Rail Extensions in South Texas
Proposed

The Rio Grande City & Northern
Ry. Co. has filed an application with
the Interstate Commerce Commission
for authority to build a line from Sam
Fordyce to Mirando City, Webb
county, via Rio Grande City, a dis-
tance of 85 miles. The San Antonio
& Arkansas Pass R. R. is contemplat-
ing an extension from Rio Grande
City to Falfurrias. Both extensions
will serve parts of the Rio Grande
Valley not now served. While the
S. A. & A. P. has not yet applied to
the Interstate Commerce Commission
for authority to construct its contem-
plated extension it is known to be
under consideration.

B. & O. to Construct Yards Near
East St. Louis

The Baltimore & Ohio R. R. has
purchased a large tract of land bor-
dering its tracks near the Collinsville
Road and opposite the Monks' Mound,
near East St. Louis, where it will
construct yards to enlarge its facili-
ties.

A. C. L. Building Extension in Florida

Grading is under way for the line
of the Tampa Southern R. R. (At-
lantic Coast Line) between Braden-
town* Fla., and Sarasota. Cook &
Co., Bradentown, have the contract.

Grading to Be Started on Branch Line
in Canada

Some construction work on the ex-
tensions of the Edmonton, Dunvegan
& British Columbia Ry. will be done
this year. James Mohler, contractor
for the construction work, is now at
Grand Prairie looking over the
ground. Later he will go on to Peace
River to ascertain conditions there
and what equipment is available.
New lines are to be built west from
Grand Prairie and west from Berwyn.

Orient Railway Plans Improvements in
Mexico

Investment of new capital in the
completion of the Kansas City, Mexico
& Orient R. R. through Del Rio t6
Mexico City and through Presidio to
Chihuahua City and Topolobampo, on
the Pacific coast, is more probable as
a result of recognition of Mexico by
the United States, in the opinion of
W. T. Kemper of Kansas City, Orient
Mo., president and receiver. Early in
August Mr. Kemper obtained, through
President Obregon, financial aid from
Mexico sufficient to build from Fa-
lomir to within 30 miles of Presidio,
Tex., the incomplete Orient line ex-
tending northeastward out of Chi-
huahua City. Further aid in closing
the remaining 110-mile gap from the
new northern terminus to Alpine is
made more likely with the recognition
of Mexico by the United States, it is
believed.

Subway Contract at Fort Wayne, Ind.,
Let

The J. F. Cole Construction Co.,
Fort Wayne, Ind., has been awarded
the contract at $88,420 for subway
work at Lafayette Street, Fort
Wayne.

Contract Let for 1,200-Mile Railroad
in China

The Northern Construction Co.,
Winnipeg, Canada, is reported to have
been awarded a contract for a $20,-
000,000 railroad from Canton to Chen-
teg, China. The line will be about
1,200 miles long and will extend
through a mountainous country, ne-
cessitating much tunnel work.

New York Central May Build Short
Line in Michigan

The New York Central R. R. is re-
ported to be making surveys in Hud-
son and Cement City, Mich., for short
stretches of track connecting the New
York Central with the Cincinnati
Northern. The connection will per-
mit the movement of coal from the
Ohio and Kentucky coal fields to De-
troit and northern points through
Adrian over the Monroe branch and
over the Ypsilanti branch connecting
in Cement City.

1923

Railways

621

Southern Pacific to Spend $50,000,000

The Southern Pacific R. R. has an-
nounced a ?50,000,000 improvement
program for the Pacific coast states.
The projects, many of which are under
contract, include double tracking from
Tehachapi to Seivert; completion of
double tracks from Bakersfield to Mo-
jave; building of the Natron cutoff,
affording an alternate route to Port-
land; a new line in the Imperial Val-
ley; large tie and timber treating
plant at Los Angeles Harbor; new
steel bridge over Colorado River, and
a new passenger station at Yuma.
The program is centered in Southern
California. There is to be 15 miles
of rail renewal on the Duarte branch
and 23 miles on the Van Nuys branch
at a total estimated cost of $440,000.
The Los Alamitos and Newport Beach
branches are to be reballasted at an
estimated cost of $87,000, and the line
between Palmdale and Saugus is to
be reconstructed at a cost of $65,000.
Construction of the Natron cutoff in
southern Oregon at an estimated cost
of $15,000,000 will assure Southern
California fruit and vegetable grow-
ers rapid delivery of box shook from
that region. The new line in Im-
perial Valley, 21.7 miles long, will
extend from Calipatria east and south
to a point near Holtville. Extensions
totaling §3.4 miles are now being
made in Kern county.

Bids to Be Taken Soon on $130,000
Underpass at Joliet

Elgin, Joliet & Eastern R. R. has
approved plans for a subway under
its tracks on the Bluff Road at Joliet,
111., and probably will take bids
shortly for the work, which will cost
about $130,000.

Gary, Ind., Street Railway to Extend
Its Lines

The city council of Gary, Ind., has
approved the franchise of the Gary
Street Ry. Co. for the extension of
their lines to the new $15,000,000 tube
mills and thence to Miller Beach.

San Francisco Municipal Railway Plans
Extension

Plans and specifications are being
prepared by M. M. O'Shaughnessy,
city engineer, of San Francisco, Cal.,
for the Eureka tunnel route of the
Municipal Railway. The estimated
cost of the new line is $1,050,000.

Heavy Construction on Lagging Line
in Washington

The Coats-Fordney Logging Co.,
according to reports from Hoquiam,
Wash., is doing heavy construction
work building a logging railroad
northward from the present end of
their road, about 18 miles north of
Aberdeen. They still have a body of
uncut timber which extends 12 miles
before reaching national forest terri-
tory. Their railroad will eventually
be built to take out all of this, which
is between the Wishkah and the
Wynooche rivers. The construction
work on the railroad, the first mile
of which is expected to be ready for
the steel in 30 days, is very heavy,
cuts as much as 70 ft. deep being
necessary, and one trestle in the first
mile being 650 ft. long. Engineers
estimate that the cost of the first
mile will be $75,000.

D. & R. G. Ry. May Extend Branch

The Denver & Rio Grande R. R. is
contemplating extending its Durango-
Farmington branch a distance of 18
miles down the San Juan Valley.

New Line in Nevada

The Interstate Commerce Commis-
sion has granted permission for the
building of Idaho Central R. R., be-
tween Wells, Nev., and Rogerson,
Idaho. In the permit granted, it was
stipulated that the work on the new
railroad must begin before Jan. 1,
1924, and be completed before June
30, 1925. The new line will tap the
copper camp at Contact, where, it is
said, a large body of ore has been
uncovered. Heretofore, however, the
ore could not be shipped to the
smelters because there were no rail-
road facilities available. This is a
Union Pacific Ry. project. It is under-
stood bids will be taken shortly after
Oct. 1.

Oklahoma Railroad Proposes Extension

The Beaver Meade & Englewood

R. R. (C. J. Turpin, general manager,
Oklahoma City, Okla.) has applied to
the Interstate Commerce Commission
for authority to extend its line from
Forcan to Hooker, in Oklahoma, a dis-
tance of 40 miles. The extension
would be the first section of a new
line which eventually would go to Des
Moines, N. Mex.

022

Railways

Sept.

Chicago Terminal Improvements of Illinois Central

Extracts from Paper Presented July 1 1 at 53rd Annual Convention of
American Society of Civil Engnieers

By D. J. BRUMLEY,

Chief Engineer, Chicago Terminal Improvement, Illinois Central R. R.

It is predicted the City's Loop, or
downtown business district of the im-
mediate future will extend from the
Chicago River on the north to East
Roosevelt Road on the south, the east
and west boundary lines being respect-
ively Lake Michigan and the south
branch of the Chicago River.

A railroad terminal to best serve
the purposes of a transportation ma-
chine must lie within easy and con-
venient reach of this great business
center and furnish adequate and unin-
terrupted means of transportation for
suburban and through passenger serv-
ice, and local freight business. In or-
der that these three classes of busi-
ness may be served adequately and
without interference, they each should
comprise separate and distinct units
of the terminal development, have am-
ple connections with other railroads
for expeditious interchange, and
proper division for adequate vehicular
traffic accesses and local transporta-
tion connections.

The Suburban Passenger Terminal.
— The suburban passenger terminal is
located between Randolph St. and the
Chicago River and practically along-
side Michigan Ave., with stations at
Randolph St., Van Buren St., and East
Roosevelt Road, along the eastern side
of the business section.

The plans developed thus far pro-
vide for a stub-end terminal at Ran-
dolph St. with two track levels each
consisting of six tracks of sufficient
length to accommodate not less than
12-car trains. The operation of sub-
urban trains throughout the terminal
will be on tracks used exclusively for
this service and without interruption
from the operation of through pas-
senger, freight, or switching trains.
From Randolph St. to East Roosevelt
Road the operation of the suburban
trains will be confined to four main
tracks; from East Roosevelt Road to
47th St. six main tracks; from 47th
St. to 67th St. four main tracks; from
67th St. to 115th St. three tracks,
and from 115th St. to the southerly
suburban terminus at Matteson two
main tracks. At the East Roosevelt

Road through passenger terminal the
suburban tracks will occupy a tunnel,
with station facilities below the level
of the through passenger facilities.
On the main line south, the suburban
tracks will occupy the westerly side of
the right of way where for the major
portion of the distance they will be
most convenient to the .patrons of this
service.

The suburban terminal at Randolph
St. will be completely reconstructed
and that at Van Buren St. will be
greatly extended and enlarged, with
suitable subway connections under
Michigan Ave. to each.

The Local Freight Terminal.— The
railroad company's local freight ter-
minal lies east of Michigan Ave. and
occupies an area of approximately
eighty acres between Monroe St. and
the Chicago River. The new freight
terminal will be constructed with de-
pressed driveways and track levels
and will occupy a space of 55 or 60
vertical feet below the boulevard and
viaduct levels on two sides of the
property. The heavy vehicular traffic
street accesses will be underneath the
boulevard viaduct approaches.

The through passenger terminal will
be located at the intersection of Mich-
igan Ave. (the principal north and
south boulevard thoroughfare east of
the river) and East Roosevelt Road
(the future principal east and west
boulevard thoroughfare). The area
for the through passenger terminal
development, comprising an area of
102 acres, extends from East Roose-
velt Road to 31st St., a distance of
2'/4 mi. with an average width of 640
ft., and has a frontage of 693 ft. on
East Roosevelt Road where the pas-
senger terminal buildings will be
located.

ICast Roosevelt Road Boulevard, 118
ft. wide, will front the station on the
north and extend into Grant Park, east
of the railroad, on the north side of
the railroad, on the north side of the
Field Museum. Provision is made in
the ordinance for the construction of
a street car tunnel underneath the
right of way and tracks of the Rail-

1923

Railways

G2n

road Company immediately north of
the new station with a stairway con-
nection from the street car tunnel to
the station building. An am.ple park
boulevard will adjoin the station on
the east, and for a distance of a half-
mile Indiana Ave., with no sidewalk
on the east side, will be a widened
traffic street adjoining the terminal
area on the west

In addition to these accesses, the
through passenger terminal will have
immediate connections with the Rail-
road company's suburban service, and
will be alongside two surface lines and
one elevated line serving the principal
residence districts of the city and will
be adjoining a rapid transit subway,
when built, in accordance with the
city's present plan.

The Terminal Station Building. —
The terminal station building will be
opposite the southerly end of Grant
Park and will serve as a fitting south-
erly finial for this section of the park
area. Immediately east of the Ter-
minal station building is the Field
Museum of Natural History with
which the station building will har-
monize in general architectural ap-
pearance and color.

The Lake Front Ordinance has so
fixed the elevation of viaducts and
subways in the vicinity of the through
passenger terminal area as to permit
of the greatest latitude in developing
tracks, platform, baggage and mail
levels. When the growth of the lake
front passenger terminal should re-
quire, it is practicable to construct
one through track level and two stub
track levels and have easy and per-
missible gradients on the main track
approaches for each level. The sub-
way at 18th St. is placed at such
elevations as not to interfere with the
track approaches to the lowest track
level.

The East Roosevelt Road viaduct
is the northerly limitation as to via-
duct construction, the 23rd St. viaduct
being the southerly limit, within the
passenger terminal area. Within this
area and with the elevation of via-
ducts and subways as they have been
fixed by the Lake Front Ordinance, it
is possible to develop a passenger ter-
minal with a capacity of approxi-
mately eightly tracks, none of which
will be less than twelve hundred feet
in length. In addition to the space
required for the terminal station
building, baggage, mail and express
facilities, there will be room within
the area to create a mechanical ter-

minal of sufficient capacity to care for
steam and electric locomotives using
the terminal and also for the storage
of through passenger equipment.

The easterly portion of the through
passenger terminal area. Within this
Road will be completed and ready for
ser\'ice at the time the suburban serv-
ice is electrified, leaving the present
through passenger station facilities
for use under steam operation during
reconstruction.

It is planned- to develop the sub-
urban area at Randolph St., the local
freight terminal at South Water St.,
and the through passenger terminal
at East Roosevelt Road in such a
manner as to make possible the com-
plete development of the air rights
over the entire area in accordance
with the provisions of the zoning ordi-
nance, passed by the City of Chicago
on April 5, 1923.

Track Arrangement. — From East
Roosevelt Road south to 51st St., a
distance of approximately five miles,
the right of way is nowhere less than
300 ft. in width, except from 31st to
41st Sts, where it is 250 ft. From 51st
St. to the southerly City limits the
right of way in all places in 200 ft.
or more in width.

The general track arrangement
where the right of way is 200 ft. in
width is:

Construct two industrial switching
tracks immediately adjoining the west
side of the right of way.

Construct four suburban passenger
tracks with separate platforms for
local and express service, adjoining
the industrial tracks on the east.

Construct four through passenger
tracks, with platforms at stations it
is necessary to serve, adjoining the
suburban tracks on the east.

Construct two through freight
tracks and one industrial switching
track adjoining the east side of the
right of way.

In the territory where the full
width of the 300-ft. right of way is
developed with tracks and station
platforms, it is proposed to construct
the through and suburban passenger
stations either above or underneath
the tracks.

The main line south to the southerly
City limits is practically all in track
elevation territory where the plane of
the roadbed has been raised above the
plane of the streets. Prior to the time
the various services are electrified, it
is planned to eliminate grade cross-
ings of all kinds, whether cross street.-;,

624

Railways

Sept.

highways, or other railroads, within
the electrified zone.

The Construction Schedule. — Plans
have been made to carry out the con-
struction on a schedule which will
meet the requirements of the ordi-
nance.

1. Complete the easterly side of the
through passenger terminal; complete
the rearrangement of sewers and un-
derground facilities; extend the track
elevation and grade separation; make
changes in grades that are necessi-
tated by the ordinance; be prepared to
proceed with the work of electrifica-
tion; and electrify the entire suburban
service within seven years after Feb-
ruary, 1920.

2. Electrify the entire freight serv-
ice north of East Eoosevelt Road
within three years after the comple-
tion of the suburban electrification, or
before 1930.

3. Electrify the entire freight serv-
ice south of East Roosevelt Road with-
in five years thereafter, or before
1935.

4. Electrify the through passenger
service not later not 1940 if a certain
percentage of the railroads using the
Lake Front passenger terminal station
are operating electrically at that time.

Work of Electrification. — The work
of electrification contemplated in the
ordinance embraces approximately 418
track miles.

The electrification system to be used
was determined by a commission ap-
pointed by the railroad company. This
body made a careful study of the Chi-
cago Terminal situation and compared
it with the electrifications of similar
properties in the United States and
foreign countries. The Commission
recommended, and the Illinois Central
Railroad Company adopted, the 1,500-
volt direct-current overhead contact
system for use in the Chicago terminal
area.

The details for the electrical sys-
tem are being worked out and it is
planned to begin partial operation of
the suburban service about the middle
of 1926.

The generation of current can be
readily provided for either along the
shore of Lake Michigan, Lake Calumet
or the Calumet River, adjoining the
electrically operated tracks, and easily
accessible to ample supplies of water.

Tractive power will be converted
from high tension alternating current,
probably 33,000 volts, to 1,500-volt
direct-current in not less than five
substations located on the railroad

company's right of way. The conver-
sion will be by rotating machines; the
machines, transformers, switchboards
and auxiliary apparatus being housed
in brick buildings of attractive design.
The direct current switching and pro-
tective equipment will be of the latest
high-speed type.

The Overhead System. — The over-
head system will consist of steel sup-
ports spaced approximately 300-ft.
centers for carrying the contact wires,
transmission, signal and miscellaneous
power circuits. The overhead con-
tact wires will be supported by mes-
sengers of high conductivity so that
over each track there will be suflScient
conductor to supply the power re-
quired for that track, thus avoiding
the necessity for independent parallel
feeders. The contact wires, messen-
gers and their attachment will be
made of materials highly resistive to
corrosion. The normal height of the
contact wire above top of rail will be
22 ft. and it will be so suspended from
the messenger as to make its align-
ment conform to the alignment of the
track it serves. Since the electrifica-
tion will be carried out in progressive
steps, the spans constructed initially
for the suburban electrification will
be ultimately extended to include the
the freight, through passenger, and
such subsidiary tracks as will be elec-
trified. The track rails being well
bonded will form a return circuit for
the propulsion current and will be
cross-bonded at impedance bond loca-
tions, thus avoiding any interference
with signal track circuits.

The Suburban Passenger Cars. —
Suburban passenger cars are now be-
ing purchased for the electrified serv-
ice, but are being placed temporarily
in steam suburban service. The char-
acter of the suburban service is such
as to make the multiple unit train the
most economical system. Provisions
are being made for operating two-
car semi-permanently connected units
of one motor car and one trailer car.
These units will have control appa-
ratus in one end of- each car and will
operate either singly or in trains of
two to five similar units. The service
provides for a high rate of accelera-
tion and deceleration and a normal
balancing speed of 57 miles per hour
on tangent level track. The motor
cars will be equipped with four 750-
volt motors connected in two groups
of two motors in series per group
with series parallel control.
The braking equipment will be the

1923

Railways

625

electro-pneumatic brake for multiple
unit service with 1,500- volt motor-
driven compressor. Power for the
control and brake operation as well
as for tlie car lights will be furnished
by a motor generator set on the motor
car, having a 1,500-volt direct-current
motor and a 32-volt direct-current
generator with storage battery pro-
vided as a reserve. The two-car unit
will have a pantograph collector on
the motor car only. Electrical heat-
ers will be used, the details of which
have not as yet been fully decided
upon.

The following general dimensions
and data apply to the steel suburban
cars either built or now under pur-
chase:

Length over buffers — 72 ft. 7% in.

Length inside body— 59 ft. 8% in.

Length of vestibule — -4 ft.

Truck centers — 47 ft. 9 in.

Width o%'er eaves — 9 ft. 11% in.

Width over platforms — 10 ft. 6 in.

Width inside body^9 ft. 1 in.

Height, top of rail to top of carT-13 ft.
5/16 in.

Height, to c. 1. of coupler— 2 ft. 10% in.

Height, inside car to lower deck — 7 ft.
13/16 in.

Height, inside car to clerestory — 8 ft. 4% in.

Weight of present cars light— 92,200 lbs.

Seats, cross seats — 34 passengers — 68.

Longitudinal seats — 4 passengers — 16.

Total 84.

Windows — 42 main windows.

The cars will be equipped with dia-
phragm enabling passengers to move
safely and comfortably between cars
and thus make advantageous use of
all seats in the train.

By the use of aluminum alloys and
a careful redesign of the original steel
suburban car, the weight will be re-
duced approximately 3,000 lbs., reduc-
ing the trailer car to approximately
89,000 lbs.

Since there will be no need to pur-
chase electric locomotives for either
through main line freight or switch-
ing service, or for the through passen-
ger service, for several years, no at-
tempt will be made to work out a
design for such equipment at the pres-
ent time.

Contract Let for First Section of Natron
Cutoff

Contract for grading of the first
section of the Eugene-Klamah Falls
line on the Southern Pacific R. R.
Natron cutoff has been awarded to
John Hampshire of Grants Pass, Ore.
The first unit consists of 31 miles and
extends from Kirk to Crescent.

An Improvement in Mudcapping
Methods

Better results with increased safety
are being obtained at an open-pit mine
on the Mesabi Iron Range in Minne-
sota, by firing "mudcap" shots elec-
trically, instead of by the cap-and-
fuse method, writes N. S. Greensfelder
in the August Explosives Engineer.

The task required of the explosive
is to crack pieces of ore and rock that
are too large for the steam shovels
to handle. Usually anything larger
than 2 cu. yds. has to be blasted. As
these masses are encountered by the
shovel, they are piled to one side and
a number of them are blasted at one

Steel Shelter Used in Open-pit Mines on

Mesabi Range as a Protection Against

Flying Rocks During Blasting.

time. The Taconite which overlays
the ore is so hard that to drill a hole
6 in. deep in it with a jackhammer
takes from 2 to 6 pieces of steel and
about 2 hours' time. Therefore, mud-
capping is more economical than
blockholing.

The present method is as follows:
The charge, which consists of four or
five cartridges of % in. by 8 in. extra
L. F. dynamite, 60 per cent strength,
for ore, and 8 to 10 cartridges for
Taconite, is placed on top of the boul-
der and covered with loose dirt or,
preferably, the soft, sticky "paint
rock," which is readily obtainable in
the pit. A No. 6 electric blasting cap
with 4 ft. or 6 ft. wires is used in the
primer cartridge of each charge. These
caps are connected in series and fired
by a blasting machine from a shelter
at a safe distance.

626

Railways

Sept.

There are a number of advantages
in firing the shots electrically. When
the cap-and-fuse method was used, it
was a common occurrence for the ex-
plosives charges on one or more boul-
ders to be scattered into the rock pile
before exploding by the concussion
from the detonation of adjoining
shots.

This loose dynamite, sometimes
"ontaining a blasting cap, was a con-
'+. source of danger. It has been
fc. ^<^d by the electrical method,

by >. ^11 of the shots are fired

simultau .y.

Misfires --ave also been practically
eliminated, and better execution is ob-
tained from the explosives when all
the shots are fired at the same in-
stant, because the effect of one shot
helps to break the large pieces piled
beneath it or on one side of it. By

A Method of Loading Deep
Well DriU Holes

The question is often asked whether
it is safe to drop cartridges of dyna-
mite down deep well drill holes. The
usual reply is that practically the uni-
versal method is to drop the car-
tridges into the hole. Frankly, one
cannot say this practice is safe. On
the other hand, the accidents that can
be attributed to this cause are indeed
rare. Nevertheless, the handling of
explosives is always attended by more
or less danger, and the best practice
should include all possible safety pre-
cautions. In the August Explosives
Engineer, Mr. J. Barab describes a
simple and inexpensive device for low-
ering dynamite cartridges, which
should interest all who prefer not to
drop these cartridges down the hole.

Quite often the well drill holes are

Device for Lowering Dynamite Into Deep Well Drill Holes.

being able to fire a large number of
shots instantly with a blasting ma-
chine, this part of the blasting opera-
tions is no longer conducted at irreg-
ular intervals throughout the day
while the men are at work, but is
usually performed at noon while they
are out of the pit.

Every possible precaution is taken
to insure safety in mudcapping and
other blasting operations. Steel shel-
ters as shown above are provided for
the protection of blasters in the pit.

A warning sign describing the
blasting signals has been placed next
to the main safety bulletin board.

Warning Markings for Railroad
Crossing Approaches. — The State
Highway Department of New York
has devised a new method of marking
highways to convey warning of ap-
proach to railroad crossings. The first
warning will consist of two parallel
stripes 1 ft. wide and 5 ft. apart, 230
ft. from the track. The second will
be another stripe 125 ft. from the
track. The third will be a stripe 2 ft.
wide, painted with black and white
diagonal bars 25 ft. from the track.

ragged and irregular. In such cases,
when large dynamite cartridges are
dropped into the hole they may get
stuck before reaching the bottom.
More or less trouble is encountered in
removing the obstruction. By use of
this spear, the cartridges can be care-
fully and slowly lowered so that they
easily pass the irregular places in the
hole, which avoids this difficulty.

Another question that often arises
when loading deep holes is whether
the dynamite reaches the bottom. By
indicating the depth of the hole on the
rope attached to the spear, by a mark
on the rope, it can readily be deter-
mined whether each cartridge of dy-
namite reaches the bottom.

The spear, as shown in the diagram,
is a piece of hard wood about 15 in.
long, with the spear head at one end
and a hole for a rope at the other.
To lower a cartridge of dynamite into
the hole, the spear head is inserted
into the end of the cartridge, which
is then carefully lowered by means
of the rope attached to the other end.
When the cartridge has reached its
destination in the hole, a slight
amount of slack is allowed and the

1923

Railways

C27

rope is given a sudden jerk; this with-
draws the spear from the cartridge
without appreciably raising the car-
tridge. The spear is then pulled out
of the hole and the operation repeate<l
with the succeeding cartridges.

Method of Cutting Off Mine
Fire by Trenching

An underground fire burning in the
Pittsburgh seam of coal near Char-
leroi, Pa., adjoining the workings of
the Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Co. of
Cleveland, O., bids fair to be extin-
guished after nearly a year of effort.
The area of the fire, as nearly as can

mers and welldrills, the greater bulk
being with well-drill holes, using 40
per cent dynamite. Cuts were made
in very low lifts, owing mostly to cave-
ins to old workings, as the cut was
all xmdemiined with old workings and
very dangerous to proceed through
with steam shovel. Effective drilling
was diflBcult, because of many holes
going through to the old workings,
the location of which could not De de-
termined in advance, ana the conse-
quent loss of these holes for blasting
purposes.

The contract for this work is being
carried out by the F. E. Welsh Con-
tracting Co., Inc., of Cleveland, O.,

,^H

i^i>^-^^^^^^^^^^|

ExcavatiiiK to Cat Off Serious Undergroond Fire from Main Workings of Coal Mine.

be determined, is approximately six
acres. All known means were tried,
without success, to extinguish the fire.

Finally cutting off the fire by means
of an open trench was resorted to.
This cut is approximately 1,000 ft.
long, averaging 45 ft. deep at ends,
within 50 ft. of crop, and running
up to 65 ft. of overburden at center
of cut. It will average 65 ft. wide
on top and 25 to 30 ft. in width at
top of coal when completed. The ma-
terial at the center of the cut lay in
stratas approximately 15 ft. of yel-
low clay, 20 ft. of hard shale, 12 ft.
of hard sandstone, 12 ft. of hard slate,
3 ft. of very hard sandstone and 3 ft.
of hard slate over coal.

Drilling was handled with jackham-

and has been in progress since Feb.
10, in which time about 70 per cent
of the total yardage of approximately
80,000 cu. yds. has been handled. The
equipment consists of an Osgood 29
1-yd. continuous tread revohing steam
shovel, two 4-car trains of 3-yd. cars
and two 12-ton dinkies of 36-in. gauge.
Work is carried on in two shifts of
nine hours each, and the yardage runs
as high as SOO yds. per day, the shovel
handling material that often is too
large to pass through the dipper.
Large rocks are either chained to the
dipper and loaded on the car, or cast
back of the shovel to be jackham-
mered into sizes that will pass through
the shovel dipper.
The upper 12 ft. of clay was cast

628

Railways

Sept

over the sides and the remainder
hauled to waste at either end of the
cut by the two dinky trains. The re-
maining 30 per cent of material is all
solid rock and hard slate, and prog-
ress is slow and difficult because of
cave-ins and mine gas and gaseous
fumes leaking through from the fire.
Some of the material being loaded is
too hot to handle with bare hands.

To date the work has been carried
on without accident, but the hazard
is greater as excavation comes closer
to coal. It is hoped that the work
will be completed in a few weeks with-
out accident and in time to load out
the coal so as to form an effective
cut-ofF to the fire.

Industrial Notes

The Allied Machinery Co. of America has

received advice by cable from T. G. Nee,
president of the Home Co., Ltd., of Japan,
that the entire head office staff of the latter
in Tokio is safe. The exact status of the
merchandise stocks and of the records of the
business in Tokio has not yet been determined.
Less than one-third of the company's stock
is, however, carried in Tokio. None of the
13 branches of the company in Japanese terri-
tory was affected by the recent disaster. The
Home Co., Ltd., is, therefore, fully prepared
to continue its business of nearly 25 years
standing as distributors in Japan for Ameri-
can manufacturers of machine tools, industrial
and construction machinery, building ma-
terials and allied lines. The Allied Machinery
Co. of America, with which the Home Co.,
Ltd., is closely affiliated, will continue to
handle the affairs of the latter in this country.

The Pawling & Harnischfeger Co. of Mil-
waukee, Wis., builders of traveling cranes,
hoists and excavating machinery, announces
the opening of a new office at 1124 Book
Bldg., Detroit, Mich., with James Van Bus-
kirk in charge. The company also announces
the appointment of N. B. Norris as manager
of their New Orleans office at 938 Whitney-
Central Bldg.

The Dorr Co., New York City, has moved
its Scranton, Pa., office to 536 Miners Bank
Bldg.. Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

The Sullivan Machinery Co., Chicago, on
Aug. 11 formally opened its new western
works at Michigan City, Ind. The buildings
were completed some time ago, and during
the past month the machinery and equipment
have been moved from the company's old
plant at Chicago to the new quarters. The
new plant is designed to permit manufacture
of the company's products (consisting, at the
western works, of air compressors, diamond
core drills, drill steel sharpening machines
and cutter bit sharpeners) in the most effi-
cient and economical manner. The new build-
ings are one-story and equipped with all
modern appliances for manufacturing and
handling the product rapidly and at low cost.
The plant is served by the Fere Marquette
R. R.

New Trade Publications

The following publications of interest t
engineers and contractors have been issuei
recently :

Gasoline Locomotives. — A bulletin featurins
the Plymouth Locomotive in general construe
tion has been issued by The Fate-Root-Heatl
Co., Plymouth, O. It contains numerous illus
trations and descriptions of important con
struction jobs, ranging from the Boston dr:
dock work to the building of 80,000 h. p
hydro-electric development in Norway.

Gasoline Shovel. — The Bucyrus Co., Soutl
Milwaukee, Wis., has just issued a buUetii
featuring its new 20-B gasoline operated uni
versal shovel, equipped with %-yd. dipper
It includes a description of the outstandinj
features of the shovel, together with workinj
diniensions and specifications.

Drills, Air Compressors, Steel Sharpeners
Etc. — The Sullivan Machinery Co., Peoples Ga;
Bldg., Chicago, 111., has issued the followinj
new bulletins: 81-B new Sullivan rotatoi
hammer drills. Describes a new line oi
rotator drills which have been redesigned t<
secure increased drilling speed. 77-G SuUivar
single state steam driven air compressor. Re^
print of former edition. 78-H Ironclad over^
cutting coal mining machine. This bulletir
describes a new type of machine for mining
out dirt bands or partings midway of the coal
seam so as to prevent mixing the dirt oi
impurities with the clean coal when it is
loaded out. 72-H drill steel sharpeners ; new
edition, describes the Sullivan drill steel
sharpening machines of two types and theii
adaptation to making different classes of drill
bits and drill shanks on solid and hollow steel,
as well as for such odd jobs as sharpening
stone channeling machine bits, welding hollow
steel, making stone quarry tools, etc.

Power Drag Scrapers. — A 32-page booklel
on Sauerman power drag scrapers and Sauer-
man portable scraper outfits has been pub-
lished by Sauerman Bros., 428 S. Clinton St.,
Chicago. It contains thorough and useful in-
formation on the design and construction of
this type of equipment and illustrates quite
comprehensively the many ways of adapting
power scrapers to the conditions and require-
ments of various excavating and material
handling propositions.

Thermit Rail Welding. — The Metal & Thermit
Corporation, 120 Broadway, New York, has
issued a new Thermit rail welding pamphlet.
The pamphlet includes detailed instructions,
accompanied by illustrations and drawings,
showing steps in making the improved Thermit
rail weld. Improved apparatus used in con-
nection with Thermit rail welding is de-
scribed in detail for the first time, as well as
illustrations showing results of a 10 years'
service test of the Thermit rail weld, also rail
bending and drop tests. Instructions for using
Thermit for welding compromise joints, con-
structing frogs and crossings and repairing
loose arms of mates and switches have also
been included in complete form. At the end
of the pamphlet is a discussion of the theory
of rail joints.

Track Drainaire. — A comprehensive pamphlet
on the use of Clay products in track drainage
and maintenance has been brought out by the
W. S. Dickey Clay Mfg. Co., Kansas City, Mo.
It contains an interesting discussion on the
importance of a well drained road bed and
includes specifications for laying vitrified
socket pipe for track drainage purposes, as
well as numerous plans for track drainage
by the use of this material.

Buildings

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbebt p. GiLLriTK, President and Editor

Lkwis S. Loueb, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42cl St. and Broadway

RiCiiABO £. Bkown, Eastern Manager

Roads and Streets — 1st Wednesday. $1 Railways — 3rd Wednesday. )1

(a) Boad Con- (c) StreeU (a) Steam Rail- (b) Eleetrie Rail-
stmetion (d) Street clean- way Construe- way Construc-

(b) Road Main- ing tion and tion and
tenance Maintenance Maintenance

Water Works— 2nd Wednesday, $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and Sanitation
Drainasa (d) Waterways

Buildings — tth Wednesday. 91

(a) Buildings (d) BCiscellaneoua

(b) Bridges Structures

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., SEPTEMBER 26, 1923

No. 3

The Economy of Win-
ter Construction of
Buildings

We are all familiar with the state-
ment of psychologists that men are
the creatures of habit, but few of us
undertake to apply that generaliza-
tion to our own selves with a view to
correcting habits that are uneconomic.
For example, before present methods
of construction existed, our forebears
formed the habit of doing practically
all their construction work during
"good weather," that is in the late
spring, summer and early autumn.
This habit was at one time economic,
for during the "bad weather" seasons
the roads were practically impass-
able, and building materials could not
be delivered. Moreover, in those days
lime mortar was the only cementing
material used for brick and stone
masoni-y, and lime mortar can not be
safely used in freezing weather for
its hardening depends upon the chem-
ical absorption of carbonic acid gas
from the air, a process that does not
occur when the lime is frozen. With

the introduction of portland cement,
however, it became possible safely to
build stone and brick masonry as well
as concrete in freezing weather, but
the age-long habit of regarding win-
ter-built masonry as being unsafe had
too strong a grip to be easily over-
come, and even yet causes many men
to defer construction till "good
weather" comes.

Architects, engineers and contrac-
tors usually know that most classes
of building construction can be eco-
nomically performed in the winter,
but most "owners" of buildings are
habituated to regard winter as an un-
fit construction time, and conse-
quently defer ordering building
construction until spring is at hand.
But even members of the building
profession have not entirely freed
themselves from, the ancient habit of
looking upon winter as a poor time
in which to build. They know that
the average workman will not do as
big a day's work in vei-y cold w^eather
as in warm weather, other things
being equal, but they overlook the
fact that other things are not equal.
The very fact that winter jobs are not
.^0 plentiful as summer jobs makes

oau

tiimaings

Sept.

for labor efficiency, since men will
work harder when there is risk of
being discharged and of not being
able to secure another job quickly.

The prices of building materials are
usually lower in winter than in sum-
mer, because of the slackened demand,
and this reduction alone frequently
amounts to a considerable percentage
of the total cost of a building. Usual-
ly more than half the total cost of a
building is the cost of materials.
Hence a 10 per cent saving on the
cost of materials is equivalent to more
than 5 per cent saving on the cost of
the entire building.

One of the elements of building
cost that is rarely seen in published
statements of cost is the cost of de-
lays in the delivery of materials.
During the "good weather" seasons
both the manufacturing plants and
the transportation plants are apt to
be overloaded. Hence even if the
factory or mill is ready to fill your
order the railway or the motor
trucks are unable to deliver the mate-
rial. In the slack season the cost of
such delays is eliminated.

If a building is being erected for
rental purposes, it is highly im-
portant that it be finished either in
the early fall or by the first of May.
If construction work is planned for
the "good weather" season, delays in
getting work started, delays in secur-
ing materials, and inability to secure
an adequate force of workmen at all
times, very frequently prevent the
completion of the building until after
the fall renting date, Sept. 1 or Oct.
1, in consequence of which the owner
suffers a severe loss of income. But
even where the owner expects to occu-
py his own building, failure to com-
plete it at the expiration of his lease
is sure to cause him both expense and
inconvenience. The cost of failure to
complete a building at the time when
occupancy of it is planned, is an item
that seldom appears in estimates of
cost but frequently does appear in
large figures in any complete sum-
mary of costs.

In recent years much has been
written about the economic desirabil-
ity of lengthening the construction
season. It has been pointed out that
if workmen and construction plant are
idle one-third of the time (and it
averages longer) then the labor cost
of construction becomes 50 per cent
more than it would be were it possible
to keep them continuously employed.

The income of both labor and capital,
in the final analysis, must be reck-
oned by the year; and if only 200 of
the 300 available working days in a
year are actually worked, the cost
per diem, both for wages and for
fixed charges on the construction
plant, is greater by one-half than it
would be were the full 300 days made
productive.

This economic argument in favor
of continuous building construction is
unanswerable, provided a day's con-
struction cost in the winter does not
greatly exceed a day's construction
cost in summer. We are sure that,
with fairly good roads, with modern
machinery and devices, with building
materials that can be safely used in
fi-eezing weather, winter building can
be almost, if not fully, as economically
conducted as summer building; and
that when consideration is given to
all the elements of cost (such as labor
efficiency, adequate labor supply,
promptitude in delivery of materials,
interest charges on the land and
building up to the time of occupancy)
then winter building construction be-
comes so clearly economic that even
the most deep set habit of aversion to
it can not survive.

It seems to us that every architect,
every structural engineer, every
building contractor, should submit
estimates of building cost to his
clients, demonstrating the real econ-
omy of all-the-year-round construc-
tion; for, after all, it is the "owner"
who is responsible for most of the
postponement of building "until the
frost is out of the ground." The age-
long habit of such postponement still
grips the average layman.

American Buildings Withstand

Japanese Earthquake

American steel concrete buildings
in Tokyo and Yokohama withstood
the earthquake shock and are in good
condition, according to a cable from
Assistant Trade Commissioner G. C.
Howard at Kobe. Officials of the U.
S. Department of Commerce ex-
pressed gratification over the first
practical demonstration of the ef-
fectiveness of the new so-called earth-
quake-proof factories and office build-
ings which have been constructed
within the past three years. There
are about six of these buildings in
Tokyo.

1923

Buildings

631

The Building Problem

Editorial in The Architectural Forum

The present difficulties attending
the building industry can generally
be attributed to one basic factor —
the shortage of skilled mechanics. It
is perhaps the first time that numer-
ous building operations have been sus-
pended for this reason alone, and it
indicates the continued difficulty that
will attend efforts to build in propor-
tion to the needs of our population.
The reasons for the shortage are
many, and no one group is willing to
admit the responsibility.

Labor has been able to apply the
principle of restricted output which
gives it the present opportunity to
demand and receive bonuses and un-
duly high wages; the employers have
sidestepped the duty of training work-
men and have delegated it to no one
else, and the professional interests
connected with building have been in-
different. Labor is the only party
satisfied with the results of this lais-
sez faire policy, but the whip hand it
employs today will bring about a low-
ering of morale that will be destruc-
tive in the end to labor as well as to
the other elements of the industry.

The problem must be faced and
solved, and from the way in which
the groups directly interested have
failed to accomplish any results bene-
ficial to the public, it would appear
that hope now lies with the profes-
sional element of building. The con-
struction industry of this country is
too large and important to allow its
supply of skilled workers to remain
any longer a matter of chance. Suf-
ficient numbers of men, adequately
trained, must be made available.

Steps toward establishing working
plans for the training of apprentices
are being formulated in a number of
cities, such as New York, Boston,
Philadelphia, Portland, Oregon and
others, through the medium of the
local Building Congress groups which
have been organized and promoted
largely through the efforts of a few
public-spirited and far-seeing archi-
tects. These few local groups have
found that the results of intelligent,
non-partisan investigation of local
conditions when placed before labor
and contracting organizations and
state educational authorities have
elicited favorable attention and the
direct promise of co-operation. The
Building Congress idea has been suf-

ficiently tested, and its results have
been positive enough to prove that it
is on the right track to smoothing out
some of the building difficulties; it
deserves the support and co-operation
of every architect, and if in every
city there were an influence at work
such as exists in those few cities
where the Congress idea has taken
root, the aggregate effect would be a
tremendous power for improvement
and helpful stabilization.

Structuixd Steel Sales in August

The U. S. Department of Com-
merce announces August sales of fab-
ricated structural steel, based on fig-
ures received from the principal fab-
ricators of the country. Total sales
of 130,568 tons were reported for
August by firms, with a capacity of
224,305 tons per month.

Tonnage booked each month by 176
identical firms, with a capacity of 230,-
475 tons per month, is shown below,
•together with the per cent of shop
capacity represented by these book-
ings. For comparative purposes, the
figures are also prorated to obtain an
estimated total for the United States
on a capacity of 250,000 tons per
month.

Actual* Per Computed

Tonnage Cent of Total

1922 Booked Capacity Bookings

April 200.968 87 217.500

May 185,065 80 200,000

June 168,894 73 182,500

July 158,012 69 172,500

August 156,559 68 170,000

September 146.827 64 160,000

October 133,037 58 145,000

November 112,367 49 122.500

December 138,737 60 150,000

1923

January 173,294 75 187.500

February 184,887 80 200,000

March _....218,400 95 237,500

April „..186,117 81 202.500

May 131,875 57 142.500

June 118.063* 51 127.500

July 116,774** 51 127,500

August 131,770*** 56 140,000

•Reported by 174 firms with a capacity of
230,460 tons.

•♦Reported by 169 firms with a capacity of
229,815 tons.

***Reported by 158 firms with a capacity
of 224,305 tons.

Fire Loss in August. — The losses by
fire in the United States and Canada
during the month of August, as com-
piled from the daily records of "The
Journal of Commerce," reached a total
of $24,474,300, as compared with $27,-
490,750 in July and $21,579,500 in
Aug^ust a year ago.

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1923

Buildings

633

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634 Buildings

Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices

Sept.

Bt a

1913 100

1914 103

1915 104

January 104

July 104

October 106

1916 123

January 110

April 113

July 117

October 136

1917 190

January 152

April 184

July 196

October 207

1918 218

January 211

April 213

July 217

October 225

1919 231

January 224

April 230

July 241

October 227

1920 218

January 247

April 243

July 283

October 187

1921 124

January 143

March 127

April 117

Jiay 118

June 114

July 119

August 123

September 124

October 124

Movember 121

December 120

1922 133

January 122

February 131

A£arch 130

April 129

May 132

June 131

July 135

August 131

September 133

October 138

November 143

December 145

1923—

.Fanuary 148

Ff^bruary 142

March 143

April 141

May _ 139

I line 13S

luly 135

August 139

In previous issues it has been stated
that the index of building materials
did not include steel. This is in error,
as the revised index is a weighted
average of the principal building ma-
terials including steel and certain
other metals. All figures given in
this table are in accordance with the
revised calculation.

•a
ttti

*£
•£

•Oo

■3B

1 K

£:»

CQE

6§

100

102

101

100

105

184

100

1«1

106

108

104

106

180

100

102

101

105

161

100

102

121

127

126

162

120

181

106

121

127

109

110

lis

133

110

108

110

lis

114

118

120

164

120

200

104

110

121

117

125

121

158

120

176

107

120

128

134

137

128

164

124

164

109

182

1S6

167

175

169

231

157

202

126

148

177

149

158

171

198

138

173

118

149

16S

164

230

165

186

121

168

178

169

181

176

292

168

205

129

163

188

180

185

158

207

156

231

133

142

188

228

170

187

172

216

153

156

194

182

201

164

183

161

223

137

145

184

181

220

166

184

169

228

144

162

190

185

238

175

189

177

209

159

196

198

245

176

192

177

211

164

163

202

207

258

181

162

201

169

184

176

206

203

220

178

175

176

181

167

166

199

205

177

153

169

160

167

160

199

210

262

181

160

209

167

183

177

212

205

291

189

162

229

173

194

187

211

220

295

241

192

264

200

254

196

226

231

339

194

175

274

189

239

194

283

238

336

281

203

300

210

242

206

245

238

300

269

202

269

212

276

203

241

201

245

280

191

240

198

271

188

211

144

180

199

129

165

136

195

128

147

162

196

247

153

192

163

217

164

170

161

183

212

140

178

143

316

189

166

144

176

205

138

167

135

216

180

148

139

173

200

138

165

184

209

126

146

137

172

191

133

163

138

196

125

142

141

172

186

124

160

129

180

128

141

146

171

184

117

156

129

179

119

142

178

181

116

156

181

179

118

141

140

180

189

116

159

131

180

118

142

189

180

197

114

163

129

178

119

141

186

180

199

113

168

127

178

121

140

139

180

220

122

169

124

176

117

149

181

176

196

112

167

124

178

117

188

185

174

191

110

156

128

177

117

141

187

172

191

109

155

126

175

117

142

187

171

194

113

156

124

175

116

148

188

176

216

119

160

122

176

116

148

140

179

225

120

167

122

176

114

ISO

14«

180

264

121

170

121

178

114

166

138

181

271

126

172

122

178

115

16S

188

183

244

134

180

124

178

116

IKS

140

188

226

135

183

124

176

120

164

143

192

218

133

185

127

179

122

166

144

194

216

131

185

130

182

122

166

141

196

218

133

188

131

184

124

166

141

199

212

139

192

132

184

126

167

143

?ni

20 fi

1 19

198

13R

IKR

127

1S«

144

2nR

200

154

204

13fi

187

126

159

144

201

190

152

202

134

187

125

156

142

198

180

148

194

131

187

123

163

141

193

183

145

190

128

187

121

151

142

193

178

145

186

127

183

120

150

1923

Buildings

635

Hauling 67-Ton Girders

Two of the largest girders ever
hauled into Chicago's downtown dis-
trict were delivered at The Straus
Building, Sunday, Sept. 9. These
girders each weigh 67.85 tons, are 55
ft. long and stand 11^/^ ft. high. It
took practically all day to unload the
girders, carry them about ^^ mile and
unload them at The Straus Building,
Michigan Ave. at Jackson Blvd.

used, but in handling the Straus gird-
ers two 40 hp. tractors proved suffi-
cient.

Forty-two tons were carried on the
rear trailer and 25 tons on the tractor.
The load was distributed over ten
wheels which included the front
wheels of the first tractor.

Girders of such size are necessary
because they not only carry their load
of the building but they must carry

Ivailroad Wrecker Being Used to Unload One of the Two 67.85 Ton Girders.

Because of the immense size it was
necessary to have a Chicago, Milwau-
kee & St. Paul Ry. wrecker, with a
150-ton capacity, load the girders on
flat cars at the Goose Island yard.
The cars were taken to the Michigan
Central team track at South Water
St. and Michigan Ave., where an Illi-
nois Central Ry. wrecker unloaded
them individually on a combination
tractor and four wheel bearing special
trailer, equipped with two separate
axles.

Formerly in order to handle gird-
ers of such size 50 to 75 horses were

the center load of the 10-story tower
which tops the 22 stories of the main
shaft of the building. The girders
are to be placed between the 5th and
6th floors.

The only larger girder ever deliv-
ered in Chicago, according to J. X.
Galvin, general manager of the Pen-
noyer Merchants Transfer Co., was a
70-ton girder used in the Stevens
Building. Two girders of 62.9 tons
were used in the structural work of
the Chicago Theatre.

To avoid traffic congestion the gird-
ers were hauled on Sunday.

636

Buildings Sept.

Production of High Class OfBce Space

Ho>v Character of Rented Space in Buildings Is Affected by Archi-
tectural Design Outlined in Paper Presented at Convention
of National Association of Building Owners and Managers

By JOHN MEAD HOWELLS

During my 25 years of practice of
architecture^ largely in the design and
construction of office buildings, this
question of "How much the archi-
tectural design affects the character
of the rental space produced?" has
constantly been before the owners, the
managers and myself, with varying
answers.

What Is Meant by Architectural
Design? — Many people not experi-
enced in building seem to think that
architectural design means ornament
applied to the exterior of a building.
In fact, some weeks ago, I talked
with the president of an insurance
company, who said, "My idea of a
building is to build it correctly from
the inside point of view and then let
the architect dress up the outside ar-
tistically." But if this is his idea, he
might better dispense with the archi-
tect entirely. Good architectural de-
sign beings at the foundations, not on
the outside of the building. By ar-
chitectural design, I mean the charac-
ter and effect of the entrances and
vestibules, the disposition of elevators
and elevator halls, the access from
the elevators to the offices, the posi-
tion and depth of the office space with
regard to the windows, and last but
not least, the dignity and character
of the exterior of the building.

It is generally conceded that the
best office space must be only a cer-
tain distance from the windows, and
the ceiling, height and position of the
windows in the wall must be such as
to give the deepest angle of lighting;
but what must be considered the ideal
story height for office space ? And is
there a limit to the ceiling height?
You know that in most American
cities, the zoning and building laws
are arranged to take a number of
stories of a certain ceiling height with-
in the zoning limit, and if you leave
out one story to gain extra ceiling
height, in the other stories that costs
rental space, and rental space is in-
come.

Interesting Example in New
Tribune Building. — In the new build-
ing for the Chicago Tribune, the sub-

ject of a recent architectural com-
petition, Raymond M. Hood and I had
an interesting example. Our orders
were to produce the finest office space
on the market. In the floor plans,
we placed the elevators, stairs, toilets,
and other services in the center of
the plan, with uninterrupted office
space all around, and windows all
around the outside of the office space.
But the first plans showed a row of
steel columns all around the middle
of this office space.

On our own responsibility we made
another set of plans, showing this of-
fice space in one span, clear of col-
umns and without ceiling beams.
This meant more money, and a good
deal of it, because special beam sec-
tions and more steel had to be used.

But Mr. Onderdonk, the manager of
the various Tribune properties, looked
at it only once. "Do it," he said, "that
will be the finest space in town, and
I can ask a large percentage higher
rent, and get it."

In the same Tribune building, it has
been decided to build permanent hand-
some cloistered halls for the elevators
on each floor. Also, and this is some-
times more of a disputed question, it
has been decided to make the entrance
on Michigan Ave. deep and high, and
the main lobby leading to the elevat-
ors, lofty and dignified, but moderate
in size, and not so large in propor-
tion as certain New York buildings
like the Singer Building or the City
Investment Building.

The Importance of the Entrance. —
The excuse for taking this space, and
the idea of it is that this space be-
longs to every tenant in the building,
and is an asset to every tenant. Also,
a visitor, after approaching a hand-
some building from the outside,
should not get a cramped or undig-
nified impression on entering.

Imagine two identical buildings side
by side on a principal street like
Broadway. One of them has a high,
dignified, airy entrance lobby with
space to look about, and with the
elevators on one side of a wide space.
Imagine the second building like the

Buildings

637

first in every particular, except that
the ground floor space forming the
ample entrance and lobby in the first,
has been used as a rental space in
the second, leaving a comparatively
cramped corridor entrance, with ordi-
nary ceiling height. This entrance,
like all such corridor entrances, brings
you to the elevators sideways. This
way of approaching a line of elevators
is a usual way and, on a narrow lot,
it is often necessary, but if the cor-
ridor is narrow, you have to pass in
front of three cars to get to the
fourth, or in front of five cars to get
to the sixth.

Now, as to this second building,
with its ungenerous entrance and its
ecenomoical lobby, there is perhaps
nothing practical that can be argued
against it — the entrance is there; you
can get in and out without hitting
your head; and you can reach the
elevators all right. But, after ten
years, will it hold its own against the
other similar building, with the
other's dignified entrance and liberal
lobbies? I think not. The space thus
taken on the ground floor for digni-
fied entrance and ample lobby, is re-
garded as capitalized for the benefit
of the rental floors above, and for
every tenant in them.

The Exterior Material. — Another
definite tendency in the finest build-
ings today, is the exterior material.
The beauty of the material is being
considered more, and the decoration
less, and this is one reason why Chi-
cago is turning to cut stone as against
other outside materials. On the hand-
somest exteriors, decoration and or-
nament and cornices and belt courses
are being eliminated, and the beauty
of native stones in plain surfaces is
taking their place.

You must have all noticed how the
iiewest designs in the best high build-
ings are without the great overhang-
ing car%-ed cornices of ten years ago.
The designs submitted in the recent
Chicago Tribune competition show this
<:learly. All the three designs taking
prizes are entirely without cornices,
land depend for beauty on the shape
|<)f their tops against the sky. This
is the whole tendency of the design
of tall buildings today; to produce a
jmilding that has a top to end it, and
IS not sawed off flat, as they used to
"ae. Every office building today that
las isolation for light and air protec-

tion on more than two sides should
be designed with a dignified top of
some sort, to give it a finish against
the sky. This tendency to design
buildings with well-shaped tops is be-
ing helped along by the zoning set-
backs in some cities. Also the doing
away with cornices on both sides of
the street opens the street to that
much more sun and air.

The Permanent Value of Good Ar-
chitectural Design. — Do not all these
questions of architectural design give
or take away permanent value? Can
a badly designed building compete
with a similar building well designed ?
Will the building erected on a badly
worked out plan, stand up in value
and rentals against the neighbor which
is well designed ? A well designed
building built from plans worked out
by an experienced architect in con-
junction with the owner, has the ad-
vantage of the arcihtect's experience
as an expert.

I realize that some people do not
think the services of an expert nec-
essary. The mayor of one of our
great cities, on taking office for his
first term, announced to a delega-
tion of architects and engineers who
waited on him, that he "had no use
for experts." In this matter, he was
of exactly the same opinion as a cer-
tain man whose wife was taken with
appendicitis, a complicated case, but,
this man also did not believe in
"trained experts," so he had his wife
operated on by a journeyman plumber.
TTie result was not satisfactory.

If you could build cheaper on a
poor plan than on a good one, there
would be every excuse for doing so,
but you can't. It costs just as much
to erect stone and bricK and mortar
on a poorly designed plan as on a well
arranged one, if the quantities of ma-
terials are the same. So probably,
after all, the best designed plans are
the most desirable.

Workingmen's Compensation in
New York State. — Figures made pub-
lic by the State Industrial Commis-
sioner of New York show that during
the nine years since the Workmen's
Compensation Law took effect, pay-
ments of 8125,000,000 have been made
to more than 400,000 claimants for
compensation under the law. The
aggregate annual payments have
averaged approximately $13,000,000.

638

Buildings Sep1

Crib Dams on the Cumberland River

Methods and Cost of Construction Given in The Military Enginee

By J. R. SLATTERY

Lieutenant-Colonel, Corps of Engineers

During the last season a crib dam
450 ft, long was constructed at Lock
E, Cumberland River. The general
design of the dam is shown on the
accompanying illustration,

A trench was first excavated in the
bed of the river, so as to provide a
level bed for the entire width of the
river on which to base the dam. It
was expected that this material would
consist of a fairly loose gravel, but
it was found to consist partly of that
and principally of cemented gravel,
which it was practically impossible to
handle except with a dipper dredge.
Considerable time was lost and un-
necessary expense incurred as a result
of the delays incident to replacing the
derrick boats equipped with clam-
shell buckets (which proved unable to
handle this material) with a dipper
dredge. It was necessary to wait for
a rise in the river before a dipper
dredge could be gotten to the work.

A total of 8,899 cy. yd. of material
was dredged in preparing this trench.
Part of the material was simply
thrown to one side, and part of it was
placed on decked barges, which were
towed some distance downstream,
where the material was removed by
means of a derrick boat operating a
clam-shell bucket. The cost of this
excavation amounted to 38% ct. per
cubic yard. The detailed analysis of
this cost is shown in Table I.

Details of Construction. — Long leaf
yellow pine and Douglas fir timber
were used in constructing the cribs
(341,402 ft. b. m. of the former and
356,389 ft. b. m. of the latter). The
average price of this timber was
.$49.83 per 1,000 ft. b. m., delivered at
Kuttawa, Ky., some 25 miles below
the site of the dam, the nearest point
at which railroad tracks come close
to the river. From this point the

timber was placed on decked barge
and towed to Lock E, where it wa
unloaded on the bank, part bein]
placed near the upstream end of th
lock within reach of a derrick with
90-ft. boom, and the balance in a yar
a short distance below the lock, fror
which yard it was hauled to the dei
rick by narrow gauge railroad.

This derrick handled the timber
from the bank to hinged ways bull
on a barge. The cribs were 30 f1
X 48 ft. 9 in., with pens approxi
mately 10 ft. x 10 ft. The cribs wer
first built up to a height of six tira
bers; then one end of the hinged way
was lifted by a derrick, causing th
crib to slide into the water. The crib
were then towed into position ani
sunk by laying on them steel shee
piles, to be driven later immediate!;
upstream from the dam to cut off th
flow of water underneath it. Th^
cribs were carefully lined up by tran
sit on the shore and were adjuster
and held in proper vertical positioi
by being secured to 3x12 in, upright
resting on the bottom. As soon a
the cribs were correctly aligned an(
leved, sufficient one-man stone wa
placed in the pens to hold the par
tially completed cribs securely in po
sition. The cribs were then built u]
pens were filled, except three in eacl
to the height of the apron and all th(
crib which were left open in order t(
care for the fiow of the river. Thi
decking of the apron was then place<
and the sheet piling driven along th<
upper side of the dam. The first cril
was placed near the center of thi
stream, the excavation of the trend
immediately adjoining the abutmen
not having been completed.

From this crib, others were placet
in each direction, until the dam wa!
completed to the height of the aproi

Table I — Analysis of Cost of Dredging;

Superin- Man

tendence Days Labor

Looseningr and loadinR $80.60 306 $1,114.70

Towinsr to dump 14 2.71

Dumping 2.10 78.68

Total $82.84 $1,191.04

Unit coBt 004 .184

Plant

Plant Deprecia- General

Supplies tion Expense

$924.02 $273.57 $382.31

668.89 25.60 10.87

25.48

Unit Cos'

(Per

Total Cu. Yd

$2,725.20 $0.30(

598.31 .06^

101.21 .011

$1,488.01
.166

$299.17
.033

$418.66
.047

$3,424.72

.38^

1923

Buildings

639

from the abutment to within about
150 ft. of the lock. This gap was
left open to care for the flow of the
river in case the completion of the
dam should be prevented by high
water. Work was then started imme-
diately next to the abutment, bring-
ing the cribs to full height and filling
all of the pens, except three in each
crib left open to care for the flow of
the river. When this work had pro-
gressed to such a point that it was
reasonably certain the remainder of
the dam could be placed within two
weeks, cribs were placed closing the
gap and work was started placing the
decking and sheathing, starting from
the abutment side.

Completing the Dam. — The final

directly into dump cars by means of
a Thew shovel, and a small quantity
was obtained from loose rock in a
quarry a short distance below the site
of the lock. The low cost of rock used
in filling was due to the fact that the
balance of the cost of excavating it
was charged as excavation against
the lock proper. The loaded barges
weer towed to the dam, a distance of
only about 200 yd. The rock was
then loaded by hand into skips, which
were picked up by three derrick boats
and dumped into the pens.

In order to drive the steel sheet
piling, a standard gauge track was
built across the dam when it had
been completed to the height of the
apron, and a traveling pile driver,

Section of Crib Dam on the Cumberland River.

I^ep was to fill the pens left open and
ilace the decking and sheathing over
above these pens. Derrick stone
placed along the toe of the dam
oon as possible after cribs were
: and completed to the height of
apron. After the completion of
iam, additional derrick stone was
^d below that previously placed
along the abutment. The rock
for filling the cribs and for pro-
ng the toe of the dam and abut-
: was excavated from the lock pit
stored on the bank just below the
When needed for filling the
- it was loaded by hand into skips.
e were lifted by means of a der-
into dump cars, which were then
f'.own a track along the river bank
dumped on decked barges. A
11 quantity of the rock was loaded

mounte'd on the trucks and equipped
with a steam hammer, was used in
driving the steel sheet piling.

It is thought that the method of
handling the rock for use in this dam
was excessive. In building the dam
at Lock F, it is proposed to quarry
the necessary rock during the winter
months and store it on the bank im-
mediately above the abutment. From
this storage pile a track will be run
down the bank and out over the dam.
The track will probably first be placed
on the dam when it is completed to
about the height of the apron, and
then will be laid again nearly at the
height of the coaming when work is
started, bringing the dam to full
height. Rock will be loaded from the
storage pile into dump cars by means
of a locomotive crane equipped with

64.0 Buildings Sep

an orange-peel or special heavy Madison, Wis., on small clear spec

bucket. It is hoped that it may be mens and timbers containing defect

possible by using this equipment to They are applicable to beams, joist

avoid the expense of loading the rock girders and short columns graded i

into skips by hand. The cars will be accordance with the Forest Servi<

run out on the track and the rock basic grading rules for structuri

thus dumped directly into the pens. timbers. (See Forest Products Lai

By laying the track twice, as contem- oratory Technical Note 200.) Con

plated, all but a small quantity of mercial grading rules were found i

rbck will be dumped directly into its general to be too indefinite in the

final resting place. limitations of the size, number ar

_,'„,,. _, , . location of defects to make it pra

Cost of Construction.— The cost of tjc^l to establish working stresses fc

constructing the dam was as follows: thg^n, even if tests could be carrit

Labor Materials Total out on every grade found in the loc;

Handling tim- markets,
ber from

yard to dam $1,939.08 $39.63 $3,750.50 The stresses given in the table ai

SlS anS '' • ' for timbers of the Forest Service ba.

towing i-ock 8,304.10 17.69 l«,743.3i grade, Select (S2). From them tl

^'"'^^ «»'.'bs stresses permissible for the oth(

foe stone".^ 5,961.85 6,299.00 15,400.98 three basic grades can be easily con

Handiingpiies 135.59 165.25 puted. With Extra Select (SI) tin

Driving piles 382.46 6,203.94 6,833.37 bers of any species a stress 7/6 i

C^n-'-ete 168-70 ^^^.ei 598.32 j^^^^ ^^ ^^J ^^^^^^^ ^-^^^ -^ ^^^ ^^^

Total $25,539.70 $55,132.52 $97,050.68 may be used. Standard (S3) timbei

The total includes, besides labor and ma- f.hould be Subjected to only 5/6 t?

terials, the following: Superintendence, plant listed stress. Common (b4) timoei

supplies, plant depreciation and general ex- can take only 4/6 the stress given f(

P^"^- Select (S2). The working stresses (

^7oriamT.'*.*i"."..!!L*!.l..".*...'.\!f $3,424.72 the different grades of Douglas f

Cost of daiii proper!Z!!..l"."!!."!!!!!Z." 97!o50.68 and southern yellow pine can be ii

Overhead 4,738.40 creased one-sixth the allowable stres

Grand total - $105,213.80 . fi^en in the table for the basic (

Estimated cost $130,000.00 Select (S2) grade, if the materi;

meets the density requirements of tl

The total time consumed m build- American Society of Testing Mi

ing the dam after the first crib was terials.
placed was about eight weeks. On

most of the jobs, two shifts were A "factor of safety" adjustment (

used, and toward the last, when water the test values has been made to tal

was expected almost daily, many men care of the loss in strength from d(

were worked considerably overtime. fects, the effect of long continue

^oads, the variation of individui

Labor was paid from $2 to $2.75 pieces from the average, and the poi

per day and subsistence, with a few ^ibility of slight accidental overloac

specially skilled men receiving as j^g. it is evident that a large pa

high as $3.50 per day and subsistence. of this "factor of safety" is require

Carpenters were paid from $4 to $5 t^ correlate laboratory test re.-^uH

per day and subsistence. Hoisting ^jt), actual conditions of use, an

engineers were paid from $100 to o,-,]y ^ i^maU part of it may be coi

$110 per month and subsistence. sidered a true factor of safety. Th

application of a load which would pn

(luce three times the working stres

\]17^wK:»» Qi-^,.^.,.^ f«.. given as allowable would be expectc

Working Mresses tor ^^ ^^^^^ ^-^^ immediate failure c

Structural Timbers ^ome of the timbers and the ultima!

failure of 75 per cent of them. 1

Technical Note, Forest Products Lab- fact, the application of loads whic

II c p^— » <^>»:^o would produce stresses only one an

oratory. U. S. Forest Service ^ne-half times the working stresse

The working stresses for structural recommended would be expected t

timbers of various species given here cause occasional failures if the load

are the result of a long series of tests were left on for any great length c

by the Forest Products Laboratory at time.

1923

Buildings

641

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642

Buildings

Some Fundamental Purposes and Limitations

in Zoning

Extract from Report Outlining a Tentative Zoning Plan for
Providence, R. I.

By ROBERT WHITTEN

Congestion is one of the most vital
and difficult problems confronting
cities at the present time — street con-
gestion, transit congestion, land over-
crowding and the congestion of popu-
lation. Zoning can make a very great
contribution to the reduction or pre-
vention of these congestion evils. In
the first place, zoning and regional
planning can do much to lessen the
increasing concentration of business
and industry in the central part of the
city. This concentration means in-
creased traffic, transit and housing
congestion. A movement toward the
decentralization of business and in-
dustry can be furthered by careful
zoning. Coincident with the centri-
petal movement of business and in-
dustry toward the center, there is
naturally a much smaller centrifugal
movement away from the center. The
heavier industries naturally move out
as land values near the center in-
crease and opportunity for expansion
is blocked. But the place of the large
plant is usually taken by a number of
light manufacturing establishments
having several times as many em-
ployes as the former plant, thus add-
ing greatly to transit and housing
congestion. The spreading out of the
industries and the establishment of
industrial centers in suburban sec-
tions can be promoted by zoning.

Decentralization by Zoning. — Zon-
ing regulations can also promote the
development of important sub-centers
that will take care of much of the
business that would otherwise in-
crease congestion in the central area.
Zoning can further decentralization:

(1) By providing in the zoning plan
for large business districts around a
number of the most important traffic
and focal points throughout the city.

(2) By providing for local or sub-
urban industrial centers and for the
extension of the industrial areas far
out into the suburbs along most of
the railroad lines.

(3) By limiting the expansion of
the central business and industrial
areas, and thus tending to crowd out
business and industries that can be

more economically and appropriati
located away from the main busine
traffic and high value center.

(4) By limiting the height of bui
ings in the central business and
dustrial area. This limits expans
vertically and has to a slight deg:
at least the same effect as the lii
tation of expansion horizontal
above referred to.

The decentralization of busin
and industry as above outlined is a
essential in order to prevent the c^
gestion of population in the residei
sections adjacent to the central ar
Employes working long hours at 1
wages can afford neither the time i
the money to live far from their wo
In New York City it has been sho
that a very large proportion of si
employes will live within walking (
tance of their work, even though t
necessitates their living in the m
congested and unwholesome quart*
The movement of industries i
places of business away from
center will make it easier to prev
congestion and secure better hous
conditions in the residence secti^
adjacent to the central area.

Zoning and Population Congest!
— The problem of congestion of po
lation can also be directly attac;
under a zoning ordinance. In fi
zoning is the only method yet devi
that can be applied to actually i
vent the development of over-cro^
ing in the housing of the populat
of a large city. This is accomplis'
through the area regulations that
quire a certain number of square i
of lot area for each family for wl:
a tenement is arranged. Without s
control there is a continual tende
in tenement construction to incre
the number of stories and fami
and to decrease the size of rooms i
the number of rooms per fani
Congestion breeds congestion. Un
a zoning plan, congested conditi
already existing in any section of
city cannot be helped, but the ext
sion of such conditions to other ar
can and should be prevented.

The protection of the environni

1923

Buildings

64c

of the home is another of the funda-
mental purposes of zoning. This is
accomplished through the setting
aside of residence districts and pro-
hibiting the intrusion of stores, public
garages, steam laundries or other
business or industrial uses; by setting
aside dwelling house districts from
which three-deckers and apartments
are excluded; and by maintaing ade-
quate front, rear and side yards and
adequate lot sizes in all residence dis-
tricts.

Conservation of Property Values. —
Another of the fundamental purposes
of zoning is the consei-vation of prop-
erty values; and particularly the pre-
vention of the enormous economic
waste in building construction due to
the fact that, owing to the invasion
of the various sections of the city by
inappropriate uses, many buildings
become obsolete before they have
served one-half their normal life.
This economic waste is tremendous.
It has been estimated to exceed the
loss due to destruction by fire. It is
a hazard that must be considered by
every investor in real estate, and has
undoubtedly increased the rate of re-
turn necessary to attract capital for
investment. This in turn has meant
a lower level for real estate values,
the construction of fewer dwellings
and apartment houses and higher
rents. It follows that zoning by con-
serving values and reducing the haz-
ard incident to owning real estate will
bring a higher general level of values
and will tend to reduce rents.

Some Fundamental Limitations in
Zoning

Starting with the fundamental
premise that the purpose of zoning is
the control and direction of building
levelopment in accord with a well
considered plan for the orderly and
harmonious development of all prop-
erty throughout the city, certain
limiting conditions present them-
selves:

The zoning power is based upon the
light of the city to regulate the use
t»f property in the interest of health,
safety and general welfare. Only
^uch regulations as can be shown to
|t>e reasonable and necessary for these
purposes can be enforced under exist-
ing constitutional limitations. Judicial
Interpretation of these limitations ex-
clude for the present at least the
adoption of regulations based solely
)n aesthetic purposes. This rules out

many regulations that are proper in
private restrictions such as those
specifying the cost of a building or
regulating its design.

A zoning plan must be reasonable
and not arbitrary or confiscatory.
Each owner should be permitted a
reasonable use of his land. To be
reasonable, the use permitted should
as a rule be such as will produce a
fair return on the actual value of the
land. Special care has therefore been
exercised in determining districts to
place a given area in the class of
district that will permit the area as
a whole to be devoted to its most
profitable use. If there are individual
lots within the area that cannot be
appropriately improved under the
general regulations prescribed for the
district, the board of review is author-
ized to grant such relief as will pre-
vent confiscation and permit a fair
return on the actual value of the land
even in these exceptional cases. But
such relief should be so safeguarded
and conditioned that it will not pei--
mit an exploitation of the neighbor-
hood or create a nuisance or seriously
injure the fair value of neighboring
property. To "live and let live" is a
good motto to remember in determin-
ing what is a reasonable use of prop-
erty in any particular case.

The above is not an attempt to
state legal principles or constitutional
limitations in relation to zoning, but
rather what seems to be a just and
reasonable rule to follow in drafting
and applying zoning regulations. To
be sure, where public health and
safety are vitally and immediately
concerned regulations should be ap-
plied and enforced, regardless of their
effect on the individual property
owner. But such cases will be few
and far between in a carefully pre-
pared zoning ordinance. Zoning regu-
lations, while they have an undoubted
relation to public health, safety and
welfare, will as a rule accomplish
these purposes more certainly and ef-
fectively if they are drawn chiefly
with reference to safeguarding the
future and with a frank acceptance
of existing conditions and existing
equities.

Zoning regulations must be applied
without discrimination. Areas in dif-
ferent parts of the city which are
similarly situated and in which like
conditions prevail should be placed in
like districts. This principle also pre-
cludes partial zoning. The plan should

644

Buildings

Sepi

cover all property throughout the
city. It should be city-wide and not
piecemeal.

Zoning cannot rebuild a city, but
must start with an existing city in
which much haphazard and undesir-
able development has taken place.
Zoning regulations are not retro-
active; the cannot do away with ex-
isting structures or change existing
uses. In applying zoning to an al-
ready developed area, chief weight
must be given to existing conditions
and the existing trend of development
rather than to conditions previously
obtaining, or the ideal development
that could have been secured if zon-
ing had been applied earlier. Where
intrusions are not serious, however,
and the obvious conditions and ten-
dencies indicate that the application
of restrictions to a section will stimu-
late and restore uniformity of de-
velopment, and benefit the section as
a whole, these considerations should
prevail over the presence of misplaced
and inappropriate uses.

Zoning should aim at a minimum
of restriction. Each regulation and
each district boundary should be de-
termined with reference to fixing the
greatest freedom of action consistent
with the public good and the protec-
tion of the rights of all owners. In
the application of the zoning it is the
function of the board of review to
vary the strict letter of the ordinance
in harmony with its general purpose
so as to grant a maximum of freedom
while at the same time safeguarding
the spirit and purpose of the zoning
plan.

Immigration Facts. — According to
a report of the National Industrial
Conference Board, from July, 1921,
to March, 1922, there were 241,644
arrivals and 160,918 departures, mak-
ing the net immigration 80,726. For
the same period a year later the ar-
rivals were 373,511 and the departures
dropped to 65,775, making the net im-
migration for the period 307,736. This
occurred in the face of reviving in-
dustrial prosperity in Europe. Of the
immigrants for the period covered
above, only 29,191 were common la-
borers, the remainder being thus
classified: Professional, 9,870; skilled
laborers, 65,707; farm laborers, 25,-
072; miscellaneous, 57,838, and un-
classified, 120,058.

Dictionary of Specifications

Work has been started at the t
S. Bureau of Standards on the com
pilation of material for a dictionar
or handbook of specifications for sup
plies purchased by federal, state an
municipal governments and public in
stitutions. This work grew out of
meeting held in May, 1923, of Stat
Purchasing Agents from all over th
country, and at which the co-operatio
of the various states was assured i
this matter.

On July 11, a conference was hel
of various national organizations in
terested in the preparation and unifi
cation of purchase specifications an
in their use from the point of viei
of both the producer and the cor
sumer. This conference was calle
for the purpose of organizing an ad
visory committee to co-operate wit
the Department of Commerce and th
National Conference of State Purcha?
ing Agents in the work of formulatin;
purchase standards, specifications an
tests. Although no meeting of thi
advisory committee has yet been heU
the various organizations i-epresente
are co-operating actively in the actus
work of compiling the material fo
the dictionary, and a great deal o
information has been supplied.

Correspondence conducted with th
oflJicers of trade associations and th
purchasing agents of a large numbe
of municipalities and public institu
tions has established the fact tha
all the individuals and groups fo
which the dictionary of specification
is being prepared will welcome it
appearance enthusiastically and co
operate actively in the preparation,

A collection is now being made o
all available specifications prepare^
by the various departments and inde
pendent establishments of the federa
government and those used by stati
and municipal governments, public in
stitutions, and the important nationa
trade associations, and technical so
cieties. These specifications are be
ing thoroughly card-indexed and class
ified. Care is being taken to pick ou
those specifications which are mos
urgently needed, and due considera
tion is being given to the attitude o:
pui-chasers and consumers towai'd th(
existing and the proposed specifica
tions.

1923

Buildings

645

The Determination of Chimney Sizes

Method of Proportioning Chimneys Described in Paper Presented at
Spring Meeting of American Society Mechanical Engineers

By ALFRED COTTON

Chief of Research Department, Heine Boiler Co., St.

Louis

It is probable that no engineering
subject is in such a chaotic state as
that of chimneys. While much excel-
lent work has been done and many
formulas, tables and charts have been
prepared, chimneys are nevertheless
usually designed by rule of thumb,
and there are plenty of cases where
their performance is either much
greater or much less than was ex-
pected.

It is believed that the method of
proportioning chimneys outlined in
what follows has the merit of giving
definite sizes which are entirely free
from conjecture, in a very simple and
consistent manner.

Description of the Method. — It is
convenient to consider the available
draft at the chimney base as being
the static draft less the draft lost by
chimney friction and by acceleration

■—

1 "1

Ns!

; f T

}

r«

Froctisn of Maximum CopociN

FiK. 1 — Relation of Drmft Fraction to Capacity
Fraction (Available Draft Ratio).

of the gases, and this must equal or
exceed the draft necessary to operate
the boiler, etc.

The static draft is the vacuum pre-
vailing under an imaginary condition
when no gases are flowing. It is an
absolutely definite quantity for any
given circumstances and forms the
.starting point of this method.

The chimney friction varies as the
square of the velocity of the gases.
If the velocity is progressively in-
creased, a point is reached where the
Aimney friction is equal to the static
raft. This is the "maximum ca-
pacity," and it is just as absolute and
definite a quantity for any given cir-
cumstances as is the static draft from
swhich it is determined, and it forms
,he end point of the method.

The draft loss due to chimney fric-
tion is in direct proportion to the
height of the chimney. So also is the
static draft. If we double the height
of the chimney, we double both the

Fig. 2 — Static Draft of Chimneys From 100 to

300 ft. High With Gas Temperatures From

100 to 1200- F. at Sea Level With Atmosphere

at 60= F.

(Curves marked with mean temperature of
gases in chimney in degree Fahr.)

static draft and the draft loss, and
the maximum capacity is unaltered.

Since the chimney friction increases
as the square of the velocity of the
gases, the resulting curve is a para-
bola in all cases. This curve is pre-
sented in Fig. 1, and relates the load
expressed as a fraction of the maxi-
mum capacity to the available draft

Fig. 3 — Static Draft of Chimneys From 300 to
300 Ft. High With Gas Temperatures From
100 to 1200= F. at Sea Level With Atmosphere

at 60° F.

(Curves marked with mean temperature of

gases in chimney in degree Fahr.)

expressed as a fraction of the static
draft. This is a fundamental curve
which applies to all chimneys at all
temperatures of gases and of the at-
mosphere and at all altitudes.

646

Buildings

Sep1

Static Draft. — Figs. 2 and 3 give
the static draft for chimneys 100 to
500 ft. high at sea level dealing with
gases up to 1200° F. in temperature
when the atmosphere is at 60°. An-
other chart in the complete paper
deals similarly with chimneys from
0 to 100 ft. in height. Fig. 4 gives
factors with which to multiply the

IS
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06
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04

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JOO 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
TfiTTiperoturf o* CH-mnf-y 6o5*i . Deg FoSf

Fig. 4 — Relation of Static Draft of Chimneys

With Temperatures of Atmosphere From 0 to

120° F. to That at 60° F.

(Curves marked with temperatures of atmos-
phere in degree Fahr.)

static draft found from Figs. 2 and 3
to obtain the static draft for atmos-
pheric temperatures other than 60°.

Temperature of Gases in Chimney.
— The author's article on "Loss of
Heat in Brick Chimneys," published
in Power Plant Engineering, Aug. 1,
1921, includes some curves of tem-
perature drop. These lead to the
factors of Fig. 5, by which the mean
temperature in the chimney may be
found.

Altitude and Static Draft.— The
static draft at any barometric pres-

^_w

.IJJ„

r^t-o^^tt'f^

\X^

k ■"

:r.

.—

— 1

-A^-

f— 1

jz:

:::.

-1--

•0

Height of Ch.nifiey m Fefft

Fig. 5 — Factors for Finding the Mean Tem-
perature of the Gases in Chimneys.

Procedure (Masonry Chimneys) :

A = observed temperature of atmosphere
E = observed temperature of gases entering

chimney
p = percentage appropriate to diameter and

height as read from chart
G = temperature of gases entering chimney

above that of atmosphere = E ^ — A
C = average temperature of gases in chimney

above that of atmosphere - G X P
C -|- A average temperature of gases in

chimney

sure B in inches of mercury is tha
at sea level multiplied by B/30. I
the same load is to be carried at alt:
tude as would be carried at sea leve
then the same weight of gases muf
be dealt with. Since the density c
the gases is less, their velocity mus
be higher, and the height of chimne
necessary at altitude to provide suff
cient draft to do the same work a
at sea level, will be the sea-lev(
height divided by (5/30)', or mult
plied by its reciprocal which is give
in Fig. 6.

Maximum Capacity. — Menzin, in hi
paper on Proportioning Chimneys o
a Gas Basis, Trans. A.S.M.E., 191(
went so carefully over all the avai
able data on chimney friction that th
formula he presented has been use*
Fig. 7 gives the maximum capacitic
of chimneys from 5 to 25 ft. in d
ameter for various mean tempers
tures of gases with the atmosphei

1 1

£^?o

t 18

C16

i 14

Altitude in Feet Above Seo Level

Fig. G— Effect of Altitude on Height «
Chimneys.

at 60° at sea level. Other charts i
the complete paper cover the rang
for diameters of from 0 to 10 ft. Th
maximum capacities as read froi
Fig. 7 are to be multiplied by th
appropriate factor read from Fig.
when the atmospheric temperature i
other than 60° F.

It is convenient to assume that tli
velocity of the gases remains cor
stant. Then the maximum capacit
at altitude is that at sea level mult
plied by 5/30.

Acceleration of Gases. — The pres
sure difference required to accelerat
the gases is conveniently stated a
draft loss, and curves showing thi
draft loss at maximum capacity fc
each diameter have been drawn i
Fig. 9, for different temperature!
The fraction of the draft loss for an
desired fraction of the maximum ca

1923

Buildings

647

pacity is the same for all maximum
capacities. Fig. 10 gives this fraction.

The draft loss at sea level multi-
plied by Z?/30 give the draft loss for
altitudes.

Available Draft. — Enter Fig. 1, with
the ratio of available draft to static
draft, and read the fraction of maxi-
mum capacity. Di\ide the required
weight of gases by this fraction and
use the resulting maximum capacity
to find the requisite diameter. Or
with given diameter, read the maxi-
mum capacity and state the 'required
capacity as a fraction of it. Divide

2. Draft Loss Through Boiler Set-
ting.— A cun'e should usually be ob-
tained from the boiler manufacturer
based on some proportion of excess
air \sith the fuel to be used.

The draft loss through a horizontal,
diagonally baffled, 14-high water-tube
boiler burning bituminous coal with
13 per cent of CO; in the flue gases is
given in Fig. 12.

The effect of an alteration in the
amount of excess air as indicated by
the proportion of CO; in the flue gases
is shown approximately by the curves
drawn in Fig. 13. Precise factors are

1 ! • i

; ' : '^

I- 9

w
</
0- ^

i i '4^^/

• 'm4.

1 ' ^4S^X

\ -My^^^J^^

•

■0 ,

U^^^^""!

0. T

\^i^.^ ■ 1

U^^^:^^^'^

i jS5^>^

r-*"^

==:

^ — i — TT

19 20 21 22

13 W 15 M>
Diame+er in Fee+

Fig 7 — Maximum Capacitr of Chimneys From 5 to 25 Ft. in Diameter at Different Gas Tempera
tores from 100 to 1200 - F. at Sea Level With Atmosphere at 60 = F.

the required draft by the fraction
read from Fig. 1 and get the equiva-
lent static draft. Add the draft re-
quired to accelerate the gases and
read the height of chimney from tig.
2 or Fig. 3. Several combinations of
height and diameter can be found foj
any circumstances very quickly.

Draft Required. — The draft required
at the base of the chimney is made
up as follows:

1. Vacuum Over Fuel Bed. — Fig. 11
shows the vacuum required in the fur-
nace chamber for burning various
fuels. The values are fair averages
which accord with the author's ex-
perience with reasonably clean fires

"en hand firing and with average

iditons of stoker operation. The

jroken-line curs'es were kindly sup-

tlJlied by Mr. Thomas A. Marsh, Mem.

A.S.M.E. With forced draft, a vacuum

•^r the fire of about 0.1 in. should be

aintained.

not possible, but these are sufficiently
accurate for the present purpose.
The draft loss for any percentage of
CO: is to be multiplied by the appro-
priate factor to find the draft loss at
some other percentage of CO:.

3. Draft Loss Through Damper. —
Some may prefer to allow a little
draft loss through the damper, the
damper being not fully open, as a
factor of safety. But this is quite
unnecessary with the method of treat-
ment being described. Of course, in
some ill-designed plants there may
be a real draft loss through the
damper frame o^ving to its being too
small, or through the damper's caus-
ing serious distortion of the stream
lines when fully open.

4. Draft Loss Through Flues.— The
drart loss through flues is commonly
taken as 0.1 in. of water for each 100
ft. of length and 0.05 in. for each
right-angle turn. This value results

648

Buildings

Sepi

in the curves of gas weights and
velocities of Figs. 14 and 15 for a
temperature of 540 ° and for rectangu-
lar flues whose sides have a ratio of
2:1. Other figures in the complete
paper give factors for finding the

1.3

5' °

\\M^

^fe==L-

60,

—

»09

"08

1 1

//7

////

, IOC

Te!np«ratOre of Chimney Ooses.Deg.Fohr

Fig. 8 — Relation of Maximum Capacity of

Chimneys With Temperatures of Atmosphere

From 0 to 120° F. to That at 60° F.

(Curves marked with temperature of atmos-
phere in degree Fahr.)

weight and velocity at other tempera-
tures for the same draft loss, and the
effect of the shape of the cross-section
of the flue. A further development
results in the curves of Fig. 16, which
are based on the gas weights of
Table I.

Table I — Weight of Flue Gases for Boiler
Horsepower

Lb. of Gases

Conditions
Coal, natural draft..
Coal, forced draft....

Natural gas

Oil

Blast-furnace gas ....

Per Hp.

90
60
60
45
100

The loss due to elbows is generally
assumed as 0.05 in. for right-angle
turns whose inside radius is not less
than the width of the flue.

,;l

.-'j

1>,

'C^

vio-

L-

"■

.--

—'

—

-4

—

Fig. 9 — Draft Loss Due to Acceleration of
Gases at Maximum Capacity of Chimneys From
5 to 25 Ft. in Diameter With Temperatures of

Gases From 100 to 1200° F. at Sea Level.

(Curves marked with mean temperature of

gases in chimney in degree Fahr.)

The effect of different amounts o
excess air on the draft loss in flues i
the same as for the boiler setting a
shown by Fig. 13.

Weight of Gases. — The weight o
gases to be dealt with from any givei
fuel depends upon the proportion o
excess air. It is convenient to calcu

tOK)
I

-Jr

!)♦$

O.J«

00^

de 01

'" Froc+ion of MoKimurTi Copoci>y

Fig. 10 — Relation of Draft-Loss Fraction Du
to Acceleration of Gases to Capacity Fractior

late the weight of gases with differen
proportions of excess air per pound o
"combustible." Any percentage o
refuse, including unburned coal goinj
to the ashpit, can then be used to fin(
the weight of gases per pound of dr;
coal or of coal "as fired." The effi
ciency of the boiler and furnace wil
determine the weight of coal pe
horsepower or per unit weight o
steam, and the weight of coal to b(
burned can then be found.

Induced Draft. — Chimneys for in
duced draft are computed in exactly

l?0

/i\ ^

.//

» "'°

f'A

""?

{/^^?

A^y

^1 ^

S^^^L

I 060

w^.-'^

y
>>

hi^

^>\

yiV

y^^^^^
^W^

cT'r^

'0 40

■3

-;:

f^ j^^^

"'-

ozo

■T'

■^w

''^

f'W

ITI""!

» 32 » 40

Pound* of Cool ptr Sq F* of &fot« Ar«o per Hour

Fig. 11— Draft Loss Through Fuel Bed Willi
Different Fuels.

(Note -Broken-line curves arc for coal hurnee

on chain-gate stokers and as drawn by Groer

Engineering Co.)

the same manner as in other cases,
Since it often happens that loads are
increased later owing to the ease ol
doing so with induced draft, it is ad-
visable to allow at least 0.2 in. of
available draft at the fan discharge,
Approximate Sizes. — Fig. 17 is
drawn for a working capacity of 3(1

1923

Buildings

649

per cent of the maximum capacity.
The natural-draft cur\^e is computed
at 90 lb. of gases per boiler horse-
power, the forced-draft curve at 60
lb., and the oil-burning curve at 45 lb.
Fig. 10 shows that at 0.3 of maxi-
mum capacity the draft loss due to
acceleration of gases is 0.09 of that

Chimney Study. — A central power
station is to have groups of four
1400-hp. boilers to each chimney. The
boilers are to be 14 tubes high and
are to carry peak loads of 300 per
cent of rating when the exist gases
will be at 640°. Forced-draft stokers
are to burn bituminous coal of known

80 120 160 200 240 260 320
Load in Pcrcen4ag« of Ra+ing

Fig. 12 — Draft Loss Through Diagonally

Baffled Boiler 14 Tubes High With Superheater,

Burning Bituminous Coal With 13 Per Cent of

CO, in Flue Gases, at Sea Level.

at maximum capacity, or, say, 0.10
for use in this approximate way. Fig.
1 shows that the available draft at
0.3 of maximum capacity is 0.91 of
the static draft. Therefore the draft
required at the chimney base divided
by 0.9, for this approximate work, and
added to the draft loss due to accel-
eration of gases gives the required
static draft. The necessary height of
chimney can then be directly read
from Fig. 2 or Fig. 3 after making
due allowance for temperature drop
with the aid of Fig. 5.

z»

vN.

|l.6

\ '

.?I.Z

\ "^

^v,"

«0(

[~^

:::~-~L^

tL.

Cj^tt^i;^

•

■

Perten+aqe o* COg in F'u« 6oscs. Bituminous Cool

Fig. 13 — Relative Draft Loss Through Boilers

Burning Bituminous Coal With Varying Pro-

p«rtions of Excess Air as Indicated by the

Percentage of CO, in the Flue Gases.

The accuracy of the results depends
only upon that of the constants. For
all ordinary cases only a few of the
charts are used, and it is an exceed-
ingly simple matter to solve any
problem.

■^

\ml

kj'

«»•='

w-s

r*^

■J

.J>^

.»

(l-*0 (7* P(.* tn SqworV r*«t

Fig. 14 — Working Capacity of Rectangular
Flues From 0 to 200 Sq. Ft. in Cross-Sectional
Area With Sides in Ratio of 2:1 With Gases
at 540° F. at Sea Level. Giving a Draft Loss
of 0.1 In. of Water Per 100 Ft. of Length.

analysis with 30 per cent of excess
air.

An approximate idea of the chimney
is first arrived at. The total horse-
power to be handled at 16,800, for
which a diameter of 16 ft. is read
from Fig. 17.

The draft required at the base of
the chimney is found to be 1.55 in.,
made up of 1.3 in. draft loss through

szo sw em

■"

J,^

r*1

m2(OaO]203U«04««0
*i*o o* FIu« in S^uore Fe«t

Fig. 13 — Working Capacity of Rectangular
Flues From 200 to 600 Sq. Ft. in Cross-Sec-
tional Area, With Sides in Ratio of 2:1 With
Gases at 540 - F. at Sea Level, Giving a Draft
Loss of 0.1 In. of Water Per 100 Ft. of Length.

boiler (from Fig. 12), 0.15 in. draft
loss through the flues, and 0.1 in.
vacuum over the fire. Dividing this
by 0.9 gives 1.72 in. as equivalent
static draft, to which is added an as-
sumed 0.1 in. for acceleration of
gases, making a total static draft of
1.82 in. Assuming a mean tempera-
ture of chimney gases of 550", a
height of 270 ft. is found from Fig. 2.

650

Buildings

Sept.

The combustion data for the coal
are worked out and the total weight
of gases per pound of combustible
found. Using the predicted boiler and
furnace efficiency, the weight of com-
bustible per hour is found and then

H*'"

rt^

X.3

■^

'■a

y^....

—

^i&i*j»,iv

— 1

—

>! ■,

..^

—

1 —

l«

pOO

Zt"

Developed Horsepce'-

Figr. 16 — Area of Rectangular Flues in Square
Inch Per Developed Horsepower With Sides in
Ratio of 2:1, Which Will Give a Draft Loss of
0.1 In. of Water Per 100 Ft. of Length at Sea
Level.

the weight of gases per hour. Tabula-
tion of data is then commenced as in
Table II, using a number of diameters
above and below the first approxima-
tion. The first approximation of

heights appropriate to the listed di-
ameters is given in column 7 and is
made on the assumed mean tempera-
ture and gas acceleration loss. A
close determination is now made of
mean temperature in accordance with
each combination of approximate
height and diameter and of the actual
loss due to acceleration of gases.
This leads to a new series of heights
as entered in column 15. A curve of
heights as in column 15 is now drawn
against the diameters of column 1 as
the full line of Fig. 18 and simplifies
the final choice. Such a curve shows
the practical limits at each end of the
series very decidedly.

It was pointed out by Deinlein that
of a series of possible chimneys, the
one whose product of diameter by
height was the smallest would be the
least expensive. These products are
entered in column 19 of Table II and
their curve drawn in Fig. 18 as the
broken line. The lowest point in this
curve occurs at 14 ft. 6 in. diameter,
where the height is 289 ft. The
author is indebted to Mr. George H.
Gibson, Mem. A.S.M.E., for this infor-
mation.

—

§50
c

}

°30

<ft

i20

v>.

. r^'i

C'>^'

ik '...

'C^^

f-"

1,'iii

-—

■*

■E

€

—

II 12 13 14 15 16 . 17 18 19

Diam«+cr of Chimney in Fee+

21 22 25 24 25

Fig. 17 — Working Capacity of Chimneys From 5 to 25 Ft. in Diameter, Based on lioilcr Horse-
power With Atmosphere at fiO ° F. at Sea Level.
(Maximum capacity — 95 per cent of maximum capacity with moan temperature of Rases at 900°
F. Workinjr capacity — 30 per cent of maximum capacity (or 28.5 per cent of maximum capacity
at 600° F.). Weight of gases 90 lb. per hour for natural-draft coal. 60 lb. per hour for forced-
draft coal, and 45 lb. per hour for oil, per boiler horsepower.)

1923

Buildings

651

A problem frequently met with is
that of modernizing and increasing
the steaming capacity of a plant while
using the existing chimney.

A curve of exit gas temperatures is
first drawn and then a curve of the
corresponding mean temperatures of

5«r

txt

,4100

B D M IS l« 17 IS 19 20"

Diomettr in Feet.

Fig. 18 — Chimney Study Giving a Series of

Combinations of Height and Diameter.

the chimney gases as in Fig. 19.
These are used to determine the char-
acteristics of the chimney as in Fig.
20; and as this is based on weight of
gases, it must be related to Fig. 19,
which necessitates a curve of gas
weight per horsepower depending on
the curve of efficiency. The draft loss
through the boilers is determined and
plotted. The areas and arrangement
of flues are carefully examined be-
cause desirable reduction of their
draft loss can usually be made by re-
designing them. The predicted flue
draft loss added to the boiler draft

-1

1 U

J 70
«0

"^4^

'^.

1 55

.600

<;50C
■><50

■^

fi-t

:VC

■^

Gail-

rr:

r.'-

f,,M

St-

iW'-".

iji

'^T'TT

:r^

1 Mot, t'^ff. '

i^r'v

t-:-f-

« 10

las

-h-

~^jji^^^tt^><^'

! i 1 r

■=

■—-

Fir. 19 — Chimney Study. Performance Data
of an Existing Chimney.

loss and to the vacuum necessary over
the fire, will enable the cur\-e of draft
required at base of chimney to be
drawn as in Fig. 19. With the mean
temperature of chimney gases, the
static draft for different loadings is
read from Fig. 2 and plotted.

The fraction of static draft for dif-
ferent fractions of maximum capacity
is found from Fig. 1, and the equiva-
lent draft for each percentage of
boiler rating noted. The loss due to
acceleration of gases is then found
and deducted therefrom, leaving the
available draft at the base of the
stack at each percentage of rating at

1,4

IT7~hS-^-iri-cL<>i/«vto^/?oV,nJ i i

_tt:^35:>^^><j|» rtrCtnf^

,A L _

~^^^:^^~~-^

r^^

st"

i;o:^..^s4vN^

iSOPtrCenfy^.

V f D ".

■

■sit

|io

I id

«06

""o too rSO JOO «0 500 600 TOO 800-
Thousands of fWids of Gases per Hour

Fig. 20 — Chimney Study. Working Load of an
Existing Chimney at Different Boiler Ratings.

which the boilers might be worked.
Curves are then drawn of these avail-
able drafts as in Fig. 20. The draft
required at different ratings is read
from Fig. 19 and enables the broken-
line curve of maximum chimney load
at different boiler-rating loads to be
drawn in Fig. 20.

The actual boiler horsepower which

■~^

=4- !

lio

'j;

° n

"too 120 140 160 160 200 ?20 Vfi
Load In Rsrcen+oge of Ra+:ng of BoHtri

Fig. 21 — Chimney Study. Reduction of Work-
ing Capacity of an Existing Chimney at
Increased Boiler Ratings.

the chimney will carry at different
boiler ratings is obtained by dividing
the total gas weights of Fig. 20 by
the gas weight per horsepower of the
cur\e of Fig. 19. To show this more

652

Buildings

Sept,

clearly, the curve of Fig. 21 may be
drawn. This curve emphasizes how
the chimney capacity is governed by
the draft loss of the boilers and flues.
If the flues were enlarged, the
chimney capacity would be greatly in-
creased. This curve also shows that
the capacity of the chimney is in-
creased enormously if the boilers are
run at low ratings owing to the much
lower draft loss at low loads.

The requirements may be met by
reducing the excess air, by improved
methods of firing, by installing in-
duced draft, or by adding more boilers
and running at lower boiler ratings.
The first and last methods increase
boiler efficiency and save coal, while
the second method increases the coal
consumption by running at higher
boiler ratings where the efficiency is
lower.

(1)

(2)

Table II— Chimney Study

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9) (10)

a] •M
o ft

.So

'3 —

30 «
C <"

s * >-■

S M
ft

•StSE

"S.S

■5 11 o

OS II <M

lis

° E
1^

2.000,000

0.429

0.815

1.902

2.002

297

0.795

461

521

2,380,000

0.360

0.870

1.782

1.882

280

0.805

467

527

2,820,000

0.304

0.908

1.707

1.807

268

0.815

473

533

3,320,000

0.258

0.932

1.663

1.763

261

0.824

478

538

3,860,000

0.222

0.950

1.632

1.732

257

0.833

483

543

4,450,000

0.193

0.962

1.611

1.711

253

0.841

488

548

5,090,000

0.169

0.971

1.596

1.696

251

0.849

492

552

(11)

(12)

(13)

(14)

(15)

(16)

(17) (18) (19)

«5

•^ u,'^ E

u m * 3

2 ? c« g

Q G

13 1.30

14 1.40

15 1.51

17 1.73

18 1.84

19 1.95

fa
0.183
0.130
0.092
0.049
0.037
0.028

0.238
0.182
0.139
0.085
0.068
0.055

M.-

3
"es °'
O '"

2.140
1.964
1.846

1.717
1.679
1.651

"Si

i: ft:^

EeS

4)'

•3 E o

W
327
300
280
256
249
245

O 4*

0.792
0.803
0.814
0.833
0.842
0.850

n *

E C3

459
466
472
483
488
493

F, 4)

0) o

519
526
532
543
548
553

4251
4200
4200
4352
4482
4655

Construction in August

The decline in construction volume
which began in June continued
through August, according to F. W.
Dodge Corporation. However, the
August drop from July was only 5 per
cent. Total August building contracts
in the 36 eastern states (including
about seven-eighths of the total con-
struction volume of the country)
amounted to $298,629,000. In the 27
states for which records were kept
la.st year, the drop from August, 1922,
was 15 per cent. In these 27 states
the construction started during the
first eight months of this year has
been just equal to the amount for the
corresponding period last year, al-
though on June 1 this year had a lead

of 15 per cent over last year. This
year's construction volume to date in
the 36 eastern states has amounted
to $2,723,911,000.

Last month's record for the 36
states included the following im-
portant items: $126,871,000, or 42
per cent, for residential buildings;
$62,664,000, or 21 per cent, for public
works and utilities; $37,457,000, or 12
per cent, for business buiL.iwgs;
$25,861,000, or 9 per cent, for educa-
tional buildings; and $19,359,000, or
6 per cent, for industrial buildings.

Contemplated new work reported
in the 36 states last month amounted
to $508,484,000, a decline of 20 per
cent from the amount reported in
July.

1923 Buildings 653

New Features in Apartment House Building

The Jackson Heights Development, New York, Described in Address

Presented June 29 Before the Convention of the National

Association of Real Estate Boards

By E. A. MAC DOUGALL

President, The Queensboro Corporation, New York

There are two essential new fea-
tures of these apartment houses.
From the economic standpoint the
apartment will be sold on a co-op-
erative basis to its tenant-owners.
From the structural standpoint it will
have an interior garden with all that
it implies and connotes. The builder
who fails to recognize at this time the
need of providing houses of a type
that make for economy of use as well
as of cost fails to meet the demand of
the public. The architect of apart-
ment houses, too, must provide in his
planning, for all the advantages, such
as section, as the highly restricted
beautiful residential district of Cleve-
land affords.

These new features have already
been put into effect in the garden
apartment development at Jackson
Heights. If I speak later of this par-
ticular development I do so only in
order to deduce from a successful ex-
periment the general principle which
must apply in the solution of the en-
tire problem. Let me tell you how
these two features developed.

The Park Avenue District. — First,
however, let us describe for the sake
of later comparison, the Park Avenue
district of Manhattan Island, which
is in a way typical of the better
apartment house districts of other
cities. It is the section most sought
after by wealthy people in New York
City and where the most expensive
type of apartments are still being
built. Land values here are very high.
On the streets leading off Park Ave-
nue, which do well for purposes of
comparison, the apartments are of
six, seven and eight rooms.

Even this relatively high cost of
land per family is based on the use
of 70 per cent to 90 per cent of the
land area. The buildings often hold
several hundred families. It is neces-
sary, in that neighborhood, to cram
just as many human beings as can
be persuaded to live there, on a given
area of land.

In these Park Avenue buildings of
the best type some of the apartments,

principally those which front on the
street, have good light and air, but
many of the rest, those on the sides
and rear, have a narrow outlook on
small courts. Custom makes people
put up with these conditions but com-
parison with the individual house is
inevitable and unfavorable. Then,
too, many of these Park Avenue prop-
erties depend for their light and air
on their neighbors. There are still
many low buildings in this district.
As soon as they are "scrapped" as
they are bound to be, and the neigh-
boring properties improved, many of
these luxurious apartments, bringing
high rentals, "will lose their sunlight
and outlook, and their rental value
will be heavily depreciated.

At Jackson Heights we have not
the same hampering restrictions as
has the Park Avenue district, where
the land is already well built up, good
plottages are difficult to obtain, and
where the land is excessively costly,
compelling building high in the air.

We control a tract of land about
one-half as large as Central Park,
which was farm land within the
memory of people living. We have
developed it from raw land and built
as large groups as was possible
whether from the point of view of
design or of economy of construction.
We have learned as a result that a
city block is the best unit of apart-
ment building. By studying the cost
per family of the land used and keep-
ing in mind that we must compete
AAith the individual home, we have
discovered that we can build as low
as 38 per cent of the lot area covered
in seven and eight-room apartments,
only six stories high and create a
wonderful garden and open space.

We can build in small units with
only two families to a floor assuring
privacy. Each apartment has three
or four exposures like a country
house. The principal rooms and some
of the bedrooms are corner rooms and
the space between the buildings is 36
ft. 8 in., so that the buildings are
separated, not so much by passage-

654

Buildings

Sept.

ways as by lawns. These side lawns
open into a vast interior garden run-
ning the whole length of the block,
80 ft. or more in width, providing an
outlook and a garden character which
is unthinkable in Park Ave. In fact,
it can seldom be found in any save
the largest estates.

Progress and Improvement. —
Briefly, here is the story of how we
ctve improved the type of apartment,
year by year.

In 1920 we built a block of twelve
four-story walk-ups, apartments de-
signed by Andrew J. Thomas, in which
the passageways between the build-
ings were 15 ft. The kitchens and
fire escapes and some of the baths
were on these passages. This space
added greatly to the value of the
apartments since in Summer they did
much to create a circulation of air
and to admit sunlight to the group.
This group occupied about 40 per cent
of the area of the block.

This group attracted to Jackson
Heights many people who wanted
more luxurious five and six-room
apartments with larger rooms than
could be had in the four and five-
K)om apartments and we, accordingly,
had Mr. Thomas design this group of
apartments called the Chateau Apart-
ments. We carried up the buildings
to five stories, two apartments to a
floor, using push button elevators. We
reduced the area occupied by increas-
ing the side spaces between the build-
ings to 19 ft. 6 in. in the shortest
dimension. The buildings were fire-
proof on the first floor with fireproof
exterior walls, roof, and elevator and
stair wells.

The 1924 Design. — This proved suc-
cessful and as a result we have now
under construction a third improve-
ment, our 1924 model. In this group
the apartments are of seven and eight
rooms on an average. We retained
the general plan of having two apart-
ments to a floor and improved the
older group in every respect that we
could think of, whether it was in plan-
ning the arrangement or little details
and refinements of construction and
specifications. The big improvement
was in adding another story, in mak-
ing the buildings firoproof and plac-
ing the building 3fi ft. 8 in. apart, and
in making the area occunied by the
buildings 38 per cent. We feel that
we now have a mad'^l which has all
of the advantages of the Park Ave.
apartment without it.s weakness, and

which really competes with the indi-
vidual home.

One New Feature — Co-operative
Ownership. — Co-operative Ownership
which we have adopted at Jackson
Heights is one of the things that
makes possible this type of apart-
ment. The family which owns a co-
operative apartment is there to stay
and they look upon it as a permanent
home. They are consequently just as
particular to have it perfect and com-
plete in every respect as if they were
going to the best architect and having
him design for them the best indi-
vidual home that he could produce.

The rental apartment, on the other
hand, is not built for permanence, but
often as a speculation. The tenants
are apt to look upon it as a temporary
refuge and they are more ready to
live in four or five-room apartments
with possibly one bath.

In a co-operative apartment, seven
or eight rooms are a better size with
two or three baths, servant's room
and bath and the most complete
kitchen and dining arrangements,
closet space and other details.

Since the war, the increased cost
of renting has become so great that
many apartment dwellers have been
unable to keep up their apartment
homes. Caught between the expenses
of private home ownership and the
expenses of rental of an apartment,
apartment ownership by tenants has
been a national solution and should
continue to be so.

Tenant-ownership in itself is not
new. It goes back both in this coun-
try and abroad to the time of the
first apartment building. In some in-
stances in the early days perpetual
leases were given to tenants. These
leases become very difficult to han-
dle as death and changes introduced
complications in the original owner-
ship of the buildings. But here too
American ingenuity gradually over-
came difficulties and developed a mode
of procedure.

Nowhere, either in Europe or in
America has co-operative ownership
been applied in a larger way than by
the Queensboro Corporation at Jack-
son Heights. Here, profiting by mis-
takes made in the past in the form of
organization and benefiting to some
problems in other cities, the Jackson
extent by the solution of similar
problems in other cities, the Jackson
Heights Plan of Tenant-Ownership
was evolved.

1923

Buildings

655

This plan, although worked out in-
depently by the Queensboro Corpora-
tion has many points of similarity
with what is known in England as
Co-Partnership Tenant Plan. In
England industrial villages were built
by funds suscribed by workers and
others; these workers obtained stock
for their contribution and were privi-
leged to rent buildings in the develop-
ment. If a change of employment
forced them to move, they could leave
the premises and still retain a return
upon their investment in the stock
which they owned in the co-partner-
ship enterprises.

In this way the loss and sacrifice
frequently involved in the ownership
of an individual home were avoided,
and at the same time, the freedom
of action of the worker was not inter-
fered with.

Any such plan as the Jackson
Heights Plan involves the organiza-
tion of a company to take title to a
piece of property upon which there is
erected an apartment building. The
title to the house and lot resides in
the company. Its stock is sold pro
rata to the persons who occupy the
building. The occupants lease f.ieir
apartments from the company in
which they are stockholders and thus
become actually their own landlords
and pay rent to themselves.

No limitation is placed on the sale
of the stock, but the lease which is a
yearly lease renewable at the option
of the tenant indefinitely is a personal
lease with the tenant and cannot be
assigned without consent. This is
considered to be one of the strong fea-
tures of the Jackson Heights Plan in
that it prevents deterioration in the
tenancy of the building by reason of
transfers to undesirable parties. The
value of the stock which rests largely
in the lease is therefore effectively
controlled.

Whenever the fee has been passed
in unrestricted real estate develop-
ments, it has usually been found im-
I possible to restrict the transfers of
this fee and sooner or later there is
k tendency toward deterioration in the
Elass of people living in the section.
ft is believed that for tenant-owners
the Jackson Heights Plan protects so
far as is humanly possible from this
deteriorating tendency.

The management of the buildings is
in the hands of an experienced man-
ager. At Jackson Heights the
Queensboro Corporation manage.s all

of the co-operatively owned buildings
and is therefore enabled to effect
economies by large scale purchases.

The tenant-owners merely pay in
their monthly contributions toward
upkeep, etc., and as directors of the
Corporation meet to receive the re-
ports of their agents at proper in-
tervals.

But there is another element to be
borne in mind in this discussion, and
that is the structural element I have
already mentioned. The new condi-
tions— the uneconomic ownership of
private single residences and the eco-
nomic ownership of apartments by
tenants have developed these new
structural aspects of the apartment
home. These new conditions have
brought about a new architectural
point of view and architectural ac-
complishment.

The Other Feature — Interior Gar-
dens and New Structural Features. —
The architect of city homes has an
important duty to perform in improv-
ing along scientific lines the design
and construction of multiple family
houses so as to provide the healthful,
wholesome atmosphere of an individ-
ual house with its sunlight, privacy
and pride of ownership combined with
the convenience, efficiency and econ-
omy possible only in a multiple fam-
ily house.

Summed up, experience at Jackson
Heights has shown the following to
be the essentials of good planning of
multiple family houses:

1st. Comprehensive block develop-
ment rather than unsymmetrical and
irregular height and type of building
which has heretofore prevailed.

2nd. Maximum of sunlight and
ventilation insured by the erection of
buildings two rooms deep on the four
sides of the block with an interior
garden; the interior garden taking in
the entire length of the block and be-
ing a substitute for the old type of
development with its individual back
yards, fences, clothes lines and other
unsightly features. This immediately
brings down the area of the building
from 70 p^r cent — the maximum per-
mitted by the N. Y. Tenement House
Law to as low as SO per cent to 35
per cent of the lot built up. Such
gardens are at Jackson Heights, 500
ft. long by 70 to 100 ft. in width, and
are created for the enjoyment of all
the tenants in the block. Noted ar-
chitects have planned these garden.*?.
A man ccupying a five, six or seven

Buildings

Sept.

656

^«int enjoys a garden
room apartn. was only within the
which formerly -re. To insure the

means of a milliona.. gardens, the

permanency of these nlding com-
land is dedicated by the bu ^ benefit
pany by proper deed for thv, "" use
of the adjacent owners and it^ '*^
restricted by covenants running wi.
the land.

3rd. Buildings are set back from
the lot line in order to provide dis-
tance between buildings and an op-
portunity for lawns and planting in
front of the house.

4th. The building of detached or
free standing apartment buildings
which give an opportunity for many
corner rooms and consequent cross
ventilation.

5th. The silhouette produced
through a picturesque arrangement of
roofs and dormers, towers and other
features adds a great deal to the at-
tractiveness of the new type of apart-
ment.

At Jackson Heights in the Chateau
group, for instance, the roof is of
medieval French Chateau type of
vari-colored slate.

The Cambridge Court has cornice
and balustrade of the Georgian type
of building, with slate roof and dor-
mer of the Colonial architecture of
the 18th Century. The inspiration
was to some extent derived from the
freshmen dormitories of Harvard
University along the Charles River,
which are a noted American applica-
tion of the Georgian style. In an-
other group the Italian effect is
shown. In yet another, the English.

The movement toward co-operatively
owned apartments of attractive and
convenient design is, of course, not
confined to New York. While it has
taken hold to a large extent in New
York, it has been tried in other cities
in the United States, largely because
of the success which the plan has met
with at Jackson Heights, where over
1,100 tenant-owners are now living in
over 100 apartment buildings.

The Tenant-Ownership Movement.
The plans of tenant-ownership applied
elsewhere in New York and in other
cities throughout the country vary in
detail from that described as The
Jackson Heights Plan of Tenant-Own-
ership, but in essence are the same.
The transfer of the lease is controlled
by the tenant-owner corporation so as
to protect the other people livirr^ i i
the building.

In Europe, tenant-ownership is of
older standing than in this country.
The growth of the plan has been fast
in Paris for the same reasons as have
caused its growth in New York — high
rents, scarcity of accommodations and
the feeling on the part of the former
renter that he is spending too much
for rent with little to show for it.
Several large apartment buildings
-^ving an entire block are being
occu '^ Paris in the vicinity of the

erected " ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ Societe

Champ ' de ^ranco-Americaine, in
A n 0 n y m e - " treatment of the
which the artisti. ^^med with the
French is being co. ^^^ .^Zlr'Z
practical comforts of c. " Ger^

apartment. This tenant- .,^^.

movement has also spread l. ^^"
many and to the Scandanavian c^.
tries, where many handsome apart-
ments are co-operatively owned. This
movement may be said to combine the
comfort, ease and economy of apart-
ment living with the freedom and
sense of independence which goes
with ownership. In this respect it is
an internationally important move-
ment in that the best citizen is the
man who owns his own home. At the
same time it is in keeping with the
trend of the times which compels peo-
ple to give consideration to economy
in their living.

Shows Way to Make Better Lime

Experiments conducted at the U. S.
Bureau of Standards have shown a
way to improve the manufacture of
hydrated lime so that the grade
known as "finishing" hydrate is regu-
larly produced instead of the grade
known as "masons" hydrate which,
because of its lessor plasticity, com-
mands a lower price. These tests
have shown that plasticity depends
not alone upon the colloidal content
of the hydrate, but upon the effect on
this colloid of the manufacturing
process. The colloid, like glue, must
not be allowed to dry out during the
manufacturing process, and it must
also be prevented from flocculating it-
self when the mixing water is added
preparatory to use. It has been found
that the drying out can be prevented
by letting the freshly made hydrate
cool in an atmosphere of steam, while
flocculating can be prevented by add-
ing small amounts of a readily soluble
calcium salt. A h^drator designed to
apply these principles has just been
completed for further experiment.

1923

Bidldiyigs

Longview, Washington

657

A Modern, Planned City Now Being Built for the Long-Bell Liunber
Company and Other Industries

A few years ago the Long-Bell
Lumber Co., which for almost 50
years has been engaged in the lumber
business in the south and middle west,
investigated and purchased a large
body of timber in Cowlitz and Lewis
counties, Washington, about 15 miles
north of the Columbia River. Follow-
ing the timber purchase, an investiga-
tion was made of possible locations
for lumber manufacturing plants
which would have tide-water as well
as railroad facilities and a site of
14,000 acres was selected on the
peninsula formed by the juncture of
the Cowlitz and Columbia rivers, 50
miles inland from the Pacific Ocean.

A large body of land was neces-
sarily acquired for operations, the
construction of a great many homes
and buildings was necessary to pro-
vide facilities for people to be em-
ployed by the lumber company, and
as plans were worked out it was
found that the location selected would
lend itself to greater development and

have an annual capacity of between
4U0 million and 5U0 million feet of
finished lumber products. The latter
figure is practically equivalent to the
total production of 11 saw mills now
operated by the same company. It
is estimated that an operation "as
large as the one planned, when com-
pleted, will in itself employ the serv-
ices of between 3,000 and 4,000 men.
Counting those employes and their
families, together with the many per-
sons required to serve such a com-
munity, a conservative estimate of
the population that the new city will
have within a verv short time is
20,000 people.

The primary units of the lumber
manufacturing plants will be two fir
saw mills served by a 24-acre log
pond, which is connected by a canal
with a larger log pond of 126 acres.
The latter pond is connected by a
canal with an arm of the Columbia
River, containing about 75 acres,
which will be used also as a long

Group of Small, Modern Homes in a Residential District Near the Industrial Section.

provide facilities larger than were re-
quired for the company's own use.
It was accordingly decided to provide
a town that would be a desirable
place for a considerable population
and a varied business. The name
"Longview" was chosen for the new
town, and it is expected it will have a
population of 25,000, and within the
next ten years 50,000 or more.

The Long-Bell Lumber Co. plans to
confine its activities exclusively to the
production and distribution of lumber
products, hence an associate company.
The Longview Co., was incorporated
to forward the development of the
new city independently of the manu-
facturing operations of the Long-Bell
Lumber Co.

The Lumber Company's Plant and
Business. — On 2,000 acres of the land,
tlie Long-Bell Lumber Co. is erecting
its plants, which when completed will

pond. Other features will be a cedar
and hemlock mill, sash and door fac-
tory and veneer plant.

The lumber manufacturing plants
will be electrically driven and a 36,000
kilowatt steam plant is planned to
furnish this and other power.

Separate docks for vessels and
freight cars will be built. Lumber
and timbers cut for export will be
stored apart from products designed
for domestic markets. Hand labor
and trucking will be practically elimi-
nated by the use of overhead cranes
and monorail trolleys, which will
handle the products in "packages."
Export and coastwise lumber and
timber docks will accommodate eight
large ocean-going vessels at a time.

The double track main line railroad
between Portland and Seattle passes
Longview on the opposite or east
bank of the Cowlitz River, and is

658

Buildings

ST HEjll

^v*''
.\^:

v-A

11W lIUlL'SYllIW >

Map Shuwinic I'roposi-d (it-iicral I'luii of Development.

1923

Buildings

659

used jointly by the Union Pacific,
Northern Pacific and Great Northern
railroads. The Longview, Portland &
Northern Ry., a double track common
carrier, is being built along the west
bank of the Cowlitz and will connect
with the trunk lines across the river
over a bridge near the mouth of the
Cowlitz, thus affording the new city
direct access to the three transconti-
nental lines. The water frontage is
7M miles on the Columbia Eiver and
5 miles on the Cowiltz River, the Co-
lumbia side being amply adequate in
both width and depth for ocean-going
vessels, while the Cowlitz is open to
lighter draught navigation.

A City Planned by Experts. — When
the Long-Bell Lumber Co. decided
upon this city building project, the
officials called to their assistance Mr.

The plan provides thoroughfares
and boulevards, 100 ft. or more in
width, along all the principal natural
lines of traffic. Some of these main
streets radiate in various directions
from the business center, yet they are
so arranged in their relation to other
streets that alternative routes are
provided near the center and conges-
tion of traffic is avoided. This ar-
rangement of main thoroughfares
tends to fix the permanent center and
to avoid the shifting values so char-
acteristic of American cities. All the
business streets are of ample width,
and the blocks are quite short in the
business area, giving a high percent-
age of property in streets, while in
the outer residential areas the blocks
will be long. Thus the total area of
streets in the townsite is distributed

liWyFL'l^tS^jn?

The Community House at Lonpriew.

George E. Kessler, the firm of Hare
& Hare and Mr. J. C. Nichols, all of
Kansas City, and all well known in
city planning activities. Mr. Kessler
will be remembered as having laid out
the Kansas City park and boulevard
system, and for other notable city
planning and landscape achievements.
His last important work prior to his
sudden death, in March of this year,
was the advisory assistance he ren-
dered in connection with the planning
of Long\'iew. The actual platting and
planning of the town was done by the
firm of Hare & Hare, landscape de-
signers and town planners, Mr. S.
Herbert Hare representing his firm
on the site. Mr. J. C. Nichols, presi-
dent of the J. C. Nichols Investment
Co., owners and developers of the well
known Country Club residential dis-
trict in Kansas City, also acted as
advisor in the working out of the
project.

where it will be of the most value. In
the hilly section, the streets are ad-
justed to, the topography of the land,
thus preserving the unusually fine
scenery and building sites of these
areas.

Alleys have been provided at the
rear of most of the lots in both the
business and residential areas. Pole
lines will be arranged in these alleys,
wherever possible, and in easements
along rear lines where there are no
alleys, thus clearing most of the
streets of unsightly poles and allow-
ing the undisturbed growth of street
trees.

A 6-acre park has been provided at
the center of the radiating thorough-
fares, which is the focal point of
vistas from various directions. Around
this park will be grouped the various
public and municipal buildings of a
monumental character. While the
park is at the convergence of the

660

Buildings

Sept.

radiating streets, it is not the center
of traffic. A park area of 100 acres
has been provided in a crescent-
shaped parkway, from 500 to 800 ft.
wide and IV^ miles long, surrounding
the inner city on the westerly and
southwesterly sides and bordered by
two boulevards. There will be water-
ways through the park and ample
areas of open lawn for recreation use.
Other parkway treatments are being
provided. All the outstanding natural
beauties of the site will be preserved
in park land. Areas which might be-
come a menace to the city in private
ownership because of being unsuitable
for building are protected, and ample
facilities for outdoor recreation of all
kinds are provided in the park system.
In addition to the parks, very ample
areas have been reserved for the
school grounds, which will in them-
selves be local parks. For the grade

is not the planning of thoroughfares,
boulevards, plazas, parks and play-
grounds, nor the grouping of build-
ings into civic centers, nor the zoning
of private property; it is not any one
of those, but all of them together, and
that is what is being done in Long-
view.

Industrial Development of the New
City. — As has already been stated, it
is planned that Longview shall de-
velop a variety of independent indus-
tries; and the buildings and other im-
provements now under way are of the
necessary permanent and substantial
type to further that end. Progress
to date includes the completion of up-
wards of 300 modern residences and
a 200-room fireproof hotel. Two bank
buildings, several office and store
buildings, several apartments, and a
school and a community house are
under construction. The power plant

The First School Building.

schools, areas of five acres or more
have been reserved, and there is one
area of more than twenty acres for
the junior and senior high schools and
general recreation field. The areas
for schools have been spaced in rela-
tion to anticipated future density of
population, so that units of eco-
nomical size can be developed.

The haphazard growth of most
cities is not only due to an illogical
and unrelated street plan, resulting
from piece-meal development, but to
lack of control of the uses of private
property. In Longview, the city is
planned so that various sections are
especially fitted by location and char-
acter for development to certain
classes of use, and by means of pro-
tective covenants in the deeds and
plats, the buyers will be assured that
property they purchase for a certain
use will be surrounded by property '^^
similar or a higher type of use. In
furtherance of this end a complete
zoning plan was prepared.

It has been said that city planning

and the first unit of the Long-Bell
mill are also under way.

The character of industries toward
which the developers of the town are
looking may be judged by considera-
tion of the transportation facilities
and the natural resources adjacent.
Lumber, of course, is prime, but there
are also the wheat of eastern Wash-
ington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana
for flour milling or the manufacture
of other cereal products; fruit, berries
and vegetables for canning and pre-
serving, as well as the production of
fruit pulps and juices, vinegars and
confections. Fish from the Columbia
River and Washington and Oregon
coasts suggest canning and utiliza-
tion of by-products, such as oils and
fertilizers; coal and other fuel and
hydro-electric power invite the metal
trades, the production of machinery
and tools, compounding of chemicals,
production of brick, tile and cement.

The proximity of numerous species
of native woods in vast quantities,
many highly adaptable for furniture

1923

Buildings

661

making, suggests the possibilities of
that industry. In addition, by reason
of the new city's favorable position in
regard to ocean traffic, the furniture
manufacturer can import, at low-
rates, rough hardwoods from South
America and the Orient. Teakwood
squares and rough mahogany are al-
ready frequent cargoes at other
Pacific Northwest ports.

The facilities to bring native woods
to the factory door, in almost any
shape desired, invite a great variety
of other wood-working industries. An
indication of how such industries can
be developed to a remarkable size is
seen in Washington and Oregon to-
day, where it is estimated that there
is a daily production by door plants
of 20,500 finished doors.

Still another industry that offers
unusually attractive possibilities is
that of paper making from wood pulp.
Hemlock, spruce and silver fir are the
species of wood considered as most
suitable for mechanical and sulphite
pulp, both of which are needed in the
manufacture of newsprint paper.
Those woods are found in vast quan-
tities throughout the Pacific North-
west, especially west of the Cascade
Mountains, a territory directly tribu-
tary to Longview.

The Identification of Douglas Fir
Wood

Technical Note, U. S. Forest Products
Laboratory

Douglas fir is one of the largest,
most abundant and widely distributed
species of trees native to North
America, and next to the southern
yellow pines, it is cut in the greatest
quantities of any wood of commercial
importance. It belongs to the conifer-
ous family and is, therefore, a soft-
wood. Other names for Douglas fir
are red fir, yellow fir, Oregon pine,
Puget Sound pine, red pine, red
spruce and Douglas spruce. Its
botanical name is pseudotsuga taxi-
folia.

Although Douglas fir is distinctly a
western species, its use is gradually
spreading eastward. It is used for
structural timbers, railway ties, rail-
way cars, rough and finish lumber,
flooring, sash and doors, furniture,
lath, cooperage, tanks, conduits, pav-
ing blocks, boxes, agricultural imple-
ments, and numerous other articles.

The principal softwoods used for
the same purposes are the southern

yellow pines, Norway pine, eastern
hemlock, western hemlock, Sitka
spruce, western yellow pine, western
larch, and some of the balsam firs
(principally white fir, lowland white
fir, noble fir, and silver fir — all west-
ern species).

As there is a considerable range in
the price and suitability of these vari-
ous woods for various purposes, it is
important to be able to distinguish
the wood of Douglas fir from the
others.

Douglas fir is a resinous wood, with
a characteristic sweetis odor. Exu-
dations of resin on end and side sur-
faces and pitch pockets are common.
Occasionally pitch streaks occur. The
sapwood, which is from 1 to 3 in. wide,
is white. The freshly cut heartwood
is light reddish yellow in color. On
exposure to light and air it becomes
distinctly reddish, sometimes cherry
red, or reddish brown, except the
outer portion of old trees which often
remains light reddish yellow, which
explains why the wood is sometimes
known as yellow fir. The summer-
wood is pronounced, except in very
narrow rings such as usually occur
in the outer portion of old trees.

Under the microscope Douglas fir
can easily be distinguished from other
structural softwoods by the fine
spiral thickenings on the inner side
of the cell walls, similar to the thread
in a nut.

The other softwoods mentioned can
be distinguished from Douglas fir by
the following characteristics.

Southern Yellow Pines, Norway
Pine, and Western Yellow Pine. —
Heartwood less reddish and more
orange brown; characteristic pine
pitch odor. On planed surfaces the
resin ducts often are pronounced as
brownish lines running parallel to the
grain, whereas in Douglas fir the
resin ducts are obscure.

Eastern Hemlock, Western Hem-
lock, and Balsam Firs. — No pro-
nounced difference in color of heart-
wood and sapwood as in Douglas fir;
exudations of resin, pitch pockets, and
pitch streaks absent; odor not pro-
nounced.

Sitka Spruce. — Color of heartwood
pale pinkish brown; split or dressed
surfaces have a "silky sheen"; tan-
gentially split or dressed surfaces
have a dimpled appearance as if hit
with buckshot; odor not pronounced.

Western Larch. — Russet brown
color; odor not pronounced.

662

Btdldings Sept.

Concrete Floor Hints for Contractors

Useful Notes and Information from Portland Cement Association on

Heavy Duty Floors, Terrazzo Floors, Colored Floor Finish,

Floor Treatment and Concrete Floor Coverings

Heavy Duty Floors for Industrial Buildings

The attractive appearance of ter-
razzo floors has long been recognized,
but the use of this type of polished
floor for industrial buildings is not so
well appreciated.

The following is a description of
the method of laying a heavy traffic
floor in an eastern shoe manufactur-
ing plant. This floor is subjected to
the action of very heavily loaded
steel-wheeled trucks, and the method
of construction was adopted after
tests of the wearing qualities of the
floor under severe conditions.

The rough slab was first picked,
swept and washed with clean water.
One-inch round steel bars were then
placed as grounds and leveled up.
The floor was again wet down and a
1:1 cement sand grout brushed on.
Before the grout had set a 1:2 mix-
ture of cement and trap rock uni-
formly graded from Vs to % in. was
dumped on the floor and screeded off.
The mixture was as dry as it was pos-
sible to dump out of the mixer. The
grounds were then removed and the
spaces filled with the 1:2 mixture.

Just about the time when the top-
ping material was stiffening up an
even coating of crushed trap rock was
spread over the entire surface to a
depth of V2 to % in. and rolled into
the surface with a 150-lb. concrete
roller. This roller was operated lon-
gitudinally and laterally until the en-
tire area had been evenly rolled. A
900-lb. roller was used next and last
of all an 1,800-lb. roller was operated
laterally, longitudinally and diagon-
ally. This last rolling brought up
some water and fine material to the
surface.

As soon as possible after the final
rolling the floor was given a hand
steel troweling sufficient only to
smooth out any of the stone that had
been up-ended by the rolling process-
es. Twelve men were able to trowel
about 15,000 sq. ft. of floor in two
hours.

As a final operation the floor was
ground with ordinary grinding ma-
chines using carborundum block and
coar.se powdered emery with a gen-

erous supply of water. The grind-
ing operations were started from four
to seven days after the topping had
been placed.

After 19 months of severe trucking
these floors are in excellent condition,
and due to the smooth and even sur-
face, the trucks do not produce the
usual heavy rumbling.

Terrazzo Floors

A terrazzo floor finish is a surface
of irregular marble or granite frag-
ments embedded in cement mortar
and ground to a smooth, even sur-
face.

A terrazzo finish should preferably
be 2 in. thick. Usually reinforcement
is not required.

The terrazzo should be laid, if pos-
sible, before the concrete floor has
hardened. If the concrete foundation
slab is allowed to harden before the
finish is placed, it should be left some-
what rough, and when ready to re-
ceive the finish it should be carefully
cleaned, drenched with water and
painted with a grout of neat cement
of creamy consistency. Immediately
thereafter the binder course of the
terrazzo finish should be placed, mak-
ing it 1 in. to IVs in. thick. This
binder or "filler" course should pre-
f<>rably be a 1:3 cement-sand-mortar.
The sand should be clean and well
graded. This binder course should be
tamped into place and screeded to an
ev«n surface.

The placing of the finish is some-
times delayed, but better results are
obtained if it follows immediately
after the binder course is completed.
The finish consists of a mixture of
Portland cement and marble, or stone
chips or screenings, to which a little
sand may be added. Some architects
specify definite proportions of cement
and chips, such as 1:3 while others
merely specify that enouerh cement be
used to fill interstices. This mixture
is spread evenly to the proper thick-
ness and rolled; then additional mar-
ble chips either of the same size or
a little larger are spread over the sur-
face and rolled in. Enough chips

1923

Buildings

663

should be used so that they will cover
at least 85 per cent of the finished
surface.

After the finish course has hardened
somewhat (often at the end of 24
hours), but before it gets too hard, it
should be ground to a smooth, even
surface by a rotary rubbing machine,
or by hand, using carborundum brick.

By using mineral coloring material
and chips of different colors, shapes
and sizes, an infinite variety of color
and mosaic effects may be obtained.
Borders and patterns of contrasting
colors can readily be worked out by
placing boards in the proper position
when the main body of the floor is
laid and later filling in the vacant
places this provided with a mixture
of the desired color. Joints that are
hardly noticeable can thus be secured.
Although much larger areas have
been laid successfully, it is best to
lay terrazzo blocks not over 10 ft.
square in order to provide properly
for expansion and contraction.

Concrete Dance Floors

A satisfactory surface for dancing
is usually obtained by giving an exist-
ing concrete floor one of the follow-
ing simple treatments. However, a
more perfect surface will be obtained
by first grinding the floor with a floor
surfacing machine.

1. Liquid soap applied to a floor
in the form of a lather and rubbed
into the pores with a scrubbing brush
will, after repeating the process, pro-
duce a uniform, smooth surface. An
occasional application of powdered
soap to a floor thus treated will keep
it in fairly good condition for dancing.
If the floor is somewhat rough and
porous several coats of the soap treat-
ment will be needed.

2. A mixture of parifin wax and
turpentine may be applied to the floor
in sufficient quantity only to fill up
the pores. An excess of the material
would produce a sticky film. Both
turpentine and paraffin wax should be
of a good grade and no more paraffin
used than will be completely dissolved
in the turpentine. After the turpen-
tine has evaporated, that is, after the
floor surface is dry, it should be treat-
ed with powdered wax in the same
manner as for a wooden dancing floor.

3. Paraffin wax may be driven into a
concrete floor by heating the floor and
treating it with melted paraffin wax.
The object of heating the floor is, of
C0..1.JC, to c-btaiu penetration of the

wax. The turpentine in No. 2 above
is used as a carrier to get the paraffin
to penetrate into the concrete surface.

Colored Floor Finish

It is often desirable to produce a
colored floor surface without resort-
ing to special floor tile or terrazzo.
Floors of this sort usually are not to
be subjected to heavy abrasive traffic
so that such weaknesses as may be in-
troduced by the use of coloring mate-
rial in the top, or wearing course, is
not important. Obviously, the color-
ing matter should be confined to the
top course only.

Only 'mineral coloring pigments
should be used, as other pigments
fade rapidly and reduce the strength
of the cement to a marked degree.
Mineral colors vary in quality and
show a tendency to fade, depending
on their quality.

The amount of coloring materials
added should not exceed 5 per cent
by weight of the cement for heavy
traffic floors as larger quantities may
affect the strength of the mortar or
concrete to an injurious extent. For
light foot traffic floors and for orna-
mental borders 10 per cent may be
used and will produce deep shades.
Different shades of color can be se-
cured by varying the amount of color-
ing material or by mixing two or
more colors.

Red oxides of iron produce the most
permanent red tints. Venetian red
should be avoided as it tends to run
and fade. Manganese oxide is prob-
ably the best material for black, al-
though a high grade of lamp black
or carbon black is generally satisfac-
tory. Common lamp black should not
be used.

The intensities of shades produced
by mineral colors will be slightly in-
creased if the materials are mixed
for a longer time than required for
ordinary work. It has also been sug-
gested that an application of a solu-
tion of magnesium fluo silicate or
sodium silicate may be effective in
setting the color in the concrete and
checking a tendency of the color to
fade.

Concrete Floor Treatments

The efficiency of a concrete floor
surface depends upon the workman-
ship in laying the wearing course anil
upon proper protection during its
early hardening by a covering which
will keep the floor damp for at least

664

Buildings

Sept.

TABLE OF COLORS TO BE USED IN CONCRETE FLOOR FINISH

Amounts of pigment given in table are approximate only. Test samples should be made up
to determine exact quantities required for the desired color and shade.

Pounds of color required for'^each
Colors desired Commercial Names of Colors bag of cement to secure

for Use in Cement Light Shade Medium Shade

Grays, blue-black and black Germantown lampblack* or Yi 1-

Carbon black* or % 1

Black oxide ' of manganese* or 1 2

Mineral black* 1 2

Blue shade Ultramarine blue 5 9

Brownish-red to dull brick red Red oxide of iron 5 9

Bright red to vermilion Mineral turkey red 5 9

Red sandstone to purplish-red Indian red 5 9

Brovcn to reddish-brown Metallic brown (oxide) 5 9

Buff, colonial tint and yellow Yellow ochre or 5 9

Yellow oxide 2 4

Green shade Chromium oxide or 5 9

Greenish blue ultramarine 6

*Only first quality lampblack should be used. Carbon black is light and requires very thor-
ough mixing. Black oxide or mineral black is probably most advantageous for general use. For
black use 11 lbs. of oxide for each bag of cement.

two weeks. Experience has demon-
strated that a wearing course com-
posed of Portland cement and a suit-
able aggregate correctly proportioned,
mixed and deposited and properly pro-
tected after finishing will produce a
satisfactory wearing surface, free
from dusting.

If a weariing surface crumbles or
dusts under moderate traffic, the
wearing qualities of the floor can
often be improved by the application
of some hardener or treatment. Mag-
nesium fluosilicate, sodium silicate,
aluminum sulphate, zinc sulphate and
various gums, soaps and paraffins are
among the best known substances
used to treat concrete floors.

Magnesium Fluosilicate Treatment.
— The magnesium fluosilicate treat-
ment consists usually in one or more
applications of a solution of the sili-
cate. The solution for the first appli-
cation consists of about V2 lb. of the
silicate dissolved in 1 gal. of water.
For the second and subsequent appli-
cations the solution is made with
about 2 lbs. of the silicate to each
gallon of water.

Any number of applicants of the
more concentrated solution may be
given to the floor, depending on the
condition of the floor and the appar-
ent penetration obtained. In no case
should one application follow in less
than three-quarters of an hour after
the preceding one. The surface treat-
ed .should be kept wet with the solu-
tion for at least three minutes at
<».ach application so as to replace any
*he solution absorbed at once by
•"rete. The primary object of
• of application is to secure
p£ '^nth of penetration as

the con. - . * * on

the manne. -^OTent.-A 20

as great a <u.

DOSKlhlp

per cent solution of sodium silicate
containing a small addition of an or-
ganic acid is applied in two or more
coats 24 hours apart. Ordinarily the
sodium silicate requires considerable
time to dry properly so that the floor
can be used. The sodium silicate
treatment is, of course, inexpensive.

Commercial sodium silicate varies
in strength from 30 to a 40 per cent
solution. It is quite viscous and re-
quires thinning with water before it
will penetrate the floor. Ordinarily
it will be found satisfactory to dilute
each gallon of the silicate with 3 gal.
of water. Each gallon of the result-
ing solution will cover about 200 sq.
ft. of floor surface one coat. The
floor should be thoroughly cleaned of
all grease, plaster, dirt, etc., and
should be thoroughly dry before the
first application of the silicate solu-
tion.

Aluminum Sulphate Treatment. —

The aluminum sulphate treatment
consists in one or more applications
of solutions of aluminum sulphate to
the clean, dry surface. The solution
is made up in a wooden barrel or
stoneware vessel and the water should
be acidulated with about 2 cc. of com-
mercial sulphuric acid for each gal-
lon of water. The sulphate does not
readily dissolve and requires occa-
sional stirring for a few days until
the solution is complete. About '/
lbs. of the powdered sulphate will be
required for each gallon of water and
1 gal. of the solution should cover
about 100 sq. ft. of floor surface. For
the first treatment the solution may
be diluted with twice its volume of
water. Twenty-four hours after this
application the normal solution is
used and 24 hours should elapse be-

1923

Buildings

665

tween additional applications of the
solution.

Zinc Sulphate Treatment.— This

treatment consists in the application
of about 16 per cent solution of zinc
sulphate with about 4^2 per cent free
sulphuric acid applied in two coats,
the second coat being applied four
hours after the first one. The surface
should be scrubbed with hot water and
mopped dry just before the applica-
tion of the second coat. This treat-
ment gives the floor a darker appear-
ance than the original concrete.

There are a number of compounds
of oils, gums, waxes, etc., which are
sold as concrete floor hardeners. Pul-
verized iron mixed with sal ammoniac
or some other oxidizing agent is also
used both as an integral floor hard-
ener and as a treatment for a con-
crete floor surface.

Admixtures. — There are on the
markets a number of compounds
which are widely recommended for in-
clusion in the body of the concrete.
Instructions for the use of these com-
"nnds invariably call for many of
'*>thods and practices which are
po. -be essential for successful

the n,, "s built without the in-

known to ^al compounds. Fom-

concrete floo. ^'•oper methods or

elusion of integ. "^pensated ••

workmanship or im^. "' material

'Tiatpnals cannot be co. "- good

by the admixture of an^
; other than those used in makii.
I concrete.

' Floor Paints. — Decorative floor
pamts or coatings may be had in con-
siderable variety from responsible
manufacturers. Almost without ex-
ception these paints require that the
loor be thoroughly clean and dry
^■hen the paint is applied. A fairlv
vide range of colors is available and,
Wiile these paints wear off under foot
rattle, they are, in general, as per-
manent and wear resistive as the
aints in use on wood floors.

Concrete Floor Coverings

In certain types of buildings, such

s school oflice, apartment, hotel and

,3nu-public buildings, some covering

,a the floors is desirable regardless

•f the surface of the floor proper

H-xpenence has demonstrated that

le coverings which come under the

Jieral classification of linoleums or

PJtively thin coverings should be

tached or pasted to the floor over

^e entire surface. Manufacturers'

recifications for laying linoleum or

rk carpet over felt paper on con-

Where it is known beforehand that a
linoleum or cork carpet type of cover-
ing is to be used, sufficient care should
be taken to secure a surface suffi-
ciently even and free from projections
that the surface of the linoleum will
be free from bumps and ridges and
present an even surface. To accom-
plish this the floor finish known as a
one-course floor is recommended. One
steel troweling will usually be suf-
ficient.

If the slab is composed of 1:2:3
mix, or richer, it vsill be a simple
matter to work all of the coarse ma-
terial into the slab by screeding the
freshly placed concrete with a sawing
motion of the strikeboard and float-
ing with a wood float. In this proc-
ess sufficient fine material, that is,
cement and sand, will be brought to
the surface to enable finishing to be
done with a steel trowel without
spreading any dry mixture of cement
and sand or of dry cement alone on
the floor for finishing purposes.

Where it is known beforehand that
the heavier types of floor coverings
will be used, steel troweling may be
omitted, but in this case the freshly
placed concrete should be carefully
screeded to previously established
grounds with a sawing motion of the
strikeboard and the wood floating
carefully done so as to be sure of a
true surface free from projecting
coarse aggregate or appreciable
ridges or fins. Such floors should, of
•'ourse, be provided with some means
"•'stening the sheets of padding or
*^g material used between the
of ^ mgs proper and floor sur-

deadem ^"^^ ^^^ small a nailing

carpets'or ^ ^!,^^}^ baseboard

face. Ifthero. ^^ ^® sufficient,

strip at the botto. ^ ^"'t^*^^ '^

around the rooms w\ ' to pro-

but if the unbroken floo. """^^

very large, it will be necessar
vide inserts in the concrete ifoor
tace into which the floor covering
may be buttoned. These inserts mjy
be placed very easily after the floor
has partially hardened so as not to
interfere with the work of finishing.
If there is certainty that the floor
will never be used to carrv traffic
directly on the concrete, wooden strips
may be embedded in the concrete to
De used to attach the floor covering.
Even if at some future time it is
found desirable to uncover the floor
and prepare it to receive traffic direct
or to use the floor for dancing, a new

t'OOr tODDinff mav hp nut n« tUr. ^...•™

666 Buildings Sept.

The Development of Skyscrapers in Germany

An Interesting Solution of the High Building Problem Described in
the Journal of the American Institute of Architects

By DR. ING WALTER CURT BEHRENDT

In Europe, above all in the western
industrial states, in England and in
Germany, the erection of high build-
ings on the American model has long
been the object of an interest which
has increased considerably since the
war. This is a consequence of the
shortage of housing in the great cities
and in the industrial centers, a short-
age which has been aggravated by the
post-war slump in building; and the
erection of skyscrapers, it is thought,
might prove most effective in reliev-
ing the housing shortage, inasmuch
as the creation of new business areas
in such giant structures would make
it possible to evacuate numerous
apartments now being used for busi-

Figr. 1 — Ground Plan of Skyscraper at Fried-
richslrasse Railway Station at Berlin. Dr.
Ing. Hans Soeder, Wetzlar, Architect.

ness purposes. In England, the idea
of erecting skyscrapers on the Ameri-
can model has found adherents mainly
among members of the business
world, whereas architects generally
have so far raised objections, contend-
ing that the construction of skyscrap-
ers would not be consistent with the
best interests of city planning and
housing.

On the other hand the skyscraper
idea has met with general approval in
Germany. The majority of German
architects, in particular, have pro-
nounced themselves in favor of intro-
ducing this type of building, which
appeals to them as a new and attrac-

tive problem of monumental archi-
tecture. The idea has even been so
enthusiastically embraced that the
erection of skyscrapers for housing
purposes has been recommended in
some instances. However, the en-
thusiasm is being tempered by un-
favorable economic Conditions, and
owing to the rising cost of building
the construction of skyscrapers has
nowhere been started. But the proj-
ects are numerous, architectural com-
petitions for obtaining skyscraper
plans having been held in almost all
the great cities in the Course of the
last few years. These competitions,
in which many leading architects have
taken part, have yielded excellent and
to some extent quite original results.
These, in our opinion, are decided con-
tributions toward the solution of this
architectural problem, and may,
therefore, claim the interest. -of for-
eign architects, more especiallv those
of America, the homelapd of the sky-
scraper.

In technical construction the Ger-
man project^ will seem familiar to
American architects, because they
imitate closely, in this respect, the
American model. Imitation, in this
case, is fully justified, for it seems
hardly possible to devise anything
better than the "steel cage construc-
tion" invented by American engineers,
which carries all loads independently
of the exterior walls, thereby reliev-
ing these of all the functions of sup-
port. On the other hand, as regards
planning and architectural treatment,
German architects have evinced rather
remarkable creative originality, and
have perhaps surpassed the American
models by experimenting in various
and entirely new directions.

The American Skyscraper Not a
Model of Perfection. — In regard to
planning, the American skyscraper, in
its development so far, cannot be con-
sidered as a model of perfection. I
believe that many members of the
architectural profession in America
are ready to concede this. That which
is left to be desired is not so much
the interior distribution of rooms,
communication and circulation within

1923

Buildings

667

the building, or the arrangement of
stairways and elevators; it is rather
the architectural composition of the
whole, notably, however, the disposi-
tion of the building plot. As a rule,
the lot is either covered to its full
extent or the building is grouped

Fig. 2 — Project for a High Building in Dres-
den. Prof. Hans Poelzig, Berlin, Architect.

around one or several central courts,
or is in the form of a group of towers.
These arrangements, which repro-
duce the traditional planning of
many-storied buildings and to which
there is no objection if there are only
five, six or seven stories, becomes
very objectionable if applied to sky-
scrapers; it involves increased danger
in case of fire — when wells or courts
have the effect of smoke stacks, and
it shuts out light and air from the
lower stories.

German Planning of High Build-
ings.— German architects have recog-
nized that it is not appropriate to
group skyscrapers around central
courts, as has been done in America.
In order to avoid the inconveniences
inherent in such arrangements, they
have, therefore, endeavored to solve
the problem of planning in a novel
and fundamentally different manner.
The solution sought has been deter-
mined by the natural desire to facili-
tate as much as possible access of
light and air to these giant structures.
The arrangement is that of wings
projecting outward from the center of
the block, permitting plenty of light
and air to enter all rooms and there-

fore being especially advantageous
for office buildings. Plans conceived
according to this idea will, if highly
developed, assume the shape of a star,
stairways and elevators being ar-
ranged concentrically in the central
part from which radiate the rather
narrow wings with offices on both
sides of an axial corridor.

For the further development of
skyscraper construction this idea of
planning promises to be important.
In building on a star-shaped plan it
will be possible to apply a straight-
forward method of construction. But-
tressing rib-walls will give required
stiffness to the central structure.
Various static solutions are possible,
and accordingly various constructive
types may be evolved. The walls of
the projecting wings may be built as
inflexible bodies (producing the type

Fig. 3 — Project for a Skyscraper in the Fried-
richstrasse, Berlin. Prof. Hans Poelzig,
Berlin, Architect.

shown in Fig. 1), or a system of inter-
penetrating trusses may be con-
structed, resulting in a vertical struc-
ture in the center with lateral set-
backs. Other systems of construction
are also possible, each productive of
other forms.

668

Buildings

Sept.

The Architectural Form of Sky-
scrapers.— These projects will ex-
emplify how construction, if logically
developed, may produce new archi-
tectural forms, capable of strong
monumental effect without resorting
to the current elements of classical
architectural decoration. In giving
architectural form to the skyscrapers,
such tendencies have been very pre-
valent in America — contrary to the
constructive conception of archi-
tecture which is so generally observed

crowning cornice with attic, deter-
mining the scheme of the elevations,
while the traditional decorative forms
are applied, only enlarged in scale
and somewhat coarser. The result is
those tremendous piles of stone that
are to be found in all American cities,
exhibiting "parades of columns'' and
motives of temple architecture tower-
ing one upon another in a somewhat
awkward manner, impressive more
through bigness of scale than through
really monumental effect.

Fig. 4 — Ground Plan of Skyscraper of Iron and Glass to Be Erected in Berlin,
van der Rohc, Berlin, Arcliitect.

L. Mies

in the forms of buildings for indus-
trial purposes, such as factories and
workshops, silos and grain elevators.
The architecture of the American
skyscraper has closely followed the
traditions established at the Ecole des
Beaux Arts at Paris, utilizing the
forms of decorative architectural ex-
pression in comomn usage, such as
columns, pilasters, ornaments, etc.
These great edifices thus frequently
take the shape of enlarged Renais-
sance palaces, the three sub-divisions
of basement, superstructure and

Purpose of Building Determines Its
Form. — German architects, on the
other hand, have endeavored to
make the purpose of the high build-
ings determine their form — as may
be illustrated by the pictures. In
the projects here reproduced the
peculiarity of the purpose and the
properties of the materials have dic-
tated the law, according to which the
form has been developed. Conse-
quently there has resulted a structure
of a new and formal aspect, inde-
pendent of academic, classical tradi-

1923

Buildings

669

tions and expressive only by virtue of
its own intrinsic character, visible in
the ponderousness of its mass and in
the vigor and peculiarity of its ap-
pearance. This form voluntarily re-
nounces the empty pompousness of
architectural ornamentation borrowed
from the styles of the past, depending
for expression not on "the beautiful
facade" but on impressive grouping
and towering of masses, on harmony
of proportions, on forceful effects of
interesting outlines. These projects
reveal the same principle of composi-
tion which we recognize in the monu-

propriate grouping and such a well-
balanced disposition of masses as to
enhance the rugged strength of the
general appearance.

Skyscraper Problem and City Plan-
ning.— Finally, there are offered some
general observations on the sky-
scraper problem from the viewpoint
of city planning.

Whatever reasons we may assign
for the fact — the narrow island or
high land values — New York offers
the greatest experience and field of
study. High buildings have been
fairly well spread over large areas on

Fig. 5 — Project for a Skyscraper of Iron and Glass. L. Mies van der Rohe, Berlin, Architect.

tect.

mental civic structures of medieval
cities, in the imposing fortifications,
defensive towers, city gates and
granaries. As is well known, the cost
of ornamental accessories was not
added to those buildings; nowhere do
they reveal superfluity, or a form in-
congruous with the purpose of the
building. One who has seen such
structures must admit that they ap-
peal through an expressive and al-
most matchless vigor. Their effect,
impressive as it is, has been obtained
through the most primitive means of
architectural expression, through ap-

the narrow island of Manhattan, in
preference to extending buildings of
moderate height over far larger
areas. In the beginning this was done
without any regard for the esthetic
effects of street perspectives or the
urban scene in general, nor did the
traffic problem enter into considera-
tion; in short, the elements and view-
points of city planning were entirely
neglected. Moreover, the erection of
these buildings was, at least in the
beginning, subject to little or no regu-
lation through zoning laws or through
uniform height limtation, as is usual

(iVU

Buildings

Sept.

in Europe. Consequently, high build-
ings were erected wherever there was
a profitable opportunity for specula-
tion.

Similarly, needs growing out of
various untoward circumstances have
caused the increased interest which
the American type of building has
aroused of late in Europe, more espe-
cially the industrial countries of the
old continent, where the housing
shortage has followed hard upon the
cessation of building. However, such
disregard for requirements of city
planning as may be excusable on the
virgin soil of a colonial empire, would
be indefensible in Europe, where his-
tory and urban traditions have deter-
mined the peculiar conditions of old
regions of culture, and where the re-
quirements of planning are a primary
concern. European cities, which have
grown and developed through cen-
turies, possess an historical character
which most decidedly demands that
skyscrapers should be erected only on
carefully chosen plots. Otherwise
beautiful urban compositions might
be frivolously destroyed, or new and
foreign elements might, at least, in-
trude in such a manner as seriously
to impair the effect of historic groups
of buildings. The erection of a high
building, introducing a new scale and
new proportions, is certain to affect
the surroundings, near and far, and
will, under all circumstances, modify
the character of street vistas as well
as of the whole urban scene. Taking
this into consideration, it seems likely
that "tower houses" — in great Ger-
man cities developed around an old
center — will be erected mainly in the
outer districts owing to the difficulty
of bringing their enlarged scale into
harmonious relation with the old
buildings of the "Altstadt." The
project for the "Kaufmannshaus"
(Merchants' House) in Cologne, to be
erected in the immediate vicinity of
the Cathedral, represents a bold at-
tempt to place a skyscraper in the old
center.

At all events, the erection of high
buildings in German cities will not be
left to the uncontrolled activity of in-
dividual builders. On the contrary,
the number of such buildings must be
limited, and their erection will be per-
mitted only on plots which satisfy
certain conditions and are of distinc-
tive importance in the urban ensem-

ble. Besides, the increase of land
values which the erection of skyscrap-
ers will cause, necessitates special
legislative measures. In Germany it
has been proposed that plots on which
skyscrapers can be erected through
exemption from the general building
regulations, should pass to the com-
munity after thirty, fifty or ninety
years, without any compensation. It
should be considered absolutely inad-
missible that a tall, bulky building be
elected on a street barely wide enough
for adequately serving normal circu-
lation; such a building, besides de-
priving its neighbors of air and lieht,
will cause traffic congestion, and in
planning for such structures the needs

Fig. 6— Plan of 20th Floor of Skyscraper at
Friedrichstrasse Railway Station. Berlin.

of circulation should always be con-
sidered as an integral part of the
problem.

Combination of House and City
Planning. — Fig. 7 illustrates an at-
tempt at combining house and city
planning in a constructive way, the
building projected being a skyscraper
on a star-shaped plan. According to
the project the structure is to be
erected at the point of intersection of
several streets, the general arrange-
ment being such as to allow traffic to
proceed in radial directions between
the wings of the building. In these
intermediate spaces parking places
for vehicles have been provided, thus
anticipating the congestion bound to
occur in the morning and late after-
noon hours.

Obviously, the particular city plan-
ning problem which the erection of
skyscrapers presents can be satisfac-
torily solved only in a constructive
way and not by erecting them at
random. In every city there are only
certain points at which skyscrapers

1923

Buildings

671

can be so placed as to fit into the
general scheme. If erected at such
points, recognized as suitable in a
technical way, these high buildings,
centers of circulation, will fulfill an
organic function in the urban entity,
and will, accordingly, appear to oc-
cupy their right place in the general
scene of the city. Such being the
case, it does not seem worth while to
over-emphasize the more or less
academic city planning conceptions
based on esthetic traditions. The
somewhat sentimental talk of sky-line
effects and of "architectural accents"
seems futile. As regards creative
value, such esthetic theories are on a
par with the decorative paraphernalia
of academic paper architecture,
orders, pilasters, cornices, and the
rest. Logical planning and construc-
tion, according to purpose and prac-
tical requirements, have been capable
of originating new architectural
forms. Likewise the planning of sky-
scrapers in a city presents a problem
of architectural propriety, the logical,
constructive solution of which may re-
sult in creating an artistic urban
unity.

Fatigue Properties of Steel

The U. S. Bureau of Standards is
carrying out an investigation on the
fatigue properties of various woods
and metals and in connection with
this work 26 specimens of 3^/i per
cent nickel steel have been tested in
the rotating beam fatigue machine by
the load deflection method. The re-
sults are consistent for the different
heat treatments to which the metal
had been subjected. Fatigue values
of from 50 to 55 per cent of the ulti-
mate strength were obtained when
the proportional limit was above that
of the fatigue limit. When the pro-
portional limit of the material was
less than 50 per cent of the ultimate
strength, the fatigue limit was less
than the proportional limit. Fatigue
tests by the load deflection method
have also been made in a rotary beam
fatigue machine on three specimens
cut from a Thermit-welded rail joint.
The fatigue limit averaged 31,500 lb.
per square inch with an average ulti-
mate strength of 57,445 lb. per square
inch, the average percentage of the
fatigue limit to the ultimate strength
was 54.9.

Appearance of Completed
Stone Work Contingent Up-
Its Treatment at the
Building

Importance of Proper Storage on Build-
ing Site and Reasonable Protec-
tion After It Is Set Pointed
Out in Stone

By WALTER W. DRAYER,

President International Cut S.one Contractors'
and Quarrymens Association, Inc.

Recently on a visit to Detroit, the
writer had the opportunity of observ-
ing two large jobs in the course of
erection that presented a striking il-
lustration of the fact, that although
cut stone is delivered at the building
in perfect condition, its appearance in
the building depends upon the man-
ner in which it is set and the protec-
tion accorded it until the exterior of
the building is completed, cleaned and
pointed.

An excellent Example of Proper
Handling of Cut Stone. — One of the

jobs referred to is the new Masonic
Temple, an all stone building of class-
ic and pleasing design. The stone in
this building is clean; it is faultlessly
set with joints raked out to a uniform
depth to be pointed when the exterior
is completed. Even in its unfinished
state it stands out resplendent among
beautiful surroundings with just
enough variations in color to give it
that mellowness that is so pleasing to
the eyes. It is a building of which the
architect, the Masonic order, the City
of Detroit, the cut stone contractor,
and the stone industry may justly feel
proud — an enduring monument of
stone. It is proof positive that if cut
stone is to merit its worth, and adorn
our buildings with the beauty nature
gave it, it must be handled and set
at the building under the supervision
of a competent setting contractor,
and, after being set in place, accorded
proper protection until the exterior of
the building is completed.

The other job. — The other job, a
public school generously trimmed with
cut stone, presented a sorry sight. In
this building the abuse to which the
cut stone was subjected was almost
criminal. The stone was delivered to
the building in perfect shape and as
clean as the day it left the quarry.
It was not set by, nor under the su-

672

Buildings

Sept.

pervision of, the cut stone contractor;
his contract ended upon the delivery
and proper storage of the material on
the building site. Projecting cornice
and belt courses of this stone were
left unprotected after being set in the
building. Waste mortar lay 2 to 6 in.
deep on these projections, while here
and there the arrises were sprawled
and chipped by falling brick, etc. Or-
dinary lime mortar laying on exposed
projections affords rainy and damp
weather a splendid opportunity to
spread a stain over stone work that is
difficult and sometimes impossible to
remove, but in this instance a still
more effective staining influence was
carelessly permitted to enter into the
aforementioned abuse with which the
stone was treated. Although the ex-
terior walls were of brick and stone,
the floors were of concrete, the slabs
being poured after the walls were up
to the floor level. In the pouring of
these floors, seepage, and in places,
even the aggregate flowed out over
the exterior walls and finally landed
on the stone projecting courses, leav-
ing a stain which only the hot sum-
mer suns of many a day, can, in
time, bleach out. All of this could
have been prevented. A builder
wouldn't think of permitting a man
with hobnailed boots to walk over a
finished hardwood floor, nor workmen
to spit tobacco juice on a marble
wainscot or staircase. If other v/ork
was going on around finished work of
this kind it would be covered up and
protected. Then, why will he permit
cut stone, which is in finished product
in the same sense as the hardwood
floor or marble staircase, to become
the catch-all for mortar, brickbats,
etc. Cut stone when properly treated
dignifies, embellishes and enhances
the value of a building. When abused
it needlessly presents an unsightly
appearance, a provocation to the ar-
chitect, a disappointment to the
owner, a business handicap to the cut
stone contractor, and, finally, a rank
injustice to the most beautiful and
stable building material with which
nature endowed us.

Proper Storage of Cut Stone. — Cut
.stone when delivered to the building
site should be properly stored. It
must not be dumped upon the clay
or sod, where dampness can stain it
and where workmen or trespassers
can walk over it. Sills, belt course,
coping, ashlar, etc., should be stored
in piles with sills of soft wood not less

than 2 in. thick placed upon the
ground to receive the first course
and with 1 in. strips of soft wood be-
tween each subsequent course. The
backs of the stone should form the
outer edge of the pile, and the sev-
eral pieces in each course be placed
face to face. If this pile is to stand
some time before the stone is set it
should be protected against injury
by trucks delivering material around
it, by a barricade. Cornice, lintels,
etc., that are too heavy to store in
piles, should not be slid off the truck
onto the ground. They should be
placed on skids out of the way of the
movement of other material about the
building, and far enough away from
the walls of the building to be out of
the path of falling mortar, brick clip-
pings, etc. Small stone such as arch
stone, jambs, brackets, etc., of irreg-
ular shapes, that cannot be stored in
piles, should be stored upon a floor
of boards, at a safe distance away
from the building, and truck drivers
should not be permitted to unload
brick and other material around them.
Stone after it is set in the building
must be protected. Projecting courses
should be covered with boards or
heavy building paper. Jambs at open-
ings through which building material
is being moved should be boxed in.
Mortar or concrete must not be mixed
within a range of finished walls that
will permit of the splashing of same.
Cut stone has not universally been
given the treatment in handling at the
building and setting that it requires.

Iowa State Board of Engineering
Examiners. — This board is now organ-
ized with the following membership:

Seth Desn, Chairman; address, Glen-
wood, la.

L. M. Martin, Vice-Chairman; ad-
dress, Atlantic, la.

Alvin LeVan, address, Des Moines,
la.

B. F. Fleming, address, Iowa City,
la.-

C. S. Nickols, address, Ames, la.

Successful Central Purchasing. — In

recommending the adoption of a cen-
tralized purchasing ordinance, Frank
C. Perkins, commissioner of public af-
fairs of Buffalo, reports that the sav-
ing on the centralized purchase of
304,000 gallons of gasoline used last
year by that city would pay for the
operation of a central purchasing de-
partment.

1923

Buildings

Formulas for Computing Elconomies of Labor-
Saving Equipment

673

Committee Report Presented at Spring Meeting of American Society of
Mechanical Elngineers, Montreal, Canada, May 28 to May 31

The problem presented is one of
comparative costs. The tendencies in
current practice which it is desired to
correct are simply lack of consistency
in treating the debit and credit items
involved. Incidental items, such as
interest on investment, taxes, main-
tenance, depreciation, obsolescence,
etc., in other words, "fixed charges"
or "burden," are currently accounted
on the debit side when calculating the
costs of substituting mechanical proc-
esses for manual ones. It seems, how-
ever, to have been unusual to make
any contingent addition in calculating
the monetary value of labor saved by
improved methods.

In principle the desired formula
represents simply a mathematical ex-
pression of such debit and credit
items as are involved in the proposed
new method, or process, as compared
with previous practice. In highly
organized and thoroughly system-
atized industrial practice, however,
direct expenditures and direct econ-
omies are frequently of less im-
portance in their monetary value than
related incidental expenditures and
economies. For instance, labor is em-
ployed in the factory for processing a
raw material, which is thereby en-
hanced in value and becomes the fac-
tory's product. As a rule the total
cost of the process will consist of,
say, one part "direct labor" (labor
which can be charged directly to a
single process, or part of the product)
and from one-half to three parts
"fixed charge," "burden," or operat-
ing charge, consisting of "indirect
labor" (labor which is of general
utility and not chargeable directly),
and such items as superintendence,
employes' liability, welfare activities,
maintenance of buildings and ma-
chinery, fuel, supplies, insurance, de-
preciation, taxes, accounting, etc.

Problem One of Economics. — The
real problem in composing a formula,
therefore, is not one of mathematics,
but of economics. Not only should
there be added to each dollar ex-
pended for improved equipment a
suitable incidental amount (in per-
centage of the capital invested) to

cover fixed charges or burden, but
also a suitable incidental addition (in
percentage) should be made to each
dollar's worth of labor saved, as its
proportion of "burden" saved. The
extent of the expenditure for items
accounted as burden will usually bear
some fairly proportional relation to
the amount of labor performed.

When calculating the cost of the
finished product, if an improved proc-
ess or equipment affects the amount
and hence the cost of the "direct
labor," then, for the most accurate
results, the burden should be applied
to labor saved at the same rate as
labor used.

For the purpose of ascertaining the
cost of the product, non-productive
labor, as a part of burden, should not
be considered as subject to any con-
tingent addition for burden. Yet for
certain classes of accounting, par-
ticularly where comparative econ-
omies are being considered, non-pro-
ductive labor may carry all items of
burden that are chargeable to direct
labor, except that it carries no con-
tingent addition for its own class of
indirect labor. It entails superin-
tendence, employes' liability, welfare
work, penalties for overtime and holi-
days, capital for payrolls, housing,
heating and lighting, with the inci-
dental maintenance, taxes, deprecia-
tion, and other charges, in the same
way as direct labor.

Since a new process must of neces-
sity be considered in comparison with
an established process, no "burden"
need be considered in respect to the
labor used in either case, because the
burden charge per unit of labor in
one process will offset an equal unit
of labor in the other process. The
difference in labor required, however,
must, in the interest of accuracy, be
subject to its appropriate addition
for "burden." For this class of cost
accounting the cost department of an
industry should ascertain the proper
percentage to add for burden on both
"productive" and "non-productive"
labor.

Handling materials is practically
always an important item of cost in

674 Buildinf^s Sept.

manufacturing. With a complex falls upon the relation between total

product it would be difficult to charge cost of production and total volume,

handling costs to individual ma- and hence value, of product,

terials; and it is usually accounted as An increase of product with a given

"non-productive" labor and distrib- equipment will affect the spread be-

uted to various items of product, tween cost and the market value of

through an addition in the way of a product just as vitally as an equiva-

percentage on direct labor, or an lent reduction in some or all of the

equivalent method, in common with items of cost. Accordingly, no sys-

other items of "burden." Here we tem of comparative cost accounting

have an example of labor expended can pretend to even approximate ac-

in handling miscellaneous materials curary which does not place a suitable

which would be accounted as "non- valuation upon increased productivity,

productive" labor. In placing a valuation upon in-

If, however, we consider the em- creased productivity it should be

ployment of labor in transportation, borne in mind that in any industry

in the handling of miscellaneous ma- the volume of product required to

terials, it would naturally be ac- just meet the costs of the plant and

counted as "direct" labor, since it ac- a given organization affords no profit;

complishes an important and definite also that any product above that

step in the process of transportation, amount is obtained without any

and should therefore be subject to its manufacturing cost whatever; hence

pro rata share of all fixed charges the rule.

whether it is labor used or labor In a comparative accounting in-
saved by an improved process or by creased production will always carry
the substitution of mechanical process. a higher value than that attached to

In the opinion of the committee, normal production,

current practice which usually takes The Formulas. — The committee

no account of "fixed charges" or "bur- therefore unanimously recommends

den" on the excess of labor used by the following methods:

one process or on the labor saved by Let: n h- it

another process, represents a grave .4 _ percentage aHowanceTn investment

error m any analysis of comparative /^ = percentage allowance to provide for in-

COStS. Also in some cases where surance, taxes, etc.

"burden" is added to ^'direct labor" in (' = {^|^^^"^^^^ allowance to provide for up-
calculating comparative VOSts, it is ^ = percentage allowance to provide for de-
omitted entirely where the labor is preciation and obsolescence

Q^nnnntofl nc "nnn-nrnflnctivp " or in- .E = yearly cost of power, supplies, and other

accounted as non proauctive, or in .^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ consumed, total in dollars

direct. ^ Credit Items

Based upon these considerations the S = yearly saving in direct cost of labor in

following rule for setting a value ^ ^ doikr^ .^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^.^^

upon labor saved by improved process charges or burden in dollars.

has been evolved: t; = yearly saving or earning through in-

Whatever valuation is arrived at in ^ creased production, in dollars

' '"*^'= "- , .. X = percentage of year during which oquip-

cost accounting as the cost per unit ^^^^ ^i,, ^^ employed

of labor used in production, also / = initial cost of mechanical equipment

establishes the value per unit of labor . . Rosvlts . , „ • .•« j

, t. . „ , ^„„„„„^ Tii„_ Z = maximum investment m dollars justified

saved by an improved process. For j^^ ^j^^ ^j,^^^ consideration

simplicity, no monetary value need be y = yearly cost to maintain mechanical equip-

placed upon labor employed in com- ment ready tor operation

X- „ «,r^^^4- ,,r^«v, fV.a V — year y profit from operation of me-

parative processes, except upon the chanical equipment.

amount of difference in labor required Then

at the current rate paid, plus "bur- A + B + C + D

den" or an equivalent. ~is + T + U-K)X

Other items of cost should in like y =, /(A -f b + c +D) [2]

manner be accounted at the same rate and v = us + T + U — E)X] — Y [3]

as for similar items in making up the Feeling that handling machinery,

cost of product. even if left idle a large part of the

In calculating comparative cost a year, would probably require, under

new item is introduced which never mo.st conditions, approximately the

becomes a factor in regular co.st ac- same repair through deterioration as

counting, namely, the monetary value though in use, the committee makes

of increased production. The profit- no deduction for such lack of use in

ableness of any industry stands or the estimated cost of upkeep C. K

1923

Biiildmgs

675

greater accuracy be considered neces-
sary, use C multiplied by X in place
of C in the formulas.

Applications of the Formulas. — As
an example of an application of the
formulas, assume that the handling
of miscellaneous materials about a
factory which has formerly been done
by four men receiving $3.50 per day
each, or, allowing 300 days per year,
at an annual direct cost of $4,200,
can be done by one man operating an
electric storage-battery industrial
truck at a direct-labor cost of Sl,050
per year, thus effecting a saving at
the rate of $3,150 per year in direct-
labor cost.

Assume also that through the
greater promptness in moving ma-
terials and the more continuous oper-
ation of machines there is an increase
in earnings, due to increased produc-
tion, valued at $650 per year; also
that the labor involved, being ac-
counted as "non-productive," carries
a fixed charge or burden of 10 per
cent. In actual practice the plant
operates 240 days per year or 80 per
cent of the time. The various factors
therefore, are estimated as follows:

.A = 6 per cent
B = 4 per cent
C = 20 per cent
D = 25 per cent
E = $450

($3150-|-$315+$650 — $450) X80

Z = . — — = $5331.

This indicates that equipment costing
any sum below $5,331 will earn some
profit above interest on investment
and maintenance.

Assume that an electric storage-
battery industrial truck will meet the
conditions stated and that its cost will
be 82,200. Then the yearly cost to
maintain equipment ready for oper-
ation, exclusive of labor, will be ex-
iressed by the formula, Y = I (A -f B
- C + I>) or $2200 X 55 per cent =
•<1210. Then the profit from oper-
ation of the mechanical equipment,
according to [3], becomes ($3150 +
S315 -f $650 — $450) X 0.80 — $1210
= $1722.

The profit V, or $1,722, represents
an annual earning upon the initial in-
vestment, over all items of cost, of
over 78 per cent.

If, however, our example be applied
0 handling cargo at a railroad or
marine terminal where the labor is
productive labor and subject to all
fixed charges as burden, an important
inference in result will be had, indi-

S = $3150
T = 315
U = 650
X = 80 per cent

eating the importance of the factors
T and U, and the necessity of placing
proper values upon them if reliable
results are to be had.

As such an example of an applica-
tion of the formulas, assume that in
handling miscellaneous cargo at a
marine terminal, work which has for-
merly been done by four men receiv-
ing 3.50 per day each, or, allowing
300 days per year, at an annual direct
cost of $4,200, can be done by one
man operating an electric storage-
battery industrial truck at a direct-
labor cost of $1,050 per year, thus
effecting a sa\ing of $3,150 per year
in direct-labor cost.

Since this labor is productive labor,
it will bear its pro rata share of all
fixed charges, estimated at 50 per
cent and to be added to the direct-
labor cost, representing a further
saving of $1,575 on account of labor.
Also that, through the greater
promptness in unloading and loading
vessels, 5 per cent more ships can
be accommodated, accounting for 15
days' extra use of the pier yearly.
Assuming the investment in the pier
to be $1,000,000 and interest, taxes,
etc., at 10 per cent, we have a credit
item of 0.5 per cent to be divided, say,
between 20 electric trucks, or $250
per truck per annum.

Applying the formulas as in the
previous example, we have

($3150 + $1575 + $250 — $450) X 80

Z = —

55
= $6582 permissible investment.

The yearly cost of operation is F =
$2200 X 0.55 = $1210 as in the pre-
vious example. The profit above
maintenance charges, V, will then be
($3150 -f $1575 + $250 — $450) X
0.80 — $1210 = $2410.

The profit $2,410 represents an an-
nual earning of nearly 110 per cent
upon the investment in this case in
place of 78 per cent in the previous
example, all factors having been upon
exactly the same basis except T
(yearly saving in fixed charges) and
U (yearly sa\ing through increased
production).

The following summary shows the
relative value of the same device ap-
plied to two conditions, first, where
the labor employed in the work is un-
productive as regards producing an
article of manufacture, and, second,
where the labor used produces the
salable commodity, in this case ma-
terial handling.

676 Buildings Sept.

Case 1 Case 2 mentioned results, but upon continued

Hand! ^^j"**'" heating this is wiped out as equi-

in ' Marine librium is obtained. Further work

Factory Terminal is in progress to show more clearly

Cost of equipment $2200 $2200 i^ what these changes consist, but it

Z, investment justified 5331 6582 • • i j. j? i. r i i i i_

y, yearly maintenance 1210 1210 ^^ evident from what has already been

V, profit from installation 1722 2410 accomplished, that they are quite dif-

Per cent return on investment.. 78 110 ferent from the usual processes of

A study of this comparison indi- recrystallization and grain growth.

cates that with suitable values given

to the factors the formulas proposed Wholesale Prices, 1890 to 1922
show not only the advantages otbam-

able under various conditions, but also The course of wholesale prices from
that a device may be much more 1890 to 1922 is reviewed in Bulletin
valuable per dollar invested in one in- No. 335 recently issued by the Bureau
dustry than in another. The differ- of Labor Statistics of the United
ence shown would have been much States Department of Labor, Wash-
more pronounced had regular steve- ington, D. C. This bulletin, which is
dores' wages been used for the wages ^^^ twentieth of a series of annual
of the man at the marine terminal. reports on wholesale prices published
by the bureau since 1902, contains

Crystalline Structure of Ferrite T/'lS a'„1i922 "Zf y^^S^
Ferrite is the metallographic con- mation back to 1890. Four hundred
stituent, iron, which forms the basis and fifty-four commodities or series
of all steels. Hence, any advance in of price quotations are included in the
our knowledge of its characteristics is tables of prices for recent years,
of interest and also of some possible A brief history of the wholesale
technical importance. The crystal price investigations of the bureau is
grains of ferrite often show a peculiar presented in the introduction to the
network within the individual grains bulletin, followed by an explanation
after various types of etching for re- of the method used in constructing its
vealing the microstructure. This gives weighted index numbers, which are
the material the appearance of being built on 404 commodities or price
of a very fine grained structure which, series. Statements showing the char-
if true, would greatly affect the prop- acter and sources of the price quota-
erties of the material. tions, the number of commodities
During the past month the U. S. classified as to frequency of quota-
Bureau of Standards has devoted tions (whether weekly, monthly, or
some time to the study of the phe- average for the month), and the num-
nomenon which has been noted by ber that increased or decreased in
other observers, although no explana- average price from 1921 to 1922 are
tion of its nature has ever been sug- included. Tables of index numbers
gested. The work has not yet been for the various groups of commodities
completed, but the results so far ob- and for all commodities combined are
tained indicate that this peculiar fea- given for all years from 1890 to 1922
ture in the structure of ferrite is not and all months from 1913 to 1922.
related to the ordinary crystalline The bulletin briefly reviews price
structure as it exists at room tem- movements during 1922 and during
peratures. When ferrite is heated the 10 years since 1913. Numerous
sufficiently, it undergoes an allotropic charts assist the reader in following
change. Some evidence has been ob- the prices of important commodities
tained indicating that when the iron and groups of commodities over the
is cooled from a high temperature all period. Appendixes to the report con-
evidence of the structural condition tain statements showing the weights
existing at that temperature is not used in constructing the index num-
entirely erased, but persists as a pat- bers. the relative importance of com-
tem superimposed upon the ordinary modities as measured by their whole-
.structural arrangement. When the sale values in 1922, and index num-
iron is reheated to a sufficiently hip-'i bers of building material prices, by
temperature, although con.siderably sub-divisions, 1913 to 1922.
below the temperature at which the There is also appended a chapter
allotropic change takes place, the reviewing the course of wholesale
characteristic network previously prices in other countries.

1923

Buildings

677

Monthly Statistics of the Building Industry

The accompanying tabulations are
taken from the Survey of Current
Business, a publication of the U. S.
Department of Commerce. They
show (1) the building contracts
awarded by thousands of square feet,
and thousands of dollars, (2) the in-
dex numbers for building contracts
awarded, (3) the building material
price index for frame and brick
houses, (4) the cost index for con-
structing factory buildings, and (5)
the index numbers of wholesale prices
for structural steel, iron and steel,
composite steel and composite finished
steel.

The figures on building contracts

are based on data con)piled by the
F. W. Dodge Co., covering small
towns and rural districts as well as
large cities in 27 northeastern states.
Prior to May, 1921, the building
figures covered 25 northeastern states
and the District of Columbia. The
states are those north and east of, and
including, North Dakota, South Da-
kota, Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, and
Virginia, together with portions of
eastern Kansas and Nebraska. Be-
ginning May, 1921, North Carolina
and South Carolina were added to the
list, but this addition is stated to have
little effect upon the total.

The price indexes for frame and

Year and Month
1913 monthly av..

Grand
Building

■

Total
Contracts

■■
5 o

$71,475

60,020

78.341

113.082

184.036

140,770
214.990

211,102
196.648
279,410

111.608
100,677
164,092
220.886

242.094
227,711
212.491
220.721

246.186
222.480
192,311
198,518

166.320
177.473
293.637
858.162

362,590
343.440
350.081
322,007

271.493
253.137
244.366
215.213

217.333
229.938
333.518
357,475
374,400
328.559

Index
Numbers

•n 3
CO >

..._. 83

. 63

!•• loa

72 98

69 91

102 130

33 52
36 47
57 76
74 103

77 113
77 106
68 99
76 103

89 115

87 103
81 89
76 92

65 77

64 83

111 137

125 164

128 169
130 160
111 163
116 150

95 126

100 118

101 114

88 100

83 101

89 107
139 155
138 166
129 174

99 150

Building
Material
Price
Indexes

§ s
t ^

£ -z

it, 05

lea iM

182 lie

166 iTs

173 179

174 179
169 174
169 173
168 172

173 176
178 181
181 184
189 193

193 197
196 199
196 201
192 198

195 199
198 201
209 209
206 209
212 214
212 215

Cost
Index

■i

***

isii

i'79

170

176
172
167
161

160
157
154
153

152
152
152
152

157
169
171
174

190
192
192
192

192
197
197
204
204
208

Wholesale Prio
Index Number

-s 1

«E? " 2

k « s -3 S,
P| § 1

3 'S' •: c EX

115 2 II

iM isa IM

83 87 88

93 94 95

177 154 168

269 266 269

202 215 220
174 191 193
187 249 211

131 155 156

115 144 134.

146 165 170
146 159 165
139 145 153
123 137 144

123 134 138

116 135 134
106 132 133

99 129 ISO

99 127 126
99 125 124
96 125 122
99 ISl 126

106 139 127
106 140 129
109 142 ISO
116 151 137

137 166 146
141 166 149
136 160 149

132 154 149

132 156 151
139 162 158
146 171 165
172 179 174
174 IS" I-.;
169 1:

ea
S —

1915 monthly av

92
161

1917 monthly av

252

1918 rnonthly nv

213

1919 monthly av

4C,CKS

188

1920 monthly av

33.491

222

19?1 mnnthly j^v

»?.?67

152

1922 monthly av

1921
Jaimpry

47.745
15.518

134

Fohriifiry

16,807

March

.. . 26,709

April

_.. 34.494

Mny

^.I.T.^I

166

June

July -

35.738

-81.717
35.246

159
148
141

September ._ ....

Oftnhor

41.702

136
134

November

December _..

1922
JflTiflnry . .

- 37,818

35.272

.. 30,261

128
127

124

February „

Miirc-h

30.061

K1 ,9K7

121
122

AprU .

May

58,146

125
127

Jnne

KO,.=;'>fi

130

July

August

. ...51,705
54.019

181
188

September
Optnhpr

. , 44.275

146

148

Novemhpr
December _ _..

. 46.946
38.603

146
147

1923
January _

38.947

149

Fphmary

At R^}

157

MHr<>t|

(iA,<t9(\

163

April

64.527

169

May

_ .60.430

168

June

. 46.344

16s

tiuuaings

Sept,

brick houses are from the U. S. De-
partment of Commerce, Bureau of
Standards, Division of Building and
Housing and Bureau of Census, and
are based on prices paid for material
by contractors in some 60 cities of the
United States. The prices are
weighted by the relative importance of
each commodity in the construction of
a 6-room house.

The figures for composite steel are
compiled by the American Metal Mar-
ket and represent the average price
per pound of steel products weighted
as follows: 2% lb. bars, l^/^ lb. plates,
1% lb. shapes, IVz lb. pipe, l^^ lb.
wire nails, 1 lb. galvanized sheets, and
Vz lb. tin plate.

Traffic Over Michigan Ave. Bridge,
Chicago. — It has been found by actual
count that the flow of traffic over the
Michigan Ave., Link bridge in Chi-
cago, exceeds that of Fifth avenue.
New York, by nearly fifty per cent;
that 53,014 vehicles cross the span
between 7 a. m. and midnight, or an
average of 3,118 an hour, with a
maximum of 4,360 during the rush
houi-.

Special StifiFening of Tokio
Steel Frame Buildings

Many studies have been made by
Japanese engineers to permit them to
design steel frame buildings which
would be proof against earthquake
shock. In general, the tendency has
been to make a building which would
be sufficiently rigid in itself to move
as a single unit without distortion
among the several parts. It is re-
ported now that all of the steel frame
buildings in Japan went through the
earthquake structurally undamaged,
and it is believed also that most of
the important ones were saved from
the conflagration by the wide open
space of the station plaza which faced
the Marunouchi Building. In the Iron
Age for Sept. 13, Mr. H. V. Spurr,
of Purdy & Henderson, engineers.
New York City, who designed the
steel work for the Marunouchi, the
Japan Oil, and the Nippon Yusen

a I

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I i
i i

i I

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L._J

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I n

Diagonal Knee Braces Form Principal Stiffen-
ing Element in Each Wall Panel.

Kaisha Buildings in Tokio, points out
the essential difference in construc-
tion details between the Japanese and
the American designs.

The main difference lies in the col-
umns, the connections of the beams
to the columns, and particularly in
these elements as they occur in the
outside walls of the buildings. The
spandrels, in particular, are un-
usually heavy and are fitted with
diagonal bracing, tying them to the
columns in a way calculated to pre-
vent any relative movement between
the two. The column splices, which
occur, as in American practice, at
every second floor, are exceptionally
heavy and in some cases are as long
as a story height. In these excep-
tional cases as many as four splice
plates, with close to 200 rivets through

1923

Buildings

679

them in four rows, are fitted on each
side of the column.

All of these buildings are erected on
the sand underlying Tokio. They are
all carried on piles of 40 to 60 ft. in
length and in some cases the piles un-
der individual columns occupy so
much area that the piling becomes al-
most continuous under portions of the
building. The footings of stone con-
crete, with a large amount of steel
reinforcing, are poured around the
heads of the piles and the individual
column footings tied together by re-
inforced concrete beams, forming in
effect an enormous mesh with space
between members equal to the column
spacing. The reinforcing rods in these
intercolumn members, which are de-
signed to act as both ties and struts,
are carefully anchored around the
column bases before the concrete is
poured around them.

All three of the buildings men-
tioned are similar in general struc-
tural design, but the Marunouchi
Building, covering a far larger ground
area than either of the others, and
having in consequence much greater
inherent stability, was less heavily
braced than the others.

Construction consisted in each case
of short span slabs of reinforced con-
crete, usually 4^/2 in. thick and with a
maximum span not exceeding 8 ft.
These are carried between steel beams,
which themselves are designed about
as in the United States, although some
of them carry heavier live floor loads
than are customary here for purely
office buildings. In many cases the
girders between columns are made of
heavy double channels, back to back,
where these will carry the load ade-
quately; I-beams of 18 and 20 in.
depth, however, form the usual girders
of these buildings. All three build-
ings have built up plate and angle
columns of H-section and of unusual
weight.

In stiffening the spandrels and their
connection with the columns, the de-
vice adopted consisted of two diag-
onal members or knee braces above
the spandrels and running at about 45
deg. from the quarter length of each
spandrel to the adjacent column.
These members themselves are then
tied together by angles running hori-

zontally just below the mullioned win-
dows. This horizontal is again con-
nected at its center point to the span-
drel by two light channel diagonals
reaching the spandrel at about the
points of attachment of the knee
braces. In each of these cases, the
gusset plates are of sufficient area
and weight to form a thoroughly rigid
connection. ■ In some cases a further
tie is arranged by carrying vertical
angles in the mulUons from the hori-
zontal already mentioned up between
window.s to the spandrel of the floor
above.

Much of the terra cotta finish on
these buildings may be expected to
have shaken off as a result of the
severe motion of the earthquake. In
some cases, particularly with project-
ting cornices and other decorative
elements, tie rods similar to concrete
bars were passed through the terra
cotta members and many pieces may
thus have been held in place. Ob-
viously, however, it was impossible to
do this for all of the surface finish.
Another device to hold the terra cotta
in place consisted in making the span-
drel of two angles and one channel
back to back and separated by a small
space, with washers on the rivets to
maintain the space. The terra cotta
was then fitted so that this space was
available for an anchorage to hold it
in place. The same arrangement,
somewhat differing in detail, was
made in some cases in connection with
the horizontal angles passing imme-
diately beneath the windows.

While some of the earthquake stud-
ies have shown a definite amplitude of
movement of the earth's crust, it has
not been the practice to design the
buildings to meet any such pre-de-
termined condition. The buildings
were designed, however, on the as-
sumption that they were to resist a
certain intensity of movement, that
is, a definite acceleration in any di-
rection.

The Marunouchi Building measures
331 ft. by about 300 ft., and is eight
stories high. Above the third floor
there are two large courts running up
through the remaining distance. The
Nippon Yusen Kaisha Building meas-
sures 152 to 286 ft. The building of
the Japan Oil Co., also of seven
stories, is nearly square, being 153
by 159 ft.

^'80 Buildings Sept.

Building Labor Inefficiency Bred by Booms

How Proper Training of Men Acts as Direct Stabilizer of Construction Costs
Pointed Out in The Constructor

By LEONARD C. WASON

President, Aberthaw Construction Co., Boston

Observers who have watched and
studied industrial activities covei-ing
a wide span of years often lapse into
reflective moods and ponder upon the
apparent passing of the efficiency of
employes in days gone by. They
compare present conditions with those
that existed when lads became ap-
prentices, learned their trades, worked
at them conscientiously and with skill
and thus provided the nation with
their peak productive abilities. Such
conditions stand in marked contrast

«%

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■L

'l'.

t ClfOJiO. /S

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MO'I

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•"

[

Chart showing how the training of employes

results in ability to hold down costs dur-

in periods of peak labor demand.

to those which industry now is forced
to meet.

A general lack of inten.sive train-
ing of workmen has combined with
presence of abnormal fluctuations of
supply and demand to make the aver-
age workman of today far less con-
versant with the niceties of his trade
than his predecessor of a few years
or decades ago. Constantly moving
from one job and supervision to an-
other in his efl'orts to take advantage
of temporary and abnormal condi-
tions, he cuts down his efficiency. No
matter how familiar he may be with
the job in its generalities, this con-

.stant changing prevents him from be-
coming intimate with his fellow-work-
men, with those who supervise his
work and with the particular operat-
ing policies of his employer.

This factor of inefficiency, intangi-
ble as it may appear, is having a
marked eflfect upon the general labor
conditions of the country.

Trained Men 50 Per Cent More
Valuable. — The value of men trained
to their jobs has been held by some
experts to reach as high as 50 per
cent over that of employes who are
not thoroughly familiar witli the fine
points of their work and the organi-
zation in which they are employed.
While this estimate may be rather
extreme, it is certain that a wide
margin i-ests between these two
values, varying as regards the nature
of the work. The above is entirely
independent of the artificial and arbi-
trary limtation of output that is prac-
ticed sometimes by labor organiza-
tions.

Studies of this phase of the labor
problem are highly interesting, for
they hold possibilities of developing a
means whereby the demands for labor
may be met without taking men from
one job to another merely through
the destructive process of raising
wages higher and higher. In addi-
tion, it is obvious that an increasing
of the efficiency of labor will have its
efl"ect in stabilizing industrial oper-
ations by holding down the unit costs
of labor.

Industries having marked periodic
booms, such as have characterizetl
construction activities since the na-
tion began making a distinct demand
for industrial expansion, have the
greatest reason for applying them-
selves closely to these studies.

The Alberthaw Co. has gained from
its research and statistics in this con-
nection a clear demon.stration of the
value of educating its employes to
their jobs in the broader sense, and
has gained inspiration for intensive
work along this line from the results
already achieved.

Dilution of the company's standing
crews of workmen with outside help

1923

Buildings

681

in boom periods has resulted, accord-
ing to its statistics, in a variation in
output of from 25 to 35 per cent, with
the figure mounting still higher in
cases where common laborers are
concerned. These conclusions are based
upon the experiences and opinions of
eleven Aberthaw superintendents who
made close observation in 1915 of the
effect exercised upon output by the
hiring of men in local markets.

Boom Times Breed Inefficiency. —
It is impossible to gather statistics
covering the work of identical gangs
of men in both boom and dull periods,
due to the fact that jobs in the
stretches of decreased acti\nties are
handled almost exclusively by Aber-
thaw men who follow the company
from one job to another and seldom
work for another concern. But the
effect of bringing "outsiders" in on
the jobs in stretches of greater ac-
tivity may be taken as a fair ^auge
of the value of training.

The sawtooth appearance of the
upper curv'e in the chart shows the
effect of "good" and "poor" times
over a period of 11 or 12 years. The
horizontal line marked "bogey" is
their standard, the word being bor-
rowed from golf. If it is equalled,
they think they are doing very well.

Comparison of the line of labor pro-
duction costs in this chart with that
of the volume of business indicates a
decrease in efficiency in "good" times
and a corresponding increase in less
active periods.

The chart shows that the company
was getting results 12 per cent better
than its standard in 1921, which, in
spite of the higher wages then paid,
made the unit cost of production al-
most as low per unit in dollars as
years ago when labor was much
cheaper. This increased efficiency can
be credited almost in its entirety to
the fact that work in the duller
periods was being done by Aberthaw
men who "knew their jobs."

The marked inefficiency in the
cur\-e of 1910 was due largely to the
fact that the company had not pre-
viously followed the policy of train-
ing men, but rather had followed the
more usual method of taking them
helter-skelter as the occasion re-
quired. The drop from 40 to approxi-
mately 15 per cent of inefficiency dur-
ing the first year the training policy
was in force demonstrated the value
of the new plan. The labor produc-
tion costs kept dropping as a result

of this training of men, and continued
the decline until the beginning of the
war in 1914. Even in 1918, when the
volume of construction mounted high,
the balancing influence of this train-
ing held production costs from going
more than a trifle above the 1915
mark, although the total amount of
work had almost doubled in that time.

It is interesting to note that labor
production costs actually were run-
ning opposite to the volume of busi-
ness in 1912 and 1913, when the de-
mand for labor naturally would have
boosted wages so as to send labor
costs in the same direction as the
demand for labor.

It is plainly indicated that in dull
times the costs of the various jobs
were held close together, but that
when boom conditions called for un-
trained labor, the costs went awry,
with great variation being shown be-
tween the high and low levels.

Proper Training as Stabilizer. —
Following out the thought inspired by
this indication, the conclusion logi-
cally is that proper training of men
engaged in construction work is a di-
rect stabilizer of construction costs.

Any factor that acts to prevent a
wide variance arising between costs
of various construction jobs being
carried on at the same time exercises
the power of creating' confidence and
certainty in operations. By influence,
it tends to increase the period of con-
fidence and decrease the period of un-
certainty. Automatically, since labor
costs are more stable in periods of
confidence, if such temis be applied,
the entire movement is to stabilize
the industry by action and reaction,
with the forces of both action and
reaction contributing to the result.

With continuing stabilization of the
industry, peaks calling for the use of
untrained men on jobs would be elimi-
nated, so that training would be made
more generally possible.

So the entire trend of the industrv
might swing around in a cycle a.<
beneficial to its operations as the
present "\icious cycle" of costs, prices
and costs is detrimental.

Bringing the subject down to spe-
cifics, the experience of the Aberthaw
Co. seems to prove conclusively tha*^
costs may be controlled by an induced
efficiency, which "will perform remark-
ably well under fairly normal condi-
tions and will exercise its influence
against extreme costs even when the
labor demand is at its height.

682

Buildings

Sept.

Movable Mixing, Elevating
and Chuting Concreting Units

In connection with the large addi-
tions to its plant in Cleveland, O., the
Otis Steel Co. devised a very prac-
tical layout for handling the 50,000
cu. yd. concrete end of the job. The
arrangement is described in the Aug-
ust Successful Methods.

To meet the problem, three car
plants were used, each equipped with

and cement shed, but also kept down
the over-all height of the car (which
is a very important consideration with
any type of car plant) because the
bucket could be dropped down to prac-
tically ground level for loading. As
soon as the plant was moved up into
position where it was to pour con-
crete, the tower was immediately
blocked up from the rails. Only one
set of guys was used on the tower
and the plant placed concrete over
100 ft. each way from the tower.

iy-T,

Arrangement of Movable Concreting Plant.

a 1-yd. electrically driven mixer, elec-
tric hoist, 60-ft. steel tower and 100-
ft. boom counterweight chuting plant.
In rigging up the car plant, a stand-
ard gage steel frame car was used
and two 24-in. "I" beams were at-
tached to the frame of the car so that
they extended out over one end ap-
proximately IV2. ft. The steel tower
was then fastened to these "I" beams
by means of gusset plates.

This method of supporting the
tower not only gave more room on
the car for the hoisting engines, bins

The method generally used for the
operation of this plant was as fol-
lows: Two tracks were laid, one for
the car plant and the other for tlie
crane and cars of material. A car
of slag was placed ahead of the crane
and a car of sand behind it in such a
position that the boom could be swung
around and a bucket of sand or slag
could be handled to the bin with the
least amount of time lost. When the
cars were emptied, the crane pulled
them out and replaced them with
loaded cars.

1923

Buildings

683

Wages and Average Elmploy-
ment in Building Trade

Some interesting information on
the above subject was given by Ger-
hardt F. Meyne, building contractor,
Chicago, in a letter to the editor of
the Christian Science Monitor, com-
menting on an editorial in that paper.
We reprint Mr, Meyne's letter below:

The writer of an editorial appear-
ing in the Christian Science Monitor,
dated Aug. 7 last, is evidently mis-
informed or misguided as to the earn-
ings of the craftsmen of many of the
common trades employed on build-
ings, making particular mention of
the bricklayer, the plasterer and
painter. He states that the brick-
layer's wage is $1.50 an hour or $12.00
a day in New York and the plasterer
also obtains $12.00 a day with an aver-
age employment of 170 days a year.
He computes that the plasterer earns
on an average of $8.00 a day. He,
further, computes the painters' aver-
age $7.00 a day. The Monitor, further,
compares the wages of 1912 and 1913
and brings out that living costs have
increased, according to its calcula-
tions, 70 per cent to 80 per cent, and
then concluding that $12.00 a day is
found not far removed from the
artificer of 1912 and 1913.

These following costs and facts
have been taken from builders' time
books, official wage scales of the vari-
ous cities, and show the earnings of
these craftsmen in 1912 and in 1913.
A comparison will show a much wider
spread in percentage than the Moni-
tor's information:

New York builders paid brick-
layers in August, 1912, 70 ct. per
hour — in 1923 the pav is between
$1.50 and $2.00, with $2.00 pre-
dominating.

Chicago builders paid bricklay-
ers in August, 1912, 72 ^^ ct, per
hour— in 1923, $1.65 to $1.85 an
hour,

Boston builders paid bricklay-
ers in August, 1912, 60 ct. an
hour — in 1923 up to $1.85 an hour.

New York builders paid plas-
terers in August, 1912, 68% ct,
an hour — in 1923, $2.00 an hour,

Chicago builders paid plaster-
ers in August, 1912, 75 ct, an
hour— in 1923, $1,75 to $2,00 an
hour.

Boston builders paid plasterers
in August, 1912, 65 ct. an hour —
in 1923, $2.00 an hour.

New York builders paid paint-
ers in August, 1912, 43% ct. an
hour — in 1923, $1.25 an hour.

Chicago builders paid painters
in August, 1912, 60 ct. an hour —
in 1923, $1.25 an hour.

Boston builders paid painters
in August, 1912, 41 ct. to 50 ct.
an hour— in 1923, about $1.12^^.

The Monitor is also misinformed as
to the average number of working
days these craftsmen are employed
during the year. The average ' of
bricklayers in the last years has been
257 days, which, at the going rate in
New York, is about $4,000.00 per an-
num. The bricklayer demands for
himself a half holiday on Saturday
and thereby denies himself an earning
capacity of an additional $400.00. He
will confine himself to 8 hours' work
between the hours of 8 a. m. and 4:30
p. m., and is unwilling to make up a
rainy hour after 4:30 p. m. in order
to complete his 8-hour day. The
plasterer can average, if he is willing
to work, 280 days a year, which, at
the going rate in New York, will yield
him about $4,500.00. He, also, re-
frains from working Saturday after-
noon and deprives himself of $420.00.
unless he can impose upon his em-
ployer or the owner of a building for
overtime. In New York and Chicago
and other sections of the country he
insists that he must be employed 9 to
10 hours a day, Saturday afternoons
and Sunday and exacts for this im-
position double time for anything
after 4:30 p. m. Saturday afternoon
or Sunday, thereby increasing: his
earnings and income substantially.
Tlie Monitor's attention is directed to
news items anpearing in the New
York Times of July 10, 13, Aug. 5,
ptc. They deal particularly -with the .
bricklayer and plasterer" situation.
The nainters' average employment
time is about 250 days a year, al-
though the skilled man is sought after
and can work full time. The averasre
painter in New York earns $2,500.00
per annum. He, also, deprives him-
self of earnings on Saturday after-
noons.

When the Monitor speaks about the
cost of liviner it must not forget that
a large portion of the high cost of
living is due to high rent, most of
which is directly chargeable to labor

684

Buildings

Sept.

in general, the going building me-
chanics' wage and inefficiency that the
craftsmen is imposing. If, according
to the author of the editorial in the
Christian Monitor, in 1912, $4.00 to
$5.00 was the wage earning, or about
$1,500.00 a year, and today he earns
between $4,000.00 and $5,000.00. The
Monitor's own ratio of increased liv-
ing cost and the actual wage increase
does not bear comparison and is
thei'efore misleading. However, the
wage increase is not the only item of
concern. The loss of efficiency and
production is where the real increase
and imposition appears. In 1912 a
72'/^ ct. an hour bricklayer produced
or laid in a wall from 2,000 to 2,500
brick per day on the average com-
mercial type of building, making the
labor cost about $2.25 per thousand.
Today the bricklayer is producing
somewhat less than 1,000, for figuring
purposes we will call it 1,000, making
the average cost of brick laid in New
York City about $16.00 per thousand,
an increase of about 700 per cent or
in relation to the author's cost of liv-
ing (70 per cent) the increase in pro-
duction cost is 1000 per cent for
mason labor. The plasterer's ratio is
considerably higher and a little more
difficult to illustrate, but the fore-
going is sufficient to show that the
Monitor's article needs guidance as to
facts. The Monitor has referred to
the New York Times news item of the
5th, which shows in detail how the
plasterer is earning $119.00 per week
in New York City.

The reason for the possibility of
these impositions on the public is be-
cause of the fact that the building
artisan is permitted to enjoy a
monopoly obtained largely through
intimidation, organization and in
some instances legal license. The
coal miners, of whom the Monitor
speaks, enjoy such a legal license
granted by some of the states, The
Monitor refers to the few days of
employment in a week that the coal
miner may work and that he can
hardly be blamed for exacting suffi-
cient pay for his subsistence. Why
should he look for other employment
if in a few days he can make enough
to live on ? The coal miner ap-
parently cannot be induced to seek
other and more remunerative employ-
ment that would engage his full time.
Why does he stay at mining when the
country is clamoring for men to work ?

Ten Years in Wood Preservation

A detailed report on the quantity
of wood treated and preservatives
used in the United States in 1922 and
previously, prepared by the U. S. For-
est Service in co-operation with the
American Wood-Preservers' Associa-
tion, will be included in the Nineteenth
Annual Proceedings of the Associa-
tion soon to be ready for distribution.
A resume of this report, from Wood
Preserving News, follows.

In 1913 the railroads utilized about
90 per cent of all the timber treated,
and operated 40 per cent of the 93
plants. In 1922 they used about 80
per cent of the total output and oper-
ated about 22 per cent of the 128
plants. Since the railroads are using
a greater quantity of treated timber
than ever before, these figures show
that there has been a substantial gain
in the consumption of treated timber
for other than railroad purposes.

The Ijigh record of production was
reached in 1921 when 201,643,228 cu.
ft. of timber were treated. A slight
falling off occurred in 1922, directly
traceable to the financial retrench-
ments of the railroads, the largest
users of treated material, combined
with the car shortage and coal strike
that affected the operation of treating
plants.

A comparison of the output of
treated timber in 1913 with the period
1918 to 1922, inclusive, shows as con-
sistently as possible the recovery that
has been made since the world war.

For years cross-ties constituted
over 75 per cent of all the timber
treated in the United States. Ap-
proximately one-half of the annual tie
requirements of the railroads are
treated. Of the cross-ties treated in
1922 nearly 50 per cent were treated
with creosote, 40 per cent with zinc
chloride, and most of the remainder
with a mixture of zinc chloride and
croesote. The calculated average ab-
sorption of preservatives per cubic
foot of the cross-ties treated in 1922
was: Creosote, 6.59 lbs.; zinc chlo-
ride, 0.5 lb.; zinc chloride and creo-
sote, 0.5 lb. and 2.74 lbs., respectively
Over 15 per cent of the 41,316,474
cross-ties treated in 1922 were either
adzed or bored, or both, before treat-
ment.

In 1921 the output of creosoted piles
touched the low inark during the past
10 years. In 1922 the volume jumped
25 per cent to 11,085,005 lin. ft. The
average absorption of creosote wa.s

1923

Buildings

685

MATERIAL
Kind

Cross-lies (No.) _

Piles (Lineal ft.)

Poles (No.)

Wood blocks (Sq. Yd.)

Cross-arms (No.)

Const. Timbers (Bd. ft.)..

Misc. Lumber (Bd. ft.) —

All Mat'l, Total (On. ft,

Plants in Operation —

TREATED IN UNITED STATES,

1913 191S 1919

__ 40,260.416 30,609,209 37.567,927

11,766,852 12,286,518 13,557,519

142.069 262,260 378.481

.... 2,611.821 2,398,969 1,795,683

_. 2.944.045 683.077 121,507

....138,843.536 122,587,116 144,742,476

.._ 24,475,896 11,086,356 8,113,632

)..153.613,888 122,612,890 146,060.994

93 107 108

1913 AND

1920

44,987,532

11,96.5,912

585,781

2,568,171

514,209

139,749,732

14,864,268

173,309,505

115

igiS-l"*-
1921
55,383,51o
8,268,519
G22,6S5
2,363,011
175,403
142.520,496
9,037,212
201,643,228
122

41,316,474

11.085.005

966,4011

1.503,879

604,7.58

152,556,960

13,560.432

166,620.347

128

13.3 lbs. per cubic foot. In recent
years a few piles were treated with
zinc chloride, the average absorption
being 0.5 lb. per cubic foot. The
species treated, in order of volume,
were southern pine, Douglas fir, cy-
press and cedar.

In 1922 a total of 966,400 poles were
treated, the largest number ever re-
ported. Comparing the number treated
in 1922, when 37.5 per cent of the
poles were pressure treated, with 1920
when the ratio was 28 per cent, there
is shown increase of 122 per cent.
Cedar and chestnut butt treated poles
in the same period increased 46 per
cent. The pressure treated poles re-
ceived an average of 9.4 lbs. of creo-
sote per cubic foot.

Unusual building depression in 1922
had the effect of greatly curtailing the
demand for creosoted flooring and pav-
ing blocks, resulting in an annual out-
put of 1,503,879 sq. yds., the small-
est quantity since 1909. Sixty-five per
cent of the 1922 output was for floor-
ing and the balance for street paving.
Southern pine was the principal wood
used. The paving blocks were treated
with an average of 12.53 lbs., and the
flooring with 7.89 lbs. of creosote or
paving oil per cubic foot of timber.

The output of creosoted cross-arms
in 1922, amounting to 604,758, was
the largest since 1918. They were
treated with an average of 8.92 lbs.
of creosote per cubic foot.

Construction timbers include all tim-
bers for highway and railway bridges,
docks, wharves, public works, switch
ties and similar heavy structural ma-
terial. In all 152,556,960 board feet
of construction timbers were treated in
1922. Nearly 85 per cent of this tim-
ber was treated with creosote, aver-
aging 10.07 lbs. per cubic foot; about
10 per cent \^^th zinc chloride, aver-
aging 0.5 lb.; and the remainder prin-
cipally with a mixture averaging
0.428 lb. zinc chloride and 2.83 lbs.
creosote per cubic foot.

The miscellaneous lumber treated
in 1922 aggregated 13,560,432 board
feet, the largest output in three years.
Most of this material was treated with

creosote, the average absorption being
10.36 lbs. per cubic foot; some with
0.495 lb. of zinc chloride, and some
with a mixture of 0.506 lb. of zinc
chloride and 2.97 lbs. of creosote.

The Strength of Sheet Glass

For some time the U. S. Bureau of
Standards has been investigating the
breaking strength of sheet glass. The
results obtained by breaking sheet
glass in frames have been computed,
and a comparison of these data shows,
in the case of the uniform hydraulic
loading of glass over its entire area,
that the thickness has considerable
eff"ect upon the strength obtained.
Thin glass gives a strength which is
quite high in proportion to its thick-
ness. This strength decreases rapidly
with decrease in thickness, determina-
tions having been made for glass
from 1/10 to 1/4 in. thick. Glass,
when tested in frames and loaded in
the center, shows a strength almost
comparable \^•ith that which it would
exhibit if acting as a beam supported
on two ends only. The results above
described have been obtained using a
single size of sheet, and the tests will
now be repeated on sheets of various
sizes to determine if this has any
effect on the values obtained.

Invar and Related Steels

Circular 58 of the U. S. Bureau of
Standards on Invar and Related
Steels, has recently been revised, and
the second edition can be purchased
from the Superintendent of Docu-
ments, Government Printing Office,
Washington, D. C, at 30 cts. a copy.

This circular is mainly a compila-
tion of data obtained during the last
30 years by various investigators on
the different properties of nickel
steels. Particular attention is given
to "invar," a nickel-iron alloy con-
taining about 36 per cent nickel and
possessing an extremely small ther-
mal expansivity between O and 46
deg. C. being of the order of 1 to 2
millionths. The results of investiga-
tions made on the various properties

686

Buildings

Sept.

of the nickel-iron alloy series have
been presented largely in diagram-
matic and tabular form.

Following an historical account of
the development of nickel steel and
studies of their properties, the nature
of the anomalies in behavior met with
in these steels and characterized by
their irreversible and reversible phe-
nomena are discussed in the light of
results obtained on their various
physical properties. The constitution
and microstructure of these alloys are
first dealt with, and next the rather
extensive studies made on the mag-
netic properties. A magnetic trans-
formation (Curie points) diagram
has been plotted from the observa-
tions obtained magnetically, for the
most part, by various investigators.

Trade School Development

Thought is congealing in connec-
tion with the trade schools movement
throughout the United States.

According to a News Letter of the
Associated General Contractors, prep-
arations made by various organiza-
tions, school boards and other unified
centers of thought are indicating a
response in creative progress to the
demand being made for assurance of
a substantial* supply of skilled labor
for the building trades. One indica-
tion of the general progress being
made in this direction is found in the
activity of the Common Brick Manu-
facturers' Association of America.
Announcement has been made that
a textbook covering essentials of the
training of bricklayers practically is
ready for distribution at a nominal
price as a part of the program neces-
sitated by economic conditions.

It is proposed that a national di-
rector be named to introduce schools
where needed. Different communities,
under this plan, are to receive his
services on a per diem charge. The
local employing and material associa-
tions will, in this manner, contribute
towards his support, which will aid
materially the starting of a school in
their section. Under such a plan as
this, a director will be practically self-
supporting.

With proper endorsement, it is be-
lieved by the proponents that many
organizations can be induced to lend
their support.

Standardized Elementary School
Buildings

A plan is being worked out for the
standardization of small grade
schools of Boston, Mass., so that here-
after they will be constructed on a
definite model which will allow for
logical expansion of the building to
meet the requirements of the popula-
tion of the district. However, the
building will be so designed that an
unfinished looking exterior will not
appear.

The initial building, the first one to
be erected in the near future in Ger-
mantown, contains three classrooms,
a nurses' room and a kindergarten on
the first floor. The kindergarten is
so arranged that it is available for the
purposes of a small community hall
after regular school hours are over.
The basement of the initial building
will have full provision for all heating
and plumbing necessary for the com-
pleted building and also a playroom
for girls, to be used in foul weather.
When the first unit is built the second
floor will be constructed complete with
the exception of the top flooring.
Over this will be a temporary roof.
The exterior walls will be run to the
sill line of the future second-story
windows.

The building will be expanded in
units of four classrooms, with the nec-
essary service. The first addition will
be a second story containing four
classrooms and a teachers' room over
the first building already described.

The plan is so designed that it is
symmetrical about an axis taken
through the center of the corridor.
For the second addition, the first plan
is folded over so that an additional
four classrooms and a master's oflice
are constructed over a new basement
which contains a boys' playroom and
additional space for lunchrooms, shops
and storage.

The final unit of four rooms, mak-
ing the building a 16-room school
with all the necessary service, is con-
structed in a second story over the
second addition. This last addition
contains four classrooms and an emer-
gency room.

The exterior will be brick with
limestone sills, cornices, entrance, etc.,
over a granite base course.

The classrooms will conform to the
existing standards of the Boston
schools.

The architect of the work is William
W. Drummey, 80 Boylston St., Boston.

Roads and Streets

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

PublislMd by Enguieering St. Contracting Publishing Co.
221 Ea»t 20th St., Chicago

Halbkkt p. GiixxTTx, President and Editor

Lswis S. Louxa, Vice-Presideni and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bids.. 42d St and Broadwar

RtCHAXO E. Bkown, Eastern Manager

RMdi and StrMto— Ist Wedacsdar, $1 Railwari — Srd Wednesdar. SI

(a) Road Cob- (c) StrMta (a) Steam Rail- (b) Baetrle RaU-
stnietlon (d) Street clean- way Conatrae- way Coaatrae-

(b) Eoad Main- ins tion and tioa mad
tenaaee Maintenance Mainteaaaee

Water Werke— 2nd Wednesday. $1

(a) Water Works (e) Sewers and

(b) InrtcatloB and Saniution
Draiaas* (d) Waterways

BnildinKS— Itli Wednesday, $1
(a) BnikUnss (d) Miseeliaaeoos

(k) Bridsea Stmetores

(e) Harbor Stmetores

Cepyricht, 1923, by the Enrineerinr and Contractinr PablisUac Ceai»aay

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO. ILL., OCTOBER 3, 1923

No. 4

"Our Reckless Driving'*

The increasing necessity for great-
er road safety is emphasized in the
following letter which we received in
reply to an editorial in our last
month's issue.

While we have seen other refer-
ences to Judge Olson's address we
have not yet had opportunity to read
it, and in the absence of certain spe-
cific information we are not inclined
to express a definite opinion of -the
extent to which tests might be prac-
tical for the purpose set. Undoubt-
edly some of our readers will look
upon most mental tests as unreliable
and emotional tests as wholly imprac-
tical. The reliability of physical tests,
on the other hand is subject to little
<}uestion. The difficulty with the
latter as a protection against unfit
drivers is that faulty brain work
rather than physical defect is re-
sponsible for the vast majority of
accidents.

The editor is frankly skeptical of
any test system as a complete safe-
guard against bad driving, but that is
not an argument that it is worthless.

Similarly we still think that punish-
ment, though not a panacea, is a valu-
able aid to safety, and as evidence
we cite the improvement in Chicago
following inauguration of the drive
against recklessness. Also, who has
not at some time heard a driver say
while crossing certain towns, "Well,
I must be careful here: the speed
cops ara sure vicious" ?

' While we did not emphasize the
revocation of license in our last
Month's issue, we have advocated it
at other times — among them in our
March ?, 192^, issue as follows:

"The fiiie may properly be retained
for many offenses, but for sheer reck-
lessness the driver's license should be
revoked. We believe that nothing
would bring a change of habit to so
maJfy. reckless drivers as a knowledge
that theh- offense is reasonably sure
to lead to their deprivation of the
right to drive."

Oux correspondent's letter follows:

To the Editor: Your comments on

auto criminals and heedless driving in

688

Roads and Streets

October

the Sept. 5th issue have caught my
eye.

In my opinion not enough attention
is being given to current discussion ox
this matter, to the limiting of the
privilege to drive to those vi^ith the
necessary physical, mental and emo-
tional quahtications which go to make
up a safe and sane driver. The rail-
roads require their engine drivers to
demonstrate that they have certain
physical requirements, besides sub-
jecting them to careful observation
of their dependability for the proper
performance of the particular duties
with which they are entrusted. But
anyone with enough guts has the
right, apparently, to pilot a car on
our streets, where the lives of thou-
sands of fellow drivers and of pedes-
trians may be jeopardized. The driver
does not have to pass tests to prove
that he has the requisite good eye-
sight and other inherent qualities that
go to make up a responsible and safe
driver. No amount of propaganda
directed along lines of education of
drivers to greater caution, can reach
the element that is inherently unfitted
to drive. Doubtless many of these
dangerous drivers are good citizens in
most other respects and may not ap-
preciate their unfitness to exercise the
privilege of piloting a car on a pub-
lic thoroughfare. But there is also
probably a goodly share of criminals
among the reckless drivers. The test
is the way to eliminate them all.

If you are not already familiar with
it you might be interested in Judge
Harry Olson's recent address on
"Crime and Heredity," which I think
has a bearing on the question of auto
driving. You can obtain a copy of
the address I mention by applying to
the clerk of the judge's court in the
City Hall, for the August issue of the
Journal of the American Judicature
Society. The judge brings out clearly
the fact that antisocial traits and pro-
clivities are inherent in the individual.
The principle certainly applies to auto
driving.

The problem is to find those in-
herently unfitted to drive — those not
safe to trust with a car, and to find
them before the accidents. A good
place to begin might be to examine
those who have caused accidents — but
eventually license to drive should be
limited to those who have qualified in
suitable, physical tests and in mental
and emotional tests such as those Dr.
Hickson uses, (adapted to auto driv-

ers), with severe penalty for un-
authorized driving.

I have perhaps been rather lengthy,
but I am convinced that if we are to
get to the bottom of this matter it
must be along the lines I mention.
If you will read carefully the address
I refer you to, and then consider in
connection with that the eyesight and
other tests which railroads use in
passing on the fitness of locomative
engineers, I think you will appreciate
what I have in mind.

DONALD H. MAXWELL.

Wilmette, 111.

P. S. I have just glanced back at
the title to your editorial which reads,
"Education and Punishment for Reck-
less Drivers." Read Judge Olson
and you will get a new light on that
title. I think I am right in saying
that in a sense you can't educate the
really reckless driver and to punish
him is futile. The cure is not to let
him drive. D. H. M.

Causes of Automobile Accidents
on Highways

Some interesting information on
automobile accidents on Wisconsin
highways is The Highway Magazine
by N. M. Isabella, assistant mainte-
nance engineer, Wisconsin Highway
Commission. The commission started
in May, 1922, to investigate the num-
ber and causes of automobile acci-
dents on the state trunk highways,
which comprise 7,500 miles or about
10 per cent of the total rural mileage
in the state. The following table from
Mr. Isabella's article shows the total
number of accidents during the year
1922, and their causes:

Total number of accidents 1,069

Number of people involved 3,562

Number of people killed ^4

Number of people seriously injured 312

Number of people sliKhtly injured 935

Accidents occurrinK on straijrht road 718

Accidents occurrinK at curves or corners 185
Accidents occurring at R. R. crossinprs.... 66

Accidents occurrinK at cross roads 62

Accidents occurrinK at miscellaneous

places 38

Accidents due to reckless drivinR 631

Accidents due to improper lishts 61

Accidents due to broken car mechanism 45

Accidents due to intoxicated drivers 4"

Accidents due to weather conditions 4«

Accidents due to cars on wrong side road 17
Accidents due to miscellaneous causes.... /i-"

The above covers the time from May 1, I9ii,
to Jan. 1, 1923.

The above reports cover only the State
Trunk Highway System outside of cities hav-
ing a population of 2.500 or more. The ma-
jority of the reports were furnished by the
patrolmen, supplemented by reports from
newspapers and other sources.

1923

Roads and Streets

689

The 1924 Convention and

Road Show of American Road

Builders' Association

Plans for the annual convention and
road show of the American Road
Builders' Association in Chicago, Jan.
14 to 19, 1924, are practically com-
plete.

C. M. Upham, manager of both
events, has worked out with the board
of directors of the Highway Indus-
tries Exhibitors' Association arrange-
ments for the show which are satis-
factory to all concerned. The two as-
sociations are working together in
complete harmony, practically as a
single organization, to the one end of
making the coming convention and
road show the best that have ever
been held. The important differences
which existed at one time between the
two associations have been entirely
removed. Solutions have been found
for the minor problems which caused
some criticism last year. Many im-
provements in the plans for both the
convention and the road show have
been made. The one problem which
apparently cannot be solved this year
is the lack of space to meet the de-
mands of those who desire to exhibit.

The road show will be held in the
Coliseum, the Coliseum Annex and the
Greer Building, the same as last year.
It already is known that demands for
exhibit space will greatly exceed the
space available. This means that it
will be impossible to give all ex-
hibitors exactly the amount of space
and the location desired. This pro-
gram will be solved in the best way
possible. One thing that will be in-
sured is that each exhibitor will have
to trim his display down to his very
latest products only. These and vari-
ous other developments are certain to
make the 1924 show in every way the
most successful industrial machinery
exhibition ever held.

Mr. Upham has announced that ap-
plications for space have been mailed
to all previous exhibitors and to a list
of others who might be interested.
Blanks also will be furnished to all
who make application for them to the
American Road Builders' Association,
37 West 39th Street, New York City.

Application blanks must be filled
out and filed at the above address on
or before Oct. 27. The allotment of
^Pace will be made the following week
at Chicago by members of the execu-

tive committees of the American Road
Builders' Association and the High-
way Industries Exhibitors' Associa-
tion.

One requirement of all applicants
is that they be a member of the High-
way Industries Exhibitors' Associa-
tion and a contributing member of
the American Road Builders' Associa-
tion. This joint membership may be
arranged by prospective exhibitors
who are not members through S. F.
Beatty, president of the Highway In-
dustries Exhibitors' Association, 400
North Michigan Blvd., Chicago, 111.

The program for the convention
provides for much more attention to
methods of handling construction and
maintenance work, and to relations
between the contractor, the engineer
and the machinery and material pro-
ducers than has heretofore been cus-
tomary. These features of the pro-
gram are still in process of develop-
ment. Announcement of the details
of them is expected to be made
shortly.

Highway Safety Elssay Contest

Renewal of its annual safety con-
tests, in which $6,500 will be given
away in prizes, has been announced
by the Highway Education Board.
The third annual safety campaign
takes the form of two contests, one
among elementary school pupils, and
another among elementary school
teachers. Approximately 500 state
and national prizes are to be given
for the b'est essays and lessons writ-
ten on highway safety habits and
training children in habits of safety
on the highways. The prizes offered
are the gifts of the National Automo-
bile Chamber of Commerce, which is
desirous of reducing the number of
accidents and fatalities due to traffic
mishaps. In the teachers' contest the
first national award is $500 and a
trip to Washington with all expense> "
paid. The second national award is
S300, while the third award is $200.
The first national prize for the best,
essay by pupils is a gold watch and a
trio to Washington with all expenses
paid. The second and third prizes are
each gold watches, one of slightly
greater value than the other. Four
hundred and seventy-eight state prizes
are offered pupils. Complete details
will be furnished upon apnlication to
the Hiehwav Educationa Board, Wil-
lard Bldg., Washington, D, C.

®^^ Roads and Streets October

Motor Vehicle Production in sylv^nia anthracite and 9 per cent for

August bituminous. The retail prices of dry

Tho TT Q n^r.o».fw,«„4^ ^ n goods for 1922 show that most of the

ine V. is. Department of Commerce ia artiVlpc! for whifh nnV^a u^l d

announces August production of auto- :" J „ ±or which prices are se-

mobiles, based on figures recdved ^"^^1 ^,Zl ,^^^?^%^ T l^ecember.

from 181 manufacturers, 94 making Prices of electricity for household use

passenger cars and 115 making trucks ^^ ^^^^ .Zf^T^^^ """k^^^ ^IT

(28 making both passenger cirs and ?«^?^ber, 1914 to December, 1922,

trucks). Data for earlier months in- f^^^. " k ^ ^'\ioo''? ^ff"^.^^^' ^?}J'

elude 10 additional manufacturers to December, 1922, for 13 cities. The

now out of business. Figures on truck P"*^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ domestic consumption

production also include five apparatus J" December. 1922, was 34 per cent

and street sweepers. higher than m April, 1913, and 4 per

Automobile Production ^^^^ ^o^er thaa tne peak price of May,

(Number of Machines) 1921.

Passenger Retail prices are obtained directly

January *223.'708 'ig^sss froni merchants and represent actual

February *254!65i "ziMi selling prices. The index numbers for

^^^if ■ :3i9.637 *34.905 the United states and for the indi-

May .™'."."""!r.'."""I"!";;;i!>35o!i8i *43!228 vidual cities for all articles of food

June *337!i44 *4o!8i9 combined are determined by weight-

iu^sr:;:::::::::;:::::::::.:;;;;.:;:::::lol:oio US? i?^ the average price for each ar-

♦Revised. ticle by the amount used by the aver-
age family. An explanation in de-
Trend of Retsul Prices tail of the scope of study and the

Bulletin No. 334, recently issued by "'f >^^ f'-^ obtaining prices and com-

the United States Bureau of Labor P^^i"? ^^^^Hn^'' ^^ ' '''^"

Statistics, gives figures showing the ^" ^"^^ °""^^^"-

trend in retail prices in 1922 for 51 n i j ca_ r> m. m.

of the principal cities in the United Koad and Otreet VX>ntractS
States for all articles for which retail Awarded During the Last

prices are secured. As the year 1913 mm «« 7?

is the base for the computation of all ^^ mOntllS

relative figures and index numbers. The accompanying table shows

average prices for that year are also three outstanding facts: First, that

shown for each city. highway contracts awarded during

For the United States prices are the last half of each year have aver-

shown by years as early as 1890. The aged only 25 per cent less in volume

trend in the cost of all articles of than those awarded during the first

food, combined, shows a decrease of half; second, that there is not a month

8 per cent for the year 1922, as com- in the year without a very large vol-

pared with the cost in 1921. The re- ume of road and street contracts

tail cost of coal in December, 1922, as awarded; third, that each year shows

compared with December, 1921, show.s a substantial gain over its prede-

an increase of 3 per cent for Penn- cessor.

ROAD AND STREET CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000 IN SIZE

January

February

March

April

May

June-

July

Aufcust

September...,

October

November

Deoember.....

1920

_...$ 12.204,000

-_ 21.334.000

.... 26.221.000

..„ 33.340,000

.._ 30.2.W,000

„. 31.441.000

.... 29.353.000

„_ 18.56.S.0O0

..„ 26.587.000

„_ 12.894,000

.._ 12.443.000

.„. 10,834.000

1921
11.598.000
12.049.000
26.880.000
31.026.000
35.064.000
66.777.000
33.948,000
28.693.000
28.257.000
20.055,000
20,761,000
16,263,000

1922
14,424,000

9,062,000
39,669.000
32.991.000
42,284,000
42.188,000
26.087.000
37,085,000
28.884,000
28,162,000
20,892.000
18,096,000

1928
21,691,000
18,781,000
37,706,000
29.641, Oon
46.528,000
38,040,000
42,397,00(»
35,639,000

ToUI „ $265,424,000 $815,356,000 $334,714,000 .

Not«. — About 100 per cent must be added to these totals to srive the irrand total of hiffhway

eontra«t« in the United States.
Bridges are not included, and bridpre contracts average 16 per cent as much in value as road

and street contract*. A great deal of road and street worl{ is done by directly hired labor and

is not included above.

J23 Roads and Streets 691

Uses of Asphalt in Highway Construction

election of Type of Surface and Features of Design, Construction and

Maintenance Described in Paper Presented June 11 at Anniial

Convention of Canadian Good Roads Association

By I. W. PATTERSON

Chief Engineer, Rhode Island State Board of Public Roads

Comprehensive treatment in reason-
ble space of the subject of asphalt
urfaces is made rather difficult be-
ause of the wide diversity of uses of
.sphalt in highway construction. A
liscussion of asphalt surfaces of
ourse cannot be confined to a single
ype of pavement. Perhaps there is
10 material employed in highway con-
itruction which has a wider range
>f adaptability than has asphalt.
\.sphaltic products are equally serv-

tain features influencing the selection
of the numerous separate types of
asphalt surfaces, to discuss the design
of highways constructed with asphalt
surfaces and to touch upon certain
practical features incident to the con-
struction and maintenance of asphalt
surfaces. The aim of this paper is
service and the writer is of the opinion
that maximum service can be rendered
by treatment of the subject along the
lines indicated.

ice of Heavy Retentive Soil on New Location Calling for Insnlating Layer to Interrupt

Capillarity.

le for surface treatment of cheap

ices and for the construction of

high t>T}es of pavement as bi-

minous concrete and sheet asphalt.

The aim of this paper is not to deal

holly with the technic of construc-

m and maintenance of asphalt sur-

ces, since it is the writer's belief

at such a treatment in reasonable

ace of necessity either would be

ther superficial or largely ele-

ntary. The technic of the uses of

alt furthermore is treated very

asively today by the technical

ss and by numerous reference

ks, so manifestly simply a resume

he vast amount of written matter

i the subject. The writer will en-

or to dwell particularly upon cer-

Rhode Island Practice Described. —

It is probably an axiom that any pro-
fessional man in treating a subject
having to do with his profession un-
consciously colors his remarks to con-
form to opinions and theories which
he gains in his individual practice.
Perhaps therefore it would be advis-
able for the speaker to describe briefly
the problem of state highway con-
struction in Rhode Island. Although
Rhode Island is the smallest state in
the United States, it is the most
densely populated. The dense popu-
lation of course is reflected in high-
way travel. There are 50 per cent
more motor vehicles per mile of rural
road owned in Rhode Island than in
any other state in the United States,

692

Roads and Streets

Octobe]

and it is reasonable to suppose there-
fore that the travel upon the state
highways of Rhode Island averages
heavier than the traffic upon any otner
state system of highways in the
United tJtates.

Rhode Island primarily is an indus-
trial community. The use of high-
ways in connection with our indus-
tries is very important. Heavy motor
trucking upon our main highways has
been in existence for many years.
Rhode Island also is famed for its
shore resorts, so that our highways
are subjected to heavy tourist traffic
in the summer season. The use of
our highways in connection with our
industries tends to stabilize our traffic
so that there is not as great a differ-
ence between the traffic over our high-
ways in the summer and the traffic in
the winter as is the case in some
northern states. Clearing of all our
state roads from snow is considered
to be a necessary service in view of
the importance of highway transpor-
tation during the winter months.
Motor trucking over our highways is
fairly uniform in amount during the
twelve months of the year.

Rhode Island was one of the first
states in the United States to under-
take the construction of state roads.
Our system of main trunk lines was
completed in 1912 and it was inevita-
ble therefore that many of our roads
built in the period from 1896 to 1912
were not designed according to mod-
ern standards. Some of the opinions
set forth later in this paper frankly
therefore may be attributed to obser-
vation of many failures due to faulty
methods in our earlier practice. Surely
much may be gained by studying
failures as well as successes.

The initial adoption of bituminous
surfaces upon the state highway sys-
tem of Rhode Island was in 1906, and
the use of bitumens in state highway
construction and maintenance has con-
tinued since that time without inter-
ruption.

Foundations and Drainage for As-
phalt Surfaces. — In view of the fact
that asphalt surfaces are plastic
rather than rigid, proper foundations
and proper drainage of highways laid
with asphalt surfaces are features of
prime importance. Perhaps therefore
the writer may be pardoned for de-
voting some space to "this very im-
portant feature incident to the con-
struction and maintenance of asphalt
surfaces. It appears to be logical to

consider separately two classes oJ
asphalt surlaces in connection with £
discussion of foundations and drain-
age. We have first the non-monolithic
construction and we have second
monolithic construction.

In the construction of non-mono-
lithic types it is very apparent thai
the strength of the pavement is nc
greater than the strength of the base
upon which the pavement rests
Prejudice against non-monolithic types
of asphalt pavements in a great man>
instances may be attributed to failure
due to foundation defects rather thar
to failure due to inherent weakness ir
the surface. The writer suggests thai
success in treating the subgrades of
non-monolithic asphalt pavements tc
the end that stability will be secured
at all seasons of the year is a factoi
contributing to success of non-mono-
lithic types of asphalt pavements
under traffic which in many places is
considered to call for monolithic con-
struction only.

In the northern portion of our conti-
nent the design of foundations for all
types of pavement surfaces must be
studied with a view toward protecting
the surfaces against destruction by
frost action. It is a matter of common
knowledge, of course, that the season
of the year which is accompanied by
the greatest damage to our highways
is the season during which the frost
comes out of the ground. Manifestly,
therefore, it is not sufficient for us to
design our roads for conditions which
exist in the summer only. It is neces-
sary for us to anticipate the worst
conditions, and those conditions pre-
vail at the time of the year referred
to.

A great deal of scientific study and
a large amount of money is being
spent now to eliminate some of the
many indeterminates which the high-
way engineer meets in design of foun-
dations and drainage facilities. These
studies yet have not progressed to the
stage where an analysis of subsoil
may be made and a safe design car-
ried out with mathematical precision
in light of the results of that analysis.
It has been found, however, that if
capillarity in the subsoil under the
pavement is eliminated, success is
fairly certain to follow.

Capillarity in Subsoil. — In construct-
ing non-monolithic asphalt pavements,
we will do well to study carefullv the
subject of capillarity in the subsoil.
The fact that the surfaces may be

1923

Roads and Streets

69c

waterproof is of little avail in keeping
water out of subsoils of high capil-
larity, because the phenomenon of
capillarity results in drawing the
water from the side ditches and
shoulders under the pavement. The
fact that the pavement is waterproof
appears to be more effective in pre-
venting evaporation of water intro-
duced to the subgrade by capillarity
than it does in preventing saturation
of the subgrade.

The interruption of capillarity in
the subgrade is an elementary prob-
lem. Since the degree of capillarity
IS in inverse ratio to the sizes of in-
terstices in the soil, it is apparent that
the introduction of a layer of material

tion we have found to be very effective
in eliminating the disastrous effects
upon non-monolithic pavements re-
sulting directly from the action of
frost upon fine-grained soils of high
capillarity.

In some cases we believe that stone
IS very much more effective than is
bankrun gravel. Upon many of our
rocky hillsides, where the problem of
foundations and drainage is compli-
cated by the existence of pockets of
soils of high capillarity together with
decided flow of water in the fissures
of ledges, we favor the use of a stone
fill, so-caUed. The stone fill ap-
parently is capable of taking care of
a considerable amount of seepage

T.pica, "Bone." Excavation. Materia, for Fo^ndaMon Is Secured Fron. Thi, Excvation Without

of low capillarity directly below the
pavement will eliminate many of the
Ills which non-monolithic pavements
are subject to when laid over soils of
high capillarity. In practice it has
been proven that the theory is cor-
rect.

Insulation for Interrupting Capil-

Janty.— Materials which may be in-
troduced below the pavement to inter-
rupt capillarity may be coarse or
sandy gravel or field and wall stone.
A wide range of materials are known
genencally as gravels. In specifying
gravel for an insulating layer of the
material by indicating a maximum
limit m the percentage of fine par-
ticles. It IS our practice to specify
that of the material passing a 2-mesh
screen not over 25 per cent shall pass
a 40-mesh screen. A material fur-
nished to comply with this specifica-

\vhich cannot be interrupted before it
gets into the substructure of the road.
Where the subsoil is particularly un-
stable, we favor a layer of gravel
"^^f 1 our gravel specifications
under the stone fill in order to prevent
the unstable soil from worldng up
datlons^ ^"terstices of the stone foun-

Effect of Frost Action.— The depths
to which gravel and stone foundations
should be laid to insure the pavement
against damage by frost action should
vary to meet varying conditons of the
subsoil. Unfortunately, we know of
no definite rule to follow in the solu-
tion of these problems, and in conse-
quence our practice is reduced to cer-
tain empirical rules which have been
^^u ^ experience to be safe
Thp foregoiner remarks in regard to
foundations and drainage are intended

694

Roads and Streets

October

to concern especially non-monolithic
pavements, because all pavements of
that type have little or no inherent
strength. The most careful attention
to the many details of construction of
the pavement proper therefore is
without avail unless the pavement is
protected from damage due to trouble
below the pavement proper. What
has been said concerning foundations
and drainage of non-monolithic types
applies to the monolithic types, with
the diflference that monolithic pave-
ments have inherent strength which
ordinarily permits of considerable re-
duction in the cost of stabilizing the
subgrade. There is little accurate '
knowledge available in regard to the
character and degree of stresses in-
troduced to pavements by reason of
frost action. We know from experi-
ence that monolithic pavements may
be seriously injured or even destroyed
by frost action, so that it appears to
be hardly safe practice to depend
solely upon inherent strength of any
pavement to insure success over par-
ticularly unstable subsoils. It is nec-
essary of course to consider character
and amount of traffic in this connec-
tion. Over subsoils which are par-
ticularly unstable it is believed that
it is excellent practice to insert a
layer of very permeable material be-
low the pavement to interrupt capil-
larity.

Diagnosing Subsoil Conditions. — The

problem of diagnosing subsoil condi-
tions accurately is particularly diffi-
cult. Serious trouble may be experi-
enced in sections where ledges are
numerous, not by faults inherent to
the subsoil, but by bars of ledge which
interrupt the natural seepage with the
grades and which thereby cause "frost
boils" in the spring. It is our practice
to carry out an intensive study of our
subsoil conditions during the winter,
and also during the early spring when
the frost is coming out of the^ ground.
Observation of conditions existing in
the periods during which these studies
are made is very valuable for use in
the design of drainage and founda-
tions. Manifestly there is much more
to be gained by examination when
conditions are at their worst than
there is by examination when condi-
tions are at their best.

The particular treatment of the
subgrade described previously may be
considered to contemplate the secur-
ing o^ substantial foundations and of
effective drainage in one operation.

It is treatment of that sort which we
have found to be more effective in
many cases than drainage only. We
have certain subsoils which we find
cannot be drained satisfactorily, and
it is these soils which respond readily
to the treatment as outlined.

Our intensive study of subsoils pre-
vious to making the design has led
us to abandon completely standard
designs below the pavement proper.
We attempt first to locate each weak
spot, then to study the reason for
each weakness and finally to adopt a
method of treatment for each separate
case which is aimed to eliminate the
weakness. Unless subsoil conditions
are uniform, a uniform design either
invites disaster in the worst places or
involves a needless expense resulting
from construction unnecessarily heavy
where conditions are more favorable.

It is believed that the study of
foundations and drainage of pave-
ments laid upon typical city streets
which are curbed and which have
paved sidewalks is a vastly different
problem from the design of similar
types of pavements in rural sections
where the shoulders immediately ad-
jacent to the road necessarily are sub-
ject to saturation.

Selecting Type of Surface. — There
is so great a diversity in the types of
asphalt surfaces that the problems of
selecting for a specific project the
particular type of pavement to be
used is not simple. Some of the fea-
tures whic hit is necessary to consider
are the costs, the possibility of em-
ploying as a base the existing road,
the availability of materials and the
traffic requirements.

In selecting for a given project an
asphalt pavement to meet the require-
ments of the purse, it is decidedly im-
practicable to determine upon one of
the higher types of asphalt pavement
unless there is sufficient money avail-
able for the project to permit of fol-
lowing the best standard practice in
design, selection of materials and con-
struction methods. It appears to be
true without question that inferior
service rendered by asphalt surfaces
in some cases may be attributed di-
rectly to deliberate cheapening neces-
sitated in order to conform to the
requirements of the purse. In the
construction of asphalt pavements, as
in the construction of all other types
of pavements, the fundamental fea-
tures governing the design of pave-

1923

Roads and Streets

6ii."

merit to insure durability are of the
utmost importance.

It is a temptation to many engi-
neers to select for projects very high
types of asphalt pavements rather
than the cheaper types. The expendi-
ture for the higher types of pavements
necessarily is high, even though there
be an attempt to reduce the initial
cost at the expense of service ren-
dered by the pavement. The failure
of a pavement as expensive as the
higher types of asphalt pavements,
due to neglect to build substantial
value into the pavement, is an eco-
nomic waste. Unless the higher types
of pavements can be built as they
should be, it is believed that sub-

pavement itself involves of course a
serious loss.

In the same way asphalt macadam
perhaps may be found to be a more
satisfactory selection than one of the
higher types of asphalt pavements,
provided there is not money enough
to build one of the higher types of
pavement as it should be built.

Old Gravel or Macadam Road as
Bases. — Since asphalt surfaces vary
from the inexpensive surface treat-
ment of gravel roads or macadam
roads to the expensive and durable
bituminous concrete and sheet asphalt
surfaces, the selection of asphalt types
frequently permits of taking full ad-
vantage of existing roads. An old

"Insnlating" Layer of Sandy Gravel Over Soil of High Capillarity.

stantial surfaces of lesser cost are
preferable.

As an example, the selection of an
asphalt macadam pavement under
conditions which compel the selection
of inferior materials and the adoption
of a weak design in order to make the
cost of the project meet the require-
ments of a restricted purse is a mis-
take. Economically a better course
to follow without doubt would be to
select a gravel or a light macadam
wearing surface laid upon foundations
which are as near permanent as they
can be made. Investment for the
cheaper surface substantially designed
and properly built in a great many
cases will prove to be the better
course to follow. Destruction of the
more expensive asphalt macadam sur-
face within a very few years by rea-
son of foundation defects rather than
by reason of defects inherent to the

macadam road which is extremely
rough but which is not subject to seri-
ous foundation defects provides an
admirable base for an asphalt surface
subjected to moderate traffic. In at-
tempting to make existing roads sene
as bases for asphalt surfaces a very
careful study of the existing roads is
essential. Whether the treatment be
confined to protection of the surface
of the existing road only by means of
spraying bitumen over its surface or
whether one of the many types of
asphalt pavement be selected, it is not
policy to permit weak spots to remain
without attention in the existing road.
Manifestly of course the more ex-
pensive the type of asphalt surface
selected, the more important it is from
the standpoint of economy to insure
stability in the existing road which is
to serve as a base.

There are few communities todav in

,696

Roads and Streets

October

which the public demand for good
roads may auequately bje met, because
of the impossibility of providing sum-
cient funds. Upon many very heavily
traveled thoroughfares it may be im-
practicable to attempt to capitalize
fully in connection with betterments
the values of the existing plain
macadam or gravel roads. Upon routes
of secondary importance, however,
many times improvement is impossi-
ble unless advantage is taken of sub-
stantial existing roads. A substantial
macadam road especially, regardless
of how rough it may have become
under traffic, supplies for modern
traffic an excellent base for several
types of asphalt surfaces. Taking
full advantage of the old roads so that
the original investment is not com-
pletely thrown away is commenaaoie
in many cases where the travel is not
too heavy.

If an attempt be made to realize
an appreciable value from existing
roads, we must study the matter of
selection of types fully as intensively
as though the improvement contem-
plates complete reconstruction with no
attempt to take advantage of the
existing road surface. Ordinarily it
is not policy, for instance, simply to
scarify the old macadam surface and
to harrow it and then to apply bitumen
to the old road metal with an attempt
to secure an asphalt macadam sur-
face. Rather than to experience the
poor results ordinarily following that
method, probably it would be better
practice simply to scarify the existing
surface and to apply a surface treat-
ment.

Taking full advantage of old
macadam roads in the construction of
new surfaces is not a simple task. In
a great many cases, however, it is
perfectly possible and is very com-
mendable upon economic grounds.

Points to Be Considered in Selecting
Type of Surface. — In selecting an as-
phalt surface for a given project it
is essential of course to study the
matter of availability of materials
suitable for the verious types of as-
phalt surfaces. The farther the site
of the project is removed from rail-
way or from waterway transportation
facilities, the more important it is to
study the adaptability of the local ma-
terials. For a project far removed
from railroads and not possible^ of
being served by water transportation,
surely it would be short-sighted to
elect an asphaltic macadam pavement.

provided the only stone available is
not suitable for that type of construc-
tion and provided there is available
locally a supply of material excellent
for use in bituminous concrete con-
struction. The reverse is equally true.
An exhaustive study of supplies of
road building materials always is
absolutely necessary if economy is to
result.

Correlating the character of the im-
provement to the traffic to which the
road will be subjected of course is a
necessity. No one seriously expects
to secure sheet asphalt service by sur-
face treated gravel. In the same way
it is illogical and impracticable to
supply a sheet asphalt pavement for
a surface treated gravel demand. If
we are to consider our investments
for public highways in the same
light that we consider investments of
private capital in other mdustries, we
must adopt some logical plan of com-
puting comparative values of different
types of pavements under various
types and volumes of traffic. Perhaps
it is logical in comparing economy of
service rendered by various pavements
to compute for each the ultimate an-
nual cost, which is made up of three
components, viz., the interest on the
initial investment, the annual mainte-
nance cost and the resurfacing cost
computed upon an annual basis. If
this study is carried out, it will be
found in some cases that the interest
on the investment for a very expen-
sive type of pavement is a great deal
more than the probable maintenance
cost of one of the cheaper types of
pavement. If satisfactory service to
traffic can be rendered by a cheaper
type, therefore, it is doubtful if a
more expensive type in that particular
instance would be economy in the long
run. We cannot always expect to
build roads which will be entirely free
from repair for many years following
their construction.

All of tho^e actively engaged in
highway work, especially if they serve
the public directly, perceive the abso-
lute necessity for considering ex-
pediency in planning their work. It
is believed that no commission in
control of highway improvement abso-
lutely can eliminate the element of
expediency in making decisions. It
is well for us, however, to study care-
fully the economics of selection of
types of pavements and to base our
policies upon the results of such a
study in so far as it is possible. We

1923

Roads and Streets

697

all must recognize, however, that ex-
pediency sometimes compels policies
which in the long run perhaps are of
questionable economic value. The
public today is a hard taskmaster for
those appointed to take charge of
highway improvement. In selection
of a particular type of asphalt surface
for a given project, therefore, it is
not possible for us always to do the
thing which to the best of our knowl-
edge would result in ultimate econ-
omy.
The Progressive Plan of Highway

only from the standpoint of highway
expenditure. A study of the problem
in its broad aspect must include a
study of the service rendered. In
sparsely populated communities espe-
cially a study of future traffic needs
may disclose the necessity for a sys-
tem of highways including a fairly
large percentage of the higher types
of pavements. Rather than immedi-
ately to start constixicting pavements
of that sort it is considered by many
to be better policy to adopt the pro-
gressive method of highway improve-

itone Fill Throagh Rocky Cut Where the Drainage Is Complicated by Flow of Water in the

S«am8 of the Ledges.

Development. — During the past few
vears we have heard a great deal con-
teming the progressive development
t'f highways. This plan has been se-
ected in many sections as a logical
'olution of the highway problem. This
:ian generally is recognized as an
expedient method of supplying public
emand for extensive mileage of im-
roved roads. Those who favor this
Ian hold forth the argument that a
tudy of the economics of highway
nprovement is incomplete without in-
cluding a careful analysis of the value
rendered the traveling public by re-
pQcing transportation costs.
; It is true without question that our
Jevelopment of highways is purely a
{^ansportation problem, and it is nec-
rssary therefore to consider the eco-
lomics of highway development not

ment to the end that more people may
be served in reasonable time than
would be the case otherwise. If the
community cannot bear the financial
burden of securing the ideal result
within a reasonable time, there ap-
pears to be a good argument for pro-
gressive development.

Use of Asphalt in Progressive Plan.
— The wide diversity of types of as-
phalt surfaces makes it possible to
carry out a comprehensive plan of
progressive development of roads by
the use of asphalt, progressing from
the cheaper types to the more ex-
pensive types. In adopting this plan
manifestly it is desirable so to carry
out ^ the program that there is a
minimum waste in years to come when
betterments in surfaces are brought
about. Assuming that the initial im-

698

Roads and Streets

Octobe]

provement under a plan of progressive
development consist of a gravel road,
it is obvious that economy commends
the securing of grades and alignments
suitable for a more durable surface to
be laid in the future. It is equally
essential to have the initial gravel
road properly drained and substan-
tially constructed, so that there is no
appreciable weakness.

For moderate traffic a surface treat-
ment of bitumen over a gravel surface
will serve the purpose very well for a
number of years, provided proper
maintenance is carried out. Perhaps
the next step in progressive develop-
ment would be the laying of a light
macadam pavement over the gravel
road to serve ultimately as a base for
some higher type of pavement. For
maintaining the macadam surface also
bitumen applied for surface treatment
will permit serving traffic very well.
It is apparent, of course, that in lay-
ing the macadam surface care must
be taken to have the cross-section
conform approximately to the cross-
section of the higher type of pave-
ment to be selected at some future
time.

The third step in development
might be either an asphalt macadam
surface or a bituminous concrete sur-
face laid over the old macadam as a
base. It may be on the other hand
that one of the higher types of asphalt
pavement is considered to be desirable
as the second step. In the latter event
a substantial gravel road serves ad-
mirably as a subgrade for a pave-
ment, and its presence very likely will
permit reduction in the depth of pave-
ment which would be required other-
wise.

It is seen readily that there is little
waste in a progressive plan of de-
velopment designed to employ asphalt
surfaces in the manner described. The
secret of success in this plan appears
to be in carrying out each step of the
procedure with careful consideration
of the next step so that nothing need
be thrown away. The bitumen applied
as surface treatment to be sure is lost,
but the cost of the surface treatment
annually may be less than the interest
on the investment for one of the most
expensive types of pavement. If that
is the case, there appears to be no
economic loss.

Bituminous Surface Treatment of
Gravel and Macadam. — The use of
bitumens for surface treatment of
gravel and macadam surfaces was

one of the first steps undertaken t(
enable roads of that type to withstanc
motor vehicle traffic. Surface treat
ment of these surfaces with bitumer
at present is widespread. Although
for heavy travel, surface treated roads
are not considered to be practicable
the method is looked upon with favoi
for roads carrying moderate travel
especially by way of preservation o:
old roads. Provided there is no sen
ous foundation trouble so that the sur
face is not destroyed annually b:
frost action, a properly built grave
road or a properly built macadan
road, when surface treated, will stant
up under a considerable volume o
travel. Some deplore the plan o
salvaging old roads by surface treat
ment because of the expense o
maintenance by this method. In man;
cases, however, it will be found tha
adequate service may be rendered b,
adoption of this method at an annua
cost no greater than the interest o
the investment for one of the mor
expensive pavements. For some rea
son which is not clear, it is considerei
in many communities that it is de
cidedly uneconomical to invest monei
for maintenance. It is hard to pei
ceive v/rtue in this argument when i
is applied to salvaging existing road;
provided the expense is no greate
than the interest upon the investmer
necessary for construction of exper
sive pavements which require littl
maintenance. It is not fair, howeve
to neglect to consider the character c
service rendered traffic. Adoption (
surface treatment therefore is hardl
in order unless smooth surfaces con
fortable to ride upon result.

Surface treatment of gravel an
surface treatment of macadam ai
somewhat different problems. In su:
face treating a gravel road it appeal
to be essential to employ a bitume
which has some penetrating powt
and which therefore does not lay upo
the top in the form of a mat. Exce
lent results in surface treatment (
gravel roads are secured from the u.'
of cut-back asphalts which arever
fluid and which seem to acquire
more intimate bond with the gravt
surface than do more viscous vni
terials. In some localities the plan <
using a priming coat of lisrht maten;
of very low viscosity followed aftt
an interval of a few weeks by a trea
ment with a heavier material
favored.

The surface of a well built macadaj

1923

Roads and Streets

699

road swept free from dust, ordinarily
may be treated with excellent results
with the more viscous asphaltic oils.
It appears to be the sentiment now in
most localities that the heavy as-
phaltic oils are more desirable for sur-
face treatment of macadam surfaces
than are the light dust laying oils
used so commonly a few years ago.
It is questionable, however if the
use of the more expensive heavier
products is desirable if the road sur-
faces are destroyed annually by frost
action. Successive treatments of a
well built macadam road not subject
to foundation weakness develop with
proper maintenance a surface capable
of standiii^ up under heavy traffic.
The accumulative benefit of successive

Rhode Island Practice in Construc-
tion of Asphalt Macadam. — The tech-
nic of the construction of asphalt
macadam appears to have received
less attention than has the technic of
the construction of the higher types
of asphalt surfaces. Perhaps this
may explain the prejudice upon the
part of many highway engineers
against this type of pavement. It is
a fact that in many sections asphalt
macadam has proved to be a very in-
ferior type of surface, hardly prefer-
able to several cheaper surface. On
the other hand there are in the
United States many instances of very
economical service having been ren-

ered by asphalt macadam pavemenis
under heavy travel, in lihode Island

Asphaltic Concrete Surface Laid on Non-Rigid Foundation Over a Designed Sub-Grade.

treatments cannot result if a road is
weak so that the surface completely
breaks up annually as a result of frost
action.

Corrugation of surface treated roads
is considered by many to be a serious
defect characteristic of this type of
surface. Ordinarily excessive corru-
gation is due to the selection of im-
proper materials or to the accumula-
tion of too great an amount of bitumen
upon the surface. More frequent
light applications of bitumen are con-
sidered to be more effective than less
frequent heavy applications. Many
times also it is considered good judg-
ment to touch up spots where the sur-
face treatment is defective rather
than to apply to the entire surface a
coat of bitumen which may result in
an excess upon the surface and conse-
quent corrugation.

we have asphalt macadam pavements
rendering economical service upon
roads carrying a maximum daily
traffic of approximately 10,000 ve-
hicles per day and a daily average for
the entire year of approximately 4,000
vehicles per day. Some of these sur-
faces are 10 years old, and are in
excellent condition.

Some of the faults characteristic of
asphalt macadam pavements in many
sections are corrugation of the sur-
face and local raveling of the surface
due to improper bond. Perhaps the
most common fault, however, is foun-
dation defect, which should not be
considered necessarily as detracting
from the merit of the pavement.

Excessive or progressive corruga-
tion of the surface can be eliminated
by careful selection of materials and
by proper attention to numerous con-

700

Roads and Streets

October

struction details. Raveling of the sur-
face also may be overcome. Although
there are many highways upon wnich
asphalt macadam is not desirable, it
appears that asphalt . macadam prop-
erly built will serve admirably upon
a great many roads carrying fairly
heavy travel.

The result of improper selection of
materials for asphalt macadam pave-
ments perhaps is more spectacular
than is the case with some other as-
phalt surfaces, and the result is more
quickly perceptible. We favor for the
construction of asphalt macadam the
selection of hard and tough stone. For
very light traffic of course stone which
is softer and le^c tn^o-V) may be prac-
ticable. Since our practice of asphalt
macadam constiuv^iou contemplates
that the stone in the penetration
course will be subjected directly to
the abrasion and impact of traffic, our
reason for selecting hard, tough stone
is apparent. We do not believe that
an appreciable excess of bitumen upon
the surface is desirable, so that it
appears to us that a stone must be
used which successfully will withstand
the effect of abrasion and impact of
travel directly upon it.

We believe also in the use of three
sizes of crushed stone in constructing
an asphalt macadam surface, each size
to be screened between close limits.
The stone into which the asphalt is
introduced, which we know as the
penetration course, is specified to be
of sizes passing a 2% -in, screen and
retained upon a 1^/^-in. screen. After
the first penetration of the asphalt a
smaller size of stone is selected to fill
the surface interstices. We believe
that this keystone, as it is called,
should be of sizes which readily will
permit the separate particles to enter
the surface voids in the penetration
course will not be so completely closed
that the second application of bitumen,
or the sealcoat as it is called, will not
penetrate. OrcUnarily we specify the
keystone to be of sizes passing a 1-in.
screen and retained upon a %-in.
screen.

After the application of the seal-
coat we favor a cover stone of Pi-'es
smaller than the k'^vstone so that t^e
smaller surface voids remaining after
the sealcoat is applied mav be filled
by the covpr stone. Ordinarilv we
specify that the cover stone shall be
of pi7P<5 paspinc a %-in screen and
retained upon a %-in. screen.

The sizes of stone indicated above

as the sizes called for in our specifica-
tions contemplate primarily the use
of basalt and diabase. Occasionally
the use of one of these rocks is not
practicable, so that some other rock
must be used. In that event, our
sizes do not conform exactly to the
sizes referred to above. We have no
definite rule for correlating the sizes
of crushed stone to the quality of the
rock, but from our experience over a
long period of years in crushing dif-
ferent types of rock which are com-
mon in our state, we are able to select
the sizes which seem to work to the
best advantage. Our best results have
been achieved from the use of asphalt
and diabase.

For asphalt macadam construction
we favor the use of bitumens of pene-
tration between 90 and 100. In some
cases where our roads are canopied
by trees we employ a material some-
what softer. If stability of surface
is to be secured, we believe that the
use of materials softer than 120 pene-
tration should be eliminated.

In the construction of our asphalt
macadam pavements we also insist
that the penetration course of stone
shall be uniformity 2 %-in. in depth.
Below the penetration course we em-
ploy a base of crushed stone which is
sand-filled, and which is of uniform
depth from 2% in. to 5% in., depend-
ing upon character of foundations,
upon character of subsoil and upon
traffic. We do not believe in attempt-
ing to penetrate a single course of
stone of depth greater than 2% in.
after compression because we feel
that proper compression is impossible
and because we feel that the asphalt
finding its wav below the 2 %-in. level
is of no practical value.

We favor the use of a liberal
amount of asphalt. Our specifications
provide for the use of 1% gal. of as-
phalt per sq. yd. of surface for the
penetration course and from % gal.
to 1 gal. per sq. yd. for the sealcoat.
These quantities are emploved where
basalt, diabase or similar rock is em-
ployed. Where a soft stone is used,
we employ less asphalt because the
breaking of the stone under the roller
with the consequent reduction in per-
centafre of voids is verv ant to r^^sjilt
in a soft pavement unless the quantity
of a'^nhalt be reduced. If the better
qualities of «:tone are used w" experi-
ence no diffic'dty from softness of
pavement surfaces constructed with
the amounts of bitumen referred to.

1923

Roads and Streets

70]

We feel that the importance of roll-
ing asphalt macadam roads frequently
is overlooked. Our base course of
crushed stone always is rolled until
there is no perceptible motion under
the roller. The sand filler is applied
in small quantities during the rolling
operation so that it does not blanket
upon the surface. We favor also
heavy rolling of the penetration
course of stone previous to the appli-
cation of bitumen. Unless a soft
stone is used which breaks up badly
under the roller, we perceive abso-
lutely no merit in the theory fre-
quently advanced that heavy rolling
of the penetration course of crushed
stone previous to the application of

stone, the pavement is well rjiled be-
fore the sealcoat is applied. Subse-
quent to the application of the seal-
coat, the pavement is rolled at inter-
vals for at least one week. The final
or back rolling we believe to be very
essential in this type of construction.
Subsequent to the initial rolling after
the sealcoat is applied the periods
during which our final rolling is car-
ried out are the periods of the day
during which the temperature is the
highest and the pavement in conse-
quence most plastic. If possible we
prefer to open the pavement to traffic
before the final rolling is completed.
The effect of final rolling, together
with the effect of traffic, appears to be

Mosaic Surface Typical of Asphalt Macadam in Rhode Island Practice for a Period of 1 to

Years After Construction.

the asphalt is injurious. We attempt
to secure the maximum mechanical
bond possible previous to the applica-
tion of bitumen, so the asphalt serves
primarily to intensify and preserve
the mechanical bond.

Spreading the keystone is given
great attention in our practice. The
riding surface is no smoother than the
surface at the end of the process of
spreading the keystone. Bunching of
the keystone results inevitably in an
uneven wearing surface. The use of
insufficient keystone to fill the voids
results in an improper mechanical
bond and an open mosaic surface
w^hich is subject to raveling. A wide
brush attached to a frame fastened to
the steam roller is found to be very
effective in securing even distribution
of the keystone at a nominal expense
only.

After the application of the key-

more effective than does final rolling
without traffic.

We favor distribution of asphalt by
one of many highly developed motor
distributors. We do not favor gravity
distribution. Distribution under high
pressure we believe to be essential in
securing uniformity in distribution
and effectiveness in distribution.

Asphaltic Concrete Construction. —
The technic of the construction of as-
phaltic concrete and sheet asphalt
pavement is very highly developed.
One cannot afford to deviate decidedly
from the methods of construction of
these pavements, which are well
standardized. There are a great many
types of asphaltic concrete so that no
attempt will be made to discuss in
detail each of the many types. Infor-
mation concerning all of the types is
readily available and in large part is
dependable.

702

Roads and Streets

Octobex-

'■ In the majority of types of asphaltic
concrete it appears to be particularly
essential to secure the maximum

' density which is practicable. It is

■ particularly important to investigate
carefully the grading of the fine par-

■ tjcles in the mixture. It is generally
considered desirable to secure a grad-
ing of sizes of particles passing a 10-
mesh screen which conforms substan-
tially to a standard sheet asphalt
grading. Manifestly of course the
proportion of material passing a 10-
mesh screen must be correlated to the
coarser particles in order to secure
stability.

Recently intensive study has been
made of the reason for corrugation in
bituminous concrete surfaces and in
sheet asphalt surfaces. It has been
found that excessive corrugation of
these surfaces in the majority of cases
is due to the improper grading of the
mineral aggregate, especially lack of
filler, and to the use of asphalt of im-
proper consistency. The use of ex-
cessive amounts of asphalt also is con-
sidered to be one of the causes of ex-
cessive corrugation. In preparing
mixtures of these types it appears to
be absolutely essential to correlate the
asphalt binder to the mineral aggre-
gate according to methods which are
well defined.

Until very recently it has been con-
sidered generally that pavements of
this type should be laid upon mono-
lithic foundations. Recently there has
been a tendency in many quarters to
favor the use of resilient foundations.
Excellent results frequently are se-
cured from the use of macadam bases
under the surfaces of both types. One
of the finest examples of sheet as-
phalt in the city of Providence, R. I.,
is laid upon a macadam foundation.
This particular pavement is in the
neighborhood of 10 years old and is
laid upon a narrow street which
carries a car track in the center with
the result that the heavy traffic pass-
ing over the street is more or less
concentrated centrally between the car
track and each curb. This pavement
at present shows no evidence of
fatigue.

The use of black bases, so-called, is
a recent development. Arguments in
favor of the use of such bases usually
are that a resilient base of that char-
acter reduces the effect of impact to
the surface and that it permits a more
intimate bond to be secured between
the surface and the base. Those who

are in favor of bases of this type as
opposed to monolithic bases argue
that a monolithic base under the im-
pact of travel in effect serves as an
anvil to the detriment of the surface.
The use of black bases is so recent
that a large number of definite results
based upon long years of use are not
available. The writer is of the opinion
that a monolithic base is preferable
where the subsoil is unfavorable and
where the traffic is concentrated in
narrow channels by reason of the ex-
istence of car tracks in the street or
for some other reason. It appears
that the use of black base is desirable
in many cases.

Sheet asphalt perhaps is better
standardized than is any other asphalt
pavement. The writer has no sug-
gestions to offer in regard to the con-
struction of sheet asphalt surfaces
except to suggest following the best
standard practice.

Maintenance of Asphalt Surfaces. —
Ultimate success in the use of asphalt
pavements depends as much upon suc-
cessful maintenance as upon success-
ful construction methods. There are
many methods of maintaining each
type of asphalt pavement and some of
the methods perhaps are of question-
able value. The function of mainte-
nance is not only to preserve a smooth
riding surface, but maintenance should
be planned with the idea of securing
from the pavement the maximum ulti-
mate life which can be secured eco-
nomically. Methods of maintenance
which tend to destroy uniformity in
the surface inevitably result in short-
ening the life of the pavement.

It seems logical to suppose, there-
fore, that repairs to pavement sur-
faces should be made with materials
similar to the materials employed in
construction, and that the methods
employed in using the materials should
be substantially identical with the
methods adopted in construction. Re-
pairing of breaks or cuts in bitumi-
nous concrete surfaces and in sheet as-
phalt surfaces ordinarily is taken care
of by replacement with mixtures such
as were used in the original construc-
tion. In maintaining asphalt macadam
surfaces, however, it is common prac-
tice in many sections to employ only
the simple and expedient method
known as cold patching. Cold patch-
ing also is employed in some localities
extensively for maintaining some of
the cheaper forms of bituminous con-
crete.

1923

Roads and Streets

703

The use of cold patches in asphalt
pavements of the better type well may
be considered as questionable practice
except as a temporary expedient to
take care of the situation until more
permanent repairs may be made. Our
department strongly favors the use of
asphalt macadam patches upon as-
phalt macadam roads and upon as-
phaltic concrete roads where coarse,
ungraded aggregate is employed. We
decognize, however, that it is not al-
ways possible to put in a patch of this
type as soon as a cut or break occurs.
Therefore we use cold patches upon
this type of surface only as tem-

Cold patching appears to be par-
ticularly adapted for use upon surface
treated gravel roads and upon surface
macadam roads. For the repairing of
breaks in either of these surfaces it is
almost out of the question to attempt
to restore the surface in the manner
in which it was built.

A feature of maintenance aside
from light repairs which is customary
upon all types of asphalt surfaces, ex-
cept upon sheet asphalt and similar
surfaces, is resealing with asphalt at
intervals of several years. It has been
remarked previously that danger
sometimes attends the practice of em-

A 7- Year-Old Asphalt Macadam Pavement.

porary expedient until it is convenient
to make a more permanent patch.

In our asphalt macadam roads
patching of holes seldom is required
except where cuts are made for the
purpose of installation or repair of
underground public utilities struc-
tures. Our repair of bituminous
macadam roads consists very largely
of light touching up of spots in the
surface which are porous as a result
of unequal distribution of the bitumen.
For this work we favor using an as-
phalt of approximately the penetra-
tion used in the construction of the
road. We believe that this practice
tends to promote uniformity in the
surface and thereby favors the secur-
ing of the maximum economical life
of the surface. We do not favor for
this local surface repair the use of
light cold materials.

ploying upon surface treated gravel
roads and upon macadam roads too
frequent applications of bituminous
concrete surfaces. We have in our
state bituminous macadam surfaces
which are ten years old and which
never have been resealed. The accum-
ulation of excess bitumen upon the
surface we believe is dangerous be-
cause it tends to promote corrugation
of the surface and tends also to make
the pavement excessively soft during
warm weather.

We take care of local abrasions to
the surface and of spots where the
surface is porous for some reason by
local treatment only. We can see little
excuses for appljnng a sealcoat to the
entire surface of the pavement simply
because there as a few local defects.
The tendency of asphalt in bituminous
macadam construction is to flush to

704

Roads and Streets

October

the surface under the effect of traffic
and the sun. Our asphalt macadam
roads take about three years to ar-
rive at a typical asphalt surface. To
one who is familiar with asphalt ma-
cadam construction it is very appar-
ent when resealing is necessary. In
general it may be said that resealing
is necessary only when the entire sur-
face shows a tendency to become por-
ous. Repairs to our bituminous mac-
adam roads are taken care of by sec-
tion gangs equipped with heating ket-
tles and such other minor equipment
as permits the use of hot asphalt.

What has been said concerning re-
sealing of asphaltic macadam roads
applies in general to resealing of as-
phaltic concrete roads. It appears to
be true that many pavements of both
types are injured almost beyond re-
demption by injudicious resealing. It
is not always a case of too frequent
or too liberal applications of bitumen
to the surfaces, but it is sometimes
a case of the use of improper mate-
rials. We do not favor the use of soft
products for resealing the surfaces of
either type. For resealing bituminous
concrete surfaces we favor t?ie use of
a paving cement of from 60 to 70
penetration. For resealing of bitumi-
nous macadam surfaces we favor the
use of an asphalt of penetration be-
tween 120 and 150. Ordinarily we
employ machine distribution of mate-
rials employed in resealing asphaltic
macadam surfaces. For resealing
bituminous concrete surfaces we favor
the squeegee method because it ap-
pears to be difficult to secure a uni-
form distribution sufficiently light by
motor distributor.

The amounts of material used for
resealing should depend upon the
character of the surface which is
treated. It is our intention not to
form a mat upon the surface but to
make the surface water-tight by fill-
ing the small voids in the surface
which may develop under traffic.

It would seem that one of the com-
mon faults in maintaining asphalt
surfaces of the higher types is that
sufficient thought is not given to the
question of prolonging the life of the
pavement, but the immediate demand
for a smooth surface is supplied in
the most expedient way only. In gen-
eral attention to the plan of design-
ing maintenance methods to the end
that maximum life of the pavement

may be secured is considerable to be
desirable.

In conclusion the writer desires to
state that this broad subject of course
has not been treated thoroughly in
this paper. The writer intends in this
paper to dwell chiefly upon features
of asphalt pavements which some-
times appear to be overlooked, and
perhaps thereby to supply food for
thought to those who have occasion
to supervise the construction and
maintenance of asphalt surfaces.

Construction of Monolithic
Concrete Culverts

Methods Employed by the Maintenance
Division of the North Carolina De-
partment of State Roads and
Highways Described in North
Carolina Road Bulletin

By I. H. BOGGS and C. L. TINDALL

Resident Engineer North Carolina State High-
way Department

Portions of Projects No. 200 and
201 in Carteret County, North Caro-
lina, cross tidewater swamps where
bridges are unnecessary and where
the flow can be accommodated by
large culverts. The water in these
swamps is salt. For a long time it
has been an accepted fact that salt
water is detrimental to concrete. No
method of contsruction nor con-
sistency of mix has yet been found
that is guaranteed to completely
withstand salt water. It is believed,
however, that dense concrete and few
if any construction joints will go a
long ways towards making concrete
impervious.

Eleven culverts on the above named
projects are under construction in salt
marshes. By a special order from the
Bridge Department, these culverts are
being constructed of Class "A- A" con-
crete (1:1^:3 mix) and are being
poured as a monolithic structure.

The usual way of pouring a con-
crete culvert — footing first and bar-
rel and headwalls after the footing
has set up — is generally known. The
monolithic culvert is rather uncom-
mon and the mode of construction
may be noted with interest. The gen-
eral scheme of construction that i^^
emploved bv the contractor on Pro-
jects iSTo. 200 and No. 201 for build-
ing monolithic culverts is a combina-
tion of ideas of all concerned as no

1923

Roads and Streets

705

one on either project had ever seen
a monolithic culvert built.

The Foundation Work. — Unfortu-
nately, there is not a stable foundation
in any of the salt marshes, i'irst,
therefore, it is necessary to drive
bearing piles to carry the load.
Incidentally, these piles are of great
assistance in the construction of a
timber floor which has to be built un-
der the entire footing of all the cul-
verts.

The footing of an ordinary culvert,
^'here conditions demand, may be
floored with pine slabs or other cheap
lumber, then the footing poured and
allowed to set up before the rest of
the structure is completed. The foot-
ings of these monolithic culverts, how-
ever, must be floored with timber of
sufficient bearing capacity to support
the weight of the entire structure un-
til the concrete sets up and the loan
is transferred directly on the piles.

After the piles are driven, the ex-
cavation is shaped up and carried to
an extra depth of about 8 in. to admit
the floor stringers which are spiked
to the piles. The floor is built with
rough timbers the size of which varies
with the span of the culvert. The
floor under the barrel is made suffi-
ciently wide to permit the side-wall
forms to rest on it.

The Forms. — The entire set of
forms for the culvert is built in place
on the floor and bolted together on
the inside. The box form is supported
above the floor a distance equal to the
thickness of the floor-slab by 1 in. by
2 in. strips that are nailed to the stud-
ding inside the form. (When the box
form is removed from the completed
culvert, these 1 in. by 2 in. strips are
knocked loose from the studding and
cut off flush with the floor-slab.)
Planks for the top of the box, or that
part which supports the top-slab of
the culvert, are cut and fitted but not
put in place until the footing and half
the wall have been poured. Access to
the footing while the concrete is being
poured is thus permitted.

The Reinforcement. — The steel for
the footing is wired together in mats
and laid on the floor before the barrel
form is set in. It is supported in its
proper position by being laid on pre-
cast concrete blocks or suspended by
wires from the stringers in the box
form. This steel is best supported by
the concrete block or suspended by
^nres from the stringers in the box
form. This steel is best supported by
the concrete blocks. The blocks be-

come completely imbedded in concrete,
whereas, wire can be cut off only at
the suiiace of tlie slab, thus permit-
ting an attack for salt water.

bteel for the top slab is wired to-
gether, usually in two mats, and laid
in the wet concrete after a 3 in. layer
has been poured on the top of the box.

Suspension of the steel in the walls
offers no particular difficulty if the
brace-wires running through the walls
are so placed that they coincide with
the horizontal steel. The horizontal
steel may be fastened to the brace-
wires and the vertical steel in turn
fastened to the horizontal.

Placing the Concrete. — After the
forms are completed and the steel
is in place, the greater part of the
job is done. Pouring the concrete
is comparatively simple and means
nothing more than a good, long
day's work. With ample material at
the mixer, a good supply of fresh wa-
ter, and an early morning start, an
8 in. by 4 in. culvert is completed in
12 hours with a 1-bag mixer. In cool
or moderately warm weather the foot-
ing may be poured throughout the en-
tire length of the culvert before a
layer in the walls is started, but, if
the weather is hot, care must be taken
to add a shallow layer of concrete in
the walls as the footing progresses.
If this layer is not added, the first
concrete poured in the footing will
have obtained its initial set before the
footing is completed and the wall
started.

Rubbing of exposed surfaces to re-
move board marks left by the forms
is not permitted. It is believed that
concrete is more impervious when the
surface is not disturbed by rubbing.
A good finish is obtained by first oil-
ing the forms well before the con-
crete is poured and then tapping the
forms lightly with a hammer as the
concrete is placed to assure a film of
mortar next to the forms.

It may be said that monolithic cul-
verts are no more difficult to build
than ordinary culverts. They are more
expensive, however, because of the
necessity of building a strong timber
floor, the extra work in suspending
the steel and numerous other extra
details the explanation of which is
not permitted here because of limited
space.

Great care in every detail is being
maintained in the culverts. Only time
will tell whether or not monolithic
construction is going to lengthen the
life of these structures in salt water.

706

Roads and Streets

October

Highway Equipment Account-
ing

Method Employed in North Carolina

Tidewater Swamps Described in

North Carolina Highway

Bulletin

By R. F. ALBERT,

Assistant Engineer of Maintenance

In the maintenance of roads all
kinds of equipment, varying in size
from small tools, such as picks, shov-

M-132 DUPLICATE

Commonwealth of Kentucky

DEPARTMENT OF STATE ROADS AND

HIGHWAYS

Superintendent's Equipment Report

District Sheet of

Subdistrict- Month Ending 192....

Articles

No. REMARKS

Road No I I I

Section | | |

Axes 1 1 1

Bars, crow j | j

Bars, pinch.... I I

Drills I I I

Drags — I I I

Total I I I

Approved : Submitted

Dist. Engr. Dist. Supt.

els and brooms, to larger equipment,
such as graders, tractors and rollers,
are necessary. The roads upon which
this equipment is used being scattered
throughout the state, it follows that
the equipment is just as widely scat-
tered and some very accurate method
must be used to properly account for
each article.

State Divided Into 6 Districts. — For
the purpose of administration and
field supervision the state is divided
into six districts, at the headquarters
of each is the district office, where are
kept equipment records pertaining to
that district. In turn, each district is
divided into sub-districts with a
superintendent of maintenance in
charge of each. He keeps all records
pertaining to the various articles of
equipment assigned for use on the
roads in his sub-district and in stor-
age at sub-district headquarters.

To properly account for the equip-
ment both in use and storage, three
forms are used.

Forms for Accounting for Equip-
ment.— First, the patrolman's, fore-
man's or resident superintendent's
form, M-13, upon which, at the end of
each month, is listed the equipment
actually in use on that project. There
is provided a column for "Remarks,"

under which is noted any increase or
decrease in the number of each article
of equipment. This form is forward-
ed to the superintendent of mainte-
nance, who checks up the report, using
the previous monthly report submit-
ted from that project and any data
he has pertaining to the assignment
or release of any equipment. Second,
the district superintendent then com-
piles Form M-132 from the data con-
tained in all reports from the patrol-
men, foremen and resident superin-
tendents. After such data is com-
piled, the list of equipment in storage
in the sub-district is listed immediate-
ly^ following. Upon the receipt of
this form at district headquarters, it
is checked with the information con-
tained in the previous monthly re-
port, and such data pertaining to as-
signment or release of any equipment
in that sub-district. A copy of each
sub-district report is retained in the
district office, the originals being for-
warded to the equipment engineer at
the central office. On one of the orig-
inals is shown the equipment in stor-
age at district headquarters.

Third, from the information con-
tained in the superintendent's equip-
ment report, Form M-134, equipment
record is compiled. This record is
kept in the district office for that dis-

M-133 DUPLICATE

Commonwealth of Kentucky

DEPARTMENT OF STATE ROADS AND

HIGHWAYS

Patrolman's Equipment Report

Sheet of

To. District Superintendent:

Following is the equipment in use on

Road Sec Dist

Sub-Dist For month ending

192

Article

No. REMARKS

Axes I

Bars, crow |

Bars, pinch |

Brooms |

Drills, churn | i -"—

Tractors | 1 « —

Rollers | ■•»

Autos, state pwned..| | '■

Patrolman
Foreman

trict and in the central dffice for' each
district. The form is designed to
show the balance on hand of each ar-
ticle of equipment at the beginning of
the month and the number of articles
both assigned to and released from
each district. The details pertaining
to each transfer are shown on Form
M-182. An accurate account is kept
in the central office of all equipment

1923

Roads and Streets

707

purchased for the districts and sent
out from the state garage, and re-
ports received each month are checked
against these accounts.

By this method it is possible to
know at all times the number of ar-
ticles of any kind of equipment in a
district, the location as to project of
all equipment and the amount and
kind of equipment not in use. It
saves much time and expense in lo-
cating equipment, prevents its loss
through neglect and prevents unneces-
sary expenditure for new equipment.

The Forms. — There are forty or
more items listed on the standard
forms Nos. 132 and 133, but in print-
ing here all but half a dozen have
been omitted to reduce the space
necessary and still show an outline
of the form.

Hauling Lumber in a Dump
Body

In construction work there is often
as much lumber to be hauled around

terial, as shown in the photograph.
The Indiana Harbor Lumber & Coal
Co., which does a lot of hauling for
road and building contractors, has
gone a step further and is operating
a body built in such a way that extra
long lengths of timber and plank can
be handled successfully. This consists
of a dump body provided not only
with a double-acting tailgate at the
rear, but a single-acting tailgate also
at the front end. The body recently
put into operation by the Indiana
Harbor Lumber & Coal Co. is an auto-
matic dump body built by the Lee
Trailer & Body Co., Chicago, and has
no obstructions such as a hoist or any-
thing of that kind between the cab
and the front end of the body, there-
fore the load can be shoved up flush
against the cab, and in the case of
very long lengths can be loaded in the
extreme sides of the body so as to
extend alongside of the cab.

Aatoraatic Domp Body Used by Indiana Harbor Lnmber & Coal Co. in Hanline Lamber.

and to and from the job as there is
sand and gravel. Hauling lumber in
a dump body is nothing new. To do
so successfully, however, it is desir-
able that the body be equipped with a
double-acting end gate both for the
purpose of holding a larger load if
necessary and also to provide an addi-
tional floor area in the body so that
longer lengths can be carried. If
loaded properly lumber is just as
easily dumped out of an automatic
dump body as any other kind of ma-

Common Labor Wages in Road Field

The following figures based on the
bid prices received during the week
ending Sept. 15 for Federal Aid road
construction, show the average hourly
wages of common labor prevailing at
the places mentioned:

' Per Hour

Rabun County, Georgia 17 %c

. Richmond County, Georgia....... 20c

Henry County, Iowa 35c-40e

Anderson County, Kansas 35c

Sabine County, Louisiana 20c

Berkshire County, Massachusetts _ 60c

Rolette County, North Dakota 45c

Aiken County, South Carolina 17 %c

708

Roads and Streets

October

The Care and Use of Steam Road Rollers

Suggestion of English Engineer on Operation, Maintenance and Repair

Given in Paper Presented Before the Institution of Municipal

and County Engineers (England)

By MAJOR G. W. G. ALLEN

It lies within the power of the
driver to vary the running cost con-
siderably. The most economical
method of firing, with a boiler that
steams considerably well, is to have a
thick fire, care being taken that the
firebars are always evenly covered.
Holes in the fire allow air to pass,
causing variation in temperature, and
are a frequent source of tube and stay
leakages. Only in cases where a
boiler steams badly should a thin fire
be permitted. Apart from the saving
in fuel, a thick fire stresses the fire-
box plates less, as the heat is more
evenly distributed.

Coal. — It is very false economy to
use poor coal. A good steam coal is
cheaper in the long run. Buckled fire-
bars should be renewed at once.
Apart from the wastage due to large
coal falling through, the ashpan will
soon be deteriorated through excess-
ive heat.

Boiler tubes should be frequently
swept. Ashes should not be allowed
to accumulate in the bottom of the
smoke box. When the engine is not
being used the fire box and smoke
box should be carefully cleaned out,
otherwise wasta!?e of the tube plate
and smoke-box will take place.

The boiler should be washed out
frequently, at leas*^^ once in every 100
hours' working; this will prevent scale
forming, avoid the risk of fire-box
plates beinfr burnt, and the valve and
cylinder faces being cut as a result
of priming.

The injector and pipes should be
frequently cleaned out. Scale can be
removed from the injector by soaking
in dilute spirits of salts. Particular
attention should be paid to keeping
the injector steam-cock and boiler
clack-box tight; most injector trou-
bles can be traced to leakage at these .
points, causing furring up in the in-
jector.

Waterlift. — Leakages at the steam-
cock of. the waterlift may cause heat-

ing of the water in the tank, and
render the injector difficult to operate.

When the roller is out of use for a
considerable period coal should be re-
moved from the tender, as, if allowed
to get damp, it sets up rust, and rap-
idly deteriorates the sides and floor
of the coal bunker.

Pump. — The passage between the
pump body and the boiler should be
kept clear. This soon becomes furred
up, and the hole reduced in area,
causing an excessive strain on the
pump.

Water-gauge Fittings. — The aver-
age type of water-gauge fitting is dif-
ficult to keep in order. If neglected,
the water level shown may be unre-
liable, and trouble caused owing to
shortage of, or excessive, water. The
most satisfactory water gauge is the
needle-pointed type, with cone seat
and packed gland, which remains tight
indefinitely, and has the advantage
of being easy to operate in the event
of the glass breaking.

Lubrication. — It is false economy to
buy low-grade oil. Little and often
should be the maxim for the driver.
Make sure that the oil actually reach-
es the bearing. Oil pipes often get
blocked up with thick oil. Particular
attention should be paid to the inner
bearings of front rollers; they are
somewhat inaccessible, and, owing to
the camber of the road, take the ma-
jority of the load on the front of the
roller. The hind axle bearings are
very heavily loaded and slow moving.
If oil fails to reach them very con-
siderable damage mav be caused be-
fore the trouble is discovered. The
old type displacement cylinder lubri-
cator is unreliable, generally allow-
ing its charge of oil to run direct
into the cylinder instead of feeding
the oil in gradually. A mechanically
operated oil pump w'll effect a saving
in the quan^^ity of oil used, and in-
crease the life and efficiency of the
slide valve and piston.

1923

Roads and Streets

709

Boiler. — Boiler tubes should be re-
moved periodically, tnorougniy scaled,
and the inside of the boiier cleaned
out, the tubes annealed and replaced.
Apart from economy during running
time, if this is done the engine will
steam more quickly when getting,
steam up. When the tubes are out
the throat plate and flanged front-
casing plate should be examined for
grooving, which occurs in some cases.

Exhaust Pipe. — One of the most
prolific causes of fire box and tube
trouble is a furred-up exhaust pipe.
The hydro-carbon cylinder oils now
used pass through the cylinder with
the exhaust steam, and the interior
of the exhaust pipe becomes sticky
with oil. When the engine is reversed,
while still in motion, a puff of smoke
and ash dust is drawn into the ex-
haust pipe; this adheres to the oily
skin in the pipe, and gradually con-
tracts the internal area. It is not
uncommon to find the bore of the pipe
reduced to 1 in. diameter. This throt-
tles the exhaust, causes back pressure
on the piston, loss of power, uses
more steam, and puts additional blast
on the fire, thereby using more fuel
and water. Exhaust pipes should be
frequently removed and cleaned.

Link Motion. — It is seldom realized
what a great effect slight wear in the
link motion will have on the travel of
the valve. The average link motion
and reversing gear on a single-cylin-
der engine has six pins. Quite a
small amount of play on these pins
may reduce the lead of the valve by
1/16 in. or more, and if the lead of the
valve is reduced there is no cushion
to stop the piston and other recipro-
cating parts at the end of the stroke,
and the cut-off is correspondingly
later, griving less expansion and a
higher terminal exhaust pressure,
which means less power developed and
higher consumption of coal and water.
With modem hardening and grinding
appliances, the repair of link motion
is not a serious matter, and renders
complete renewal of these parts un-
necessary. Although an eneine will
run with its link motion badly worn,
the loss of economy is more serous
than is generallv I'ealized. Most
valve-snindle breakages are due to
worn link motion.

Lagging. — The lagging should be
removed periodically, and the boiler

barrel thoroughly cleaned down,
painted witn n^n-corrosive paint, and
iresn lagging fitted. Apart irom con-
serving lae neat, this will give an
opportunity for inspection o'f tne boil-
er plates, discovery of leaks, pitting
and prevention of corrosion. Material
damage often occurs to boilers
through neglect. It is surprising how
quickly local wasting will occur in tht
neighborhood of slig.it leaks if the lat-
ter are not attended to.

Roller Wheels. — One of the most
serious expenses of roller maintenance
is the wheels, and likewise the great-
est economy can be effected in their
upkeep. If the rims are not worn
too thin, say, not less than I'^A in.
for hinds and 1 in. for fronts, they
can be plated with wrought steel
plates, when they will wear approxi-
mately three to four times longer than
new cast-iron wheels, and further-
more, they can be subsequently re-
plated. The camber of roads is dif-
ferent in various districts. Generally,
in the case of cast-iron wheels, no
provision is made for the wheels to
fit the camber of the roads in the dis-
trict where the roller is working. The
initial wear of cast-iron wheels while
they are adapting themselves to the
camber of the road is rapid. When
wheels are plated the camber of the
worn cast-iron wheel is retained, and
consequently plated wheels have a
full bearing on the road from the
start.

Material for Rims. — The great dif-
ference in the life of cast-iron and
stel is due to the following reason:
On coming in contact with a sharp
stone a small piece is chipped out of,
the cast-iron surface and disappears;
with a wrought-steel surface the
metal is merely displaced, the portion
moved ultimately becoming flattened
down again. The difference in the
nature of these metals also accounts
for the fact that a steel-plated wheel
has less tendency to slip than cast
iron. This is particularly noticeable
in hilly districts and when scarifying.
Cast-steel wheels are more expensive,
and if hard enough to resist wpar,
soon polish and bf^come smooth; con-
sequently, thev will not grip proper-
ly, and are altoorether unsuited for
hilly districts, or where rollers have
to travel over square setts.

Electric Welding. — Electric welding

710

Roads and Streets

October

has opened up great possibilities of
repairs, ir'arts can now De made as
good as new, wnen in the past they
would nave nad to De scrappea. Local
thinning of lire boxes ana tuDe plates
can be Duiit up; cracks running irom
fire-box st^ys can be welded; worn
shafts made good and damaged key
ways repaired; broken castings and
brackets welded; worn fork heads
built up; broken teeth in gear wneeis
replaced, etc. In some cases loose
spokes welded into wheel bosses, e^c.

Keep Bolts Tight. — Loose bolts are
often the cause of breakdown. Every
engine should be examined frequently
and all loose bolts tightened up.
Loose bolts will allow wear to occur
in the bolt holes, the parts depending
on them to get out of register and
wear. Throughout the engine wear
begets wear.

Scarifiers and Their Eflfects. — Hind
axle bracket and tender bolts require
careful attention, particularly if the
roller is used for scarifying. With
independent scarifiers all the strain
comes on these bolts. Some scarifiers
rely mainly on the tender, which is the
weakest part of the roller, for sup-
port. Tractive strains should be
taken directly from the main axle and
horn plates, and the tender insulated
from vibration and shock as far as-
possible. Scarifying at the best is a
trying operation; the scarifier and
connecting parts should be kept in as
good condition as possible. Dither
and vibration from within the scari-
fier should be reduced to the mini-
mum. Frames composed of channels
and plates riveted together will a^low
vibration if the rivets are loose. Back-
lash or lift in the operating gear may
• be another source of similar trouble.
To deal with the exceedingly hard and
tenacious road surfaces of today s'^ari-
fiers and their attachments should be
made and maintained as rigid as pos-
sible.

Replacement of Parts.— In the re-
placement of worn parts it is not al-
ways the soundest economy merely to
put in a new part of the original type;
in many cases improvement of design
can be efl'ected. As an example, cast-
iron, steerage quadrants, which frac-
ture easily, may be replaced by
wrought steel, which is practically
unbreakable. In some makes of en-
gines two gear wheels are made in
one piece, one wheel of which will
have more use than the other, and

consequently wear out sooner. Econ-
omy can olten be eifected by parting
the gears and replacing only the worn
one. This also applies to those en-
gines in which the smoke box and
boiler barrel are in one length. It is
usually possible to cap a new smoke
box on to the tube-plate joint without
renewing the front-boiler barrel
plates; this obviates the necessity of
refitting the cylinder, etc.

It is unwise to put standard rings
into a worn piston or cylinder. The
piston-ring grooves wear on the sides
and become shouldered; they should
be faced up and winder rings fitted.
Cylinders wear oval; replacement
rings should be made oversize and
bedded by hand to suit the worn con-
ditions.

Steerage. — S peaking generally,
steerage gears require little attention.
A simple, but not commonly known,
means of increasing the life of a worn
wheel is to remove it and replace it
half-way round. This brings the least
worn area into use.

General Remarks. — The mainte-
nance costs of steam rollers vary con-
siderably. A careful driver, who
knows his job and takes a pride in his
engine, prevents breakdowns and re-
duces costs of maintenance.

Rollers working in hilly districts,
or having to travel considerable dis-
tances to and from work, or which
use bad water, are the most costly to
maintain. One days hard traveling
will take more out of a roller than a
months' ordinary work. It is a mis-
take to hurry a roller when traveling.
Although it is obvious that scrapers
should be slacked back when travel-
ing, this frequently is not done.

A steam roller by makers of repute
and well cared for has a life of very
many years.

Highway Construction in Connecti-
cut.—At a total cost of $3,597,401, an
aggregate of 147.65 miles of highway
were constructed and accepted by the
State Highway Department of Con-
necticut during the fiscal year ending
July 1. This figure onlv embraces the
contracts completed. In addition, on
July 1, total mileage under construc-
tion amounted to 101.92 miles, at a
total cost of $4,129,204. On July 1,
1922, there were 136.14 miles under
construction representing an approxi-
mate cost of $3,940,975.

1923

Roads and Streets

711

Selecting the Responsible
Bidder

To define responsibility as applied
to construction companies and to de-
vise a practical means of selecting re-
sponsible bidders for a g:iven project,
is the task that has been undertaken
by the Committee on Ethics of the
Associated General Contractors. By
this procedure, in which, it is believed,
engineers and public officials will rec-
ognize a benefit to the industry, the
association desires to remove the dis-
agreeable controversies that frequent-
ly result when engineers disqualify an
irresponsible bidder.

In the co-operative work which the
Association has been doing with the
Joint Conference on Contracts, the
American Association of State High-
way Officials, the Interdepartmental
Board of Contracts and Adjustments,
and various local agencies, almost
every issue discussed has appeared to
have some connection with this ques-
tion of responsibility. The opinion
has been frequently expressed by en-
gineers and public officials that they
would be glad to adopt certain con-
tract principles, if they possessed the
means for awarding contracts only to
responsible companies. Some of these
principles they are unwilling to adopt
as long as they are practically obliged
to award their contracts to any irre-
sponsible ctompany that can furnish a
bond.

If these expressions mean their true
convictions, that engineers and public
officials do actually desire to eliminate
"piker bids" and deal only with re-
sponsible companies, work along this
line may reasonably be expected to
result in a gradual easing up on the
r drasticness of contract provisions and
a much higher regard for the con-
struction business on the part of cli-
ents and professional men.

The Federal Government has, on
special work, used the policy of re-
ceiving bids only from companies who
could demonstrate their ability to exe-
cute the work, and a like procedure
has been used on highway work in
Kentucky and on the construction of
flood prevention work in Mississippi.
It is commonly believed that public
officials would favor the adoption of
some plan whereby they could elimi-
nate irresponsible bidders if they were
able to do so without entailing a polit-
ical fight, a taxpayer's injunction, or

other unpleasant features attending
the disqualification of a bidder.

Probably the most effective means
of doing so is that adopted by the
Treasury Department in requiring
bidders to show their qualifications
before they are given plans for esti-
mating. If the Association can de-
vise some practical plan whereby en-
gineers, architects, and public officials
can ascertain the responsibility of any
company with respect to a given proj-
ect, many difficulties on both sides
may reasonably be expected to dis-
appear.

The Committee on Ethics, in under-
taking this important piece of work,
is desirous that construction compan-
ies throughout the country give it
their careful thought, and forward to
the Washington office any suggestions
bearing on the issue.

The following outline of points in-
volved in the question of responsibil-
ity is oifered for discussion:

Elements of Responsibility

1. Financial Strength.

a. A financial statement to indi-
cate the condition of the bid-
ders business. (A. G. C. Finan-
cial Statement.)

b. Statement of funds available
for the project.

c. Banking reference.

2. a. Personal experience of con-

struction manager, proprietor,
partner or company official in
charge of construction.

b. Experience of superintendent
now in employ of company,
who is competent to execute
the work.

c. Experience of superintendent
(if not one of the above) who
is to be placed in charge of
work.

3. Construction Plant Available for
Project.

a. Equipment Owned.

b. Equipment that will be rented
or purchased.

4. Construction Performance Rec-
ord.

a. Projects similiar in character
to the one being let.

b. Projects of any other nature.

c. Projects uncompleted through
default.

5. Personal References for Success-
ful Construction Service.

a. Client owners.

712

Roads and Streets

October

b. Practicing Engineers and Ar-
chitects.

c. Public Officials.

Qualifying Bidders
Qualification of Bidders Before
They Are Allowed to Submit Propo-
sals, Instead of After Bids Are Re-
ceived:

1. Relieves department from the
criticism entailed when it rejects the
bid of an irresponsible company that
may be low.

2. Removes principal ground upon
which a disqualified bidder can se-
cure a taxpayer's injunction — namely,

Tractor-Trailer Operation on
Virginia Road Job

Some interesting tractor-trailer op-
erations are being carried out by Box-
ley, Chisholm & Hall, Roanoke, Va.,
in building 7 miles of bituminous
macadam road in Botetcourt County,
near Troutville, Va. The road is be-
ing constructed with a hard surface
18 ft. wide with a 4-ft. shoulder on
each side. The company owns and
operates on this job one Caterpillar
10-ton tractor and four model RS-4
Troy slow-speed trailers. In a little

Loaded Train Proceeding to Place Wliere Rock Is Spread on Prepared Subgrade.

the award of a contract at a higher
price.

3. Qualification can probably be
handled more judiciously by the de-
partment when bidders have no checks
on deposit and no proposals in the
possession of the department.

4. The expense of field investiga-
tion and estimating is saved to the
bidder who cannot qualify for a par-
ticular project.

5. Disqualification would probably
receive less pub'icity and create less
resentment in the disqualified ones.

6. With the issue of bonding not yet
raised, the department would doubt-
less be free from pressure of bonding
companies in the matter, and also
from the influence of politicians or
officials who might be interested in
the placing of the bond.

more than two months of actual oper-
ation it has built more than 2\^ miles
of road. This road is constructed
from No. 1 and No. 2 crushed rock.
The road bed is covered with No. 1
stone and thoroughly rolled and the
No, 2 rock is placed on the top. The
trailers are loaded with a steam
shovel and instead of normal 3^/^ cu.
yd., which they are supposed to carry,
each trailer carries 4h^ cu. yd. of stone.
The train is drawn by the tractor over
the prepared subgrade to the begin-
ning point. The trailers are placed on
the right-hand side of the grade, the
tractor disconnects and returns to the
opposite end of the train, connects up
again and begins moving in the direc-
tion from which the train has just
come, but at a very slow speed. The
trainman trips the spreader doors of
the trailers, beginning with the trailer

1923

Roads and Streets

713

next to the tractor, then opening the
next when the first has discharged its
contents, and so on until the entire
train load has been spread in a 6-ft.
strip at the right-hand side of the
grade. The next train load is spread
in a like manner on the left-hand side
of the grade, and a third train load is
spread down the center, thus complet-
ing the 18 ft. strip and leaving but a
tr&ing amount of hand leveling to be
done. The train load with the No. 2
stone is drawn over the spread of
No. 1 to the beginning point and the

Cost of Highway Maintenance in

Kentucky in 1922

During 1922 the Department of
State Roads and Highways of Ken-
tucky spent $734,000 for maintenance
proper, betterments and reconstruc-
tion on over 1,000 miles of various
types of road that had been taken
over for maintenance by the state.
The following details regarding the
work are given in the Kentucky Road
Builder by R. F. Albert, assistant "en-
gineer of maintenance:

Tractor Disconnecting to Connect Up at Reverse End to Begin Spread at Center of Road.

operation is repeated until the small
aggregate is evenly deposited on the
larger, and it is then ready to receive
the binder.

California Highways. — According to
a census by the U. S. Bureau of Public
Roads, California now has 44,775
miles of improved road, not including
that added during last season. The
total road mileage of the state is
75,889 miles, as compared with 61,039
miles in 1914, and during the 7-year
period from 1914 the surfaced and
paved roads have increased from
10,280 to 14,275 miles. The total in-
come for highways in 1921 amounted
to $49,691,895, or $319 for each square
mile of area, $655 for each mile of
road, or $14.50 per capita.

Analysis of the expenditures is
outlined below:

Surface treatment $200,546.15

Reconstruction waterbound mac-
adam 200.546.15

Reconstruction gravel surface 68.112.77

Maintenance proi)er 280,777.40

Equipment 20.785.28

Administration 19,632.20

Total $734,026.56

The money expended on surface
treatment where initially applied to a
road is not properly considered as
maintenance, but as a betterment.
Also money expended on the recon-
struction of waterbound macadam and
gravel surface is not a problem of
maintenance, but merely the rebuild-
ing of wornout roads of these types.
The reconstruction costs are, there-
fore, not considered in arriving: at the

714

Roads and Streets

October

cost of maintaining per mile of each
type of road shown below:

Maintenance Cost Per Mile (All Items Included)

Miles Per Year

Grade and drain 186.71 415.23

Gravel 71.48 389.88

Waterbound macadam sur-
face treated 372.35 797.64

Rock asphalt 53.36 387.84

Concrete 18.63 327.73

Bitumious macadam „ 26.52 240.00

Brick 3.89 344.25

It will be noted that the cost of
maintenance of the higher types of
roads is rather large, but it must be
remembered that maintenance in-
cludes cleaning of ditches, keeping
drainage structures open, repairing
and painting of drainage structures,
erection and repair of guard railing,
cutting and removing weeds and
undergrowth, trimming of trees, erect-
ing and painting safety and mileage
signs, removing slides, repairing dam-
age done to road bed by high water
and heavy rains, and heavy traffic, as
well as repairs to the surface of the
road. The latter item is the one de-
serving the most serious considera-
tion after the road bed becomes thor-
oughly settled, for over a long period
of years this will be the largest factor
with which maintenance deals.

Cost of Surface Maintenance (Per Mile Year)

Grade and drain 193.70

Gravel 296.10

W. B. M. surface treated 344.09

Rock asphalt 98.70

Concrete 179.00

Bituminous macadam 116.00

Brick 29.95

No definite conclusion can be drawn
from the above figures in arriving at
the average cost of maintaining a
mile of the various types of surface
over a long period of years, since
these figures are merely the cost in-
curred during the year 1922. More
definite costs are determined by tak-
ing the average yearly costs of various
roads extending over a period of
years covering the time from the con-
struction of a road to its reconstruc-
tion.

Method of Constructing Integral
Curb

An interesting method of construct-
ing integral curb was employed by
Melzel, O'Hearn, Vastine & Lewin on
this contract for Federal Aid Project
No. 57-A in Knox and Bell counties,
Kentucky. This contract covers 12 ^^
miles of the eastern Dixie Highway
between Barbourville and Pineville.
The work consists principally of con-

crete base and integral curbs with
Kentucky rock asphalt surface, the
grading having been done last year
under another contract. The base is
6 in. thick, 16 ft. wide, except on
curves, which are increased to 18 or
20 ft. of 1:2^/^:5 concrete unrein-
forced. The curbs are 6 in. wide, of
1:2:3 concrete extending 1% in. above
the base. The rock asphalt surface is
1 V2 in. thick after compression, finish-
ing flush with the top of the curb.
The amount of the contract will ap-
proximate $400,000.

The method of constructing the
curb is described as follows in The
Scraper: A portable box is carried
along each side of the road and into
which a batch of the 1:2% :5 concrete
is dumped as required and to which
additional cement is added to make

Arrangement of Wooden Form for Integral
Curb.

the 1:2:3 mix. The curb is made by
the use of wooden forms built in 12
ft. sections and clamped to the Blaw-
Knox forms as shown in the accom-
panying sketch. The wood form is light
enough to be easily handled and is
sufficiently flexible to be accurately
adjusted to alignment. The curb con-
crete is placed in the wood form by
hand and trowel flnished. By this
arrangement no difficulty or delay
whatever is experienced in forming
the curbs.

When the concrete base has par-
tially set and before the curb forms
are removed, the surface of the base
is scored in three directions by the
use of a hand-drawn corrguated roller.
The corrugations are about 2 in. apart
and extend into the concrete about
V2 in. By pulling the roller across
the pavement in three directions a
very uniform and positive scoring of
the base is secured.

1923

Roads and Streets

715

Construction and Maintenance of Bituminous

Macadam

Practice in Massachusetts Described in Paper Presented Before the
Northeastern Section, American Society of Civil Engineers

By RAYMOND W. COBURN

District Engineer, Division of Highways, Massachusetts Department of Public Works

Before going into the details of the
construction, it will be well to define
what is meant by a "Bituminous Mac-
adam Road," to consider briefly its
history and to enumerate the different
types.

The definition adopted by the Asso-
ciation for Standardizing Paving
specifications is as follows: "Bitumi-
nous macadam pavements are those
consisting of broken stone and bitumi-
nous material incorporated together
by peneration methods."

The peneration type of road is com-
paratively new, having come into
popular use during the last 15 years.
Its popularity was due to the fact
that the automobile was fast destroy-
ing the old waterbound macadam
roads and a binder other than dust
and water was necessary. During the
period from 1908 to 1911 the increase
in yardage of this type in Massachu-
setts and six other states was one
hundred fold. To Massachusetts, per-
haps, as much as to any other state
belongs the credit for this pioneer
work, and it may be considered
pioneer work, for this type was still
in its experimental stages up to 1912,
at which time our standard type of
peneration was developed. It can be
safely said that up to this time heavy
asphalts had not been sprayed by dis-
tributors under pressure. Lighter ma-
terials had been used and the work
was done by hand or other crude
methods.

Types of Bituminous Macadam. —

There are three different types of
bituminous macadam pavement which
have been developed in Massachusetts,
as follows:

(1) Bituminous macadam hot oil.
(Used previous to 1912.)

(2) Johnson type. (A tar pene-
tration.)

(3) Massachusetts standard type
No. 1 stone. (Both tar and asphalt
used. Developed in 1912.)

The first type, the bituminous mac-
adam hot oil, is not considered a
modem type and is no longer being

built, but 35 miles of it are still under
maintenance in Massachusetts.

This type was laid during the ex-
perimental days up to and including
1911. It was constructed by spraying
about % gal. per square yard of 90
per cent asphaltic oil on top of a
waterbound macadam base or a gravel
base — then about 2 in. of No. 2 stone
was spread evenly over the oil blanket
and rolled into the oil with a steam
roller. Next, % gal. per square yard
of the same kind of oil was sprayed
into the No. 2 stone and later cov-
ered with sand and pea stone and
then rolled. Sometimes, if necessary,
a light seal coat of about M gal. per
square yard was further applied and
again covered with sand and pea
stone.

The second type is the "Johnson
type," so-called because it was de-
veloped and has been extensively used
by John A. Johnson, district engineer,
Division of Highways in the Massa-
chusetts Department of Public Works.

Briefly, it consists of first laying a
carefully prepared stone base of ledge
of field stone — the larger stones being
placed on the bottom and chinked up
and brought to grade with smaller
stones so that after rolling and hav-
ing the voids filled with sandy gravel,
the surface of the stone base shall be
2 in. below and parallel to the pro-
posed finished surface of the road.

Then 2 in. of No. 1 stone is spread
on top of the stone base, rolled and
covered uniformly with about 1/100
cu. yd. per square yard of clean sharp
sand, so that after rolling again the
sand fills the voids in the stone about
halfway to the surface.

Next, the stone is lightly sprinkled
with water, and tar having a consis-
tency of 70 to 120 by the float test,
is applied under pressure at the rate
of % gal. per square yard. No. 2
stone is next spread uniformly over
the bitumen at the rate of 0.02 tons
per square yard and the surface is
rolled. The surface is then sprinkled
again, and tar, at the rate of % gal.
per square yard is sprayed into the

716

Roads and Streets

Octobe

No. 2 stone, and the surface is cov-
ered with pea stone and rolled.

Finally, the surface is sprinkled for
the third time with water, and a seal
coat of Vi gal. per square yard of tar
is applied, and then covered with
clean, coarse sand and thoroughly
rolled.

The third type, known as the Massa-
chusetts standard type with No. 1
stone, is the one with which we are
most familiar. It consists of a 2 in.
to 3 in. top, or wearing surface, of
No. 1 stone, bound with asphalt or
tar. This top surface is usually laid
on a broken stone base 4 in. to 5 in.
in depth, which has been thoroughly
rolled and bound up with dust or sand
almost like a waterbound macadam
road.

It is this last type of pavement
which will be considered in this paper,
treating it briefly under the following
headings :

1. Materials used in the construc-
tion. (Stone and bitumen.)

2. Machinery and equipment nec-
essary for proper construction. (Rol-
ler, kettles, asphalt wagon and motor
distributor.)

3. Inspection of work in field.

4. Method of carrying on the work.

Materials. — The materials neces-
sary for the construction of a good
bituminous macadam road are first a
good hard and tough stone, and sec-
ond, a good grade of bituminous ma-
terial, either asphalt or tar of the
proper consistency. The stone should
preferably be a good commercial trap
rock or a local stone of its equivalent,
having a French coefficient of wear of
not less than 12 and a toughness of
not less than 8. It should be avail-
able in No. 1 sizes, that is from m,
in. to 2h^ in. or 2% in. The bitumi-
nous material may be any one of
three kinds which shall have certain
prescribed properties and among other
requirements must meet the follow-
ing:

(a) Fluxed native lake asphalt shall
have a peneration of 120 to 150.

(b) Oil asphalts shall have a pene-
tration of 90 to 120.

Penetration at 25° C. (77° F.) 100
G., 5 Sec.

Machinery and Equipment. — The
amount of machinery and equipment
necessary for this work is probably
smaller than for any other type of
modem pavement. For that reason
it is popular in cities and towns

where they do not care to own e>
pensive machinery. Provided th
stone is trucked to the job and tli
bituminous material sent out from
heating plant in a motor-spraye:
about the only machinery needed o
the job is the steam roller.

In case the work is to be done at
considerable distance from any con:
mercial quarry, and too far to sen
bituminous material by truck, then
stone crusher would be needed, kettle
in which to heat the bituminous ma
terial, and a spraying wagon for ap
plying it. It has been my experienc
that with a trained organization, jus
as good and perhaps better work ca
be done with the wagon distributo
hitched behind a roller as with th
motor-sprayer. I should add, how
ever, that today where work is beinj
done within trucking distance of i
bituminous heating plant, it is cheape
and it facilitates the work if th
motor-sprayer is used.

Inspection. — The inspection in th-
field is the most important phase o
the work, and it is my opinion tha
more penetration roads fail because o
poor workmanship and poor inspec
tion, than from any other cause. }
bituminous macadam road may fai
from poor design, because founda
tions were omitted where they wer<
needed, or the road built too thin, o:
it may fail because of poor quality oi
too_ little bituminous material, but '.
believe that more failures are due tc
other reasons and that the majoritj
of them could be prevented if the in
specters were properly trained in th(
details of the work. My advice to anj
man who wants to make a success ol
this kind of work is to leave off th(
white collar and good clothes. The
work is dirty, and no man can set
what is going on unless he is willing
to so dress that he can get into thf
midst of it.

Method of Construction. — The firs<
step in the construction of the pene-
tration road is the provision for ade-
quate drainage. In loamy or clayey
soils a subgrade of gravel 12 in. deep
should be laid or a stone base on top
of about 4 in. of gravel. In wet and
springy ground, side drains should be
built with broken stone and open-
jointed sewer pipe, or ditches should
be provided along the sides of the
road in order to keep the ground
water out of the subgrade.

Having drained the road and pro-
vided suitable subgrade, the next step

1923

Roads and Streets

717

is to roll the subgrade thoroughly
with a steam roller until no settle-
ment can be discerned.

Base Course. — Upon this compact
subgrade there is then spread a layer
of broken stone, preferably No. 1
stone, but if it is necessary to use the
output of a crusher, then the No. 1
and No. 2 stone may be mixed, being
careful that they are mixed uniformly
and that there is not an excess of the
No. 2 size. This layer should be
carefully spread, either from dumping
boards or from self-spreading trucks,
and after rolling should have a per-
fect cross-section 2 to 2h^ in. below
the desired finished surface. If de-
pressions or bumps are visible, they
should be carefully patched or re-
moved, for the more perfect the base
is made, the easier it is to get a per-
fect top surface. The usual thickness
of the base course is 4 in., but where
travel is very heavy, 5 or 6 in. may be
used. After the base course has been
bound up with the binder and rolled
until it is thoroughly compacted, it
should resemble somewhat a water-
bound macadam surface, except it is
not bound up so tightly. The sur-
plus binder is then broomed from the
surface and the top or wearing course
can be spread.

Top Course. — The best results will
be obtained in the top course if No. 1
trap rock is used, being careful that
there is no No. 2 or finer stone mixed
with it. This trap rock should be
spread from a dumping board with
forks and the dust, dirt and small
stone left on the board thrown to one
side ajid wasted. This is important,
for with almost every truckload of
broken stone there is a bushel or more
of dirt and small stones, and if this
is left in the road in one spot, as is
likely, the proper penetration will not
be obtained when the bitumen is ap-
plied, as the voids will be partly filled
with dirt. Furthermore there would
be a blot or "fat place" on the surface
where the bitumen could not pene-
trate.

Having spread the top stone care-
fully from dumping boards and hav-
Jng done all the patching that can be
'seen at the time, the top surface
should be lightly and carefully rolled
and the patching continued until the
road surface looks absolutely perfect.
The patching should be done with No.
1 stone only, and it is important to do
It before the surface is rolled too
much, as it is very hard to roll a-
patch into a well rolled road. The

top course is usually 2 in. thick, but I
prefer about 2h^ in. with 2% gal. of
asphalt per square yard. When the
stone is so roiled that the roller does
not make a track on the stone, but
before the stone begins to break up
under the roller, the top course is
ready for the bituminous material.

The Penetration. — The engineer in
charge of the bituminous work should
now carefully inspect every square
foot of the surface where he intends
to apply the asphalt, to see that there
are no depressions and that the stone
is clean and of proper depth. Special
care should be taken to see that the
edges of the road are straight and
neat, and that dirt from the shoulders
has not been allowed to enter the top
stone, for if the edges are neglected
they will be the first to ravel. He
should then see that the bituminous
material is of the proper temperature
and that all the nozzles of the sprayer
are absolutely clean.

Having looked after the details,
word may be given to go ahead and
apply the bitumen. If asphalt is used
it should be heated to a temperature
of about 350° and applied under a
pressure of 60 lbs. per square inch, at
a rate of 1% gal. per square yard,
either with a motor-distributor or
with a wagon-sprayer, but not with a
single nozzle. If the distributor
streaks and does not apply the asphalt
uniformly, it should be stopped at
once and either removed from the top
stone while the nozzles are being
cleaned, or a trough should be put
under the nozzles while they are drip-
ing and being cleaned.

When the load is being applied, one
or two men should walk along on
either side of the sprayer, and when-
ever a puddle or fat spot is seen, a
pick or light-pointed bar should im-
mediately be used to open up the stone
and if possible let the asphalt down
into the stone to prevent the puddle.
If this is not done in a few seconds
after the asphalt is sprayed, the as-
phalt will have set up and then the
only way to correct the defect will be
to cut out the top stone, replace it
with clean stone, re-roll and penetrate
again.

After the load has been distributed
on the road, and before the asphalt is
covered with pea stone, the engineer
should carefully examine the surface
to make sure that there are no white
streaks or spots that have been
missed. If any are found they should

718

Roads and Streets

October

be carefully patched with a pouring
can.

Having examined the surface and
found it O. K., pea stone should at
once be uniformly and lightly thrown
upon the asphalt while it is still hot,
and the surface should be rolled. The
application of pea stone should be so
light that the roller at all times will
be bearing on the No. 1 stone and not
on a cushion of pea stone. If the
wheels of the roller stick to the as-
phalt, as they probably will in warm
weather, they should be oiled. More
pea stone should be added as the roll-
ing takes place, until the surface has
an even texture with the voids mostly
filled, but with no loose or surplus pea
stone on the surface.

In spreading the pea stone, care
should be taken to keep back about
12 in. from the edge of the spray
along the middle of the road, so that
there will be less chance of getting a
puddle along the point due to over-
lapping when the second half of the
road is sprayed.

Having covered the first application
of asphalt with the proper amount
of pea stone, and having thoroughly
rolled the surface, then the surface
should be swept clean of all surplus
pea stone and the seal coat applied^

The Seal Coat. — The seal coat
should be applied at a rate of not
over % gal. per square yard. It is
even more important than with the
penetration work that the asphalt be
hot and the nozzles clean, for the dis-
tributor is moving about four times as
fast while applying the seal coat. Tar
paper or building paper should be
spread down on the road and covered
with sand, at the point where the dis-
tributor is to be opened up, and the
distributor should start far enough
back from the point where it proposed
to begin spraying so that it will have
a flying start and be going at the
proper speed when the nozzles are
opened. After the load has been ap-
plied, the asphalt which landed on the
paper is wrapped up and thrown to
one side and if the work has been
properly executed there will be a
straight line joint where the seal coat
started, without a surplus of asphalt
on the portion already sealed.

If the work has been carefully done,
the surface should not have a blot or
fat spots in it, and I consider a blot a
defect in the road. These fat spots
may be caused by dirty stone, stone

too small, or spread too thin or over-
lapping either at the center joint or
at the beginning or end of a load, all
of which can and should be avoided
in order to get perfect results.

The seal coat is now covered with
pea stone, using about the same
method as outlined above for the
penetration course, that is being care-
ful not to put too much on at any
one time, keeping it free from bunches
and keeping the roller going while the
seal coat is hot.

This final covering of pea stone
should consist of just a little more
than will stick to the road; it should
be broomed about uniformly, and thor-
oughly and carefully rolled, this final
rolling being very important, for there
is then no danger of breaking up the
No. 1 stone. A 12 to 15-ton roller is
better than the 10-ton roller for this
final work.

Not a single load of binder should
be applied except when there is an
inspector or engineer present. After
applying both the penetration work
and the seal coat, the bituminous ma-
terial that overlaps on the shoulders
should be trimmed off to the line of
the edges of the broken stone, in order
to get a good clean-looking line along
the edges of the road.

I have been speaking, up to the
present, of the asphalt penetration.
However, asphalt and tar are both
used in bituminous macadam roads,
and the same methods for carrying
on the work should be used with either
material.

Bituminous Macadam for Resurfac-
ing.— The bituminous macadam road
has been used extensively and suc-
cessfully to resurface the old water-
bound macadam surfaces, and in this
field it can be most economically used,
for in manv places the old macadam
surface will furnish the necessary
base for a new 2 in. wearing surface.
When built in this way care should
be taken to locate the spots that rut
in the spring or break with frost,
and they should be strengthened or
subgraded.

Building in Half Sections. — The
bituminous macadam construction is
perhaps the easiest modem pavement
to build one-half at a time when the
road is kept onen to travel. It can
be built in 1.000-ft. sections — firpt on
one side of the road and then leav-
ing a distance of a few hundred feet
for a turnout, building 1,000 ft. on

1923

Roads and Streets

719

the other side of the road. With
half a dozen flagmen, work can be
under way on three 1,000-ft, sections
at the same time, and just as soon as
one section is finished it can be opened
up to travel and the work shifted
over to the other side.

I have looked after several miles of
work where the road has been built
one-half at a time, and have obtained
results just as good as if the whole
road had been built at the same time.
It should be added that the width of
construction was 20 ft. on some of
this work. It is very difficult to get
good results in building an 18-ft. road
one-half at a time, on account of diffi-
culties in rolling. It is true, however,
that the work of the inspector is
greatly increased and also the cost to
the contractor, if the road is built
one-half at a time.

I obtained some data as to the in-
creased cost of building one side at a
time and allowing traffic on the other
side on the Boston and Worcester
road, a portion of which was built in
1917 the full width at one time, and
part in 1918 one-half at a time. This
data showed that for the actual work
that takes place on the road, includ-
ing the flagmen and watchmen, the
costs of excavation, spreading and
rolling the bottom stone and spread-
ing and rolling the top stone in-
creased between 40 and 50 per cent.
Of course the work that takes place
off the road would not be affected,
such as the breaking and crushing of
stone or the initial cost of stone and
asphalt. Considering the total cost
of the entire pavement, built one-half
at a time, the increased cost would
be about 15 per cent.

Another item of importance is the
season of the year in which penetra-
tion work should be done. I do not
believe that perfect results can be
obtained on work done after the mid-
dle of Sep'^ember. Work finished pre-
vious to Julv 1 or Aug. 1 is usually
much bettor than work finished after
Oct. 1. The reason for this is that
work done in thp earlv summer gets
^^he boneflt of beinsr rolled during the
hot wea+her. and the travel and sun
hein fo bond the stone and the a^n^ialt.

When work is done in the fall, it
means snraying the bitumen into cold
and perhans damp stone. The stone
rnav not look damp on top. but is very
|»able to be so beneath the surface.
The hot bitumen cools off the minute

it strikes the surface and consequently
there is not good penetration. Then
the roller goes over the surface and
instead of the stone and asphalt be-
coming firmer under the rolling, the
slight bond that exists is likely to
break and the stones of the top sur-
face are covered with asphalt but not
thoroughly bonded together. Then a
seal coat is put on, hoping to strength-
en the bond, and it is undoubtedly
strengthened on the surface, but the
stones below are still not properly
bonded. If travel could be kept off
until the following summer, and the
surface then thoroughly rolled, good
results would probably be obtained but
the road is generally thrown open to
travel with weather conditions such
that the road does not improve in
the way that it does in the summer.
Consequently, it is usually only a
short time before raveling takes place,
especially if there is snow, and ice
ruts are formed. Under these condi-
tions blame is often placed either on
the asphalt or on the construction,
when in fact, the chief blame is prob-
ably due to the weather conditions.
If bituminous macadam must be built
late in the fall, it should be kept well
covered during the winter with a
clean, coarse sand, in order to keep
the travel off the road metal.

Maintenance of Bituminous Maca-
dam.— There are on the State roads
of Massachusetts today approximately
555 mi. of bituminous macadam sur-
faces, of which 35 mi. are of the old
hot oil type and 520 mi. are of the
modem types. The modem type may
be further divided into two classes —
asphalt penetration and tar penetra-
tion— there being about 260 mi. of
each. This compares with a total of
about 270 mi. for all other types of
modem surfaces — such as bituminous
concrete, cement concrete and block
paving.

The amount and the type of main-
tenance and its cost on any particular
bituminous macadam road will depend
a great deal on the season of the
year in which the road was built, and
the results obtained in the construc-
tion. A surface without proper foun-
dations, which is wavy, and has either
too much or not enough bitumen, will
obviously need much more attention
and will cost more to maintain than
a _ road properly designed and built
with a perfect surface.

It is therefore difficult to outline any

720

Roads and Streets

October

one organization which could handle
economically all kinds of maintenance.
An ideal organization in one locality
might not be the right size in another.

It is a well known fact that the
maintenance on any road should begin
the day the road is finished, and the
foreman should always be alert for
any weakness that may develop in
the surface. "A stitch in time saves
nine" applies as much to the surface
of +he road as it dies elsewhere.

The winter maintenance of these
roads shou'd cor>sist in keeping them
covered wi'^h sand, if built late in the
season, and in ke-ping the ice ruts
sanded when they reach the road sur-
face.

In the early spring when the road
is damp and moi«!t and cracks appear
in the surface, it is usually due to
moisture in the subrrade. and at that
time the road should be kept covered
with sand until the surface dries out.

Where patches must be made on a
good surface, they should be of the
same matpria' as that of which the
road was b-dlt. It is recommended
that thp holp be cut out square, going
back far enough t'^ insure a good
joint. Thrn p'a-'e No. 1 stone care-
fullv in the ho'e. roll, patch and re-
roll until a straight edge resting on
the edqres of the old surface will just
touch the new s^one. If the patch is
a little low, do not assume that the
pea stones will bring it up, for they
will not. Paint the edges of the hole
with hot asphalt or tar and spread
sand around the ho'e to prevent the
overlappinfr of the bitumen on the old
surface. Pour in the hot bitumen,
cover with pea stone lightly, broom
and roll. Spaling can be done at this
time, or later when "paint patching"
is being done on the rest of the road.

This "paint patching" consists of
painting the surface with hot bitumen
and covering with pea stone. Much
work and expense can be saved by its
use where the surface shows signs of
disintegration, for if left unpainted,
holes will usually develop. Tar should
Ibe used for painting tar roads and
asphalt on asphalt roads.

An ideal organization and eoulp-
ment for this kind of work is a Ford
truck, containing sand, pea stone,
wood and tools, etc.— hauling a 50-gal.
kettle. Add to this one man sweep-
ing the road ahead, a second man ap-
plying bitumen with a broom or pour-
ing pot, and a third man covering

with pea stone or sand, tending the
fire and doing miscellaneous work.

Care should be taken not to apply
too much bitumen in cold weather or
bunches will develop in warm weatner.
Where bunches do develop, they can
be most easily removed with a wedge-
pointed pick, kept very sharp.

Machine-mixed Patching Material.
— During the spring of the year, when
there is much patching to be done on
some of the old penetration roads, we
have found it advisable to set up a
mixing plant at some central point,
in order to turn out a cold patch mix-
ture to repair all the roads as quickly
as possible. In making these paiches,
care should be taken to use No. 1 or
No. 2 stone in the deeper holes and
chestnut stone or pea stone in the
small holes. Where No. 1 stone is
used in the deep holes, we have found
it advisable to feather off with a pea
stone mixture. Later we seal with
either tar or asphalt to keep the water
out and prevent disintegration.

I am in favor of machine-mixed
cold patch material, as there is a sav-
ing of about one third in the amount
of bitumen used, and the stone is
more uniformly and thoroughly coat-
ed, and the cost is much less.

On every bituminous macadam road
there probably comes a time when a
maintenance seal coat is desirable. On
tar roads this time will probably come
during the second or third year, and
I recommend using an asphalt seal
coat, providing the tar surface is in
such shape that it will take the as-
phalt. If the asphalt cannot be ap-
plied successfully, I would then prefer
a tar of the consistency of Tarvia A.
However, if the road has been pre-
viously treated with cold tar, it is
doubtful whether either of the above
seals could be applied successfully.
In that case probably a cold tar should
be used.

The asphalt roads will last for a
much longer time without this main-
tenance seal coat. A well-built asphalt
penetration surface should go at least
six years. In Weston, where a native
asphalt was used, there has been no
maintenance seal coat in ten years,
and in Dracut, where five different
kinds of oil asphalts were used in
1913, the surface is still unsealed ex-
cept for the seal coat applied when the
road was built.

Data on Experimental Bituminous
Macadam. — In concluding this paper.

1923

Roads and Streets

721

I shall give some statistical data ob-
tained from a piece of experimental
bituminous macadam construction,
built by the State in .1913, on which
the writer was the resident engineer.

This road, which is in Dracut, be-
tween the cities of Lowell and Law-
rence, is 3% mi. in length. It was
subgraded with from 6 to 12 in. of
gravel, and the wearing surface, 2 in.
thick, was built on top of a 4 in. ma-
cadam base with a good grade of local
stone, part of which resembled a com-
mercial trap.

Six sections, approximately % mi.
in length, were built of asphalt, using
five different kinds of oil asphalt and
one native asp'ialt, making a total of
three miles of asphalt macadam. The
remainder, about ^ of a mile, was
penetrated and sealed with tar.

This road has now been under main-
tenance nine years. At no time has
the writer had any part in this main-
tenance or in the keeping of the costs.
From the maintenance engineer in
charge of this road 1 obtained the in-
formation that no money was sp^nt
on the surface of this entire road last
year, and also that the average cost

per mile per year for the asphalt por-
tion was less than $28. The tar por-
tion was higher, on account of having
been sealed, but because there was
only M mi. of it, it does not seem fair
to compare it with the asphalt.

Among other well-constructed bitu-
minous macadam asplialt roads, where
the maintenance costs have been very
low, the following may be mentioned:

(1) Weston, 3 mi. in length, built
in 1912 and 1913, without foundations,
where the cost has run $90 per mile
per year.

(2) Concord, bui't in 1918 and 1919,
3% mi. in length, where the cost has
run $62 per year for the first pece
built in the fall of the year, and $40
per mile per year for the second piece
built in the summer.

(3) Lexington, from East Lexing-
ton to Lincoln, 3.4 mi. in length, built
in 1918, where the cost has been $26
per mile per year.

(4) Sudbury and Lincoln, 2% mi.
and 2 mi. respectively in leng^th, bjilt
in 1916, where costs have run $52
per mile per year and $37 per mile
per year.

Repaving Midan Soliman Pasha Square at Cairo, Egypt, With Trinidad Lake Agphalt.

View shows two Iroquois 8-ton rollers at work. It also offers an interesting contrast in
ancient and modern means of transportation. Three autombiles will be noticed in the street
back of the statue, while at the right is a camel bearing a pack and on the left is an Egyptian
aonJcey cart. Both the asphalt and the roller were sold by the Barber Asphalt Ck)., and the
work 18 being carried on by an American engineer, D. Basil W. Alexander.

722 Roads and Streets October

Determination of the Area of Assessment

Method of Fixing Areas of Assessment for Benefit in Park and Street

Opening Proceedings Described in Report of Chief Engineer

Board of Estimate and Apportionment, New York City

By BERTHOLD SCHEIMAN,

Assistant Engineer Board of Estimate and Apportionment, New York City

The annual report of this office for
1917 contained the results of studies
theretofore made to determine a con-
sistent method of fixing areas of as-
sessment for benefit in park and
street opening proceedings in which
the benefit extends a considerable
distance from the improvement. These
studies led to the deduction of a for-
mula by means of which the extent of
an area required to equitably bear the
whole or part of the cost of improve-
ments of this character could be read-
ily determined. The application of
this formula since its adoption in 1917
has indicated the desirability of call-
ing attention to certain practical con-
siderations that should be observed in
its use, and at the same time present
a simpler yet more complete demon-
stration of its development.

The Basis of the Formula.— The
basis of the formula was a curve
showing the diminishing rates of as-
sessment as the distance from the im-
provement increases. This curve was
deduced from an analysis of the dis-
tribution of assessments adopted in a
large number of park proceedings car-
ried out by the City of New York at
various times during a period of al-
most 100 years, and also from an
analysis of a rule for apportioning
assessments in street opening pro-
ceedings involving district benefit
which had become well established
through its sanction by the courts.

The curve of diminishing assess-
ments was represented by a formula
which fixed the relation between as-
sessments on consecutive areas lOOx
100 ft., located along streets leading
directly to the improvement, which
relation, beginning with the first or
frontage area, is as follows:

55, 19.16, 14.16, 11.68, etc.

In terms of the assessment on the
first area, this relation becomes 1.0,
0.35, 0.26, 0.21, etc.

How the Size of Area Is Found. —
From this relationship the extent of
the area required to equitably meet
the whole or any part of the cost of
acquiring a park or street by assess-

ment may be found as follows, using
the same nomenclature as that adopt-
ed in the 1917 report:
Let A = Area of frontage zone, ex-
pressed in units of the same value
as used in fixing the assessment
rate,
a = Increment in area of successive
zones of equal depth, expressed in
units of the same value as used in
fixing the assessment rate,
n = Number of zones of equal depth

in the entire assessment district.
S = Total amount to be assessed,
n = Assessment on a unit of area in

the first zone.
Ti = Assessment on a unit of area in

the second zone.
rs = Assessment on a unit of area in

the third zone,
rn = Assessment on a unit of area in

the n* zone.

Then S=Ar,+(A4-a)r.-f (A+2a)r.-f

(A-f3a)r4 . . . +[A+(n— l)a]rn=

A(r,+r2+ra+r4 . . . -}-rn)4-a[r2+

2r,+3r, . . . +(n— l)rj (1)

The value of the expression (ri-|-

r2+r3+ri . . . -frn) is the sum of the

respective unit assessments for each

of the zones in the entire assessment

district. This sum in terms of the

assessment rate on the first zone is

(1.0+0.35+0.26-1-0.21 . . . +etc.)ri,

and may be expressed by the formula

y = n"

(2)

in which y = the sum of the unit
assessments in terms of the assess-
ment on the first zone, and n = the
number of zones.

The first term of equation (1) is
therefore equal to An''*3rj. From
equation (2) the assessment rate for
any zone in terms of that on the first
zone will then be equal to [n"*' —
(n — l)<'*3]r„ The value of any quan-
tity (n — 1) r„ in the second term of
equation (1) would therefore be j
(n— 1) (n''«_(n— l)o.43)r, which re- I
duces to [ni«_n<''«3_(n— 1) i«]r,. '

The second term of equation (1)
for any number of zones, then be-
comes:

a (21"— 2" "— li«) r,

+a (8>«— 30 "— 21 ") r,

1923

Roads and Streets

723

4-a (4i*3_^o«— 31-43) r,
^a (ni«— n""— (n— 1) « ") j.,
which reduces to what may be ex-
pressed as a (n^" — S n '•*') ri and

S=[AnO«4-a (nL<3— S n <>•«)] r,.

(3)

The values of the quantities n°*3
and (ni *3 — S n °*^) to 50 zones are
1

given in the following tables:
Value of n<>*3 to 50 zones.

No. of

Zones Valae

1 . 1.000

J 1.347

No. of

Zones Value

14 8.111

15 _ 8.204

3 1.604

4 1.816

5 1.998

6 2.161

7 2.309

8 2.445

9 2.572

10 __ 2.691

11 2.804

12 _ 2.911

13 ..„ 3.013

lb 8.294

17 _ . 8.S81

18 _- S.466

19 S.547

20 3.626

21 - _ 8.703

22 8.778

23 _. . _ 8.851

24 .. ._ 3.922

25 ..„ 8.991

No. of

Zore- Value

--^ 4.059

-T .- . 4.126

No. of

Zones Value

38 „.. 4.779

39 _ „_ . 4.832

28 4.181

;9 — 4.254

3'^ - — 4.317

31 4.878

40 4.885

41 4.937

42 „ 4.988

4a 5.040

32 _.._ _ 4.438

33 _ 4.497

3 4 4.556

".^ 4.613

44 6.090

45 5.139

46 5.188

47 5.286

3-^ 4.669

"." 4.724

Value of (ni«—

48 6.284

49 _ 6.881

. 50 6.877

gn««) to 50 zones
1

No. of

Zone^ Value

2 _„ _.. 0.347

3 ^ 0.860

4 __ 1.494

5 „ 2.225

No. of

Zones Value

14 .. ..„. 11.77

15 13.07

16 __14.43

17 15 82

6 8.04

7 S 99

18 ..17.25

19 18 72

8 .._ . 4.88

9 6.90

20 __20.22

21 _ 21.76

10 6 98

22 23 33

11 8.10

12 9.27

23 24.94

24 „ .. _ 26.57

13 10.50

25 28 '4

N'o. of

Zones Value

26 _.„29.8

27 31.7

No. Of

Zones Value

38 .._ 52.4

39 „ 54.5

28 33.4

40 _ 56.5

29 „....35.2

41 58.6

1^ — 37.0

■ - 88.8

42 ..._ 60.7

43 62.8

44 „....65.0

45 67.2

46 69.8

47 71.6

48 „....73.8

49 76 1

50 „78.4

Corrections for Amoant Assessed.

— Since, in developing the formula, it
was assumed that the entire area em-

braced within an assessment district
was assessable, and that the areas
comprised within each zone are as-
sessable at a uniform rate, it becomes
necessary to make two corrections to
the value of S found by formula (3)
in order to fit actual conditions.

The vmassessable portion of an as-
sessment district is assumed to com-
prise only the area within the streets.
Where a complete street system
exists, the ratio of the street area to
the total area can be readily esti-
mated with suflficient accuracy from
the general average of the block
dimensions and street widths, but
where a complete street system is
lacking, the existence of one must be
assumed in order to conform to the
conditions under which the formula
was developed.

The adjustment required to allow
for the unequal assessment rates ap-
plicable to the areas comprising each
zone by reason of their varying dis-
tances from the improvement, as
measured along the street lines, has
been found as follows:

Under the prevailing rectangular
street system the zones would natur-
ally be rectangular in form, but this
usually makes it necessary, especially
in districts of great size, to exclude
areas at the comers in order to keep
the perimeter at an approximately
uniform distance from the improve-
ment. To meet this condition, the
zones are assumed to have a form
such that the value of "a," or the
constant increase in their area, for
zones having the depth of a standard
city lot, or 100 feet, would be 40,000
sq. ft., instead of 80.000 sq. ft., as
would be the case for rectangular
zones.

Consider a territory wholly divided
into 100-ft. squares and traversed by
two systems of parallel lines at right
angles to each other, the lines being
in the one case 800 ft., and in the
other 200 ft., apart, and forming a
rectansrular street plan with blocks
each 200 by 800 ft. Also assume that
one of the blocks described is selected
as a park site. It will be found that
the sum of the products of the num-
ber of squares within any number of
zones of the form assumed, and the
assessment rates applicable to them
as found from their shortest distance
from the park measured along the as-
sumed street lines, will bear to the
sum of the products of the same num-

724

Roads and Streets

October

ber of squares and their theoretical
assessment rates the following rela-
tions:

No. of

Zones

Per Cent.

100.0

84.8

, 92.9

Zones
10

Per Cent.
93.2

2 ....

94.3

8 „„ ..

95.2

4 .._

92.3

92.8

„.... 92.8

92.5

95.8

6 _

96.5

96.8

7 _

97.1

92.7

92.9

97.4

9 „ „

97.6

Effect of Approaches to Park on

Assessment. — It may be readily
shown that the greater the number of
avenues of approach to the park, the
more closely will the actual assess-
ment upon any number of zones ap-
proximate the theoretical assessment.
It will also be apparent that an ex-
tension of the park in a direction of
the short block lengths would, under
the assumed street plan, decrease the
discrepancy between the actual and
theoretical assessment, while a longi-
tudinal extension would increase this
discrepancy. The maximum differ-
ence would, however, be found where
the length of the park was so great
as to render the influence of the areas
adjoining the short sides of the park
and at the corners negligible, which
condition would be satisfied by assum-
ing the assessment area to be con-
fined wholly to the territory adjoining
the long sides of the park, in which
case the zones would be equal in area
and the value of "a" would become
zero.

A computation similar to the one
already described of the relations be-
tween the actual and theoretical as-
sessments under the latter condition
showed the following:

No. of No. of

Zones Per Cent. Zones Per Cent.

1 „ inn.O 10 87.8

2 91.0 16 -.... 88.6

8 89.1 20 :.... 89.3

4 „ 87.8 25 89.9

6 _ _ 87.7 30 90.8

6 87.4 3'; 90.7

7 87.6 40 91.1

8 87.5 45 ;.. 91.6

9 _ 87.7 50 91.7

This condition is the one common to
assessment areas for streets, especial-
ly where the street is verv long or
whore thp assessment district is not
extended bevond its terminals.

If con.sidrration be given to the
assumed absence of all diagonal
streets and to the fact that contiguity
to the imnrovement, particularly for
ar'^as within the nearest zones, some-
what offsets the effect of their actual
distance measured along the street

lines, it would seem from an inspec-
tion of the two sets of relationship
found from the hypothetical case de-
scribed that the second correctioii
might properly be made by applying
a coefficient of from 0.9 to unity t«
the value of S as found from for-
mula (3).

Assuming that one-third of the
area of a territory falls within the
street lines, then equation (3) for any
street or park, whether a complete
street system exists or not, may con-
servatively be stated as:

S = 0.6r, [AnO" _j. 40,000
(ni«_^nO«)]
1

For very long streets, or those for
which the assessment area does not
extend beyond the terminals, the total
assessment may similarly be found
from the following:

S = 0.6r, AnO"

It should be noted that in those
cases where the existence of a com-
plete street system is assumed, the
assessments will be predicated upon
a future rather than a present rela-
tion of the property assessed to the
improvement.

The Frontage Assessment. — Of
fundamental importance in the appli-
cation of the formulae, is the assess-
ment rate which should be applied to
the frontage. The analysis presented
in the 1917 report showed that there
appeared to be ample justification for
fixing the frontage assessment for all
parks at 10 per cent of the frontage
land value. Owing, however, to the
great variation frequently found in
the value of lands abutting- a proposed
park site, this method of fixing the
frontage assessment rate has not al-
wavs proved satisfactory.

While in general, the frontage as-
sessment in the case of parks might
reasonab'y be fixed at 10 per cent of
the frontage land values, experience
has indicated that the practical course
to pursue in determining this matter
would be to fix the frontage rate only
after a careful consideration of all the
features peculiar to each individual
case. After this is done, the extent
of the area required to bear the whole
or anv dpcfred part of the cost of the
project will be determined by apply-
ing the related for'^iula, or, converse-
ly, the amount which can be raised
on anv given assessment district. It
would also seem best for all the inter-
ests concerned to express the frontage
rates in terms of money, with the un-
derstanding that the actual assess-

1923

Roads and Streets

725

ment will bear the same relation to
the amount thus assumed as the ac-
tual cost of the project bears to the
estimated cost.

An important point that should
be observed in the apportionment of
assessments over areas of general or
neighborhood benefit is the avoidance
of the sudden drop from a substantial
rate to zero at the boundary. This
condition is generally satisfied under
the assessment areas fixed in accord-
ance with the adopted scheme, but in
cases where the assessment area must
be restricted it may be necessary in
observing this condition and still
maintain the assumed relation be-
tween the assessments, to decrease
the frontage rate and meet the result-
ing deficiency by a borough or city
charge, or to assume that a different
gradation of assessments will be
appUed.

In those cases where the benefited
property is largely acreage the prac-
tice has been to fix a minimum aver-
age assessment rate of $5 or $10 per
acre, which rate, it was assumed,
would be applied uniformly to the ter-

ritory beyond the zone for which this
rate is fixed under the adopted assess-
ment curve. In developed territory a
similar condition is assumed for areas
beyond the zone in which the average
assessments, if graded in accordance
with the adopted curve, would reach
a minimum of $5 per city lot.

Study Being Made of Street Lighting
System

The U. S. Bureau of Standards,
Washington, D. C, is making a study
of the various systems of street light-
ing used in cities and towns through-
out the country. This work is now
well under way and is receiving the
hearty co-operation of municipalities
and operating utilities. Several hun-
dred replies to questionnaires on eng^i-
neering practice and contract require-
ments have been received and are be-
ing carefully analyzed. Very full en-
gineering data have been furnished
by thirty or more of the larger oper-
ating companies on the basis of which
a survey of the best practice is being
prepared as a. part of a comprehensive
report on street lighting service.

Status of Federal Aid Highway Construction on July 31, 1923.

FtttRAL roXDS

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TOTAL ALLOTTM

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726 Roads and Streets October

The Illumination of City Streets and Highways

Methods of Street Lighting for Residential and Business Districts Dis-
cussed in a Paper Presented at Last Annual Convention
of Illinois Society of Engineers

By A. R. KNIGHT

Assistant Professor of ElectricaJi Engineering, University of Illinois

The question of lighting city streets
is one inac nas aiways commanaed
interest oecause oi tne intimate con-
nection Detween iiiununauon and
saiecy and convenience. Tne methods
used nave Deen cnanging constantly.
L>unng our own lives we nave seen
usea successively gasoline lamps, gas
lamps, various lorms of electric arc
lamps, ana lastly, incandescent elec-
tric lamps, louay tne incanaescent
lamp is replacing the other metnods,
tnereiore oniy iigntmg by incandes-
cent lamps will De discussed in tnis
paper.

Kapid Development of Lighting
Units. — At no time has any one of tne
various methods commanaed tne field
long enougn to establish itself as the
standard method. This has been due
partly to the rapid development of
lighting units, a aevelopment which is
progressing as energetically now as
at any earlier time, as well as to the
constantly changing conception of
What is desirable.

Until a few years ago compara-
tively no attention was paid to the
esthetic side of street lighting, the
idea simply being to have more or
less illumination supplied. At pres-
ent, the matter of general appearance
is given practically the same weight
as the degree of illumination, and the
units to be used are selected as much
for their effect upon the appearance
of the street as for their efficiency and
light distribution.

In the lighting of streets, pedes-
trian and vehicular traffic must be
considered. The ideal condition for
pedestrian travel is illumination that
is not necessarily intense but which
is uniform. This condition of uni-
formity is not so important for
vehicular traffic, as will be pointed
out later. Uniformity of illumina-
tion demands lighting units located at
short intervals, a requirement that is
met naturally by an ornamental sys-
tem.

Classification of Streets for Illumi-
nation Purposes. — Streets can be di-
vided into four distinct classes: (1)
residence streets, the traffic on which

is due mainly to the residents on the
street itseit; (2) residence streets
handling considerable through traffic;
(3) semi-business streets, those on
Which retail stores and residences are
intermingled or streets given over to
wholesale and storage houses or fac-
tories; and (4) main retail streets.
On the streets of all but the first ciass
other factors than those mentioned
will enter. For instance, it is a recog-
nized fact that high intensity of
illumination has a decidedly stimulat-
ing effect and for this reason the
main retail districts should have an
illumination greatly in excess of the
actual needs for safe travel.

Intensity of Illumination. — Inten-
sity of illumination is spoken of in
terms of foot candles. A foot candle
is the intensity of illumination on a
surface 1 ft. from a source of one
candle power, or 2 ft. from a source
of four candle power, etc. The fol-
lowing minimum intensities of illumi-
nation represent present practice
fairly well: Purely residential streets,
0.02 foot candle (this is about equal
to bright moonlight); boulevards or
through streets and semi-business
streets, 0.04 to 0.05 foot candles; main
retail streets, 0.1 or more foot candles.
To determine the size and spacing to
produce the above degrees of illumi-
nation, it is necessary to know the
distribution of light given by the
lamp. The shape of the distribution
curve can be controlled by the shape
of the surrounding globe, or by re-
flectors or by both together.

Comparison of Three Tops. — A
comparison will be made of three
styles of tops, a ball globe, a top
shaped to produce more downward
light and a top using a prismatic re-
fractor. A minimum illumination of
0.02 foot candles can be obtained with
the lamps of 100 c. p. alternating
on the two sides of the street and
with spacings as follows, measured
along the street: Ball globe, 90 ft;
shaped globe, 100 ft.; shaped globe
and refracting dome, 117 ft. The
comparative cost per 100 ft. of street
for the standards and foundations is

1923

Roads and Streets

727

^612, $655 and $605, respectively. The
saving in first cost shown by the
second and third types is in a meas-
ure offset by the greater cost of
glassware for replacing broken tops
and this factor may, in some cases,
lead to the selection of the first type.
Where higher intensity is desired it
can be obtained by using larger
lamps or by placing the standards
opposite each other or by both to-
gether.

Power can be supplied to the lamps
either by means of a constant-voltage
or a constant-current system. In the
constant -voltage system (often called
the multiple system) two wires are
carried along the streets and 110 or
220 volt lamps are connected between
them. The current to be supplied is
the sum of the currents taken by the
individual lamps and while the cur-
rent taken by each lamp is small, the
:otal may be quite large. The fila-
ments in the lamps are long and of
small diameter. This system is not
satisfactory because the large current
necessitates the use of large wire and
also because the lamps do not with-
stand the vibration due to traffic well.

In the constant-current or series
system the lamps are all connected
in series, the same current flowing
through all the lamps. This current
can be made larger than that taken
by a single multiple lamp but at the
same time being much smaller than
the total current in that system. If
the current through a lamp is in-
creased the voltage across it is de-
creased to keep the candle power the
same. The total voltage of this sys-
tem is the sum of the voltages of the
individual lamps and may be built up
to several thousand volts. The fila-
ment of the series lamp is shorter
and larger than that of the multiple
lamp and therefore it withstands
vibrations better. For these reasons
the series system is widely used and
it is the system that will be discussed
here.

The Types of Series Systems. —

There are three types of series sys-
tems for supplying power to the
lamps — straight series, straight series
with current transformers at each
standard, and the group system. In
the straight series system, all of the
lamps supplied by one regulator are
connected in series across the regu-
lator. If the district to be lighted is
some distance from the control sta-
tion, it is desirable to have as many

lights as possible on one regulator to
reduce the cost of cable from the sta-
tion to the district. This results in
the use of high voltage, which is
undesirable for two reasons — (1)
liability of injury to persons coming
in contact with any part of the sys-
tem; and (2) the high cost of cable
suitable for such high voltage. On
the other hand, this system has the
advantage of simplicity, the eqxiip-
ment being reduced to a minimum.

In the series system with individual
current transformers, an individual
current transformer is installed in the
base of each standard, thus insulating
the lamp and leads up to the standard,
from the high voltage carried on the
underground cables. This system has
the following advantages: (1) the
life hazard present in the straight
series system is eliminated; (2) if
high power lamps are used the cur-
rent transf onners can be used to sup-
ply the large current required by the
lamps while a smaller current is used
in the line, thus reducing the cost of
line copper required. When use is to
be made of the small sized lamps, this
advantage disappears. The disadvan-
tages of this system are: (1) high
initial cost; (2) increased number of
sources of trouble due to the increase
in the amount of equipment needed.

In the group system the lamps are
divided into groups and one insulating
transformer is used for each group.
The advantages are: (1) the voltage
of each group can be kept low enough
to practically eliminate the life haz-
ard present in the straight series sys-
tem, nearly equalling in this respect
the individual transformer system;
(2) since the voltage for the entire
group is lowered, a cheaper cable can
be used than is required for either of
the other systems. The disadvantages
are: (1) the necessity of construct-
ing manholes in which to place the
group transformers; (2) a larger
number of sources of trouble than
with the series system.

The following table gives a com-
parison of the system with regard to
possible voltage to ground from the
lamp socket and the cost per standard.
The figures given apply to 100 c.p.
lamps installed in locations where it
is possible to use parkway cable and
assuming that 35 KVA regulators will
be used to supply constant current to
the entire circuit and that in addition
10 KVA series transformers will be

728

Roads and Streets

October

used to supply the groups in the
group system.

Maximum Cost per

Voltage Standard

Straight series 5300 110.28

Individual transformer 11 13o.28

Group „ 757 99.78

The Conduit System. — Cable for
street lights can be installed in either
of two ways. If conduit is laid in the
ground, lead covered cable can be
pulled into the conduit and connected
to the various pieces of equipment. If
no conduit is installed, lead-covered
cable with two layers, each of steel
tape and tarred jute around it, can
be laid directly in the earth with no
other protection, and connected to the
various pieces of equipment. The
main advantages of the conduit sys-
tem lie in the fact that the cable can
be repaired at any time without any
excavation, while the advantage of
the steel taped cable system lies in
the lower first cost.

The type of lighting equipment to
meet the needs of the different dis-
tricts can be summarized as follows:
(1) the residential section — 100 c.p.
lamps on 10^/^ -ft. standards, alternate
standards on opposite sides of the
street, and steel taped cable; (2) the
semi-residential s e c t i o n — 250 c.p.
lamps on 12h^-tt. standards, spaced
as above, and steel taped cable; (3)
the semi-business section — 250 c.p.
lamps on 12^/^ -ft. standards, spaced
as above, and lead covered cable in
conduit; (4) the business section — 250
c.p. lamps on 12i/^-ft. standards
placed opposite one another and lead
covered cable in conduit. Alternate
lamps on separate circuit to be turned
out at midnight.

Costs. — Fairly ■ typical costs per
block of 400 ft. for the above layouts,
using the group system, with an in-
expensive standard and a ball globe
are given below. These figures were
worked out for a particulai* locality
and are comparative only, local condi-
tions affecting them. Court costs,
supervision, inspection and cost of
assessment roll for local improve-
ments have not been included.

RESIDENTIAL LIGHTING

5 10>4-ft. standards complete at $53....$ 265.00

6 20x20x24-in. foundations at $7.50.... 87.50
920 ft. 1000-volt steel-taped cable at

$240 per 1000 ft ^ 220.80

50 tt. 1000-volt twin conductor lead-
covered cable at $180 per 1000 ft 9.00

0.40 KW station equipment at $43.40

per KW 17.32

0.40 KW distribution equipment
(mains, manholes and transform-
ers) at $246.40 per KW 98.66

SEMI-RESIDENTIAL LIGHTING
5 12%-ft. standards complete at $65..$ 325.00
5 24xz4x30-in. foundations at $8.50.... 42.50

920 ft. 1000 volt steel-taped cable at

$240 per 1000 ft 220.80

60 ft. 1000-volt twin conductor lead-
covered cable at $180 per 100 ft 10.80

0.825 KW station equipment at $43.40 36.72

0.825 KW distributing equipment at
$264 per KW 218.13

Total „ $ 852.95

SEMI-BUSINESS LIGHTING

5 12%-ft. standards at $65 - $ 325.00

5 24x24x30-in. foundations at $8.50— 42.50

5 18xl8x20-in puUboxes at $22 110.00

920 ft. 1000-volt lead-covered cable at

at $100 per 1000 ft 92.0U

60 ft. 1000-volt twin conductor lead-
covered cable at $180 per 1000 ft. 10.80
920 ft. 1-duct conduit in place at

$1.60 per lin. ft _. 1,472,00

0.825 KW station equipment at

$43.30 per KW 35.72

.825 KW distributing equipment at
$264.40 per KW 218.13

Total - - $2,306.15

BUSINESS LIGHTING
10 12^-ft. standards complete at

$65 „ $ 650.00

10 24x24x30-in. foundations at $8.50 85.00

10 18xl8x24-in. pullboxes at $22 220.00

1840 ft. 1000-volt twin conductor

lead-covered cable at $180 per

1000 ft 21.60

920 ft. 2-duct conduit in place at

$1.70 per lin. ft 1,564.00

1.65 KW station equipment at $43.40

per KW 71.44

1.65 KW distributing equipment at

$264.40 per KW 432.26

Total

„$ 648.18

Total $3,232.3 1

These totals give the following unit costs:
Cost per Cost
Run. ft. per Cost
of Property per
street fnt. ft. Stand.

Residential lighting $1.41 $0.81 $129.60

Semi-residential lighting.. 1.86 1.07 170.60

Semi-business lighting 5.01 2.88 230.62

Business lighting 7.04 4.04 323.23

Illumination of Highways. — It is be-
coming desirable to furnish some il-
lumination on the main highways in
order to render the use of bright,
glaring headlights unnecessary, there-
by avoiding a number of accidents
which are caused by the glare blind-
ness. The problem of highway illumi-
nation is greatly different from that
of city streets. Since the traffic is
almost entirely vehicular, uniformity
of illumination is not of so great an
importance. The main object is to
make it possible to perceive objects
or bad spots ahead of the car. Three
factors contribute to this perception:
(1) direct illumination of the object
by the light source; (2) silhouetting
of the object against the bright area
under the lighting unit; and (3) re-
flection from the surface of the road-

1923

Roads and Streets

729

way. Probably the least important is
the direct illumination, and for this
reason large units spaced fairly far
apart can be used.

The lamps should be of the con-
stant-current series type, for which a
regulator is necessary. On the basis
of 400 c.p. spaced approximately 400
ft. apart, one 35 K.W. regulator will
light about 10 miles of roadway. The
cost per mile for such an installation
would be approximately $1,700 if a
pole line is available, and it would
only be necessary to support and
string the wire and mount the light-
ing units; and approximately $2,500
if it is necessary to set poles.

Traffic Census on British
Highways

Elxtract From an Address Presented
Before Institution of Civil Engineers

By HENRY MAYBURY

Director General, Roads Department, Ministry
of Transport.

Very shortly there will be pub-
lished, I hope, the results of the gen-
eral traffic census taken last August
on all the first-class roads of the
United Kingdom.

The total length of the roads
ranked by the Ministry of Transport
as first-class is upwards of 22,000
miles, and the count was taken at
3,808 points. The more populous the
area, the shorter the intervals.
_ Great care was needed in the selec-
tion of the observation points so as
to secure typical and representative
results which will be capable of use-
ful comparison a few years hence
with a subseauent census taken at the
same spots. Experience having shown
that traffic intensitv is usually high-
est in Auerust, owing to the season-
able prevalence of motor buses and
motor coaches, that month was se-
lected as the most suitable period.
The count was accordinsrlv taken for
a period of seven successive days in
August for 16 hours a day — i. e., from
6 a. m. to 10 p. m.

Care was taken to choose in each
loc?>Mty a week free from abnormal
traffic-currents caused bv bank hoH-
da'^'*?. race m«»eHngs. fairs, etc.

The co<!t of the census worked out
at less than £8 n^r point, and par-
ticulars were unifornily booVed by
each enumerator under a variety of
heads, such as: Cycles, motorcycles,

motor cars, motor vans, motor omni-
buses, motor lorries (rubber tired),
motor lorries (steel tired), trailers,
traction engines, every variety of
horse-drawn vehicles, tramcars, and
various denominations of cattle.

Perhaps one of the most interesting
facts emerging from the census is the
extraordinarily irregular distribution
of traffic along our great trunk roads.
Thus on the London-Bath road near
Brentford the weight of traffic regis-
tered was over 14,000 tons a day,
whereas 3 or 4 miles farther west the
figure dwindles to 5,860 tons. Or take
another great route, London-Man-
chester-Carlisle, which is now desig-
nated "A6" on the Ministry of Trans-
port's classification maps. At a point
34 miles north of London the traffic
falls short of 500 tons per day. In
the neighborhood of Leicester and
Derby the figure is between 3,000 and
4,000, while at Lancaster a total of
8,000 tons is recorded.

As we possess, apart from these
traffic statistics, a general knowledge,
derived from highway authorities'
estimates, of the cost of maintenance
of all classified roads, it is possible
to deduce some instructive figures
showing the relation between the ex-
pense of road upkeep on the one hand
and the tonnage carried by the high-
way on the other hand. A few figures
taken almost at random may interest
you; they were intended to throw
some light on the problem of the
transport of rural produce.

For this purpose we collated the
particulars of the traffic using three
well-known first-class roads and the
cost of road upkeep.

The roads were:

Miles

A 10. London-Cambridjre-Kinsrs Lynn. 99

A 20. London-Maidstone-Folkestone . 60

A 41. London-Aylesbury-Bicester _47

The lengths, you will observe, are
sufficient to allow fair scope for the
application of averages.

The cost of upkeep taken over the
whole length of each road ranges from
£700 per mile in one case to £980 in
another. If you divide these figures
by the average of the traffic tonnage
recorded^ at all points on each road
you arrive at a curiously uniform
figure of 32d. or 33d. per ton-mile.

Figures such as these can onlv be
used with crreat caution, esp*»ciallv if
it is desired to set up comparisons be-
tween road transport and rail trans-
port.

730

Roads and Streets October

Experimental Oiled Roads in Illinois

Tests in Henry and Christian Counties, Illinois, of Use of Oil for Treat-
ment of Earth Roads

By H. F. CLEMMER and F. L. SPERRY

Engineer of Materials and Assistant Engineer of Materials, Illinois State Division of Highways

The Illinois Division of Highways,
in co-operation with the highway
authorities of Henry and Christian
counties, has started an exhaustive
series of tests with the use of oil for
the treatment of earth roads.

The construction of two experi-
mental oiled roads was completed in
August. One of these roads is located

800 ft. long. Each of the 31 sections
making up the two roads has been
given a different oil treatment; 11
different kinds and grades of road oil,
including all available commercial
varieties of oil having been used,
fourteen sections employing varying
quantities of oil and numbers of treat-
ments, varying from 1 qt. per square

Experimental Oiled Road.

in the northwestern part of the state
near Cambridge in Henry County.
The other is located one mile from
Rosemond, near Pana, in the south
central portion of the state. These
locations have been selected with the
view of securing the fullest range of
soil and climatic conditions which
exist between northern and southern
Illinois. The location of the experi-
ments is believed to be of much im-
portance because experience has indi-
cated that both soil and climatic con-
ditions are important factors in the
life of an oiled earth road.

The Cambridge test road is about
3 miles In length and comprises 15
sections, each 1,000 ft. in length. The
Rosemond road is about 2\^ miles in
length and comprises 16 sections, each

yard applied at one application to
1 gal. per square yard applied at
intervals throughout the season, have
been constructed. Other sections have
been constructed employing varjdng
methods of maintenance and applica-
tion of oil.

Both of the experimental roads are
now open and subject to normal traffic
conditions. The Rosemond road is
subject to only comparatively mod-
erate traffic, whereas the Cambridge
road carries a heavy automobile
traffic. The roads are under close ob-
servation and their behavior will be
carefully watched and the results of
traffic recorded.

It is hoped by these experiments to
secure much valuable data on the use
of oil as a means of maintaining

1923

Roads and Streets

731

earth roads under conditions which
exist in Illinois.

Experiment With Oil Applied in
Varying Quantities and Numbers of
Treatments. — This series of tests oc-
cupies a total of 13 sections of both
roads and covers the full range of
treatments ordinarily used on dirt
roads in Illinois, beginning with a
minimum treatment of 1 qt. per
square yard to a maximum of 1 gal.
applied at inten^als throughout tl\e
season. The same kind of oil was
used throughout this series of tests
except that the oil used at Cambridge
was of a hea\ier grade than that used
at Rosemond.

Descriptions of the individual sec-
tions follow:

Section 1-R.* Initial treatment. *4 gal. per
sq. yd. in three applications.
No further applications will be
made on this section throughout
the year.

**Oil No. 1-R used.
Total treatment. % gal. per
sq. yd.

Section 2-R. Initial treatment, % gal. per
sq. yd. in three applications to
be fo''owed by one similar ap-
plication in tha fall.
Oil No. 1-R used.
Total treatment. 1 gal. per
sq. yd.

Section 3-R. Initial treatment, ^2 gal. per
sq. yd. in two applications to
be followed by one similar ap-
plication in th3 fa'l.
Oil No. 1-R used.
Total treatment, ^4 gal. per
sq. yd.

Section 4-R. Initial treatment, % gal. per
sq. yd. in two applications to
be_ followed by one similar ap-
plication in the late summer
and another application in the
fall.

Oil No. 1-R used.
Total treatment, 1 gal. per
sq. yd.

Section 5-R. Initial treatmert, I'j gal. per
sq. yd. in two applications. No
further applications on this sec-
tion.

Oil No. 1-R used.
Total treatment, % gal. per
sq. yd.

j^ection 6-R. Initial treatment. ^4 gal. per
sq. yd. to be followed by one
similar application in the late
summer and another applica-
tion in the fall.
Oil No. 1-R used.
Total treatment, ^4 gal. per
sq. yd.

Section T-R. Initial treatment. 14 gal. per
sq. yd. to be followed by one
similar application in the fall.
Oil No. 1-R used.
Total treatment, % gal. per

sq. yd.

•"R" refers to the Rosemond road and "C"

to the Cambridge road.

**E°r ^^a'yses and descriptions of oils see
Table I.

Section 6-C. Initial treatment, 14 ga'- Per
sq. yd. in two applications. No
further applications to be made
during the year.
Oil No. 2-C used.
Total treatment, % gal. per
sq. yd.

Section 7-C. Initial treatment, one applica-
tion of % gal. per sq. yd. to
be followed by one similar ap-
plication in the fall.
Oil No. 2-C used.
Total treatment, % gal. per
sq. yd.

Section 8-C. Initial treatment, one applica-
tion of % gal. per sq. yd. A
similar application was made
on .\ug. 8, 60 days after the
initial treatment was applied.
One further application will be
made in the fail.
Oil No. 2-C used for initial
application.

Oil No. 8-C used for second
application.

Total treatment, ^i gal. per
sq. yd.

Section 9-C. Initial treatment. '^ gal. per
sq. yd. in two applications. A
similar application was made
on Aug. 8, 60 days after the
initial treatment was applied.
One further application will be
made in the fall.
Oil No. 2-C used for initial
applications.

Oil No. 8-C used for applica-
tion made Aug. 8.
Total treatment. 1 gal. per
sq. yd.

Section lO-C. Initial treatment, % gal. per
sq. yd. in two applications to
be followed by one similar ap-
plication in the fall.
Oil No. 2-C used.
Total treatment. % gal. per
sq. yd.

Section 11-C. Initial treatment. »! gal. per
sq. yd. in three applications.
No further applications to be
made durincr the year.
Oil No. 2-C used.
Total treatment. ^4 K*l- P<"'
sq. yd.

Experiment With Different Kinds of
Oil. — In this series every commer-
cially available kind of tj-pe of oil has
been used. Nine sections are occupied
by these tests.

By reference to "kind" of oil in
these tests is meant a distinct chem-
ical type of oil, according to the proc-
ess of refining or the geogrranhical
source of the crude form which the
oil _ has been prepared. Bv a
"skimmed" oil is meant a residuum
from a "skimming" plant, that is a
refinery emnloving non-pressure or
straight distillation methods of refin-
ing. A "cracked" oil is one which has
been refined under the influence of
hieh temperatures and pressures and
thus chemically decomposed or "split"
up into the lighter hydrocarbons and
carbon to increase the gasoline yield.
The term "cracked pressure tar resi-

732

Roads and Streets

October

due" is applied to oils refined by a
certain cracking process in which the
residuum is so altered as to have
many of the chemical characteristics
of tar. "Mexican asphaltic oil" is oil
obtained from Mexican petroleum
which has a natural asphalt base and,
therefore, is well adapted to road
work and the manufacture of asphalt.
"Cut-back asphaltic oil" is a Mexican
or other natural asphaltic oil which
has been reduced or thinned to a
working consistency by the addition
of light distillate.

All available types of oil in the
market have been included in the ex-

Section ll-C. % gal. per sq. yd. in three
applications of cracked pressure
tar residue (Oil No. 2-C).

Section 12-C. % gal. per sq. yd. in three
applications of cut-back asphalt
base oil (Oil No. 5-C).

Section 13-C. % gal. per sq. yd. in three
applications of Mid-continent
cracked residuum (OilNo. 4-C).

Section 14 -C. % gal per sq. yd. in three
applications of Mexican as-
phaltic base oil (Oil No. 3-C).

Section 15-C. % gal. per sq. yd. in three
applications of Mid-continent
skimnaed oil (Oil No. 1-C).

Section 11-R. % gal. per sq. yd. in two
applications of Mid-continent
skimmed oil refined from Illi-
nois crude (Oil No. 3-R).

Heating Oil With Jet of Live Steam Conducted by Pipe Through Dome of Car.

periments and the product of any in-
dividual refinery will fall in to one of
the classes of oil under test. To in-
sure fair competition between differ-
ent oils, each one has in so far as the
refiners would supply it been used in
equivalent grades, the grading being
based on the specific viscosity test at
60" C. and the solid residue test. On
the Cambridge road oils having a
specific viscosity of as near 21.0 as
possible and meeting the Illinois E-3
specification as to solid residue of 100
peneration were used. On the Rose-
mond road oils having a viscosity at
60° C. of 12.0 and meeting the Illinois
E-2 specification requirements for
solid residue were used.

Section 12-R. % gal. per sq. yd. in two
applications of Mid-continent
skimmed oil refined from Ar-
kansas crude (Oil No. 5-R).

Section 13-R. % gal. per sq. yd. in two
applications of blended Mid-
continent skimmed and Mexican
asphaltic base oil (Oil No. 4-K).

Section I4-R. ^ gal. per sq. yd. in two
applications of Mid-continent
cracked oil refined from Okla-
homa crude (Oil No. 6-R),

Note: Observations of cracked pres-
sure tar residue will be made
on Section 5-R.

Experiment With Diflferent Grades
of Oil. — The term "grade" is used
here in a diff'erent sense than "kind."
Any of the kinds or types of oils men-
tioned in the preceding series of tests

1923

Roads and Streets

783

might come in a number of grades
ranging from light, thin oil for cold
application to very thick, heavy prod-
ucts for hot application. In this series
of tests only those grades commonly
employed on earth roads have been
used.

Section 5-C. % gal. per sq. yd. in three ap-
plications of light oil showing
55 per cent of solid residue of
100 peneration.
Oil No. 6-C used.

Section 3-C. % gal. per sq. yd. in three ap-
plications of extra heavy oil
showing 72 per cent solid resi-
due of 100 penetration.
Oil No. 7-C used.

Section 9-R. % S&i- Per sq. yd. in three ap-
plications of medium grade oil
showing 67 per cent of residue
of 100 penetration.
Oil No. 2-R used.
Note: Sections 5-C and 3-C are com-
parable with Sections 11-C to
15-C, inclusive, and Section 9-R
is comparable with Section 1-R
and with Sections 11-R to 14-R,
inclusive.

loosenaig of the wearing surface
which sometimes happens under the
influence of frost action.

Section 4-C. One application amounting to
^ gal. per sq. yd. of light oil
followed as soon as absorption
was complete by one applica-
tion of heavier oil.
Oil No. 6-C used for priming
coat.

Oil No. 2-C used for final ap-
plication.

Section 8-R. One application of % gal. per
sq. yd. of EJ-2 grade oil fol-
lowed as soon as absorption
was complete by one application
of E-3 grade oil.
Oil No. 1-R used for priming
coat.

Oil No. 2-R used for final ap-
plication.

Experiment With Varying Widths
of Oiled Roadway. — While an oiled
strip 16 ft. or under is desirable even
where traffic is light, many roads in
Illinois are oiled in much narrower
widths. The following sections have

Oil Heating and Distriboting Apparatus at Cambridge.

Experiment With Priming Coat of
Light Oil Followed by One Applica-
tion of Heavier Oil. — An initial appli-
cati.jn of light oil has been used in
thih series of tests followed by an
application of heavier oil. The use of
the coat of light oil is analogous to
the use of the priming coat of thin
paini, which painters use on new wood
surfaces. It is contended by some
that the coat of light oil will give
depth of penetration and serve to
bond the wearing mat to the sub-
grade, thus preventing scaling and

been oiled in less than standard widths
to compare with the wider sections;

Section 1-C. Oiled by applying two 8-ft.
strips down each side of the
road and one 8-ft. strip down
the center, thus making an
oiled roadway 16 ft. wide with
a single application on the outer
4 ft. at each side and two appli-
cations down the center. By
this method of oiling a 16-ft.
oiled roadway is obtained w.th
the same quantity of oil that
would be required for a 12-ft.
road with two . applications the
entlire width.
OU No. S-C used.

734

Koads and Streets

October

Section 2-C. Oiled with two applications, 12
ft. wide.
Oil No. 8-C used.

Section 10-R. Same treatment as Section 2-C
except oil No. 2-R used.
Maintenance
Section 15-R. This section shall receive no
' drag or other maintenance sub-

sequent to oiling.
Section 16-R. This section is under intensive
drag maintenance.

Different types of drags and main-
tainers will be tested out on other
sections in an effort to arrive at the
most efficient and economical method
of maintaining an oiled road.

Traffic Tests. — It is evident from
ordinary observations that different

fore not so gummy and sticky when
wet and is more easily ground to dust
in dry weather. Both roads are sup-
posedly well drained and are free
from deep cuts or excessive grades.

Grading and Preparation of Road
for Oiling. — Both roads are graded to
a width of 24 ft. and carry an aver-
age crown of about 9 in. The Rose-
mond road had not previously been
oiled but was graded as a state aid
improvement in 1916. No grading
was required on this road, it only be-
ing necessary to prepare the surface
for oiling. The road was given care-
ful drag maintenance for about a
month before oiling and just prior to

Experimental Oiled Road.

kinds of traffic exert a markedly dif-
ferent effect on an oiled road. Nar-
row steel tires seem to cut up and
rapidly destroy an oiled surface while
on the other hand pneumatic tires
exert an ironing effect which is highly
beneficial if not essential to the for-
mation of a satisfactory wearing sur-
face. A limited number of traffic
tests will be conducted in order that
the effects of different kinds of traffic
may be studied.

Soil and Drainage Conditions. — The

sites chosen for the experiments rep-
resent average Illinois conditions. At
Cambridge the soil consists of brown
silt loam with strips of black clay
loam in the low places. The same
general type of soil occurs at Rose-
mond, but it is less dense and there-

spreading the oil was given a final
smoothing up, using a heavy, 3-way
drag on some of the sections and a
small, patrol grader on Others. The
soil on this road is inclined to be light
and silty and easy to work. With
very little work the surface was
brought into perfect condition for oil-
ing.

The Cambridge road had been oiled
the previous year but had broken up
during the winter and spring so that
little or no oil was in evidence at the
time it was selected for the experi-
ment. This road required consider-
able reshaping to put it in suitable
condition "for oiling. Grading was
started May 18 and completed May
25, after which the road was kept
carefully dragged until final prepara-

1928

Roads and Streets

735

tion for oiling was begun. The finish-
ing of the surface was accomplished
with a 4-sectional blade maintainer
with a mould-board drag attached be-
hind. By means of the maintainer, a
perfectly smooth surface free from
all waviness or unevenness was ob-
tained. The drag served to crush up
all traces of clods or sods deposited
at the discharge end of the main-
tainer blade.

Application of Oil. — The Cambridge
road was oiled between June 14 and
June 30 and the Rosemond road dur-
ing the last three days of June. All
oil was heated to a temperature be-
tween 150 and 160° F. before appli-
cation. At Rosemond the oil was
heated in the tank cars by conducting
a jet of live steam directly into the oil
through a %-in. pipe entering the car
through the dome. Laboratory tests
revealed that about 3 per cent of
water was introduced into the oil by
this method of heating. About four
hours were required to bring the oil
to the required temperature. At Cam-
bridge the oil was heated by means
of a patented instantaneous steam
heating device as the oil was pumped

from the car to the distributor. Prac-
tically no water was introduced into
the oil by this method of heating.

Pressure distributors of a late type,
without heating attachments and
equipped with pneumatic tires, were
used on both roads. Those used at
Cambridge had a capacity of only 460
gal. and were capable of attaining a
high speed. This type of distributor
has the advantage over the heavier
types in that it does less damage to
the prepared grade than heavier ma-
chines or machines equipped with
solid tires. One of the machines used
at Rosemond had a capacity of about
600 gal. and the other about 750 gal.
The latter machine proved too heavy
as it caused some deformations of the
prepared road surface.

On both roads the distributors were
carefully adjusted to spread at the
rate of hi gal. per square yard. Each
application was allowed to be com-
pletely absorbed before applying the
succeeding coat. When more than hi
gal. per square yard was applied at
one time, it was found that the oil
tended to flow to the sides of the road
before it was absorbed.

Table I-

— Analysis of Oils

s ^

c -^

C
0

« .
o

1«

5 s
_ b

X
X

o c

l-C

0.939

21.4

99.7

1.4

2.9

210

2-C .

•*

1.041

18.7

99.8

12.4

9.1

183

100+

3-C .

**•

0.963

28.5

99.9

15.6

8.0

5.6

105

100+

4-C

•••*

0.948

17.1

99.3

5.6

4.1

195

5-C

*«**•

0.961

15.6

99.8

14.9

7.5

15.2

6-0

•*•**«

0.988

10.3

99.9

6.7

4.8

5.4

-l^

•«

1.055

82.6

98.7

17.1

10.9

185

100+

8-C

•••***

0.958

21.6

99.8

9.6

6.0

133

1-R

1.031

11.3

99.9

12.5

8.7

185

100+

2-R

«*

1.043

22.1

99.9

13.1

8.9

195

100-i-

3-R

•*

0.938

13.7

99.9

2.9

190

4-R

******

0.947

10.6

99.9

5.6

4.3

4.0

115

5-R

0.943

18.6

99.9

8.6

5.1

129

6-R

•»*•

0.945

10.3

99.5

6.1

4.0

155

2.5

* Mid-Continent skimmed oil.
*♦ Cracked pressure tar residue.
♦•• Mexican asphaltic oil.
•*•♦ Mid-Continent cracked oil.
••*♦* Cut-back asplialUc oil.
**»*•• Mid-Continent— Mexican Blend.

736

Roads and Streets

October

Sampling Fine Aggregate for Concrete Highway

Construction

Practical Methods Used by the North Carolina State Highway

Commission

By G. W. HUTCHINSON

Assistant Engrineer, State Highway Commission of North Carolina

Delays in securing test results and
subsequent acceptance or rejection of
materials entail considerable expense
to the contractor doing highway work,
and to the producer who endeavors to
furnish the material. This expense,
while directly borne by either the con-
tractor or the producer, is ultimately
paid by the state or municipality, on
account of its reflection in subsequent
bids.

Many localities are handicapped by
circumstances which will require fore-
thought and investigation if they are
to construct economic highways of the
hard surfaced type. Some of these
circumstances refer to securing fine
aggregate for portland cement con-
crete, among which are:

1. No knowledge of quantity and
quality of available local materials be-
fore the project is let.

2. No possibility of guaranteeing
such local material available to the
contractor, on account of either in-
sufficient or inaccurate data on the
particular deposit.

Saving Results From Preliminary
Investigation. — It is unfortunate that
money for preliminary investigation
of this kind is generally hard to se-
cure, as the general opinion is that
such detail will increase the cost of
construction. On the contrary, con-
siderable saving results many times,
and this information relieves the con-
tractor who expected to use the local
material in case an investigation
proves opposite to the usual opinion
prevalent among those not wholly
familiar with the requirements for
fine aggregate. On the other hand,
if an investigation proves that suit-
able material is available, it allows
the state to get the benefit between
the cost of the local sand and an im-
ported material, by guaranteeing the
deposit.

The demand for fine aggregate in
North Carolina is in excess of the
supply. This is not wholly on account
of sand not being found, but partly
on account of lack of transportation
facilities. This has led to a move-

ment on the part of the contractor to
secure local material whenever pos-
sible.

Local Sand Deposits. — Recently the
deposits of sand located by the ma-
terial survey parties were guaranteed
by the state, with reservations re-
garding the amount of sand available
for a given deposit. In cases where
the material did not meet the require-
ments, an addition to the cement con-
tent was required, and the additional
cement furnished the contractor free
of charge, provided his bid was based
on the local material previously lo-
cated by the state representatives.

The present standard sand test is
realized to be inadequate when deal-
ing with materials from deposits of
different qualities and characteristics.
Many sands when tested by these
methods would be rejected, but if cer-
tain of these were made into concrete
in the proportions proposed for use, a
concrete can be obtained, which will
equal, and sometimes be superior to
one made with either Standard Ot-
tawa sand or a natural sand giving
the same strength as Standard Ot-
tawa sand in tension or compression
when made into mortar by standard
methods.

The present method generally used
for sampling is also open to criticism.
The laboratory depends upon the en-
gineer in the field to get samples of
the material for test, and the con-
tractor depends upon him to do this
promptly. If the sample is not taken
promptly, an unnecessary and ex-
pensive delay to the contractor results
until the tests are available, as it
means closing down the work many
times until they are received, and if
the work proceeds without waiting
tests results, it is useless to waste
money on the tests. The practice of
allowing materials to be used on the
contractor's responsibility should be
discouraged, as it is apt to be very
expensive, and the gambling element
between the state and the contractor
should be eliminated.

The time limit for testing is im-

1923

Roads and Streets

787

portant, especially in large states
where it very often takes two days or
more for the sample to reach the lab-
oratory. Assuming that the sample
has been taken on time, the next ques-
tion asked is if it represents the ma-
terial sampled, and also how large a
quantity the sample represents. A
sample of cement is supposed to rep-
resent not over 200 bbl., but many
times a sand sample which is of as
much and sometimes of more im-
portance, especially when dealing with
small stream deposits, represents sev-
eral thousand cubic yards. In dealing
with the usual stream sand this is en-
tirely wrong. Many bank sands vary
too much in quality throughout a
given area and depth to allow a fair
test to be made from the 15 lb. sample
usually submitted. Stream sands,
especially from the smaller creeks
and rivers, will vary over night. Also
500 ft., up or down stream, may re-
veal an entirely different class of
material.

With conditions as stated, it can
readily be seen that the acceptance of
fine aggregate for concrete work must
be handled in a practical way, if local
material is going to be economically
used, and delays on account of testing
eliminated.

Co-operation of Field and Labora-
tory.— It is just as necessary for the
field to co-operate with the laboratory
in sampling the materal as it is for
the laboratory to co-operate with the
field in testing it. As an example of
the laboratory co-operation, there are
but four hours leeway upon which the
Concrete Laboratory of the Division
of Tests and Investigations, North
Carolina State Highway Commission
have to operate. This means that
from the time the sample is received
until notification of the seven-day test
results is received in the field, the
Concrete Laboratory has but four
hours to spare between the time
actually necessary for the prepara-
tion, testing and reporting results,
and the time given on the card re-
ceived in the field, which acknowl-
edges receipt of the sample and gives
the date when the results of the tests
should be in the hands of the engi-
neer submitting the samn'e. When
it is realized that ovpr 16.000 samnles
were tested in 1922 bv the whole
division, and nearly one-half of these
were tested in the Concrete Labora-
tory, the necessity for oreranization
and co-operation on the part of the

field is important if the laboratory is
to function properly.

System Used in North Carolina. —
The system in use by the Division of
Tests and Investigations with refer-
ence to sand sampling divided the
material into three classes on an
arbitrary basis:

1. Class known as commercial pit.

2. Class known as local pit.

3. CTass midway between the two.
The distinction between^ the first

two is with reference to inspection.
Any pit producing sufiicient material
for state highway use to justify the
expense will be provided with an in-
spector. This inspector takes daily
samples of the material at the pit,
and sends them direct to the labora-
tory, and at the same time makes all
the necessary inspection of the plant
operation and material, as well as any
of the minor tests deemed advisable.
When a shipment is made for state
highway work it has a seal on the
car, and the resident engineer is sat-
isfactory. By means of the seal and
the card system, the resident engineer
knows that if he receives the card or
finds the seal on the car the material
is acceptable for use. Material re-
ceived under this system which would
not pass visual inspection or vary
from the run of pre\ious shipments is
reported to the main office of the
Division of Tests and Investigations,
and the material is withheld from use
waiting investigation of both the ma-
terial and the plant inspector who
accepted it. This system allows the
contractor to use the material direct
from the cars if desired and elimi-
nates any delays or expense of de-
murrasre on account of testing as long
as uniform material is produced.

The second class is known as local
pit or one where no inspection is
maintained, and comes under the
"Local Sand Requirements" in the
specifications as follows:

Preliminary tests of local sand
shall be considered as an indication
of their quality. These tests will be
made upon the request of any parties
entitled to this consideration and need
not be ofiiciallv tak^n by representa-
tives of the State Highway Commis-
sion unless reques+ed.

In case the preliminary test indi-
cates that the sand is of the quality
required for fine a<rsrregate in con-
crete mixtures, it will be necessary to
stock pile the material in not less
than two hundred (200) cubic yards
units in order that an official sample

738

Roads and Streets

October

may be taken that will fully represent
the material proposed for use. When
a smaller quantity is required to com-
plete the work in which it is desired
to use the materials, or if impractic-
able on account of local conditions to
stock pile this quantity, the maximum
amount possible to stock pile will be
accepted as a unit.

The material in the stock pile will
be sampled officially by representa-
tives of the State Highway Commis-
sion and forwarded to the laboratory
for test purposes. If the test results
of the official samples from the stock
pile indicate that the sand does not
meet the requirements, an adjustment
of the cement content in the mixture
may be allowed within reasonable
limits, by the addition of the proper
amount of cement as directed by the
Testing Laboratory based upon the
test results of the official sample.
Check tests will be made when re-
quested by the contractor in writing,
but the use of the material will be
governed by the original test until
subsequent test results are available.

The contractor will be required at
all times to keep sufficient sand stock-
piled in advance to allow test results
of the local sands to be secured, un-
less permission in writing is secured
from the engineer to the contrary.

It can be seen that if the contractor
stock piles material sufficiently in ad-
vance, and the engineer forwards the
samples with reasonable promptness,
there will be no delay in the use of
the material, and decisions are avail-
able to allow the intelligent use of
the material in case it does not meet
the standard requirements. The stock
pile clause is extremely important
when applied to creek sands on ac-
count of the tendency to run non-
uniformly. The system necessitates
rehandling the sand, but this item
should be included in the contractors'
proposal at the time it is submitted.

Sampling by Means of Test Holes.
— An exception to the stock pile
clause can be allowed under certain
conditions which will be of benefit to
both the state and the contractor.
This is with reference to bank sands
which can be sampled in the bank by
means of test holes. For this pur-
pose, the pit should be staked out over
a given area, and test holes dug on
not more than 25 ft. centers over this
area, and to the depth desired to
excavate the material.

The test holes should be approxi-
mately 2 or 3 ft. square, to allow

representative sampling and proper
inspection of the material in the bank.
For sampling, a sharp instrument
should be scraped with uniform pres-
sure from the bottom to the top of
the face of the cliff, on at least four
sides of the hole. The operation
should be repeated until about 50 lb.
from each hole has been secured for
a sample. The overburden or strip-
ping should not be included in the
sample as this will be required to be
removed from the pit before the pit
is accepted. This applies to all pits,
regardless of any requirements for
washing.

At the time the pit is sampled, a
sketch of its location, as well as the
location, depth, etc., of the test holes
should be made and forwarded with
the sample. Remarks regarding the
variation of the material in different
strata from top to bottom should be
included for additional information.

Test specimens of concrete are
made in the laboratory, using the
samples submitted as fine aggregate,
in the proportions called for by the
specifications, and as soon as the test
results are available, the sand in th^
entire bank or in certain parts is ac-
cepted, adjusted for cement, or re-
jected, upon the basis of the value of
the material when made into concrete.

The third class is practically the
same as the first, except that the en-
gineer on the work samples the ma-
terial immediately upon receipt of the
shipment, although the work is not
held up waiting test results of the
sample. In this class are placed all
pits (bank sand only) which appear
to have a uniform material after
stripping has been removed, but do
not show sufficient shipment of ma-
terial to warrant the expense of an
inspector. The samples submitted by
the resident engineer are made into
composite samples and tested twice
weekly.

It can be readily seen that when
the testing of fine aggregate is con-
nected with the practical and eco-
nomic use of the material in the field,
the laboratory work itself is by no
means the last word in protection
against the use of inferior material.
When operations are of such a large
and varied nature as are found in
states with large highway programs,
the greater responsibility rests on the
men in the field. The problems they
encounter in handling different situ-
ations regarding fine aggregate should
be taken up with the laboratory so

1923

Roads and Streets

739

that as much standardizing as possi-
ble can be carried on. They should
look upon the laboratory as a guide
and not feel that it is merely a place
to shoulder responsibility for delays.
Its function is to protect the state
from the use of improper materials,
but it cannot perform this function
unless it receives the full co-operation
of the engineers in the field.

Engineers' Participation in
Public Affairs

Extract From Address Presented Before
Elngineers Society of St. Paul

By JOHN H. MULLEN

The participation of engineers in
public atfairs of Minnesota has been
a very potent factor in the develop-
naent of the state, but this participa-
tion has generally been limited to pro-
motional work by society groups, for
the purpose of bringing about new
legislation affecting only engineering
projects. In this respect the engi-
neers of the state have been very suc-
cessful, as may be evidenced by the
progress brought about in state laws
relating to highways, drainage, sani-
tation and contracting, and in city
ordinances governing city planning,
building codes and structural inspec-
tion, for all of which the engineering
societies have due credit, and it may
truthfully be said that they have been
primarily responsible for a consider-
able part of this development.

Until just recently, however, this
original work had not been followed
up. It has been customary, after the
enactment of new ensrineering policies
into law or ordinance and the first
flush of enthusiasm has waned, to
leave the further necessary legisla-
tion and public support to be pro-
moted by those engineers directly af-
fected. Herein lies the opportunity
for service by the engineering fra-
ternity as a whole in its relation to
public affairs.

_ It should be a matter of profes-
sional principle for all engineers to be
well informed on public matters af-
fecting general engineerine work and
to exert some effort to direct the
forming of public sentiment and
opinion which really governs admin-
istrative policies and legislation. This
seems to be the only way to make
progress under present conditions for
engineers are not generally repre-
sented in legislative bodies. The last

Minnesota legislature had but one en-
gineer out of a total membership of
200, and there was none in the pre-
vious season. Very seldom is an en-
gineer to be found in a city council,
and until the engineers do take active
interest in political matters we can-
not hope for the best results in public
work.

Within the last few years there has
been a marked development in this
state in the participation of engineers
in public affairs through the organi-
zation of the Minnesota Federation of
Architectural and Engineering Socie-
ties. This federation of technical or-
ganizations can become of great value
and service to the community but only
through the active help of the indi-
vidual members. Its board of di-
rectors has given freely of time and
effort successfully to promote and de-
velop public policies affecting engi-
neers' work. We cannot, however,
expect the directors to carry this en-
tire burden but must develop in the
individual a consciousness of responsi-
bility for the support of those things
which are important to engineers as
a whole, even though some such mat-
ters have no connection with or bear-
ing on the work of the particular in-
dividual in question. The tendency,
we find, is to leave too much of this
work to our committees and directors;
becoming so much engrossed in the
details of our own activities that the
broader development of engineering
practice and influence is retarded
through lack of support.

One of the judges of our supreme
court in a public address recently
stated that of the evidence brought
out in litigation, that which was of-
fered by engineers was given greater
credence than perhaps from any other
source as it is recognized that the
engineer's testimony and opinion are
based upon a careful investigation of
facts and a logical application of
scientific principles. This statement
coming from one who has been on the
bench for more than 15 years is food
for thought and is an indication of
the force which may be exerted by
the engineers through concerted well
directed effort in matters of public
policies. Engineers should not shirk
their responsibility through a false
idea that politics is hot for the pro-
fessional man. Politics is the science
of civil government and would be
much the better for the participation
in it by engineers.

740

Roads and Streets

October

Selection of Types of Asphalt

Pavement With Reference

to Local Materials

Paper Read Before Recent Asphalt
Convention at Denver, Colo.

By ROY M. GREEN

Manager Western Laboratories, Lincoln, Neb.

During the year 1921 over $120,-
000,000 was expended for the im-
provement of tne streets in the 252
largest cities in the bnited States.
During the same year the sum of $34,-
742,vyi was expended for sanitation
and the promotion of cleanliness, and
$55,396,376 for schools in tne . same
cities.* Over 39 per cent of all tne
outlay of funds in these cities was
expended for highway improvement.
More than twice as much was spent
for street improvement as for schools
and nearly tour times as much for
streets as for sanitation. These sta-
tistics indicate the relative magnitude
of the street paving problem as com-
pared with other municipal undertak-
ings on the basis of financial im-
portance.

Regardless of the manifest im-
portance of this problem in every city
in the United States we still find the
laymen of the various cities, through
their city councils, or commissions,
feel justified in taking from the hands
of their engineers the important prob-
lem of the selection of the type of
pavement to be used in any location.
The success of the street system, as a
transportation medium, is entirely de-
pendent upon this selection, yet many
members of city councils feel them-
selves qualified to select the type of
pavement to be used. These same
men would hesitate to even make a
recommendation regarding the design
of a sewer or water-supply system,
where much less money is involved
in the enterprise.

Authority of Engineer. — Although
it is manifestly a fact that this
authority should be vested in the en-
gineer we are still confronted with the
condition, in many states, where the
law delegates this authority to the city
council, or even worse, to the abutting
property owners within the district to
be paved. Without any question, this
reacts against the best interests of
the public and results in improper

•From "Financial Statistics of Cities for
1921," U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau
of Census.

selections in many instances, and is
one of the greatest contributing
causes of the snort average lite of
pavements.

Since the engineer does not have
this authority it would seem, at first
thougnt, tJiat a discussion of the se-
lection of types of aspnalt pavements
with reference to local materials is a
waste of time at a meeting of engi-
neers, but this is not true.

Even though the engineer is con-
fronted with this condition he still
has great authority in making the se-
lection of type through the tact that
he still has practically unlimited
authority in the drafting of the speci-
fications for the work contemplated^
Let us call this, selection of type by
specifications. Unfortunately the en-
gineer too often overlooks the fact
that he has this authority and hastily
draws up his specifications by simply
adopting the standard specifications
of one of the national agencies that
have adopted such standards, never
realizing that his client may suffer
great financial loss through such pro-
cedure.

There is never a locality where one
of the asphalt pavement types does
not have a superior economic advan-
tage over all others on account of the
availability of some source, or sources,
of supply of local materials. In some
cases these local materials may be of
such a nature that they will not meet
the requirements of the specifications
of the American Society of Municipal
Improvements or of the Asphalt Asso-
ciation. I do not wish to be under-
stood, however, as criticising these
specifications, because I most heartily
approve of them, and especially those
of the Asphalt Association, which I
consider as the best group of standard
specifications that have ever been pre-
pared, but I do wish to bring out the
fact that the blind use of standard
specifications is poor engineering and
results, in many cases, in higher costs
to the owner without a corresponding
improvement in the quality of the
finished product. On the other hand,
it is likewise very poor engineering
to specify for the use of local ma-
terials without first making a very
thorough investigation of these ma-
terials. Furthermore, such an investi-
gation should not simply include the
usual laboratory tests of these ma-
terials but should embrace a thorough
examination of the deposits, method
of production, quantity and uni-
formity as well as quality of the ma-

1923

Roads and Streets

741

terial itself. These investigations
should be carried on only by persons
who are thoroughly qualified, through
years of experience in the construc-
tion of asphalt pavements, for if they
are not, the entire expenditure of the
owners' money is then being placed
upon an experimental basis, which is
a condition never justifiable under
any circumstances.

If this procedure is followed it will
be p>ossible for the engineer to exer-
cise great influence in the selection of
type with reference to local materials
if he makes a thorough investigation
of the availability of materials of all
kinds and then makes sure to include
in his specifications a description of
the type that can be constructed by
using the greatest quantity of low
priced material of a quality that is
entirely satisfactory for the purpose
intended. As soon as bids are re-
ceived under these specifications the
price bid on this type should be low
enough to make the selection almost
inevitable.

Abuse of Selection by Specification.

— Allow me to take two illustrations
from cases that have come to my at-
tention in our practice. In one city
an engineer asked for bids upon sheet
asphalt and asphaltic concrete, coarse
aggregate type (in this case called
bitulithic). The specifications for the
large aggregate for the asphaltic con-
crete allowed the use of a very in-
ferior grade of broken stone and as a
result an aggregate was used having
a toughness of only four when tested
by the Page impact machine. To
have obtained satisfactory large ag-
gregate of broken stone for this work
would have required its being shipped
for a distance of over 500 miles and
from another state at a very high
freight rate.

On the other hand the large aggre-
gate for use in the binder course of
the sheet asphalt was described in
such a way that it required an aggre-
grate of a toughness of 10 and a
French coefiicient of wear of not less
than eight and made it necessary to
ship this material a distance of over
500 miles, while there were good com-
mercial deposits of gravel containing
materials that would have been en-
tirely satisfactory for that purpose
within a distance of less than 50
miles. All other aggregates entering

into the construction of the sheet as-
phalt pavement were even nearer
than this, with the exception of the
stone dust for filler. The engineer
either abused the pri%ilege of selec-
tion by specifications and deceived
the oNvners' confidence and wasted
their money or he was ignorant. In
this case, I believe that it was the
former, because he specified also that
the binder for the sheet asphalt
should contain 7 per cent of limestone
dust. The city is no longer a client of
the engineer.

Proper Use of Selection by Specifi-
cation.— On the other hand, let us con-
sider another illustration, where speci-
fications were drawn with the inten-
tion of utilizing available materials
to the greatest advantage. The city,
through its engineer, adopted a speci-
fication, which incidentally is not in
accordance with any of the standard
specifications for large aggregate for
binder construction, but is good prac-
tice and has been demonstrated as
being satisfactory for the work con-
templated. Through the use of these
specifications, instead of the adoption
of one of the standard specifications,
the most economical selection was ap-
parent to any unprejudiced party and
resulted in the saving of approxi-
mately $50,000 on a two-year paving
program and the quality of the work
did not suflfer in the least detail. All
the aggregates for this work were
obtained within 5 miles of the im-
provement with the exception of the
limestone filler.

In closing, however, I wish to again
sound the word of warning against
the adoption of any local materials or
special specifications unless their
adoption is thoroughly investigated
by one who is unquestionably qualified
to pass judgment upon their utiliza-
tion of the work contemplated as it
would be a serious error in policy to
place the expenditure of public money,
in such great quantities, upon an ex-
perimental basis and it would react
against the best interests of all con-
cerned in the construction of roads
and pavements.

On the other hand I wish to draw
your attention to the economic value
of making thorough investigations of
all_ sources of supply of materials for
utilization in the construction of as-
phalt pavements.

742

Roads and Streets

October

New Highway Creosoted Timber

Bridges in Alabama

Contracts have recently been let for
nine standard highway creosoted tim-
ber bridges to be erected in Dale,
Conecuh, Houston and Covington
counties, Alabama. Three bridges will
be 680 ft., 396 ft., and 400 ft. long,
requiring a total of 373,554 ft. b. m.
of treated lumber, and 14,948 linear
feet of creosoted piling. Mr. R. P.
Boyd, ofRce engineer, Alabama State
Highway Department, gives the fol-
lowing details in September Wood
Preserving News:

Square, sound and dense southern
yellow pine, without heartwood re-
strictions, cut to correct size before
treatment, is to be used. All sawing
or boring into the treated timber will
be avoided, and when necessary the
cuts or holes will be filled with three
coats of boiling creosote oil. The cut
surface of the piles at cut off will be
protected with three coats of creo-
sote.

The specification calls for the pres-
sure treatment of the timber, inject-
ing 12 lbs. of creosote oil per cubic
foot into the lumber and 16 lbs. per
cubic foot into the piling.

Foundation piles have a minimum
diameter of 8 in. at the tip and 12 in.
at the butt. Stringers vary in size
from 10 in. x 14 in. x 21 ft. to 6 in. x
14 in. X 14 ft.; caps, 12 in. x 20 ft. 6
in.; sway braces, 3 in x 10 in. x 22 ft.
and 24 ft.; wheel guards, 4 in. x 8 in.
X 20 ft. 6 in. to 4 in. x 8 in. x 14 ft.
6 in.; railing posts, 4 in. x 6 in. x 6
ft.; railing post blocks, 4 ft. x 6 in. x
14 in.

One feature of construction is the
creosoted laminated sub-floor pro-
vided with a bituminous wearing sur-
face. This sub-floor consists of creo-
soted 2 in. X 4 in. x 19 ft. 4 in. timber
placed on edge. Each stick is toe
nailed to each stringer with two 16d
nails and nailed to sub-floor timbers
already in place with one 16d nail
every 12 in. A 2 in. x 8 in. paving
retainer is nailed to the sub-floor
every 12 in.

These bridges will have an 18-ft.
roadway and are designed with four
pile bents to carry a typical 15-ton
truck.

New Trade Publications

The following publications of interest to en-
gineers and contractors have been issued re-
cently :

Cold Repair Cement. — The Barber Asphalt
Co., Land Title Bldg., Philadelphia, Pa., has
issued a useful booklet on Barber brand cold
repair cement. It contains instructions on the
use of the material for repairing roads and
for the construction of railway grade cross-
ings and station platforms.

Coal Hoists and Bodies. — A bulletin dealing
with "Universal" coal hoists and bodies has
been published by the Universal Hoist & Body
Co., Everett, Mass. Illustration of the bodies
on various truck mountings, together with
data and general information are included.

Road and Street Maintainer. — The Gray
Tractor Co., Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., has
issued an instructive circular illustrating and
describing its combination machine, consisting
of a 50 h. p. 8-ton tractor roller, equipped
with scarifier and grader.

Snow Plows. — The Good Roads Machinery
Co., Kennett Square, Pa., has just issued a
new broadside containing much useful infor-
mation regarding its Champion snow plow.

Steam Rollers. — Steam and motor rollers
are the subject of a recent catalog of the
Bucyrus Road Machinery Co., Bucyrus, O. The
machines are illustrated and described and
their specifications are given.

Pumping Outfits. — The Novo Engine Co.,
Lansing, Mich., brought out a bulletin on its
pumping outfits. It contains illustrations, de-
scriptions and specifications for high pressure
pumps, diaphragm and centrifugal pumps and
deep well pumps. Some useful tables on
characteristics of pumping outfits are in-
cluded.

Snow Plows. — An interesting catalog illus-
trating and describing its auto truck snow
plows has been issued by The Baker Mfg. Co.,
506 Stanford Ave., Springfield. III. The plows
and their use are fully illustrated and de-
scribed.

Industrial Notes

The Gray Tractor Co., Inc., of Minneapolis,
Minn., manufacturers of the Gray giant com-
bination road and street maintainer, has ob-
tained the services of Arthur A. Prausnitz of
Chicago, in connection with the sales distri-
bution of the machines in the central district
of the United States. Mr. Prausnitz has been
connected with the Koppel Co. of Koppel, Pa.,
as sales manager, with ofliices in Chicago, for
many years, and is well known amongst the
trade, having since 1909 devoted his entire
time to the investigation and sales promotion
of machinery for road construction. Irving G.
Jackson, who has devoted many years in the
promotion and sales of machines for road
construction, is associated with Mr. Prausnitz.

Robert D. Black. iK-anch manager for the
Black & Decker Mfg. Co., in charge of the
Philadelphia territory, will return to head-
quarters about the middle of November to take
up his new duties as advertising manager for
the company. Mr. Black succeeds Mr. Brogan
as advertising manager, effective Jan. 1, 1924,
at which time Mr. Brogan will take up his
new work in connection with G. W. Brogan,
Inc., which concern will handle the advertis-
ing of the Black & Decker Mfg. Co. and other
concerns.

Water Works

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.

221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbert p. Gillette, President and Editor

Leytis S. Louer, Vice-President and General Manager

New York OflSce: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St. and Broadway

Richard E. Brown, Eastern Manager

Roads and Streets — Ist Wednesday, $1

(a) Road Con- (c) Streets
struction (d) Street clean-

(b) Road Main- ing
tenance

Railways — 3rd Wednesday, |1

(a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-

way Ck>nstrnc- way Construc-

tion tion and

Maintenance Maintenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday, $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and Sanitation
Drainage (d) Waterways

Buildings — 4 th Wednesday, |1

(a) Buildings (d) Miscellaneoos

(b) Bridges Stractores
(c) Harbor Stmctiires

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., OCTOBER 10, 1923

No. 4

College Elducation

Perennially with the fall opening of
our colleges, when for a short time
public interest is focused upon them
at a maximum, the minds of many
of us turn back to our own college
days.

We think of the novelty of that first
matriculation; of the mysteries be-
fore us to be happily unfolded; of the
pleasurable anticipation of a four
year's work which was to fit us for a
happy and "successful" future, more
or less explicitly and wrongly pic-
tured in our minds; of the care-free-
dom of undergraduate life which at
the time we neither realized nor ap-
preciated; of the many happinesses
and of the same sorrows which even-
the undergraduate does not escape;
of our fanatical admiration for our
own chosen profession and our alma
mater; of the ideals with which we
entered and with which we left col-
lege; of the friends made, the knowl-
edge gained and the changes wrought
in habits and character. Of these

things and many others, we think;
but most of all of the peculiar joy
of gazing at the future — a future of
great and indefinite length, and of
nebulous beauty in which the gazer
might see what he could.

And as retrospect progresses we
look at the succeeding years, at what
they have brought, what they have
left us and at what those years yet
to come appear to hold. Disillusion-
ments there have been aplenty — dis-
appointments, sorrows, griefs. Yet
there have been successes also — joys
and satisfaction of which as freshmen
or as seniors we did not guess. Mist
still enshrouds the future but to our
better trained eyes its changing lights
and shifting masses bring fewer de-
ceptions. Mystery has largely van-
ished. Some ideals have changed.
Much tolerance has been developed.

What today do we think of our
"education?" What shall we say to
the fellow in his teens who comes to
us for advice? To the one who asks

744

Water Works

October

"Shall I study engineering?" or
"What branch of engineering shall I
study?"

Based upon his own experience and
observation the editor would answer
somewhat as follows:

A college course comes very near to
being worth while for its own sake.
That is, it can be made one of those
experiences the pleasure and satisfac-
tion of which warrants its cost in
time and money; but it is up to you
to make it so. Whatsoever course
you take, if you take it wisely, will
give you an all-round development
which you are not likely to secure
otherwise within an equa,l space of
time. It will add enormously, while
learning is still easy, to that fund of
i general knowledge on which every
man of broad affairs is much de-
pendent, and the possession of which
affords so many opportunities for
pleasure.

All-round development, of course,
requires attention to many things be-
sides books and lectures. Athletics,
the society of both sexes, public af-
fairs— all should be indulged in if you
want a genuinely broad education. I
have known college grinds who grad-
uated with so little knowledge of the
ways of men outside a limited circle
of distinctly their own kind that they
suffered a handicap for years.

Shall you study engineering? That
depends upon your ideals and qualifi-
cations. If maximum wealth is your
aim a commercial career is most likely
to bring it, though even there an en-
gineering education will be far from
useless. If you are most attracted by
the thought of constructive achieve-
ment then engineering is good. But
never forget that large scale success
means hard work. If you wonder
what your chances of large scale suc-
cess in engineering will be, the an-
swer is that there are as many oppor-
tunities in engineering as elsewhere,
that progress in any field of endeavor
depends upon the combination of na-\
tive and acquired abilities, and that
native ability is probably most often
to be found in the thing liked best.
Consider carefully the fund of experi-
ence that you have acquired to date,
and so far as possible learn about the
kinds of work of which you know the
least. Then use your best judgment
coupled with the guidance of whoever
is best qualified to guide you. Don't
let a passing attraction such as the
thought of an outdoor life in civil or

mining engineering or the pleasure of
handling tools and machinery in the
mechanical field weigh very heavily
with you.

The best field of engineering to se-
lect is a matter on which mighty little
worth whole advice can be given. In
general the qualities that will make
good in one will do equally well in
another, and the question stands al-
most wholly as one of personal pref-
erence. As a matter of fact very few
of us have followed very closely what
we had in mind when we went to col-
lege.

If you finally decide upon a tech-
nical course you will probably find
a prescribed curriculum containing
subjects for which you do not see the
need and at which you will chafe. In
this you will be mostly wrong. The
faculty has mapped out a course which
is far better than any you could plan
for yourself, and most of what you
don't like has an entirely proper place
in it. If it is not perfect, just take
it from the old-timers that the perfect
doesn't exist, and that success is very
largely a matter of getting the most
one can out of the imperfect.

Don't throw your ideals aside un-
less it be for better ones. You may
not reach them, but without an ideal
to work toward you may be perfectly
sure you will never get the best out
of yourself. Disillusionments are
necessary steps in the development of
understanding as the loss of our baby
teeth is a step in physical develop-
ment, but it is bad to try to hasten
either. Above all cultivate and keep
your self-respect and self-confidence.
Many a man superior in every other
way has fallen behind simply because
he lacked the confidence to carry him
ahead after a few mistakes.

New York Water Supplies. — In New

York state 86 per cent of the popula-
tion is now supplied with drinking
water from public supplies and 73-per
cent with treated or purified water.
In 1906 only about 70 per cent of the
population was served by public
water supplies. From 1885 to 1906,
the year supervision of public water
supplies began, the death rate from
typhoid fever remained practically
stationary, averaging about 23 deaths
to the 100,000 of population. From
1906 to 1922 there was a marked de-
crease year by year until the typhoid
death rate in the latter year reached
the low figure of 3 to the 100,000.

1923

Water Works

745

Construction Methods at Laurel Road Dam,
Stamford, Conn.

An Ingenious Use of Belt Conveyors for Handling Aggregate and
Concrete in Dam Construction

By DAVID BONNER, JR.

Superintendent of Construction, Henry Steers, Inc.

Laurel road dam, now under con-
struction for the Stamford Water Co.
at Stamford, Conn., presents an inter-
esting plant layout and a clever use
of belt conveyors for handling" ma-
terials and for lateral distribution of
the concrete.

cover an area of 285 acres and hold
2^4 billion gallons.

A preliminary study of the plant
layout involved the means of handling
earth excavation, rock excavation,
back fill, cleaning off the exposed
rock and preparing the foundation.

Loading Aggregate on Belt Conveyor.

The structure itself is a gravity sec-
tion concrete dam of a maximum
height of 63 ft., 1,900 ft. long, con-
taining approximately 60,000 cu. yd.
of concrete and requiring approxi-
mately 40,000 cu. yi\. of earth excava-
tion and 10,000 cu. yd. of rock excava-
tion and 75,000 bbi. of cement. The
reservoir, which is for storage pur-
poses, will, when completed, be about
a mile long and % mile wide and

digging, crushing and screening the
local materials for the aggregate and
then mixing the concrete and dis-
tributing it to the required place in
the dam and the handling and type of
the necessary concrete forms.

How the Excavation Was Handled.

— Along the downstream face of the
dam was laid a 26 ft. gauge track,
400 ft. of it on a heavy trestle, 900 ft.
oh fill made with the excavated ma-

746

Water Works

October

terial from the trench and 500 ft. on
the natural surface of the ground.
Upon this track were erected four
traveling stiff-leg derricks mounted
on 24 in. double flanged wheels. These
derricks have 65 ft. booms and are
capable of handling 10 tons on a 55 ft.
radius.

The excavation is done by a % yd.
caterpillar mounted steam shovel load-
ing into steel scale boxes, which the
traveling derricks pick up and place
in the trestle or ahead to form the
road for the traveller track or spoil
bank south of the track.

and sounded for seams or soft rock.
The Form Work.— Bulkheads of 2
in. plank and 3x8 studs high enough
for two lifts of concrete are then
erected and the first lift of concrete
placed. After the first lift the face
forms come into play. They are made
up of steel plates reinforced with
angle iron bolted to two steel channels
placed back to back on 5 ft. centers.
They are assembled in sections 50 ft.
long and 8 ft. high and wood walers
are used behind the channel iron
studs; 1% in. bolts 40 in. long with
threads on both ends are set in the

Section of the Aggregate Belt Conveyor.

The back fill is also handled by the
traveling derricks, equipped with
orange peel buckets.

After the shovels have excavated as
close as possible to rock, the mucking

fang follows up, cleaning oflF the rock
y hand, the material being handled
with scale boxes and the travellers.
When uncovered the rock is washed
down with a high pressure stream and
a fire hose nozzle. The amount of
rock to be removed is then deter-
mined. Upon the completion of the
rock excavation the bottom is again
washed down and finally inspected

form on 5 ft. centers 18 in, from the
top. One end of the bolt has a 1 in.
thread and the other 1% in. The 1 in.
thread goes inside the form, and on
this end is placed a 4x4 washer and a
1 in. nut, which is concreted in. When
the form is to be reset the 1% in. bolt
is removed, leaving the nut and
washer in the concrete. The form is
raised by the traveling derricks. A
1 in. bolt 40 in. long is screwed into
the nut and the form placed upon it;
two 3x8 walers separated by 2 in.
wooden blocks are slipped over the
bolts, which are then tightened up and

1923

Water Works

747

hold the forms rigid on the bottom.
The top of the forms are held in line
by crossrods and tumbuckles on 10 ft.
centers, entirely above the concrete
and passing through two 3x10 walers
separated by 2 in. blocks.

The concrete in general is poured
in 6% ft. lifts and the sections are
50 ft, long. A form starts in the
bottom and is raised until the section
is completed, after which the traveling
derrick picks it up, carries it ahead
and starts it again.

Handling the Concrete Aggregate
With Belt Conveyors. — The concrete

being at right angles to the line of
the conveyor and roll on short sec-
tions of track laid on planks. The
southerly end is mounted on a turn-
table so that as the shovel completes
a cut the conveyor is rolled arovmd
radially the amount the shovel has
cut and the operation begins again.
Conveyor A delivers its load into a
hopper at the turntable mounted end
and from this point, which is termed
the transfer house, Conveyor B, 375
ft. long and 20 in. wide, takes up the
load and with a vertical curve on a
20° incline at its southerly end car-

The Transfer House.

aggregate material for the dam is
local sand and gravel obtained about
1,300 ft. north of the dam, and the
pits were stripped of about 2 ft. of
overburden. Here a % yd. revolving
steam shovel loads the aggregate on
a 20 in. belt conveyor through a grill
and hopper, rejecting boulders over
8 in. The hopper is mounted on
wheels and rolls ahead as the shovel
moves.

This conveyor, known as Conveyor
A, is 400 ft. long and 20 in wide, and
is made up of 18 ft. trussed sections
mounted on 2-wheel trucks, the wheels

ries it to the gyratory crusher, where
the fines are by-passed by a grill and
the material above 2 in. is crushed,
both the fines and the crusher product
being deposited on a 45 ft. inclined
belt 24 in. wide. Conveyor C, which
takes them up to the rotary screen.

From the screen the sand is taken
to the storage trestle by Conveyor D,
18 in. wide and 240 ft. long, and the
stone by Conveyor E, 20 in. wide and
200 ft. long. The storage trestle is
130 ft. long and 30 ft. high, providing
a 2-day storage. The belts take a 20"
incline from the screen to the trestle

748

Watei' Workk

October

and there are unloaded into the piles
by traveling trippers, stone on the
northerly end and sand on the south-
erly end of the trestle. At the sand
end there is an auxiliary conveyor,
16 in. wide and 85 ft. long on which
the sand tripper can dump any sur-
plus sand to be taken to a waste pile.
Underneath the storage piles is a
timbered tunnel in which run two
more belts, one. Conveyor G, under
the sand pile, 157 ft. long and 18 in.
wide, and Conveyor H, under the
stone pile, 251 ft. long and 20 in. wide.
These belts are loaded with adjustable

The aggregate is loaded into these
buckets by adjustable chutes from the
bins and they in turn dump into the
batch hopper, where the cement is
addetl. This hopper has four sloping
sides and dumps directly into the
mixer.

The cement storage of 20,000 bags
is located just east of the mixing
plant and through the center of it
runs Conveyor I, a flat roller belt 20
in. wide and 150 ft. long, which takes
the cement bags up to the mixer plat-
form.

The Mixing Plant. — The mixing

The Storase Trestle.

chutes in the tunnel anil as they
emerge from it break into a vertical
curve and then into a 20" incline,
which brings them to the top of the
mixer bins located about 50 ft. from
the north face of the dam.

Handling the Aggregate at (he Mix-
ing Plant. — Beneath the mixer bins is
a platform having about <S ft. head •
room with the batch hopper of the
mixer about knee height in the center.
From the underneath side of the bins
are hung two self-righting buckets,
one for sand and one for stone, ar-
ranged to trip into the batch hopper.

plant is located 700 ft. from the easL
end of the dam and 1,200 ft. fronl the
west end. From tlie mixing plant
runs a light trestle parallel with the
dam, 5 ft. higher than the coping,
with the top cap of the bents canti-
levering over the north face about 6
in. Upon this trestle is Conveyor J,
running the length of the dam antl
20 in. wide.

The mixer dumps into a hoist
bucket which is elevated up a steel
tower to hopper from which, by means
of a short chute, the concrete is loaded
on Conveyor J. A traveling tripper

1923

Water Works

749

runs on rails the length of this con-
veyor and is moved by a line on a
winch on one of the tripper pulley
shafts as fast as one can walk.

Placing the Concrete. — For the deep
sections svi^ivel head chutes are sus-
pended from the tripper and handled
by one of the derricks, for the top
lifts and the coping flexible drop sec-
tions are suspendeil from the tripper
and the tripper is moved up and down
the section.

A specially designed scraper on the
tripper scrapes the belt clean without
harming it. There is no loss of grout

specially designed to prevent any
leakage of water through the dam.
Horizontal as well as vertical keys
are used, and before a section is
started all laitance is washed off the
previous section with a fire hose noz-
zle and a high pressure stream of
water. The surface of the previous
section is then covered with V2 in, of
grout and then the concrete is started.
Upon the completion of a section, the
horizontal keys weighted with con-
crete are placed by the traveling der-
ricks, which also place the plums.
The sections are carried up to the

-ytN V7T- ■» r '^f i V = * "' ' ■

The Mixing Plant and Hoist Tower.

whatever on the belt and there is no
separation of the aggregate no matter
how far it is transported.

The belt conveyors are motor
driven, the current being manufac-
tured on the work by a 60 K. W.
steam direct connected generator
which also furnishes current for
lighting. The material conveyors run
at a speed of 350 ft. per minute and
the concrete conveyor 500 ft. a minute.

The concrete mix is 1:2V2-A\2.
The various blocks, which are in gen-
eral 61/2 ft. thick and 50 ft. long, are
dovetailed into one another with kevs

under side of the coping, which is
placed afterwards, elastite expansion
joints are used in the coping, which
is 2 in. thick and troweled and marked
out in squares with a jointing tool on
the top.

The Equipment. — The shovel in the
gravel pit is a 14 B. Bucyrus cater-
pillar mounted. The belt conveyors
were made by the Conveying Weigher
Co. The compressor is an F. R. I.
Ingersoll-Rand, delivering 500 cu. ft.
per minute; the drills, D. C. R. 13
Ingersoll-Rand. The generator is a
Western Electric and the motors are

750

Water Works

October

General Electric and Westinghouse.
The crusher is an 8 in. Bulldog gyra-
tory, made by the Traylor Engineer-
ing Co., which also furnished the 4
ft. X 22 ft. screen. The mixer is a
1 yd. Smith tilter. The tower, hoist
bucket and hopper were made by
Insley. The engines were made by
Lambert, Lidgerwood, Mundy and
Flory, while Terry and Lambert built
the derrick fittings. The shovel in
the excavation is a 20 B. Bucyrus
caterpillar mounted; the cement bags,
before being shipped back to the

Life of Belt Conveyor at St. Louis
Water Works

Mr. Leonard A. Day, chief me-
chanical engineer, St. Louis Water
Department, gives in following in the
September Journal of the American
Water Works Association:

When the boiler room at Bissell's
Point Station of the St. Louis Water
Works was reconstructed some 8 years
ago, a belt conveyor was installed to
convey and elevate the coal. It is
215 ft. between centers and elevates
the coal 53 ft., starting at a track

Depositinc Concrete on Belt Conveyor.

Nazareth Co., are shaken in a unit
sack cleaner.

A. B. Hill of New Haven is the en-
gineer for the Stamford Water Co.,
Clarence M. Blair is the resident en-
gineer and Harry Stokes his chief
inspector.

David Bonner, Jr., is superin-
tendent; Arthur R. Moxter, assistant
superintendent; John Fitzpatrick, gen-
eral superintendent, and H. R.
Wheeler, general manager for the
contractors, Henry Steers, Inc., of
New York.

hopper outside the building and de-
livering the coal to a group of four
bunkers in the boiler room. An aver-
age of 70 tons of coal per day have
been handled for the past 8 years,
204,400 tons in all, before the belt
was replaced. It is made of 5-ply
28 oz. duck, with % in. rubber cover
on the wearing side. It cost $831.60
at $1.89 per foot. This gives a belt
cost of 0.4 ct., per ton to move the
coal through the distance and to the
elevation stated.

1923 Water Works 751

Water Waste, Meters and Rates at Baltimore

A Comprehensive Study and Analysb Based on Surveys Covering

Present Conditions, Anticipated Results, Financing Problems auid

Installation Details in a Review Presented to the Elngineers'

Club of Baltimore, March 28, 1923

By BERNARD SIEMS, C. E.,

Associate Civil Engineer, Water Department. Baltimore. Md.

Published Serially in Engineering & Contracting

Part II — Meters, Rates, Comparisons and Costs (Continued)

The investment of plant and prop-
erty of the Water Department of
Greater Baltimore is estimated to be
$35,000,000.00, and by applying a 5
per cent rate of return to this capital
investment an amovmt of $1,750,000.00
(this amount remains constant re-
gardless of additional capital expendi-
tures) should be secured. As it is the
purpose of a municipally owned util-
ity to furnish service to the public at
cost, this return which is over and
above operating and maintenance cost
will cover the annual sinking fund
and interest on the present water
loan and will, in addition, create a
reserve amount to finance future addi-
tions or enlargements to the water
system. By totaling the fair net re-
turn of 5 per cent ($1,750,000.00), an
annual depreciation of 1 per cent

($350,000.00) together with operating
expenses ($1,433,500.00 plus $281,-
500.00 for small water mains exten-
sions equals $1,715,000), $3,815,000.00
is obtained as a total service revenue
required to make the Water Depart-
ment self-sustaining. This sum can
immediately be di\ided into that re-
ceived for public fire protection and
that derived from the general water
service. The entire cost of public fire
protection, based upon a unit charge
of $40.00 per fire hydrant, is to be
taken from the general tax levy, as it
is then paid in proportion to the value
of the property protected. The gen-
eral water service revenue is sub-
divided into revenue for consumption
or commodity charge ($2,173,000.00)
and revenue from fixed service charge
($1,449,200); the revenue from fixed

ble Xin — Determination of Recommended Schedule of Rates for the Water Department of
Greater Baltimore — January, 1922

Toiii unB SBmci retsts iJ.ms.ooc

Iat«r*8t msd sinking ?«ada for ?T«*«at On^XAndlag Loab*

and Basam for rstu* laqirarTMMata 5 ixr c«nt ei ;;35.00C,000 Jl.TSC.OOO

^■■•^-' IMcrvaistiQn - - X nr o<as of $35,000, CV* SSC.CCC

OfT^tS.:^ 2x:an>M (Tor Tmt« li>kln«) I.TIS.OOO

I MiwiT ii^xs. sBmcj mmi'^ is.sia.ooo

' P.bli.MC - *192.00O(rubllc ?lr«

PTOt»0?l0«}

M.9T p*r Mnt of $3.S1£.OOC

. »li£,COC

(Tc b« r*c«l-rsd fro3 t«jc r«te i

4800 h/druu 0 »4C.0C

6.05 p»r o«nt of fs.eis.cc:

S raOK CQBKn?;i33 C3 C0iaC3I>T

a> f«T cant of ^,623,000

T-yy no-i-3 c?. r-:xsi»ES
^\X£'i. ♦i.oe«.9oo

TS ^l c»n*. of «1,m;,200

^5 p«r c«n; of ^,449,2

Co-nr* Coiti of ii:lr«
SuU::*** '.o Sorr* tin

1. Tarlsi aa tba TIaTiinn
ca?aci:/ of tba altar

ai Ualatalaad 1^

at iBAltl^ MTlalosI .
aroalra'asd Jklataaasea of Ifatars . . . it.UD

• • • s«mc« ritaaiae.cco

(Cona-jiat for all »l:«s of aat»r«.Total*3«!.s.x

752

Water Works

October

service charge is subdivided into reve-
nue from demand or readiness to
serve charge ($1,086,900.00) and reve-
nue from consumers' charge ($362,-
300.00), (See Table No. 13).

On Table No. 14 are outlined the
basic charges — "Recommended Sched-
ule of Rates for the Water Depart-
ment of the City of Baltimore,"
submitted to the Water Engineer Jan-
uary, 1922.

Service Charge Endorsed by Com-
missions.— The fixed service charge
principle is slowly but surely receiv-
ing universal recognition. The Public
Service Commissions of Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Wisconsin, California
and perhaps other states have ap-
proved rate schedules based upon the
fixed service charge. The New York
Commission has ruled that "a service
charge is a legal and just charge if
properly adjusted as to amount".

The Railroad Commission of Cali-
fornia in the case of the Spring Val-
ley Water Company, September 3,
1918, stated: "We have given this
matter very extensive and careful
consideration and have arrived at the
conclusion that the sound basis for
establishing these rates is that there
should be first a service charge based
upon the size of the meter, which
service charge is to be paid by all
consumers, regardless of the amount
of water used."

Numerous other references could be
given, but those mentioned are suffi-
cient to prove the increasing recogni-
tion of the fixed service charge prin-
ciple as the most rational and logical
method yet proposed as a basis for a
system of rates.

Under the Water Department's
conditions of service, we believe the
service charge thoroughly understood
will be accepted as a fair and
equitable charge.

After determining the service
charge, we have given consideration
to the charge per one thousand cubic
feet of water used, and in this con-
nection have recognized the so-called
wholesale principle.

A schedule of rates should equi-
tably and indiscriminately distribute
the burden of the expenses of oper-
ation, depreciation and fair return on
the evaluation of the property. It is
obviously unfair and unreasonable for
one consumer or class of consumers
to pay the cost applicable to any
other consumer or class of consumers.
In other words, any system of rates
charged by public utility should be
exactly proportional to the amount of
service rendered. This, however, is
only possible when the service may be
accurately measured by some device,
as the equity and fairness of rates
by measurement cannot be success-
fully challenged.

Proposed Rate Schedule. — W i t h
these principles in mind, the schedule
of rates shown in Table No. 14 was
submitted.

Consider a revenue bearing water
consumption of over 3,000,000,000
cubic feet per year, the average water
service rate will be $0.70 per 1,000
cubic feet. As the cost per unit de-
creases as the demand increases, a
sliding scale of rates has been de-
vised, allowing four classes of con-
sumptions and varying from $0.80 per
1,000 cubic feet for small consumers

Table XIV-

Size of
Meter

-Recommended Schedule of Rates for the Water Department of Greater Baltimore.
January, 1922
(Bills to Be Rendered Quarterly)

Maximum Allowable Consumption

No. of An. Minimum

Annual Fixed

Water Service

Charge

(1)

Cost
(2)

$ 5.85
8.20

15.20

33.96

No Allowable Consumption
No Allowable Consumption
No Allowable Consumption
No Allowable Consumption
No Allowable Consumption
No Allowable Consumption
No Allowable Consumption

Cu. Ft.

Water Service

Per Year

Charge

(3)

(4)

1+2

7.300

$12.50

10,250

17.86

19,000

80.45

42.460

66.52

% in $ 6.65

% in. „ 9.66

1 in. — 16.25

\^ in „ 22.56

2 in 88.00

3 in 106.6B

4 in : 187.26

6 in - 416.16

8 in _ '. 789.26

10 in „. ~ 1,160.46

12 in 1,484.26

WATER CONSUMPTION OR COMMODITY CHARGE
(Applied in Addition to Annual Minimum CharRe or Annual Fixed Charge)

First 60.000 cu. ft. per year $0.80 per 1,000 cu. ft.

Next 540.000 cu. ft. per year 60 per 1,000 cu. ft.

Next 4,400,000 cu. ft. per year - 45 per 1,000 cu. ft.

Over 6,000,000 cu. ft. per year „ 28 per 1,000 cu. ft.

1923 Water Works 753

Table XV — ^Expenses for Water Department (New Annex Water Companies Not Incladed) and

Collector of Water RenU

(Arranged in Accordance With Municipal Budget)

WATER DEPARTMENT

StUarie*

Executive Division ~ $ 21.796.00

Auditing Division 19.200.00

Engineering and Construction Division 96,270.00

Mechanical Division 40.920.00

Filtration Division - _ .- ~ - 83.305.00

Engineering and (Construction Division $ 220.000.00

Mechanical Division 76,175.00

Filtration Division _ „ - - 51,583.00

S 211,491.00 $ 211,491.00

♦Approximate.

*$ 347,758.00 $ 347.758.00

Materials, Etc.

Fuel and Power - $ 226,471.00

Chemicals - ~ 78.200.00

Pipes, Fittings, Castings, etc — — . 11 5.000.00

Lumber, Rope, Oils, Waste, etc 16.000.00

Brick. Cement, Sand, Gravel, etc _ — 3,500.00

Tools, Machinery and Instruments _ 12,000.00

Miscellaneous ._ „ 120,000.00

Emergency Fund ■■ 300.00

$1,130,720.00
Funds to Provide for Depreciation of Plants (Designated as New Improvements)

Vfork in Advance of Improved Paving $ 176,138.00

Repairs to Pumping Station _ 11,078.00

Booster Pump „ 1,200.00

Gravel Washing Machine 2,272.00

20 M. G. D. Pump Eastern P. S. (Balance, 1921, $10,928.13) 9,513.00

Auto Trucks __ „ „„ 8.000.00

Lake Aushburton _ 618.00

$ 208.819.00 $ 208.819.00

Total for Water Department (19221 $1,339,539.00

COLLECTOR OF WATER RENTS

Salaries _ „ _ $ 39.200.00

Supplies 7.200.00

$ 46,400.00 $ 46,400.00

Total for Water Department and Cxjllector of Water Rents $1,385,939.00

ANNUAL SINKING FUND AND INTEREST CHARGES FOR 1922 ON WATER LOANS

Interest

1916 Water Loan ( 1.336,000 at 4 per cent)_ _ $ 53,440.00

1926 Water Loan ( 1,000,000 at 4 per cent) 40.000.00

1943 Water Loan ( 1,000.000 at 3% per cent) 35,000.00

1945 Water Loan ( 2,000,000 at 3^4 per cent) 70,000.00

1958 Water Loan ( 5,000,000 at 4 per cent) 200.000.00

1961 Water Loan (11,000,000 at 5 per cent) _.._ 550,000.00

$ 948,440.00 $ 948,440.00
Asstuned that $15,000,000 loan entirely spent and that interest
interest charges of ($750,000— $550,000) $200,000 on $4,000,000
(estimated cost of New Annex Water (Companies) provided for
from revenue of New Annex Water Companies. No allowance
made for operating and maintenance expenses of New Annex Water
(Companies.

Sinking Fund

1916 Water Loan $ 116,430.00

1943 Water Loan „ 27,000.00

1945 Water Loan — _ 14.553.75

1958 Water Loan _ 38.000.00

1961 Water Loan 131,000.00

$ 326,983.75 $ 326,983.75

Total Annual Interest and Sinking Fund Charges..- „„$1, 275,423.75

REVENUE FOR 1922— COLLECTOR OF WATER RENTS
(No Allowance for New Annex Water Companies)

_. . _ [Flat Rate $1,044,615.19

Water Rents < Meters _ 686,025.93

T . I Plumbing „ _ 85,293.69

Miterest on Back Water Rents „ 5,217.80

Turn-off and Vacancies 427.50

Pitonieter Survey [ 9,055!82

Total Revenue for 1922 $1,830,635.93 $1,830,635.93

754 Water Works October

DEFICIT FOR 1922— WATER AND COLLECTOR OF WATER RENTS DEPARTMENTS

Salaries and Expenses $1,385,939.00

Interest and Sinking Funds on Water Loans 1,275,423.75

Total Expenses „ $2,661,362.75 $2,661,362.75

Total Revenue for 1922 1,830,635.93

Total Deficit for 1922....: „ ._ > $ 830,726.82

to $0.28 for those using over 5,000,000 15 are shown the expenses for the

cubic feet per year. Domestic serv- Water Department (New Annex Wa-

ices (% in. meter) are to be charged ter Companies not included) and

a minimum water service charge of collector of water rents — ^Year 1922

$12.50 ($3,125 quarterly), allowing a (arranged in accordance with Munic-

yearly consumption of 7,300 cubic ipal Budget); and in Table No. 16,

feet equivalent to the use of thirty are shown the Estimated Total Oper-

gallons per capita per day which is ating Expenses of the Water Depart-

sufficient for cleanliness and for fur- ment — Year 1923 (based upon new

nishing water for drinking and culi- classification of accounts now in ef-

nary purposes, etc. See Table iNo. feet). These operating expenses were

14 for annual minimum water service used for "Recommended Schedule of

charge and maximum allowable con- Rates," "The Financial Status of the

sumption for % in., 1 in. and 1% in. Water Department as Affected by

metered water supply services. Metering" and the Development of the

Detail of Expenses. — In Table No. Gunpowder-Patapsco Supplies.

Table XVI — Estimated Total Operating Expenses of the Water Department — Year of 1923

(Based Upon New Classification of Accounts Now in Effect)

1. GENERAL EXPENSES ~ $ 136,800.00

11. Administrative Expenses $ 27,500.00

1. Pay and expenses of Executive Division

employes $23,400.00

2. Office supplies and expenses 500.00

3. Executive Division stationery, printing,

etc 1,500.00

4. Executive Division miscellaneous expenses 100.00

5. Executive Division automobile expenses.... 2,000.00

12-A. Accounting and Commercial Expenses $ 32,200.00

1. Pay and expenses of Auditing Division

employes $26,600.00

2. Auditing Division office supplies and

expenses 1,000.00

3. Auditing Division postage, telephone and

telegraph 500.00

4. Auditing Division stationery, printing and

advertising 2,000.00

6. Auditing Division miscellaneous expenses.. lOO.OO
6. Auditing Division paymaster automobile

expenses 2,000.00

12-B. Accounting and Commercial Expenses — Engineering

and Construction Division $ 11,500.00

1. Reading of meters ; $11,500.00

2. Meter bills

12-C. Accounting and Comm.ercial Expenses —

Collector of Water Rents $ 55,600.00

16. Injuries and Damages $ 10,000.00

2 and 3. OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE EXPENSES „ $1,296,660.00

21-A. Operating Management Expenses — Filtration

Division -. $ 18,600.00

1. Pay and expenses of operating manage-

ment employes $1 2,800.00

2. Office supplies and expenses 2,000.00

3. Automobile expenses „ 1,600.00

4. Storeroom and machine shop expenses 1,800.00

6. Miscellaneous expenses - • 1,000.00

21-B. Operatinq Management Expenses — Mechanical

Division ~ $ 12,600.00

1. Pay and expenses of operating manage-

ment employes $ 9,000.00

2. Office supplies and expenses 1,000.00

8. Automobile expenses _ - 1,600.00

4. Miscellaneous expenses .~ 1,000.00

21-C. Operating Management Expenses Engineering

and Construction Division $151,250.00

1. Pay and expenses of operating manage-

ment employes — Executive Subdivi8ion....$l 0,550.00

2. Pay and expenses of operating manage-

1923

Water Works

755

22-A & 32-A.
22-B & 32-B.
22-C & 32-C.
23-A & 33-A.

23-B & 33-B.

-C & 33-C.
24-A & 34-A.

1-B & 34-B.

; & 34-C.

-D & 34-D.

^^24-E to 24-K

34-E to 34.K,

24 & 36,

ment employes — Cost Anal. Subdivision.. 8,480.00
Pay and expenses of operating manage-
ment «nployes — Construction Subdivision 10,800.00
Pay and expenses of operating manage-
ment employes — Maintenance Subdiv — 5,950.00
Pay and expenses of operating manage-
ment employes — Conservation Subdiv 12,350.00

6. Pay and expenses of operating manage-

ment employes — Meter Account Subdiv... 6,400.00

7. Pay and expenses of operating manage-

ment employes — Clerical Subdivision 12,070.00

8. Office supplies and expenses 10,000.00

^9. Engineering salaries and expenses. 13,750.00

10. Storeroom and yard expenses 30,400.00

11. Miscellaneous expenses — 8,500.00

12. Miscellaneous tools, foreman's field equip-

ment and appliances 22,000.00

Collecting System—Gunpowder Supply

Collecting System — Patapsco Supply

Collecting System — Jones Falls Supply

Purification Expenses — Montebello Filter plant

1. Heating plant $ 3,300.00

2. Lighting system 1.250.00

3. Laboratory 10,750.00

4. Pumping (Low Service Pumping Station) 95,850.00

5. Chemicals - 85,000.00

6. Chemical handling 4.550.00

Chemical mixing and control — - 17,700.00

.$ 18,400.00
. 3,000.00
. 1,420.00
. 243,850.00

Filters

Mixing basin —

10,550.00

1,400.00

300.00

500.00

700.00

12,000.00

10. Coagulating basin

11. Clear water basin

12. Wash water equipment

13. Miscellaneous —
Montbello FUter Grounds..

1. Roads

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Purification Expenses — Avalon FUter Plant

Eastern (Middle Service) Pumping Station

Electric power $41,000.00

Miscellaneous structures

Outside piping and drains

Sewage disposal plant

Grounds

Horses and wagons

.$ 800.00

.. 4,000.00

100.00

300.00

. 11,300.00

1.550.00

4 18,050.00

4 8,850.00
.$ 55,000.00

Oil, grease and waste

Coal

Labor (attendants)

Labor (maintenance) .

Material (operating)

Material (maintenance) .

Rubber goods

Miscellaneous

100.00

380.00

9,000.00

3,190.00

240.00

1.060.00

20.00

10.00

Aft. Royal (Western Middle Service) Pumping Station $107,870.00

Coal _ „._ _ __$47,600.00

Oil and grease 460.00

Waste .._ _ 600.00

Packing ._ 350.00

Rubber goods 160.00

Labor (attendants) 17,980.00

I,,abor (operating) _ 29,800.00

Material (operating) 3,190.00

Material (maintenance) 7,600.00

Miscellaneous _ 130.00

Druid {High Service) Pumping Station. $ 30,910.00

Electric power .

Labor (attendants)

Labor (operating)

Material (operating)

Material (maintenance)

Oil and waste _

Miscellaneous

Belair Road (High Service) Pumping Station „$ 25,000.00

) New Annex Pumping Stations (Avalon, Catonsi^Ule,

S Hillsdale, Mt. Washington, Towson and Curtis Bay) _S100,000.00

Distribution Balancing and Storage Reservoirs, Tanks

and Standpipes ._$ 16,140.00

1. Ashburton Reservoir (W. M. S.) $ 1,530.00

2. Guilford Reservoir (E. M. S.) 3,050.00

3. Pimlico Reservoir (H. S. P. S. Suction

Reservoir) „.. 50.OO

4. Pikesville Reservoir 2,000.00

5. Druid Lake 1,280.00

Lake CTifton 650.00

..$18,200.00

_ 8,940.00

_ 2,360.00

150.00

710.00

430.00

20.00

100.00

Hampden Reservoir „ „ 3,380.00

756 Water Works October

9. Roland Park Standpipe 200.00

10. Arlington Standpipe 1,000.00

11. New Annex Reservoirs and Standpipes 2,000.00

(Highlandtown, L. S.), (Towson, H. S.),
(Catonsville, U. S.) and (Towson and
Catonsville Standpipes) .

27-A to 27-C. ) cut

37-A to 37-C. J cut

Distribution SyBtem $452,720.00

Construction Subdivision $144,000.00

Maintenance Subdivision 240,000.00

Meter Account Subdivision 18,720.00

Conservation Subdivision 50,000.00 •

28. Pitometer Survey $ 22,000.00

Fire flow tests, valve surveys, pitometer

surveys, etc $ 7,000.00

House inspection 15,000.00

31. Miscellaneous Expenses $ 17,000.00

Miscellaneous expenses $10,000.00

Charges for water used at Water Department
properties 7,000.00

TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES .$1,433,460.00

Part III — Financing the Cost of Installing Meters

It is the present trend of public
service and railroad commissions hav-
ing state supervision of public utili-
ties to consider the meter as an in-
tegral and necessary appurtenance of
the water distribution system, and as
such, should be owned and conse-
quently purchased by the utility.

Some Court Rulings. — This present
thought is in marked contrast with
some of the earlier commission and
court ruling on this subject. For
example, in 1903 the Wisconsin Su-
preme Court held that the water
meter is not so exclusively for the
benefit of the one furnishing the
water that the duty to furnish it
(the meter) cannot be imposed upon
the consumer. In New York it has
been held that a statute authorizing
the commission of public work to
place a water meter in the building
to which water is furnished for busi-
ness consumption, and making its
cost a lien upon the premises, is not
unconstitutional.

In the second class and more mod-
ern rulings, the Indiana, Wisconsin,
Illinois and Montana commissions
have generally held that the company
or municipality should bear the cost
of the meter and this is the present
view of the weight of authority fWy-
man on Public Service Corporation,
P. 1251). The Kansas Public Utilities
Commission held in 1915 that a rule
requiring patrons to purchase their
water meters from the Leavenworth
Water Company is reasonable, pro-
vided the company buys them to the
best advantage and sells them with-
out profit and the meters are such as
to give the best service at the least
expense; and a ruling requiring con-

sumers to pay for valves, pipe and
stop box was held reasonable.

Payment for Meter by Consumer. —
In the investigation of water supply
improvement for Greater Baltimore
(December, 1919) the writer sug-
gested that the consumers be re-
quired to pay for the meter, the
reason for this being that the Water
Department does not own the service
connection of the individual consumer.
This is his own property or rather is
considered as integral with the prop-
erty itself. This connection is in-
stalled for the property and is consid-
ered a direct benefit, and a direct
charge is applied both for the origi-
nal cost and all subsequent repairs.
The department has reserved the
right to make all repairs on the water
supply service between the water
main in the highway and the curb line
at the property's expense, to insure
uniformity in the materials used and
to prevent unauthorized parties from
handling the valves on the depart-
ment distribution system. From the
curb stop in, all repairs are made at
the consumer's expense by the owner's
plumber.

With such a system effective it
would introduce a discordant element
for the individual meter to be owned
by the department and to be con-
nected at either end with pipe owned
by the consumer, for petty complica-
tions could arise as to repairs. Un-
der the circumstances it was con-
sidered best for the department's
interest that the consumer own the
meter and be responsible for its main-
tenance, as with water supply serv-
ices. Where the Water Department
applies a fixed service charge, it

1923

Water Works

757

should own and maintain both the
water supply service and the meter;
this seems to be in harmony with
modem trend of thought.

The city is to obtain authority from
the legislature, if such authority is
lacked, to issue short term notes with
a life of two and one-half years at the
rate of $200,000 a year, which sum
is sufficient to finance a year's work
on the installation of 10,000 water
meters. This money is to be returned
in eight payments by the consumer, in
a period of two years, in payment for
the cost of the installation plus the
interest requirements for the period
of two and one-half years. This idea
was not worked out to the extreme
details, but as suggested is a practi-
cable scheme for metering the city
without any additional expenditure of
capital by the department.

Another Method of Financing. —
Another scheme for financing this im-
provement is for the applicant for
water service in the case of a new-
water supply service, to pay for the
cost of the new wateT" service and
meter when applying for water serv-
ice. This cost would be ascertained
from the department records for work
of this kind and would represent an
average cost. The money paid for
the installation of the water ser\uce

would not be refimded, but the money
paid for the meter and its installation
would be refunded in the following
way:

In the report entitled "Recom-
mended Schedule of Rates for the
Water Department of the City of Bal-
timore," dated January, 1922, the
fixed service rate per year was ascer-
tained to be $6.65 a year for a % in.
meter, and $9.66 a year for a % in.
meter. The average cost of installing
the water meter which the consumer
advances to the city at the time an
application is made for new water
service is to be returned by the de-
partment not charging the fixed serv-
ice charge for a period sufficient to
extinguish the debt, allowing the ap-
plicant interest at the rate of four
per cent a year. This would also be
applicable in the case of the consumer
who has a water supply ser\ace; he
would pay only for the cost of the
installation of the meter on his exist-
ing water supply service pipe and the
money would be refunded in the same
way. The conditions would be some-
what analogous to our present policy.

To operate the department as a
public utility and amenable to the
regulations of the Public Serv.ice
Commission, it is my opinion that
neither of these previous suggestions

Table XVII — Annual and Cumulative Savings Effected by Metering.

ixr:il. i.T> 3acur:TS MT-.»a tmyrzD sr rrraiaj

iTgu;i

SAT:r: ri

!iT:ig :i lacii

acwuss :■

b; 94Tm :>

94Tm a

OUIS

JUi?

MBT 0

r 7C1PIIIJ

onuru:

oraur.io

ciriui.

Wttt

run tu:

UO T

t?nci3

nocuTiM raiKB

OITrUT

»«TU»

i.'wru.

•sic-j7m

Tt'Til.

r^mruf.Ts

awzti anDLitm

incu.

ixwiiTm

amm.

XKurm

umu

xKiuriTi

ti)

(21

(31

(4)

(51

(6) (71

(»i

•44^

(*)

(10)

(11)

(12)

*»10

(19)
*'>U

* »

< '••%

^.«oooo

♦ _

t \i ,. 1

:>22 1 i.t«

I'.tSJ

IT.IS*

- 21,600'. n,6<»

9.790 ; 9,T90

- 6,111

8.U1

- 970,000

- 279,111 1- 279,111 1

I9S ^.*i

34,404

53,S4S

- 22,690- - 44,460

3,790

7,500

10,004

1,6*9

. 2*9loOO

- 969,000

- 294,994

- 969.109

m« S.4S

4S,140

101 ,9«e

124,6:51 62,165

3,79;

11.290

171,009

172,»00

2.6*4,909

2,11* ,909

2,965,909

2.S2,»S

HZ5 T.Ta

M.94S

U2,350

2S3,»S»' 335,904

3.750

15, OCO

910,494

4*9, S9*

9,194,79*

7,94*,091

5,9*5,242

7,947.449

1»» 1 U).2S

'3.«4»

236.39?

2.010i 339,614

9.790

lo.Tgo

72,107

998.461

90t.l*t

7, 964.269

274.2**

9.121 .744

nr 13.01

M.SM

324.940

- 14,6101 923.004

3.790

21.900

69,97*

423,439

- U4,909

7,432,079

- 64.231

9.0(7 ,03

U5" i li.n

100 .n«

425,7(9

- 4,ST2: 316.692

- a.600| 2*7.032

3,790

9t.2a>

92 .706

T19,1U

74.599

7,!0«,4S1

U7,2a9

9.224,772

i»» i».a

ii*,m

S40,'47

3.790

X.000

9>.6a

907,770

- £70,000

7.296,631

- 160,371

9,044.«01

ify K.M

12a.440

6«»,1»7

31,7601 SUMi

9.T90

99,790

196,490

*64.2a0

7*7.600

9,094,2a

*94/>9D

9,*»9.4«1

i«a 2<.«a

I4S.MI

612.624

- 5,65S! 323.1ST

9,750

37,900

I94.23T

1.0*6.437

46.9*9

9.0*3,129

1*9.139

*.m.9(*

ISK Z'.SS

552.2S1

96S.04O

11.095: 394.252

000

37,900

169,92S

1,261,749

121 ,9*4

9,905 ,021

399,222

*.9««,796

19S3 M.:!

i«o.n4

1.125,974

- 9i.<M, 236,211

OOO

S7;5«>

6*.»7S"

1,916.696

■i,*t6:6i9

6',9»*:Jo*

.l,999!i46

7,710,9*2

1934 ' I9.1«

144,369

1,290,341

-273,5521 - 35,341

900

S7.9«l

-10*499

1.217,*SI

-9,471.0*4

913,162

■9,599,22*

2430 .6M

U35 3f>.14

'l«l,120

1 ,tn ,4<i

- :9.;92|'- 94.739

OOO

57,500

Ul,79*

1,379,165

. 307,932

525,330

- 226.099; .1,*0*,915

'.936 Si.lt

191.TJ1

1,643.1*2

- 5,334)- 60,067

OOO

57.900

196.9*7

1,999,9*2

- 106,672

*18,658

79.725 1,9*4,240

19;t 32.0*

aOS.024

1,644,214

- 9,:!*2 . 6*,99*

000

37.S00

1*3.732

1,799,314

- 195,844

232,91*

7,9*8 1.9*2,129

19SS 33.0»

^13.916

2,060.132

- 6,57T . ■rT.*J6

000

37,500

loe.o*

l.*44,65I

- 171.934

41,260

33,909 2,a2S,*3l

1»S9 3«.1C

£W.9af

2,305.041

- 2,999] . 60,939

OOO

37,900

221,910

2,199,945

- 9*.*72

1,1*8

Ul.*3* 24*7,971

U40 55.12

2M,-'»3

2,540.624

OOC; • 60,933

000

57,500

255.763

2,42Z,34(

OOO

l,S6»

233.793 2,423,694

!»*: 36.11

244. MO

2,797.914

- 6,12* - 6*,0»4

•ysOl 37,300

239.251

2,640,677

- U2,976

. Ul,2(9

76,699 2,900.90*

19*2 I'.-c

231, 32J

3,036.505

- 6,6*9' - rT,*6l

000

57,500

£*2,*S4

2,909,0U

- 177,796

- 9n.0O4

**.696 2,949,007

1M3 M.tB

is^.e's

3,tM.140

000' . *7,»S1

000

(9.900

»».473

9.160,496

000

. tmjXM,

297,675 2,622,692

19M M.nl

2M,924

3.561,104

9,*92; - *4.01*

Oro

Sf.KO

26*. 694

3,429,542

79,649

- 2*0,996

547,904 9,1704*6

194S 4C.49

12-3,513

3,634,617

000' - 94,01*

000

57,500

993,513

3,703,099

OOO

- 260,996

279.513: 9,443,***

1944 41.09

|r»6,710

4.1U,329

- 4.4731 - »6,4*2

000

57,900

272,257

3,*79,2*2

. 9*,«6«

- 34*,920

1*2,779 9,(26,«72

194? : 42.11

MS,1S2

4.3*4,90*

000| - *9,4*2

000

97,500

293.182

4.259.474

000

. 349,920

299,192 3.90*,*S4

1944 ; 43.49

2*0,555

4,665,044

21(,044{ 117.974

000 , J7.500

906,621

4,769,0*5

4,81,916

3,*71,4*t

4.(27 ,*5r 9.757,5*1

1949 i 44.40

295.911

4.961,035

- 11,34* 104. 1-6

000 1 3',900

294,602

5,049,6*7

. 227.571

9,744,129

57,231 9,7»*.822

UtO t 4S.40

Ml. 102

5,2»2,9r»

000 106,209

000 . 37,600

301,902

9,391,9**

000

S,74«.123

901,902 ».0*«,724

Its 1 4«.tO

X'f.Ut

6,590,409

eoo 104, JOS

000 57,900

907,666

9,69* ,269

000

9,744,129

907 ,644 i *.4O4,990

1»M 4<.0O

31T,959

S1K.4M

5.9C9.e«2

OCO 104 ,205

«>0 ' 3',S00

917,95*

9,*T7,214

000

9,744,129

(17,*9*! *, 722, 349

19SS . 4*. 29

6.2»7.J»C

OOO 104 .r 5

^00 j 57,500

319,828

6,2*6,052

OOO

9,7*4.125

31*,82»;i0.041.177

1954 ' 4*.JC

51».«9S

4.546.093

- 3.nz

102,299

000 j 57,300

314.761

6,419.619

- 79.449

9.6*9.47'

236.113 10,277,290

19S6 5C.JS

S29 853

6.675.736

000

102.273

000 97,900

9** ,699

6, 940.446

000

9,449,4"7

32* ,653 10 .606, «43

1954 H.5P

337. 5CS

•.213.244

4*7,99*

9** ,612

000 1 37,900

695.0*7

».77s.«:s

*.**o.7eo

19.616.297

10,795.827 21,392.770

19J7 52.30

a43,15«

7.356.4C2

»0

9** .912

000 1 !-',500

349.156

9.119.6-:

OOO

13. 614. 737

343,19* '21 ,735,929

195« 53.3^

049,03!

7.9C5.437

COO

599. 'JJ

000 I 37,«^<1

949,035

8.447. 'OS

000

13.6:s.:;-

349,03! :r,0»4.»«9

1959 54. y

355,4'!

6.2il.l09

-JO. 900

969,(12

000 : S7.5CO

U4,971

5.592.579

-4,414,000

9,000,2 ■•

-4,491.129 17,!93.*S4

19«<' 5S.»:

M!,--'-

?.6:3.?99

-100

969,012

000 ■ 3'.«-'X>

362.791

•.955.556

000

9.CC,2S-

96!.7«1 |I',»3«.619

758

Water Works

October

would be applicable. The Pennsyl-
vania Public Service Commission has
ruled that where a fixed service
charge is applied the apnlicant is not
properly chargeable with the cost of
the service or meter. If this ruling
is applicable here it would add diffi-
culties to any scheme for intelligently
financing the installation of . meters.
As previously stated the various
service commissions have made con-
flicting rulings on this subject, but
the tendency is to require the utility
to own all its means of distribution,
and the Maryland commission has
taken this view with respect to the
public utilities of this state — the Con-
solidated Gas Electric Light & Power
Company and the Baltimore County
Water &' Electric Company (now
municipally owned), being required
to own the meters which were in-
stalled by the utility at the time of
the installation of the service. The
increase in capital investment is com-
pensated by the increased portional
return on the larger investment.

The proposed water rates are sjo
devised that a surplus would be
created to pay the sinking fund and
interest on the various water loans
outstanding; also a surplus over this
necessary amount which was to
accumulate annually at four per cent
interest and finance, without more
bond issues, the various necessary ad-
ditions^ to the department impounding
and distribution systems as recom-
mended by Messrs. Hill & Fuertes in
their final report dated June 23, 1920.
This sum for the first year would be
approximately $346,500 with interest,
which, either partially or wholly di-
vided from its intended purpose would
be available for installing water
meters.

At the time these various additions
were recommended by Messrs. Hill &

Fuertes, estimates were made on the
basis of a completely metered city. It
is doubted if these improvements can
be delayed and the deficiency in the
accumulated revenue in 1930, when
the first addition is recommended,
could be met by a bond issue — for the
entire amount if a ten-year schedule
is adopted, and for but a part of the
sum with a twenty-year schedule. As-
suming the adoption of the rate
schedule, it would be a questionable
policy for the department to use the
accumulated surplus for any purpose
other than previously stated, and al-
though this method of financing meter
installations would be available, it is
obvious that the disadvantages out-
weigh any advantage.

Financing by Issuance of Bonds. —
There remains the expedient of an-
other loan, with a life of twentj^
years — the estimated useful life of a
water meter. By this method the
entire city could be metered in as
short a period as is deemed desirable,
considering the possibility of inflating
the price of small water meters by
the intensive demand, and the most
efficient rate of installation.

This, while without doubt the best
method for financing the improve-
ment, would be unquestionably the
hardest to adopt, as the bond issue
must be voted upon and the possibil-
ity of its approval is negligible, as
there is an overwhelming number of
small property owners who now pay
small water rents and who do not de-
sire to pay the higher water rates of
the metered system.

As the Water Department is un-
questionably a public utility and the
Rice Bill (House Bill No. 420, Chapter
No. 289) which was passed by the
legislature and approved by the gov-
ernor, places the department in a
measure under the Public Service

Table XVIII— Cost of PampinK and Filtering

East
Montebello

( Chemicals $ 2.62

\ Pumping 2.95

Eastern Pumping Station 12.59

Mt. Royal Pumping Station

Curtis Bay Pumping Station

Belair Road Pumping Station..'. 16.00

Druid Pumping Station

HIGH

West

I 2.62
2.96

6.18

17.81

East

$ 2.62

2.96

12.69

MIDDLE
West

$ 2.62
2.95

South

$ 2.62
2.95

12.00

Low

$ 2.62
2.95

TOTAL $34.16 $28.56 $18.16 $10.75 $17.57 $5.57

The above mentioned accounts cover only the cost of chemicals at the filter plant and the
cost of coal and electricity at the pumping stations. They do not include maintenance, attend-
ance, material, or any other miscellaneous costs making up the actual operating expense.

From this it may be seen that the saving, as tabulated in table is extremely conservative.

1923

Water Works

759

Commission, it appears to be the
wisest policy to allow this commis-
sion to make a survey of the whole
system of rates for Baltimore and the
surrounding counties, as it is ap-
parent that the artificial divisions
now existing must be eliminated and
the entire area considered as one from
the standpoint of water supply. The
creation of a commission to manage
the whole ysstem, considering the
whole territory as a metropolitan dis-
trict, would be advisable.

If a scheme for financing by the
issuance of bonds is adopted, it can-
not be too strongly emphasized that
the life of these bonds should not
exceed the useful life of the water
meter. The working parts being sub-
ject to renewal and repair are prop-
erly chargeable to operating main-
tenance, but the casing being of
necessity exposed to frost and to
other adverse influences, should be
considered the basis of the life of the
meter from the viewpoint of the
amortization of bonds.

This life is the average obtained
from the experience of various large
public and private water corporations,
and is that recommended in the
"Final Report of the Committee on

Depreciation of the American Water
Works Association." From this con-
sideration it logically follows that the
bonds issued for this purpose should
be for a period not longer than twenty
years.

Money rate and bond yields mu-
tually influence each other since both
represent a return for the use of
capital, but since the term "money
rates" is applied only to loans for
short periods, changes in these rates
are chiefly dependent upon transitory
conditions, while bond yields are based
upon conditions of a more permanent
nature.

This is especially pertinent at the
present time when well secured bonds
are selling at a yield of about 4.35
per cent, although there is every in-
dication that we are entering a period
of minor inflation. Money rates are
increasing, as is evidenced by the
Federal Reserve Bank increasing its
rediscount rate, and it follows that
the yield on bonds will likewise in-
crease, which will be reflected in the
higher rates the municipality will
have to pay on its bonds to attract
buyers. If bonds must be issued for
the installation of water meters,
which is probable, then they should

Table XIX — Operating Expenses, Cost of Pamping and Filtering.

uPBLiTiK xtraazs

— COST cr miFiic iB> nir»i»6

CIMSTSIZD

■ITEIir IK 15

7 F 1 S

Hics icirir ;

ICE i !c;rig

TCTAl

liar ' nx siai ' nx : scr— u-v

-i:xi

Eijr

war ' MSI rrsr jtt»

1921

$16.20 '9159.22 ilTS.el ^225.'; 512. JC J3?«.S2
16.09 ! 168.59 ■ 177.57 ' 2Si.J0l 13.16 31S.*«

J897.60

J15.20

Ji69.22 ;M75.61 'J22i.75 '512.30

lJSC9.i2

t897.60

926.01

11.99

125.84

177.67 1 234.30 13.16

315.48

878.78

as
I*

17. S2
18.28

180.73 ; 179.53 2*4.84 1 14.06 321.95

956.43
9^8.64

8.64

89.22

179.63 2U.84 i 14.06

SCI. 96
328.13

658. M
856. 7t

191.27 181.4S 254.39

15.08 • 326.13

8 92

i2.a

170.74 242.95

13.88

19.68

205.69 183.45

263.93

15.99 : 336.02

1023.76

9.29

97.19

147 20 236.43

13.70

335.02

657.63

21.08

220.43 186.41

273.48

17.04 342.03

1069.47

9.70

101.46

164.69 226.76

13.53

3*2.03

867 16

22.68
S«.29

236.22 1 187.37
264.13 189.34

283.03
292.67

18.27
19.33

349.19
356.64

1096.64
1136.30

10.11
10.62

105.73
110.13

160.72 215.00

13.36

9*9.19

347.70

854.10
866.07

161.82

216.46

IS.44^

t»

26.23

276.12 191. SO

302.12

a). 38

364.63

1180.68

10. 9T

114.44

142.93

217. 9S

13.63

346.47

846.47

28.18

294.94 1 193.26

311.66

21.61

372.54

1222.19

11.41

ll9.se

164.06

219.42

13.62

342.49

870.30

31
St

30.33
32.66

317.36 I 196.22

321.21

22.84

24.00

360.88
369.36

1267.84
1314.63

11.89
U.14

124.04
127.32

145.18
169.66

220.91
226.76

13.70
14.07

338.62

874.30

340.64 i 197.18 330.76

347.59

897.46

34.99

365.51 ! 195.14

340.30

24.60

398.17

1362.67

12.50

130.79

174. U

232.91

14.46

367.01

921.81

36.97

376.34 ] 201.10

349.85

26.62

407.45

1397.36

U.64

134.49

179.11 1 239.64

14.86

367.19

947.08

40.45

423.32 1 203.07

359.39

27.80 416.96

1470.90

13.22

158.24

184.14 1 246.27

15.29

377.50

974.68

3«

43.42

454.34 206.03

368.94

29.06 i 426.86

1527.69

13.60

142.20

189.37' 253.27

16.73

588.23

1002.40

46.73

488.92 206.99

378.49

30.31 1 437. ::«

1588.70

14.01

146.46

196.06 260.87

16.20

399.88

1032.47

3«

49.14

620.45 208.95

388.03

31.63

447.15

1645.95

14.36

160.34

200.23] 267.80

14.62

410.61

1059.88

S»

62.85

662.89 210.91

397.58

32.68

497. 2t

1704.13

U.74

164.31

209.53 1 274.90

17.04

421.38

1067.94

65.89

664.64 212.87

407.12

33.91

467.12

1761.49

13.13

168.22

210.73

281.86

17.60

432.04

1119.47

68.79

614.15 214.83

416.67

36.14

476.86

1817.43

15.91

162.06

215.83

288.67

17.92

442.49

1142.47

60.06

628.21 216.79

426.22

36.19

487.93

1866.39

16.86

165.51

220.43

294.82 18.31

451.92

1166.64

61.66

645.26 218.76

435.76

37.26

499.63

1898.32

U.19

169.13

226.26

301.27 W.71

461.80

1192.36

63.30

664.40 ! 220.72 445.31

38.30

510.77

1942.80

U.63

172.62

229.91

307.49 19.10

471.33

1216.98

65.42

684.33

222.68 < 454.86

39.36

5X2.47

1969.11

16.64

176.84

234.21

313.26 < 19.46

480.16

1839.76

66.30

693.69

224.64 i 464.40

40.41

533.06

2022.49

17.18

179.33

234.86

319.48 19.84

489.49

1244.34

67.94

711.14

226.60

473.95

41.38

5*4.78

2065.76

17.62

U2.96

843.69

326.93 20.24

499.66

1*89.92

69.65

727.79

228.56

483.49

42.34

567.00

2108.73

17.83

166.18

247.99

331.69 20.69

606.41

1312.69

70.75

740.0S

230.32

493.04

43.22

668.14

2146.49

18.14

189.30

262.13

337.23 20.9*

616.88

1534.61

72.39

767.33

232.48

502.68

44. IC

679.28

2188.16

18.48

193. M

267.13

343.89

21.37

627.12

1341.03

73.66

769.46

234.45

6U.1S

44.89

890 U2

2284.90

18.79

196.01

241.09

349.1*

21.70

636.24

1381.96

76.97

794.82 236.41 i 521.66

45.68

600.45

2276.01

19.04

199. U

246.23

364.72

2t.06

6*3.71

1403.89

76.14

796.66 1 236.3- i 531.22

46.30

611.59

2300.17

19.37

202.36

249.63 1 360,48

22.40

662.64

U24.47

76.31 1 798.48

240.33 1 54C.77

46.91

621.61

2324.41

19. 7J

2S6.83

274.18 i 364.70

22.79

642.07

U51.3*

79.06 : 826.86

S42.29 55C.>1

47.44

632.20

2378.16

20.02

209.20

278.67 372.69 ,' 23.16

671.26

1474.9*

80.76 1 844.69

2*4.26 6S9.M

47.97

642.22

2419.74

20.29

212.04

282.46 1 377.76 i 23.47

979.02

U96.64

82.28 860. C6

246.21 669.41

48.37

662.80

2459.07

20.40

216.29

286.76 ! 364.69 23.62

587.66

1618.91

83.69 674.59

248.17 578.96

48.76

442.83

2496.89

20.91

Z18.61

291.07 369.28

64.18

694. a

1640. 4S

86.16 891.04

2M.14 668.60

49.02

673.97

2637. «S

21.21

221.74

296.37 3»e.O*

M.63

406.60

1663.3*

86.70 907.12

252.10 598.04

49.20

686.11

2678 .«T

21^9

264.71

199.33 1 400.34

64 .84

tis.u

1664.36

760

Water Works

October

be issued at once to take advantage
of the favorable interest rate.

The summation of the questions of
a bond issue for financing the instal-
lation of water meters is:

1. The bond should not be for a
greater period than the useful life of
the water meter — say, twenty years.

2. They should not be issued in a
yearly amount greater than the
actual pro rated yearly cost of the
entire improvement.

3. The bonds should mature ser-
ially; i. e., the bond issued for the

portance to a supply of potable
water is an efficient system for the
disposal of sewage, that is, the Sewer
Division, Highways Engineer Depart-
ment. Any charge levied on the indi-
vidual consumer to make this depart-
ment self-supporting would partake
in general of the characteristics of
a flat rate. If a flat rate is to be
levied, a far more convenient method
of payment would be by including
this charge in the tax rate proper,
which is, in fact, the present method
of supporting the sewerage system.

first year's work should mature in
twenty years, followed yearly by the
bonds issued in the successive follow-
ing years.

4. Any proposed schedule of rates
should create a sinking fund for their
amortization.

The foregoing discussion has dealt
exclusively with the financial opera-
tion of the Water Department. The
essential difference between this de-
partment and other municipal opera-
tions must next be considered and
such distinctions judged from the
viewpoint of the advisability of their
operations as self-supporting financial
units.

Municipal Utilities. — Second in im-

As there is, however, a direct and
unvarying relation between the
amount of water consumed on each
premises and the amount of waste
water issuing therefrom, a revenue
bearing system for sewerage service
could be constructed, based upon the
metered water consumption of the
property. This carries us back to
one of the first statements made in
this paper — it is absolutely essential
that a city be one hundred per cent
metered.

The disposal of garbage and ashes
is another municipal function. As it
would not be feasible to weigh or
otherwise make a definite unit charge
for each cubic foot of matter removed.

1923

Water Works

761

a flat rate charge would again have
to be assessed, and the general tax
levy is the proper place for such
charges to be made. The Street
Cleaning Department — responsible for
the cleanliness of all thoroughfares —
is another city unit which serves
every citizen, but the individual
property owner cannot be expected
to pay for the benefit derived accord-
ing to the front footage of his property.
The expenses of this department
should therefore be taken from the
general tax levy. The maintenance
of the municipal hospital and alms-
house indirectly benefits each and
every citizen, but as the patient is
rendered free attention the charge
must be distributed over the entire
population, that is, taken from the
tax rate. The variaus activities of
the Health Department also falls
within this category. The Water De-
partment stands forth alone as
capable of being made into an eflftcient
self-supporting organization, selling
service at cost to all citizens who are,
moreover, now merely consumers and
therefore revenue producers, but as
citizens of the municipality, also own-
ers of the plant itself.

The Financial Status of the Water
Department as Affected by Metering

and the Development of the Gun-
powder-Patapsco Supplies. — Table
XVII shows the annual and cumula-
tive savings by the installation of
meters; the saving in capital outlay
is the difference between that re-
quired for an unmetered distribution
system and that required for a me-
tered distribution system. The cost
and date of the necessary improve-
ments corresponding to the estimated
gross average consumption were
taken from the final report of
Messrs. Hill and Fuertes, page 72,
table X. These amounts do not in-
clude the cost of the annual water
main extensions — this was considered
to be practically the same in both
cases.

In the computation of the saWng
in pumping and filtering, the only
items considered are the cost of
chemicals, electricity and coal, as they
vary almost exactly with the amount
of water pumped or filtered. (See
Tables VIII and XIX.) The total
cumulative savings in filtering and
pumping costs alone aggregate $8,-
623,889 by the year 1960 (Table
Xyil) while the cumulative saving in
capital outlay equals $9,000,257 at the
end of the year 1960 (Table XVII).

The saving in annual interest and

Table XX — The AccamnUted Reserve Amounts of the Fair Net Retam on $1,750,000 and the

Future Capital Outlay.

THE i:aja>utn:E msjcfi. uiai<rTS

OF TW

fkOL NEt

BtlVM Of 11,750, ceo AJ» Tie PITTUIS CAflTAl (UTUT

.—

AtfouifT or

ri^^H

usDU onai-

KSaTE A*

^^^H

SlPlTAt XTUI

lUOUlI. IKEJCST

TI0« lEiwc:-

Amu At

aicunB «

^^^H

t:iFITll. CL'TUT

ajt3>c«za AID

* sinaK ruKD

ATIOB 1 MIR

AHOUK

4< inutzsT

^^^H

?iTA?SC0 XT.

TAneVM OB OOT-

EOENSICS

TOTAL UMDAl

TOTAL

cciaWKiES

• •

nj»

yETQ Btl-JBC

Ksma3 usts

STiUOJIW; B0SB8

CIUR(Z3

EXTtmnvKS

BEVTHE

DESISTE

AnOALLT

^^B

1922

4^70.000

♦ 1,455.596

#2,065,000

♦3,790.596

|3. 015,000

t 24.404

i 24.404.0 0

^^^^K-

295,000

1.455.S96

065,000

3.015,596

815,000

- 506

M .704. 16

^^^K

:98.coo

1,4;5.59«

065.000

3,815.596

815,000

- 556

25.179.53

^^^K

270,000

1.455.596

065,000

3,790,596

815, OM

24,404

50.590.71

^^^V

270.000

1,4J5.59«

065.000

3,790,596

D15,0CO

24.404

77,016.34

^^^K

270.000

1.4:5.596

065,000

3,790.596

nis.ooo

24.404

104,603.07

^^^B

270.000

1.455.596

065,000

3.790,596

6U.0OO

24 .<M

133.067.19

^^^B;

270.000

1.455.596

065,000

3,790,6%

6 15 .000

24.404

162,014.68

^^^H

2T0.Q00

1,310,869

063,000

3,645,869

816.000

169,131

33C.'! 58.27

^^^H

270.000

1,310,869

065,000

3, 545. 849

815.000

U'l.lal

521.127.60

^^^H

1.310.869

065.000

3.375,869

Slt.OOO

439,131

9C1.103.70

^^^V

♦2.137,923

1.310.869

065,000

3.375.869

8U.00O

439.131

1.469.478.85

^^^^

1946

6.471.044

1.310.869

065,000

3.375.669

615.000

439,131

l.Mo. 969.00

387,832

1,310,869

065.000

3.375.869

815,000

439.131

2.474.399.56

3«

lOt.672

1.310.669

065.000

3.375,669

815.000

439.131

709.066.62

4»

275,308

1.310.869

065 .OCO

3.376,669

011.000

430.121

1.259.760.28

499.962

1. 310.869

ots.f-co

3.375,869

816.000

4:^9.131

1.719.261.69

207, S»S

1.110.869

065 .000

3,375.869

8U.nco

<'9.1-'l

2. 250. '63. 96

1.310.869

065.000

3.375.869

815,000

439.1?!

2.7^7.850.32

162.676

1.310.869

065.000

3,371,869

8U,0O«

439.131

3.338.495.33

177.738

1,310.869

065.000

^.375. 869

815,000

4:'9.l.il

3.911.166.14

^^^B

1.250,354

065 .000

3.315.364

615,000

499,646

4.167.216.79

^^^^

1.250,354

065.100

3.316.3:4

ei5,ott

4'.9.646

5.249.595.14

6«

1.165.140

066,000

3.2.V).14 0

8i;,ooo

584 .8 CO

6.044.438.95

89.464

1.113.000

065,000

3.176.000

615,000

637.000

573.3^.95

l.US.O'O

065,000

3.170.ro0

615.000

637.000

463,516.75

294,684*

1.113, OX

065.000

3.170 .noo

e lb. COO

637.000

169.175.50

227.371

1.113.000

0t5.000

3.17e.&00

815.00O

637,000

251.061.64

«1

1.113,000

.065.000

3.178.000

815.000

637.000

t-rc.T^.n

• 1

111 •

nd 7u«rtc> r»c

,-wrnlta lntro»«

-wr.li ftiSTanc«4 lo

ccrr»»ion<l lo l

he delpralTied ccn«ua[tl09

In thl> 1

ITtT.

Tl»

•f iTi-lrcd n

11 »r») ?-..rtn

■»c -r»ndrd t^rttvc

mr.ti

to c.rr**

Ofld to tt* detrrvtned cc

nJuTtton

In IMS I«f«T

762

Water Works

October

depreciation charges on necessary
capital outlay for an unmetered sys-
tem are the amounts which would be
received if invested as part of the
accumulated reserve.

The depreciation charges were
ascertained by allowing one per cent
for the yearly depreciation on the
Gunpowder-Patapsco Improvements
and the Meter Building and four per
cent on the yearly depreciation of the
meters. The amount of the annual
interest charges was determined by
taking four per cent of the future
capital outlay, as this amount is

the meters, meter building and capi-
tal outlay required for the Gun-
powder - Patapsco developments is
given in detail on Tables XXI and
XXII.

The, increase in operating expenses
of $37,500 (Table XI) is previously
given in "Comparison of Present Cost
of Metered and Unmetered System
with Estimated Costs for 100 per cent
Metered System."

The net saving in operating ex-
penses (column No. 3 of Table XVII)
affected by the installation of meters
aggragates $8,955,358 in 1960. On

Ycor

Fiar. 2

equivalent to that which would be
received if the money were invested
as part of the surplus.

Table XX— "The Accumulated Re-
serve Amounts of the Fair Net Re-
turn"— and Fig. 1 show that if the
Water Department receives $1,750,000
as a fair net return which covers
interest and sinking fund payments
on the present outstanding loans also
a surplus to finance all future im-
provements to the water system, no
additional loans would be necessary,
and^ the installation of meters over a
period of ten years could be executed
without a bond flotation.

The determination of the annual
interest and depreciation charges for

Fig. 2 is a graphic representation of
the average daily saving in consump-
tion (column No. 3 of Table XVII),
the annual saving in cost of pumping
and filtering (column No. 4 of Table
XVII) and the annual net saving
(column No. 12 of Table XVII).

In all instances when computing
the saving of a metered system over
that of an unmetered, the quantities
shown are actual savings which would
be eflfected, as nothing has been in-
cluded that could be considered a
matter of opinion.

The opinions expressed in this pa-
per are apart from any of the plans
proposed by the officials of the pres-
ent administration and are the results

1923 Water Works 763

Table XXI — Saving in Fntnre Capital Outlay and Annual Interest and Depreciation Charges.

CUB3S KB OOIPORB-riliFSOO OfnCflROm

(■ni"»H

•< ty 8111 * fOOTtM - Fl«l MforX ?.71. IaU« #10)

Pitt!>SOO DBTKOFKITS

iKxaiat II

tOtil 9JLTII8
II ilKlI. II-

SiTUO II a-

MJU. iwaaat

■9T 6 IXPBl-

SSBST 6 m-

CODUnTI lOUl

Sims SOI

k BBPBS5IATI0B

CUTIOI SHAMB

tmcusim

S*7IK II JjnDH.

TO usram

nusocs

SOS TO IlStAl-

sausB

TUB

BASIS

BiSIS

t - 1

Hot »

4-5

OATIOI OMMB

tl)

l«)

{»)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

19a

t 21,600

• $ 21.600

t 11,600

IMS

12,850

22.850

44,480

1914

« <.989.90S

* fS.969,909

* 8148.465

22,800

* 126,615

♦

82,165

itts

B.804,r8S

* S.S04.788

♦ 275,289

21,600

* 258,689

♦

19tt

4n.i9t

» 472,192

* 28,610

21,600

f 2,010

1927

183,795

♦ 185,798

♦ 6,790

21,600

- 14,810

518,004

i9n

944,BSS

* 544,555

* 17,228

21,600

4,872

♦

19B

21,600

- n,600

297,082

1910

1,047.600

♦ 1,067,600

* 55,880

21.600*

* 81,780

♦

828,812

19S1

118.898

* 818,898

* 15,945

21,600

5,656

♦

821,157

19B

2n,896

f 221,894

♦ 11,096

* U.098

♦

884,282

19M

f S,1ST,92S

117.104

- 1,910.819

• 96,041

- 96.041

288 Jll

19M

5,471,044

- 5,471,044

- 275,952

• I7S.8U

18.541

19a

MT.sa

587,852

- 19,992

- 19.8*2

54,758

19lt

104 .trz

106,672

5,584

S.SS4

60,067

I9ST

tTB.asa

89.464

185.844

9,292

9,191

69,559

19»

499,9«X

588,428

171,554

8,57T

8.577

77.986

191*

2ST.MS

M7.871

58,972

2,999

1.999

80,988

1941

US.STt

162,576

8,129

- 8^19

89 .064

19tt

1TT,T36

177,786

8,887

8.8*7

*r,9n

19«t

78,648

* 78,648

* 5,952

* 8,982

•4.019

1946

89,444

89.464

4.478

•

98,4*2

1948

Z94.6S4

4,616.000

* i,sa,si6

* 216,066

* lu.ea

117.574

1949

MT.871

227.571

• 11.569

- U.86*

106,805

19M

T8.M8

78.648

9,992

8.982

102.275

19S«

9,980,780

♦ 9,950,780

* 497,589

^ 4*7.58*

899,812

1989

4,6U .000

- 4,616,000

- 280,800

- 2ao,aoo

869.012

tOUL

«14.8U,963

«a6,S6Z,8X)

♦11,790,287

* 5587,512

•218,890

f «a*9.012

of study while in charge of the Engi-
neering and Construction Division.
Varied experience in the design, con-
struction and operation of water
works, such as the Loch Raven dam

and Montebello filters, together with
opportunities to study the local water
waste problems have impressed upon
me the importance of measuring the
efficiency of each unit. Upon assign-

Table XXII — Capital Outlay and Annual Interest and Depreciation Charges Required for
Recommended Scheme of Installation of Meters

1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931

„5

(1)

..$270,000
. 270,000
. 270,000
. 270.000
. 270,000
. 270,000
.. 270,000
. 270.000
.. 270,000
. 270,000

S 5

_ooo

< a S
(2)
$21,600
21,600
21,600
21,600
21,600
21,600
21,600
21,600
21,600
21,600

$25,000
25,000

■efe"'

ZJI
a * s-

<5 2 2

<ftE

(4)

$1,250
1,250

c c2

•- " E

■g R-g be

h4E£
(5)

$21,600
22,850
22,850
21,600
21,600
21,600
21,600
21,600
21,600
21,600

B! O E

ej g, 41
O'O 6 M

■^ a

"5 « & fc

(6)

$ 21,600

44,450

67,300

88.900

110.500

132.100

153,700

175,300

196,900

218,500

TOTAL . — $2,700,000 $216,000 $50,000 $2,500 $18,500

Note: The 8 per cent in the computation of the annual interest and depreciation charges

for the meters includes 4 per cent for interest received if moneys were invested as a part of

the cumulative reserve and 4 per cent for depreciation.

The 5 per cent used in the computation of the annual interest and depreciation charges for

meter building includes 4 per cent for interest received if moneys were invested as part of the

cumulative reserve and 1 per cent for depreciation.

764

Water Works

October

ment to work in the Engineering and
Construction Division, I found the
greatest need for extensive conserva-
tion work on the distribution system,
but it is still impossible to determine
the efficiency of the system, and this
condition will continue until such time
as the consumption of the various
sections can be determined. The out-
put of the pumping stations and filter
plants can be measured, but it is im-
possible to record any finite consump-
tion with the present unmetered dis-
tribution system. I wish to bring to
your attention the fact that the great-
est expenditure of the department is
represented by the enormous mileage
of mains required to supply water to
all parts of the city and that this
network is underground and therefore
practically incapable of observation
except through consistent conserva-
tion methods.

The demand for meters is merely
an incohoate expression of protest
against the continued wasting of
natural resources — in this case a
water supply — ^which is daily becom-
ing more and more a nation-wide
problem, and which will eventually
create far-reaching difficulties. In
this connection consider our depleted
oil and coal reserve and the grow-
ing decrease in forested areas.

Each day the demand for a "busi-
ness administration" of various politi-
cal units is heard, yet the average
citizen of Baltimore will countenance
the operation of a municipal utility
without permitting facilities to meas-
ure its production or to determine the
amount supplied to each consumer,
they do not seem to insist upon, or
even encourage, equitable charges
whereby justice is extended to all —
even though justice to all is the foun-
dation of the constitution of our
states and of our country.

I wish herewith to acknowledge the
aid given me bv mv assistants, Mr.
W. L. Eisert, Mr. J. S. Strohmeyer,
and Mr. M. Goldstein in preparing
this paper, and a' so that rendered by
Messrs. Rogers, Kent and Hargett in
drafting the sundry tables and plates.

The Purchasing Power of the
Dollar

An interesting study by the U. S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the pur-
chasing power of the dollar from 1913
to ,1923 is published in the September
issue of the Monthly Labor Keview.
In making this study, which enables
one to visualize these changes, the in-
dex numbers of wholesale prices of
various groups of commodities, com-
piled each month by the Bureau, have
been used as affording a reliable ba-
rometer of composite price movements
and the average purchasing power of
a dollar in 1913 forms the basis of
comparison.

The purchasing power of the 1913
dollar varied widely, at different peri-
ods, between the different groups of
commodities. For all commodities
combined, however, it was equal to
more than a dollar in most of 1914
and 1915, but after that it declined
steadily in value until May, 1920,
when it equaled only 40 cts. In the
second half of 1921 and the first half
of 1922 it had advanced above 70 cts.,-
but since that time it has again de-
clined and stood at 65 cts. in June,
1923. There were even more extreme
fluctuations in the dollar's buying
power in the case of building mate-
rials and of bituminous coal and coke,
which are shown separately on ac-
count of their importance.

Sacramento, Cal., to Develop Water
and Power Scheme. — The Municipal
Utility District of Sacramento, Cal.,
has been created by a popular vote
for the development of a municipal
water and power development scheme.

Excavation from the Panama Canal
Excavation from the prism of the
Panama Canal by the forces of the
United States, to July 1, 1923, aggre-
gated 262,392,915 cu. yd., according
to a compilation recently completed
by engineers of the dredging division.
In addition, states the Panama Canal
Record, the forces of the United
States have excavated, to that date,
54,534,135 cu. yd. from places outside
of the canal prism proper, principally
in the terminal harbors. The total of
these two figures is 316,927,050 cu. yd.
Excavation by the French companies
useful to the completion of the pres-
ent canal has been estimated at 29,-
908,000 cu. yd. The canal of today
accordingly represents an aggregate
excavation of 346,835,050 cu. yd.
Since 1914 the bulk of the excavation
has been classed as maintenance; and
of this the greater portion has been
due to slides in the Gaillard Cut. The
total excavation since 1914 has
amounted to 74,759,000 cu. yd.

1923 Water Works 765

Method and Cost of Submarine Pipe Line

How 16-iii. Cast Iron Water Main Was Laid Under Portland Harbor

Between Portland and South Portland, Me., Described in

Paper Presented Sept. 19 at Annual Convention of

New England Water Works Association

By HARRY U. FULLER

Chief Engineer Portland Water District, Portland, Me.

and costs corresponding to the final
estimate.

Equipment. — The contractor pro-
vided a derrick lighter 28 ft. by 80 ft.
having an 83-ft. boom for dredging,
pile pulling, pipe handling, and sub-
marine back filling.

It was decided to lay the pipe by
means of a chute suspended between
two floating pile-drivers. These two
pile-drivers were 20 ft. by 54 ft. and
24 ft. by 54 ft., each having 57-ft.
pile-driving gins.

The dredging was done with a clam
shell bucket. A dump scow was
used to carry the excavated material
from the channel portion of the job
and deposit it on the flats nearby at
high tide.

The pipe-laying chute was 138 ft.
long and 3 ft. wide. 126 ft. of this
chute was built to a true circular
curve of 207 ft. radius. 12 ft, of the
upper end was built straight, deflect-
ing downward about a foot at the
upper end, below the tangent to the
curve to facilitate obtaining straight
joints when making the joint. The
chute was built up of 5 lines of yel-
low pine timber belted side by side.
The middle line, or keel, was an 8 in.
by 14 in. timber, hewed out of the
top edge to the true curve. On each
side of this keel were lines of 8 in. by
12 in. timbers, bolted flat against the
keel with 1-in. screw bolts passing
through the 3 lines of timbers, spaced
about 18 in. apart and staggered.
These timbers were about 23 ft. long
and broke joints well. The outside
timbers of the chute were formed of

The contract consisted of moving
two submarine electric power cobles,
of dredging a trench and laying in it
1,000 ft. of 16-in. submarine pipe, of
backfilling with a cover of 3 ft., and
of trenching and laying a section of
about 70 ft. in length of 16-in. pipe
at each approach to the submarine
line to connect with the existing pipe
lines.

16-in. Class D American Water
Works Association specifications cast
iron pipe was purchased by the Port-
land Water District and delivered to
the contractor on a wharf near the
job.

Flexible joints were inserted in the
line every 36 ft., or, in other words,
every third joint was flexible. The
improved Boston metropolitan type of
joint was selected. This is a form
of flexible joint in which the lead
is held firmly by grooves to the bell
of the pipe, the motion being between
the spigot and the lead joint.

The depth of water was 35 ft. at
low tide in the channels. On the Port-
land shore it was about 3 ft. deep,
and on the South Portland end of
the line about 200 ft. of mud flats
were exposed at low tide.

Bids were received bv the trustees
nf th«» "Portland Water District. Aug,
2«. 19?2, the Bennett Contracting
Corp.. Portland, Me., being the low
bidder.

The contract was let to the lowest
bidder. He was judged competent
tn do tv>e work and the outcome jus-
tifi'^d this action.

Table I shows the unit quantities

TABLE I— UNIT QUANTITIES AND COSTS

Item Qnantity Unit Cost Total Cost

Excavation on land , - 148 Hn. ft. $14.00 $2,072.00

Layinj? 16-in. cast iron pipe on land. _.— _ ~ — . — :..._ 138 lin. ft. 1.75 242.00

Submarine excavation ~ ~ — : i_1.007 lin. ft. 2.00 2.014.00

Lajrinj? 16-in. submarine pipe ~... 1,007 Hn. ft. 5.00 5.085.00

Backfillintr submarine trench ■..- — — ^ — __..1,007 lin. ft. .75 7.5=;. 00

Movinpr electric cables _,. _■..- — ; — ;. lump gam 200.00

Cutting through dock walls ..._ : lumpsum 608.00

Lumber left in place ..: ^ 8,000 ft. B.M. 40.00 320.00

Gravel foundation submarine pipe „. 77 lin. ft. 2.00 154.00

Total cost of work. — — „ ......_ „ $11,400.00

766

Water Works

October

6 in. by 12 in. timbers belted flat
against the 8 in. by 12 in. timbers
and projecting somewhat above the
others to form sides to keep the pipe
on the chute. These timbers were
fastened by %-in. machine bolts
passing through the 5 lines of tim-
bers, spaced about 3 ft. apart. On
the hewed top surface of the keel
was spiked a 6 in. by ^, in. iron
plate the entire length of the chute.
The two floating pile drivers were
lashed abreast of each other with a
6 ft. space between, the gins being
ahead. This was accomplished with
timbers fastened across the decks at
both bow and stem and diagonal wire
cable across the space between. To
keep them from listing, an 8 in. by 10
in. timber was lashed between the
gins 30 ft. above the deck. In the
space between the two drivers was
placed the vertically curved chute
with its lower end resting in the
bottom of the trench and the upper
end slung between the two gins of
the pile driver. As an additional pre-
caution, the middle of the chute was
supported by lines running over
sheaves at the stem of the scows, and
thence over one of the gin heads and
counterweighted with a 2,700 lb. pile
driver hammer moving up and down
with the tide.

A long wire rope bale was attached
to the lower end of the chute to pro-
vide a means of lifting it if it be-
came necessary; but this proved to
be a hindrance and not needed.

In working on the flats, it became
necessary to widen the space between
the scows to 10 ft. and remove the
timber lashed aloft between the gins
that the scows might ground at low
tide without undue strain.

The chute weighed about 10 tons,
and was built vertically on a wharf,
much like laying the keel of a boat.
Laying the Pipe. — The Portland ap-
proach to the line having been laid
by ordinary land methods with the
end of the pipe projecting a few feet
beyond the face of the sea wall, and
the lighter having dredged a consider-
able length of submarine trench, the
pipe layer was towed into position.

The lower end of the chute was
pjaced in the trench a few feet be-
vond the end of the approach pipe.
Two pieces of pipe were then placed
in the upper end of the chute and
the lead joints poured and calked. A
line was then attached to the lower
end of the pipe laying in the chute,

and the pipe pulled down the chute
by a hoisting engine located on land.
Another piece of pipe was then
jointed into the upper end of the chute
and again pulled down the chute.

This sequence of operations was
then continued until the lower end
of the pipe in the chute was inserted
in the bell of the approach line. A
small sheet pile coffer dam around
this connection allowed the joint to
be made in the ordinary way. From
this point the pipe laying consisted
simply of adding successive lengths
to the line in the chute and pulling
the pipe layer along to keep pace with
the pipe laying.

In ordinary procedure the pipe was
placed on the deck of the layer by the
lighter, and then handled from the
deck to the chute by a derrick boom
attached to the side of one of the
gins.

^ It was found necessary to have ten
lines attached to anchors to hold the
pipe-layer in position against the
force of the wind and tides. Two lines
were required to pull the layer
ahead, and a snubbing line was re-
quired to stop it at the right place.
This snubbing line was attached to
the pipe in the chute.

During the pipe laying, two spurts
or dashes were made. The first
spurt was across the channel, it be-
ing necessary to lay 192 ft. of pipe
between the passage of ships with-
out stopping. Right of way could
not be obtained, but the channel had
to be crossed when no vessel wished
to pass. This was done between noon
and 10 o'clock the same evening, and
the operation fumished an excellent
test of the possible speed of this
method of pipe laying.

In preparation the lighter was
lashed across the bow of the pipe
layer, the three boats forming one
unit. The trench having been prop-
erly excavated and inspected by the
diver, only one other preliminary was
attended to. Four sections of three
pipes each and two sections of two
pipes each were jointed together on
the deck of the lighter, maWng units
of 86 and 24 ft. in length. Strong
backs or stiffeners, consisting of
pieces of timber 6 in. by 8 in. by 12
ft. long with a saddle at the center
and each end, were bound to the pipes
with wire and prevented any move-
ment at the joints while the units
were being lifted into place in the
chute. These units were handled by

1923 Water Works 767

two whips from the lighter boom, and '^-^^^,. "^7^^^^^ spent laying pine

thus held in position while the lead ^. ^ ^^^^ cHANxNi^ on nuv. 8

joint was being run and calked. This ^"1hfo^r^a':"™r..J^l.!!^i7 P. M.

method allowed a movement of 24 or Time men ymt at nigut io:oo P. M.

36 ft. for each joint poured in the '^°'** eiapsed time. a hrs. 43 min.

chute Time Actaally Laying Pine

,T,i. ' X M • i T-1 J Moving lignter into position 33 min.

Ine I0Il0W^ng tables were made Moving rig ahead so that big bell

from notes kept by the inspector. wotild come in position in chute...26 min.

Time Required for Various Opera- ^'*^i"« ^ secUon in chute™..; 55 min.

tion.-Table II shows the actual time ^"'^tebie'l^'tf """ <^">^'^«,; ,. ^^

required to make joints and pull the Moving rig ahead 192 ft._ 2 hrs. 58 min.

rig ahead, and Table III accounts for Mawng imes last for night _4o min.

the entire elapsed time and explains """"'^^ "^U!_ ..^^ ^"% S" 17 min

the unforeseen delays. Time in Delays"

The second dash was made in order ^'*y caused by yoke catcning over

+I,n4- 4-u^ „^^-,,r^ »u^..i^ ^i*-u^^ a^^t- stub in bottom of trench 1 hr. 20 min.

that the scows should either float Delay waiting for diver to get into

freely in the channel or if grounded suit 35 min.

should be on fairly level flats free Delay putting on strong back 16 min.

from large rocks It was necessary ''Totlr^a7ir:i::ZZ;:ii:i"£s72l Sn.

to put m 7 lengths of pipe while the Total elapsed time. 9 hrs. 43 min.

tide was rising and before it had fal-

len more than a few feet on the fol- „ . ^ „„ j -.eo i • • i. m

lowing ebb. This was successfully "ot exceed 16 8 gal. per joint per 24

accomplished. After leaving the chan- ^^"^s for submarine joints, and 8.4

nel, and as the depth of water became ^t'J^ ^ f^^.K^'' ^^"""^ ^°'''^^ -^^ u

less, the upper end of the chute was P^^essure of loO lb per square inch

carried ahead with reference to the ^ ^ cap was made to fit the open bell

floating pile drivers and lashed in its ?"^ °^ ^^^ P^P« ^^^e testmg the line,

new position. This was necessary in ",^^^ composed of three layers of

order that the bottom of the trench °^\ P^^"^ ^^'^ ^\, "^S^t angles to

should not get too far from the tan- f^^^ f ^^r and well spiked together,

gent with the bottom of the curved J^^ ^^o[«. ^^P ^^mg 3 ft. square. Be-

chute. This was done three times and ^"^^^^ ^^^s cap and the pipe a sheet

23 ft. cut off from the upper end each ^°^^r ^^^^i^V ^^^ F^^^^'^i , Ground

time, leaving the chute 69 ft. long for ^^f. P^P$ ^n^ back of the bell was a

its journey across the mud flats. ^°*'?J °^ °^^ ^^o^^ 5 in. thick held m

When a point was reached where P°^/i?°" ^J ^" iron nng 6 in. wide,

the end of the pipe was about 40 ft. 5°!^^^ the cap to the collar were 24

from the South Portland sea wall, it ^'J^- }?achine bolts,

was held by a tackle and the chute . ^^^ "".^ ^^? tested three times dur-

pulled out from under it. A buoy was ^^ construction with the following

then fastened to the end of the pipe i"esuits: ftoct test

and it was lowered into the trench Per day

while a hole was made through the is submarine joints at I6.8 gal. =302 gal.

sea wall and the remainder of the ^° ^*°** ^°^^*^ at 8-4 gai.= 84 gai.

trench excavated. The submerged Allowable leakage. Ii7 gai.

end of the pipe was then raised and The actual leakage was 5,400 gal. per day,

a section of 3 pieces of pipe pre- °'" ^* times the allowable leakage.

viously jointed was connected in second test

place. From this point the work was 54 submarine joints at 16.8 gal.=9^07'"S

above low tide and done by ordinary 10 land joints at 8.4 gai.= 84 lai.

land methods.

Test of Pipe Line.— The specifica- rn,» =.h, i i ^'°''*^'e i^o*o¥^^',^^^ ^J-

tions required that the leakage should or'J'i/g'^^Smel^thraiirwIbie'Llk^age.^' '""•

^AB

LE n— SHOWING LENGTH OF TIME ON VARIOUS OPERATIONS OF PIPE LAYING

ON NOV. 9

Av. Time
Total in Min.

192

55
Ihr. 45
2 hrs. 58

Number of pipe lengths. 3

Length in feet, 36

Placing section in chute (min.) _ 8

Packing, pouring and caulking joint (min. )..19

Hauling, rigging ahead (min.).._ _ _16

Speed of hauling ahead feet per min 2.25

Total 4S

36
10
14
22
1.64
46

Section No
3
2

24
12
18
30

.80

2
24

8
20
17

1.41
45

36
10
18
57
.(
85

.63

5 hrs. S6

9.1
17.5
30

1.28
56

768

Water Works

October

THIRD TEST

Per day
84 submarine joints at 16.8 gal. = 1,410 gal.
19 land joints at 8.4 gal. = 160 gal.

Allowable leakage,, 1,570 gal.
The actual leakage was 2,540 gal. per day,
or 1 6/10 times the allowable leakage.

The line was evidently growing
tighter with time, and no attempt was
made to calk the pipe under water.

Several months after the pipe line
was completed, a further test was
made by closing a valve on the South
Portland approach to the submarine
line and allowing the water to enter
the Portland end of the line through
a 2-in. meter. The leakage was found
to be negligible.

Cost. — The amount of the Bennett
contract was $11,400.

This was in payment for providing
everything except the pipe and do-
ing all the work necessary to com-
plete the job.

Very good records were kept as the
job progressed, showing the cost of
the different items of work. They
may be summarized as follows:

Dredging the trench, $2.00 per lin. ft.
Laying the submarine pipe, $5.00 per lin. ft.
Backfilling the submarine trench, 75c per
lin. ft.

While this work was progressing,
abnormally good weather prevailed,
and less than the usual number of
unforeseen troubles to be expected on
a job of this kind were encountered.

While the contractor did not lose
any money on the job, he did not
make a profit proportional to his
risks, or, in other words, his contract
price was too low, and he was for-
tunate not to lose.

Preliminary work was started the
first week in September and the job
was entirely completed on Dec. 22,
1922.

The construction of this pipe line
was done under the direction of Harry
U. Fuller, the engineer of the Port-
land Water District, with Leonard
Metcalf as consulting engineer.

James W. Graham is treasurer of
the Water District, and Alfred E. B.
Hall acted as inspector.

Conference on Stream Polution
A conference will be held at the
Engineers' Club of Philadelphia, 1317
Spruce St., on Oct. 16, 1923, afternoon
and eveniner. The .subject under dis-
cussion will be the "Polution of
Streams." e.specially with reference
to pollution due to industrial waste.
Representatives from the national.

state and city governments, and sev-
eral of the industries most interested
in the subject will be present. Papers
will be read and discussed by a num-
ber of engineers who are recognized
authorities and are thoroughly con-
versant with the entire subject.

Operation of Municipal Ice Plant
of Omaha

The first publicly owned ice plant
in Omaha, Neb., with a daily capacity
of 100 tons, was put into operation in
1919, and early in that year a long
storage house with a capacity of 9,000
tons was completed.

The demand for municipal ice was
so great that it became necessary to
increase the manufacturing and stor-
age capacity, and an additional 100-
ton unit was completed in 1921, giv-
ing a total production capacity in the
hottest weather of 200 tons a day, and
in cool weather, of 230 tons in 24
hours. Even with this additional ca-
pacity in ice making machinery, the
demand for "muny" ice could not be
satisfied, and another long storage
house having a capacity of 20,000 tons
was begun in September, 1921, and
completed in 1922.

In 1922 57,055 tons of ice were sold,
which amount was probably at least
one-third, if not a greater proportion,
of all the ice sold in the city for
household use. The "jitney stations"
at which ice was sold at 30 ct. per
100 lb., in 5 ct. and larger blocks,
were extremely popular, and the low
price enabled many families to enjoy
this necessary commodity.

The gross income of the publiclv
owned ice plant for the year 1922
amounted to $260,755, after deducting
from this $13,729 interest accruing on
the money borrowed from, and still
owed to, the water department, and
all expenses of operation amounting
to $161,108 there remained a balance
of $85,918. Of this amount $?«J ^'^
was set aside to provide for deprecia-
tion and $8584 was placed in the sink-
ing fund, thus leaving $49,323 as the
net surplus for the year.

The earnings of the ice department
have paid for the first ice plant, and
it is expected that within four vpars
this entire propertv w>iich together
with pqnipmpTit and stations, cost ap-
proximatelv $750,000, will have been
paid for out of the eamincrs and will
belong to the citv of Omaha, without
cost and without debt.

1923 Water Works 769

Recent Developments in Sanitary Elngineering

Review of Recent American Achievement in Sewage Treatment Given

in Paper Presented Sept. 10 Before Institution of Sanitary

Elngineers of Great Britain

By GEORGE W. FULLER

Consulting Engineer, New York City

In addressing a British audience on
tiiis general subject, it is appropriate
to call attention to the formal ar-
rangement as to sewage disposal pro-
vided for in the treaty of 1909 be-
tween Great Britain and the United
States. This treaty contains pro-
visions whereby along the water
courses between Canada and the
United States no sewage is to be dis-
charged on one side of the boundary
so as to injure life or property on the
other. This imdertaking deals par-
ticularly with the lakes and rivers
constituting the great lakes system.
In due time both Canada and the
United States appointed three mem-
bers each of a joint commission to
deal with this and other boundary
questions. Several hearings were con-
ducted to obtain the views of repre-
sentative citizens and oflficials in lo-
calities especially interested. Testi-
mony of a technical nature was re-
ceived during 1914, and after further
conferences with various parties in
interest, a report with tentative rec-
ommendations was presented to the
respective governments.

Suggested Standard for Control of
Boundary Water Sewage. — It was rec-
ommended that sewage discharged
into those boundary waters should be
freed of visible sewage matters and
that the bacterial purification should
be such that the body of water into
which the sewage is discharged shall
not cause an unreasonable load to fall
upon water filters treating the water
in question for use as a public water
supply. In substance it was suggested
after receiving the views of three
Canadian and three American sani-
tary engineers that the treatment of
the sewage should be such that the
water receiving the sewage at neigh-
boring water works intakes should
not contain more than 500 B. Coli,
100 cc. This suggestion was based
partly upon records of performance
of the slow sand filters treating highly
polluted river waters at Lawrence and
Albany and partly upon the 1914
standard for the quality of water used

by common carriers as adopted by the
H. S. Public Health Service. This
standard provides that satisfactory
drinking water shall not contain more
than 2 B. Coli per 100 cc., and the
suggested standard for the control of
sewage entering the boundary waters
was adjusted to what was considered
a reasonable performance as to puri-
fication by water filters.

This suggested standard never met
with great favor. It was thought to
be too stringent, although those who
have criticized it have generally
viewed it in the light of its applica-
bility for river waters in general
rather than for the waters of . the
great lakes system. Here sedimenta-
tion takes place to an extraordinarily
high degree, although the sediment
on the floor of the lake is greatly dis-
turbed at times by wave action caused
by heavy winds. When the muddy
river waters found in the southern
and western states are judged as to
bacterial quality in accordance with
this proposed standard, it is found
that the latter looks far more reason-
able when applied to the analyses of
the water after adequate sedimenta-
tion.

Another point which has been under
dispute in reference to this standard
relates to the question of whether
chlorination of the filtered water sup-
ply shall be viewed as a factor of
safety or whether it shall be regarded
as a normal part of the water purifi-
cation system. In other words, shall
the proposed standard be applied to
the bacterial data obtained from the
water purification system before or
after chlorination. The international
commission was inclined to apply the
proposed test to the filtered water
without chlorination and to view the
latter solely as a factor of safety
which might or might not have to do
with the public water supply in ques-
tion.

Still another element of uncertainty
attached to this question relates to
the fact that the methods of bacterial
analyses have changed considerably

770

Water Works

October

during the 20 to 25 years which have
elapsed since many of the data were
obtained from Lawrence and Albany
and set forth in the testimony before
the International Commission.

Progress on Boundary Sewage Dis-
posal.— During the war there was very
little done in carrying out arrange-
ments to bring about the improve-
ments sought but since the armistice
considerable progress has been made
in building intercepting sewers, par-
ticularly in Buffalo and Detroit. The
former city appointed an engineering
committee in 1916 to review all data
available in respect to the solution of
this problem for communities resident
on the Niagara River. The result of
this was a recommendation that
further local data be secured for
presentation to the Intrnational Com-
mission before the proposed standard
should be officially and finally adopted
for application to the Niagara River.

In May, 1922, the U. S. Public
Health Service appointed a committee
to report upon what modifications if
any it would be wise to adopt in the
so-called standards for drinking water
to be used on railway trains and boats
engaged in inter-state traffic. This
committee has issued tentative drafts
of the reports of some of the sub-
committees in order to facilitate dis-
cussion, but the final report has not
yet been prepared. It is expected
that this report and the data secured
in the course of its preparation may
be of some significance in bringing
about a closer agreement as to the
extent to which sewage should be
purified in order to protect reasonably
the public health, through its rela-
tion to the purification of public
water supplies derived from poUuated
sources.

In passing it may be noted that the
American Waterworks Association
and the American Public Health Asso-
ciation are now negotiating for the
establishment of joint committees to
bring out in due time a new joint
edition of "Standard Methods of
Water Analyses," of which several
editions have been issued by the
American Public Health Association
during the past 20 years.

Dilution Method. — In America most
of the larger cities are situated on or
near to oceans or great lakes or rela-
tively large rivers. Consequently the
dilution method of discharging sew-
age into a neighboring body of water
has been the prevailing practice.

Formerly crude sewage was sent
through the outlets near which condi-
tions were frequently unsatisfactory
both in the water and on shore. Now
conditions are much better in many
places. This is due to extending the
outfalls so that the outlets are sub-
merged at all times. Frequently
multiple outlets have been provided
so as to facilitate the mixing of the
sewage with the diluting water. Aid
has also been received from clarifica-
tion methods and from chlorination
in some instances.

Looking back 20 years it is seen
that real progress has been made in
cleaning rivers, foreshores and tidal
estuaries, as well as in protecting
bathing beaches and shell-fish layings.
During that interval advance has
been made in the art of conserving
this natural resource under suitable
conditions whereby the oxygenating
power of water may be availed of in
a reasonable and practical manner.

Much of this progress has resulted
from activities associated with litiga-
tion. This is notably so in the case
of the Chicago drainage canal and
the large intercepting sewer in the
Passaic Valley in New Jersey, built
to discharge its flow into the upper
New York Bay. These controversies
developed thousands of printed pages
of technical testimony before special
referees appointed by the U. S. Su-
preme Court, which took original
jurisdiction in these inter-state dis-
putes.

Next spring the Upper New York
Bay will begin to receive from the
Passaic Valley interceptor the flow of
sewage from about 1,000,000 persons;
after clarification in sedimentation
basins holding about one hour's flow
during storm periods. The settled
sewage will be dispersed through
about 150 outlets on the floor of the
bay distributed over an area of about
3^/^ acres, with each nozzle designed
to release a thin ribbon of sewage
through an annular opening. These
flared openings are ribbed so as to
give the liquid a spiral motion with a
view to promoting its mixing with the
overlying water which has a depth of
some 40 ft. at low tide.

The city of Los Angeles, Cal., has
now grown to the point where it has
overtaxed the capacity of its outfall
sewer discharging without any treat-
ment into the Pacific Ocean perhaps
1,000 ft. from shore at the end of a
trestle, with no attempt to mix the

1923

Water Works

771

sewage flow with the ocean water. The
city is now building fine screens and
taking steps to secure adequate mix-
ing of the sewage with the ocean
water and thus to keep under control
the sewage pollution now creating
objectionable conditions at neighbor-
ing beaches.

In dealing with dilution problems
in America much study has been
given to English experiences, par-
ticularly as to the dissolved oxygen in
the lower Thames as related to the
discharge of the clarified sewage of
London. It is realized that at Boston
harbor and some other places the ex-
istences of partially unsatisfactory
conditions for a limited period over a
limited area should be viewed in com-
parison with the relative cost of treat-
ment of sewage on land and with the
relative land area involved as meas-
ured by the extent of water surface
involved by the arrangements now in
use. Naturally this brings out the
question of how the public authorities
can expend the limited funds available
to the best advantage and this propo-
sition in relation to sanitary engineer-
ing was never of greater important
than at present.

For many years I have been an ad-
mirer of the working arrangements
whereby the Rivers Boards or Con-
servancy Boards of England serve
their purpose in bringing about co-
operative undertakings in line with
the requirements of a central author-
ity. In our country it is the state
or province which has jurisdiction
rather than the Federal Government,
and inter-state rivers have received
hitherto substantial exemption except
where aggravated cases have come
under the jurisdiction of the courts.
Within the past year the states of
New Jersey and Pennsylvania have
made progress by the adoption in each
instance of identical resolutions by
their state departments of health, di-
viding the boundary stream of the
Delaware River into three zones, call-
ing, respectively, in the first instance
for clarification of sewage from the
cities of either state before discharge
into the river; secondly, for sedimen-
tation and chlorination as required;
and, thirdly, for oxydation also, where
outlet sewers are located in proximity
to waterworks intakes. This is a step
in the right direction, but it is
scarcely adequate for some industrial
problems such as acid mine water in

streams in the coal fields located on
inter-state water sheds.

Disposal of Sewage on Land. — This
question depends much on local condi-
tions. In most places in the United
States it is entirely unsuitable, not-
withstanding it has played such an
important part in England for over 40
years and is now used with substan-
tial satisfaction by Paris and Berlin.
The sandy tracts owned by the latter
city seem to serve well their purpose.
Operations are facilitated by the poros-
ity of the soil, the low rates of filtra-
tion and surface clogging is relieved
by sedimentation of the sewage in
cheap earthem basins and by farming
operations. Last week I found at the
Berlin sewage farms in the vicinity
of Wartenberg and Falkenberg that
the prevailing crops were cabbages,
turnips, grain and hay. In the neigh-
borhood there were said to be 40 arti-
ficial ponds through which the effluent
passes. These are spoken of as fish
ponds, although I saw no signs of fish
in any of the half dozen algar-covered
ponds which I examined. It is signifi-
cant that in 1919, when Berlin an-
nexed a dozen or more of its suburbs
and became a city of about 4,000,000
people, it abandoned a number of
small disposal plants of artificial con-
struction. It is said that the large
sprinkler beds of coal at Stansdorf
may be abandoned next winter.

In America not much success either
hygienically or financially has ever
attended the disposal of sewage on
land. Broad irrigation or sewage
farming has been practised mostly in
the southerly portions of the semi-
arid regions. In 1921 I found that
this question was under most active
discussion at Los Angeles, where the
rainfall is limited to about 12 in. per
year and usually confined to a period
of about three months beginning in
the late autumn or early winter.
Land-owners away from available
irrigation water and needing also fer-
tilizing material were most pro-
nounced in their criticism of any ar-
rangement other than land treatment
for the disposal of sewage of this very
rapidly growing community, which
now has a population of about 800,000
people. We found that Los Angeles
itself some 25 years ago had irrigated
at a small profit about 1,500 acres
with sewage. This practice was dis-
continued following offensive odors
which reduced the property values in
the neighborhood and announcement

772

Water Works

October

by the health officer of dangers to the
public health through vegetables
which were grown by renters of irri-
gated lands. Sixty-four cities in
California make use of sewage farm-
ing, but most of them experience nui-
sances and financial loss due to lack
of suitable management, area, soil,
preliminary treatment and isolation.
Other semi-arid states have the same
experiences except that no complaints
were bothersome at San Antonio,
Tex., where the sewage during the
wet season is stored with river water
in large earthen basins for use dur-
ing the dry season. The practice met
with indifferent success. There is the
further objection that flies transmit
germs some distance from the loca-
tions where pools of sewage are found
at intervals particularly after heavy
rains. In fact, the unauthorized di-
version of sewage during hot weather
into neighboring stream beds is a
serious menace to the practicability
of this method. It doubtless causes
the formation in the stream bed of
stagnant pools giving off objection-
able odors which are credited to the
shortcomings of sewage forming at
locations some distance from such
pools. In northern climates the deep
frost penetration (three to five feet)
is a serious handicap.

Preliminary Treatment. — American
practice varies widely as to the treat-
ment given to sewage before it _ is
disposed of by dilution and also prior
to its application to filters or other
oxydising arrangements.

Some cities, such as Boston, San
Francisco, New Orleans, St. Louis
and others on sizable rivers or tidal
estuaries, have no settling tanks or
screens other than for the protection
of pumps.

Fine screens have continued to be
the arrangement adopted by New
York City for treating its sewage be-
fore discharge into the adjacent tidal
waters. They are also adopted by Los
Angeles. They have not come into
general use, in line with the practice
of Germany, where I was told last
week at Berlin that they are still
very well thought of for cities on
sizable turbid streams. I found that
the German screens, in spite of little
or no maintenance during recent
years, have performed well. The
Wurl screen at Dresden seems to be
particularly well thought of by the
health authorities at Berlin,

In America fine screening is a part

of the activated sludge project at Mil-
waukee, Indianapolis and Chicago. In
spite of such large installations, these
devices are not on a stable basis as
to general practice. This is partly on
account of the hitherto high cost of
the Wurl screens, partly because of
less removal of sewage solids by
screens than by sedimentation. The
Dorco and other screens recently put
on the market are of less first cost
than the "Reinach-Wurl," but their
relative desirability will have to be
established in part at least from
operating data on a sizable scale.

Skimming tanks as at Washington
and Toledo are used for removing
floating substances from the sewage
before its discharge through sub-
merged outlets into turbid rivers.

Sedimentation basins remove more
sewage solids than do fine screens,
and except in connection with ac-
tivated sludge plans have come into .
quite general use in America as a
preliminary treatment prior to filtra-
tion or discharge directly into certain
sizable bodies of water.

At Providence the sludge is re-
moved from the basins at frequent in-
tervals without digestion and barged
to sea as will be the case with the
Passaic Valley project when it goes
into service next spring.

Single story tanks, frequently
spoken of as septic tanks, have sel-
dom been built in America during the
past dozen years. In most instances
the tanks are of the 2-story or Em-
scher type which have worked well
as regards clarification. When receiv-
ing the flow of combined sewers the
sludge digestion has been quite satis-
factory. With the flow from separate
sewers the behavior of 2-story tanks
has been more erratic both as to air
nuisances and irregularity in com-
pleteness of sludge digestion.

The cost of 2-story tanks Is rela-
tively quite great for some localities,
and it is by no means certain that
such tanks are preferable in some
instances to single story tanks with
covers to confine the gases of decom-
position and with five or six compart-
ments, each to be operated in rota-
tion. On this basis when one com-
partment shows gas lifted sludge in
its effluent the sewage flow may be
diverted from it so that it can remain
idle for several months, during which
the sludge and scum may digest
thoroughly before removal. This
method was tried over a dozen years

1923

Water Works

TIB

ago at the old Plainfield plant, but
the compartments were too small for
fully satisfactory performance. In a
measure this is true of the plants at
Washington, Penn., Morristown, N. J.,
and Mount Vernon, N. Y., where the
method with some interruptions has
been tried with fair success for many
years. This method, which was rec-
ommended during the summer of
1918 for the disposal works at many
army camps of the U. S. War Depart-
ment, is worthy of more consideration
than it has yet received for installa-
tions where freedom from air nuis-
ance is highly important.

Sludge Digestion. — In a great ma-
jority of cases sludge digestion ar-
rangements have been inadequate for
satisfactory results, regardless of
whether they involve 1-story or 2-
story tanks or separate digestion
tanks. In part this is due to a higher
water content of the digesting sludge
than was earlier assumed to be nor-
mally required. This means that the
space in the digestion chambers is too
small when figured in cubic feet per
million gallons of sewage flow or per
thousand population connected with
the sewers. Furthermore, the sludge
drying beds have been too small for
continuously reliable performance.
This is caused by the long American
winters with freezing weather during
three to four months, when sludge
removal is unmanageable and also by
the frequency of heavy rains during
the summer. These remarks are not
applicable to the climatic conditions
prevailing in some of the southwest-
em states.

Separate tanks for sludge digestion
have seldom bp*^" f-nod in the United
States except at Baltimore, where the
capacities and arrangements are in-
adequate for securing as satisfactory
results as obtained at Birmingham
and some plants in the Emscher dis-
trict.

Oxydising Arrangements. — Time
permits- me to say only a few words
about sprinkler beds, which have gen-
erally given very good satisfaction in
America, nothwithstanding that some
of the plants have been seriously
overloaded and others have not been
sufficiently isolated to escape com-
pletely from complaints as to air
nuisance. They have been recom-
mended for adoption in quite a num-
ber of instances durinor the past year
or so for cities of 50,000 population or

thereabouts, and some of these plants
are now being built.

The three largest of recent Amer-
ican projects calling for a high degree
of purification of the sewage are
those at Milwaukee, Indianapolis and
Chicago, providing for about 500,000,
300,000 and 800,000 persons, respect-
ively. Aeration is to be provided for
by air compressors, and the aerating
tanks are preceded by fine screens.
Grit chambers to remove sand provide
only for a flow for a distance of say,
roughly, 100 ft. and at a velocity of
6 to 12 in. per second.

The activated sludge method is well
thought of in America, although
actual operating data on a sizable
scale are not available other than
from the two plants, Houston, Tex.,
which have been in operation about 5
or 6 years.

Numerous test plants where this
method has been investigated in the
United States as well as the Houston
data have given this method an en-
\'iable standing as regards ability to
produce reliably a well clarified and
stable effluent. But even the extensive
investigations at Milwaukee through-
out a period of 9 years have shown no
easy method of dewatering sludge and
drying it for the market. In fact,
with present low prices for fertiliser
and high transportation charges, the
outlook is far from bright for receiv-
ing from the sales of dried sludge
sums of money approaching the cost
of handling the sludge.

In respect to mechanical circulation
in aerating tanks, it may not be
amiss to say that while no experience
with them has yet been obtained in
America, I am quite sure that a num-
ber of American engineers who have
seen them in operation in England
think well of them. No doubt the fu-
ture will see this method given due
consideration in America, where pro-
jects now building were developed
with air diffusion arrangements with-
out any opportunity to give much if
any consideration to mechanical cir-
culation. Available data on the cost
of the activated sludge process are too
meagre to set forth here.

The sludge at Houston is disposed
of with substantial success for the
present by lagooning, although build-
ing operations in the neighborhood of
the northerly plant will require soon
a change in method of sludge dis-
posal. Chicago is fortunate in having
available land on which it may locate

774

Water Works

October

lagoons to which the sludge from
activated sludge plant may be dis-
charged by pumping through pipe
lines several miles in length.

Operation of MacLachlan Process at
Houston. — A summary of operations
of the MacLachlan process at Hous-
ton, Tex., has recently been obtained
by my office as follows :

This plant consists of a condition-
ing unit made up of a special rotary
sulphur burner with pressure blower,
which conducts sulphur dioxide fumes
into a gassing tank, where the flow
of raw sludge is impregnated and put
into shape for a quick filtration. The
conditioning unit is followed by two
continuous sludge filters each having
filter drum 40 in. in diameter by 84
in. long. _ The system has now been
in operation for about three months,
during which time numerous minor
mechanical refinements have been in-
troduced, so that the machines are
now operating twenty-four hours
daily. Each machine turns out an
average of 850 lb. of sludge cake
per hour, the cake averaging 79.8 per
cent water and ranging from 77 per
cent to 81 per cent. The recovery of
solids on the filters is averaging 74
per cent and ranging between 70 per
cent and 85 per cent. This figure is
determined as suspended solids by
analysis of feed to and effluent of the
filters. The sludge averages 99.5 per
cent water. The conditioning unit and
two sludge filters are using a total of
9 hp. and the sulphur requirement is
averaging 40 lb. per hour to condition
the sludge feed to both machines. The
labor requirement is one man per
shift. As to the type of continuous
filter it is my recollection that they
resemble those used at paper mills to
remove pulp from waste water.

At Milwaukee it is understood that
the sludge will be acidified, heated to
160° F., and filtered through a vacuum
filter to produce 80 per cent water
content. This product will be dried
to 10 per cent, moisture screened and
crushed. An output of 100 tons is
expected daily of dried sludge con-
taining 7 per cent nitrogen, of which
70 per cent is available as fertilizer.

Various types of presses and driers
have been tried at activated sludge
plants at Houston, Milwaukee, Chi-
cago and Indianapolis, as is also true
at numerous meat packing establish-
ments. Unanimity of opinion as to
the best arrangement has not been
attained.

Chicago let contracts a few weeks
ago in the sum of about $5,600,000 for
aeration and settling tanks with
various conduits and connections for
its large north side plant to serve
about 800,000 persons, who use about
250 gal. of water each per day. No
contracts for the present will be let
for dewatering the sludge, which can
be lagooned as stated. In the interval
required for building, the north side
plant, Chicago, can continue to inves-
tigate dewatering devices at its May-
wood plant on the Des Plaines River.

Indianapolis will defer the installa-
tion of its complete dewatering de-
vices. While it is making further
tests on a working scale, it will have
sand beds on which to discharge the
wet sludge.

It is evident that before long much
more information will be available
than at present on dewatering. But
data from one city should not be
taken too literally for application
elsewhere, on account of variations
in the composition of sludge.

Those who have followed the his-
tory of the Chicago drainage canal
will be interested to know that dur-
ing the early summer a decree was
entered in the United States District
Court, limiting the quantity of water
to be diverted from Lake Michigan
to 4,167 cubic feet per second, as
stated in the original permit from
Washington. This volume is prob-
ably less than one-half of the lake
water actually used for many years
and a still smaller portion of the
canal capacity of 10,000 sec. feet.
Such diversion was objected to by
various cities in the United States and
Canada, where the free board along
the shore would be modified, as is also
true of depths at shallow portions of
the navigable waters, and of the flow
at various power plants. Chicago has
taken an appeal to a higher federal
court, and it is understood that a com-
mittee of Congress is soon to conduct
hearings on legislation authority
sought by Chicago for many years.
Consideration has been given for a
long time to regulatory works to hold
back water in the lakes during wet
periods for release at time of low
flow. It is understood that these
negotiations have been actively taken
up with renewed vigor. In the mean-
time, Chicago is threatened with loss
of disposal facilities for about 1,250,-
000 persons thus upsetting its finan-

1923

Water Works

775

cial program which hitherto had been
forced to a stiff schedule.

Before leaving this subject of
oxydising arrangements it may be
well to state that contact beds have
not been built in America for large
projects for some years. They are
too expensive. However, for some
residential communities they are of
merit, particularly where a high
grade effluent is required for small
works and where they can be fol-
lowed by sand beds.

Ground- Water Supplies From
Pre-Glacial Valleys

An interesting description of the
methods of developing a ground water
supply was given by W. D. P. Warren,
consulting engineer, Decatur, 111., in
a paper presented last year before the
Illinois section of the American Water
Works Association. His conclusions
follow:

The investigation for a new or of
an additional water supply should be
conducted along broad lines, keeping
constantly in mind that such investi-
gations may be properly extended a
distance of 5, 10, 20 or more miles
beyond the city limits. A few com-
parisons in cost may show that a well
supply may be developed at distances
not heretofore seriously considered.
The present lower cost of cast iron
pipe and the high cost of reservoir
lands, are factors which will influence
a final decision.

Keeping clearly in mind the funda-
mental principles which govern the
development of a shallow ground
water supply, and realizing the rela-
tion thereto of deposits in the pre-
glacial valley, it will be of interest to
consider proper methods of develop-
ment. These may be briefly sum-
marized as follows:

1. An examination of the extent of
all possible water shed areas within
reasonable distance. As a rough rule,
Ve might say that a city of 2,000
population may economically develop
a well supply at a distance of not
over 5 miles, while a city of 50,000
might economically develop a well
supply at a distance of not over 15
or 20 miles, depending on availability
of natural reservoir sites, relative
elevations, cost of land, etc. The ad-
vantages of a well supply, with low
first_ cost and low operating cost, will
justify extending our investigations
oyer a wider field than generally con-
sidered necessary.

2. An examination of well records,
test holes, borings and other data in
the territory under consideration.
Such records may often be secured
from coal, oil or gas companies, local
well drillers, and of most importance
in this state, through the State Geo-
logical Survey at Urbana. Some such
records are confidential, however, the
portion relating to depth of glacial
drift is not, and may generally be
secured to be used in the investigation
of a municipal supply.

3. A thorough study of all available
records with a view to determining
the dip of the rock or shale at base
of glacial drift and the location of
pre-glacial valley. This study should
be made before the location of any
additional drill holes is considered.
Often the elevations as disclosed by
the records of two or three old holes
will indicate the direction of the pre-
glacial valley, and a little further in-
vestigation should definitely establish
its boundaries.

4. The application of knowledge ob-
tained through above studies and the
location of test holes in accordance
therewith. Such test holes should
furnish sufficient additional data to
determine the possibilities of any site
under consideration.

5. With complete and accurate data
upon these principles, a conclusion
may then be reached as to the value
of such a supply, compared with a
surface supply, and recommendations
may be made regarding future de-
velopments with a full knowledge that
all facts relating thereto have been
properly considered and analyzed.

Cast Iron Pipe Production in August

The U. S. Department of Commerce
announces statistics on the produc-
tion, orders, sales, and shipments of
cast iron pipe for the month of
August, 1923. The report includes
returns from 12 establishments and
is confined to bell and spigot pressure
pipe exclusively. The following is a
summary by total tonnage for each of
the principal items of the industry:

Tons
Cast iron pipe produced during the

month 84.688

Cast iron pipe shipped during the

month _ 84.843

Orders for cast iron pipe specified to

be shipped from stock _ 14.727

Orders for cast iron pipe specified to

be made on orders _ 165,518

Orders for cast iron pipe not sipecified

as to sizes . 6,860

776

Water Works

Records of Stream Flow

October

Methods of Obtaining Them Described in Paper Presented May 22
at Annual Convention of American Water Works Association

By C. C. COVERT,

Hydraulic Engineer, W. & L. E. Gurley, Troy, N. Y.

It is not the purpose of this paper
to discuss the technical side of stream
gaging work, but rather to try to
present the subject in a manner that
will have a tendency to create greater
activities among engineers, plant su-
perintendents, and other who may
have an opportunity to assist in the
work of obtaining for the further

been one of the outstanding induce-
ments for the extensive cooperation
now enjoyed in those areas where the
greatest degree of activity in the field
of stream flow investigations is main-
tained.

From a standpoint of efficiency, it
would be well for all public service
corporations, municipalities and

Fig. 1 — Natural Control of a Stream.

benefit of the nation, data which will
enable the engineer of tomorrow to
solve in as efficient a manner as pos-
sible, the engineering problems which
have to do with the use of water, and
which will become more and more in-
tricate as the years go by.

The methods used by the engineers
of the Water Resources Branch of
the United States Geological Survey,
have been adopted by the leading
governments throughout the world. It
is highly desirable that all similar
data be collected as nearly as possible
by the same methods and with the
same degree of accuracy. This fea-
ture is an incentive for cooperation
with the Survey engineers and has

others interested in, or having to do
with, any problems which involve the
use of water, to seek cooperation with
the engineers of the Survey, to the
end that all such data may be col-
lected in a manner which will permit
of the records being published in the
official, reports or Water Supply
papers that are issued by the Federal
Government. This cooperation I am
firmly convinced cannot be urged too
strongly, since it insures the services
of an experienced engineer in locating
the station and designing and placing
the equipment. This feature is essen-
tial to good records, for without^ a
proper location and proper field equip-
ment at the station, complications are

1923

Water Works

777

certain to arise which will have a ten-
dency to discredit all, or at least a
part, of the records obtained.

Location of Gaging Station. — A
thorough reconnoissance is necessary
in connection with the establishment
of any gaging station. The engineer
should be certain that he has selected
the best site available. With modem
equipment, one is no longer confined
to the vicinity of some farm house or
highway bridge. The recording gage
and the cable way have practically
eliminated these conditions as con-
trolling features, and today we can
select the location which will produce

has much the same effect as shifting
control.

The gage should not be placed so
closely to the confluence of a tributary
stream that the readings will be
affected by back water at certain
stages, or on the up stream side of a
bridge where log or ice jams may
cause back water conditions.

Type of Gage. — This is important.
Some streams will be well taken care
of with the ordinary staff or chain
gage while others viill require record-
ing gages. Often times it is neces-
sary to install a portable water stage
register in order to determine this

Fig. la — Artificial Control of a Stream.

the best results. Of course, this may
mean some additional expense at the
start, but when we consider the value
of the record and the fact that the sta-
tion probably will be in operation over
a period of years, the cost per year
will not be a burden to any project.

The engineer- who realizes the im-
portance of a permanent control, well
defined channel conditions, suitable
place for metering, and also for the
location of the gage, and gives all of
these features mature consideration,
will be able to reduce his operating
costs and at the same time turn out
final results — discharge in cubic feet
per second — in a much more complete
form.

The proper location of the gage
with reference to the control is also of
importance. Any interference here

feature. When one has decided to
use a water stage register, then to
choose the proper type and to plan
for its suitable housing, is the next
step of importance. Right here let me
say that the shelter and the well
should be more than toy structures.
Many times I have seen what other-
wise was a fine installation, spoiled
because of a small well or small shel-
ter. There is no question as to the
value of having a structure large
enough to permit a man to enter,
close the door, and work fully pro-
tected from the weather. Proper
ventilating of both the well and shel-
ter is another feature which should
be given careful consideration. The
well should be at least 3 ft. square, or
better, 4 ft. square. In the Northern
countries it should be located well

778

Water Works

October

back in the bank where sufficient earth
protection will assist in keeping ice
from forming. If of timber, the
structure should be of double plank
separated by a layer of heavy tar
paper. • The shelter should be of the

should be provided and this should be
on a level with the gage. The window
should be provided with a heavy board
blind as a master of protection. Stock
doors may be used, but these should
fit tightly and in the winter provision

¥ig. 2 — Graphic Water Stagre Record, Showing
Method of Placing Record Sheets on Cylinder.

same dimensions, in cross-section, as
the well. It should be built up of %-
in. ship-lap covered with either tar
paper or heavy building paper and
then shingled. At least one window

Fig. 4 — Small Current Meter with Cable Sus-
pension for Small Streams. This Meter May
Be Suspended on Rod and Measurements Made
by Wading.

should be made to so close this door
that the storms and winds cannot
enter.

Fig. S— Typical Current Meter Gaging Station with Automatic Water Stage Register.

1923

Water Works

779

The intake pipe to the well is an-
other important consideration. Four
inch cast iron pipe or iron soil pipe is
suitable for this feature. The outer or
river end should be anchored with a
concrete pier. This end should also
be covered with a screen to prevent as
far as possible any foreign matter en-
tering the pipe. After the trench for
the intake pipe has been excavated, it
is well to provide several wooden sills
which may be placed crossways at the
bottom of the trench, and underneath
the pipe. Vertical supports fastened
to these sills will form a support to
the mud sill or bed board for the slope
or outside gage. Each recording
gaging station should be equipped
with both an inside and outside gage.

which had been made by this instru-
ment were questionable.

Making the Discharge Measure-
ment.— After the gage has been in-
stalled and is in operation, the next
step of importance is the develop-
ment of the rating curve. The Price
Current Meter as manufactured today
meets in a very satisfactory manner
most of the problems connected with
the regular stream gaging work.
Used under favorable conditions, and
this the engineer must be on the watch
for when choosing the site for the
gage, there is no question but that
the accuracy of the Price Meter is all
that could be desired. Great care is
exercised in its ntanufacture. All
parts as now made are interchange-

Fig. 5-

-A Practical Type of Weir for Use on Small Streams in Areas Snbject to Winter

Conditions.

for the purpose of more economically
and accurately checking the operation
of the intake pipe. These gages should
be referred by means of an engineers
level to some permanent bench mark.
Recently I had the experience of
checking up the gage height for a
sender to a long distance water stage
register. No outside or inside gage
haJd been provided. This instrument
had been operating with the water
surface in the well nearly a foot high-
er than the water surface in the pond
outside. This condition had not been
noticed, and of course, no one had a
complete history of when the change
took place. Therefore, any records

able and the pivot points on which the
bucket wheel operates are subject to
inspection under the projector where
the image of the point is thrown on a
screen, the picture being magnified
two hundred and fifty times, and the
shadow must fit the prescribed form.
This inspection insures as near a per-
fect pivot point as it is possible to
obtain. Then with the meter rated at
the National Bureau of Standards, one
has an instrument which is eminently
qualified to meet the requirements of
the engineer studying stream flow
problems.

Frequently in the location of a ga-
ging station, highway bridges or

780

Water Works

October

other structures suitable for use in
making the discharge measurement
will be found available. It often hap-
pens, however, that to secure the best
location possible it is necessary to
build some structure from which the
measurements may be made. Standard
equipment for this feature is a cable
stretched across the river from which
a car can be slung for the use of the

range from low water to high water.
The results of these measurements
are then plotted on regular cross-sec-
tion paper with the gage heights and
discharge in cubic feet per second as
coordinates, and through these points
a smooth curve is plotted. From this
curve one can compute the discharge
rating table, which when properly
constructed, makes the problem of

Fig:. 6— Method of Working Up Winter Record.

engineer. Riding back and forth
across the stream in this equipment,
he is in a position to take observa-
tions of the velocity at any desired
point. After each discharge measure-
ment, the meter should be thoroughly
cleaned and oiled.

For small streams and for low
water conditions in the larger
streams, it is often possible to make
discharge measurements by wading.
Measurements are made covering a

tabulating the daily discharge or, in
some cases where the water stage
register is used, the hourly discharge,
comparatively simple.

After the daily discharges have
been taken out for the period of the
record — usually these are worked up
at least each year, — a tabulation is
made which shows these results in
monthly forms, giving not only the
daily discharge in cubic feet per
second for each day, but the monthly

1923

Water Works

781

mean in cubic feet per second, etc.,
which when published in the Water
Supply Papers of the United States
Geological Survey, become available
for engineers throughout the country.
Thus these data are readily available
for any problem which the engineer
may wish to solve.

Measuring Small Streams. — One of

the important problems which it
seems to me confronts the average su-
perintendent, or engineer, of a water
works plant, is obtaining accurate
data on the run-off from small drain-
age areas. This problem is very dif-
ficult to handle in these Northern
States where during quite a portion
of the year the streams are more or
less affected by ice. It has been my
experience that the most satisfactory
manner in which to handle this prob-

At first it was not thought necessary
to give much attention to the winter
work, but as the engineer began to
use actual records of discharge, rather
than estimated records based upon
rainfall and other climatic data, he
also began to realize the importance
of having a complete record through-
out the year.

Mr. W. G. Hoyt, Hydraulic Engineer
with the Water Resources Branch of
the United States Geological Survey,
developed a graphic method for this
work which has been in use since 1913,
and which when used by experienced
men will give very dependable results.

As soon as ice formation starts on
the stream, it is necessary to begin to
take discharge measurements to de-
termine the back water effects, since
any obstruction to the control is bound

Fig. 7a — Long Distance Sender.

lem is to construct some kind of a
weir and use this as a control, racing
the weir in the same manner as you
would rate a regular current meter
station. The notch in the weir should
be about large enough to carry the
winter flow at a depth of 5-in. or 6-in.
The observer can then very easily
keep the ice broken back for 6 ft. or
8 ft. from the weir and the records
will be as accurate as in open water
conditions. It will be found practic-
ally impossible to make discharge
measurements with a current meter
on small streams where they are cov-
ered with ice. Often the stream
freezes to within a very few inches of
the stream bed, and no opportunity is
offered for using the current meter.

Obtaining Winter Records. — One of

the features that is of importance in
stream gaging work in the Northern
States is obtaining winter records.

Fig. 7b — Long Distance Recorder.

to cause back water at the gage.
These winter discharge measurements
should be made at regular intervals,
the interval depending upon the
character of the winter. In an area
where there is considerable variation
in temperature, more discharge mea-
surements are required than in those
areas where once the winter starts in,
it is comparatively steady through
to the break-up period.

A mid-winter break-up, followed by
a renewed ice cover with more or less
of the old ice cemented together in
ice jams and gorges, requires more
discharge measurements than would
be necessary in case a smooth ice
cover remained in place throughout
the winter. The U. S. Geological
Survey has prepared special forms
(Fig. 6) for computations during the
frozen season, and on these forms the
observed data are plotted in the form

782

Water Works

October

of graphs. These graphs show the'
following essential data:

1. Observed mean daily gage
heights as obtained by twice
daily readings or from continu-
ous record of a water stage re-
corder.

2. Temperature record by plotting
consecutively the maximum and
minimum temperatures for each
day.

3. Precipitation, showing rain by
solid black and snow by cross
hached lines drawn to scale.

4. Contro. points as obtained from
current meter measurements —
the vertical cross (+) represent-
ing observed gage height of
measurement, the inclined cross
(X) the effective gage height
corresponding to the measured
discharge on the basis of the
open water rating table, the
circle (0) being the difference
between the observed and effec-
tive gage heights at the time of
measurement and is called the
"backwater" or "correction for
ice."

Having plotted the "observed" mean
daily gage heights for each day and
the control points mentioned above,
together with the temperature and
precipitation data and any other in-
formation in the form of notes fur-
nished by the observer as to thickness
of ice or time of breaking up and
going out of ice, the next step is to
fill a continuous "correction for ice"
graph and a continuous "effective
gage height" graph, taking proper ac-
count of all the available data. The
"correction" diagram and "effective
gage heights" should be carried along
in conjunction and should act as a
check on each other, inasmuch as the
diagramatic sum of the two should
equal the "observed gage heights."
In other words, the "correction" dia-
gram when applied to the observed
gage heights should give the effective
gage heights to which the open water
rating table may be applied, to ascer-
tain the true discharge. The process
is simple, but requires practical field
experience in its interpretation.

In conclusion, attention is called to
the long distance water stage regis-
ter. This instrument, while compara-
tively new, is of importance to all
who may have reservoirs located at
some distance, and who wish to have
the record in the office or pumping
house. This instrument is especially

valuable in connection with a pumping
station. The elevation of the water
surface in the reservoir may be indi-
cated in the pump house by the indi-
cator, while the superintendent's office
may have a continuous record of the
changes that have been made by lo-
cating the Recording Instrument in
his office. The instrument operates
on two wires and a ground. The
sender operates the contact at .05 ft.
of change in the water level, either up
or down. This change is transmitted
over two wires, one for the falling
stage, the other for the rising stage,
to the Recording Instrument, where it
in turn is marked upon a paper chart
in the same manner as is the record
from the other types of gages.

Civil Service Examination for Sanitary
Engineer

The New York State Civil Service
Commission will probably hold exami-
nations on Nov. 3 for the purpose of
securing assistant sanitary engineers
for the Division of Sanitation of the
State Department of Health. The
examination is open to nonresidents
and covers two positions — one at
$3,000 to $3,500 per year and the
other at $2,100 to $2,500. The duties
of the first mentioned positions re-
quire a knowledge of the design, con-
struction, operation and supervision
of water supply systems, water puri-
fication works, sewerage and sewage
disposal systems; the principles of
chemistry and bacteriology as applied
to sanitary quality of public water
supplies, and the principles governing
stream polution and its prevention,
etc. Candidates must be graduates in
a course of civil or sanitary engineer-
ing of a technical school of recognized
standing and must have had since
graduation at least four years of sat-
isfactory experience in sanitary engi-
neering, of which one year must have
been in the construction or operation
of water or sewage treatment works.
C. A. Holmquist, Albany, N. Y., is
director of the Division of Sanitation.

Persons in Public Employ. — Accord-
ing to figures of the National Indus-
trial Conference Board, exclusive of
pensioners, there are 2,700,000 people
on the payroll of national, state and
municipal governments. They receive
approximately $3,500,000,000 per
year. Pensioners and other inactive
persons number 670,000, and get
$320,000,000 annually.

1923

Water Works

783

Some Details of Six Covered
Reservoirs

In a paper by George C. Bunker
and August G. Nolte presented at the
recent convention of the New England
Water Works Association the follow-
ing cases of the covering of reservoirs
at the time of their construction were
cited :

Arkansas City^ Arkansas. — Capac-
ity, 2,000,000 gal.; cost, $52,887.21;
shape, circular; dimensions, 156 ft.
inside diameter and 14 ft. deep to
overflow weir; roof, 5 in. reinforced
concrete slab with an 8-in. slope from
center to wall; beams, 10 in. by 15 in.
spaced 12 ft. on center each way;
columns, 10 in. by 10 in; design, ring
tension type with walls resting on a
subfooting keyed into the rock strat-
um forming the bottom; the wall is
separated from the footing by a spe-
cially designed expansion joint, in
order to eliminate cantilever stresses.

The location of the reservoir being
on public park property, it was decided
before completion to utilize the top
for tennis and volley-ball courts. The
manhole openings and ventilators
were so placed that ample space was
provided for two tennis courts. Pipe
couplings or sockets were installed
in the roof slab for the net posts, and
also sockets around the wall for
posts for fencing the entire area.

Perth Amboy, New Jersey. — Capac-
ity, 40,000,000 gal.; cost, $1,095,556;
shape, irregular; dimensions, 900 ft.
long by 230 to 370 ft. wide and 25 ft.
deep; the roof and floor are of flat-
slab reinforced concrete construction,
the roof being carried on reinforced
concrete columns; the embankment
slopes within the reservoir are lined
with plain concrete; the roof slab is
covered with earth to a depth of 2^
ft.

Cross Hill Reservoir, London, Eng-
land.—Capacity, 30,000,000 gal.; cost,
£79,000 (1913); shape, hexagonal;
dimensions, each hexagonal side has
8 arches, with a span of 30 ft. and a

•radius of 27 ft. 6% in., and a span
and radius of 17 ft. 4% in. at the
angles; the depth is 32 ft.; roof. 217
concrete domes, each 30 ft. in diam-
eter; columns, 16 hexagonal concrete
blocks, 18 in. deep and 3 ft. across
between parallel sides, for each col-
umn or a total of 432.

The claim is made that this reser-
voir is of unique design and probably
the most economical one ever con-
structed. The cost was about £2,800
per million gallons of storage as com-
pared with an average cost of £5,000
for several small covered service
resen'oirs built for the London water
supply.

Indianapolis, Indiana. — Capacity,
10,000,000 gal.; cost, $223,500; inclu4-
ing pipe connections and appur-
tenances but excluding engineering;
shape, rectangular with rounded cor-
ners; dimensions, 254 by 542 ft. in
plan by 10 ft. 8^ in. deep; roof, slab
9 in. thick designed for total live and
dead load of 470 lb. per square foot;
27 in. of filling was placed on the
roof; column heads, 6 ft. 6 in. square
extending 5^^ in. below bottom of
roof slab; columns, 24 in. in diameter,
spaced on 18 ft. centers, making a
total of 420; floor, groined-arch type
of construction; circulation, two brick
baffle walls insure uniform circulation
of water.

Baldwin Reservoir, Cleveland, Ohio.

— This reservoir was only recently
completed and is referred to as per-
haps the largest covered reservoir in
America. Shape, rectangular; di-
mensions, 1,035 by 551 ft. in plan by
39 ft. deep; a division wall divides
it into two basins of equal size; the
floor is of flat-slab plain concrete;
the roof is of the groined-arch panel
type supported by columns 30 in. in
diameter which are strengthened by
stiffening walls forming a cross in
each basin; special attention was
given to the design of the inlets and
outlets to ensure a good circulation
of water.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada. — Capac-
ity, 50,000,000 gal.; shape, rectan-
gular; dimensions, 512 ft. by 525 ft. in
plan by 15 ft. 6 in. deep; the roof and
floor are of flat-slab reinforced con-
crete construction, the former 6 in.
thick and the latter 8 in. thick; there
are 1,330 reinforced concrete columns,
16 in. in diameter, spaced 12 ft. 6 in.
apart, center to center, both ways; the
footings are 5 ft. 8 in. square, of the
tapered type, and extend upward
above the basin floor a distance of
16 in.

784

Water Works

October

Sub-Surface System for Col-
lecting Water

How Newton, Mass., Obtains Its Supply
From Ground Water Described in
Paper Presented Sept. 19 at An-
nual Meeting of New England
Water Works Association

By EDWIN H. ROGERS

City Engineer, Newton, Mass.

The municipally owned and oper-
ated water works of Newton, Mass.,
draws its supply entirely from under-
ground sources located in the Charles
River valley.

The collecting structures are lo-
cated in a reservation in the adjacent
town of Needham. The total area of
the reservation is about 750 acres, but
the portion proven and demonstrated
to be water bearing gravel capable of
practical development for yielding
water does not exceed 150 acres, and
it is within the limits of this area
that the collecting system is located
and draws its sub-surface supply.

The Collecting System. — This col-
lecting system, as designed and con-
structed under the supervision of the
city's engineering department, con-
sists of a wooden collecting conduit
built in 1889, a double line of open
joint 24 in. vitrified pipe laid in 1894,
and a large concrete well constructed
in 1911.

The wooden conduit is 4 ft. square
in section, 3,769 ft. in length, laid
level, with its invert grade line about
10 ft. below the average level of the
river, which is in general from 50 to
75 ft. distant. This conduit is con-
structed of hemlock, green at the time
it was used, and the planks compos-
ing its top, bottom and sides are laid
with open longitudinal joints, permit-
ting the water to infiltrate into the
conduit from the adjacent water bear-
ing gravel. On either side of the
conduit, 2^^ in. driven wells are lo-
cated, reaching to average depths of

from 15 ft. to 80 ft. below the conduit
and aid the flow of the ground water
into the conduit. Its top is generally
8 ft. below the ground surface.

From one end of this conduit, a
cast iron pipe line is laid under the
river to the pumping station, which
draws the water from the collecting
system by gravity and pumps it di-
i-ectly into the distribution system.
A 10,000,000 gal. reservoir located on
top of one of the hills of the city con-
trols the pressure, acting as a com-
pensating reservoir and a reserve sup-
ply as well.

From the other end of the wooden
conduit, a double line of open joint
24 in. vitrified pipe is laid, and ex-
tends for 3,188 ft, through nearly
level land but little above the river
level towards rising and hilly ground
in a direction generally away from
the river. The invert grade of these
pipe lines is 2 ft. above the invert of
the conduit at its start and rises on
a slight grade, totaling 1.1 ft. in its
whole length. They are laid 10 to 12
ft. below the surface of the ground.
These pipe lines also have tributary
2l^ in. driven wells, similar to the
wooden conduit.

From the same end of the wooden
conduit from which the pipe lines
branch is laid a tight conduit line
about 3,570 ft. in length to the cir-
cular concrete well, 28 ft. in diameter,
located about 500 ft. from the bank
of the river, with its bottom about 32
ft. below the average river level. This
well contains two 6 in. vertical, sub-
merged, motor driven centrifugal
pumps, which operate continuously a
large part of the year and discharge
about 1,000,000 gal, of water per day
into the wooden conduit through the
pipe line by which it is connected.

The percentage of the supply con-
tributed severally by the wooden con-
duit and the pipe lines is not known
and difficult of determination; experi-

Table I — ^Analyses of Water of Newton, Mass.

PARTS PER 100,000

Turbidity Residue Ammonia NitroRen as

and on Evapo- Albu- Hard-
Year Sediment Color ration Free minoid Chlorine Nitrates Nitrates ness Iron

1893-1897 None .03 5.68 .0004 .0023 .41 .0238 .0000 2.6 .012

1898-1902 None .02 6.04 .0004 .0030 .45 .0357 .0000 2.5 .004

1903-1907 None .05 6.30 .0008 .0040 .45 .0862 .0000 2.7 .011

1908-1812 None .01 6.36 .0005 .0028 .48 .0251 .0000 2.7 .006

1918-1917 None .02 6.79 .0008 .0037 .54 .0395 .0000 2.7 .006

1918-1922 None .01 6.00 .0006 .0031 .43 .0299 .0000 2.4 .008

Average None .02 6.20 .0006 .0032 .46 .0317 .0000 2.6 .008

1923

Water Works

785

nients are now under way to obtain
this information approximately.

There are numerous manholes along
both the wooden conduit and the 24
in. pipe lines, which afford an easy
opportunity to observe the immediate
ground water elevations. The eleva-
tions vary according to the seasons
of the year and conditions of rainfall,
sometimes being only slightly below
the river level and at other times from
4 to 5 ft. below.

A severe test of the adequacy of a
ground water supply is increased use
during summer months occasioned by
shortage of rainfall at a time when
the ground water table is low. The
maximum draft on this supply in suc-
ceeding years for short periods of
equal length has been increasing in a
slight diminishing ratio, in the period
in question, while the total yearly
consumption has been growing in a
somewhat increasing ratio.

The total monthly quantity which
the city may take from this reserva-
tion is limited by statute. This
amount is variable within certain
limts, as determined and approved by
the State Department of Health, and
is regulated according to the rainfall.

Analytical Data of the Water. —
Analyses of the water as averaged
for each five year period for the past
30 years are shown in Table I.

An examination of the average
yearly analyses, plotted graphically,
shows no curve indicating a deteriora-
tion in quality, but on the contrary
that the average quality has been
practically constant throughout this
period for which data is available.

This description of this city's col-
lecting system and analytical data as
to the water produced is offered as an
instance of a ground water drawn
from a favorable locality, which shows
but little variation in quality through
a considerable period, and it may also
be noted as a supply that has not de-
teriorated by reason of increasing
hardness or iron content under con-
stantly increasing demands. The
I maintenance of its quality is unques-
tionably due to the fact that it has
not yet been drawn upon beyond its
safe capacity at any time, but past
and present conditions indicate that
the restrictions imposed by the State
Department of Health as to the
fluantity to be drawn are safe to fol-
low, and conservatism as to any in-
creased use of this supply is to be
I favored.

Elxperiences With the Geo-
phone in Locating Under-
ground Leaks

Some interesting information on
the use of the geophone by the Roa-
noke Water Co., Koanoke, Va., is
given in the September Journal of the
American Water Works Association
by Francis W. Collins, consulting en-
gineer for the company. We quote
from Mr. Collins' article as follows:

The instrument exteriorly consists
of two discs, each about 1 in. thick
and 4 in. across, from each of which
leads a tube ending in an earpiece.
The whole affair is not unlike a
stethescope.

In use the discs are placed on the
road surface and an earpiece in each
ear. If a leak is suspected in a given
locality, by placing the two discs as
far apart as the lengths of tubes per-
mit, it will be found that the noise in
one ear will be louder than in the
other. The less loud disc will then
be shifted backward and forward un-
til the sounds from both are equal.
The assumption follows that the
sound is in the plane perpendicular
to the straight line joining the two
discs. Mark this observation spot,
then proceed along the direction of
this plane forward or backward
whichever way, on trial, intensifies
the noise.

The time necessary to locate an or-
dinary leak when within 50 or 75 ft.
of it is usually only a few minutes
and not over 15 or 20.

Suggestion on Use of Instrument. —

There are some points of interest
worth following by one using the geo-
phone for the first time:

(a) The operation must be carried
on at a time of no traffic or other
street noises. It was found that a
street sweeping machine of the re-
volving broom type two or three
blocks away on a brick pavement
made so much noise that it was dis-
tinctly heard in the geophone. The
early morning is practically the only
time, except in outlying districts, the
instrument can be used.

(b) The operator must learn what
to listen for. He may pick up all
kinds of noises.

786

Water Works

October

through the geophone, will depend on
against what tne leaky water im-
pinges. If the stream is against a
ledge of rock, a roar like a cataract
may result; the volume of sound does
not necessarily indicate the size of
the leak. No observations have been
made as to the effect produced by
different characters of apertures
through which the leak might be tak-
ing place.

Examples of What Geophone Will
Do. — Although not tested under all
conditions so as to determine what the
geophone will not do, enough has been
learned through its use to prove its
value for what it will do. We are
now interested in learning the small-
est leaks it will disclose and under
what conditions.

Three examples will show what it
will do:

(1) A ^/^-in. service 2^/^ ft. deep,
leaKing a stream smaller than a lead
pencil, under 8 in. of brick and con-
crete base pavement was heard 50 ft.
away (how much farther it might
have been heard was not determined)
and was located exactly, saving nearly
the cost of the geophone through not
having to cut up the pavement. There
was no surface indication of where
the trouble was. It was only known
that there was a leak in a certain
block.

(2) A leaking %-in. service in a
6-in. reinforced concrete pavement,
3V2 ft. deep, was located. Before
starting, the suppositions were that
a joint in a 16-in. main might be
blown, or a valve was leaking, or a
service had gone out. The geophone
got on the job and left no doubt
that a service was involved and lo-
cated the exact spot at which to break
through the pavement with a conse-
quent saving in cost. It was only
necessary to open the concrete pave-
ment enough to permit a man to work.

(3) The local gas company was
laying a main parallel to ours ana
discovered a considerable volume of
water which was reported leaking
from the water main. Inspection at
fire hydrants, meter and valve boxes
failed to disclose any leaks. The geo-
phone was used showing no leaks
whatever. Later it was proved that
the water was ground water from a
clayey soil.

Method of Locating

Hydraulic Gradient in a Water

Tunnel

Extract From the 1922 Report

of the Department of Public

Works of Chicago

The 12 ft. Western Ave. water tun-
nel now under construction at Chicago
will supply the proposed pumping sta-
tion at its north terminus and will be
fed from the Southwest water tunnel
at 73rd and State Sts. The South-
west lake and land tunnel comprises
12,990 ft. of 14 ft. section between
the Edward F. Dunne crib and the
shore shaft at Yates Ave., 15,897 ft.
of 12 ft. section between the Yates
Ave. and State St. shafts, and 23,072

Apporofus- inc/uding drum,
clock, and /omp,is sfandord
phefo recorder made byffie

Pifomefer Co.

This pomf on ehorf fixed
Simu/foneous/y mfh
wafer /evel etevofiOn.

Thiseler deferminedJ
fy precise fcfe/my.

y^?

Figr. 1 — The Apparatus

ft. of 9 ft. section from the State St.
shaft to the Roseland pumping sta-
tion. The form of all sections is
horseshoe.

At present the Southwest water
tunnel supplies pumps 1, 2 and 3 of
the 68th St. pumping station and the
Roseland pumping station. The maxi-
mum demand of the two stations is
220 M. G. D. The 68th St. pumping
station is supplied through a 6 ft.
gate at 73rd St. and Oglesby Ave.,
this corinection being enlarged to an
8 ft. circular section immediately
north of the gate shaft, and is con-
tinued north to the section shafts of
pumps 1, 2 and 3.

For the purpose of ascertaining the

1923

Water Works

787

maximum amount of water that can
be taken from the tunnel at 73rcl and
State streets without causing the
levels of the suction shafts at 68th St.
station, and especially the wet well of
Roseland station, to be lowered be-
yond a safe operating depth, the fol-
lowing method of locating the hy-
g draulic gradient was used:

Since all available methods or in-
struments were considered unsuitable
an intsrument (Fig. 1) was devised
that eliminates all lost motion, and
will accurately record extremely
small differences of elevation. The
instrument consists of a manometer
M. made of ^, in, iron pipe, a glass
tube "T" of convenient length, and a
Pitometer Co.'s photo recorder, which
consists of a lamp "L," a drum "D"
driven by a clock "C." These record-
ers are in daily use in connection with
water surveys of the division, and
were therefore available.

The manometers were made ap-
proximately 12 ft. long from the bot-
tom of the "U" to the point of con-
nection with the glass tube.

In use the "U" bend of the man-
ometer is filled with mercury to about
half the height of the short leg; the
remainder of both short and long legs
are then filled ^vith water. The glass
tube is then attached, filled with
water to a convenient height, depend-
ing upon the location of the recorder,
and a kerosene bubble "B" dyed with
aniline dye, about 2 in. in length, is
placed on top of the water level in
the glass tube.

Due to the irregularities of both
glass tube and manometer the instru-
ment is now calibrated by placing a
long glass tube on the short leg of the
manometer and varying the head of
water in this glass tube. In this
manner an accurate calibration of the
movement of the bubble is made.

The instrument is placed in the
"1 shaft at such a depth that the short
leg of the manometer is always sub-
merged, the glass tube placed in the
recorder, a sheet of sensitized paper
placed on the drum, and the lamp
lighted. From the sketch it can be
seen that all variations in the sub-
mergence "H" will be transmitted to
the bubble "B" and an accurate and
continuous record of every piezometric
heieht will be recorded.

Four of these instruments were
used in making the sur\-ey. No. 1
was placed in the wet well of the
Edward F. Dunne crib. No. 2 in the

Yates Ave. shaft; thus Nos. 1 and 2
gave the hydraulic gradient of the
14 ft. lake tunnel. No. 3 was located
in the State St. shaft, which record
compared with No. 2 gave the hy-
draulic gradient of the 12 ft. section,
and finally No. 4 placed in the wet
well of the Roseland pumping station
determined the changes in elevation
and when compared with No. 3 gave
the hydraulic gradient of the 9 ft.
section.

Precise levels were run from stand-
ard benches to the shafts, and accu-
rate elevations of the manometers
were determined.

Attempts were made to pass correct
elevations from the shore to the crib
by reciprocal leveling, but due to
atmospheric conditions elevations
were not considered sufficiently ac-
curate for use. The established ele-
vation of the crib gauge was used in
locating the manometer elevation of
No. 1 instrument.

These four instruments were op-
erated simultaneously, giving the
piezometric heights at the points
above stated for every instant
throughout the 24 hours.

During the run tests were made
each day to check the accuracy of the
indicating bubble by measurement of
submergence at each instrument.

The value of Q or flow during each
day's run was taken from the station
instruments and is probably not more
than 2 per cent in error.

From the known quantity of flow
and hydraulic gradients determined
by the instruments, values of "N" in
the Kutters formula for determining
the value of "C" in Chezy formula
V = c v r s were found.

These values were surprisingly high
and some doubt as to their accuracy
arose, but subsequent checks proved
that the values originally determined
were correct.

The value of "N" as applied to the
14 ft. or lake section cannot be taken
as final due to the absence of positive
information as to the true elevation
of instrument No. 1. It is hoped that
in the coming year elevations can be
successfully passed to the crib and
the elevation of instrument No. 1 de-
termined.

Without going into a detailed tabu-
lation of the results, the average
values of N were:

14 ft. section Dunne Crib— Yates Ave...n=.019

12 ft. section Yates Ave. — State St n=.017

9 ft. section State St. — Roseland Pump.

Station _ n=.016

'788 Water Works Octobei-

Water Works and Sewer Contracts Awarded
During the Last 44 Months

The accompanying tables show: each year shows a gain over its prede-

First, that the waterworks and sewer cessor in the volume of contracts

contracts awarded during the last half awarded in this "hydraulic field."
of each year exceed in volume those

WATERWORKS CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000 IN SIZE.

1920 1921 1922 1928

January 9 1,144.000 $ 519.000 % 1.727,000 $ 4,720,000

February ~ 2,172,000 2.927,000 652.000 2.730,000

March _ 2.213.000 2.028.000 1.093,000 16.149.000

April __ 2,719.000 3,342.000 2.673.000 8,544,000

May 1,382,000 4,944.000 3,568,000 7,329.000

June 1.461.000 3.485.000 5.124.000 4,045,000

July 3.793,000 3,106,000 811,000 3,803,000

August — 775,000 2,404,000 4,494.000 3.678,000

September .._ 743,000 1,487,000 3,906,000

October 11,169,000 900.000 7.686.000

November _ 2,151,000 4,698.000 2.161,000

December - 1.051.000 10,752,000 1,835,000

Total _ $30,773,000 $40,602,000 $35,730,000

Note. — About TOO per cent must be added to the annual totals to give the grand total of
contracts awarded in the United States.

A grreat deal of waterworks construction is done by directly hired labor and is not included
above.

Waterworks buildings are not included above.

SEWER CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000 IN SIZE.

1920

January $ 1,864,000

February _ 623,000

March 1,283,000

April 4.124,000

May 2,315.001)

June 2,349,000

July 3.163,000

August „„ 2,437.000

September 2,319,000

October .._ 8,052,000

November 4,.572,000

December 2,967.000

1921

1922

1923

$ 8,147,000

$ 2.267,000

$ 3.322,000

2,445,000

2,462.000

2,131.000

2,862,000

3,796.000

4,477,000

3,817,000

2.794.000

5.497.000

2.162,000

5.722,000

9.052.000

8,802,000

5,158.000

6,501.000

3.986,000

1,869,000

3.183.0100

8.988,000

3.450,000

13,753.000

5,064,000

3,340,000

2,829,000

4,996.000

2.738,000

5,349,000

2,549,000

2,381,000

Total _ $36,068,000 $39,884,000 $43,584,000

Note. — About 100 per cent must be added to the annual totals to give the grand total of
contracts awarded in the United States.

A considerable amount of sewer construction is done by directly hired labor, which is noi
included in the above totals.

IRRIGATION. DRAINAGE AND EXCAVATION CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000.

1920 1921 1922 1928

January $ 1,542,000 $ 1,266.000 $ 2,091.000 $ 548.000

February „ .:.; _.. 787,000 806.000 419,000 865.000

March _ 8,151,000 1.626,000 608,000 28,968.000

April 416,000 680.000 1,736.000 2.506,000

May __ 404.000 2.632,000 776,000 8,553,000

June __ 606.000 1.240,000 2,628,000 1.174,000

Ju'y 1,942,000 609,000 1,498.000 6.902,000

August „ 4.179,000 89,000 6,920,000 2,337,00(»

September > .; ;........„.. 869,000 9.025,000 876,000

October 1.086,000 878,000 2,890.000

November 772,000 726.000 1,741,000 -

December 477.000 707,000 864,000

■I^ta' -^ $16,220,000 $19,179,000 $22,547,000

Note. — About 100 per cent must be added to the annual totals to give the grand total of
contracts awarded In the United State*.

1923

Water Works

789

Sewer Trenching at Evanston,
111., With Dragline

The city of Evanston, Chicago's
largest north shore suburb, has under-
taken the construction of a $150,000
sewer. This sewer is called the north-
west trunk sewer and runs from the
Evanston-Wilmette line, the northern
boundary, south and into the drainage
canal. Its purpose is drainage and
sanitation of the northern part of the
city.

The job was started in the late

The cut was made in two sections.
The first ran south from the city line.
The second section was I'un from the
canal west till it met the southbound
pipe and here the two were joined.

Ferguson vitrified segment block is
being used for the pipe. This is being
laid in four different diameters. For
the first 3,000 ft. the pipe is 5 ft. in
diameter, for the next 1,400 ft. it is
48 in. in diameter, for the next 2,000
ft. it is 42 in. in diameter, and in the
last 1,500 ft. it is 36 in. in diameter.

The pipe lajdng gang went in as

Trench Excavation With Dragline for Northwest Trunk Sewer of Evanston, 111.

spring and one Northwest gasoline
operated dragline with a 40 ft. boom
and a 1 yd. bucket has been used to
dig the entire cut.

The cut is 20 ft. deep and the going

was tough. The first 5 ft. was dug

through brown clay and the last 15 ft.

rough exceedingly sticky blue clay.

he machine made a single cut and

e waste was piled on either side.

\ hen the ditch was completed it was

^ ft. wide at the top and graded by

e machine to a 7 ft. width at the

'^ttom.

soon as the dragline reached the de-
sired depth and followed along right
behind the machine. The dragline
dug 100 lin. ft. in a day of 10 hours,
removing 1,000 cu. yd. of dirt.

The pipe laying gang was followed
by a gas shovel with a % yd. bucket
which leveled the waste piles and
back-filled the trench, filling at the
rate of 150 lin. ft. of trench in lO
hours.

The work is being done by Cannell
& Conj-ad Construction Co., Louis\'ille,
Ky.

790

Water Works

uctooer

Pumpage and Operating Cost of
Cleburne, Tex., Water Works

The September issues of the Water
Works Journals throughout the coun-
try mentioned the hardships many
water systems have had the past sum-
mer in keeping a supply of water and
pressure in the mains. In many cases
noted, it has been impossible to sup-
ply the demand and the customers
have been appealed to not to sprinkle,
wash cars, and in every way reduce
the consumption. In Cleburne, Tex.,
however, while there has been more
water actually used this past summer,
the service has been better, the pres-
sure greater, and during the evemng
sprinkling period the pressure was in-
creased and maintained for several
hours or during the maximum de-
mand. , ,
In previous years the very best
pressure maintained during the spnn-
kling period was 25 lb. per square
inch, while during the past summer
the lowest pressure was 55 lb. and
during the sprinkling period this was
increased to 75 lb., making it con-
venient for one to sit on the front
steps and sprinkle the entire lawn.

While there has been no additions
to the water supply in the way of ad-
ditional wells or other sources, neither
has the rate been changed, yet the dry
season of the past summer was not
felt by the water department. This
is the first summer that such condi-
tions have prevailed, although the
water system has been established for
more than 35 years.

The following comparative cost
sheet of the Cleburne, water depart-
ment, of which J. W. Hockaday is
superintendent, is interesting:

Aug., 1922 Aug.. 1923

Total gal. pumped 21.577.000

Total gal. metered 13,226,48b

Total per cent metered.... „-°\i^
Total meter collections.... 4,75&.ou
Total meter collection per

1,000 gal

Total cost to pump per

1,000 gal

Total operating cost |t.f.m2 A?.'g?iV23

Cost Per Cost Per
1.000 Gal. 1,000 Gal.
.185 .1285

.045 .0397

.011 .0027

.0079
.0006

Packing acct 0034

Office salary 03*

Tap acct

Pipe line repair

Meter repair 0144

Meter read 0034

Gasoline acct 0023

Insurance acct

Electric repair

Shaft acct 002

.347

.359
.347

Power

Operating force

Station repair

Sewer maintenance ' "^

Station repair •■•••

Auto Expense "}»

General Repairs ^if

Office expense ~

Station expense

Truck acct

Oil acct

.0284
.0093
.0059
.0224
.0029
.0029
.0038
.0021

16.166,000

15,544,000

.961

5,313.25

.342

.259

.0053
0012

.005

.0009
.001

Determining Comparative Efficiencies
of Pumping Stations at Chicago

During the past year a method of
comparing efficiencies of the ten ma-
jor pumping stations of Chicago was
devised by the Efficiency Division of
the Department of Public Works and
is now in use. The method used is
arrived at by making a heat balance
of each station, using the official ac-
ceptance trials of the apparatus as a
base of 100 per cent. It is assumed
that where the apparatus is properly
maintained and operated, results
closely approaching, if not meeting,
the official results should be obtained.
Thus, knowing the work done, to-
gether with the fuel consumed, a close
estimate of the operation efficiency
can be made by comparing the coal
consumed in operation with the
amount of coal that should be used
according to the official acceptance
tests. The information used in com-
puting and tabulating the compara-
tive efficiencies is taken from the daily
log sheets and recording instrument
charts of the various stations.

New Trade Publications

The following trade publications of interest
to water works men, engineers and contractors
have been issued recently:

Sewage Ejectors.— Yeomans Brothers Co..
1423 Dayton St., Chicago, 111., have issued »
new bulletin describing the Shone system o
pneumatic sewage ejectors. The bulletin is o
particular interest because it contains the nr^
complete information given out on the ne^^
tvpe S. D. V. Shone ejector, in which tm
piston valves are detached from the ejectoi
and located outside of the ejector pit.

Water Chlorlnation.— Two interesting pubh
cations on the subject have been brought ou
recently by Wallace & Tiernan Co. NewajK
N J. One of these deals with the chlonnaUoi
of small water supplies, the other with tn^
chlorlnation of medium sized water suppW.
Details of the apparatus and its apphcatlo.
are given.

Sewage Screen.-The Link Belt Co., 300 W
Pershing Road, Chicago, has issued an intei
esting bulletin on the Tark sewage screen. -
description of the screen and the way it opei
ates is given, together with numerous IIW
trations of the various parts, as well as oi
complete unit. Included in the booklet »'
descriptions of installations at Pleaa«ntv"
N. J., and at the activat«4 Plvidge P'an«
Milwaukee.

Railways

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING
Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co-
221 East 20th St., Chicago
HAL3ERT P. GiU-BTTB, President and Editor
Lewis S. Lover, Vice-President and General Manaoer
New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St. and Broadway
Richard E. Brown, Eastern Manager

Roads and Streets — 1st Wednesday, %l
(a) Road Con- (c) Streets

(d) Street clean-

stmction

(b) Road Hain-

tenaoce

ing

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday. $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and
Drainage

Sanitation
(d) Waterways

Railways — 3rd Wednesday, $1

(a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-

way Construe- way Constrac-

tion tion and

Maintenance Maintenance

Boildings — (th Wednesday, $1

(a) Buildings (d) Miscellaneous

(b) Bridges Structures

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., OCTOBER 17, 1923

No. 4

Obsolescence

Acutely in every railroad or public
utility rate case, and perennially
among the duties of every admini-
strator of large operating properties,
there arises the problem of obso-
lescence.

It need scarcely be noted that a

! problem of such recurrence can not

be simple, and it is probably better

even to refer to the "problems" than

to the "problem," for there are two

iistinct major questions involving

obsolescence. The first of these is —

How much shall be set aside annually

in a fund or reserve to provide for

:he probable displacement of present

.equipment by equipment of improved

{type or design? The second question

! relates to the present value of equip-

;ment in use. In a rate case it is the

I direct and simple, though not easily

'answered, query — What is the value?

■ While in the routine of administration

there is the frequent question — Is it,

m view of advances and improvements

in the arts, any longer economic to

operate this or that machine?

The questions are related but not
completely answerable from the same
data. In determining the annual re-
quirement one must consider expecta-
tions and even possibilities. If, for
example, a telephone system is in-
volved, it is obvious from the past
history of the business that there is
no reasonable expectation that large
portions of the equipment will ever
be worn out in service. Rather shall
we anticipate that improved forms
will take their place, and the old units
will be sold as junk. But obviously
we cannot predict with certainty the
time at which such displacements will
occur; and we therefore make the
best "guess" possible based upon the
past history of the art. The actual
time may be either longer or shorter
than we anticipate, and in view of the
latter possibility it is the part of con-
sen'atism to base the annual provision
upon a moderate assumption as to
length of life. If the property out-
lives the time covered by the provision
the annuity can be discontinued and

792

Railways

October

its accumulation so handled as to en-
sure fairness to all concerned, but if
it is not provided, irreparable losses
and even financial disaster may occur.

In estimating the present value of
a property the prospect of future
changes cannot be considered. If, for
example, during the past three years
there has been no important change
in the design of steam locomotives
for a given class of service, a loco-
motive of this class purchased three
years ago has up to date suffered no
loss in value because of obsolescence,
although something may have been
set aside each year to provide for
anticipated obsolescence.

Many blunders are made in the
treatment of equipment which is in
some degree obsolete as if its obso-
lescence were complete, and in some
instances serious waste results there-
from. In particular, if a company is
prosperous chere is the temptation to
dispose of old equipment at a sacri-
fice in favor of the latest models, al-
though analysis would show that as
economic earning units, the old still
possessed a substantial value. A
street car, for instance, may be heav-
ier than the most modern type and
so require more current for operation
as well as more time in starting and
stopping than does the most modern
car, but this is by no means equiva-
lent to saying that the old car is
worthless. A carefully conducted
series of tests would disclose the ex-
tra current required and hence its
cost, the extra time of starting and
stopping and hence the losses in-
volved therein; and the sum of all
such annual losses capitalized for the
anticipated remaining life of the car
represents the loss in value due to
obsolescence. Not until such capital-
ized loss equals the value which the
car would have if free from obsoles-
cence can the car be said to be wholly
depreciated. Furthermore attention
must be given to the service in which
the car is used, for if it is on long
runs with infrequent stops, the time
lost in starting and .stopping may be-
come wholly insignificant; and if a
car is used only on special occasions
to carry a part of peak load traffic,
its extra power consumption is a mat-
ter of little importance. The study
of such problems deserves more at-
tention than it has received.

Retail Cost of Food

The U. S. Department of Labor,
through the Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics, has completed the compilations
showing changes in the retail cost of
food in 20 of the 51 cities included in
the Bureau's report.

During the month from Aug. 15,
1923 to Sept. 15, 1923, 18 of the 20
cities showed increases as follows:
Los Angeles and St. Louis, 4 per cent;
Baltimore, Fall River, New Haven,
and New Orleans, 3 per cent; Chicago,
Kansas City, Norfolk, Providence,
Richmond, Rochester, and St. Paul, 2
per cent; Houston, Indianapolis, Jack-
sonville, Savannah and Washington,
D. C, 1 per cent; and Portland, Me.
showed a decrease of less than five-
tenths of 1 per cent; Butte showed no
change during the month.

For the year period, Sept. 15, 1922
to Sept. 15, 1923, all twenty of the
cities showed increases as follows:
Indianapolis, 10 per cent; Chicago and
Baltimore, 9 per cent; Fall River and
New Haven, 8 per cent; Norfolk,
Providence, Rochester and Washing-
ton, D. C, 7 per cent; Richmond, St.
Louis, St. Paul, and Savannah, 6 per
cent; Jacksonville, Kansas City, Los
Angeles, and Portland, Me., 5 per
cent; Butte, Houston, and New Or-
leans, 4 per cent.

As compared with the average cost
in the year 1913, the retail cost of
food on Sept. 15, 1923 was 59 per
cent higher in Richmond; 58 per cent
in Washington, D. C, 57 per cent in
Chicago, Baltimore, and Providence;
53 per cent in Fall River and New
Haven; 48 per cent in St. Louis; 47
per cent in Indianapolis; 45 per cent
in New Orleans; 43 per cent in Los
Angeles; and 40 per cent in Jackson-
ville and Kansas City. Prices were
not obtained from Butte, Houston,
Norfolk, Portland, Me., Rochester, St.
Paul, and Savannah in 1913, hence no
comparison for the 10-year perior can
be given for these cities.

Rail Type Grade Crossing.— The
Arizona State Highway Department,
according to The Highway Magazine
is using a type of railroad crossing on
Tucson-Nogales state highway, con-
sisting of steel railroad rails placed
parallel to the railroad track, both
between the tracks and on the outside i
for approximately 18 in. The rails i
are placed ball up and the interstices
are filled with concrete.

1923

Railways

Current Materisd Prices

793

Iron and Steel Prices

(From the Iron Age, Oct. 4. 1923)

Prices as of Oct. 2, f. o. b. Pittsburgh:
Open beartb r&Us, heav7, per gross,

ton $43.00

Light rails (25-45 lb. section), per 100

lb „ $2.15 to 2.25

Track spikes, 9/16 in. and larger base,

per 100 lb. 3.15

Track spikes, ^ in., 7/16 in. and % in.,

100 lb - $3.15 to 3.50

Track spikes, 5 16 in _ 3.15 to 3.50

Spiices, boat and barge, base, per 100

lb - — . 3.50

Track bolts, % in. and larger, base, per

100 lb $4.00 to 4.25

Track bolts, ^ in. and % in., base.

per 100 lb _ $5.00 to 5.50

Tie plates, per 100 lb „.._ 2.55 to 2.60

Angle bars, base, per lb _ 2.75

Finished Iron and Steel

Per lb. to

large buyers.

Cents

Iron bars, Philadelphia 2.67

Iron bars, Chicago 2.35

Steel bars, Pittsburgh 2.40

Steel bars. Chicago 2.50

Steel bars. New York 2.74

Tank plates, Pittsburgh 2.50

Tank plates, Chicago 2.80

Tank plates, New York 2.84

Beams. Pittsburgh 2.50

Beams, Chicago 2.60

Beams, New York 2.84

Steel hoops. Pittsburgh 3.00

Freight Rates

All rail freight rates from Pittsburgh en
domestic shipments of finished iron and steel
products, in carload lots, to points named, i>er
100 lb., are as follows:

Philadelphia $0.32

Baltimore 0.31

New York 0.34

Boston __________________________ 0.365

Buffalo 0.265

Cleveland 0.215

Cleveland, Yonngstown, ctMnb 0.19

Detroit 0.29

Cincinnati 0.29

Indianapolis 0.81

Chicago 0.84

St. Lotiis 0.43

Kansas City 0.735

Kansas City (pipe) 0.705

St. Paul 0.60

Omaha 0.735

Omaha (pipe) 0.705

Denver 1.27

Denver (pipe) 1.215

Pacific Coast

Pacific Coast, ship plates..

Bii-mingham

Memphis

Jacksonville, all raiL.

Jaeksonville, rail and water-
New Orleans

1.34

1.20

0.58

0.5«

0.70

0.415

0.67

Rails and Track Supplies at Chicas*

Standard Bessemer and open-hearth rails,
$43 ; light rails, rolled steel, 2.25c, f. o. b.
makers' mills.

Standard railroad spikes, 3.25c mill ; track
bolts with sqxiare nuts, 4.2Se mill ; iron tie
plates, 2.85c mill ; steel tie plates, 2.60c, f. o. b.
mill ; angle bars, 2.75c, f. o. b. mill.

Jobbers quote standard spikes out of ware-
house at 3.90c base and track bolts, 4.90c base.

Cement Prices

Recent quotations, per bbl., in carload lots,
exclusive of package:

Pittsburgh $2.24

Cincinnati 2.54

Detroit 2.50

Chicago 2.20

Milwaukee 2.87

Duluth 2.25

Minneapolis 2,50

DaTenp<vt. la. 2.48

Cross Tie and Lumber Prices

(From Lumber, Oct. 5. 1923)

White Oak Ties
F. o. b. cars, Chicago, Oct. 3.
5—7x9x8

No.
No.
No.
No.
No,

4—7x8x8
3 — 6x8x8
2 — 6x7x8
1— 6xSx8

_$1.80
_ 1.65
_ 1.50
_ 1.40

Red oak ties, lO^lSc less than white oak.
Sap pine and sap cypress, 10c less than red
oak.

White oak switch-ties, per U. ft $55 to $58

Red Oak switch-ties, per M. ft. 49 to 51

White Oak Ties
F. o. b. cars, St. Louis. Oct. 3.

No. 5 — 7x9x8 . $1.80

No. 4 — 7x8x8 1.47

No. 3 — 6x8x8 1.80

No. 2—6x7x8 1.20

No. 1 — 6x6x8 1.10

Red oak ties, lOe per tie less than white oak
prices. Heart pine and heart cypress, same
prices as red oak. Sap pine and sap cypress,
25c less than white oak.

White oak switch ties, per M. ft. $48.00

Red oak switch ties, per M. ft 45.00

Bridge and crossing plank, same prices as
switch ties.

Boston— Yel. Pine

New York— Yel. Pine..

Buffalo— Yel. Pine

Chicago — Yel. Pine

St. Louis — Yel. Pine

Seattle, Wash.— D. Fir..

Alexandria— So. Pine ..._

Birmingham — So. Pine .

{ Hattiesburg— So. Pine __

i Kwisas City— So. Pine...

Market Prices of Lumber

Flooring, 2x4,

1x4. 16 ft..

No. 1 common No. 1 common

$57.00 $45.75

53.00

45.00

43.00

56.00 20.50
Soathem Mill Fricea
Flooring.

1x4.

No. 1 fUt

$38.00

38.78

39.73

2x4.
16 ft.. No.
$26.00

26.71
25.72

28.00

Timbers.

12x12
$63.00<g66.00
57.50@63.00
4-.50@51.50
51.00
41.50@42.50
25.00

Timbers.

No.1.

8x12 to 12x12

89.87

794

Railways

The Dirt Mover's Day

By E. F. STEVENS,

Of Stevens Bros., Contractors, St. Paul, Minn.

October

A one machine outfit

Got a good job
Thirty miles opt

Not troubled by a mob.

Tote road rougher than

The road to hell
Not paved with good intentions

Which was just as well.

For the six up skinner

Will get there soon
If he doesn't lay off

A hittin' up the "moon."

Machine running good

In every way
But the belt got ripped

And tore up today.

Punched full of holes

We paid the price
For guaranteed belting

But the dealers say it's mice.

Had a little hail storm

Lasted thirty minutes
Cat, machine and wagons

SHidded 'round like crickets.

Bull wheel slipping

Disc gummed tight
Dogs in the rachet plates

Never did seem right.

Broke a short shaft

Also a box '

When the cat skinner

Overlooked a few rocks.

Followed this delay up

Jumped the tracks
Spent a couple of hours

Using men and jacks.

Machine man left us

Too much booze
Said he couldn't stand it

Without new shoes.

Heard them hollering

On the dump
A team got under water

Nothing showing but a rump.

Heave horse got winded

By the heat
Sent the bay mares into camp

With sore front feet.

Blacksmith out of coal

Shoes all gone
Barn man and cripples rest

Until tomorrow morn.

Cracked two wagon poles

And one wheel
Wagon skinner tumbled off

Run over on the heel.

Getting 'long toward six o'clock

Outfit standing still
Gasoline tank empty

Tank's on five mile hill.

Pretty much hay wire

All day long
But a damn good outfit

Luck's all wrong.

Called "all off" for chuck

Started for camp
Couldn't make the Ford go

Dry cells damp.

Triangle was ringing
Walked two miles
But came out from that camp shack
All covered with smiles.

Played a game of poker

Cuffed the stock
Had a little dice game

To bed at ten o'clock.

Thinking 'bout the troubles

An outfit brings
When a baby cyclone hit us

And the camp took wings.

Finally cut the stock loose

Slept in the hay
Cold and wet and shivering

'Till the sun brought day.

Mighty nice June morning

Western prairie sort
Can't see why the engineers

Cut estimates so short.

1923

Railways

795

Placing Concrete Mrith Belt
Conveyor

In building concrete retaining walls
for the- Illinois Central Railway's new
lake front improvements at Chicago,
the Underground Construction Co., is
using with much success a belt con-
veyor for placing the concrete.

The conveyor is a standard Barber-
Greene portable belt conveyor, with
gasoline engine. The machine has

The present method with the conveyor
has proved entirely practical, less ex-
pensive, and much faster.

The only change made on the belt to
enable it to handle wet concrete prop-
erly was the addition of a squeegee
made of two pieces of rubber held
between two pieces of angle iron
across the belt. Baffle plates slanted
in any desired direction prevented the
mix from separating and directed the
discharge.

Fig. 1. — Arrangement of Conveyor for Handling Concrete.

been detached from its truck, how-
I ever, and mounted on the mixer by
i means of two bails. This mounting

allows the operator to swing the con-
I veyor just as he would a gravity
' chute.

The mixer is mounted partly on
solid ground and partly on staging, as
'■ can be seen in Fig. 1, In order to
i chute the wet concrete by gravity it
j Would have been necessary to mount
i the mixer completely on staging,
! which would have been costly and
{ impractical. Four men with buggies
I were tried, but they proved slow and
j also expensive, when compared with
I the conveyor which replaced them.

One form contains on the average
100 cu. yds. of concrete of a mix 1-2-4.
Panels, two or three in number, to
lend a somewhat ornamental effect to
the wall on the railroad side, are built
into the forms and slightly compli-
cates the pouring. However, since
putting the conveyor on the job, the
contractor has been averaging two
forms, 200 cu. yds. — per day, with a
maximum of 250 cu. yds. poured in 8
hours.

The concrete is brought up in eight
layers, wooden chutes with drop bot-
toms being placed inside the form to
accomplish this. The conveyor dis-
charges in sequence to all of them and

796

Railways

October

the concrete is distributed by regulat-
ing the drop bottoms.

Fig. 2 shows a general view of the
job. Bins for sand and stone are
loaded by a crane from stock piles.
The bin gates are tended by one man.
Several cars are kept ready at all
times. Two cars at a time are drawn

noise should blow away from, not
over, the residential parts of the city.
The 44-year weather record of the
Weather Bureau of the United States
Department of Agriculture for Spring-
field shows that the prevailing wind
direction is from the northwest in
January and February and from the

Fig. 2. — General View of Job, Showing Sand, Stone and Cement Storage and Portion of

Retaining Wall.

to "the mixer by a horse. The plat-
form beside the skip is moved along
with the mixer.

Wind Direction Plays Big Part in
Laying Out Cities

Washington, D. C, which was laid
out in 1789 by Maj. Pierre Charles
L'Enfant, is an example of the advan-
tages to be obtained from planning
cities with the future well in mind.
The city of Springfield, 111., is about
to adopt a city plan, contemplating
for the future city, among other fea-
tures, a union railroad station, an in-
dustrial district, the creation of a lake
in the valley of the Sangamon River,
and a civic center.

The industrial zone is to be located
in the extreme northeast part of the
city. Attention was given to the
source of local water supply, prox-
imity to railroads and terminals,
housing conditions, and available
sites for indu.strial plants. An im-
portant consideration, however, in
choosing this location was the pre-
vailing wind direction. It is always
preferable that smoke, gases, and

south during all the other monthsJ
It was clearly indicated that by locat-j
ing the industrial zone in the north-|
east smoke-bearing winds would blow!
over the city but a small part oi
the time.

Similar plans have been laid oul
for several other cities. Local condi-
tions sometimes make is impossible tcj
place the residential section to thtl
windward of the industrial zone, bu1j
in future city planning wind direcj
tion will no doubt be given due weight]
The Weather Bureau has records ex
tending over long periods for manj
regions to aid in determining the di
rection of prevailing winds.

Oil Cloth Casing for Underwater
Blasting

In demolishing 200 piers of the olc
military bridge over Rock River a'
Rockford, 111. the sticks of dynamite
were wrapped in oilcloth and tied t(
the piers under water. According t<
Successful Methods the sacks wen
made of cheap table oilcloth, sewec
with oil side in.

1923

Railways

797

Retedning Wall Construction of C. & N. W. Ry.
at Milwaukee

Interesting Types of Pre-Cast Walls Being Built for Layton Park Track

Depression Scheme

In connection with its grade cross-
ing elimination scheme at Layton Park
Station, Milwaukee, Wis., the Chicago
& Northwestern Ry. is constructing a
large amount of heavy retaining wall.
Three type of wall are being used, two
of which are unique. The method of

Pre-Cast Concrete Crib RetaininK Wall.
Layton Park Track Depression.

constructing some of the gravity also
is unique. We are indebted to the
Railway Review for the following de-
tails:

There are 25 industrial plants in the
territory affected by the work, and a
number of them have permanent build-
'-srs abutting directly on the right of
ly at the point where the depression
. greatest. The material at this point
i^ yellow clay, gravel, sand, and some
'!^lue clay in well-defined strata, and is
nerally of unstable character,
rough this section is was not pos-
ile to complete the excavation and
:erwards build the retaining walls,
as the safety of the buildings could
j not be assured without unreasonable
, expense. It was therefore determined
• to build the retaining wall which is of
(heavy gravity section ahead of the
I steam shovel. Because, in a number
i of cases, the building line is coincident
1 with the right of way line, it was nec-
I essary to locate the wall wholly on the
Iwmpany's property. On account of
I the unstable character of the under-
'5^ng material, unusually heavy brac-
ing was required, and to avoid any
■'^^sibility of damage to the adjacent
'uctures the lateral braces were not
I -moved during the process of depos-
iting the concrete, but were left em-

bedded in the wall. To avoid the dis-
figurement of the finished wall, re-
cesses 18 in. deep were left at each
tier of braces. After the wall is con-
structed and back filling is in place
these timbers will be cut off at the
inner face of the recess and the recess
filled with concrete. The tiers of
braces were spaed 6 ft. 6 in. apart.
There are 2,000 lin, ft. of this wall
measuring 24 ft. above the footing.

Concrete Plant and Equipment. — In
view of the fact that the retaining
walls and bridge abutments were lo-
cated at such widely separated points
and over the full length of the work,
and because of the not have been eco-
nomical or efficient. Mixing plants of
the usual type and with the usual or-
ganization were located adjacent to
the various structures, and moved as
needed. Five Smith mixers of capaci-
ties ranging up to 1 cu. yd. capacity
are in use on the work. Universal

Typical Section of Gravity Retaining WalL

Portland cement and Atlas cement
have been used throughout except for
small quantities of other brands when
deliveries were not prompt.

For foundation excavation a combi-
nation of Osgood shovel fitted with a
clamshell bucket, another combination

798

Railways

October

shovel similarly equipped, and a Key-
stone digger are in use, and a Thew
excavator is expected to be put in
service in a few days. A Bay City
track driver furnished by the railroad
has driven all false-work, and a "jim
crow" bridge derrick is used to handle
track material and to set the precast
retaining wall sections.

Precast Construction for Retaining
Walls. — Between Midland Ave. and
8th Ave., a distance of 1,200 ft., a
unique form of retaining wall con-
struction is used. This wall is made
up of precast blocks of concrete 8 ft.
in length. Three heights are used by
simply leaving out the lower course,
or courses. The majority of these
blocks were cast by company forces in

obtained at this point there was less
interference with the work.

Precast Crib Retaining Wall. —

Along the south side of the elevation
in the vicinity of Mitchell yard a
cribbed retaining wall of precast con-
crete units is under construction. The
units are 8 in. by 8 in. in section and
6 ft. 6 in. long. The face of the wall
is built solid, while the back and the
ties are of open crib construction. The
wall will be from 5 ft. to 12 ft. in
height, and of a uniform width of 6 ft.
6 in. As in the case of the other type
of precast wall, the footing was con-
structed in place and the wall built up
on it. The units are tied together by
means of short pieces of gas pipe im-
bedded in the concrete and which fit

'tin

\v/

9'e" VtofI

i'9'-

Tffmn

AH 3kit»s /v be 8' lon^

j< 5'//"- W

Sections of Pre-Cast Gravity Retaining Wall, Layton Park Track Depression, C. & N. W. Ry.

the material yard maintained by the
railroad at 46th and Chicago Aves.,
Chicago. The balance were cast by the
contractor on the work. The footings
for this wall were constructed in place
and one of the construction tracks
thrown over near the wall. The blacks
were placed by the jim crow derrick
mentioned above. All horizontal joints
are sealed by bedding the blocks in an
asbestos fiber filled asphalt, which is
spread hot just before setting the
block. No figures are yet available as
to comparative cost of this type of
wall and the gravity sections of sim-
ilar height, but under favorable con-
ditions of placing it is believed to be
cheaper, and under con-^itions which

into a socket provided in the under-
side of each unit. The separate unit.'
can be handled by hand, and the wal
is built up as the fill is raised. This i;
done partly to permit the earth to rui
into and fill the pockets, and partly t(
make the erection easier.

A total of 9,700 ft. of retaining wal
is required by the railroad. Of thi
1,200 ft. is of the precast blocks, 2,00i
of the precast crib type, and the ball
ance is of gravity section. The cit;
and the towns of Lake and Greenfiel
are constructing a total of 2,000 ft. c
retaining wall, all of which is of th
gravity type. For the railroad part c:
the work 28,000 cu. yd. of concreli
are required for retaining walls ar
bridges.

192c

Railways

Maintenance of Light Traffic Branch Lines

799

Committee Report Presented Sept. 19 at 41st Annual Convention of
Roadmasters and Maintenance of Way Association

The maintenance of branch line
tracks is of greater importance than
most railroad managements realize.
Few of the higher officers pass over
these lines more than once or twice
a year and the maintenance of these
branch lines is left to the division
officers.

Branch lines should be designated
as A, B, and C, according to the vol-
ume of traffic.

Class A 11 to 16 Train Lines. —
Class A branch lines include those
with from seven to ten freight trains
and four to six passenger trains a
day, the freight trains operating at
speed of 30 to 35 miles and passenger
trains at 40 to 45 miles per hour.
Class A lines have no limits as to
weight of motive power, or of trains
that can be handled. Locomotives
may weigh from 125,000 lb. to 392,-
000 lb. While the cars of today are
increasing in weight and are now
stenciled for loads up to 150,000 lb.
with a total weight of 193,000 lb.,
these cars used on primarily ore and
coal carrying lines and for the han-
dling of stone, sand and oil field sup-
plies.

Lines of this type should be laid,
where possible, with new 90 lb. rail,
second quality; or if this is not obtain-
able, they should be laid with good
selected second hand 90-lb. rail, sawed
or reroUed. New angle bars should
be used when laying this type of rail
because of the marked saving in the
expense of maintaining the track
after the rail is laid. Some manage-
ments have concluded that when rail
of this type is laid, no ballast is
needed or that the number of cross
ties can be decreased materially.

We should have 20 first " class
treated ties under a 33-ft. rail and if
they are of soft wood they should
be plated to carry the train loads.
No less than 8 to 10 in. of ballast
should be used. If gravel can be pro-
cured a bed of at least 10 in. should
be put under the ties, and where it
cannot be procured first class cinders
should be used for surfacing and to
keep the track up out of the mud.
Too little stress has been placed on
the necessity of putting enough bal-
last under the track to keep it from
pumping mud and becoming rough.

On descending grades where the
rail creeps, a sufficient number of
rail anchors should be applied to hold
the rail from creeping and thereby
avoid the unnecessary expense of
spacing the ties under the joints each
year. It is very expensive to have
to space the ties each year where the
rail creeps, to say nothing of having
to drive the rail back sometimes three
and four miles to get the proper ex-
pansion and to keep from cutting
your rail.

The turnouts should be laid with
the same weight of rail as the main
track to the clearance point. They
should be equipped with the proper
braces and fastenings so that they
will stay in place. All guard rails
should be fastened to the running
rails with heel blocks and clamps. In
most instances enough good second
hand tie plates can be picked up
where new rail and tie plates have
been laid on the main line to take care
of this condition. A tie plate will
add from three to four years to the
life and will hold the rail to the
proper cant so the wheel tread will
cover its full face.

This class of line should have at
least six men per section during the
summer with sections not to exceed 6
miles in length.

Qass B 8 Train Lines.— Class B
branch lines handle heavy loads with
three or four freight trains, two pas-
senger trains and two locals each way
daily. A line of this character should
be laid with good second hand 80 lb.
or 85 lb. rail that has been taken out
of the main track, where it can pos-
sibly be procured. Where there are
gravel pits on the line it should have
at least 8 in, of gravel ballast under
the ties and be dressed up to standard.
It should have at least 20 ties to a
33-ft. rail. If the ties are treated
they should be tie plated and at least
all curves on such a line should be
tie plated. Second hand tie plates
should be taken from tfie main line
where available. If not, new tie
plates should be applied. Where the
heavy traffic on such lines is in one
direction, rail anchors should be ap-
plied to keep the rails from creeping.

On a line that has come to the at-
tention of the committee where 52 lb.

800

Railways

October

rails were relaid with 89 lb. rails, the
management thought the track re-
quired no ballast after the heavier
rail was laid. In spite of the fact
that section forces were increased to
nine or ten men to the section, the
line could not be kept in surface and
during the wet season derailment af-
ter derailment was caused by speed or
poor surface or both. Finally the
line was ballasted with good gravel
and the trouble ended.

Class C 5 Train Lines. — Class C
lines carry very light power with two
passenger trains, two local trains and
possibly a pick-up train a day. Such
lines are frequently laid with 52 lb.,
56 lb. and 60 lb. rails. Although the
traffic is light, the light rails and
poor ballast invite derailments. Such
lines should be laid with relay 80 lb.
rail to save maintenance and avoid
derailments.

Although local trains will handle
only 18 or 20 cars, they will include
hopper gondola cars of coal weighing
as much as 185,000 lb. Such cars will
cause the light rails to turn over and
cut down into the track ties and in
the course of six or seven years soft
ties are about cut through and must
be renewed. The rail has become
kinked, surface bent or line bent on
account of the poor ballast and the
expense of maintaining such a track
is heavy as the section forces will
have to pick up the track constantly
to keep it in riding condition and to
keep the trains on the rails.

On the other hand, good second-
hand 80-lb. rail laid on 16 ties to a
30-ft. rail would save 320 ties to the
mile. Also about 9 per cent of the
ties in the track are changed out
every 6 or 7 years on account of
being cut almost in two with the light
rail and the elimination of this form
of failure would add four years of
life to 288 ties in the track.

We have a record on such a line
where four or five derailments oc-
curred which required the wrecker to
rerail the cars at a cost of about $840
for the wrecking outfit. With heavier
rail the maintenance force on such
sections could be cut from six to four
men which would mean an annual
saving of about $950 a section.

The replacement of 52 lb. rail with
80 lb. rail adds 44 tons of steel to
the mile. This, at $22.50 a ton, would
mean an expenditure of $990 per mile.

We should not overlook the fact
that the railroads are constantly
placing heavier power and equip-

ment on their main lines and trans-
ferring their lighter equipment to
branch lines and that the maintenance
of way department is not keeping
pace with the transportation and
mechanical departments in the con-
struction of its tracks on these
branch lines.

During the summer a section fore-
man should spend at least one day a
week in going over his section, pick-
ing up low spots and lining any por-
tion of the track that may need at-
tention. During the winter period of
heavy storms when snow plows pass
over the line, a foreman should be
allowed enough men to clean the snow
away quickly, taking them off as soon
as the track is clear.

Sections on Class "C" branch lines
should not be over eight miles long
and should be equipped with motor
cars.

During the winter when cinders
are plentiful at the roundhouse, they
should be taken to the branch lines
and a few extra laborers given to the
sections to unload them, until the
sections are covered with sufficient
cinders for a raise of at least 6 in.
By keeping this practice up from year
to year it will be only a short time
until such branch lines are entirely
cindered. This will result in great
economy in the cutting of grass and
the mowing of weeds along the ballast
line, as cinders will keep down the
weeds and grass growth occurring
along the track.

Track of this kind can be handled
during the summer with three or four
section laborers if there are not too
many ties to be applied, or too much
surfacing to be done. In the winter
two men with the foreman can take
care of such tracks.

On such branch lines, all ditching
should be done with a mechanical
ditching device and where this can-
not be done, teams with scrapei-s
should be used to clean out ditches
and shape them for the winter. Dur-
ing the month of October, section
forces should have completed the sum-
mer work so that they can see that
all fences are in proper shape for the
turning in of stock, set up snow
fences to take care of the winter
storms and do such light cleaning of
ditches as may be necessary, such as
burning them out and trimming them
up so there will be a free flow of
water. They should then go over
their sections and drive down the
spikes and tighten bolts.

1923 Railways 801

The Maintenauice of Large Yards and Yard Tracks

Committee Report Presented Sept. 18 at 41st Annual Convention of
the Roadmasters and Maintenance of Way Association

needs, together with the available
material, should also be made, in
order to place each man in the place
where he will be most useful and at
the same time, if possible, best satis-
fied with respect to living conditions
for his family and himself.

While there is no maintenance
work that suffers more interruptions
and drawbacks than yard work, and
no kind as difficult to plan and carry
out as planned, the planning of work
by seasons, and close supervision to
assist in its being carried out as
nearly as possible in accordance with
the schedule, is very necessary.

How to Prepare a Program. — There
should at all times be a clearly defined
plan to follow with an understanding
as to the next most important taslc,
in case the yard business prevents the
most important one from being done
at the time. One method of prepar-
ing such a program which has been
used with distinct advantage over
some other methods, is for the super-
visor to cover each section with the
foreman in charge about the first
of the year, or at a convenient time
before spring when the tracks are
clear of snow, and make a careful
study of the maintenance needs of
the section on the ground, after which
a schedule is prepared of the differ-
ent stretches of tracks to be worked
during the year, in the order of their
importance. This schedule should
show the estimated amounts of ma-
terial needed for each stretch of track.
Tii3 supervisor should give a copy of
this schedule to the foreman and re-
tain a copy for his use.

This work should not be delegated
to anyone, but should be handled per-
sonally by the supervisor and the
section foreman. Such a program
should be prepared only after very
careful study and discussion of the
advisability of the order of prefer-
ence in carrying out the work. Of
course, no such schedule, particularly
one of yard maintenance, can be fol-
lowed to the letter. Many things
develop to interfere with such a defi-
nite plan, but, notwithstanding this,
the increase in the volume of work
accomplished during a season with
such a carefully mapped program is

The maintenance of large yards and
. ard tracks covers a much wider
ope of activities than ordinary
ain track work, because of the
many different conditions that affect
it. Among these are the constant
interruption by yard operations, the
many different kinds of tracks to be
maintained, the kinds of loads pass-
ing through the yard in different di-
rections, the greater number of
heavier loads moving over one part
of the layout than another, the weight
of the engines used and the character
of the sub-grade on which the yard
is constructed.

Effect of Improper Design. — The
problems created by the improper de-
sign of yard layouts as well as initial
■ nstruction done on a temporary
isis, particularly with respect to
: ainage, exert a very direct influence
. the economical maintenance of the
ird after it has been put in service,
id, while this repoit does not aeal
rectly with this question, it is one
at is later reflected very consider-
ly in trafl!ic interruptions, as well
- maintenance costs, and should be
adied very carefully before money
appropriated and expended for con-
ruction. Such conditions occur
nost frequently where additional
yards are developed on limited areas
to take care of incteasing business,
and where construction work is rushed
through to put the tracks in service
at the earliest possible time, on ac-
count of an already existing need.

Development of Maintenance Force.
— A properly balanced maintenance
force, by sections, should be devel-
oped on an equated mileage basis,
taking into consideration not only the
mileage of the different classes of
tracks, the number of switches and
the drainage conditions involved, but
also the special operating conditions
affecting each section, so that they are
all as nearly equal as possible in the
amount of work to be done.

Nothing is more discouraging to a
foreman than to be overloaded with
duties, whether he may have more
force or not, while his neighbor has
fewer responsibilities and less work
with the same compensation. A
careful study of the maintenance

802

Railways

October

very marked. This is not only a de-
cided advantage to the foreman, but
probably even more so to the super-
visor, as he is familiarized with all of
the detail problems of his year's work,
as no other method will enable him
to be. He is also able to distribute
materials to much better advantage so
as to keep all of his section groups
working without lost motion, particu-
larly if there is a shortage of any
kind, or if there are conditions which
do not permit of the proper kinds
of material coming to him in the most
desirable order.

Cutting Down the "Paper" Work. —
Another very important question in
promoting yard maintenance is to
eliminate as much paper work by the
foreman as possible, to enable him
to remain with his gang. This is
especially important, as yard work in-
volves many reports and a foreman
is frequently overloaded with them,
to the detriment of the direct super-
vision of his work. His reports
should be cut down to such kinds as
keeping time, preparing reports of
accidents due to track conditions and
making monthly reports of gage, line
and surface conditions, etc., for which
he is directly responsible. All other
current reports should be handled by
some one delegated by the supervisor,
who can handle this work for several
sections, or for a whole yard of mod-
erate size.

The Material Yard and Its Equip-
ment.— Materials should not be scat-
tered through the yard, except a
small supply for emergencies, but
should be located in a material yard,
as centrally located as possible, with
supporting tracks so that the unload-
ing and loading will not be interfered
with by the yard operations.

Rails and other heavier materials
should be handled by small derricks
or rail loaders, and only distributed
for use when needed. They should be
piled neatly by kinds, and plainly
marked so that no errors will be made
in distribution or in the preparation
of material reports.

Small parts, threaded and insulated
materials, should be kept under cover
at the same location, so that while the
heavier materials are being loaded,
preferably with a derrick, a part of
the gang can be assembling the bolts,
splices, switch plates, and other ma-
terials it is necessary to handle at
the time.

It is also profitable to have an air

line to the material yard, so that a
maintenance of way shop can be
maintained for reclamation and re-
pair work in conjunction with an
oxyacetylene outfit.

A small sawmill can also be oper-
ated to excellent advantage in the
manufacture of suitable lumber and
wood paving blocks from solid parts
of old switch ties; old telegraph poles
and other suitable discarded timber;
also a concrete mixer for use in pre-
paring concrete for curbing, founda-
tions for small buildings, etc., or for
mixing cold patch tar products for
road crossings and platforms, if the
volume of that kind of work is found
to warrant its installation.

A small maintenance of way store-
house, either in charge of the super-
visor or the local shop storekeeper,
with about a two months' supply of
materials on hand is a distinct ad-
vantage, all materials coming to the
yard passing through the storehouse
from the division storekeeper. The
small surplus will save delays in
maintenance work, and the system of
having the foremen receive their ma-
terials from the local storekeeper
will eliminate the extra work of
breaking up the supply into so many
packages and shipments, and avoid
losses in transit and a very consider-
able amount of clerical work.

Scrap should be systematically as-
sembled into scrap boxes that can be
picked up and dumped into cars by
means of a small derrick equipped
with a magnet or a rail loader.

Special instructions that will best
apply for each particular yard should
be prepared for cleaning up scrap and
also for keeping the yards clean of
rubbish, coal, etc. This work varies
in volume according to the commodi-
ties that pass through the yard, and
is particularly troublesome with high
loads in open top cars, such as coal
and coke thrown back in the cars,
keeping the territory fully covered
and cleaned each day. The matter of
policing yards is most important, and
deserves more consideration than it
frequently gets, not only from the
standpoint of good house keeping, but
of safety as well.

Rails For Yard Tracks. — The mat-
ter of using heavier rails in yards and
' tracks is one that is frequently ne-
glected, on account of a considered
existing need of such material on
other parts of the railroad. This, in
our opinion, is often done at a tre-
mendous loss in maintenance. Rails

1923

Railways

803

in all yard tracks should originally
be at least of 85-lb. section. First
or second-class fit rails are satisfac-
tory, the first-class rail to be used on
the more important running tracks
and ladders. This plan, if followed,
will very materially reduce the cost
of ties, and line and surfacing, and, in
every case, we feel that it will more
than equal the cost of the additional
weight of rail applied. With our
present types of coal cars, a large
per cent of which weigh 210,000 lb.,
and the heavy switching locomotives,
this matter deserves most careful con-
sideration.

Details Worthy of Special Consid-
eration.— There are many details in
maintenance which are being followed
to excellent advantage on many rail-
roads for road work, but are given
less consideration in yard mainte-
nance, some of which are suggested
as worthy of special consideration as
follows :

Adequate drainage.
Application of switch point guard
rails ahead of the sharper leads.

Application of rail anchors where
needed.

Tie plating all main tracks, engine
tracks, and ladder tracks throughout,
and all other tracks where traffic
develops mechanical wear on ties.

Milling of stock rails to increase the
life of switch points.

Carefully supervised joint main-
tenance.

Careful distribution of ties and
rail, taking into consideration the ton-
nage handled over the different
tracks, together with the subgrade
conditions.

Monthly reports of track condition,
as to gage, line, surface, etc., made
by the foreman after careful per-
sonal inspections.

Careful study and adoption of labor
saving devices.

Ihe Importance of Co-operation.-—
One of the most important factors in
I getting results in yard work is co-
operation. Allotments of labor and
I material mean far less, and sugges-
tions for good practices and their
application are less effective if there
no real co-operative spirit between
..e supervisor and his forces as well
-:.s between the maintenance of way
department and the transportation
people.

The work to be done that will
necessitate the absolute use of a
track for a few hours or more, should

■I

be anticipated sufficiently in advance
bv the foreman or supervisor to
enable the yardmaster to plan accord-
ingly so as to help him out.

On the other hand, in making track
repairs, no materials should be left
lying between the tracks of yards or
adjacent to any tracks where they may
cause injury or inconvenience to
trainmen, especially over night, and
all ballast should be leveled, par-
ticularly in inter-track spaces.

A good plan is to take night trips
through the more poorly lighted por-
tions of the yard with the foreman
frequently. This will impress him
more forcibly than letters regarding
the real necessity of keeping the yard
free of surplus materials and thor-
oughly clear of obstructions.

The Relations of Supervisor and
Foremen. — Lastly, we consider as im-
portant as inter-departmental co-
operation, the spirit of helpfulness to
be shown at all times by the super-
visor to the foremen. Keep out on
the job with them as much as pos-
sible. Not only plan their work by
seasons, but study their daily prob-
lems and help them to overcome
them. Keep them supplied with the
necessary materials to do their work
MS nearly as you can and help them
lo get their work done by giving them
theber.efit of your experience as well
as by co-operating with the other de-
partments. It is not only a super-
visor's duty to do this, but he should
manifest an interest in the personal
side of the foreman's life, to show him
that supervisory forces are created to
be helpful, with their better judgment
and m.ore varied experiences, rather
than to be merely "bosses" as they
may sometimes designate themselves.
The policy of giving friendly advice
in matters that do or do not deal di-
rectly with the foreman's work never
fails to make him a better foreman,
and always makes the work, however
difficult or trying it may be, go better.
Do not ever lose sight of the fact that
a good foreman is just as good at
sizing up human nature as you are,
and while he may not be one hun-
dred per cent in all the requirements
as you see them, he is more sensitive,
because of these shortcomings. It is
UD to the supervisor to get results
with the material at hand, aud by
showing a real human spirit of help-
fulress, he can develop a man that
is frequently far beyond your expect-
tations.

804

Railways

October

Railroad organizations, which must
necessarily be stable and lasting, are
after all built on loyalty, and loyalty
is developed only by co-operation and
helpfulness, which should manifest
themselves at all times. There is no
other sub-officer more favorably situ-
ated to help his company and the com-
pany's organization in this respect
than a track supervisor, and we feel
that such a policy is ever more neces-
sary for stimulating maintenance
activities in yard work, because of its
many and perplexing problems which
are being constantly added to by
heavier loads, and the public's ever
increasing demand for better and
prompter service.

Construction of Street Railway
Tracks in Paved Street

Discussion Before Conference at Engi-
neers Club of Philadelphia

By R. C. CRAM

Engineer, Surface Roadway, Brooklyn (N. Y.)
Rapid Transit Co.

Some years ago, I had the honor of
being chairman of a committee of the
American Electric Railway Engineer-
ing Association when it took up this
very important subject, the question
of the proper foundation for tracks in
paved streets.

Factors Influencing Foundations. —
In the first place, it must be realized
that tracks must be designed to suit
the conditions in which they are to be
laid. For the purpose of getting it
into the record of this meeting and
reaching as many as possible of those
who are interested in this subject, I
would like to just read the factors
which we discovered as influencing the
foundation for tracks in streets. In
the report which we made there were
twelve of them: Character of subsoil;
bearing power of soil; drainage of sub-
soils; effect on electrolysis; forms of
sub-structure; live and dead loads
carried; form of track superstructure;
pavement; speed of trains; street im-
provements; subsurface structures;
street and car traffic.

There is one item in there which
divides itself into at least five more.
And that is the term, "Fprm of track
superstructure." Usually divided into
— ties, kind of tie; the rail, type and
position; rail fastenings; rail joints;
and pavement.

When you come to think of it, it is
quite a problem to combine so many

conditions and materials in that one
structure and to have each one of
those materials behave in the way
that you hope it will.

The track is very much like a build-
ing in a number of respects, — made
up of steel, stone, wood, cement, and
each one of those materials has cer-
tain characteristics. When we come
to combine them in a building, we do
certain things with them. When we
come to combine them in a track or
pavement, we do other things with
thern. There is quite a ramification
involved in considering how to put all
these things together to make them
into a harmonious whole.

Bearing Power of Soils. — Perhaps,
the place, then, where you must start
is in the subsoil. That is where you
start when you build a building.
That is where you lay your track.
Evidently, the municipal engineer
and the street railway engineer have
not been close enough together in
giving proper thought to the subsoil.

Investigation of the bearing power
of soils in our city streets, not merely
at the surface, but slightly below it,
for instance, as an indication of what
the soils may do, — the water retain-
ing quality of soil, — was made a long
while ago, and I quote from the report
of the American Railway Engineering
Association on some experiments back
in 1884 by a Professor Shubler. He
found out that 100 lb. of dry soil
would retain the following weights of
water which would not flow off: Pure
clay, 70 lb.; clay loam, 50 lb.; loamy
soil, 40 lb.; sand, 25 lb.

Right there, then, are the soils that
we meet in our streets, — sand allow-
ing the water to flow off most readily
and pure clay retaining water the
greatest length of time or in the
greatest amount. The engineer must
pay attention to the soil in which he
is going to build.

It is rather remarkable that we are
able in this day and generation, in
view of the fact that the street rail-
way business is practically only 30
years old, to build tracks and main-
tain them as well as we do. The
science is young when you realize that
the American Railway Engineering
Association in conjunction with the
American Society of Civil Engineers,
but recently announced what none of
us really have known before, and have
given us the proof of the fact, that a
track is an elastic structure and is
subject to the law known as Hooke's

1923

Railways

Law, that whenever a body is sub-
jected to an external force, a stress
and accompanying deformation result.
Similarity of Steam and Street Rail-
way Track. — A street railway track
does not characteristically take on
any shapes, different in its prime state
from the steam railway track. I think
that that fact should not be forgotten.
We have to recognize the fact that
there is an element of elasticity there;
and the main point, then, is to control
that and to make its influence felt in
a way not to be damaging. Some of
the points that have been brought out
in this talk that we have had today
show that we are getting closer to-
gether.

In a study made a few years ago,
we found that something arovmd 70
per cent of the electric railways in
the United States use some form of
ballast construction; 10 to 15 per cent
of those answering the questionnaire
stated that they usedt he natural soil
or ballast; a much larger proportion
use crushed stone or gravel; and a
comparatively small portion used some
form of what was designated as con-
crete ballast.

Most street railway tracks with any
form of concrete ballast, as made in
the past — I won't criticise too much
present defects — were generally fail-
ures. In the city of what is now the
Borough of Brooklyn, we have a sandy
loam soil. Some places we have clay.
The standard track construction au-
thorized by the Bureau of Highways
is a replica of the Brooklyn Rapid
Transit Co. standard construction.
Their design was made by the chief
engineer, Herman Smith, after inves-
tigation in very many places. It is
the right of every city, for the good
of itself and the community and for
the street railway company, to have
the best possible track. The reason
for that is because we have also to
figure the burden of maintaining the
pavement. There is absolutely no rea-
son for us to consider the construc-
tion of poor tracks, because that only
leads to needless expense in maintain-
ing both the track and the pavement.

In Brooklyn we excavated to sub-
grade or slightly above it for the tie,
encase the tie in concrete, pave gen-
erally with granite block. Latterly
we have come to paving with sheet
asphalt on concrete in direct contact
with the rails.

Cost Comparison of Old and New •
Track. — We had occasion in 1922 to

take up a steel-tie, concrete con-
structed track, which consisted of
about 6 to 8 in, of concrete, encasing
a 4 in. steel tie, spaced about 4 ft. on
centers, which was very popular at the
time the track was built. We started
to reconstruct this job. The track was
only 14 years old. It was on the
busiest street in Brooklyn. The joints
unfortunately were a kind of joint —
one of our experim.ents, one of the
reasons why that track went so fast.
Why didn't we try to put new rails on
the old foundation? We tried, figu-
ratively. We laid out some sketches
and designs to show what could be
done, but imfortunately the track had
settled about 2 in.; in some places,
three. There was practically nothing
in the line of pipes that would cause it
to go down, except it naturally wanted
to settle and it had been built over a
subway. To put in new rails on that
structure, would have been "some"
job. \^e gave the proposition up, got
our derrick cars and torches and con-
crete drill, cut the track up in sec-
tions, concrete and all and threw it
away.

And in its place we put a simple
wood-tie constructed track, with the
American standard grooved girder
rail, and paved with asphalt. The old
track last 14 years. The t>T)e we
have used in replacing it will not wear
out of its own volition in that time.
It is safe to say that it will last 20
years. I personally have hopes of 25
to possibly 30, but I am very safe in
saying 20 years. It cost less to build
proportionately, if we go back to the
time of construction. The track that
we had to take out cost $34,000. It
cost 851,000 in 14 years to maintain
that track; so that the track repre-
sented an expenditure of around $85,-
000. It only cost $50,000 or some
such amount to rebuild the track, and
the cost per foot for maintaining the
old track per year, or rather the aver-
age annual cost figures something like
90 cts. per foot, which the average cost
per year for most of our 7 in. track
built since 1907 is around 10 cts. per
foot per year. The results attained
have been due to constant attention to
details of track construction.

The problem of building suitable
tracks on streets is one of great rami-
fications, one requiring the best minds
in the industry; not alone in our in-
dustry but in the municipalities as
well, and it will only be by co-opera-
tion that we will arrive at a satisfac-
tory solution.

806 Raihvays October

Forreston Gravel Plant of Illinois Central R. R.

New Washing, Screening and Crushing Plant Described in Paper Pre-
sented Sept. 24 Before Western Society of Engineers

By W. A. GELBACH,

Supervising Engineer W. J. Zitterell Co., Webster City, la.

A gravel washing screening and
crushing plant, modern in all respects
and unique in some respects, has
recently been constructed by the Illi-
nois Central Railway.

The plant is located in an extensive
gravel pit owned by the railroad com-
pany and located on its old main line
about 2'/^ miles north of Forreston,

placing under railroad tracks as bal-
last. When using the bank run of
gravel as loaded by steam shovel, it
was necessary, after loading and haul-
ing this useless material to a job,
to dispose of it in order to clear the
right of way. This incurred an ad-
ditional expense. Experience has
also shown that clean ballast affords

View of Barge, Showing Suction End of Intake.

III., and about 11 miles south of Free-
port.

The Forreston gravel pit has been
in use for many years. In fact, the
railroad company began loading cars
by hand in this pit 50 or more years
ago, soon after this line was built.
For about the last 30 years, cars have
been loaded here by steam shovel.
Gravel from this pit has been used
very extensively by the railroad on
its northern and western lines.

The Gravel Deposit. — The bank run
of the gravel contains 20 per cent to
30 per cent of material above the 2*^
in. size usually specified as maximum
for ballast, and a great many of these
boulders are too large to allow of

a great saving in the expense of weed-
ing track.

The deposit of gravel lies from 30
ft. to 60 ft. below the level of the
ground water and at some points as
high as 90 ft. above it. Streams to
the south and to the north of the de-
posit prevent excessive variation of
the level of the ground water. Hence,
the floor of the pit where recent load-
ing has ben done, runs approximately
level and within 3 or 4 ft. of the
ground water line.

The Contractors and Engineers. —
In January of 1923, a contract was
let to the W. J. Zitterell Co. of Web-
ster City, la., for the construction
complete of a hydraulic type of plant.

1923

Railways

807

The entire work was executed under
the jurisdiction of F. L. Thompson,
chief engineer of the Illinois Central
System, and was under the immediate
direction of Frank R. Judd, engineer
of the buildings, assisted by C. I.
Anderson, assistant engineer. Engi-
neering field work Tor the railroad
company was in charge of L. S. Mar-
riott, assistant engineer.

The W. J. Zitterell Co. entered into
a sub-contract with W. H. K. Ben-
nett of Chicago, for the furnishing of
all plant machinery, the furnishing
and installing of all electrical equip-
ment, the construction complete of
the barge ■with its dredge pump and

anxious to get the plant into opera-
tion.

The Dredging Outfit.— The unit on
which the production of the plant de-
pends is a barge 26 ft. by 60 ft. with
its equipment. The principal item of
equipment on the barge is a 12 in.
centrifugal gravel pump directly con-
nected to a 400 hp. 2,300 volt motor.
The intake is through a Swintek trav-
eling suction screen nozzle, 45 ft.
long, on which a chain with man-
ganese steel fingers performs the
double duty of loosening the bod of
gravel and excluding boulders above
8 in. in diameter from the intake.

The barge is also provided with a

Trackage Layout at Forreston Gravel Pit of Illinois Central Railroad.

other equipment, and the pipe line
connecting the barge to the plant. Mr.
Bennett also furnished the general
design of the plant. The balance of
the work, including the erection of
the plant machinery was handled by
the W. J. Zitterell Co. with the ex-
ception of the track work and electric
lighting work which was done by the
railroad company. All executive
work of the W. J. Zitterell Co. was
handled by Mr. G. C. Mills, vice presi-
dent. The engineering work was
handled for the contractor in both
office and field by W. A. Gelbach,
supervising engineer, who was in di-
rect super%-ision of the job.

Orders were placed for material
and work on plans was started at
once after the awarding of the con-
tract. Field work was delayed until
April 2nd by adverse weather but it
was pushed vigorously despite con-
tinued bad weather from that time, as
I the railroad officials were particularly

hoist with four drums. Two of these
drums are for use in moving the barge
by means of cables anchored on the
shore. The third is for raising the
suction nozzle. The fourth is for
operating a spu don the rear of the
barge, the purpose of which is to
serve as an anchor to steady the barge
while it is working or swinging. A
2 in. centrifugal pump with direct
connected 10 Hp. motor is provided
for priming the gravel pump and also
for providing water seal for same
while running.

The barge was launched in a pond
of water where the gravel had for-
merly been dug out below the water
level. Immediately after launching,
the barge was afloat in 21^ ft. to 3 ft.
of water. Due to a very dry season,
the water subsided nearly 1^2 ft.
during the two months following, and
by the time the heavy barge equip-
ment was in place and ready for
operation, the bottom of the barge

808

Railways

October

was resting firmly on the mud in the
bottom of the pond.

The first pumping was done on
June 28th. At this time, the water
and gravel were delivered through
two lengths of pipe to the bank in
the rear of the barge, the water re-
turning while the cutter ground its
way deeply into the bottom of the
pond. On June 30th, the pipe line was
connected to the plant and the first
material was delivered to the bins.
The first car of ballast was loaded on
the evening of July 3rd. As the
pumping continued, the barge was
moved ahead from day to day, and

The Screens.

was finally afloat in water 25 ft. to
30 ft. deep.

The Pipe Line. — The material
passes from the barge to the plant
through a 12 in. iron pipe line. This
pipe line is carried on pontoons to
the shore, thence on stationary crib-
bing or on the ground to the plant.
Provision is made for movement of
the barge and pontoons in the water
by means of rubber sleeve connections
placed occasionally in the pipe line
from the barge to the shore.

The 12 in. pipe line discharges its
load of water, sand and gravel into
a steel trough, which is installed at
an incline, and at the bottom of the
trough a perforated plate with % in.
slots, is located. This perforated
screen serves the purpose of removing

the fine sand and bulk of the water.
This dewatering and removal of ex-
cess sand is necessgry for the proper
working of the revolving boulder
screen.

The Screens and Elevators. — The

boulder screen is equipped with screen
plate having 2^/^ in. diameter perfora-
tions. The boulders retained by this
screen are fed into an elevator which
discharges into an elevated bin of
about one-car capacity. The bin dis-
charges directly into a No. 6 crusher,
which in turn, discharges into the
flume under the boulder screen and
there the crushed material, together
with the water, sand and all material
from the boulder screen, passes on by
gravity to a large concrete dewater-
ing tank having twin compartments.
The water overflowing from this tank
returns to the pond where the barge
is operating.

Two dredging elevators, one oper-
ating in each compartment of the de-
watering tank, elevate the sand and
gravel to the top of the machinery
house or head house, the floor of which
is 62 ft. above the tracks. The ele-
vators discharge into steel chutes,
which deliver the sand and gravel
into the revolving screens.

Two lines of screens with three
screens in each line are used. The
screens are 36 in. by 54 in. by 96 in.
and have perforations of 1% in., % in.
and 5/16 in. respectively.

The water and sand from the finest
screens pass on to the sand launders
where it is either turned with the
mixed stone to produce ballast or sep-
arated as desired for torpedo sand,
engine sand, etc.

The Storage Tanks. — Five tanks or
storage bins have been provided.
These bins present a new departure
in sand and gravel plant construction.
They are of reinforced concrete 21 ft.
inside diameter, and 9 in. walls. The
reinforcing consists of 12 vertical,
V2 in. diameter round bars in each
bin, and horizontal circular bars rang-
ing from % in. round bars, 4 in. cen-
ters at bottom of the 40 ft. bins to
^A in. round bars 9 in. centers at
top of bins. They were built with
continuous pouring, using sliding
forms in accordance with the estab-
lished practice in grain elevator con-
struction. Timber and sometimes
steel plate, are the usual materials
used for the bins of sand and gravel
plants, and hence these concrete bins
present an unusual appearance.

1923

Raihvays

809

Three of these bins are 30 ft. high
and two are 40 ft. high. Chutes from
the screens are so arranged that the
three sizes of stone may be run sepa-
rately into the first three bins, or
by use of butterfly gates, two or three
of these sizes may be mixed in any
one of the first three bins.

The Settling Tanks. — Six sand set-
tling tanks or launders, tripping by
gravity are provided. Two of these
are placed over the third or center
bin, and are intended to produce sand
without separations into sizes, which
is turned into the third bin together
with all three sizes of stone for bal-
last. The third bin, therefore, is the
bin in which all ballast is made, it not
being possible to mix sand with stone
in any other bin.

large percent of fine material, addi-
tional water is required in the screens
and in the spouts leading to the sand
launders. This water is obtained from
launders. This waste water is ob-
tained from a well 10 ft. square and
about 33 ft. deep. A centrifugal
water pump direct connected to a
100 hp. 440 volt motor is located in
this well, about 11 ft. below the top
of the ground and 5 ft. above the
water level.

The Trackage. — The trackage of the
plant consists of a yard for empty
cars of about 60-car capacity, a yard
for loaded cars of about 70-car ca-
pacity, a loading track each side of
the plant, and a passing track
removing loaded cars. The empty
cars are started in the yard on a 1

Side View of Gravel Plant, Showing Tanks and Screens.

«•

Two sand launders each are placed
over the fourth and fifth bins. When
ballast is being produced, all sand is
run into the launders over the third
bin. When separated sand is desired,
the gates to these launders are closed
and the sand is washed over station-
ary screens over the launders supply-
ing the fourth bin. The balance of the
material then passes into the laun-
ders over the fifth or last bin. Fine
sand is therefore, obtained in the
fourth bin and coarse sand in the fifth
bin.

Material which is pumped to the
plant usually arrives in a well washed
condition. The dredging elevators
carry up quite a quantiy of water,
which is sometimes sufficient for wash-
ing the material through the screens
and sand launders. However, when
the deposit of gravel is running a

per cent grade and dropped on this
grade to the plant where they are
stopped by a 0.5 per cent grade,
loaded, started again by means of a
car puller, and dropped down another
1 per cent grade to the load yard.
The loads are taken out by a locomo-
tive over a direct road past the plant
and empty car yard to the main line.

A combination office, storehouse and
shop building was provided, 18 ft. by
64 ft., giving an office space approxi-
mately 12 ft, by 17 ft., a storeroom
approximately 17 ft. by 28 ft. and a
shop approximately 17 ft, by 24 ft.

The Power Equipment. — Electric
power is obtained from a power line
which parallels the Illinois Central
tracks at this point. A 2,300-volt line
from the power company's sub-sta-
tion delivers power to the plant. This
line is carried to the barge by means

810

Railways

October

of a specially insulated flexible cable
carried on tripods on the shore and
supported on the pipeline pontoons
over the water. A reel house is pro-
vided near the plant, housing a triple
reel on which the three phases may be
rolled up during the winter months
while the plant is idle, or on which
extra length of cable may be wound.

A transformer on the barge pro-
vided 440-volt current for all motors
except the main pump motor, and a
transformer located near the plant
provides 440 volt current for all mo-
tors used there.

All motors on the barge provided
440-volt current for all motors except
the main pump motor, and a trans-

1 15 hp. 440 volt boulder screen and
elevator.

1 7^2 hp. 440 volt car puller.

The electric lighting work which
was done by the railroad company's
forces is very complete and effective.
Six large flood lights located on the
machinery house on the top of the
plant light up the vicinity of the plant
and both the empty car and loaded car
yards. On the barge three flood
lights give the operator very advan-
tageous working conditions and one of
these lights may be adjusted to light
up the pipe lines.

Operating Force. — The operation of
the plant was taken over by the rail-
road company on July 1st, and is be-

End View of Forreston Gravel Plant of Illinois Central Railroad.

former located near the plant pro-
vides 440-volt current for all motors
used there.

All motors are provided with the
latest approved type of controllers.

The motors are used on the plant as
follows:

On barge —

1 400 hp. 2,300 volt on gravel pump.

1 15 hp. 440 volt on hoist.

1 15 hp. 440 volt on nozzle cutter
chains.

1 10 hp. 440 volt on priming pump.

At plant —

1 100 hp. 440 volt well pump.

1 50 hp. 440 volt crusher.

2 40 hp. 440 volt elevators.
2 hp. 440 volt screens.

ing operated by the Maintenance of
Way Department, who have employed
Mr. John Markham as superintendent.
Work on a night shift was begun the
night of July 31st.

The force required to run the plant
based on running a day shift only, is
as follows:

1 superintendent — directing.

1 assistant superintendent — office
work, billing cars.

1 barge man — pumping.

1 barge helper.

1 screen tender.

1 man on crusher, boulder screen,
etc.

2 men loading cars,

1923

Railways

811

4 men running cars (empties and
loads).

1 man on car puller.

The rated output of the plant when
in full operation is about 50 cars per
day of 10 hours. This output, how-
ever, undoubtedly, will not be at-
tained during the present season. The
barge is still operating in too small
a lake to work efficiently, it being
necessary to shut down the plant fre-
quently to add new length of pipe to
discharge line. Production is further
very much reduced by a very hard
stratum about 4 ft. in thickness which
B lies about 10 ft. below the surface of
the water. The necessity of train-
ing an entire new force of men for
both day and night shift has also
had its effect. In addition to these
factors there is the necessity of at
least some experimentation in the
operation of every new plant.

The Old Time Roadmaster

Extract from Address Presented Sept.
19 at Annual Convention of Road-
masters and Maintenance of
Way Association

By COL. F. G. JONAH,

Assistant to President and Chief Engineer,
St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad.

My association with roadmasters
began with my entrance in the engi-
neering department, and has contin-
ued ever since, covring a peeriod of
40 years.

As I look back and call to memory
some of the stalwart roadmasters
with whom I became acquainted in my
early days of railroading I have a
feeling of admiration for their abil-
ity and achievements, for it seems to
me that they did wonders with the
material at hand.

If you contrast the conditions under
which they worked with those of the
present, you cannot fail to be im-
pressed with the fact that some im-
provement has been made, but I think
you will also agree that none of us
^could do any better than they did, and

ossibly not so well.
The roadmaster of 40 and 50 years

go had to work with tools that were
comparatively crude. There were
practically no power driven machines
in those days and, in fact, very little
machinery of any kind. There were
no modern ditching machines, air

dump cars, or gasoline motor cars,
and the day's performance was meas-
ured by hand labor almost entirely.

The roadmasters of those days had
a light rail, scant ballast, if any, no
tie plates, rail anchors, spring rail
frogs, split switches, or the great mul-
titude of track accessories that have
been developed in the past few years.
It is true that the motive power of
those days were much lighter than
it is today, but we have increased the
weight of rail and the depth of bal-
last, and have widened our roadbeds
to take care of those added loads.

The roadmaster of that early day
had to maintain the track very gen-
erally without ballast, and in putting
up earth or dirt track he was an artist
that has no equal at the present time.
He was also the main reliance when
any trouble occurred on the road, for
he was, in fact, the wrecking boss,
and was the first man called upon
when any unusual events occurred
anywhere on the line.

The old time roadmaster was a
good construction man. He was de-
veloped at a time when the American
railroads were being built, and he was
at the front. Many of the roadmas-
ters of those days were men who had
made records as construction fore-
men, and where they had a chance to
display originality, initiative, and
skill.

Today your work is largely main-
tenance, where your work is more uni-
formly standardized. I suppose that
with our changing conditions this is
inevitable and as it should be; but
while I approve of the standardization
of methods, I do not believe in try-
ing to standardize railway men.

In former days the roadmaster was
the company's representative to a
much greater extent than at present.
He did a great many things that are
now done by other departments. He
frequently acted for the legal depart-
ment and settled many stock claims,
claims for crops burnt, and those re-
sulting from overflows, etc. He acted
frequently for the purchasing depart-
ment and contracted for ties, piling,
fence posts, bridge timbers, ballast,
etc. I believe that they could do more
of this kind of work today. One of
the tendencies in railroading today is
to do too many things with special
representatives from the general of-
fices.

812

Railways

Finance and Engineering

October

Some of the Problems of the Financier Outlined in Paper Presented
Before Western Society of Engineers

By H. M. BYLLESBY,

President H. M. Byllesby & Co.

The engineering profession, in its
broadest sense, and in its best devel-
opment and manifestation, is a pro-
fession that requires and cultivates
that faculty which is known now-a-
days as the constructive side, years
ago was the enterprising side, the
prophetic side. The engineer, if he
rises from his rut, at once dreams
dreams, he sees projects, he analyzes
them, and, in a few cases, those pro-
jects are supported by the neccessary
capital and are put into commission. _

Now this vision, this enterprise, this
constructive side, is very very neces-
sary. At the same time, leaving en-
gineering aside, and stepping on the
other side, the financial, I want to
urge upon you in dreaming your
dreams and in having your visions,
which you must have, always to bring
in, as far as it is possible, so long as
you avoid going to the pessimistic
side, the question, or the element, of
caution and conservatism.

What Financing Is. — Financing is
simply the providing of the labor, the
materials, the designing, directing and
executive ability necessary to design,
to build, to complete and to put in
operation any engineering work. The
engineer may dream himself into
starvation over plans and projects
which may be of the most far-reach-
ing and profitable, and withal benef-
icent nature, but unless he is able to
interest and to command the services
of the financier he is apt to starve
himself and his family and depend-
ents in a more or less exalted condi-
tion of mental and ethical uplift, and
the engineering work would not be
produced.

Speaking to you, who are so largely
of the professional engineering type,
who belong to a profession which in
point of dignity and benefit to human-
ity is second to none in the entire
world, it would be idle to call your
attention to the enormous difficulties
which are encountered, the infinite re-
source which is required, the moral at-
tributes which are essential through
the successful practice of your profes-
sion. This all of us who are engineers
appreciate.

It is my deliberate judgment, from
a somewhat long and busy career,
which has been prolific in opportuni-
ties for observation, that there is no
class of men, as a class, who in fact
have more highly developed that fine
moral attribute of straight and con-
scientious thinking than the engineer.
The engineer perforce is compelled to
follow through it, no matter where it
leads or what conclusions it may
bring.

Engineer and Financier Closely In-
ter-related.— I would like to call your
attention — again having as our main
motive the thesis that the engineer
and the financier are as closely inter-
related and inter-dependent as any of
the branches of human activity — to
some of the problems of the financier,
some of the difficulties he encounters,
to touch only briefly on the staggering
losses which he frequently has to
stand in carrying out his part of the
partnership, that is the finding of
labor and material — that is money —
for the carrying out of the engineer-
ing works designed and constructed by
the various branches of the engineer-
ing profession.

I hold no brief for the financier. His
trade or profession is not in the public
estimation on as high a standing or
actuated by as high ideals as the engi-
neer and other kindred professions.
He has a different field in which to
work. As a rule only a part — a small
part frequently — of the total amount
of money provided for a given engi-
neering work at his hands is supplied
by himself; in fact the professional
finder of money for engineering pro-
jects— even the largest banking houses
— find it necessary, in order to enable
them to continue to finance projects,
to distribute among their clients, the
great army of investors, that is people
of thrift, the stocks or bonds, which in
the first instance they purchase, to
provide the capital which it is ex-
pected will finish the work.

How an Enterprise Is Financed. —
As a rule the financial house or group
of financial houses who underwrite —
which means that they obligate them-
selves to pay, all at once or as the

1923

Railways

813

•vork progresses, a given definite
.mount of money contracted for — as
an initial step, make a loan from a
bank or banks on the stocks or bonds
purchased, supplying a margin of 20
per cent out of their own capital the
difference between the one million dol-
lars, for instance, which they have
cortracted to turn over to the corpo-
ration which is building the given en-
gineering work, and the amount of
money which they are able to borrow
from their banks, so that if they turn
over initially $1,000,000 to the corpo-
ration it means generally that they
have borrowed from banks S800,000,
and supplied, pending the distribution
of the securities, §200,000 out of their
own working resources.

The next step, of course, is for the
financial agency, generally termed the
"banker" to proceed to dispose of these
securities — which as a matter of fact
he has purchased, and for which he
has paid $1,000,000, and upon which he
has borrowed 8800,000 — as quickly as
possible to his own clients.

If nothing strongly adverse in pub-
lic opinion surrounds the enterprise,
that is to say if it looks like a reason-
able enterprise and if no disaster over-
takes the project in its early stages,
the banker will have disposed of the
securities he has purchased, we will
assume, within a reasonable period,
and before the maturity of his loan at
his bank, so that he has paid his loan
to his bank, which we have assumed at
$800,000, he has restored to his own
working resources the $200,000 which
he used as a margin, and he has in
cash the difference between the gross
profit he has made on the sale of the
securities and the cost of selling them,
including the proper share of Jus gen-
eral overhead expense.

Now, if ever\-thing goes well the
project is finished without any over-
run ill its estimated cost, it starts off
as a successful venture, the banker has

knot only secured for himself a perfect-
ly fair, we will assume satisfactory,
profit from handling this transaction,
out he has gone further and he has
made his clients, to whom he retailed
these securities, feel well towards his
ouse, and in the highly desirable
event, which I regret to say is not
always realized, that the securities he
has sold go to a premium he has addi-
tionally fortified his position.

Financing of Next Enterprise. — In
this ideal transaction, the project be-
ing finished without any burdensome

floating debt and starting off at once
on a phenomenally profitable basis,
and the securities sold having gone to
a substantial premium, the banker is
then in a position in taking on his
next enterprise to feel reasonably cer-
tain, barring the advent of dull times
or financial panic, of promptly placing
the securities of the new enterprise
with, by way of illustration, the iden-
tical clients to whom he sold the se-
curities of the first enterprise.

These clients may be in one or two
classes — generally will be, — either
clients who again have money to in-
vest, who do not desire to dispose of
the securities they purchased in the
first project, and which have done
admirably, and in this case these
clients would probably purchase their
share of the securities of the second
proposition; or they may be in the
class of people who possibly are not
of large means, or, as is frequently
the case, are of a speculative turn of
mind, and possibly themselves carry-
ing loans on the securities which they
have purchased and paid for in the
first project. In this case the banker
has the opportunity which above all
others he desires. He can say to In-
vestor "A," who is in the second class
named, "You paid $10,000 for the se-
curities of Project No. 1. Those se-
curities which you purchased for $10,-
000, and upon which you have re-
ceived a substantial income return,
are now at a premium, so that I can
pay you §12,000 for the securities you
purchased in the first undertaking, and
I have now another undertaking,
which I believe will be just as satis-
factory, and you can re-invest that
$12,000 in the securities of the new
undertaking, or you can invest $10,000
in the new undertaking, being the
same amount which you invested in
the first, and receive $2,000 cash
profit."

It is not necessary to go into fur-
ther detail. The banker who is in the
position described in a somewhat
sketchy fashion has no difficulty what-
soever in immediately placing the sec-
ond undertaking, and at least for the
present ha^ing gained for himself the
proper profit from placing the first
undertaking and the proper profit from
placing the second undertaking.

What Happens WTien the Undertak-
ing Turns Out Badly. — However,
there is another, and very frequent.
Side to the picture. Briefly, the first
undertaking turns out badly. Due to

814

Railways

October

i.n under-estimate on the part of our
profession who designed and planned
the enterprise there may be, and alas
very, very frequently is, an excessive
over-run in the cost beyond the
amount provided for when the finaan-
cial structure of the undertaking was
decided upon. Then the banker, no
less than the corporation, has the
heart-rending task of endeavoring to
place some extension securities, to fin-
ish the project, with the public, or with
those who put their money in the proj-
ect at the start, or, as is very fre-
quently the case, himself buying these
securities and carrying them at the
bank, or loaning the enterprise money
with which to finish.

This situation of course promptly
becomes known to his clients, who
provided the money for the undertak-
ing. The inexperienced ones as a rule
are full of wrath; they mutter a good
deal at that time about criminal care-
lessness, inexcusable negligence and
criminal optimism; some of them de-
cide they will dump their securities on
the market, take their loss and pro-
ceed on their way as sadder but wiser
individuals; others decide they will
hold on to what they have, but that it
is not convenient for them to take
any further interest.

The attitude of both of these groups
is extremely embarrassing to the
banker. Temporarily he has lost
prestige; he has lost the confidence of
his clients; he is more or less debarred
from putting out anything new until
Project No. 1 has either more or less
painfully pulled itself out and justified
or paid off its over- run in cost; or in
event of permanent failure, or that
thing which is almost worse than
failure, dragging out an existence, he
has to go through the wearying round
of explaining to his clients that he ex-
ercised every possible prudence, that
there was no dishonesty, that there
was no negligence, but that simply
fortuitous circumstances, which could
not have been anticipated developed
and crushed the chicken in the egg.
If Project No. 1 turns out disastrously
or disappointingly, it is a very severe
set-back to the banker, and unless he
has had a long experience of great
success and his established clients
have through a term of years made
distinct profit by dealing with him and
the emissions of his house, he is put
in a position where he is liable to have
loaded himself up with unsalable se-
curities, which either he has been

forced to take off the market with his
own money and with the aid of bank
loans in order to prevent a demorali-
zation of the market, or again through
his own resources and his banks he
has had to borrow money for the cor-
poration. Not only does this take the
heart out of the banker, but it ham-
strings his ability to go further.

Fair Dealing Necessary. — This illus-
tration of course is simple and plain.
It is probably known to all of you, but
I car;not emphasize to you too strong-
ly the necessity of mutual fair-deal-
ing. The banker himself, if he under-
takes the financing of a corporation,
must do it on a fair and reasonable
basis. He should only undertake the
financing of such a project when he
himself, as the result of reports by
engineers and commercial men, is able
to determine to his own satisfaction
that the project will be a success, and
further that its financial structure,
that is to say its capitalization, shall
be such that, first, it will have an
opportunity, due to its structure, to
keep its securities in a good market
position, and, secondly, and equally
important, that its financial structure
shall be such that if, due to very fre-
quent perfectly honest over-run in
cost, it is necessary to put out addi-
tional securities they can be issued on
all fours with the securities first put
out, to enable the undertaking to be
finished without undergoing some cut-
throat financial temporary expedient,
and that, providing the project is one
which has reason to anticipate a fur-
ther or continued development, securi-
ties can be issued to provide the addi-
tional capital for the further develop-
ment of the enterprise on a fair and
reasonable basis.

Determining the Value of a Secur-
ity.— Another point, which I think is
always of importance to the engineer,
as well as to all the thrifty branches
of our present business and industrial
world, is that of determining the value
of a given security, whether in the
initial promotion or organization, or
at some subsequent date. The point
that must be continually kept in mind
is the effect upon the salable value of
any given security which results from
that security having a ready and im-
mediate, what is known as a free and
broad market, as against the security
which it may take days, weeks or
months to sell because it has no such
market. By illustration, any man in
middle age is liable to have in his in-

1923

Railways

815

vestments bonds or stocks which are
absolutely sovmd, the emissions of per-
fectly sound and well-managed enter-
prises, but which due to the obscurity
of the enterprise or project, or the
relative smallness of it, are very diffi-
cult to sell, and following this position
are distinctly difficult to use as collat-
eral at the bank for the purpose of
making temporary collateral loans.
Securities of this kind will always
have a lower price and will always be
more difficult to sell than securities
with a free and ready market. Like-
wise, in order to make them attrac-
tive, such securities must give a far
more substantial return than the se-
curity of a free market.

Again by illustration, consider the
U. S. Government Bonds, all the is-
sues of which are at any moment of
the day and any day of the year im-
mediately convertible into cash. They
are available as the best type of col-
lateral at any bank, whether a coun-
try, or a city bank, because they have
this broad and free market, and in
normal tim.es have no very wide fluc-
tuation. Of a similar class, although
it has broad fluctuations, but similar
in point of its immediate convertibility
into cash, is the common stock of the
United States Steel Corporation,
where to a relatively unlimited amount
this stock can be sold to a broker by
telegraph on the New York Stock Ex-
change at a moment's notice. Again,
in the same class, are the seasoned
railway and corporation bonds listed
O'l the New York Stock Exchange.

Frequently the professional man or
the builder, who is not familiar with
practical modem commerce and the
affairs in the financial market feels
that because some thoroughly sea-
soned bond or other security has an
immediate market at par, where it
yields, in the case of a bond five per
cent in these times, or in the case of a
stock from six to eight per cent, that
the unknown security of an obscure
project, where there is no general
market for the purchase and sale of
such securities, should yield to the in-
vestor no greater return than the
aforesaid bonds or stocks with abso-
lutely free and unlimited market.
Frequently in my own experience I
have found people who are negotiat-
ing for the building of a project or its
extension taking as their basis of the
return to the investment the published
call money rates in New York City. If
they are securities which have as free

a market as a call loan has in New
York, and have back of them the same
immediately available cash features as
a New York call loan has they would,
of course, be able to place them at the
same rate, or substantially so, as call
money in New York,

I think the engineer may at times
have somewhat hard feelings towards
the financial end of the game. I think
he should ponder on some of the diffi-
culties of the financial people, that is
of the finders of money, their profes-
sion is the finding of money, just as
the business of the engineer or con-
tractor is the designing and the build-
ing of engineering work. The finan-
cier operate at least 80 per cent with
the money of his clients. Every now
and again there are issues of many
millions of dollars purchased by a
banking house or a group of such in-
stitutions. For the moment the pur-
chasing group have, by putting in
their own resources to such an extent
as was necessary for margins, bor-
rowed from banks the balance of the
many millions which they have put to
the corporation, but if they were un-
able to retail the securities so pur-
chased among their clients they would
simply be out of business, they would
have done one piece of business and
stopped forever, just like certain of
the insects who spend years in incuba-
tion have a life of dazzling brilliancy
and luxury for a period of 24 hours to
a week, to be followed by complete
oblivion.

Governmental Interference with
Conduct of Corporations. — Another
feature which is making the financing
of projects increasingly difficult is the
extent to which various state govern-
ments are interfering with the con-
duct of corporations and the extent to
which in other cases the federal gov-
ernment is increasing the weight of
its paternal hand upon such enter-
prises. Many sadly foolish things,
many disastrous things, have resulted
from engineers and their works and
from bankers, their methods and their
works. Wealth, whether large or
small, has as a prevailing character-
istic a certain aggressive selfishness.
This has always been so, and will con-
tinue at least until the youngest in this
room has been gathered at the close of
a long, and we hope successful, career
to rest with his forebears. A certain
amount of regulation is necessary, but
the_ regulation which goes too far,
which savors of the religious presecu-

816

Railways

October

tions of some hundred years ago, is
restrictive to real progress. While it
may hold back a relatively few men
or corporations immorally disposed, it
prevents useful and profitable employ-
ment of many others whose work
would be beyond criticism.

The engineer is a man of influence
in his own circle, in his own life and
surroundings. Aside from the mere
pleasure of practicing one's profes-
sion, the well-being of the engineer,
the opportunity to provide a compe-
tence for himself and his dependents
— ^broadly, the opportunity to be really
normal and happy in life — depends
upon the continuous development of
engineering works; and unless this
country goes backward to municipal,
state and Federal ownership, with all
its attendant dry-rot and submerg-
ence of the individual and the throt-
tling of his very best moral, mental
and spiritual side, then the only way
that the engineer can find a continu-
ous field for the application of his tal-
ents and genius in the construction of
engineering works is by seeing that
the laws, whether municipal, state or
federal, do not so oppress the conduct
of so-called privately owned engineer-
ing works as to make it literally im-
possible or extremely burdensome to
provide the means for their develop-
ment.

Labor Saving Devices in Track
Work

Portland Cement Production in
September

According to figures of the U. S.
Geological Survey just released pro-
duction of Portland cement in Sep-
tember eclipsed all previous records
for any single month. For the first
time the 13,000,000 mark was reached,
the exact quantity produced being 13,-
109,000 bbl. Production for the nine
months ending September 30 was
slightly over 101,000,000 bbl. or more
than was produced in any full year
prior to 1922. Last year's nine months
record output was exceeded by about
24 per cent. Shipments from the mills
during September, although less than
in August, were greatly in excess of
any corresponding month in past years
and were about 10 per cent over Sep-
tember 1922. For the first nine
months of this year shipments were
substantially in excess of 104,000,000
bbl. or 18 per cent greater than dur-
ing the corresponding months of last
year.

Committee Report Presented Sept. 20
at Annual Convention of Road-
masters and Maintenance of
Way Association

Cranes, Air Hoists, Buckets, Etc. —

Let us first consider the uses to which
the ordinary steam crane can be put.
It will reduce labor, hazard and time,
and will handle frogs, switches, guard
rails and heavy switch timbers, will
load and unload rails and should be
more generally used for lifting in new
rail, and lifting out the old, when rails
are being renewed. We have had sev-
eral elaborate reports on the practic-
ability of laying rail in this manner,
which makes any further description
of this work unnecessary at this time.
Among the newer devices that are
rapidly being applied to cranes are
magnets by which scrap, tie plates,
angle bars, etc., can be picked up
quickly and at minimum cost. Where
the cranes are self-propelled, they
eliminate the cost of any engine, ex-
cept to get them on the scene of oper-
ations, reducing the cost accordingly.

Clam shell buckets are now used to
load cinders, clean ballast, and do va-
rious other kinds of work.

Air hoists of many different designs
with power supplied from the train
line or from a compressor run by a
gasoline engine are used for rail lay-
ing, and for loading and unloading
when this work can be done by hand-
driven machines.

Ditching Machinery — Would anyone
care to go back to the days when we
had to organize a gang of 35 men
with rubber boots, picks, shovels, an
engine and a train crew with flat cars
to do ditching, when such equipment
as the roadbed spreader and ditching
machines are available ? The new
feature of the spreader is a ditching
wing that can be set at any angle, by
means of which the material is
dragged out of cuts, the slopes and
ditches shaped and drainage pro-
vided with the aid of only one or
two laborers. For the same purpose
the hoisting ditcher is adapted to
slope a bank at any angle, cut to any
depth and load the material excavated
on cars, backing along the top of the
cars as they are loaded. Compara-
tive figures between ditching with the
roadbed spreader and the hoisting
ditcher are not available, but it is

1923

Railways

817

understood that, under certain con-
iitions, the roadbed spreader is the
most economical. This de^^ce, of
course, has many other uses, as does
he hoisting ditcher.

Ballast Qeaning Equipment. —

Where ballast becomes so foul from
cinders, sparks and dust that it be-
comes necessary to move and clean it,
the only method that has been devel-
oped so far has been the use of the
clam shell with large screens placed
->n a ballast car, with a hoist to pick
up the ballast and drop it on the
-creen, the dirt falling in the car and
he clean ballast going back between
:he tracks. It is, of course, under-
stood that the clam shell can only
take the ballast from between tracks
or not very satifactorily from the
shoulder outside of the ties. If the
ballast from between the rails must
be cleaned, it must be shoveled out
to either the side or center between
tracks. Nevertheless this is a decided
labor saving method of doing this
work.

There is also the power-operated
ballast screen which consists of a
belt conveyor and revolving screen
driven by a gasoline engine, which
also provides power to move the ma-
chine along the track as the work pro-
gresses or from one job to another
and can develop a speed of 20 miles
per hour. This machine is so con-
structed that it can be removed from
the track with about the same effort
as a tie tamping machine. Stone to
be cleaned must first be shoveled out
from between the ties, and then shov-
eled into a long trough through which
a belt is operated, convening the
stone to the revolving screen. The
force to operate this device in an
efficient manner depends on local con-
ditions, the following being found to
be the most efficient, with which about
96 ft. of track can be cleaned per
Jiour.

1 foreman.

10 men shoveling out in advance of
le machine.

7 men placing the stone in the ma-

" le, three on the outside shoulder
id four in the space between the
racks.

1 man disposing of the dirt at the
sven-foot line.

1 assistant foreman in charge of the
lachine and operating the stone
cutter.

1 machine operator.

1 flagman.

If the delay from traffic does not
exceed 25 per cent of the actual time
worked, the cost is about loct. per
lineal foot of track cleaned or 45ct.
per cubic yard of stone ballast.

We read also of a suction machine
having been constructed to remove
this undesirable matter from stone
ballast, but we have not sufficient in-
formation to describe its operation.

Weed Removal Device. — Where
weeds growing in the stone ballast
constitute the objectionable matter to
be removed, a de\-ice is now made
to be applied to the side of a car
with machinery to raise and lower it,
similar to a roadbed spreader. An
A-frame is made into which steel
teeth are set which' can be adjusted
to the contour of the center space be-
tween tracks or the shoulder outside.
When this device is drawn at a speed
of from 6 to 8 miles per hour, it
roots up and renovates the ballast,
letting any small particles go down
in the ballast and making the sur-
face look clean and fresh as new
stone. This machine, run frequently,
saves much labor over hard weeding
in stone ballast, but of course does
not effectually clean it. It is sug-
gested that a machine of entirely dif-
ferent tj'pe could be designed for the
purpose of cleaning the stone ballast
that would scoop up the stone into a
conveyor, screen it and return the
clean stone to the roadbed and at the
same time load the dirt into a car.

Tie Tamping Machine, Track Drills,
Etc. — For tamping ballast under the
ties we have the pneumatic tie tam-
per which, is an acknowledged help in
this class of work.

Track drills for turning nuts on
track bolts, equipment to bore ties
and timber and cutting and chipping
tools are now available with these ma-
chines and are comparatively inex-
pensive, considering the savings that
can be effected by their use. A mile
of badly corroded nuts on track bolts
can be cut off in four hours with two
pneumatic rivet cutters, which work
would require at least 12 men with
chisels and sledges.

The latest feature of track work to
receive attention is the lining of track.
At least two devices permit us to
throw track with less than one-half
the men otherwise required. These
devices will require some improve-
ment yet to guard against lifting the
track while lining it for otherwise the
the expensive operation of surfacing
the track will be thrown away.

818

Railways October

Treatment and Care of Railroad Ties

Practice of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. Described in Paper Pre-
sented Sept. 18 Before Roadmasters and Maintenance of
Way Association

By S. D. COOPER,

Assistant Manager Treating Plants, Santa Fe System.

The Sante Fe Gommenced to treat
ties in 1885 at Las Vegas, New Mex.
In 1897 a second plant was started at
Somerville, Tex., and in 1898 a third
plant was started at Bellemont, Ariz.
In August, 1906, the plant at Belle-
mont, was burned down and in Janu-
ary, 1908, the plant at Las Vegas was

with chloride of zinc only. In 1906 we
built a new plant at Somerville, Tex.,
to take the place of the old one at that
point and commenced to treat all our
ties with creosote by the Rueping pro-
cess. This year we have commenced
to treat all our ties with mixture
treatment. In the territory supplied

The Adzing and Boring Machine.

also burned. In 1908 a new treating
plant was erected and put in opera-
tion at Albuquerque, New Mex., con-
solidating the two plants at Belle-
mont, Ariz., and Las Vegas, New Mex.
We are at present erecting another
new plant at National City, Calif.,
which is close to San Siego. This
should be in operation by January,
1924, and will give us three plants
owned and operated by the Santa Fe.
Early Tie Treatment.— From 1885
to 1901 we treated our ties by the
Wellhouse process which is a combi-
nation of chloride of zinc, glue and
tannin; from 1902 to 1905 by the Bur-
nettizing process which is a treatment

by our Somerville plant with 70 per
cent creosote and 30 per cent petro-
leum oil and in the territory supplied
by our Albuquerque plant, which is a
much drier climate, with 50 per cent
creosote and 50 per cent petroleum oil,
leaving in about 7V2 lb. of mixture to
the cubic foot.

From extensive experiments car-
ried on since 1909 we are satisfied
that the addition of the petroleum oil
which has an asphaltic base adds con-
siderably to the mechanical life of our
ties.

Classification of Ties. — All of our
cross ties, lumber and piling are pur-
chased by our general purchasing

1923

Railways

819

agent who has an efficient staff of in-
spectors and they inspect all of this
material at the point of origin. They
make very careful inspection and we
have no reason to complain about the
quality of the material. Our classifi-
cation is as follows:

First class of No. 1 ties are — 6 in.
X S in. X 8 ft., 7 in. x 8 in. x 8 ft., 7 in.
X 9 in., X 8 ft., hewn or sawn, all
woods.

Second class or No. 2 ties are — Any

and tie of cross section under 6 in. x

in. with 6 in. X 7 in. minimum, hewn

or sawn, all woods; also No. 1 sizes

chine then stamps on one end of the
tie the kind of wood and weight of
rail for which the tie is bored, and
on the other end of the tie the kind of
treatment and the year treated.

This cutting off the end of the tie
really g^ives us another inspection as
we sometimes find indications of rot
after the cut which otherwise it would
be impossible to detect and these ties
of course are culled. The ties are
loaded from the machine .onto tram
cars and pulled direct to the treating
cylinders.

After the ties have been treated

Load of Ties Ready- for Treating Cylinders.

' re jet

rejected from first-class account of
jme slight defect,
^hen the ties are received at the

iting plant they are stacked for

seasoning, as it is the practice on the
Santa Fe to treat nothing but air sea-
soned material.

Adzing and Boring Ties. — ^When
i^ady for treatment they are loaded
up and put through an adzing and
boring machine.

_ This machine adzes a place for the
tie plate, bores the holes for the
spikes and also cut off about V4 in.
from each end of the tie. This ma-

they are again stacked for seasoning
before being shipped out, and we place
much importance on this feature, as
we know that we get better life re-
sults from this practice. This season-
ing period lasts about three months.
Distribution of Ties. — When the ties
are ready for shipment to be inserted,
they are ordered and distributed.
This provides for certain species of
woods to be used in definite localities
for each class of track; and in every
case, provides for hardwood ties being
used on all curves of 2° and upwards,
wherever located; softwood ties, such

820

Railways

October

as native pine, Oregon fir, New Mex-
ico pine, and redwood, being used on
tangents in the various districts to
which they have been assigned.

We are of the opinion that the
proper distribution of ties is a very
considerable factor in their life.

Marking Ties in Track. — When the
ties are inserted in the track the in-
structions are that each tie must have
a tie plate, and these instructions are
very carefully followed. The size of
the plate is 7V^ in. x 9 in. and prac-
tically covers the face of the tie.

On every tie inserted a dating nail
is placed; a round head nail for a
treated tie and a square head nail for
an untreated tie. This nail bears the
year of insertion and is placed on the
end of tie about half way between the
end of the tie and the rail base, and
is a ready means of identification.

In addition to providing a ready
means of identification as to the year
of insertion, I think it is of great
value in other ways. A section fore-
man will invariably give a tie of com-
paratively short life a much more
close inspection than if there was no
nail showing it's life, before taking it
out of track. I have seen it demon-
strated over and over again.

Experimental Sections. — Commenc-
ing in 1904 we started to keep a rec-
ord of all ties inserted in the track on
all parts of the system and continued
this until 1910 when we found that
this was impracticable and did not
work out satisfactorily, so in 1910 an
experimental section was established
on each superintendent's division,
these sections being selected by the
general managers, general superin-
tendents and superintendents of each
division, the section selected being an
average section of the conditions on
that territory and each section being
a regular section foremen's section.

A careful record was made of each
tie as it appears in the track, and
these sections are carefully checked
each year by representatives from the
manager of treating plants' office. A
report is sent out each year for each
section to the vice-president in charge
of operation, general managers, as-
sistant general managers, superinten-
dents, division engineers, roadmas-
ters, section foremen, and also to the
chief engineer of the system, and as-
sistant chief engineer system, to
whom the manager of treating plants
reports.

In addition to these annual inspec-
tions visits are made periodically to
each experimental section when the
ties taken out of the track are in-
spected before being destroyed.

In addition to this, we have several
sections of track where ties have been
laid out of face where we keep a close
record of the life of the ties.

By these means we are able to keep
a very close and accurate record of the
life we are getting from our ties. A
record of the service of our ties in-
serted in regular practice of spotting
in and also a record of the service
given by ties inserted out of face.

In addition to the inspection of our
experimental sections, we have in-
spectors with motor cars who inspect
all ties found on the right-of-way. On
these inspections, they are accom-
panied by the roadmaster over his
territory, and a report is made daily
of the ties inspected, giving the year
of insertion when possible, and the
cause of removal. A copy of the re-
port covering each superintendent's
division is sent to the general man-
ager, superintendent of the division,
and the chief engineer of the system.

It might be thought that on these
inspections there might be some feel-
ing on the part of the local people on
being checked up so closely but the
contrary is the case. I think I am
safe in saying that the very large ma-
jority of our people realize that we
are trying to educate our section fore-
men in the proper handling of our ties
and I can say without fear of contra-
diction that we have the hearty sup-
port of superintendents, roadmasters
and section foremen in our endeavor
to get the longest possible service out
of our ties, compatible with good
track.

When these inspections were first
started some years ago, we found
quite a number of ties that should not
have come out of the track, but now
we find very few indeed on the right-
of-way that should not have been re-
moved from track; and this is entirely
due to the intelligent and whole-
hearted support of everybody con-
cerned.

I have in mind a recent inspection
on a superintendent's division where
not a single tie was found on the
right-of-way that should not have
been taken out of the track.

I have tried to briefly as possible

1923 Railways 821

put before you Santa Fe practice, used for renewals in number and per

The question probably arises in your mile from 1898 to 1922 inclusive:
minds as to whether such an organi- . cu • a t-. t«..,»^

^"r. . £j. ui i it. „«„*- Statement ShowiiiK Average Ties Inserted

sation is profitable to the management ^ j g. § p. py system

of the railroad. I think of no better ' Total Ties Total

answer than the following as I think „ Total inserted Ties inserted

the figures speak for themselves: ^-/ _ ^^, ^^,r^^% ^^'s""^

In 1885 we treated 111,503 ties. i899 9.028 2,246,250 249

„ ,„„^ . ,^00 4. 4. 1 r-A 1900 8-804 1,687.537 192

From I880 to 1922 we treated lO,- isoi 9.368 1,557.866 I66

499,756 ties. 1902 9,557 1,955,093 205

T ,,... .4.1. J. ij r^^ 1903 9,768 2,352,502 241

In addition to this we treated from 19^4 10 237 2.770,306 271

1896 to 1922, inclusive, 225,452,256 i905.._.L-l.r." io',8S5 2',788!378 256

board feet of lumber; and from 1895 1906-... 11. 637 2.291,997 197

to 1922, 10,714,269 lineal feet piling. H^l" - - Hf^t f je^^J Hf

Results of Tie Treatment. -This, I |^?^ l|j?i f^^HH ^?

think, demonstrates beyond all ques- 1911 13,869 3.781.745 272

tion that the management is satisfied 1912 14,488 3,252,061 224

that the treatment of material is an i»i3 i^.^ee 2,863.839 194

, ... , , 1914 la.iyS Z,ioo,o4^ loU

economical proposition; and as to 1915 15,409 3.234,760 210

what the management is getting out 1916 16,151 3,ii8.94i 193

of the treatment the following will ]l]l iS-H? 2.463.651 153

, 1 • 1 1918 16.oa4 2,4o6.o99 151

Show conclusively: i9i9 i6,7n 2,302.952 139

Take one section of ties laid out of 1920 16.924 2.753.673 i63

face — and this I selected because it is i922~Z.~IZr. 17*,104 2!693!905 i58
easy of access for anyone interested

who cares to go and see, and let me Given good material to treat, adzing

say here that we will be more than and boring same before treatment,

glad to make arrangements for any the material properly treated, fol-

of you who would like to inspect these lowed by intelligent and careful su-

ties to do so, per\-ision after treatment, I think you

The stretch is just out of Melvern, will agree that the figures given above

Kan., on our Ottawa Cut-oflf, main line clearly demonstrate the economy of

traffic, passenger and freight; possibly the preser\-ation of ties. The records

the heaviest traffic we have. Between given as the result of Santa Fe prac-

M. P. 80 and 87 plus 3155 we inserted tice can be duplicated by any railroad

in 1906, 24,238 hewn Texas pine ties, in the country.

treated with creosote by the Rueping

Pifocess. Steel Tank Safety Refuge in

Our annual inspection at the end of Blasting

1922 showed 833 ties removed, only 3 _, j • ui • ^

of them on account of rot, the balance Men engaged in blasting at quarries

being taken out on account of other need some safety refuge that can be

causes; 3.44 per cent removed, and the f easily moved from place to place as

life given by these ties up to the end the work progresses. Without such a

of 1922 was 15.97 years. From the protection the men spend too much

present appearance of these ties, I ^^^A" getting off to a safe distance

will be very much disappointed if we and then coming back to work Ac-

don't get an average Ufe of at least 20 ^ordrng to Successful Methods the

years, and this, as stated before, un- Louisville Cement Co. of Louis\-ille,

der the heaviest traffic on our road. -^y has happily solved the problem,

and IS speeding up production, by the
One more record which speaks for simple expedient of pro%iding cvlin-
=elf: In 1898 we used for tie re- drical steel tanks. These tanks were
wals on the Santa Fe System— then formerlv coolers in the cement mill
s,185 miles — 336 ties to the mile. In proper. They were converted into
1922, with 17,104 miles, we used 158 places of safetv by merely closing up
taes to the mile— less than half of the one end \^ith heavy timbers and bolt-
ties per mile used in renewals in 1922 jng 2x4 in. timbers extending a full
than m 1898. This, was done, under length on either side for the men to
conditions no different in 1898 than in brace themselves against. These tanks
I9.f2 when the power is much heavier can easilv be rolled from place to
ana the traffic much more dense. place and" can be stationed fairly close
I give below the number of ties to the blast.

822

Railways ' October

Mucking in Mines with Portable Hoists

Practice in the Lake Superior District Described in Mine and Quarry

By J. A. NOYES

The general principle of ore slush-
ing is very old, not only in mining, but
also in general contract work. The or-
dinary horse drawn contractor's slip

si usher in the ordinary drag line ex-
cavator and also in his back-filling
machine, which he uses for dragging
the loose dirt that has been excavated

1 i:tei.

4 K'^ur/tiy ^^ria.

Fig. 1 -Box Type of Scraper.

rxi' 3ra/:&

i->

SCKAP^Fi

Fi?. 2 — Bottomless or Hoe Type Scraper.

scraper such as is used for general
excavation work is in principle just
the same as ore slushing with a single
drum hoist. The contractor also has
what is practically the double drum

from a trench back into the trench
again to fill it up after the pipe line
has been laid.

The contractor uses his scrapers for
both digging loose material and for

1923

Railways

823

riaulLng it at the same time as one
;>peration. In the same way the prac-
tice of ore slushing takes the place of
both shoveling and tramming. This
iiliminates the expense of laying and
moving tracks.

The first slushing that was done in
:he mines in the Lake Superior coun-
ry was done with the single drum
nachines, and the scraper was an or-
dinary contractor's slip scraper weigh-
ng approximately 50 lb. and having a
(Capacity of a little over 3 cu. ft. The
ungle drum hoist was set up at the
top of a raise and the loaded scraper

the other drum pulls it back, using a
tail rope running around a sheave
wheel located in the breast or head-
ing. In slushing with the double drum
machines two men constitute a crew,
but the actual manual labor required
is very little. One man operates the
hoist and his partner trims the back,
picks dowTi loose ore, moves the tail
sheave and occasionally rides the
scraper as it takes its load.

Types of Scrapers. — The following
three sketches illustrate three differ-
ent classes of scrapers. All three
classes are the bottomless type, each

InstaUation in Michigan Mine Showing Car Spotted Under Loading Platform.

hauled in to it bringing a load of ap-
proximately 5 cu. ft. The extra 2
cu. ft. of material represented that
which was piled up on and pushed
ahead of the scraper. The load was
dumped into the raise by hand and
the miner dragged the empty scraper
back to the pile of dirt where he again
guided the scraper in digging it into
the pile of material. A second miner
operated the hoist.

Double Drum Hoist Adopted. — It
was only a step from the use of the
' single drum hoist and hand scrapers
: to the use of double drum hoists and
1 larger and heavier scrapers, that were
j self-digging and self-dumping. One
I drum hauls in the loaded scraper and

one scraping or pushing the material
and not actually carrying it as is the
case with the slip scrapers.

Fig. 1 is the box type, having sides
and back. This works well in soft ore
but on account of its sides it will not
dig itself into lumpy material and it
also tends to ride over the chunks.
The average weight of these box type
scrapers is 200 lb. and they will move
approximately 7 or 8 cu. ft. of ma-
terial per trip.

Fig. 2 shows the hoe type scraper.
As it has no sides, or at the most
very short ones, it does not tend to
climb over the lumps as much as the
box type and, therefore, works well in
the coarser materials. Its weight and

824

Railways

October

capacity are about the same as those
of the box scraper.

Fig. 3 is a heavier scraper, weigh-
ing about 500 lb. It is made reversi-
ble. The side having the teeth is used
in combing the chunks off the pile
first, then the scraper is turned over
and the smooth side used for the finer

Determining Type an<? Size of
Scraper. — The proper size an»i type
of scraper to be used will depend upon
the way in which the ground breaks,
and this in turn is largely governed
by the size of the stope or drift in
which the work is being done. In de-
veloping a scraper for handling a
given kind of material, consideration

\ *

1, —

"• I 1

1 1

I I

. 1 1—1 s.

J U i^

1 1 1

-L - , ,11

I X!l

xtxtx

Fig. 3 — Reversible or Doublc-Faced Scraper.

« <i U ^ .[^

3' Staf^araf /^//>a

C/0mfi

Oetai/ of C/a/np

F'o/nt

Boom.

/■/g.<r

£^"i;-

' ••••" l—»'-

^^^-

'i'-

Heaif-Sheave.
Fig. 6

Y'\%. 4 — Arrangement of Scraper and Hoist for Slushing.

Railways

825

■ a.,t be given to its size, to its weight,
0 the approximate pull on the rope,
A'hether or not it should have sides,
and whether or not the digging ele-
ment should be a series of teeth or a
single blade. The angle of the digging
element must be determined so that
it will be flat enough to dig into the
pile, but not steep enough to climb
3ver the material as the hoist starts
to haul on the rope. Theoretically
this digging angle should be in the
plane of the resultant of the weight
of the scraper and the pull on the
rope. That is, if the rope pull were
400 lb. and the scraper weight 400 lb.,

the blade upwards immediately back
of the digging edge is because the
scraper must be self dumping and the
blade must be steep enough for the
ore to drop off easily at the end of
each trip.

The most general application of the
portable double drum hoists has been
for slushing ore into raises where the
top slicing method of mining is used.
Considerable progress is being made,
however, in the utilization of this same
equipment in development drifts and
rock drifts for loading material di-
rectly into cars by scraping it up on
an inclined plane that projects over

Double Drum Hoist Operating Slasher Loading Rock Into Cars.

the angle should be 450°. In practice
the digging angle found most satis-
factory for average conditions is about
twenty degrees. Immediately back of
this digging angle the blade must be
curved upward. There are two rea-
!s for this. If the blade were con-
ned back at this flat angle of 20°
the load would climb up onto the
scraper and be carried along instead
of being pushed along, and the weight
of the ore on the scraper would tip it
oyer backwards unless the bail or the
sides were very heavily weighted
ahead of the digging edge. The illu-
strations of the scrapers show this fea-
ture. The other reason for bending

the top of the car. In some cases a
platform has been built at the top of
the inclined plane long enough for
two or three cars to pass under and
the rock dropped through a hole in
the platform.

Mounting the Hoist. — There are a
variety of ways for mounting the hoist
itself. Probably the most usual meth-
od is to mount the machine on skids
and sprag it down with ordinary tim-
ber sprags. An improvement over the
ordinary timber skid is a metal turn-
table which permits the quick and
easy movement of the machine around
a king pin, so that the hoisting rope
can always be hauled in and paid out

82G

Railways

October

at right angles to the axis of the
drums, thus preventing the rope from
rubbing against the drum flanges, or
climbing off from the drums. In the
drifts the hoist is sometimes mounted
on a vertical mining column, placed
close to the side of the drift, either
directly on the column itself or on a
column arm.

One of the first fittings or auxiliary
appliances to receive attention with
the introduction of the double drum
slusher was a satisfactory device for
mounting the sheave wheel at the
breast so that the tail rope could re-

breast. In about the center of its
length is attached a short piece of V2
in. chain and a suitable hook. The
boom is hung by this chain from the
center of the timber cap of the set
nearest the breast. The back end of
the boom is pressed up against the
under side of the cap of the second
set, and is held in place by a series of
teeth or sharp points along the top of
the boom, which project upward
against the cap. To move the sheave
from side to side at the face it is only
necessary to pull down on the back
end of the boom and swing it to either

Arrangement of Sheaves for Hau/ing Scraper
arourref a Corner
F,g8.

Fig. S — Arranpcmcnt of Scraper, Sheaves and Hoist for Scraping with a 90 ° Turn.

turn the empty scraper to its proper
starting position. There are three
ways in which this can be done: t'irst,
if the working place is not timbered
an ordinary light mining column or
shaft bar is set up horizontally across
the drift and close to the breast and
then the sheave is attached to this
with chains or clamps and is moved
from side to side as is required. A
second method is t6 stretch a chain
across the drift instead of the column.
Where the places are timbered the
third method is to use a boom as illus-
trated in Fig. 4.

This boom is a piece of 3 or 4 in.
pipe, 12 to 14 ft. long, with the sheave
mounted at the end towards the

side. This is usually done by th|
miner while the hoist is dragging in a
load, as the tail rope is then slack.

Another auxiliary fitting that added
materially in securing further service
from the hoists was a simple device
for tripping the rope off the turn
sheave in slushing around a corner.
Turns up to 45° can be made without
the necessity of a sheave wheel at the
turn for the haulage rope by nailing
some upright boards to the timbers
which will guide the scraper around
the turn. Even here, however, a pul-
ley o"r snatch block should be used for
the tail rope so that it can be kept
back out of the path of the scraper.

Fig. 5 shows the arrangement of

1923

Raihvays

827

the hoist, sheaves, and ropes for slush-
ing around a right angle turn. The
hoist is set up at or near the turn in-
stead of at the raise. The reason for
this is that the hoist operator can
more easily get the signals from the
man at the face. He can also assist
in putting the rope back on the turn
sheaves, which is done either by hand
or by using a short iron hook. For
this right angle turn, a turn sheave is
used to guide the haulage rope. The
turn sheaves are made open on one
side and the rope groove is shallow so
that if a solid ball 3 or 4 in. in diam-

light rails, not on ties, but made con-
tinuous with fish plates. If the raises
are timbered the top timbers can be
protected from the scraper as it
dumps by laying a couple of bent rails
across the top of the raise for the
scraper to slide on. In slushing into
cars the grade of the inclined plane is
about one foot rise to three feet ad-
vance. The foot of the slide is lo-
cated about 25 ft. back from the
breast to allow distance enough for
the scraper to take its load and to per-
mit it to line up with the center of
the slide before starting up.

■ ^■r 13 made fast to the haulage rope
just in front of the scraper, this ball
will trip the rope off the turn sheave
when the scraper reaches the turn.
The same thing is accomplished if a
6 or 8 in. diameter wheel is mounted

'■ on the scraper bail at the point where

I the rope is attached.

! Other detailed features of equip-
ment and methods of operation have
received attention at various mines.
, Any tendency on the part of the
J scraper to dig into the bottom of the
drift can be overcome by laying down

Front View of Slushing Framework With Scraper Hanling a Load Up It.

Economy of Slushing. — The results
that are being secured in slushing ore
with the double drum hoists in the
Lake Superior district are very satis-
factory. For best results the length
of haul should be under 100 ft. and
the average capacity will then be 25
to 30 tons per hour. Good work is be-
ing done at distances up to 200 ft.,
however, but the capacity per hour is
materially less. On the average the
cost per ton of slushing ore is one-half
the cost of hand shoveling and tram-
mi :i.g. Under favorable conditions the
saving is even greater.

828

Railways

October

Construction News of the Railways

Nickel Plate to Double Track

The New York, Chicago & St. Louis
R. R. contemplates completing double
tracking its line between Buffalo and
Chicago within the next 3 or 4 years.
With 30 miles of new second track
now being added and that used under
the trackage agreements, the Nickel
Plate will have about 160 miles of
double track between Buffalo and Chi-
cago in use this winter or about one-
third of the distance.

New Logging Road in Georgia

The Davis-Zirkle Lumber Co., of
which L. A. Zirkle, Zirkle, Ga., is vice
president, will build a standard gage
logging railroad from the A. B. & A.
R. R. at Goffee, Ga., to a tract of yel-
low pin timber recently bought in
Pierce and Bacon counties.

Southern Pacific to Drive 2-Mile
Tunnel

The Southern Pacific R. R., accord-
ing to San Francisco advices, will
start work at once with company
forces on driving a 2-mile tunnel
through the summit of the Sierras on
the Ogden route. The western portal
of the single-track bore will be west
of Summitt and the eastern portal
near Lakeview, on the immediate east
side of the mountains' crest. The
project will cost approximately
$3,000,000, The project is a unit in
the double-tracking of the 28 miles of
the route between Emigrant Gap and
Andover. The new or second track
leading to the wastern portal will
leave the present track west of Sum-
mit. The tunnel will parallel the pres-
ent track to the west end of Lakeview.
It will go under the present track at
Lakeview. The tunnel track will be
used for the eastern movement and
the present track for the western
movement of traffic. Routing of the
new or double-track through the tun-
nel, will do away with the trouble and
cost of snow-shed maintenance.

Southern Pacific to Erect New Station
in Sacramento

The Southern Pacific R. R. will be-
gin construction soon on a new pas-
senger station at Sacramento, Calif.,
to be located at 4th and H Sts., facing
toward I St. The main building will
be on H St., facing south, with the

center on 4th St., and extending half a
black east and half a block west. On
the front and rear of the building
there will be a marquise. East of the
main building a mail building will be
constructed and northeast of the mail
building will be an express building.
This will leave the main building for
passenger traffic exclusively. West
of the station will be a Pullman car
shed.

Western Pacific May Widen Salt Lake
Fill

Surveys have been made by the
Western Pacific R. R. for widening its
10 mile fill across Great Salt Lake in

Utah.

Grade Crossing Elimination in Beau-
mont, Tex.

The first constructive step in the pro-
gram for the elimination of the grade
crossing menace in Beaumont was
taken when the city commission au-
thorized Mayor B. A. Steinhagen to
continue his negotiations with the
officials of the Southern Pacific R. R.
and when certain minor phases of the
document have been adjusted to enter
into a contract with the railroad com-
pany for the erection of the proposed
Mariposa St. viaduct.

Track Elevation at Hammond, Ind.,
Will Cost $6,000,000

Elevation of the four principal rail-
roads through the heart of HammondJ
will cost $6,000,000, according to esti-
mates of railroad engineers whicl
were submitted to the board of worka
and track elimination committee of
the chamber of commerce. The cost
estimates, which are the maximum,]
follow: "The Erie $2,260,000, cover-
ing from the Michigan Central rail-
road to Douglas St. and running off
to the Calumet river and Highland
St.; the Nickel Plate, $1,018,000 ele-
vating from the Michigan Central to
Columbia Ave. and running off to the
Calumet river on the north and to the
east to Columbia Ave.; the Monon,
^1,017,602, elevating from the Mich-
igan Central to Douglas St. and run-
ning off to Calumet river on the north
and Highland St. on the south; the
Michigan Central, $1,750,000, from
Hohman St. to Calumet Ave. and run-
ning off to Columbia Ave. on the east
and Freeland Ave. on the west.

I',t23

Railways

829

New Coal Road in Indiana

The Evansville, Indianapolis &
Terre Haute Ry. has asked the Inter-
state Commerce Commission to au-
thorize construction of 6 miles of new
line from a point in Gibson county,
Ind., on the main line to a connection
with the Southern Ry. at Oakland
City, Ind. The new line will open
strip-mining territory heretofore un-
developed.

New Municipal Street Railway Line at
San Francisco

The Supervisors of San Francisco,
Calif., have authorized the prepara-
tion of plans and specifications for a
street railway line on Judah St., from
Cole and Carl Sts. to the beach.

Moffat Tunnel Contract Let

The contract for the construction of
the Moffat Tunnel near Denver, Colo.,
was let last month to F. C. Hitchcock,
of New York and C. C. Tinkler of San
Francisco. The cost is placed at $5,-
250,000. Mr. Tinkler lived in Denver
from 1900 to 1912 and was the builder
of 15 tunnels on the Moffat road; he
built tunnels for several American
roads as well as the roads themselves,
and has built railroad and power tun-
nels in various parts of the United
States and Canada. Mr. Hitchcock is
president of the Carey-Campbell Co.,
New York; vice-president of tne W. F.
Carey Co. and an officer in other big
construction concerns. He spent three
years in construction work in China
and was formerly vice-president of
Mac Arthur Brothers.

New Great Northern Line Proposed

Advices from St. Paul, Minn., state
that construction of a new line, per-
mitting the linking of Yankton, S. D.,
and Sydney, Neb., and providing a
new route between the Twin Cities
and Denver, Colo., shorter by 115
miles, is contemplated by the Great
Northern and Burlington railways in
the event these systems and the
Northern Pacific are consolidated as
requested of the Interstate Commerce
Commission. Approximately 200 miles
of new line costing $5,000,000 would
be required to make the extension of
the Great Northern from Yankton to
Plain- view, Neb. The existing line of
the Burlington would give entrance
into O'Neill, Neb., and the Burlington
would have to extend its line to Thed-
ford, Neb., and from Mullen to Syd-
ney, Neb., to complete the new route.

L. & N. Track Revision Job in
Kentucky

Louisville & Nashville R. R. is re-
ported to have taken bids on a $500,-
000 job for reconstruction work in-
volving straightening out of curves
and making fill-ins at trestles over
ravines on Muldraugh Hill, in Hardin
County, Ky., between Colesburg and
Tunnel Hill. A year or more will be
reciuired to complete the work, which
affects that part of Muldraugh Hill or
the Cumberland Plateau running from
the beginning of the grade at Coles-
burg to the summit at Tunnel Hill.

Grade Crossing Elimination at
Columbus

Construction will be started next
spring on the two remaining projects
of the Columbus, O. grade crossing
elimination program. The estimate of
the city's portion of the expense of
eliminating the Norfolk & Western
crossing is $450,000 and the Dennison
Ave. crossing $400,000.

Florida East Coast R. R. to Build Shops
at Bowden, Fla.

The Florida East Coast R. R., pro-
poses the expenditure of $1,500,000
for the establishment of a terminal
and shops at Bowden, 7 miles south of
South Jacksonville, Fla.

Toledo, C, to Vote on $3,000,000
Bond Issue for Grade Separation

The citizens of Toledo, O., will vote
at the November election on a $3,000,-
000 bond issue for the city's share of
the cost of 15 grade separation proj-
ects. This program is to cover 10
years. The city's share will be
$2,028,000 and the railroad's, $3,737,-
000.

New Railroad from Hattiesburg to
Columbia, Miss.

A plan is under consideration for
building a railroad from Hattiesburg
to Columbia, Miss. Mayor W. S. F.
Tatum of Hattiesburg, Miss., is re-
ported interested. Mr. Tatum owns a
standard gauge log line that extends
22 miles virtually in the direction of
Columbia. Should he extend his line
he would have to make certain changes
in the log line beyond the 14 mile post
from Hattiesburg or else construct a
new line. By using the facilities now
in existence, it was said, a line could
be run into Columbia by building 14
miles of track.

830 Railways October

Tunnel Construction for Carrying Oil Pipe Line
Under Canal

Inverted Siphon Crossing Under Indiana Harbor Canal at East
Chicago, Ind., Built for Sinclair Pipe Line Co.

An inverted siphon under the In-
diana Harbor Canal, near White Oak
Ave., East Chicago, Ind. is required to
carry the oil pipe lines from the
Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma fields
to the refineries at Whiting and East
Chicago, Ind. The siphon was con-
structed in order to avoid changes due
to dredging in the canal and also to
have the pipes accessible for repairs
and to avoid deterioration of the pipe
due to chemicals in the canal water.
The siphon was designed to carry 2
12 in. and 2 8 in. pipes.

The crossing is an arch top tunnel
7 ft. X 7 ft., with a short section oi
10 ft. X 10 ft. section at the North
shaft to facilitate the handling and
assembling of the pipe. Entrance is
made to the tunnel by two 10 ft. diam-
eter concrete lined shafts about 65 ft.
deep.

All of the excavation from the tun-
nel was taken out at the South shaft
and was piled near and will be used as
a top covering for the fire walls of the
adjacent tank farms.

Shafts. — The shafts were 13 ft. in
outside diameter and 10 ft. inside the
concrete lining. The first 25 ft. of ex-
tion was soft tough clay containing a

few small stones, but on the North
cavation for the shafts was through
very fine water bearing sand with a
few thin layers of gravel, on the
South shaft the next 10 ft. of excava-

Section of Tunnel.

shaft the material was slightly differ-
ent, as the South half of the shaft
was very hard tough clay while the
North half or about 5 ft. was black

Forms for Shafts for Inverted Siphon Crossing Under Indiana Harbor Canal.

1023

Railways

831

muck in which several small red cedar
logs were encountered. The remainder
of the shafts were tough clay contain-
ing a large percentage of small pieces
of stone and slate. Little water was
ericountered after the shafts were sunk
a distance of 10 ft. into the clay.

Wood sectional forms in 4 ft. sec-
tions were used in the forming of the
concrete lining. A cutting edge was
used on both shafts made of angle
4 X 4 X ^/^ and a 24 in. x fg in. plate,
w ith % in. X 36 in. anchors spaced 24
in. apart. The concrete was reinforced
both horizontally and vertical with V2
in. square bars spaced 24 in. c to c.

8 X 10 steam hoisting engine. Con-
crete was mixed in a V2 yd. gasoline
driven concrete mixer and placed in
the forms with the derrick and a bot-
tom dump bucket. Water was sup-
plied from the pump on the South side
of the canal through an 1^4 in. pipe
laid across on the bottom of the canal.
The shafts were sunk by the open
dredging method to near the top of the
tunnel and were then underpinned to
the bottom, several small washings
occurred in both shafts caused by
sticks and flat stones getting under
the cutting edge and cutting a small
channel on the outside of the shell.

View of Tunnel, Showing Method of Carrying Two 12-in. and Two 8-in. Pipes.

The equipment for the South shaft
consisted of a traveling derrick lift
gage with a 40 ft. boom for handling
a V2 yd. clam-shell bucket, operated
by a 7 x 10 D. C. D. D. steam hoisting
engine, air for the pneumatic shovels
used in excavating and for ventilating
the tunnel was supplied by a 10 x 10
steam air compressor and with a 60 in.
X 6 ft. air receiver, steam was sup-
plied to run the compressor by the
boiler of the hoisting engine. Water
was supplied for the work by a 2 in.
gasoline pump connected to well
points.

Concrete was mixed in a V2 yd.
ga.soline concrete mixer and placed in
the forms with the derrick and a bot-
tom dump bucket.

The equipment for the North shaft
consisted of a 60 ft. guy derrick with
a .50 ft. boom handling a V2 yd. clam-
shell bucket and operated by a 3 drum

Two sets of forms were used for each
shaft and forms were left in place 48
hours.

Tunneling. — Tunnel excavation was
handled from the South shaft and was
nearly all in tough hard clay contain-
ing slate and small stone. In this ma-
terial the ordinary method was to
mine and concrete 6 ft. in a shift of
9 hrs. and two shifts were operated so
that the progress was 12 ft. per day.
A few small sand pockets were en-
countered and where these occurred
mining, timbering and concreting was
done in 3 ft. sections. Three pneumat-
ic shovels were used in the heading
and the muck was handled by 2 muck-
ers and 2 car pushers.

Steel ribs made of two pieces of 6
in. channel with angle lugs at top and
bottom for bolting together and 2x6
in. wood legging with beveled edges
were used for the forms for the con-

832

Railways

October

Crete lining. The excavated material
was handled in % yd. steel V shaped
side dump cars on a track of 16 lb.
rail 14 in. gage resting on 4 x 4 x 36
in. ties spaced 3 ft. c to c. The cars

lished with heavy plumb bobs sus-
pended in the shafts, and lines and
grades were established by the con-
tractor. The work was commenced on
June 16th and the tunnel was holed

Muck Pile at South Shaft, Showing Character of Excavated Material.

were handled on a 5 x 4 ft. elevator
operated by the steam hoist.

Gravel concrete was used for all of
the work of a 1, 2^/^, 4 mix, the con-
crete for the tunnel being handled by
the V2 yd. steel dump cars and then
shoveled and tamped into the forms.

through Sept. 15th. The estimated
cost of the work was about $100,000.
The siphon was designed and con-
structed by the Subway Engineering
Co. of Chicago, 111. for the Sinclair
Pipe Line Co. of Tulsa, Okla. The
work was under the general supervi-

Arrangcinenl for Concretingr Shafts and Tunnel.

A medium dry mix was used for the
tunnel. Concrete inserts were spaced
10 ft. apart in the tunnel and shafts to
provide for future pipe supports.
Lines for the tunnel were estab-

sion of the following Sinclair Pipe Line
Company's engineers, Frank Hadley,
Chief Engineer, W. E. Brewer, Divi-
sion Engineer and H. S. Joyce, Resi-
dent Engineer.

1923

Raihvays

833

Tests of Welded Rail Joints

Results of Investigation Made at Iowa
State College.

Some interesting tests of rail joints
were made last year at the Engineer-
ing Experiment Station of the Iowa
State College. The tests and the re-
5ults formed the basis of a paper pre-
sented Sept. 6 before the Iowa Elec-
:ric Railway Association by W. L.
Wilson, Chief Engineer, Des Moines
City Ry. The following abstract of
;he paper is reprinted from the Elec-
ric Railway Journal:

lb. testing machine. This was the
largest machine available at Ames
and in order to stress the various sam-
ple joints sufficiently to obtain good
results it was necessary, on account of
the low capacity of the machine, to
support the test pieces on 60 in, cen-
ters. This was longer than desired,
but the results obtained gave good
comparative data anyhow. Deflections
were read by a Riehle deflectometer,
reading to one-thousandth of an inch,
and readings were taken at incre-
ments of 5,000 to 10,000 lb. loads, ap-
plied midway between supports.

The results of the tests have been

C 700

-Vo J 5p/^c- broke af ■^ 1 90V lb' \

/ d'Sccinfinucd,

No.<

t T<?sf d/sconf/nuedat 65.SOO lb : \ \
3 ''7 deflecficr"- ^r.ii'-'' c//// . 1 1

OfeOO

Stretching.

1 ■ I .'
No.?Railbri>keaf

/ J

JSOO

Ned

1 1
Tes t discor>tinued

at capacity of
mac time - ■•

«7

1
1

* V

1 1

300

.^^

1 1

Ho^,

1 >

.>''■

:2oo

,,'Z

rjs

pf^.

.100

A^,

j.-^

S-^

kj^.

^S<^£^^r^^,

and

V'^

\&i"

—

J '

poil

i ia> 'V

40 so fcO

Loads in Thonsandb of lb
Load Deflection Cnrves of Transverse Tests of Varioas Rail Joints.

The following tests were made:, 1.
Solid piece of rail with no joint. 2.
Thermit weld. 3. Seam weld, side
)late only, Indianapolis arc. 4. Seam
veld, side plates only. General Elec-

ric arc. 5. Seam weld, side plates
only. Rail Welding & Bonding arc. 6.
3olted continuous joint. 7. Seam

ide weld, side plates and base plate,

ndianapolis arc.

In order that there should be no
'rror due to differences in the rail it-
self all pieces used in these tests were
i;ut from the same rail, th section be-
ing 7 in., 8-lb. Tee, H. S. Co. No. 335.
The solid rail was 6 ft. long and
3ach sample joint consisted of two 3 ft.
pieces, welded or bolted together. All
'tests were made on a Riehle 100,000

plotted and are shown in the accom-
panying chart.

Test No. 6 is an interesting one, be-
ing that of a standard 26 in. continu-
ous rail joint held by six 1 in. x 4^>^
in. heat-treated bolts having Harvey
grip threads and Ideal received nuts.
This joint has been the standard in
use by the Des Moines City Railway
for a number of years previous to
1922.

Length of Weld Plates Makes Little
Difference. — The primary object in
making these tests was to determine
which kind of arc or electrode or
which polarity of the electrode was
best, but the results, so far as I can
see, indicate very little if any differ-
ence. Neither does the length of weld

834

Railways

October

plates make much difference, except
of course in cases of very short plates.
The addition of a base plate, however,
does seem very materially to increase
the stiffness of a joint.

It has been and still is my opinion
that the personal equation or work-
manship has a very great deal to do
with the life of rail joints. A poorly
designed joint, carefully and thor-
oughly applied, might last much
longer than the best type of joint
poorly applied. Many plain bolted
joints can be found in almost perfect
condition after several years of serv-
ice, while perfectly good continuous
joints with heat-treated bolts can be
found commencing to fail in a year or
less, due simply to lack of care in fit-
ting up, clearing rail ends, tigntening
bolts or other poor workmanship.

This same line of thought applies
np.t only to the bolted joint but I be-
lieve equally well to the seam-welded
or any other type of joint. So we must
not sit back and think because we are
welding joints today that we are elim-
inating most if not all of our troubles.
The question is, Are we getting good
welds? Furthermore, it must not be
thought that welding alone will make
good track out of track that because
of improper design for the traffic it
must carry never could be good. In
other words, welded joints alone are
worthless unless we have the right
type of rail, good ties, good ballast,
good drainage and, above all, good
workmanship in everything.

Special Track Woric Bonding

Practices of the Department of Street

Railways, City of Detroit, Described

in Traction Junior

Standardization of bonding, in so
far as it is practicable, has been in-
troduced on the municipal railways in
Detroit. Under the supervision of H.
M. Gould, electrical engineer, many
of the typical layouts have been
standardized and all work falling
within the classifications is now done
in a uniform and approved manner.

The standard crossover presents lit-
tle difficulty in bonding work, but for
comparison of methods, the practice
in Detroit is of interest. In general
the practice consists of connecting a
1,000,000 c. m. bare copper cable to
both rails at a point ahead of the
switch point by means of three 4/0 66
in. cross bonds soldered to the main

cable. The main cables are run down
the center of the track to a point
beyond the frog and are here con-
nected to rails by means of three
cross bonds similar to those used
ahead of the switch point. All rail
joints are bonded Avith number 4/0
38-in. copper welded bonds. Two tie
bonds between inside rails of main
tracks at a point opposite the extreme
ends of the main cable, tie the track
circuits together.

The standard Y layout is bonded by
main cables laid in the form of a T
with a soldered joint at the intersec-
tion. The vertical leg of the T is in-
stalled only when the single track
extends beyond the special work more
than 100 ft. or connects with other
track work. The horizontal leg of the
T. is located between tracks from P.
S. to P. S. and is connected to the
rails by soldered joints to three cross
bonds. As an additional bond where
one leg of the Y connects with second
main track, a main cable is carried!
from a point ahead of the P. S. to a i
point well behind the frog, connecting |
into three standard cross bonds at |
each of these places. All rail joints
are bonded with No. 4/0 38-in. welded ;
copper bonds, cross bonds being 4/0 j
66-in. copper bonds.

Cables are laid in trunking and the
trunldng filled with a mixture com-
posed of 75 per cent pitch and 25 per
cent tar. Short cables which cannot
be conveniently laid in trunking ate
painted with black insulating paint as
are also the 4/0 bonds.

The general scheme consists of run-
ning two main cables of bare copp«f
1,000,000 c. m. between main traclDl
in both directions and connected at
each end by cross bonds and inside
rail bond connections at points beyond
used at intersections of cables and
welded copper bonds at all rail joints,
the special work. Soldered joints are

The department of street railways
of Detroit very carefully carries out
all of the binding work at each spe-
cial work location and drawings are
made in every instance, even in the
case of the simplest layout such as ^8
right angle single track crossing,
is realized that these points presei
opportunities for trouble and loss6
and consequently great care is us€
in the initial installation. Excellenll
results have been accomplished fo|
this reason.

1923

Railways

835

New Device for Testing Wheel
Impact on Rails

1 tn

KV€

An interesting device known as an
otheograph which is in effect a test
tie for measuring simultaneously the

tvertical and transverse trust or im-
)act of a wheel on a rail, has been

'recently developed by the General
Electric Company, Schenectady, N. Y.,

»and a number of these ties are being
installed on the company's test tracks
at Erie, Pa. The instrument shows
py graphic records the effect of each

springs are designed for a maximum
deflection of % in. The springs for
recording the transverse thrust have
deflections of about % in. for each
20,000 lb. The deflection of the
spring is recorded through a lever
having a ratio of 8 to 1, the record
being traced on paper wrapped
around a revolving cylinder similar
to an engine indicator. The operat-
ing mechanism provides for moving
the recording cylinders on any num-
ber of ties simultaneously so that as
many records may be taken of each

pa) (i)c|)(i)(j) ct)c|)

Experimental Record Made of a Test on C. M. & St. P. Electric and Pacific Type Steam Loco-
motive Conpled Togetlier. Flgmres Show Approximate Stresses in Pounds.

separate wheel of a locomotive or car
on each of the two rails.

We are indebted to the Railway
Age for the following particulars:

These otheograph ties may be in-
stalled in place of the regular ties,
either singly or several grouped to-
gether on curves or tangent track.
Provision is made for the use of two
different springs for recording the
vertical load, one having a deflection

wheel on each side of the locomotive
as there are ties that are grouped
together.

Genera; View of the Otheograph Tie.

of about % in. for each 25,000 lb. of
axle loading, and the other spring
having the same deflection for each
50,000 lb. of axle loading. The

Suggestions for Ditch Blasters

Some helpful hints for blasting
ditches with dynamite are given in a
recent issue of The Du Pont Maga-
zine, from which we quote the follow-
ing:

Creditable work calls for careful
preparation. Particularly is this true
of ditch-blasting by the propagation
method. If you would blast a straight,
trim, clean-cut ditch, make sure the
ditch line is straight at the outset,
space the holes uniformly, punch
them to an approximately uniform
depth, grade considered, and load ac-
cordingly. Unless there is a varia-
tion in the character or moisture con-
tent of the soil, unless rocks, stumps
or other obstructions are encountered
which necessitate special preparation,
uniform loading can usually be relied
upon to give uniform results.

A stout cord — stretched taut be-
tween wooden stakes along the ditch
line and parallel to grade — is a de-
pendable guide for keeping the holes
in alignment. And one of the best

836

Railways

October

ways to have the holes spaced regu-
larly is to crimp double-pointed copper
rivets to the cord at required inter-
vals, so that when the cord is in posi-
tion each rivet will show where a hole
is to be punched.

Of course, if the ditch line is com-
paratively short, the practice of fas-
tening the rivets on the cord is hardly
warranted; but if it is proposed to
blast a ditch several hundred yards
long, the time required to prepare the
cord in this manner is usually well in-
vested. For ditches of short length,
many professional blasters merely use
a stick of wood cut to the desired
length for regulating the space be-
tween holes.

Wooden punch-bars, gradually tap-
ering to a point, and of a diameter
large enough to admit a 1^/4 in. car-
tridge, have been found most satis-
factory for making holes in soft
ground. In hard ground steel bars are
necessary.

After the holes are punched it is im-
portant that the dynamite charges be
forced down into the ground an even
distance from the cord. This is easily
done by the simple expedient of cut-
ting a notch on the tamping stick as a
guide in pushing the charge in place.
■ It is good practice to pour a little
water in the holes, if no water is en-
countered, in order to punch them
more easily. After loading, it is a
good plan to fill the holes with water
to act as tamping and also to assist
propagation.

Autobusses in Holland

A large increase has developed in
autobus line in Holland in the past
few months, Consul General George E,
Anderson informs the U. S. Depart-
ment of Commerce. The entire coun-
try has been covered with a network
of lines which includes not only in-
terurban services but intraurban, in
competition with local tram lines. The
movement is having a marked effect
on railway business earnings in the
suburban and interurban business and
now has begun to effect intra-mural
street car revenues. The development
is greatest in the vicinity of Rotter-
dam, Amsterdam, and the Hague, but
is becoming important in and around
Utrecht, Delft, Leiden, Arnheim, and
in the far north at Groningen. In
Rotterdam a total of 39 licenses to es-
tablish and maintain municipal bus
services have been granted, 22 for

service entirely inside the city limits
and 17 for urban, suburban, and in-
terurban services. The licenses cover
47 city lines, and 58 outside the city.
Not all the licences have begun opera-
tions, but about 90 per cent of the en-
terprises are actively operating. The
suburban and interurban run in all di-
rections from the city and connect
every town of any consequence within
a radius of 17 kilometers with the
center of Rotterdam city. The long-
est run is to the famous bulb fields
northeast of the city and is intended
to facilitate the flower industry. It
costs 48 cts. to ride from the flower
fields to the central market of Rotter-
dam. In the city services have been
established on all the principal routes
in most cases supplementing the tram
car services but in some instances di-
rectly competing with them. The cars
used range from ordinary automobiles
to big German busses holding 26 pas-
sengers. Most of the busses are of
American make, or American chassis
with local bodies.

Comparison of Cost of Bus Opera-
tion with Electric Car Operation

The following information on this
subject was given in the report of the
Committee on Bus Operation pre-
sented Oct. 10 at annual convention of
the American Electric Railway Asso-
ciation: The most important factor to
bear in mind in comparing the cost of
bus operation with that of electric car
operation is that by reason of the
smaller seating capacity of the bus,
the cost per passenger is considerably
higher than for electric car operation.
The average cost per bus mile, includ-
ing taxes and estimated depreciation,
based on the figures furnished to the
committee is 24.6 cts. As no results
from the operation of double-deck
buses are included in these figures, it
is fair to assume the average seating
capacity per bus to be 25. On this
basis, the cost per seat mile of bus
operation is 0.98 cts. Data obtained
from 10 companies operationg one-
man trolley cars, exclusively, shows
an average cost per car mile of 25.7
cts. including depreciation, actually
charged, based upon the estimated
life of the equipment and taxes. The
cars of these companies have an aver-
age seating capacity of 42, resulting
in a cost per seat mile of 0.61 cts.
These figures, however, do not include
a return on the value of the property.

Buildings

i')

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING
Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago
HAI.BEBT P. Gii-LBTTB, President and Editor
Lewis S. Locbb, Viee-Preeident and General Manager
New York Office: 904 Longacre BIdg.. 42d St. and Broadway
RiCHAKD E. Brown, Eastern Manager

The specialized publishing plan of Engineering and Contracting provides
four rotating monthly magazines, each of which is ?! a year. All four
may be subscribed for at |4 a year, and thus taken they provide a weekly
service completely covering the construction field.

Roads and Streets — 1st Wednesday, $1

(a) Road Con- (c) Streets

(d) Street clean-

stmctlon
(b) Road Main-
tenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday, $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and Sanitation
Drainage (d) Waterways

Railways — 3rd Wednesday, $1

(a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-

way Constmc- way Construc-

tion tion and

Maintenance Maintenance

Buildings — ttb Wednesday, SI

(a) Buildings (d) MiscellaneooB

(b) Bridges Stmetnres

Copyrigbt, 1823, by the Engineering and Contracting Pnblishing Company

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., OCTOBER 24, 1923

No. 4

The "Ready-Cut"
House

The purchaser of an>i;hing from a
novie ticket to a railroad seeks the
-ireatest possible value for his money.
This "greatest value," however, is sel-
aom a simple thing. One's favorite
movie star, for instance, may be show-
ing at a theater which is conveniently
located but where the music is notori-
ously poor and in a play in which one
has no great interest. At another
theater the merits and demerits may
be reversed; and if one has decided
upon an evening's entertainment of
lis sort he will select that perform-
ice which, all things considered, he
elieves will give him the greatest net
itisfaction.

So it is with all things, and no-
where more so than in acquiring a
lome. From cottage to palace the
Guilder balances and compromises his
Jesires to get the most for his money.
"7ith a host of qualities including
jace, convenience, durability and at-
ctiveness he wants also individual-

ity. But individuality, like other
qualities, is largely a matter of de-
gree; and unless his means be great
he is likely to have to sacrifice some
of it which he would wish to keep.

The ready-cut house is popularly
supposed to lack individuality, but
the fact is that the better "ready-
cuts" are not more stereotyped than
are many houses built from materials
cut on the job ; while they are distinct-
ly better looking than thousands of
indi\idual designs whose makers and
purchasers would resent any criticism
of their artistic merits.

We do not deny the desirability of
an original design for every home
builder. Plate glass and hardwood
floors throughout are also obNiously
desirable, but the majority of builders
in conforming their requirements to
their means, dispense vnth them. The
sacrifice of a measure of individuality
through the use of ready-cut ma-
terials must be treated as are other
necessary sacrifices, and with due con-
sideration of the . advantages made
possible in other features by the sav-
ings effected in this one.

838

Buildings

October

There is a great difference in the
saving of an architect's fee through
the use of publisher plans, and the
saving to be derived from the system
here considered. The former, at best,
is but a part of the latter; and very
often the owner's effort to supply the
architect's services of organization
and supervision wastes more than was
saved on the cost of preparing plans.
The ready-cut system raises the
savings to a worth-while scale, and
also makes it easier to dispense with
an architect's supervision.

Elsewhere in this issue we pub-
lish an illustrated account of a system
of ready-cut buildings of attractive,
modem design, and containing im-
provements over certain earlier sys-
tem in the matter of work plans and
the indexing and sorting of materials.
Such systems with their conspicuous
savings in "waste" material will un-
doubtedly find an increasing use as
timber grows scarcer and more costly.

Some Advances in Structural
Designing Practice

Editorial in The Canadian Engineer.

In the revision of the tentative
standard specification of the Ameri-
can Institute of Steel Construction
for the design, fabrication arid erec-
tion of structural steel for buildings,
some important changes were made.
It was desired by the Institute to
make the new specifications thor-
oughly up-to-date in every particular
and as economical of material as
sound theory and thorough experi-
mental investigation would warrant.
The result is that the final document,
which has now received a very large
distribution, may be considered to rep-
resent the most recent word on struc-
tural steel practice as viewed from the
manufacturers' and fabricators' angle.

One important point upon which
new ground has been broken is the
question of wind stresses in buildings.
Whereas in other specifications it is
stated that the building as completed
must be capable of withstanding a
specified applied wind load, in the
specification under consideration it is
provided that the steel frame itself
must be proportioned to carry a wind
pressure of not less than 20 lb. per
sq. ft. on the vertical projection of
exposed services during erection and
15 lb. per sq. ft. on the vertical pro-
jection of the finished structure.
Heretofore, it has been the practice of

engineers to make some kind of esti-
mate as to how much of the wind
force was absorbed by walls and par-
titions and by the general inertia of
the structure itself. The result has
been a wide difference in practice as
to the amount of wind force to be
provided for in the frame. With the
new specification, however, this will
become a perfectly determinate mat-
ter and designers under it would al-
ways provide for the same amount of
wind force- for a given building.
Whether the frame is being propor-
tioned for a suflSciently large percent-
age of the total probable external
wind force may perhaps be questioned
by some engineers. In a situation
where a force of 30 lb. per sq. ft.
might conceivably exist, the present
specification would in effect leave one-
half of this wind force to be absorbed
by walls, partitions and general ri-
gidity. However, if 20 lb. per sq. ft. is
a reasonable amount, then only one-
quarter of the applied force would be
left to be absorbed by other agencies
than the frame members themselves.
However, the principle adopted by the
framers of the specification is a good
one and doubtless it will establish a
precedent which will be felt in subse-
quent specifications.

Tests carried out under the auspices
of the Institute on both rolled beams
and plate girders have been basis for
a considerable increase in allowable
web shear as compared with the first
draft of the specification. The per-
missible stresses now allowed are
higher than have heretofore been
sanctioned by any of the common au-
thorities. They agree with tests
which were conducted previously to
those of the Institute only in the case
of girders with large ratios of depth
in thickness. The stresses allowed
under the new specification are two or
three times greater than those allowed
by the well-known Cambria web-
crippling formula. However, the com-
mittee framing the specification feels
that its investigations warrant the
new formula and the consequence is
that there will be a substantial light-
ening of webs brought about if this
specification becomes generally cur-
rent.

In accordance with the observations
made in recent years by structural
engineers with respect to the satis-
factory behavior of bolts in steel
work, the specification has been
amended to provide for the use of

lyza

Duuamgs

bolts in secondary parts of structures
and in small structures such as shel-
ters and the like for which the stresses
are not important. The Canadian En-
gineer has on previous occasions ad-
vocated the greater use of bolts in
relatively unimportant work and it is
gratifying to find that in an impor-
tant new specification is moving in
this direction.

Applications for Space at Chi-
cago Road Show Must Be
In by Oct. 27

Applications for space at the Road
Show to be held by the American
Road Builders' Association in Chicago
Jan. 14th to 18th, 1924, have been
coming in in even greater volume than
was the case a year ago. Allotment
for this space will be made on Nov.
1st, and prospective exhibitors who
wish their applications to be consid-
ered at this time must have them in
the hands of Charles M. Upham, Con-
vention and Show Manager, American
Road Builders' Association, Raleigh,
X. C, not later than Oct. 27th. The
application blanks were sent out some
time ago, but additonal blanks may be
obtained by writing to Mr. Upham.

The meeting in Chicago on Nov. 1st
at which the space will be allotted will
be confined to the members of the Ex-
ecutive Committee of the American
Road Builders' Association, the Exec-
utive Committee and representatives
of the Highway Industries Exhibitors'
Association and the Advisory Commit-
tee of the Exhibitors' Committee. On
account of the large number of appli-
cations and the limited space avail-
able, it has been found necessary to
restrict the attendance at this meeting
to the committees named above.

lew Micrometer for Accurate
Measurements

L micrometer of extraordinary ac-
acy has been constructed by the
u. S. Bureau of Standards for deter-
mining the diameter of some 12-in.
! porcelain cylinders to be used in elec-
I trical measurements. Measurements
I made with the new instrument are
i independent of the observer and have
j an accuracy of 0.0001 of an inch. In
I order to obtain this degree of accu-
racy, it is necessary to operate the
I micrometer from a distance and to
take readings from it through a tele-

scope so that the heat of the observ-
er's body will not warp the thick iron
ring enough to cause an error. Both
the instrument and the cylinder which
it is employed to measure must be kept
in a constant-temperature box during
the measurement. The micrometer
consists of a cast iron ring large
enough to pass easily over the 12-in.
cylinders. On opposite sides are the
micrometer screw and adjustable lugs
for centering the device on the cyl-
inder. The micrometer screw is driv-
en by a tiny electric motor and the
ring with its attachment, including
the motor, is suspended by three light
rods and can move freely for a short
distance.

In making a measurement the mi-
crometer screw is revolved by the mo-
tor through a train of gears, the mo-
tion of the screw pushes the cylinder
against the contact pin and when this
contact is made, the motor circuit is
broken thus stopping the screw. The
cylinders which are to be measured
will be wound with wire on a precision
lathe and will form inductance coils
of very accurate construction, the in-
ductance of which can be calculated
from the dimensions. They will be
used for research work in a program
for standardizing all of the electrical
units in terms of the fundamental
standards of length, mass, and time.

Effect of Spacers on the Bonding
Strengrth of Masonry

Spacers are sometimes used between
the stones in masonry construction to
insure joints between courses of uni-
form thickness. One of the materials
used for this purpose is sheet lead
cut into small squares or octagon
shapes. Wood is also occasionally
employed. In practice these spacers
are placed on top of each course be-
fore the mortar is spread, and the
question has arisen as to whether this
affects the bonding strength of the
mortar. In order to obtain informa-
tion on this point, the U. S. Bureau
of Standards has conducted some pre-
liminary tests, using limestone bonded
together with a natural cement and
with lead buttons and wood spacers.
The results thus far obtained indicate
that these spacers seriously interfere
with the bonding of the cement. This
is probably due to the fact that the
spacers hold the stones apart so that
the mortar in setting shrinks away
from the stone.

840

Buildings

October

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1923

Butldmgs

841

842

Buildings

October

Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices

An "index number" is really a per- In previous issues it has been stated
oentage, and in the case of an "index that the inde^c of building materials
price" shows the relative price level did not include steel. This is in error,
at different timts. In the accompany- as the revised index is a weighted
ing table the price level, or "index average of the principal building ma-
price," is 100 for the year 1913; and terials including steel and certain
the indexes for other periods are those other metals. All figures given in
calculated by the U, S. Department of this table are in accordance with the

Labor.

B4 a

1911 100

1914 103

1915 104

January 104

July 104

October 106

19H 123

January 110

ApHl 118

July 117

October 130

1917 190

January 152

April 184

July 196

October 207

1918 218

January 211

April 213

July 217

October 226

1919 231

January 224

April 230

July 241

October 227

1920 218

January 247

April 243

July 233

October 187

1921 124

January 143

April 117

May 118

June 114

July 119

August 123

S<>ptember 124

October 124

November 121

December 1 20

1922 133

January 122

February 131

March 130

April 129

May 182

June 131

July 135

August 131

Sepi».mber 133

Octoh.-r 138

November 143

Dt-cf-mber 146

1923—

January 143

Feliruary 142

Mnrch 143

Anril 141

May 189

June 18S

July 185

Auinut 189

September 144

SE0

100

102

105

106

104

106

102

101

105

121

127

126

162

109

110

111

133

114

118

120

164

117

126

1X1

158

134

137

128

164

167

175

169

231

149

158

171

198

164

230

169

181

176

292

180

186

163

207

188

228

170

187

182

201

164

183

181

220

166

184

186

238

176

189

198

246

176

192

207

253

181

162

203

220

178

175

205

177

153

210

262

181

160

205

291

189

162

220

295

241

192

231

339

194

175

238

336

231

203

238

300

259

202

201

246

280

191

144

180

199

129

162

196

247

153

144

176

206

138

139

173

200

138

137

172

191

133

141

172

186

124

146

171

184

117

142

178

181

116

140

180

189

116

139

180

197

114

136

180

199

113

139

180

220

122

131

176

195

112

135

174

191

110

137

172

191

109

137

171

194

118

138

176

216

119

140

179

225

120

142

180

264

121

138

181

271

126

188

183

244

134

140

188

226

l.U

143

192

218

133

144

194

216

131

141
141
143
144
144
142
141
142
147

196
1<»«
?ni
205
201
198
198
198
202

818

212
206
200
190
186
188
178
176

revised calculation.

•cfe E«

&B 6S

100 100

92 101

94 184

88 108

94 130

98 151

120 181

110 84

120 200

120 175

124 164

167 202
138 173
165 186

168 205
156 231
172 216
161 223

169 228
177 209
177 211

201 169
176 181
169 160
209 167
229 173
264 200
274 189
300 210
269 212
240 198
165 136
192 163

167 185

165 134
l(t3 133
160 129
136 129

166 131

159 131

168 129
158 127

169 124

167 124

166 128
165 125
156 124

160 122

167 122

170 121
172 122
180 124
188 124
185 127

185 130

188 181

192 132

108 1SR

204 ia«

202 184
194 181
190 128

186 127
182 128

138
139
149
154
152
148
145
146
144

« ts

■•-

c£
tCc

100

100
99

100

106

103

104

107

109

126

118

121

129

181

163

137

144

169

164

184

167

183

194

254

239

242

275

271

195

217

216

209

196

180

179

180

178

176

178

177

175

176

178

173

176

179

182

184
184
1«S
187
187
187
187
188
188

100
96
9S

99
94

93
121
110
110
120
132
148
149
163
163
142
156
146
152
169
163
176
166
160
177
187
196
194
206
203
188
128
154
130
126
125
123
119
118
118
119
121
117
117
117
117
116
116
114
114
115
116
120
122
122

124
126
1?7
126
125
128
121
120
121

100
98
1«1
98
100
102
127

lis

121
12S
136

168
173
188
18S
194
1S4
190
196
202
206
199
199
212
211
226
238
246
241
211
147
170
148
146
142
141
142
141
142
141
140
149
138
141
142
143
148
160
156
156
153
164
156
166

166

167
1M
1K9
156
168
161
160
164

1923

Buildings

843

Fundamentals of Cold Weather Concreting

Methods for Winter Work Described in Booklet of Portland
Cement Association

Since warmth and moisture are re-
quired for the proper hardening of
concrete, cold weather work should
be planned with those necessities in
view. Both the mixing water and the
aggregates should be heated. The ce-
ment forms but a small portion of the
concrete and need not be heated, but
it is well to keep it in a warm place
for a few hours before it is used.

Heating Materials. — The nearer the
temperature of the water is to the
boiling point the better will be the re-

piled, and in which a fire can be built.
Care must be taken to heat the fine
and coarse aggregates separately in
order to avoid pre-mixing them in
wrong proportions. As this method
entails rehandling the aggregate, and
as the aggregates nearest the heater
may be affected by excessive heat, the
use of steam pipes is generally pro-
ferred.

Steam heating is a more expensive
method and requires a steam boiler,
but on large jobs this method is

^■le 14-Story Reinforced Concrete Structtiral Frame Was Built in the Winter of 1922-1923. at the
^H Rate of One Story in Less Than One Week. By Keeping Plve Stories Inclosed at One
^H Time the Newly Placed Concrete Was Kept Warm for About Four Weeks.

-suits because it will take longer to
dissipate the heat and cool the mix-
ture. There are several types of water
heaters that can be used, but the most
common method of heating is to pass
steam into the water tank. The con-
crete should be mixed with the least
I amount of water practicable to pro-
! duce a workable, plastic mixture. An
I excess of water must be carefully
,i njavoided.

■^■Many methods are used for heating

■■Bgregates. A simple method is to

' *Tise a length of iron pipe, an old boiler,

I or any metal cylinder over which the

j'and, broken stone, or pebbles can be

usually advantageous because the
steam may also be used for other pur-
poses. A practical method is to use a
perforated steam pipe with a pointed
end which can be worked into the piles
of aggregates. To reduce loss of heat
the piles of aggregates should be cov-
ered with tarpaulins.

If the materials are heated as above
outlined, and the concrete is deposited
immediately after mixing, its temper-
ature when placed in the forms will be
around 80° F. and if care is taken to
prevent too rapid loss of this con-
tained heat, the concrete will harden
properly. The early stages of harden-

844

Buildings

October

ing may be even more rapid than un-
der ordinary conditions.

Heating the Forms. — The forms
must be free from snow, ice and frost,
and should also, if possible, be reason-
ably warm, especially in the case of
metal forms, which will absorb heat
from the concrete rapidly. Live steam
is an effective agent for cleaning ice

Carinas Coverings

l.ffnor cofumn.

Ci'oss-scclion of Buiiding Under Construction
During Winter Weather and Showing the
Placing of Salamanders and Canvas
Covering.

and snow from the forms, and warm-
ing them. It should be used just be-
fore the concrete is placed.

Protection and Supplying Heat
While Hardening. — A rapid loss of
contained heat must be prevented.
Protect the concrete while hardening
so as to maintain the warm, moist con-
dition essential for the rapid develop-
ment of strength. There are many
methods of doing this: the most com-
mon is an enclosure of canvas or tar-
paulins. In mild weather this alone
may be sufficient, but when the tem-
perature drops below the freezing
point, some means should be provided
for heating the enclosure. Steam es-
caping from perforated steam pipes
around the concrete will give the best
results, because the steam saturates
the air and prevents evaporation of
moisture from the concrete.

Coke salamanders or stoves are
often used when steam is not avail-
able to supply warmth to the enclo-
sure, but large pans of water should
be placed over them in order to pro-
vide as much moisture in the air as
possible. Care should be taken not to
have these stoves or salamanders so
close to the concrete as to dry it out
in spots. An even temperature of at

least 60° F. should be maintained at
all times in all parts of the enclosure.
To maintain this temperature within a
properly housed enclosure during cold
weather, with good coke properly han-
dled, one salamander will be required
for every 300 to 500 sq. ft. of floor
area.

The most common practice is to
build inclosures of tarpaulins, over-
lapped so as to prevent rapid escape
of heat, about two stories being in-
closed at one time. Undoubtedly a
better method was the one followed in
the winter of 1922-1923 in the con-
struction of the Keenan Hotel, a 14-
story reinforced concrete building in
Fort Wayne, Ind. As shown in the
illustration, five stories were inclosed
at one time. This prolonged the
length of time during which freshly
placed concrete was kept warm and

• i

Canvas Envelope Protection for Concrete

Chimney. Interior Was Kept Warm by

Salamander at Base of Chimney.

resulted in complete hardening before
the protection was removed.

A more substantial form of protec-
tion is the complete wooden inclosure
shown in our illustration of the Rob-
ertson-Cataract Electric Company

1923

Buildings

845

.aiding. The Majestic Building in
vlilwaukee, as the illustration shows,
was built under a complete inclosure
of tarpaulins supported on frame-
work. Complete inclosures necessarily
cost more than temporary ones that
protect only a few stories at a time.

frozen over. The cold weather, in fact,
eliminated trouble from running water
and actually speeded up the progress
of the work. Fires were kept going in
stoves with smoke outlets extending
through the top of the tent. During
the placing of concrete a heavy snow

Protection for Bridge Constructed at Waterloo, la., During Winter of 1921.
Rail Are Protected by Use of Manure.

Arch Ring and Hand

Their great advantage, however, con-
sists in the fact that they protect the
workmen of all trades and speed up
the work from beginning to end. Fur-
thermore, when once built they re-
quire no shifting.
The complete inclosure idea was

storm, followed by severe cold that
lasted several days, tested the effec-
tiveness of the tent. The protection
proved equal to the emergency.

For retaining walls and similar
structures a light roofing paper en-
velope placed outside the forms with

Protection for 48-Apartment Building in Milwaukee.

Dllowed in the construction of the
iree-span reinforced concrete arch
idge over the Little Goose River, in
Wyoming. A large tent covered the
entire bridge site and permitted con-
struction during severe winter wea-
ther when the stream was solidly

steam pipes at the bottom has proved
satisfactory.

Protective Coverings. — When it is
warm during the day with a tempera-
ture drop close to the freezing point
at night, floors, pavements and foun-
dations are often protected by cover-

846

Build' ngs

October

ing with straw, hay or other material
with satisfactory results, but such
covering should not be relied upon
during protracted low temperature.

Even though the outdoor tempera-
ture may not drop to freezing, protec-
tion is necessary to prevent the con-
crete from losing the heat introduced
by heating the materials, and insure
proper hardening. At low tempera-
tures the heat developed by the chem-
ical reaction of the cement and water
is too small to be safely relied upon
except in large masses underground.
Even in those cases the materials
should be heated and the surface pro-
tected.

Thin structural members and floors
have such a large surface area in pro-

many places must be removed and re-
placed. Work of this kind should be
protected with canvas, supported
slightly above the surface, and with
live steam forced under the canvas.
The steam has the excellent character-
istic of providing both heat and mois-
ture, both essential in obtaining the
best results in the hardening of con-
crete.

Use of Salt or Calcium Chloride. —

The practice of adding "anti-freezing"
compounds such as sodium chloride
(common salt) or calcium chloride
solutions to the concrete mixture is
not generally recommended. Under
no circumstances should they be de-
pended upon to prevent freezing be-
low 22° F., and they should never be

Complete Inclosure of Robertson-Cataract Electric BuUdingr, Milwaukee.

portion to their size that the heat
within the concrete is dissipated rap-
idly, and therefore protection must be
provided. Recent inspection of several
concrete floors placed during the win-
ter of 1922-1923 disclosed the fact
that the top surface was inadequately
protected after being placed. On one
floor in particular it is known that the
top surface was placed during cold
weather and no protection whatever
was provided. It was permitted to
freeze almost immediately after it
was placed, and it is probable that it
froze and thawed several times before
it hardened. The result was an un-
satisfactory wearing course which in

considered substitutes for protectio:
and heating.

Calcium chloride in quantity not ex-
ceeding 4 per cent, by weight, of the
mixing water is a better anti-freezing
agent than common salt. It acceler-
ates the hardening of concrete to some
extent, while salt retards hardening.
Salt has a tendency to corrode rein-
forcing steel, and may cause efflor-
escence, which is unsightly on exposed
surfaces.

Even if anti-freezing solutions are
used, the aggregates and mixing
water should be heated to remove ice
or frost.

1928

Buildings

847

Application of Load. — Too early re-
moval of forms is always to be
guarded against even during con-
struction in favorable weather, and
great caution should be observed in
placing loads upon cold weather con-
crete. Especially is this true of walls,
roofs and floors above ground, which
cairy loads other than their own
weight.

Before removing forms the concrete
should be examined to see that it has
properly hardened and not frozen. A
reliable test is to apply heat to the
surface by means of a blow torch or a
jet of hot water or steam against it.

the free water with which they are
filled. The wood may be redried with-
out collapse if the cells are restored to
their former shape by remoistening
without pemitting them to fill with
water again. This treatment can be
accomplished with loose shingles in 2
days, but it is less practicable to do it
in the bundle on account of the long
time required.

The treatment in general is as fol-
lows. The shingles are laid flat in the
kiln on suitable racks in separate lay-
ers. Live steam is injected at boiler
pressure through perforated pipes to
produce a high circulation, and the air

Complete Inclosnre for Addition to Majestic Bnilding, Milwaukee.

February, 1923.

View Taken in

Frozen concrete will be disclosed by
softening as it thaws out, but if prop-
erly hardened, the concrete will be un-
Tected by the application of heat.

temoveJ of Collapse in Western
Red Cedar Shingles

The development at the U. S. For-

Bt Products Laboratory of a kiln

reatment by which collapsed or badly

rimped shingles of coastal grown

western red cedar can be restored to

usable condition indicates that the

ilvaging of both collapsed singles

id boards of this species may be

>mmercially feasible.

It was found that the crimp which

icurs in drying excessively wet wood

of western red cedar and a number of

other woods is due to a collapse of

the wood cells caused by removal of

is held in a saturated condition at
180° F. for 20 hours, after which the
temperature is increased to 190 or
200° for 3 or 4 hours. Following this
the free steam is shut off, the heating
coils are turned on, and the shingles
are dried at a temperature of 160° and
35 to 25 per cent humidity. Less than
24 hours should suffice for thorough
drying. Because of the need for a
positive circulation in drying, either a
water-spray or a blower lain is de-
sirable.

Occasional shingles fail to respond
to the treatment, when the fibers have
become crushed beyond recovery.

Although tests with a nail A-in. in
diameter showed a slight increase in
brittleness in the restored shingles,
this defect was not evident when shin-
gle nails were driven.

848

Buildings

October

Placing a 68-Ton Girder

Putting one of the 68 ton (67.85
ton exact) girders, one of the three
largest ever used in building construc-
tion in Chicago, in place on the fifth
floor of The Straus Building on Michi-
gan Ave. at Jackson Blvd., was ac-
complished in record time. The
girder, 55 ft. long and standing 11%
ft. high, was raised 50 ft. and set into
place in five minutes. The load was
divided evenly between one of the reg-
ular derricks, 123 ft. high with a boom

This girder and another of like size
not only carry their share of the load
of the 22 story main shaft of the build-
ing but also the center load of the 10
story tower structure.

Tests of Hollow Tile Walls

The U. S. Bureau of Standards has
just published the results of 32 tests
on walls of hollow tile. These walls
were 4 ft. long by 12 ft. high, and
were 6, 8 and 12 in. thick, represent-

Placing 68 Ton Girder in 5th Floor of Straus Building, Chicago.

110 ft. long and a special gin pole
made of 20 in. square Norway pine
timber, 50 ft. in length. Two 100 h.p.
hoists furnished the power, together
with an extremely simple rigging.

The special gin pole rigging con-
sisted of a set of four sheave blocks
rove up with wire cable so that the
gin pole could be boomed up the same
as the regular derrick, carrying the
other half of the load. Six ordinary
1% in. lines rove up in 16 in. wood
blocks were used as guy lines on the
gin pole.

ing the outer wall of a house. Among
other results, these tests showed that
a wall with the hollow spaces or cells
of the tile set vertically is nearly
twice as strong as one in which the
cells are placed horizontally. These
tests are described and the results
given in Technologic Paper No. 238
of the Bureau of Standards, entitled
"Some Tests of Hollow Tile Walls."
Copies may be obtained from the Su-
perintendent of Documents, Govern-
ment Printing Office, Washington,
n, G. The price is 5 ct. cash.

1923

Buildings

Safe Practices on Construction Work

849

Elxtracts from a Pamphlet Prepared by the National Safety Council.

The Complete Pamphlet Will Be an Appendix to the Safety Code

for Construction Work Now in Process of Formation Under

the Genered Auspices of the American Engrineerinsr

Standards Committee emd the Direct Sponsorship

of the National Safety Council.

fSuperintendents and foremen
iould feel their responsibility for
sventing accidents. It is their duty
see that tools, equipment, and ma-
terials used are in good condition.
I

Instruct your men to report all ac-
sidents no matter how trivial. Minor
injuries neglected produce most of the
infection cases.

See that equipment is in first class

48" J

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I 'A'

— I '

I 'A

-■*-•

- - "^

4A.-

A Well-Desigm«d Horse.

Courtesy Travelers Insurance Co.

Jse judgment in assigning men to
certain work and be sure they are
;>able.

^ ^all attention of men to any dan-
_erous conditions so they can be on
lookout.

Post conspicuous signs warning the
public to keep out.

Post danger signs where necessary,
"ation watchmen where necessary.
See that accident reports are prop-
erly filled out.

working condition before being sent
from yard to- job, or from one job to
another. Inspect frequently while on
job. Have all gears, belts, and other
moving parts well guarded.

Wrecking.

Erect overhead protection sheds,
guardrails, and fences to protect the
public and workmen, with warning
signs for public. Place red lights at
night. See that all gas, electricity
and water are shut off from the build-

850

Buildings

October

ing. Remove glazed sash from win-
dows at the start of operations. Use
enclosed chutes to convey material
from upper floors, with baffles if run
exceeds two floors, and heavy
weighted canvas at mouth to prevent
material bounding out of trucks.
Danger sign should be placed at the
discharge end of every chute.

Timbers, steel beams and other
heavy or bulky material should be
lowered — not thrown. If necessary to
throw material out of building post
watchmen. Never allow sections of
walls to fall in mass on floors. Re-
move walls part by part; if thin or
weak, erect staging for men to work
on. Chimneys and walls generally

ing on below; protect men removing
material.

Use of Oxy-acetylene Cutting
Flame. — The use of acetylene flame
for cutting steel beams should be in
the hands of an experienced man who
understands the process. Avoid cut-
ting off important members which
support parts of building still stand-
ing. Beams to be cut should first be
properly secured by cables or chains.
Avoid being caught in the swing of
the beam after it is cut off. Require
operators to wear goggles with special
colored glass conforming to U. S. Bu-
reau of Standards Goggle Code.
Acetylene gas is poisonous even when
diluted with air; take care not to in-

Courtesy Wisconsin Industrial Commission ^
A Safe Bracket for Carpenters' Scaffold.

should not be pulled down as a whole.
Walls and chimneys should not be left
in such condition that they may be
overturned by wind, built-in beams, or
other force.

Do not allow material to accumu-
late on a floor so as to overload it.
Scaffolds used on walls should be self-
supporting, especially on a burned
building. Exercise special care in
cases where beams are embedded in
party walls. Do not allow boards hav-
ing nails in them to accumulate on
floors or ground. Heavy soled shoes
should be worn, to guard against in-
jury from nails. Heavy gloves are a
great protection from nails, slivers,
and bruises. Avoid eye injuries from
flying pieces, dirt, and dust, by weai--
ing goggles. Place screens to prevent
flying pieces from injuring fellow
workmen. Use water to reduce dust
when tearing down plaster or brick-
work. Have no unnecessary work go-

hale it. Permit no combustible ma-
terial near acetylene torch. Handle
oxygen tanks with care; do not drop
them, nor expose to direct rays of sun
nor to any high temperature.

Hoists and Derricks '

Towers. — Construct towers of sound
material, and ample strength for the
loads intended. Use only experienced
men in the erection and taking down
of towers. Towers and all parts there-
of should be regularly and frequently
inspected. Important members of
towers should be bolted rather than
spiked or lashed. A substantial lad-
der, securely fastened, should extend
the entire height of tower. Provide
substantial platform with railing and
toe board at each working level. See
that towers are properly guyed and
well anchored. Do not attach guys to
freshly poured concrete or other in-
secure parts of new work. There

1923

Buildings

851

should be a set of guys every 40 ft.
In building tower, provide temporary
guy lines near top of second length of
uprights. In public streets keep guys
high enough to clear persons and

side, and all openings to floors should
be specially protected.

Platform Elevators. — Post danger
signs on elevators forbidding anyone
to ride, and strictly enforce this rule.

J^naer r^x.\}

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Courtesy Aberthaw Co.
Typical Grood Construction of Temporary Stair Tower.

icks. Bottom of tower should be

;reened or planked in on as many

sides as possible. If tower is close to

occupied building, screen should run

'entire height of tower on building

Engineers who allow riding must be
discharged. Platform of elevator
should be strongly built, with toe-
boards on unused sides, and roof of
2 in. plank. Platform should be of

852

Buildings

October

sufficient size so wheelbarrow handles
will not project over the edge; nail
stop cleats on platform for wheelbar-
row. If elevator is located inside the
building the opening at each floor
should be guarded with bar gate or
railing. It is best to place these 2 ft.
away from opening. Where elevator
runs to the basement only occasion-
ally, special attention should be given
to guards to prevent men from walk-
ing underneath.

Bucket Hoists. — The pit should be
well drained and arranged so that any
spill will fall below the blocking in
which the bucket rests while being
filled. Never allow men in the pit to
work without first resting the bucket
on timbers placed across opening and
resting on solid supports on two sides
of the pit.

Engineer. — Engineer should be noti-
fied before men go up ladder, or be-
fore any work is done on any part of
the hoist, machinery, or in the pit. In
changing shifts engineer should ad-
vise next operator as to any defect.
During winter months housing should
be erected to protect engineers from
the cold — an engineer with numb
hands cannot properly control his
throttle and brakes. Exhaust steam
pipes should discharge so as not to
obstruct engineer's view. Where the
hoist engine is placed close to the
building the engineer and helpers
should be protected against falling
material by 2 in. plank roof.

Hoist Engine. — Inspect frequently
and take special care to see that
brakes, operating levers, and gears
are in proper working condition. Do
not let oil get on brake drums. Ex-
posed gears should be guarded. A
dog or pawl should be used to hold the
load when it is to be suspended for
any considerable time; the brake
should not be depended upon for this
purpose. Steam pipes running from
engine to other machinery should be
covered; if placed on ground they
should be boxed or fenced off. Do not
set hoist engine in street if it can be
avoided.

Signals. — Whistle signals for hoist-
ing are dangerous; they may be con-
fused with other noises. Hand sig-
nals are satisfactory where the engi-
neer can always see the signal man.
A bell at engine, operated by pulling
a wire is satisfactory; use only wire
of ample strength, protected against
fouling by guarding or enclosing in a
pipe where exposed. Electric bells

may sometimes be used to advantage.
It is advisable to mark the cable to
indicate the position of hoist at every
landing.

Electric Motors. — Let only experi-
enced men operate or repair electric
motors. Care must be taken to avoid
shocks and bums. Use enclosed
switches and fuses and have switch-
boards railed off.

Cables. — Inspect all cables frequent-
ly and replace any that are worn,
frayed, or partially broken. When
cable is received in a coil it should be
rolled out on the ground like a hoop
and straightened out before it is pvit
on the sheaves. If cable is received
on a reel the reel should be mounted
on a spindle or turntable and the cable
properly unwound. Kinking and un-
twisting of the cable should be care-
fully avoided. All cables should be
treated with a proper lubricant free
from acid or alkali to penetrate and
lubricate the inner wires and prevent
rust. Prepared compounds furnished
by cable manufacturers and dealers
are best. Fasten cable to drum by
zinc plugs or suitable clamps, and
leave at least two full turns of cable
on drum at all times. Cable should
be v/ound evenly on drum; a guide
pulley is advisable. Cables should be
guarded at all points where persons
or material might come in contact
with them, such as: cables from en-
gine to hoist; all horizontal cables less
than ten feet above floor; cables over
stairways, over or through passage-
ways and near ladderways. Prevent
chafing where cables run through
floors, or against steel work and other
objects. In attaching cable clamps
have the U over the short end of cable.
Tighten up nuts several times during
operation under load. Use thimbles
at bend of cable.

Ropes. — Use best rope only in hoist-
ing. Rope deteriorates very quickly
if not properly dried out after wet-
ting. Whenever rope has been used
or has become wet and dirty it should
be cleaned and hung up, or laid in
a loose coil so it may dry thoroughly.
Do not throw down in a corner or
cover with other material so air can-
not circulate through coils. Alternate
wetting and drying is more harmful
than being always wet. Rope should
not be allowed to freeze when wet, as
frozen rope usually breaks.

Frozen rope should not be piled
against steam pipes nor close to other
sources of heat which will tend to

1923

Buildings

853

dry out the oil and thus destroy the
life of the fibre. Avoid kinldng, as
this is one of the main causes of in-
jury to manila rope; kinking is more
liable to occur when the rope is wet.
To prevent kinks in new rope while
uncoiling, lay the coil on the floor
with the inside end down; then reach
down through the center of the coil
and uncoil from the inside — never

folds, avoid acid by keeping fall line
on outside of scaffold, with free end
coiled in a box or barrel several feet
away from building so rope slopes
away from building. If necessary, the
portion of the rope just above scaf-
fold may be protected by a canvas
shield or sleeve.

Chains. — Chains should be inspected
frequently and with care. Watch for

Derrick Foot. Well Braced.

Courtesy Travelers Insurance Co.

from the outside. Rope should not
be dragged along the ground, over a
rough surface or cross itself. Avoid
sharp bends of rope over an unyield-
ing surface. Do not make a rope fast
on sharp objects or surfaces. Rope
should not be stored in the same place
with acid containers, nor used in loca-
tions where exposed to acid. When
cleaning down buildings from scaf-

small cracks. Chains are less reliable
than rope or cable, as they break
without warning. "Crystallization" is
merely an excuse for breaking of
chains under shock or repeated stress.
The remedy is to avoid shock and over-
loading. Proper heat treatment is
beneficial but it cannot be given sat-
isfactorily in an ordinary shop. If
attempted there, it may result in in-

854

Buildings

October

jury rather than benefit. Do not let
the chain kink. Chains break by kinks
straightening out and dropping the
load a short distance.

Hooks. — Be sure that each hook is
correctly designed to lift the load
without overstraining. Forged steel
hooks are preferable for use in every
case. Hooks which have become bent
should not be used. Do not put too
many parts of lashing into a hook, as
this may open up the hook. Use hooks
that close, if there is danger of catch-
ing an obstruction. Use care so that
fingers or hands will not be caught
betweeh hook and load.

Sheaves. — Use sheaves of largest
practical diameter; inspect frequently
and keep well oiled. Test cast-iron
sheaves and pulleys with a hammer to
detect cracks. Sheaves that have be-
come worn should not be used, as
they injure the cable. Carefully line
up sheaves and drums to avoid wear
on sides and on cable. Blocks de-
signed for manila rope should not be
used for cable because the cable does
not fit the grooves in the sheave.
Blocks should be well anchored, and
guarded if near floor or otherwise ex-
posed.

Derricks. — See that derrick is strong
enough for loads to be lifted; on good
foundation, securely anchored and
braced. Inspect frequently. The top
of the mast should be securely held
in place by no less than six guy wires.
Secure the guys to guy plates by
means, of shackles. When work is
stopped for any length of time, lower
boom to horizontal or raise to ver-
tical, to prevent swinging in the wind
or being meddled with. Special care
should be taken if boom is longer than
mast, and in vertical position, to avoid
pulling off top goose-neck or spider.
Do not depend on cotter pins to hold
the goose-neck or spider in place but
see that strong holding down guys
are installed. Always use double sets
of bolts to fasten back legs of stiff
leg derrick. Always enclose stiff-leg
derrick weights in well constructed
boxes. Inspect and oil sheave and
pulley pins. Oil gudgeon pin and foot
bearing. Use a shackle instead of a
hoisting hook with swinging buckets.
Bucket may strike an obstruction and
be lifted off an ordinary hook. Always
keep hooks closed. See that only ex-
perienced men make the sling hitches
on loads. Slings should be frequently
inspected and not left lying on the
ground. A hold-back line or guide

rope should be used on all loads that
are liable to swing. Do not allow
workmen to ride on loads handled by
derricks or on chain slings.

Breast Derricks. — Gears should be
thoroughly protected. Provide ratchet
stop to hold load. If load is lowered
by hand cranks take care that cranks
do not come off unexpectedly. The
safest way is to drill hole and place
cotter pin through each end of shaft.
Mechanical brakes, however, should be
provided and operator must be sure
that brakes will hold. Before lower-
ing load, remove cranks to prevent
striking someone. Provide front guy
or other means to prevent falling
backward. Breast derricks should be
set on heavy planks.

Slings. — Slings should be provided
as a part of the hoisting equipment,
in charge of an experienced man, who
should see that they are kept in good
condition. Chain slings are dangerous
and should be handled carefully by
experienced men. Wire cable slings
are better than chains or fibre rope.
They must be inspected and oiled.
An endless cable makes a convenient
sling. Ends of rope or cable slings
should be properly spliced to form the
loops, and loops should be lined with
a properly formed sheet metal thimble
to withstand wear. Do not let slings
lie around on the ground or on floors.
On sharp corners use rounded block
or heavy bagging to protect the sling.
When using a multiple rope sling or
a sling with both ends engaged in the
hoisting hook, the sling should be ad-
justed so as to equalize the stress as
well as possible.

Concreting

Spouting. — Build tripods strong and
workmanlike. Spouting should be
well guyed so it can not be blown by
wind or fall on men. Always flush
out spouting at the end of each run
of concrete.

Hoppers. — Hoppers should have
railed platform for men and protec-
tion below to catch spill. Opening
gates should be controlled from above
or from the side.

Runways. — Runways should be sol-
idly built with smooth surface of am-
ple width. Inclined runways should
not be so steep that men will slip.
Where runways are over 12 ft. from
ground they should be railed.

Mixer. — See that all gears of mix-
ers are properly guaded. If an ele-
vating charging hopper is used, oper-
ator must see that men are out of

1923

Buildings

855

anger before hopper is lowered.
Keep niixers clean and do not let
waste material accumulate around
mixer.

Concrete Buggies. — See that handle
buggies does not extend beyond

leels on either side.

Wheel Barrows. — Do not use wheel-
irrovrs wath split handles. See that
Wheels are strong, true running, and
^Well secured onto the frame. Do not
let men run with a wheelbarrow with
the handles in an upright position.
Nail stop cleats on platform of hoist
so that handles will not project over
edge.

Forms. — Protruding nails are the
chief source of accidents on form work
and sometimes result in serious infec-
tion and loss of members. Insist that
workmen report all nail accidents,
even the merest scratch. Heavy soled

moved permaturely. Be sure concrete
is properly set — not frozen. Stripped
lumber should be cleaned and nails
removed; do not let old material lie
around.

Masonry

Brick Work. — Brick basement walls
should be braced sufficiently to with-
stand any load which may be placed
upon them during construction. Do
not backfill against green walls. Do
not allow any load on walls causing
vibration before wall has properly set.
High walls require good bracing to
withstand wind and other pressure.
Guard against overloading of floors
with material. Keep material well
back from outside edges of open floors
and all floor openings. When work-
ing above stair wells, near edges of
floors, or near inside openings, brick-
layers should be cautioned about slip-

Correct Position and Number of Forged Steel Clips for Fastening %-in. Plow Steel Cable.

Four clips, spaced apart a distance equal to six diameters of the cable, with U-bolts all in
contact with short end of cable. If applied properly — neither loose nor too tight — and kept
that way by frequent inspection, tightening from time to time as the cable shrinlis, these
clips will give an efficiency of 75 to 80 percent. Large cables require more clips ; small
cables require fewer.

shoes are a protection. Flying nails
are another source of many accidents.
See that men use hammers with faces
in good condition. Hammers with
corrugated faces are recommended.
Use mud sills under all shoring that
rests on the ground. See that shores
are properly braced. While concret-
ing have one or more carpenters
watching falsework. Workmen in
sawing should not let ends of lumber
drop on floor below. Workmen should
be careful with tools and not permit
hammers, bars, etc., to drop. Avoid
haWng ends of loose plank, boards,
etc., project over edge of floors or
beams, as a workman is liable to fall
if he steps on the end. When old lum-
ber is used it should be cleaned and all
nails removed before being sent to job.
Do not bend over, or hammer in nails.
Require use of guards on circular
saws.

Stripping. — Before stripping a
panel, place shores and ledgers to
support it. Forms should not be re-

ping brick, or dropping pieces over the
edge. See that scafl"old horses are
well made from good material, well
braced, and resting on firm founda-
tion— not on piles of brick or tile. Do
not put guys or other stays through
brickwork until it has firmly set, and
then only in places that will safely
withstand stress.

Provide goggles for men cutting
brick or stone. If other men or the
public are exposed, pro\ude suitable
screens.

Stonework. — Proper tackle is of
great importance. Derrick operators
should be experienced men. Stone
should have proper holes to insure
against slipping. See that proper type
and sufficient number of permanent
anchors are used so that stone cannot
loosen during storms, during or after
construction. In landing stone han-
dled by a derrick operated by an en-
gine care must be taken to prevent
stone from damaging scaffold and in-
juring men. See that stone tongs and

856

Buildings

Octobei

grab hooks are in good condition and
strong enough for load.

Scaffolding, Railings, Etc.
Scaffolds, General. — All scaffolds
must be inspected frequently. They
must be built of sound lumber of se-
lected structural grade, free from
large knots and other imperfections.
All plank for scaffold platforms should
be carefully inspected and selected.
Scaffolds should be erected and taken
down by experienced men only. Nails
should be pulled from the lumber as
soon as scaffold is taken down. Do
not use scaffolding built by others un-
til after careful inspection. Do not
overload scaffolds. Allow no one to
remove timber or cut away supports
or braces from scaffolds or staging

dumping material against it. When
hoisting do not let loads swing against
or catch on scaffold. When possible
avoid having men work under scaf-
folds.

Built-up Scaffolds. — There are two
main types of built-up scaffolding, the
single pole type in which one end of
putlog rests on the wall and the in-
dependent pole scaffold. The latter
type is much superior to the former
and should be used instead of single
pole type in all cases, if possible.
See that the uprights rest on solid
foundation so there is no danger of
settling. Uprights must be plumb,
and fixed at the bottom so they can-
not shift.

For scaffolds not exceeding 50 ft. in

/>l*.ilkins 3piK"i in pla-ct

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-^;i^:mr^

ELEVATION

'fCTION

Good Type of Sidewalk Shed or Bridge as Retiuired in Borough of Manhattan, New York

City.

without permission of the superin-
tendent. If work is being carried on
above men working on scaffold, all
types of scaffolds should have over-
head protection of roof of light lum-
ber, heavy canvas, or heavy wire
screen. Do not allow men to throw
anything from the scaffold. Do not
allow men to jump on a scaffold, nor
allow material to be dropped on it.
Men should not work on a scaffold
(luring storm or high wind. Clean
scaffolds daily of all rubbish, and do
not allow tools, buckets, etc., to be
left on scaffold when workmen leave.
In winter remove snow and ice from
scaffolds before starting work.
Sprinkle platform with sand or other
material to prevent slipping. Provide
safe means of access by stairs or per-
manent ladder. If ladder is used see
that it is in good condition, with up-
per end fastened so it cannot tip or
slip. Protect scaffold against injury
from trucks or wagons striking or

height uprights should be 4x4 for ma-
son's scaffolds and 3x4 for painters'
and plasterers' scaffolds. When nec-
essary to splice uprights, cleats not
less than four feet long should be
well nailed on two adjacent sides of
uprights at the joints. Joints should
be staggered. "Ledgers" or horizon-
tal longitudinal ties should be not less
than 2x6 or equal, well nailed to up-
rights. Crossbars or putlogs to carry
platform should be not less than 2x8
or 4x4, well nailed either to the
"ledger" close to the upright or to the
upright itself. Longitudinal braces
should be not less than 1x6, regularly
placed and well nailed. Braces should
extend from the foot of every third
upright at 45 degrees in each direc-
tion. Splices of braces should come
at the uprights if possible. Where not
possible the overlay should be 30 in.
or more and well nailed. Crossbraces
in one direction should be put in be-
tween each pair of uprights. If win-

l'J2S

Buildings

857

• iow braces are used see that window
frame is faftened securely in wall. It
is better to let brace pass through
window and be secured at floor. Plat-
form plank should be laid tightly to-
gether and be not less than 2x9. They
should be placed so that they cannot
tip under weight of a workman, and
should overlap at least 12 in. at each
end. Platforms should be at least 4
ft. wide between uprights. In rais-
ing platforms to higher levels, pe-
cautions should be taken to protect men
below from falling dust and refuse.
Erect guardrails on outer side of scaf-
folds of 2x4 material, 34 in. in height
above the platform, well nailed to the
uprights. Scaffolds above the fifth
floor should have railing filled in with
heavy wire netting or boards.

Toe-boards at least 9 in. high should
fit closely to the outer edge of the
platform to prevent tools, brick, and
other material from falling off.

Outrigger Scaffolds. — Outrigger
scaffolds for cornice and other light
work are not favored if another type
can be used. If used they should be
carefully inspected by superintendent.
Outriggers should be not less than
3x10. They should not project more
than 6 ft. beyond face of building.

Swinging Scaffolds. — H o o k s, an-
chors, and outriggers for swinging
scaffolds must be well secured. If
timber needle beams are used see that
they are strong enough to carry the
load. Swinging scaffolds should be
lowered to ground or lashed to build-
ing when men leave. Every swinging
scaffold for painting, etc., should have
a guard rail. Do not allow men to
hang tools on any part of the scaffold.
When brickwork is being cleaned down
with acid, ropes should be inspected
at least daily. When scaffold is taken
down ropes should be tied and tagged
to indicate where they were used and
they should not be used again with-
out first being carefully inspected and
tested. Do not allow ropes to be
brought over or rub against sharp
comers.

Suspended Scaffolds. — See that the
outriggers are well secured to the
frame by clamps or U-bolts. See that
threads of the bolts are in good con-
dition and that the nuts fit. See that
shackles or beam clamps holding the
cable are well fastened to the outrig-
gers. A stop should be placed at the
outer end of the outrigger. Only ex-
perienced men should be used on the
winches to raise or lower the scaffold,

and great care should be used to keep
the platform level. It is very im-
portant on suspended scaffolds to have
the guard rails, toe-boards, overhead
roof and other protection in good con-
dition. All moving parts of suspended
scaffolds should be inspected daily and
to enable this constant inspection to
be made it is desirable that all work-
ing parts be simple in design and
plainly in view of men on scaffold at
all times.

Structural Steel. — Use care in pass-
ing material onto the platform and do
not overload. Keep working floor sol-
idly planked over. Also see local or-
dinance.

Horse Scaffolds. — Horses should be
well made of good material and well

'BuhhU

Hose bibb

Extend pipe and.
move fiftin^s upward
as building progresses

. \'7err>porary or oerrnanGnf

\ \ I floor

I Ji

Home Made Babbler for Constrnction Job.

braced, and of uniform height. Special
attention should be given to see that
each horse stands squarely on all four
legs so that there is no "wobbling."
They should rest on a solid foundation,
not on piles of brick, tile, etc.

Pipe Scaffolds. — Pipe beams should
be of new, common pipe, painted, and
kept free from scale. No couplings
should be used. Not less than 3^2
in. pipe should be used where the
scaffold is not over 6 ft. wide by 12
ft. span; for greater spans use larger
pipes. There should be a hanger for
pipe beams every 8 ft. See that the
supporting ropes are so fastened to
pipe that they will not slip off the
ends. Bolts through holes in pipe,

858

Buildings

October

near end, are desirable. Holes should
be bored not less than 6 in. from end
of the plank and %-in. bolt 8 in. long
placed through these holes to prevent
plank slipping off.

Temporary Scaflfolds. — Light tem-
porary scaffolds built up to make re-
pairs, etc., should not be made in a
make-shift manner. Many accidents
occur on temporary scaffolds, and they
should be strongly built of good mate-
rial. Temporary scaffolds should be
removed as soon as work is completed.

Ladders. — For long-continued use,
temporary stairways are more eco-
nomical and safer than ladders. They
should be substantially built, with
railing wide enough for two men.
Where ladders are used they should
be substantially built set level, and
well secured. The side rails should
be of selected straight grained lum-
ber free from knots larger than ^/^-in.
in diameter. The rungs should prefer-
ably be of oak, ash, or hickory and
should be inserted in holes in the
side rails and securely fastened with
a uniform distance between rungs.
"When it is necessary to use cross
cleats instead of rungs the cleats
should be housed into rails V2 in. If
ladders are used as common passage-
way, provide one to go up and one
down. Rails of ladders should always
project at least 3 ft. above floor level.
Do not paint ladders, as painting cov-
ers up defects — use linseed oil. Port-
able ladders should have non-slipping
bases, or be so fastened at the bottom
that there is no danger of slipping.
Defective ladders should be destroyed.
Substantial ladders should be de-
stroyed. Substantial railings must be
erected around all floor openings.

Floor and Wall Openings. — Door-
ways and passageways used by work-
men should be protected from over-
head dangers by the erection of suit-
able coverings. Erect barricades at
all driveways and other outside open-
ings to keep the public out. Open-
ings in walls to elevator shafts, stair-
ways, and in outside walls of upper
floor levels must have gates or rail-
ings. Prohibit the removal of ceil-
ings or coverings. When necessary to
temporarily remove these see that
they are replaced.

Covered Platforms Over Sidewalks.
— It is desirable in all cases where
public passes new building to either
block off sidewalk or else erect a sub-
stantial protection shed. Sheds should
have railing on street sides, and solid.

high fence on building side. See that
walk is smooth and even and has no
projections to cause tripping. Pas-
sageways must be well lighted, with
red lights at each end at night.

Plaster and Stucco Investigation

During the past 10 years investiga-
tions have been conducted at the U.
S. Bureau of Standards with the ob-
ject not only of improving stucco but
of developing more permanent and
pleasing finishes of this type for resi-
dence construction. The results of this
work have formed the basis to a large
extent of the "Recommended Practice
for Portland Cement Stucco" adopted
this year in revised form by the
American Concrete Institute.

In the summer of 1922 a group of
10 new experimental panels, each ap-
proximately 8x16 ft., was erected on
the Bureau's test structure to com-
pare the effects of various types of
reinforcing lath and fabric, commonly
used as bases for cement stucco. While
these panels were a disappointment in
respect to freedom from defects, they
served to concentrate attention upon
the importance of the method of at-
tachment of the lath or fabric to the
supporting wood frame, and also to
the value of applying and "curing"
the stucco according to correct prin-
ciples.

The suggestions from the 1922 in-
vestigation, together with a mild con-
troversy as to the merits of sheathing
versus no sheathing on stucco houses,
led to the Bureau to plan a new in-
vestigation which might establish
with greater certainty some of the
questions now in dispute. Upon tak-
ing up the matter with interested as-
sociations and manufacturers, a very .
lively interest was shown, and as a
result the co-operation of the National
Lumber Manufacturers' Association,
the Portland Cement Association, the
Associated Metal Lath Manufacturers,
and a number of individual manufac-
turers of wire lath and fabric haa
been obtained in furthering the in-
vestigation.

The work is now in progress and
involves the replacement of 32 of the
old panels on the stucco test building.
New panels will be erected during the
favorable weather condition which
usually prevail in Washington at this
season, and it is expected that these
will be completed early in November.

-23 Bttildings ^^^

The Deterioration of Structures in Sea Water

Editorial Review in Engineering, London, of Report of Committee
of Institution of Civil Engineers

^KThe Department of Scientific and

^■dustrial Research has just published

Hfe Third Interim Report of the Com-

PPBttee of the Institution of Civil En-
gineers that has been engaged since
1916 in investigating the deterioration
of structures in sea water and allied
subjects.*

The present report records a con-
siderable amount of work done in pur-
suance of the general scheme of in-
vestigation, together with a few re-
sults to be deduced from them, while
an abstract is also given of the 1921
report of the San Francisco Bay Ma-
rine Piling Committee instituted by
the American Wood Preservers' Asso-
ciation, which is proceeding with a
vigor which has been enhanced by
reason of a recent serious outbreak
of activity of wood-boring molluscs in
the bay.

Test Specimens of Steel and Iron

Bars. — The specimens — bars 24 in. by
3 in. by V2 in. — of steels and wrought
and cast-iron prepared under the di-
rection of Sir Robert Hadfield in order
to test the action on them of sea
water and the atmosphere during pro-
longed exposure, have reached their
destinations and are placed in posi-
tion. Each set of these specimens
includes a medium carbon steel %vith
low sulphur and phosphorus with a
duplicate sample ground all over; a
mild steel with low manganese and
high sulphur and phosphorus; a mild
steel with 0.7 per cent manganese and
a duplicate ground all over; a steel
with 13^^ per cent chromium; steels
with BV2 per cent and 36 per cent
nickel; Armco, Low Moor and Swedish
wrought iron, and Lilleshall hot and
cold blast cast-iron. Except as stated
every bar was left with its original
skin on. All bars were drilled top
and bottom with one or more holes,
the position of which corresponded to
a code giving the class of material
according to the above list and the
individual specimen numbers out of

•Deterioration of Structures of Timber,
[etal, and Concrete Exposed to the Action of
Water: Third (Interim) Report of the
mmittee of the Institution of Civil Engi-
neers. Edited by P. M. Gosthwaite, Secretary
f Committee, and Gilbert R. Redijrave. H. M.
Stationery Office, London (sO ct.).

the 1,330 bars that had been prepared
and weighed.

At each port of obsen'ation sets of
these bars, secured in frames by con-
crete extending to beyond the holes
(the exposed surfaces being carefully
measured) were totally submerged
below the lowest low-water level,
others were fixed midway between
high and low water levels, so as to
give the effect of alternate wet and
dry conditions, and others were placed
well above the highest high-water
level, so as to give the effect of aerial
conditions in the neighborhood of the
water. In each case three series of
such sets have been exposed, these
being intended for removal at the end
of 5, 10 and 15 years respectively,
with periodical obsenations in the
meantime. A fourth series was pre-
pared for fresh- water experiments,
and a fifth — how distinguished from
the first is not stated — for exposure in
sea water and removal after five
years.

Further series of specimens were
prepared for the purpose of indicating
any electrolytic effect resulting from
contact of dissimilar metals. Three
of these pairs were arranged with
their faces flat against each other.
These pairs consisted respectively of
medium steel and 36 per cent nickel
steel, of mild steel with high sulphur
and hot blast cast-iron, and of mild
steel containing 0.7 per cent of man-
ganese ground all over and Low Moor
iron.

Another bar of the high-sulphur
mild steel was provided v\ith four 7s-
in. rivets, as was also one of the
chromium steel, while four Ts-in. bolts
secured by nuts were put through each
of four separate bars of the 0.4 per
cent carbon and 36 per cent nickel
steels, and the hot and cold blast cast-
irons. Further, a frame was built up
of two bars of 0.7 per cent manganese
mild steel, ground all over, and two
bars Swedish iron, secured at the four
comers by %-in. rivets, while a sim-
ilar frame was made of chromium
steel and Low Moor iron. Bars of
medium steel with low sulphur, 36 per
cent nickel steel, and Armco iron were
bent to a right angle and secured so
that the angle was fully exposed to

860

Buildings

October

corrosion. Only one set of these com-
posite or bent specimens was sent to
each port; they are to be removed at
the end of 5 years.

Results of Tests of Steel and Iron
Bars. — These sets of specimens have
been exposed in Plymouth, Auckland
(N. Z.), Colombo and Halifax (N. S.),
these ports being selected to represent
temperate, warm and cold climates re-
spectively. The Plymouth and Colom-
bo collections were exposed in April,
1922, and no results obtained with
them are yet reported. The Auckland
collection was exposed in September,
1921, and in a report by W. H. Hamer,
the engineer to the Harbor Board, par-
ticulars are given of the appearance
of the aerial and the wet and dry
specimens after six months' exposure.
With the exception of the nickel steel
all the aerial individual bars showed
considerable corrosion, amounting in
some cases to flaking, while the com-
posite or bent series were on the
whole in a better condition, the bolts
being less affected than the bars, but
with two exceptions all bars in the
riveted frames were corroded except
where sheltered. Most of the wet and
dry individual bars were more or less
heavily rusted and overgrown with
small white barnacles, some pimples
of red rust being also occasionally
seen. All the composite and bent
bars except one were much rusted
and corroded, and considerable cor-
rosion was found in the frames, "with
the exception of well-preserved bolts,"
of which, however, no mention is made
in the committee list's of specimens.
A detailed statement is stated to be
given in Mr. Hamer's report of the
precise condition of each specimen.

The Halifax collection was exposed
in September, 1921, and from the sum-
mary given of the report by C. E. W.
Dodwell, the harbor engineer, it ap-
pears that the aerial and wet and dry
specimens were observed after three
months, and the whole collection just
after five months. At the earlier
examination all the aerial individual
bars had stood very well except those
of wrought iron (much corroded on
the surface, but showing no percep-
tible pitting), and so had the aerial
composite bent specimens, but the
riveted frames and perhaps (the sum-
mary is not clear on the point) the
composite mild steel with 0.7 per cent
manganese and Low Moor iron showed
signs of surface corrosion. All the
wet and dry specimens were more or

less corroded on the surface, though
without perceptible pitting, the
wrought irons being the most affected
among the individual bars and the
cast-iron the least, while in the com-
posite specimens the pair made of mild
steel with high sulphur and hot blast
cast-iron were the least affected.
Neither the aerial nor the wet and
dry specimens had changed percepti-
bly at the later examination, except
that the Galahad bar (it is not said
from which condition of exposure)
showed a little very slight pitting. At
the later examination the submerged
Galahad steel, ground mild steel with
0.7 per cent manganese, and Low Moor
and Swedish charcoal irons were much
corroded on the surface with a "soft
blister-like or frothy looking corro-
sion." The other individual bars were
all slightly corroded on the surface,
but with no perceptible pitting sur-
face, but with no perceptible pitting
beneath. In the composite and bent
series the pair made of ground mild
steel with 0.7 per cent manganese
and Low Moor iron and all bars in
the riveted frames were much cor-
roded on the surface, though with no
perceptible pitting beneath; all the
other bars were slightly corroded on
the surface; all rivet heads were also
much corroded on the surface, but the
bolts and nuts were hardly affected.

No analyses of the sea water are
given. The specimens were protected
during transit by petroleum jelly,
which was directed to be thoroughly
wiped off before exposure. An exam-
ination by Dr. J. N. Friend of mild
steel plates that had been coated with
the jelly and kept for thirteen months
showed slight rustiness, with a loss
of weight of the order of 0.015 per
cent to 0.03 per cent, an amount that
would be negligible in the thick bars
used for the research.

Experiments on Corrosion of Alloys.
— Dr. Friend has also made two inci-
dental reports on associated subjects.
In the one he considers replies re-
ceived to 10 questions that had been
submitted to 50 shipowners, railway
companies and large users of paint and
other protective coatings employed to
preserve steel and iron structures ex-
posed to sea action, intended to elicit
their experience, practice and diffi-
culties. The results show much di-
versity of practice, which seems to
call for further research, and the com-
mittee are considering the possibility
of making experiments to test the

1923

Buildings

861

appl:

relative merits of some protective
preparations and the methods of their
application.

his other report Dr. Friend de-

bes some interesting experiments
eh the susceptibility of strained iron
and iron alloys to corrosion in neutral
media. From seven tensile test bars
of material that were to be included
in the exposure tests, and that had
been heat-treated and broken under
test, sections were cut at three points,
one from immediately under the grips,
where the material could be regarded
as free from appreciable strain, and
the other two through points near the
fracture at which the elongations had
been determined previously, and had
shown respectively that the metal was
in its most strained condition and in
about half that amount of strain. The
sections weighed about 20 grams each,
and each could be assumed to be
strained uniformly throughout its
small bulk.

Each of these specimens was care-
fully machined and polished. It was
found that without exception the spe-
cific gravity of each material had
fallen as the strain increased, thus in-
dicating that the type of cold-working
that is applied in a tensile testing
machine reduces the specific gravity of
the metal. Other specimens were kept
for a year on blocks of paraffin wax
in a tank, which was alternately filled
with tap water and emptied by
syphonic action, so as to give alter-
nately wet and dry conditions. The
materials thus tested were the Low
Moor iron (0.015 per cent carbon and
a trace of manganese), Armco iron
(0.035 per cent carbon and 0.065 per
cent manganese), mild steel (0.24 per
cent carbon and 0.68 per cent man-
ganese), medium carbon steel 0.345
per cent carbon and 0.71 per cent
manganese), carbon steel 0.40 per cent
carbon and 0.85 per cent manganese),
nickel steel (0.12 per cent carbon and
36.6 per cent nickel), and Galahad
steel (0.36 per cent carbon and 13.57
per cent chromium)

As a result the irons and non-alloy
steels not only showed no appreciable
difference in corrodibiUty between
strained and unstrained specimens —
in three out of the five materials the
strained specimens showed in fact a
shade less corrosion measured by loss
of weight than the unstrained — but
the actual difference in corrosion be-
tween the several unstrained materials
were insignificant— 5 per cent or less.

Both strained specimens of nickel
steel, the other hand, showed about
4% times the corrosion of the un-
strained specimen. The strained
chromium steel specimens also showed
respectively a third more and double
corrosion as compared with the tin-
strained, though Dr. Friend remarks
very fairly that that differences — re-
spectively one-tenth and three-tenths
of a milligram — almost lie within the
range of experimental error. Dr.
Friend points out that the results
given by the non-alloy metals are
quite consistent with increased cor-
rodibility of strained material in prac-
tice, seeing that under the conditions
of experiment each specimen was
probably strained uniformly through-
out its bulk and insulated from any
met^ in another state of strain,
neither of which conditions would be
present in practice. Perhaps if the
experiments are repeated controls will
be arranged in which contact will be
made between strained and unstrained
sections of the same specimen. It
seems possible, too, that the assump-
tion of uniform strain throughout the
entire section may be less warrant-
able in the presumably far stronger
and tougher alloy steels than it is in
the irons and straight steels.

Effect on Reinforced Concrete. — In

1917 a number of slabs of reinforced
concrete were exposed in the Bris-
bane River at a point where the water
was practically as salt as sea water,
the blocks varying in the extent to
which the reinforcement was covered,
and to some extent in the composi-
tion of the concrete. From a note by
E. A. Cullen, engineer to the Harbors
and Rivers Department at Brisbane,
it appears that although less addi-
tional rusting than had been expected
has occurred since the last examina-
tion eighteen months ago, nothing less
than 2 in. covering is sufficient, so far
as these observations go, to give com-
plete protection. In the blocks with
thinner coverings little difference has
been found in the deterioration be-
tween 2 sand-1 cement concrete and
4 sand-3 cement. In a reinforced con-
crete wharf on the Brisbane River
completed by Mr. Cullen in March,
1917, the piles and girders have 2-in.
cover over the reinforcement, and the
whole structure was well tarred with
hot distilled tar on all surfaces ex-
cept the deck, the tar being carried
down the piles to about the level of
mean neap high water, and the tarring

862

Buildings

October

being repeated a year later. Below
mean sea level the piles are encrustd
with small barnacles, but on recent
examination, five and a half years
after completion, no corrosion had oc-
curred.

Timber Investigations. — The investi-
gations of timber continue to reveal
wide differences in the experience of
different observers. The most com-
prehensive account of the practical
occurrence of organisms attacking
timber is given in a report on boring
organisms in various waters by J. E.
Cunningham, the inventor of the car-
bo-teredo process for protecting tim-
ber against such organisms. This
process consists in coating the timber
with vaseline, which is then strongly
heated and ignited with a hand lamp,
so that the timber is more or less
evenly and deeply charred. Knots in
the timber are then impregnated again
and recharred; so are cut ends, the
char being consolidated by hammering
up. On the basis of timbers so treated
and kept both in quiet waters and in
the open sea for three to seven years
Mr. Cunningham claims that both pine
and hardwood so treated are proof for
at least that period against sea
worms, the animalculae on which they
feed, and other organisms that attack
timber, while even turpentine wood, if
untreated, is badly attacked when
placed side by side with intact treated
lumber. On the other hand, W. H,
Hamer found turpentine wood stand
sound for four years, whether treated
or not, under conditions in which a
number of other woods treated by the
carbo-teredo process were attacked or
even destroyed.

To what extent the failures of the
process reported by Mr. Hamer have
happened because it does not always
protect or (as in general terms Mr.
Cunningham explains such failures as
he has himself known), because it
has not been properly applied, is not
clear on the published particulars.
What, however, is clear from these re-
ports and another by A. C. W. Fos-
bery, the chief engineer of the Bom-
bay Port Trust, and the experience of
the San Francisco Bay Marine Piling
Committee, is that few, if any, un-
treated timbers can offer prolonged
resistance to the attack of organisms,
and that no completely adequate
means of protection has as yet been
demonstrated.

Studies of Marine Boring Organ-
isms.— Accordingly, the most hopeful
of the Committee's labors may be the
various investigations into the funda-
mental facts of the life history of
marine timber-boring organisms, the
circumstances and methods of their
lodgment and attack, and their reac-
tions to various protective substances
or processes. In one series of experi-
ments, Dr. George Barger supplied
Professor S. M. Dixon with a number
of "poisons" insoluble in water, but
soluble in alcohol, of which 1 per cent
and 0.1 per cent solutions were im-
pregnated into blocks of wood, and
exposed for a year off Lowestoft pier.
The impregnation appears mostly to
have penetrated only Vs in. to ^4 in.,
and all that can be said of the results
is that they show clear differences be-
tween the poisons, which might be
more apparent — or less — if the im-
pregnation had been less superficial.
For the period in question impreg-
nation with creosote, which penetrated
throughout the substance of the block,
was completely effective, as were two
of the poisons.

Under Dr. Barger's direction, also,
C. B. Harrington carried out a num-
ber of experiments in Plymouth Sound
and in a laboratory, which, among
other results of scientific importance,
showed that in the presence of appro-
priate food are larvae of the organ-
isms in question could swim about for
a fortnight, and thus might infect tim-
ber at a considerable distance, and
that they are definitely attracted by
certain chemical substances. Pro-
fessor Dixon describes the methods he
used for creosoting and applying "poi
sons" to timbers, during which he
noticed considerable differences be-
tween the extent to which various tim-
bers absorbed the impregnating solu-
tions. An interesting detail of the
method is that in all cases the blocks
were furnished with a veneer of un-
treated wood, which enables organisms
to get a start and attack poisoned
woods which they failed to attack in
the absence of the "appetizer" veneer.
Professor Dixon has also carried out a
large number of mechanical tests on
specimens of timber, from the Colo-
nies and elsewhere, both untreated
and after creosoting, the results of
which will be published later.

li»23

Buildings

863

The Strength of Short Con-
crete Beemis

Results of Tests Given in the August
Journal of the Elngineering Insti-
tute of Canada

By J. B. MACPHAIL,

Shawinigan Engrineering Company,

Ltd.

The design of reinforced concrete
beams, loaded on spans of less than
four times their depths, has received
little attention either theoretically or
experimentally, and the experiments
herein described were undertaken in
e hope that they might furnish some
formation that might be of use to
:esigners.

Test Beams. — The elements of the
beams tested are given in Table I.
The beams were all 6 in. in breadth

d 6 in. longer than the spans listed.

.1 rods had hooked ends and were
Miade from ordinary commercial
round bars; in every case three rods
v.ere placed with their centres 1^2 in.
from the bottom and 1^2 in. from
centre to centre and from the sides of
the beam. When five rods were used,
the additional two were placed with
their centres 3 in. from the bottom
and covered the spaces in the lower
layer. The sand used had a fineness
modulus of 2.68 93 per cent passed a
^0. 14 sieve; 34 per cent passed a No.
- sieve and 6 per cent passed a No.
i3 sieve. The aggregate was % in.
limestone chips containing some dust.
The concrete was hand-mixed in pro-
portions of 2:4:6 with sufficient water
to give a slump of 4 to 6 in. in a 6 in.
X 12 in. cylinder. Water was poured
over beams and test cylinders once a
day from the 4th to the 28th day after
mixing.

Using unit stresses of 750 lb. per
sq. in. on concrete and 16,000 lb. per
sq. in. in the steel, values of Wl, the
safe central concentrated loads, were
calculated. In order to keep bond
stresses down to reasonable values all
but beams G and K were over-rein-
forced; so that in these two the re-

sisting moment of the steel was less
than that of the concrete; in the
others, the concrete resisting moment
governs. For these loads the unit
shear v and the bond stress u were
calculated.

The beams were tested at an age of
56 days under a central concentrated
load on the Emery testing machine in
the strength of materials laboratory
at McGill University.

Results of Test. — The observed ulti-
mate loads W3 are given in Table II
together with safe loads W2 based on
a unit shear of 56 lb. per sq. in., a
usual value for beams without web
reinforcement. WS^Wl give factors
of safety Fl and W3^W2 give factors
of safety F2. This method of pre-
senting results is due to Dr. Oscar
Faber.

Results obtained by using the loads
observed at the first drop of the indi-
cator of the testing machine gave fig-
ures of the same character as those
tabulated.

In general failure occurred through
diagonal cracks starting at or near the
supports and running up to a point
beneath the load; sometimes by verti-
cal cracks below the load.

Table n.

Mark

W2 1b.

W3 1b.

Fl.

F2.

4.430

56,000

3.4

12.6

4,880

44.400

4.2

9.1

3.060

25,600

3.6

5.1

5,060

17,600

3.1

3.3

6,000

39.600

3,5

6.6

6.070

31.000

4.1

5.1

7,950

98.300

4.2

12.4

8,570

33.800

3.1

3.8

Mean

3.63

7.3

The observed ultimate compressive
strength of four 6 in. x 12 in. test cyl-
inders at 8 weeks averaged 3080 lb.
per sq. in. so the observed average
factor of safety requires a reduction
to the basis of an ultimate strength of
1875 lb. per sq. in. at 4 weeks, 40 per
cent of which was taken as the work-
ing stress. To form a rough estimate,
assume that the ultimate load carried
by a beam is proportional to the ulti-
mate strength of the concrete of which

Mark

A .

B .

C .

D .

F .

G .

H .

K .

Table
Reinf.

_...5x9/16

3x%

- 3x%

3x%

3x9/16

3x%

...._5x%

■^ 3x».ij

Depth in. Span in.

loJ-i

10%

IOI4

10%

17
27
36
45
33
44
28
43

Wl.

16.250

10,600

7,080

5.660

11.250

7.630

23,300

11,000

205

121
78
63

105
70

164

139
124
100

80
119

90
125

864

Buildings

October

it is made. The ultimate loads for
the weaker concrete would then be

1875
WSx

3080
and the observed factors of safety Fl
would be reduced in the same ratio or

1875
F3=F1 X ^=2.22

3080
average, which agrees fairly well with
the assumed factor of safety of

1875

=2.50.

750
Further, the value of the denominator
3080 in the above expressions should
be reduced slightly to bring it to its
value at 28 days. A value of 2740 lb.
per sq. in. as the ultimate strength of
the test cylinders at 28 days would
give a factor of safety F3 of 2.50 and
an increase of 11 per cent give 3040
lb. per sq. in. The probability is that
the increase in a further 28 days is
more than 11 per cent so the true
strength at 28 days is probably lower
than 2740 lb. per sq. in. This would
slightly increase the factor of safety
from 2.50. It may be mentioned that
the tentative report of the Commis-
sion du Beton Arme de I'Association
Beige de Standardisation contem-
plates an increase in strength of 50
per cent between 28 and 90 days.* In
any case the reduced factor of safety
F3 is not far from the value of 2.50
assumed.

This revision of concrete stress is
applicable also to the factors of safety
F2, but this would not alter the fact
that the values of F2 vary over a
much wider range than values of Fl.
The small variation in factors of
safety Fl for the design loads in
which bending and bond stresses only
were considered and the high values
of the unit shear neglected, show that
the concrete was economically used,
whereas a design based on a maxi-
mum unit shear of 56 lb. per sq. in.
would waste concrete in some cases,
as shown by the unnecessarily high
factors of safety F2, though a little
steel might be saved.

Shear Stresses. — To explain the ac-
tion of the shear stresses reference
may be made to the works of Dr.
Oscar Faber who has developed a
theory of the existence in a loaded re-
inforced concrete beam of a series of

♦"Pratique du Calcul du Beton Arme" by
G. Maernel. p. 128. Published by Van Rysspl-
berghe & Rombaut, Ghent, Belgium.

direct and indirect inclined compres-
sions which, together with the steel,
resist the shear. This theory is given
briefly in "Reinforced Concrete De-
sign" by Fabor and Bowie, vol. 1, p.
79 ff., and at greater length in his
paper "The Shearing Resistance of
Reinforced Concrete Beams"** read
before the Concrete Institute in Lon-
don in May 1916.

The application of Dr. Faber's
methods to this particular type of
beam and loading gives safe loads,
based on shearing stresses, that are
identical with those determined from
considerations of bending, and the uni-
formity of the factors of safety Fl
confirm his deduction that in a simple
beam having reinforcement with suffi-
ciently hooked ends running the whole
length at a distance from the bottom
not less than 1/3 kd, failure will not
occur until the full moment of resist-
ance has been reached, and that if the
safe bending stresses are not exceeded,
the safe stresses elsewhere will not be
exceeded.

It may be argued that the use of a
greater amount of steel, to reduce
bond stresses, than would be required
to resist the applied bending moment
caused the ultimate loads on the
beams so treated to be higher than
they would have been if the bond re-
quirements could have been met by
steel of a smaller total area, because
of the smaller unit stress and the con-
sequent smaller deformation of the
steel. This can be positively decided
only by experiment, but the theory
does not indicate such a result and
practical considerations of bar spac-
ing and construction would doubtless
prevent much alteration in this direc-,
tion where short spans are concerned.

It may be conclude.d then that short
beams simply supported, if designed |
for safe moment and bond stresses, doi
not require web reinforcement.

Grateful acknowledgement is ten-
dered to McGill University for facili-
ties for testing the specimens ; to Pro-
fessor Ernest Brown, M.E.I.C, and
S. D. MacNabb, A.M.E.I.C. for mak-
ing the tests, and to J. A. McCrory, -*
A.M.E.I.C. for facilities for making
the specimens and for assistance in
testing them.

**This paper was published in "Concrete and
Constructional EnKineerinK" in Enjrland in May
1916 and subse<iuent numbers. Copies of the
paper can possibly be obtained from the secre-
tary of the Concrete Institute, at 296 Vauxhnll
Bridge Road, London, S.W., England,

1923

Buildings

Ready-Cut Houses

865

Advanced Types and Methods Developed by a Western Washington

Lumber Company

The Tumwater Lumber Mills Com-
pany of Tumwater, Washington, has
devoted especial attention to the pro-
duction of ready-cut houses of attrac-
tive design, and as a result has
evolved some 45 styles, three of which
are pictured in this article. The de-
signs are worked out for convenience
of interior arrangement, as well as for
pleasing effects both interior and ex-
terior, thus meeting the present day

actually computed. In filling an order,
the lumber company furnishes a com-
plete set of plans, an itemized set of
materials and a full set of instruc-
tions for erection. The company fur-
nishes all lumber, hardware and glass,
but except under special arrangement
does not furnish brick, stone, sand,
cement or plaster.

Floor plans, elevations and details
are of the usual assortment and type

One and One-Half Story Honse from Ready-Cut Material and Plan.

requirement of combined beauty and
efficiency at a cost substantially less
than for a home of equal merit de-
signed and built individually. Modifi-
cations of the desig^is can be made at
moderate cost, or in some cases at no
cost, providing they involve no radical
changes in the main features. Addi-
tional styles are from time to time
being added to the list.

The framing and construction of
these houses conforms to the recog-
nized best practice in construction
where all material is cut on the job.
All the structural features have been
carefully designed, thus avoiding both
the_ wastefulness and the wealmesses
which are not uncommon in designs
where the loads and stresses are not

furnished by architects, but the
framing plans are given in greater
detail. A system of index letters and
numbers carefully worked out for con-
venience connects the framing plans
with the bill of materials and with the
materials themselves. The bill of ma-
terial lists separately the number of
pieces of each kind, the dimensions of
each and the index reference. A
fourth column provides space for such
special references or remarks as may
be needed. The framing plans bear
the reference symbols marked on each
member.

All top or bottom plates are marked
and numbered to show the exact loca-
tion of each studding, so as to elim-
inate any errors in erection and assure

866

Buildings

October

an accurate fit. The system of marking
is based on assigning index letters to
each side of the house or partition
and to each section, such as joist,
rafter and ceiling plan. When the
material is cut and fitted, each piece
is marked with this index, showing
the particular side or part of the
house where it belongs and following
this index mark, the number showing
the exact location, is printed.

Material of the same kind and for
the same section of the house is bun-
dled in groups and each bundle is
marked with the index and group let.-

tification mark showing its location
according to the drawings. The built-
in features such as kitchen cabinet,
buffets, etc., are all factory-made.
Porch beams, brackets, steps, stair-
ways, are all made as near complete as
possible. The studdings are cut from
a gauge and are therefore all of the
same length and truly square ended,
thus insuring a uniform load on all the
studdings. The plates are all cut and
marked for the studdings and open-
ings and this makes the walls plumb
and true. The sub-floor is cut except
where it is desired to run diagonally

Colonial Type Ready-Cut.

ter, which permits the placing of ma-
terial where it belongs when unload-
ing and thus saves rehandling later.
All the marks on the various pieces
correspond with the same marks
shown on the drawings. This system
makes the marking and sorting of the
material very simple and by placing
all the material marked with the same
index or group letter to the side of the
house where it belongs, according to
the drawing, the material can be lo-
cated at a glance.

All finishing lumber for doors, win-
dows and built-in features, is crated
so as to protect it from damage in
transit and each crate contains all the
parts belonging to a door or window
as the case may be, with proper iden-

in which case one end is cpt at 45 de-
grees. The shiplap wall sheathing is
cut and beveled even for the gable
pieces. The rafters, roof sheathing,
cornice ceiling, verge boards, etc., are
also all cut to fit.

Economies resulting from the use
of this system are of three principal
classes: First, the saving in carpen-
ter labor which results from the elim-
ination of the cutting of lumber and
the reduction of planning on the job
to a minimum. Officials of the Tum-
water Mills state that in actual prac-
tice they have found savings of be-
tween 50 and 60 per cent in the cost
of framing, and average savings of
from 35 to 40 per cent en total car-
penter labor cost including interior

1923

Buildings

867

finishing. The second saving is in
waste material. The Tumwater Lum-
ber Mills cut their own lumber from
the logs and have an extensive trade
outside of that in ready-cut houses, so
that they are enabled to select all ma-
terial for the ready-cut business from
lengths that reduce waste to a mini-
mum. There is thus a saving in both
material and freight costs on the
amoimts which are usually cut off and
wasted on the job. The last saving is
in the shipping and handling charges.
These manufacturers consider that

Gypsiun Production in Canada

The Dominion Bureau of Statistic?
has issued the following finally re-
vised statistics on the production ot
g5T)sum in Canada during 1922.

The total output of gypsum rock In
Canada during 1922 amounted to 484,-
629 tons; of which quantity 145,954
tons or 30 per cent was calcined. The
quantity quarried, by provinces was:
Nova Scotia 281,861 tons; New Bruns-
wick 56,692 tons; Ontario 106,829

An Attractive Modern Type.

the local dealers are the logical sales-
men for their product, and therefore
deal through them in preference to
the older practice of marketing their
product direct; but although the or-
ders are taken locally, shipments are
made direct from the mill to the job.
This practice not only saves in han-
dling but eliminates storage, deprecia-
"on and other items.
The lumber is all Douglas Fir.
ingles and siding are of red cedar,
mplete shipping weights on all ma-
rial, adjusted to absorb the differ-
tials on shingles, paint, hardware
d finish, and so to give a straight
mber rate on the entire shipment
ge according to the style of house
m 29,500 lb. to 82,000 lb.

tons; Monitoba 39,147 tons; and Brit-
ish Columbia 100 tons.

Shipments of all grades totalled
559,265 tons valued at $2,160,898, an
increase of 172,715 tons and $375,360
over the 1921 production.

Supervising Architect Wanted for
Canal Zone.— The U. S. Civil Service
Commission, Washington, D. C, has
announced an open competitive exam-
ination for supervising architect to
fill a vacancy in the Public Works De-
partment, Office of the Commandant,
Fifteenth Naval District, Balboa,
Canal Zone, at an entrance salary of
$10 a day, and vacancies in positions
requiring similar qualifications.

868

Buildings

October

Estimating Painting Jobs

Suggestions on Amount of Material

and Time Required Given in Paper

Presented at Convention of

Iowa - Nebraska Master

Painters and Decorators

Association

By GEORGE A. STEINHEIMER

Two Methods of Estimating. — One

is the figuring of actual cost of labor
and material for the entire job, to
which is added overhead, insurance,
railroad fare and expenses, if the job
be out of the city, and the cost of a
bond, if same is to be furnished, and
to the total of this, which makes up
the actual cost, is added a fair and
suitable profit.

The other method used by equally
responsible contractors is that of in-
cluding overhead and profit in the
various unit prices, which are to apply
to the various items on that particu-
lar job. The total of these figures
will be the price of the job and in-
cludes overhead and profit. The latter
method is apt to find us bidding work
at actual cost due to our failure to in-
clude proper overhead and profit in
each unit price used to make up our
estimate.

I was approached by a painter of
long experience a short time ago, who
asked what I considered actual cost of
labor and material for two coats of
lead and oil and stipple on smooth
plaster. My answer was that on large
yardage, the cost would be 28 cts. He
told me that he had asked several
painters the same question and the
answers received ranged from 20 to
40 cts. per yard. Is it any wonder
that bids vary when we disagree so
widely on so simple a proposition ?

Material Can Be Estimated Accu-
rately.— If we are careful in our
measurements, taken either from
plans or from the building, we can es-
timate the amount of material re-
quired very accurately, but the labor
presents a much more difficult prob-
lem, owing to the different classes of
work, and the difficulties experienced
in applying the paint. In other words,
the amount of paint required will be
the same on a plain surface as on an
ornamental cornice, but the labor will
be much greater on the latter on ac-
count of the amount of cutting in or
trimming required.

On account of the prices of material
changing, and the cost of labor vary-

ing in different localities, I shall not
attempt to set down actual prices, but
will try to give you some figures, cov-
ering in a general way the amount of
material required for certain kinds of
work, and the possible amount of time
to apply the same.

Material and Labor Requirements.
— We will begin with the priming of
the outside. One gallon of properly
mixed lead and oil or a good grade of
mixed paint will cover 60 sq. yd., and
if you use the same figure for your
second and third coats, you will be
close enough for any estimate, and
the painter working eight hours per
day will cover on an average of 140
sq. yd. each coat.

To dip shingles in a good shingle
stain, requires 2% gal. of stain per
1,000 shingles, and a painter will dip
them at the rate of 2,000 per hour.

The labor and material required for
the painting of a brick building which
has been painted before will be very
much the same as on wood.

Finishing Interior Woodwork. — The
finishing of interior woodwork will
vary more on account of the different
kinds of wood, and the class of finish
desired. Oil stain on such woods as
gum, birch, yellow pine and the like
will cover from 50 to 60 yds. per gal-
lon, and the painter will cover 140
sq. yd. in eight hours. If a spirit or
water stain is used, the material and
also the time required will be about
12'/^ per cent more.

When paste filler is used, whether
colored or left natural, 5 lb. of filler,
properly reduced, will make 1 gal. of
filler, and this should cover 34 sq. yd.,
and on the average, depending en-
tirely on the surface to which it is ap-
plied would take a painter three hours
to apply the filler and wipe off with
burlap.

One gallon of shellac will cover 65
sq. yd., and 1 gal. of varnish about 50
sq. yd., and the shellac can be applied
in about three-fourths the time re-
quired to apply the varnish, which is
from 3 to 4 hours.

The sand papering and puttying up
will, of course, be in addition to this,
and will depend entirely on the condi-
tion of the surface, and the results
desired. The covering capacity and
time required for enamel work are
similar to varnish, but the sand paper-
ing between coats will be much more
where enamel is used.

One gallon of flat varnish will cov-
er about 25 per cent more surface

1923

Buildings

869

than gloss varnish, and the time re-
quired to apply will be slightly less.
Rubbing down with pumice stone and
water has become almost a lost art,
sad to say, but the amount of labor
required will vary according to the
finish desired. One man should rub

Placing a 98-Ton Girder

A 98-ton girder was recently placed
on the main line of the Boston & Al-
bany R. R. at Beacon St., Boston,
Mass. The girder was received on
flat cars, removed and held in sus-

Indastrial Crane Placing a 98-ton Girder on B. & A. R. R. at Beacon St., Boston, Mass.

six door sides and do a first class job
in eight hours.

One gallon of a good flat wall paint
will cover 54 sq. yd. on smooth plaster
surface and with proper tools and
scaffolding, one man can cover 180
sq. yd. in eight hours.

These figures will apply to the first
and also to second or third coats.
When lead and oil are used, the above
figures will govern, but if the last
coat is to be stippled, one man can
stipple as much as two men can apply.

We do not do as much cold water
painting or kalsomining in this sec-
tion of the country as they do in other
parts, however, 1 lb. of cold water
paint should cover 6 sq. yd., one coat,
and a painter should apply 200 sq. yd.
in eight hours. For sizing walls
where glue or other water size are
used, one man should cover 400 sq. yd.
in a day.

pension by an Industrial crane. The
job was done at night between train
schedules, from 10 p. m. to 1:55 a. m.
The Phoenix Bridge Co. was the con-
tractor.

Method of Preventing Cracks in Con-
crete Tennis Court

To avoid cracks in a concrete tennis
court, states Concrete, wire mesh re-
inforcement should be used and but
one expansion joint along the net line.
Keep the concrete wet all the time by
the ponding method or by sand cover-
ing for at least a week. To obtain a
green color in the court use a good
quality of chromium oxide. This color
is expensive, so it should be used in
a thin topcoat only and this topcoat
should be placed before the base con-
crete has hardened. Use no more
than 6 to 8 lb. of color to 100 lb. of
cement, the cement and color prefer-
ably to be ground together before the
sand and water are added.

870

Btdldings

Building Foundations in Clay

October

Bearing Values, Detroit Tests and Porcupine and Fan Caissons

By CHARLES EVAN FOWLER,

Consulting Engineer, New York and Detroit.

The making of foundations in clay
requires the most careful study of
conditions of any class of material,
owing largely to the amount of water
contained in it, and the possible ac-

lO/fa OM-0£T/iO/r CLPY AT OePT/ZJ.

of-fTM eeiow TOP gkouho suRr/ice-

Y\%. 1. — Load on Detroit Clay as Determined
by Various Formulas.

tion of water upon a particular bed of
clay.

General Classes of Clay. — The five
general classes of clay are: (1) yel-
low clay, of a yellowish color, and
containing a large percentage of sand
or ordinary earth; (2) red clay, of
very marked red color, and containing
a large percentage of sand or ordi-
nary earth; (3) gray clay, or ordinary
compact pure clay; (4) blue clay,
which is of a decided bluish color, and
is a compact or very hard pure clay;
and (5) gray or blue clay, which is so
very hard and compact that it is
termed "hardpan."

The condition of the first four
classes is that they are usually moist
or damp, but are sometimes so wet as
to be unstable and apt to slide. When
practically dry, or only moist or damp,
clays are fiist class as a foundation
bed, and may be considered better
than dry or moist sand, or loose grav-

el, but when very wet they are to be
looked upon with suspicion, unless a
sure method can be devised for drain-
ing them, or of draining the water
away. Hardpan is nearly always a
good foundation, and usually remains
hard under water, but may have a
tendency to slide if water can or does
follow through seams or softer un-
derlying strata, that cannot be drained
away in some sure manner.

Determination of Character of
Clay. — The determination as to the
character of clay for a foundation,
must depend largely upon careful bor-
ings. They should be made in large
enough number so as to construct the
geological sections, and thus prove
that the clay is in strata and not sim-
ply pockets or lenses. The borings
may be made by the wash boring pro-
cess, and the samples taken frequent-
ly by first bailing or pumping out the
water, and then a tube driven one or
two feet to take out a core or real
sample. Where the material is very
solid, a core boring machine may be
used to remove an exact core. Where
difficulty is had by reason of soft
overlying material, a casing may be
sunk to the hard material by the wash

'& Mo f

i "■

W HO P-

i "■

^ O/fCL.

NO
120

FlK. 2.— Typical Detroit Borins.

boring process, and then a core boring
taken in the hard material. Where
the material is of a fairly well-known
character and the foundations not
likely to require great depth, some

923

Buildings

871

est pits may be dug to prove the
:haracter conclusively.

Weight of Clay. — The weight of
)rdinary clay is usually stated at
rem 100 to 115 lb. per cu. ft., but
;ome of the denser clays will very
nuch exceed this, as at Detroit, where
le clay has a weight of from 130 to
40 lb. per cu. ft.

The nomenclature of clay varies in
■ach locality, and what is termed soft
;i one locality, would represent a
iiedium soft clay elsewhere, and per-
aps a medium hard clay in some

be assumed as follows for preliminary
values.

Basic Bearing Values. P or H=0 to 23 ft.

Weight

Load

Cu. Ft.

Per Sq. Ft-

Kind of Material

Lb.

Tons

Ordinary Dry Clay and

100

2.0

Ord. Clay— 10% Sand

110

2.5

120

3.0

130

3.5

140

4.0

Damp Clay and

100

1.5

Damp Clay— 10% Sand

110

2.0

120

2.6

130

8.0

140

3.6

Wet Clay

1.0

2
li

a
^/'

<0 2

1
4

■

y^/

■^'

,cre^

S>"^

^ c

.J^t^

./'

„-''

9 <

3
3
>

\ '

I !

> <

>
?

\ ;

5 s

LO/)D Z'^/? SQ.FT. POU/iOS.
Fig. 3.— Test on Detroit Clay.

ther location. So that great care
!ust be exercised in studying borings
,nd data, to make sure just what was
iitended or meant by any given record
f borings.

The weight, the angle of repose, and
he angle of internal friction of clay,
a the dry and under water, are given
II Table I.

Carrying Capacity. — The carrying
apacity per sq. ft. for the various
rades of clay on its top surface, may

100

1.5

110

2.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

120

6.0

130

7.0

140

8.0

(Drained)
Clay Under Water

Hardpan

Formulas for Determining Allow-
able Load. — The increase in the carry-
ing capacity, with the increase in the
depth of the foundation footing below
the surface of the clay, may be de-

Weip-ht

Kind of Clay of Clay

Ty Clay 110-140

lay (with Sand) 110-120

lamp Clay 100-110

t^'et Clay _ 90-100

Inder Water ' 70-90

fardpan 120-140

Tahle I.

Angle of

Angle

Ancle of

Slope of

Inderal

Repose

epose Dry

Rfpose

Fric'ion

Under Water

29° 0'

1.8 to 1

10° 0'

15° 57'

36° 53'

1.3 to 1

10° 0'

18° 26'

26° 34'

2 to 1

6° 30'

15057'

20 0 0'

3tol

3° 0'

15° 57'

15057'

3.1 to 1

2 030'

15057'

450 0'

1 tol

15° 0'

45° V

872

Buildings

October

termined by any one of the three
standard formulas, the Rankine, the
Goodrich, and the Fowler-Antwerp,
The first named giving the greatest
values, and the last named the most
conservative values, as shown by the
diagram for Detroit blue clay, weigh-
ing 140 lb. per cu. ft. The diagram
(Fig. 1) gives also the reduced values
for the Rankine and Goodrich form-
ulas where it is necessary to keep
within conservative loading values to
have only a slight settlement, by ap-
plying a safety factor of two. The
conservative values obtained by the

werp formula is recommended for use
in all important or high buildings, and
especially for all buildings where an
undue amount of settlement would be
likely to crack stonework, plastering,
or any ornamental work.

Settlement Tests at Detroit.— The
settlements in clay as determined by
tests with from one to 4 sq. ft. area
are very unreliable, and larger areas
should be used making tests or for
tests piers. The tests for the Michi-
gan Central Station at Detroit had
one such pier of 68 sq. ft. on which a
load of 5485 lb. per sq. ft. was main-

O/^MP ME-DIUM Cl-MY.

60000

^0000

40 000

^0 000

20000

iOOOO

... >J^

Fig. 4. — Settlement of the Large Areas.

Fowler-Antwerp empirical formula
are well within ordinary settlement
values.

The Rankine formula is

P = W H tan^ \/450 + % A
The Goodrich formula is

P = 2.5 X W X H
The Fowler- Antwerp formula is

P = 0.68p + 0.014pH
In which the values are:
P = allowable load in pounds per

sq. ft.
W=weight of material lbs. cu. ft.
H ^=^ penetration of footing in feet.
A = angle of repose of material,
p = allowable load 23 ft. below sur-
face.
The last named or the Fowler-Ant-

tained for 73 days, or from Feb. 25 to
May 9, 1912, and the resulting settle-
ment was only % in., the clay being
much softer however than in the cen-
tral part of the City, where all of the
foundations for high and heavy
buildings have been made for many
years on or in the heavy clay, with no
settlements of appreciable amounts.
The character of the clay is shown by
the boring section (Fig. 2) taken at
•the comer of Michigan Ave. and
Washington Blvd. The loading test
of this clay is shown by the curve in
the diagram (Fig. 3) and the settle-
ment was inconsiderable in amount.
The test was made with a hydrauli<S
jack on an area of 4 sq ft., and within
a recess in a concrete pier, so that it

1923

Buildings

873

represents closely the settlement to be
expected on a spread footing of large
area, and shows the true elastic cur\'e
of the Detroit clay. The tests of the

/■

' id

^Si

^ 6^

i>J

I 7.5
Fig. 5. — Fowler Porcupine Caisson.

lay at the site of the new Masonic

["emple, corner of Temple Ave. and

Second Blvd., indicated a possibility

[settlement of from % to % in., which

was provided for by large spread foot-
ings carrying a number of columns on
each large reinforced concrete spread
base.

The use of such multiple spread
bases has been very common in De-
troit and in many cases mattresses

.Z^

r n\ s

F-

r LCI2S

/=-

7 J-./: ' '

Fig. 6. — Fowler Fan Caisson.

have been used to cover the entire
building area, as in the case of the
Michigan Central Station for an area
of nearly 60,000 sq. ft. While no
definite tests have been made of the
relations between the settlements of
small area tests and the settlement of

874

Buildings

October

such large areas, it may be confi-
dently stated to lie between the cui-ves
shown on the diagram herewith (Fig.
4). The mattresses must be designea
in sections, and reinforced in accord-
ance with the distribution of loads

40'

Fig. 7. — Fowler Fan Caisson.

over each section. In some cases this
calls for cantilever reinforcement, and
in others two or four way flat slab
reinforcement as used in the plan of a
12 column section. The thickness of

the sections to vary with the intensity
of the loads or from 2 ft, to 7 ft. thick.

Porcupine and Fan Caissons. —

While such methods insure an equi-
table distribution over an entire area,
and prevent trouble by bridging over
soft spots in the clay, it is often
necessary to have the foundation
cover more area, and to go to a depth
not likely to be exceeded by adjacent
foundations that might be constructed
in the future. This may be accom-
plished at great expense by caissons
or wells to rock, or to hardpan by
belling out at the bottom, when the
hardpan layer is thick enough to dis-
tribute the load over softer stratas
below, or when it lays directly on the
rock. However the schemes devised
by the writer are covered in the in-
vention of porcupine and fan caissons,
patents for which have been applied
for, shown in the illustrations (Figs.
5, 6 and 7), which by varying widths
and numbers of the lugs and fans,
proportioned according to the soil re-
sistance at various depths, makes it
possible to carry great loads by ex-
tending the foundations only to mod-
erate depths. The load is distributed
outward and downwards into the clay
without interference with the zones
reached by the lower layers or rings
of lugs or fans. The larger projection
of the upper lugs and rings combined
with the lesser carrying capacity of
the clay at shallower top depths,
makes it possible to insure each ring ,
taking its full share of the load. The
bottom of the caisson may be belled
out or not as found necessary or de-
sirable.

Minimum Wage Scales in Building
Trades. — Minimum wage scales on the
8-hour basis as submitted at the re-
cent convention of the Building trades
Department of the American Federa-
tion of Labor showed that bricklayers
throughout the country were receiv-
ing from $1 to $1.50 per hour; car-
penters, $0.85 to $1.25; plasterers, $1
to $1.50; building labores, $0.25 to
$1.10; structural iron workers, $0.75
to $1.37^/2; plumbers, from $0.80 to
$1.50; lathers, $0.70 to $1.62y2; elec-
tricians, $0.70 to $1.25; stone cutters,
$0.75 to $1.50. It was stated more-
over that many workers are receiving
bonus payments of from $1 to $4 daily
in addition to the regular wage scales.

1923 Buildings 875

Practical Accident Prevention in Structurzd Work

Methods of Post & McCord, Contractors, Described in Paper Pre-
sented Oct. 3, at 12th Annual Congress of National
Safety Council

By B. W. DELANEY,

Claim Agent, Post & McCkird, Inc. New York City.

The only practical way, known to
Post & McCord, to prevent accidents
in the construction field is as old as
antiquity and at the same time seems
to hold good against any other form
of safety as yet introduced. It is em-
bodied in two divisions:

The exercise of eternal vigilance, or
personal surveillance; and the use of
the best equipment procurable.

Carelessness Cause of Many Acci-
dent.— It has been the experience of
Post & McCord during the past 10
years, in which the firm has carried its
own insurance, that over 95 per cent
of the accidents occuring among em-
ployees working on the many steel
ructures erected during that period
ve been due to the carelessness of
:ne injured or to that of his fellow
workmen. This in itself emphasizes
the necessity of constant watc'nfulness
on the part of both employee and em-
ployer, and is supplemented by the
fact that many of the most serious
accidents which occurred during the
period mentioned were due to the
momentary carelessness of expert
workers; men who had had years of
experience in their trade and who
were well known as the most careful

j and competent in their particular line.
Hence it is considered necessary to

I keep in constant and intimate touch

• with the men in the field.

How Safety Program Is Conducted.

-This program is personally con-
;cted by the Vice-President, Mr.
rank B. McCord, and by the Super-
tendent of Erection, Mr. William H.
-cCord, through direct contact with
perintendents, foremen, sub-fore-
en, time-keepers, gang bosses, etc.,
the various jobs. Every job is vis-
ed daily by either of the above men
no carefully inspect and analyze,
ith the superintendent and his as-
sistants, each operation and problem
;' involved in the progress of the work,
! and so become acquainted with all the
i men and all conditions. Suggestions
j and criticisms are in%'ited; infractions
t <Jf rules detected; penalties inflicted;
<5angerous practices eliminated; and,

in a word, the whole organization kept
on its toes both for efficiency in pro-
duction and prevention of accident.
This, the firm believes makes every
man a separate unit of safety. Of
course, this system of supervision is
supplemented by various efforts to
get the men to think safety, but when
it comes to influencing the human ele-
ment the principal dependency is on
the verbal contact established between
employer and employee in the way
above mentioned.

Provide Best Equipment. — In the

matter of equipment, it has always
been the endeavor of Post & McCord
to provide the best and most modem
machinery and tools obtainable for
construction work. In fact, I think it
may be said without fear of contra-
diction that the erection plant of Post
& McCord is the most complete outfit
of its kind in the territory of New
York City. This does not merely
mean that the plant is large and cap-
able of handling big work, but rather
that every tool and piece of machin-
ery, from the drift pin to the 50-ton
derrick, was selected with the pre-
dominating thought of safety first.

I believe it is also a matter of his-
tory that Post & McCord were the
first contractors in New York City to
use steam hoisting engines and com-
pressors in the erection of steelwork,
and were likewise the first to aban-
don steam when electricity had been
proved a more desirable power for
hoisting and air compression. The
substitution of steel or wooden der-
ricks was another forward step in
which the firm was a pioneer. As a
safety factor, however, I think the
company's greatest achievement was
through the introduction of wire rope
slings for hoisting. For many years
prior to 1912 the most serious acci-
dents encountered were caused by the
breaking of chains used in hoisting.
Despite the closest inspection and
most rigid care a chain would fre-
quently break %\-ith disastrous results.
Therefore, a substitute for chains was
often the subject of grave discussion

876

Buildings

October

among various engineers and mem-
bers of the firm. Through these dis-
cussions the matter was finally
brought to the attention of the John
A. Roebling's Sons Co., the firm which,
after exhaustive experimental work,
developed the present day wire rope
sling and enabled Post & McCord to
be the first in New York to use this
valuable factor of safety.

In this respect the firm makes no
considering a wide margin of safety
the best of insurance protection, a
plain duty to the public in general
and especially to the employes who
have to entrust their lives to the
proper performance of the equipment
furnished.

Merely purchasing good equipment
and putting it on the job does not
mean efficiency or accident prevention.
The first cost of the average tool or
machine used for structural steel erec-
tion work is soon lost sight of in the
items of upkeep and repairs. There-
fore, eternal vigilance is almost as
necessary in the inspection and care
of the equipment as it is among the
men.

At the storeroom of the company in
Brooklyn a complete repair depart-
ment is maintained. This outfit is in
charge of men expert in repairing and
overhauling the special machinery,
tools and rigging used in erection
work. These men are held responsible
for the condition of all equipment sent
to the various jobs and are therefore
careful to have everything in good and
safe working order before sending it
out.

Co-operation Needed for Education
of Employes. — As intimated in a pre-
vious paragraph, the firm has never
actively pursued a scientifically organ-
ized program of safety work among
the ironworkers. This is largely due
to the fact that in the erection field
the average job lasts less than six
months or a year, and employes are
constantly changing from one em-
ployer to another. Consequently,
about the time one would have a
safety movement ready to function
the job would be finished, and on the
next job he would have to start all
over again with a new group of men.
Therefore, it is the opinion of the
firm that in order to make the theoret-
ical feature of "safety first" a success
among the rank and file of the men,
movement would have to be made

through a general headquarters com-
posed of all employers within a cer-
tain district, and also through the
headquarters of the various unions
and organizations of the employes.
In this way the message coming from
an authoritative source, would reach
all trades and cover all conditions in-
volved.

Would not this work of "organizing
the organizers" be a task well wortL
the attention of such a master Safety
Force as the National Safety Council .
I have read with marked attention ol
the wonderful success you have had
in establishing the safety movement
in various industries throughout the
country, and hope that your Strue
tural Department will in the neai
future be sufficiently strong to havt
so thoroughly imbued all the build
ing trades, employers and employes
with the spirit of Safety First, S(
that evidence of a careless acciden
can only be found in records of th(
past.

Physical Properties of Building

Stone

The U. S. Bureau of Standards ha
continued its weathering tests on lime
stone and sandstone, although ther
have been some unavoidable interrup
tions during the past month. Seyera
of the limestone specimens hav
passed 1,000 freezings without show-
ing any appreciable signs of disinte
gration. The tests on sandstone wer
started at a later date, but some spec)
mens have reached the 500 freezing
with the samples of the better grade
still in good condition.

A series of tests is in progress t
determine the effectiveness of variou
stone preservatives. For this wor
specimens of limestone treated wit
various waterproofing materials ai
employed. These are alternatel
soaked in a 15 per cent solution (
sodium chloride and dried at 104° F
the crystallization of the salt givin i
an action similar to that of frost. . .
parallel series of treated specimens 31
being exposed to the weather and wi j
be tested in the salt solution aftf
periods of one and two years' exp(|
sure. In this way the preserving at,
tion of the treatments when first aij
plied and also after they have bee!
exposed to the weather for a consic'
erable time will be determined.

1923

Buildings

877

Monthly Statistics of the Building Industry

The accompanying tabulations are
taken from the Survey of Current
Business, a publication of the U. S.
Department of Commerce. They
show (1) the building contracts
awarded by thousands of square feet,
and thousands of dollars, (2) the in-
dex numbers for building contracts
awarded, (3) the bxiilding material
price index for frame and brick
houses, (4) the cost index for con-
structing factory buildings, and (5)
the index numbers of wholesale prices
for structural steel, iron and steel.

composite steel and composite finished
steel.

The figures on building contracts
are based on data compiled by the
F. W. Dodge Co., covering small
towns and rural districts as well as
large cities in 27 northeastern states.
Prior to May, 1921, the building
figures covered 25 northeastern states
and the District of Columbia. The
states are those north and east of, and
including. North Dakota, South Da-
kota, Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, and
Virginia, together with portions of

ir and Month Eh^

lis monthly av

•14 monthly av

115 monthly av

116 monthly av

117 monthly av

118 monthly av

•19 monthly av 46.683

1920 monthly av 33,491

11921 monthly av 32.267

1922 monthly av 47.745

1921

January 15,518

February 16,807

March 26,709

April 84,494

May 85,751

June 85,788

July 81,717

August 86,246

September 41,702

October „ 40,486

November 37,818

December 35,272

1922

January 30.261

February 80,061

March 51,957

April 58,146

May 59,689

June 60, 526

-.51.705

St _ 54,019

ptember 44,275

ober 46,806

irember 46.946

aber 88.608

1923

ttuary 38.947

February 4 1.611

March 64,920

April 64,627

May „ 60,430

June _...46,344

July _ 42,021

Building

Material

Total

Index

Price

Cost

Wholesale Price*

Contracts

Number!

Indexes

Index

Index Numbers

-is

2
1-

■zss

S
>

J3
1

a
o

11
6<g

$71,475

..««

10*

109

100

60,020

«««

100

78.841

™...

118,082

«.«,

177

154

168

161

184.086

—

269

266

259

268

140.770

202

215

220

218

214.990

i'ee

100

174

191

193

188

211,102

187

249

211

222

196,648

179

181

155

156

162

279,410

102

180

isi

186

170

116

144

184

111.608

100.677

«_

164,092

___

220.886

108

—

242,094

118

176

146

165

170

166

227.711

106

172

146

159

166

159

212.491

167

189

145

153

148

220.721

108

—

161

128

187

144

141

246,186

115

160

128

184

188

186

222.480

108

157

116

186

184

192,811

166

178

154

106

182

188

128

198.518

178

179

163

129

180

127

166.820

174

179

162

127

126

124

177,478

169

174

162

125

124

121

298,637

111

187

169

178

152

126

122

858.162

125

164

168

172

152

181

126

862.590

128

169

178

176

167

106

139

127

843,440

130

160

178

181

169

106

140

129

ISO

850,081

111

163

181

184

171

109

142

180

181

822,007

116

160

189

198

174

116

151

187

188

271,493

126

193

197

190

187

166

146

258,187

100

118

196

199

192

141

166

149

148

244,366

101

114

196

201

192

136

160

149

146

215,213

100

192

198

192

132

154

149

147

217.833

101

195

199

192

132

156

161

149

229,938

107

198

201

197

189

162

158

157

333,518

139

155

209

197

146

171

165

168

357,475

138

166

206

209

204

172

179

174

169

374,400

128

174

212

214

208

174

180

176

168

323,559

150

212

215

206

169

175

176

168

274,224

128

214

217

206

166

172

176

167

878

Buildmgs

October

eastern Kansas and Nebraska. Be-
ginning May, 1921, North Carolina
and South Carolina were added to the
list, but this addition is stated to have
little effect upon the total.

The price indexes for frame and
brick houses are from the U. S. De-
partment of Commerce, Bureau of
Standards, Division of Building and
Housing and Bureau of Census, and
are based on prices paid for material
by contractors in some 60 cities of the
United States. The prices are
weighted by the relative importance of
each commodity in the construction of
a 6-room house.

The figures for composite steel are
compiled by the American Metal Mar-
ket and represent the average price
per pound of steel products weighted
as follows: 2^/^, lb. bars, 1^^ lb. plates,
l\ii lb. shapes, 1^ lb. pipe, iy2 lb.
wire nails, 1 lb. galvanized sheets, and
\^ lb. tin plate.

Solutions for Two Truss Prob-
lems

Stress Diagram for Truss with Inte-
rior Panel Load and Graphical
Solution of Fink Truss Given
in The Western Architect

By C. R. McANLIS

At times it is necessary to deter-
mine the stresses in the members of
truss when the truss carries an in-
terior panel load. In Fig. 1, the load
7-8 applied at the point "W" is an
example of the point in question. Tht
load may be from a heavy driving
shaft, hoist, or pipe line.

The stresses may be determinet
easily by means of a stress diagram

Stress Diagram for Truss with an Interior
Panel Load.

1928

Buildings

87d

and the string polygon a-m-n in Fig.
1. The load polygon for the entire
loading is laid off by beginning at "a"
and plotting the top chords in order
to "j". The reaction J-Y is equal to
J-X plus X-Y which is the sum of the
left reactions from the top chord
loads and the interior load. This is
represented on the load polygon by a
vertical line upward from J to Y.
Load Y-Z is plotted downward and the
load polygon is closed by checking the
value of the left reaction from "Z"
to "A."

The stress diagram is begun at the
left reaction and continued without
any trouble until point "Q" is reached.
Here the member R-T is substituted
^or the member 4-5 and point "R" is
ocated.

At this point it is necessary to de-
ermine the stress in the member
I'-T. This is done by an indirect
nethod. It is evident that the only
tress that R-T can carry will be
rom the loads d-e and 7-8. The load
~-8 will be carried by 5-6 and the two
-traight line members 4-7 and 6-8, 5-6
carrying that part of the load 7-8
vhich is the component of 7-8 perpen-
dicular to the member 4-7. In Fig. 4,
his component is shown as 5-8 and
he stress in member 5-6 due to 5-8 is
represented by line 5-d, A force poly-
-ron, 5-d-e-K can now be drawn about
;ioint "S" which will give the stress
')-K in the substitute member R-T.
This stress can now be plotted on
-cale in Fig. 3.

This construction can be carried out
^n Fig. 3 to the same scale as the
=tress diagram. Here R-L represents
:he component of d-e in the direction
R-T, shown in figure 4 as P-K. If
oad 7-8 be laid off to scale as L-U,
hen L-V and L-0 will represent 5-8
ind 5-d in Fig. 4 and L-T will be equal
:o the stress in R-T due to load 7-8.
1-6 can now be drawn and when point
is located the remainder of the
tress diagram is an easy matter. Fig.
shows the complete stress diagram.

A Fink Truss Solution. — The writer

is had so many students and men

)aching for state examinations who

ive been unable to satisfy them-

jlves with regard to the graphic solu-

ion of a Fink Truss that he is sub-

itting an explanation of a simple

cample (which so far as he knows

never been published), with the

jkope that you may care to pass it on

any of your readers who may be

iterested in this line of work.

Figure 1 shows the form of the

truss, and the construction of the
stress diagram is a simple matter un-
til Joint "A" is reached, where three
unknowns are found. Members "4-5"
and "5-6" are then taken out of the
truss and one "substitute" member
put in, in place of these two members,
to transfer one component of the load
"d-e" away from the upper chord.
With this substitution the truss of
Fig. 1 takes the form of Fig. 2, and

f/Oi/esJ

Graphic Solution of a Fink Tmss.

the stress diagram is easily drawn as
is shown in Fig. 3 (first half only
drawn).

If each truss is cut by some plane
"m-n" and a free body is made of the
right portion of each truss as shown in
Fig. 4, the form and external forces
of the two free bodies are identical,
and the respective members cut in
each truss must have the same stress.
The stress shown for "e-6" in Fig. 3,
therefore, is the correct stress for
"e-6" in the truss of Fig. 1 or the
truss with the interior bracing. When
point "6" is found in Fig. 3, it is cer-
tain that "e-6" represents in amovmt
and direction the stress in member
"e-6" in Fig. 1. With this known, it is
a simple matter to continue the stress
diagram and obtain the stress in mem-
bers 5-6 and 4-5. With 4-5 known,
the force polygon about point "A" can
be drawn.

880

Buildings

October

Water-Resistant Cold Press Blood
Albumin Glue

A formula and method of prepara-
tion for a highly water-resistant cold
press blood albumin glue developed at
the U. S. Forest Products Laboratory,
is given below. This glue does not
require not pressing as do the older
types of blood albumin glues, but is
used in a cold press in the same man-
ner as casein or vegetable glues. It
can, however, be used in a hot press
if the occasion demands. The im-
proved giue can be used with success
in the pioduction of plywood and for
gluing lumber of the species having
low shearing strength, but in the stage
of development which has produced
the formula and preparation described
here, it cannot be recommended for
gluing thick veneer or lumber of
heavy dense species. Further devel-
opment may make the glue strong
enough for use with all species. The
glue shows a moisture resistance far
superior to that of any glue in ordi-
nary use at the time of its discovery.

The formula is as follows:

100 parts by weight of soluble blood
albumin.

140 to 200 parts by weight of water
(according to glue consistency de-
sired).

5V2 parts by weight of ammonium
hydroxide (Sp. gr. 0.90).

15 parts by weight of trioxymethyl-
een (paraformaldehyde).

The blood albumin is covered with
water and the mixture is allowed to
stand for an hour or two. When it
is stirred at the end of this period,
the blood albumin will for the most
part go into solution. The ammonium
hydroxide is added with more stirring.
Then the trioxymethylene is sifted in,
and the mixture stirred constantly at
a fairly high speed. The trioxymeth-
ylene should not be poured in so rap-
idly as to form lumps nor so slowly
that the mixture will thicken before
the required amount has been added.
Regardless of the manner in which the
trioxymethylene is added the mixture
will thicken considerably at this point.
This thickened mass will become fluid
again in a short time at ordinary room
temperature and arrive at a good
working consistency in about an hour,
remaining in this condition for at least
6 or 8 hours. When this glue finally
hardens it cannot be dissolved again
in water.

The glue may be applied by means
of a brush or mechanical spreader.

Several- precautions should be ob-
served in mixing and applying this
type of blood albumin glue:

1. Weigh out all constituents. Do
not use volumetric measure.

2. Add water at room temperature
and do not heat the mixture.

3. Do not stir the blood until it has
soaked for from 1 to 2 hours.

4. Avoid excessive stirring of the
glue or agitation of the spreader, as
this causes foamy glue.

5. Use sufficient pressure to insure
good contact but not enough to crush
the wood.

The fact that cold press blood al-
bumin glue will solidify under water
indicates that the "setting" of this
glue is a chemical reaction and not
a result of evaporation.

Durability of Various Kinds oi
Building Stone in Service

In order to obtain information on
the durability of various kinds of
building stone in actual service, an
inspection trip was recently made by
a number of the U. S. Bureau of
Standards' staff covering 7 cities.
About 200 masonry buildings were
examined, which illustrate the use of
approximately 40 different building
stones. As far as possible the dates
of construction were ascertained and
the stone identified. A few cases of
stone decay were found in quite re-
cently constructed buildings. This ap-
peared to be due principally to a re-
crystallization of soluble material*
which had been leached out of the'
mass of the stone work or the mortar^
and deposited as an efflorescence in:
certain places at or slightly beneath
the surface of the stone. This phe-
nomenon occurs frequently under the
water table and under the cornice. It
has been noted on structures of dif-
ferent types of stone, but most fre-
quently on those of sandstone. It has
been duplicated in the laboratory by
placing blocks of stone partly im- j j
mersed in a weak solution of sodium j.j
sulphate. The salt is carried up in * '
solution through the pores in the stone
by capillarity, and is deposited m
crystals on or slightly beneath the
surface wherever evaporation occurs. •
These crystals expand in forming and j |
cause disintegration of the stone in a J
manner similar to that of frost but at
a much faster rate.

Equipment Review ^ ^ '

QIARTERLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting PubBthing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago

Hal£est P Gillsttx, President and Editor

Lewis S. Lodkr, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St and Broadway

RiCHAXD £. Brown, Eastern Manager

The specialized publishing plan of Engfineering and Contracting provides
four rotating monthly magazines, each of which is $1 a year. All four
may be subscribed for at $4 a year, and thus taken they provide a weekly
service completely covering the construction field.

Roads and Streets — 1st Wednesday. II Railways — 3rd Wednesday, fl

(a) Road Con- (e) Streets (a) St«am Rail- (b) Eleetria BaU-
struetion (d) S^^et clean- way Constrac- way Constrae-

(b) Road Main- ins tion and tion and
tenanee Maintenance Maintenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday. $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrisation and SanitatiMi
Drainaffe (d) Waterways

Baildings— 4th Wednesday, SI

(a) Boildinss (d) Miscellaneons

(b) Bridses Straetores

CopyriKht, 1923, by the Engineering and Contracting Poblishing Company

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., OCTOBER 31, 1923

No. 2

Equipment and the Contractor

While the best tools in the world
will not save a bungler, the lack of
proper equipment will damage even
the most skilled operator — the degree
of damage extending all the way from
a moderate reduction of profits under
favorable circumstances, to complete
ruin where other conditions are bad.
Particularly is this true in all com-
petitive fields.

The contractor's economic problem
of equipment is a complicated one, and
the pros and cons which he must con-
sider before purchasing any important
niece of equipment can not be listed
ill detail here.

I^B There are mathematical formulas

IHReveloped in the 'Handbook of Cost

lK)ata" by Halbert P. Gillette, editor in

'"Chief of this paper, by which one can

determine to a nicety whether or not

it is economic to purchase a given

machine or to replace an old machine

by a new one — provided all the data

of the case are available. When, as

most often happens, some of the data

are lacking, the usefulness of the
formulas is affected in varying de-
grees. Often in a special problem
some of the factors of a complete
solution are so small as to be of no
consequence, and an entirely satisfac-
tory result can be obtained without
them. In other cases, where the ab-
sence of more important data makes a
completely dependable solution im-
possible, the formulas still frequently
will serve as valuable guides to judg-
ment. We suspect that it is upon the
basis of these or similar formulas that
Henry Ford makes his famous de-
cisions on the scrapping of old ma-
chines as soon as new ones can be
found to do their work cheaper.

Like Mr. Ford, the contractor is de-
pending more and more upon equip-
ment for his profits; but his informa-
tion on new equipment comes of neces-
sity chiefly from his professional
journals, and the quarterly editions of
Engineering and Contracting are
therefore especially designed to serve
him this purpose.

882

Equipment Review

October

Recent Developments in Construction
and Engineering Equipment

AU-Steel Blast Hole Drill

The tendency today in quarrying
and heavy rock excavation work,
seems to be more and more toward
the use of machines and equipment
made entirely of iron and steel. The
modern quarryman wants machinery
that has strength and stability — some-
thing that will stand up and give con-
tinuous economical service. Among

New Armstrong All-Steel Blast Hole Drill.

the late advancements made along
this line is the Armstrong all-steel
blast hole drill, which was recently
placed on the market by the Arm-
strong Manufacturing Co., Waterloo,
la. This machine is claimed to possess
many exclusive features of design,
construction and operation, with a sim-
plicity of working parts that assures
continuous operation with a minimum
of repair and maintenance expense.
The derrick is provided with the Arm-
strong patented device for using steel
drilling cable in place of hawser laid
manila, which feature is stated to in-

sure a saving of at least 75 per cent
in cable costs alone to the operator.
Both traction and non-traction models
are built to be operated either with
gasoline or electric power. The gas-
oline engine furnished is of the 4 cyl-
inder heavy duty type, which supplies
a steady flow of economical and uni-
form power under all conditions.

Offset Hitch for Tractor Use

Conforming to the growing demand
for motorized grading outfits, the
Western Wheeled Scraper Company,
Aurora, 111., has developed offset
hitches for all standard Western grad-
ing tools for attachment to the low
drawbar of a small tractor. Con-
tractors, road officials and others who
own such tractors will be able to in-
crease their value and service by in-
stalling grading tools which have
been adapted to tractor use.

The illustration shows the offset
hitch designed for a standard Western
wheeled scraper. Its strength and

Western Wheeled Scraper with Offset Hitch.

practicability will be at once recog-
nized. An ordinary wheeled scraper
with stub pole cannot be used with
some of the most popular types of
tractors. The drawbar of the small
tractor is only about 12 in. from the
ground, so low that the pan of loaded
scraper would catch and overturn
while in transit. The offset hitch
remedies this condition and carries
the bottom of the pan in the same
place as when used with teams in
the ordinary way.

1923

Equipment Review

883

Electrically Operated Central

Mixing Plant

An electrically operated central

mixing plant is an important feature

of the construction operations of the

Jones Island sewage disposal plant of

j Milwaukee, Wis. The job will require

job. Extending in radial lines from
this central mixing plant, chutes carry
the concrete to all parts of the work,
having outside dimensions of 650x750
ft., with the highest point of concrete
averaging 20 ft., gives some idea of
the speedy and steady output re-
quired from the two mixers.

Construction View of Jones Island Sewage Disposal Plant, Milwaukee, Wis.

about 69,000 cu. yd. of concrete and it
is expected it will be completed about
Dec. 1.

The concrete is being mixed in two
electrically driven Smith 40-S tilting
mixers. These two mixers, each with
a batch capacity of 1^ yd. and with

-^K^,^^ ' * / ' t« m. *"•» '/

ix '^ 'i

The Mixers.

batch hoppers, water tank and batch
meter, are situated as the central
UMts in the large mixing plant main-
tained on one of the long sides of the

In addition to the two Smith 40-S
tilting mixers, the central mixing
plant includes two Insley steel hoist-
ing towers, 1^2 yd. capacity and 216
ft. high, so arranged that power is
supplied to both hoists by one 100
h.p. double drum, Thomas electric
hoist. The aggregate
is fed into the mixers
from two overhead
bins, each about 100 yd.
capacity, these bins be-
ing fed by two 100-yd.-
per-hour capacity buck-
et chain elevators.
These, in turn, are fed
by automatic chain belt
feeders. The entire bin
feeding apparatus is
electrically driven.
When available, bottom
dump cars deliver the
sand and gravel direct
to the bottom of the
bins. When other cars
are used, a 1-yd. clam-
shell derrick unloads
the cars — this derrick
also being used in
handling the material
for the 1,000-yd. stock
pile which is maintained.

A cement bin of about 2-car capac-
ity is located close to the bins, this
being used for emergency storage

884

Equipment Review

October

only. A gravity trolley system, with
cement containers of the bottom dump
type, each about 8 bags capacity, is
constantly dispatching the cement to
the mixers direct from the cement
cars as they arrive.

From the mixing plant the concrete
is conveyed to the various parts of the
job by a series of hoisting towers and
several lines of chutes. The two main
towers at the mixing plant, supply
one line of chutes 450 ft. long to an
Insley re-hoist tower 196 ft. high.
This re-hoist tower in turn supplies a
120 ft. tower, placed in the center of
the job, which supports a line of
chutes 280 ft. in length on each side
of the tower, with a 50 ft. counter-

specifications calling for 1^ minute
mix are stated to have reached a max-
imum of 600 yd. per day in one con-
tinuous pouring. The average per
day, however, during the length of the
job has been 400 yd.

The job which will cost well over
$750,000 is being directed by the Du
Pont Engineering Co., Wilmington,
Del.

Method of Cooling Ford Engine
for Mixer Operation

The accompanying illustration
shows the Archer 1-bag mixer of the
Archer Iron Works, Chicago, on its
Ford Model T chassis mounting, en-

Simple Method of Cooline Ford Engine

weight chute on each end which is
used to pour the circular tanks in the
center of the job.

An Insley guy derrick of 10-ton
capacity, with 115-ft. mast and 100-ft.
boom, which supports a double coun-
terweight chute system with total
operating radius of 170 ft., is being
placed in four different working set-
ups, and is supplied with concrete
either direct from the two main hoist
towers or from the re-hoist tower.

Williamsport cable is used through-
out the job, the main suspension cable
being iy2 in. in diameter, the rest be-
ing V/i in. or 1V» in.

The two Smith tilting mixers are
being operated alternately, and with

gaged on a construction job at Chi-
cago. Of particular interest in the
view is a simple method shown for
keeping the Ford engine cool while
operating the mixer. Without some
cooling device, the Ford engine will
not work satisfactorily when stand-
ing still for industrial work. A hose
connection is run from the water sup-
ply into the mixer to the top of the
Ford radiator. The overflow pipe in
the Ford radiator is blocked off and
when the tank is full of water the
capacity of the Ford radiator has been
increased by 15 additional gal. of
water. With this method of cooling,
the engine works very satisfactorily
and will not heat up.

1923

Equipment Review

885

A New H Yd. Gasoline Shovel

There is no question but what the

demand for excavating machinery

operated by internal combustion en-

crines has been on a very rapid in-

rease of late. In response to this de-

turned one way or the other by ropes
which lead back to drums in the main
machinery. The 20-B shovel may also
be had with a high-lift or extra high
lift boom. Its operating ranges are
approximately the same as of the

Bucyrus 20-B High Lift (jasohnc ^hovel .'b tt. tiooin, 15 ft. Handle, "4 yd. Bucket.

mand the Bucyrus Company of South
Milwaukee, Wis. a year or so ago
brought out a new 30-B 1-yd. gasoline
shovel and dragline. They are now
prepared to offer a %-yd. machine of
the same type. In these two shovels
the well known Bucyrus standard of
building a machine has been main-
tained. It is stated that these ma-
chines are not what are called "fair
weather" machines, but will perform
satisfactorily in all materials that
they may be brought up against.
Mechanically, the principal feature of
prominence is the fact that they both
have what is called a rope-thrust on
which basic patents are held by the
Bucyrus Co. This thrust is even more
powerful than that which is accom-
plished by the independent engine on
the steam machine. The simplicity of
this design is one of its most desirable
features. A glance at the accompany-
ing photograph will show that there
is no engine, no complicated shafting,
no chains or bolts on the boom. This
drive consists of a small drum on a
shaft to which are keyed the thrusting
pinions which engage with the racks
on the dipper handle. This boom is

steam machine of the same size. It
also may be had as a dragline excava-
tor, clamshell machine, or a crane.

Rail Filler for Street Railway
Track

A rail filler of tempered asphaltic
compound reinforced with asphalt sat-
urated felt is a recent product of the
Philip Carey Co., Cincinnati, O. The
foUer is pre-formed to shape to fit
any type of rail, and is made in 3 to 5
ft. lengths for easy handling. It is
quickly cut to shorter lengths with an
axe where fitting is necessary. In in-
stalling the filler is tapped into the
rail with a mallet, and the concrete,
brick, granite block, or other pa^^ng
material laid to it. It is easily in-
stalled on cur\'es and frogs. The pur-
pose of the filler is to pro%ide a resil-
ient cushion between the rail and the
road material, and to absorb rail vi-
bration, and expansion stresses due to
temperature changes; also to exclude
rain and frost, protecting the street
and track from these destructive
forces. It is also stated to be a valu-
able electrical insulator.

886

Equipment Review

October

Locomotive Crane

The accompanying illustration
shows the 20-ton, 8-wheel locomotive
crane brought out recently by the
McMyler Interstate Co., Cleveland,
0. In this crane simplicity in opera-
tion and ease of control are gained
through the use of large friction
clutches for all functions, in conjunc-
tion with a non-reversing engine. This
permits any or all functions to be
performed simultaneously. The crane
will handle a fall block, two line
bucket, lifting magnet, drag line
bucket or pile driving attachment. It
has sufficient tractive effort to shift
several loaded cars. With its maxi-
mum single line load of 10,000 lbs.,
the normal hoisting speed is 300 ft.
per min. The line pull available for
rapid bucket work is 7,500 lb. At 12
ft. radius, with a 40-ft. boom, the
crane has sufficient stability to lift
45,000 lb. In designing the crane,
full appreciation has been given to
the desirability of having all parts
of the mechanism readily accessible
for adjustment and repair. Practical-
ly any shaft may be removed by
simply taking off the two bearing
caps and without disturbing any of
the other mechanism. Replaceable
bushings are used in all bearings. All
the gears are steel, those above the

turntable having cut teeth. The boom
hoist mechanism will raise and lower
the boom with maximum load speci-
fied at various radii.

Motor Truck Snow Plow

The 1923 model of the auto truck
snow plow of the Baker Manufactur-
ing Co., 506 Stanford Ave., Spring-
field, 111., shows some important new

j^T^^

Baker Auto Truck Snow Plow.

features. This snow plow is made for
attachment to the front axle of stand-
ard motor trucks without the neces-
sity of drilling any holes in the truck.

McMyler-Interstate 20-Ton Crane

1923

Equipment Review

887

There are adjustments which allow for
different widths between spring cen-
ters of truck, height of truck and po-
sition of seat. One of the outstand-
ing features, is the patent safety
tripping blades hinged to the mold-
board or plow proper, which trip back
when obstructions are encountered,
such as man-holes, crossings, etc. The
blades are made of cast steel in 2 ft.
sections 6 in. wide so that only that
section of the plow which strikes the
obstruction is affected, thus allowing
only a small portion of the snow to
leak through.

Pressure Type Water Filters

The vertical pressure type of water
filter made by the Graver Corpora-
tion, East Chicago, Ind., is illustrated.
In these filters the water to be filtered

bed and then is conducted off to waste
through the top over-flow funnel. The
method of wash is the so-called "high
velocity" or high water rate method,
no other means of agitation being nec-
essary. Under some circumstances,
such as in filtering chemically treated
softened waters it has been found ad-
visable to supplement the "water
wash" by a prelimary "air wash." In
this case air is injected into the filter
through a second system or perforated
manifold piping placed in the gravel
above the strainer system. The air
forced under a pressure of about 3 to
5 lb. per sq. in. rises above its point of
liberation and increases the amount
of agitation in the filter bed so that
the different particles of quartz rub
against each other sufficiently to
loosen any matter such as lime or
magnesia adhering to them. About 3

Batterr of Two FUter Units.

enters the tee at the center of the ver-
tical pipe and passes upwardly
through a valve into the shell of the
filter near its top. The water is dis-
fributed about the top of the filter
"lamber without eddies by means of a
irge up-turned diffusing funnel and
passes downward through the filter-
ig medium to the perforated pipe
lanifold or strainer system. In wash-
ig the filter to remove the accumu-
ited suspended matter the water is
forced under pressure into the mani-
fold piping and through the strainers,
upwardly through the filtering ma-
terial, overflowing the surface of the

cu, ft. of free air per minute per sq, ft.
of filter area is quantity generally
specified.

Centrifugal Pumping Outfit

A centrifugal pumping outfit de-
signed particularly for gravel wash-
ings, irrigating, drainage work,
quarry pumping, draining clay pit in
brick plant, etc., is illustrated. The
pump is of the open impeller type and
will handle free flowing water carry-
ing sand and grit in suspension with-
out clogging. The pump casing, or
shell, is solid and very handy. The

888

Equipment Review

October

inside of the pump casing is machine
finished and the runner is accurately
fitted. The 4-cylinder heavy duty
truck type engine is equipped with

Barnes Centrifugal Pumping Outfit.

high tension magneto and float feed
carburetor. A radiator and fan cool-
ing system is regular equipment; the
muddy water which this outfit will
handle is not practical for engine cool-
ing. A flexible coupling connects the
pump and engine. A large oil ring
bearing supports the pump shaft and
relieves the engine of all strain. The
outfit is entirely self contained and
ready to run. It is made by the
Barnes Manufacturing Co., Mansfield,
O.

Trailer for Transporting Long
Loads

_A 5-ton trailer designed for use
with a Fordson in transporting long
poles, logs, lumber, pipe, heavy oil cas-

ings, etc., is illustrated. The frame is
5 in. channel iron, hot riveted and well
reinforced with cross members and
heavy gusset plates. The bolsters are
of the swivel type, 70 in. long. A
special cast steel hitch is used for at-
taching the second unit to the first.
The coupling pole is adjustable to vari-
ous length loads. The minimum dis-
stance between bolsters is 10 ft. and
the maximum distance is 18 ft. With
a 3^^ ft. overhang at each boltster, a
load 25 ft. long can be handled. This
trailer is made by the Miami Trailer
Co., Troy, O.

New Rotator Drills

The popularity of the one-man self
rotating hammer drill has caused its
adoption in a rapidly increasing va-
riety of drilling work. It is now used
for not only light drilling, such as
block-holing, to break boulders; cut-
ting trenches in road construction,
etc., but is also widely employed for
shaft sinking, for drilling deep holes,
sometimes as much as 20 ft. or naore
in depth, in quarries, and for light
drifting and tunneling. For this work
it is often mounted on a tripod or
column with a special cradle shell and
feed screw mounting, or this can be
applied to quarry bar work if desired.
The Sullivan Machinery Co., Chicago,
111., has recently placed in the field its
new line of DP-331 Rotators, for
which it claims a considerable increase
in drilling speed, coupled with low air
consumption per unit of drilling, no
increase in weight, and low repair
cost. The freedom from vibration of
these tools is also noteworthy. These

■"■m

SIS9Utl&^.:SM . ..

W -—if-

:Jmi

¥^ '•

ifl£^^

tmi i

\f%

X. \

Miami Fordson 5-Ton Trailer.

i923

Equipment Review

889

ew rotators are built in the follow-
rg models: "DP-331," wdth either
(ilid or hollow piston, with air tube
;,pass and with water tube for inject-
rg- water through the steel. A steam

ton type. Weight 35 lb. A feature
of these machines is the fact that an
adaptation of the interchangeable part
system permits customers having ro-
tators in use in the field to obtain the
newer advantages claimed for these
models by the purchase of a relatively
small number of parts to substitute
for the corresponding parts in their
old drills. The purchase of entire new
machines is thus avoided in many
cases, while the benefits of increased
drilling speed, etc., are secured.

Air Tube Model Sullivan Rotator DP-331.

iKo firiii is also minufactui-ed. These

< range from 38 to 40 lb. in

-:ht. "DP-321" Light Rotator,

ht 29 lb. Available in solid and

Dump Body for Hauling Lumber

In construction work there is often
as much lumber to be hauled around
and to and from the job as there is
sand and gravel. Hauling lumber in
a dump body is nothing new. To do
so succe^«!fully, however, it is desir-
able that the body be equipped with a
double-acting end gate both for the
purpose of holding a larger load if
necessary and also to provide an addi-
tional floor area in the body so that
longer lengths can be carried. If
loaded properly lumber is just as
easily dumped out of an automatic
dump body as any other kind of ma-
terial, as shown in the illustration.
The Indiana Harbor Lumber & Coal
Co., which does a lot of hauling for
road and building contractors, has
gone a step further and is operating
a body built in such a way that extra

Automatic Dump Body Used by Indiana Harbor Lumber & Coal Co. in Hauling Lumber.

•hollow piston and water tube types.
I DR-371" Auger Rotator for soft and
M>roken ground, uses either the stand-
jard % hexagonal hollow drill steel,
:or solid twisted steel with fishtail bit.
j Available in either solid or hollow pis-

long lengths of timber and plank can
be handled successfully. This consists
of a dump body provided not only
with a double-acting tailgate at the
rear, but a single-acting tailgate also
at the front end. The body recently

890

Equipment Revieiv

October

put into operation by the Indiana
Harbor Lumber & Coal Co. is an auto-
matic dump body built by the Lee
Trailer & Body Co., Chicago, and has
no obstructions such as a hoist or any-
thing of that kind between the cab
and the front end of the body, there-
fore the load can be shoved up flush
against the cab, and in the case of
very long lengths can be loaded in the
extreme sides of the body so as to
extend alongside of the cab.

The Michigan Shovel

A sturdy shovel built by the Michi-
gan Dredge Co., Bay City, Mich., is
illustrated. This is a full circle swing,
continuous tread, and gasoline oper-
ated machine. The shovel contains
some unique features. The steering

Improved Grader Wheels

The Stockland Road Machinery Co.!
Minneapolis, Minn., has recently made
an improvement in its Master, Stand
ard and Special graders, using a heav;
ier wheel with a heavy cast iron hub
The wheels in the medium sized ma
chines have steel tires and stee|
spokes. Spokes are set in the tire iij
a countersunk drilled hole and ,j
shoulder is formed on the spoke in|
side the tire. The spoke is thus peii
manently set in the tire, with the heaj
to keep it from pulling out and thi
shoulder to prevent its pushin,
through. At the hub end of the spok
the same style of attachment is usee
The spoke can neither push in nor pu
out. In the larger and smaller mi

^MM

^•tPhip

iHi-

IJI^^-^^—rr

The MichiKaii Shovel.

and tread are very simple and can be
operated in any position of the upper
turntable base. The dipper crowding
arrangement is powerful and the
striking facts about this shovel is the
ease with which the operator can con-
trol and place dipper, even to shake it
to relieve it of sticky materials. The
shovel is driven by a heavy duty en-
gine and the drive from "engine to
machinery is by a heavy duty silent
drive chain. All control levers are in
front, on the right side of machine.
The frame is made up of structural
steel shapes well fitted together and
securely riveted.

chines a pressed steel hub is used,
the' medium sized machines — Stan
ard. Master, Special — the hub is
high-grade cast steel. These two d
ferent types of hub are provided to
the wheels to the particular typo
work each machine must do. The 1
construction of the wheel is designi
to lengthen the life of the wheel
the use of removable box to take |
the wear, and to lengthen the life'
the axle. In the cast steel hub '
hub box is held securely in place
rigid bolts. It positively cannot ti
inside the hub.

-923

Equipment Review

891

General Purpose Small Crane for
Railroad Service

A general purpose utility crane is
low being produced by the Orton &
Steinbrenner Co. to meet the demand
'or a small outfit as used in railroad
r'ards. It is designed for mounting on
i flat car, traveling the length of the
ur, revolving in a full circle, and yet
leeping within all railroad clearances.
The length of the boom is 28 ft., which
jaables it to be shipped anywhere on
i 40 ft. car. The crane is equipped
:o handle with equal facility, hook,
Jacket or magnet. The maximum
capacity is 7 tons at 12 ft. radius; or

heavy duty gasoline motor, with high
tension magneto. This motor is geared
directly to the hoisting, swinging and
traveling gears. It is operated by one
man only. A generating set, belt con-
nected to the engine, furnishes cur-
rent for a 36 in. electro magnet. This
device is of great benefit in handling
magnetic materials such as rails,
switches, frogs, truck side frames,
wheels, etc. The magnet will pick up
a length of 130 lb. rail at the maxi-
mum radius. Bucket handling drums
are also furnished on the machine. A
% cu. yd. bucket will handle on an
average % ton of coal per trip, and
at a rate of two trips per minute, the

Crane Handling Clam Shell for Coaling .Locomotive.

!1 handle a Mi or % yd. bucket
the boom extended to 28 ft.
or a 36 in. electro magnet
ig a length of • 130 lb. rail,
ling 1,430 lb., at the maximum
s. The wheels are spaced 6 ft.
centers, thus giving a wide base
— stability. The boom measures 28
ht. center to center, thus providing
jlong enough reach to unload rails
(from a car in front or in back of the
1 crane car, on the same track, and also
ion adjacent tracks. The power is fur-
jnished by a 4-cylinder 5 in. by 6% in.

machine will handle about 30 tons of
coal per hour. As an emergency
locomotive coaler, it is thus available
for clearing the track, and removal of
snow for the right of way, the bucket
also comes in handy. With a fall
block and hook, the crs-ne can lift as
much as 14,000 lb. at 12 ft. radius
with correspondingly less capacity at
longer radii. At the maximum radius,
that is, 30 ft. from the center of the
machine, it can handle 4,400 lb. A
separate shaft with two niggerheads
is supplied on the front of the crane.

892

Equipment Review

October

These are useful in pulling cars and
dragging in loads to a position where
they can be handled on the boom. The
novel feature of the crane, of course,
is its movability, that is, it can be
shifted anywhere in the division on its
own car, and is always ready for serv-
ice without any preliminary firing,
nor is any trouble encountered from
bad water or lack of ready coal sup-
ply.

This crane is made by the Orton &
Steinbrenner Co., 608 S. Dearborn St.,
Chicago.

New Air Motor Hoists

A new small air motor hoist con-
taining many novel features has been

standing characteristics of the new
hoist are briefly as follows: Com-
pactness of design resulting in low
head room required; and relatively
light weight; automatic brake which
positively holds the load under all cir-
cumstances— even if the air supply be
disconnected or fail; and a graduatec
throttle which permits a very close
regulation of both the lifting and the
lowering speeds, A balanced three
cylinder air motor is used which oper
ates in either direction and withoui
vibration at any speed or load withii
the rated capacity of the machine
The motor is of the same reliable typi
such as has long been provided fo
Ingersoll-Rand hoists. The throtth
graduation on this new hoist is ver:|
fine and this ensures instant and com
plete control of the hoist at any spee<
and contributes to the excellent oper
ating performance. A safety sto]
lever is provided which closes th'
throttle and stops the motor wheneve
the load is by chance raised to the toj
of the hoist lift. The automatic brak
is a new and valuable feature as if
holds the load at any desired positio:
for any length of time regardless oj
air pressure. The brake consists of )
disc attached to the motor shaft, an'
of a brake plunger with a friction face,
which is held in contact with the disi
by springs whenever the hoist is no
operating, i. e., whenever the air sup
ply to the motor is cut off either bl
throttling or otherwise. It is entirelf:
automatic in its action and require!
no attention from the operator. Th|
essential details of the hoists are a|
follows: I

Capacity (lb.) 5

Feet lift per min. (80 lb. air pressure)

Max. lift feet

Size and length Wire Rope % in. x 35

Net Weight, lb

Front View of InEersoU-Itand Air Motor
Hoist.

brought out by the Inger.soll-Rand Co.,
11 Broadway, New York. The out-

Construction in September

The decline in construction volun:
which began in June contini
through September, according
F". W. Dodge •Corporation. Howe^
the September drop from August w
only 3 per cent. Total Septemb
building contracts in the 36 Easte
States (including about % of the tot
construction volume of the countr
amounted to $288,931,700. In the
states for which records were kept h
year the drop from September 191
was 7 per cent.

1923

Equipment Revieto

893

New Mast Hoist Bucket Plant

A recent development in the field of
concrete placing machinery is a mast
hoist bucket plant, involving the use
of a steel mast, made by the Insley

Mast Boom Plant in Use on Underwriter
Laboratory Job of H. F. Friestedt,
Contractor, Chicago.

, Manufacturing Co. of Indianapolis.
This plant consists of a steel mast
upon which a hoisting bucket, head
frame and chute system are mounted.
The mast is made in 20 ft. inter-
changeable sections, and is designed

for a total height of 140 ft. The bucket
is made in two sizes to take the out-
put of a 1 and 2-bag mixer. The
dumping operation of the bucket is
automatic, the bucket dumping itself
upon striking the head frame. The
new feature of the plant is the use of
the steel mast to support the first sec-
tion of chute. The upper end of the
chute is seated on a bracket and the
lower end supported by a line which
is connected to a bridle on the face
of the mast. This bridle and bracket
are connected to make a sliding frame
which can be easily moved up and
down the face of the mast, thus chang-
ing the elevation of the chute line
without changing the fixed relation of
the bridle, bracket and chute. In
effect, the first 30 ft. section of chute
is a boom, and supports the upper end
of the second section of chute, thus
giving a free pouring radius of 60 ft.
from the face of the mast. The whole
plant makes available on a smaller
scale many of the advantages incorpo-
rated in the quick shift steel tower
plants of the same manufacturer. It
is designed to meet a wider field than
it was thought could be reached by
means of the wood mast hoist plant.

A New Gable Finial

Too often the all-important gable
ends of houses are left bare and un-
finished and are out of harmony with
the surroundings. Proper gable finials

No. 915 Gable Block FiniaL

will set off the gables in bold relief
and impart a detailed, finished appear-
ance, in keeping with the premises.

894

Eqieipment Review

October

The Milwaukee Corrugating Co., Mil-
waukee, Wis., has designed a new
gable block finial called the No. 915
Gable Finial, that is of particular in-
terest. The finial is practically one
piece and is formed by a special proc-
ess from the best copper-bearing terne
plate. The seams are carefully lapped.

Gable Block Finial in Place.

thus giving it un.isual strength and
rigidity. It is galvanized both inside
and out after formation, so as to give
it the longest possible life, and has
the additional advantage in that it can
be used with 1^/4 in., 1^/^ in., and 2 in.
ridge roll. Prominent among the
many characteristics of the No. 915
finial are beauty and distinctiveness.
The details are carefully formed, the
design carries deep and is very pro-
nounced.

Air Compressor Mounted on

Ford Truck

A line of gasoline driven air com-
pressors mounted on 1-Ton Ford
trucks has been brought out by the

cu. ft. and 95 cu. ft. capacity. Owing
to their portability these compressors
can be carried close to the job and
the loss in air lines is thus reduced to
a minimum, avoiding the necessity for
a larger compressor. By mounting
two air cylinders and two power cy-
linders on the same sub-base and by
using one crankshaft for the four cy-
linders, a unit of great compactness
was secured. The compressor has the
well known ring plate type of air
valves, known as the "Simplate
Valves," and it also has the pressure
system of lubrication. A unique gov-
erning system, the "Auto-Pneumatic
Throttle," regulates the supply of air
by controlling the speed of the engine
so that when the demand for air ceases
or slackens greatly the engine imme-
diately slows down to the lowest speed
at which it will turn over — ^the com-
pressor being unloaded in the mean-
time by means of the differential un-
loader — so that the least possible
amount of fuel is consumed. Cooling
of the engine and compressor is
effected by means of a radiator of am-
ple capacity and a large fan. Wateri
is circulated by a centrifugal pump
built into the engine. Large roomy
tool boxes are placed on each side of^
the compressor base. The whole ma-j
chine is covered with a sheet metali
top, and sides of the same material!
are used to enclose and protect it from
the weather when not in use. This;

ChicaKO Pneumatic Class P2-DGL Air Compressor Mounted on Ford Truck.

Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co., 6 East
44th St., New York City. These com-
pressors are built in two sizes — 66

same type of compressor is als<
mounted on rubber tired trailers, stee
wheel trucks and on skids.

1928

Equipment Review

895

Convertible Crawler Crane

The 10-ton steam operated convert-
ible crawler crane of the McMyler-In-
terstate Co., Cleveland, 0., is illus-
trated below. The crane is fitted with
the necessary mechanism for perform-
ing the operations of hoisting on
either of the two main drums, or of
operating a two-line bucket. The
mechanism is also capable of lowering
and raising the boom, rotating the
crane and traveling. It is arranged
for attachments to operate a drag line

An Improvement in Steel Tower
Construction

An improvement in steel concreting
tower construction that is causing
favorable comment among engineers
and contractors has been made recent-
ly by the Ransome Concrete Ma-
chinery Co., Dunellen, N. J. In place
of the usual "Z" bar section for the
front posts Ransome has adopted a
riveted channel and angle construc-

McMjrler-Intentate Convertible Crawler Crane.

bucket, to operate a magnet, to drive
' light sheet piling, and to operate a
i shovel.

The various operations of the crane
j as actuated by a double cylinder, non-
i reversing steam engine. Link mo-
i tions and reversing valves are elim-
' inated through the use of right and
left hand clutches for raising and low-
: ering the boom, for sluing and for
, propelling. A single lever controls
j each pair of clutches so that each
j operation in either direction is con-
i trolled by one lever only. The normal
i hoisting speed, single line full load is
: 200 ft. per minute. The single line
pull, bucket work is 6,000 lb., and the
maximum single line pull is 10,000 lb.
! The over all length of the crane is 16
• ft. 7 in., and over all width is 8 ft.
' 10 in.

tion which, it is stated, greatly in-
creases the strength and rigidity of
the tower without adding to the
weight. It is claimed that this con-
struction is 61 per cent stronger than
a "Z" bar section of the same weight
per foot. Slide panels are bull riveted
in the factory leaving only front and
back panels to be bolted in the field.
All panels are cross braced. The cross
bracing in the front panels is made up
of two angles back to back and the
horizontal bracing in all panels of two
angles in "star" position. The con-
struction of the sliding frames makes
the tower as strong at the panel
through which the bucket dumps as
though the bracing had not been
taken out.

896

Equipment Review

October

Hoist Attachment for Fordson

Tractor

A Fordson tractor hoist attachment
is now a standard addition to the line
of the Clyde Iron Works, Duluth,
Minn. It consists of a friction drum
supported in a cast steel frame fas-
tened to the tractor by eight of the
bolts which connect the rear axle
housing and the transmission housing
and two bolts through the two outside
holes in the drawbar cap just below
the operator's seat. The frame is so
designed that no drilling or tapping
or machine work of any sort is re-

Clyde Hoist Attachment for Fordsons.

quired for assembling on the tractor.
The drum is 8 in. diameter, 10 in. long
between flanges with 18 in. diameter
flanges. It is friction driven, having
Clyde standard wood cone frictions
and thrust mechanism, has long
bronze bushings with grease cup lub-
rication and is equipped with a foot-
lever-operated asbestos-lined band
brake and ratchet with pawl. The
hoist attachment is so mounted that
the drawbar can be used for hauling
without removing any part of the
hoist. The gearing is of steel with
machine cut teeth. Power is supplied
through a roller chain drive and
sprockets from the pulley shaft of the
Fordson. A rod placed on the lever
side of the drum gives the operator
full control of the throttle from his
regular position. All shaft bearings
are babbitted and lubricated with
grease cups, the drum shaft bearings
being equipped with removable caps.
The attachment has a width over bear-
ings of 24% in. The drum has a hoist-
ing capacity of from 2,500 lb. to 3,960
lb. on a single line at speeds of from
225 ft. per minute to 142 ft. per min-
ute, respectively, depending on the
amount of cable on the drum. The
drum will hold approximately 400 ft.

of V2 in. cable. The winches are
mounted on timber skids for ship-
ment. The approximate shipping
weight is 600 ft. including the tool
box.

New Centrifugal Pump Unit

A pump intended primarily for con-
tractors' use has been brought out by
the American Well Works, Aurora,
111. This pump is made in only one
size a 2V2 in. standard. The manu-
facturers recommend it for heads up
to 57 ft. and state that it will deliver
under field conditions from 70 to 250
gal. per minute. For instance work-
ing under a 50 ft. head it will deliver
120 gal. per minute at 1000 r.p.m.
The pump is connected to an air
cooled "New-Way" gas engine
through flexible coupling, the shaft
being supported on a pedestal bear-
ing. A thrust bearing is provided so
that the most rigorous conditions of
general service are provided against.
Casing is of cast iron of the volute!
type, designed particularly to meet
the rigorous conditions of general}
service. It can be swung on its boltS'
so that the discharge opening may!

--.

'd^'-—^ *

*''%'^

'loE

iiyBpr^i

BHp

^^K

LjJ

iftf^

"-iSi

mB'-i-'^m

^i«

American EFFD Centrifugal Pump.

have any of eight positions. Suctior,
nozzle is cast in the casing and comj
panion flanges are furnished for sucf
tion and discharge openings. Coveij
is of cast iron. The impeller is madtj
of special cast iron, carefully maj
chined and balanced. The base is oj
cast iron, box type, made unusuallj
heavy to withstand hard service. Ij
is provided with four lugs for flooj
bolts. 1

1923

Equipment Review

897

New Double Drum Mast Hoist

A double drum 2-speed electric
nast hoist designed to replace the old
land power winch on derricks handling
jecasional loads is a recent product of
John T. Horton Co., 241 Bradhurst
A.ve., New York City. The frame is
lade up of structural steel sections

drum gears are 3 in. face. The first
gear reduction from the motor has
machine cut teeth. All gears are well
guarded. The shafts are of the best
quality cold rolled steel. The frictions
are of the single cone type composed
of hard seasoned wood segments accu-
rately turned and bolted to the fric-

i securely riveted. The side bearings
i are of cast-iron bolted to the steel

members. All bearings are accurately
, machined and lubricated by grease

cups. The two speed gear shaft bear-
! ings are bronze bushed. The gears

are of cast-iron moulded from ma-
I chine cut iron patterns. The main

Double Drnm 2-Speed Electric Mast Hoist.

tion wheel. Each drum is handled by
an independent friction operated by
cams and fitted with high quality
thrust ball bearings. Th e brakes oper-
ate on the pinions engaging the drum
gears, giving easy control of the load.
The brake wheel and pinion are cast
in one piece and fitted with brorze

898

Equipment Review

October

bushings. The brake bands are lined
with "Thermoid" brake lining and
controlled by foot levers. Drum gears
are also fitted with holding dogs. The
drums are of cast-iron 9 m. in diam-
eter, 18 in. between flanges. Capac-
ities: Using the slow speed, it is
stated, the hoist will handle a load of
6000 lb. at 20 ft. per minute on a sin-
gle line, or with fast speed a load of
2200 lb. at 65 ft. per minute. On a
derrick with a four part line this
would be equivalent to handling 10
tons at 5 ft. per minute, or 3 tons at
16 ft. per minute.

Portable Vise Stand and Pipe
Bender

A portable vise stand and pipe ben-
der placed on the market by H. P.
Martin & Son, Owensboro, Ky., is il-
lustrated. One of the chief uses of
this outfit is in cutting and threading
pipe. When this sort of work is being
done the pipe is fastened to the vise.
It rests in the bending attachment,
which keeps it rigid and always in
line. The front legs of the device are
placed so as to brace the stand thor-
oughly against the twisting motion

Martin Vise Stand and Pipe Bender.

necessary in cutting or threading. The
outfit is equipped with a special device
which will bend pipes or conduit from
% to % in. in diameter easily and
without kinking. The rear legs of the
stand are placed at an obtuse angle so
that great pressure may be exerted
downward on the pipe without tilting
or upsetting the stand. It is stated
that the vise stand and pipe bender
can be dissembled and packed for
carrying in a half minute's time and is

as easy to carry as a suitcase. When
in use, it is not necessary to have it
fastened to the floor, wall or ceiling.
No bolts, screws or braces of any sort
are necessary. It weighs only 45 lb.
The outfit is supplied in four combina-
tions as follows: Stand and bender
alone with vise and legs; stand and
bender with vise and without legs;
stand and bender with legs and with-
out vise; stand and bender with vise
and legs complete.

Mechanical Dump Truck Body
Hoists

Two types of hoists made by the
Van Dom Iron Works Co., Cleveland,

Cutaway Section Showing: Principle of Opera-
tion of Vertical Hoist.

0., are illustrated. The vertical hoist
is operated by the screw jack prin-
ciple. When a convenient control
lever, reached from the drivers' seat,

1923

Equipment Review

899

is pushed to the rear, the hoist clutch
engages the power take-off of the
truck engfine to rotate a heavy jack
screw in the proper direction to raise
a large bronze nut which is threaded
to the jack screw and fitted to the
lower part of the hoist plunger. The
hoist is entirely automatic in action,
stopping automatically when the body
is elevated to a 45° dumping angle.
The body can be stopped and held at,
or lowered, from any angle up to this
point. The truck can be driving away
while the body is lowering, as the
hoist disengages and stops auto-
matically as the body settles to its
bed. One outstanding feature of
safety of the hoist is the fact that
gravity plays no part in lowering the
body. The jack screw must be re-
volved in a reverse direction so that
the body is pulled down by the same
power which raised it. In the hori-
zontal hoist the power developed by
the truck engine is transmitted by a
series of spur and worm gears to a
1 to 350 ratio. This hoist is also auto-
matic in action, and is self-lubricat-
ing. The connection between the hoist
and the hoist body is made by a link
and arm connection which insures

New Piston Ring

A piston ring having new features
has been brought out by the Kendall
Motor Products Co., Fort Wayne,
Ind. The pistons are of two-piece
construction, an inner or expansion
ring and an outer or packing ring. A

KendaU Piston Ring

special analysis iron being used, which
after having been thoroughly seasoned
is further improved by a special re-
turning process on the expansion ring,
producing what is termed an "even-
radius"-tjT>e ring, having equaradial
expansion every 30 degrees on the

Side Cutaway View of Horizontal Hoist.

Jsitive control at all times. When
the body is in a lowered position the
link and arm are folded up in a com-
pact, jackknife fashion. As the hoist
^\s operated the arms swing upward
IJHjBid straighten out to raise the body
I^B a steep dumping angle. The body
l^vn be stopped at and lowered from
l^^y angle. It is not necessary to
f^^rry the body to the full upward
stroke of the connecting arms before
it can be lowered. The arm and link
always maintain a rigid connection
between the hoist and the body.

entire circle, all points having equal
pressure. This is especially bene-
ficial in slightly out-of-round cylin-
ders. A non-clogging oil wiper is
also provided in this section of the
ring. The outer or packing section is
of softer non-resilient iron, being
turned with an inner surface on a 55-
degree angle, the expansion ring hav-
ing an externally inclined face of the
same angularity, thereby relieving
groove pressure and increasing pres-
sure on the circumference, lengthen-
ing the life of the expansion ring.

900

Equipment Review

October

A Rotary Snow Plow

A rotary snow plow having fans
that revolve parallel to the propelling
vehicle and a specially designed plow
to bring snow to the rotaries is now
being manufactured by the Rotary
Snow Plow Co., 213 South 6th St.,
Minneapolis, Minn. The plow is of
the "snub nose" type, with specially
designed wings so curved as to bring
the snow to the rotary fans with the
least amount of friction. The wings
do not touch the ground, but are fas-
tened to the top of the sliding shoes.
A caster wheel supports the plow and

so designed that if the rotaries should
strike an immovable obstacle, the out-
side connection will give, and no dam-
age result to the motor. The power
shaft is fitted with a pinion, revolving
on a ring gear, which in turn drives
the rotaries by means of cross shafts.
Everything is enclosed in a steel hous-
ing, and all working parts run in oil.
Attachment to the propelling vehicle
is made by means of a hitch, designed
to fit the particular type of tractor or
truck used. Flexibility is had by
means of two loosely fitted connecting
arms, attached to, and swinging be-

The Smaller Model oi the .Snow King; Cuts an 8 Ft. Path.

swings it clear of the surface when
traveling over bare ground. There
are two rotary wheels, one on each
side of the plow, revolving on ball and
roller bearing equipped shafts. They
are from 3 ft. to 5 ft. in diameter de-
pending upon the size of the plow.
They can be thrown in or out of gear
separately and so revolve only when
needed. The power for driving the ro-
taries is taken from the motor of the
propelling vehicle. It is transmitted
by means of a shaft, attached to the
crankshaft, through a universal joint,

tween the frame brackets and vehicle
on a line with the universal joint.
When working the plow does not de-
pend on travel speed. The rotaries
revolve regardless of the speed of the
propelling tractor or truck. Three
sizes of highway plows are available.
The smallest of these cutting an 8 ft.
path can be operated with a 25 h.p.
tractor or 3-ton truck. The next
larger size is a 10 ft. plow. This will
require a 40 h.p. tractor; and the larg-
est size, cutting a 12 ft. path requires
a tractor with 60 h.p.

1923

Equipment Review

901

Expanded Wood Lath

Wood, cut and expanded in a fash-

lion similar to expanded metal, for use

las a base for plastic coverings on

i either inside or outside work is the

IJiroduct of the Expanded Wood Lath

Corporation, Conway Bldg., Chicago,

HI., and Tuscaloosa, Ala.

This product, which bears the trade

Applying First Coat on Expanded Wood Lath.

name "Ex-Wo," is described by its
makers as follows:

It is a strip of carefully selected
wood, manufactured by specially con-
structed machines, then expanded so
as to form longitudinal strips con-
nected by diagonal ribs.

The ribs are narrower than the
strips so that the plastic covering
when applied passes beneath and
around these ribs, forming a perfect
key, thereby becoming an integral
part of the structure to which it is
' applied. The back of the lath is cov-
ered with paper of varying thick-
1 nesses to meet all requirements.
{ Ex-Wo Lath is manufactured in
I two thicknesses: 5/16-in. and %-in.;
16 in. wide; 4 ft. to 8 ft. long. Packed
! in bundles of 15 sheets in a bundle.
I If used on sheathing or covering of
I old houses it removes the necessity
I of papering or furring. The furring
j is part of the lath itself.
I It is so constructed that it adds the
I greatest strength to the building. The

wood of the lath is so cut and dis-
tributed that it cannot buckle.

It can be applied easily, quickly and
cheaply, being 18 in. wide and 8 ft.
long.

It may be applied to either straight
or circular surfaces, horizontally or
vertically.

It may be shaped around comers
and angles, meeting every require-
ment for interior or exterior work.

It saves plaster. There is a full
clinching or plastic covering back of
the lath. A careless workman can-
not waste plaster.

Being made of wood there is no
oxidization of the body_ of the lath
with subsequent expansion and con-
traction and deterioration.

The load of the lath is properly
distributed.

It is to a great extent sound-proof.
It adds warmth.

A Suction Street Sweeper

A street sweeper, utilizing a revolv-
ing broom and the suction from a po^y-
erful fan — the same principle used in
home vacuum cleaners — is illustrated.
The broom is of special sectional de-
sign, so arranged that any one or all
of the eight segments can be adjusted
or replaced in a few minutes time.
The broom loosens the debris and
picks up the heavier material, deliver-
ing it to an inclined belt conveyor
which carries it upward and forward,
dumping it into the dust compartment.

Butler Vacuum Street Sweeper.

The fine dust is sucked up by the suc-
tion from the fan and sifts through
vacuum cleaner bags carried in the
top of the body structure. This dust
finally drops from the hoppers into
the dust compartment and is removed
with the heavier material. These bags
are so constructed as not to need re-
newal. The machine is equipped
throughout with ball or roller bear-
ings. The driver is located on the

902

Equipment Review

October

right, in front, where his view is un-
obstructed, and he controls the sweep-
ing mechanism with a single lever.
The dust pan can be raised, when not
sweeping, from the driver's seat. The
broom case, in the rear, "floats" to
provide for uneven surfaces of pave-
ment and is supported in the rear with
two rubber tired casters. Only one
broom is used, no gutter brooms being
necessary. The construction is rugged,
the control is simple, the operation is
quiet and efficient. A heavy duty
Waukesha motor is used with standard
accessory equipment. The Brown
Lipe transmission provides three
speeds forward and one reverse. A
Columbia front axle is used with a
Russel axle on the rear. Wheels are
of heavy military type equipped with
solid rubber industrial truck tires.
Th6 wheel base is 117 in. The sweep-
er is about 18 ft. 6 in. in overall
length and 6 ft. in width. It is made
by the Butler Manufacturing Co.,
12411 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland, O.

niuminated Traffic Control Unit

An illuminated market for control
of traffic at street intersections has
been brought out by the Line Material
Co., South Milwaukee, Wis. It con-

intersection, and permit the use of low
watt lamps. Inside the hood are two
sets of electric lights — a 25 watt main
lamp and two auxiliary lamps of 10
watts each — for night and day use.
The lenses are protected by their re-
cessed position and the heavy ribs or
flanges on all sides that the possibility
of glass breakage is very slight. The
lenses are heavy enough to resist
breakage by mud and stones. It is
stated that the whole unit may be
driven over without injury by a heavy
truck. In installing these markers
iron pipe or armored cable is run un-
der the pavement from the service
connection to the location in the street
where the marker is to be installed.
The base casting of the marker is set
into concrete and the wire connections
made. The lamps and fuse are then
screwed in, and the top casting fitted
in position over the base. The top
casting is easily removed to make
lamp adjustment. This marker is
known as the "Traff.con." It is made
in three types — the directing marker,
the regulating marker and the zone
marker. The distinguishing feature
of the Regulating Trafficon, a feature
which makes possible its simple con-
struction and low cost, is that it sub-
stitutes the single word "Stop" for

Lighted and Unlichted Uniti.

sists of a semi-steel hood extending
8l^ in. above the street surface. A
brilliant "bulls-eye lens" is set in the
hood, perpendicular to the street sur-
face, on all four sides of the marker,
facing all four points of the intersec-
tion. These lenses condense the light
into a strong beam up and down the

the three signals usually employed in
traffic control devices, namely, "Stop,"
"Traffic Change," and "Go." The Reg-
ulating Trafficon is 17 in. over-all in
height above the street surface. The
"Stop" sign is 3% in. above <he street
surface and the center of the lens is
11% in. above the pavement.

1923

Equipment Review

908

Electric Hammer for DriUing,
Chipping, Etc.

A general purpose electric hammer
with interesting features has been

Syntron Electric Hammer Being Used by

United Electric Light Co., Springfield.

Mass., for Catting Holes In Brick

Foundation WalL

brought out by the National Electric
Manufacturing Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa.
The instrument is known as the "Syn-
tron" electric hammer. A distinctive
feature is the use of only one moving
part in its mechanism. The hammer
is of the Solenoid type and consists
of a bronze sleeve in which the har-
dened steel piston or hammer head
oscillates, striking the drill head at
one end of the stroke and the buffer

spring at the other. The action of the
piston is produced by coils at each end
of the bronze cylinder. In operation
the power is obtained by connection
through a portable control box to any
convenient alternating light socket.
When the trigger is pulled the alter-
nating voltage causes the coils to be-
come temporary magnets, and the
hammer head is drawn back and forth
in the bronze cylinder in synchronism
with the voltage. The 60 cycle current
hammer is stated to strike 3600 blows
per minute. The control box is a
static device which contains non-mov-
ing parts, and it is stated that the
hammer uses less current than the or-
dinary domestic iron. In the manu-
facture of the above mentioned piston
or hammer head, use is madeof a hard
non-magnetic stellite cap which is
flowed onto each end of the piston by
acetylene gas process. One of the
outstanding advantages of this cap is
that it permits the use of a core ma-
terial having a very low electrical loss
which increases both power and effi-
ciency of the hammer. The hammer
has been found useful in drilling or
chipping concrete or cutting holes in
masonry. In concrete it is claimed it
will drill a 1 in. hole 3 in. deep in 1
minute.

Trailer for Hauling Heavy

Equipment

A 20 to 30-ton capacity trailer for
hauling ditch digging machines, steam
rollers, steam shovels and other heavy
equipment made by the Detroit Trail-
er Co., Detroit, Mich., is illustrated.
These trailers are 136 in. overall
width, 98 in. between wheels and the
platforms may be 14, 16, 18 or 20 ft.
long. The illustration shows the out-
fit used by the John A. Mercier Co.,
contractors, Detroit, Mich., hauling a
30 ft. ditch digging machine.

Hsolinc » SO ft. Ditch Disging Machine on Trailer.

904

Equipment Review

October

New Crane for Industrial Hauling

The Elwell-Parker Electric Co.,
Cleveland, O., has recently announced
the seventh model of electrically oper-
ated portable crane for industrial han-
dling. This crane consists of the lift-
ing unit, power plant and battery
counterbalancing the boom. This is
supported on a stalky steel column set
into a heavy base firmly anchored to
an all steel frame fitted with axles of

up at any point over end or side of
the tool (the boom swinging from left
to right). The unit is moved from
point to point by means of an electric
motor, direct connected through worm
gearing on the heavy axle beneath the
battery and just back of the crane
column. This motor as well as the
hoist motor receives power from the
same battery. Leads from this bat-
tery which swings with the boom pass
down through the hollow crane
column. A separate controller oper-
ates each motor. Where the service
demands, a motor to revolve or slew
the crane is provided and it also re-
ceives power from the same battery.
The forward axle or that nearest the
hook is quite heavy and serves as a
rolling outrigger, the wheels being
equipped with 15 x 3^2 in. solid rub-
ber tires. The drive wheels are pro-
vided with 22 X AVz in. tires. All four
wheels steer.

New Electric Crane Track.

wide gage. Hoist mechanism consists
of a single motor driving two separate
drums through worm gearing running
in oil. Each drum is fitted with a %
in. plow steel cable, one to raise and
lower the boom, the other to handle
the hook. Each is operated independ-
ently so that the load may be picked

Stone Rake and Rut Scraper

The picture below shows the gen-
eral character of the "York Power
Stone Rake and Rut Scraper" made
by the York Modern Coporation of
Unadilla N. Y. The machine is de-
signed for the filling of ruts the plan-
ing of road surfaces and the raking
out of stones. It is made in three
sizes equipped with steering device
and two-way rut scraper.

York Power Stone Rake and Rut Scraper.

1923

Equipment Review

905

A Compact and Powerful
Underground Loader

The Butler Shuveloder, manufac-
tured by The Lake Superior Loader
Co. of Duluth, Minn., was developed
on the properties of the Barusdall
Zinc Ck)., at Waco, Mo., by Mr. R. S.
Butler, assistant manager of the com-
pany. The first operating model was
built in 1919, and was followed by
others, one of which built in Novem-
ber, 1920, was in successful operation
for 2 years — long enough to deter-
mine the value of the split piston
and other new ideas, and to prove that
the lightness of the machine was not
a deterrent to heavy loading. Subse-
quent improvements also were tested
in extra severe service.

combine to produce a simple, light yet
rugged machine, with very low power
requirements, adapted to a wide range
of service.

Though the operation of the ma-
chine is simplicity itself, a simple
straightforward description presents
difficulties because the principal parts
each perform several different and
closely interrelated functions during
the successive motions included in a
complete operating cycle. The ma-
chine consists essentially of three
main parts. (1) base, (2) cylinder,
(3) dipper assembly.

The trucks carry the stationary
member of the turntable. Supported
on this turntable by a double row of
balls is the revolving member, which
contains a 2-hp. double acting 2-cyl-

View of Batler Shoveloder in Actnal Underground Operation. Siiowing Start of Crowding Stroke
and End of Crowd and Beginning of Digging Stroke.

The following account is excerpted
from a paper, "Recent Developments
in Underground Mechanical Loading:"
by Charles E. van Bameveld, U. S.
Bureau of Mines, in the Engineering
and Mining Journal-Press of Sept. 22,
1923.

The successful demonstration at the
Waco, Mo., mines of the Bamsdall
Zinc Corporation of the latest model
Butler shovel, which invades a field
hitherto covered only by the scraper
and thus promises to meet the need of
the western miner for a small, flex-
ible machine, readily movable on mine
cage from one level to another, avail-
able alike for loading in drifts — as
small as 4^/^x7 ft. — and for fairly
heavy loading in comparatively large
tunnels, stopes and rooms.

The Butler shovel or "Shuveloder,"
as its manufacturer calls it, is a small
single-cylinder air-operated shovel of
the revolving tjT)e. Its design incor-
porates many novel features which

inder oscillating engine, which re-
volves the turntable. On this re-
volving member are cast the side
frames that support the cylinder. The
entire base is made of No. 3 artillery
steel; it is protected from dirt and
grit and is automatically lubricated
by the oil contained in the exhaust
air Auxiliary means are provided for
oiling the crank bearings.

There is one cylinder only, sup-
ported at its trunnion by the side
frames. The cylinder is steel tubing
and the trunnion, yoke and heads are
made of artillery steel. IJn this cyl-
inder are the two pistons, each secured
to a hollow piston rod, one within
the other. The valve controlling the
movement of the pistons is incorpor-
ated in the cylinder trunnion and is
operated directly by a hand lever. On
the bottom of the cylinder is a bracket
which engages with the base to take
the back thrust when crowding, in-
stead of absorbing this thrust at the

906

Equipment Review

October

trunnion point, thus avoiding strain
on the mechanism and tendency to pull
up the track.

The frame carries a pair of guide
and supporting arms with their links,
which are attached to the rear of the
dipper arms. The dipper is mounted
on the front end of these arms in
such a manner that when the air pis-
tens are spread apart the dipper rocks
on it? pivot with a scooping action. A
pair of hydraulic pots whose pistons
are attached to the supporting arms,
control the dipper during the entire
elevating stroke, determine the path
of the dipper while extending prior
to dumping, and cushion the descent
of the dipper.

There are comparatively few mov-
ing parts and the wear is principally
confined to pins and bushings easily
replaced. This is not a cycle machine;
it is flexible as a steam shovel and in
normal operation is almost automatic.
The operator throws the valve wide

cu. ft. per minute at 10-90 lb. pres-
sure.

Maximum capacity is four 7% cu.
ft. dipperfuls a minute or over one
and one-half tons per minute.

Average actual performance under
ordinary conditions is 15 to 30 tons
per hour.

Digs and loads in any direction into
48-in. cars or higher if necessary.

Digs and loads around comers, on
step grades, below grade and leaves
clean floor and corners.

Can be used in drifts only A^i ft.
wide by 7 ft. high or will clean up a
path 18 ft. 6 in. wide.

Can be rolled into a mine cage 3x
3% ft. without disassembling for
transfer to different mine levels.

New Snow Plow

An all steel V-shaped snow plow
having a hydraulic lift for raising and
lowering has been brought out by the

La Plant-Choate Snow Plow.

open; the movement requires no nurs-
ing, no delicatte manipulation; the
momentum of the moving parts is
checked by air cushions in cylinder
heads ; the dipper strains are absorbed
by the arms and hydraulic pots; the
piston rods have only tensile and com-
pression duties. There are no cables,
chains, pulleys, or clutches; no rollers
or exposed sliding surfaces to catch
dirt and grit. There is one gear as-
sembly only — ring gear and two mat-
ing gears for revolving motion — en-
closed and thoroughly protected from
grit, yet easily accessible for repairs.

The following references are from
a folder issued by the manufacturer.

Track gauge to suit conditions.

Air consumption is less than 125

La Plant-Choate Manufacturing Co.,
Cedar Rapids, la. The lower cutting
edge is a special plow steel blade, and
the plow is so shaped that the nose
makes a long sharp cutting point. A
steel shoe that fits over the nose of
the plow, and which can be removed,
is furnished. This is intended for use
at certain times to prevent the possi-
bility of the plow digging in and in-
juring the paving or street. This
steel shoe can be used in medium
snows and where the snow is not froz-
en, and therefore where the cutting
point is not so necessary. The side-
wings on the plow can be adjusted at
any angle, and can also be adjusted
vertically. The mold-boards are
shaped like the mold boards on a dirt

1923

Equipment Review

907

plow, so that they take care of the
snow and throw it up and over and
outside of the cut. The company will
manufacture six different models of
tractor plows, three of tractor blade
plows, and three of tractor "V" shaped
plows. It will also manufacture three
different models of blade plows for
trucks, and one model of "V" plows
for trucks.

New V-Type Snow Plow

A new V-type snow plow for attach-
ment to heavy tractor has been put on
the market by the Good Roads Ma-
chinery Co., Kennett Square, Pa. The

is spring supported and so arranged
as to raise and lower the front end
of the plow. It can be adjusted to let
the plow rest on the road entirely.
Four shoes or bearing plates and a re-
placeable cutting edge are used to
take the wear when the plow is used
with the front roller raised, so that
the edge rests on the surface of the
road. The use of a thrust ball-bear-
ing in the roller support and a T tire
shrunk on the face of the roller makes
the steering very easy and effective.
These features facilitate moving the
plow from place to place and also reg-
ulate the depth of the snow to be left
on the road. The plow is 8 ft. wide,

SIDE WINOS

WING BRACt

RtNtWABLE CUTTiNO EDGE

3k1« View of -'V" Type Plow and flrngt oo Liim Trkctor:Sbowiiig|OeUib of Coostructioa

Side View of Cliampion V-Tme Plow and Wings on Linn Tractor Showinir Details

of Construction.

plow is of the general type used by
railroads in keeping snow from their
tracks and right of way. It is de-
signed for deep snow and for use with
heavy tractors, but under proper con-
ditions it may be used to advantage
with two standard 5-ton auto trucks,
properly timed for operation together,
one pushing behind the other. The
snow plow consists of an inclined plat-
fonn carried on rollers and sleds, with
a V-type moldboard mounted on it and
a push frame arranged for attaching
to the tractor. In operation the plow
lifts the snow on its inclined platform
and thus breaking the resisting force
of the snow rolls it upwards and side-
ways with a minimum of effort. The
plow is mounted on three rollers, two
in the rear and one on the front end.
The rear rollers are fixed in place and
on the same axles are mounted a pair
of runners. The front roller is
mounted as a caster and is used to
help in steering the plow. The roller

10 ft. long and 5 ft. high, the front
end can be raised 10 in. from the
ground. The weight, without the
wings is 3500 lb. The plow has been
successfully used with 10-ton tractors.

Compound for Repairing Con-
crete Floors Quickly

A new compound, known as "Quick-
fix," for repairing concrete floors that
will, it is claimed, produce a patch of
flint-like hardness in 48 hours, has re-
cently been developed by The Master
Builders Co., Cleveland, 0. When
used according to the method specified
by the manufacturer? it is stated thai
it will produce permanent patches in
concrete that can be used two days
after installation. The patches can be
made by any handy man, not neces-
sarily skilled in the handling of con-
crete, by following directions fur-
nished with the material.

908

Equipment Review

October

A Thrust Boring Machine

A thrust boring machine for mak-
ing 3 in. to 6 in. holes is described
in a recent issue of The Enginemen,
London. The pilot hole is 3 in. in
diameter and this can be enlarged to
4 in., 5 in. or 6 in. by "pulling." The
apparatus is shown in the accompany-
ing illustration. The machine com-
prises two side tubes, which are in-
ternally threaded at each end for the

der which is caused to move endways,
in either direction, by hydraulic pres-
sure. Each side tube has its own
cylinder, and the two cylinders, which
are interconnected by piping, are
rigidly tied together at each end, so
as to form what is, in effect, one solid
crosshead. The pressure water is sup-
plied through a control valve, which
is so constructed that when the
handles are down, as shown in the
drawing, the pressure is applied at

PLAN
Sectional Elevation and Plan of Thrust Borer

reception of jacking screws provided
with tommie-bars for adjustment pur-
poses. The outer ends of the screws
are provided with thrust plates at-
tached in the manner shown in the
drawing. When in position, the tubes
are accurately parallel with one an-
other. In the center of the length
of each tube is fixed a brass piston,
which is furnished with hydraulic cup
leathers. Upon this piston fits a cylin-

the left-hand ends of the cylinders and
the "crosshead" moves to the left. On
the other hand, when the valve
handles are turned through a right
angle so as to stand vertically, the
pressure water is admitted to the
right-hand ends of the cylinders, and
the "crosshead" moves to the right.
When either handle is in the half-
way position between the horizontal
and the vertical, there is free com-

1923

Equipvient Review

909

munication between the two ends of
the cylinders, so that they can be
moved readily backwards and for-
wards along the tubes or rods. This
attribute is made use of in order to
obtain a quick return of the "cross-
head" for the purpose, either of add-
ing new rods when initial thrust bor-
ing is taking place, or for removing
the rods when enlargement of the
boW-hefe*^^' feeing carried out. To
effect the quick return, a rod furnished
with a toothed rack is arranged pa-
rallel with and not far from one of
the side tubes, and a hand wheel, on
the spindle of which is keyed a toothed
pinion, is attached to the "crosshead."
With the control valve arranged as
explained, the "crosshead" may be
made to travel rapidly along the tubes
in either direction by simply turning
the hand wheel. At the right end of
the "crosshead," as shown in the
drawing, there is fixed between the

coupling of the rods. The normal <U-

mensions of the boring pit to contain
the machine is 4 ft. 4 in. long — that
is to say, in the direction of the bor-
ing—and 3 ft. 6 in. wide; 60 ft. of
boring tube — in lengths of 3 ft. each
— are supplied with each machine as
standard practice, though operations
are not, it should be understood, lim-
ited to that range. The stroke of the
machine is 18 in. — just half the length
of a boring tube — so that two machine
strokes per tube length are required.
The machine is known as the Mang-
Nall-Ir\'ing thrust borer. It is made
by the Hydraulic Engineering Co.,
Ltd., Chester, England.

Automatic Revolving Sewage

Screen

The "Garfield" automatic revohing
screen for screening sewage and
trade wastes, now being manufactured

"5* ^^-S^i-s_~

^s^^^^w^^^^^^s^^^^.

Sectional View of "Garfield" Automatic Revolying Screen for Screening Sewage and

Trade Waste.

two cylinders a thrust block, through
a hole in which can be passed a
screwed pin, which is used for center-
ing the pilot bar or boring tubes, and
also for taking the load when the
machine is used as a puller. It is
stated that a boring speed for a 3 in.
hole — when using a hand-operated
pump — of from 50 ft. to 90 ft. per
hour can be obtained, this including

in this country bv the Simplex Ejector
Co., 2528 West Madison St., Chicago,
111., is shown in the accompan>ing il-
lustration. A feature of this machine
is the use of mechanical scrapers with
hard rubber soles for cleaning the
screens. The screen can be made to
comply with any requirement of mesh
from 1/16 in. to 1 in. spacings, and to
deal with any volume of flow.

910

Equipment Review

October

New Solder Pot Has Automatic
Control

A new electric solder pot with auto-
matic heat control has been added to
the line of labor saving devices manu-
factured by J. D. Wallace & Co., Chi-
cago. It greatly simplifies the prob-

Wallace Solder Pot Complete with Automatic
Control.

lem of heating babbit, white^ metal,
wax and other materials which are
slow conductors of heat. Solder must
be kept at a uniform temperature if
satisfactory results are to be obtained.
When metal is overheated it oxidizes,
and this action results in a consider-
able loss of material and tensile
strength. The Wallace solder pot is
designed to overcome this oxidation.
When solder has been heated to 600 °
F an automatic control goes into ac-
tion. This control maintains the tem-
perature of the contents of the pot
and prevents overheating and under-
heating. This control is an adapta-
tion of the principle used in the steam
gauge. A volatile substance, which is
very sensitive to heat, actuates a
Bourden Tube which makes and breaks
the electric current, thus controlling
the temperature of the contents of the
pot.

The pot will accommodate 15 lb. of
solder and will heat this amount to
600° F. in 20 to 25 minutes. This
quick action is due to the fact that a
900 watt heating element is built
around the entire container. Heat is
applied to all parts of the sides and
bottom of the container simultaneous-
ly, thus coming in contact with the

solder at all points, and reducing it to
a working consistency. The pot
weighs only 13 lb., can be easily car-
ried anywhere, and operates on either
110-V. or 220- V. alternating or direct
current. Workmen need not waste
steps going back and forth between
their work and a heater.

Sander for Woodwork Finish

The oscillating spindle sander here
illustrated has just been put on the
market by the Porter-Cable Machine
Co. of Syracuse, N. Y. for the pattern
shop or woodworking factory that
feels they have not enough internal or
irregular work to warrant buying the
larger machine heretofore offered.
The machine is equipped with G. E.
motor which has a speed of 1725 r.p.m.
and is totally enclosed. Motor is con-
nected direct through the spindle
which has an oscillating movement of
1 in., is equipped with ball bearings
and furnished with 2% x 6 in. roll.
The table of this machine is ground.

Syracuse Bench Spindle Sander.

tilts 45° down and 15° up and is 16
in. in diameter. The weight of the
machine is 75 lb. and overall dimen-
sions are 16 x 16 x 25. The machine
can also be placed on pedestal if de-
sired.

1928

Equipment Review

911

Portable Road Building Crushing
Plant and Bin

The outfit illustrated below is made
by the United Iron Works, Ridge
Arcade Bldg., Kansas City, Mo. The
bin is of the wooden type (the com-
pany also makes a steel bin), and is
hoppered in the center, thus discharg-
ing to both sides. The wooden bin is
lined with steel to increase its service-
ableness, both from the standpoint of
wear and to make the crushed product
discharge more readily. The bins are
divided into two or more compart-
ments for different sizes of product.
Our standard bin is built in two sizes,
15 and 30 cu. yd. capacity. A three
compartment bin therefore has a
capacity of 5 and 10 cu. yd. respec-

the line of sight; and is graduated in
per cent of grade up to 20 per cent
above and below the horizontal. The
length of the limb permits direct grad-

K. & E. Reflecting Hand LereL

uation to single per cents; and the
spaces being large, it is possible to
estimate to the nearest 0.2 of one

United Cmshing Plant and Storage Bin.

tively to each compartment, depend-
ing upon the size of the bin. The
illustration shows the outfit ready for
moving, with the bin lowered and the
elevator folded.

Reflecting Hand Level

A reflecting hand level intended
primarily for use in preliminary sur-
veys of roads, railroads, etc.; but
which also may be employed for the
same purposes as any clinometer
where the slopes or gradients involved
are not greater than the equivalent of
11 deg. 15 min. above or below the
horizontal, has been placed on the
market by Keuffel & Esser Co., New
York.^ In this instrument the bubble-
tube is large and has adjustment de-
vices similar to those on the bubble
tubes of a surveyor's transit. The
graduated limb is set perpendicular to

per cent. The movable arm, which
carries the bubble and pointer, is oper-
ated by means of a tangent screw,
whose head is at the base of the grad-
uated limb. Hence, the bubble may
be brought slowly and uniformly to
the center of its tube, instead of, as in
the Abney level, requiring a direct
operation of the hand in positioning
and clamping it. The location of the
limb and tangent screw at the sight-
ing end of the instrument permits the
use of both hands in directing it stead-
ily upon the mark while bring^ing the
bubble to the central position. All of
the above mentioned features make
possible a considerable degree of pre-
cision in measuring slopes and grad-
ients up to 20 ft. rise in 100 ft. of hor-
izontal distance. The instrument is
equipped with a narrow prismoid re-
flector, so located that the field of
view appears on both sides of the re-
flected bubble.

912

Equipment Review

October

One-Man Single Acting Track
Jack

A track jack designed for operation
by one man under normal track loads
has been brought out by Templeton,

Simplex Improved Single Acting Track Jack.

Kenly & Co., Ltd., Chicago, 111. It is
stated that this jack requires 27 lb. at
the end of a 66 in. lining bar to lift 1
ton. Thus a 150 lb. man can lift 4%
tons with his weight alone which is
well about the loads met with in ordi-

result the greatest power. To obtain
this increase of power, it was also
necessary to change the pitch on the
rack bar from % in. to 15/32 in., and
the jack therefore lifts a shorter dis-
tance per stroke. Careful tests have
shown that in spite of this fact, the
jack is faster in operation than a jack
with a larger pitch except for very
light loads of approximately 1^/^ tons,
and under. The jack is so much easier
to operate that the men take more
strokes per minute than with a jack
having a coarser pitch and less power.
This additional power has made
greater strength necessary. To insure
this, both pawls are built with double
teeth and all parts except the socket
and standard are heat treated high
carbon steel forgings. Laboratory
tests have shown the breaking load of
these jacks to be in excess of 25 tons.
This strength has been obtained by the
use of better materials and more care-
ful heat treatment and has therefore
required no additional weight. The
jack is constructed with the standard
Simplex cored base.

Trailer for High Speed Power
Units

A trailer designed for use with the
Fordson at its high speeds and with
other speed power units is illustrated.
The trailer is ruggedly constructed
for its rated capacity of 6,000 lb., yet
the weight is low, only 1,650 lb. of
the chassis. The trailer has Timken
taper bearings, standard S. A. E.
solid tires, "Electric" steel wheels and
Alemite lubrication. The front wheels

Trailer for Use With Fordson Tractor and Motor Trucks.

nary track work where main line
track is lifted IVa in. or 2 in. This
increase in power is obtained by use
of the trunnion type of construction
on the socket in place of the pin. The
trunnion is stated to be not only un-
bendable and unbreakable but permits
the shortest possible distance between
the trunnion and pawl seat and as a

are mounted on steering knuckles, thus
giving a more uniform support to the
frame than is possible with a pivoted
axle. The draw bar is attached to
the front axle, sparing the frame
from all pulling strain and eliminat-
ing any tendency to "whip" or "wob-
ble" in action. This trailer is made
by the Electric Wheel Co., Quincy, 111.

1923

Equipment Review

918

Pressure Pump for Handling
Sludge

A pressure pump designed for han-
dling with a steady strong pull,
sludges, pulp, and similar material
met with in sanitation, chemical and
metallurgical fields, has been placed
on the market by the Dorr Co., 247
Park Ave., New York. The new
pump is of the diaphragm type and
due to an ingenious new double dia-
phragm is claimed to offer all the ad-
vantages of the old Dorrco pump with
the added benefit of a continuous flow

The Dorrco Pressure Pomp.

against a pressure of over 20 lb. The
new diaphragm consists of two Dorrco
cord diaphragms, facing, with a small
space between them. This space is
filled with water, which, by means of
a check valve connection with water
kept above it in the bowl, is made to
exert an internal pressure equal to
the pressure against which the pump
is acting. By means of this equalized
pressure it is found that neither dia-
phragm is strained appreciably on
either stroke, at reasonable pressures.
The diaphragm is raised and lowered
by an adjustable eccentric and rod. On
its up stroke it draws the material up
through a one way valve and on the
return stroke pushes it up through
another one way valve and into the

discharge line. An air chamber above
the second valve equalizes the flow.
Every part is of rugged construction
and is designed for hard continuous
service. Cast iron and steel, with
brass or bronze fittings, is used for
ordinary purposes, while for acid or
corrosive materials antimonial lead or
other alloy may be used in the pump
body.

Asphalt Simplifications EfiFective
January 1

After Jan. 1, 1924, "Too many as-
phalt grades" no longer will be the
complaint of public highway officials,
engineers, contractors, and producers,
the U. S. Department of Commerce
having announced that upon that
date, the recommendatiois adopted at
its recent asphalt paving conference,
will become effective and asphalt
grades for use in the construction of
sheet asphalt, asphaltic concrete, as-
phalt macadam, and surface-treated
pavements will be reduced from
eighty-nine to nine. The number of
asphalt grades used as joint filler in
the construction of brick and block
pavements and various other types
has likewise been reduced from four-
teen to four.

A complete report of the conference
at which the reduction in the number
of asphalt varieties was adopted is in
process of printing and will be pub-
lished about December 1 by the De-
partment of Commerce as one of its
series on "Elmination of Waste in
Industry." It will be entitled ''Sim-
plified Practice Recommendation No.
4 — Asphalt" and can be obtained fi'om
the Superintendent of Documents,
Government Printing Office at Wash-
ington at 5 ct. per copy.

The endless multiplicity and non-
uniformity of specifications having
reached a point which demanded na-
tion-wide co-operative action on the
part of engineers, contractors and pro-
ducers, at the suggestion of Secretary
Hoover, a systematic approach to a
solution was made during the spring
and summer by all parties interested
and a constructive reduction of the
varieties or grades was effected.

Nine definite penetration limits for
the construction of sheet asphalt, as-
phaltic concrete, asphaltic macadam
pavements and for surface treatment,
and four penetration limits for joint
filler for various other types of con-
struction, including brick and granite

914

Equipment Review

October

block pavements, were unanimously
adopted at a general conference held
at the Department of Commerce on
May 28, 1923, and have been officially
accepted as the standard of practice
by the highway engineers of thirty
states, the American Society for Test-
ing Materials, the Society for Munic-
ipal Improvements, the American So-
ciety of Civil Engineers, the United
States Bureau of Public Roads, the
Asphalt Association, and five manu-
facturers not members of the Asphalt
Association. It was the sense of the
conferees that the recommendations
should become effective on all deliv-
eries of material after Jan. 1, 1024,
and that they should be subject there-
after to annual review and such re-
vision as the industry may desire.

The following table gives the pene-
tration limits as adopted:

For construction of sheet asphalt, asphaltic

concrete, and asphalt macadam pavements,
and also for surface treatment.
Penetration Limits

25 to 80 50 to 60 100 to 120

30 to 40 60 to 70 120 to 150

40 to 50 85 to 100 150 to 200

For joint filler for various types of
construction.

Penetration Limits

80 to 50 60 to 70

50 to 60 85 to 100

The first is used primarily for brick
pavements, and does not require the
admixture of sand, whereas the latter
three which are identical with three of
the grades adopted for asphalt pave-
ment construction, are those which
would ordinarily be used in admixture
with sand to produce an asphalt grout.

In adopting these limits, it is un-
derstood that the producer will fur-
nish asphalts with penetration equal
to the mid-point in each range, a plus
and minus tolerance from that mid-
point being acceptable to all parties,
but in no case shall the deviation ex-
ceed the limits of the grade specified.

New %-In. Portable Electric Drill

A portable electric drill with a ca-

Eacity up to 5/16 in. in steel has been
rought out by Black & Decker, Tow-
son Heights, Baltimore, Md. This
drill is very similar to the Black &
Decker % in. drill, but has a much
more powerful motor and other parts
in proportion to its size. It is
equipped with a three jaw gear nut
chuck for straight shank drill bits. It
weighs 7 lb. and has a no load speed
of 1400 revolutions per minute.

New Industrial Tractor Heis In-
ternal Gear Drive

An internal gear drive for industrial
tractors has been perfected by the
Mercury Manufacturing Co., Chicago,
and after three years of experimental
operation, a new model — ^the Type H
— has been announced, featuring this
drive. The most noteworthy features
of the new drive are the balanced ar-
rangement of the driving gears with-
in the wheels; the method used to
position these gears in relation to one
another; and the successful attain-
ment of an oil and dust tight enclo-
sure for every moving part. The
drive — comprising the motor, motor
hanger, rear axle housing, rear

Mercury Type H Tractor.

wheels, rear springs and all driving
gears, is assembled in a single unit
which may be detached from the
frame in five minutes. The sequence
of operation in this drive unit is as
follows: The motor, joined to a pin-
ion through a self-aligning spring
coupler, drives a bevel gear contained
in the axle housing. This gear in
turn drives the axle pinions to each
rear wheel. The axle pinions trans-
mit the power through three idler
gears to a large ring gear mounted on
the inner diameter of the drive wheels.
The motor is a high speed, series
wound automotive type, its character-
istics being exactly fitted to the gear
drive and battery assemblies used.
The coupling between the motor and
the driving pinion comprises four coil
springs which cushion the initial
starting torque.

1923

Equipment Review

915

Surface Aerator for Activated
Sludge

The accompanying illustration
shows a surface aerator for activated
sludge now being manufactured in this
country by the Simplex Ejector Co.,

Sectional View of Simplex Sorface Aerator.

2528 West Madison St., Chicago, 111.
The operation of this aerator is purely
mechanical, and the plant may be driv-
en by electric motor, steam or oil en-
gine. Each aerator is self contained
and interchangeable, making it pos-
sible to remove any one of them with-
out disturbing the operation of any
other part of the plant.

New Trailer Mixer

In order to well round out its line of
tilting mixers, the Kwik-Mix Concrete
Mixer Co., Milwaukee, Wis., has re-

Trailer Mixer of Kwik-Mix Concrete Mixer Co.

cently brought out a trailer mixer.
Embodied in this trailer mixer are a
number of advantages tending to make
it essentially a portable machine. It
is designed and constructed to with-
stand sudden impacts and shocks with-

out any serious results to the mixer.
Besides pneumatic tired wheels which
permit greater speed in transporting,
the Kwik-Mix trailer is equipped with
a double legged stand which affords
rigidity to the mixer when it is in
operation. Both the handle and stand
are bolted to the frame so that when
in transportation, should more clear-
ance require it, they can be taken off.
This sturdy trailer mixer is compactly
made and comes in sizes of 3 and 4
cu. ft. of mixed materials.

Sizes and Weights of Hollow
Building Tile Simplified

As a result of a general conference
of manufacturers, distributors, and
users of hollow building tile held at
the Department of Commerce on Oct.
19, vmder the auspices of the Division
of Simplified Practice, it was unani-
mously agreed and adopted that defi-
nite weights and sizes of that com-
modity be considered as the standard
of practice for the industry for one
year effective Jan. 1, 1924.

A survey of variety in sizes, dimen-
sions, and weights reported at the
preliminary conference of manufac-
turers held at the Department on
June 19, 1923, showed 36 different
sizes, each made in a wide variety of
weights. A compilation and review of
the figures brought out by this sur-
vey was made by the Standards Com-
mittee of the Hollow Building Tile
Association and was used as a basis
for adoption at the general conference.

The conference decided to vote on
the list submitted by sections and the
discussion opened on the 12x12x12
standard load-bearing wall tile for
end construction. It was contended
that this size did not permit of com-
bined brick and tile construction for
the city of Washington. It was
brought out by the tile manufactur-
ers that this size would adequately
meet the requirements of any con-
struction and that its failure to do so
in Washington was due to the fact
that builders in that vicinity were not
using the standard size brick as
adopted at the Brick Conference held
at the Department of Commerce on-
June 21, 1923.

Mr. Sturtevant of the Association
explained to the conference that the
last four units of tile as listed under
standard partition tile were under a
course of tests at the Bureau of Stand-
ards and their findings would deter-

916 Equipment Review October

mine whether they would be classed ther eliminations or substitutions in

as floor tile of standard weights. The the existing varieties of tile. The per-

remaining groups were voted on and sonnel of this committee will be an-

unanimously adopted. nounced later.

After considerable debate as to tol- The following list gives in detail

erance for weights and dimensions, it the weights, sizes and types of tile

was unanimously passed that not adopted at the conference:

more than 5 per cent tolerance over standard Load Bearing Wall Tile

or under would be allowable for Wt.,

weights and 3 per cent over or under End Construction Cells Lb.

for dimensions covering length, width 6^xi2xi2 'Z"ZZ'Z'ZZZ"Z"Z 6 30

and height. 8 xi2xi2 i]!!!!""!!"!.!!!!!!!!-'-"-'".!!."..!..! 6 36

January 1, 1924, was set as to the lo xi2xi2 6 42

date the recommendation should be- ^^ xi2xi2 6

come effective and to remain in force ^gl^'^g'' ^il''*'""' - i 9

for a period of one year from that § x 5 xi2 "ZZ"'"ZZZII"'"Z.Z 2 16

date. " 8 X 5 xl2 "L" shaped) 16

A standing committee of the con- » ^ 6%xi2 r'r^shaped) 4 le

ference consisting of three represent- g xio%xi2("H" shap^r -■•--■- •■--" ^ 32

atives of manufacturers, three of dis- standard Partition Tile

tributors, and three of consumers was 3xi2xi2 3 15

decided upon as a means of providing ^^H'^H 3 22

a follow-up to insure the adoption of 8xi2xi2 'ZZZZZ'Z""""'Z""ZZZZZZ. 4 30

the simplifications embodied in the ioxi2xi2 4 36

recommendation of the conference; to I2xi2xi2 ^...-.....^. -- ■-■- 4 40

effect a greater degree of contact and ^gS^^^^ ^^^'^ ""!...!! 9

co-operation between the Department standard Book Tiie

and the industry; and to consider fur- 3xi2xi8 to 24. per sq. ft 18

Construction View of Philadelphia Anchorasre South Caisson of Delaware River Bridge. Philadel-
phia, Showing Two of the Latest Types of Locomotive Cranes of the Industrial Works, Bay City,

Mich.

1923

Eqvipment tteview

917

Portable Gravel Screening and

Crushing Plant

A "one piece" gravel screening and
crushing plant made by the Iowa
Manufacturing Co., Cedar Rapids, la.,
is illustrated. This plant takes the
gravel from the pit by an 18-in. belt
conveyor in to the screen where the
first separation is made. The screen-
ings go directly by second con-
veyor into the loading hopper
bin. Rejections go directly into a
Cedar Rapids crusher where they are
reduced and returned to the screen by
bucket elevator. The crusher, screen.

A Means for Increasing the

Efficiency of Radiators

For esthetic reasons, and also be-
cause it has become a custom, the
radiators employed in heating build-
ings are usually painted with alum-
inum or bronze paint. From the
\iewpoint of obtaining the maximum
amount of heat from a radiator of a
given size, this is one of the most in-
efficient paints that can be applied.
Tests in progress at the U. S. Bureau
of Standards on the emissivity of
sheet iron covered with white paint,
enamel, and aluminum paint show
that the aluminum paint emits only

Cedar Rapids Gravel Screening and Crashing Plant.

and elevator are mounted on a heavy
I-beam goose neck truck, equipped
with disc type dust-proof roller bear-
ing wheels, making a very light
draught outfit. The screen is of the
trunnion drive type, being double 30
and 48-in. diameter screens, which
gives large screening area. Convey-
ors are portable, being furnished with
light trucks for conveying with motor
trucks. The elevator is of all steel
construction with heavy malleable iron
buckets mounted on heavy combina-
tion malleable iron and steel chain.
The crusher is a No. 936 size Cedar
Rapids, which has been designed for
most severe ser\-ice. It is very simple
in construction.

27 to 30 per cent as much as a non-
metallic paint or enamel. It has been
known for some time that aluminum
paint is not so good a radiator as a
non-metallic paint, some published
data indicating that the emissivity of
aluminum paint was about 75 per cent
that of a non-metallic paint, such as
iron oxide. With increase in age and
other deterioration, the surfaces used
in the present test would increase in
emissivity, but, states a Technical
News Bulletin of the Bureau, it is
evident that for efficient service we
should educate ourselves so as to be-
come accustomed to the use of non-
metallic paints, such as the oxides of
iron, chromium, white paint, etc., for
metal radiators.

918

Equipment Review

October

Concrete Surface Grinder

The machine illustrated in the ac-
companying cut has been developed by
the Turbine Aid Tool Co., 301 Cham-
ber of Commerce Bldg., Cleveland, O.,
for the finishing of concrete surfaces.
It removes by grinding all films,
marks, fins, and other irregularities,

Turbine Air Concrete Snrfacer.

and prepares the surface for a gloat
finish or for paint.

The machine is usable on ceilings as
well as on walls and floors and is
adaptable either to monolithic work
or pre-cast units. Either old or new
work may be finished in this manner;
and natural aggregate surfaces are
easily given an attractive finish.

The Turbine Air Concrete Surfacer
weighs only 10 pounds. The motor is
a true turbine, air driven and revolv-
ing on ball bearings. As much as
2,100 sq. ft. of concrete surface has
been finished by one man with this
machine in a single 8 hours.

How to Make Lime Set Quickly

Some months ago, the U. S. Bureau
of Standards developed a quick-set-
ting lime composed of 1 volume of
ground quicklime and 2 volumes of
hydrate. The commercial success of
this material depends upon finding
some way to make it keep during
shipment, or else to make it into fin-
ished form at the factory. Working
on this latter phase of the subject,
the Bureau has been developing a cast
lime partition tile. Experiments have
shown the best composition to be 1
volume of wood fiber, 5 of quicklime,
and 10 of hydrate; and that the best
curing condition is outdoors exposed
to the weather. According to a Tech-

nical News Bulletin of the Bureau,
such a block sets so that it can be
removed from the mold in 10 minutes,
can be handled in 20 minutes, can be
sawed and nailed, and has a com-
pressive strength of 100 lbs. per
square inch at 7 days. It is about
20 per cent heavier than gypsum tile
of the same size, and experiments
are now being conducted to see if the
core volume can be increased without
too great a sacrifice of strength.

Motor Road Roller

The motor roller brought out this
year by the Huber Manufacturing Co.,
Marion, O., is illustrated below. The
main frame of this roller is made of
two deep, continuous sections of heavy
boiler plate extending the entire
length of the roller, tied together with
heavy angle iron sections securely riv-
eted in place. The rear axle and cross
shaft housings are machined at the
ends to exactly fit between the boiler
plate sides and are bolted in to add
further rigidity to the frame. The
rear rolls are made of a single semi-
steel casting with hardened face prop-
erly beveled to fit the crown of the

Huber Motor Roller.

road. They have a 20-in. face and a
diameter of 69 in. The front rolls
have a diameter of 244 in., two sec-
tions, giving a total width of 740 in.
The gears provide for two speeds for-
ward and two speeds reverse. The
travel in reverse is at the same rate
as the forward travel in each speed.
The speeds are 1*/^ miles per hour in
low and 3 miles per hour in high at
normal engine speed. The roller is
steered through a segment gear
housed in the front end of the frame.
The engine is a Huber-Midwest heavy
duty 4-cylinder water cooled, devel-
oping 45 to 50 hp. The roller weighs
20,000 lb., has an extreme width of
72 in., an extreme length including
scarifier of 221 in., and an extreme
length of 786 in. Its turning radius
is 13 ft., inside circle.

1923

Equipment Review

919

Unusual Method of Moving Steel
Tank

A gasoline filling station recently
erected offered quite a problem to the
contractor. The station was to be
equipped with a 15,000 gal. steel stor-
age tank, but since the station was
about %-miIe from the nearest rail-
road spur, the contractor was con-
fronted with the necessity of finding
some means of moving the tank that
would be both cheap and quick. The
tank weighed better than 5% tons,

Moving a Steel Tank with a Steam ShoveL

and was about 25 ft. long and 9 ft.
in diameter.

Finally, a nearby steam shovel, an
Osgood "29" was secured for the job.
The dipper and dipper handle was re-
moved and a chain cradle placed
around the tank, was made fast to the
sheave block. The steam shovel easily
lifted the tank clear of the ground
and with a man walking either end of
the tank to prevent undue swinging,
it was carried across a field about %
mile, and placed in a 12-ft. excavation.
The entire operation required a total
time of less than one hour. The con-
tinuous treads on the shovel made
movement across lots possible with a
considerable saving in time.

Tests Point Way to Safer
Elevators

About three-fourths of all fatal
elevator accidents are found to occur
at the hoistway door, either because
of the door being opened when the
elevator is not there or because of the
elevator starting when the door is
open. These accidents can be pre-
vented by a reliable interlock, as when
such a device is used the elevator
must be stopped at the floor before
the door can be opened, and the door

must be closed before the car can be
started again.

During the past year the U. S.
Bureau of Standards has been con-
ducting tests to determine the re-
liability of the various types now on
the market. The devices have been
given endurance tests under normal
conditions, they have been tested in a
corrosive atmosphere, in a dust laden
atmosphere, with lubrication, and
under conditions of misalignment
likely to occur in practice.

The tests were conducted at the re-
quest of the city of Baltimore, and
will permit city governments to base
their approval of such devices on
actual performance tests instead of
on visual inspection alone. The re-
sults have also been made available
to the manufacturers of the devices
tested, and in most cases they have
improved their designs in accordance
with the suggestions offered.

Wagon for Hauling Light, Bulky
Rubbish

A light weight, large capacity
wooden-bed wagon intended for haul-
ing leaves, paper, ashes, weeds, tin
cans and similar light, dry, bulky
refuse is illustrated. The wagon is
built in two sizes: a 3 cu. yd. capacity,
weighing 2,500 lb., for haulage by one
horse, and a 5 cu. yd. capacity, weigh-

?il/>

^'^''"'_j^j

^i^^l

Light Weight Rnbbish Wagon.

ing 2,700 lb., for haulage by two
horses. It is claimed these wagons
will hold as much in bulk as three
ordinary dump wagons. The wagon
bed hangs low, making it easy to load.
It also is easily dumped. The wagon
can be used as a trailer to a truck by
changing poles. This wagon is a
product of Geo. H. Holzbog & Bro.,
Jeffersonville, Ind.

920

Equipment Review

October

Machine for Removing Shale
From Sand and Gravel

A machine for eliminating shale,
rotten rock and other impurities from
sand or gravel has been placed on the
market by the Lansrud Manufacturing
Co., Des Moines, la. The machine is
built of heavy wrought iron. The
sand and gravel are passed through it
before being elevated to the loading
bins. It is claimed that the machine

Lansrud Shale Remover.

can be adjusted so that the percent-
age of foreign matter can be cut down
just as low as desired — even to the
fraction of one percent. One advan-
tage claimed is that the percentage of
foreign matter originally in the sand
and gravel does not vary the effective-
ness of the sand remover to the slight-
est degree. Whether the percentage
of foreign matter is blow 5 percent or
btween 20 and 30 percent, the machine
gets it out.

Forest Products Laboratory

Course on Use of Wood as

Building Material

The U. S. Forest Products Labora-
tory, Madison, Wis., which since 1919
has been giving demonstration courses
in kiln drying of lumber, boxing and
crating, gluing of wood, and wood
properties, announces a new course
covering wood as a building material.
This course is designed for architects,
construction engineers, contractors,
and others interested in the use of
wood in building construction.

The subject matter will be presented

in lectures and demonstrations by the
experts of the laboratory, many of
whom are well known to the building
trade. The course will include some
of the subjects that have been pre-
sented in the kiln drying, gluing and
other courses, which have been at-
tended by hundreds of men from all
parts of the country. In addition, the
new course will take up the proper-
ties and uses of various species of
woods in building construction; meth-
ods of determining the strength of
wood; safe w(^king stresses for struc-
tural timbers; effect of varying dimen-
sions and of form of beam and joist
on strength; decay in wood, its effect
and methods of prevention; grading
rules; moisture-resistant coatings; and
fire prevention in wood construction.

The course for architects will be
given at Madison Dec. 10 to 15, inclus-
ive. A co-operative fee of $100 per
man will be charged to cover the cost
of instruction. Further information in
regard to the course may be obtained
from the Director, Forest Products
Laboratory, Madison, Wis.

Comparative Costs of Maintaining

Horses and Motor Vehicles at

St. Louis Water Works

The Water Department of St. Louis,
Mo., during the fiscal year ending
April 9, 1923, maintained 35 horses
and wagons, and 22 motor vehicles.
The cost of this maintenance is sum-
marized as follows in the recently
issued annual report of Edward E.
Wall, Water Commissioner:

Cost of Maintaining; 35 Horses and Wagons
for the Fiscal Year

Repairing wagons $ 1,845.65

Shoeing 35 horses 2,930.90

Harness repairs and supplies. 963.45

Clipping, veterinary and stable ex-
pense 223,45

Feed and bedding for 35 head. 4,705,29

Total - $10,668.74

Annual cost per one horse unit $ 304.82

Cost of Maintainintr 22 Machines — 16 Fords,
1 Dodge, 5 Trucks, for the Fiscal Year

Garage labor $ 4,781.60

Auto supplies _ -.. 2,649.92

Outside repairs - 818.79

Gasoline, Jan. 15 to April 1 411.40

Oil, Jan. 1 to April 1 98.80

Total $ 8,156.51

Annual cost per machine $ 370.70

These comparative costs, states the
report, seem to justify the policy of
the Department in replacing horses
with motor wherever the work will
permit.

1923

Tar Wagon with Welded Kettle

The accompanying illustration
shows the 4-wheel tar wagon manu-
factured by the Jos. Honhorst Co.,
1016 W. Sixth St., Cincinnati, O. The
stvle illustrated is built in sizes from
250 to 900 gal. capacity. The latest
and most important change in this
style made during the last year is the
welding of the joints in this kettle
instead of riveting. This eliminates
leaks from loose rivets, prevents tar

Equipment Review

921

Four Wheel Tar Wasron

from accumulating in the seams, and
gives the kettle a perfectly smooth in-
terior, which is absolutely tight and
leak proof. The kettle is made of
heavy hi in. boiler steel throughout.
The firebox extends under half the
length of the kettle bottom and is
lined with % in. locomotive firebox
steel. The running gear has heavy
front and rear axle castings, made of
special steel. The wheels are all steel,
with staggered spokes, and tires
shrunk over and riveted.

Night Courses in Building Trades
at Carnegie Tech

Of the 1,200 night students enrolled
for the present year in the College
of Industries, at Carnegie Institute
of Technology, Pittsburgh, 50 per
cent have signed to take course in the
building trades.

The courses in carpentry and ^ in
electrical equipment and construction
report the heaviest gains especially in
new students. Of the sixty or more
carpentry students enrolled up to a
few days ago, more than 40 were new

students, while the department of
electrical equipment and construction
enrolled more than 60 new, and more
than 50 former students. The reason
for the heavy enrollment of would-be
electricians and carpenters this year
is attributed by Carnegie Tech author-
ities to the high wage scales at pres-
ent in force in these branches of work.
Another reason, somewhat indirectly
responsible but nevertheless notice-
able, is due to the growing interest
that labor unions are showing in edu-
cational facilities for their respective
apprentices. A striking example of
this attitude by the imions was re-
vealed in the recent action of the
local union of the International Wood-
Wire and Sheet Metal Lathers Union
which, on its own initiative, has ef-
fected a working agreement with Car-
negie Tech to train apprentices of
this trade. As a result of this agree-
ment, about 15 apprentices attached
to the local sheet metal lathers union
have enrolled at the Institute, and are
compelled by the union to attend a
special night course three nights a
week for the next two years.

While the action of the sheet metal
lathers is the only official agreement
that has been announced by the Insti-
tute, several other unions in the allied
building trades have taken steps to
require night school attendance of
their respective apprentices.

Furring Clip for Wire Mesh

The accompanying illustration
shows a simple furring clip for hold-
ing wire mesh at the proper distance

PaninK Clip.

from surfaces to be plastered or cov-
ered with stucco. The clip is made of
galvanized metal. It is hung over the
wire and fastened with a 4-penny nail.
The clip is made by the G. L. W.
Manufacturing Co., San Diego, Calif.

922

Equipment Review

October

All Steel Scaffold Bracket

A "quick set" scaffold bracket made
by the J. L. Austin Manufacturing
Co., Menomonee Falls, Wis., is illu-
strated. The features of this bracket
include the following: Two pieces of
angle iron riveted together spaced 4
ft. in length pierced with safety per-

Scaffold Bracket.

forations. A lock link chain to tighten
steel hook firmly. Cast steel hook
which fastens on sheathing. Two
pieces perpendicular angle iron 4 ft. in
length with two perforations at bot-
tom to prevent side swing. Angle iron
at top of perpendicular. Also used to
prevent side swing, giving a double
"safety check. Tee iron which gives
rigidity and locks safety hook. The
bracket weighs approximately 19 lb.
The upper cut of the illustration shows
the bracket extended ready for use;
and the lower shows the bracket
folded up.

Colored Concrete Hardener

An integral colored hardener for
concrete floors, known as "Colormix,"
that is claimed to contribute in one
operation the properties of color,
hardness, waterproofness and uni-
formity, is made Dy the Master Master
Builders Co., Cleveland, 0. The
product is marketed as a paste with
about the consistency of white lead.
When put into use it is dissolved in
the gauging water, where it dyes
every particle of sand and cement of
the floor topping a deep, rich color. It
is stated the coloring, waterproofing
and hardening functions are not
limited merely to the surface of the

floor, but act uniformly and evenly
throughout the entire topping layer.
The compound hardens and colors the
upper Vz to % in. of the floor. Six
colors are available: tile red, linoleum
brown, nile green, battleship gray,
buff and white. Combinations of
these colors may be laid in a variety
of designs to fit any decorative
scheme. When the colormix floor is
troweled it is ordinarily cut into
squares to resemble tile, the size of
the blocks varying from 6 in. to 18 in.
square to suit the tastes of the owner
and his architect.

Cost of Spray Painting on Rail-
road Work

The following figures from the
August issue of Railway Engineering
and Maintenance show the cost of
spray painting on two jobs for rail-
roads.

Cost . of painting a 50,000-gal. tub on four
20-ft. latticed columns:

92 hr. at B4c J49.68

20 gal. Paint at $2.25 45.00

4 gal. Linseed Oil 4.00

4 gal. Graphite Paint _ 6.00

6 gal. Gasoline _ 1.50

$106.18

Cost of painting the girders only of a

1,310-ft. viaduct, (three lines girders about

6 ft. deep, making a total of 47,000 sq. ft.) :

First Coat —

Labor, 838 hr. at 64c $248.32

Paint, 355 gal. at $1.50 532.50

Gasoline, 57 gal. at 25c 14.25

$795.07
Second Coat —

Labor, 221 hr. at 64c $135.68

Paint, 239 gal. at $1.50 .„ 358.50

Gasoline, 37 gal. at 25c „.. 9.25

$503.43
Labor per 100 sq. ft. for 2 coats — 1.27

hr. at 64c $ .82

Paint per 100 sq. ft. for 2 coats — 1.26

gal. at $1.50 1.89

Total $2.7 1

A Trolley Operated Mixer

In paving street car tracks on Mar-
ket St., San Francisco, the Market
Street Rys. have been using a con-
crete mixer equipped with flanged
wheels and a trolley pole, so that it
can travel along the track by its own
power, states Successful Methods.
The mixer operates on one of the two
tracks while pouring the pavement
base for the other track. Current for
the electric motor on the mixer is ob-
tained from the trolley wire just as on
a street car. The same electric motor
that drives the mixer along the tracks
also operates the mixing drum.

1923

Equipment Review

928

Night Lighting by Acetylene
Flares

At this season of the year, when
days are short and owners are anx-
ious for completion of work, the night
shift becomes a very important fac-
tor in the success or failure of a job.
By taking advantage of the night
shift, progressive contractors are se-
curing work against their competitors,
in view of better estimates and better
records of completion. They are also
getting greater profits out of their
work by utilizing expensive plants
throughout two or more shifts per
day.

8.000 C. p. Acetylene Flare.

In order to get the best results
from night work by eliminating de-
lays to men and machines, it is es-
sential that the work be well lighted.
One form of light that is now used
all over the country and which is
giving good service is the portable
acetylene flare light. The accompany-
ing illustration shows one of the
8C§tylpp^ flares made by the Alexan-

der Milbum Co., 1420 West Baltimore
St., Baltimore, Md. This is an 8,000
c.p. light, is 6 ft. high, weighs 150
lb,, and is equipped with handles so
that it may be carried from place to
place without difficulty. It is stated
to bum for 12 hours on 8 lb. of
carbide.

The principle of operation of these
lights is as follows: When calcium
carbide and water are combined, a
combustible gas called acetylene is
generated. Calcium carbide, usually
called carbide, comes in several forms.
The form most generally used is ordi-
nary commercial carbide in lumps 2
in. by ^ in. in size, as this size yields
the greatest number of cubic feet of
gas per pound, and is obtainable
everywhere. One pound of lump car-
bide gives 4.84 cu. ft. of gas, and the
average cost of lump carbide is 5c,
making the cost of the gas about Ic
a cu. ft.

The charging and lighting are easily
performed by unskilled labor. The
carbide is placed in a carbide holder
containing a series of conical -shaped
pockets. This holder fits into a gas
bell slightly larger, there being only
enough space between the two to form
a gas chamber. These in turn are
placed in a square tank which forms
the base of the light and is filled with
water. The water acts on the car-
bide, immediately generating a gas in
the chamber, which rises through an
inverted "U" pipe, travels down
through a gas washer in the base
and thence up through the feed pipe
to the burner.

The sludge or slaked carbide is
easily removed from the conical pock-
ets by taking out the carbide holder
and dumping. The water in the tank
need not be changed. The standpipe,
burner and reflector are not handled.

The brilliancy of the light is as-
sured by the relatively large water
supply in the square tank. The water
column automatically maintains a
steady flow of gas at the burner with-
out any attention whatever. As the
internal pressure within the light can
never exceed the water column, a
large factor of safety is assured.
When the light is turned off, the in-
creased pressure of the gas automati-
• cally forces the water from the car-
bide chamber, preventing any genera-
tion while the light is out. This not
only insures safety, but makes the
light ready for use at all times. When
fully charged, these lights will bum

d24

Equipment Review

October

from 10 to 12 hours with practically
no care.

The lights come in various styles
and sizes, ranging from the small
hand lamp to the large multiple burn-
er type. The flares made by Milbum
Company have an excellent device for
cleaning the burner, as it pushes the
obstruction out of the burner. By
means of swivel joints the light may
be swung in a complete circle either
horizontally or vertically. The reflect-
ors are attached with a reflector hold-
er which can be put on or off while
the light is burning, and is of the
movable form type, making it pos-
sible to spread the light over a wide
area or concentrate it upon the work
at hand.

The acetylene flare light has been
used for years by many of the larg-
est contractors and has been found
very satisfactory.

Some of its applications are in tun-
nel work, concrete-lining tunnels, for
drill runners, in excavation work, for
steam rock drills loosening up mate-
rial for scrapers next day, on revolv-
ing shovels, grading, pile driving, un-
loading material for concrete mix-
ers, in railway yards during late
afternoon work, electric line repair
work, on buildings for carpenters, and
installing machinery.

New Tractor Winch

A hoisting drum or winch, which
will attach to and be an integral part
of a tractor, is now being made by

New Winch for Attachment to Tractor.

the C. L. Best Tractor Co., San Le-
andro, Calif. It can be attached to
any "Sixty." It has a capacity of 300

ft. of % in. cable and a winding speed
of 2% m.p.h. There is a gear box
built into it for disengaging the drum
for unwinding and a brake to control
the running-out speed. The entire in-
stallation weighs 1,550 lb., and does
not interfere with the other uses of
the tractor on which it is installed.

Crane Mounted on Electric Truck

The accompanying illustration
shows what is believed to be the first
electric motor truck mounted crane to
be used in highway construction.

The crane is a Universal made by
the Universal Crane Co., Elyria, 0.
It is powered by a 40 h.p. heavy duty
gasoline engine and is equipped with
28 ft. boom and clamshell bucket
drums. The crane is mounted on a

Universal Crane Mounted on Electric Truck

Unloading: Sand and Stone from Railroad

Cars to Storage Bins.

Lansden electric truck and does not
require outriggers to handle its rated
loads. The unit is unloading sand and
stone from cars to a Blaw-Knox stor-
age bin. To raise the crane operator
so that he can look into the car, which
he is unloading, a platform about 3 ft.
6 in. high with a ramp at either end
has been built from old ties and filled
with cinders. This has helped to fa-
cilitate the cleaning up of cars and
has resulted in faster unloading. The
unit is owned by The Crane Service
Co., Newark, N. J. who rented it to
the contractor.

1923

Eqrdpment Review

925

Teu^c Seweige Screen

A recent development in the screen-
ing of municipal and industrial sew-
age is the Tark screen, a product of
the Link Belt Co., Chicago. As will
be seen from the accom.panjdng illus-
tration each screen is a self-contained
unit consisting of a rotating drum
(carrying the screen plates), a num-
ber of revolving brushes which con-
stantly sweep the surface of the

drum into the effluent channel, while
the intercepted solids are swept from
the outside surface of the drum into
a sludge bucket, or mechanical con-
veyor, by the revohnng brushes pre-
viously referred to. At intervals in
the drum, slots are left between the
screen plates from which curved metal
"fins" protrude. These "sludge-re-
claiming plates," as they are called,
serv^e to scoop up sediment from the

Tark Sewage Screen Similar to Those to Be Used in Milwaukee Activated Slndge Sewage

Disposal Plant

screen (permitting the use of ex-
tremely fine apertures without danger
of clogging), and motor and reducing
gears mounted on a steel frame which
extends across the influent channel
above the drum. The drum itself is
installed in the influent channel across
the line of sewage flow. The liquid
portion of the sewage after flowing
through the apertures in the screen
plates passes through one end of the

bottom of the influent channel, as well
as the scum that accumulates on the
surface of the sewage, and carries all
such debris up to the brushes which
sweep it away. A cam mechanism
automatically retracts the sludge re-
claiming plates to a position within
the drum as they approach the
brushes. The drum is built up of
small curv^ed sections of perforated
plates, each of which can be easily

926

Equipment Review

October

handled by one man, and all parts of
the apparatus are in plain sight and
easily accessible for inspection and
adjustment.

Combination Road and Street

Maintainer

A combination tractor-scarifier-
grader-roller, weighing over 16,000 lb.,
and powered with a 50 h.p. motor, is
illustrated. This machine is designed
especially to rebuild unpaved streets
and roads and restore them to first-
class condition, regardless of the ex-
tent to which they have been neglected
or damaged. Ordinarily, there are
four steps in the process of recon-
structing a highway with this ma-
chine. The first step accomplishes a
scarification of the material to a

power transmitted by chain drive from
a 50 h.p. Waukesha motor. There
are two speeds forward and one re-
verse— forward 2.94 and 2.27 miles
per hour; reverse, 2.27 miles per hour.
The machine drives like an automobile
with foot pedal clutch, hand lever
brake, gear shift lever, spark and
throttle. The scarifier block is
equipped for seven extra-long teeth
and is raised and lowered by means of
a hand wheel and pedestal which is
operated by the tractor operator. The
grader attaches and detaches instant-
ly. It has a single piece channel
frame and all solid connections are
hot riveted. It has a special quick-
lift device for raising and lowering the
blade instantly to avoid obstructions,
crossing, manholes, etc. A hand
lever operates this quicklift. Blade

Working a Road with tlie Gray Giant Combination Macliine.

depth of several inches. The purpose
of this is to remove all lumps and
humps and to tear out sub-surface
"basins" in which moisture accumu-
lates. Step No. 2, crushes the scari-
fied material, breaking up the large
chunks and pulverizing the material.
Then follows the third step in which
the grader blades out the material,
shapes the crown and shoulders and
surfaces the road according to the
specifications followed. The final
step is the rolling wherein the roller
packs the road or street. The ma-
chine is narrow enough to work be-
tween car-tracks. The tractor unit is
driven by a wide drum roller with

adjustments are made by means of
hand wheels; the blade is adjustable
as to pitch, angle of cut, depth of cut
and may be swung to either side of
the frame. The rear axle is adjust-
able laterally and pivotally. All
wearing parts are made of specially
selected materials, carefully finished.
The entire outfit is built to give steady
and dependable service. It requires
but two men to operate the entire out-
fit— one man operating the tractor,
scarifier and roller, and the second
man operating the grader. The ma-
chine is known as the Gray Giant. It
is made by the Gray Tractor Co.,
Minneapolis, Minn.

1928

Equipment Review

927

Wiring for Electrical
Appliances

Data on Typical New York Buildings
Given in The Architectural Forum

By WILLIAM H. WHITTON

A subject that stiU seems to remain
largely in the realm of conjecture,
even among the central stations that
are supplying the electrical service, is
the extent to which provision should
be made in residential structures,
whether apartments or private
houses, for the use by the occupants
of the various forms of electrical ap-
pliances without which, we are about
ready to believe, no home is complete.
Involved in it are not only the ques-
tions of the number and location of
outlets — "convenience outlets" is the
latest term — to which the appliances
may be attached, but that of the ca-
pacity of the wiring supplying them,
and of the service cables from the
street.

That the latter considerations are
important may be gathered from the
fact, which will perhaps be surprising
to many, that it is of quite frequent
occurrence in apartment buildings of
certain types of occupancy to find that
the total load of the household apnli-
ances is equal to either the lighting:
or the power installation of the build-
ing, and that in extreme cases it may
even exceed the two combined. For-
tunately for the wiring in some of
the buildings in which this condition
prevails, particularly the older ones,
the variety of the electrical devices
in use, coupled with the natural ir-

regularity in the time of their oper-
ation, creates a high diversity factor,
spreading the load demands fairly
well over the entire day. A certain
proportion of the appliances may be
expected, however, to be in service
during the hours of maximum light-
ing requirements, and due provision
for this condition should be made in
planning the wiring capacities of new
structures.

Electrical Appliances of Three New
York Hotels. — Data have been ob-
tained on the subject in a numer of
typical New York residential build-
ings, a review of which may be help-
ful in estimating the probable load
requirements of household equipment
and in planning an adequate number
of convenience outlets, although the
rapidly growing popularity of elec-
trical devices of all kinds may set at
defiance even the most carefully pre-
pared estimates. A list of the appli-
ances counted in three t5T)ical apart-
ment hotels, and included here, will
give a better idea of the extent to
which this condition prevails than can
any general description. The build-
ings in question are of the usual high
class found on New York's upper west
side, and can be considered as fairly
representative of their type.

Cooking Equipment Most Important
Item. — Despite the wide variety of
utensils listed, it will at once be ob-
served that cooking equipment, both
numerically and in the sense of power
requirements, is the most important
classification. For instance, in Hotel
No. 1 we find that in addition to a
large number of smaller cooking

HOTEL No. 1
Appliance Wattage

25 Percolators 10,000

12 Toasters 6,000

4 Heaters 2,640

85 Grills 56,100

5 Stoves 7,500

2 16-in. fans 150

32 Irons 18,525

4 Vacaum cleaners 946

3 Dental drills _._. 360
3 Dental sterilizers 1,800

5 Victrolas _ 561

1 Dental converter 120

1 Curling iron 15

1 Heating pad 15

8 Sewing machines 323

1 Moving pic. mch. 47

1 Emery wheel

(1 1-6 h.p.) 124

2 Dental wheels

(1-8 h.p.) 186

1 X-ray maahine 5,868

1 Player piano 187

190 lll.M?

HOTEL No. 2
Appliance Wattage

14 Percolators 5,946

4 Toasters 2,175

1 Heater 550

23 Grills 15,016

20 Stoves 10,786

69 Fans 3,810

30 Irons _ 16,026

2 Telautographs .._ 150

3 Vacuum cleaners 300

1 Vibrator 40

1 Massage machine 35

1 Hair dryer _ 85

3 Curling irons 86

1 Sewing machine.. 87

1 Hotplate -.... 1,306

HOTEL No. 3
Appliance Wattage

23 Percolators 13,435

18 Toasters 9,766

4 Heaters : 2,600

36 Grills 20,450

38 Stoves 68,716

1 Fan 60

42 Irons 22,435

1 Vibrator __ 24

2 Sterilizers __ _ 1,200

1 Egg boiler 600

2 Hair dryers 880

1 Violet ray mch... 60

3 Hair curlers 160

1 Waffle iron _ 600

9 Hotplates 5.224

3 Ovens 2,670

1 Heating pad 60

174

66.298

186

148.419

d28

Equipment Review

October

articles, there are five stoves requir-
ing 7,500 watts, or 1,500 watts per
stove, and in Hotel No. 3, 38 stoves
requiring 68,716 watts, or 1,808 watts
per stove. Second in importance to
the cooking implements is the electric
iron. As in the case of small stoves
and grills of a capacity of 660 watts
or less, terminals for flexible cords
are provided, and it is then left to the
purchasers to connect them to what-
ever lamp sockets or convenience out-
lets there may be in the apartments
or in the particular rooms in which
they are used. An outlet is of course
very much better adapted for the pur-
pose than a lamp socket, especially if
provision has been made for utility
outlets having more than ordinarily
heavy wire, but if a proper outlet is
not conveniently situated, then the
lamp socket is naturally pressed into
service. The remedy, of course, is to
add more outlets, but although not a
difficult thing to have done, for many
reasons it is usually simpler to tol-
erate the evil. In a large sense, the
problem is one that demands preven-
tive measures rather than remedies.
Voltage Regulation and Appliance
Loads. — To just what extent voltage
regulation is affected by the appliance
loads in buildings in which their use
has increased to such an unexpected
extent depends, of course, on the
amount of copper provided for the
main and branch wiring, the number
of outlets per circuit, and the extent
of coincidence in the use of the appli-
ances. Even one 600-watt device con-
nected to a lightly wired circuit may

for. Of course it is not to be ex-
pected that all of the equipment will
be in service at the same time, but on
the other hand the load will undoubt-
edly grow from year to year, and it
is to be expected that presently the
normal wiring capacity will be ab-
sorbed, leaving no margin with which
to carry the additional appliances, or
the many floor or table lamps which
are supplied from baseboard or wall
outlets.

In Hotel No. 2, which is more mod-
ern by a number of years than No. 1,
the outlet provision is much more
ample, there being 770 outlets, repre-
senting a normal capacity of 38,500
watts. The appliance load at its maxi-
mum could be 56,298 watts, which is
only about 44 per cent greater than
the outlet rating. In Hotel No. 3,
which is approximately of the same
age as No. 2, a much less favorable
showing is made. The normal ca-
pacity of the 385 outlets, 19,250 watts,
must suffice for a possible load of
148,419 watts, which is almost eight
times the outlet rating.

Comparison of Lighting, Appliance
and Power Installations. — The com-
parison of the lighting, appliance and
power installations of these three
buildings may be of interest, more
especially the relative values of the
two first mentioned, since they are
depndent for their current supply on
the same set of building risers. The
unexpected prominence of the appli-
ance as a serious factor in determin-
ing load conditions will be apparent
from these figures:

Hotel No. 1

Watts

LigrhtinK installations 64,765

Power installations 60,541

Appliance installations 111,567

Total 226.873

Percen-
tage of
Total
29
22
49

100

Hotel No. 2

Watts
70.360
61,265
56,099

Percen-
tage of
Total
37
33
30

Hotel No. 3
Percen-
tage of
Watts Total
120,225 30

33
37

135,026
151,403

187,724 100

406,654

100

occasion a sufficient drop in the volt-
age to cause a perceptible dimming
of any lamps burning on the same
circuit. It is quite usual, in planning
wiring layouts, to assume an average
load intensity of from 50 to 55 watts
per socket or outlet. In Hotel No. 1
there are 453 convenience outlets,
which at 50 watts each would provide
for a load of 22,650 watts. Compared
with this is the total appliance ca-
pacity of 111,567 watts, or a possible
load of almost five times as great as
the wiring presumably was designed

In housekeeping apartments and
residences the conditions differ in
respects from those existing in apart-
ment hotels. Observations of the ap-
pliance situation were made in a very
large number — running into the thou-
sands— of electrically served residen-
tial properties representing prac-
tically all scales of living. The out-
standing features are the almost uni-
versal prevalence of use of electrical
articles of one kind or another, and
the serious inadequacy of the pro-
vision made for their proper use, it

1923

Equipment Review

929

being necessary, in far more in-
stances than the bare figures indi-
cate, to connect the appliances to
lamp sockets — an unsightly, incon-
venient, and in some instances haz-
ardous method.

Appliance Situation in Apartments
and Residences. — Of the total number
of premises surveyed, 69 per cent
have at least one electrical device in
more or less regular use. There are,
however, only 26 per cent of the
premises which are equipped with
convenience outlets of any sort — base-
board, wall or floor — and it is a fairly
safe assumption that the outlets have
in many instances been so sparingly
provided as largely to fail in meeting
the requirements of location and ac-
cessibility.

Owing to the much smaller number
of coolang utensils, the question of
wiring adequacy in non-housekeeping
residential property is less of a prob-
lem than in the housekeeping type,
but the very general use of electric
irons calls attention to the desir-
ability of making practically 100 per
cent provision for the use of these
articles. Irons account for 60 per
cent of the entire number of appli-
ances recorded, and owing to their
relatively high power requirements,
for a very much higher proportion of
the electrical load. Next in order,
numerically, come vacuum cleaners,
followed by toasters, percolators and
heaters. The actual figures in a num-
ber of typical apartment houses are
here.

In Elevator Apartment No. 1, there
are 162 convenience outlets and 1,633
lighting sockets, in 64 apartments, the
occupants of which use 124 appli-

ances, requiring power totaling 47,525
watts. The number of portable
lamps attached to outlets is not re-
corded, but making some allowance
for this purpose, it seems clear that
many of the tenants must be incon-
venienced by a scarcity of outlets, for
in the majority of instances an out-
let, to be properly useful, must not be
many feet removed from the spot at
which the appliance is to be used. A
heater which can only be connected
in the dining room will hardly serve
to remove the chill in the bathroom,
nor will an outlet in the drawing room
prove very helpful when the problem
is the serious one of energizing the
family curling iron.

The figure of about 2^ outlets per
apartment prevailing in this building,
is fairly representative of the usual
but moderately high priced apart-
ment, but is very much higher than
the average throughout all classes,
which is but slightly more than %
outlet per apartment. The result of
this almost universal lack is seen in
the common use of attachment wires
dangling from lighting fixtures, a
situation which was very happily hit
off in Punch some time ago by a
cartoonist who pictured a breakfast
scene in a prosperous English house-
hold. Draped from the ceiling fixture
and from a number of wall brackets
was shown a bewildering array of
flexible cords. Among the complexi-
ties of these Jeems, the butler, bear-
ing a tray and a pained expression,
was warily making his way, reflect-
ing, meanwhile, on his troubles. "This
blessed 'ouse," he meditates, "is so
full of modem conveniences that life
has become one bloomin' g:ime of
skippin' rope."

Apartment House No.
64 Apartments
53 Irons

40 Vacuum cleaners
16 Toasters
10 Percolators

1 Heater

2 Sewing machines
1 Heating pad

1 Drill

Apartment House No.
5 Apartments

3 Irons

8 Vacuum cleaners
1 Toaster
1 Percolator

4 Fans

6 Medical appliances

HIGH GRADE ELEVATOR APARTMENTS

Apartment House No. 2
108 Apartments
59 Irons

35 Vacuum cleaners
28 Toasters
6 Percolators
12 Grills
3 Heaters

3 Vibrators
5 Fans

4 Curling irons
2 Heating pads

1 Sewing machine

NON-ELEVATOR APARTMENTS
Apartment House No. 2
23 Apartments
16 Irons

4 Vacuum cleaners
4 Toasters
1 Percolator
1 Fan

Apartment House No. 3
25 Apartments
25 Irons
15 Vacuum cleaners

9 Toasters

5 Percolators

1 Grill

1 Heater

1 Heating pad

1 Thermolite

Apartment House No. 9
20 Apartments
19 Irons

7 Vacuum cleaners
2 Toasters

4 Percolator*

5 Grills
1 Heater

980

Equipment Review

October

New Line of Vertical Belt Driven
Vacuum Pumps

A new line of small vertical belt
driven vacuum pumps has been
brought out by the Ingersoll-Rand Co.,
11 Broadway, New York. This line of
pumps, known as Type 15, will pull
and maintain vacuums between 28.6
in. and 29:25 in. depending on their
size. In addition to the standard belt
design each size is built as a self-con-
tained electric motor outfit, using the
short belt drive arrangement or driv-
en through pinion and internal gear.

Type 14 — 5 in. x 3 in. Vacunm Pump, Fly
Wheel Side.

The vacuum pump and electric motor
of both the short belt and gear driven
units are mounted on a metal sub-
base, so that they are not dependent
on the foundation for correct align-
ment. The "Constant-Level" system
of lubrication used on the Type 15
vacuum pumps maintains a constant-
level of oil, which insures the right
amount being distributed to all parts.
Like in the ordinary splash system,
the bottom of the pump base forms an
oil reservoir, of sufficient capacity, for
the "Constant-Level" system. The
amount of oil in this reservoir is de-
termined by high and low level pet
cocks. Above the reservoir and di-
rectly underneath the connecting rod
is a constant level pan, into which the
connecting rod dips and distributes
just a sufficient quantity of oil for
proper lubrication. The constant level
pan is replenished with oil from the
supply in the crank case by a valve-
less oil pump operated by an eccentric
on the main shaft. Regardless of the
amount of oil in the reservoir so long
as it is somewhere between the high
and low level petcocks, it is stated,
this system will function perfectly.
There are six sizes — the 4 in. x 2 in.;

5 in. X 3 in.; 6 in. x 4 in. and 8 in. x 5
in. single acting pumps; and 10 in. x
5 in. and 12 in. x 6 in. double acting
pumps. The 2 in., 3 in., 4 in. and 5 in.
stroke single acting pumps are air
cooled by means of an annular ring
which encircles the cylinder, while the
5 in. and 6 in. stroke double acting
pumps are cooled by means of circu-
lating water.

Self Anchoring Stump Puller

An important feature of the stump
puller brought out recently by the
Monarch Tractors, Inc., Watertown,
Wis., is a self-anchoring device by
means of which the puller is anchored
without the necessity of tying it to
other trees or stumps. The stump
puller is carried on a 3 wheel chassis.
The front wheel is a small diameter
castor wheel which permits very short
turns. A large diameter axle passes
through the two rear wheels, and
supports the heavy steel channel
frame, which has the anchor built into
the rear end of it and carries the
power plant and cable drum at the op-
posite end. Pivoting the frame over
this axle allows the anchor blade to
drop down into the ground when pull-
ing, while in hauling the machine
over the road the front end of the
frame is pulled down to a horizontal

Monarch Self-Anchorins Stump Poller.

position by means of a crank and cable
attached to the chassis frame. Prac-
tically all of the weight of this ma-
chine is so located as to counter-bal-
ance the cable pull. Some additional
weight is necessary to counter-bal-
ance the heaviest pulls. This weight
is hung from a boom held in position
by guy wires attached to the frame.
The boom also serves as a tongue
when using horses to move the ma-

1923

Equipment Review

981

chine and is then clamped in place over
the short tongue on the castor wheel.
The short tongue is fitted with a trac-
tor hitch. The cable drum is driven
through a jaw clutch on the large spur
gear and is arranged to slide on the
drum shaft so that it may be disen-
gaged from the gear and revolve free-
ly when pulling out the cable. A Ford
engine, transmission, radiator, etc.,
make up the power plant. Two for-
ward speeds, reverse and brake are
provided.

A Device for Simplifying Heat
Treatment of Drill Steel

A device for simplifying the rather
technical and complex process of forg-
ing and heat treating drill steel has
been placed on the market by the Den-

The Wangh Compaiiscope.

ver Rock Drill Manufacturing Co.,
Denver, Colo. Drill steel, like other
steels, at various temperatures has
certain definite colors and drill steel
of a given analysis has a correspond-
ing hardening temperature. Hence
the problem of finding heat-treating
temperatures is obviously, from the
blacksmith's standpoint, one of color
comparison. This is claimed to be ac-

complished by the Waugh Compara-
scope which allows the blacksmith to
directly compare the color of the
heated drill steel with that of another
heated metal having the same color at
a given temperature The Compara-
scope is rugged throughout in its con-
struction. The body or housing is of
heavy metal and is so designed that
the instrument can be quickly and
easily mounted on a wall or a substan-
tial board placed near the furnace. A
convenient length of flexible electric
light cord is provided with connection
for attaching to a near-by lighting cir-
cuit. A small coil of high resistance
wire, visible through a lense in the
center of the apparatus, is brought up
to any desired heat by merely plug-
ging into the corresponding socket at
the left hand side; temperatures, car-
bon content and directions being indi-
cated on the directions plate at the
right. The coil has a fixed resistance
and is connected in series with a va-
riable resistance which in turn is con-
nected with the various sockets into
which the plug is inserted. A trans-
former inside the case steps the volt-
age down from 110 or 220, that of
standard lighting circuits, to 30 volts,
so that danger of shock is eliminated.
A high grade permanent magnet is
pivotly suspended at the center of the
instrument immediately below the
radiating coil. Through an opening di-
rectly above the coil, the magnet indi-
cator shows the non-magnetic condi-
tion of the steel. The magnet is not
essential to the correct functioning of
the Comparascope but has been added
as a convenience and serves an as aid
at the hardening temperatures only.
There are no parts to get out of order.
The resistance or radiating coil is good
for several months of constant service
and can be very quickly replaced on
the binding posts at the back of the
lense. The coil is inexpensive — cost-
ing only a few cents. When the carbon
content of drill steel is known, forg-
ing and hardening temperatures are
quickly and easily determinable. This
is simply done by plugging into the
socket having a corresponding carbon
content indicated on the directions
plate and heating the steel to the same
color as the radiating coil. Where the
carbon content is not known, the steel
should be tested several times with the
magnet. A low red heat should be
used at first. If the magnet is at-
tracted to the steel, the change point
— hardening temperature — has not
been reached. This test should be re-

932

Equipment Review

October

peated, heating the steel a little more
each time, until there is no attraction
of the magnet. At this point the color
of the steel is matched with the ra-
diating coil by trial plugging into the
sockets. It is preferable to have the
plug in socket "C", 1400° F., when
starting test with the magnet, for drill
steel having a higher carbon requiring
a lower color is seldom used. If
socket "C" does not show as high a
heat in the coil as there is in the
steel, the plug is stepped up to a
socket having a higher temperature.
Having matched the colors in the man-
ner just described, the carbon content
becomes known by the corresponding
letter on the directions plate.

Material Elevator Hoist with Mul-
tiple Cylinder Engine
Power Plant

A hoist unit built expressly to oper-
ate a material elevator in building
operations is illustrated. It is stated
to lift an elevator with ease and

Material Elevator Hoist Unit.

smoothness and to be capable of han-
dling a line load of 1,000 lb, at a hoist-
ing speed of 125 to 188 ft. per minute
without any change in gearing. The
advantage claimed for this unit in-
clude the following: The free run-
ning drum of this type of hoist per-
mits the rapid lowering of elevator,
even when empty, without wear or
tear on engine or gearing. Pawl and
dogs hold elevator at any desired ele-
vation while control of lowering is
done with band brake on drum con-
trolled by foot lever. For single cage
elevators use single drum unit and for
two cage elevators the double drum
unit. The unit has a perfectly bal-
anced 2-cylinder engine having a

speed range of from 800 to 1,200 r.p.m.
thus giving a selection of hoisting
speeds ranging from 125 to 188 ft. per
minute. Engine complete with mag-
neto, radiator and cooling fan, auto-
matic oiling device, and speed control
governor, is protected from the wea-
ther or petty thieves by metal hous-
ing. The hoist has asbestos metallic
face on friction cone which is im-
pervious to heat, cold and moisture,
and can be renewed when worn. This
gives the cone a very high frictional
efficiency. As elevator installations
for handling building materials are
but temporary affairs, there is seldom
provided for the hoist unit a firm
foundation. To meet this condition
this type of hoist unit transmits the
power from the engine to the counter-
shaft of hoist by roller chain running
over machine cut sprockets. This
hoist unit is made by the Domestic
Engine & Pump Co., Shippensburg,
Penn.

Pipe Vise

The vise illustrated below is now
being manufactured by the H. W.
Clark Co., Mattoon, 111. It is known
as the Dean vise, and is designed for
holding any kind of pipe within its ca-
pacity, without marring it in any way.

Dean Vise.

The gripping is accomplished without
the aid of teeth. The gripping sur-
faces of the jaws are as smooth as the
pipe to be held, and it is this, together
with the fact that the jaws conform
exactly to the periphery of the pipe,
which allows a tremendous holding
strain to be applied. The vise is 11%
in. long, 5V2 in. wide and 4% in. high.
It weighs 22 lb. It has a capacity for
% in. to 1 in. tubing, % in. to 1 in.
pipe and % in. to 1 in. rods.

1923

Equipment Review

933

Humus from Garbage

Research Narrative of Engineering
Foundation

For generations, men have sought
to return to the soil some of the
nutriment taken from it. In the main,
Man's organic wastes have been lost,
especially from communities. Indeed,
they have been a nuisance or a menace
unless destroyed. Often they have
been removed long distances only to
pollute streams, harbors or idle land.
Science and engineering have offered
many methods for disposal of sew-
age, garbage and other wastes. One
of the problems has been to devise
simple, inexpensive and safe means
suitable for small communities, insti-
tutions or single families, yielding an
inoffensive and useful product. High
cost of fertilizers, caused by the war,
gave new impetus to endeavors in
some European countries.

A few years ago, an Italian scien-
tist, who had worked on the problem
for a long time, Giuseppe Beccari,
discovered that in a properly con-
structed cell of cement concrete or
other tight masonry, natural process-
es of fermentation could be so con-
trolled and expedited as to reduce
kitchen wastes, animal carcasses,
grass clippings, fallen leaves, stable
manure, and human fecal matter to
humus without disagreeable odors or
other offensive features. No fuel nor
chemical is required. Aerobic bac-
teria do the work. All disease germs
of man, beast and plant, all weed
seeds and parasites are destroyed.
Gustavo Gasparini and other scientists
have confirmed by extensive tests the
results gotten by Dr. Beccari. The
zymothermic cells are in practical use
in a number of places in Italy.

After a cell has been filled, the
temperature begins to rise on the
third day, and in a comparatively
brief time attains 140 to 150 deg. F.
Maximum temperature, between 150
and 160 deg. is reached about the
10th day, holds nearly constant for
20 days and then falls slowly. Fer-
mentation is complete in from 35 to
45 days, depending on atmospheric
conditions and the nature of the
wastes. By the 35th to the 45th day,
the product is sufficiently cooled to
be drawn out to a bin in front of the
cell, or other convenient place, where,
exposed to sunlight, the excess moist-

ure dries out. The product then re-
sembles loam. Bones, objects of metal
and ceramic wares are not affected;
they are removed by screening. Of
course, it were better to keep them
out of the garbage in the beginning,
particularly tin cans and broken crock-
ery. Carcasses of animals are re-
duced to skeletons (entirely free from
flesh and cartilage) and a small humid
mass. At no time during the process
is there odor of putrid flesh.

The inoffensive black humus yield-
ed by the cells may be used as an
enricher of the soil, restoring some
of the properties taken out by crops.
It is a good fertilizer, containing ni-
trogen, phosphate and potash.

Each cell is an approximately cu-
bical masonry box of from one to 25
cu. yds. capacity, according to re-
quirements of each installation.
Larger plants are made by grouping
cells in series. Each cell has a dou-
ble floor, the lower one watertight,
and the upper, a concrete grating.
Through the outer wall, between the
two floors, are air inlets. In the four
interior comers are vertical air ducts
with openings at regular intervals
connected with horizontal air passages
formed by ridges on each wall, pro-
jecting a few inches. All these air
ways, and the space at the top of the
cell, over the charge of wastes, con-
nect with a specially constructed ven-
tilation tower surmounting the cell
and having openings to the atmos-
phere. Wastes are put in through an
opening in the top of the cell. The
product is removed through a large
opening in the front wall controlled
by a tight door. The liquor from
the charge during fermentation is col-
lected by drains from the lower floor
into a pit. This liquor contains many
of the bacteria of fermentation and is
used for wetting new charges so as to
assure and expedite the beginning of
the process. The exact form and ar-
rangement of the cell was determined
by years of experimentation.

Although an outgrowth of the com-
post heap, common in gardens for cen-
turies, the zymothermic cell is a prod-
uct of scientific research and engineer-
ing design. Success appears to be
due in large measure to the arrange-
ment of air passages which distribute
air to all parts of the contents of the
cell.

984

Equipment Review

October

Adjustable Shoring — ^An
Economy

The two accompanying illustrations
show the general appearance and the
locking feature of the Agness Ad-
justable Shore which has just been
placed on the market by The Marsh-
Gapron Company, Lumber Exchange
Building, Chicago.

The locking operation is entirely
mechanical and positive. When the
pipe extension is lifted up to place,
the locking plates automatically grip
the pipe and hold it tight.

This shore is intended for setting by
one man. Its use is described as fol-
lows by its producers.

The workman has no sawing to do,
no splicing to do, no heads to spike
on. He can easily set two Agness
Shores in the time needed to set one
ordinary shore.

He carries the Agness Shore to po-
sition, and shoves up the pipe exten-
sion so that the shore holds itself in
place. Then he tie-braces the shores
together.
^ Tie bracing is needed in one direc-
tion only. Sheathing strips, placed
across the horizontal tie-braces, make
a handy scaffold to use when taking
down the forms — also act as substan-
tial braces, to prevent shores from
weaving in the other direction.

Before the concrete is poured, the
extension is raised to the exact height.
Any adjustment can be made in the
height at any time, without disturb-
ing the tie-bracing.

To make final adjustment, the ex-
tension is jacked up with a couple
of two-by-fours. For a little extra
speed and handiness, the patented
Agness Adjustable Shore Jack can be
used.

The Agness Adjustable Shore in-
stantly locks itself in place when it is
jacked up, and the setting of the shore
is complete. No wedges to drive, to
adjust shores to height.

The Agness Shore holds its position
exactly, until you are ready to take
down your form work.

When the concrete is set and you
are ready to move the shores to an-
other part of the job, Agness Shores
speed up the job again, and save labor
cost in dismantling both shores and
forms. Men can stand on the sheath-
ing strips that run across the upper
tie braces, to strip the form lumber
from the under side of the finished
concrete. It is easier than worldngf

fl ,,-!--?-'-'- b

Locking Portion of
Agness Shore.

Agneu Shore in Place.

1923 Equipment Review 985

from ladders. No special scaflFolding AGNESS SHORE

required — saves time and labor. Cost of shore $4.95, used 140

To unlock the Agness Adjustable times (140 times taken as

Shore, it is only necessary to put a conservative) $0.03%

wedge under the top locking plate; Labor cost, setting 05

any small piece of scrap material will Reconditioning — material and

do. This wedge is put in place with labor .01

one hand in a second or two — no jack- Total $0.09^

ing or hammering required.

After placing the wedge, hold the j^ Tandem 4.Cylmder Gasoline

pipe extension with one hand and lift P ./

the lower locking plate with a ham- Koller

mer. This releases the shore. The A 4-cylinder gasoline tandem road

lower part of the shore can now be roller is the latest contribution of the

raised from the floor, and by rocking Acme Road Machinery Co., Frankfort,

the shore back and forth once or twice, N. Y. to road building equipment,

the nails that hold the head are The power plant on this roller is a

quickly twisted off. Continental Red Seal standard truck

One man can dismantle Agness motor with electric starter. The

shores. TThe upper lock stays open as transmission gears are all cut steel

8-Ton Tandem 4-Cylinder Roller.

long as the top wedge is in place — and all high speed gears run in oil,

there is no need to hold the lock open anti-friction roll and ball bearings are

while the shores are being removed. used throughout. This applies even

The ACTiesc! shore is PstimatpH to ^° ^"^ ^°^^^ ^^^*=^ ^^ °" HyslU heavy

uie'Tof mn'reV/n' 2oTtt.f *'"' ""ed i?X''proVdT' This'roller

use for more than 200 times. j^^, ^^^ gp^^^J^ i^ ^.^^^^ direction,

A comparison in cost per setting of and is handled the same as a truck,

ordinary wooden shores and Agness The clutch and service brakes are

shores is as follows: operated by foot pedals and the emer-

UKuiJNAiti anuKii, levers are provided for shifting gears.

Cost of shore $1.09, used 7 The construction of this roller is very

times $0.15% rugged, insuring a long life.

Wedges 04 The advantages claimed for this

Labor cost, setting , 10 roller are, dependability, ease and

Reconditioning — material and economy of operation, absence of

labor 28% smoke and dirt and pleasing appear-

ance. This roller is made in all sizes

Total $0.58 from 3 to 8 tons.

936

Equipment Review

October

Improved Type of Portable
Compressor

The portable compressor illustrated
below is a recent development of the
Sullivan Machinery Co., Chicago. It
has a larger capacity than the earlier
models, namely 170 cu. ft. of free air
per minute. This capacity is ample to
operate two rotator drills at full speed
on holea to a depth of 14 ft., with 100
lb. air pressure. The compressor is of

Sullivan WK-3H Portable Gas Engine
Driven Compressor.

the vertical tyo-cylinder type, single
acting, and runs at 450 revolutions.
At this speed 31 h.p. is required to
produce 80 lb. air pressure. The com-
pressor is operated through reduction
gearing by a Buda four-cylinder Class
YTU tractor type gasoline engine.
The magneto, carburetor and other
fittings have been selected for their
simplicity and substantial character.
The engine is cooled by a fan and ra-
diator of ample size. The engine, com-

Portable CompresBor wi h Protecting: Covers
in Place.

pressor and fittings are mounted on a
substantial truck body, strongly
braced, to eliminate vibration and
wear. Steel axles and heavy broad
faced wheels are regularly supplied.
Wheels with solid rubber tires can be
furnished if needed for use on city
pavements. The outfit is protected
from the weather by a strongly
braced sheet steel top and removable

sheet steel sides, which can be locked
in place so as to protect the outfit not
only from the weather, but from tam-
pering and theft. The gasoline tank
holds 23 gal., which is sufficient for a
day's run at full load. A vertical air
receiver is mounted on the front end
of the truck next to the compressor.
The net weight of the outfit, empty is
6050 lb. When the outfit is to be
towed behind a motor truck it can be
furnished on a trailer type of truck
with springs and rubber tires, and
suitable draw-bar, etc. to adapt it to
this service.

Double Diaphragm Pump with

Multiple Cylinder Engine

Power Plzmt

A double diaphragm unit designed
for use in cofferdam, sewer, ditch and
trench work where seepage of water
exceeds the capacity of a single pump
unit is illustrated. The multiple cy-

Double DiapbraKm FumpinK Unit.

linder engine provides an even flow
of power. It is protected from wea-
ther and petty thieves by being en-
closed in metal housing, and is of the
type engine familiar to automobile
mechanics. The two No. 4 Domestic
power diaphragm pumps used on this
unit have their suction ports con-
nected by a manifold so that one lead
of suction pipe or hose only is needed.
The alternate action of pumps main-
tains a constant suction, thus increas-
ing capacity of both pumps. The
walking beams raises and lowers the
diaphragm in an almost straight line,
thereby increasing suction and pro-
longing life of diaphragms. It is
claimed these units will pump from
16,000 to 22,000 gal. of water per
hour, actual delivery. This pumping
unit made by Domestic Engine &
Pump Co., Shippensburg, Penn.

1923

Equipment Review

937

Motor Bus, Trolley Bus and Ellectric Railway

Co-ordination of Bus and Trackless Transportation With Electric Rail-
way Service Discussed in Paper Presented June 23 Before
New York Electric Railway Association

By W. B. POTTER

Railway Engineering Department, General Electric Co.

The past 15 or 20 years have wit-
nessed some remarkable developments
and progress in the art of transporta-
tion. During this period rolling stock
of the electric railways has been de-
veloped to a point which enables the
street railway to render the most re-
liable transportation at the lowest
fare.

While this development in street
railways was in progress, other forms
of transportation have been developed
which have demonstrated that they
have a definite place in the transpor-
tation field.

The most conspicuous of these is
the automobile and its effect on the
public.

Effect of the Automobile. — Private-
ly owned automobiles have demon-
strated that when in the hands of
independent operators, they are capa-
ble of rendering competitive service
to established rail lines.

Owing to their small capacity and
extreme flexibility, they can provide
a faster schedule than the street cars
and even though they do not provide
the same degree of comfort, they have
in many instances been able to offer
successful competition. This develop-
ment made it necessary for the street
railways to change well established
policies and provide improved service.
The light weight one-man car was in-
troduced and on account of its low
operating costs enabled the railway
companies to provide a more frequent
service with no loss in net revenue.
The growing use of the privately
owned automobile, however, created
a demand on the part of the public for
a different kind of service, which man-
ifested itself in two forms. One, the
limited demand for a high class serv-
ice within the densely populated sec-
tions, which provided some features
not obtainable with the street car,
and for which a limited number of
persons are willing to pay a higher
fare. The other, a demand for trans-
portation in thinly populated sections
and from the centers of population
to smaller commxinities, which were

without adequate transportation facil-
ities. For this class of service in-
frequent headways are sufficient, but
the public demands the same rate of
fare as collected by the railway and
to be carried to their destination for
a single fare.

Advantages of the Bus. — The result
of these demands was the develop-
ment of the bus, and the adoption of
it by the street railways for use in
connection with their established rail
lines.

With this development there were
many advocates of this form of trans-
portation, who claimed that the bus
would displace the street railway. Ex-
perience, however, has demonstrated
that when busses are the only means
of transportation, they have failed to
provide the service demanded by the
public, as they are totally inadequate
for mass transportation and for peak
loads. Busses have, however, demon-
strated that they have a very useful
field in providing transportation in
thinly populated sections where they
are operated as feeders to established
rail lines.

There are two types of busses avail-
able for this class of service, the
motor bus and the trolley bus.

Owing to the low capital investment
required, and to its extreme flexibil-
ity, the motor bus is making rapid
strides for a prominent place in the
transportation field. Perhaps the most
valuable asset of the motor bus is its
flexibility, which makes it possible to
meet sudden or temporary needs and
to change routes as often or as quick-
ly as desired.

This is of particular advantage
when new routes are being established
as changes can easily be made to suit
the varying conditions.

Another advantage of no less im-
portance is the lower initial expendi-
ture as no investment is required in
track, overhead or power station. The
cost of operation, however, is materi-
ally higher than a rail car or a trolley
bus, and even including the fixed
charges on the capital invested in

Equipment Review

October

each system, the total operating costs
are in many cases greater than either
of the other systems. Records from
a large number of bus companies
show that the average cost, including
all charges, except a paving charge,
is 33 ct. per bus mile. When taking
into consideration the smaller capac-
ity of the bus, requiring approximate-
ly 3 times as many busses as cars,
during the peak hours, the total cost
of operation becomes 50 per cent
greater than rail lines.

The economical field of the motor
bus, therefore, is where infrequent
headways are to be provided and
where the lower fixed charges offset
the higher operating costs. This field
is; in providing service between cen-
ters of population and small com-
munities which are without adequate
transportation facilities, in establish-
ing feeder lines to existing rail routes,
and opening up new territories.

Field of Trolley Bus.— The trolley
bus, more recently developed, has a
field of application which lies between
that of a motor bus and the street
car. On account of the overhead
wires necessary for its operation the
initial expenditure is more than a
motor bus installation, and conse-
quently the fixed charges are higher.
For the same reason the cost of the
vehicle itself is more than the motor
bus. This is apparently due to the
fact that when the bus is equipped
with electricity as a motive power it
becomes more nearly a street car and
the operators are unwilling to accept
the same standard and same body con-
struction they accept in the motor
bus.

To offset the higher fixed charges
due to initial expenditure, the trolley
bus has lower operating costs. Using
motive equipment similar to street
cars and taking its power from the
same source, it has a lower charge
for the maintenance and depreciation
of the equipment and lower power
costs.

Cost of Operation of Trolley Bus. —
There are few operating costs avail-
able on trolley bus installations. These
can, however, be accurately estimated
from known cost of electric railway
cars and motor busses. Such esti-
mates indicate that the total operat-
ing costs including fixed charges are
25 cts. per bus mile. These estimates
are borne out by at least one trolley
bus installation which has been suc-
cessful operation for a period of 18

months. The actual cost from this in-
stallation including the fixed charges
on the capital actually invested is 25
per cent per bus mile.

The fiexibility of the trolley bus
is not as great as the motor bus, but
is greater than the rail car. While
it must operate within reasonable dis-
tance of its overhead wires, it has
no fixed path and can manoeuver in
traffic.

Field of Application of Bus and
Rail Car. — Where new extensions are
to be made; the practical field of ap-
plication of the motor bus, the trolley
bus and rail car can be fairly clo.<?ely
defined. In general, the conclusions
which can be derived are as follows:

(A) Where rush hour headways of
three minutes or less are required,
rail cars are the most economical, and
up to six minute headways can offer
very successful competition to either
type of bus.

(B) On longer headways the trol-
ley bus has the advantage due to
lower fixed charges.

(C) The gasoline bus on account
of higher operating costs does not
offer competition to the rail car until
a minimum headway of 10 minutes is
reached.

(D) The trolley bus is more eco-
nomical than the gasoline bus up to
headways of 60 minutes.

Where the rail lines are already in
existence, the motor bus does not offer
serious competition until headways of
20 minutes are reached.

That both motor busses and trolley
busses are furnishing an important
contribution to the art of transporta-
tion is best shown by the fact that
a number of important railway com-
panies have adopted busses as aux-
iliaries to their rail system. Balti-
more, Akron, Milwaukee, Louisville,
Los Angeles and many others are ex-
amples of motor bus installations.
Rochester, Minneapolis, Philadelphia,
Staten Island, Baltimore, Toronto and
Windsor are examples of trolley bus
installations.

These installations of busses are
enabling railway companies to extend
their lines into the suburbs or into
new sections of the city at a great
saving in investment, and to carry
on operation at a great saving in total
cost over a track system. As the dis-
trict grows, the time comes when the
service can be more economically
given by the railway and the operat-
ing company is justified in extending

1923

Equipment Review

939

its rail lines and transferring the bus
to still more remote sections.

One point to be given consideration
in selecting motor busses or trolley
busses is that the vehicle which would
best serve the purpose of the street
railway industry is that which utilizes
partly, if not entirely, the power sup-
ply and distributing system available
within the street railway organiza-
tion. By such means existing prop-
erties representing large investment
can be preserved and applied to much
greater activity.

The Engineer and Public
Affairs

Extract From Report of Publicity Com-
mittee of lo'wa Engineering Society

We frequently enjoy ha\'ing one of
our number tell us how much better
public affairs would be conducted if
engineers were in charge of those
affairs. Such discussions always im-
ply that engineers have all the neces-
sary requirements but that some in-
tangible something prevents them
from attaining those positions. Has
your work or mine, that of the aver-
age members of this society, ever
been such as would lead anyone to
guess that we had those qualities?
Your committee believes that, poten-
tially, the engineer has the qualifica-
tions necessary to a successful han-
dling of public affairs, but that some
of the very necessary of those qualifi-
cations are, at this time, only poten-
tial. These qualifications exist but
they have not been developed nor
used. Too many of us are "kidding"
ourselves into believing that a desire
to hold positions requiring those
qualities is equivalent to a certain
knowledge that we do possess them.
Until engineers choose to develop and
use those qualities, this talk of the
value of the engineer in charge of

Eublic affairs is going to continue to
e largely talk.

The question of whether the engi-
neer wishes to step out of the strictly
technical field into this broader field
seems to be answered, so far as this
organization is concerned, by the fre-
quent discussions of these subjects,
and your committee felt free to con-
sider it because it is unfair to expect
a little publicity work k» furnish all
the power to operate the elevator to
fame and recognition.

What is the outstanding difference,
so far as this consideration is con-

cerned, between the doctor, merchant
or attorney who gets behind some pro-
ject of public improvement, and the
average engineer ? Simply this. The
doctor or attorney considers the im-
provement from a general standpoint
as a citizen, while the engineer con-
siders it from the standpoints of ma-
terials, stresses and economics. The
successful promoter considers the
problem in terms and from a view-
point which the general public can un-
derstand; the engineer's terms and
viewpoint are so almost wholly
"Greek" to the public that they hard-
ly know whether he has considered it
at all. So long as the engineer con-
fines his efforts wholly to his technical
work as an engineer, the public can-
not know much about him.

The engineer cannot educate the
public to his viewpoint, at the start at
least, so if he wishes to put the ele-
vator into operation he must adopt
the viewpoint of a citizen and work as
a citizen of his community. If he ren-
ders this sort of service along with
his technical service, the public can
and will recognize his value and im-
portance. Publicity is necessary, but
it is only one part. When the engi-
neer thinks and talks as eng^ineer-
citizen he will recognize more "news
stories" in his work, and will do more
work that is of itself news. If he con-
tinues this development he will soon
reach a stage where he will "receive"
publicity — he won't have to "get" it.

New Creeper Truck Loader

A new model of the Haiss creeper
truck loader has been brought out by
the George Haiss Manufacturing Co.,
Inc., New York City. Improvements
and refinements have been made at
many points in the machine to give
easier operation, greater strength and
capacity, and particularly lower up-
keep expense. The principles of oper-
ation, steel plate feeding propellers,
2 ft. crowding speed, toothed buckets,
completely enclosed transmission and
clutches, remain the same. The
changes consist of improvements, re-
finements and increased size and
strength in detailed parts. One of the
machines of the new model is stated
to have consistently loaded 6 yd. of
2 in. gravel in 3 minutes, and got out
41 such loads, or 246 yd. on 8 gal. of
gasoline. Some idea of the size and
power of this machine will be had
from its weight of 15,000 lb. and its
37 h. p. Waukesha truck motor power
plant.

940

Equipment Review

October

Adjustable Measuring Hopper

The adjustable measuring hopper
shown in the illustration is designed
primarily for use in material handling
yards. The hopper will measure any
volume between 10 and 28 cu. ft. It
can be set for 1 cu. yd. and the volume

Butler Type B Adjustable Measuring Hopper.

change to Vz cu. yd., 20 cu. ft. or any
volume between maximum and mini-
mum limits by means of the ratchet
and windlass arrangement in about
£0 seconds time. In other words, ma-
terial can be measured off by the cubic
yard or measured for batch haul in
the same measuring device on account
of the rapid change of adjustment.
This device enables the material yard
to load a truck with 2^/^ cu. yd. in
between trucks hauling batches to a
paving mixer. It is manufactured by
the Butler Equipment Co., Waukesha,
Wis.

New Trenching Machine Bucket

The main feature of the new design
of trench machine bucket just brought
out by the American Manganese Steel
Co., Chicago Heights, 111., is that the

lugs accommodating the digging chain
are cast integral with the bucket
proper, which provides a lug section
that does not depend on rivets to
carry the load. Shoulders are pro-
vided on the lugs and also on the
chain links, and when in operation the

New American Manganese Steel Co.'s Trench-
ing Machine Bucket.

rear end of the bucket lugs bear di-
rectly against the inside of the chain
links, thus taking all longitudinal or
digging strains off the rivets. This
bucket was designed at the suggestion
of operators to provide a bucket that
would stand up under the shock
stresses experienced where digging is
hard or rock encountered.

New Road Maintainer

A new road maintainer just on the
market recently by the Huber Manu-
facturing Co., Marion, O., is illus-
trated. This is a heavy machine built
for heavy duty. It weighs 4 tons, and
is stated to be capable of delivering
as much power on the draw bar as a
15-30 tractor, thus making it possible
to pull a detached grader for cleaning
out ditches, or other road machinery.
It is fitted with a power take-off pul-
ley and can be used for operating a
stone crusher or other portable belt
machinery. The drive wheels are
both back of the cutting blade, and
the machine has a long wheelbase.
The blade is flexible, being made to
conform to the contour of the road.

New Huber Road Maintainer.

1923

Equipment Review

941

New Quarry Car Has Side Dump

The Koppel Industrial Car & Equip-
ment Co., Koppel. Penn., recently
sold to the Elmhurst-Chicago Stone
Co., Elmhurst, 111., sixteen extra heavy
type one-way side discharge quarry
cars, which are a considerable depar-

New Koppel Quarry Car.

ture from quarry cars heretofore in
use. The dumping, instead of taking
place through an end gate, as has been
the practice for years, is accomplished
through a longitudinal gate, which is
swung up and away from the car as
the body is raised. This arrange-
ment is claimed to be a decided ad-
vantage, in that larger and heavier
cars can be used, and the dumping is

nal, diamond arch bar type. The
structural sections are heavy channels,
I-beams and Z-bars. Spring draft
gear and a special type cast steel link-
and-pin coupler is part of the equip-
ment. The body is further custioned
by means of 4 in. x 6 in. oak string-
ers, of which there are four, placed
cross-ways of the car to take the first
impact from the shovel. The floor is
of a sandwiched type, consisting of 4
in. oak planks between % in. high car-
bon plates on the top, and \i in. plates
underneath. The car is dumped by
means of a simple air cylinder and
two hooks balanced on an equalizer.
These hooks engage a 4 in. angle run-
ning the length of the body, and the
movement up and down is accom-
plished with the utmost smoothness.
No additional labor is necessary over
the old method with small end dump
cars, the hoist operator controlling the
air from his cab. The dumping angle
maximum is 45 degrees, allowing a
gate opening of 5 ft. 3 in. and swing-
ing clear of stones of the largest di-
mensions.

2 -Wheel Rear Dump Trailer

A 2-wheel, all steel rear dump hand
hoist trailer for use with a Fordson
tractor has been brought out recently
bv the Miami Trailer Co., Troy, 0.

Miami-Fordson Rear Dump Hand Hoist Unit.

more gradual than with the end gate
car, enabling the crusher to accommo-
date the stone to better advantage.
The cars have a capacity of 5 yd. level
full, or about 6 yd. heaped up. They
are standard gauge, built of steel
throughout, underframes being of the
double spring pedestal, outside jour-

The frame is 5 in. roller channel iron.
The track is 60 in. and the wheels are
the artillery type, 3, 4 and 5 in. in size.
The height from ground is 48 in. The
trailer has a carrying capacity of 2^2
tons. This trailer also is furnished in
2 yd. level capacity in water tight
body with standard garbage body end.

942

Equipment Review

October

Jaeger Adds to Line of Mixers
and Pavers

A larger mixer, known as the 14L,
has been brought out by the Jaeger
Machine Co., 222 Dublin Ave., Colum-
bus, O. This new model is built along
the same lines as the other Jaeger
mixers. The machine has been given
a thorough tryout, under conditions
for which it was designed, to assure
complete satisfaction before being
offered to the trade. For the past
year this model has been through the
experimental stage, and has now been
adopted as a standardized Jaeger unit.
The Jaeger 14L has a capacity of 14
cu. ft. per batch of mixed concrete
and will accommodate 21 cu. ft. un-
mixed materials, using 3 cu. ft. ce-
ment, 6 cu, ft. sand and 12 cu. ft.
stone. The mixing drum is the stand-
ard Jaeger tilting type, for quick

chine is sold as a 3-bag paver, using
the proportions of 1:2:4, making at
least 14 cu. ft. of mixed concrete. It
is equipped with big, roomy loader
bucket and Jaeger tip-over tank. The
traction, ahead or back, is easily con-
trolled by operator.

Bear Tractor

The accompanying illustration from
a photograph taken last month shows
a Bear Tractor pulling two Baker-
Maney scrapers on a dirt moving job
in Kansas. The Bear Tractor has a
drawbar rating of 25 hp., but there
is a 100 per cent overload capacity.
Eighty per cent of the engine's power
is actually delivered at the drawbar
and is available for pulling. The
weight is 5,500 lb. net; 6,000 lb. with
fuel, oil and water. Over-all dimen-

Hoar Trartor Fullins Two Scrapers on Kansas Job.

loading and discharging. Drum is 52
in. in diameter and 44 in. deep. The
new 14L Jaeger mixer has been in-
corporated into the No. 14P Jaeger
paver, adding a larger paver to the
Jaeger line. This paver embodies
many of the same construction fea-
tures of the No. 7 size Jaeger paver.
The power unit in the No. 14P is a
complete Fordson cylinder engine,
combined with the differential gears.
The concrete is distributed by a spe-
cially designed Jaeger boom and
bucket. The bucket dumps the batch
from the bottom and has a pivot on
one side. Thus, the material comes
out at once at the control of the op-
erator, who can spread the batch as
it is being dumped, so that little addi-
tional spreading is required. The ma-

sions are: Length, 110 in.; width, 60
in.; height 54 in.; turning radius, 6 ft.
All oiling is from reservoirs, there
being no grease cups anywhere on the
tractor. The drawbar is a resilient
steel cable attached to the track frame
forward of center and below center
of gravity, so that it pulls down in
front and increases traction. The
tractor has a compensating track roll-
er system which equally distributes
the weight of the tractor so that
the track conforms to the irregulari-
ties of the ground, and maintains uni-
form traction. The extreme ranges of
the oscillating bar and the compen-
sating track rollers are stated to give
the Bear a maximum of mobility. This
tractor is made by Bear Tractors, Inc.,
53 Park PI., New York.

1923 Equipment Revieiv

New Balanced Valve for Mixers

943

A new three-way balanced valve, the
culmination of years of study and ex-
perimentation, has been perfected by
the Koehring Co. of Milwaukee and is
now installed as stand equipment on
Koehring 21E pavers. In this new

Koehring 3-Way Balanced Valve.

valve all of the valve parts which
come in contact with water are made
of either bronze, brass, rubber or
leather, preventing corrosion. It is
balanced, automatically operated,
permanent, non-freezing, self-drain-
ing and completely accessible. In-
spection of the valve can be made very
easily. Merely remove three bolts
and one pin connection and the entire
unit can be pulled out of the valve
body. The valve can be dropped back
into place without any fitting, adjust-
ing or worry. To turn the three bolts
down and make the pin connection to
operating levers, is only a few min-
utes' work. A removable housing pro-
tects the valve and outside valve parts
from stone, sand and cement which
may drop from the charging skip.
An additional time-saving feature is
the automatic opening of the valve to
discharge water into the drum. The
time of opening the valve is adjust-
able in the valve operating mechan-
ism. A hand control is also provided
for operating the valve. The valve is
balanced because the pressures are
equal, which allows its easy operation.

For two years this type of valve has
been installed on Koehring pavers in
the field, functioning under the usual
severe conditions under which a valve
must operate. These valves were then
returned to the factory from time to
time for inspection and improvement.
The valve now announced is the result
of these years of expert designing, ex-
perimentation and test.

Trench Force Pump

A pump designed to meet the de-
mands for a pump of large capacity
to handle the dirty water found in
trenches, sewers, manholes, excava-
tions, cofferdams, etc., and discharge
it through pipe or hose lines to suit-
able place for disposal is illustrated.
It is also well adapted for small pile
jetting and quite extensively used for
that purpose. The pump is of the
plunger tjrpe and is double acting.
The packing is held stationary in the
pump body thus wiping the plunger
clean at every stroke. The valves are
in cages having removable tops,
which permits easy access for inspec-
tion, cleaning or renewals without dis-
turbing either the suction or discharge
lines. The engine is a 2-cylinder, 5-8
h.p. providing ample power to dis-
charge capacity of pump through pipe

m^m^

Trench Force Pump.

line against a pressure at pump of 50
lb. This power unit is completely
housed; the engine has speed control
governor, high tension magneto, rad-
iator with cooling fan; and the high
speed drive drum gears are enclosed
and run in an oil bath. This pump is
made by the Domestic Engine & Pump
Co., Shippensburg, Penn.

944

Equi-pment Review

October

New Concrete Buster

The illustration shows the new con-
crete buster which has been developed
by the Sullivan Machinery Co., Chi-
cago, 111., for heavy duty work in
breaking pavement, cutting out walls
and other concrete breaking work.
This is a substantial, strongly made
all-steel tool of the non-rotating type,
weighing 65 lb. The chuck accommo-
dates IVs, in. steel and has an anvil
block for transmitting the blow. A
heavy spring steel retainer with
spiral springs, is used to permit the

Breaking Up Concrete with the "Buster."

drilling tool to be churned up and
down without falling out of the chuck.
% in. air hose is employed. Two tools
are used with this machine; a "bull
point" or pick point, and a tool with
chisel edge, the former being princi-
pally used in breaking up concrete,
and the latter for channeling asphalt
pavement. From two to three of
these tools can be operated by the Sul-
livan gasoline engine driven portable
compressor of 170 cu. ft. capacity. A
thumb-trigger throttle permits easy
handling. An axial shell type valve is
employed, making the tool very com-
pact and economical of air, and im-
parting a powerful blow to the drill
steel.

Statement of the Ownership, Management,
Circulation, Etc., Required by the Act of
Congress of August 24, 1912,
of EQUIPMENT REVIEW, Quarterly issue of
ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING, pub-
lished quarterly at Chicago, 111., for October,
1923.

State of Illinois, County of Cook, ss.

Before me, a Notary Public, in and for the
State and county aforesaid, personally ap-
peared E. S. Gillette, who, having been duly
sworn according to law. deposes and says that
he is the Circulation Manager of the publica-
tion Engineering and Contracting, and that
the following is, to the best of his knowledge
and belief, a true statement of the ownership,
management (and if a daily paper, the circu-
lation), etc., of the aforesaid publication for
the date shown in the above caption, required
by the Act of August 24, 1912, embodied in
section 443, Postal Laws and Regulations,
printed on the reverse of this form, to-wit:

1. That the names and addresses of the
publisher, editor, managing editor, and busi-
ness managers are: Publisher, Engineering
and Contracting, 221 East 20th Street, Chi-
cago; editor, H. P. Gillette, 221 East 20th
Street, Chicago managing editor, H. P. Gillette,
221 East 20th Street, Chicago; business man-
ager, Louis S. Louer, 221 East 20th Street,
Chicago.

2. That the owners are: (Give names and
addresses of individual owners, or, if a corpo-
ration, give its name and the names and ad-
dresses of stockholders owning or holding 1
per cent or more of the total amount of stock.)
H. P. Gillette, 221 East 20th Street, Chicago;
Louis S. Louer, 221 East 20th Street, Chicago.

3. That the known bondholders, mortgagees,
and other security holders owning or holding
1 per cent or more of tbtal amount of bonds,
mortgages, or other securities are : (If there
are none, so state.) None.

4. That the two paragraphs next above,
giving the names of the owners, stockholders,
and security holders, if any, contain not only
the list of stockholders as they appear upon
the books of the company but also, in cases
where the stockholder or security holder ap-
pears upon the books of the company as trustee
or in any other fiduciary relation, the name of
the person or corporation for whom such trustee
is acting, is given ; also that the said two
paragraphs contain statements embracing
affiant's full knowledge and belief as to the
circumstances and conditions under which
stockholders and security holders who do not
appear upon the books of the company as
trustees, hold stock and securities in a capac-
ity other than that of a bona fide owner ; and
this affiant has no reason to believe that any
other person, association, or corporation has
any interest direct or indirect in the said stock,
bonds, or other securities than as so stated by
him.

E. S. GILLEITE, Circulation Manager.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 1st
day of October, 1923.

(Seal) KITTIE C. WOULFE, Notary Public.
(My commission expires Feb. 9, 1926.)

Roads amd Streets f^>

MONTHLY ISSUE OF
ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING
Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago
Halbibt p. Giuxm, Preaidsnt amd Editor
Lswis S. Locn, Vie«-Pr«*ideiU and General Manager
New York Office: 904 Lonsaere Blds^ 42d St. and Broadway
RiCHABo E. Bbown, Eattem itanager

The specialized publishing plan of Engineering and Contracting provides
four rotating monthly magazines, each of which is $1 a year. All four
may be subscribed for at $4 a year, and thus taken they provide a weddy
service completely covering the construction field.

Roads and Streets — 1st Wednesday. H
(a) Road Cob- (c) Streets

straetion
(b) Road Main-
tenance

(d) Street elean-

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday. $1

(a) Wster Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrisation and SaniUtion
Drainage (d) Waterways

Railways — 3rd Wednesday, $1

(a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Bail-

way Constmo- way Constrae-

tion tion and

Maintenanea Maintenance

Baildinfs — (th Wednesday, $1

(a) Buildings (d) Misoellaneoas

(b) Bridges Structures

Cepyrieht, 1823, by the Engineering and Contracting Pablishlng Company

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., NOVEMBER 7, 1923

No. 5

Bad Roads for Good

If the holders of 25-year bonds of
a privately owned and operated prop-
erty should see that property rapidly
approaching destruction through
abuse and neglect within five years
from the date of the construction,
they would very promptly act to pro-
tect their investment and their rights.
But where a public property suffers
the same fate there is generally
neither a forceful demand for its pro-
tection nor means of enforcing such
demand if it were made.

In hundreds of places throughout
the country pavements that were laid
at a cost that was only justified by
an expectation of long life, and which
in many cases were built with the
proceeds of long term bonds, are go-
ing to pieces before our eyes because
of lack of maintenance and a char-
acter of traffic for which they were
not designed. The bond holders do
not worry or protest because they are
not dependent on the roads for se-

curity. The public will have to meet
the obligations when they come due.
In the interim it is confronted with
the financing and construction of new
surfaces to replace the old in addition
to the betterments and extensions so
greatly needed everywhere.

It is obvious that if such conditions
obtained for public improvements in
general in any particular territory,
that territory could not avert ultimate
financial disaster. Escape from dis-
aster lies in the fact that the condi-
tions are not general, but this does
not save present waste nor justify
burdening the future with payments
for property which is not handed over
to it.

The wants of the future — either im-
mediate or remote — are not likely to
be met more easily than are the
wants of the present. So far as pres-
ent signs go, taxes and assessments
will keep right on movmting, while as
fast as one want is satisfied another

946

Roads and Streets

Nov.

will arise. We refer to the future,
not because it is actually more im-
portant than the present, but because
of a tendency to crowd burdens upon
it on the thoughtless assumption that
its wants will be only the same as
those of today. It is the old story of
lack of vision and failure to appre-
ciate that there is nothing final in the
present state of our development.
Everybody, of course, will deny this
but there is a vast amount of action
which belies the denial.

The persons responsible for a road
which goes to pieces under abuse and
neglect are like the owner of an
automobile which is depreciating from
the same causes. Both road and auto
are needed badly, and it is not clear
how they are to be replaced; but it
is difficult to pay for proper mainte-
nance or to curtail destructive use,
and so destruction goes on.

Our roads must be open to all rea-
sonable use, but it is clearly wasteful
to design them for loads which only
very rarely come upon them, or to
allow their destruction by such loads.
In some places reasonable load limits
are established and enforced. Where
they are not, there is sure to be abuse
of even the most substantially built
road. We know of instances where
the road damage of a single truck
load greatly exceeded the entire
value of the load itself. Speed, as
well as maximum load, is a matter
for consideration. A five-ton truck
traveling at a speed which would be
harmless in a light passenger vehicle
hammers every irregularity, and the
continuation of such hammering leads
to destruction in many cases. In some
instances the surface might be saved
through maintenance — in others it
simply cannot survive the usage.

Speed is desirable but its limitation
according to conditions may be a nec-
essary public economy.

Maintenance of modem road sur-
faces is not cheap, yet it is far less
costly _ than new construction. Its
necessity should require no comment,
but the examples of its absence are
too numerous and too glaring to pass
unnoticed. Every modern pavement
which is going to pieces under traffic
is a waste which cannot be afforded.

Annual Convention of American
Society for Municipal Improvements.

— An instructive and interesting pro-
gram has been prepared for the 29th
annual convention of this society,
which will be held Nov. 12-16 at At-
lanta, Ga. The convention hall and
exhibit room will be at the Ansley
Hotel. Fred Houser, 404 Chamber of
Commerce Bldg., Atlanta, Ga., is sec-
retary of the local committee in
charge of the convention, and Joe
Glazier, 212 Walton Bldg., Atlanta, is
chairman of the committee in charge
of exhibits.

Road and Street Contracts

Awarded During the Last

44 MonSis

ROAD AND STREET CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000 IN SIZE

January....
February..
March

April

May

June

July—

August

September

October

November _..__

December

1920

1921

1922

1923

12.204.000

S 11,598,000

« 14,424,000

$ 21.691,000

21,334,000

12,049.000

9,052,000

18,781.000

26.221.000

25,880,000

39,669.000

37,706,000

33,840,000

31,026,000

32,991,000

29,641,000

80,258,000

35,064,000

42.284,000

46,528,000

81.441.000

56,777,000

42.138,000

38,040,000

29,853,000

83,943,000

26,087,000

42,397.000

18,665,000

28,693,000

87.085,000

35,639,000

26,587,000

28,257,000

28.884,000

37,812,000

12.894.000

20,055.000

23,162.000

„„___.

12,448,000

■20,751,000

20,892,000

„.

10,884,000

16,263.000

18,096,000

Total „ $265,424,000 $315,856,000 $334,714,000

Note. — About 100 per cent must be added to these totals to give the grand total of highway

contracts In the United States.
Bridges are not included, and bridge contracts averagre 16 per cent as much in value as road

and street contracts. A great deal of road and street work is done by directly hired labor and

is not included above.

1923 Roads and Streets 947

Refined Tar in Road Construction and Maintenance

Recent Developments Outlined in Paper Presented at Hamilton
Convention of Good Roads Association

By JOHN S. CRANDELX.

Consalting Engineer, The Barrett Co., New York City

As you all know, drainage is the
keystone of success in the construc-
tion of any type of road. I am not
going to enlarge on the importance
and necessity of it. You have heard
this discussed time and time again.
But whv do many road builders still

edges and may not drain away, thus
eventually injuring the road? Why
are the weeds not cut and the ditches
kept clean? Why spend money for
drainage systems only to permit them
to become worthless through careless-
ness?

Distribui

.1. — . Bed by Means of an L'nloader.

put men to work with pick and shovel
digging ditches along the roadside
when a 2-man road machine will do
the work of 20 men ? A road machine
will not only build your ditches
cheaply but will maintain them at a
trifling cost. Don't use the expensive
pick and shovel when machinery will
do the job cheaper and better.

Why are makeshift drains built
when good ones cost but little more?
Why are head walls left off culverts?
Why are culverts so placed that they
are sure to fill with silt before the
first year has passed? Why, when
the road is finished, are the earth
shoulders left higher than the pave-
ment so that the water collects at the

Selection and Use of Roller. — After
the soil has been drained and shaped
up it is ready for the roller to com-
pact it. The roller is the most im-
portant piece of machinery on the job,
and the roller man is the most im-
portant man, except the boss. The
roller should be suited to the job. It
will not do to use a 3-ton tandem
roUer in a location where a 12-ton
3-wheel roller should be used.

I recall one place where a con-
tractor was trying to build 5 miles of
tar penetration pavement with a
wheezy old 3-ton roller. Had he per-
sisted, it is almost certain that the
streets would have been a total failure.
It is almost as bad practice to use a

948

Roads and Streets

Nov.

tremendously heavy roller on soft
stone. The 10-ton roller is the best
all round roller for bituminous ma-
cadam.

The roller man, if he is capable and
efficient, will know enough to roll the
pavement slowly. A speed of 60 ft. a
minute is about right, and should not
be exceeded. Fast rolling is a great
mistake, especially during the first
part of the work. The final rolling
may be speeded up a little if a medium
tandem roller is available, but under

Spreading the Stone.— Don't let your
roller remain idle. The roller is a
mighty handy tractor, and should be
used as such whenever it isn't rolling.
Instead ©f spreading stone for the
base or the wearing course manually,
put the roller to work pulling the road
scraper. No matter how badly the
stone has been dumped, you can
quickly shape it up with these two
machines. If the roller is busy, draw
the scraper with an auto truck or with
horses. It is surprising how quickly

Spreading Stone With Scraper.

no circumstances allow the roller man
to exceed a foot a second, at the be-
ginning.

The choice of steam roller or gaso-
line roller is sometimes dependent on
the location. Where water is hard to
get and coal is expensive, a gasoline
roller is much to be preferred. The
saving in time alone is considerable.
I saw one job recently where a steam
roller had to draw water from a sup-
ply two miles away. A trailer
equipped with a tank was hitched to
the roller and every morning the roller
with its trailer journeyed two miles
to the stream and two miles back
again. It was noon before the roller
began to actually work. No wonder
road costs are high, and contractors
go broke.

and how well the scraper will spread
loose stone.

Dumping the stone is usually crudely
done. There are several types of un-
loaders that may be purchased, or you
can make your own. A convenient
form is that illustrated. It is really a
bottomless box drawn behind the
dump truck which empties directly
into the box. As the truck moves for-
ward, it draws the box after it, and
the stone is dropped onto the road in
a fairly even layer. A little work with
the scraper will shape up the loose
stone, making it ready for the roKer,
by using these aids, the cost of spread-
ing stone is reduced materially. There
is no longer good reason why men
should be employed to do this worK
with shovels.

I92y

Roads and Streets

949

Selection of Suitable Stone. — The

selection of stone for the road is of
much importance. Much money may
be saved by using local stone for the
base, even if it is not the best quality.
On the other hand, money may be
wasted by using poor local stone for
the wearing course. Sand stone is
good enough for the base, while the
same stone used in the wearing course
would be wholly unsuitable. Some-
times the local stone is satisfactorj-
for both base and wearing course, and
when this is true, then there is sub-
stantial sa%ing, for freight on stone

Application of the Tar. — In apply-
ing the refined tar it is cheapest and
best to use some form of pressure
distributor. The auto truck equipped
with a pressure spraying device, is
the most convenient, the quickest, and
the best.

After the first coat of tar is applied
the % in. chips are spread. Here
again is an opportunity for saving
money by using some form of chip
spreader, of which there are several
that may be purchased. One form of
spreader may be attached to any
truck, and spreads evenly and quickly.

Spreading Grarel Clinkine Coarse Orer Tarsia.

is high. Occasionally, a good grade
of gravel may be found on or near the
job, and this makes a good base if
carefully compacted. Field stone is
good if it runs fairly uniform in size.
The wearing course stone must be
of good quality. Limestone, trap,
some granite, and hard stones in gen-
eral, make satisfactory material for
the wearing course. Soft or disin-
tegrated stone is worthless. Some
slag is good, and some is not. Slag
should be selected vnth care. No
brittle, glassy slag should be accepted,
nor should soft, chalk like slag be
used. A hard air cooled slag, free
from flue dust and pieces of metal
should be snecifip^d.

If piles of chips are deposited along
the roadside, it is inevitable that about
5 to 10 per cent are lost through in-
ability of the workmen to pick them
up without scooping up soil too.
Spreading directly from a motor truck
eliminates this waste. After rolling,
all surplus chips should be swept off.
Then the seal coat of tar is applied
and covered with chip stone or pea
gravel. The appearance of the road
depends largely on the type of cover
selected. The cover should be applied
mechanically, wherever possible. A
final rolling, and the road is ready for
traffic.

Cost of Tar Macadam. — Now what

ii^ „ + — «,

i O T^ ^

950

Roads and Streets

Nov.

tunately, there are figures available
that are reliable, and we know that in
1922 the cost was about $20,000 a
mile on roads in the states where fed-
eral aid money was expended. Some
of the county work ran higher, and
some was lower. A remarkable in-
stance of low cost roads was in Cat-
taraugus County, New York, where
14 ft. tar penetration roads were built
for as little as $14,500 a mile. This
figure included everything, drainage,
culverts and whatever cut and till
there was. Other roads in the same
county ran as high as $20,000 where
there was considerable excavation and
large culverts or small bridges. The
average was $18,000 a mile. Cat-
taraugus County built 50 miles of tar
macadam last year, and will build
nearly the same amount in 1923.

Maintenance of Tar Macadam. —
Maintenance of the tar macadam is
simplicity itself, and is inexpensive.
The road is well swept, so as to re-
move all dirt and filth. Holes and de-
pressions are patched with cold patch
tar, or hot tar patches, and then the
road is given a surface treatment with
a light refined tar, at the rate of
about Vs gal. to the square yard. This
is covered with clean stone chips or
pea gravel.

There is one place where the main-
tenance man may go wrong, and that
is in cleaning the road. I have seen
more cases of poor surface treating
due to this one cause than to any
other. It is not sufficient to go over
the road once with a mechanical
sweeper. It is absolutely necessary
that men with shovels and push
brooms follows the sweeper and make
sure that every particle of dirt is
loosened and removed from the sur-
face. Tar will not stick to dirt, to
grease, or to wet surfaces. The cover
should be selected with care so as to
obtain a hard stone or gravel that will
take the wear.

Surface Treatment With Tar.— It is
becoming the custom to surface treat
all types of improved roads. Many
miles of concrete roads in New York
state were treated last year with re-
fined tar. The treatments are given
after the cracks in the concrete have
been filled with hjeavy tar binder. The
usual treatment is about %, to % gal.
per square yard.

Many miles of gravel have been
successfully treated with light tar,
and neighboring states are maintain-
ing their country roads at a very

slight cost. Some gravels may be
treated, and some may not. If you
have gravel roads under your jurisdic-
tion, I advise you to get in touch with
someone who knows about the subject
before you spend any money experi-
menting.

The surface treating of macadam
roads is so well known that I shall not
say anything about it here, except
to warn you not to use too much tar.
Just as in painting a house, it is bet-
ter to give two light coats of paint
instead of one heavy one, so it is in
tar surface treatments. Two treat-
ments of tar are better than one
heavy coat. Do not endeavor to build
up heavy mat coats, for that way lies
ripples and bumps. Instead, strive to
apply only what has been worn off the
preceding season, and thus preserve
the surface free from any irregulari-
ties.

In conclusion, let me again urge the
substitution of mechanical power for
man power, with the resultant de-
crease in costs. Let me warn you to
clean your roads before you surface
treat them, and to use clean stone
and gravel. And let me compliment
you on your slogan, "Adequate Main-
tenance Means Road Economy."

Joint Meeting of Road Engineers and
Contractors

A joint meeting of the Associated
General Contractors and the Ameri-
can Road Builders' Association will be
held in Chicago on Thursday, Jan. 17,
1924, to discuss various matters of
importance to the membership of both
organizations. This joint meeting has.
been made possible by the proximity
in dates of the annual meetings of
these organizations in Chicago. The
1924 convention of the American Road
Builders' Association will be held
Tuesday, Jan. 15 to Friday, Jan. 18,
inclusive, while the Associated Gen-
eral Contractors meet the following
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. All
the officers, the executive committee
and the heads of the 28 chapters of
the Associated General Contractors
will, however, be in Chicago the pre-
vious week. Many of the members of
the organization also will be in Chi-
cago that week attending the conven-
tion and road show of the American
Road Builders' Association. Plans ac-
cordingly have been made for the
joint meeting. Details of the program
will be announced shortly.

1923

Roads and Streets

The Maintenance of Gravel Roads

961

Suggestions, Based on Experience With Intensive Maintenance on

7-Mile Demonstration Section emd on Observations, Given

in The Tech Engineering News

By F. D. COPPOCK,

President, The Greenville Gravel Co.

This article is prompted by a sin-
cere desire to help solve in a practical
way a vexing problem, irrespective of
personal interest. It is intended to
convey a practical plan for gravel
road maintenance and to impart an
idea of costs and results. It is not
for the purpose of opposing the con-
struction of the various types. Per-
manent road construction is necessary,
considering the present road traffic.
Our object is not to discourage the
building of permanent highways, but
to encourage economy, anu prove that
there is a place for gravel in proper
maintenance and construction of high-
ways. Proper specifications should
be exacted and proper maintenance
methods employed in a practical and
economical way to the end that we
may quickly place our highways in
condition to carry the increased bur-
dens of present-day and future motor
traffic.

The Demonstration Section. — In or-
der to demonstrate to county officials
the results and economies to be at-
tained from intensive maintenance and
full-time patrol, we took over, with
the consent of the commissioners of
Darke County, Ohio, about seven miles
of one of the principal highways of
the county and have for the past two
years maintained the same under what
we consider a proper and practical
patrol method. Our experience in
maintaining this road, together with
our careful observation of mainte-
nance on gravel roads in Indiana and
Michigan, has placed us in a position
to advance suggestions and offer some
figures on the costs of such mainte-
nance. We found that we attained re-
sults at the end of the first year
which we had not hoped to reach be-
fore the end of two or three years.
In fact, during the thawing season
of the first spring the road for its
full width was in condition to carry
automobile and truck travel without
hindrance to the traffic or damage to
the road.

A Common Fault in Gravel Road
Repair. — The common fault, with tViP

old method of road repair is that after
the materials have been placed on
the road they are left as deposited for
the traffic to pack and, as traffic fol-
lows only the packed wheel tracks,
ruts are created which in wet weather
will hold water until it soaks away.
This water softens the material on
the road and also the sub-grade so
that traffic mashes the gravel down,
mixing it with the dirt below, caus-
ing chuck holes and ruining the road.
It is necessary to prevent ruts or de-
pressions which hold water, and this
can only be done by dragging often,
and by the proper use of the rignt
kind of surface materials.

Most of the old gravel roads have
been built from gravel found in local
deposits and while they do not as a
rule need rebuilding, they do need a
different kind of maintenance. Most
of these roads have sufficient material
on them so that if the proper drain-
age was provided and proper forming
of the road's surface had, very little
repair material would be needed to
keep them in good condition. The
success of gravel road maintenance
depends more on the proper drainage
and dragging than on the amount of
material used.

The common practice of applying
gravel in road repair is to dump a
full load of gravel in a place, and
often one load against another for a
considerable distance. This practice
is not only wasteful but, considering
the present automobile traffic, danger-
ous as well. It is absurd to place
thick layers of gravel on the road and
expect it to be packed uniformly by
the traffic.

The Importance of Proper Drainage.

—The first step — and one of the most
important things in the proper main-
tenance of gravel roads — is drainage.
Today the side ditches of our older
gravel roads are filled with material
washed into them from the fields and
from the road's surface, until in most
instances there is no ditch or drain-
age. These ditches should be cleaned

out. nnH nnanoA nr« nn+il -fTioY-Q ic- -rtn^

952

Roads and Streets

Nov.

point in them less than 18 in. below
the surface of the road. These side
ditches should always have outlets to
waterways leading from the right-of-
way of the road. There should be no
pockets or low places in the side
ditches which will hold water.

Quite a few of the gravel roads
have a sod berm along the edge of
the road which is from 2 to 3 in.
higher than the road's surface. This
has been cau.sed by the use of the
scraper. These shoulders are very
detrimental and should be done away
with, as they prevent the prompt flow
of water from the road surface.

Because of the lack of side ditch
drainage it has become common prac-
tice to ridge the gravel in the center
of the road or maintain a very high
crown. This was found necessary in
order to drain off the water, and form
a firm dry portion on which to drive.
A high crown is detrimental as it
causes all the travel to drive in center
of the road, confining the wear to two
narrow wheel tracks. The travel
should be general over all parts of
the road.

Preparation of Road Bed. — After
proper drainage has been provided,
the surface of the road should be
lightly scarified or harrowed and
dragged, so as to produce a uniform
and smooth surface. This can be done
without hindrance to the traffic. The
crown or high center of the road can
be loosened a little at a time by means
of harrowing and this loose material
moved with a drag to the low part
of the road between the sod berm, or
edge of the road, and the center.

This harrowing and dragging should
be continued until the center of the
road is not more than 3 or 4 in. higher
than its edges. After this has been
done and proper drainage provided,
the road is then ready for surface
treatment.

The Kind of Gravel to Use. — Next
in importance to drainage and the
proper preparation of the road bed, is
the character of the material which is
placed on the road. Present day traf-
fic requires a different material than
formerly. Experience has already
taught engineers and those boards and
officers having charge of road main-
tenance that the old methods are in-
adequate and impractical. The past
two years have clearly demonstrated
the imperative need of not only ade-

quate drainage and good road beds
but of high class material in order to
avoid the almost impassable road con-
ditions that we have had during the
thawing season of the past few years.

The average bank-run or pit-run
gravel, as found in local deposits and
commonly used, has proved unfit for
use in road maintenance. These de-
posits do not run uniform in coarse-
ness or quality. Very often they con-
tain too much sand; always too much
loam; and at times toom any boulders.

Sand and loam create dust, prevent
drainage, and retain moisture. In
thawing seasons dirty gravel becomes
very soft because of the moisture it
retains. The old idea, that repair
gravel should be mixed with loam in
order to make it pack quickly, is an
erroneous one. Repair gravel should
have no loam whatever in it. Clean
gravel will pack without hindrance to
traffic if properly applied and main-
tained.

Boulders or large stones are very
objectionable, as they are inclined to
work to the surface, causing an ex-
pense to remove and also creating
bumps which in turn cause chucks.

Size of Gravel. — In road construc-
tion the gravel used should be clean
and uniform in its mixture of various
sizes from sand to pebbles not larger
than 1 and 1% in. At least 25 per
cent but not to exceed 35 per cent of
fine sand, 1/10 in. down, should be
mixed with the gravel for road con-
struction. A proper sand mixture
prevents the sub-soil from coming up
through the gravel, which is apt to
happen under heavy traffic; at the
same time an excess of sand is unde-
sirable. Where a partial rebuilding is
needed, or where the road is so nearly
worn out that a light surface treat-
ment is not sufficient, a clean gravel
should be used, ranging in size from
sand to 1 and 1% in.

For maintaining the average gravel
road the material should be that of
a very fine clean gravel without sand.
A washed and screened pebble rang-
ing in size from 1/10 in. to Vi in. has
proven satisfactory; a pebble from
1/10 to Vz in. is preferred, however.
A pebble larger than % in. is never
used. These should be applied in very
thin layers as required. Each appli-
cation should be a little more than
enough to absorb all the worn-out par-
ticles or mud and soil on the surface

1923

Roads and Streets

953

of the road. There should at all
times be a loose thin coating of this
material on the road surface. Drag-
ging the road will remove this loose
material, filling in the low places as
they occur and keeping the road
smooth at all times.

Application of Gravel. — The reason
why a fine gravel is better than
coarser material for road dressing or
surface use is that if larger particles
are used the process of dragging w^ill
pull the larger stones loose from the
surface, making it rough and impos-
sible to keep smooth.

An application of one inch of fine
gravel twice during a season will keep
a much used gravel road in excellent
condition. This requires 400 cu. yds.
of material per mile. The average
gravel road can be well maintained
with one application per season or
200 cu. yds. of material per mile.
Roads which are used very little re-
quire still less.

The average cost of paved roads,
concrete for example, is about $25,000
per mile, the interest at 6 per cent
amounts to $1,500 per mile per year.
Until the travel becomes heavy, a
much used road can be maintained by
the proper use of gravel and patroling
at a less cost than the interest on the
permanent type.

Roads so maintained will give good
service during all seasons of the year
at a very low cost. Compared with
the so-called permanent type, a prop-
erly maintained gravel road is as
smooth to ride over and as enjoyable,
and until the travel becomes moder-
ately heavy, it may be kept in every
way as serviceable.

Cost of Proper Maintenance. — As to

the cost of proper maintenance. The
side ditches of the average gravel
road can be cleaned out so as to pro-
vide good drainage at a cost of ap-
proximately $250 per mile. The other
costs depend very materially on the
amount of traflSc. If the traffic is
heavy, the material and labor costs
amount to from $600 to $800 per
mile per year. If the traffic is medium
this cost is $400 per year. Byroads
or gravel roads which are used very
little can be maintained in good con-
dition at a cost of $100 or less per
year.

In order to properly maintain
gravel roads, there should be constant

employment. A certain number of
miles should be placed in charge of
one man, employed by the year. He
should be provided with a light truck
to be used for the distribution of ma-
terials, for hauling of refuse, and as
a power unit for scarifying, harrow-
ing and dragging the road's surface.
The general impression is that drag-
ging should be done when the road is
soft or after a rain or thaw. It is as
important to drag the road in dry
weather as in wet. In fact, a road un-
der ordinary traffic should be dragged
at least once if not twice each week,
during the entire year. Under ex-
tremely heavy traffic it should be
dragged each day.

One man can distribute the mate-
rial, do the dragging, and properly
maintain 10 miles of gravel road un-
der heavy traffic, after the drainage
has been provided. Where the travel
is medium or possibly average, one
man can care for at least 20 miles if
provided with the proper equipment
and materials.

Most Important Features Summar-
ized.— A summary of the most im-
portant features in connection with
proper road maintenance and the
items that should be particularly
exacted under governing specifications
is as follows:

1. Good drainage.

2. Proper shaping of the road sur-
face with not over a 4-in. crown.

3. Application of clean small peb-
bles in thin layers.

4. Dragging often, depending on
the amount of use.

5. Prompt attention to develop-
ment of defects.

Neglecting to provide for or per-
form any of the above mentioned im-
portant features in connection with
gravel road maintenance will result
in failure.

26,500 Miles of Federal Aid Road
Completed. — A total of 26,536 miles of
federal aid roads was completed by
June 30, 1923, according to the United
States Department of Agriculture.
Some 8,820 miles of federal aid high-
ways of different types were con-
structed during the fiscal year ending
on that date. The projects under con-
struction at the close of the year
totaled 14,772 miles and were esti-
mated as 55 per cent complete.

954

Roads and Streets

Nov.

Operation of Municipal As-
phalt Plant of Los Angeles

Extract From the Annual Report of
Engineering Department of Los An-
geles, Cal., John A. GrifBn, City
Engieer, for Year Ending June
30, 1923

This plant was constructed during
March and April, 1915, the original
cost being $8,354. It was designed
and built by the engineering depart-
ment, and has been in operation since
April, 1915. As originally designed,
the plant had four rolls and one 1,000-
Ib. batch mixer, with an estimated
capacity of 2,400 cu. ft. of mixture
per 8-hour day. During the period,
Feb. 16 to April 6, 1917, the plant was
closed for alterations, two additional
rolls, one additional 1,000-lb. batch

mixer and dust bin, elevator, feed and
dust exhauster were built, increasing
the daily capacity to 5,000 cu. ft., or
250 tons, of mixture per 8-hour day.
During the fall of 1916, a concrete
two-compartment storage and heating
tank was built, with a capacity of 390
bbl. of asphalt. During 1921, an ad-
ditional tank was constructed, and a
small crushed installed for crushing
gravel screened from the sand. From
March 10 to April 23, the plant was
closed for alterations and better-
ments. Two 2,000-lb. batch mixers
with the necessary appurtenances
were installed, replacing the two
1,000-lb. mixers. The original cost of
the present plant, that is, the plant
as at present constituted, after credit-
ing plant account with the original
cost of such units as have been re-
placed or abandoned, is $43,000, of
which $11,000 have been charged to

Year
1914-15

Day
Opera)
56

Table I

Std. Surfac
Av. Output

s Per Day Cu. Ft.

ed Cu. Ft. Produced
1.234 58,330
1,255 335,340
1,474 309,860
2,333 648,100
1,579 223,110
1,636 210,570
2,118 60,350
2.284

e Mixt.

Cost
Per Cu.
Ft. Cts.

14.32

13.62

13.40

15.94

18.59

19.65

17.64

15.84

mite Mixt.
Cost
Per Cu.
Ft. a.

17.38
17.92

17.22
16.49

17.37

ixt. J
Cost
Per Cu.
Ft. Ct.
32.54

iiioi"

16.38

Rock Surface Mixt,

Cost
Cu. Ft. Per Cu.
Produced Ft. Cts.

1915-16 ...

278

1916-17 ....

239

1917-18 ...

271

1818-19 . .

267

1919-20 ...

„.. 270

1920-21 ....

279

378.190
446.940
329.710

18.53

1921-22 ...

270

17.72

1922-23 ....

244

8,715

15.14

average

Topel
Cu. Ft.
Pro-
duced

2174

ca Mixt.

Cost (
Per Cu.
Ft. Ct.

15"99
16.45
17.85
17.97
17.06
13.99

16.62

Asph Conci
Cu. Ft.
Pro-
duced

Total and
1914-15 ...

2.015 1.745,660

Bithulithic Mixt. Warr«
Du. Ft. Cost Cu. Ft.
Pro- Per Cu. Pro-
duced Ft. Ct. duced

1.154.840

Binder
Cu. Ft.
Pro-
duced
8.800
10.940
14.960
28.720
14.950
23.140
33.690
15.850

17.42

Mixt.

Cost
Per Cu.

Ft. a.
9.29

1915-16 ...

2,540 11.39

11.12

1916-17 ...

!!"!!"!" 700

14,310 11.75

11.18

1917-18 ...

23,430 14.60 36,230

550 18.53 92,880

40,460

13.76

1918-19 ...

87.080

15.23

1919-20 ...

166.320

15.71

1920-21 ...

56,010

17.98

1921-22 ...

24,320

4,810 17.88 1.900
600 15.81 2.330

16.87

1922-23 ...

156,640

Total and
1814-15 ...

aver.. .491,070

46,240 18.85 178.800

ete or Rock Mixt. Special W
Cost Cu. Ft.
Per Cu. Pro- ]
Ft. Ct. duced
1.980*

146.050

\n. Total
Cu. Ft.
Pro-
duced
69.110
848,820
852.400
632.180
421.620
441,750
590.720
616.790
906,170

187.4

Av. Cost

Cost
Per Cu.

Ft. Ct.
14.19

1915-16 ...

13.68

1916-17 ...

18,270t

13.16

1917-18 ...

15.86

1918-19 ...

8(,060

18.89

17.78

1919-20 ...

1.260

18.99

18.60

1920-21 ...

62,480

18.40

1921-22 ...

122,970

15.89

14.16

17.28

1922-23 ...

416,890

14.49

4,879.560

16.26

Total and average 605.890 16.28 16.610 14.00 ,.oi •-.«««

•Non-skid mixture. This mixture was treated virith certain chemicals to reduce the tendency

of automobiles to skid,
t Special binder mixture.

1923

Roads and Streets

Table U

Std. Surf Rock Surf

Asphaltic cement 100

Stone dust 100

Sand - 800

Crushed rock. % in — -

Crushed rock, % in

Crushed rock, % in —

Crushed rock, 1 in.

150

200

1,500

150

Topeka

120

180

1,140

560

Bitul.

290

575

War.

265

100

200

300

Binder

345

100

250

200

Single batch, pounds. 1,000

2,000

1.000

1,000

955

Asph.
Con.
110
100
600
440

650
100

2,000

operating expenses, as depreciation of
plant, giving a present value of
|32,000. The plant with the two
2,000-lb. batch mixers, has a present
estimated maximum capacity of 8,000
cu. ft., or 400 tons per 8-hour day.
Changing from a 1,000-lb. batch mixer
to 2,000-lb. mixers, when operating at
full capacity, will reduce the cost of
the product 6 per cent or about eight-
tenths of 1 per cent per cubic foot.
Therefore this alteration in the de-
sign of the plant will save its cost in
less than one year, due to the reduced
cost, only, of the present product. In
addition to this, large savings will be
made, due to the reduced time neces-
sary to load the trucks and the elimi-
nation of gang delays, or slow downs
which waiting for material.

The result obtained from the oper-
ation of this plant should be gratify-
ing to the municipal officials as well
as the taxpayer. Before a municipal
asphalt mixing plant was conceived,
the city paid $.19 per cubic foot, (100
lb.), for surface mixture. From this
was deducted about 1 ct. per cubic
foot as provided in the specifications
then in use, making a net cost of
approximately 18 ct. per cubic foot.
Immediately prior to the construction
of this plant, the city paid from $.20
to $.25 per cubic foot for wearing sur-
face mixture. In 1920, it paid $.50
per cubic foot for a small amount of
Warrenite mixture. During March
and April, of the present year, while
the plant was closed for alterations,
it paid $4.20 per ton ($.21 per cubic
foot, or per 100 lb.) for surface mix-
ture, and $4.00 per ton ($.20 per cubic
foot, or per 100 lb.) for rock mixture.
From a study of the foregoing and a
knowledge of the trend of material
costs, since April, 1914, it is evident
that the average market price for all
classes of mixture has been consider-
able more than $.21 per cubic foot,
but figured on a basis ef a market
value of $.21 per cubic foot, the plant
has made a profit of $2,000 per month

or in excess of $20,000 since April,
1914.

Table I shows the output and cost
per cubic foot for the diiferent classes
of mixture produced during each year
of the life of the plant.

Care should be taken not to com-
pare the average cost for the nine
years of one class of mixture with
that of another class, as such com-
parison would lead to an erroneous
conclusion as to the relative cost of
the several mixtures. For such use
comparisons should be made of data
for a single year only.

Table II gives the proportions used
in the various mixtures indicated in
Table I. These proportions are
changed from time to time so that
these herein given are those being
used of this date, or, for mixtures n»t
now used are the proportions used for
the last of such mixture produced.

Paving Brick Orders Increase

An increase in unfilled orders for
vitrified paving brick from 88,247,000
the last day of August to 91,048,000
the last day of September is an-
nounced by the National Paving Brick
Manufacturers' Association of Cleve-
land in its monthly statistical report
to the United States Department of
Commerce. This increase was accom-
panied by a similar upward movement
of stock on hand. Many of the orders
are for delivery next spring and in
the early summer. Production for the
month of September increased from
33,457,000, the August total, to 34,-
457,000. Shipments declined from 36,-
446,000 to 34,761,000. Distribution
for the month found Ohio in the lead
with 9,112,000 evenly divided as to
city streets and country highways.
Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska and Penn-
sylvania were next in line. Of the
unfilled orders 52,216,000 are to go for
city streets and 26,535,000 for country
highways, the remainder going into
miscellaneous markets.

956

Roads and Streets

Nov.

"Invisible Track" Type of
Highway

Experimental Section Being Constructed
in Kentucky

The State Highway Commission of
Kentucky is constructing an experi-
mental section of a new type of high-
way designed by S. B. Morse. We are
indebted to the Kentucky Road Build-
er, the official publication of the Com-
mission, for the following details.

The sketch showing a section of
single track road 16 ft. wide illus-
trates very clearly the idea, which is
simply that two reinforced concrete
beams are constructed at approxi-
mately 5 ft. from center to center,
and 18 in. wide. These are then cov-

The basis of the design is that the
psychology of traffic demands a rut
and this road is built to conform to
the demand rather than to oppose it.

Experiment at Pineville. — The sec-
tion under construction by the Ken-
tucky Highway Commission is located
at Pineville, Ky. It is 18 ft. in length.
Several different mixes of concrete
are being used, as well as both lime-
stone and sandstone aggregates, the
idea being to determine the relative
values of the mixes and aggregates
under actual traffic.

The concrete trackways are to be
covered with 1% in. of native rock
asphalt. The. spaces between the
trackways and on either side of them
will be covered with what is known
as inverted macadam penetration.

la-o"

;' tocixJ Wfopper .Qpao. j -;^a" C. 4-o C.

I~ ^' CooNd "jar-. 4o'-o' \ofA
Single Invisible Track Highway.

ered with l^^ in. of rock asphalt or
any bituminous material used for road
surfacing. To assist traffic in follow-
ing the trackways a rise of 3 in. is
made between tracks, or just enough
to indicate where they are, and to
make it easier driving along them,
than with two wheels on the elevated
section.

The four concrete trackways show
broken stone between them, which will
merely support the lighter vehicles as
they pass slower and more heavily
loaded trucks, while the substantial
concrete beams support the heavily
loaded vehicles and also the lighter
ones except when they are passing.

The road is not really a trackway,
but rather a surface deformed in such
a way that traffic will concentrate
within narrow limits on the surface,
and those narrow limits are designed
in conformity with the principles of
sound mechanics to carry the wheel
loads that pass over them. The sur-
face over the rails is made renewable,
thus insuring a low maintenance cost.

This is very similar to ordinary sur-
face treatment as applied to macadam
roads in Kentucky, and simply means
that about V2 to %-in. bituminous ma-
cadam covering will be provided.

All the details of design for this
experiment have been worked out by
Mr. Moore, who is superintending the
construction. It is believed that some
improvements have been made over
previous designs used in Louisiana
and Texas.

Estimated Cost of Constructing. —
This type of roadway, according to the
Kentucky Road Builder, is particularly
well adapted to use along old ma-
cadam roads that have worn down
to the point where a new surface must
be provided. With specially designed
machinery it will be possible to ex-
cavate trenches in the old macadam,
in which to construct the concrete
beams.

Where double track is needed, it
will usually be necessary in Kentucky
to widen the old macadam reads from
4 to 6 ft., as most of them are only

1923

Roads and Streets

957

12 to 14 ft. wide at present; it will
also be necessary to provide for addi-
tional crushed stone between the
trackways in places where slight re-
visions are made in the old grades.
With these points in mind it has been
estimated that the cost of construct-
ing 1 mile of double track road, 16 ft.
wide will be as follows:

Concrete in beams $4,250

Reinforcing steel — 500

Trenching and dressing up old grades — 600
Rock asphalt 1%-in. thick in trackways 1,760
Inverted penetration 1,900

This makes a total of $9,010 per
mile. For the cost of additional stone
along edges and between beams as
mentioned already $2,000 has been
added, bringing the total for one mile
of road to $11,000.

It must be borne in mind that this
estimate does not include any earth
excavation for revision of alignment
or grading, nor does it include any
drainage structures. It is based up-
on the idea of using machinery for
both trenching and mixing concrete.

Experience of Other States. — Two
years ago a piece of invisible track
road was built in Louisiana along a
road that is subjected to very heavy
traffic, such as trucks loaded with
bales of cotton. This, according to
good authority, has stood up so well
that the engineer in charge proposes
to build more of the same type.

Another short section was con-
structed in Texas about a year ago.
This also, is believed to be giving
good service.

Kentucky was the third state to
build a section of road after the new
design. This was undertaken because
it offered a possible solution to the
problem of building a road that will
endure heavy traffic at a lower price.
The road is patented, but an agree-
ment has been made for the Pineville
experiment at a nominal sum.

Truck Load Restrictions for Rhode
Island and Connecticut Highways

Restrictions of the weight of trucks
carrying loads over a number of Con-
necticut highways is likely to follow
a survey now being made of freight
and traffic conditions. Although no
definite program has yet been decided
upon, the limitation is being consid-
ered in view of the heavy truck traffic
that now traverses the state.

In answer to an inquiry from the
Rhode Island board of public roads,
Highway Commissioner John A. Mac-

donald has replied that at present, at
least, there will probably be no re-
strictions of loads under the state's
25,000 lb. limit on roads leading into
Rhode Island. This maximum weight
limit is fixed by statute. The highway
department, however, has authority
to make further restrictions if the
safety of the public highways is en-
dangered by over-loading of trucks.

As a result of a statute recently
enacted in Rhode Island, the maxi-
mum weight of trucks carrying loacJs
over roads in that state will be 20,000
lb. In a good many cases, however,
it has been found necessary to restrict
loads to as low as 10,000 lb. on roads
deemed unable to withstand a con-
tinued heavy traffic. Restrictions con-
templated in that state are now being
prepared for the spring of 1924, when
the seasonal thaws work havoc with
the highway surfaces and foundations
alike.

Of particular interest to Connecti-
cut truck owners is the schedule of
restrictions proposed by Rhode Island
state officials with regard to roads
crossing the Connecticut-Rhode Island
state line. In some instances it has
been found necessary to place a 15,000
lb. limit on roads leading from Rhode
Island into Connecticut.

Federal Aid Road Construction

Federal aid roads totalling 8,820
miles were completed during the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1923, bringing
the total of federal aid roads com-
pleted to 26,536 miles. The mileage
completed during the year is classi-
fied as follows:

Miles

Graded and drained „ _ _1860.1

Sand-clay _ 749.6

Gravel 3815.4

Waterbound macadam 335.6

Bituminous macadam 452.9

Bituminous concrete 76.8

Concrete 1440.S

Brick 78.8

Bridges _ 10.8

8820.2

The projects under construction at
the close of the fiscal year amounted
to 14,772 miles and were estimated as
55 per cent complete. In addition to
the 26,536 miles completed and the
14,772 miles under construction there
were at the close of the year a number
of projects approved but not yet
placed under construction, the aggre-
gate length of which was 6,917 miles.

958

Roads and Streets

Nov.

Asphaltic Concrete Construction in Fresno County,

California

Materials, Methods and Results Described in Paper Presented Aug. 29
at Asphalt Convention at Denver, Colo.

By CHRIS P. JENSEN

County Surveyor, Fresno County, California

In Fresno County 152 miles of
county highway 16 ft. wide have been
constructed in which the entire struc-
ture is of asphaltic concrete 5 in,
thick. Recently contracts were also
awarded for the construction of 7
miles of 5 in. and 11 miles of 4 in.
asphaltic concrete highways. More
are to follow. In 1909 the city of
Fresno commenced extensive aspjialtic
concrete pavement construction and
since then with little interruption, this
type of pavement has been the ac-
cepted standard. The maintenance on
all these pavements has been neg-
ligible.

Base Course. — I quote as follows
from the Fresno County specifications
controlling the manufacture and lay-
ing of the case course:

(a) Composition: The base course
shall be composed of crushed stone,
gravel or crushed gravel, sand, stone
dust or lime dust, and asphaltic ce-
ment, in the following proportions by
weight :

Passing a screen having 2i^ in.

round openings and retained on

a screen having l^^ in. round

openings „ 35% to 45%

Passing a screen having 1% in.

round openings and retained on

a screen having % in. round ,

openings 15% to 25%

Passing a screen having % in.

round openings and retained on

a screen having 10 meshes to

the inch 10% to 20%

Passing a screen having 10 meshes

to the inch 20% to 30%

Asphaltic cement 4% to 9%

Materials passing the 10-mesh
screen shall conform to the following
proportions by weight:

Sand, passing a 200-mesh screen.. 5% to 10%
Sand, passing an 80-mesh screen,

and retained on a 200-mesh

screen 20% to 35%

Sand, passing a 40-mesh screen,

and retained on a 10-mesh

screen 8% to 46%

Sand, passing a 10-mesh screen,

and retained on a 40-me8h

screen 20% to 80%

For the purpose of these specifica-
tions, 1,000 lb. of asphalt concrete
composition for base course shall be
considered as sufficient to cover 24 sq.
ft. of roadway.

"Mixing and Laying. — The plant
wherein tne materials are mixed shall
be provided with at least four sep-
arate bin compartments for the stor-
age of mineral aggregates.

All the mineral aggregate entering
into the mixture shall be accurately
weighed by means of multiple beam
scales. Asphaltic cement shall be con-
trolled and weighed separately from
the mineral aggregate.

All mineral aggregate shall be uni-
formly heated in suitable driers to a
temperature of between 300 and 400°
F. previous to being conveyed to
mixer.

The asphaltic cement shall be heated
to such a temperature that, when dis-
charged into the mixer, it shall have
a temperature of not less than 200°
nor more than 300° F. At no time
shall asphaltic cement be heated to a
greater temperature than 325° F."

On account of the close relationship
existing between the base course and
the wearing surface, and the resulting
homogeneous character of the com-
bined structure, I quote as follows
from the same specifications pertain-
ing to the wearing surface:

"Binder Course. — The binder course,
after thorough compression, as here-
inafter specified, shall be at least 1^
in. thick, and shall be composed of
crushed stone, gravel or crushed
gravel, sand, stone dust or lime dust,
and asphaltic cement in the following
proportions by weight:

Passing a screen having 1 in.

round openings and retained on

a screen having % in. round

openings 80% to 60%

Passing a screen having % in.

round openings and retained on

a screen having % in. square

openings 15% to 25%

Passing a screen having % in.

square openings and retained on

a screen having 10 meshes to

the linear inch 6% to 17%

Passing a screen having 10 meshes

to the linear inch 22% to 35%

Asphaltic cement 6% to 7%%

Materials passing a 10-mesh screen
shall conform to the following propor-
tions by weight:

1923

Roods and Streets

959

Passing a 200-mesh screen 10% to 18%

Passing a 80-mesh screen 30% to 45%

Passing a 40-mesh screen 60% to 80%

For the purpose of those specifica-
tions, 1,000 lb. of mineral aggregate
shall be considered as sufficient to
cover 66 sq. ft. of base surface."

"Finishing Course. — The finishing
course, after thorough compression, as
hereinafter specified, shall be at least
% in. in thickness and shall be com-
posed of sand and asphaltic cement in
the following proportions by weight:

Sand, passing a 200-mesh screen — 10% to 20%

Sand, passing a 80-mesh screen,
and retained on a 200-mesh
screen — 20% to 30%

Sand, passing a 40-mesh screen
and retained on an 80-mesh
screen ™ - - - -.30% to 40%

Sand, passing a 10-mesh screen
and retained on a 40-mesh
screen „„ — 20% to 30%

Asphaltic cement 10 % to 14 %

For the purpose of these specifica-
tions, 1,000 lb. of finishing course mix-
ture shall be considered as sufficient
to cover 400 sq. ft. of surface."

The base course in the above speci-
fications contemplates a 3^ in. thick-
ness, and the wearing surface specifi-
cations contemplates a thickness of
1^2 in., making a total thickness of
the combined structure of 5 in.

I desire to direct particular atten-
tion to those clauses in the specifica-
tions requiring 1,000 lb. of mixture to
cover only a specified maximum area
of surface. We have found this speci-
fication to work out most successfully,
and incidentally it removes one of the
greatest points of contention between
the contractor and owner. This ratio
of weight to area is based upon a
mineral aggregate having a specific
gravity of 2:80; if a mineral aggre-
gate having a less specific gravity
than 2.80 is used, it will result in a
slightly thicker pavement, but at no
extra expense to the contractor, for
the reason that mineral aggregate in
California is commercialized on a ton-
nage basis.

Proportions of Mineral Aggregate.
— The actual proportions of mineral
aggregate used in Fresno County
work and being in conformity with
the requirements of the specifications
will generally run about as follows:

From bin No. 4 (large rock) 4.50 lb.

From bin No. 3 200 lb.

From bin No. 2 100 lb.

From bin No. 1 (fines)..- _ 250 lb.

'^'^ which is added 45 lb. of aspha''
of approximately 45 degrees penetra-
tion, standard No. 2 needle; the duc-
tility of the asphalt is never less than

100 centimeters by the standard duc-
tility test.

The fact that in Fresno County as-
phalt of 45 degrees penetration is
specified does not necessarily point to
the use of this consistency throughout
the United States, or even the west.
The proper penetration to be used in
any particular community should be
the expression of the engineer's best
judgment, after carefully considering
climatic conditions.

The 200 Mesh Material.— It has
been common practice in the manufac-
ture of asphaltic concrete to use hy-
draulic cement, or lime dust, or the
by-product of sugar beets, to supply
the necessary quantity of 200 mesh
material, oftentimes lacking in fine
aggregates. We wish to emphasize
our experience that this practice re-
sults in a much inferior pavement
than if these adulterations are elimi-
nated; we therefore insist upon the
importation of a sufficient quantity of
200 mesh sand to bring the mineral
aggregates to the prsper proportions.
I might mention here that in one case
a local sand material was found in
which the 200 mesh material pre-
dominated, resulting in the contractor
having to install a blower to eliminate
the surplus dust as the materials went
through the heating rollers.

Paving Plants. — The paving plants
operating in the west are usually of
three sizes: of 1,000 lb., 1,500 lb. and
2,000 lb. capacity each.

The devices for heating the mineral
aggregate may be of the even drying
type, or by direct flame applied as
the mineral passes through rotary
steel cylinders.

Considering expert knowledge is re-
quired for the proper mixing and
laying of an asphaltic concrete pave-
ment, and the lack of experienced
labor, and inspection, will in nearly
every case prove disastrous. A sieve
analysis of the aggregates should be
made at least every hour at the plant,
so that any material variations in the
uniformity of the aggregate may be
instantly detected and corrected. It
is necessary that the asphalt be stored
in waterproof containers, because the
infiltration of even the smallest
amount of moisture will cause the as-
phalt to form. Great care must be
exercised by the mixer operator in
weighing the proportions of aggre-
gate from each bin; it is very easy to
permit a few extra pounds of aggre-
gate from any one bin to enter the

960

Roads and Streets

Nov.

mixing mill by the careless manipula-
tion of the scales and gates.

In warm weather we prefer to keep
the temperature of the mixture from
250 to 260° F.; in cool weather we
generally employ a temperature of
about 280° F., subject to variations
made necessary by conditions of dis-
tance hauled.

Spreading and Rolling. — In spread-
ing the mixture on the grade, we in-
sist that the truck drivers become so
experienced that the material can be
spread upon the previously measured
area so uniformly as to render it nec-
essary to make but little adjustment
with shovels; we find this method to
be superior and more efficient than
the use of mechanical spreaders.

Rolling is a very important step in
the construction of a proper asphaltic
concrete pavement, and particular at-
tention is given to this deail. Two
12-ton 3-wheel rollers are always on
the job, and rolling is continued until
no further compression is possible,
and until the mixture has assumed its
proper specific gravity, and will show
no further marks by the rollers.
Transverse rolling is always employed
on city streets, but in the case of
comparatively narrow highways,
transverse rolling cannot always be
accomplished; diligent diagonal rolling
is, however, required.

Inspection service is strenuous, both
at the plant and on the street. Every
operation is under constant control,
and the resultant mixture very care-
fully watched. The plant inspector
indicates the weight of every truck
load of material on a card, which is
taken by the truck driver to the in-
spector on the street, who then marks
off the proper area upon which the
material should be spread. Adjust-
ments are made where necessary
owing to inequalities in the subgrade.

Raking, as you all know, is also an
important factor in producing good
results, and it is useless for any in-
experienced men to attempt this work.

As an aid to maximum plant out-
put, we find it advisable to have pro-
vided a compartment under the mixer
to receive the contents of a mixer
batch. By this expedient the mixing
of materials will not be delayed by
reason of a short delay on the part
of trucks.

In ordinary weather a load of mixed
materials will retain its temperature
remarkably well. We have frequently
hauled this material 20 to 30 miles

with a loss of only 4 or 5 degrees in
temperature.

Traffic on Base Course. — We do not
hesitate to permit traffic on the base
course, after it has cooled. In fact
we frequently lay a stretch of base
5 miles or more in length and permit
the contractor to haul the wearing
course mixture over it, up to a total
gross truck load of 12 tons. We en-
courage the distribution of this traffic
over the entire width of base, so that
any serious defects in the subgrade
will develop before the application of
the wearing course, and any uneven-
ness be corrected and absorbed by it.
We find under such procedure, that
after a few weeks of traffic over the
complete pavement that the whole
structure has become blended into one
compact and integral mass.

In mixing the materials in the
plant, we prefer that coarse aggre-
gate be placed in mixing mill first and
then fines and asphalt added grad-
ually, so as to produce a complete and
efl'ective covering of every particle of
stone with asphaltic cement.

Mineral Aggregate s. — Fresno
County has employed coarse mineral
aggregates of both rounded gravel
surfaces and of crushed quarried stone
in which, of course, all surfaces are
angular. The results of our experi-
ence are interesting. Contrary to the
usually accepted theories, we obtained
the better results with the use of
round surfaces. We find that the
crushed rock will bridge, one particle
of stone against another. This bridg-
ing action is so effective that, unless
crushed under the roller, it will pre-
vent a thorough compaction. On the
other hand, gravel aggregate having
rounded surfaces will permit of suffi-
cient displacement, internal movement
or adjustment, under the action of
the roller, so that a much greater
degree of compaction will result than
in the case of quarried stone.

The ultimate result in the case of
a gravel aggregate is a smooth riding
surface, and in the case of quarried
rock, the fine aggregate tends to settle
into the larger interstices of the
coarse aggregate, after a period of
two or three months traffic, and re-
sults in a slightly corrugated riding
surface.

In the west, where asphaltic con-
crete base is used, 85 per cent of the
pavements are of a total thickness of
5 in. or less, including the wearing
surface.

1923

Roads and Streets

961

Proportioning Concrete Mixes

Report Presehted at International Road
Congress, Seville, Spain

By R. W. CRUM,

Engineer of Tests, Iowa State Highway
Commission

Recent researches showing the ef-
fect of amount of cement, grading of
aggregates, and water content upon
the quality of concrete have called at-
tention to the need of more exact
methods of proportioning concrete
mixes, and a decided tendency toward
scientific methods of proportioning is
apparent.

Current Practice. — Three types of
specifications are in current use.

(a) Arbitrary statements of pro-
portions by volume with specific re-
quirements as to amount of cement
per unit of volume. The most used
mixtures are l:iy2:3, 1:2:3, l:3:3y2,
and 1:3:4. In this case it is custom-
ary to vary the proportions in the
field by cut and dry methods. This is
a fertile source of controversies and
lacks accuracy, since other factors ef-
fect the result.

(b) Arbitrary statement of propor-
tions by volume with provision for
varying ratio of sand to coarse ag-
gregate to secure maximum density.

It is the intent in this case to vary
the ratio of sand to coarse aggregate
to secure the densest aggregate pos-
sible with the materials at hand. The
ratio of cement to total aggregate be-
ing definitely established. The most
used mixtures are 1:4%, 1:5, and 1:6.

Methods for Combining Aggregates.

— Three methods for combining ag-
gregates are in use.

Fuller's Curve of Maximum Den-
sity. Wm. B. Fuller formulated a rule
for establishing grading of aggre-
gates for maximum density. In con-
crete paving practice the mixture of
sand and coarse aggregate would be
made to approximate Fuller's "Ideal
Grading," as close as possible. Ref-
erence: "Concrete Plain and Rein-
forced," by Taylor and Thompson.

Fineness Modulus. Professor D. A.
Abrams, of Lewis Institute, has pro-
posed the use of the "Fineness Modu-
lus." In practice the procedure would
be to arrange the aggregates so that
this function would be as near as pos-

sible to the value indicated by re-
search as most suitable for the qual-
ity of concrete desired. The "Fine-
ness Modulus" is a numerical func-
tion of the sieve analysis of the ag-
gregate. Reference: Bulletin No. 1,
Structural Materials Research Lab-
oratory, Lewis Institute.

Surface Area. This method devised
by L. N. Edwards, is based upon the
assumption that the total surface area
of the particles is a measure of the
quality of the aggregate. Reference:
Proceedings American Society for
Testing Materials, 1918-1919. In as
much as the actual total surface area
is difficult to measure, Professor A.
N. Talbott has suggested the use of a
"Surface Area Modulus" which is a
direct function of the surface area and
readily derivable from a sieve anal-
ysis.

Inasmuch as all three of the above
methods depend upon detailed sieve
analyses, they are not directly appli-
cable to hour to hour control of mix-
ture, but when used, are for the pur-
pose of establishing proportions upon
sources of supply. Under such speci-
fications, very often no attempt is
made to vary the mixture, since the
field engineer is rarely equipped to
analyze the materials.

Proportions on Weight Basis. — In

Iowa the proportions are stated on a
weight basis, and provision is made
for the use of mixtures with different
ratios of sand to coarse aggregate.
This method is based upon the as-
sumption that the ratio of sand to
coarse aggregate by weight is a de-
termining factor as to the amount of
cement. This specification also pro-
vides for the use of natural un-
screened gravel in special cases.
Measurements may be made by vol-
ume if frequent determinations of
unit weight are made. If unscreened
gravel is used, frequent analyses must
be made in order to adjust the pro-
portions for variations in the sand
content. Reference: Bulletin 60, En-
gineering Experiment Station, Iowa
State College, by R. W. Crum.

Water Content. Improved methods
of proportioning are of no av^ail un-
less provision is made for the con-
trol of water content. Description of
the consistency desired, slump or flow
table test limits, or specified water
cement ratio are the methods used for

962

Roads and Streets

Nov.

control of consistency. Probably the
slump test is the most widely used.

Proposed proportioning methods in-
clude, Fuller's curve, Fineness Modu-
lus, Surface Area, and the Iowa sand-
coarse aggregate ratio method, as
mentioned above, and also Professor
A. N. Talbott's method based upon the
use of the mortar-void characteristics
of sands. Reference: A. S. T. M.
proceedings, 1921. Inasmuch as
American contracting practice re-
quires that the proportions be stated
in advance of the letting of the con-
tract, and since little chance is given
for the application of detailed meth-
ods to the variations in the hourly
run of the materials, it is probable
that the next step in the development
of American practice in proportioning
materials for concrete roads will lie
in the application (as by the Iowa
Highway Commission) of the scien-
tific methods now available to the es-
tablishment of proportions for the
materials available over districts
where similar conditions prevail, and
in more exact control in the field of
measuring operation.

Storage Tanks for Asphalt and
Road Oil

Report Presented at International Road
Cngress, Seville, Spain

By W. H. KERSHAW,

Manager, Asphalt Sales Department, Texas
Company, New York

To insure prompt release of equip-
ment and the maximum use of its
trackage, American railroads have
adopted the practice of allowing 48
hours free unloading time for tank-
cars and make a charge of $2.00 per
day for the first four days after the
expiration of the free time and $5.00
per day for every day thereafter.

The tank-cars do not belong to the
railroad, but are the private equip-
ment of the producers of asphalt and
road oil.
I For the same reason given above

for "railroad demurrage" charge and
the additional purpose of providing
for interest and depreciation on their
investment, the asphalt producers
render an additional charge for "car
service," varying from $1.50 to $3.00
per day.

The delay in releasing tank-cars
where the material moves direct from

the tank-cars to the road oil dis-
tributor or to the tanks of the asphalt
mixing machine, results in the pay-
ment by the purchaser of a consider-
able sum for "demurrage" and "car
service." This payment is a direct
loss. A real saving in money can be
made by erecting storage tanks at re-
ceiving points, and in addition to the
saving, secure freedom from inter-
ruption due to delayed receipt of ma-
terial from the producer, and the ad-
ditional assurance that the business
will be attractive to the producer, who
is thus insured against delay in the
handling of his cars.

For the above reason, practically
40 per cent of all maintenance plants
of the United States have installed
asphalt storage tanks.

Many cities and counties have in-
stalled road oil storage and the prac-
tice of establishing asphalt storage
tanks has become general with as-
phalt paving contractors.

The majority of storage tanks in-
stalled to date are of steel and ele-
vated, thus giving the advantage of
gravity feed to the kettles and dis-
tributing wagons.

The use of concrete underground
storage tanks is very limited and con-
fined in the main to manufacturing
plants.

The yardage of improved pave-
ments in municipalities and counties is
so large as to make it advisable to
install municipal or county owned
maintenance plants. These plants
combine with their asphalt and road
oil storage equipment, facilities for
the handling and storage of mineral
aggregate, construction materials,
steam plant for furnishing steam for
unloading tank-cars, maintaining heat
on the storage tanks and for the op-
eration of asphalt mixing plants. At
these maintenance plants, the bitumi-
nous mixture is prepared and sent
out.

Three of the most modern instal-
lations of this type are those of
Bergen County, N. J., Tarrant County,
Tex., and the city of Worcester, Mass.
In the Bergen County plant, the large
storage tanks with a small heating
area for the bulk storage are supple-
mented by smaller storage tanks with
large heating area to prepare the ma-
terial for immediate use, either
through distributors, or for the mix-
ing plant.

1923

Roads and Streets

963

Building a Highway Through Four Miles of Swamp

Methods of Constructing Embemkment, Trestles and Bridge Through
Santee River Swamp Described in The Military Elngineer

Bv LELAND F. JAMES

Federal Aid Project No. 85 includes
the consti-uction of a bridge with tres-
tle connections across the Santee
River and swamp near St. Stephen,
40 miles from the sea coast, an un-
dertaking which may be regarded as
one of the largest and most important
of its kind in the South, if not in the
entire country. It covers a length of

Embankment Construction Throngh
River Swamp.

Santee

nearly 4 miles through an all but im-
penetrable swamp, and when com-
pleted will form the main link in the
proposed Atlantic Coastal Highway.
Project of Far-reaching Impor-
tance.— The importance of this major
project lies not only in supplying the
missing link for a prominent highway,
primarily designed as the shortest
practicable route between points along
the eastern seaboard, but also in pro-
viding the means for developing bet-
ter highway transportation facilities,
and in opening up to the world those
fertile sections which have been iso-
lated, in large measure, between the
dense river swamp on one side and
the broad Atlantic ocean on the other.

The first steps toward laying the
foundation for this much needed im-
provement were made about two years
ago when those three counties —
Charleston, Williamsburg and Berke-
ley— most interested in centrally lo-
cating the connection, voted a bonded
indebtedness to defray one-half the
cost of construction, and organized
into what is now designated as the
Santee Bridge District. Following
this action, the South Carolina State
Highway Department secured a gov-
ernment allotment for the remaining
half of the cost.

Mr, J. L. Parker, Special Bridge
Engineer, was placed in charge of all
details leading up to the actual con-
struction, including the complete de-
sign of the structures and their exact
location, and he has since had gen-
eral supervision of the work for the
State Highway Department.

The present site of the bridge was
selected from the most desirable of
four lines run through the swamp
conveniently near that point which
would conform to the route of the
proposed highway. Great difficulties
were encountered by the survey party
engaged in this work, in cutting
through a flooded swamp overgrown
with large trees and heavy under-
brush.

The project as a whole embraces
about every feature that could be in-
cluded in swamp-road and bridge en-
gineering consistent with economy of
construction; and the several firms to
whom the contracts were awarded, in
the spring of 1921, have brought into
use a great amount of valuable build-
ing equipment suited to the nature
and magnitude of the undertaking.

The Swamp Trestle Work. — Leav-
ing aside the main channel bridge
spanning a substructure of five con-
crete piers, the one outstanding fea-
ture is the swamp trestle work, which
consists of seven reinforced concrete
bridges, so apportioned in lengths of
782, 733, 1,320, 1,272, 588, 588 and
806 ft., respectively — or a total length
of 6,089 ft. — and so located with
proper reference to a predatermined
rate of water flow at various points

964

Roads and Streets

Nov.

as to secure an adequate discharge of
the highest swamp flood waters.

Each concrete bridge deck is poured
in place along with stringer plates on
caps supported by reinforced concrete
piles driven in 4-pile bents, 24 ft. be-
tween bents, and carries an 18-ft.
roadway.

The concrete piles are about 45 ft.
long and 16x16 in. reduced to 8x8 in.
at the lower or driven end. They are
cast in steel forms laid down in a
suitable pile yard, conveniently lo-
cated. Pourings of the proper mix-
ture are made into the form and left
to set for 7 days. The finished pile
is then taken out of the form and
stored for 30 days, after which it is
ready to be driven into place.

After driving the two center piles
vertically in each bent, the two outer
piles are driven at an angle to brace
the structure more effectively. Align-
ment is secured lengthwise by sight-
ing along accurately located wood pat-
terns; crosswise, by driving against a
3x12 in. timber placed horizontally
across the face of the first pile driven
in each bent. The accurate alignment
thus obtained is attested by the fact
that, after the bents are finally braced
into position, errors, as far as can be
detected with the eye, are about as
negligible as if the entire foundation
had been driven as a solidly assem-
bled unit. Obviously, these perma-
nent concrete structures over so great
a length will materially lessen the fu-
ture cost of maintenance.

Earth Fills Reduce First Cost.—
Another prominent feature of the ap-
proaches is the construction of earth
embankments to fill the spaces inter-
vening between the concrete trestle
structures. These embankments total
a length of over 13,000 ft. They re-
quire about 800,000 cu. yds. of fill to
bring them to the designed cross sec-
tion of 26 ft. at the surface to provide
a clear road width of 18 ft.; a width
of 100 ft. at the base for a safe foun-
dation body; and an average height
of 24 ft. to elevate the road surface 3
ft. above the highest recorded flood-
water mark. The earth material re-
quired is obtained from a selected
borrow pit located on the higher
ground near the edge of the swamp.

Earth Moving Operations. — Earth
moving is accomplished by two trains
of seven 12-yr. to 16-yr. dump cars
each, run on steel tracks supported by
a temporary pile-driven trestle built
over the line of the fill from timbers

cut while clearing the advance 200-ft.
right-of-way. This temporary trestle
is offset at the site of each concrete
structure, and is provided with a pass-
switch so that, while other details of
work are being carried on, the oper-
ation of the trains may be made con-
tinuous. In other words, while one
train of cars is being dumped, an-
other is being moved into position for
that purpose, while yet a third is be-
ing loaded under a 2l^-yd. Bucyrus
70-C steam shovel, stationed in the
borrow pit. By thus co-ordinating the
movements of the trains, it would be
possible to move the earth at a rate
of more than 3,000 cu. yds. a day. Of

Concrete Pile Construction for Trestles.

course this rate is not continuously
maintained because of the necessity
of frequently using the cars and
tracks for transporting material and
equipment for other operations along
the route. If there be made a rea-
sonable allowance for unavoidable de-
lays from other causes, then the aver-
age recorded rate of 1,200 to 1,500 cu.
yds. is about as high as could be ex-
pected.

From an unobserved position, the
writer timed the loading of one of
the trains and noted that 42 2^/2 -yd.
shovel loads (105 cu. yds.) were placed
into the cars in 11.2 minutes. It took
3.4 minutes more to move this train
clear and get the other train in posi-
tion for loading. At this rate, which

1923

Roads and Streets

965

appeared to be under normal condi-
tions without hindrance, one train
load could be supplied to the fill every
14.6 minutes, or something over 400
cu. yds. an hour.

The satisfactory results e\-idenced
so far in the construction of these
embankments is, in large measure,
due to the excellent fill material sup-
plied by a 48-acre borrow pit located
only after a number of test holes had
been simk at various points along the
edge of the swamp.

No doubt this borrow pit had some
bearing upon the selection of the pres-
ent route for, where it was known
that earth was to be moved in such
wholesale quantity, the choice of suit-
able materials near at hand would en-
.ter into the decision as an important
factor. At any rate, the borrow pit
jdelds an abundant supply of a natural
sand-clay-gravel mixture, ideal for
use in the embankments.

The problem of so alternating the
lengths of earth embankments and
concrete structures as to secure the
most efficient results at a minimum
cost, finds a satisfactory solution in
this case. It was imperative that
permanent structures be properly lo-
cated along the route in such lengths
as to provide the cross-sectional area
to take care of the swamp wat«r flow
at its highest floodmark; hence the
concrete design. The structures along
the remaining lengths have only to
serve the purpose of a durable wall,
furnishing a surface capable of being
maintained as a road. With the size
and make-up of the embankments, to-
gether with the adequate sand bag
and rip-rap protection given them at
the ends of the fill sections to prevent
washing, it is believed that they will
meet the demands for which they
were designed.

In brief, this difficult problem has
been solved on a basis of sound rea-
son— and in this connection it is not
amiss to note that after limiting the
more expensive concrete trestle work
to the necessities of the case, the re-
maining portion of the swamp struc-
ture is being built at a much reduced
cost — the comparative cost for equal
lengths of concrete and fill work be-
ing approximately in the ratio of 8
to 1.

The Main Channel Bridge.— At the

site of the main bridge the river chan-
nel is 330 ft. wide. The bridge plans
provide for one steel truss draw-
swing span 180 ft. in length, with a

draw opening of 63 ft. to accommo-
date vessels navigating the river, and
two through steel truss fixed spans,
the whole supported on five solid con-
crete piers, tnree of which rest in the
channel, with one on each bank of the
river.

It is of interest to note some of
the details in connection with these
structures. The large center pier, de-
signed to carry the swing span, was
the first to be erected. Extensive bor-
ings had previously been made by the
State Highway Department, with the
result that a hard limestone rock for-
mation was found overlaid with a 7-ft.
thickness of soft shell rock deposit.

To base the pier on the limestone
rock would insure an everlasting foun-
dation, but it would first be necessary
to clear away the softer shell deposit,
from a depth of nearly 30 ft. in a
swift current.

The tank method having been de-
cided upon as the safest to pursue
under these circumstances, a bottom-
less cylinder steel tank was built up
to measure 22 ft. in diameter 30 ft.
in height. It was well braced inside
with timber struts, and when com-
pleted weighed 19 tons. In order to
handle this weight, which was be-
yond the capacity of the largest avail-
able floating derrick, a special 60-ft.
boom was made from one of the lai^e
swamp trees and strengthened with
a stout A-frame fitted to the end en-
abled the tank to be lifted clear and
then transported to the point where it
was lowered into position in the center
of the river. Piles were then driven
around the circumference and so
braced that the tank was firmly held
in accurate position. A chum-drill
was rigged up by suspending a heavy
sheet pile from the boom, and the soft
shell as loosened within the tank was
removed with a clam shell bucket, un-
til the hard limestone rock foundation
was uncovered. As an additional pre-
caution, a diver was sent down to
make sure that the bottom inside the
tank was clean and in all respects
ready to receive the concrete mixture.
The building of the pier was then be-
gun. Concrete was lowered in buck-
ets through thirty feet of water and
gently dumped on the prepared foun-
dation, great care being exercised in
lowering and dumping, especially dur-
ing the first pourings, to avoid dam-
age by washing the particles of ce-
ment from the aggregate.

966

Roads and Streets

Nov.

The adjacent river pier was built
up in the same manner, except that
a rectangular tank was used.

The first bank pier was protected
by driving interlocked sheet piles
around the site of the pier and the
bottom of the tank thus formed was
excavated with a clam shell bucket to
a depth sufficient to secure a solid
foundation. As a result of the satis-
factory and economic use of this steel
sheet piling, the same method was
adopted for preparing the foundations
and protecting the pourings for the
remaining piers.

Method for Control of Weeds on
Lawns

The following method of reducing
or eliminating weeds from lawns was
developed by a wide series of experi-
ments extending over 20 years at the
experiment station of the Rhode Is-
land State College. It is described in
a mimeographed bulletin of the col-
lege, from which the matter following
is reprinted:

All lawn grasses require, in order
to grow at their best, that the soil be
supplied with plenty of plant food in
the three elements found in all com-
mercial fertilizer, namely, nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium. Most
grasses and weeds also require that
the soil be not sour, but Rhode Island
and other bent grasses, which make
an even turf and which stand close
clipping, grow well in an acid soil.

The usual fertilizer employed for
top-dressing lawns in the spring do
not develop acidity and permit the
coarsely growing weeds to crowd out
the grass.

Nitrogen is commonly furnished in
nitrate of soda, which tends toward
an alkaline reaction. By substituting
a similar amount of sulphate of am-
monia, which is not more expensive,
an acid condition of the soil is
gradually produced which weakens
the weeds while not affecting either
the bent grasses or the fescues. Thus
in two or three seasons the weeds
will entirely disappear or, in new
lawns, will never become troublesome.

The phosphorus can be applied in
acid phosphate and the potash in
muriate of potash as usual. Different
soils require different amounts of
plant food, but a good proportion for
average conditions is 250 lb. sulphate
of ammonia, 400 lb. acid phosphate,
and 250 lb. muriate of potash to the

acre. A smaller amount than this
should be used on newly seeded lawns.

At present no commercial fertilizer
of this mixture is on the market, but
the constituents can be obtained from
dealers in fertilizer chemicals and
readily mixed when needed.

Precautions. — It should be noted
that a too heavy application of sul-
phate of ammonia will injure the
grass as well as the weeds, but in the
proportions as noted it may safely be
used as freely as the common lawn
fertilizers. It is necessary that the
fertilizer be distributed evenly when
the lawn is dry in order not to bum
the grass. Where convenient it is
well to sprinkle the lawn thoroughly
after applying the fertilizer. Do not,
in preparing the lawn or afterwards,
use lime, wood ashes, or any sub-
stance which will tend to produce an
alkaline reaction.

It is also only reasonable to expect
that lawns in which the weeds have
for a long time had the upper hand
will only slowly be brought into a
weedless condition.

Summary. — Apply in the very early
spring a fertilizer, as noted above,
containing sulphate of ammonia, using
somewhat less on new grass and, if
desired, somewhat more on well-
established lawns.

If not already seeded with bent
grasses or fescues, sow or rake in not
less than 30 lb. per acre a few days
after applying the fertilizer in the
spring or late in the summer.

Apply the fertilizer as a top dress-
ing regularly each spring, in lessen-
ing amounts as the weeds disappear.

Under ordinary conditions reseed-
ing should not be necessary for at
least 10 years, but if the grass is thin
reseed as originally seeded a few days
after applying the fertilizer in the
spring.

Farm Tenancy in United States. —

Farm tenancy in the United States
increased only 1 per cent during the
last 10 years, according to a report
made by the Institute for Research of
the Land, Economics and Public Utili-
ties. The report showed that tenants
operated approximately one-fourth of
the farms of the country in 1880, with
a jump to 28 per cent in 1890 and to
35 per cent in 1900. A more gradual
increase came in the next two de-
cades, the proportion in 1910 being
37 per cent and in 1920 38 per cent.

1923 Roads and Streets ^^"^

Highway Views and News in Various States

Editorials and Articles From Official Publications of State Highway

Departments

Highway Spillways for Carrying
Flood Water

From New Mexico Highway Journal

Whatever has been the damage to
roads and bridges, the rains and floods
of the past season have demonstrated
one thing, and that is the efficiency
and permanence of the spillway.

Bridges have been washed away,
piers buried beneath several feet of
gravel, abutments and box culverts
have been undermined, but in the
main, the spillway is still with us and
has served us well.

The Southwest country, with its
many dry washes and arroyos of con-
siderable width but shallow in depth,
furnishes admirable locations for
spillways. During 99 per cent of the
year these streams carry no flow, but
the other 1 per cent taxes the struc-
tures in these locations to their ut-
most.

The properly constructed spillway
should conform to the natural stream
bed of the arroyo as nearly as pos-
sible. Where the gradient of the
stream is light, the problem of hold-
ing the spillway is not difficult, and
a cobblestone apron and cutoff wall
on the down stream side are sufficient.
However, when the flow in flood time
is rapid, and scour a menace to the
structure, the apron must be widened
and in extreme cases it may be neces-
sary to pave the arroyo bed with
riprap. A careful survey of the pro-
posed location will reveal the neces-
sity of these extra precautions.

The properly constructed spillway
should also be well marked as to both
alignment and depth of flow for the
protection of the traveler. This may
be done by concrete posts at stated
intervals along the shoulder lines, the
lowest posts being plainly marked for
each foot of depth over the pavement.

The longest spillway in New Mexico
at the present time is on Federal Aid
Project No. 104, in Sierra County, be-
ing 610 ft. long and of concrete con-
struction. A portion of this spillway
is on an alignment curve. Project
No. 104 is not yet completed, but this
mammoth spillway has been griven a
severe test already by heavy rains in
that county. It may be necessary to

further protect this structure on the
down stream side.

There is no doubt but that in future
highway construction in New Mexico
the spillway will be an economical
and increasingly necessary type of
structure.

Co-Operation

From Texas Highway Bulletin

Even a Napoleon cannot win a bat-
tle without the complete co-operati»n
of his generals and his army. The
highway department cannot give
Texas a satisfactory state system of
highways unless the county officials
and the people of the counties co-
operate in this justly great task which
the legislature has seen fit to be-
queath to the department. With the
co-operation of all, the undertaking is
assured of success and the beneficent
results which will result will be in-
calculable. True co-operation is ex-
pressed in the following verses:

You have a dollar,

I have a dollar.

We swap.

Now you have my dollar.

And I have your dollar.

We are no better off.

You have an idea,

I have an idea.

We swap.

Now you have two ideas.

And I have two ideas.

Both are richer.

What you gave you have.

What you got I did not lose,

This is co-operation.

Contracts Taken Over by Bonding
Companies

From Utah Highways

On three gravel surface projects the
contractors have made such slow
progress that the state has found it
necessary to require the bonding com-
panies to take charge of the work and
proceed with the completion of the
contracts.

A variety of reasons appear to have
operated to cause these failures:
labor shortage, due to unusual local
conditions; unit prices too low to pay
construction costs with the methods
used; lack of proper management re-

968

Roads and Streets

Nov.

suiting in lost motion and delays;
equipment inadequate to operate ef-
fectively. Summed up, all of these
causes indicate insufficient financial
resources, lack of knowledge of the
nature of the work and failure to
properly analyze the costs.

It is the general policy of the com-
mission to let a contract to the lowest
responsible bidder, "responsible"
meaning one who can obtain from an
approved bonding company security
equal to the amount of the contract
award. The amount of the contract
is based upon the unit bid prices for
labor only, the state tests and selects
the gravel to be used and furnishes
all materials entering into the con-
struction, other than those of local
occurrence.

In these and in all other road con-
tracts the state is fully protected and
holds the bonding company responsi-
ble for the completion of the work to
specification requirements when the
contractor is unable to make satisfac-
tory progress.

Such occurrences as these under
consideration indicate that it may
prove advisable to adopt a policy in
force in a number of states of requir-
ing each bidder to furnish a statement
setting forth his experience in the
work to be undertaken, his financial
resources and equipment available,
this information to be taken in con-
sideration in awarding the contract.

The purpose of this procedure, if
adopted, will be to protect the citizens
of the state from loss in attempting
a contract where it is not reasonably
clear that they can conduct it with
satisfaction to themselves and the
state, and with a minimum of incon-
venience to the traveling public.

Good Roads Are Worth Their
Cost

From North Carolina Highway Bulletin

The highway is not simply a road.
It is not simply a surface.

It is the assurance of the civilizing
influence of better communication be-
tween sections.

It is a silent, but persistent factor
for the reduction of living costs.

It is an humble, but powerful foe
of ignorance for the reason that it
makes easily accessible our splendid
system of public schools to the people
in rural districts.

It is the safeguard of our food sup-
ply. It is a guarantee to the public
against the prostrating influence of

industrial upheaval and interruption
to distribution therefrom.

It is the popular open-air theater of
enjoyment of the family.

It is the text book of nature to our
people.

It is the connecting link between
the home and the factory.

It is the call to open air; the great
physician who makes no charges for
his services.

The people who are opposed to
good roads oppose them for the same
reason that some people oppose our
great public school system; they are
not informed.

Gravel Road Construction in Utah

From Utah Highways

The growing popularity of gravel
roads in Utah, constructed to federal
standards, is shown by the following
figures, showing mileage constructed
or proposed over a 4-year period:

Year Miles

1921 34

1922 _ 42

1923 (program) 143

1924 (program) 200

Thirty-five per cent of the high-
ways in the United States on the fed-
eral aid system are gravel roads. The
experience gained through such ex-
tensive construction and use of this
type of road has naturally led to im-
provement in methods and in the ma-
terials employed. Up to and during a
part of the season of 1921 gravel
passing a 3 in. screen could be used
as a part of the base course; on Utah
state roads this has been cut down
by successive gradations, as experi-
ence demonstrates the superior bind-
ing qualities of smaller particles of
gravel, until the maximum size now
permitted in the base course is 1% in.
The top or wearing course has under-
gone similar modifications during the
same intervals from "passing a 2-in.
screen not less than 95 per cent" as
we read in the old specifications, to
100 per cent passing a 1-in. screen
and not less than 25 per cent retained
on a %-in. screen.

Construction under the latest speci-
fications will mean that much of the
gravel used for surfacing will require
crushing — more expensive — but highly
desirable from the point of view of
increased wearing qualities, the dust
and fines resulting from the crushing
operation furnishing binder of a high
quality. The theory of the gravel
road is, in effect, the same as that of

1923

Roads and Streets

969

concrete, the greater the adhesion in
the binding material the greater the
resistance of the road to abrasion —
a "clay-concrete," so to speak.

Other improvements relate to plac-
ing the gravel to facilitate distribu-
tion of sizes, and sprinkling is speci-
fied as required to assist the rolling
operation to secure a thorough com-
paction of the gravel courses. The
"feather-edge" type of section has
been changed to a uniform depth for
the entire strip and shoulders are re-
quired to be formed to hold the sur-
facing in place before any gravel is
spread.

Three Years of Road Building in
Kentucky

From The Kentucky Road Builder

The readers of The Kentucky Road
Builder may be interested in a gen-
eral statement of cost and progress
of road building in the state between
July of 1920 and July of 1923. Dur-
ing that period the total receipts in
the state road fund from all sources
were as follows:

Receipts

Balance carried forward $ 1,261,989.14

Motor license ~ 6,431,520.62

Gasoline tax 1.398,216.63

Three-mill tax _ _ 2,171,410.51

Federal aid allotments 4,156,812.61

Counties, cities, etc., donations.... 2,048,417.51

All other sources 107,876.96

Total $17,576,243.98

The total disbursements for the
same period are shown opposite the
principal activities of the department:

Disbursements

$50,000 special budget (annual

amount) $ 147,759.13

-5200,000 special budget (annual

amount) _ 586.948.65

State aid construction 1,349,586.75

Federal aid construction 10,425,800.14

Convict labor construction 607,455.13

State contracts since 1920, con-
struction 1,842,258.48

Maintenance of roads 1,479,023.80

Machinery _. _ 205,604.76

Office improvement, Frankfort— 23,018.81

Miscellaneous 10,834.39

Total -....$16,678,290.04

Average per year _ $ 5.559.430.01

In arriving at any averages for cost
per mile of doing different operations
it should be borne in mind that main-
tenance and construction are entirely
different items. For the entire period
the expenditures amounted to $16,-
678,290.04 or an average per vear of
$5,559,430.01. Including federal aid,
state aid, convict labor and the state
contracts let since 1920. also recon-
struction under supervision of the

maintenance division, there were 991.1
miles of road of all types completed
in the three-year period. This is at
the rate of approximately 330 miles
per year, or very close to 150 miles
of road graded and surfaced, as there
is approximately 50 per cent of the
mileage reported as completed that
was graded only, the surface to be
applied later.

On July 1, 1923, there were 619.2
miles of all types under construction.
A part of this will be completed dur-
ing 1923, but probably half of it Avill
go over to the season of 1924 for
completion.

On July 1 of this year there was a
total of 1,097 miles of roads under
state maintenance. This is sub-
divided into 510.57 miles that were
repaired by counties at their expense
and accepted by the state for main-
tenance; 83.58 miles were recon-
structed under the Maintenance cU-
vision, either partly or wholly at the
counties' expense and 502.95 were
taken over from the constructiqn
division.

Up to July of this year Kentucky
had received in the form of annual
apportionment from the federal gov-
ernment a total of $8,960,154.55. Of
this amount $8,197,045.68 had been ap-
plied to construction on federal aid
projects.

The average cost per mile for road
construction during this three-year
period was less than $15,000 per mile.

Highway Maintenance

From the October News Letter of the Wyoming
State Highway Department

Maintenance puts the "main spring"
in good roads. Of course everyone
has understood that maintenance was
was a part of the program. Back in
the misty minds of some who have
been looking askance at the progress
being made in the building of high-
ways, has lurked the question of how
good roads could be kept up once
they were constructed. Some have
"bet" it couldn't be done. They seem
to "win" after the way the rain
poured down during the past year.
Never since the white man set foot in
Wyoming has the Big Horn River
been so high, nor has Wind River
played such pranks. The highways
being built for the past several years
were intended to withstand just such
extremes. To build well is an im-
portant factor in the matter of main-
tenance.

970

Roads and Streets

Nov.

The need of maintenance we shall
have ever with us. States are receiv-
ing federal aid funds with the under-
standing that "the states will main-
tain." Surely that is a fair proposi-
tion. Could anyone imagine a young
man about to be married who would
not enter into a compact with his dad
to keep his new bungalow in perfect
condition if his dad would agree to
pay half or two-thirds the cost of the
building ?

No one wants the old system of
roads again. Everyone, whether he
drives a buckboard, a Packard or a
Ford, should be willing to contribute
a share toward maintenance.

Cost of Road Plans in South
Ceurolina

From South Carolina Highway Bulletin

During the first six months of the
year there have been turned out in
the road drafting department of the
state highway department 213.91
miles of road plans at an average cost
per mile of $43.00, approximately.

A complete set of road plans shows
the alignment of the old road and in
heavier symbols the alignment of the
proposed improvement together with
the right of way lines; all drainage
structures to be built or rebuilt; the
profile of the existing ground along
the center line of the survey and the
elevation of the proposed road; and
the quantities of material which are
to be contracted for. In addition to
this all topographic features, such as
railroads, rivers, etc., necessary to
form a complete map of the road
and the surrounding country, are in-
cluded.

How Long Will Timber Last?

From the October News Letter of the Wyoming
State Highway Department

The question is frequently raised as
to the durability of timber when left
in the open.

The September Georgia Highways
carries an illustration showing a
wooden head board of a grave in old
Midway Cemetery in Liberty County,
Georgia. The board is of black heart
cypress timber and bears the date
"Anno Domine 1770." The carving
was done by hand, and the somewhat
unusual shape of the letters would
indicate that the head board was
made during the latter part of the
18th century. It has been constantly
exposed to the elements since that
time.

An Old Time Road Description

In an article in a recent News Let-
ter of the Wyoming State Highway
Department Mr. Mark M. Kelley cites
the following interesting examples of
early road descriptions, taken from
actual county records:

"Alton's to Foot of Mountain" —

"Commencing five rods north of
Mr. Alton's house on the County Road
leading into , thence run-
ning in a westerly direction and fol-
lowing up the new traveled road as
far as the school house of District No.
4, thence bearing to the right and
running in a northwesterly direction
and following up an old road that was
traveled on and lead to the saw mill

after passing by the ranch of

on said road and crossing

Creek at the south end of

field, thence running up said creek

and cross the field of J. N

and striking the now traveled road
leading to the timber on the moun-
tain, following up said road to the
foot of the first range of mountains."
(Approved.)

Also : "Beginning at a point in the

road running up B Creek

known as the "F " Road south

of the "Jimmie Chandler" Chimney in

B Creek, thence northerly

and westerly by its most feasible
route, passing the ranches of L. J.

B , Warden P. McL ,

Mrs. William H. U , P. C.

H , and J. B. O'W

and Wilson School House." (Ap-
proved.)

Thanks to the development of safe
and sane highway engineering, such
road descriptions are no longer ap-
proved.

TraflSc Census of Colorado High-
ways.— The first traffic census taken
in Colorado during the last five years
was started by the State Highway De-
partment on the Denver-Fort Collins-
Cheyenne road on July 1. A crew of
20 enumerators was employed in the
work, with J. E. Furlong, as the chief
census director. At most of the sta-
tions the count covered a period of
eight hours each day, but at two or
three junction points a 24-hour check
was made. Every main highway and
mountain pass in the state was cov-
ered by the enumerators.

1923

Roads and Streets

971

Labor Saving Arrangement for
Alley Paving

An interesting construction plant
set-up is being employed by the Otis
Cement Construction Co., Detroit,
Mich., on an alley paving job in that
city, A central mixing plant is used

able measuring batch hopper which
discharges directly into the skip of
the mixer. This method has elimi-
nated many laborers and has kept the
mixer working at capacity all of the
time.

The man power used at the mixing
end is as follows:

View of Hopper Showing Chute for Loading Mixer Skip.

Tbe Charging. Mixing and Transporting Ends of the Job.

and the paver is charged directly from
the storage bin, which in turn is
loaded by a Little Giant gasoline op-
erated crane and clamshell. The wet
mix is transported by tructractors.
The bin is a Blaw-Knox with adjust-

Little Giant Crane _.

Blaw-Knox Hopper _ „

Koehring Mixer

Koehring Mixer .

Cement men

Utility men _ _

1 operator
1 operator
1 engineer

1 firemaLn

2 men
2 men

Total at mixing end . 8

972

Roads and Streets

Nov.

On the paving end of the job, two
finishers together with four helpers
are employed. Four tructractors and
four drivers deliver the wet mix.
With this outfit the contractor is aver-
aging 900 sq. yd. of 7 in. concrete per
day.

Zoning in the United States

More than 22,000,000 people, com-
prising 40 per cent of the urban pop-
ulation of the United States, live in
183 zoned cities, towns and villages,
according to a statement made public
last week by the Division of Building
and Housing of the U. S. Department
of Commerce.

During the first eight months of
this year 54 municipalities, with more
than 6,500,000 population, have adopt-
ed zoning ordinances. This indicates
the greatest progress in zoning that
has ever been made during a similar
period. More than two-thirds of the
183 zoned municipalities have been
zoned since September, 1921.

Revised figures show that on Jan.
1, 1923, 129 municipalities had adopt-
ed zoning regulations. During the
year 54 more, some large and some
small, located north, south, east and
west, have been added to the list. Of
the 68 cities in the United States with
over 100,000 population, 36 have zon-
ing ordinances in effect. Chicago,
Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Kansas City,
Mo., Seattle, Providence, Columbus,
Worcester, Grand Rapids and Youngs-
town are among the larger cities
which have adopted zoning ordinances
this year. The smallest community to
adopt a zoning ordinance in 1923 had
only 420 inhabitants, according to the
last census. Twenty-one towns and
villages of less than 10,000 inhabitants
adopted zoning regulations in 1923.
Seventeen communities with 10,000 to
50,000 population, and 16 cities with
more than 50,000 population also
zoned during the year.

In the number of places zoned. New
Jersey leads with 51; New York is
second with 30; Illinois, third with 23;
California, fourth with 17; Ohio, fifth
with 13; Massachusetts, sixth with 11;
Wisconsin, seventh with 10; and Mis-
souri, eighth with four. Indiana,
Kansas and Michigan have three each;
Rhode Island and Washington have
two each; and Georgia, Maryland,
Minnesota, Nebraska, North Caro-
lina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas,

Utah and Virginia "have one each.
The District of Columbia also is
zoned.

More new state zoning enabling
legislation has been passed in 1923
than usual, and the standard state
zoning enabling act which was pre-
pared by the Department of Com-
merce, was used to a greater or less
extent in most of the laws. Connecti-
cut, Delaware, Iowa, North Carolina,
North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsyl-
vania and Wyoming passed important
zoning enabling acts, and a number
of other states passed legislation sup-
plementing or amending existing
laws. The State of Wisconsin has
passed an act granting to counties the
power to zone.

The complete list of zone municipal-
ities, as of Sept. 1, 1923, with refer-
ences to the state acts under which
zoning is permitted, may be obtained
from the Division of Building and
Housing of the Department of Com-
merce, Washington, D. C.

42 Ft. Concrete Pavement Laid in

Four Sections

A 42 ft. wide concrete pavement on
Commonwealth Ave., Boston, Mass.,
was constructed in four longitudinal
strips, each 10 ft. 6 in. wide. These
strips were laid in alternate pairs, the
mixer traveling on the subgrade and
placing a strip on either side as it
advanced. When the farther end of
the improvement was reached the
mixer was brought back, and travel-
ing on the surface of one of the strips
already in place, laid the two remain-
ing sections. The total width of the
pavement is 50 ft., this including
granite block futters 4 ft. wide on
each side. The concrete has a uni-
form thickness of 7 in. and is rein-
forced with V2 in. square steel bars,
both longitudinally and laterally. The
bars are placed on about 2 ft. centers
each way and are wired together into
a mat with clips at all intersections.
The concrete was first struck off with
a template resting on the side forms
after which the surface was rolled
with a light metal roller and then
belted with a canvas belt. After
initial hardening had taken place, the
surface was scored with brooms in
order to afford a better grip for traffic
in any sort of weather.

1928 Roads and Streets 973

Intensive Highway Maintenance in North Carolina

Methods Employed by State Highway Commission Described in North
Carolina Highway Bulletin

By W. E. HAWKINS

Maintenance Engineer, North Carolina Highway Commission

For all state highway improvement,
both construction and maintenance,
North Carolina is divided into nine
districts. In each district there is a
district engineer in charge of all high-
way work. Under him is a mainte-
nance engineer, who is in immediate
charge of all maintenance.

State Divided Into Nine Districts. —
The district engineer is responsible
for the maintenance work in each dis-
trict, but there is such control from
the state highway commission and
state highway engineer that certain
uniform standards are maintained,
costs regulated, and a uniformity in
work secured throughout the state as
a whole. Each district is divided into
from two to three divisions, and the
maintenance engineer has as his as-
sistants the supervisors, who are ex-
perienced, practical road men, as-
signed to each division, who travel
within that division, giving instruc-
tions and keeping in touch with the
various patrolmen from time to time.

The state maintenance engineer
travels from district to district mak-
ing inspections with the district engi-
neers and griving suggestions and ad-
vice on methods, practice and stand-
ardization of all maintenance.

Each district engineer is under
bond, and is allowed a sum of money
on deposit to pay all current bills and
payrolls. Weekly vouchers are made
out in the district office for all pay-
ments made, and sent with the ap-
proval of the district engineer to the
headquarters office. The auditor of
the commission scrutinizes and checks
these vouchers very closely, and upon
approval, a check is sent to the dis-
trict engineer reimbursing him for
the amount of the voucher.

As promptly as possible after the
various sections of the state system
have been established by the commis-
sion, each district engineer was noti-
fied accordingly and given instruc-
tions to start intensive maintenance
improvements at once.

Start of Patrol and Gang Systems.
— Plans were made to inaugurate the
patrol and gang system of mainte-

nance. The local situation of each
road was considered, and sections laid
out from 15 to 20 miles in length,
which were placed under the super-
vision of a patrolman. Considerable
difficulty was experienced at first in
obtaining sufficient and satisfactory
equipment to carry on the work.

The large number of trucks and
tractors, which had been obtained
from the U. S. Government as war
surplus material, had been rented to
the counties during the years 1919
and 1920, to assist in the maintenance
under the old county system. When
these trucks were returned to the
state in the early part of 1921, most
of them were found to be absolutely
useless. General overhauling and re-
pairs had to be made before any truck
was in condition for use. Various
kinds of machinery had to be ordered,
such as heavy road machines with
scarifier attachments, smaller type
road machines for light work, drags,
and many small tools and other simi-
lar equipment.

Considerable trouble was experi-
enced at first in getting sufficient ma-
chinery and tools to equip each patrol-
man. In the course of time each
patrol was equipped with a motor
truck of from 3^ to 5 tons capacity,
a 2-way drag, and necessary small
tools. A Light road machine was al-
lotted to each two patrolmen.

Organization of Floating Gangs. —

Floating gangs in each district were
organized for grading and bridge re-
pairs. The grading gang consisted of
a foreman, laborers and a cook. They
were equipped with a large tractor, a
heavy road machine with scarifier at-
tachment, and portable shanty houses.
This outfit traversed one complete
district at a time, shaping and put-
ting into condition many miles of nar-
row unimproved earth roads of top-
soil and various other types which
had been taken over for maintenance
in each district. The bridge floating
gang consisted of a foreman, laborers,
a cook, and portable shanty houses.
The organization of this gang was
made necessary because of the deplor-

974

Roads and Streets

Nov.

able condition of the bridges found in
each district. Timber bridges were
repaired, widened, reconstructed, and
in a number of cases an entirely new
bridge was built. Many steel bridges
had to be scraped, painted, refloored,
and reconstructed throughout. A re-
pair shop crew was organized in each
district so that immediate minor re-
pairs could be made to the motor
trucks and cars in case of emergency.

Putting the Roads in Shape for
Maintenance. — When a system of
roads is accepted for maintenance
such as those in North Carolina, an
intensive maintenance plan is the only
solution for immediate service to
traffic. The unimproved dirt roads
were widened and reshaped, the sur-
face and side ditches reconstructed by
the roadway floating rangs, and over-
hanging timber and brush cut. The
top-soil, sand-clay, and gravel roads
were rebuilt by scarifying the sur-
face, hauling and adding new material
and reshaped by the roadway floating
outfit or with the patrol truck and
light road machine. On other types
such as concrete, asphaltic concrete,
penetration macadam and other hard-
surface pavements, the surfaces were
repaired, shoulders rebuilt, curves
widened, side ditches cleaned, and
guard rails erected and painted.

After six months of intensive work,
approximately 5,000 miles of the state
system were being maintained in such
a manner that the state highway com-
mission was receiving commendation
from all sections of the state. The
state-wide patrol organization was so
well planned that after each and every
rain the patrolmen have dragged and
put in shape approximately 4,000
miles of top-soil, sand-clay and gravel
roads.

In accordance with the provisions of
the state road law, the state system
has been distinctly marked with route
signs, as well as distance and warning
signs. Standard signs, such as route
markers, and those donating distance,
county line, danger curve, cross-roads,
railroad grade crossing, school zone,
drawbridge over large rivers, and dis-
trict line signs are in use over the
entire state. In addition, patrol sec-
tion signs have been erected on the
entire system.

Maintenance and Construction in
Co-Operation. — The maintenance and
construction work in each district are
in thorough co-operation. It is there-
fore possible to anticipate the start-

ing of construction work on a project.
When necessary the road is closed to
traffic, and immediate attention is
given to the detour road, making re-
pairs and placing it in conditon for
travel at all seasons of the year. The
detour roads are constantly main-
tained during the construction period,
and a standard series of signs erected
adequately directing traffic from one
end of the detour to the other.

A map of the state has been issued
with route numbers designated, and
the entire state system has been
marked in a manner that is easily
discerned by the traveling public.

There are registered in the state
more than 182,500 motor vehicles
traveling an aggregate mileage within
the state of not less than nine hun-
dred million miles per year. This
represents a tremendous investment,
the utilization of which depends en-
tirely on the development of the roads
over which they travel. Consideration
of this and the realization of the
necessity for the state-wide mainte-
nance throughout the state led to the
organization of what we believe is a
highly efficient system of mainte-
nance, and one which has brought
wonderful results in the short time
that it has been in operation.

1,000 Men Maintain 5,500 Miles of
Road. — At the present time there are
about 1,000 men engaged in the up-
keep of the state system. These men
are responsible for the condition of
over 5,500 miles of road on which
they are working daily. The ma-
chinery and equipment in use and the
mileage of roads, including detours,
at present maintained in the state are
as follows:

Trucks, 437; tractors, 37; road ma-
chines, 197; drags, 327; miles main-
tained, 5,577.

The result of the maintenance im-
provements in the past 18 months has
made a strong impression upon the
people of North Carolina, and has
been favorably commented upon by
many people from other states, and
from foreign countries as well.

It has been demonstrated by North
Carolina assuming control of a large
mileage of highways for improve-
ment, and by the establishment of im-
mediate intensive maintenance on
these highways that the public at once
realizes something is being done. The
adoption of the combination patrol
and gang system of maintenance, em-
ploying motor trucks and tractors for

1923

Roads and Streets

975

all operations demonstrated to each
and every section of the state that
results were being accomplished every
day. The same standard of work and
uniformity of practice was maintained
throughout the entire state, and com-
bined with the tremendous extent of
the operations, gave immediate and
better service to traffic and satisfied
an impatient and jealous public who
did not expect to see the results real-
ized in so short a time.

Causes of Waves in Asphalt
Pavements

Report Presented at International Road
Congress, Seville, Spain

By PREVOST HUBBARD,

Chemical Engineer, The Asphalt Association

Waviness is not an inherent char-
acteristic of asphalt pavements as
evidenced by millions of square yards
of satisfactory surfaces varying from
1 to 40 years or more in age and sub-
jected to all conceivable conditions of
exposure and traffic. The formation
of waves, particularly in pavements
of the fine aggregate type does, how-
ever, occur to a suffifficient extent to
warrant a thorough investigation of
the subject with the idea of securing
data which will enable highway engi-
neers to prevent such defects in fu-
ture construction. Such an investiga-
tion has recently been undertaken by
the U. S. Bureau of Public Roads in
co-operation with the Asphalt Asso-
ciation and the cities of New York,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington
and Detroit.

Traffic is, of course, the most direct
cause of wave formation, the thrust
of vehicle wheels tending to re-ar-
range the mineral particles of the
paving mixture from the surface
down. Under certain conditions the
mixture is therefore shoved into
humps or waves, usually at a right
angle to the direction of traffic, al-
though at cun^es and intersections,
waves due to the side thrust of
vehicles are sometimes noted. When
the pavement is sufficiently wide to
allow two well defined lines of traffic,
transverse waves are most prevalent
near the gutter where most of the
horse drawn and other slow moving
vehicles travel. Even on compara-
tively narrow pavements waves sel-
dom extend entirely across the sur-

face. While it is probably true that
the impact of fast-moving traffic ac-
celerates wave formation, once
started, or may be directly responsible
where irregularities in contour first
existed, slow-moving heavily loaded
vehicles are believed to be the pre-
dominating cause.

There are a number of conditions
which tend to promote wave forma-
tion which are being given careful
consideratoin in the government in-
vestigation. These are as follows:

Foundation Faults. — Lack of sup-
port from below causing local settle-
ment of the foundation.

Uneven contour in foundation caus-
ing variable thickness of asphalt pav-
ing mixture and consequent differ-
ences in compression.

Very smooth foundation which may
promote slipping of the asphalt pav-
ing mixture over its surface.

Inferior Paving Mixture. — Use of

too soft an asphalt cement for the
climate, traffic, or the grading of the
mineral aggregate.

Use of too much asphalt cement in
the paving mixture.

Poor grading of mineral aggregate,
which creates instability of the pav-
ing mixture irrespective of the con-
sistency and percentage of asphalt
cement with which it is mixed.

Use of an excess of rounded par-
ticles of mineral aggregate in the pav-
ing mixture.

Construction Faults. — Uneven con-
tour due to faulty spreading, raking
or rolling of the paving mixture dur-
ing construction or lack of uniformity
in the composition of the paving mix-
ture.

Lack of proper initial compression
during construction, which may be
due to use of too light a roller, too
little rolling, to the mixture being too
cold when rolled, or too great thick-
ness of course for a single rolling
operation.

Faulty repairs to service openings.

Exterior Causes. — Absorption of an
excess of oil or gasoline drippings,
causing undue softening of the as-
phalt cement.

Gas leaks from mains below the
pavement structure, causing undue
softening of the asphalt cement.

976

Roads and Streets

The Municipal Traffic Problem

Nov.

Suggestions for Relieving Street Congestion Given in Address Sept.
21 at Convention of Motor and Accessory Manufac-
turers' Association

By H. W. SLAUSON,

Engineering Service Manager, Kelly-Springfield Tii-e Co.

I believe there is one practical sug-
gestion which should be adopted by
every city in which street congestion
is serious. This relates to the traffic
confusion which is so greatly aggra-
vated by the trolley, which not only
controls the speed of travel on its own
track but which may also bring sev-
complete halt every time it stops to
take on or discharge passengers — and
during the rush hours when automo-
bile congestion is greatest, this trolley
interference is at its maximum effect-
iveness.

Most of us longer agree with the
radicals that the trolley should be leg-
islated out of existence. Heretofore
it has represented a legitimate in-
vestment. It pays, when it is able, a
high franchise and tax rate and is fre-
quently compelled to keep the pave-
ment between its rails, and for a cer-
tain distance on either side, in bet-
ter condition than the city maintains
its own streets. Furthermore, after a
severe snow storm it is frequently
only the trolley right-of-way which
has been plowed, swept and made pas-
sable for other vehicles.

Traffic Controlled by Trolley.— But,
where the trolley should have the
privilege of controlling only a single
line of traffic, in reality, as has al-
ready been pointed out, it controls
every line of traffic between its rails
and the curb and will continue to do
so as long as every street corner be-
comes a station for the arrival and
departure of passengers.

To lay the rails at the side of the
street close to the curb would greatly
lessen the congestion of moving traf-
fic, but is impractical because no mo-
tor cars could be parked at the curb.
The elimination of the rails by the
substitution of rubber-tired trolley
buses with flexible connections with
the overhead power wires has been
tried successfully. But, in many in-
stances, these rails must be used for
long distance and suburban traffic, and
at any rate, the tracks, conduits and
third rails represent an investment
which many trolley companies will not

willingly throw away. Therefore, in-
asmuch as it is the frequent stops
of the trolley which add so greatly to
traffic congestion, let us reduce the
number of these stops as much as pos-
sible.

Short Haul Traffic by Trolley
Busses. — Trolley transportation
should prove a supplement to, rather
than a detriment of, street traffic.
Why could not existing trolley com-
panies use their rail equipment for
long distance hauling with no inter-
mediate stops to take on or discharge
passengers? The short haul traffic
could be handled by means of sup-
plementary motor buses owned by the
trolley company and operated either
by gasoline engines, storage batteries
or flexible connections with the over-
head trolley wires. Such buses could
stop at the street corners as easily
as a private automobile and could
carry all of the local traffic with ar-
rangements for transfers at points
one or two miles apart at which the
rail-bound trolley cars could stop.

The rail-bound trolley, with its infre-
quent stops, could then travel as fast
as its own line of traffic would permit.
Under this arrangements passengers
could be carried more quickly either
by the short haul bus or the express
trolley, than is possible under present
conditions of traffic. It may be ar-
gued that the increased number of
buses would so add to highway con-
gestion as to neutralize their benefit,
but they could replace almost an equal
number of trolley cars now used for
the short haul traffic, and because of
their ability to pull directly up to the
curb to receive and discharge short
haul passengers, and to weave in and
out of traffic without restriction to
rail, I am very positive that the car-
rying capacity of our streets could
be materially increased.

The Accommodation of Stationary
Traffic. — But traffic cannot keep mov-
ing continuously; cars are on the
street because they have some definite
destination in view and this brings us
to the most serious of our municipal

1923

Roads and Streets

977

problems — stationary traffic. If we
adhered to the letter of the non-park-
ing restrictions, the 10-minute parking
limit signs and the admonitions of
some of our city court justices, we
could not even stop our car for lunch.

It is not the province of this dis-
cussion to describe the various means
employed in many of our cities by
which parking space may be secured.
Diagonal parking, parking in the cen-
ter of the street, parking with wheels
directly against the curb, and side
parking are methods entirely depend-
ent upon local conditions.

Some cities are setting aside public
squares and parks for the accommo-
dation of stationary traffic. In other
cities, large department stores main-
tain a free garage for their patrons
with a service which includes bring-
ing the car to the door when the cus-
tomer is again ready for it.

But these attempts to improve con-
ditions can be but temporary make-
shifts of a situation which is inher-
ently and basically wrong. Ten years
ago we were all talking of the satura-
tion point and of the continued ability
of the country to absorb new automo-
biles, and we little dreamed that the
real saturation point was the ability
of our streets to accommodate the
cars already in use.

I am not a close student of traffic
conditions and I have no statistics
other than those based on daily ob-
ser\-ation, but I ask you if it will not
be absolutely impossible to accommo-
date on two dimension roadways, oc-
cupants of cities who are continually
living in three dimensions, for our
cities are no longer planes, they are
cubes; the third dimension is used by
every architect, building contractor
and real estate man who wants to add
to the value of his property through
its ability to accommodate more
human beings.

Traffic Density. — Just think what it
means, for example, when a 20-story
office building or apartment house is
erected on a certain site. Such a
building may well occupy an entire
block and may easily replace 30 or
40 houses, each of which accommo-
dates one or two families. If each
family owned a car and if each enter-
tained a guest simultaneously who
also came in a car, there would still
be room at the curb for the maximum
number of 75 or 100 cars involved.
Now when these houses are demol-

ished and we add the third dimension
to this block in the form of the 20-
story apartment house, we may find
200 or 300 families occupying the
ground space which formerly accom-
modated 30 or 40 families, but under
modem conditions of construction and
planning, the car parking space has
not been increased and there is still
no more room at the curb for the cars
of tenants and friends than was the
case when three-story single dwell-
ings occupied this block.

What is one of the first items that
the architect considers when design-
ing his buildings? He calculates the
total area of floor space, estimates the
number of persons who will be accom-
modated on each floor and then allots
space for an adequate number of ele-
vator shafts to take care of the ver-
tical traffic. No well-designed and
well-managed building will permit of
undue elevator congestion even during
rush hours, and in consequence far
better provisions are made for this
third dimension traffic than are avail-
able for the tenant of that building
whenever he desires to travel in a
horizontal direction. Such a tenant,
after having been whisked rapidly
down to the ground floor, may find
that his wife, his chauffeur, or who-
ever else may be driving his car down
for him, have been unable to find
any parking space near the building
and has been forced to drive around
the block continuously. This "merry-
go-round" parking is becoming the
only solution of the problem in certain
sections of our cities.

Here again, we are confronted with
the absolute necessity of adding the
third dimension to our parking spaces
as well as to our highways. We have
added the third dimension to our rail-
controlled city traffic in the form of
elevated structures and subways, but
we have as yet found no satisfactory
solution other than vague plans, to
the problem of securing the third
dimension for motor driven traffic,
and this traffic relief is vitally needed
and must therefore be susceptible of
immediate application to existing con-
ditions. It is all very well to plan
for the ideal city of 100 years from
now, but the problem is not one for
our children or future generations to
solve, it is one for us here and now.
Problem of the Stationary Car. — I
firmly believe that the problem of the
stationary car is far more serious
than that of the moving vehicle. The

978

Roads and Streets

Nov.

seriousness of the situation lies not
so much in present conditions as in
the fact that we are doing nothing
to prevent a very serious aggravation
of these conditions within the next
two or three years. Possibly a rem-
edy must be brought about by legis-
lation. It is true that there are al-
ready too many laws, "but legislation
which will insure adequate parking
space for the cars of the future is far
better than legislation which will pre-
vent the efficient and effective use of
the cars already in operation.

The automobile is too effective a
tool to have its efficienty curtailed in
the slightest by half-baked ideas such
as have already been proposed, and
which have as their object a reduction
in the number of cars which shall use
the streets and a restriction of the
areas in which they may be kept. You
cannot legislate crowds and lawful
pedestrians off the sidewalks and it
would be equally ludicrous or impos-
sible to prevent highway congestion
by saying that cars or trucks belong-
ing to certain individuals shall not be
used except, possibly, under given
conditions, such as certain hours of
the day or certain days of the week.

We must get at the fundamentals
and so arrange and design our cities
that, as to accommodate stationary
and moving traffic will grow in the
necessary proportion. Therefore, the
blame for traffic congestion in reality
lies with those who are responsible
for population congestion and to them
we should look for the remedy.

Examine the surrounding street of
any large apartment house or office
building. We find that such a build-
ing, while of course not gasping for
air, is literally gasping for parking
space. It has reached out its tenacles
in all directions and has pounced on
every street radiating from it as a
center in order to furnish parking
space for the cars of its tenants and
customers. Nearby private houses
which may boast of but one automo-
bile, have their entrances blocked by
the cars of those doing business in
that building. A nearby public ga-
rage is hardly the answer to the prob-
lem, for this in itself would occupy
valuable ground area and would not
be used by those who came to work
early enough to find sufficent parking
space near the entrance to their build-
ing.

Parking Space in Large Buildings.

— My proposal is merely that, as
every modern building is required to
devote a certain proportion of its area
to elevator and fire escape require-
ments, so in the large buildings of the
future we should require that they
furnish adequate parking space within
themselves. This will employ the
third dimension — which is the cause
of traffic congestion — as a means
of relieving that very conges-
tion. This is not so difficult as it
might sound, for one sub-cellar or
lower floor of the building which may
be connected with the street by ramps,
could be made to furnish automobile
storage space equal to at least 5 per
cent of the available rental area of a
20-story building. This would, of
course, reduce the rental return of
the building by 5 per cent, but if de-
partment stores have found it advan-
tageous to rent or construct free gar-
ages for the benefit of their patrons,
the owner of an office building or
apartment house would find it equally
"good business."

But we are not considering good
business from the aspect of the real
estate man. Zoning laws of our cities
which have regulated the height of
our buildings in order to preserve the
architectural beauty and give ade-
quate light to the streets below, have
also served to reduce the total gross
receipts which may be obtained from
a building occupying a certain plot of
ground. On the other hand, the bene-
fits to the tenants of the entire neigh-
borhood has been such that net reve-
nues have not been decreased and
landlord and tenant alike have been
benefited.

Third Dimension Parking. — We car-
ry out the same principal of the of
third dimension parking in our sub-
urban homes where many garages are
built of fireproof construction directly
in the house, as a part of the cellar.
Apply this same idea to an office
building, making the storage space
formed available upon payment of a
small fee to every tenant who has oc-
casion to leave his car in this vicinity
for more than, say, 30 minutes, and,
you will find an automatic solution,
of the parking congestion problem
which will keep pace with the growth
of the city. The curb space will then
be left free for the cars of clients,
custortiers and others having occasion
to leave their vehicles for only a short
time.

1923

Roads and Streets

979

Dirt Road Maintenance
Mountainous District

Methods Used on State Highways in

Sierra Nevada Mountains, California,

Described in Pacific Engineer

By R. E. PIERCE

Assistant Engineer, Division III, California
State Highway Commission

The state highways which cross the
Sierras reach elevations ranging from
about 7,000 ft. above sea level to
nearly 10,000 ft., the lowest pass be-
ing the northern or Aubura-Truckee
summit and the highest being the
Tioga or southern pass. Ranging in
elevation between these comes in
order from north to south: Myers
Summit, Carson Pass, Ebbetts Pass
and Sonora Pass.

Unusual Conditions of Mountain
Road Maintenance. — The maintenance
of these mountain roads is subject to
unusual conditions. During the winter
heavy snow fall is characteristic of
this region; as much as 30 ft. on the
level has been measured and over 100
ft. has been known to fall in a single
i season. On the lower slopes ex-
tremely heavy rains fall. On the
higher parts of the mountains, the
snow lies all winter and combined
with the rain on the lower reaches
makes these roads closed to travel on
the average from about the first of
November until the first of June. This
varies considerably, depending on the
season and the location; the higher
summits being closed for a longer
period. This entails a heavy concen-
tration of maintenance work during
the summer months. The crews start
work on the roads as soon as they are
sufficiently dry in the lower stretches
to grade and follow up below the
melting snow as closely as possible in
order to get the benefit of the mois-
ture in the soil.

Grading, Dragging and Sprinkling.

— The principal use of the grader is
to open up the ditches, and crown the
road, and where soil conditions are
favorable in places where ^videning is
needed, an effort is made each season
to cut farther into the bank to widen
the roads as the grading proceeds.
The grading is followed by dragging
and if the first grading is properly
done, frequent dragging should suf-
fice to hold the road in good shape
under normal conditions. Where the

road consists of nothing but the nat-
ural soil, in the dry air of this region,
it generally becomes very dusty early
in the summer and cuts up under
travel. Where travel is heavy and
soil conditions bad, a considerable
amount of sprinkling is done with
beneficial results. The effects ob-
tained depend on the character of the
soil, one having a large percentage of
clay naturally holds, while a sandy
soil without binder has little clinging
quality during dry weather. In wet
weather the conditions are reversed.
Dragging in connection with sprin-
kling is a help in preventing "pot
holes" and corrugated or "wsish
board" effects.

Over some of our mountain roads
where a suitable surfacing material
was available, some stretches have
had a top dressing of gravel, disin-
tegrated rock or crushed rock. This
generally has had the effect of reduc-
ing the maintenance and has pre-
vented the dust nuisance without hav-
ing recourse to frequent sprinkling.
Granite sand has proven unsatisfac-
tory to make a good summer road; a
number of stretches on a heavily
traveled road have been treated suc-
cessfully with a light asphaltic oil ap-
plied hot, after the road had been
shaped up.

Clearing Up After Winter Storms.

— When the crews first start the early
spring work, it is necessary to go
ahead of the grading, clearing trees,
rocks, etc., which the winter storms
have left on the road. This is some-
times a serious task; on the Big Trees
road alone, in the spring following
the severe wind storm of Thanksgiv-
ing, 1919, over 100 trees had to be
removed from this road.

Where the roads run through tim-
ber, it is necessary to first run the
grader lightly over the road to re-
move the leaves and pine needles
which cover it, in order that they will
not "ball up" is the dirt during grad-
ing operations.

Where the soil is rocky, consider-
able raking is necessary following the
grading to get the rock off the road.
Another continual expense to the
state each year is clearing the roads
of rocks thrown down by the numer-
ous bands of sheep and herds of cattle
traveling movmtain roads to and from
summer pasturages.

In relocating these roads it is to be

980

Roads and Streets

Nov.

hoped that where the old roads are
abandoned for public travel, that it
will be possible to persuacK^ the stock
owners to use these for their stock in
crossing the mountains.

Drainage Provisions. — Usually near
the first of October, the maintenance
crews give a final grading and an
especial effort is made to provide as
amply as possible to handle the drain-
age. This is very important on the
steep grades which prevail, as the
snow melts off rapidly and has the
unfortunate habit of clogging up
ditches and drains and causing the
water to run down the middle of the
road, doing more or less damage.
When the highway commission first
took over the mountain work very lit-
tle provision had been made for drain-
age on most of the roads, but this
defect is being remedied as fast as
funds will permit. In the meantime,
owing to lack of culverts, it has been
necessary to provide water breaks
across the roads on steep grades at
frequent intervals in order to turn the
water. These breaks should be placed
in the fall as the crews leave and are
of course objectionable to anyone
traveling the roads. A man who had
occasion to cross the mountains in an
automobile after the water breaks
were placed had a letter printed in a
San Francisco paper, stating that he
would like to use a wrench on the
head of the person who placed them.
Lack of understanding of the condi-
tions alone could excuse such a letter.
On the lower portions of the mountain
roads where the snow fall is light,
culverts properly placed make it un-
necessary to place such contrivances.
However, where the snow fall is
heavy and remains on the ground for
months it is still necessary to place
some water breaks in the critical
places, and it will probably be impos-
sible to abandon this temporary de-
vice unless the roads are paved.

Early Opening of Roads in Spring.
— In the spring on some of the
heaviest traveled roads, an effort is
made to force the opening of the
roads early through the snow by
sprinkling the snow with sand or dark
soil. This holds the sun's heat and
very materially hastens the melting
of the snow. In connection with this
plan tractors are run over the snow
and trucks have been towed through
behind the tractor, for if a track is
once cut through to the ground, the
melting of the snow is hastened.

The greater portion of these moun-
tain roads have never been laid out
by modern engineering methods, and
consequently there is much room for
improvement. Each season some im-
provements in line or grade or both
are made which require no especially
expensive work; this is where the
good "horse sense" of the road super-
intendent comes to the front and it is
gratifying to see what an excellent
line and grade can be run by "eye" by
some of the "old timers."

The superintendent in charge of the
maintenance of the mountain roads
should be men of good judgment, able
to lay out work from past experience
and be ready to rush grading and
dragg:ing at critical times such as late
spring or early fall rains. Each sea-
son should show work of a permanent
nature which will mean a better main-
tained road each succeeding year.

Planks on Sub-Grade Speed Up

Paving

In constructing a concrete pavement
on the Laurinburg-Maxton Road in
Scotland County, North Carolina, op-
erations were speeded up by plank
runways laid on the subgrade, ac-
cording to an article by P. A. Jenks,
Resident Engineer, in the North Caro-
lina Highway Bulletin. After the fine
grading had been completed, the sub-
grade was rolled, forms set, and
usually kept about 200 ft. ahead of
the mixer. After the forms were set
the sub-grade was moistened and
rolled again. On account of the sandy
condition of the soil, and material
wagons cutting up the prepared sub-
grade, enough planks were laid ahead
of the mixer to care for a day's run.

At first the contractors thought
these planks would be of no great ad-
vantage, but since have found them
to be of economical value, in so much
that a saving of time has been ef-
fected by their use, and the small ex
pense necessary to lay these planks,
balanced by keeping the mixer in op-J
eration longer, wear and tear on th
carts, and temper of men and mulesj
The drivers made better time in arriv
ing, depositing and getting away from
the skip, and a large expense was also
saved in re-preparation of sub-grade
before depositing the concrete.

1923

Roads and Streets

981

Regulation of Traffic in City
of 100,000

Methods Employed at Grand Rapids,
Mich., Described in City Man-
ager Magazine

By FRED H. LOCKE,

City Manager. Grand Rapids, Mich.

We have endeavored to keep abreast
of the ever increasing traffic problem
by the most improved methods ob-

rapidly and with greater safety than
any method we have as yet been able
to devise. Very few accidents are re-
ported at these intersections, most of
the intersection accidents occurring
where ther^ is less regulation.

In addition to "Through Traffic
Streets," we have designated quite a
number of dangerous crossings as
"Stop Comers." This has been done
in cases where there is considerable
traffic each way at the intersection
and where neither street justified

5f«li

J^jKS&tKM

• .. m

■

—^ -^

Wk ^

An EffectiTe Warning in the Line of tlie Driver's Vision.

tained from our own and other cities'
experience.

The city has set aside six main
arteries out of the business portion
of our city known as "Through Traf-
fic Streets." By this is meant that

through traffic designation. By re-
quiring traffic to stop before crossing
or entering these dangerous intersec-
tions we have eliminated a great many
accidents and have materially in-
creased the movement of traffic.

An Intersection Diagram Used for Traffic Regulation in Grand Rapids.

traffic on these streets has the right
of way over traffic on intersecting
streets. All traffic desiring to cross
or enter these streets is required to
stop before so doing. By the use of
this method, we are able to expedite
the movement of traffic in and out of
the business portion of the city more

We have just installed an automatic
signal system on our main thorough-
fare by suspending signal lights over
the center of each intersection and be-
ing controlled from one central auto-
matic and manual switch. The pur-
pose of this system is to speed up
traffic by opening up this street for a

982

Roads and Streets

Nov.

distance of ten blocks simultaneously
and permitting the flow of cross traf-
fic at alternate periods.

I realize that every city manager
has the traffic problem confronting
him and each individual (jity has its
own peculiar situation that must be
solved as conditions may warrant.

Cities with narrow streets and with
no parallel streets to aid in carrying
the traffic have a more difficult task
in caring for this problem than the
city with parallel and wide streets
where traffic regulation can be han-
dled to a better advantage.

In the congested portion of the city,
we have limited parking zones, limit-
ing parking on car line streets to
one-half hour and on other streets to
one hour, and we are contemplating
another zone outside the present one
hour parking zone limiting parking to
two hours.

We have proven to our satisfaction
that the use of paint on the street
surface for guiding traffic aids very
materially in avoiding accidents
caused by the cutting of corners by
vehicles.

Annual Meeting of Advisory

Board on Highway Research

The third annual meeting of the
Advisory Board on Highway Research
of the National Research Council will
be held at the headquarters of the
Council in Washington, D. C, on Nov.
8 and 9, 1923. The program calls
for the following reports and ad-
dresses.

Report of T. K. Hatt, Director.

Report of Committee No. 1, Eco-
nomic Theory of Highway Improve-
ment. Chairman, Professor T. R.
Agg, State College of Iowa.

This report will include a state-
ment of the status of research upon
economic theory of grades, rolling re-
sistance, air resistance, tire wear and
operating costs, with suggestions for
future work.

Report of Committee No. 2, Struc-
tural Design of Roads. Chairman, A.
T. Goldbeck, U. S, Bureau of Roads.

This report will include a summary
of the findings of the Bates Road
Test, the Pittsburgh Road Test, and
the Bureau of Public Roads experi-
ments, as a basis for a plan of future
researches. The new project for re-
search upon the relation between the

traffic unit and the design of slab will
be discussed as a basis for the inspec-
tion of the project now under way at
Arlington. The research data on fa-
tigue of concrete will be evaluated.

Report of Committee No. 3, Char-
acter and Use of Road Materials.
Chairman, H. S. Mattimore (Pennsyl-
vania Highway Commission).

The report of committee No. 3 will
include a review of the data upon the
relation between strength of cores and
moulded specimens; the significance
of the Talbot-Jones rattler; the de-
termination of the amount of cement
in hardened concrete; methods of test
to avoid defects in concrete roads;
significance of modulus of rupture and
of absorption of concrete; the design
of bituminous mixes; all for the pur-
pose of determining need for future
research.

Address: Objectives of Highway
Research — Thos. H. MacDonald,
Chief, U. S. Bureau of Public Roads.

Highway Research Work of Amer-
ican Association of Land Grant Col-
leges— Dean Anson Marston, Iowa
State College.

Report of Committee No. 6, High-
way Finance. Chairman, Dr. J. G.
McKay, U. S. Bureau of Roads.

The report of Committee No. 6 will
include a study .of the effect of high-
way improvenet on land values in
four Wisconsin counties, and describe
research work on highway finance
now under way in several states.

Research Program of North Caro-
lina Highway Commission — Chas. M.
Upham, State Highway Engineer of
North Carolina.

Report of Committee No. 4, High-
way Traffic Analysis. Chairman, Geo.
E. Hamlin, Connecticut Highway
Commission.

This report will include a discussion
of the value of traffic surveys in de-*
termining the allocation of construc-
tion and maintenance funds in the de-
velopment of a state highway system,
and a description of the organization
of such surveys with an estimate of
the cost.

Report of Committee No. 7, Main-
tenance. Chairman, W. H. Root
(Iowa Highway Commission).

The report of Committee No. 7 will
include a discussion of research upon
the use of gravel mulch, upon corru- '
gation in gravel roads, and other top- j
ics of interest. j

1923 Roads and Streets

Schedule of Fees for Canadian Engineers

983

Schedule of Minimum Charges for Members of Engineering Institute

of Canada in Private Practice, or Acting as Arbitrators or

Elxperts in Court

The Committee on Classification
and Remuneration of the Engineer-
ing Institute of Canada has recently
made its report on fees for special
work, particularly that of a consult-
ing engineering nature. The report
was accepted by the Council on behalf
of the Institute as a guide for mini-
mum charges to apply in the absence
of a definite agreement, strong rec-
ommendation, however, being made
that engineers in practice should make
specific arrangement in every case.
The report which is printed in the
October Journal of the Institute, fol-
lows.

The following schedule shall apply
in absence of any specific written
agreement between the professional
engineer and his client.

Ordinary Consultations. — For con-
sultations which do not necessitate a
written report, the charge to the client
shall be established in accordance with
the time spent. The basis shall be a
professional day of six hours remu-
nerated at the rate of $50. Charges
for fraction of a day shall be made as
follows, namely, $30 for one-half of a
day, and for shorter time §15 for the
first hour or fraction of an hour, de-
pending on the importance of the con-
sultation.

Written Reports, Valuations, Arbi-
trations and Expert Testimony. — For
investigations or study of a project
with preliminary report based on re-
connaissance only and not involving de-
tailed surveys and preliminary plans,
or for investigations or study of a
report, prepared by another engineer
accompanied by a report on the sub-
ject, for study and report on ques-
tions in litigations for work as val-
uator or as arbitrator, or for prepa-
rations and depositions before a court
of justice or a board of arbitration, or
for attendance or evidence in Court
during an inquiry, the engineer's fees
shall be S50 per day. The client will
pay besides the above, all out-of-
pocket expenses incurred by the engi-
neer in connection with the work, and
shall also pay for all salaries paid
for by the engineer to his assistants
together with an additional sum equiv-
alent to 100 per cent of the said sal-

aries to cover office and overhead ex-
penses. The client shall deposit with
the engineer before the commencement
of the investigations an amoimt equal
to the estimated out-of-pocket ex-
penses thereon.

Written Reports with Preliminary
Plans and Estimates of Cost Prepara-
tory to the Preparation of Construc-
tion Plans and Specifications. — For
the preparation of a written report on
a project with surveys, investigations,
studies and conferences, and including
preliminary plans and estimates of
cost, the engineer's fee shall be based
upon a percentage of the estimated
cost of the project as follows : Where
the estimated cost is $50,000 or less,
2 per cent, and not less than $100;
over $50,000 and not over $100,000,
1% per cent; over $100,000 but not
over $500,000, iVz per cent; over $500,-
000 but not over $1,000,000, 1% per
cent; over $1,000,000, 1 per cent.

In addition to the above fees the
client shall pay all out-of-pocket ex-
penses incurred by the engineer in
connection with the work, and shall
also pay for all salaries paid by the
engineer to his assistant together with
an additional sum equivalent to 100
per cent of the said salaries to cover
office and overhead expenses, the client
shall deposit with the engineer before
the commencement of the investiga-
tion an amount equal to the estimated
out-of-pocket expenses thereon, and
pay to the engineer further sums
from time to time as he may request
to cover the salaries of assistants ac-
tually employed in connection with the
project.

Preparation of Construction Plans
and Specifications and Supervision of
Work and Acceptance of Complete
Work. — For the preparation of con-
struction plans and specifications, ad-
vising on the award of construction
contracts, for the supervision of con-
struction, for the testing and accept-
ance of machinery or construction
works, the remuneration shall be pro-
portionate to the cost of the under-
taking. Fees shall be in the first
place based upon the estimate cost of
the project, and in case of works pro-
ceed to construction the actual fees

984

Roads and Streets

Nov.

shall be in accordance with the total
cost of the undertaking. The follow-
ing percentages shall represent the
fees of a professional engineer and
shall include remuneration for service
of his office and overhead expenses: —

Preparation of Construction Plans
and Specifications. — For the prepara-
tion of construction drawings and
specifications necessary for the receipt
of tenders, the fees of the engineer
shall be 3 per cent of the cost of the
works, provided the estimate is for an
undertaking of $50,000 or less, with a
minimum remuneration of $300 for
enterprises of a cost of $10,000 or less.
The undertaking to cost over $60,000
and less than one million dollars, the
fee shall be 2^ per cent of the cost,
and for all expenditure over one mil-
lion dollars, the fee shall be 2% per
cent on the first million dollars and 2
per cent for all expenditure in excess
of one million dollars.

Supervision of Construction. Test-
ing and Acceptance of Construction
Work and Machinery. — Partial Super-
vision.— Partial supervision compris-
ing consultation at the engineer's of-
fice and occasional visits to the works
during the normal duration of con-
struction shall be remunerated at the
rate of 3 per cent to 2 per cent of the
cost of the undertaking, depending
on the importance of the works. The
remuneration of the engineer shall be
3 per cent of the cost of the works,
provided the estimate is for an under-
taking of $50,000 or less, with a mini-
mum remuneration of $300 for enter-
prises of a cost of $10,000 or less.
For undertakings to cost over $50,000
and less than $500,000, the fees of
the engineer shall be 2^ per cent of
the cost, and for all expenditure of
over $500,000 the fee shall be 2 per
cent of the cost.

Complete Supervision. — Complete
supervision, comprising consulta-
tions at the engineer's office, visits
to the works, and in addition, the nec-
essary representative of the engineer
on the works, the testing of supplies
and machinery and the acceptance of
machinery or works, shall be remuner-
ated at the rate of 7 per cent to 3%
per cent of the cost of the works, de-
pending upon the importance of same.
A remuneration of 3^ per cent shall
apply to undertakings of more than
one million dollars, 4 per cent for
works costing between $500,000 and

$1,000,000, 5 per cent for works cost-
ing between $200^000 and $500,000, 6
per cent for works costing between
$50,000 and $200,000, and 7 per cent
for works costing $50,000 or less. The
minimum of remuneration for com-
plete supervision shall be $700 for
works of $10,000 or less.

General Conditions. — A day's work
of a professional engineer shall be
computed as six hours. Nevertheless,
when an engineer is obliged to go out
of the city where his office is situated,
his fees, when working on the per
diem basis, shall be computed for each
calendar day at the rate fixed, and
each 24 hours or fraction thereof shall
be considered as a whole day without
taking into consideration the time ac-
tually spent on the work each day.

The fees of a professional engineer
in case of questions in litigation are
not contingent on the decisions of the
court of justice, and shall be settled
by the client immediately after the
enquete.

For reports, studies, plans and
specifications, the client shall pay one-
half of the fees of the engineer at the
time the engineer will inform him that
the preliminary studies have been ter-
minated, and the other half shall be
payable upon the delivery of the re-
port of the plans and specifications.

All test borings, assays or analyses
necessary for the complete examina-
tion of any site or foundations for the
erection of any structure shall be paid
for by the client in addition to any
other fees or percentages.

If the client desires changes in ac-
cepted specifications or plans, the en-
gineers shall be entitled to remunera-
tion based upon the necessary delay
and time required to alter such plans
and specifications to be based upon
the per diem rates hereinbefore men-
tioned.

In the preparation of specifications
and plans or during the supervision of
construction, particular problem may
arise which may necessitate calling a
specialist into consultation. In such
case the fees of the specialist, whose
engagement must be authorized by
the client, shall be directly paid by the
client in addition to the fees of the
engineer.

The actual cost of all travelling ex-
penses and other disbursements in-

1923

Roads and Streets

985

curred by the engineer in connection
with the supervision of works, except
the salaries, travelling expenses and
living expenses of his statf to and
from and on the works, shall be paid
monthly by the client in addition to
the percentage mentioned above in
paragraph 3.

The percentages named for remu-
neration in paragraph 3 for super-
vision during construction are intend-
ed to cover the ser\-ices of the engi-
neer and of his staff during the period
ordinarily expected to be covered by
such construction, and in the event
of delays occurring in the construc-
tion, through no fault of the engineer,
the engineer's remuneration shall be
increased to compensate him for the
extra time necessarily spent by him
and his staff in supervision, on the
basis of the per diem rates for per-
sonal services and staff mentioned
above in paragraph 2.

During the construction period the
monthly payments made by the client
to the engineer shall not be less than
$400 for works costing less than $10,-
000; S600 for those over $10,000 and
less than $50,000; $1,000 for those be-
tween $75,000 and $100,000, and $1,500
for works costing between $150,000
and $500,000, and proportionately for
works costing over $500,000. The bal-
ance of any amount due for services
during the construction period shall be
paid by the client to the engineer on
acceptance of the complete works by
the engineer.

In case of bankruptcy or failure of
a contractor on the construction work
involving additional works on the part
of the engineer over and above that
contemplated in his original agree-
ment, or in case any other work may
be necessary and not directly relating
to the preparation of specifications
and plans and to the supervision of
the work, the client shall reimburse
the engineer and his staff on the per
diem basis hereinabove mentioned pro-
vided in paragraph 2 for all such
services.

All specifications and plans, and con-
struction documents and data are the
property of the engineer. The client
is entitled to a copy of plans and
specifications for record purposes only
and he shall not use any of these for
the construction of another project
without remunerating the engineer
therefor.

Connecticut to Spend
$15,000,000 on Road Work

Close to $15,000,000 will be avail-
able during tne next two years to
carry on the work oi the btace high-
way Department of Connecticut. Xnis
sum includes direct appropriations
trom tne state and fees wnicii the
motor vehicle department receives
from registrations, licenses and fines,
in addition to the state tax on gaso-
line. The law requires tnat all fees
from the motor vemcie department be
used for the reconstruction and main-
tenance of trunk line highways.

The amount appropriated by the
General Assembly tor the highway
department for the current 2-year
fiscal period aggregates $4,200,000.
The remaining $10,000,000, it is esti-
mated, will be received tnrough the
motor vehicle department.

Heretofore, receipts from the gaso-
line tax have been turned into the
state treasury direct by the motor
vehicle department, but the recent
session of the General Assembly, how-
ever, directed that this money be de-
voted exclusively to the betterment
of the state's roads.

It is estimated that the gasoline tax
will produce $2,000,000 in revenue
during the next two years. The re-
sult will be that improvements and
construction on the highways to that
amount will be made possible, which
Commissioner John A, Macdonald
pointed out, will be of direct benefit
to the motorist who pays the tax. It
is inevitable that highway improve-
ments mean a longer life for the cars
traversing them, and, rather than
proving an unfair burden, the tax on
gasoline has been found to be a sovmd
investment for the automobile owner.
For the fiscal two-year period ended
June 30, the highway department re-
ceived $7,600,000 in fees from the
motor vehicle department, wliich was
exclusive of the gasoline tax receipts.
Based on income for the first two
months of the present fiscal year, it is
considered likely that this source of
revenue will produce nearer $9,-
000,000 for the 1923-25 period.

This, combined with an estimated
receipt of $2,000,000 from the gaso-
line tax, and the department's direct
appropriation of $4,200,000, will ag-
gregate close to $15,000,000. This
will be the largest sum ever made
available during two years for high-
way improvements in Connecticut.

986

Roads and Streets

Nov.

Erecting Steel Highway Bridge
70 Miles from Railroad

Difficulties Encountered in Building

Structure in Remote Section of

Utah Described in Utah

Highways

By JEAN R. DRIGGS,

President, Utah State Road Commission

The Hanksville bridge, spanning
the Fremont River, at the eastern ex-
tremity of the state road in Wayne
county, Utah, is at such a distance
from the usual routes of through
travel that there are probably very
few people in the state acquainted
with the country this structure serves
and with the significance of this por-
tal of the desert.

The transportation problems of
Wayne county are both difficult and
unique. As an example, the purpose
of the bridge is not, primarily, to
serve the needs of vehicular traffic,
but to facilitate the movement of
sheep and cattle to ranges and mar-
kets.

Getting Materials to the Bridge
Site. — The Hanksville bridge is a
through riveted truss, with a span of
120 ft. and a roadway 12 ft. wide,
designed for a ten-ton truck. The
abutments are of the tubular steel
type 45 in. in diameter, extending 26
ft. into the shale foundations. The
bridge has a clearance of 23 ft. above
normal water level. There are timber
trestle approaches approximately 50
ft. long on each end of the steel span,
thus affording a waterway more than
200 ft. wide to take care of the flow
during the later summer floods.

Due to the remoteness of the site
it was planned to use local material
so far as possible and authority was
given me to select and purchase this
at the most convenient points, the
state to deliver all materials f. o. b.
the bridge site.

As a result all the sawmill oper-
ators of the Thousand Lake and
Boulder mountain districts were given
an opportunity to supply timbers ac-
cording to specifications. The tim-
ber furnished by these operators was
a good quality of red pine, better
than the commercial grades of com-
mon dimension timber and at a cost,
laid down at Torrey, of $24 per thou-
sand. Torrey is approximately the
same distance from the bridge site as

Green River, so the purchase of local
timber was a distinct saving to the
county.

The local saw mills did not furnish
sufficient first-class timber for fram-
ing, so it was necessary to go into
the Henry mountains and select round
timbers for the trestle bents and floor
stringers. This timber was obtained
during December with the snow sev-
eral feet deep in the Saw Mill basin
and it was with considerable luck and
concerted action that this timber was
brought down before the mountains
became completely blocked with snow.
The timbermen worked from daybreak
until after dark working to get this
material out ahead of the impending
snowstorm.

Telegrams and Construction Crew
Arrive Together. — On one of the trips
down from the mountains word was
received — a telegram four days en-
route — that the contractor was due
that day with his entire crew and
sure enough in they came as per
schedule. Barely sufficient time was
allowed to get them started on the
foundations and falsework when an-
other telegram arrived, also four days
old, stating that the steel was in
Green River awaiting inspection and
unloading. Telegrams could be re-
layed by telephone to Torrey, but
three days were required, with the
winter mail schedule, to get it over
the road from there to Hanksville,
with the most favorable connections.
A letter from Salt Lake was usually
about eight days enroute.

Upon receipt of this telegram I
started at once for Green River, mak-
ing the trip in a day and a half on
horseback and the steel was checked
and unloaded.

The county commissioners had ar-
ranged to start teams to haul the steel
from Green River, but after a delay
of several days an exchange of tele-
grams disclosed the fact that the
freighters had not yet started. The
same day, Dec. 23, another telegram
reached me at Green River, an urgent
personal message for one of the steel
men at Hanksville. There was no
way of its reaching him in less than
four days except by messenger di-
rectly across the desert. At 9 o'clock
at night I found a driver and auto
and started for Hanksville on what
proved to be a remarkably wild ride
across the desert. Midnight found us
on the river opposite Hanksville

1923

Roads and Streets

987

where we left the car and crossed on
the foot bridge which had been erected
at the bridge site and the message
was delivered.

The non-arrival of steel had consid-
erably dampened the spirits of the
bridge crew, they were expressive in
their impatience at the delay and
were anxious to get through and go
home. The people of Hanksville also
found dissatisfaction in their allot-
ment of freight.

Hanksville Invades Green River. —

It is the custom of the county com-
missioners to divide the road work
among the various settlements along
the route and Hanksville had just
been advised of its quota of haul on
the steel. It appeared, however, that
the commissioners had not been ad-
vised the full tonnage to be hauled,
and not only that but had planned to
make several trips, so to expedite
matters I gave permission to the peo-
ple of Hanksville to haul all the steel
they could and haul it at once. The
teams were on the road without delay
and Green River must have been sur-
prised to see 15 freight outfits come
dri\ing in from Hanksville, a village
of 20 families; a go-after-it and get-it
spirit that might be emulated by
larger towns. They loaded up and
were ready to start back two days
after Christmas. As it happened
there was just enough freight left to
load up the outfits from the upper end
of the county and all the steel went
across in one trip instead of three.

As we were then able to complete
the falsework and put the trusses in
place before zero weather and the
resulting ice jams in the river, the
bridge was completed approximately
30 days earlier than would have been
the case if the original plans of
freighting the steel had been exe-
cuted. The men who were cut short
in the freight were given additional
work at the bridge, hauling sand and
gravel, to give them compensation for
loss on the extra trips for steel.

Method of Construction. — Extreme
precaution had to be resorted to in
the construction of the false work for
this bridge. The river bottom con-
sisted of quicksand so treacherous at
this point that neither horse nor man
was able to ford the stream. Three
piers, the center one being 20 ft.
square, were constructed of logs from
the drift wood washed down during
the floods. A solid floor of these logs

was first laid for a base but the sand
was so yielding that as the cribbing
was added they settled into the river
bottom to a depth of 7 ft. The piers
were connected with log stringers, the
whole affording a substantial base for
the usual falsework.

Almost as soon as the cribbing was
above the water level the weather
turned cold and continued until the
temperature was 22 degrees below-
zero. During this time the river
would freeze over at night and in the
day time the water would flow over
the top of the ice to freeze at night
again. The water was so laden with
quicksand that a layer of sand would
form between each layer of ice until
the level of the river had risen about
8 to 10 ft. and all our bottom false-
work and stringers were buried.

A sudden break in the weather
caused the ice to melt so suddenly
that a part of the falsework was
carried out in the night. However,
the danger had been anticipated and
the steel crew had the truss held in
place with erection bolts.

Through the spirit of co-operation
shown by the people throughout the
county in getting out timber and haul-
ing supplies the bridge was completed
"within the contract time and under
the estimated cost. The obtaining and
hauling of timber from the mountains
during the winter months, the hauling
of steel and other material across the
70 mile desert and the erection of the
structure were all accomplished with-
out a single accident.

Cost of Connecticut Highways, 1914
and 1923

According to a statement of the
State Hiffhway Department of Con-
necticut, the average cost of road con-
struction in that state has increased
anproximatelv 150 per cent in the last
10 years. The costs of the various
types of highway have all greatly in-
creased, as the following table will
show:

Per Mile Per Mi'e

1914 1923

Gravel _ $ 8.000 $20,000

Macadam „ 12.000 2S.000

Bituminous macadam 14.000 30.000

Concrete 17.000 40.000

Bituminous concrete 18,000 45,000

During the last 10 years the hiqrh-
wav department has constructed a
total of 873.17 miles of roadway, of
which 521.25 were new construction
and 351.90 were reconstruction.

988 Roads and HHreets Nov.

Past, Present and Future of Engineering

Extracts From Inaugural Address Before Toronto Branch of Engineer-
ing Institute of Canada

By PROF. C. R. YOUNG

Early Status of the Engineer. — The

modern professional engineer had an
origin amongst the humble mill-
wrights of England. Upon these
skilled workers the responsibility for
constructional enterprises devolved
prior to the days when something like
a profession of engineering came into
being. Brindlay, whose notable
achievements ushered in a new era in
material development in the British
Isles, was scarcely able to read or
write. He taught himself these arts
when he was employed as an appren-
tice, and was never able to spell cor-
rectly or to write better than a half-
intelligible letter or report. Books
were practically a closed world to him
and he lived and died essentially in
the world of mechanics. Both Watt
and Smeaton were mathematical in-
strument makers, and by reason of
their superior education were able to
transcend Brindley in the breadth of
their professional achievements. Tel-
ford began his constructional career
as a stone mason and John Rennie
entered upon his life work through
the obscure portal of the millwright.

It was to be expected that coming
from such lowly origins the engineer
would be poorly paid. Brindley,
through all his long and exacting em-
ployment with the Duke of Bridge-
water, did not receive at any time
more than 84 ct. a day, and most of
the time his compensation did not ex-
ceed 60 ct. These were days when
the engineer must of necessity remain
in a low rank of society, and when
his scale of living must be adjusted
thereto. Thus we find that Brindley,
in a fit of disappointment over his
troubles with an engine, records in his
diary the illuminating entry "run
about a drinking 30 ct." Even Smea-
ton, whose intellectual gifts and at-
tainments made him an honored mem-
ber of the Royal Society, did not
receive at any time more than $10 a
day for his professional services.

It was to be expected that the atti-
tude of cultured and polite circles and
of literary men generally would
scarcely be cordial to the engineer.
Thus, Shakespeare speaks of "me-

chanic slaves with greasy aprons,
rules and hammers," and Dr. Samuel
Johnson defined mechanical as "mean,
servile." Although Johnson was the
most active literary man of his time
and expressed opinions on almost
every conceivable subject, he did not
once comment on the splendid works
of Brindley, although they were all
completed in Johnson's day. Andrew
Meikle, inventor of the threshing ma-
chine, a piece of mechanism that has
revolutionized agricultural industry,
was not even mentioned in Scottish
biographies of the time. Smeaton
was severely criticised by his friends
of the Royal Society for undertaking
the navy work of making a road
across the valley of the Trent.

Growth of Confidence in the Engi-
neer.— With the splendid achieve-
ments of the pioneers in modern engi-
neering, it gradually came to be ap-
preciated that there was advantage in
securing the services of skilled tech-
nical men. It was seen that mishaps
of a serious character often came
about when the work was entrusted
to unskilled persons, and that gen-
erally such were avoided when trained
men were employed. A notable and
classical instance of this was the col-
lapse of St. Chad's Church after it
had been condemned by Telford, much
to the disgust of the church authori-
ties, who turned it over for repair to
an incompetent and unskilled person
who represented that there was very
little at fault with the structure.

It was not long before it was seen
that the forecasts of the leaders in
engineering were generally sound and
that proceeding against the advice of
trained and ingenious engineers was
unprofitable. James Nasmyth re-
counts the extraordinary and futile
efforts which he made to convince the
British Admiralty of the virtue of his
steam hammer. Meeting only pas-
sivity, he proceeded to instal his
hammers in the furnaces and principal
foundries of England and sent them
abroad to foreign countries, even to
Russia. At last, after three years,
the admiralty finally awoke to the
fact that a device known as the steam

1923

Roads and Streets

989

hammer was already in successful op-
eration and that perhaps they should
inquire into the matter. On investi-
gation they found that Nasmyth had
been telling the truth. John Rennie
records a similar experience with the
Navy Board in attempting to convince
that body of the desirability of steam
propulsion for ships of war. His atti-
tude to the official density of this body
may be gathered from his comment
that "of all the ignorant, obstinate
and stupid boards under the crown,
the Navy Board is the worst. I am
so disgusted with them that could I
at the present moment with decency
relinquish the works under them
which I have in hand I would do so
at once." Later, the soundness of
Rennie's views was conceded.

It was soon found that while for-
merly those who imperilled their for-
tunes in engineering enterprises in
the hope of gain were proceding upon
a perilous adventure, there was now
a high probability of profiting by fol-
lowing the advice of skilled engineers.
Those who had formerly been known
as "adventurers" now became known
as "inventors." The respect to which
engineers gradually attained through
the successful carrying out of great
works is well indicated by the atti-
tude of that distinguished British
administrator, Lord Cromer, when
speaking of the work carried out in
Egypt by British engineers. Said he,
"The British engineer, in fact, uncon-
sciously accomplished a feat, which, in
the eyes of a politician, is perhaps
even more remarkable than that of
controlling the refractory waters of
the Nile. He justified Western meth-
ods to Eastern minds."

High Integrity of Engineers. — In-
creased confidence in the engineer
arose through repeated demonstra-
tions of high integrity in the profes-
sional careers of the great leaders.
George Stephenson, in recommending
a type of rail for the Stockton and
Darlington Railway, definitely speci-
fied a rail other than the cast iron one
on which he held a patent, although he
might have profited to the extent of a
very considerable sum had he cared to
use his own rail. When Sir Benjamin
Baker was appointed consulting engi-
neer on the Asyut barrage, he found
that unforeseen conditions made it
necessary to alter very materially the
design of the structure. No prices
having been named in the original
contract for much of the new work

involved, Baker told Lord Cromer that
the contract ought in fairness to be
cancelled, and, at the same time in the
interests of Egypt an arrangement
entered into by which the work would
be hastened to completion at the earli-
est possible moment, leaving the ques-
tion of contractor's profit to him.
Without any hesitation. Sir John Aird,
the contractor, agreed to leave the
matter entirely in Baker's hands, pro-
ceeded vigorously with the work and
finished it a year ahead of time, with
a gain to the country due to the extra
year's supply of water of $3,000,000.
Thus did high integrity on both sides
enrmously enhance the reputation o f
both engineer and contractor and
greatly benefit the client of both.

Thomas Telford, when appointed
engineer of the Ellesmere canal, was
well aware of the fact that he had
not that extended experience in earth-
work, however skilled he might be in
masonry, which he ought to have to
undertake such an important enter-
prise without support. He conse-
quently retained William Jessop to ad-
vise him in this regard. Some engi-
neers would have attempted the work
entirely on their own responsibility.

Alfred Noble was characterized by
J. Waldo Smith as the most consci-
entious engineer that he had ever
known. Noble never rendered a snap
judgment, even on matters of small
importance. He was more anxious to
be correct than to appear brilliant.
Any advice given or judgment pro-
nounced was always the result of the
most careful consideration. He re-
peatedly refused lucrative engage-
ments for the sole reason that he felt
he could not give them the study and
attention which they demanded. Com-
pared with this attitude the practice
of some immature and irresponsible
engineers in undertaking work for
which they are not sufficiently experi-
enced is as playing the market with
trust funds.

Influence of Engineering Societies.

— Much of the high prestige now ap-
pertaining to the engineer has come
through the steady and strong upward
guidance of the great engineering so-
cieties. The first of these was the
Society of Civil Engineers (now
known as the Smeatonian Society of
Civil Engineers) founded in 1771. It
was, however, an exclusive organiza-
tion composed of the most notable en-
gineers of the time. Initially, it con-

990

Roads and Streets

Nov.

sisted of only seven members and at
the end of 21 years of only 65.

Believing that a more comprehen-
sive organization would do much in
training and guiding the younger en-
gineers, certain leaders of the profes-
sion brought about the foundation in
1818 of that fine organization, The
Institution of Civil Engineers of Great
Britain. This came upon the profes-
sion at a time when there was tre-
mendous activity in the constructional
world. It was launched at an op-
portune moment and exerted a tre-
mendous influence in shaping the
young engineers of the time, and in
developing standards of professional
practice.

In Canada a parallel work has been
done by the Engineering Institute.
Although founded as the Canadian
Society of Civil Engineers as late as
1887, it has in its 36 years attained
a membership as great as that which
it took the Institution of Civil Engi-
neers 70 years to reach.

Profession Versus Business. — There
is perhaps no question more fre-
quently asked than the time-worn one
as to whether engineering is really a
profession or not. It has been the
ideal of many leading engineers to
place engineering on a purely profes-
sional basis and to divest it of the
characteristics of a business which it
has taken on in recent years. One
must frankly admit that the results
achieved have not been gratifying and
that engineering is, if anything, far-
ther from the status of a pure pro-
fession than it was a generation ago.

If one were asked to define the es-
sentials of a profession, one might say
that properly the professional man
should make his services available to
such clients as care to consult him,
and generally for stipulated fees
rather than for a salary. Relations
with the client should be on the high-
est possible ethical basis and no meas-
ures should be adopted for the secur-
ing of commissions which would not
be acceptable in type to those pre-
vailing in the professions of law and
medicine. One might enumerate as
some specific essentials of an _ engi-
neering profession, the possession of
skill and learning by the practitioner,
the maintenance of high ethical rela-
tions with the client, and the observ-
ance of altruistic motives in his re-
lations with the public.

So basic is the idea of learning in
a true profession that one often hears
mention of the "learned professions."
It is inadmissible for the engineering
practitioner to be an ignorant or un-
lettered man. Although the propri-
etor of a barber shop or of a shoe
shining stand may be operating for
the benefit of such customers as may
care to patronize him, and for a fixed
fee, it cannot be maintained that these
callings are in the category of pro-
fessions, in spite of the recent effort
to incorporate barbering in British
Columbia as a skilled profession. But
on the basis of learning as a requi-
site, however, one might very prop-
erly include in the ranks of the
"learned professions," the work of the
skilled accountant or auditor, who in
his field maintains towards clients re-
lations that are comparable with those
maintained by the professional engi-
neer.

Attitude of Early Engineers
Toward Their Clients. — A basic es-
sential of professional life is that the
relations of the professional man to
his client should be those of the most
exalted trust and of the most circum-
spect solicitude for the interests of
his employer. Telford, for example,
while acting as an engineer for sev-
eral canal companies declined an ap-
pointment as engineer to the Liver-
pool and Manchester Railway on the
ground that it would prejudicially ef-
fect the interests of his existing em-
ployers. Sir John Fowler was pre-
eminently a shareholder's engineer.
He restrained his natural impulse to
create great and enduring works for
monumental purposes and made sure
that the interests of the persons who
were furnishing the money were pri-
marily observed. The public very
properly expects of a professional
man a high attitude with regard to
public obligations. It expects him
not only to further the interests of
the people at large, but to prepare
himself for the better performance
of such service. The appropriate at-
titude to his profession might very
well be put in the words of Francis
Bacon "I hold every man a debtor to
his profession; from the which as men
of course do seek to receive counte-
nance and profit, so ought they of
duty to endeavor themselves by way
of amends to be a help and ornament
thereto."

Smeaton's attitude in this regard

1923

Roads and Streets

991

would have fully satisfied Bacon. He
held that "the abilities of the indi-
vidual were a debt due to the common
stock of public well-being." Having
this in mind, he limited his profes-
sional employment so that he might
devote a certain portion of his time
to self improvement and scientific in-
vestigation. He systematically re-
sisted tempting offers to attract him
from this settled course.

Present Status: Part Profession;
Part Business. — One must admit that
the present status of engineering is
that of part profession and part busi-
ness. The methods of solicitation of
new work in engineering are by no
means in conformity with those ob-
served by the leaders in the profes-
sions of law and medicine. Intensive
canvassing and lobbying which char-
acterize the conduct of some engineers
in the consulting field at the present
time do not well comport with the
high ethics of Smeaton and Telford.
They are of one and the same type as
the methods employed to secvire or-
ders for bacon or boots.

The competition that is sometimes
introduced by engineers with others
who have to all intents and purposes
secured a given piece of work, is not
that characteristic of a pure profes-
sion. Thus, when the plans of an en-
gineer have been accepted and tend-
ers are called thereupon, it may be
questioned as to whether alternative
designs are properly tolerable without
the full prior knowledge and consent
of the client's engineer. It is, of
course, a common procedure for engi-
neering contractors to submit their
own designs in competition with those
of the engineer in charge of the work,
and the practice is so firmly estab-
lished that it is not likely to be given
up. In essence it is an embarrassing
procedure. It in effect proclaims that
the client's engineer has insufficiently
studied the situation and that he has
overlooked the merits of another
scheme which might prove cheaper
than the one which he recommended.
Anything which lessens the confidence
of the client in his engineer's complete
mastery of the subject may well be
considered as questionable ethically,
but so far have we proceeded from
pure ethics in the practice of engi-
neering that this procedure often ex-
cites no comment. Under such condi-
tions it becomes very difficult to frame
a comprehensive code of ethics for en-
gineers. When they are operating in

part as professional men and in part
as men of business it does not seem
practicable to establish a purely pro-
fessional code of ethics that will pro-
cure uniform obsei'vance by the engi-
neers of the country.

Future of Engineering. — We are,
therefore, constrained to ask whence
is the engineer bound and what is the
future of engineering ? One may find
in the public statements of leaders of
the profession for many years back
expressions of doubt as to whether
society could absorb all of the engi-
neers who were offering their services.
Thus, James Walker, one of the early
presidents of the Institution of Civil
Engineers said in his presidential ad-
dress in 1841, as follows:

"While I congratulate the Institu-
tion on the increase of its members,
I ought at the same time to express
my opinion that, from the number of
young gentlemen who within the last
ten years have studied for, or have
entered, the profession, the supply is
likely to be at the least equal to the
demand, and to caution those who in-
tend entering, or are now studying
for it, against confining themselves to
the strictly professional part of the
usual routine of education. The rail-
ways, both during the preliminary
surveys and in their subsequent con-
struction and management, in addi-
tion to other works of engineering,
have given employment to many. But
the principal towns are already con-
nected by railways, or engineers and
surveyors are now employed in pro-
jecting or executing lines where they
are yet wanted. Is then the demand
for professional gentlemen likely to
increase? Is it not likely rather to
decrease?"

At that time the total membership
of the Institution was 475.

There had arisen in the early days
of railways in England a phenomenal
demand for the services of men with
any experience in engineering or sur-
veying. Surv^eyors and levellers were
paid as much as from $36 to $75 a
day, although many were highly in-
competent and had secured what
knowledge they knew of the subject
from very brief courses of instruction.
It is recounted that a peddler of sta-
tionery earned $25 a day and his ex-
penses as an assistant surveyor. A
fat and wheezy fellow, long unaccus-
tomed to work, received $15 a day for
work on surveys, and could have had

992

Roads and Streets

Nov.

$25 had he been willing to attempt
the hills in a bold piece of country.
He preferred $15 and a level line.

The questions that were raised in
the days of James Walker with re-
spect to the absorptive power of Great
Britain for engineers might well be
raised in Canada at the present mo-
ment. There are in this country ap-
proximately 12,000 engineers in all
grades and departments. At the same
time there are in attendance in Cana-
dian engineering colleges about 2,100
students, or about one-sixth as many
as all the engineers in the country.
One may well ask if employment on
strictly engineering work is to be
found for such a large output. In
the United States the situation is still
more striking, for although the popu-
lation of that country is only about
fourteen times greater than that of
Canada, there are about 50,000 engi-
neering students in the engineering
colleges.

Change in the character of employ-
ment will constitute the solution of
the problem. Whereas 15 to 20 years
ago, construction of railways at a ter-
rific rate afforded employment for
large numbers of young engineers,
that source has largely dried up and
railway employment has to do princi-
pally with maintenance and operation.
Any group of engineers relying
wholly on original construction for
employment may be embarrassed dur-
ing periods of hard times. With a
commercial depression, the first thing
that is done is to curtail construction
and extensions. If, however, the engi-
neer is trained and experienced in
problems of operation and manage-
ment, he may easily pass into execu-
tive and administrative positions with
perhaps financial advantage to him-
self. One interesting source of em-
ployment of this character now open-
ing up is city managerships. There
are in America over three hundred
cities and towns governed in this man-
ner and of the managers in charge a
substantial portion are trained engi-
neers.

Education for Broadening Employ-
ment Field of Engineer. — So frequent
have been the instances of graduate
engineers undertaking work involving
a combination of engineering and
business that engineering colleges in
America have for some years past
been undertaking to prepare men for
this combined field. Harvard Uni-

versity offers a 5-year course in busi-
ness administration and engineering
combined, options being granted in ac-
cordance with the department of en-
gineering elected by the student. Yale
offers a 4-year course in administra-
tive engineering devised for students
who expect to fill executive positions
in which a knowledge of engineering
is required equivalent to that ordi-
narily gained in any one of the reg-
ular courses. The University of Kan-
sas offers a course in Engineering and
administrative science with two tech-
nical options. Pennsylvania State
College ,has regular graduating
courses in industrial engineering.
New York University has established
a 4-year course in business and engi-
neering. The University of North
Dakota has a 4-year course in general
industrial engineering with 60 per
cent of the time devoted to funda-
mental subjects in science, mathemat-
ics and technical engineering and 40
per cent in subjects pertaining to
business management, administration
and allied topics. Union College of-
fers a combined 4-year course in
which business and cultural subjects
form 35 per cent of the total. The
Universities of Illinois, Wisconsin,
Ohio and Cincinnati maintain co-op-
erative courses in which engineering
is combined with economics in the
schools of commerce. Although no
special department in administrative
engineering has so far been estab-
lished in the University of Toronto,
the inclusion of many business sub-
jects in the curriculum has been
brought about in recent years. Grad-
uates in every department now have
a useful general conception of the
commercial field and are deriving
therefrom the advantage of increased
iemployability.

Thus, there is undoubtedly a strong
trend towards the broadening of em-
ployment of the engineer. If it be
conceded that a departure from strict-
ly technical lines is legitimate, an im-
mense new field of activity opens out
for the young man with a combined
training. Experience is showing that
a larger and larger proportion of en-
gineering graduates are taking posi-
tions in which a combination of busi-
ness and technology is desirable, and
without doubt the time is coming
when the technically trained man will
make his influence as strongly felt in
business as in the specialized fields of
engineering enterprise .

1923

Roads and Streets

993

Automatic Scale and Highway
Traffic Counter

Apparatus developed and con-
structed by the U. S. Bureau of Public
Roads for automatically counting the

consists of a 6 in. I-beam (C) at-
tached to a % in. by 14 in. plate (D).
Wooden guides (E) bolted to the
I-beam prevent horizontal movement
of the plunger. The trough is set in
a concrete box so that the top of the

Automatic Scale and Traffic Counter Installed at Arlington Experimental Farm.

traffic on a highway is described in a
recent bulletin of the National Re-
search Council. The apparatus con-
sists essentially of a steel trough 10
ft. long, containing a piece of fire

platform is approximately flush with
the bottom of the road surface. Traffic
passes over concrete slabs (F), which
rest on the plunger. The hose, filled
with heavy oil, is sealed at one end.

». O.-fr frl ,

Arrangement of Traffic Counter in a Road.

hose 9 ft. long by 2 in. in diameter,
on which rests a plunger attached to
a platform, over which traffic passes.
As shown by the sectional drawing,
the trough is made of two 6 in. chan-
nels (A) connected to a base % in.
by 14 in. plate (B), and the plunger

while at the other it is connected to
a recording device* by means of a
flexible tube. A record of pressures

*In this instrument the recording device is
a trainagraph manufactured by the American
Steam Gage and Valve Manufacturing Co.,
Boston, Mass.

994

Roads and Streets

Nov.

exerted on the oil in the hose is thus
secured. The recording paper is auto-
matically moved forward a short dis-
tance every time a pressure is re-
corded. The weights of the front and
rear wheels, as well as the number
of vehicles passing, are recorded. The
passage of 4,800 traffic units can be
recorded on one roll of paper. Before
being used on a road, the apparatus
is calibrated with static loads.

The apparatus is installed in the
Washington-Baltimore boulevard for
traffic counts.

Traffic Accidents on British High-
ways

During the period Jan. 1 to Aug.
31, 1922, the engineers of the roads
department of the Ministry of Trans-
port of Great Britain investigated 94
road accidents, involving deaths or in-
juries. The causes of these accidents
may be roughly classified under the
three following headings: (a) Negli-
gence or incompetence on the part of
the driver or drivers; (b) mechanical
defects in the vehicles or unsatisfac-
tory road conditions; (c) error or neg-
ligence on the part of other persons.
It will, of course, be understood that
more than one of these causes may be
contributory to any particular acci-
dent, and any such classification can
.only be approximate. The results of
the inquiries are summarized in
Table I.

Table I

No. of

Acci- No. No.

Cause of Accident dents Killed jured

(a) Negligent driving 55 35 90

Faulty judgment 6 17 5

Inexperienced driver 1 1

(b) Insufficient lighting 1 .... 2

Faulty steering gear 5 2 12

Burst tire 114

Mechanical defect 1 .... 1

Faulty brakes 4 4 9

Back axle failure 1 .... 2

Changing gear on steam

roller going down

gradient 1 .... 2

Skidding 4 2 1

Pedal cyclist at fault 1 .... 1

Alighting from moving

bus - 1 - 1

Horse unattended took

fright 2 1 2

(d) Unknown 5 7 2

Total 94 75 139

It will be noticed that the number
of accidents due mainly to negligence
or incompetence on the part of the
drivers form almost exactly two-
thirds of the total.

Method of Grouting Foundation

for Highway Bridge

Construction work is now well ad-
vanced on a bridge over the Yadkin
River on Route 10 of the State High-
way System of North Carolina. The
bridge will consist of seven reinforced
concrete arches, each 150 ft. span, and
two 40-ft. deck girder approach spans.
The plans call for foundations for all
piers to be carried from 2 to 3 ft.
into solid rock. Investigations for
pier No. 2 showed an open seam of
from 9 in. to 15 in. at a depth of 12
ft. below original rock surface.

This condition was considered un-
safe for the load of the pier and ad-
ditional test holes were drilled into
the foundation to determine whether
the seam extended throughout the en-
tire footing area. This was found to
be the case and an extra work order
was secured to cover the expense of
washing out the seam and grouting
same, the estimated cots being $250.

How this work was handled is de-
scribed in the North Carolina High-
way Bulletin.

A unit price was obtained from the
contractor for drilling additional holes
to the seam, a total of eight holes, or
two rows of four holes, each being
put down. Excavation for the foot-
ing had advanced to such a stage that
it was decided to pour the footing,
washing out and grouting the seams
afterwards. An 8-ft. length of 2 in.
pipe was placed in each of the eight
holes the footing then poured to an
average depth of 4 ft., this leaving
about 4 ft. of each 2 in. pipe extend-
ing above top of same. Work was
then begun of washing out the seam
through the eight holes or pipe. A
2 in. line was brought direct from
the pump to one of the eight pipes
and a pressure as high as 65 lb. main-
tained while the work progressed.
Water would rise and flow from any
one of the remaining seven holes,
bringing mud with it and also small
pieces of decayed granite. This was
continued until water flowing through
any hole was clear and resulted after
four hours steady pumping. At any
time, with water entering a corner
hole, it would run with considerable
force from any one of the other seven
holes which were left open, occasion-
ally forcing ahead of it a solid stream
of mud or decayed material.

1923

Roads and Streets

995

At the time when grouting was
commenced it was not known whether
pressure would have to be applied to
fill the entire seam or not, but ar-
rangements were made to this effect.
A 3 in. pipe about 10 ft. long was
placed on top of the 2 in. pipe above
one of the eight holes, a funnel being
placed on top of this to receive the
grout. This gave a head of grout of
26 ft. on top of the seam and proved
sufficient to fill all the holes. About
2 cu. yd. of grout were used and with-
in tw'o hours from the time when
grouting was commenced it appeared
in each of the seven open holes which
was an indication that the entire seven
had been filled, giving the top layer
of rock solid bearing on that under-
neath. The actual cost of the oper-
ation was $237.65.

Method of Resurfacing Old

Concrete Pavements with

Brick

Two recent jobs of resurfacing
worn pavements with vitrified pa\ing
brick and asphalt filler are described
in the July issue of Dependable High-
ways. One of these jobs was on a
city street in Bettendorf, la., the
other was a country highway extend-
ing between Ghent and Akron, O. The
last mentioned work is described as
follows by H. G. Sours, resident en-
gineer of Ohio State Highway De-
partment:

Resurfacing Ohio Highway. — The

old concrete pavement was built in
1912, was 14 ft. wide and 6 in. thick.
The mix was 1:2:4 and the coarse
aggregate was gravel; in some places
slag was used and in others bank-run
gravel. The old pavement had been
broken in many places during the last
few years and been repaired with
1:2:4 concrete 8 in. deep in patches
varying from 2 sq. yd. to 75 sq. yd.

The reconstruction consisted in
building curbs, repairing base, widen-
ing and elevating curbs, and paving
with brick on a granulated slag bed.
The curbs were 18 in. wide and 12 in.
deep and conform as nearly as pos-
sible to the origrinal grade. These
curbs were built against the old pave-
ment, to make the new pavement 17
ft. wide. The excavation for the curbs
was done with a tractor and plow, and
bladed out with a small blade grader,
then fine graded by hand.

Wooden forms of 2x6 in. material
were staked to line and grade and
held in place by twisted wire and
wooden spreaders. Following the
curb building a small mixer repaired
all the holes in the old pavement with
new concrete. All the old concrete
which was shattered or badly cracked
was removed back to solid material
and replaced. The old broken ma-
terial was placed on the shoulders
outside the curb.

Slag Used for Bedding Course. —

Granulated slag bedding was then
spread and rolled thoroughly with a
6-ton tandem roller. The compacted
bedding course varies in thickness
from 2 in. to 4 in., all uneven places
in the old pavement being taken out
with granulated slag. A small amoimt
of screened granulated slag was then
dragged over the base with a template
and rolled with an ordinary hand
roller to make a finished bedding
course. The brick were then dropped,
rolled and filled with asphalt filler.
The roadway is now being shouldered
and the ditches trimmed and sloped.

Some of the granulated slag was
rolled in place last fall and not cov-
ered with brick. When this was re-
moved this spring it had to be done
with picks, and was of about the same
hardness as dense sandstone.

Resurfacing in Bettendorf, la. — The

resurfacing in Bettendorf, la., was on
a street carrying double car tracks.
When these tracks were relaid several
years ago they were put down at a
grade which would permit the resur-
facing with brick inasmuch as the
pavement had been in bad condition
for the last seven years, according to
City Engineer N. H. TunniclifF.

The street is a part of the main
artery out of Davenport, leading
northward along the west bank of the
Mississippi River. It is about 50 ft.
wide, the roadway on each side of the
tracks measuring about 18 ft.

City Engineer Tunnicliff specified a
3-in. vertical fibre, plain wire-cut
brick, asphalt filled by the squeegee
method. The brick were laid on a
1:4 cement-sand bed, of at least 1 in.
in depth, after new concrete had been
used to fill all major depressions and
holes in the old concrete pavement.
The contract was let at 52.42 per
square yard, plus $10 per cubic yard
for extra material used in filling
cracks and holes.

996

Roads and Streets

Nov.

Testing Materials for Concrete
Pavements

Methods Summarized in Report Pre-
sented at International Road
Congress, Seville, Spain

By DUFF ABRAMS,

Professor in Charge, Structural Materials
Laboratory, Lewis Institute

Materials used in cement concrete
pavements in the United States are
as follows: (1) Portland cement, (2)
aggregates, (3) water, and (4) rein-
forcing wire or bars.

Tests of concrete materials are
made for two distinct purposes: (a)
To establish underlying principles,
and (b) to determine whether a given
sample conforms to certain predeter-
mined standards. The two purposes
in testing mark the distinction be-
tween research and inspection. The
adequacy of the tests made in in-
specting concrete materials is de-
pendent upon the correctness of the
principles established by research. In
the following discussions only the
standard tests for quality of ma-
terials will be included.

The American Society for Testing
Materials has been engaged for many
years in collecting data and prepar-
ing standard specifications and tests
for all types of road materials. The
society is made up of representatives
of both producers and users of ma-
terials. The tests of this society are
generally recognized as authoritative.

Tests of Portland Cement. — Port-
land cement is the product obtained
by finely pulverizing clinker produced
by calcining to incipient fusion an in-
timate and properly proportioned
mixture of argillaceous and calcarcsus
materials, with no additions subse-
quent to calcination excepting water
and calcined or uncalcined gypsum.
Clinkering is produced in a rotary
kiln at temperatures of about 1500° C.

The following tests are made on
Portland cement:

Fineness — Using a sieve having 200
meshes per linear inch (79 per in.).

Soundness — Neat cement pat placed
for 6 hours over boiling water 24
hours after mixing, must remain firm
and hard and show no signs of dis-
torting, cracking, checking or disin-
tegrating.

Time of Setting — ^Vicat needle,
initial set over 45 minutes, final set
less than 10 hours. Gillmore needle,
initial set over 1 hour, final less than
10 hours.

Tensile Strength — Briquets of 1 sq.
in. cross-section of 1:3 standard sand
mortar, by weight, must give a
strength of 200 lb. or over at 7 days,
and 300 lb. or over at 28 days, when
stored 1 day in moist air and re-
mainder in water.

Chemical Analysis — is only infre-
quently carried out.

General Requirements for Aggre-
gate.— Aggregate is defined as "Inert
material which is mixed with Portland
cement and water to produce con-
crete; in general, aggregate consists
of sand, pebbles, gravel, crushed
stones, blast-furnace slag, or similar
materials."

Aggregate for concrete pavements
must be clean, structurally sound and
inert in the presence of cement and
water; it must possess also a certain
quality which may term weather-re-
sistance. The separation of aggre-
gate into fine and coarse is generally
required since it facilitates securing
uniformity in the grading of succes-
sive batches. A wide variety in size
and grading may be used with good
results.

Tests of aggregates have been un-
dergoing marked changes during the
past few years. The earliest tests of
coarse aggregate were adapted di-
rectly from those made on rocks for
macadam roads. Experience has
shown that the tests for hardness,
toughness, and cementation values
which were formerly made on crushed
rocks for macadam road construction
are of little use in judging the quality
of an aggregate for concrete pave-
ments.

Tests of Fine Aggregate. — Fine ag-
gregates are generally subjected to
the following tests:

Sieve Analysis — Use wire cloth
sieves having 100, 50, 30, 16, 8 and 4
meshes per linear inch.

Organic Impurities in Sand — Digest
sample in 3 per cent solution of
sodium hydroxide and observe color
after 24 hours.

Silt — Determine loss of weight of
500-gram sample, due to washing in
shallow pan and rejecting wash water.

1923

Roads and Streets

997

Mortar Strength — Tension tests of
briquets or compression tests of 2 by
4-in. mortar cylinders at ages of 7
and 28 days, using 1:3 mix by weight
or by volume. Make parallel tests on
1:3 standard sand mortar. There is
a growing tendency to substitute com-
pression tests of mortar for tension
tests in both sands and cements.

Tests of Coarse Aggregate.— Coarse
aggregates are generally subjected to
the following tests:

Sieve Analysis — Use square-mesh
wire-cloth sieves No. 4 (that is, 4
meshes per linear inch), % in., % in.,
and 1^2 in.

Abrasion — Determine per cent of
water in Deval abrasion machine,
using 50 pieces of crushed rock weigh-
ing 5,000 grams and run for 10,000
revolutions at 30 r.p.m. A number of
modifications of this test have been
introduced during the past few years,
in an effort to make the test more
applicable to the requirements of
graded sizes of crushed rock or gravel.

Miscellaneous Tests of Aggregate.

— In- addition to the foregoing tests,
which are more or less standard, the
following tests are sometimes made
on aggregates:

Unit Weight — Puddle a sample in a
metal measure of cylindrical form
with depth equal to diameter and of
1/10 to 1 cu. ft. capacity, using a
small metal bar and filling the meas-
ure in three equal layers. The weight
is reported in pounds per cubic foot.

Toughness of Gravel— The U. S.
Bureau of Public Roads has recently
introduced an impact test for gravel
which is expected to reveal the pres-
ence of soft or friable particles. It
is made by dropping a steel ball of
known weight on a selected number
of particles from the sample. The
height ui drop required to produce
rupture is a measure of the toughness
of the gravel.

Shale in Gravel — Separate shale by
flotation process, using a solution of
zinc sulphate.

Concrete Strength — In many in-
stances the quality of both fine and
coarse aggregate is determined by 28-
day compression tests of 6 by 12 in.
concrete cylinders of the mixture to
be used on the work. In making con-
crete tests care must be used to pro-

cure a uniform consistency in the
various mixtures. Concrete for these
tests is generally mixed by hand.

Wear Tests of Concrete — Consider- .
able experimental work has been done
in laboratory studies of the wearing
resistance of concrete. A number of
different types of apparatus have
been developed for this purpose.

Samples of Aggregates. — Laboratory
tests of aggregate require about 25
lb. of fine aggregate and about 50 lb.
of coarse aggregate. If concrete tests
are to be made, larger samples will
be necessary. Great care is necessary
to secure representative samples.

Field Tests of Aggregates. — Many
of the highway departments supply
inspectors with apparatus for making
approximate field tests for silt,
organic impurities, sieve analysis,
etc., as the aggregate is delivered on
the work.

Relative Merits of Different Aggre-
gates.— Many different types of ag-
gregates may be used for concrete
pavements. There is a growing
recognition in the United States of
the fact that the quality of the con-
crete is more important than the
quality of the aggregate, and that
with proper care in proportioning,
mixing, placing and curing, concrete
of high quality can be produced with
inferior aggregate.

Water. — In general no special tests
are made on the water used in mixing
concrete. Specifications for concrete
require that water shall be clean from
and free from oil, alkali, organic mat-
ter or other deleterious substance.
Only in rare instances is difficulty en-
countered in securing water of good
quality.

Tests of Reinforcing Steel. — The

following tests are made on reinforc-
ing bars or wire: (a) Tensile strength,
(b) elongation, (c) reduction in area,
(d) chemical analysis.

Testing Laboratories. — There are
approximately 100 laboratories in the
United States which are equipped to
carry out tests of cement, aggregates,
etc. These may be classified as fol-
lows: (1) U. S. Government (bureau
of public roads, bureau of standards,
etc.); (2) state highway departments;
(3) county and municipal; (4) uni-
versities and schools; (5) private test-
ing laboratories; (6) railroads and
miscellaneous.

998 Roads and Streets Nov.

The 1924 Road Show of American Road Builders'

Association

About 230 Manufacturers Will Have Exhibits of Highway Equipment,
Materials and Supplies

Unprecedented demands for space
in the 1924 Eoad Show of the Ameri-
can Road Buliders' Association, to be
held Jan. 14 to 18 in Chicago, greatly
complicated allotments to applicants
at the drawings on Nov. 1 and 2.
Requests were filed for more than
three and one-half times the main
floor space available at the Coliseum.
Applications for space in the Coliseum
Annex, the ballroom and the Greer
Building also were much in excess of
the floor area.

The allotments were in charge of
the executive committee, and Mr. C.
M. Upham, convention and road show
manager of the American Road Build-
ers' Association, and of the executive
committee of the Highway Industries
Exhibitors' Association. The two
executive committees were assisted
by an advisory committee of six,
each representing one of the six main
classes of exhibitors. Working in
close co-operation, these officials de-
veloped methods of reduction in space
and choice of location based on sev-
eral definite factors. These methods
were then applied to all applications.

As a result of this very definite and
thorough policy of determining the
amount and the location of space al-
lotted, it was possible to take care of
all applicants whose requests for
space were filed according to the re-
quirements. Although the space al-
lotted to most applicants was less
than they desired, all will have a good
chance to exhibit. In fact, nearly all
exhibitors have as much or more
space than they respectively occupied
in the 1923 show. Due to the re-
arrangement of aisles and exhibit
spaces, it was also possible to permit
a considerable increase in the number
of exhibitors.

Judged from the great care used by
exhibitors in submitting their appli-
cations, it is evident that exhibits in
the 1924 Road Show will be worked
out most thoroughly. The character
of the proposed exhibits also indicates
that the 1924 Road Show will in every
way surpass the remarkable success
of the 1923 exhibition. About 230 of

the leading manufacturers of equip-
ment, materials and supplies used in
building and maintaining highways
evidently have come to recognize that
the road builders of the country con-
sider the road show the one big
chance of the year to get up to date
on all that is new in the industry.

The following is a list of those to
whom space has been allotted. Vari-
ous changes may be made in this list,
but additions will be possible only in
case applicants do not accept space
allotted to them.

Galion Iron Works

Koehring Co.

Holt Manufacturing Co.

Blaw-Knox Co.

Wood Hydraulic Hoist & Body Co.

Kinney Manufacturing Co.

Shaw Enochs Tractor Co.

The White Co.

Thew Shovel Co.

Barber Greene Co.

General Motor Truck Co.

Equipment Corporation of America

Novo Engine Company

Fate-Root-Heath Company

Hvass Co.

Heil Co.

Erie Steam Shovel Co.

Russell Grader Mfg. Co.

C. H. & E. Manufacturing Co.

The Barret Co.

Burch Plow Works Co.

Sauerman Bros.

Monarch Tractor Co.

Beach Manufacturing Co.

Koppel, Ind., Car & Equipment Co.

American Casting Co.

Haiss Manufacturing Co.

Sterling Motor Truck Co.

Domestic Engine & Pump Co.

Climax Engine Co.

Geo. B. Whitcomb Co.

National Paving Brick Co.

Milwaukee Locomotive Mfg. Co.

Kelly-Derby Co.

American Cement Mfg. Co.

Jaeger Manufacturing Co.

Granite Paving Block Mfg. Association

Construction Machinery Co.

The Texas Company

The Western Wheeled Scraper Co.

Insley Manufacturing Corporation

Carford Motor Truck Co., Ind.

Bear Tractors, Inc.

Mash Capron Co.

Baker Manufacturing Co.

Smith Engineering Works

Austin Manufacturing Co.

Buda Company

1923

Roads and Streets

999

L. P. Green Co.

Asphalt Association

W. & L. E. Gxirley

Public Works Journal

Concrete Steel Company

Ingersoll-Rand Co.

Cleveland Tractor Co.

Davenport Locomotive Works

Byers Machinery Co.

Lakewood Engrineering Co.

Austin Western Road Machinery Co.

T. L. Smith Co.

Foote Concrete Machinery Co.

The Hug Company

International Motor Co.

Pawling & Harnischfeger

Elgin Sales Coriwration

J. D. Adams Co.

Chain Belt Co.

.Austin Machinery Corporation

Bucyrus Company

Northwest Engineering Co.

Heltzel Steel Form & Iron Co.

Le Roi Company

The Osgood Co.

Oshkosh Manufacturing Co.

Portland Cement

Lee Trailer & Body Co.

Metal Form Corporation

Littleford Bros.

Link Belt Co.

National Highway Association

Avery Co.

Autocar Company

Dunn Wire Cut Lug Brick

A. B. French & Co.

Republic Motor Truck Co.

Philip Carey Co.

Warren Bros. Company

Erie Steel Construction Co.

Barber Asphalt Co.

•Anthony & Co.

Engineering News Record

Schramm, Inc.

C. L. Best Tractor Co.

W. S. Tyler Co.

Hercules Corporation

F. P. Cummer & Son Co.

Clay Products Association

American Tar Products Co.

Erwin Greer

Stroud & Company

Parsons Company

Waukesha Motor Co.

East Iron Machinery Co.

Owen Bucket Co.

The American City

Manufacturers Record

Wiard Plow Company

Engineering and Contracting

Carbic Mfg. Company

-■Vmerican Production & Trading Co.

Barnes Manufacturing Company

Mead Morrison Mfg. Co.

Electric Wheel Co.

The Bates Machinery & Tractor Co.

Ransome Concrete Machinery Co.

Borg & Beck Company

Black & Decker Mfg. Co.

R. J. Lewis Mfg. Co.

Truscon Steel Co.

Universal Crane Go.

Huber Mfg. Co.

American-Vibrolithic Corp.

Graham Bros. Trucks

Chicago Motor Truck Mfg. Co., Inc.

O'Connell Motor Truck Co.

Archer Iron Works

Watson Truck Co.

Good Roads

Beaver Manufacturing Co.

Petroleum Motor Corp.

Turner & Moore Mfg. Co.

Pittsburg Testing Laboratory

W. B. Louer Co.

Full Crawler Co.

William-Heaver-Morgan Co.

Hercules Motor Co.

Associated Penna. Constructors

Overman Cushion Tire Co.

Singer Steel Casting Co.

N. P. Nelson Iron Works

Sweet Steel Company

Chicago Tube & Iron Co.

Hydraulic Hoist Manufacturing Co.

American Hoist & Derrick Co.

Trailmobile Co.

Service Motor Co.

Dow Chemical Co.

G. H. Williams Co.

Simplicity Screener Mfg. Co.

Root Spring Scraper Co.

Kalman Steel Co.

Oklahoma Engineering & Foundry Co.

American Gas Accumulator Co.

Automatic Signal & Sign Co.

American Willite Co.

Taylor Wharton Iron & Steel Co.

Bitucrete Co.

Complete Service Co.

American Malleable & Casting Co.

Sullivan Machinery Co.

Gray Tractor Co., Inc.

Armeo Culvert & Flume Co.

E. D. Etnyre & Co.

Kentucky Rock Asphalt Co.

Hastings Pavement Co.

Asphalt Block Pavement Co.

Stockland Road Rachinery Co.

Handy Sack Bailer Co.

Four Wheel Drive Co.

Wehr Co.

Oshkosh Motor Truck Mfg. Go.

Wyoming Shovel Works

Thomas Elevator Co.

Highway Maintainer

Marion Steam Shovel Co.

B. M. Cropp Company

Williams Patent Crusher & Pulverizer Co.

W. E. Godwin Company

Clyde Iron Works

Buckeye Tractor Co.

Noble Motor Truck Corp.

Essco Manufacturing Co.

C. S. Johnson Co.
O. K. Clutch Co.

American Manganese Steel Co.

Orr & Sembower

Curtis Pneumatic Machinery Co.

Fuller & Johnson Mfg. Co.

Universal Crusher Co.

Butler Equipment Co.

Troy Trailer & Wagon Co.

Specialty Engineering Co.

Van Dorn Co.

Buhl Company

Western Contractor

Interflash Signal Co.

Lufkin Rule Co.

American Bosch Magneto Co.

Union Iron Products Co.

U. S. Asphalt Refining Co.

Highway Engineer & Contractor Co.

Twin Disc Clutch

Racine Radiator Go.

Illinois Division of Highways

1000

Roads and Streets

Nov.

Graduate Short Period Courses in
Highway Engineering

During the past four years the at-
tendance has steadily increased at the
graduate short period courses in high-
way engineering and highway trans-
port at the University of Michigan.
In 1919-1920 29 men took the courses
and in 1922-1923 there were 119 men
in attendance. The average age of
the men in attendance last winter was
27 years, varying from 23 to 56 years.
They came from the U. S. Bureau o.f
Public Roads, state county and mu-
nicipal highway departments, consult-
ing engineers* offices, contractors'
organizations, university faculties,
and manufacturing companies.

The schedule for the 1923-1924
course follows:

Dec. 3 to 14, 1923

77. Highway Engineering, Financing,
Management and Organization. Pro-
fessor Swinton.

81. American and English Highway
Transport Methods. Professor Blanch-
ard.

Dec. 17 to 29, 1923

67. Highway Transport Economics and
Surveys. Professors Blanchard and
Swinton.

72. Gravel and Broken Stone Roads,
Dust Prevention and Bituminous
Surfaces. Professors Blanchard and
Swinton.

Dec. 31, 1923, to Jan. 11, 1924

73. Brick, Cement-Concrete, Stone Block
and Wood Block Pavements. Pro-
fessor Bateman.

80. Interrelationship of Highway, Rail-
way and Waterway Transport. Pro-
fessors Riggs and Worley.
Jan. 14 to 25, 1824

68. Bituminous Macadam, Bituminous
Concrete and Sheet Asphalt Pave-
ments. Professor Blanchard.

82. Highway Transport Costs and Record
Systems. Professor Swinton.

Jan. 28 to Feb. 2, 1924

69. Highway Laboratory Research. Pro-
fessor Bateman.

70. Highway Structures. Professors Gram
and Cissel.

40. Mechanism, Operation and Mainte-
nance of Motor Trucks, Tractors and
Trailers. Professor Lay.

Feb. 11 to 14, 1924
The annual Michigan Conference on
Highway Engineering.
Feb. 18 to 29. 1924

71. Highway Specifications, Contracts
and Jurisprudence. Professor Riggs.

84. Highway Transport Management.

Professor Swinton.

March 3 to 14, 1924
76. Highway Engineering Theory and

Design. Professor Swinton.

78. Grading Machinery and Operations,
Drainage Systems and Earth and
Sand-Clay Roads. Professor Bate-
man.

79. Highway Transport Legislation and
Traffic Regulations. Professor
Blanchard.

. E.

C. E.
C. E.

C. E,

Statement of the Ownership, Management,
Circulation, Etc., Required by the Act of
Congress of August 24, 1912,
of ROAD AND STREETS Monthly issue of
ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING, pub-
lished monthly at Chicago, 111., for October,
1923.

State of Illinois, County of Cook, ss.

Before me, a Notary Public, in and for the
State and county aforesaid, personally ap-
peared E. S. Gillette, who, having been duly
sworn according to law. deposes and says that
he is the Circulation Manager of the publica-
tion Engineering and Contracting, and that
the following is, to the best of his knowledge
and belief, a true statement of the ownership,
management (and if a daily paper, the circu-
lation), etc., of the aforesaid publication for
the date shown in the above caption, required
by the Act of August 24, 1912. embodied in
section 443, Postal Laws and Regulations,
printed on the reverse of this form, to-wit:

1. That the names and addresses of the
publisher, editor, managing editor, and busi-
ness managers are: Publisher, Engineering
and Contracting. 221 East 20th Street. Chi-
cago: editor. H. P. Gillette, 221 East 20th
Street. Chicago managing editor, H. P. Gillette,
221 East 20th Street, Chicago; business man-
ager, Lewis S. Louer, 221 East 20th Street,
Chicago.

2. That the owners are: (Give names and
addj-esses of individual owners, or, if a corpo-
ration, give its name and the names and ad-
dresses of stockholders owning or holding 1
per cent or more of the total amount of stock.)
H. P. Gillette, 221 East 20th Street, Chicago:
Lewis S. Louer, 221 East 20th Street, Chicago :
R. E. Brown, 904 Longacre Bldg., 42nd St.
and Broadway, New York.

3. That the known bondholders, mortgagees,
and other security holders owning or holding
1 per cent or more of total amount of bonds,
mortgages, or other securities are: (If there
are none, so state.) None.

4. That the two paragraphs next above,
giving the names of the owners, stockholders,
and security holders, if any, contain not only
the list of stockholders as they appear upon
the books of the company but also, in cases
where the stockholder or security holder ap-
pears upon the books of the company as trustee
or in any other fiduciary relation, the name of
the person or corporation for whom such trustee
is acting, is given : also that the said two
paragraphs contain statements embracing
affiant's full knowledge and belief as to the
circumstances and conditions under which
stockholders and security holders who do not
appear upon the books of the company as
trustees, hold stock and securities in a capac-
ity other than that of a bona fide owner ; and
this affiant has no reason to believe that any
other person, association, or corporation has
any interest direct or Indirect in the said stock,
bonds, or other securities than as so stated by
him.

E. S. GILLETTE, Circulation Manager.

Sworn to and subscribed before me this Ist
day of October. 1«23.

(Seal) KITTIE C. WOULFE, Notary Public.
(My commission expires Feb. 9. 1926.)

Water Works

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbert p. Gillette, President and Editor

Lewis S. LOL'ER, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St. and Broadway

Richard E. Brown, Eastern Mana-ger

Roads and Streets — Ist Wednesday, $1 Railways — 3rd Wednesday, $1

(a) Road Con- (c) Streets (a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-
struction (d) Street clean- way Constrac- way Construc-

(b) Road Main- ing tion tion and
tenance Maintenance Maintenance

Buildings— (th Wednesday, Jl

(a) Buildings (d) Miscellaneous

(b) Bridges Structures
(c) Harbor Structures

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday, $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and
Drainage

Sanitation
(d) Waterways

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., NOVEMBER 14, 1923

No. 5

Utility Betterments and Extensions

Probably nowhere more than in the
matter of needed betterments and ex-
tensions do our water works and
other public utilities still feel the
effect of the wa^^ and post-war price
increases. Maintenance suffered for
a while, but it could not be dropped
below a certain level if service was
to be continued at all; and in fact
long before that level was reached
managements were exerting them-
selves to save losses in their property
through avoidable depreciation. But
betterments frequently could be de-

^layed, even though admittedly needed;

'and the ever difficult problem of
financing aggravated by war condi-
tions, resulted in postponement after
postponement. The result shows in
a varied assortment of inadequacies
in cities scattered throughout the
country.

One cannot deny and ought not to
minimize the contrary danger of ex-
travagance. Money tends to bum its
way out of public funds about as
readily as through private pockets

but it is not these cases that we are
considering now.

Utility betterments may be consid-
ered in three general classes — ^those
based upon improvements in the arts,
those required by improved standards
or changes in the character of use,
and those resulting from growth in
the community. The first two classes
are obviously the easiest to postpone
— especially under the non-competi-
tive conditions enjoyed by most water
works, but the advisability of post-
ponement is not a corollary of its ease.
If more economic means of rendering
the service have been developed the
retention of an antequated system will
impose an unjustified, though seldom
an unbearable burden upon the users.
If it is improved standards of use that
are lacking, the public is simply being
deprived of the benefit of modem
advances.

Growth of community falls into
two quite distinct sub-classes in rela-
tion to its requirements. The first
of these consists in increases of popu-

1002

Water Works

Nov.

lation or of industry within areas al-
ready served by the utility. If the
utility system has been well planned,
provision for some such growth will
usually have been foreseen and pro-
vided for. When growth progresses
beyond this point inadequacy results.
Business and even growth may con-
tinue but the price is inevitably paid
in decreased economy, safety, comfort
or otherwise. Take for example, the
much needed trunk sewer which the
taxpayers d¥ Los Angeles were so re-
luctant to authorize. It became both
a nuisance and a menace but did not
check the growth of population. The
other class of community growth is
that of areas outside the territory
already served. Such areas can make
but meager development until they
are properly provided with modern
utility service. To be sure there are
numerous residential developments in
which public services are well pro-
vided by the promoters, but on the
other hand many territories are held
in a backward condition as to either
industrial or residential development
simply because they lack these im-
provements.

In all cases the managements of
the utilities — either publicly or pri-
vately owned — are confronted with
economic problems of no small diffi-
culty. Yet their solution is impera-
tive in the interest both of public and
of utility. For the present our water
works, sewers, and some other util-
ities are inadequate in very many
places, and the expenditure of reason-
able sums on betterments and exten-
sions would be of universal benefit.
The futility of further delays in the
hope of reduced prices should now be
completely apparent.

To Make Study of Engineering
Education

The Carnegie Corporation has set
aside $108,000 for a study of engi-
neering education to be made under
the direction of the Society for the
Promotion of Engineering Education.
Of the above sum $24,000 is to be
available during the present fiscal
year and $12,000 during 1924. If, in
the judgment of the Executive Com-
mittee, substantial progress shall
have been made in this study by Jan.
1, 1925, the balance of the $108,000
will be made available to the Society
as follows: $24,000 additional during
the fiscal year 1924, $48,000 during
the fiscal year 1925.

Asphalt Lining for Drainage
Ditches

A process just used to advantage in
the Brighton district, Trinidad, B. W.
I., for lining surface ditches and the
edges of non-drainable ponds as a
means for mosquito control is de-
scribed as follows in the April issue
of Public Works of the Navy:

Preparation and Application. — After
the bottom and sides of the drain to
be lined have been cleaned and graded
and both edges cleared of grass for a
distant of 1 ft. back, liquid asphalt is
spread uniformly over the bottom and
sides of the drain and for about 1 ft.
on each edge. The asphalt should be
applied at the rate of 1 gal. per square
yard of drain surface and can best be
spread from a hand pouring pot pro-
vided with a special spout with an
adjustable slit opening. The liquid
asphalt is fluid enough to be applied
at atmospheric temperature. Sand is
then sifted over the face of asphalt
at the rate of 1 cu. ft. for 8 sq. yd.
of surface. The liquid asphalt at once
absorbs the sand. Fire is then started
in the drain by means of dry grass or
a piece of oily waste, and sanitary oil
is sprayed on the fire by means of a
hand pump.

The fire soon spreads and ignites
the liquid asphalt, which burns with
an intense heat, the fire traveling
along the drain with the wind. Where
combustion is not complete additional
oil is sprayed on the flame. In prac-
tice 1 gal. of sanitary oil is used for
10 sq. yd. of surface burned.

On cooling, the drain is found to be
lined with a hard, permanent asphalt-
and-sand wearing surface, about V^
in. in thickness, which adheres firmly
to the underlying soil. The lining re-
sists the scouring action of the flow
of water in drains and prevents the
growth of vegetation.

Side slopes are preferably about
45°, although in firm clay formation"
very nearly vertical sides have been
successfully lined.

The drains must be perfectly dry
in order properly to apply the asphalt.

The cost totals at from 14% to 20
ct. per square yard of surface treated,
which, when about 20 per cent is
added for grading and shaping pre-
paratory to lining, gives a per mile
cost of approximately $1,500 to $2,000
for a ditch of 21 sq. ft. in cross sec-
tion.

1923 Water Works 1003

Water Works and Sewer Contracts Awarded
During the Last 45 Months

The accompanying tables show: each year shows a gain over its prede-
First, that the waterworks and sewer cessor in the volume of contracts
contracts awarded during the last half awarded in this "hydraulic field."
of each year exceed in volume those ^ . . ^. j j •
awarded during the first half; second, The volume of irrigation and drain-
that there is not a month in the year age contracts will surprise any one
without a very large volume of water- who has not followed closely statistics
works and sewer contracts; third, that of this sort.

WATERWORKS CONTRACTS EXCEEDING J26.000 IN SIZE.

1920 1921 1922 192S

, „ s 1.144.000 % 519.000 S 1,727,000 S 4,720.000

itS^IL " "" 2,172,000 2,927.000 652,000 2.730.000

Mol^K 2.213.000 2.028,000 1,093.000 15,149.000

Marcn 2.719.000 3.342,000 2,673.000 8.544.000

April 1382.00(1 4.944.0O0 3.5G8.000 7.329.000

May — • J .gjQoy 3.485.000 5,124,000 4,045.000

T„Iv 3.793,000 3.106.000 811.000 3.803.000

A7,L«t' ■■ 775.000 2.404.000 4,494.000 3.678.000

SeDtembe? 743,000 1.487.000 3.906.000 2.881.000

ffiber II 11.169.000 900.000 7.686,000

Novemben 1 2.151.000 4.698.000 2.161,000

December 1,051,000 10.752.000 1.835.000

ToUl ~ - - $30,773,000 $40,602,000 $35.730.000

Note. — About '00 per cent must be added to the annual totals to give the grand total of
contracts awarded in the United States.

A great deal of waterworks construction is done by directly hired labor and is not included
above.

Waterworks buildings are not included above.

SEWER CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000 IN SIZE.

1920 1921 1922 1923

January $1,864,000 J 3.147,000 $2,267,000 $3,322,000

February ~ 623,000 2,445,000 2,462.000 2.131.000

March 1.283.000 2.862.000 3.796.000 4.477.000

April 4.124.000 3.817.000 2.794,000 5,497,000

May — 2,315.1100 -J. 162.001) 5.722,0011 9,052.000

June . 2,349.OT0 3.802.000 5.158.000 6.501,000

July 3,163,000 3,986.000 1,869,000 3,183,000

August 2.437.000 3,988,000 3.450.000 13.753.000

September 2.819.000 5.064.000 3.340.006 10,368,000

October 8,052,000 2,829,000 4.996,000

November - 4,572,000 2.788,000 5,349.000

December „ _ _ 2,967,000 2,549,000 2,381.000

Total $36,068,000 $39,384,000 $43,584,000

Note. — About 100 per cent must be added lo the annual totals to give the grand total of
contracts awarded in the United States.

A considerable amount of sewer construction is done by directly hired labor, which is not
included in the above totals.

IRRIGATION. DRAINAGE AND EXCAVATION CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000.

1920 1921 1922 1923

January „....$ 1,542,000 $ 1,266.000 $ 2.091,000 $ 548.000

February __ 787.000 806,000 419.000 865.000

March 8.151,000 1,626,000 608,000 28.998.000

April 416.000 686,000 1.786.000 2.506.000

May 404.000 2.632,000 776.000 8.553.000

June 606.000 1.240.000 2.628.000 1.174.000

July „ 1.942.000 609,000 1.498,000 6,902.000

August 4,179.000 89,000 6,920,000 2.337.000

September 859.000 9.026.000 876,000 3,360,000

October 1.086.000 878.000 2.390.000

November 772.000 726.000 1.741.000

December __ 477.000 TOT.OOO 864,000

■I^t*' - $16,220,000 $19,179,000 $22,547,000

*^0*^— About 100 per cent must be added to the annual totals to give the grand toUl of
eontraeti awarded in the United State*.

1004 Water Works Nov.

Repairing Coagulation Basins With Cement Gun

Method and Cost of Work at Oklahoma City, Okla.

By A. S. HOLWAY

Holway Engineering Co., Consulting Engineers, Tulsa, Okla.

Plans for Oklahoma City's new
water filtration plant contemplated
making use of the old coagulation
basins. These were four in number,
built in two groups, one of which was
built in 1909 and the other in 1912.
The walls of these basins were badly

only be needed on one side of each
wall;

(3) Runways could be eliminated
with cement gun work. This was an
important item, because the amount
of concrete required per lineal foot of
wall was less than 3 cu. ft.

Shooting East Basins. Note Top and Back Forms With Light Bracing and Scaffolds.
Forms for Two Walls Were Supported by Single Set of Braces.

disintegrated above the water line.
This disintegration was apparently
the result of the action of frost on a
porous concrete.

Cement Gun Work Was Selected. —
A study of the various methods of re-
pairing the walls of the basins indi-
cated that the work should be done
with cement guns rather than by ordi-
nary concrete pouring methods for
the following reasons:

(1) Forms for cement gun work
could be much lighter;

(2) Form bracing for cement gun
work could be very light and would

(4) Cement gun work would not be
subjected to future disintegration to
the same extent as poured concrete
because of its higher density;

(5) The small water content of gun-
ite made it less liable to freeze than
concrete and therefore more ap-
plicable to use during freezing
weather in a location where it was so
difficult to protect.

Contract on Cost Plus Fixed Fee
Basis. — It was extremely difficult to
estimate the amount of disintegrated
concrete which must be removed and
replaced. It was therefore decided to

1923

Water Works

1005

award a contract on the basis of cost
plus a fixed fee.

The contract as let included the re-
moval of all disintegrated concrete
for the walls and rebuilding the walls

The disintegrated concrete was re-
moved with stone picks, sledges, or
cold chisels, depending on the amount
of material to be removed. The dis-
integrated concrete was all removed

View of West Basins. Disintegrrated Concrete Removed.

with gunite mixed in the proportion
of one part of cement to three parts
sand. The voids in the sand were
specified to vary from 25 per cent to

and the old steel reinforcing rods
cleaned with wire brushes. This steel
was supplemented in most places by
steel wire mesh.

West Basin With Repairs Completed.

35 per cent. The walls totalled ap-
proximately 2200 feet in length and
varied from 6 in. to 14 in. in thick-
ness. The basins were 12 ft. deep.

Method of Applying Gunite. —

Forms were then placed having one
side and a top. The forms were
braced against the next wall. The

1006

Water Works

Nov.

gunite was mixed at a central point
adjacent to the railroad siding. Two
N-2 cement guns were used operated
by air furnished by two compressors
driven by 2300 volt motors.

The nozzlemen worked from mov-
able scaffolds supported by horses.
The gunite was shot against the forms
for a distance of 4 to 6 ft., and was
built up to a full section in two or
three vertical layers. The face of the
wall was then screeded, using the
edge of the top form and the old wall
for guides. The exposed face was
then flashed with a thin coating of
gunite. Forms were removed the fol-
lowing morning and the remainder of
the work was flashed.

The total amount of gunite mixed
was 292 cu. yd. Estimating the re-

each day in actual use. Sand was
$1.40 per ton and cement was $2.80
net per barrel delivered on the job.
Common labor was paid 40 ct. per
hour. The total costs of the work
were as follows:

Cost per
cu. yd.

Item Total cost in place

Power $ 313.76 $ 1.26

Sand - 462.81 1.87

Cement 1,552.95 6.27

Freight and Drayage on

Equipment and Miscl 627.70 2.53

Lumber 643.50 2.60

Steel 209.00 .84

Insurance 200.55 .81

Equipment Rental 1,560.00 6.29

Labor 4,031.75 16.25

Superintendence 717.51 2.89

Miscellaneous Expense 320.83 1.29

Total $10,640.36 $42.90

The contract was signed early in

East Basin With Repairs Completed.

boimd at 15 per cent of the whole, the
actual gunite placed was 248 cu. yd.

Cost of the Work. — In view of the
fact that the contract was handled on
a cost plus basis, the costs quoted
below are practically complete in
every detail. These costs include cost
of shipping equipment to the job,
making all of the preparations for
starting work, building compressor
and cement sheds, removing disin-
tegrated concrete, and clearing up
after the completion of the work.
The fixed fee covered the use of small
tools, office, overhead, and profit.
Water was furnished free by the city.
Each cement gun equipment, includ-
ing compressor and motor, was rented
on the basis of $15.00 per day for

December, 1922, and the work was
completed early the following March.
Pratt-Thompson Construction Co.,
Kansas City, Mo., was the contractor
on the work and the writer was engi-
neer in charge of the work.

Rainfall at St. Paul, Minn.— The

annual rainfall at St. Paul, Minn., for
82 years, 1840 to 1922 inclusive, has
averaged 27.47 in., according to a
table in 1922 report of Mr. Wm. J.
Peters, Commissioner of Public
Works. The maximum yearly rain-
fall was in 1849 when 49.69 in. fell;
the minimum rainfall was 10.21 in. in
1910.

1923 Water Works 1007

Operation Records for Small Water Works

Their Value, the Existing Situation, and Methods of Improvement Dis-
cussed in Paper Presented at Last Annual Meeting of Iowa Section
of American Water Works Association

By EARLE L. WATERMAN

Associate Professor of Sanitary Engineering, University of Iowa

It is rather difficult to define the
term small water works. In a paper
on "Modem Pumps for Small Water
Works", which was published in the
Journal of the New England Water
Works Association in March, 1920,
Mr, C. W. Fulton includes under small
water works those plants which have
a daily capacity of 3,000,000 gal. or
less. Such a classification may per-
haps serve the purpose of this dis-
cussion although the writer feels that
in the Iowa plants whose capacity is
500,000 gal. or more per day some
effort is generally made to keep rec-
ords of operation. While in most
cases these records can be improved —
particularly in those plants which
under our classification may be called
small water works — it is in the
smaller plants whose capacity is less
than 500,000 gal. per day that the
greatest improvement can be made.
Definite data concerning the number
of these plants are not available but
from such information as could be ob-
tained the writer estimates that out
of 500 plants in Iowa 490 would be
classed as small water works and of
this number, 464 have a capacity of
less than 500,000 gal. per day.

What Records Should Show.— The
records which ought to be kept at a
water works plant should show all
facts relating to the operation of the
plant. In a broad sense the keeping
of such records may be called book-
keeping or accounting. However,
properly kept records will not only
show costs of operation, but will also
show pertinent facts in regard to the
quality of the product and point to
reasons for variations in quality. A
successful water works plant is one
which supplies water, which is satis-
factory from every standpoint, to its
customers, and also gives good service
at a minimum cost. The facts in re-
gard to the operation of such a plant
should be kept in permanent form so
that they may be always available.
We profit by experience — the operat-
ing records should be a complete rec-
ord of experience obtained in operating

a water works plant. When it is too
late we often find that the memory of
the plant superintendent is not as
trustworthy as a written record.

The operating records should in-
clude an inventory of all plant equip-
ment, a record of the amount of water
furnished to the distribution system
each day, amount of power used per
day, pressure maintained, occurrence
of fires, labor costs, plans of the dis-
tribution system, all changes in the
distribution system, installation and
removal of meters, meter testing,
quantities of chemicals used for treat-
ment, data concerning treatment, and
the results of the examination of all
samples of water which are analyzed
to determine the quality. It is prob-
able that other items should be in-
cluded— this is not a complete list by
any means and is offered only for the
purpose of suggesting what the
writer has in mind when he uses the
term operating records. It will be
noted that aside from labor costs,
which are a factor of operating costs,
the financial items are not included
and the reason for this omission is
that such records do not always come
under the province of the superinten-
dent of water works. It is not our
purpose to discuss the important mat-
ter of the determination of water
sales rates.

Value of Records to Operator. — The

operating records should be of the
greatest value to the plant operator.
Such records ought to enable him to
operate the water works plant in the
most efficient manner. The efficiency
of the plant units as well as the effi-
ciency of the plant as a whole can be
determined. If the plant is not oper-
ated continuously a study of the oper-
ating records should show at what
times and for how long a period the
plant can be most economically run.
It should show him the variations in
quantity of water available at the
source of supply and the variation in
ordinary demand together with the
effect of fire demand. The record

1008

Water Works

Nov.

would show the effect of the seasons
both on the quantity and quality of
water and on the plant and distribu-
tion system. Some one will say that
the old operator knows these things.
In a general way this is true but such
information cannot be as reliable as
the written record, and the new man
coming on to the job does not inherit
his predecessor's memory! Properly
kept operating records should be in-
valuable to the man who makes them.

Use of Records in Making Out
Reports. — The making out of reports
to State Board of Health and to
State Public Utilities Commission will
be very much easier for the man who
keeps a daily record of his plant oper-
ation. These state supervisory au-
thorities are not unjust in their
requests for information. The object
of such supervision is to protect the
health and the pocket book of the
citizens of the state. Speaking only
from the standpoint of the water
utilities we must admit that the pri-
mary function of such public utilities
is first to furnish a safe and satisfac-
tory water, and second, to supply such
water to the consumer at a reasonable
cost. Then the question arises as to
who is to determine whether or not
these requirements are being ful-
filled ? The consumer knows whether
or not the water is satisfactory but
he is a poor judge of its safety and
has very little knowledge on which to
base an opinion as to the cost. Safety
and cost are matters to be determined
by specialists and for the small water
works the services of qualified experts
in such matters is not feasible from
an economic standpoint. When such
advisory service is furnished by the
state plant operators should realize
its value and by hearty co-operation
obtain maximum benefits from it.
Operating records make such co-op-
eration possible and not a burden.

The Need for Past Records of Plant
Operation. — Most small towns and
cities have the laudable ambition to
grow and history shows that a major-
ity of them do increase in size.
Growth means enlargement, extension
and improvement of the waterworks
plant. When these matters come up
for consideration the first inquiry
made by the engineer who is to make
the plans is for the past records of

plant operation. On the basis of such
records he is able to forecast more
accurately the probable future de-
mands and plan for a plant that will
furnish a safe, satisfactory and eco-
nomical water supply. The degree of
success which he attains will be
largely measured by the data which
he finds available. Operating records
are valuable in planning improve-
ments to the water works plant.

At a majority of the water works
plants in Iowa where some form of
purification process is used operating
records are being kept. The chief of
the water laboratory of the State
Board of Health has been making a
very commendable effort during the
past two years to encourage the keep-
ing of such records. If the plant
operator keeps only a duplicate of the
weekly reports which are required by
the State Board of Health he will at
least have a fair start on operating
records.

Obstacles in Way of Getting Oper-
ating Records. — Perhaps the most
serious obstacles in the way of get-
ting operating records at small water
works are, first, lack of proper equip-
ment and record forms, and second,
the fact that in many cases the oper-
ation of the water works plant is only
a part of the duties of the man who
is city marshal and superintendent of
streets. Probably not more than one-
fourth of his time is devoted to the
water works. With so many things to
claim his attention it is not surprising
that he does not keep records at the
water works.

If such records are to be obtained
it is essential that simple forms be
planned and further that some equip-
ment for measuring pressures and
recording the amount of water fur-
nished by the plant be installed. A
recording pressure gage will be very
helpful to the operator. Venturi
meters or master flow meters may be
used to determine the daily flow. If
it is not possible to install a meter a
stroke counter on the pumps at pump-
ing plants may be used. Where the
plant is not run continuously the time
of starting and stopping should be -
recorded. In the smaller plants the I
furnishing of a diary or log in which I
daily notes can be made may serve to
encourage the operator to make some
records. I

1923

Water Works

1009

Shrink-Fitting Heavy Shaft
Assembly

Novel Method of Assembling Shaft,
Rotor and Water Wheel Runner

When installing the equipment for
the hydroelectric plant of the Andhra
Valley Power Supply Co. near Bom-

Shaft Saspended from Clamps, and About to

Be Lowered Into the Steam-Box for the First

Spider.

bay, India, C. V. Foulds,*Field Engi-
neer for the Pelton Water Wheel Co.
of San Francisco, developed a novel
method of assembling shaft, rotor and
water wheel runner. For the particu-
lar conditions of the job, this method
proved much superior to the conven-
tional press-fit.

The plant comprises six 10,000
k. V. a. General Electric generators,
each driven by a single overhung Pel-
ton impulse turbine. Besides the
hydraulic equipment, Mr. Foulds and
his assistant, W. L. Parker, installed
the generators as well. The only
labor available was native and was
mainly unskilled.

Each shaft assembly comprised
four rotor spiders weighing 8 tons

apiece, the water wheel runner weigh-
ing 12 tons, and the shaft itself
weighing 9 tons — a total of 53 tons.
The final assembly weighed 73 tons,
but the 20 field poles for the rotor,
weighing a ton apiece, were naturally
not added until the rest of the assem-
bly was completed. The bore of run-
ner and spider hubs was 0.003 in.
smaller than the shaft diameter which
was 22 in.

Largely on account of the lack of
skilled labor, it was decided to heat
spiders and runner by steam and
shrink them on rather than employ
the usual press-fitting methods.
However, events proved that shrink-
fitting would have been advantageous

Shaft Being Turned, Showing Block to Keep
Weight OS Backets.

irrespective of the character of the
labor supply.

A "steam box" large enough for
one of the rotor spiders was con-
structed, and a spider lowered into it.
Steam was then supplied by a 1-in.
pipe from a donkey boiler outside the
building. Four or five hours of steam-
ing was required, which increased the
diameter of the bore from 0.003 in.
less than the shaft to 0.012 in. more.

1010

Water Works

Nov.

Further steaming made only a slight
additional increase, the time allowed
being apparently sufficient to bring
the spider up to approximately the
temperature of the steam.

The first spider to be applied was
necessarily the one next to the out-
board bearing, so that in up ending
the shaft for insertion, it was neces-
sary to grip it by a friction clamp
over the journal itself, as there was
no collar to keep the clamp from
slipping off. The clamp used was
composed of two 12 by 12 in. teak
timbers fitted to the curvature of the
journal, and held together by two

made to fit the slots exactly, and as
each pair of spiders came together it
was inserted and left in place until
the last spider to be added had cooled
and gripped the shaft. The time of
cooling was prolonged as much as
possible, 12 hours being usually al-
lowed for it, although the hub com-
menced to grip the shaft after one
hour.

Aside from the cleaning and prep-
aration of hubs and shaft that would
be required whatever the method of
assembly employed, the actual work
for each hub required one man for 8
hours to tend the boiler, and the crane

Shaft Assembly On Its Way to Final Position. Total Weight 53 Tons.

pieces of 12 in. I-beam 3 ft. long with
3 1^/4 in. bolts at each end. Forged
links of 1^/^ in. steel were looped over
the double hook of the crane.

At the conclusion of the required
steaming period, the steam was shut
off and the box opened. The bore was
then wiped out and its diameter
checked before inserting the shaft,
which went in easily. For the first
spider on each shaft a stop was at-
tached to prevent the shaft going too
far. The other spiders stopped
against the ones already in place.
After the first spider had shrunk in
place, the lifting clamp was removed
and subsequent hoisting done with
slings through the spider.

To guard against looseness in the
main key and to insure alignment of
the pole slots of the four spiders, a
long key with one end tapered was

and four men for two hours to make
the insertion and later to withdraw
the assembly and place another
spider in the box. The same proced-
ure was followed for the turbine run-
ner except that a slightly larger steam
box was required and seven hours
steaming instead of five. In one in-
stance all five hubs were set on a
shaft in as many days.

When the shaft assembly, weighing
53 tons had been completed, and was
hanging from the crane with the tur-
bine runner down, an overhanging
step was provided on one of the pit
walls, on which was rested the outer
hub of the runner, permitting the en-
tire assembly to be lowered to a hori-
zontal position without placing any
weight on the buckets. The assembly
was then picked up again and set in
the bearings.

1923

Water Works

1011

Stream Line Filters

New Development in Filtration De-
scribed in Paper Read Oct. 16 at
Meeting on Pollution of Streams
by Industrial Waste at Engi-
neers' Club, Philadelphia

By GEORGE W. FULLER

Consulting Engineer, New York and
Philadelphia

Stream line filters were one of the
most interesting exhibits at the Ship-
ping, Engineering and Machinery
Exhibition at Olympia, London, last
September. They are the invention
of H. S. Hele-Shaw, D. Sc, LL. D.,
F. R. S., a well known inventor of
mechanical appliances, a distinguished
professor of Engineering in earlier
years at Liverpool and in South Af-
rica, and last year President of the
British Institution of Mechanical
Engineers.

The Antecedents of the Filter.— The

principle of this filter was discovered
last winter while experimenting with
lantern projections to indicate the be-
havior of films under pressure in
connection with the Theory of Stream-
Line Motion, established by Dr. Hele-
Shaw. Announcement of the discov-
ery was made before the Royal
Society May 10, 1923, and the formal
paper attracted so much interest that
this Society requested a demonstra-
tion of its practical application at its
Annual Soiree on May 16. So intense
was the interest in the use of this
highly scientific discovery that a sec-
ond demonstration was given by re-
quest of the Royal Society on June 12.
Descriptions and demonstrations were
also given before the Royal Institu-
tion on June 1, before the Society of
Chemical Industry on June 4, when a
commercial-size filter was first shown,
and before the Institution of Civil
Engineers on July 12. So much for
the antecedents of this device, which
has been patented, prior to its exhibi-
tion before the general public at
Olympia, Aug. 31 to Sept. 22, 1923.

What the Filter Is.— The stream-
line filter in its simplest form is made
of a pack of specially prepared paper,
imper\'ious to water and oil and some-
what roughened to provide passage-
ways, the pack being held within a
container between two press-heads.
One of the pressheads is movable and
provided with a screen arrangement
for suitably compressing the many

hundreds of sheets which make up the
paper pack. Through the entire pack
from press-head to press-head are
two alternate sets of circular holes,
the larger being for the influent and
the smaller for the effluent. At one
press-head are channels through
which, under such pressure as desired,
the influent is led to each of the open-
ings of larger diameter; and at the
other press-head are channels con-
necting with the smaller holes in or-
der to remove the effluent. The in-
fluent, even under heavy pressure,
can pass from the larger tubular
openings only through the laminae of
the heavily compacted pieces of paper,
with stream line motion, into the
smaller tubular openings which form
an exit from the filter. The latter is
equipped, at the press-heads, with
rubber joints and other minor ar-
rangements, which vary with the size
of the unit and need no description
here.

These filters are built of the hori-
zontal or vertical type. The largest
stream line filter exhibited at Olym-
pia consisted of a battery of 16 ver-
tical filters, each pack containing
16,000 sheets, 256,000 sheets in all,
with 32 influent openings making the
total number of filter units 8,192,000.
Its rated capacity is 10,000 gal. per
hour.

How the Filters Are Cleaned. —

Stream line filters require cleaning at
intervals, depending upon the quan-
tity and quality of influent filtered
since the preceding cleaning. This is
done in one or both of two ways.
Either the deposit on the walls of in-
fluent tubular openings is pushed
through suitable ports in the press-
head by means of light, free-fitting
pistons which are actuated by the
pressure normally used in forcing the
influent through the filter; or, the de-
posit is removed by forcing the efflu-
ent back through the effluent open-
ings, through the laminae of the
compressed paper pack, thence
through the walls of the influent
tubular openings and out through a
suitable port. Obviously the cleaning
operations are to be adjusted to the
work done by the filter. That is, con-
sideration is given to whether the
purpose is to obtain the separation of
solids or coUoids, or to free a liquid
of undesirable matters contained in
it. I saw several packs of paper dis-
mantled after more or less use in fil-

1012

Water Works

Nov.

tering various substances and I was
impressed by the complete absence of
stain or other sign of service by the
paper, other than at the edges of the
influent openings.

Accomplishments of edge filtration,
as distinguished from ordinary filtra-
tion through a body of granular mate-
rial, depend upon the ability to regu-
late the attenuation of the films in
which the liquid passes in stream-line
motion. It is essential that the mate-
rial used in this new filter have a
rough surface so as to provide pas-
sage-ways, as satisfactory results do
not appear to be obtainable with
smooth surfaces. The special paper
now used is not only impervious and
relatively cheap, but its flexibility
allows pressure to be applied to the
packs in varying degree, thus provid-
ing a control for the size of the
passage-ways. As a result of passing
certain mixed liquids through the
stream line filter several times, and
increasing the pressure on the paper
pack between each filtration, it is un-
derstood that different substances are
removed each time, thus accomplish-
ing what for convenience has been
designated as "fractional filtration."
It may be mentioned that the paper
in use is said to withstand ordinary
acid solutions up to 10 per cent
strength, but that filtration is inter-
fered with by alkalies approaching 1
per cent.

What the Stream Line Filter Will

Do. — As to the work which the
stream-line filter will do, it is not
easy in a few words to do justice to
the discovery of Dr. Hele-Shaw. For
present purposes it is sufficient to
record some of its accomplishments,
as follows:

Removes the color or stain from
moorland swampy water.

Produces a colorless effluent from
a solution of Erythrosin when diluted
with 5,000,000 parts of water, and
having a brilliant orange color with
fluorescent green glint.

Produces from milk a clear effluent,
nearly tasteless.

Extracts the oil from feed water.

Separates water and impurities
from oil.

Extracts 30 per cent of the salt in
sea water.

Decolorizes unrefined sugar.

Separates cyanogen from gas house
sludge.

Reduces dilute activated sludge to a
60 per cent water content.

Enough has been said to indicate
the wide range in style of perform-
ance which may be obtained from this
discovery of Dr. Hele-Shaw. I have
never seen an invention which has
attracted so much favorable attention
from such widely different groups of
men. Its accomplishments have
aroused not only those engaged in
scientific investigations, but also the
engineer, the chemist, the bacteriol-
ogist and the manufacturers engaged
in many industries. Its commercial
uses are being eagerly investigated at
the same time that laboratory men
are discussing its utility in their
work. Discussions by English scien-
tists have already suggested many
interesting possibilities, including the
grading of bacteria of different sizes,
the concentration of enzyme solutions
and the separation (by using suffi-
cient pressure) of ultra- microscopic
microorganisms.

It is too early, of course, to say
much as to the economic worth of this
filter in the industries or to outline
the scope of its benefits to science.
But the indications are that it will
have a bright future along many lines
of activity.

As I left London a couple of weeks
ago I was informed that an Amer-
ican company, to develop this inven-
tion in this country, was about to be
formed, and that perhaps arrange-
ments would be made to demonstrate
its performance at the National Ex-
position of Power and Mechanical
Engineering Show at the Grand Cen-
tral Palace in New York, during the
first week in December. However,
announcements as to its introduction
in this country will have to come
from those having the matter directly
in hand.

Baltimore Votes $10,000,000 for
Water Works. — The citizens of Balti-
more, Md., at the election on Nov. 6
authorized a lean of $10,000,000 for
water works improvements. The
principal projects include the develop-
ment of a new source of supply or en-
largement of existing impounding
works and construction of a new sup-
ply tunnel, at a cost of $4,000,000;
general extension of the system for
new consumers at a cost of $1,000,-
000; and the installation of water
supply and distribution mains to cost
$4,000,000.

1923

Water Works

Fitting the Electric Motor to the Pump

1013

A Practical Discussion on the Application of Electric Drive to a
Fundanient2d Operation in Industrial Plants

By R. H. ROGERS,

Power & Mining- Engineering Department, General Electric Co.

Pumping is a fundamental opera-
tion in all industrial plants which
lends itself admirably to electric drive.
The selection of pumps, motors and
control for the most successful oper-
ation under all conditions and cir-
cumstances is not a simple problem
and if not well studied out the plant
is penalized continuously through the
following years. The fact that some
of the major industries with well or-
ganized engineering departments are
operating many pumps with charac-

\J^^

rn^/\

J^^N^qN^

Ik'

(^■Bfl^^Hvk^ '

\ -jjjff-

vplH

^HHtt^'

- *

^IP

^ ^

Fig. 1. Sulphite Stock Pumps in Paper MilL

teristics entirely unfitted for the serv-
ice would indicate that this branch of
especially for those who have little
time for an intensive study of these
problems.

The clearest way to show all the
elements that effect the over all effi-
ciency of electric pumping units is to
analyze the whole span from the elec-
tric meter to the work accomplished,
not overlooking other items that make
an installation successful. The items
that directly affect the kilowatt hours
per million gallon feet are given be-
low.

Ratio of Dynamic Head to Static
Head. — The vertical tape measure-

ment from level to level or the cal-.
culated head if pumping against say
boiler pressure is not the measure
of the pump work. Every foot of
pipe, every valve, every elbow or other
fitting adds to the theoretical to make
the actual or dynamic head.

For instance, considering only pipe
diameter, a 5 in. three stage centrifu-
gal delivering 400 gpm. through 300
ft. of 5 in. pipe will cost $375 per

BOO 2O0O »00 *»0 5000

Gallons por Minut«

Fig. 2. Typical Curves for 12-in. Centrifugal
Pump at Constant Speed.

year more to operate than if a 10 in.
pipe were used. This differential
would pay for the larger pipe in a
year. Tables of heads to be added for
sizes of pipes, valves, elbows, etc.,
at various velocities are available in

— :—

"~i~

"T"

■

■,

li.

10" 5iri<l« Staje Ccnlrif u<al Pump

Dr ven by a ""S H P.|20<rS9uirral

Co^a Molor.

< ■ ■

c -2

■

SJ~

;

A-

■

2 ,

■

[

—

■-=

—

rr:

—

-r

?o 30 40 50 eo 70 ao 90 !00 110 120 :» wo iscw)

Total Haad >n f-cct

Fig. 3. KW. Hours Required for Million Gal-
lon-Feet at Various Heads for 10-in. Centrifu-
gal Pump Driven at Constant Speed.

pump catalogs and handbooks and
they deserve close consideration.

In general the piping should have
much greater area than the pump
openings as high velocity is essentia

1014

Water Works

Nov.

in the pump but very detrimental in
piping. Six to eight feet per second
should not be exceeded and less is
desirable, for, once installed, the loss
goes on for years.

60
55
50
45
40
.35
50
25
20

— r—

75 HP. 1800 5.C. Motor
Pump Thrcthlad ho
^j^apacities below.

•^1^

■-1

-■

-J

Wound Rotor Motor
Spoed reduced by
rheostat in- secondary
winding for capacities
\ below.

Brush Shiftin^'^
A.C. Commutator
Motor Speed
Reduced by 5hiFt-
in^, Brushes for
Capacities bolow.

■

M 1 i 1 M

2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 60C 400 200
C.P.M.

Fig. 4. KW. Input to Motor When Reduced
Pump Output Is Secured by Throttling at Con-
stant Speed ; by Reducing Speed Using a
Wound Rotor Motor; by Reducing Speed
Using a Brush Shifting Motor.

The suction pipe especially should
be deeply immersed, should be as
short as is practical, consistent with

more work for the motor forever after
and if it is 10 per cent or 50 per cent,
that excess will show up at the meter.

Figure 1 shows pump installations
with no suction lift as they are placed
alongside the sulphite stock tank. The
piping is very liberal in size so that
the difference between dynamic and
static head is slight.

Pump Characterictics. — Head, gal-
lons per minute, efficiency, revolu-
tions per minute and horse power
plotted together show the character of
a centrifugal pump. If the speed at
the point of best efficiency is at or
near an induction motor speed, viz.:
1730, 1150, 865, 690 or 575 it will in-
sure its operation at the most effi-
cient point if direct connected to a
squirrel cage induction motor.

If the horse power required at the
most efficient point is near one of the
standard squirrel cage motor ratings,
viz.: 200 hp., 150 hp., 125 hp., 100 hp.,
75 hp., 60 hp., 50 hp., 40 hp., 30 hp.,
25 hp., etc., it will insure a high over
all efficiency for the set. Fortunately,
induction motors have a very flat effi-
ciency curve through the working
range such as 90 per cent at full
load; 90.5 pei; cent at 75 per cent load
and 90 per cent at 50 per cent load

Fig. 5.

Motors at Right Are Brush Shifting Type With I'ilol Motor Control.
Left Arc of Squirrel Cage Type. All Driving Centrifugal Pumps.

Motors at

good installation practice and the

bends, if any, should be of long radius.

An excess of dynamic head over

static head means just that much

so that this feature has little eflfect.
However, the power factors of such
motors require that they be operated
to a minimum. Power factor affectsl

1923

Water Works

1015

only the leads and generating system
and not the meter except as the rates

Fig.

6. 15 Hp. Vertical Squirrel Cage Sump
Motor With Float Switch Control.

may be adjusted to penalize low power
factor in a plant. At loads as above,
the power factor may be in the order

trifugal pumps is that of having the
load fall off each way from the best
operating point. This prevents an
overload coming on the motor by an
accident or mishandling of valves
which would subject it to maximum
head (closed off) or minimum head
(direct discharge).

Figure 2 shows typical centrifugal
pump curves for constant speed. The
efficiency is high and fairly flat from
80 ft. to 97 ft. head and from 4,000
to 5,600 gpm., hence the pump could
be efficiently applied between these
limits. The horse power falls off both
ways so that the motor cannot be
overloaded.

Operating Oflf Rating. — Pumps are
rated naturally at their best operat-
ing point and any deviation in speed,
head or delivery will result in a
higher cost per unit of duty.

While some future conditions may
have to be given consideration, oper-
ating at lower than rated head should
be avoided especially where a constant
speed motor is used. Fig. 3 shows
the variations in KW hours per mil-
lion gallon feet pumped by a 10 in.
centrifugal direct connected to the

Fig. 7. Wound Rotor Motors Controlled by Automatic Panels and Float Switches.

of 89 per cent, 87 per cent and 80 constant speed motor which gives the

per cent. highest over all efficiency at the pump

A desirable characteristic in cen- rating.

1016

Water Works

Nov.

The gallon-feet pumped in a year
at 1235 ft. head for $9,100 (2 ct. per
KW hour) would cost $17,000 if
pumped at 45 ft. head with pumps of
this class. This difference of $7,900
per year is not out of line with many
pumping duty costs that may be found
among the misapplied pumps in indus-
trial plants.

Choice of Pumps. — For constant
speed service either induction motors
of the squirrel cage type or synchro-
nous motors may be used. Synchro-
nous motors improve the power factor

higher efficiencies at reduced speeds
and this justifies their higher cost if
operated at below normal speed fre-
quently or for long periods. Fig. 4
shows the relative outlay in KW.
hours for an adjustable speed pump
using wound rotor and brush shifting
motors. The third curve shows the
high cost of throttling to get reduced
output.

It will be noted that at 60 per cent
of normal pump output, the brush
shifting motor would operate 24 hours
for $10.72; the wound rotor motor for

Figr. 8. Compound Wound Motor Operating Pump in Nitrate Plant.

for the plant and this item may be
enough to justify the valve manipula-
tion incident to starting centrifugal
pumps with such motors, together
with the complication of bringing D.
C. excitation to the motor. There is
little difference in the efficiencies of
the motors mentioned.

For direct current service the shunt
wound motor is not well adapted for
centrifugal pump drive, as they are
too sensitive to load and voltage
changes. A compound wound motor
should be used with only a moderate
series field, say 10 per cent, and such
motors have been standardized for
centrifugal pump service.

For adjustable speed pump drives,
wound rotor motors, or the brush
shifting, commutator type of motors
may be used. The latter have much

$14.88; the squirrel cage with throt-
tled pump for $25.20. The differences
become greater upon reducing the
output still more.

Vertical motors may often be used
to great advantage by locating the
pump at whatever depth may be nec-
essary below the motor room floor.
This reduces or eliminates the suction
lift with consequent benefit to the
over all efficiency. Where grit is pres-
ent in the water or the pump is inac-
cessible the entire weight of the re-
volving parts may be carried on a sus-
pension thrust bearing at the top of
the vertical motor. This allows of
easy inspection and maintenance. Ver-
tical motors are available in synchro-
nous, squirrel cage, wound rotor,
brush shifting and direct current con-
struction.

1923

Water Works

1017

Figure 5 shows three brush shifting
vertical motors at the rigth and three
squirrel cage vertical motors at the
left all driving centrifugal pumps.

Squirrel cage motors can be used
on centrifugal pumps up to 500 hp.
provided the inrush of starting cur-
rent is not objectionable. Wound
rotor motors start with much less line
disturbance and are used for that rea-
son even when intended for constant
speed duty. Synchronous motors are
not usually installed below 75 hp. and
are of course for constant speed duty
only.

Reciprocating pumps, rotary pumps

ammeters. The automatic compen-
sators may be actuated by a push
button at some convenient point, by a
float switch, by a thermostat or by a
diaphragm pressure switch. Fig. 1
shows a manual compensator with am-
meter attached. Fig. 6 shows a ver-
tical squirrel cage motor direct con-
nected to a sump pump and controlled
by a float switch through an auto-
matic compensator.

Wound rotor motors for constant
speed duty are controlled by au auto-
matic panel actuated by push button,
float switch or the like. Fig. 7 shows
wound rotor motors «V)ntrolled by au-

Fig. 9. Motors Driving Gasoline Pump. Oil Switch Starters.

and screw pumps have heavy starting
duty due to high breakaway torque
and full load pumping duty from start.
For these leasons squirrel cage mo-
tors cannot be used if line disturb-
ance is objectionable. Synchronous
motors can be used but the pump
must be relieved of its load in start-
ing so that the motor can pull into
step. Wound rotor motors for A. C.
and compound wound motors for D.
C. are best for pumps of this class,
as they are possessed of strong start-
ing characteristics. The brush shift-
ing commutator type of A. C. motor
is equally good where adjustable speed
operation is desired.

Pump Control. — Squirrel cage mo-
tors are controlled by manual or auto-
matic compensators to which may be
attached disconnecting switches and

tomatic panels and float switches.
The heavy starting duty on the recip-
rocating pumps determined the type
of motors used.

Where adjustable speed is required
or it is desired to control the start-
ing by hand, a manual rheostat is pro-
vided in the secondary circuit while
the line contact is made by a manual
or magnetic switch. Synchronous
motors are commonly controlled by a
compensator and a field discharge
switch.

Brush shifting motors require only
some form of line switch with over-
means for shifting the brushes. This
may be a hand wheel, a shipper rod
or small pilot motor actuated by re-
mote push buttons. Reference to Fig.
5 will show this form of speed control
on the three brush shifting motors at

1018

Water Works

Nov.

the left. The master panel is in the
center background.

Compound wound direct current mo-
tors for centrifugal pumps require a
disconnecting switch and a hand start-
er. If adjustable speed is required a
manual field regulating rheostat is
added.

Direct current motors may also be
controlled by magnetic panels actu-
ated by push button, float switch or
the like as in the case of the A. C.
motors. Fig. 8 shows compound
wound motors in a nitrate plant con-
trolled by fused disconnecting switch-

Fig. 10. 40 Hp. Squirrel Cage Motor Driving
an Acid Pump and Exposed to Acid Fumes.

es and hand starters all neatly ar-
ranged.

Control apparatus in all cases
should be fully enclosed and provided
with overload and undervoltage pro-
tection. Where it is desired to have
the motor resetart by itself after an
undervoltage shut down, undervoltage
release should be specified. Under-
voltage release must also be provided
if the motor is to be started by a
float switch or other auxiliary circuit
closing device.

The presence of explosive gases or
of especially corrosive acid fumes ne-
cessitates the submergence of contact
making parts in oil. Such control
items are available for all classes of
pump service. Fig. 9 shows a battery
of motor driven gasoline pumps in a
refinery. The switches are of the oil
immersed type and as a squirrel cage
motor has no moving contacts there
is no danger of starting a fire or ex-
plosion.

Figure 10 shows an acid pump be-
ing driven by a forty horsepower
squirrel cage motor, which is in no
way injured by the fumes as there are
no vital parts exposed. This motor is
controlled by a standard compensator
which has it contacts submerged in
oil.

105,000 Hp. Hydro-Electric

Development Placed

in Service

On Oct. 11 the Southern California
Edison Co. put into complete service
the largest hydro-electric power house
on the Pacific West. This plant has
an output of 105,000 Hp. and is an
important step in the $375,000,000 de-
velopment project in the High Sierras
of California. The electric energy
from the new plant is transmitted on
lines 275 miles in length, at 220,000
volt pressure, the highest voltage at
which electric energy has ever been
transmitted.

The 105,000 Hp. which the plant
generates is supplied by three 35,000
Hp. distinct generating units of the
latest type. These are propelled by
diversion of the waters of the San
Joaquin River through a tunnel six
miles in length which has its upper
portal at a new dam which the com-
pany has thrown across the main
stream. Three pressure mains drop
the water on the generating machin-
ery at a fall of 760 feet.

The power house proper is of steel
and concrete construction and of the
latest type, the building being 200
ft. in length, 135 ft. wide and 110 ft.
high from the tailrace floor to the
roof which is of reinforced concrete
and structural steel. Excavation for
this building which was carried on by
means of hydraulic sluicing and steam
shovels, was started on June 15th,
1922, and the first concrete was
poured in the foundations on Jan.
10th, 1923. The power house struc-
ture contains the generators, but the
switching station is of the outdoor
type and becomes a part of the first
installation of 220,000 volts ever to be
placed in actual operation. The gen-
erating room of the power house is
55 ft. in width and 70 ft. high and
the building is equipped with a 125-
ton electric crane.

Novel Features of the Plant. —
There are many novel features of this
plant, one of which is the omission of
a separate lubricating oil system. In

1923

Water Works

1019

this installation each bearing of the
main unit has its own lubricating oil
pump, thus eliminating all outside oil
filters, pumps, supply tanks and pip-
ing, which are liable to cause more or
less trouble in operation.

Another novel feature of the design
is the elimination of the basement in
the generator room. As the plant is
laid out, the operating floor is on two

illllffil ^

Close Up View of the Largest Water Driven
Power House on the Pacific Coast Which the
Southern California Edison Company Brought
Into Service Oct. 11th, 1923. The Long Shot
View Shows the "Electric Giant" as It Is Seen
Looking Down the Grand Canyon of the San
Joaquin River in the Fresno County of
California.

levels, one at the base of the gen-
erator, and the other at the elevation
of the turbine, so that practically all
the equipment is in view of the oper-
ator at all times.

The switching station is 195 ft. in
width by 430 ft. in length, and con-
sists of a series of concrete benches
excavated on the slope of the moun-
tain, there being a difference in eleva-
tion of 46 ft. between the upper and

lower benches. These benches sup-
port the oil switches, disconnecting
switches, frames and insulated piers
for carrying the bus structure.

The Penstocks. — The penstocks for
the turbines are made entirely of lap
welded pipe, varying in diameter from
Vz ft. to 6 ft., the penstock valves at
the bottom of these lines being the
needle type valve. At the upper end
of the penstocks are installed IVz ft.
diameter butterfly valves, arranged
for control from the powerhouse.

At the upper end of the penstocks
there is installed a manifold of spe-
cial design, which connects the six
penstocks of the ultimate installation
with an 18-ft. steel pipe, connecting
to the tunnel.

At this location there is also in-
stalled a surge tank excavated from
the solid rock. This surge tank has a
shape similar to an hour glass, the
largest portion being about 75 ft. in
diameter.

The Tunnel.— The 21-ft. diameter
timnel leading from the intake at the
diversion dam to the penstocks is
30,000 ft. in length. This has been
excavated on a slope of 3 ft. per 1,000,
having a carrying capacity of 3,000
second feet. This tunnel, excavated
from the solid grranite, is unlined
throughout, excepting for two or
three short stretches where bad
ground was encountered. The con-
crete lining in these places is placed
by pneumatic concrete placing ma-
chines, located in the adits to the tun-
nel. The tunnel was excavated from
the intake and outlet and three inter-
mediate adits, the excavation being
done by standard gauge, air-operated
shovels, which were cut down to oper-
ate economically in a 21-ft. bore. The
muck was removed by means of com-
bination trolley and storage battery
type locomotives. The drills used for
blasting were especially designed for
this type of tunnel. In March, 1922,
a world's record for this size tunnel
was made by one of the crews, 476
ft. of progress being achieved during
that month. The intake to the tunnel
consists of a reinforced concrete
structure, 115 ft. in height. The flow
of the water into the tunnel is regu-
lated by a 22-ft. diameter circular
sluice gate, which was designed by
the Edison Company's engineering
department.

1020 Water Works Nov.

The Sewage Sludge Problem in United States

Progress Toward Its Solution CXitlined in Report of Committee Pre-
sented Oct. 10 at Annual Meeting of American
Public Health Association

The Committee on Sludge this year
brings in a progress report to outline
what has been done toward solving
the sewage sludge problem in the
United States. As the work divides
particularly by the organizations han-
dling the investigations, the report is
so outlined.

Milwaukee Sewerage Commission.
— Mr. T. Chalkley Hatton gives the
following notes on the Milwaukee
work:

The Milwaukee Sewerage Commis-
sion appointed a Fellow to the Agri-
cultural College of the University of
Wisconsin who has devoted his entire
time to the use of sludge in agricul-
ture. Intensive studies have been
made of the values of activated
sludge in comparison with commercial
fertilizers of different mixtures.
Plantings were made of com, soy
beans, Sudan grass, tobacco and other
crops at the experimental farms of
the University of Wisconsin, at
Marshfield, Hancock, Codington,
Madison and Wauwatosa. To deter-
mine the value for grass in golf
greens, tests are being made at the
Blue Mound, Ozaukee, Lynx and
Tripoli Golf Clubs, and the Milwau-
kee Country Club and the Pine Bluff
Country Club. A large number of
pot cultures have also been made at
the greenhouses of the University of
Wisconsin.

The National Fertilizer Association
has also been advised of the possible
value of activated sludge. Samples
have been sent various fertilizer dis-
tributors for investigation. The co-
operation of the Executive Committee
of the Association has been assured
in handling and marketing the pre-
pared sludge should it prove as satis-
factory as appearances indicate.

Sanitary District of Chicago. — The
Sanitary District of Chicago has in-
terested a number of agricultural
experiment stations in growing tests.
Work is under way on cotton in
Mississippi, and on garden plants at
the University of Illinois. In the
Chicago territory sludge has been
distributed to peony and rose grow-
ers, truck farmers, cabbage growers
and to various individuals. The Lin-

coln Park, West Side and South Park
organizations are trying sludge on
lawns and grass plots.

The District has operated a test
plot during the growing season, plant-
ing com, beets and beans, with vari-
ous combinations of fertilizer. Some
45 plots, each 1,100 sq. ft. in area,
were planted. The land, while for-
merly used for truck gardening, had
lain idle for over four years. The
results in general have been encour-
aging. A record of weights is being
kept, as the vegetables are picked,
which will furnish a criterion of the
veal relative production.

In addition, the District has used
sludge in seeding grass, in comparison
with sheep manure.

The best price obtained during the
year on the sale of carload lots was
$9.00 per ton f. o. b. cars for sludge,
dried and bagged.

Baltimore. — Mr. Milton J. Ruark,
Division Engineer of Sewers, gives
the following notes of interest with
reference to the sludge handling prob-
lem of Baltimore: During the year
1922, the total production of sludge
was about 5,400 tons on a dry basis.
This is the greatest rate of produc-
tion in any year since 1918, when the
output was somewhat greater. Dur-
ing the 1922, about 5,500 tons on a
dry basis was handled, a portion of
this being heat dried sludge from the
drying plant and the remainder air
dried sludge taken by local farmers.
For more than a year no charge has
been made for air dried sludge. This
season farmers have taken the sludge
as often as it is produced by the sand
beds, so that the drying plant has not
been operated for several months.

At the present time, no income is
being realized from the sale of sludge.
The city has provided means to load
the farmers' trucks from a trestle by
dump cars direct from the sand beds,
or by a derrick from the storage pile.
As a rule the farmer arranges to han-
dle sludge only when the city is oper-
ating one of the loading devices.
Occasionally a farmer loads his own
truck. The sludge is all used within
a radius of about 4 miles, whenever
possible, the farmers hauling it

1923

Water Works

1021

directly to the field, where it is spread
and plowed under. Sometimes it is
placed in piles or composted with
manure for spreading on the fields at
a later date. The farming community
served is almost entirely composed of
truck farmers. The sludge is there-
fore used to a large extent for such
plants as cabbage, spinach, potatoes,
string beans and tomatoes. It is used
to some extent on com, and to a very
limited extent on grass. The amount
of horse and cow manure available
has decreased markedly in the last
few years with the result that its
cost has reached a point where farm-
ers are seeking other materials for
fertilizer. While it is evident that
the farmers in the vicinity of the Bal-
timore plant believe the sludge is
worth the handling, the city officials
have desired to satisfy themselves of
the real value of the sludge in agri-
culture. In cooperation with the
Agriculture Experiment Station of
Baltimore, a series of experiments
have been outlined to extend over
some 4 or 5 years. 9 acres have been
laid out in 6 sections of 1% acres
each, each section being divided into
6 plots of Vi acre each. The whole of
each section has been treated with
one of the following fertilizers:
Liquid digested sludge, air dried sand
bed sludge, commercial fertilizer,
commercial fertilizer and dry sludge
and manure. As a control, one plot
has been given no treatment. One
half of each section then was treated
with lime in a manner to cover half
of each plot. In one plot of each sec-
tion will then be planted some crop,
and likewise with each of the other
plots, so that in any year some crop
will be growing on ground treated
with all of the six fertilizers, both

with and without lime. Rotation of
crops will probably be introduced,
but the ground will receive the same
fertilizer year after year. A special
experiment with alum treated sludge
will also be started on other ground.

At the date of Sept, 15, the farm
was already growing late potatoes,
beans and fall cabbage. It is pro-
posed to plant spinach and grass seed
in the fall and next spring to add an-
other crop, probably tomatoes, mak-
ing a total of six different crops.

The preparation of air dried sludge
for the year 1922 cost $.666 per ton.

Rochester. — Mr. John F. Skinner
reports that at the Irondequoit plant
of the City of Rochester, N. Y., about
10,600 cu. yd. were prepared for mar-
ket in 1922 by air drying. ^ This
sludge was sold at an average price of
$0.75 per load of 2 cu. yd. to farmers,
delivery being made by a tipple to the
teams and auto trucks. When shov-
eled from storage only $0.50 was re-
ceived by the city. The sludge is
largely used in the top dressings of
the orchards for a distance of 7 miles
around the plant.

Houston. — From Houston, Mr. J. C.
McVea reports that during the calen-
dar year 1922, 4 cars of sludge were
sold. The buyers preferred sludge
which had not been pulverized. Five
tons were delivered to local truck
growers and others for use near
Houston. The results obtained by
various gardeners and by the Houston
City Park Superintendent on the
municipal golf course and in the parks
have been very gratifying. Growing
experiments were made on a small
scale with turnips, tomatoes, lettuce
and radishes, in which the value of
the sludge as a fertilizer was demon-
strated. In particular, the turnips

Table I. — Percentage Increase Over Unfertilized Turnips.

No,
1
2
3
4
5

Weight in Ounces
Total Roots Tops

Per Cent Increase

11
18
41
63
59

Table II.

Total Roots Tops How Fertilized

0 0 0 Not fertilized

11 64 133 38 Blood

27 273 367 237 Nitrate Soda
35 473 832 338 Activated Sludge

28 436 932 250 Activated Sludge and Phosphoric Acid
Prodaction Data and Analysis of Sludge Reported for 1922.

City - Baltimore Rochester Chicago Houston

Plant — _ _ Hydrolytic

Production in 1922, net tons dry weight _ 5,421 6,440 400*

Air dried-cu. yd _

Analysis on dry basis
Nitrogen

Average 2.45 _

Maximum _

Minimum

Phosphoric Acid 0.52 0.8 2 to 4 1.9

Imhoff
6,440
10,600
Per cent

2.00
2.17
1.95
0.8

Activated Activated
70()

5.0
5.6
4.3

2 to 4

4.6

•Approximate amount on 12 months 1922-23.
(Produced for experimental use and sold as fertilizer.
)Estimated production would be 1720 tons, if prepared.

1022 Water Works Nov.

were vastly improved, the ones fer- sludge handling or the preparation of

tilized with sludge being the only the sludge.

ones edible, being sound and sweet, The nitrogen recovery in activated

the others being dry and fibrous. The sludge at the various points of oper-

results on the turnips are given by ation is as follows:

Table I.

Activated Sludge.

Preparation of Sludge. — In the Recovery of Nitrogen and Piiosphoric Acid,

preparation of the sludge, develop- Nitrogen as N; Phosphoric Acid as P.O^.

ment of methods and apparatus is Location ^'^ '^ basis. ^ ^ ^

still progressing with very enCOUrag- Sanitary District of Chicago " '

ing results. Argo _ _ 7 to 8 6 to 7

Tannery 3.0

At Milwaukee, the tests have been Packingtown 4.2 2.7

concluded on sludge handling, with clumelT t' w '^' "^ 4 I to 4 4 ^ *** *

the conclusion that provision should Houston .............*. .Vr.'..'."..~"."'.".4'.6 1.9

be made for the use of acid and heat Milwaukee 6.0 2.3

with the Oliver filter. -a ^i. ^^ t j.

By the alkaline permanganate

At the Des Plaines River Sewage method the total available ammonia
Treatment Plant of the Sanitary Dis- in the Milwaukee sludge is 4.61 per
trict of Chicago dewatering has pro- cent, 63 per cent of the total ammonia,
ceeded using alum, or acid, with and The Committee on Sludge of the
without heat. At first only a Worth- American Public Health Association
ington bag platen press and a Simplex consists of Langdon Pearse, Chair-
plate press were available. In Aug- ^an, T. Chalkley Hatton, C. H. Kurd,
ust tests were begun on a novel garle B. Phelps and W. L. Stevenson.

hydraulically operated bag press, de-

signed by Berrigan, with direct

squeeze, which has the advantage of Concrete Tile Experiments in

taking care of any desired thickness Alkalin Soil

from Vi inch upwards. The press

cake (in moisture content from 73 to Fifteen hundred feet of experi-

83 per cent moisture) is dried in a mental concrete tile has been made up

rotary direct-indirect dryer. A pul- by University of Minnesota men who

verizer is required to crush the balls are cooperating with the U. S. De-

which occur, though not in large partment of Agriculture and the

number. Minnesota State Department of

At the Calumet Sewage Treatment Prainage for the purpose of develop-

Works of the Sanitary District, de- f^^^l ^'^f ^^^^Z'^^f^'^'r^^T ,ITZI
watering has proceeded using alum or ^YP^s of alkalm soil. The tile has
acid on the Oliver filter installed ^^^^^ satisfactory results under
This filter is the IrLstsiL bSlt the «^^^^^ laboratory tests conducted at
iill iil^^ 11 V «^^ \Ko^rS\wf^ University Farm, St. Paul, by D. G.
aTce iTft wL Spte has b^e^ Miller, engineer 'who represents the
fefUn tht house for a B^asco-tlr-Mefr U. S. Department and is in charge of
centrifugal. A dryer similar to the ^"® worK. , , ^
one at the Des Plaines River Sewage Some of the tile has already been
Treatment Works operates on the installed, or soon will be, near Mar-
sludge cake intermittently. shall, Lyon county, Minn.; at Bitter
.,,,,.. , ,. , , Medicine Lake, 20 miles from Water-
_ At the testing station, operated town, S. Dak., a lake shore so strong-
jointly by the Samtary District and ly impregnated with alkali that
the Corn Products Refining Company scarcely anything will grow there;
at Argo, tests have been run on plate and in alkalin soil near Enderlin, N.
filters and a single wheel American Dak. Some of the tile, which will be
rotary filter. Alum has proved more used to check up the field experiments
successful as a coagulent than acid. mentioned, has been laid on the uni-

At Houston, the cost of preparing versity's farm, St. Paul,

the sludge has not yet developed to a Sections of the tile will be dug up

point where definite costs can be every year for inspection^ and study,

given. Several methods have been This is the first of a series of tests

tried. At present the use of sulphur under field conditions which the three

dioxide gas is being tried to prepare cooperators, university, state, and

the sludge for pressing. There has government, are planning to make in

been no complaint of odor from the northwest.

1923 Water Works 1023

Water Works Additions in New Elngland

New Works Now Under Way Described in Paper Presented Sept. 19

at Annual Convention of New England Water Works

Association

By ALLEN HAZEN

Consalting Engineer, New York City

The Development at New Britain,
Conn. — Several years ago a plan for
development of the water supply sys-
tem was worked out on a scale suf-
ficient to serve the city for many
years. When carried out this will
result in the complete development of
the present water resources.

The plan is unusual in that no good
storage site was found to which most
of the water would come in a natural
way. The plan is to build a large im-
pounding reservoir on an excellent
site but with a very small catchment
area, and to take the major part of
the flood flows from the other areas to
it. In this way a practicable scheme
was worked out for complete develop-
ment of these valuable resources. The
cost of carrying out even the first
installment of this program will be
large, and postponement as far as it
can be done with safety will make the
financial arrangements easier.

In making borings for dam sites,
great masses of sand were found in
one of the valleys. To bviild a dam
on this sand was impracticable, but
it was thought that it might be pos-
sible to develop a ground water sup-
ply in this location, taking advantage
of the natural underground storage
in this valley. In this, way an addi-
tion to the water available in dry
times could be obtained that would
permit the construction of the main
storage reservoir to be postponed for
several years.

Some of the works built in this way
could be arranged to be part of the
permanent construction, but any of
it that it might be necessary to dis-
card in future development would
have been more than made good in
the saving in interest on the cost of
the delayed construction.

Accordingly, the city authorized the
construction of an underground sup-
ply of this kind, and the work has
been carried out and the supply
tested during the present season.
There are 20 wells, 8 in. in diameter,
averaging 40 to 45 feet. The posi-
tion of the wells was determined, first,

by very numerous test borings; and
second, during construction by pulling
up and discarding all wells that did
not shbw favorable results in actual
tests. Every one of the 20 wells is
therefore believed to be a good one.
The Cook strainers are 15 ft. long, 8
in. in diameter, and the slots for the
most part are 0.05 in. wide, but some
of them are 0.06 in. The slot open-
ing was made as great as the sand
would stand. In a few instances, sand
was encountered so fine that it con-
tinued to come into the wells in quan-
tity, and these wells were abandoned
and the strainers pulled. In most
cases a considerable quantity of sand
entered the well in the early testing
and was pumped out until a condition
of stability was obtained.

In this testing, an arrangement was
used for giving violent back-and-forth
agitation in connection with the pump-
ing, and this was continued xmtil the
water came continuously clear and
until all fine sand had been removed
from the bottom of the well.

The water from these wells is taken
into a caisson well, which is covered,
50 ft. in diameter and 30 ft. deep,
which itself on test yielded about 1
mgd. The use of this well is to in-
sure the entire absence of sand and
air in the water taken by the pump.

In dri%'ing the wells a 12 in. casing
was first driven to the full depth.
The strainer and permanent well pipe
were placed in it and the 12 in. pipe
was then drawn. Sometimes coarse
sand was placed in the space before
drawing the 12 in. pipe. Independent
4 in. suctions are used in each well,
and the connections are arranged so
that each suction can be easily re-
moved and the well tested and
cleaned, and this can be done with the
well shut off and with the rest of the
plant in senice. A concrete box is
built about the head of each well,
giving convenient access to facilitate
these operations and to exclude sur-
face water. The main suction pipe,
laid well below the groimd level is of
cast iron pipe with bell joints, caulked

1024

Water Works

Nov.

with lead wool by a pneumatic ham-
mer, and made absolutely tight under
air pressure. This is laid with a very
slight upgrade to a summit after
passing which it drops almost to the
bottom of the caisson well, acting as
a siphon when the water level is de-
pressed. An air pump attached to
the highest point keeps it clear of air.

The water is pumped by a hori-
zontal duplex driven by a 150 h. p.
Diesel engine. It has a capacity of
3 mdg. against a head of 250 ft.

The plant has been able to operate
continuously at capacity during the
present very dry season, and its use
has perhaps prevented a water short-
age in New Britain. The water is
clear, cool, soft and free from iron.

The cost of the new works has been
very moderate. The bills are not yet
all paid. Present indications are that
including land and all expenses it will
not exceed $175,000.

Mr. Joseph D. Williams is city engi-
neer and has immediate charge of the
construction work.

Enlargement of Filter Plant at
Springfield, Mass. — In the 14 years
since the Springfield Little River Sys-
tem was put in service the water
business in Springfield has almost
doubled. The output has not in-
creased in quite that ratio because in
the beginning the system was only
partially metered, and during the
early years with metering there was
an actual reduction in output.

Springfield has grown more rapidly
and continuously than any other city
in Massachusetts. In addition, the
policy has been followed of supplying,
water to neighboring communities at
wholesale.

The underlying thought in doing
this was that it would cost these com-
munities at least twice as much to get
corresponding service for themselves
as it would cost the city of Springfield
to supply them.

It would be fair to divide this ad-
vantage equally. With this done a
price could be fixed that would yield
Springfield a profit of 50 per cent on
all the business done, and the towns
would still be getting water 25 per
cent cheaper than they could other-
wise get it. These figures are not
precise but they illustrate clearly the
controlling thought in the business.

If the cost of the service is esti-
mated, taking into account all the
costs that there are, including interest
and depreciation, and basing the rate

on the actual output rather than on
the rated capacity, and 50 per cent is
added, the estimate of the fair price
for these takers is reached. No water
supply system will suffer by taking
additional business that carries a 50
per cent profit.

This general policy has been fol-
lowed and has resulted in substantial
additions to the drafts and to the re-
quired capacity.

A water works system consists of
many parts and these parts do not all
come to the limit of their capacity at
exactly the same time. This is for-
tunate for its permits the additions to
be built in installments spread over a
term of years.

In this case, the Little River runoff
has turned out to be greater than
expected and as the storage was
originally provided on a liberal scale,
the source will safely carry something
over 15 million gallons originally as-
sumed as the capacity of the first in-
stallment. With complete develop-
ment about three times this quantity
will be obtained.

The pipe lines, built of lock bar
steel, with high coefficients, will carry
somewhat more water than was esti-
mated in advance for riveted steel
pipe and will therefore serve a few
years longer.

The filters need enlarging first. The •
water, which, in dry times, is mainly
drawn from the Borden Brook reser-
voir on a tributary, is rather more
difficult to treat than was anticipated
before the works were built. There
has been a much larger load of
organic matter in it to be removed,
and this has made chemical treatment
necessary. Coagulation has been em-
ployed, and the load upon the filters
has been correspondingly greater.

Notwithstanding the greater load
upon the purification works, the pres-
ent plant has turned out water of the
highest quality uninterruptedly for
the whole period of its use, and the
operating costs, notwithstanding some
bothersome conditions, have been on
a moderate scale, that has been sel-
dom reached in water purification
plants in this country.

The present plant consists of a
coagulating basin holding 40 million
gallons, and three acres of covered
sand filters, and the present rate of
output is frequently in excess of the
15 million gallons per day for which
the plant was built.

Doubling the capacity of the filter

1923

Water Works

1025

plant is thus the first logical step in
enlarging the plant, and this is now-
being undertaken.

In doing this the equipment for
applying and mixing the coagulant
with the water will be improved.
Baffles are to be built in the very-
large coagulating basin which was
fortunately a part of the original
plant and the sand filters are to be
duplicated.

Before deciding to duplicate the
present plant, several alternate ar-
rangements were considered. Among
these may be mentioned placing
scrubbers in advance of the sand
filters to lighten the load upon them.
This will not be done because present
and prospective operating costs are
so moderate that it would never be
possible to save from them amounts
to compensate for the cost of the
scrubbers. With the local water and
with the chemical treatment that has
been employed and that has been
found satisfactory, it is not thought
that satisfactory purification of the
water after treatment by mechanical
filters would be possible. If such
filters were used a continuous and
heavier dose of coagulant would be
essential and the operating cost corre-
spondingly increased.

The present plant has produced
water of the highest quality and with
a low operating cost, and it was not
apparent that any more advantageous
arrangements could be made in ex-
tending it.

It is also taken into account that in
the near future a very large storage
reser\'oir will be built upon the main
stream and that with the storage of
the whole supply in this reservoir a
considerable improvement in average
quality of water entering the plant
may be expected.

The present average color of the
water entering the plant is about 37.
This will be reduced to a much lower
amount after the large proposed Cob-
ble Mountain reservoir is in use.
Fifteen years ago, before the plant
was built, it was assumed that when
Cobble Mountain reservoir was built
and complete storage obtained that
no further use of coagulant would be
necessary. With present ideas with
regard to color and color removal,
this view must be modified, but it still
appears probable that the plant with
sand filters of full efficiency may be
operated without coagulant for a con-

siderable and increasing proportion of
the time in the future.

Mr. E. E. Lochridge is chief engi-
neer of the Springfield Water Works
and has supervision of the construc-
tion.

New Filters for Providence, R. I.—

A general description of the Pro-vi-
dence work has already been pre-
sented by the chief engineer, Frank
E. Winsor, in Volume 36, p. 323, of
the Journal of the New England
Water Works Association. What I
shall say relates only to the filters
which are proposed.

The water will be obtained from a
storage reservoir that will be large in
size and the water before filtering is
expected to be of good quality. On
the other hand the color records of
the last seven years have indicated a
distinctly higher color of the river
water as it flows than was anticipated
in the earlier studies. Allowing for
such decolorization in the storage
reservoir as that to be expected, it
appears probable that there will be
color, above allowable limits, in the
reservoir water for periods the leng^th
and frequency of which cannot be
closely estimated. The filters must
therefore be capable of dealing ade-
quately with considerable amounts of
color as well as with the tastes and
odors and other impurities to be ex-
pected in a reservoir water. The color
to be dealt with on present evidence
will be higher at Providence than at
Springfield.

The question of whether to use
sand or mechanical filters has been
studied at considerable length. The
higher color of the raw water was one
important element in the decision to
use mechanical filters; another was
the unusual difficulty of the site. Sev-
eral sites for sand filters were studied.
The material in each case consisted of
various grades filled with boulders,
some of them weighing many tons.
Excavating such material and bring-
ing it to a uniform foundation grade
and making the bottom watertight
presented unusual difficulties and put
an added burden on the construction
of sand filters. »

The water is unusually soft and it
was felt that the use of mechanical
filters wuth only a relatively short
coagulation period would be likely to
result in red water troubles, to the
corrosion of the iron and lead service
pipes, and to supplementary precipi-

1026

Water Works

Nov.

tation of hydrate of alumina in the
distribution and service pipes.

The best means of avoiding these
conditions at present available seems
to be to use a very large coagulating
basin capacity. The chemists have
been working for many years on some
means of accelerating the reactions,
but thus far practical experience sup-
ports the idea that a large basin is
the most efficient means of securing
a reasonably stable and quiet water.

A valley has been found where such
a basin could be constructed in con-
nection with the Providence filters.
This will hold more than a day's sup-
ply at the' ultimate rate possible from
this source and several days' supply
at the rates of early years. The
adopted plan, therefore, is to give the
water chemical treatment, followed by
passage through a very large coagu-
lating basin thoroughly baffled, thence
passing to mechanical filters.

In the design of the mechanical
filters, there will be a number of novel
features to adapt them to the condi-
tions to be anticipated in this case.

Preliminary studies have been made
for types of filters, combining as far
as possible the advantages of both
sand filters and mechanical filters, but
some of these ideas may require
further development before they can
be safely applied in so large a plant.

Aeration of the water both before
and after filtration is proposed to re-
duce tastes and odors and also to re-
move carbonic acid and thus to make
the water less active in the pipes.

The Providence water now supplied
has been somewhat active. Corrosion
of lead pipes and fear of lead poison-
ing have been much discussed. Lime
has been used to reduce this tendency
for several years. This phase of the
matter is most important and every
effort will be made to turn out a
water from the new) works that is sat-
isfactory in all respects and that is
reasonably quiet in the pipes.

The construction of the new filters
will be in charge of Mr. Winsor and
his assistants.

Water Works of Poughkeepsie and
Albany, N. Y. — I am now going
slightly beyond the boundaries of New
England to say a few words about
plants of interest, operating under
very different conditions. Pough-
keepsie and Albany both take water
from the highly polluted Hudson
River, and it must be most carefully
filtered to remove its disease-produc-
ing qualities. This is an entirely dif-

ferent problem from those presented
in the plants previously mentioned.
In both cases gravity supplies are
possible, and will no doubt be ulti-
mately used, but in the meantime, the
filter plants must be kept up to
standard.

The Hudson River is so highly pol-
luted that it is questionable whether
single filtration of any type is capable^
of producing water meeting present
exacting standards with a proper
factor of safety. At any rate double
filtration has been used at both of
these plants for some years, and is
now regarded as a necessary part of
the procedure.

The water first receives chemical
treatment, then goes through coagu-
lating basins and passes to scrubbers,
which are mechanical filters with
only a little of the equipment omitted,
and then passes to sand filters. The
sand filters in each case represent the
earlier plant and the scrubbers are
more recent additions.

At Poughkeepsie the scrubbers were
added as a war measure when in-
creased capacity was urgently needed
and when the old sand filters were
having trouble in maintaining service.
Since they have been used it has only
been necessary to clean the sand
filters about once a year. The scrub-
bers do the heavy end of the work
and the sand filters finish it and
remove whatever materials come
through the scrubbers, including
tastes and odors and at times a cer-
tain amount of hydrate of alumina.
The water is aerated once only be-
tween the two sets of filters.

The Poughkeepsie plant is ample in
capacity at every point for present
output and has worked easily with the
production of water of such uniformly
good quality that the residents of
Poughkeepsie are not interested at
present in changing the source of
supply.

During the present year a new 5
million gallon covered reservoir is be-
ing built to give 20 lb. needed addi-
tional pressure and to permit water
to be delivered in the city of the same
excellent quality as that leaving the
filters.

The old open reservoir in which
objectionable algae growths some-
times took place will be held as an
emergency reserve to be connected
with the system only in case of con-
flagration. A new loop of 24 in. pipe
extending all the way from the source
of supply around the business district

1923

Water Works

1027

of the city to the new reservoir has
been provided and with a few main
feeders will give ample distributing
capacity for years to come.

At Albany a somewhat similar gen-
eral filtering arrangement was in-
stalled earlier, and has for years
made operation possible, but can be
improved.

One of the undesirable conditions
has been that the water was pumped
from the coagulating basin to the
scrubbers. This has broken up the
floe and has made efficient operation
impossible. The filter sand in the
scrubbers was too coarse and had be-
come very dirty. The scrubbers were
demoralized; floe passed entirely
through them, and clogged the sand
filters rapidly until they could not be
adequately cleaned, and it has been
thought necessary to bjiJass some of
the partially treated water to the city.

Chlorine treatment has saved, or
nearly saved, the situation from a
hygienic standpoint, but the^ results
have not been satisfactory in other
respects.

It is proposed to reconstruct the
scrubbers, bringing them back to
standard condition; to build a new
covered coagulating basin at higher
level so that the water will flow from
it to the scrubbers by gravity, slowly
and without agitation, and to use the
present coagulating basin as an inter-
mediate receiving basin between the
two sets of filters. Other changes
will be needed, and when these are
carried out, it is hoped that operating
conditions may be brought fully up to
the highest standard and maintained
as long as the present source of sup-
ply is used.

It is to be noted that tests during
the recent period of very low flow in
the Hudson River have shown at Al-
bany a much heavier load of fresh
putrescible organic matter from sew-
age in the water than has been found
at Poughkeepsie and the water is cor-
respondingly more difficult to treat at
such times.

I It is thought at Albany that even
though a gravity supply, for which
there are excellent opportunities,
should be introduced in a few years,
the need of better water was so
urgent that the present filter plant
should be put in order in any event.
Mr. F. A. Raven is commissioner
of public works at Albany and Mr.
Thomas F. Lawlor, superintendent of
public works, at Poughkeepsie.

Engineering Employnxent Shows

Slight Recession

Employment conditions affecting
engineers reflect considerable irregu-
larity with special divergencies be-
tween the trends in different,
industries and engineering endeavors
is reported by the Employment De-
partment of the American Association
of Engineers. Numerous inquiries
are being received from men from all
sections of the country, desiring to
make new affiliations, or who report
the completion of their work, indicat-
ing that a slight recession in employ-
ment is apparent. In September there
was practically no unemployment
among engineers, but during October
some unemployment was noticed in
different quarters. Engineering em-
ployment from now on will continue
to slacken from the normal trend of
conditions, and no apparent advance
will be noticed until about after Feb-
ruary 15th,

The engineers mostly affected at
this time are civil engineers particu-
larly those on construction work
including superintendents, instrument-
men, and general field engineers also
engineers with oil companies in the
mid-continent field. There is practi-
cally no demand for men on irriga-
tion, drainage, hydraulic or con-
struction work at this time. Manu-
facturing and industrial companies
have reduced their technical staff al-
though a few lines continue acti%ity,
such as machine tools, railway equip-
ment and automobile manufacturers.
The greatest demand at this time is
for architectural engineers ^ and
draftsmen. A fair demand is evident
for highway engineers, especially de-
signers on plans and bridges. The
railroad field for engineers is practi-
cally dormant.

Positions for engineers on the Pa-
cific Coast and Southern California
are fair. In the Northwest, condi-
tions are tightening up with little
work for engineers in the states of
Washington, Montana and Idaho. The
central states are fair for employ-
ment. The Eastern section is not
very desirable for employment; more
men looking for positions open. The
South is starting considerable activity
with a good demand for engineers of
the junior grade. The greatest un-
employment of engineers at the pres-
ent time is in the Northwest and in
the Eastern section of the country.

1028 Water Works Nov.

The New Sewage Disposal Works of Lincoln, Neb.

Pumping Station, Sludge Separating and Digesting Tanks, Dosing
Tanks, Sprinkling Filters and Sludge Beds

A sewage disposal plant having
many interesting features has been
completed recently at Lincoln, Neb.
The plant was built for the Lancaster
County Sanitary District No. 1, serv-
ing the city of Lincoln and the sub-
urbs Havelock, University Place,
Bethany and College View. The total

on conditions. They recommended
that a sprinkling filter plant be con-
structed. Construction was started in
June, 1922, and the plant was com-
pleted last month.

The plant is located near Salt
Creek, at a point well isolated from
habitation. The clear effluent is dis-

New Sewage Disposal Plant of Lincoln, Neb. Sludgre Beds in Foreground.

population of the district at the pres-
ent time is 70,000, of which 50,000
will be served by the disposal plant.
The plant will ultimately take care of
the sewage of 80,000 people.

Before the erection of the plant the
raw sewage was discharged into Salt
Creek and serious nuisance had re-
sulted from this at times of low flow
in the creek. In 1920 Alvord, Burdick
& Howson, Consulting Engineers,
Chicago, were engaged to make an
investigation and a preliminary report

charged into the creek. The sewage
handled by the plant is purely domes-
tic and is collected by a system of 125
miles of sanitary sewers from which
storm water is rigidly excluded. The
maximum age of the sewage at the
time it reaches the plant is 5 hours.
During normal times diluting water
is available in the amount of 2 to 3
cu. ft. per second per thousand popu-
lation. The minimum flow is less
than 1 cu. ft. per second per thousand
of population.

1923 Water Works 1029

Design Data of Plant. — The prin- Pumping Station. — The sewage is

cipal design data of the plant follows : brought to the plant in a 54 in. seg-

Principal Design Data, Lincoln. Neb.. Sewage mental block intercepting sewer.

Disposal Plant. This sewer had to be laid at so low

Condition Condition an elevation that it was necessary to

Year'i922 Year"i923 pump the sewage through the plant.

Population of District.. 70.000 100,000 The pumping is done by three pumps,

Population served . 50 000 80.000 made by the Aurora Pump & Manu-

Ca7fcifro?*-preint '" '" facturing Co., Aurora, 111., of 4, 6 and

Outlet Sewer 32 c. f. s. 32 c. f. s. 8 million gallons capacity respectively.

^*^Sh°!inuT''^ ^^^ smallest pump will handle the

No.^° 4 M. G. D. 4 M. G. D. normal flow, and the combined capac-

No. 2 6 M. G. D. 6 M. G. D. ity of all three exceeds the capacity

-. ^<'- ?" — rr- r^ **• ^- ^- ^ **• ^- ^- of the intercepting sewer. The pumps

Velocity through , i. ^ iT j cc • • j? nnck^

screens (ft./sec.) Under test showed efficiencies of 79.2

Ave. .745 .927 per Cent, 84.7 per cent and 79 per cent

Tm^- — '^^^ ^'^^^ ^°^ *^® pumps under rated conditions

Gross Retention Pe- — exceptionally high pump efficiencies

riod hrs 3.08 hrs. 1.89 hrs. for Sewage WOrk.

Net allowing for 9 ft. _ . i r»i * mi-

of sediment and 3 Disposal Plant. — The raw sewage

ft. of scum 2.33 hrs. 1.43 hrs. flows through inclined bar screens

"^ p'eT'capitr (Grols)": 1.25 .78 "lade of V. in. by 2^| in. bars on 2 in.

Dosing Tanks: Centers, inclined at 45 deg. slope to a

Number ......... — 4 4 suction channel under the pump room

""Slen^d^o^s^'."! 30 30 Aoor, The suctions of the pumps drop

Minutes to discharge.. 10 18 vertically mto the suction well. The

Fibers: pumps discharge through a cast iron

M^G^D**^!! 1.56 2.5 main, provided with a Venturi meter.

Depth, ft. ...~~!Z~1~] 6.0 6.0 to the sludge separating tanks. There

Sludge Beds: are six of these tanks, each 27 ft, by

A?e a.^'sq-'-ft: ""i^ ^ ^*'^ ^ '^'^ 27 ft., with 14 ft. vertical sides and

capita .... '. 8 .5 inclined hoppers, with slopes of ap-

The Pumping Installation at New Sewage Disposal Plant of Lincoln, Neb.

1030

Water Works

Nov.

proximately 45 deg. These tanks are
so designed that all six may be used
as primary separating tanks, or
changed to four primary and two sec-
ondary in series.

Immediately adjoining the sludge
separating tanks are six sludge diges-
tion tanks. The floating scum is
drawn from the settling tanks to the
digesting over weirs. The sludge is
drawn from the hoppers by hydraulic
head through pipes. Provision has
been made for the withdrawal of

suitable for this purpose, so a quartz-
ite from South Dakota was used.

Distribution System of Filters. —

The piping system consists of 6 in. to
24 in. cast iron pipe supported on piers
at the stone bed. The risers are of
3 in. galvanized iron. The nozzles are
of the Worcester circular lock spindle
type, with 16 ft. spacing on the equi-
lateral triangle plan. No under-
drainage other than that given by the
coarse stone is provided. The filter
is underdrained through channels

The Sprinkling: Filters at Sewage Disposal Plant of Lincoln, Neb.

liquor from intermediate depths be-
tween sludge and scum in the diges-
tion tanks and for its return by grav-
ity to the clear well, and thence pass-
ing through the plant again with the
sewage. From the tanks the settling
sewage goes to the dosing tanks serv-
ing the stone beds. These dosing
tanks are of taper design to provide
equal distribution of the sewage over
the stone beds.

The stone beds are approximately
2% acres in area. They are 6 ft.
deep, the lower 5 ft. being % in. to
1^ in. stone and the top V2 in. to 1
in. stone. The local stone was not

built in the concrete on 14 ft. centers.
These channels are covered by con-
crete slabs. The floor has a pitch of
1 in. per foot toward the channels.

Sludge Beds. — The sludge beds pro-
vide an area of 0.8 sq. ft. per capita.
They are 12 in. in depth, of which 10
in. is bank run gravel and 2 un. is fine
sand top. They are underdrained by
6 in. of vitrified tile drain. The
sludge will be removed in cars run-
ning on a light industrial track.

The total cost of the plant was ap-
proximately $350,000. The construc-
tion period required was about 15
months, A. Phelps & Sons, Knoxville,

1923

Water Works

1031

la., were the contractors. Alvord,
Burdick & Howson, Chicago, were the
engineers in charge of plans, specifi-
cations and general superNasion of

tically all of the 83 cities either had
a laboratory at the water plant or
other arrangements for laboratory ex-
aminations. Data available for 54

Interior View of Lincoln, Neb.. Sewage Disposal Plant.

construction. Grant, Fulton & Letton,
Lincoln, Neb., were associate engi-
neers in direct charge of construction.

Water Supplies of American Cities.

—A suney of 83 cities or 100,000
population and over, made in 1921 by
the committee on mimicipal health de-
partment practice of the American
Public Health Association, showed
that the public supplies of the 83
cities were for the most part derived
from surface sources and were usually
treated by chlorination as a final
method, although the intermediate
treatment processes varies consider-
ably in different places. Only 9 cities,
serving 4 per cent of the total popula-
tion, used water without some form
of treatment, 8 of these supplies com-
ing from wells and the other from
mountain streams. In 11 of the cities
the water supply was owned by a
private company, in 3 by a Metro-
politan Board, and in the remaining
69 by the municipality itself. Prac-

cities whose treatment plants were
under technical control indicated that
a laboratory was located at the plant
in all but 9 cases.

Short Course for Texas Water
Works Operators

The Waco City Water Board, City
Health Department and Baylor Uni-
versity, with the State Health Depart-
ment and the Texas and Southwest
Water Work Associations co-operat-
ing, will conduct a free short course
of practical instruction for water
works attendants and filter plant
operators at Waco, during the week
beginning Jan. 21st, 1924. Anyone
interested may attend. There is no
charge for tuition or laboratory fees
and no expense except that actually
incurred in making the trip. Further
information may be obtained from Dr.
W. T. Gooch, Baylor University, Waco,
Tex., or to Mr. V. M. Ehlers, State
Sanitary Engineer, Austin, Tex.

1032 Water Works Nov.

Adopting Proper Schedule of Water Rates

Considerations in Deciding on Charges for Water Discussed
in City Manager Magazine

By W. W. RICH

City Manager, Alexandria, Va.

In discussing the rate question in
connection with a modem water
works system, there are a number of
features that must be taken into ac-
count, and it would be well to adopt a
classification for this discussion. In
general, the physical features of a
water works system may be broadly
divided into the following divisions:
Pumping station, water mains, service
connections, and meter services. In
addition to the above classifications,
we have the department for taking
care of the revenue collections and
the department for interest and re-
tirement of bonds. The last two
classifications are very important, but
unfortunately they are usually the
ones that get the least attention.
This is especially true where a city
is governed by the aldermanic system,
as there is a tendency to make a polit-
ical football out of the water works
department and at each change of the
administration there is generally a
change in all of the important offices
in the department. As a consequence
there is no fixed responsibility or au-
thority, the revenue collections are
neglected, the rates are not adjusted
to meet conditions, and in many in-
stances the funds for retiring bonds
are lost sight of entirely. In order to
make a success of a municipally owned
water works, the business must be
conducted in the same manner as if it
were privately owned. There must be
some one person responsible for the
system and the authority must be
undivided.

Budget System Essential. — To oper-
ate a municipally owned water works
system successfully, a budget system
must be adopted and strictly adhered
to. The costs of operation and main-
tenance must be carefully kept, in
order to determine just and eauitable
rates. The following classincation,
briefly outlined, is adequate for most
water plants: The water department
is divided into departmental divisions
consisting of pumping station, water
mains, service connections, meter
services, revenue collection, and inter-
est and retirement of bonds. These
divisions are themselves divided into
expense and capital outlay accounts

according to the budget classification.
Expense comprises all items of ex-
penditure necessarily incurred for
current administration, operation, and
maintenance of the several depart-
mental divisions; those which the
funds are reimbursed; and those for
materials and equipment in the nature
of renewals or replacements, which do
not add to the capital assets of the
corporation. Capital outlay includes
all expenditures which increase the
capital assets of the corporation.
This includes land and land improve-
ment, buildings and public improve-
ments, teaming equipment, motor
vehicles, furniture and fixtures, and
any other equipment which may be
necessary and useful in the operation
of the plant, and which may be re-
peatedly used without appreciable
impairment of its physical condition
and having a calculable period of
service.

Leaks Are Unnecessary Burdens. —
The need for operating a water plant
efficiently and accurately accounting
for the expenditure of the funds is
obviously very great at the present
time owing to the high cost of every-
thing entering into the operation and
maintenance of the system. However,
in many cases the rates have re-
mained the same, or if they have been
raised at all, they have not been
raised sufficiently to offset the greatly
increased cost. Because of these in-
creased costs it is more necessary
than ever that the great wastage that
occurs in practically all cities be
stopped, as it is not fair to the public
to burden them with paying for water
wasted through negligence.

A large portion of the water that
leaves the pumping station never does
any useful work; some of it is wasted
through the ground owing to poor
construction of the mains and service
connections; some is wasted through
faulty plumbing, and some is wasted
through carelessness of the consumer
where there is no meter. All of this
wastage means a great loss to the
citizens of the community, for they
are the ones that pay for it ulti-
mately, besides reducing the pressure
and causing a diminution of the sup-

1923

Water Works

1033

ply available for fire fighting pur-
poses. In my opinion, too much stress
cannot be laid upon the wastage and
leakage of water, and as far as the
consumer is concerned, the only prac-
tical method of stopping excessive
waste is to install meters on all
services.

All Services Should Be Metered. —
The reasons for metering all services
are two-fold: First, because it is the
only fair and equitable way to sell
water; and, second, it is the only
practical way to prevent waste by the
consumer.

Once a city has started out on a
definite program of metering all serv-
ices, it is confronted with the question
of arriving at just rates for the water.
Unfortunately, in a great many cases,
no study is made of the local condi-
tions to determine what the service
actually costs but on the other hand
the governing body of the municipal-
ity will instruct the water superin-
tendent to write around to a number
of neighboring cities to find out what
they are charging. Then, without
giving the matter any study at all,
they will adopt a rate which will be
very close to the rate of some city,
which, in their opinion, has a plant
similar to theirs. The sliding scale is
usually adopted, and, in my opinion,
the scale usually slides too much.

Rates Should Be Made According to
Cost, Not Custom. — Each water plant
has problems peculiar to itself and
the rates to be applied to any par-
ticular plant must be worked out for
that plant and cannot be determined
by the rates adopted by some other
plant, just because the conditions are
somewhat similar. Considerable work
has been done in recent years along
this line, the foremost book being that
written by Mr. Allen Hazen entitled
"Meter Rates for Water Works," pub-
lished by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
This book covers the ground very
thoroughly and discusses both the
minimum rate schedule and the serv-
ice charge.

The rate adopted for this discussion
is that which is based upon the service
charge. This rate was adopted by
the New England Water Works Asso-
ciation on Nov. 6, 1916. The schedule
recognizes the principle of the sliding
scale and provides three rates. These
rates are not fixed, but are left to be
determined for each case as may be
necessary to provide the necessary
revenue. The quantities of water per
annum, per quarter, or per month to

which the three rates are applicable
are defined and are made uniform by
the schedule. In addition a service
charge is provided which is for the
privUege of having a service, but does
not include the use of any water. The
service charge is an alternative for
the minimum rate and represents a
more logical and more just arrange-
ment. Under the service charge a
specific amovmt is collected for the
service and meter. This amount is
collected regardless of whether any
water is drawn or not. If water is
drawn it is charged for, and the
amount charged for water is added to
the amount of the service charge.

Determining the Service Charge. —
The service charge is made up of the
following items:

First, a sum per annum represent-
ing approximately the cost of reading
the meters, keeping the records, mak-
ing out the bills, etc. For meters
read quarterly, it is estimated that
one dollar per annum is sufficient
allowance.

Second, an amount which will rep-
resent the approximate value of water
which passes a meter without being
registered. The amount lost per
sen'ice will range from nothing to 13
cu. ft. per day for a 5-8 in. meter.
On this basis a charge of $2.00 per
annum would not be out of the way
for most municipalities for a 5-8 in.
meter. The charges for the larger
meters are proportional to relative
capacities.

Third, an amount which will give a
reasonable return on the money in-
vested in the service pipe and meter.
It is estimated that 10 per cent is a
fair allowance for the depreciation in
the service pipe and meter and for the
interest on the money invested in
them.

From the three items above men-
tioned the service charge applicable
to^ each size of meter may be deter-
mined, and adopted as a fixed charge
in the schedule.

In computing the rates the first
step necessary is to determine the
value of the water works in the fol-
lowing main divisions: Pumping
station; water mains; water services
and meters. Next determine the prin-
cipal and interest necessary to take
care of the bonded indebtedness; and
the reserve fund which must be set
asids for plant depreciation.

The cost of operation, as deter-
mined from the budget classification
mentioned previously, added to the

1034

Water Works

Nov.

amount required for interest, prin-
cipal, and depreciation, will determine
the amount necessary to be raised per
annum to make the plant self sup-
porting. From this amount deduct
the amount paid by the City as
hydrant rental and for sewer flushing.
The result so obtained will be the net
amount to be raised from the water
consumers on meter rates.

From the records available in all
water works, it can readily be deter-
mined where all of the water pumped
ultimately goes to. For the purposes
of this discussion the disposition of
the water may be classified as fol-
lows: Unavoidable leakage from
mains; fire, sewer flushing and undis-
covered wastage; leakage from serv-
ices and under registration of meters;
and the water actually sold. Unfor-
tunately, in most instances, a large
persentage of the water that leaves
the pumping station is never regis-
tered as being sold.

, Determining the Rate. — In deter-
mining the rate, the unit cost of all
the water that leaves the pumping
station must be ascertained, because
the value of the water lost in the dis-
tribution on system and the service
connections must be charged against
them and added to the cost of each.
The cost of the water that leaves the
pumping station may be determined
by dividing the entire cost of oper-
ation, interest and principal of bonds,
and depreciation, by the total amount
of water pumped. The unit cost thus
determined will therefore be the unit
cost of the water pumped, regardless
of the amount wasted.

The total cost of distribution and
the total cost of services and meters
will, therefore, be the sum of the cost
of operation, the interest and prin-
cipal of bonds, the amount of depre-
ciation and value of water lost.

In computing the unit costs for dis-
tribution and services, the amount
charged for fire service is a deciding
factor. The fair value of the fire
service to the community is one thing,
but the amount that can actually be
realized is another; and as the details
of this part of the discussion are
rather lengthy, it is not deemed ad-
visable to go into the matter at length
at this time. However, after all com-
putations are made, definite rates will
be established for the three classifica-
tions. These different classifications
are termed the domestic rate, the
intermediate rate, and the manufac-
turing rate.

For bills rendered quarterly and
the quantity of water used expressed
in cubic feet, the domestic rate applies
to all water up to and including 10,000
cu. ft. per quarter. The intermediate
rate to all water used from 10,000 to
100,000 cu. ft. per quarter, and the
manufacturing rate to all water from

. 100,000 cu. ft. to 1,000,000 cu. ft. per
quarter. Those consumers using over
1,000,000 cu. ft. per quarter are
usually granted a straight rate for
all water used, the price for this rate
being often fixed at the manufactur-
ing rate. After the rates are com-
puted, an estimate of the annual
revenue may readily be calculated,
and, if no errors have been made the
estimated revenue will approximate
very closely the actual requirements.
Safeguarding Water Department
Accounts. — One problem which usual-
ly comes up at the time a new water
rate ordinance is adopted is the ques-
tion of free water and special rates.
In order to protect the water depart-
ment it is advisable to put a provision
in the ordinance whereby the govern-
ing body may grant special rates by
resolution, but in all cases where
special rates are granted the differ-
ence between the special rate and the
regular rate shall be paid to the
water department from the general
funds of the city. This provision in
the ordinance gives ample protection
to the water department and makes

' it impossible to misappropriate any
money which rightfully belongs to the
department. In this connection all
water used by the city for any pur-
pose whatever should be paid for just
the same as if the water works were
privately owned. If all of these pre-
cautions are taken and the rates
made sufficient to take care of opera-
tion, maintenance, depreciation, and
interest and principal of bonds, the
water works will have no trouble in
becoming self supporting and will he
an asset to any city instead of a lia-
bility. To this end, however, the
water works department must be well
managed and only experienced and
efficient men employed.

In adopting a schedule of rates as
outlined in this paper, there will at
first be considerable criticism from
the public, as the change is quite
radical and entirely different from the
old method. In my opinion, the peo-
ple as a whole are fair, and if care is
taken to give the schedule proper pub-
licity, no serious opposition will
develop.

1923 Water Works 1035

Removing Submarine Rock With Jack Hammers

Plant Used in East River, New York, Described in The Military

Engineer

By W. L. KUEHNLE,

Assistant Engineer, First New York District

On the examination of the bottom
of the East River, New York, num-
bers of large boulders and small areas
of ledge rock were found rising above
the projected depth for heights of
from Vz ft. to 10 ft. and containing
from a % to 100 cu. yd. each.

It is considered economically im-
practicable to pick up scattered
boulders with a dredge, especially if
they are Ijing on bare ledge or other
hard material. Past practice, when a
small number of these boidders were
to be removed, was to hire a derrick
barge with a diver to sling them out,
the maximum size handled being lim-
ited to the capacity of the derrick,
usually 20 tons, or 10 cu. yd. Ledge
rock areas were either reduced by sur-
face blasting or by the employment of
a drill boat for breaking the rock and
a dredge to remove it. This practice
was costly work for small quantities.
It is a well known fact that one of
the most costly items of subaqueous
ledge removal, especially in waters
where comparatively rapid currents
exist, is the removal of the small pro-
jecting points of ledge left above
grade, due to poor breaking up of the
rock resulting from insufficient powder
charges, inaccurate spacing of holes
or insufficient depth of holes.

Use of Air Operated Jack Hammer
Suggested. — The examination in 1921
of an area in the East River, dredged
by one of the largest dipper dredges
on the Atlantic coast, having disclosed
a number of boulders and some small
areas of ledge that the dredge was
incapable of remo\ang, it was decided
to try out and develop the jack ham-
mer operated by a diver. It was sug-
gested that these jack hammers oper-
ated by divers, to drill the holes re-
quired for blasting, might reduce the
cost of removing the larger boulders
and smaller areas of ledge by break-
ing them into pieces readily handled
by the divers, and pushed into deeper
water or removed.

An experimental plant was then
built for the use of the hammer and
it was early seen that the method was
practicable and that it was only a
question of perfecting the details of

operation to make it satisfactory and
economical. After seven months of
trial and development of the experi-
mental plant, it was redesigned and
reconstructed to increase mechanical
efficiency and to reduce the operating
crew to a minimum.

The Plant. — The plant, as now de-
signed, consists of a barge 110 ft.
long and 32 ft. wide with 10-ft. sides,
on which is installed a 20-ton stiff leg
derrick with 13 in. by 15 in. by 55 ft.
trussed boom and 15 in. by 15 in. by
42 ft mast, the hoisting engine being
a double 9x10 in., 3-drum, Mead-Mor-
rison. Four anchors are handled on
2 double-drum Lidgerwood engines,
the anchors being about 1,600-lb. and
the line %-in. wire rope. The throt-
tle, clutch and brake levers of the
hoist and anchor engines are carried
to an operating stand on the upper
deck for one-man control of hoisting
and maneuvering operations.

An 8x8x8 in. Gardner horizontal
single-stage compressor and an 8%
in. Westinghouse cross-compound com-
pressor furnish the air for the jack
hammers, at 100 lb. pressure at the
throttle and through a reducing valve
and tank to the divers. Electric power
for light, blasting and the divers'
lamps is furnished by a 10 kw. Troy-
General Electric generator, at 115
volts, SO amperes. This generator is
also used to charge 8-volt, 60-ampere
storage batteries used for night and
riding lights, thus obviating the main-
tenance of steam at night.

The bar for sweeping is suspended
by two % in. wire rope cables from
one side of the barge. It consists of a
30 ft. length of 10 in. 30-lb. I-beam
with two 8 in. 13.7-lb. channel ex-
tensions gi\ing a total clear length
of 50 ft. It is handled by a double
4x8 in. single-drum, throttle-reverse
engine, and is so sensitive that an ad-
justment of 0.05 ft. in depth of the
bar can be made.

Steam is furnished by two Coats-
\ille upright boilers, each having 547
sq. ft. heating surface, 9 sq. ft. grate
area, and 125-lb. pressure.

The divers' helmets are equipped
with telephones so that constant com-

1036

Water Works

Nov.

munication is had to deck, and delays
in reporting underwater conditions are
eliminated, and requests for tools
complied with.

To handle small shoals of material
other than rock, 1% cu. yd. Blaw-
Knox single-line clam shell bucket is
provided and a 7^x5x6 in. duplex
Worthington pump to serve the water
jet used by the divers.

The drill steels are % in. hexagonal
with Vs in. hole through the center,
sharpened with bits from 1^ to 1%
in. by eights, and are in lengths from
2 to 5 ft. From 6 to 12 in. of effect-
ive drilling can be obtained with each
hit before resharpening, depending up-
on hardness of the rock.

The crew consists of a superintend-
ent, a surveyman to locate and map
the work done, an engineman, a fire-
man, a cranesm.an, a rigger, who also
acts as powder man, four deckhands.

size of boulder, etc. If the total num-
ber of holes to be drilled exceeds what
can be done during one slack water
the holes are plugged until all are
completed, when they are loaded and
fired. The explosive used is usually
Dupont 60 per cent gelatine, l%x8 in.
size, with one or more sticks to a hole.
When a crevice is found, 5 lb. of ex-
plosive is usually placed in it at the
same time to aid in the shattering of
the rock into small pieces.

After the charge is fired the divers
make an examination of the results.
Larger pieces are slung and smaller
ones are either pushed into deeper
water or placed in a basket construct-
ed of band iron for removal, the
amount removed being only that need-
ed to make grade as shown by the
sweep bar.

If the shoal proves to be of any
material than ledge or boulders, vari-

Ik^j^ r^:;^^ '"^^^

Derrick Barire for RemoTsI of Sobaqneoas Boalfrt

Figf. 1 — Derrick Barge for Removal of SubaqueouB Boulders

two of whom act as divers' tenders,
and two divers. On the 16-hour night
watch a fireman and a deckhand were
employed.

How the Plant Is Operated.— The
operating procedure is to anchor the
barge near the location of the shoal
to be removed, with a spread of an-
chors to give the maximum movement
of the barge. The sweep bar is low-
ered to the project depth and two
divers go down. The barge is then
pulled over area with a diver follow-
ing at each end of the bar until it
strikes the obstruction. A thorough
examination is made by both divers
and their recommendation is sent over
the phone to the superintendent in
charge. If the obstruction proves to
be a boulder that can be removed as
a whole, it is at once slung in wire
rope or chain slings; if not, one or
two jack hammers are sent down on
the derrick falls and holes are drilled
into the top, the depth and number de-
pending on the height above grade,

ous methods are used to reduce it,
depending on the size, character of
material, and depth of water above
the shoal. When there is water two
or more feet below grade, about a
shoal of gravel or stiff mud which is
not over 10 ft. in its smallest dimen-
sion, the shoal may be pulled down
with an I-beam drag or it may be
washed down by a water jet in the
hands of the diver. If the area is
large it is removed by the clam shell
bucket.

Work of Plant on Ledge in East
River, New York. — The operation of
the plant for removal of ledge is il-
lustrated by the removal off the foot
of East 23rd St., East River, of an
area of ledge about 70 ft. long and 30
ft. wide above project grade of 25 ft.,
with a minimum depth of 21.0 ft. over
it. The material was hard Fordham
gneiss, having a specific gravity of
2.33. The depth of water surround-
ing it for 30 or 40 ft. was between
25.5 and 27.5 ft. so that practically

1923

Water Works

1037

all of the broken rock had to be picked
up. Work was commenced July 19,
1922, and completed Sept. 7, 1922, a
total of 43 working days. See part of
work chart (Fig. 2).

In the East River, due to tidal
currents, only the period near slack
water can be worked by divers and
experience has shown that 11 slack
water periods a week is good work.
On this basis there were 79 slack
water working periods in the time
consumed on the job, of which 77 were
worked; two slack waters were lost,
due to collision. During two of the

A. M. Divers drill 6 holes, also drill 1 ft.
farther into 1 ft. hole started last night.
Plugged holes.

r. M. Divers load holes with 14 lb. dyna-
mite and blasted.

Slung one piece blasted rock and filled 2
baskets with small pieces. (Note: Basket
holds about 1 cu. yd., loose measure.)

This job was near the limit of the
economical capacity of the plant de-
signed for removal of boulders and
points or pinnacles of ledge. While
unit costs figured out to be relatively
liigh, the total cost was less than was
practicable through the use _ of a
standard ledge removal plant includ-

Fig. 2 — Work Chart for Ledge Rock Removal Shell Reef, East River, New York.

slack water periods but one diver was
working.

Snmmary of Work Done

Man hours, divers down 268

Man hours, divers drilling 114

Man hours, loading and blasting 26

Man hours, slinging 120

Man hours, examination, etc. 7

Total penetration 528 ft.

Average drilling rate per hour 4.62 ft.

Total number of holes drilled 161

Dynamite used in holes 280 lb.

Number of surface blasts _ „ ..8

Dynamite used in surface blasts _ 13 lb.

Cu. yd., place meas. rock removed 90.4*

Cu. yd., loose meas. on deck, estimated

by foreman, day to day _160.6

Unloading 3 days

•This figure was computed from soundings
taken before and after removal and .was
checked by measuring the displacement of the
load on the deck of the scow and dividing by
the weight of a cubic yard as determined by
the sjjecific gravity of a 1,000-lb. sample ; 83
cu. yd. being the figure so obtained, the dif-
ference probably represents the amount blasted
and pushed by the divers into deeper water
surrounding the ledge.

Field Costs

Labor „ $3,707.97

Supplies (dynamite, explod-
ers, oil, wire rope, etc.

Fuel (bituminous coal)

Renewals „

Rental of plant

Derrick barge, E. R. No.
101

Tending tug, "East River"

@ $60 per day 2,880.00

Launch service 30.99 3,368.38

Supervision 81.05 81.05

709.55
352.79
90.00

457.39

$4,860.31

Total cost $8,309.74

The foreman's report of the maximum day's
drilling, which is somewhat typical, is as
follows :

ing drill-coat, dredge, scow, tug, etc.,
either by contract or by lease of
plant, by reason of large overhead or
general expense, and the small quan-
tity (90 yd.) and thin cut (less than
2 ft. average), together with the time
consumed in attempting to "clean up"
such an area with a dredge.

With sufficient scattered work to
keep this plant employed, it has
proved more economical than other
methods and has attracted the favor-
able attention of contractors. In
waters where current conditions per-
mitting continuous diving operations,
its economic efficiency would undoubt-
edly be materially bettered. -

Cast Iron Pipe Production in
September

The U. S. Department of Commerce
announces the following statistics on
the production, orders, sales, and
shipments of cast-iron pipe for the
month of September, 1923. The re-
port includes returns from 12 estab-
lishments and is confined to bell and
spigot pressure pipe exclusively.

Cast-iron pipe produced during the

month (tons) 77,186

Cast-iron pipe shipped during the

month (tons) 78,101

Orders for cast-iron pipe specified to be

shipped from stock (tons) „ „ 14,215

Orders for cast-iron pipe specified to be

made (tons) 156,585

Orders for cast-iron pipe not specified

as to sizes (tons) 1,802

1038

Water Works

Nov.

Problems of the Private Water
Company

Abstract of an Address Presented Be-
fore Pittsburgh Chapter National
Association of Cost
Accountants

By W. W. COLLEDGE

The Public Service Company Law
was passed by the legislature of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in
1913. Together with its supplements
and amendments, it gives the public
service commission, a body of seven
members, the power to regulate rates
and generally to supervise the activ-
ities of all public service companies
including water companies. The ad-
ministration of this law gives rise to
the problems to be discussed here.

What are the interesting problems
that confront a water utility com-
pany? Certainly selling water looks
like easy money. Were any of you to
enter the business of furnishing water
to the public, you would discover ob-
stacles of which you never dreamed.
You, of course, picture a water com-
pany as dealing in a product of
nature, with scarcely any production
costs, selling an article of universal
demand without style changes and
upon which the seasons have but a
moderate effect. Add to these ad-
vantages a franchise that protects
you against competition and then say,
"What more in the way of safety and
profit can anyone expect?"

Comparison of Selling Water and
Selling Shoes. — Perhaps you would
compare selling water with, say,
manufacturing shoes, where leather
and supplies are bought a year in
advance in the quantities past expe-
rience indicates will be necessary, and
at market prices that are average a
year before the order is placed on the
books. Machinery is rented for which
a royalty must be paid for each oper-
ation performed on a pair of shoes.
Skilled workmen must be employed,
subject to union rules, without know-
ing what their output month by
month will be. Traveling salesmen
must be financed at present day costly
hotel and railroad rates, and it must
be determined now whether it is safe
to make an order for a customer
whose credit may be doubtful months
later, when the goods are ready for
shipment. Goods must be boxed.

Advertising is necessary. Cancella-
tions may be received. Freight, ex-
press and mail rates must be known.
The changes in fashion must be
studied in order to decide when it is
advantageous to change styles with
all the attendants expense for new
lasts. Salesmen's samples must be
disposed of at the end of the season
at a loss. Solesmen must be watched
to see that they sell not just shoes,
but certain proportions of fine shoes
along with cheap shoes, so that all of
the grades of leather will be used up
at the end of the season. Many other
contrasts could probably be drawn,
whether you compare with the shoe
business or your own.

Now take the other side: In the
business of manufacturing and selling
shoes, or in most any other business,
the profits are not limited; therefore
the selling price can be made what-
ever the purchaser will pay, and
profits thereby increased. If you
would take the time to study what we
might say is the cost of supplying
this very necessary article of common
use, water, you would find something
like this:

Revenue Distribution of Water
Company. — The public service com-
mission would allow you to receive a
gross revenue of say $100,000; 32 per
cent, or $32,000 of this would go
toward cost of pumping (such as
labor, supplies, maintenance and fuel,
if a steam plant, or electric power, if
an electric plant); 7 per cent, or
$7,000 would go for labor, supplies
and maintenance in connection with
purification of the water; 7% per
cent, or $7,500, would go toward pay-
ing the cost of distribution and main-
tenance of distribution system; 22 per
cent, or $22,000, would go for general
and administrative expense (such as
salaries, office expense and supplies,
etc.); 9 per cent, or $9,000, would be
the allowance for depreciation; the
balance, or 22 1^ per cent, or $22,500,
would be the amount available for the
payment of interest on bonds, if any
outstanding, and dividends on capital
stock.

So that, in the case of a water
utility company, in order that it may
pay a fair return on investment, it is
not the amount of money it can
charge for its product, because that is
already fixed, but the amount of
money it can save in operating ex-
penses that is to be considered.

1923

Water Works

1039

Eventually there comes a time
when the gross revenue allowed is not
sufficient to pay the operating ex-
penses and allow a fair return, which
in the case of water utilities of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is 7
per cent. It then becomes necessary
to file a new schedule of rates. Engi-
neers and accountants must be em-
ployed to ascertain the fair value of
the plant and the average operating
costs for perhaps a period of years.

This information must all be gone
over carefully before the schedule of
rates is filed with the public service
commission. Then immediately, when
the schedule of rates is filed, the first
thing that users of water think of is
the filing of complaints, alleging that
the rates are unreasonable and exces-
sive. After this will ensue a long
siege of conferences of engineers and
accountants and hearings before the
public service commission, which are
costly; then the long delay in the
handing down of a decision by the
commission.

If either side is dissatisfied with
the decision, there is the long period
of waiting, in order that appeals and
counter appeals may be filed and
heard, before the matter is finally
settled.

What the Charge for Water Covers.

— In the manufacturing or trading
business prices can be immediately
changed to meet changed conditions.
A good illustration of the average
consumer's attitude was brought to
my attention by a client, and is this:
A customer complained of the amount
of his bill, stating that he could not
see why the water company was al-
lowed to charge so much for some-
thing that they receive from God.
He was told that the company had a
reservoir full of pure water' in the
hills and that they would permit him
to have all he wanted, free of charge,
but he must furnish the team and
wagon, the tank to hold the water,
and a man to drive the team. The
customer immediately said, "Well,
look at the expense I will be put to
to furnish the means of transporting
the water from the reservoir to my
honae" and my client said, "Yes, that
is just what we are charging you.
We are not charging you for the
water, but we are charging you for
your proportion of the cost of trans-
porting that water to your home and

making it available for your use, as
soon as you turn the faucet."

Numerous other incidents of like
nature might be cited, to show the
trend of the public mind in regard to
the charge for this very necessary
article. Consider, for instance, a cus-
tomer who phones that his meter is
running wild, or that he is going to
move, and would like to have the
meter read, or some other service. He
expects that the water company will
have a man on the premises imme-
diately to take care of his wants, and
that man must be a man of ordinary
intelligence and acquainted with the
various troubles that come up in con-
nection with meters, leaks in house
service lines, etc., in order that he
may be able to handle the particular
case in hand. The consumer cannot
understand why such high rates of
wages must be paid and so many men
must be carried, who probably, a good
part of the time, are doing nothing.

Another matter of interest is that
a water utility, in making any but
current improvements and extensions
to its plant, cannot, under existing
conditions, pay for same out of its
net earnings, but must secure addi-
tional capital, either by the issue of
additional capital stock or by the
issue of bonds. This is not due to any
specific regulation of the public serv-
ice commission, but is a condition that
comes about through the limited fair
return that a water utility company
may earn after paying cost of operat-
ing. It is very essential that the
company be able to show that the pro-
ceeds of certain issues of stock or
bonds were used in particular exten-
sions or improvements.

The System of Accounting in Penn-
sylvania.— In the matter of account-
ing, w'hich is regulated by the public
service commission, the bureau of ac-
counts and statistics of the commis-
sion on January 1, 1918, prescribed a
uniform classification of accounts for
water companies which requires all
companies to keep their books by the
double entry method, and prescribed
the number and titles of accounts
which they are permitted to use.
These accounts are grouped under the
following headings:

(1) Balance Sheet Accounts; (2)
Fixed Capital Accounts; (3) Income
Accounts; (4) Surplus Accounts.

Water utility companies are divided

1040

Water Works

Nov.

into four classes, according to gross
revenue, and a separate schedule of
income and surplus accounts is pre-
scribed for each class, the balance
sheet and fixed capital accounts being
the same for all classes. Companies
having a gross revenue of more than
$250,000 are known as class "A"
companies. Companies having a gross
revenue of $50,000 to $250,000 are
known as class "B" companies. Those
having a gross revenue of $5,000 to
$50,000 are known as class "C" com-
panies, and those having a gross
revenue of $5,000 or less are known
as class "D" companies. This system

Conveyor and Bin Method of
Handling Aggregate

A labor saving arrangement for
supplying the sand and stone to the
mixer for underground concreting on
the Metropolitan Sewerage projects
at Milwaukee, Wis., is used by Wenzel
& Hennoch, Contractors. The set up
is shown in the illustration. The ag-
gregate is brought to the job in motor
trucks, and is dumped into the hopper
of the Barber-Greene conveyor, which
carries it to the bin. The regular

Set Up for Handling Aggregate for Underground Concreting at Milwaukee.

of accounting also requires that the
companies must keep their books and
records in the State of Pennsylvania,
and that no records may be destroyed
without the consent of the public
service commission. No new accounts
may be opened by the utility com-
pany without first obtaining the per-
mission of the commission.

You can now see that running and
financing a water company is no
child's play; that, although one gets
away from various problems encoun-
tered in a manufacturing business, he
is so hampered in the price he can
charge for his product, that a water
company business resolves itself into
a business of saving. Unless careful
accounting is used and correct-man-
agement applied, the water company
game will prove a game of charity so
far as stockholders are concerned.

hopper of the conveyor has been built
up on each side to the width of the
trucks. A wooden ramp enables the
trucks to get to the proper height
above the hopper. One compartment
of the bin holds 30 cu. yd. of stone
and the other compartment holds 15
cu. yd. of sand. From the bin the
material is proportioned to the mixer
below. The conveyor loads the bins
in the morning, being shifted so as to
discharge into either the sand or
stone compartment. It is stated to
have unloaded 10 4 yd. trucks iA 50
minutes. The conveyor is tended by
one man. However less than half his
working time is required there and
he thus is free part of the time to
help out at some other place in the
mixing plant.

1923

Water Works

1041

Supervision of Water Treat-
ment Plants in Michigan

Supervisory Control of State Board of

Health Described in Paper Presented

Oct. 24, at 9th Annual Meeting

of Iowa Section of American

Water Works Association

By EDWARD D. RICH,

Director, Bureau of Engineering. Michigan
Department of Health

Almost the entire state of Mich-
igan is covered with a deep glacial
drift largely deposited as terminal
morains. These formations as well
as some of the underlying rocks yield
abundant supplies of water usually of
a potable character though often so
hard as to render their use disagree-
able and expensive. Lakes are numer-
ous through the state, many of which
are used as the source of water sup-
plies. The fouir great lakes which
border the state are extensively used
for the same purpose.

The Water Supply Situation in
Michigan. — Although the state is not
densely populated, few, if any of our
surface water sources can be consid-
ered safe at all times for domestic
use without some kind of treatment.

The water supply situation in Mich-
igan is summarized as follows:

Total Number of Public Water Supplies.— 305

Ownership

Municipal _- — 270 or 88.5%

Private 30 or 9.8%

Combined 3 or 1.0%

Federal - — 1

Source

Ground water, 201 or 65.9 per cent, serving
pop. of 645,280.

Surface water, 104 or 34.1 per cent, serving
pop. of 1.881,620.

Treatment

Filtration with chlorination, 13, serving
pop. of 354.200.

Filtration with chlorination to be installed
within 1 year, 4, to serve 1,220,800.

Chlorination only, 50. serving pop. of
1.663,700.

The population of Michigan in 1920
was 3,668,400, 61.1 per cent of which
is urban and 38.9 per cent rural. The
population served by public water sup-
plies was 2,526,900 or 69 per cent.
The population served by treated
water supplies was 2,017,900 or 55
per cent. ^Fourteen ground water sup-
plies are treated with chlorine either
occasionally or continuously. Five of
these are from deep wells which show
some signs of contamination part or

all of the time, probably from defect-
ive casings or abandoned wells. One
is from rather shallow wells near
many dangerous sources of contami-
nation such as sewers, privies and
cesspools. In two cases such condi-
tions formerly existed, but deeper
wells have been put down and the
supply improved. Five supplies are
from rather shallow wells near
sources of contamination not posi-
tively dangerous, such as polluted
streams. One has a long suction main
passing through polluted water and
liable to inward leakage.

Filter Plants Have Own Labora-
tories.— All filter plants in the state
maintain their own laboratories. Of
the 50 chlorination plants, 41 have
analyses made regularly, 33 in lab-
oratories maintained by the munici-
pality and 8 in other laboratories of
recognized standing, none of these be-
ing of the commercial type. In four in-
stances the chlorine dosing apparatus
is kept for emergency use and regular
analyses are not required. In two
places chlorination has been installed
recently and laboratory service has
not yet been established. In only
three cases are cities delinquent in
conforming to state requirements in
respect to laboratories.

When attempting to supervise water
works systems for the purpose of con-
trolling the sanitary quality of the
water delivered the sanitary quality
of the water delivered it is decidedly
important that the supervising body
know the exact quality at all times
and that some one directly connected
with the water system be made re-
sponsible for maintaining the required
quality. To accomplish this the State
Board of Health adopted a resolution
which requires that after January 1,
1916, whenever a water supply is sub-
jected to treatment of any kind to
improve its sanitary quality, the man-
agement must provide facilities for
making laboratory examinations as
frequently as deemed necessary by
the State Board of Health and that
the results of these examinations must
be forwarded to the Board each month
on blanks furnished by the state.

Of course, some difficulties were en-
countered in attempting to establish
laboratories at each treatment plant
and it was often difficult to find the
proper person to place in charge of
them. At the present time there are
50 laboratories in the state making
water examinations regularly for 54

1042

Water Works

Nov.

water systems and the results of these
tests are reported each month to the
Michigan Department of Health. The
examinations are made as nearly as
possible in accordance with methods
adopted by the U. S. Public Health
Service for determining the sanitary
quality of water used for drinking
purposes on interstate carriers and
the standards recommended by the U.
S. Public Health Service are used as
standards for the water supplies of
the state.

Work of the Laboratories. — One

could hardly expect each laboratory
to do scientific work of the highest
order, but it is significant that, so far
as can be learned, even in the labora-
tories at the smaller plants the re-
sults continuously correspond very
closely to those obtained from sam-
ples occasionally collected and exam-
ined in the Laboratory of the State
Department of Health at Lansing. By
using prepared dehydrated media the
bacteriological plantings are made
comparatively simple and it has been
found that by having some one from
the State Department of Health spend
about two days with some intelligent
local person, sufficient instructions
can be given to enable him to carry
out routine plantings and properly fill
out the report blanks. Whenever re-
ports show that the analyst is in need
of further instructions or, upon re-
quest, other visits are made and as-
sistance freely given.

It has been found important in giv-
ing the first instructions to closely
follow routine procedure only. The
analyst is not asked to interpret re-
sults, but is simply required to record
his findings on the report blanks.
After he has had time to become ac-
quainted with routine procedure we
make all reasonable efforts possible
to give instructions in interpretation
of results and in the cause and effect
of water supply contamination.

Some of our laboratories are located
in high school buildings where one of
the teachers performs the analyses
and usually this has proved satisfac-
tory where part time services must be
accepted. This arrangement has de-
cided educational advantages well
worth considering. During the vaca-
tion season some teacher remaining
in the city or a high school student is
placed in charge of the work.

The rapid decrease in typhoid fever
in the state during the past ten years
and especially in the cities which in

former years had very unsatisfactory
water supplies has apparently shown
good results from our efforts. In
1913 the death rate for this disease
was 3.6 times the rate for 1922 in the
state as a whole and 4.8 times the
rate in the cities which now treat their
water supplies.

Roof Truss Derrick Erects
Standpipe

In the construction of two stand-
pipes for the city of Dallas, Tex., an
interesting erection method was used
by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Works.
The Method is described in The Water
Tower, from which the matter follow-
ing is taken.

The standpipes are 60 ft. in diam-
eter and 100 ft. high. The design is
very heavy, the plates in the lower
course being It^^ in. thick, approxi-
mately 7 ft. wide, 24 ft, long, and
weighing more than 10,000 lb. each.
The plates in the successive courses
higher are the same size, gradually
decreasing in thickness and, conse-
quently, in weight; those in the top
ring weighing something over one ton
each. A large portion of the plates
in these standpipes were so heavy
that they could not be hoisted into
plate buggies and moved in the cus-
tomary manner. Conditions seemed to
demand some form of derrick capable
of easily hoisting and handling these
heavy plates, the most desirable type
being one that could raise all the
plates and handle all the material at
one setting. The problem, therefore,
was to provide, at a comparatively
small expense, a 35-ft. boom derrick
capable of raising material 100 ft. in
the air, and able to turn a complete
circle.

The cost of a specially built derrick
of the proper dimensions, to be ship-
ped to the work and then taken away,
was prohibitive. A wooden staging
could be built to support a small der-
rick, which, however, could not be
easily rigged to swing a complete cir-
cle without moving either guys or
stiff legs, and which we knew would
be clumsy and cumbersome in, oper-
ation as well as difficult and expensive
to install.

These standpipes are covered with
conical steel roofs which are sup-
ported by a series of 24 radial truss-
es. The happy thought suggested it-
self that the trusses themselves could

1923

Water Works

1043

be so detailed that they might be
used to form the derrick desired.

Sixteen of the trusses were used
in assembling the mast, which was
approximately 130 ft. high and 8 ft.
square. The boom, 35 ft. long, is
made of two trusses. There being 24
trusses to each standpipe, the derrick
was located out of center so that the
six remaining trusses could be raised
and placed in final position before
dismantling the derridc

The derrick was operated in the
usual manner with double-drum en-
gine and swinging gear. The hoist-
ing cables lead to the bottom of the
derrick and out to the engine through
small holes drilled in the bottom ring.
The engine was operated by com-
pressed air, which had to be provided
on the work to operate riveting ham-
mers.

Adolph Eastman was superintendent
in charge of the work-

Bids to Be Taken in December
on $4,000,000 Pueblo,
Colo., Flood Protec-
tion Project

Progress of the Pueblo Conservancy
District, providing flood protection
for Pueblo, Colo., has reached a stage
indicating that bids for the work can
be received sometime during Decem-
ber. The work will be formally
advertised in November or December.
It involves the construction of a new
river channel to carry 125,000 cfs of
water, 34 miles of railroad tracks, and
a barrier dam 35 ft. high and 3060 ft.
long. The Plan has been officially
approved and benefits appraised, upon
which the assessments will be levied.
The total estimated cost of the
project, including land and admin-
istration, is $4,000,000.

The work has been divided into 48
contract units. A contractor may bid
on any single unit or any combination
of units. He may thus confine his
interest to such work as is best suited
to his equipment and organization.

The work includes 1,000,000 cu. yd.
excavation and grading as a single
contract. The material will be exca-
vated from dry cut to form new chan-
nel. The work is suitable for one
plant consisting of trains and steam
shovels or draglines, divided as fol-
lows: 160,000 cu. yds. shale from
side hill, placed in railroad fill before
September, 1925, and 50,000 cu. yds.

from bottom, placed between .Septem-
ber, 1925, and May, 1926; 180,000 cu.
yds. earth placed in railroad fill be-
fore September, 1925, and 130,000 cu,
yds. between September, 1925, and
March, 1926; and 261,000 cu. yds.
earth placed in levees before Septem-
ber, 1925, and 220,000 cu. yds. between
September, 1925, and May, 1926. The
above excavation will be dry except
for possibly a small amount of seep-
age water, which may be drained by
gravity, and the average train haiil
will be about 0.7 mile. In addition
there will be 364,000 cu. yd. of other
excavation and 281,000 cu. yd. rolled
fill embankment in dam. The con-
crete will include the following:

Levee and channel slope paving, 10
in. thick, 96,000 sq. yd. extending
13,600 ft. in length, half placed before
September, 1925, and half between
September, 1925, and May, 1926. 20
per cent is below ground water line;
but can be drained by gravity. Head-
gate structure, 660 cu. yd. reinforced
concrete including 870 ft. of 48 in,
concrete pipe, built during Septembei
and October, 1925. Retaining Wall
1,400 cu. yd. concrete, built before
September, 1925. Culverts as follows;
2—8x10x130 ft., built before July
1925, and 3—12x10x100 ft., built early
in 1926, each culvert being a contract
unit. Concrete Through Girdei
Bridge, 3-track, 200 ft. long, 4,200 cu
yd. reinforced concrete, complete by
July, 1925. Bridge Substructures, (a)
for a 400 ft. double track 4-spar
through railroad bridge, 2,000 cu. yd
before March, 1926; (b) for a high-
way bridge and viaduct, 1,300 cu. yd
before March, 1926; (c) for a streel
bridge, 1,600 cu. yd. before March
1926; (d) for a street bridge, 2000 cu
yd. before March, 1926; (e) for a 40C
ft. double track 2-span railroac
bridge, 3000 cu. yd. before September
1925; (f) for a highway bridge, one
280 ft. span, 660 cu. yd. before Sep-
tember, 1925, each lettered item being
a contract unit. Dam, 6 miles wes1
of Pueblo, including spillway of plair
concrete 4,900 cu. yd. wing walls oi
plain concrete 600 cu. yd. railroac
conduit of reinforced concrete 1,60(
cu. yd. ditch culvert of reinforcec
concrete 100 cu. yd., before Septem-
ber, 1925.

Additional information may be ob
tained by communicating with the
Pueblo Conservancy District, Pueblo
Colorado, or the Dayton Morgan En-
gineering Company, Chief Engineer
Pueblo, Colo., or Dayton, O.

1044

Water Works

Nov.

Ohio Conference on Water Puri-
fication

The third annual Ohio Conference
on water purification with the State
Department of Public Health will be
held at Columbus, 0., Nov. 21-24. The
meetings will be held in the Southern
Hotel. The first day of the confer-
ence will be devoted to the presenta-
tion of original papers and their dis-
cussion, including the following:

Water Purification at Toledo, 1916
to 1923. By R. W. Furman, Supt.,
Filtration, Toledo.

Effect of variation in character of
filter sand upon:

Performance of the Filtration Proc-
ess.

Effect of double Chlorination of
Filtered Water.

Explanation of Reactions Taking
Place During Carbonation of Lime-
Soda Softened Water and Which Im-
prove the Character of Influent Water
for Filtration. By H. T. Campion,
Supt. of Water Works, Defiance.

Further Studies on Comparison of
Dougle Coagulation and Single Co-
agulation of Ohio River Water. By
F. E. Sheehan, Supt. Filtration, Ports-
mouth.

The Water Works Accounting Sys-
tem Developed at Napoleon, By H.
V. Holzer, Supt. Water Works, Na-
poleon.

Method of Carbonation Recom-
mended for Columbus. By C. P.
Hoover, Supt. of Filtration, Columbus.

What Constitutes Good Laboratory
Technique in Bacteriological Exam-
ination of Water? Demonstration
and discussion by C. T. Butterfield,
Assistant Bacteriologist, U. S. P.
H. S.

Progress in Studies on Limitations
of Water Purification Processes. By
H. W. Streeter, Sanitary Engineer, U.
S. P. H. S.

Some Impressions of Filtration
Plant Operation in the South. By A.
E. Kimberly, Welch Chemical Co.,
Columbus.

The second day will be devoted to
inspection. Trips will be made to the
new water purification and softening
plant nearing completion at Newark,
O., and to the new water purification
and softening plant at Delaware, O.

On the third day there will be dis-
cussions of the water purification
problems assigned for research dur-
ing 1923. Several filtration superin-
tendents also will describe interesting
and in some cases entirely original
features of plant operation in use by
them. The "question box" for .new
problems in water purification also is
a feature of the morning session. The
afternoon meeting will be a joint ses-
sion of water filtration superintend-
ents with the city and county district
health commissioners of Ohio. The
principal subject to be considered will
be: Treatment of public water sup-
plies with iodine as a goiter preven-
tive measure, and the "Seal of Safe-
ty" for drinMng water supplies.

The last session will include com-
ments on operation of the water puri-
fication plants in the state and an in-
spection of experimental carbonation
at the Columbus plant.

Gas From Sludge

In a paper presented at the 1923
Congress of the Royal Sanitary Insti-
tute of Great Britain, A. J. Martin
gave an interesting discussion of the
possibilities of obtaining gas from
sludge by spontaneous combustion.
He stated that it was not necessary to
generate the gas in the septic tank
itself. The retention in such a tank
of large quantities of sludge peri-
odically thrown up into the sewage
by the evolution of gas was not con-
ducive to the clearness of the effluent.
A better plan was to remove the
sludge from the tank at short inter-
vals and to digest it in a separate
chamber. The digestion of sludge in
an independent tank had been carried
on in many places for some years,
not with a view to the production of
gas, but for the purpose of reducing
the volume of the sludge and render-
ing it inoffensive and non-putrescent.
This was done on a large scale at Bir-
mingham; and in this case the ques-
tion of gas production had not been
lost sight of. The money value of
such gas was very considerable. That
gas could be produced from any ordi-
nary sludge seems to be beyond doubt.
In the case of Imhoff tanks, it was
often given off so copiously as to
cause considerable embarrassment
from "foaming" in the vent shafts.
The gas could either be used to gen-
erate power or as a source of light
and heat.

1923

Water Works

1045

Financing Water Main Elxtensions by City Owned

Plants

Method of Securing Necessary Money Described in Paper Presented at

Last Annual Meeting of Iowa Section of American

Water Worfcs Association

By H. F. BLOMQUIST

Superintendent of Water Works, Cedar Rapids, la.

The pipe system may be classified
into two main classes. The distrib-
utors and the feeder mains. The
distributors are the grid iron arrange-
ment of small mains, usually 6 or 8
inch pipes serving the individual fire
hydrants and blocks of consumers
located along its various lines. The
feeder mains are the large pipe lines
which conducts water from its source
to the various sections of the city to
supply the distributors.

The distributors are of value only
to the abutting property owners
whom they serve with water, and to
whom they furnish fire protection. In
general, an extension of distributors
do not add to the usefulness of the
water system except as a means of
serving the particular owners who
may make connections with them. In
other words, they are set apart for
the use of a certain group of indi-
viduals, and can not be used by any
other group. In this respect, they
are different from all other parts of a
water system. The source of supply,
p u m p i ng machinery, purification
plant, etc., serve all consumers in
common as the needs may be, and
improvements or additions to them
are equally valuable to all people
served by the water system, but this
is not so with improvements or addi-
tions to the distributors.

Financing Distribution System
Major Problem. — The pipe system of
a water works represents from one-
half to three-fourths of the total
investment in the plant, and the small
pipes, or distributors, represent the
greater portion of the ordinary pipe
system. An increase of 100 per cent
in the cost of water main construction
in a short time, together with an in-
creasing demand for water main
extensions in rapidly growing cities
have made the financing of them a
major problem, especially in Iowa
where there is as yet no authority for
financing them by frontage tax, or a
special local assessment against the
benefited property.

Because of the large investment
necessary in distributors, and recog-
nizing the fact that they serve only a
certain group of individuals, most of
the states have passed statutes which
are upheld by the courts, that permit
municipally owned water works to
charge all or a portion of the cost of
such extensions to that group. A
common practice in those states is to
make extensions upon petition of the
owners of a majority of the abutting
property, and make an annual assess-
ment of usually from 5 ct. to 10 ct.
per front foot of abutting property
for a period of 10 years. Another
method used is to make direct special
assessment of from two-thirds to the
total cost of the extension and certify
for collection in yearly installments
according to the governing laws. The
details of the plans are left for each
municipality to work out.

Advantages of Special Assessment
Plan. — There are several advantages
of the special assessment, or frontage
tax system for financing main exten-
sions, among which are the following:
Extensions can be made into new and
sparsely settled territory without loss
to the water department, and people
who would otherwise not be able to
get the benefit of public water service
may have it at a nominal expense
usually much less than any other
water supply would cost them. Par-
ties interested in opening new addi-
tions can have extensions made with-
out being obliged to guarantee
incomes, or pay interest on the in-
vestment in a direct way, or to put
in water mains at their own cost.

Where special assessments, or
frontage tax is not permitted, water
departments have resorted to various
other methods of dealing with main
extensions. Some cities make exten-
sions under contracts with owners of
property, by which the owners guar-
antee an annual income of a certain
percentage of the cost of construction.
Others require the land owners to
make the extension at their own cost,

1046

Water Works

Nov.

and when sufficient number of con-
nections have been made, that the
revenue equals a certain percentage
of the cost, the water departments
will take the extension over at con-
struction cost, or valuations to be
made according to contract stipula-
tions. These systems have worked
fairly well where ownership of prop-
erty is vested in one or two parties,
but where lots have been sold to indi-
viduals, this arrangement becomes
difficult and cumbersome and can
rarely be used.

Consumer Eventually Pays All
Costs. — Whether a system of assess-
ment of costs in main extensions is
followed by which a portion of the
income for water service is derived,
or whether some other method is used,
the fundamental principle remains
that the consumer must eventually
pay all costs of the service. There
are, however, some decided advan-
tages in one system over another due
to differences in business procedures
necessary to provide the required
funds. Where no form of assessment
or tax for mains are used, all the
costs of extensions must come in the
form of water service charges, and
since the outlay in mains is necessary
long before income from them is
available, the department must resort
to the issuing of bonds or other form
of indebtedness for carrying the in-
vestment until returns from the same
will be sufficient to liquidate them.
Frequent issues of bonds are unde-
sirable, and often hard to bring about
where popular vote is required, and
is more costly than the more direct
way of partially paying as you go.
On the other hand when charges are
made in one form or another as soon
as mains are laid, and services avail-
able, the financing of extensions be-
comes greatly simplified.

It must be considered, however,
that if a part of the income is derived
from assessment or taxes, the rate
for water sold should be correspond-
ingly lower. One is simply a method
of dividing the cost of service into
two parts, one of which is payable as
soon as water service is available, and
may be considered as a ready to serve
charge; and the other part when
water is actually used. Courts have
sustained ready to serve charges in
public utilities other than water^ serv-
ice, but the principle involved is the
same whether it is water, gas or elec-
tricity. From the view point of moral
justification for such division of

charges it may be stated that the
actual difference in sale value of prop-
erty before and after water is avail-
able is generally much more than the
amount of assessments, or other form
of ready to serv^e charges.

Some just objections to making a
change from a non-assessment system
to the other might be raised on the
grounds that owners of property
along which future mains are to be
laid will be required to pay more for
water service in the form of assess-
ments or frontage taxes, than owners
where mains were laid before who got
them without any extra expense.
These differences would not be great,
however, and are offset to some ex-
tent by the older consumers having
paid a greater portion, in some in-
stances at least, toward the purchase
or building up of the water plant.

Proposed Iowa Law. — In order t(
simplify the financing of water exten-
sions, and yet overcome objections to
an abrupt change from a method ot
no assessment or charges, to one
which involves special assessments or
taxes, a proposed law was introduced
in the Iowa legislature at the last
session, but failed to pass, which pro-
vided for assessments against the
benefited property in an amount
equivalent to the cost of a 6 in. main,
but with this difference from the ordi-
nary methods: that after a property
owner had made connection to the
mains, and became a regular con-
sumer, the amount of assessment paid
would be refunded to him. This
method would simply throw the bur-
den of carrying the investment of
water mains in unproductive territory
upon the property owner until he
would require water service. This
principle can be defended on the
grounds that the property would be
increased in value after water is
available to fully offset the expense
of carrying the investment. In real-
ity, it would be only a ready to serve
charge for the assurance of being
able to have water service, which
would be of actual value to the prop-
erty owner.

Based upon experiences with the
problem of financing extensions under
both methods, it is the writer's opin-
ion that the ready to serve charge, or
assessment plan for municipal water
works meets the requirements much
better because it distributes the cost
of service more equitably and makes
it possible to meet the needs of water
service extensions much more readily.

1923

Water Works

1047

The New Pumping Unit of

Trenton, N. J., Water

Works

The rapid growth of the city of
Trenton recently made it necessary to
increase the capacity of its pumping
station. The water is taken from the
Delaware River and pumped by two
20 M. G, D, motor driven centrifugal

triple expansion pumps it was pK>s-
sible to get more than this capacity,
but a breakdown of either unit would
have been a serious matter. It was
therefore decided to install a new
unit and employ one of the old ones
as a spare, and the other as a reserve
for peak loads.

After a careful investigation involv-
ing visits to other plants and an
exhaustive study by consulting engi-

Roots Pump Installation at Water Works Plant of Trenton, N. J.

pumps to a filter plant. These pumps
operate against a 26 ft, head. For
pumping from the filter plant to the
reservoir against a 150 ft. head, there
are two triple expansion direct acting
plunger pumps of 15 M. G. D. and 20
M. G. D. capacity.

In Trenton there are numerous
canals from which water is drawn by
manufacturing plants. In winter the
freezing of these canals throws an
unusually heavy load onto the city
water system; hence the demand is
often almost double the normal re-
quirement. These conditions some-
times last for a month at a time,
during which the pumps must deliver
about 30 M. G. D. By running both

neers and the former commissioner,
J. Ridgeway Fell, a Roots pump, made
by the P. H. & F. Roots Co., Chicago,
was selected for this important work.
The pump is driven by an 850 H. P.
Ames Uniflow engine, and on the
same shaft there is a 300 K. W. AUis
Chalmers D. C. generator for supply-
ing power to the low-lift centrifugal
pumps. Two steam turbo-generators
formerly used for this work are now
kept as spare units.

At the far end of the Roots pump
the shaft is fitted with a coupling for
an hydraulic turbine which it is con-
templated installing upon acquisition
of Sanhicon Creek, a water power
canal. This will enable the city to
use water power during 9 months

1048

Water Works

Nov.

each year, with a consequent saving
in coal.

The Roots pump is operated 24
hours per day. The pump is rated at
20 M. G. D. under a 155 ft. head at
140 R. P. M., but owing to its gener-
ous design it delivered its rated
output at only 122 R. P. M., which
gives it a capacity of about 23
M. G. D. at 140 R. P. M. The accept-
ance test, conducted by George A.

is-"

Another View of the Pump.

Johnson Co.,
New York,
results :

Consulting Engineers,
showed the following

Rate

M. G. D.

R. P.

121
98
70

Mech. Eff.
Per Test
Per Cent

83.1

82.1

82.3

MecK. Eff.

Guaranteed

Per Cent

81.0

It is stated that it is quite likely
that these eflRciencies, though already
well above guarantee, will improve as
minor adjustments are made and the
pump tuned up to its working con-
ditions.

Because of the impracticability of
tests for volumetric efficiency, this
was checked by computation, using
known design factors and actual re-
lated data taken during the test. The
results were as follows:

Volumetric

Efficiency

Rate

(By Computation)

Guaranteed

M. G. D.

Per Cent

93.0 plus

93.0

91.6 plus

91.5

88.0 plus

88.0

Method and Cost of Construct-
ing Malone Diversion Dam

Government forces have recently
completed the construction of the
Malone diversion dam in the Klamath
Project of the U. S. Bureau of Recla-
mation. The dam is located on Lost
River, about 10 miles below Clear
Lake Reservoir and about 45 miles
southeasterly from the city of
Klamath Falls, Ore. The construc-
tion of the dam is part of the plan for
the irrigation of about 5,800 acres on
the west side of Langell Valley and
about 4,300 acres in the vicinity of
Bonanza, Ore. Stored water will be
released into Lost River from Clear
Lake Reservoir and diverted into the
west canal at Malone Dam. We are
indebted to the September Reclama-
tion Record for the following details
regarding this work.

The dam consists of an earth em-
bankment with a spillway and canal
head-gate structure of reinforced con-
crete. The spillway and the head-
gate structure for the west canal are
located on the west side of the river;
there is also a small head-gate on the
east side. The earth embankment is
400 ft. long. Its maximum height is
32 ft., the upstream slope is 3 to 1,
and the downstream slope 2 to 1. The
spillway structure is equipped with
two radial gates 10 ft. high and 16 ft.
long. The capacity of the spillway
is 4,000 cu. ft. per second. The dam
will raise the water surface about 18
ft. above normal.

On the west side of the river the
foundation consists of lava bedrock;
near the center of the channel the
bedrock dips downward. The eastern
half of the river channel was under-
lain with lava bowlders and gravel
mixed with clay, ash, and cinders.
East of the river bed the above mate-
rials were covered to a depth of 6 ft.
with a black mucky material, which
was composed largely of vegetable
matter; this was removed before plac-
ing the material for the embankment.
The principal quantities are: Embank-
ment, 18,500 cu. yd.; reinforced con-
crete, 452 cu. yd.; and riprap, 1,732
cu. yd; The work was begun in July,
1922, and completed in May, 1923.

The water at the site was about 8
ft. deep. Cofferdams consisting of
juniper trees and earth were con-
structed above and below the dam site.

1923

Water Works

1049

The river water was by-passed
through a small timber flume; the
flow amounted to only a few cubic feet
per second. Little difficulty was ex-
perienced in removing the water be-
tween the cofferdams. The excava-
tion of the mucky material in the river
bed was done with a stiff-leg derrick
operating a clamshell bucket. The ex-
cavation for the spillway and the
head-gate structures was done princi-
pally by teams and slip scrapers.

Construction of Embankment. — In
building the embankment about 3,500
cu. yd. were placed with fresno
scrapers and 15,000 cu. yd. with dump
wagons. The average length of haul
for the fresnoes was about 300 ft. and
for the dump wagons about 1,000 ft.
The dump wagons were loaded by
fresno scrapers through an overhead
trap. The dump wagons had a ca-
pacity of 2 cu. yd., about 40 trips
were made per day. The earth was
spread in 6-in. layers and was well
sprinkled and rolled with a heavy cor-
rugated roller. The embankment was
completed on Oct. 31, 1922.

Concreting Operations. — Concreting
was begun in October, 1922, and com-
pleted in May, 1923. The concrete
materials were placed on the hillside
about 20 ft. above the crest of the
dam. The mixer was placed about
midway between the concrete mate-
rials and the spillway structure. A
trestle was built from the mixer to
the forms; the concrete was partly
wheeled and partly chuted into place.
About one-half of the total yardage
was placed during freezing weather.
During cold weather the mixing water
was heated and after pouring the con-
crete was protected by firing.

The channel leading to the spill-
way structure was paved with a
grouted paving. The upstream face
of the dam is protected with riprap
18 in. in thickness. The downstream
side is protected with riprap about
halfway up; the upper half of the
downstream face is protected with
large sized crushed rock.

Rock for concrete was crushed on
the job. Rock for the crusher and
for riprap and paving was obtained
from two quarries, one about 200 ft.
and one about 2,000 ft. from the dam.
Sand was shipped in from Marysville,
Calif. The sand, cement, reinforcing
steel, metal work, timber, all equip-
ment and supplies were hauled in by
motor truck from Dairy, Ore., a dis-
tance of about 27 miles. Contract
hauling was at the rate of 23 to 30
ct. per ton-mile.

Equipment and Wages. — The prin-
cipal equipment used on the job was
as follows: 1 stiff -leg derrick, 72-ft.
boom; 1 concrete mixer, 10 cu. ft.; 1
hoist, reversible, 6-hp., gasoline; 1 jaw
crusher, 10x22in.; 1 air compressor,
9x8 in.; 2 Fordson tractors; 2 air
drills; 2 centrifugal pumps, 4 and 8
in.; 1 clamshell bucket (rented); 5
dump wagons (rented).

Common labor was paid $3.60 to
$4.50 per day; more-skilled labor,
$4.50 to $5; carpenters, $7. Horses
were rented at $20 each per month,
the United States furnishing subsist-
ence.

The job was always short of men
and the turnover was high. Under
more favorable labor conditions the
cost could have been reduced below
that shown in Table I.

Item

Surveys and testing

Right of way-
Clearing

Cofferdams

Excavation :

Class 1, dry

Class 1, wet

Class 3, wet

Class 3, dry

Embankment

Puddled back fill-

Table I — Cost of Malone Diversion Dam

Unit Quantity

Reinforced concrete

Structural steel

Grouted pacing ,

Riprap

Gates, etc.

Camp maintenance

Engineering and insi>ection

Superintendence and accounts..
General expense .....

Cu. yd.

Lb.

Sq. yd.

Cu. yd.

Lb.

Total

740
2.440

810

880
18,500
3.400

452.5

145

2,246

17,000

Cost

Unit Totel

$ 1.794.26

31.25

63.40

1,896.68

$1.77 1.314.15

1.51 3,681.97

2.11 1,713.77

1.81 1.683.90

.72 13,476.25

1.56 5,309.36

44.01 19,874.96

114.83

7.09 1,029.41

5.67 12.738.74

.163 2,771.22

6.108.19

2.058.06

5,669.11

5,662.65

$86,992.16

1050

Water Works

Nov.

Water Works Accounting
System of Charleston, S. C.

Extract From Paper Presented April 19

at Annual Convention of Tri-State

Water and Light Association

By E. EARL EVANS

Treasurer and Assistant Secretary, Water
Department of Charleston, S. C.

The city is divided into 10 major
districts. Each district is divided into
routes of approximately 150 meters
each, which is considered a day's work
for a meter reader. Each meter is
numbered as to district, route and
reading number. These figures ap-
pear on every record pertaining to
that meter.

A meter reading card, sixe 4x6 in.,
is made out for each meter. These
are filed according to district, route
and reading numbers. The ledger
cards, size 5x8 in., are filed in the
same order in a cabinet. This cabinet
is on rollers so as to permit of being
rolled into a fireproof vault at night.

Meters Read Quarterly. — Meters
are read quarterly, with the exception
of industrial meters, which are read
monthly. The bills are made out
from the meter reading cards, the day
after the meters are read, on a me-
chanical billing machine. The ledger
cards are posted from the bills. The
total amount billed each day is sum-
marized both as to consumption in
cubic feet and amount in money.
These figures are posted on control
cards in the ledger cabinet.

At the end of each month these con-
trol cards are summarized and the
totals posted to the general ledger.
The cash receipts for each day are
posted on the control cards as well as
on the individual customers' cards,
and the outstanding balances carried
forward. This system enables the
officers to ascertain the net amount
outstanding in each section of the city
at the close of each day's business.

At the expiration of 10 days afteif
rendition of bill, should the bill re-
main unpaid, a delinquent notice is
made out in triplicate. The original
is mailed to the customer, the dupli-
cate serves as an order on the street
department to discontinue service if
the bill is not paid within five days
and the triplicate remains in the office
as a record.

Meter Installation Orders. — Orders
for installing new meters, services,
hydrants, valves, or for repairing old

ones are made on 3x5 in. cards and a
varied color scheme is used to indi-
cate meters, services, etc. These cards
are all returned to the accounting de-
partment after the work is completed,
with the cost of the work indicated
thereon in itemized form. This in-
formation is compiled and posted to
the general ledger monthly, the indi-
vidual cards being filed in order of
street and number for future refer-
ence.

All purchases are made on requisi-
tion to the manager, who issues order
in triplicate. The original goes to the
source of supply, the duplicate to the
party issuing the requisition and the
triplicate is retained in the files.
When the invoice for goods is received
it is filed with the triplicate of the
order. Upon receipt of the goods the
party for whose use they were pur-
chased receipts the duplicate order
and returns it to the office for attach-
ment to the triplicate and invoice.
The invoice is then approved for pay-
ment and vouchered.

The General Books. — The general
books consist of three: cash book,
voucher record and general ledger.
Besides these various subsidiary
ledgers are carried, all of which are
card ledgers.

The cash book is ruled in columns
for the various classes of receipts and
disbursements. Only the totals of
columns are posted monthly to the
general ledger.

The voucher record, a large loose
leaf book, provides for a detailed
classification and distribution of ex-
penses both for operation and im-
provements. In this book is recorded
all information from the vouchers,
which in turn are based on reports
from the pumping station, data com- i
piled from the working cards pre- |
viously referred to, the customers' I
records and approved invoices. Like
the cash book only the totals of i
columns are posted to the general
ledger.

From the general ledger is com-
piled monthly a statement of earnings
and expenses and an asset and liabili-
ties statement. The earnings and ex-
pense statement shows all earnings
and expenses for the past month, the
same month of the preceding year,
the present year to date and the cor-
responding period of the preceding
year. These two statements, together
with reports indicating the pumpage
of water from the plant, amount of

1923

Water Works

1051

water consumed through customers'
meters, number of new taps, number
of new meters and a few other similar
items, are furnished the management
lor his information and the prepara-
tion of his monthly reports, and serve
as a guide in the directing and con-
trolling of future operation.

Sinking Fund and Depreciation
Charges. — As soon as bonds are is-
sued preparations should be made for
their redemption, even though their
date of maturity is in the distant
future. We feel that bonds should
not be issued for a greater period
than the life of the improvements for
which the proceeds from the bonds
are to pay. The amount necessary to
be set aside monthly, or annually,
which at compound interest will retire
the issue should be ascertained. This
sum should be set aside and charged
to "Operation." This will insure that
the obligation will be met at maturity
without embarrassment.

One thing that we must recognize is
that with the passing of each birthda..
we are one year older and one year
nearer the end of our existence on thi
earth. We cannot fool ourselves in
this respect by saying that we feel
like 21. Just so with a water or light
plant. No matter in how good a con-
dition it may appear to be at the end
of the year, it is one year nearer the
end of its usefulness and its value on
the books should be depreciated.

The company is not only legally en-
titled but morally bound to set aside a
sufficient sum annually to make good
depreciation and to replace the vari-
ous parts of the plant as they wear
out or become obsolete. This should
be done before the net earnings are
arrived at, and should be done before
even if the net earnings appear in red
figures or on the "loss" side of the
profit and loss sheet. It is better to
take a small loss in a lean year than
to show a profit at the expense of the
depreciation reserve account, for this
loss will inevitably have to be borne
at some future date.

It is a fault of many companies
who do not set aside a fixed amount
annually for depreciation, especially
those not affected by income taxes, to
cut depreciation charges to the mini-
mum in order to show larger profits.
It is better by far to over-estimate
depreciation than to under-estimate,
as it often occurs that a portion of the

plant must be abandoned, even though
still in good working order, because it
has become inadequate to meet the
demands of the business or because it
is found to be more economical to in-
stall newer and more improved types.

Accounting for Extensions and Ad-
ditions.— When you consider that at
the beginning of the last century
there were only 16 water works plants
in the United States and at the close
of the century the number had in-
creased to approximately 3,500 plants,
it will be seen that this business is
in a state of rapid expansion. This
being the case, it is necessary to be
continually erecting or laying exten-
sions, or making additions to build-
ings or machinery.

With extensions and improvements
continually in the process of construc-
tion it is extremely important that
exact cost be kept, in order that labor
and material used in this work is not
charged to operation, but to the plant
account. The improper charging of
labor and material is not the only
thing to be guarded against. It is
important to guard against the failure
to charge material taken out of the
storehouse.

Have you ever taken an inventory
at the end of the year and found two
16-in. valves where there should have
been three ? You probably worried
over it a while and then passed it up.
The value of this valve appeared in
your annual report as a. loss on inven-
tory. What percentage of your losses
on inventory is buried in those exten-
sions made during the early months
of the year? Your loss on inventory
cut down your earnings, while your
plant shows on the books at a false
value, below its actual cost. This is
the fault of the construction foreman,
whose duty it should be to keep an
itemized account of all material used
in the construction of extensions and
report to the accounting department.

A properly designed accounting sys-
tem will draw information from every
depaitment of the business and cor-
relate this data in such a form as to
furnish the executive with reports
which will act as a chart bv which he
will be enabled to steer his business
course. If improperly designed it will
be merely a record of past events,
depicting more or less accurately the
financial status of the business as of
a given date.

1052

Water Works

Nov.

Industrial Notes

The Orton & Steinbrenner Co., 608 So.
Dearborn St., Chicago, 111., manufacturers of
locomotive cranes, buckets and coal crushers,
has just completed a large addition to its
works at Huntington, Ind., which will approx-
imately double the output of the company.

The National Steel Fabric Co. has appointed
H. D. Beaton eastern manager with headquar-
ters in the Harrison Bldg., Philadelphia, Pa.

The United States Cast Iron Pipe & Foun-
dry Co. announce the appointment of Thomas
P. Anthony as Chief Engineer of the company
with offices at Burlington, N. J. P. T. Laws
has been appointed Southern District Manager
of the company, with offices at 1002 American
Trust & Savings Bank Bldg., Birmingham,
Ala.

H. B. Ackland has been appointed manager
of the New York offices of C. H. Williams Co.,
manufacturers of clam shell buckets. Mr.
Ackland was for many years connected with
the Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Co., as
engineer in charge. The New York office is
located at 30 Church St.

Everett H. Allison, formerly of the Allison
Engineering Co., Consulting Engineers, has
joined the staff of the Buhl Machine Co., in
assisting their trade with the various engi-
neering problems they may encounter. Mr.
Allison was formerly connected in an Engi-
neering capacity with The Aluminum Ore
Co. of East St. Louis, 111., and with Ingersoll-
Rand Company of New York City.

The Nichols-Moore Co., Advertising, of
Cleveland, O., announces a change in name to
The Nichols-Evans Co. and an addition to its
staff of Walker Evans, Jr., formerly with
Blackman Company, of New York, and later
with MacManus of Detroit. The officers of
The Nichols-Evans Co. are Walker Evans, Jr..
President ; D. H. Nichols, Vice President and
Treasurer ; E. J. Witthoff, Secretary. There
are no changes in the company personnel, or
in accounts served, other than above cited.

Obituaries

Charles T. Harding, Jr., superintendent of
the water works and light plant at Virginia,
Minn., was drowned at Pelican Lake, Minn.,
on Nov. 1.

Edward E. Sands, consulting engineer, died
Oct. 22 at the home of his father at Milwau-
kee, Wis. Mr. Sands was born in Columbus,
O., Jan. 5, 1877. He was instructor in Civil
Engineering, University Wisconsin, 1900-1902 ;
city engineer, Sparta, Wis., 1901-1902 ; project
engineer, U. S. Reclamation Service 1902-
1909 ; manager. Upper Columbia Co., 1910 ;
U. S. Reclamation Service, 1911 ; supervising
engineer, Canadian Pacific Ry., 1912-1913 ; city
engineer, Houston, Texas, 1913-1918. Con-
sulting Engineer since 1918. Designed and
built activated sludge plants of Houston ; de-
signed most of terminal facilities of Houston
Ship Channel ; twenty million dollars worth
of irrigation works; Supervising Engineer of
Camp Logan and other camps. Since Oct.
l8t, 1922, member of the Engineering firm
Hawley and Sands, designing and supervising
water and sewerage plants at many Texas
points, including $1,250,000.00 sewage disposal
plant for Fort Worth,

Statement of the Ownership, Management,

Circulation, Etc., Required by the Act of

Congress of August 24, 1912,

of WATER WORKS Monthly issue of
ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING, pub-
lished monthly at Chicago, 111., for October,
1923.

State of Illinois, County of Cook, ss.

1. That the names and addresses of the
publisher, editor, managing editor, and busi-
ness managers are: Publisher, Engineering
and Contracting, 221 East 20th Street, Chi-
cago; editor. H. P. Gillette, 221 East 20th
Street, Chicago managing editor, H. P. Gillette,
221 East 20th Street, Chicago; business man-
ager, Lewis S. Louer, 221 East 20th Street,
Chicago.

E. S. GILLETTE, Circulation Manager.

Sworn to end subscribed before me this Ist
day of October, 1923.

(Seal) KITTIE C. WOULFE, Notary Public.
(My commission expires Feb. 9, 1926.)

Railways

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbert p. Gillette, President and Editor

Lewis S. Loueb, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg., 42d St. and Broadway

Richard E. Brown, Eastern Manager

Roads and Streets — 1st Wednesday, $1 Railways — 3rd Wednesday, $1

(a) Road Con- (c) Streets (a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rail-
struction (d) Street clean- way Construe- way Constrac-

(b) Road Main- ing
tenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday, $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and Sanitation
Drainage (d) Waterways

tion
Maintenance

tion and
Maintenance

Baildings — 1th Wednesday, $1

(a) Baildings (d) Miscellaneous

(b) Bridges Stractores

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., NOVEMBER 21, 1923

No. 5

The Greatest Defect in Our System of Rate
Regulation

The greatest defect in our system
of rate regulation is failure to pro-
tect public service commissioners
from public vengeance when rates are
raised. Demagogs and "yellow"
newspapers seldom refrain from at-
tempting to make a political issue of
rate increases, and they are fre-
quently successful in securing the
retirement of commissioners who have
raised rates. Even when they fail in
their efforts thus to punish commis-
sioners they make life miserable for
them, and thus often bring about the
ultimate resignation of honest, com-
petent commissioners.

About 18 months ago two public
service commissioners of the state of
Oregon were "recalled" by a three to
two vote of the citizens of Oregon,
because they had raised telephone
rates. We have watxrhed the news-
papers for editorial comments on this
recall, yet, outside of Oregon, it has
received scarcely any mention. We
hardly know how to interpret such

editorial indifference to a political act
that was so oturageous as was the
act of retiring these commissioners.

It was not charged that these com-
missioners were dishonest. Their sole
offense consisted in making it slightly
more expensive to use a telephone.
Obviously the voters could know
nothing of the evidence upon which
these commissioners based their de-
cision that telephone rates should be
raised. But the Oregon law permits
the voters to recall public servants
whose acts fail to please the majority
of the public. We shall not now dis-
cuss the iniquity of such a law when
it applies to judges or to those occu-
pying quasi judicial positions. Our
present object fs merely to point out
the outstanding reason why public
service regulation has been a failure
in the majority of our states.

Judges should not be subject to re-
call by popular vote, for courts are
not designed as instruments to ex-
press the will of majorities but to

1054

Railways

Nov.

secure justice and to protect the
rights of all. Public service commis-
sioners are judges, and as such should
be protected, as far as practicable,
not merely from recall but from the
attacks of demagogs and other self
seekers. So long as the American
editors see nothing worthy of com-
ment in such political acts as the
recall of public service commissioners,
the country is a long way from
securing a satisfactory system of
Tegulation of railway and public util-
ity rates.

Municipal Ownership of
Public Utilities

Editorial in The Chronicle

Addressing the American Electric
Hallway Association in session at At-
lantic City, C. D. Emmons of Balti-
more, its president, said, in explana-
tion of the attitude of public utilities
toward municipal ownership, or public
ownership: "Our opposition is not
because we fear the loss of our prop-
erty— the laws of this country protect
all enterprises from confiscation with-
out payment of the full value of the
property taken. Our opposition is not
due to fear of loss of profits, for some
of the largest railways in the country
have made no profits for several
years. Why, then, are we, and all
other business oragnizationsj opposed
to public ownership ? Because it is
foreign to and in conflict with the
fundamental principles of the Ameri-
can government; because it is social-
istic; because it is, in nine instances
out of ten, wasteful, saturated with
politics and inefficiency, and because,
once it is established as a principle,
it means the end of the representative
form of government and the begin-
ning of socialistic government."

Mr. Emmons cites the case of the
Detroit street railways, where great
promises of saving were made that
could not be kept, and olfers a reason
why these promises are unlikely to
be kept in all similar cases: "Were
it possible for a municipality to em-
ploy labor and buy materials at lower
prices than privately owned com-
panies must pay, demagogic promises
might be kept." The sufficiency of
this reason must be at once apparent
to everyone. And there are several
causes why such purchasing cannot be
done. The main cause, however, is

concealed in the lesser ones. And this
is that despite all attempts to safe-
guard the expenditures under skilled
supervision, the municipality does not
await the best time to buy, does not
have to require such basic prices as
will insure a profit, and has for its
chief interest in the outgo the imme-
diate procurement of the utility trust-
ing to the general promises made but
disregarding the future course of
management because no one's actual
property is at stake in the enterprise.

Or so it seems. Yet just here is
one of the fatal faults, for taxes to
pay deficits are a contingency of all
such undertakings. It may be unkind
to say that many voters, though they
know this, also know that such con-
tingency taxes will not be paid by
them, for they have no taxable prop-
erty— but we do not doubt the truth
of the statement, though we do not
offer to estimate the degree. Mr.
Emmons shows that Detroit was com-
pellel to raise its 5 ct. fare. This is
a contingency that the voter in many
instances does not consider. Nor does
he take into account the grip of union
labor on the municipally owned enter-
prise, a grip that is even stronger
than that exerted upon the privately
owned, for politics makes men en-
gaged in all city management afraid.
The truth is that it has become en-
tirely too easy to vote bonds for these
municipally owned enterprises, such is
the avidity of small communities, as
well as large, for the possession of
everything that will be "for the bene-
fit of the city or town."

When private capital is invested it
counts the cost. It selects a favorable
time for the inauguration of the en-
terprise. Because it submits to super-
vision, it asks certain protection under
a franchise. With all these precau-
tions it faces the natural opposition
of every new invention in the world
of mechanics. But most of all it now
faces, as the speaker indicates, the
opposition which is concealed in all
these vainglorious promises which
have their roots in socialistic beliefs.
Here is an urge which capital must
contend with, for men are constantly
pointing to savings that must come
under public ownership. Inefficiency
of those in charge is not mentioned,
yet is almost universally true. The
enterprise, founded upon the moneys
that should go into retirements of
bonded issues, runs along careless of

1923

Railways

1055

everything but the costs of operation.
How many privately owned enter-
prises pay for themselves in a reason-
able term of amortization ? Here is
one of the dangers not emphasized
enough. "Let us have the utility — let
us bond ourselves to get it" — and
trust to good fortune to save us from
disaster, is the prevailing spirit!

Successive steps take us from city
to county, to state, to nation. Edu-
cated to believe in the right and power
of government by a city to secure for
the people all modern "improve-
ments," the mind is led to accept
paternalism by state and nation.
Then when the private corporation
operates a "utility,*^ as it must, in
the face of all exterior influences of
capital and labor, new capital in new
and untried ventures, old labor in
new armor of insatiate demands,
there arises the complaints of those
disgruntled by these false socialistic
teachings. How long, how very long,
were the steam roads subjected to
this suspicions and innuendo, rising
in latter years to violent and thought-
less denunciation. Only within recent
years and by the general education of
temperate discussion have the steam
railroads come into a fair heritage of
good will. No private enterprise can
succeed where the people are arrayed
against it. None should succeed, or
can, that does not ser\-e. But in all
our thought of these public utility
corporations privately owned we
should accord them fheir chance to
win fair returns by fair methods.

We are aware that municipal own-
ership of public utilities is not social-
ism, that it is, in principle, only
socialistic. The city is a form of cor-
poration under the protection of the
commonwealth. It has some advan-
tages in ability to operate certain
public utilities if kept free from
politics. But such advantages as are
derived from a limited, compact or-
ganization are sustained by the larger
embracing political organism. Even
admitting this, experimentation has
not proceeded far enough to warrant
wholesale adoption of this method.
Time must elapse for the acquirement
of utilities free from tax-bond mort-
gages. And the public utility, city-
owned, must itself meet all competi-
tion of new methods and new instru-
mentalities before it can be said that
municipalities are warranted in these
hazardous undertakings.

Are Railway Engineers
Dogmatic?

Editorial in The Railway Age

It is a common criticism of the
medical profession that it is dogmatic,
that it will brook no departure from
the conventional in the practice of its
members. Are we sure that the en-
gineer, and particularly the railway
engineer, is not sometimes to be in-
cluded in the same category? One
evidence of this is to be found in the
reluctance with which the various rail-
roads have taken up and adopted the
standard practices approved by the
American Railway Engineering Asso-
ciation. Another illustration is to be
found in the experience of the supply
manufacturer who seeks suggestions
for improving the design of his equip-
ment only to be confronted with
opinions so diametrically opposed to
each other and advanced with such
positive assurance as to afford little
opportunity for the introduction of
modification which will serve to recon-
cile them. Railway maintenance and
construction officers are busy men and
by far the larger portion of their time
is occupied with administrative rather
than engineering problems. The pres-
sure on them for results is so severe
that they can hardly be blamed for
accepting something as good practice
which they know from experience will
work, although careful analysis might
show that some other method would
give better and more economical re-
sults. Technical training is intended
first of all to give the student the
scientific point of view to the end that
he will not be satisfied that he pos-
sesses the truth until he has consid-
ered all the facts which are concerned
in any problem. But, in the rush of
his daily work, the mature engineer is
inclined to lose sight of this funda-
mental principle. The engineer owes
it to himself, as well as those with
whom he deals, to consider each task
which comes before him with an open
mind. It matters little whether the
problem comes to him in the form of
a report from an assistant or a call
from a supply salesman or any other
source of information. Before he con-
demns or endorses any proposition he
should be sure that his decision is
founded on a thorough knowledge of
the facts.

1056

Railways

Current Material Prices

Nov.

Iron tfid Steel Prices

(From the Iron Age, Nov. 8, 1923)

Prices as of Nov. 6, f. o. b. Pittsburgh:
Open hearth rails, heavy, per gross,

ton _ $43.00

Light rails (26-45 lb. section), per 100

lb 2.15

Track spikes, 9/16 in. and larger base,

per 100 lb 3.15

Track spikes, % in., 7/16 in. and % in,,

100 lb $3.15 to 3.50

Track spikes, 5/16 in 3.15 to 3.50

Spikes, boat and barge, base, per 100

lb _ 3.50

Track bolts, % in. and larger, base, per

100 lb $4.00 to 4.25

Track bolts, ^ in. and % in., base,

per 100 lb $5.00 to 5.50

Tie plates, per 100 lb :.. 2.55 to 2.60

Angle bars, base, per lb 2.75

Finished Iron and Steel

Per lb. to

large buyers.

Cents

Iron bars, Philadelphia 2.67

Iron bars, Chicago 2.40

Steel bars, Pittsburgh 2.40

Steel bars, Chicago 2.50

Steel bars. New York 2.74

Tank plates, Pittsburgh 2.50

Tank plates. Chicago 2.60

Tank plates, New York 2.74

Beams, Pittsburgh .._ 2.50

Beams, Chicago 2.60

Beams, New York _. 2.74

Steel hoops, Pittsburgh 3.15

Freight Rates

All rail freight rates from Pittsburgh on
domestic shipments of finished iron and steel
products, in carload lots, to points named, per
100 lb., are as follows:

Philadelphia „ _ - $0.32

Baltimore __ 0.31

New York 0.34

Boston 0.365

Buffalo 0.265

Cleveland 0.215

Cleveland, Youngstown, comb 0.19

Detroit ~ 0.29

Cincinnati 0.29

Indianapolis « 0.31

Chicago „ 0.34

St. Louis 0.43

Kansas City 0.735

Kansas City (pipe) 0.705

St. Paul 0.60

Omaha 0.735

Omaha (pipe) .._ 0.706

Denver 1.27

Denver (pipe) 1.216

Pacific Coast _ 1.34

Pacific Coast, ship plates .„! i!20

Birmingham o.58

Memphis Z o!56

Jacksonville, all rail o.70

Jacksonville, rail and water 0.416

New Orleans o.67

Rails and Track Supplies at Chicago

Standard Bessemer and open-hearth rails,
$43; light rails, rolled steel, 2.25c, f. o. b.
makers' mills.

Standard railroad spikes, 3.25c mill ; track
bolts with square nuts, 4.26c mill ; iron tie
plates, 2.75c mill ; steel tie plates, 2.60c f. o. b.
mill: angle bars. 2.76c, f. o. b. mill.

Jobbers quote standard spikes out of ware-
house at 3.90c base and track bolts, 4.90c base.

Cement Prices

Quotations as of Oct. 30, per bbl„ in carload
lots, exclusive of package :

Pittsburgh $2.24

Cincinnati 2.64

Detroit 2.48

™™ 2.20

2.87

2.25

2.60

2.43

Chicago _

Milwaukee

Duluth

Minneapolis

Davenport, la.

Cross Tie and Lumber Prices

(From Lumber, Nov. 9, 1923)

White Oak Ties
F. o. b. cars, Chicago, Nov. 7)

No. 5 — 7x9x8 $1.80

No. 4 — 7x8x8 1.65

No. 3 — 6x8x8 „ 1.50

No. 2 — 6x7x8 1.40

No. 1 — 6x8x8 1.30

Red oak ties, 10@15c less than white oak.
Sap pine and sap cypress, 10c less than red
oak.

White oak switch-ties, per M. ft $55 to $58

Red Oak switch-ties, per M. ft 49 to 51

White Oak Ties
F. o. b. cars, St. Louis, Nov. 8

No. 5 — 7x9x8 .* $1.60

No. 4 — 7x8x8 1,47

No. 3 — 6x8x8 1.80

No. 2 — 6x7x8 1.20

No. 1 — 6x6x8 1.10

Red oak ties. 10c per tie less than white oak
prices. Heart pine and heart cypress, same
prices as red oak. Sap pine and sap cypress,
25c less than white oak.

White oak switch ties, per M ft $46.00

Red oak switch ties, per M ft 42.00

Bridge and crossing plank, same prices as
switch ties.

Market Prices of Lumber

Flooring, Flooring,

1x4. 1x4,

No. 1 Common No. 2 Common

Boston — Yel. Pine

New York— Yel. Pine $56.00 $40.00

Buffalo— Yel. Pine 51.00 31.50

Chicago— Yel. Pine 46.00 30.00

St. Louis — Yel. Pine 43.00 26.00

Seattle, Wash.— D. Fir 56.00 52.00

Southern Mill Prices
Flooring, Flooring,

1x4, 1x4,

No. 1 Flat No. 2

Alexandria— So. Pine $38.50 $26.25

Birmingham — So. Pine 41.15 19.17

Hattiesburg— So. Pine 38.61 19.80

Kansas City — So. Pine 25.27

Timbers,

6x6

$53.00@57.00

50.00@52.00

26.00

Timbers,
No. 1.

4x4 to 8x8

$20.86
29.97

Timbers,

12x12

$63.00@66.00

Timbers,

No. 1,

3x12 to 12x12

$24.97
40.12

1923

Raihvays

1057

Frame and Pile Trestles in
EUectric Railway Practice

Extract From Report of Committee on

Buildings and Structures Presented

Oct. 9 at Annual Convention of

American Electric Ry. Assn.

In the design of frame and pile
trestles the particular loadings and
local conditions obtaining on the prop-

1 i

M iT

l.i

cTTT

6^ 66

<^<^

Fig. 1. Type A Loading Recommended for
Roads Handling Freight Equipment.

erty will determine the type of struc-
ture and dimensions of timbers. The
committee, in making a study of this
phase of the subject, has adopted two

i 1

l.l

} 1 .

1 1

6 -^

O (^

6 (S

O 0)

Fig. 2. Type B Loading Recommended for
Roads Not Handling Freight Equipment.

loading diagrams for live loads,

namely, those shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 3 shows a typical frame tres-

porary nature, treated bridge timber
should be used in trestle construction.

In computing the stresses from ex-
ternal forces in the various members
of the structures, the assumed load-
ings, both live load and dead load,
must be determined. The great ma-
jority of the small bridges, culverts
and trestles of an electric railway are
located on the interurban lines. The
heaviest live load imposed on the
bridge is therefore an interurban car,
or cars fully loaded, an electric loco-
motive or steam railroad freight cars
loaded with coal, gravel or other
heavy freight.

Car Weights and Wheel Spacing. —

In order to arrive at some conclu-
sion the 1922 committee sent out a
questionnaire on car weights and
wheel spacing. The heaviest pas-
senger car reported weighed 101,000
lb. The lightest weighed 29,700 lb.
The heaviest steam road equipment
handled was 140,000 lb. capacity gon-
dolas weighing approximately 200,000
lb. fully loaded. The heaviest electric
locomotive reported weighed 120,800
lb. The 1922 committee accordingly
recommended two loadings depending
on the service requirements. For
roads handling freight equipment the
loading recommended was as shown
in Fig. 1.

For roads which do not handle

ti#e of 4 (bl Bob 19 rt b V f r
rouai'oi t'*tr -Piio or Conctk

Ottart ot a

Fig. 3. Typical Frame Trestle Designed for Type A Loading.

tie designed for type A loading and
is adapted for railways handling
steam road freight cars.

Fig. 4 shows a typical frame trestle
designed for type B loading.

For structures other than a tem-

freight equipment and which are not
likely to do so in the future the 1922
committee recommended the loading
shown in Fig. 2, which covers two
100,000 lb. passenger cars fully loaded
with 125 passengers each and having

1058

Railways

Nov*

an approximate total weight of
120,000 lb. per car.

There was considerable criticism of
the loading recommended by the 1922
committee. The 1922 committee ac-
cordingly included the loading ques-
tion in the questionnaire. Of the re-
plies received ten members stated that
the live loadings proposed were ac-
ceptable; two members thought they
were too heavy and one member
stated that the loading of Fig. 2 was
too light. This member quoted the
^ loading prescribed by Professor

Method of Releasing a Mired-
Down Caterpillar Shovel

A simple and quick method of get-
ting a 55-ton caterpillar-mounted
revolving shovel out of a mud hole
is described in a recent issue of The
Excavating Engineer as follows;

Ordinarily a shovel has sufficient
tractive power to pull itself out of
ordinary sink holes with the help of
planks, timber and brush, but occa-
sionally the operator may, as this one
did, find himself up to the top of his
caterpillars in particularly tenacious

6xa'G\i.>yd Tir^ber

^ ^r

Pl«n Of Deck.

rand n«)»k-

Fig. 4.

EtcvK^lon Of Benta.

Typical Frame Trestle Designed for Type B Loading.

George F. Swain, chief engineer of
the Massachusetts Public Service
Commission. This loading is for a
40-ft. car weighing 50 tons and with
a spacing of 5, 15, 5. No loading
which might be recommended would
be acceptable to all. The committee
has tried to determine a loading
which is sufficiently heavy for future
developments and which also is fair
and reasonable. It believes that the
1922 recommended loadings are con-
sistent with good practice.

Bus Operation by Electric Railways.

— Over 100 electric railway? are now
operating an auxiliary bus service.
About 1,000 buses are used for this
purpose, representing an investment
of upwards of $6,000,000 for the buses
alone.

mud. In this instance one of the
caterpillars was all but buried.

Cribbing was placed alongside the
low caterpillar. The shovel was
swung around and by means of the
power boom hoist, the boom was low-
ered on this cribbing, at the same time
the dipper was thrust out as far as it
would go.

This cribbing then acted as a ful-
crum and the caterpillar was lifted
up and planks and timber throv/n
underneath. More cribbing was
added and the procedure repeated
until the caterpillar was free. This
fulcrum and lever arm action may be
increased by loading the dipper.

20,000 Railway Water Tanks.—

There are over 20,000 railway water
tanks in use on the railroads of this
country.

1923

Railways

1059

Development of Heavy Elec-
tric Traction

Extracts From Committee Report Pre-
sented Oct. 8 at Annual Conven-
tion of American Electric
Railway Association

In some instances railroads having
terminal electrification have extended
such electrification over comparative-
ly short branch lines in advance of
extensive main line electrification,
thus providing improved facilities for
short haul suburban traffic. In other
cases branch lines have been electri-

the maintenance of steam service is
burdensome.

The Self-Propelled Car.— The self-
propelled car (internal combustion en-
gine, steam engine or storage bat-
tery) is undoubtedly of interest to
those responsible for electric railroads
as well as to the operators of steam
road branch lines. The vehicle which
can be operated on any track, whether
it is electrified or not is a valuable
transportation facility, and under
many circumstances can compete fa-
vorably with the electrified system.
The operating problems of the steam
railroad branch line are often quite

2900

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YEAR

Growth of Steam Railroad Mileage Electrified and Electric Locomotive Tonnage in Heavy
Traction Service in United States and Canada.

fied by means of overhead trolley or
third rail in advance of terminal or
main line electrification. In a few in-
stances this has been done even when
such electrification was not immedi-
ately contemplated. There are also
instances where railroads have grant-
ed trackage rights to interurban trac-
tion companies over branch lines, the
traction company installing overhead
trolley and operating an interurban
passenger service and the steam rail-
road continuing to operate freight and
through passenger service with steam
locomotives.

With few exceptions branch line
electrifications were made several
years ago and there has been no ma-
terial development during recent
years. The recent tendency has been
to substitute self-propelled cars for
steam service on branch lines where
through service is not essential and

analogous to those of the interurban
electric road, especially when the traf-
fic demands are relatively light, and
the most economical solution in either
case may be electrification; or it may
be gasoline, storage battery, or steam
self-propelled cars. In at least one
instance, electric operation of an in-
terurban line has been abandoned in
favor of gasoline rail equipment on
account of a sudden falling off of
business. Joint operation of various
kinds of equipment is not uncommon
and often provides a satisfactory solu-
tion for both local service and through
traffic problems.

The Earlier Self-Propelled Cars.—
The committee on equipment of the
A. E. R. E. A. in 1912 compiled an
extremely comprehensive report cov-
ering the development of self-pro-
pelled cars. The cars developed at
that time were of various types, such

1060

Railways

Nov,

as gasoline, steam, compressed air,
storage battery, etc. The most suc-
cessful types, however, were gasoline
cars with either mechanical drive, as
in the McKeen car, or electric drive,
as in the cars built by the General
Electric Co.; and light storage bat-
tery cars. The then recent develop-
ment of the Edison cell had provided
a stimulus to the use of storage bat-
tery cars.

Subsequent to 1912 an interruption
seems to have occurred in the devel-
opment of self-propelled cars for
branch line operation and the manu-
facture oi the two leading gasoline
driven types was discontinued. Stor-
age battery cars have continued in op-
eration, but extension of service has
been slow in recent years.

Recently, on account of serious finan-
cial conditions which have prevailed
and on account of traffic problems
from public and private automobiles,
renewed interest in the self-propelled
car has been manifested. A number
of roads in this country and abroad
have adopted and are operating suc-
cessfully, a type of gasoline driven
car considerably smaller than those
which were most common in 1912.
The development of the gasoline en-
gine and mechanical transmission for
automobile trucks has undoubtedly
been responsible for this recent rapid
growth of light, self-propelled car
operation. Many characteristics of
these cars are identical with motor
truck standards.

Types of Internal Combustion Cars.
— Although in this country and Can-
ada the railroads which have adopted
internal combustion cars have conser-
vatively adhered to light vehicles
with four-cycle gasoline engines, the
normal weight being 15 tons, never-
theless in Europe the Diesel engine
with electric drive is being developed
in capacities up to 250 hp. and weighs
up to between 70 or 80 tons.

Storage battery locomotives have
been developed for industrial yard
switching to some extent, but their
use is extremely limited. Those in
service weigh from 20 to 40 tons and
have tractive efforts up to 1,600 lb. on
a one-hour basis. Lead cells are gen-
erally used for this class of equip-
ment, usually at 200 volts and with
capacities up to about 1,000 ampere
hours.

Much remains to be done in con-
nection with the collection of infor-
mation on self-propelled cars, and

your committee recommends that con-
sideration be given to continued study
of this interesting subject.

Recent Developments in Heavy
Electric Traction. — During the past
few years the development of heavy
electric traction has been of necessity
somewhat slow on account of lack of
funds available for expansion. Many
railroads, however, have actively con-
sidered the question of electrification
as a solution for their individual prob-
lems, and several engineering investi-
gations have been completed and plans
made for electrification, some of which
have been delayed pending more fa-
vorable conditions.

The Norfolk & Western R. R. has
completed and placed in operation an
extension of its electrified zone from
Kimball to Farm, a distance of about
20 miles, involving about 50 miles of
single track. That road has pur-
chased four additional locomotives to
take care of the extension. These are
to weigh about 385 tons each. They
are of split-phase type, as are the
present locomotives, the principle dif-
ference being that the phase converter
on the new locomotives is a synchro-
nous machine which permits the at-
tainment of virtually unity power
factor at all times. The wheel ar-
rangement is 2—8—2+2—8—2, the
halves of each locomotive being sym-
metrical and interchangeable. Each
half has two motors, with a gear ratio
of 21 to 100. The drive is by means
of side rods and jack shafts. The
continuous tractive effort at 14 mph.
is to be about 90,000 lb. with an hour
rating of about 708,000. The four
motors are rated at 1,000 hp. each.

The Pennsylvania R. R. is building
three locomotives with identical
series-wound, commutator motors.
Two will operate on 600 volts, third-
rail in terminal service in New York
and the third, equipped for single
phase operation, will be run between
Philadelphia and Paoli.

The New York, New Haven &
Hartford R. R. has purchased twelve
new passenger locomotives of a type
similar to those placed in operation
in 1919. The wheel arrangement is
2 — 6 — 2+2 — 6 — 2, and the weight is
to be approximately 180 tons. They
are to have six pairs of twin motors
with a gear ratio of 25 to 89. The
continuous tractive effort at 40 mph.
is 15,800 lb. The maximum tractive
effort will be about 52,500 lb. The
maximum safe speed will be 66 mph.

1923

Railways

1061

They are adapted to operation from
the single phase trolley at 11,000 volts
and from either an over-or-under-run-
ning third rail at 650 volts.

The Pennsylvania, the Long Island
and the New York Central have each
purchased considerable new multiple-
unit equipment.

The Illinois Central, after an ex-
ceedingly thorough investigation, has
completed general plans for the elec-
trification of its tracks at its Chicago
terminal. The electrification will in-
volve the main line to Matteson, the
South Chicago branch, and the Blue
Island branch; about 37 route miles
and 125 miles of track. The system
will be 1,500 volts, direct current, car-
ried in overhead trolley.

The Virginian Ry. has started the
electrification of its line from Roanoke
to Mullens, a distance of about 134
miles, involving 213 miles of single
track. The traffic is nearly all coal
and very heavy trains are hauled. It
is planned to increase the tonnage of
loaded coal trains to 9,000 tons. The
system will be 11,000 volts, single
phase, 25 cycle. The locomotives will
be similar to those purchased by the
Norfolk & Western Railroad.

The graphic chart of electrified
mileage and tonnage of electric loco-
motives has been brought up to date
to include the Norfolk & Western,
Pennsylvania Railroad and New
Haven locomotives, and the Norfolk
& Western extension. It is of inter-
est to note the continuing upward
trend after an interruption in growth
of electrification.

Exhibition of Power and Mechanical
Engineering Equipment. — The second
national exposition of power and me-
chanical engineering will be held Dec.
3 to Dec. 8, inclusive, at the Grand
Central Palace, New York. The prod-
ucts to be shown include boilers,
stokers, super-heaters, economizers,
air preheaters, prime movers, pumps,
condensers, valves, control apparatus,
measuring instruments, handling
equipment, transmission equipment,
such as ball bearings, clutches, belt-
ing, etc., as well as machine tools.
The exposition will be conducted by
the International Exposition Co.,
managed by Charles F. Roth and Pred
W. Payne, Grand Central Palace, New
York City.

How to Temper %"!«. Hollow
Steel Drill Heads

Method Described in Engineering and Mining
Journal-Press

By S. L. BAKER

To temper Ys-in. hollow steel drill
heads, first punch a hole in the end
large enough to protect the needle
when the chuck gets worn a little.
Then file perfectly level and do not
trust any method except using the eye
for leveling up the ends. I find this
is a very important part. Then heat
in a coke fire to a light red, almost
to a scaling point, but not quite; heat
clear dowii to the shank, then im-
merse Vz in. in water for about a
half minute, or a little longer, if the
temper comes down too quickly the
first time; then take out of the water
and rub the end on the anvil block
or on something that will brighten;
but always let the water dry off the
end before rubbing to brighten.

Then let the temper draw down
until the end is almost purple but not
quite; then go back to the water with
it the same as before. This time do
not leave it in the water quite so
long; then rub the end as before, but
let the water dry first; then rub well
this time and watch it closely. When
the purple gets all over the end that
has been brightened, go to the water
as before, this being the last time;
leave it in the water about two min-
utes, then take out and set away and
let cool gradually. There will be no
more trouble with the drill heads bat-
tering or breaking if the procedure
as outlined here is followed.

Make a holder for the side of the
water tub as large as the outside di-
ameter of the drill steel. The shank
part of the drill rests in this and
keeps the drill only half an inch be-
low the surface of the water when
the water is kept in the tub at a
definite level.

Hourly Wages in Industrial Plants.

According to an investigation by the
National Industrial Conference Board.
New York City, the average hourly
earnings of wage earners in August
in industrial plants was 54.8 ct. This
figure is based on reports from over
1,600 industrial plants in all parts of
the United States.

1062

Railways

Nov.

Methods of Installing or Re-
placing Culverts and Pipe
Lines Under Traffic

Extracts From Committee Report Pre-
sented Oct. 17 at 33rcl Annual
Convention of American Railway
Bridge and Building Association

No work required of bridge and
building forces calls for greater in-
genuity and resourcefulness than the
installation of replacement of culverts,
sewers and pipe lines under traffic.
Installations must be made with a
minimum of interference with traffic
and often without restricting high
speed train movements.

Open Trench Methods. — When
quicksand, soft muck or other un-
stable soil is encountered, and tun-
neling is impracticable, it is necessary
to drive piling and construct a tem-
porary opening the length of which
is determined by the size of the pipe
or culvert and its depth below grade.
If the bents next to the pipe are driv-
en far enough apart to allow for
working room on each side, they sup-
port the side of the trench. If neces-
sary, sheeting may be placed behind
the bents. On account of the in-
creased cost, especially if a work train
is required to handle the driver, the
driving of piles should be done only
when absolutely necessary.

If the pipe is small and the open
trench method is used it is advisable
to transfer the track support some
distance each side of the trench. One
method is to place a section of second-
hand bridge stringers about 6 ft. long
flatwise under the track ties, under
each rail. The trench should also be
cross-braced with trench jacks.

The Pennsylvania R. R. accom-
plishes the same result by placing a
track rail under the ends of the track
ties, with the ball up, and immediate-
ly over it another rail on top of the
ties, fastening the two rails with
clamps made for the purpose.

The Illinois Central R. R. uses a
rail hanger to support the traffic rail
oyer trenches, carrying a rail on each
side of the traffic rail with hangers
that pass under the traffic rail and
over the extra rails where the tics
are not supported on account of the
trench excavation.

If the pipe is large or if two or
more pipes are placed side by side,
one method generally approved is to
dig a narrow trench under the track

at each end of the section to be ex-
cavated, set up frame bents, and sup-
port the track on stringers placed
under the track ties. This is a good
method to use when it is necessary to
remove broken pipe or old stone or
timber culverts.

Methods of Replacing Old Box Cul-
verts.— It is often necessary to re-
place an old stone box or timber cul-
vert under an embankment that is so
high that it is not practical to use the
open trench method. If the inside di-
mension of a timber culvert is not
more than 10 in. less than the outside
dimension of the pipe, the bottom and
sides can be adzed out to allow the
pipe to be pulled into place by the use
of a hand winch. A greased plank
with a shovel blade under the end of
the pipe will make the work easier.
Some prefer two skids made of 2 -in.
by 4-in. timber placed 8 in. apart and
spiked to the bottom timbers of the
culvert. When it is necessary to re-
move the old culvert entirely, the open
trench method can be used for the
ends and the tunnel method for the
portion under the tracks.

Tunnelling Methods. — One method
of timbering a tunnel is to excavate
carefully to the proper dimension and
insei-t timber or plank sets as fast as
the excavation proceeds, placing the
mud sill and top first and, while hold-
ing the top in place with a jack, place
the side pieces, after which a strip
should be spiked to the top piece to
keep the sides from crowding in. An-
other method is to excavate a tunnel
3 or 4 ft. wide, set up frame bents
and drive lagging over the top of the
bents, as the excavation is made, set-
ting additional bents as the work pro-
ceeds. As only a small force can be
employed in a tunnel it is advisable to
work from both ends.

Tunnel work can be handled best
during the winter season. Where new
work is being put in (such as sewers
and drainage district pipes) stakes
should be set outside of the tunnel
for line and grade. Where small pipe
lines pass under several tracks, it is
often advisable to sink shafts between
the tracks and tunnel under the track
between the shafts. If the ground is
firm it is often possible to tunnel be-
tween shafts without using any sup-
ports if the pipe can be placed at
once and the backfilling tamped into
place around the pipe. A chain hoist
is a valuable aid when lowering pipe
down a shaft or into a trench.

1923

Railways

1063

Moving 7-Story Building for Railway Terminal

Improvement

Methods of Moving Dowie Building, Chicago, for the Illinois Centred

R. R. Described in Paper Presented Nov. 5 Before the

Western Society of Engineers

By HUGO FILIPPI

Engineer, Wm. H. Brown & Co., Chicago

Incident to the vast terminal im-
provement program of the Illinois
Central R. R. and of special interest
to engineers and to the public gen-
erally, the moving of the Dowie Build-
ing during the past summer has oc-
cupied a unique position in the pub-
lic eye, owing to the location of the
building, its size, weight and limited
working space in which the work was
done.

The Dowie Building, known also at
various periods of its life as the Zion
Building and as the Imperial Hotel,
was erected about 30 years ago. The
building reached its greater promi-
nence as the home of the Zionist Cult
under the leadership of John Alex-
ander Dowie. It was purchased by
the Illinois Central R. R. in 1907, re-
modeled and strengthened in 1914, and
has since been used for office and rec-
ord storage purposes.

The Building. — The building is
seven stories in height, 81 ft. in width
and 131 ft. in length. In construc-
tion, it may be classified as of the
wall-bearing type, that is, wood joists
supported by exterior brick walls and
interior columns and girders of cast
iron and steel. The north and west
facades are faced with cut stone. The
old foundation was of rubble sup-
ported on wide slabs of stone resting
on blue sand, at about elevation minus
one. No piling or wood grillage was
used.

As a part of its terminal improve-
ment program the railroad company
was confronted with the problem of
either demolishing the building or of
moving it to permit the construction
of the proposed Roosevelt Road via-
duct, which will be undertaken at an
early date and will extend eastwardly
from Michigan Ave. across the old site
of the building and the waylands of
the railroad company to Grant Park.

Early this spring it became appar-
ent that the question of either moving
or demolishing the building should be
decided without delay, and estimates

covering the probable cost were pre-
pared. The feasibility of moving such
a large building were naturally very
carefully considered, but as there ap-
peared to be no physical or structural
reasons precluding such a step it was
decided that the building could be
moved safely and without injury to
the structure or to adjacent property.

The New Foundation. — The charac-
ter of the soil on which the building
would rest in its new location was
next determined. Nine test holes
were put down and a bed of very hard
blue clay was found at elev. minus
1.5. An examination of these borings
indicated that no piling would be nec-
essary and the new foundations were
accordingly designed with spread foot-
ings.

The unit soil pressure used in the
design of the foundation was 3,000
lb. per square foot, as provided for in
the city building code for the char-
acter of sub-soil encountered. The
proposition of all footings was deter-
mined by considering the superim-
posed dead load combined with 50
per cent of the live load on all floors
and the unit live load taken was 100
lb. per square foot for the first floor
and 50 lb. per square foot for all
other floors.

The new concrete foundation is es-
sentially rectangular in plan. In ad-
dition to the footings supporting the
enclosing walls of the building, one
set of parallel walls was constructed
for the east and west hallway and one
set of parallel walls for the north
and south hallway. In addition foun-
dations were also built for the brick
vault which extends to the third floor.
Isolated footings for 14 interior col-
umns were built ranging in size from
5 ft. 3 in. by 5 ft. 0 in. to 6 ft. 9 in.
by 6 ft. 9 in. In general, all footings
are AV2 ft. thick and are carried down
to elevation minus 1.5, there being but
few exceptions where the footings are
carried lower. The top of the con-
crete floor was placed at elevation

1064

Railways

Nov.

plus 3.5, except in the boiler room,
where it was carried down to elevation
plus 1.0. All footings under exterior
walls are 9 in. wide and the footings
under interior walls are either 7 ft.

ity of the foundation walls to city
datum, no waterproofing of any kind
was used. The imperviousness of the
walls and floors was proven in sev-
eral instances during the heavy rains

Constructing Concrete Foundations at New Site. Building to Be Moved Shown at Right.

or 7 ft. 6 in. wide. 1:2:4 concrete was
used throughout. The foundation
walls were finished off at elevation
plus 3.82.

Notwithstanding the close proxim-

of the past summer, when the foun-
dation was completely surrounded by
water, and it is very gratifying to
report that not a single leak of any
character developed.

1923

Railways

1065

All footings are reinforced trans-
versely, and are sufficient depth to
carry shear without stirrups, except
in the case of three large beams which
span wide openings. These beams
are heavily reinforced with the full
complement of longitudinal bars, bent
bars and stirrups.

Foundation Construction Plant. —
The concreting plant was simple in
character and economical in operation.

quired about 2 seconds to fill a wheel-
barrow, and as the wheel averaged
only 5 ft., it was possible for these
two men to keep the mixer going con-
tinuously. The 1-bag mixers were
mounted on the side platforms of the
hopper and the concrete was wheeled
from the mixer to the forms in wheel-
barrows and two-wheel dump buggies.
The sand bin had a capacity of 20 cu.
yd. and the stone bin 40 cu. yd. In

View Showing Blocks and Cables Used in Moring, Also Manner in Which Track Was Laid.

The governing idea in the design of
this plant was the saving of labor.
A planked roadway was constructed
from Indiana Ave., which enabled all
material trucks to conveniently reach
the hopper, and the roadway was
ramped up to the top of the hopper,
the deck of which was built sufficient-
ly heavy to carry the loaded trucks,
thus permitting the trucks to stand
directly on the hopper and to durnp
all sand and stone through open traps
into the bins without the use of any
manual labor.

Only two men were required to
handle the mixer, one man handling
cement and water and the other
wheeling sand and stone. Through
the use of the undercut gates it re-

addition, material was stocked on top
of the bins to create an additional re-
serve. This plant was very econom-
ical in operation and assisted mate-
rially in the constant production of
concrete of uniform quality.

Underpinning. — Before any needle
beams were placed, a diagram was
prepared showing the probable spread
of live and dead load through the
walls. In making such a diagram, the
location, spacing and sizes of win-
dows and other openings is of para-
mount importance. It was found that
a maximum total load of about 13
tons per linear foot of wall should be
provided for and beams ranging from
15 in. to 24 in. in depth, placed in
pairs, were used. In underpinning

1066

Railways

Nov.

any building the question of deflec-
tion rather than of moment is of
prime importance and special care
should be exercised to guard against
excessive beam deflection, which
might result in unsightly cracks in the
building walls.

The flrst step in underpinning was
the digging of open cribbing pits.
These pits were carried down to the
hard blue clay as a safeguard against
settlement. Holes were then cut
through the brick wall, one at a time,
with a pneumatic drill and the needle
beams were placed on the cribs and
jacked up against the brickwork until
the needles carried most of the load,
the intervening brick piers carrying

any cribbing directly on the soil. To
overcome this condition Mr. Brown de-
cided at the outset to increase the
thickness of the concrete floor to
about 8 in., and to build all cribbing
on this floor. This scheme proved
practical and overcame the wretched
muddy condition which would have re-
sulted from the heavy rains of the
past summer if the cribbing had been
placed on the ground and the con-
crete floor constructed after the build-
ing had been moved, as is usually the
case.

The north and west walls of the
building below the second floor level
are supported by cast iron columns.
Here the problem was vastly different

Placing the Cribbing for Moving the Dowie Building.

the balance. This general scheme was
used for the south and east walls only,
as will be explained later. The crib-
bing pits were placed sufficiently dis-
tant from the new concrete founda-
tion to permit its construction. After
the concrete walls had set up suffi-
ciently, the load on the needle beams
was transferred from the outside cribs
to the top of the concrete wall and
there carried until the general crib-
bing for the moving proper had been
placed. This arrangement was nec-
essary in order to provide a free
working area within the foundation
walls for pouring the floor and build-
ing the general cribbing.

Because of its proximity to lake
level it was out of question to place

and it was decided to cut off these
columns below the first floor level and
to support each volumn on the two
I-beams. The columns were cut off
in two steps to a smooth, square bear-
ing with an acetylene torch. The first
step consisted of cutting out one-half
of the column and inserting and jack-
ing up an I-beam. After this had
been done the remaining half of the
column was cut away and the second
I-beam was driven into place and
jacked up to take its share of the load.
In the case of the stone column, this
procedure was not possible and the
stone was cut away a little at a time
and the load taken up by rails wedged
tightly against the stone. The inte-
rior cast iron columns were handled in

1923

Railways

1067

the same general manner as the ex-
terior columns previously described.

Longitudinal Timbering. — In gen-
eral, longitudinal timbers were placed
adjacent to all north and south walls.
20 in. by 20 in. by 90 ft. timbers were
placed adjacent to the west and east
walls. Incidentally, these timbers are
said to be the largest ever hauled
through the streets of Chicago. Other

and the rollers 2t% in. diameter cold-
rolled shafting about 3 ft. long.

In order to guard against any
spread of the building, overlapping
lines of 8x12 in. cap timbers, running
east and west, were placed under all
needle beams and timbers. In addi-
tion, a number of tie bars running
north south were used to connect the
I-beam needles located on the same

North Side of Building:, Showing Method of Supporting Columns.

timbers for this purpose ranged in
size from 12x12 to 18x18 in.

Arrangement of Tracks. — In all, 23
tracks were used for moving the build-
ing. These tracks consisted of four
or more rails each, and extended com-
pletely under the building. Each
track supported one line of needles or
timbers.

In loading a building ready for the
rollers, it is first necessary to place
jacks under each line of needle beams
or timbers. The shoe timbers, roller
plates and rails are then placed, after
which rollers are set in position, the
jacks removed and the load trans-
ferred from the jacks to the rollers.
On this work the shoe timbers were
4x12 in., the roller plates 12x% in..

track. In this way distortion of
building dimensions was prevented.

General Cribbing. — In order to
properly shore up the building pre-
paratory to moving, parallel lines of
cribbing 4 ft. wide and about 6 ft. on
centers, resting directly on the cement
floor, were placed under the building.
In this way the total load of the
building was carried on fully 75 per
cent of the building area. This re-
sulted in a unit soil pressure of only
% ton per square foot and produced
on evident settlement. The general
cribbing, placed within the foundation
walls in the new location, was of even
greater extent, owing to the omission
of certain interior walls. In addition
to the general cribbing within the

1068

Railways

Nov.

building wall area a line of cribbing
10 ft. wide was placed adjacent to the
east, west and south walls. The bot-
torn layer of all cribbing was laid
solid. In general, the cribbing built
on the old site was of 6x6 in. and 8x12
in. material, and the material used on
the new site was 6x8 in. and 7x16 in.
An allowance of about 1 in. was made
in the cribbing for settlement. From

lines of 65 lb. to 75 lb. standard rail-
road track rails in lengths varying
froni about 10 ft. to 30 ft. Before
moving operations were commenced
the top of all rails and cribbing was
carefully leveled as a precaution
against settlement and to insure a
smooth-riding track.

For the purpose of actually moving
the building over 2,000 steel rollers,

East End of Building, Showing 90 ft. Timber.

the foregoing it will be seen that two
complete sets of cribbing were used.
This arrangement saved at least two
weeks in the time required for mov-
ing and avoided the necessity of mov-
ing forward an enormous amount of
timber. In all, over 600,000 ft. of
lumber were used for cribbing pur-
poses.

Tracks and Rollers. — The general
arrangement of walls and columns of
a building dictates the number of
tracks. In this instance 23 tracks
were used and were placed in such a
manner as to give the most uniform
load distribution possible within prac-
tical limitations. In general, these
tracks were placed from 5 to 8 ft.
apart, and consisted of four or more

spaced about 12 in. on centers, were
used. Observations during moving
indicated an average bearing area on
the rail heads about Vz in. wide and
probably caused an average bearing
of about 4,000 lb. per linear inch on
the rollers. Under these favorable
conditions no cutting of the rollers
occurred.

Cable and Capstan Arrangement. —
Four capstans, each operated by
two horses, were used as the motive
power for moving the building. From
each capstan a lead line of % in. wire
cable was carried down to and through
a series of 25 blocks, 12 of which
were movable and attached to the
building and 13 of which were fixed
blocks anchored to 20 ft. steel rails

1923

Railways

1069

driven about 15 ft. into the ground
and braced against the new concrete
foundation. Twelve in. single pulley
steel blocks were used exclusively.
These blocks were attached to the
building on to the rail anchors with
chains.

The capstans were of the single
drum type, directly operated by a 4
in. by 6 in. hardwood sweep. The
team was hitched to a point on the
sweep about 10% ft. from the center
of the drum and under average con-
ditions produced a pull of about 15 lb.
on the cable for every pound of effort
exerted by the team. At no time was
the pull on the svveeps sufficient to
cause any hardship and, it is believed,
that the pull per team did not exceed
500 lb.

Rolling Friction. — Under ideal con-
ditions the rolling friction of steel
rollers laid on a perfectly level non-
yielding track has been experimentally
determined to be .015 or 1% per cent
of the supported load. Such an ideal
condition is never possible in the field,
nor is it possible to line up several
thousand rollers perfectly square with
the track. Obviously, this condition
will materially increase the rolling co-
efficient. In addition, the friction load,
from the pulleys, cables and capstans,
must be considered and when all fric-
tion losses are summed up, will easily
total up to .05 or even higher.

From calculations made, which
were based on observations during
moving, it is believed that the ratio
between the pull of the teams and the
weight of the building was about 5
per cent.

Speed and Distance of Moving. —
The observed speed of the teams was
two miles per hour, or about 3 ft. per
second, and the best record made was
a pull of 30% in. in 4 minutes. The
average speed of moving was 4 ft.
per hour and the total distance
through which the building moved was
85 ft. The actual moving time for
the entire job was 20 hours, with a
maximum distance moved in one day
of 42 ft. SVz in. In addition to being
rnoved in a straight southerly direc-
tion, the building was turned slightly
and moved 6% in. in a westerly direc-
tion. This secondary movement of
the building was accomplished by
slightly skewing the rollers.

The building was landed in its final
location precisely on line at all cor-
ners, the final adjustment of rollers

to accomplish this end being made
principally in the last 20 ft. During
the latter part of the moving program
accurate checks on the movement of
the building were made with a tran-
sit. This served as a guide for the
adjustment of the rollers and assisted
materially in the general accuracy of
placement.

Public Service in the Building. —
The building was not generally oc-
cupied during actual moving oper-
ations. It was, however, necessary
for certain railroad employes to enter
the building from time to time and
for their convenience elevator, water,
light and telephone ser%nce was main-
tained without interruption. These
facilities were in no way damaged,
proving conclusively that the building
was moved without appreciable set-
tlement. In so far as the moving con-
tractor was concerned, full occupancy
of the building would have in no way
effected the methods employed or the
time required for moving. The vaca-
tion of the building during moving
operations was a precautionary meas-
ure taken by the railroad company
and undoubtedly deserv^es credit.

Underpinning With New Brick
Work. — As soon as the building had
been landed in its final location and
all cables and tackle removed, work
was commenced underpinning the
building with brick work, and bring-
ing it to rest on its new foundation.
This was accomplished by building up
piers between adjacent "I" beams or
timbers with common brick laid in
1:2 cement mortar. These piers were
keyed up against the old brickwork
by means of brick wedges cut on the
job and driven in drum tight with
wood blocking and hammers. The
same method was also used to key up
the "I" beams which suported the
cast-iron columns on the north and
west side of the building. These
beams are completely encased in the
new brickwork as a safeguard against
corrosion.

New Concrete Piers. — In order to
re-establish all interior columns on
the new foundation, concrete piers
varying in size from 2 ft. by 2 ft. to
2 ft. by 3 ft. have been built. The
I-beam needles which supported the
columns have been incorporated in the
concrete and the overhanging ends cut
off flush with an acetylene torch.

Regulation of Traffic. — As a pro-
tection to the public during actual
moving, all vehicular traffic was sus-

1070

Railways

Nov.

pended on Michigan Avenue between
13th Street and 11th Place, also on
East Roosevelt Road east of Michigan
Avenue. In so far as possible pedes-
trian traffic was also regulated in the
immediate vicinity of the building.
The police forces of the South Park
Commissioners, the city of Chicago
and the railroad company co-operated
in this work.

Amount of Material Used. — As an
index of the amount of work involved,
it will be interesting to summarize
the amount of materials used:

7.500

1.350

600.000

1.500

260

14,000

102

1,400

2,600

cu. yd. excavation.

cu. yd. concrete work.

ft. timbers and lumber for cribbing.

bundles of shingles for shimming up.

long timbers ranging from 16 in. by

16 in. 60 ft. long to 20 in. by 20 in.

90 ft. long.

tons of I beams 18 to 24 in.

tons of steel rollers 36 in. long.

cars of rails, equal to 8 miles of track.

ft. steel cable.

snatch block pulleys.

jack screws.

two-horse capstans.

ft. % by 12 in. plates.

In so far as it has been possible to
determine, the Dowie Building is the
tallest building ever moved. Its weight
is about 7,500 tons. The successful
accomplishment of this difficult under-
taking stands out as a distinctive en-
gineering feat and a monument to the
courage, skill and perseverance of the
contractor. The work was done for
the Illinois Central Railroad Company
by Wm. H. Brown & Co. of Chicago,
working under the direction of Mr.
D. J. Brumley, chief engineer, Chicago
terminal improvement; Mr. W. G.
Arm, assistant chief engineer; Mr. C.
H. Mottier, office engineer, and Mr. C.
F. Fauntz, assistant engineer. The
contractor's own organization handled
all phases of the work. The writer
acted as engineer and superintendent
of construction.

Motor Vehicle Production. — In 1922
there were 2,659,000 motor vehicles
made in the United States and Canada
with a wholesale value of $1,789,638.
Ninety per cent of them were pas-
senger cars. During the first seven
months of 1923 there were produced
2,127,000 passenger cars and 227,000
trucks. Registration of motor vehicles
in the United States on July 1, 1923,
was 13,002,000, of which 11,571,000
were private passenger cars. Of the
passenger car registration of 10,-
800,000 at the end of 1922, it is esti-
mated that 3,200,000 were owned by
farmers.

Operating Costs of 1-Man and
2-Man Cars

Data From Electric Railway Companies
Operating Each Type of Car Exclu-
sively Analyzed in AERA

By H. C. HICKOCK

General Engineer, Westinghouse Electric &
Manufacturing Co.

Data of American Electric Railway
Association. — The American Electric
Railway Association has obtained
valuable data regarding the operating
costs of a number of railway com-
panies operating exclusively two-man
cars, or exclusively one-man cars over
a period of two years. These data
are shown in two comparative tables,
I and II, for the years 1922 and 1921
respectively. There are some 350
railway companies reporting to the
A. E. R. A., and the comparison is
based on 21 companies operating two-
man cars exclusively, and 24 com-
companies operating one-man cars ex-
clusively.

It is interesting to note that in the
compilation of data received from the
350 companies reporting, there were
only 26 companies which operate ex-
clusively two-man cars.

While the problem of reducing op-
erating costs by changing from two
to one-man operation is one which
must be solved on the merits of the
particular case, a general comparison
shows exclusively the trend of the
costs. The costs in Tables I and II
have been segregated according to the
following Interstate Commerce Com-
mission accounts:

Maintenance of Way and Struc-
tures.

Maintenance of Equipment.

Maintenance and Operation of
Power Plant.

Conducting Transportation.

Traffic.

General and Miscellaneous.

Undistributed.

The Saving in 1-Man Car Operation.

— The saving due primarily to one-
man operation is shown under the ac-
count for "Conducting Transporta-
tion," and as may be noted from the
tables, shows the difference in cost for
this one account to be about 40 per
cent less for the one-man operation.
This, of course, results chiefly from a

1923

Raihoays

1071

Table I

Operating Expenses of 21 Electric Railway Companies Operating Two-Man Cars Exclusively and
of 24 Companies Operating One-Man Cars Exclusively

Maintenance of way and structures

Maintenance of equipment

Maintenance and operation of power plant..

Conducting transportation

Traffic

General and miscellaneous -

Undistributed exjpense ~

Total operating expense
Car mileage

L922

Per-

C«nts Per Car Mile

centage

2-Man Cars

1-Man Cars

Difference

4.32

2.69

*37.8

3.51

2.61

♦25.7

6.28

2.79

*55.5

14.81

8.26

•44.2

0.11

0.12

t9.1

4.58

3.47

♦24.2

0.39

0.20

♦48.7

34.00

20.14

40.7

59.283,962

13.972,686

♦Decrease,
tincrease.

Table U

Maintenance of way and structures

Maintenance of equipment

Maintenance and operation of power plant..

Conducting transportation

Traffic

General and miscellaneous

Undistributed expense

Total operating expense
Car mileage

1921

Per-

Cents Per Car Mile

centage

2-Man Cars

1-Man Cars

Difference

4.94

2.63

•46.8

3.78

2.77

•26.7

6.23

3.33

•46.6

16.18

9.21

•43.1

0.15

0.11

•26.7

4.60

3.74

•18.7

0.53

0.21

•60.4

36.41

22.00

•39.7

57,336,002

14.047,318

•Decrease.

reduction in number of car operators
to one-half, and the custom of paying
the operators of one-man cars ap-
proximately 10 per cent more per
hour than the men on two-man cars.

The difference shown for the other
accounts are those which accompany
the introduction of one-man cars due
to the lighter weight and type of
these modem cars. Every railway
man appreciates the fact that the cost
of power, and the maintenance of way
and structure decrease with the intro-
duction of lighter weight cars, also
that the cost of maintaining car
equipment will be less with new, light-
weight, modern equipment. The per-
centage differencs which may be ex-
pected from these accounts, based on
the compilation, are shown in the
tables.

Due to the great variety of types
of one-man and two-man cars, it is
diflficult to compare the above operat-
ing cost accounts otherwise than be-
tween one and two-man operation.
Regarding the types of cars used in
the comparison, there is available
only slight information on the one-
man class. In all, this class repre-
sents 370 cars, and of these, no infor-
mation on 135, or 36 per cent, of the
cars is given to the particular type;
111, or 30 per cent, are of the Bimey

type; 20 per cent cover converted,
single truck cars, and 13 per cent
cover converted, double truck cars.
Therefore, at least one-third of the
number of cars represent cars which
have been converted, and which do
not lend themselves to all the savings
possible with the specially built,
modern, one-man cars.

Also, the tables are not on a strictly
comparable basis wHth respect to one-
man cars, due to the large differences
in the car mileage. With a greater
car mileage, fixed charges form a
smaller percentage of the total oper-
ating expenses. It will be noted that
the car mileage of the two-man cars
for the two years, 1922 and 1921, is
more than four times that of the one-
man car mileage.

The above two factors in the com-
parison make the savings resulting
from the possible adoption of the
modern one-man cars conservative.

These data indicate conclusively the
tendency to adopt one-man operation,
and that, where applicable, these cars
very appreciably reduce the operating
expenses incident to operation with
two-man cars. A reduction of 40 per
cent in the operating expenses may be
considered as reasonable, and indi-
vidual cases may show the savings to
be considerably greater.

1072 Railways Nov.

Construction of Street Raulway Track in Paved

Street

Proposed Specifications* Submitted Nov. 12 at 29th Annual Con-
vention of American Society for Adoption as a
Recommended Specification

These specifications are intended to
cover the construction of electric rail-
way track in paved city streets. It is
obvious that no general specification
can be prepared for such w^ork to
cover all special types of track con-
struction, or to meet special condi-
tions. The scope of these specifi-
cations has therefore been limited to
an expression of the fundamental
principles v^^hich should be followed
out in constructing track in paved
streets.

I. Excavation

101. The space to be occupied by
the tracks shall be excavated to a
depth of inches below the fin-
ished grade of the top of rail. All
soft or spongy material shall be re-
moved and replaced with sound mate-
rial, or where this is not practicable,
such other steps as may be necessary
shall be taken to provide a proper
support for the track.

102. Where necessary and where
practical to do so, the subgrade shall
be thoroughly rolled with a roller
weighing not less than 10 tons.
Either a 3-wheel or tandem type
roller may be used. Where, the use
of a roller is not considered practical,
compacting of the sub-grade may be
accomplished by tamping.

II. Sub-Soil and Surface Drainages

Sub-Surface Drainage: 201 (a).
Where the nature of the sub-soil does
not provide sufficient natural drain-
age, artificial sub-soil drainage shall
be provided.

(b) Where artificial sub-soil drain-
age is required, this shall be effected
by laying 4 or 6 in. tile pipe in a
trench, surrounded by crushed stone,
clean gravel, cinders or other suitable
porous material, the drains to be laid
either under the center of the track
or midway between the two tracks,
or at such other locations as may be
determined by the character of the
soil and the extent of the drainage
requirements.

connected to same by means of vitri-
fied tile pipe of suitable size.

Surface Drainage:

202. Track surface drains of ap-
proved type shall be installed at all
low points in the track grade and at
such other locations as conditions
may require, and connected to the
sewer if same is available by means
of vitrified tile pipe, or provided with
some other suitable outlet. They
shall preferably be made of cast iron,
designed to fit the particular type of
rail and track gage where used, and
shall be provided with removable iron
grading type covers so as to facilitate
cleaning of drain box.

III. Types of Foundation

(A) Plain Ballast Construction:

301. Where the track is of the
"plain ballasted type," such ballast
shall preferably consist of either
clean, hard, durable crushed stone,
crushed slag, clean gravel, cinders, or
other suitable material. Where the
character of the sub-soil is suitable,
the use of the natural ballast mate-
rial encountered in the trench excava-
tion may be permitted for this
purpose.

Distribution and Rolling:

302. (a) Ballast shall be evenly
distributed under the ties so that
after the track has been surfaced and
the ballast tamped and compacted, it

shall have a minimum depth of

inches. Where practical to do so, the
ballast should be thoroughly rolled
with a roller weighing not less than
10 tons before the ties are placed in
the trench.

(b) The best results will be ob-
tained from the use of a ballast which
will provide a maximum density after
tamping, such as the run of the
crusher with dust removed.

♦Approved and recommended for adoption
by the Committee on Specifications for Street
Railway Paving and Track Construction,
Charles E. DeLeuw, chairman, and by the
Way Committee of the American Electric Rail-
way Engineers' Association, in collaboration.

1923 Railways

1073

(B) Ck)ncrete Sub-Ballast
Construction :

303. Where a "concrete slab sub-
ballast construction" is used, such
concrete shall be laid upon the sub-
grade prepared as described in Sec.
101 to 201 (c), inclusive, to a depth

of inches. The concrete shall

conform to the A. S. M. I. specifica-
tions for concrete for pavement
foimdations.

304. Track shall be laid and sur-
faced on this concrete slab, the ballast
used shall consist of clean, hard,
durable crushed stone, gravel, slag, or
other suitable material, and shall be
thoroughly tamped under the ties.
The size of the ballast should prefer-
ably be run of the crusher up to 1 in.
with dust removed.

305. Where track is to be con-
structed with solid concrete construc-
tion, or rigid tj^je, the sub-grade shall
first be prepared as described in Sec.
101 to 201 (c), inclusive. The placing
of the concrete shall follow imme-
diately after the surfacing and lining
of the track, and the concrete shall be

brought to a height of inches

below the top of the rail and shall
coincide with the grade established
for the top surface of the pavement
base. Concrete below and around ties
and rails shall be thoroughly rammed
and tamped. Care shall be taken in
tamping concrete to see that the sur-
face and line of the track is not dis-
turbed. In no case shall the ends of
the ties be covered by a board while
placing concrete. The concrete shall
conform to the A. S. M. I. specifica-
tions for concrete for pavement
foundations.

IV. Rails
401. The rails used, if of a stand-
ard T-rail section, shall comply with
the Standard Specifications for Car-
bon-Steel Rails (identical with A. S.
T. M. Spec. Al-14 except for addition
of Sec. 506 covering milling of rail
ends) of the American Electric Rail-
way Engineering Association (Wr
7a) as adopted October, 1922. Rails
of the plain girder (high T-rail),
grooved girder, tram girder, or guard
type, shall conform with the Standard
Specifications of the A. E. R. E. A.
(Wr 2d) revision of October, 1922,
for open hearth steel girder rails.

v. Rail Joints

Splice Bars:
501. The rail joints shall be mod-

em bolted, riveted or welded joints.
In case of bolted type joints, not less
than four bolts shall be used of suf-
ficient strength to insure drawing and
holding the splice bars tightly in
place. Splice bars shall conform to
the requirements of the Standard
Specifications of the A. E. R. E. A.
for one of the following grades, ac-
cording to the purpose for which the
splice bars are to be used:

(a) Low carbon steel splice bars —

Wm 9a.

(b) Medium carbon steel splice

bars — Wm 10a.

Wm 11a.

(d) Extra High carbon steel splice

bars — Wm 12a.

Welded Joints:

502. The term "welded joints" is
intended to cover joints made by any
of the following processes:

(a) Cast weld.

(b) Lorain bar weld, resistance

type.

(d) Lorain butt-weld.

(e) Arc weld; either carbon arc or

metallic arc.

Riveted Joints:

503. The term "riveted joint" is
intended to cover all joints where the
splice bars are secured by means of
rivets instead of bolts. Holes for
rivets should be reamed to insure
tight fit and bearing after the rivets
are driven.

Grinding Rails at Joints:

504. The surface of the rail head
shall be carefully ground at the joint
in order to insure a smooth running
surface and to overcome slight varia-
tions in rail sections or splice bars.
Care shall be taken in all joints to
butt the rail ends tightly before mak-
ing the joints.

VL Bonds

601. Where joints other than the
welded type are installed, copper
bonds of approved design and of suf-
ficient capacity to insure a proper
return, shall be installed. Cross
bonds connecting the two rails shall
also be installed at suitable intervals
in order to prevent differences in
potential between the rails. Supple-
mentary cable shall be run through
or around all special track-work and
thoroughly bonded to the unbroken
rails on each side of the special
trackwork.

1074

Railways

Nov.

VII. Rail Fastenings

Spikes :

701. The rail shall be brought to
proper gage and fastened securely to
ties by means of either cut, rolled or
screw spikes. Where screw spikes
are used, the tie should preferably be
bored in the shop by a boring ma-
chine which bores all the holes at one
time, in order to insure accuracy in
gaging the rails. The use of clips
with screw spikes is permissible.

Tie Plates:

702. Where tie plates are used, the
size, type, and weight will depend on
the weight of equipment, dimension
of rail base, physical characteristics
of wood used for ties, and tie spacing,
it being essential that the total load
on a tie at the rail bearing point,
shall be kept within the safe allow-
able limit against crushing of the
wood fibres at right angles to the
grain.

Tie Rods:

703. Where conditions are such as
to make it advisable, tie rods or rail
braces of suitable design may be used
in order to assist in holding rails to
gage. Spacing of tie rods shall not
be less than 6 ft. nor more than 10 ft.
Where rail braces or brace tie plates
are used, they shall be installed at
intervals of not to exceed every third
tie.

VIII. Ties

Untreated Group:

801. The following woods may be
used for ties untreated:

Group Ua^Heart white oaks

Heart black locust

Heart black walnut
Group Ub — Heart Douglas fir

Heart pines
Group Uc — Heart cedars

Heart cypresses

Heart redwood
Group Ud — Heart catalpas

Heart chestnut

Heart red mulberry

Heart sassafras

Treated Group:

802. The following woods may be
used for ties when properly treated :

Group Ta — Ashes

Hickories

Sap black locust

Honey locust

Red oaks

Sap white oaks

Sap black walnut
Group Tb — Sap cedars

Sap cypresses

Sap Douglas fir

Fir

Hemlocks

Larches

Sap pines

Sap redwood

Group To — Beech

Birches

Cherries

Gums

Hard maples
Group Td — Sap catalpas

Sap chestnut

Elms

Hackberries

Soft maples

Sap mulberries

Poplars

Sap sassafras

Spruce

Sycamores

White walnut

General Specifications :

803. Ties shall be manufactured
from sound, live timber and shall be
free from any defect that may impair
their strength or durability as cross-
ties, such as decay, large splits, large
shakes, large or numerous holes or
knots, or grain with slant greater
than 1 in 15. Ties for the use with-
out preservative treatment shall not
have sapwood wider than one-fourth
the width of the tie for a distance of
10 in. on either side of the center of
each rail bearing. Such ties shall be
designated as "heart" ties. These
with more sapwood shall be desig-
nated as "sap" ties.

Dimensions and Permissible
Variations :

804. Ties should (except in the
case of narrow gage track) conform
to the following dimensions: Length
8 ft., width 8 in., depth 6 in. Varia-
tions from the above dimensions will
be allowable as follows:

Poles

( Sawed or

Hewn Hewn Sawed

(4 Top and (4

Sides) Bottom) Sides)

Depth not less than.... 6 in. 6 in. 6 in.

Depth not more than.. 7 in. 7 in. 7 in.

Face not less than 7.5 in. 6 in. 8 in.

r 8 ft. 8 ft.

Length •! to 8 ft. to 8 ft.

[ 2 in. 2 in.

Spacing:

805. Wood ties shall be spaced not
less than 22 in. nor more than 30 in.
on centers.

Preservative Treatments :

806. Where wood ties are treated,
this preservative treatment shall be
made in accordance with the recom-
mended specifications for preservative
treatment of timber of the American
Electric Railway Engineering Asso-
ciation (Wm 8b). The oil used shall
conform to the requirements of the
recommended specifications of the
A. E. R. E. A. (Wm. 8b) for that
grade.

1923

Railways

1075

Substitute Ties:

807. Where steel ties or other
form of substitute ties are used, care
shall be taken to see that the rail is
securely clipped and bolted to same.
They shall be laid on the centers suit-
able to the design of the ties.

IX. Pavement Base
A. S. M. I. Specifications to Control :

901. Except in the case of solid
concrete track construction, when the
track has been properly lined and
surfaced, the paving base, where type
of pavement requires same, shall be
laid. It shall be of concrete which
shall conform to the requirements of
the \. S. M. I. for concrete pavement
foundation.

Depth Depends on Pavement:

902. The depth of the concrete
paving base shall depend on the type
of pa\dng to be laid, and in no case
shall it extend below 1 in. above the
bottom of the tie.

X. Rail Plaster

1001. Immediately preceding the
laying of the pavement, the space
along both sides of girder rail webs
between the head and under side of
the lip and the base, shall be filled
with a plaster composed of 1 part
Portland cement to about 3 parts sand
or other suitable material in order to
properly support the paving laid next
to the rails. A mastic may be sub-
stituted for this filler, consisting of
asphaltic concrete binder.

XI. Pavement

1101. The pavement shall be laid
in accordance with the specifications
of the A. S. M. I. for the type of
pavement to be installed. Where
practicable to do so, vehicular traffic
should be kept off the track imtil the
paving joint filler has had sufficient
time to set thoroughly.

Railroad, City and Power Co. Propose
$1,500,000 Water Main
A plan is reported under considera-
tion whereby the Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy R. R. and the Illinois Power
and Light Co. would construct a pipe
line from Burlington, la., to Gales-
burg, 111., at a cost of $1,500,000 to
furnish the railroad, the power com-
pany and city with water. The rail-
road would contribute $750,000, the
public utility company $250,000 and
the city of Galesburg $500,000.

Method of Renewing Track Pans

During the past season six track
pans on the western diWsion of the
New York Central R. R. were re-
newed. We are indebted to the New
York Central Lines Magazine for the
following information regarding the
handling of this work.

The track pans consist of a metal
trough about 19 in. wide and 2,000 ft.
long, laid in the middle of the track.
A scoop located under the engine
tender is dropped into this trough
while the train is in motion and the
momentum of the train forces the
water up into the engine tank.

In renewing these track tanks the
tracks are not taken out of service,
and as there are from 75 to 100 trains
moving over the plant each 24 hours,
it is difficult to carry on the work.

When work was first started on
renewing the pans it required from
30 to 35 hours to take out the old
pan and install the new one, but as
the gang became more familiar with
the work the time was gradually
lessened.

The best time was made in renew-
ing the westbound pan at Lydick. The
pan was taken out of service at 8
a. m., Aug. 6, and the new pan was
put back in service at 1:30 p. m.,
Aug. 8. After deducting dead time
due to trains stopping over the pan
to take water from the standpipe and
movement of trains on adjacent
tracks, it was found that the renewal
was made in just 19 actual working
hours.

The work was handled in the fol-
lowing manner:

The carpenter gang and the steam
derrick were shipped to Lydick before
the pan was taken out of service, and
distributed the new pan along the
track. After the old pan was taken
out of service an oxyacetylene welder
was started cutting the pan into about
30 ft. leng:ths. As fast as a section
of the old pan was cut it was re-
moved by the derrick and a new sec-
tion set into place.

Two or three riveting gangs of
three men each were started riveting
the new sections together, and the
work progressed in that way the en-
tire distance of 2,000 ft. The inlet
and outlet connections were then
made and the pan was filled and
turned over to the operating depart-
ment.

1076

Railways

Nov.

Supervision of Railway Bridge
and Building Forces

Duties and Responsibilities of Super-
visor Outlined in Paper Presented
Oct. 17 at 33rd Annual Conven-
tion of American Railway Bridge
and Building Association

By GEORGE W. REAR

Engineer of Bridges, Southern Pacific System

The writer intends to set down only
a few thoughts in regard to the super-
visor's responsibilities, etc., with the
hope that with such elaboration^ as
other members may make from time
to time, some uniformity of practice
will develop for the betterment of the
service. Most rule books designate
the supervisor's duties as follows:

"Supervisors of bridges and build-
ings report to (a superior) and under
him are responsible for the inspection
and safe maintenance of all struc-
tures, etc."

This rule contains the secret for the
successful supervisor — it can be said
without fear of contradiction that
every supervisor who has been made
responsible and who assumed the re-
sponsibility has been successful, the
failures being among those who were
denied full responsibility or who were
not able to assume it.

Supervisor Should Know Peculiari-
ties of All Structures in His Territory.
— The supervisor has many duties and
responsibilities and at the outset we
may assume that he will be short of
help and will have to exercise the
greatest economy to perform the work
with the money that may be avail-
able. He should become so familiar
with all the structures on his terri-
tory as to know all their peculiarities
without reference to records. Bridges
and culverts are seldom perfect, sta-
tions are inadequate, water and fuel
supply heavily taxed, especially dur-
ing the periods of heavy traffic.
Bridges and culverts may not be able
to take care of freshets and floods
properly, drift may be troublesome,
or the traffic over them may be so
heavy as to make almost continuous
repairs necessary. All of these pecu-
liarities should be well known to the
supervisor, so proper measures can
be taken to protect them in case of
necessity.

The supervisor should be responsi-
ble for the regular inspection of struc-
tures and should inspect them in per-

son at least once each year. Even on
large and busy divisions, no obstacle
should prevent him from seeing his
structures every year. The work of
inspection requires experience and
sound judgment, especially for those
structures that are approaching the
time for replacement, due either to
physical condition or lack of capacity.
Lack of capacity may be either a lack
of sufficient size or stability to with-
stand floods, or of capacity to carry
traffic with a reasonable margin of
safety.

Records of Structures and Work
Records. — The supervisor usually is
not responsible for the design of
structures but he is responsible for
their maintenance in safe condition,
and to the standard of maintenance
in force on his railroad. Reduced in-
come may make it necessary at times
to delay improvements and extensive
rebuilding, but unsafe conditions can-
not be tolerated under any conditions.
He is responsible for proper records
of the structures under his charge,
even if such records are kept in other
offices. He should have the most ex-
act and complete information as to
matters of foundation, location of pipe
lines, flood damage, etc., as he is the
first to be called on for such informa-
tion when it is required. It is prob-
able that this feature is quite gen-
erally neglected, owing to pressure of
other work and lack of sufficient help,
but it should not be, as it is a duty
he owes to his successor and to his
railroad.

The supervisor should keep records
of the work that will be necessary for
some months in advance, and on a
well organized division it should never
become necessary to make rush or
emergency repairs, except of course
as the result of washout or accident.
Such a program of work, and its
authorization in ample time, enables
the supervisor to plan his work and
avoid moving gangs back and forth
over the same territory. This is espe-
cially true with those railroads where
gangs cover large mileage, as is the
custom on western railroads. In spite
of planning, much time is lost by
gangs traveling from place to place,
but efforts should be made to reduce
it to a minimum.

The supervisor should have suffi-
cient organization to take care of the
work on his territory, but he can ex-
pect to be shorthanded the same as
all other departments and will find it

1923

Railways

1077

necessary to get the utmost service
out of each employe if he is to keep
his head above water. Having neither
men nor money enough to take care
of his work is not as serious a matter
as it appears, for it has a tendency to
bring forth hidden resources and re-
sults in greater economy.

The Supervisor Should Be the Boss.
— Owing to the variation in lengths
of divisions and the work thereon, it
is impossible to outline what forces
the supervisor should employ, but
whether they are many or few they
should have only one boss, and that
should be the supervisor. There
should be no let down to discipline
whereby others give instructions or
orders to men employed under the
supervisor. All instructions or orders
should be handled through the super-
visor, if he is to retain the respect of
his men and be responsible for their
work. The super\usor should there-
fore earn the respect of his men by
fair dealing and endeavor to make
them railroad men and not temporary
employes.

The relationship between the super-
visor and his men will not be gone
into in detail at this time, except to
state that the supervisor should real-
ize that his employes are intelligent,
and many probably know nearly as
much about the details of the work
as he does. Realizing this Will save
him much worry, and while it will not
relieve him from the necessity of giv-
ing definite instructions as to what is
to be done, it will relieve him of much
petty detail.

The successful supervisor becomes
a very important part of the divisional
organization, and his resourcefulness
and experience are a great satisfac-
tion to his superiors when they can
place entire confidence in him, espe-
cially in cases of emergency. The
successful supervisor works in close
contact with the other departments
and one of the earmarks of a good
supervisor is the willing:ness of all the
other departments to rally to his as-
sistance when required. Close co-
operation with the supply department
results in much good, as many times
suitable material can be found in
stock, avoiding purchases of material
which otherwise may be ordered with-
out knowledge of what is on hand.

Supervisors should, as far as pos-
sible, keep the supply department ad-
vised of future requirements, espe-
cially if out of the ordinary in char-

acter, as this may have the effect of
getting better delivery when the ma-
terial is required. Co-operation and
good fellowship between all depart-
ments, and between the employes c
the same department, take a great
deal of the burden out of the work
and make the service enjoyable and
life worth living.

Qualifications of Successful Super-
visor.— No set rule can be set down
for the cultivation of men for the
position of supervisor, as successful
men have spnmg from a great variety
of conditions, but if we were to con-
sider the qualifications necessary they
might be put as follows:

First: I would put "character";
that is, the supervisor should be a
good, upright, clean living citizen of
his community, respected by his
neighbors and associates.

Second: He should be a good busi-
ness man, as it will be necessary for
him to handle many business affairs
for hie employer.

Third: He should be a natural en-
gineer, bom with the constructive in-
stinct, as he will be responsible for
work performed under all the me-
chanical trades, and it is hardly pos-
sible to become familiar with all of
them.

Fourth: He should be even tem-
pered, fair-minded, without prejudices
as to religion, race or politics, so he
can treat his subordinates properly,
and give them a little better treat-
ment than the letter of the law pre-
scribes, thus earning their loyalty and
respect.

Fifth: Education — a good educa-
tion is a great help to the supervisor,
especially in these days of complicated
reports, etc. The successful super-
visor is never fully educated, but the
more book learning he can bring to
the job the easier it will be to con-
tinue the process of education, which
\vill only be completed at his retire-
ment.

The supervisor being the executive
head, business manager and chief en-
gineer of his department, must keep
himself informed and up to date in
all developments pertaining to con-
struction work involving the use of
steel, wood, masonr>', plaster, con-
crete, painting, etc. He must familiar-
ize himself with all construction ap-
paratus and labor saving devices, and
as far as possible furnish such tools
for use on his work.

1078 Railways Nov.

Concrete Tanks for Railway Water Service

Abstract of a Paper Presented Oct. 18 at 33rd Annual Convention of
the American Railway Bridge and Building Association

By C. R. KNOWLES

Superintendent Water Service, Illinois Central Railroad

The first concrete water tank built
in the United States was a standpipe
constructed at Little Falls, N. J., in
1899. What was probably the first
concrete tank used in railway water
service was constructed ten years
later by the Spokane, Portland and
Seattle railroad. Other railroads
have constructed concrete water tanks
from time to time until at present
about 25 are in service on American
railroads.

General Design Features of Rail-
road Concrete Water Tanks. — Con-
crete water tanks constructed on
American railroads to date have fol-
lowed four general designs, so far as
the tower, floor and walls are con-
cerned. These designs are briefly as
follows :

1- — The standpipe type of tank
with the floor or bottom of the tank
at or near the top of rail and utilizing
the entire height of the structure for
the storage of water.

2. — A cylindrical shell forming both
the tower and walls of the tank with
a diaphragm or floor placed at the
desired height in the shell with a cen-
tral pier or column to assist in sup-
porting the floor. In some cases the
central column has been eliminated,
the floor being made self-supporting
in the center.

3. — A cylindrical shell as above,
forming both the tower and walls of
the tank and a hemispherical bottom.

4. — A tower consisting of columns
and a floor system of beams support-
ing a flat bottom and straight cylin-
drical walls.

Concrete water tanks now in serv-
ice throughout the country represent
almost as many designs as there are
tanks in service. Apparently in
many cases almost as much attention
is devoted to their appearance as to
their utility. This is particularly
true of tanks de.signed for municipal
and other public water supplies.
While the question of appearance has
not been entirely ignored in the con-
struction of concrete railway water
tanks, with a few exceptions the con-
crete tanks in service are no more
pleasing to the eye than the familiar

steel or wooden water tanks, although
the attractive appearance of the con-
crete tank is one of the principal
arguments advanced in its favor.

Concrete Water Tanks of Frisco Ry.
—The tanks at Marshfield and Cuba,
Mo., on the St. Louis-San Francisco
Ry., are typical of the first named or
standpipe type of tank. These tanks
are of simple cylindrical form 39 ft.
6 in. high above the floor and 34 ft.
inside diameter, affording a total inte-
rior capacity of 272,000 gal. The
bottom of the Marshfield tank is only
6 ft. above the top of rail, so that the
water in the lower portion of the tank
is not available for use, reducing the
actual effective capacity to 220,000
gal.

A 100,000 gal. concrete tank con-
structed at Springfield, Mo., in 1916,
also on the St. Louis-San Francisco,
is typical of the second design of tank
listed above. This tank consists of a
cylindrical shell 55 ft. high by 25 ft.
outside diameter, supported on a con-
crete slab 31 ft. in diameter. A floor
or diaphragm is placed in the shell at
a height of 24 ft. above the ground
and the water is confined to the upper
31 ft. of the structure, the lower por-
tion of the tank serving only as a
support for the upper part. A cen-
tral column or pier is introduced to
assist the walls in supporting the
floor, and a 6 in. inlet and outlet pipe
passes through the center of this col-
umn. In the construction of the
Springfield tank an effort was made
to construct the wall of the tank
proper integral with the floor, with
the result that cracks developed sub-
sequent to the completion of the tank.

In the construction of the Cuba and
Marshfield tanks — which were built
later — the walls were cast indepen-
dent of the floor with special pro-
visions for joints between to be filled
with asphalt.

Tanks of Duluth & Iron Range R. R.
— The tanks at Biwabik, Tower Junc-
tion, Fairbanks and Robinson, Minn.,
on the Duluth & Iron Range R. R.,
are typical of the second type of tank
with a flat slab diaphragm or bottom

1923

Railways

1079

in the walls of the tank above ground
without the central support.

A concrete tank erected on the Nor-
folk and Western at East Radford,
Va., is typical of the third type with
hemispherical bottom. The lower
portion of this shell is 31 ft. 6 in. in
diameter and the hemispherical bot-
tom is placed in the tank at a height
of 24 ft. above the rail, the over-all
height of the tank being approxi-
mately 56 ft. 6 in.

Concrete Tank at Pecos Viaduct. —
A concrete tank constructed by the
Southern Pacific Lines in Texas at
the famous Pecos viaduct is repre-
sentative of the last-named type, with
tower constructed of columns. This
tank is described in the Railway
Maintenance Engineer for December,
1922, as follows:

"One of the water supply tanks is
a reinforced concrete tank of 100,000
gal. capacity located 200 ft. east of
the viaduct. This tank is supported
on five columns 2 ft. 6 in. square,
resting on spread foundations; a sys-
tem of beams and girders framed into
the top of these columns support the
floor of the tank which is 30 ft. in
diameter and 20 ft. high. The tank
was poured in two stages, the first
stage completing the floor and col-
umns and the second stage the shell
which is separated from the floor by
a sliding joint protected with copper
sheeting ^ in. thick, covered on both
sides with graphite and sealed with
asphalt cement. '

Tanks Built on Distinctive Lines. —
Other tanks have been built on rail-
roads which have followed distinctive
lines. This is particularly true of the
Central of Georgia which has con-
structed concrete tanks at Savannah
and Millen, Ga. The Savannah tank,
the highest structure of this kind in
the world, with an over-all height of
188 ft., was completed in March, 1911.
The structure consists of a support-
ing tower and two tanks. The upper
tank, with a capacity of 100,000 gal.,
is reserved exclusively for fire protec-
tion, while the lower one, %\'ith a
capacity of 50,000 gal., is for general
service. As stated pre\nously the
shaft is 188 ft. high and 30 ft. outside
diameter at the ground line. This
diameter is gradually diminished, be-
coming 25 ft. at a distance of 75 ft.
above the ground and continuing
cylindrical from that point to the top.
The walls are 9 in. thick at the bot-
tom and taper to a thickness of 7 in.
at a height of 75 ft. above the

gi-ound which thickness is continued
for the remainder of the height. The
structure is supported on a founda-
tion, consisting of 117 piles 40 ft.
long. The floors of both tanks are
hemispherical in form.

The Millen, Ga., tank has a capac-
ity of 150,000 gal. and is similar in
design to the Savannah tank except
that it has an over-all height of only
57 ft. The shaft or tower is 35 ft. in
height with a diameter diminishing
gradually from 31 ft. at the top of
the foundation to 24 ft. at the bottom
of the tank. The bottom is hemi-
spherical in form and is 9 in. thick.
The diameter of the tank proper is
increased from 25 ft. at the bottom of
the tank to 30 ft. at a point 12 ft.
above the bottom, continuing cylin-
drical from that point to the top.
The shell of the supporting tower as
well as of the tank itself is only 8 in.
in thickness and on account of its
thinness extreme care was used in
placing the concrete. Integral water-
proofing was used in the concrete and
the inside of the tank was given a
treatment of pitch upon completion.
The first step in the construction of
the Millen tank was the erection of a
tower in the center of the tank, the
concrete for which was hoisted in a
bottom-dump bucket and spouted into
the form. The circular wall forming
the tower of the tank was first con-
structed with an offset at the spring-
ing line of the floor dome. The floor
dome was then poured, leaWng only
the hole through which the tower ex-
tended. Upon the completion of the
walls of the tank the tower was re-
moved and the hole poured, the edges
of the hole being inclined so that the
weight of the water tended to tighten
the construction joints.

The Baltimore & Ohio has con-
structed a tank of the standpipe tjrpe
at Faii-mont, W. Va., which is used
as a water treating plant. The total
height of this tank above the founda-
tion is 46 ft., and the tank has an
inside diameter of 32 ft. The walls
of the tank are 16 in. thick and are
cast integral with the floor of the
tank.

Demountable Reinforced Concrete
Tank. — A demountable reinforced con-
crete water tank with the tank itself
cast in the form of staves of a barrel,
constructed on the Western Railway
of Havana, was described in the Rail-
way Maintenance Engineer of Feb-
ruary, 1920, as follows:

"The concrete framing supporting

1080

Railways

Nov.

the floor of the tank is cast in two
equal halves which are bolted to-
gether with Ys-in. bolts at regular
intervals. The floor is cast with re-
cesses extending around its outside
diameter, the recesses being sufficient
to permit the insertion of the lower
ends of the tank staves and two %-in.
square reinforcing bars.

"The floor is supported on 13 rec-
tangular columns, 12 of which are
arranged on the circumference of a
circle which has for its center the
13th or main column. All of the sup-
porting columns rest on concrete
piers. The upper ends of the upright
supports are fastened to the floor of
the tank by mer.ns of bolts which pass
through loops formed by the reinforc-
ing rods of the floor. The radial sup-
ports, which branch out in the shape
of braces from the main or center
column, are provided with cored holes
for the insertion of the bol,ts to secure
the upper end of the support to the
tank floor.

In erecting the staves of the tank
the lower ends are set into the groove
provided in the floor after the inside
face of the joint has been well painted
with pitch. Two reinforcing bars are
then placed in the groove outside the
staves and the groove is filled with
concrete, after which the inside joint
is caulked with oakum. After job is
completed the inside and outside of
tank are painted with coal tar, which
is followed with a coat of pitch.

The hoops retaining the staves are
% in. square iron with two turn-
buckles to a hoop. They are spaced
in accordance with the loads at the
respective points and are all of the
same cross section."

Lack of Uniform Design Disadvan-
tage.— The lack of a uniform design
of concrete water tank that would
overcome the existing faults resulting
in cracks in the concrete, seepage and
other leakage has probably reacted
against the concrete tank as much as
anything else. A standard uniform
design of tank would undoubtedly re-
sult in materially reducing the cost
of construction and would bring this
type of tank into closer competition
with tanks of other types. The con-
crete tanks that have been erected
represent nearly as many different
designs as there are tanks, with the
result that it is almost impossible to
make a comparison of tanks under
varying conditions of service, while
an intelligent estimate of costs is
practically out of the question.

Some designs have apparently over-
come one fault only to develop an-
other. Practice on different railroads
varies widely as to design of tower
and tank, thickness of floor and wall,
reinforcing and method of placing,
forms, mix, aggregate and method of
construction and until some design of
tank is developed and adopted that
will be uniform, at least in general
principles, progress will necessarily
be slow.

Permanent Location of Tank. — In

the development of a railroad prop-
erty it is frequently necessary to
move water tanks, and from the na-
ture of their construction concrete
tanks cannot be moved. Thus, the
permanence of the concrete tank,
while used as the principal argument
in its favor, is at the same time one
of the principal objections to its use
in many cases, for while it is un-
doubtedly permanent in every sense
of the word, there is always a ques-
tion as to the permanence of the rail-
road, in location at least, and changes
in road may take place that will re-
sult in the concrete tank becoming
useless within a few years. Where a
steel or wooden tank could be moved
to a suitable location at considerably
less than the cost of a new tank, the
concrete tank is not only useless but
will probably entail considerable ex-
pense for wrecking.

As an example of t^e changes that
occur in the location of water tanks,
a study of 540 tanks in service on a
middle western railroad shows that
the location of only 56 has remained
unchanged in 25 years. While of
course many of these have been re-
newed on account of age it has been
advisable to change their location in
frequent instances. This serves to
emphasize the necessity for the care-
ful selection of a site that will not
be affected by future changes and im-
provements. Very few railroad water
stations can be considered permanent
because experience has shown that
operating conditions are constantly
changing, requiring frequent and un-
expected changes in yards and tracks.

Therefore, the erection of a con-
crete tank is inadvisable unless the
location is known to be permanent
beyond the possibility of a doubt.
Thus, in a great many cases where
the territory traversed by the railroad
is not fully developed or where the
water stations and line of road are
not firmly established a concrete tank

1923

Railways

1081

cannot be considered as a serious com-
petitor of steel and wooden tanks.

The difficulty of obtaining a perma-
nent location for a tank that will not
be affected by changes in road or
structures is probably the most seri-
ous objection to the extensive use of
concrete tanks on railroads.

Cost of Concrete Tanks. — It is ex-
tremely difficult to obtain any cost
data on concrete railway water tanks
that are applicable to average condi-
tions or that can be used as a basis
for estimates or comparison with
other types of tanks on account of
the wide difference in designs and the
limited number of tanks in service.
It is obvious that concrete tanks
will cost more at the present time
than steel or wooden tanks of the
same capacity, not only on account of
the materials involved and the amount
of labor required for construction but
also on account of the expensive form
work which is in some cases specially
designed for each job and adds very
materially to the cost. The additional
fovmdation required for a concrete
tank is also a factor affecting the in-
creased cost over tanks of other types,
as the weight of the concrete tank
exclusive of the water, is much
greater than that of a steel or wooden
tank. Factors affecting the cost of
concrete tanks other than design are
the thickness of wall and the char-
acter of concrete, such as mix, aggre-
gate, etc. The amount of reinforcing
required in the construction of a
100,000-gal. tank varies in different
designs from 14,000 lb. to 26,000 lb.
From the best figures available the
cost of a 100,000 gal. concrete tank
erected prior to 1918 ranged from
$5,000 to $7,500. In all probability
these tanks would cost considerably
more at the present time. Estimates
received in 1920 from a contractor
making a specialty of concrete tanks
placed the cost of a 100,000 gal. tank
of the cylindrical type with an over-
all elevation of 62 ft. between $8,000
and $10,000. The cost of a 100,000
gal. steel tank varies from $5,000 to
$5,500 and of a wooden tank of red-
wood or cypress from $4,000 to $4,500.
The cost of concrete tanks is un-
doubtedly a factor which has con-
tributed in no small part to limiting
their construction on railroads. The
question of cost will continue to have
its effect upon the construction of
concrete tanks until uniform designs
and methods of construction are de-
veloped to such an extent that the

cost will be reduced to compare more
favorably with tanks of other types.

Conclusions. — It has been demon-
strated conclusively that it is possible
to produce concrete that is impervious
to water, at least to the extent re-
quired in a railway water tank.

No inherent fault has developed in
concrete that would make it unfit for
the storage of water and there does
not appear to be any reason why it
should not prove satisfactory for this
purpose if the tank is properly de-
signed and constructed.

There are certain features in the
construction of concrete tanks that
will have to be given further consid-
eration, however, before the concrete
tank can be considered with tanks of
other types, chief among which is the
question of design. There is no uni-
formity in design in tanks that have
been constructed, which has kept the
cost of tanks at such a high point
that they have not been considered
seriously in comparison with steel and
wooden tanks. It is not the thought
that a standard design of tank should
be adopted to fit all conditions, but
certain principles of design will have
to be agreed upon before the concrete
tank will come into general use. Such
a design should be aimed to bring the
cost of the tank into competition with
other types of tanks and provide
against leakage, both through poros-
ity or through shrinkage or expansion
of the concrete, resulting in cracks.

The difficulty in establishing a loca-
tion that will be permanent and that
will fit in with the development of a
railroad property is one of the prin-
cipal obstacles to the adoption of con-
crete tanks and their construction will
be limited to installations where the
location is known to be permanent be-
yond a doubt.

The first cost is another serious
handicap to this type of tank as the
investment required does not compare
favorably with that of other types of
tanks in spite of their acknowledged
permanence and low cost of mainte-
nance.

While the concrete tank will no
doubt in time find its place in railway
water service, it has not yet been de-
veloped to the extent that it can be
recommended for general use. This
statement is not based upon any spe-
cific objection to concrete as a mate-
rial for water tanks as no funda-
mental objection may be offered
against its use for this purpose.

1082

Railways Nov.

Highway Transport as Aid to the Rstilroads

Abstract of Address Presented Nov. 6 at Joint Session of North Central

Division of National Highway Traffic Association and

Michigan State Good Roads Association

By ARTHUR H. BLANCHARD

President National Highway Traffic Association and Professor of Highway Engineering and
Highway Transport, University of Michigan

What is the present attitude of rail-
road officials in the United States to-
wards the development of highway
transport ? The answer is not a sim-
ple one to formulate, as many diverse
opinions have been expressed in words
and actions. Some of our railroad
officials appreciate the intrinsic value
of highway transport and have made
use of it as a part of their own trans-
portation systems. Others have advo-
cated its development because they
know that it is necessary to the suc-
cess of their business that facilities
should be later carried by railways.
Others have been concerned regarding,
the development of highway transport
from the standpoint of destructive
competition with railroad transporta-
tion and have endeavored to curtail
its development through legislative
action. Others, and it is hoped that
there are only a few of this class,
have considered the subject from such
a narrow viewpoint that they have
advocated a curtailment of highway
improvement.

The Advantages of Co-ordination. —
Do we need to go further to realize
the vital character of the problem we
have under discussion, and the neces-
sity of developing in the minds of the
people, our representatives in legis-
lative halls and the operators of the
four great systems of transportation
that only through co-ordination of all
and the enactment of legislation
which will permit the efficient develop-
ment of each agency will the public
welfare best be served.

It may appear audacious to bluntly,
announce that highway transport is
an aid to the railroads, especially in
view of statements frequently appear-
ing, such as that of one railroad presi-
dent, who charged a deficit of $4,-
856,000 to motor vehicle competition.
Bald conclusions of this character ap-
pearing in the public press bring to
the mind of the reader the much
maligned motor truck tearing up the
public highways. The public does not
analyze the true meaning of the loss

in revenue. It does not appreciate
the large percentage of reduction of
railroad receipts due to the operation
of the family motor car. It does not
know that some railroads are experi-
encing a reduction in gross revenue,
but would not suffer a loss in net
profits provided that they efficiently
used their facilities for the handling
of those phases of transportation for
which they are preeminently adapted
to handle profitably.

The average citizen has lost sight
of the usual consequences which fol-
low the development of a new me-
chanical invention of benefit to man-
kind and the use of which contributes
to national progress. Many railroad
officials appear to have forgotten
what happened to canal and river
traffic and profitable commercial high-
way transport in the days when
stages constittued the only common
carrier for overland transportation.
The disastrous effect on the balance
sheets of canal, river and stage com-
panies of the laying of hundreds of
miles of rails wherever there was an
evident field for bulk or mass trans-
portation is a chapter in the story of
railroading known to all.

Railways Always Will Be Vital
Part of Transportation System. —
Railroads are not going to cease to
function because of the development
of highway transport. The railways
are, and always will be, a vital part
of our transportation system. They,
however, have an economic field which
has clearly been defined by Professor
Henry E. Riggs of the University of
Michigan when he said at a conven-
tion of the National Highway Traffic
Association that "Railway transporta-
tion for long distance business, and
for all carload business where there
is direct track connection to the fac-
tory or warehouse of the shipper is,
and always will be, more economical
than any form of highway traffic."
The writer is an optimist and, there-
fore, believes that the American rail-
road official will see the light shining

1923

Railways

1083

from the beacons of publicity and dis-
semination of knowledge and will soon
administer his system of transporta-
tion with full recognition of the true
value of highway transport to the
railroads and the part which it will
play in national development.

The railroads can render immediate
valuable service to the public and to
themselves by helping to direct the
development of highway transport as
feeders to rail lines and as extensions
of rail service. A correct and imme-
diate solution of the inter-relationship
between these two links of our na-
tional distribution system is very de-
sirable in the interests of public wel-
fare.

How Railways Can Use Highway
Transport. — What are the opportuni-
ties for the railroad to function as an
operator or user of highway trans-
port?

First : The transportation of freight
by motor trucks from one railway
terminal to another in the same or
nearby city. The advantages of the
utilization of highway transport, as
compared with the tedious method of
rail transportation by "trap" or
"transfer" cars over congested tracks
have been appreciated by a few rail-
road officials. It has been established
in some cities, notable examples being
found in Cincinnati and St. Louis.

Second: The organized delivery
with motor trucks of carload freight
from public team tracks in large ter-
minal areas. With such a system in
effect, it has been stated that the
present freight car equipment of the
railroads would be sufficient to meet
all transportation needs for several
years to come.

Third: Extension of transportation
service through the medium of motor
truck and motor bus routes. There
are several methods of development
practicable in this field. Urban and
interurban electric railway lines may
logically expand their passenger
transportation facilities through the
establishment of tributary motor bus
routes. During 1922, 60 electric lines
throughout the United States used
motor buses to supplement their ran
service. Steam railroads may enter
this field through the development of
intercity and rural motor express
lines to carry both commodities and
passengers. One of the most notable
examples is afforded by the highway
transport services of the Great North
of Scotland Railway Company, which

established its first motor truck serv-
ice in 1904. In 1921 this railway com-
pany was operating five passenger
routes and seven intercity motor truck
routes. Railroads having stations in
scenic areas may well give considera-
tion to another development by the
Great North of Scotland Railway
Company, which operates from Aber-
deen a motor bus line for tourist
traffic.

Fourth: The collection and de-
livery of freight in municipalities and
adjoining areas, which is similar to
the methods unversally employed in
large cities for handling express ship-
ments. This phase of highway trans-
port would be a development of what
is commonly known as the store door
delivery plan. The ruling of the In-
terstate Commerce Commission in the
case of the Baltimore development
along this line means that it is im-
practicable for interstate railroads at
present to use their own trucks in this
manner except on such a large scale
that the charge of discrimination in
serv'ices rendered could not be brought
against them. It is possible, how-
ever, to arrange with a large trucking
organization to render this service. A
development in Michigan is the plan
of the Detroit United Railway to
establish a pick-up and delivery sys-
tem with motor trucks especially
equipped to carry box containers, one
or more containers being used for the
freight of one shipper. In England,
we find railroads functioning as op-
erators of highway transport in this
field. One of the most notable ex-
amples is the case of the London and
Northwestern Railroad's comprehen-
sive system of freight delivery by
motor trucks in areas with head-
quarters at London, Birmingham,
Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds.
This railroad established its highway
transport service in 1905. In 1920,
it was operating over 350 motor
vehicles.

Motor Trucks Instead of Branch
Lines. — W. H. Lyford, vice-president
of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Ry.
Co., believes that another field for the
profitable use of the motor truck is
the transportation of freight between
communities which are served by
branch lines of railway on which the
traffic is too light to pay the expenses
of any kind of railway transportation.
He further says that no more such
branch lines ought to be constructed
if the highway transport operator

1084

Railways

Nov.

will take over this field and occupy it
intelligently and efficiently, and that
money losing . branch lines along
which transportation by motor truck
over existing highways could be fur-
nished at less expense should be
abandoned.

To cut down operating costs on
branch lines, 40 steam railroads are
now using flanged wheel motor buses.
Another development may be the re-
construction of the railroad roadbed
as a private highway for the use of
the railway company's trucks and
trailers, or its operation as a toll-
road, which, if properly constructed
without grade crossings for four
lanes of traffic, could accommodate
slow moving trucks and trailers and
high speed motor buses.

Elisha Lee, vice-president of the
Pennsylvania Railroad, goes a step
further when he states that "The rail-
roads still do a great deal of purely
retail business. Some of it perhaps
pays its way, but much of it unques-
tionably entails a loss. In the imme-
diate vicinity of all our highly de-
veloped commercial and industrial
communties, an immense amount of
such traffic oriignates. A large por-
tion of it moves only a few miles, but
in its handling we are obliged to em-
ploy the most costly and over-worked
facilities which the railways own,
namely, the yards and terminals in
the great centers of industry and
population. Here is a real oppor-
tunity for the motor truck to demon-
strate its utility upon a true economic
basis. The reason why less than car-
load traffic, especially on the shorter
hauls, is becoming a growing burden
upon the railroads is that we are
obliged to use in it terminal facilities
and rolling stock which are too ex-
pensive for the purpose and which of
necessity must be primarily planned
and adapted to the handling of bulk
traffic, mostly moving over the longer
hauls. Therefore, I believe it to be
at least probable that in many in-
stances the short haul less-than-car-
load freight traffic could be turned
over bodily to motor trucks with re-
sulting advantage to the railroads and
the patrons."

Interrelationship Between Railway
and Highway Transport. — The views
of state officials on certain phases of
the interrelationship between railway
and highway transport are indicated
by the following excerpts from the
1922 report of the committee on

motor transportation to the National
Association of Railway and Utilities
Commissions:

"Auto truck transportation meets a
public demand in the rapid transit of
less-than-carload shipments, including
the door-to-door delivery element
which railroads have thus far failed
to furnish. Railroad companies have
exhibited a degree of indifference or
slowness bordering on stupidity in
recognizing and meeting demands of
the public for quicker and more con-
venient movement of less-than-car-
load freight.

"It is evident if rail carriers hope
to retain their short haul freight
traffic, it will be necessary for them
to make radical changes, both in serv-
ice and equipment. Trucks are ren-
dering an astonishing service between
shopping centers and outlying trad-
ing points. Country merchants prefer
direct truck service to the railroads,
even where the cost of the service is
equal, for the reason that the trucks
call at the wholesale house, receive
the commodities desired and unload
them at the store doors. This enables
the country merchants to conduct
business with a smaller stock of
goods, for the reason that new sup-
plies can be obtained conveniently and
on short notice through truck service.

"Another respect in which truck
service is preferable, is in the move-
ment of household goods from one
town or city to another. The prin-
cipal expense in shipping by rail con-
sists in crating the household goods
and preparing them for shipment. In
addition to the cost of crating, is that
of cartage from the house to the
depot and from the depot to the
house. Furthermore, these additional
handlings increase the loss and dam-
age by breakage. It is difficult of
course for rail carriers to meet this
sort of competition, and thus far they
have apparently made no effort to do
so."

The cost of crating for railway
shipment is well illustrated in the
case of the transfer of the Davis
Library of Highway Engineering and
Highway Transport from Columbia
University in New York City to the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The contract price for the crating of
the library, the contents of which
filled one freight car, was $1,000,
while if the library had been trans-
ferred by motor truck, it would only
have been necessary to box books and

1923

Railways

1085

periodicals, the cost of which was
$120. Another illustration is the case
of the Remington Typewriter Com-
pany, which transports from its fac-
tory in Connecticut all of its type-
writers consigned to New York City
by motor trucks equipped with spe-
cial compartment bodies. The saving
in cost of packing is $1.00 for each
machine, or $300 for each truck ship-
ment.

In closing, allow me to transmit to
you the following pertinent message
from our late president, Warren G.
Harding: "The transport facilities of
the whole world, whether by rail or
by water, or whether represented by
the great network of public highways,
have been confronted with a most
difficult situation for a number of
years. It is one which demands the
very best and wisest treatment from
the standpoint of both the technical
and economic and financial authori-
ties. The whole program of transpor-
tation— in all its phases it must be
regarded as that of a single problem
—is among the most pressing and
difficult that the entire world is facing
today."

Relation of Motor Transport
to the Railways

A comprehensive plan for linking
organized motor transport with the
railroads in the development of a bal-
anced national system of transporta-
tion is outlined in the report of the
Committee on the Relation of High-
ways and Motor Transport to Other
Transportation Agencies submitted
Nov, 18 to Julius H. Barnes, Pres-
ident of the Chamber of Ck)mmerce of
the United States.

Sweeping changes in prevailing
methods of handling and distributing
freijght are proposed. Store-door col-
lection and delivery to relieve conges-
tion within the crowded terminal
areas of large cities, the use of organ-
ized and responsible motor transport
to relieve the railroads of various
forms of uneconomical service, includ-
ing the unprofitable short haul, the
wider use of self-propelled railway
cars and the extension of passenger
bus service to supplement existing
facilities are recommended.

To pave the way for these changes
in the public interest the committee
suggests the regulation of common
carrier operations of motor vehicles

by the federal and state commissions
which have supervision of rail and
water carriers, and the systematic
development of highways in response
to general traffic needs.

The committee, of which Alfred H.
Swayne, Vice President of the Gen-
eral Motors Corporation, is chairman,
is one of five designated by the pres-
ident of the national chamber to study
different phases of the transpK)rtation
problem and lay the groundwork for
a national policy to be discussed at a
general transportation conference to
be announced later. Its recommenda-
tions represent the unanimous view
of all the important interests directly
concerned in or affected by trans-
portation. Its personnel includes rail-
way traffic officials, officers of farm
and labor organizations, representa-
tives of the motor industry, motor
haulage companies, water carriers
and the shipping public.

The members of the committee, be-
sides the chairman, are: W. J. L.
Banham, General Traffic Manager,
Otis Elevator Co., New York; L. W.
Childress, President, Columbia Ter-
minals Co., St. Louis; D. C. Fenner,
Engineer and Manager, Public Works
Department, Mack Trucks, Inc., New
York; Gerrit Fort, Vice-President,
Boston & Maine R. R. Co., Boston;
Philip H. Gadsden, Vice-President,
United Gas Improvement Co., Phila-
delphia; W. H. Lyford, Vice-President
and General Counsel, Chicago &
Eastern Illinois Ry. Co., Chicago;
Ralph H. Matthiessen, President,
Motor Haulage Co., New York; John
D. Miller, President, National Milk
Producers' Federation, New York;
H. H. Raymond, President, Clyde
Steamship Co., New York; Arthur T.
Waterfall, Vice-President, Dodge
Brothers, Detroit; Heniy J. Waters,
Editor, Weekly Kansas City Star,
Kansas City; Robert C. Wright, Gen-
eral Traffic Manager, Pennsylvania
R. R. System, Philadelphia.

Conclusions of Committee. — The

committee was organized early in
the present year to study the part the
motor vehicle might advantageously
play in the building up of an ade-
quate system of transportation and
the service that might be rendered by
organized motor transport in moving
the constantly growing stream of
traffic. As a result of its study the
committee announces the following
conclusions :

1086

Railways

Nov.

1. "The best interests of the public
and the rail, water and motor car-
riers lie in cooperation between the
various agencies of transportation
rather than in wasteful competition.

2. "The greatest opportunity for
cooperation is at the points where the
capacity of the railroads is most lim-
ited and expansion is most difficult
and costly; that is, in the terminal
areas of our great cities.

3. "Store-door delivery by motor
truck, which would relieve congestion
in these terminal areas and greatly
increase the capacity of the freight
stations, is undoubtedly the greatest
contribution which can be made to
the solution of the terminal problem.

4. "Organized motor transport can
also relieve the railroads of various
forms of uneconomical service, such
as trapcar service, switching between
local stations and short-haul ship-
ments within the terminal area. This
will reduce yard congestion and re-
lease many cars for more profitable
line haul.

5. "To secure the fullest benefit
from this organized motor transport,
ther development of modern technical
equipment, such as demountable
bodies, trailers and semi-trailers, con-
tainers and container cars, and me-
chanical handling appliances.

6. "Outside of the terminal areas
there are distance zones, varying in
different localities and for different
commodities, in which one type of car-
rier, the motor for short haul and
the railway (or waterway) for long
haul, is clearly more economical than
the other, and intermediate zones in
which competition is inevitable. The
motor vehicle also has a wide field
where there is no other agency avail-
able. Motor trucks and buses should
be used to supplement the facilities
of existing common carriers.

7. "It is to the public interest, as
well as to the interest of the respec-
tive carriers, that the economic lim-
itations of each type of carrier be
recognized, that the railroads be per-
mitted to discontinue unprofitable
service to which the motor is better
suited, and that the motor abandon
its efforts to handle general traffic
over excessive distances. However,
because of the public interest which
affects the operation of railroads,
they have performed and must con-
tinue to perform some .service which
is unprofitable, chiefly in territory
where the performance of highway

transportation would also be unprofit-
able. If the railroads are to be de-
prived of a substantial share of their
more remunerative trafl!ac through
unfair and, to the trader, uneconom-
ical methods, the traflac remaining to
the railroads must take on an added
burden in the form of higher rates
or impaired service. In all cases
where the railroad can handle traffic
with greater or equal efficiency, all
factors being considered, the public
interest requires that it be allowed to
do so. Unprofitable steam railroad
service can in some cases be success-
fully replaced by the use of self-pro-
pelled railroad motor cars.

8. "To insure to the public con-
tinuity and reliability of service,
sound financial organization of motor
transport is necessary, as well as
public regulation of common-carrier
motor service.

9. "Passenger bus transport should
be so regulated as to secure the best
service to the public, certificates of
public convenience and necessity as
already required in many states
being a useful means of insuring re-
liable and continuous service. Rail
lines can often advantageously extend
or supplement their service by bus
lines, and in states where this is now
prohibited such restrictions should be
abolished.

10. "Regulation of traffic and of
size, weight and speed of motor
vehicles by states and municipalities
having control should be made more
uniform within states and as between
states. Regulation of common-car-
rier operations of motor vehicles,
including rate regulation, should be
handled by the federal or state
authorities, under the commissions
which now control the operations of
rail and water carriers.

11. "Trunk highways in any area
should be able to carry the normal
vehicular traffic of that area, and, if
the traffic economically justifies the
use of especially heavy trucks, high-
ways with stronger subbases must be
provided. This constitutes a problem
requiring particular attention in the
desig:n of highway systems and in the
regulation of traffic. In other re-
spects present types of highways,
present routes connecting principal
centers of population and pi*oduction;
and the present trend in size, weight
and speed restrictions of vehicles
using highways show a rational sys-

1923

Railways

1087

tern of highway development that
should be continued.

12. "Investigations now under way
by the U. S. Bureau of Public Roads,
state highway departments and other
agencies to determine more fully the
economic role of the motor vehicle
should be continued."

How the Motor Truck Can Relieve
Terminal Situation. — "The congestion
of transportation", the committee
continues in its report, "today cen-
ters around the terminals of our great
cities, and it is at these terminals that
the railroads find the greatest diffi-
culty in keeping pace with the public
need. With hardly an exception the
main tracks of our railroads have
sufficient capacity for the movement
of more freight than can be offered
to them. With hardly an exception
the railroads are constantly faced
with a demand for more and better
terminal facilities in the face of pro-
hibitive real-estate values and other
stupendous obstacles to expansion.
Here lies the greatest opportunity for
the motor truck. By the use of motor
transport the facilities of the ter-
minals can be so expanded as greatly
to increase their capacity.

"The general demand for more and
better rail transportation is insistent,
and the railroads are confronted by a
serious dilemma. They must either
add to their present terminal facil-
ities or find a way to pass more
freight through them. Enlargement
or multiplication of terminal stations
and team tracks in important termi-
nal areas is practically impossible
because of the prohibitive cost, objec-
tion of municipalities to the expansion
of railroad holdings in congested
areas, and furthermore the additional
traffic congestion that would result
from greater centralization of cartage
operations in such areas.

"There are three principal direc-
tions in which the motor truck can
serve to relieve the terminal situa-
tion:

"1. By organized cartage instead
of the present go-as-you-please
methods of receipt and delivery at the
rail terminal; further than this, by
store-door delivery, which is real com-
pleted transportation.

"2. By substitution of motor serv-
ice for a part of the rail service.

"3. By complete elimination of cer-
tain rail service. This would cover
intraterminal movement, such as
movement between industries or dif-
ferent plants of the same industry

within the terminal area, which would
then be handled by motor truck."

Subsequent reports to be made to
President Barnes by the other four
committees of the transportation con-
ference will deal with the develop-
ment of waterways and waterway
traffic, government relations to trans-
pKjrtation, railroad consolidation, and
the readjustment of relative freight
rates. A joint subcommittee will pre-
sent a report dealing with the much
discussed question of taxation of
motor and other carriers. Taken
together the five reports are intended
to present a picture of the trans-
portation situation and to outline a
plan of development from the national
viewpoint.

Portland Cement Production in

October

Production of portland cement in
October was the largest for any
month this year and incidentally
broke all records for a single month.
Report of the U. S. Geological Survey
just issued places the total production
for the month at 13,350,000 bbl. com-
pared with 13,100,000 in September
and less than 12,300,000 a year ago.
For the ten months ending October
31, over 114,000,000 bbl. were pro-
duced, exceeding last year's record
output for the same period by 20,-
000,000 bbl. or 22 per cent.

Shipments from the mills in Octo-
ber were 14,285,000 bbl., an increase
of about 11 per cent over October,
1922. Shipments for the ten months
were close to 119,000,000 bbl. or more
than was shipped during the entire
banner year 1922.

Stocks of cement in manufacturers'
hands at the end of October were
about 4,600,000 bbl. or 450,000 bbl.
more than a year ago. Consideration
of the fact that stocks of cement at
the beginning of the year were very
much lower than at the beginning of
1922, and the ten months' shipments
have been 17,000,000 bbl. greater than
last year, serves to indicate how suc-
cessfully the industry has coped with
the increased demand. The greatly
increased efficiency of the transporta-
tion systems has helped materially in
making this record possible and recent
increases in productive capacity have
given the industry a substantially
greater output.

1088

Railways

Nov.

The Present Situation in
EUectric Railway Industry

Extracts From an Address Presented
Oct. 30 at Annual Convention of
Investment Bankers' Asso-
ciation of America

By JAMES W. WELSH

Secretary, American Electric Ry. Association

The U. S. Bureau of the Census is
just completing its regular five-year
census of the electric railway indus-
try. So far the complete financial
figures for the country are not avail-
able but the traffic figures are:

In 1922 out of more than 15 billion
passengers, including transfers, over
12% billion pay passengers were car-
ried by the electric railway companies
in the United States, an increase of
IVi billion, or 12 per cent over the
previous census of 1917. This is an
increase of aproximately 2.5 per cent
per year, while population has in-
creased less than 1 per cent.

We find there were 117 revenue pas-
sengers carried per inhabitant the
country over in 1922 as compared with
109 in 1917 and 100 in 1912.

Pares and Operating Revenues. —
Now let us consider the matter of
fares, for upon these two factors,
fares and traffic, hang the revenues of
the electric railway. In 1917 the aver-
age fare per passenger was 5.1 ct.,
today it is 7.3 ct., and in 1921 it
reached 7.5 ct. A trolley ride and a
fixed fare no longer are synonomous
and the public has come to realize
that fares vary in accordance with the
cost of service in different cities
throughout the country.

Operating revenues of electric rail-
way companies, according to associa-
tion estimates, have increased 47 per
cent over 1917 and now are close to
a billion dollars annually. The oper-
ating ratio which rose from 65 per
cent in 1917 to 80 per cent in 1920
for a group of 225 companies fell to
73 per cent in 1922. The net income
is approximately 2.5 times the 1917
figures.

Why Less Tracking Is in Service. —
The abandonment of electric railway
trackage in certain parts of the coun-
try has been cited as evidence of the
decadence of this mode of transpor-
tation and its replacement by another.
The government census figures show
a track mileage of 43,934 in 1922 as
against 44,808 in 1917, or a net loss of

874 miles, amounting to 2 per cent.
It is not to be understood, however,
that no new extensions have been
made. Detail figures on file with our
association show that new track de-
velopments to the amount of 1,450
miles have been made during the five
years while abandonments aggregat-
ing 3,320 miles have occurred, the net
loss being as above.

One reason for this was that the
country was approaching the "satura-
tion point" with respect to electric
railways. Practically every com-
munity that offered the slighest pos-
sibility of successful operation had an
electric railway system. And m_any
that did not offer any possibility
nevertheless had them anyway,
financed usually by real estate specu-
lators who expected to get their
money back through increased land
values rather than from the successful
operation of the railway, though as to
this they were not without hope.

Another reason for the decline in
construction was the rise in prices of
all materials with the opening of the
world war. This abandoned trackage
represents construction in unprofit-
able districts where the traffic could
not bear the cost of service. Every
industry constantly experiences such
changes, and the sooner it recognizes
it, the healthier it is for it.

In many of these places electric
railways have installed a bus service
rather than have the district without
transportation service. A total of
about 2,000 miles of bus route is now
being operated by railway companies.

Our records show that a total of
over 13,000 new street cars have been
purchased and put in service during
this period out of 80,000 in regular
operation. These include both re-
placements and additions to service,
but they always make friends for the
railway. In 1921 there was expended
$150,000,000 for improvements and
betterments and for the current year
it is estimated $250,000,000 in new
capital is needed.

The Motor Bus Cannot Undersell
Trolley Service. — Those who fear that
the motor bus will replace the electric
railway might do well to consider the
economic and legal principles in-
volved. It has been definitely proved
wherever a complete transportation
system serving a whole community
has been tried by motor bus that the
cost is greater than by electric rail-

1923

Railways

1089

way, except in instances where the
service is infrequent and the density
of traffic light.

Examples of profitable operation of
the bus at lower fares are frequently
quoted as evidences of its ability to
undersell the trolley. The fallacy of
this contention lies in comparing a
rate of fare on one bus route or a
group of favorable routes with that of
a whole trolley system serving all
parts of the community. It may not
be generally understood that the earn-
ing capacity of various routes in a
community vary through the widest
possible range and that where a
transportation company provides a
universal service many long-haul and
poorly patronized routes are carried
at the expense of the short riders in
the densely populated districts, all for
the great good of the greatest number.

The principle of co-ordinating all
agencies of transportation serving the
needs of each community rather than
to permit a ruinous and destructive
competition to develop has been pro-
mulgated by the American Electric
Railway Association and is generally
recognized as sound economic doctrine
and in accordance with the principles
of public utility regulation and con-
trol.

Bus Regulation in Various States.
— What is the attitude of the regulat-
ing commissions with respect to re-
sponsibility for furnishing transporta-
tion services?

Twenty-five states and the District
of Columbia have enacted legislation
requiring motor vehicle common car-
riers to obtain a certificate of public
convenience and necessity from the
state commission as a prerequisite to
the establishment of any kind of
service.

A distinct trend from a policy of
encouraging motor bus lines wherever
possible to one of affording adequate
protection to existing carriers can be
traced in the decisions of 11 commis-
sions on petitions for certificates.

In only two states, Illinois and
Nebraska, where the commission has
authority to grant certificates of pub-
lic convenience and necessity ,> have
they shown a tendency to encourage
development of bus lines at the ex-
pense of the railways, and in the
state of Illinois at least the courts
have stepped in and reversed the de-
cision of the commission.

In many states the commissions

have as complete jurisdiction over bus
operations as they have over other
public utilities, including electric rail-
ways. For instance, in 19 states the
commission has authority to investi-
gate and fix the rates of fare charged
by bus lines; in 14 states it prescribes
routes, and in 16 states it prescribes
schedules for bus lines. Seventeen of
the state commissions have issued
general orders promulgating niles
and regulations for the operation of
buses. Thirty-six states have im-
posed a gasoline tax. There are, in
fact, only six states in the union
which have taken no official action
whatever with regard to the buses.

The Industry Building Up Good
Relations With Public. — Another fear
that at times impairs the credit of the
industry is the threat of political op-
pression. Probably the most effective
weapon against the antagonist is the
building up of good public relations.
Telling the industry's story to the
public, however, has become a na-
tional watch-word. This is not a
spasmodic campaign, but is a con-
tinuing activity in keeping the public
advised of its responsibility in main-
taining its transportation service.
Coupled with this has been the intro-
duction of all known means of eco-
nomical operation. This included one-
man cars and for the industry there
are now 10,000 in operation as com-
pared with less than 1,000 in 1917.
Organized safety methods are result-
ing in a material reduction in the cost
of accidents, which for the industry
have fallen from 3.24 per cent of
gross receipts in 1917 to 2.68 per cent
in 1922.

The use of automatic and remotely
controlled sub-station equipment as a
factor in reducing power costs has re-
ceived wide application. This, to-
gether with the use of power saving
devices and a more intelligent use of
electricity, are resulting in material
reduction in the total cost of power.
The use of electric and metal com-
position welding processes has ef-
fected material savings in the main-
tenance and repair departments.

Improved relations with labor have
been effected in many places with a
corresponding increase in efficiency
and elimination of loss through
strikes. These are but a few of the
economies typical of what wide-awake
and progressive companies are doing
and which are winning for them suc-
cess beyond their fondest hopes.

1090

Railways

Motor Bus Operation by Electric Railways

Nov.

Extracts From Committee Report Presented at Last Annual Convention
of American Electric Railway Association

We think it is generally conceded
that there is a place in the present
transportation fabric where the mo-
tor bus can be used to advantage.
Public authorities are gradually
bringing order out of the chaotic con-
dition w^hich the jitney introduced into
the transportation field seven or eight
years ago. We have watched the
struggle throughout the country which
the electric railways have made under
the burden of this parasitical compe-
tion, often wondering how long it
would take for the public to realize
that it was nursing a destructive
force, and knowing at the same time
that such realization would eventually
come and with it regulation in some
form or another.

Now that the motor bus is accepted
by many communities as having its
proper place as an auxiliary to exist-
ing transportation facilities, the elec-
tric railway companies are becoming
increasingly interested in its use in
meeting full requirements for trans-
portation in the territory which they
serve.

Quite naturally the manager of an
electric railway contemplating the op-
eration of motor buses is anxious to
make his estimates with as little
guesswork as possible, and your Com-
mittee feels that in carrying out its
instructions it can be of the most
service to the electric railway indus-
try by having its report consist of
historical data gathered from member
companies that have had some ex-
perience in bus operation. Such ex-
perience has, however, been compara-
tively short and none of them wish
to go on record as being confident
that they have solved the various
problems involved.

Experience in dictating changes in
methods and equipment so that it is
very likely some of the information
contained in this report may not be
strictly up to date, as the report was
completed prior to July 1, 1923.

A questionnaire was sent to each
member company operating buses and
the data collected in this manner has
been classified according to the dif-
ferent elements entering into bus
operation.

Class of Service Operated. — The

committee obtained information as to
the class of service operated from 17
street railway companies which are
members of the Association. This is
shown in Table I.

Table I

Av.
No. of
miles
per
No. of buses day
Class of service operated per

Supple- Inde- Base Peak bus

Com- ment- pen- sched- sched- oper-

pany ary Feeder dent ule ule ated

A Yes 2 3 100

B Yes Yes 1 1 153

C Yes Yes 21 27 81

D Yes 6 7 148

E Yes 1 1 185

F Yes 5 8 70

H Yes Yes 16 21 120

I Yes Yes 18 8 161

K Yes Yes Yes 7 10 151

L Yes 2 3 74

M Yes 4 7 145

N Yes 5 *7 127

O Yes 6 7 96

P Yes Yes Yes 66 70 166

Q Yes 6 10 216

R Yes 12 16 153

S Yes Yes Yes 9 9

*Nine more cars to be added in 1923.

Seven of the above companies oper-
ate exclusively on city routes. Four
companies operate exclusively in sub-
urban service; two exclusively in in-
terurban service, two in city and sub-
urban service, one in city and inter-
urban service and one in city, suburb-
an and interurban service.

We find that street railway com-
panies operating bus service are quite
closely following the principles stated
in the report of the Committee on
Trackless Transportation to the
American Association in 1922. If a
street railway company adopts the
policy of providing for all of the
transportation needs in the territory
served, the possibilities of the bus as
an aid to the carrying out of such
policy cannot be overlooked.

As to the matter of substituting
bus for rail service, this is wholly a
problem of economics. In the case of
a low earning line faced with heavy
rehabilitation or paving charges, the
bus provides a means of continuing
service with an expenditure for
equipment much below the cost of
plant renewals or paving.

Proper Equipment Necessary. — If

1923

Railways

1091

we are going to sell to the public the
idea that street railway companies,
as the established transportation
agency in the community, should be
given the opportunity to furnish the
entire transportation service, the
importance of having the proper
equipment to provide the greatest
amount of safety, comfort and con-
venience cannot be too strongly em-
phasized and it is pleasing to note
that street railway companies are dis-
carding the truck chassis and adopt-
ing the improved types as rapidly as
the builders are developing them.

In the further development of the
chassis, simplicity and accessibility
should be the chief aim of automotive
engineers. It should be borne in mind
that ordinary running repairs are
made without removing the body and,
therefore, easy removal and replace-
ment of parts from underneath the
chassis should be made possible.

It is very desirable that time out
of service be the minimum. A unit
repair system will most adequately
meet this requirement. To facilitate
this, attention should be given to
standardization.

Consideration must also be given to
the peculiar requirements of a ve-
hicle operated in passenger service
such as low center of gravity, clutch
and gear designs for frequent stop-
ping and starting, adequate and eco-
nomical power, and spring suspension
to give maximum riding comfort un-
der varying load conditions.

This report will not touch upon
development as we believe that each
company will work this out accord-
ing to its own requirements. In gen-
eral, there seems to be no reason why
the electric car body designs cannot
be used as a base from which to de-
velop a body which will give public
satisfaction from the standpoint of
safety, comfort and convenience.
There will, of course, always be cases
which will require specific treatment
based on the particular transportation
problem to be solved.

Where buses are operated as feed-
ers or in conjunction with the railway
service in any manner, schedules must
be so laid out and maintained as to
correlate the service from both facili-
ties. This result can be obtained with
the best economy if the same super-
visory organization is responsible for
both.

However, where a route is operated
independently of the street railway

service, it may be found desirable to
supervise it with a separate organiza-
tion.

Overhead and Maintenance. — Most
of the street railway companies oper-
ating buses are doing so on such a
small scale as not to warrant the in-
crease in overhead and maintenance
costs necessary if the work were en-
tirely divorced from the electric car
work. We believe, however, that this
practice ceases to j-ield maximum ef-
ficiency and economy the moment the
number of units becomes large enough
to keep a separate corps of mechanics,
inspectors and cleaners busy during a
full working day. Bus chassis main-
tenance requires an entirely different
line of training than that of electric
car maintenance and if an attempt is
made to spread the supen-ision and
maintenance over both types of equip-
ment, the maintenance of both will be
unsatisfactory.

Owing to the wide diversity of local
conditions, it is quite impossible for a
report of this kind to suggest a stand-
ard maintenance organization, but it
is believed that as soon as the volume
of work warrants, better efficiency and
economy can be obtained by complete-
ly divorcing the chassis maintenance
from the electric car work.

The body maintenance presents an
entirely different situation. Bus bod-
ies are now very closely following the
type of construction used in electric
car bodies and this work can be more
efficiently and economically done by
augmenting the regular body mainte-
nance force sufficiently to take care of
the additional equipment.

Several of the companies which
have gone quite extensively into bus
operation have either laid plans for
or constructed garage facilities sepa-
rate from those of the railway shop.

Life of Bus Equipment. — None of
the companies, by reason of short ex-
perience, is in a position to give defi-
nite information relative to the life
of bus equipment. All of the depre-
ciation is set up on a tentative basis
with the idea of revising it, after ex-
perience, to the basis of actual condi-
tions as nearly as possible. So long
as depreciation is recognized as a
part of the cost of operation, it will
make small difference under present
circumstances whether it is figured on
a straight line or mileage basis.

As the life of tires is relatively
short, it would seem that the cost of
the original tires on the bus should

1092

Railways

Nov.

not be considered a part of the amount
to be depreciated. Theoretically the
amount reserved out of revenues dur-
ing the period a bus is operated should
equal the original cost of the bus (in-
cluding the tires) less its salvage or
turn-in value. Practically, as in all
cases like this, where the experience
is limited and the art is in a com-
paratively early stage of evolution,
the amounts currently charged
against the revenues and reserved
may be considerably at variance with
the actually sustained depreciation;
but more extended experience will
tend to improve the methods of cal-
culating these charges.

In a new art, such as this, consid-
eration must be given to obsolescence
and inadequacy, as well as wear and
tear, in calculating depreciation
charges.

Physical depreciation, or the wear
and tear of the bus, depends substan-
tially on the following factors:

(a) The design of the bus.

(b) The quality of workmanship
and material used.

(d) Efficiency of the driver.

(e) The grade and proper use of
fuel and lubricating oils.

(f ) The loads carried.

(g) Rate of speed.

(h) Character of service performed.

(i) Road conditions.

Because of these variable factors, it
is difficult to suggest a standard prac-
tice for charging depreciation occa-
sioned by wear and tear.

The factor of obsolescence, an ele-
ment of depreciation over and above
that occasioned by wear and tear,
should be a matter of consideration,
especially where there is likelihood of
an appreciable advance in an art. At
best, this is always a problematical
element and with respect to the bus
at this stage of its evolution, at least,
operators must apply indefinite theo-
ries in their calculations if they at-
tempt to estimate it. Assuming a
given bus is permanently discarded
because a better developed bus has
been placed in the market, it is evi-
dent that part of the still service-
able bus is lost with consequent
charge against the income over and
above the charges currently made
thereto and reserved for the depre-
ciation attributable to wear and tear.
Theoretically, this added cost should
be currently reserved out of revenues
as well as the reservations reflecting

the depreciation occasioned by wear
and tear.

There enters into the study of this
subject, however, the practical con-
sideration that many buses, if not all,
which might be replaced in regular
service by better developed units,
could be used in extra service, as
spares and in regular service on lines
of smaller traffic demand; often the
chassis and other parts of discarded
buses lend themselves to further util-
ity.

The factor of inadequacy, which is
also an element of depreciation over
and above that occasioned by wear
and tear, is a burden which operates
on the income in precisely the same
way as obsolescence and is as difficult
to measure. The factor of inadequacy
in depreciation is substantially occa-
sioned by the traffic demands. For
example, a bus with a carrying ca-
pacity of twelve might take care of
all or its share of the traffic today
and later, because of increased pa-
tronage, might have to be replaced
with a bus with a carrying capacity
of twenty-five.

Assuming that the replaced bus, or
its parts, could not be further utilized
the charge against income over and
above the reservations made out of
revenues for depreciation occasioned
by wear and tear, would reflect the
factor of inadequacy.

This burden may be kept within
bounds or eliminated in at least two
ways:

First: Buses found to be inade-
quate in regular service, may be fur-
ther utilized or their major parts
utilized.

Second: In establishing bus serv-
ice, the size of the buses necessary
to accommodate the varying traffic
demand and traffic growth may be rea-
sonably determined if careful consid-
eration is given to the fact that the
bus, because of the nature of its con-
struction and the laws against over-
loading which are in force in many
localities, is less elastic in capacity
than the trolley car.

Because of these widely variable de-
preciation factors, each company must
study its own situation and from fu-
ture experience develop such method
as will adequately provide for renew-
als or replacements as they become
necessary.

In addition to bus equipment, the
depreciation on such facilities as
garage buildings and equipment must

1923

Railways

1093

be taken into consideration. As these
facilities do not vary a great deal
from those of the electric railway, it
would, undoubtedly, be safe, at least
or the present, to assume the same

te of depreciation in both cases.

Attitude of Public. — With one ex-
ception, the information received from
member companies operating buses in-
"cate an attitude on the part of the

Headwalls for Pipe Culverts

In connection with its report pre-
sented at a recent convention of the
American Electric Railway Associa-
tion, the committee on bviildings and
structures submitted the accompany-
ing drawing as showing current prac-
tice in the design of headwalls for
pipe culverts. The maximum di-

£^MO Slivatiom

faofings er tn<f Wo/ts /-3-S Concntf
fain M/ of tvo/ii 1-3-6

Current Electric Railway Practice in Design of Headwalls for Pipe Culverts.

iblic entirely in favor of bus oper-

by the street railway companies.

lis indicates, without doubt, that the

is showing a preference for

le dependable service furnished by a

responsible experienced transportation

agency to that furnished by an agency

^hose interest in transportation

Jases when profits disappear.

It is also recognized that through
iipplementing the rail service with
buses, additional territory is being
erved which could never hope to re-
, eive ser\'ice from individual bus oper-
ation without a guarantee of imme-
iate profit.

ameters for pipes recommended in the
report were as follows:

Vitrified pipe _

Cast iron .

84 in

Reinforced concrete „.

84 in

Corrugated iron

9.6. in

■i

Colombian Railway Expands. — The

m of $2,000,000 will be spent in the
ear future for general improvements
d the gradual extension of the road-
d of the Ferrocarril del Pacifico of
Columbia, the entire yearly earnings
of the road and a portion of customs
receipts being set aside for improve-
ment purposes. In addition, says Con-
1 M. L. Stafford in a report to the
. S. Department of Commerce, a
financial commission has recently
made tentative arrangements for a
foreign loan of $35,000,000, which, if
consummated, will permit a large
program of improvements and road
extension in addition to the yearly
sum available.

Domestic Business Conditions in
October. — Early reports on October
business, received by the Bureau of
the Census, Department of Commerce,
show sustained activity in the produc-
tion of basic commodities. Steel ingot
production, at 3,548,000 jtons, com-
pares with 3,316,000 in September and
3,410,000 a year ago. Pig iron pro-
duction totaled 3,149,000 tons in Oc-
tober, against 3,126,000 in September.
Production of cement, Douglas fir
lumber, the indicated consumption of
tin, and the meltings of sugar in-
creased in October over the preceding
month; decrease occurred in the mill
consumption of silk, the shipments of
locomotives by principal manufactur-
ers, and in unfilled steel orders. The
index of general building costs, on a
1913 base at 221, on Nov. 1 compares
with 220 for Oct. 1 and 189 for Nov. 1,
1922. Contracts awarded for con-
struction in 27 northeastern states in
October increased 26 per cent over a
year ago. Sales of mail order houses
and 10-cent chains increased sea-
sonally, being well above a year ago.

1094

Railways

Nov.

How to Pick Motor Truck
Drivers

Useful Suggestions Given in The
Excavating Engineer

By P. L. SNIFFIN

The responsibility placed upon the
motor truck driver is too frequently
under-estimated. He is solely respon-
sible for the efficient operation and
care of a vehicle that represents a
large investment. He is the truck
owner's representative in the field,
and creates an impression among the
general public one way or another
which is reflected directly to the busi-
ness. He is legally the truck owner's
agent, and for his acts the owner
himself is held responsible, as in the
case of accidents and violations of
traffic ordinances. He may, through
diligence, enable his truck to accom-
plish a large amount of work in a
given time, or through an attitude of
indifference or laziness cause a high
unit hauling cost which will sink"
deeply into the profits of the business.

The selection of drivers is of even
greater importance than the selection
of the vehicles themselves. A poor
vehicle in the hands of a competent
driver is a far better combination
than a good vehicle in the hands of a
poor driver. Yet, above all, the chief
reason for using care in employing
drivers lies in the elimination as far
as possible of "turnover." It is not
only inconvenient but highly expen-
sive to drop one man from the payroll
and hire another at frequent inter-
vals. "Biseaking in" a new man
requires patience that is costly, and
obviously too much of this will cause
extra wear on the motor vehicles and
a higher operating cost.

Primarily, the applicant should be
well physically, since a good consti-
tution is necessary for such outdoor
work. A nervous, impatient, or high-
strung individual is apt to take his
temperament out on his truck. Since
a sense of responsibility is necessary,
most experienced employers give pref-
erence to married men.

The more desirable characteristics
are caution, dependability and judg-
ment, the qualities which come with
age or a more settled position in life.
For work Of this kind it is generally
considered that the dash and vigor of
youth are not only unnecessary but
quite often are undesirable. It is well

to inquire as to the applicant's per-
sonal habits and always to look up
references and investigate previous
employments. If the applicant has
had a part in any accidents, these
should be investigated as well as the
conditions surrounding them.

It is well to consider the following
advice from an authority on the sub-
ject of driver selection :

"Better results come from training
sober, cool-headed, reliable men — pos-
sibly teamsters — than from employing
mechanical experts of proved ability
to take taxicabs around corners on
two wheels and to weave through
crowded traffic at a breakneck speed.
The taste for speed is easier to ac-
quire than to relinquish — and in a
motor truck it is not only dangerous
but it is an agent of destruction.

"Lack of interest and loyalty is the
commonest complaint against truck
operators. They fail to keep the
truck in good condition, because it
makes no difference to them whether
it runs or stands in the garage. And
a truck that is unduly expensive to
operate takes no more from their
pockets than one that costs almost
nothing in repairs or supplies.

"This is a problem that must be
faced and solved by each individual
truck owner; some have done it by a
system of merits and demerits — re-
ward and punishment for things done
or left undone. Others have done it
by offering prizes and bonuses to
drivers whose cost records reflect in-
telligent care and attention to the
truck itself.

"But whatever plan of remunera-
tion you adopt, and whatever steps
you take to insure the driver's inter-
est in the firm, the first essential will
be the selection of the driver himself.
Don't make the mistake of thinking
that any man who can handle a steer-
ing wheel is fit to be trusted with
your truck investment. Not only may
he ruin the truck, but you will be
held accountable for any damage to
another machine or to persons."

Taxes Paid by Railways. — In 1913
the Class I steam railroads of the
country paid $118,386,859 in taxes and
$322,300,406 in dividends. In 1921
these railroads paid $275,875,990 in
taxes and $298,511,328 in dividends.
The taxes exceeded the dividends in
1920 and in 1922.

1923

Railways

1095

Method of Repairing and Re-
newing Ballast Deck Trestles

Extracts From Cominittee Report Pre-
sented Oct. 17 at 33rd Annual Con-
vention of American Railway
Bridge and Building Association

When first used on trestles, ballast
decks were only about 12 ft. wide and
were built with solid stringers; later
the width was increased to 14 ft., this
being generally done by spiking 3-in.
plank 14 ft. long on top of the string-
ers, allowing the planks to extend 12
in. over the edges of the outside
stringers at each side to obtain the
additional width. The stringers vary
in thickness from 6 in. to 9 in., and
the depth from 12 in. to 20 in., de-
pending on the length of span and
the kind of traffic handled. In this
report the width has been assumed as
15 ft., and the distance from center to
center of bents as 15 ft. also.

Adding to Service by Reinforcing

Stringers. — The spacing of the string-
ers has helped in making inspections
of this type of trestle. It also effects

,a great saving when making repairs,

' is it is often found that by reinforc-
\g the existing stringers a few more
/ears of service can be secured before

_they have to be renewed entirely.

'Wherever possible, the stringers
should be spaced not less than 7 or 8
in. apart. This will permit the use
of 6 in. or 7 in. reinforcing timber
between the stringers and will add
greatly to the strength of any failing
stringer, while saving the expense of

Itearing up the deck and placing a new
ptringer in the place of an old or
failing once.

, Renewing Piles. — There is a consid-
fcrable variation in the construction of
bulkheads and bents on different rail-
poads, some using fir or cedar piles,
Vhile others use treated piles, and
till others use stone or concrete in
ioth bulkheads and bents.

Where one or more piles must be
renewed it is necessary to remove the
deck planking to move one or more
of the stringers to allow the pile to
he driven in its proper place in the
bent. A large amount of time can
be saved if piles of small dimensions
are selected for this repair work.
They can be spaced in the bent where
the ends of the stringers are joined

on the caps by lifting the deck plank
on one panel, jacking or wedging the
end of the stringer over against the
next one, and thus enable the new
pile to be lowered between the string-
ers without removing any stringer
entirely.

If the bents are of sufficient height
to allow the piles to be driven along-
side the caps and then pulled under
after being cut, it will eliminate the
necessity of removing and replacing
the caps. This can be done if the
bents are over 10 ft. high. Of course,
when the stringer deck is solid it will
be necessary to remove enough string-
ers to allow the new pile to be placed
between.

If the bents are too low to permit
the piles to be pulled under the caps
it will be necessary to remove the
caps in order to get the piles in
proper position. If traffic is very
heavy it is often necessary to cut out
a portion of the cap, then drive the
new pile and put on a new cap.

When caps are to be renewed over
waterways or streets it is often nec-
essary to spike or bolt a timber to
the pile bents, low enough to allow
the setting of jacks under the string-
ers, so that they can be raised suffi-
ciently to allow the cutting of the
drift bolts with a hack saw or chisel,
the removal of the old caps and the
insertion of the new ones. If the time
between trains is rather short, it is"
quicker to cut the old cap in short
lengths and split it out with bars.

The best way to fasten new caps or
piles must be decided on the ground
in each instance. In some cases this
can be done by simply spiking them
well to the piles and stringers, but in
most, cases it is advisable to use drift
bolts again, even if it becomes neces-
sary to remove the ballast over the
cap and one of the deck planks. In
solid deck stringer trestles it is nec-
essary to use extra long drift bolts
to reach through the stringers and
caps into the piles.

Renewing Stringers. — When it is
necessary to renew or reinforce one
or more of the stringers it will not
be much of a job to insert an addi-
tional timber between the stringers
if the extra stringer is cut to reach
the centers of one panel only, and the
top edge of the end that goes up first
is beveled. When several stringers

1096

Railways

Nov.

are to be renewed in one panel it is
advisable to remove the deck planks,
replacing them after the new string-
ers are in place. If the deck planking
is to be renewed this simply requires
the removal of the ballast, the renew-
ing of the planking where necessary
and replacing the ballast again.

The experience of practically every-
one who has had to do with repairs
of this nature demonstrates that the
structures are generally in much
worse condition than the bridge in-
spector's report indicates. This no
doubt is explained by the difficulty of
making a close and thorough inspec-
tion unless a bridge gang is in the
vicinity while the inspector is making
his inspection, on whom he can call
for assistance in digging out, so that
he can make a close inspection.

Great care must be exercised by
bridge gangs in opening up this class
of trestle for repairs, because, if al-
lowed to go at it "rough shod," they
may damage much good timber in a
short time. Many repairs have been
called for in untreated timber trestles
covered with roofing paper on account
of the damage done by section men
when removing the surfacing timbers
or blocking under the track ties.

How to Renew Ballast Deck
Trestles. — When it necessary to re-
new ballast deck trestles from the
ground up the material may well be
ordered from the office, but when a
new deck is to be placed on old bents
it is not safe to do this. In such case
it is often found that the length of
the stringers will vary as much as
5 in. center to center of caps from
one end of the trestle to the other,
and it is preferable for the officer di-
rectly responsible to take these meas-
urements on the ground. He can
there decide as to the length best
suited and frequently vary the meas-
urements enough to make the string-
ers the same length all through the
panel, although occasionally he v/ill
find a difference of 5 in. or more, and
he then has to decide on the lengths
to order, as in such cases no two
stringers in the panel are the same
length.

It is advisable to make a pencil
sketch of the trestle, showing all the
bents and stringers and the lengths
of stringers ordered for each panel.
If this sketch is turned over to the

foreiBan who is to do the work he
will have no difficulty in selecting the
correct length of stringer for each
panel. When new caps are to be in-
stalled they can be shifted a little to
one side in order to help out the vari-
ation in the length of spans. This
will also have to be decided at the
time measurements are being taken
for the lengths of stringers. On
double trestles a variation of 10 in.
has been found in the lengths of 30-ft.
panels, in which case there are 11
different lengths of stringers in one
panel.

After the requisitions have been
placed the material should all come
forward at one time, so that it can
be handled by a work train and un-
loaded on the ground at the place
where it is to be used. If it is a short
trestle or is located near a siding or
yard the cars may be placed for un-
loading by a local freight train.
Whenever possible the different
lengths should be piled together. If
the trestle is an extra long one ma-
terial should be ordered in sections
and come forward complete for each
section.

Disposing of Old Ballast. — After all
of the material is on the ground ready
to start work the first thing to do is
to get the old ballast out of the way.
As a rule it is cheaper to waste the
ballast over and under the trestle
than to try to save it and use it over
again. Over streets or tracks it may
be necessary to load it and haul it
away. On short trestles when the
ballast is clean it may be economical
to haul it to the ends and use it again
when the renewal is completed, but it
should be done only when the ballast
is clean.

As the ballast is removed it is nec-
essary to keep the track up near its
surface and safe for trains. This is
usually done by placing enough of the
outer stringers that are being re-
moved under the track ties and be-
tween the ties and the old deck plank.
Where the old ties are uneven it will
be necessary to shim enough of them
to keep the track safe for the passage
of trains. After all of the ballast has
been removed the old deck plank can
be lifted and drift bolts removed from
the old stringers. This is generally
accomplished by the use of a home-
made puller.

If new pile bents are to be driven

Railways

1097

throughout the structure they should
be located so as to clear all of the
old bents as much as possible in order
that the new bents can be cut off,
capped and braced before they are
called on to carry much, if any, of the
weight of the traffic. This cannot al-
ways be done, as in cases where per-
manent abutments are already in
place. Here the new bents must be
placed in practically the same location
as the old ones, and it will be neces-
sary to follow the method used in re-
placing piles described in the first
part of this report.

In renewing stringers a locomotive
ane is very handy, but as all roads
are not equipped with this tool the
work frequently has to be done by
hand. As soon as enough new string-
ers are in place and bolted it is ad-
visable to start some men placing and
spiking the new deck plank, as this
helps to stiffen the new deck consid-
erably. The guard timbers should
then be placed, after which the trestle
is ready for the new ballast. In plac-
ing the ballast only enough should be
dumped to permit the removal of the
temporary blocking under the track
ties, after which the balance can be
dumped.

The Mainteneuice of Track
Joints

Paper Presented Sept. 19 at 41st An-
nual Convention of Roadmasters
and Maintenance of Way
Association

By R. S. COCHRANE,

agineering Department, Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe Ry.

That rail constitutes, next to ties,
lie largest item of expense in the
ack structure goes without saying,
is equally true that its life is lim-
ed by the deterioration at the joints
ather than by wear throughout its
ength. It is a strange anomaly, after
all these years of concentrated effort,
of double distilled wisdom, filtered
and refiltered through the fine screen
of experience, that the charge should
be made and admitted within limita-
tions that the joint and not the rail
fixes its life.

Rail Failures at Joint. — The joint
occupies a fraction over 6 per cent of
the length of a 33-ft. rail. It is rather
well believed that failures at the joint

are in excess of this proportion. On
the Santa Fe system where 90 lb.
rail is the hea\'iest and joints are
given its standard attention, the per-
centages of rail failures at the joint
for the periods given are as follows:

Total
Year Failures

1921 1,853

1922 1.765

1923 (8 months)..- 1,854

In Per

Joint Cent

238 12.8

107 • 6.06

63 3.4

A recent canvass on the Santa Fe
showed that our joint ties possessed a
life of approximately 70 per cent that
of intermediate ties so that here again
the joint gathers toll. Interpreted into
money and considering only the two
ties involved at the joint, this means
an untimely loss of S2 per joint or
$320 per mile every five years, based
on a life of 16 years for intermediate
and 11 years for joint ties at 20 cents
per year. Bear in mind that these
ties are creosote treated after being
bored and dapped.

Slot spiking for anchorage acceler-
ates both mechanical wear and decay,
the remedy for which may be found
in part in rail anchors. Tie spacing
— uniform, nonuniform or special,
with as many varieties of demands
on the joint, all intended to assist and
render equal or improved service, is
still a problem. For our line I plead
guilty of all three methods.

Another problem is the control of
expansion. Highly abnormal mainte-
nance with far reaching effect on ele-
ments not othei^'ise effected may re-
sult from improper handling. The
joint may be made to well play its
part in holding expansion.

The Track Bolt. — In looking back it
appears that the bolt has been over-
looked, its duty considered, as an in-
dispensable aid in joint maintenance.
Poor bolts have contributed more to
your troubles than poor joints. The
deduction at least may be made if rail
wear is dependent upon joints, and
joints in turn on bolts, then the main
dependence of rail wear is on bolts.

Specifications for bolts adopted by
the American Railway Engineering
Association pro\nded for 75,000 lb.
yield point and 100,000 lb. ultimate
strength, heat treated and quenched
holts carrying an increase in strength
of 100 per cent (which cost 6 per cent
additional to produce) — an epochal
event since vdth the heavier and
stronger design of joint bars coming

1098

Railways

Nov.

into use, the heat treatment of which
soon followed, it marked the point
where the maintenance of this so-
called weak link in the chain,^ the
joint, in the desired degree of tight-
ness, was for the first time a possi-
bility.

With the knowledge of the benefit
reaped^ from the former changes, the
American Railway Engineering Asso-
ciation revised its bolt specification
last March, to increase its elastic
limit from 75,000 lb. to 85,000 lb. and
its proposed ultimate strength from
100,000 ih. to 110,000 lb. for heat
treated bolts which makes more cer-
tain the possibilities of better joint
maintenance that are to be developed.

At the same session there was also
adopted a schedule of track wrench
lengths proportioned for the strength
of the untreated and treated bolts.
The provision of a better bolt with
nuts thickened in proportion was a
real accomplishment and it would
seem that the problem was again
solved since we still retained the long
wrench and a strong back. The
change to a better bolt, however, can-
not change the natural characteristics
of track, evidenced by its flexibility
and elasticity so productive of wear
throughout.

In general wear is a product of
friction through movement superin-
duced by and proportioned to loose-
ness. Stronger bolts alone will not
completely return to either a strong
or a weak joint its full measure of
strength by arresting looseness or
wear, unless maintained continuously
and uniformly tight, which condition
is not accomplished with hot riveted
bolts, positive forms of nut locks or
periodic tightening, for it is in the
interval between tightness and loose-
ness that the greater damage is done.

The Purpose of Nut Locks. — B. M.

Cheney, in an article in the February,
1923, issue of Railway Engineering
and Maintenance, summarized in their
relative importance the answers made
to the query, "What is the purpose of
a Nut Lock?" as follows:

"To prevent nuts from turning
back.

"To preserve sufficient threads on
the bolt to permit future tightening.

"To provide leeway so that nuts
can be loosened in hot weather to al-
low contraction and expansion of the
rail.

"To reduce vibration or friction."
It is correctly stated that the or-
dinary nut lock exerts a maximum
pressure of about 3,000 lb., as in all
spring members this pressure dimin-
ishes with reaction. Reverting to the
revised specifications of the A. R.
E. A., covering track bolts, it is evi-
dent that an adequate bolt of 1 in.
diameter should be capable of with-
standing an actual applied load of
approximately 27,000 lb. If such a
load is applied, is it not desirable to
retain such a load automatically. It
not, why apply it initially?

That we do not stop with this 3,000
lb. pressure, accounts for bolts being
stressed or broken in tightening or in
tightening plus traffic with the com-
mon result that wear in rails, joints,
ties and ballast is magnified and de-
terioration is hastened. In the article
referred to, attention is called to the
fact that increased strength in bolts,
calls for an increased means of pre-
serving tightness, since the stronger
bolt makes the ordinary nut lock less
capable. It was pointed out that nut
reversal for which the nut lock was
originally devised is now incidental
and the main need is spring pressure
proportioned to the intensity of pres-
sure applied on the bolt through
wrench or traffic load to prevent ini-
tial wear of jointed parts and to com-
pensate for recurring wear due to
inadequate track supervision — in
other words, to retain in so far as is
possible the initial security of track
joints. To quote from a footnote in
the A. R. E. A. specification of 1915,
for nut locks, "That amount and dura-
bility of reactionary power under
constant pressure is the true test of
any spiral nut lock." In March, 1923,
the A. R. E. A. revised its specifica-
tions covering coiled nut locks, and
changed the name to coiled spring
washers to include the higher pres-
sures specified for these accessories
without their flattening.

There is no doubt that the adop-
tion and use of spring washers con-
forming to these specifications will
not cure all of the joint ills from
which we suffer, since we still have
ties and ballast as the support -for
our track, and it will not improve
the quality of the rail, but it should
effect a distinct saving in the ills at-
tending loose bolts, loose joints, loose
ties and battered end rail, and restore
that uniformity of surface attending
the greater approach to the continu-
ous rail.

1923

Railways

1099

Construction News of the Raulways

Logging Railroad on Lake Superior
Island

The John Schroeder Lumber Co.,
Ashland, Wis., and Milwaukee, Wis.,
will build a 12-mile logging railroad
on Outer Island in Lake Superior, 40
miles from Ashland. Two miles of
tracks have been laid and it is
planned to complete the line in the
spring.

Santa Fe Shop Extensions at San
Bernardino

The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
R. R. has appropriated $3,399,843 for
shop extensions, new machinery and
other equipment at San Bernardino,
Cal., where the system maintains the
largest terminals on the coast.

Railroad Improvements at Brownsville,
Tex.

Grading is under way for an exten-
sion of the side tracks and a turn-
table in the railway yards at Bro\vns-
ville for the St. Louis, Brownsville
and Mexico Ry. A year ago, the com-
pany purchased 28 acres of land and
at that time announced that shops
were to be built and the yards ex-
tended on account of the increasing
volume in business. The shops were
to be built on the unit plan, addi-
tional units added as found necessary,
and it is understood that this plan
will now be followed.

$2,000,000 Railroad Improvements at
Jackson, Miss.

Under the agreement with the city
authorities the railroad companies en-
tering Jackson, Miss., must begin the
work of removing grade crossings in
the city by or before Jan. 1, next.
The estimated cost of the work of
building the elevated tracks and re-
modeling and enlarging the Union
Depot is expected to total close to
12,000,000.

^^^Eotton Belt to Lay Heavier Rails on

^^^B Texas Division

^^P'he Cotton Belt Ry. according to

^%ports will replace the 58-lb. steel
rails on the Sherman-Commerce divi-
sion with new 75-lb. steel, in order to
make provisions for larger engines
and heavier trains. The work of lay-
ing the new rails, it is understood,
will be in progress simultaneously on
every section division.

Ne^v York Central Planning Electrifica-
tion in New York City

Action looking to the electrification
of the railroad lines along the west
side of New York City has been taken
through a petition of the New York
Central R. R. company to the transit
commission asking that orders be
issued directing the elimination of all
grade crossings on the company's
tracks from St. John's park north to
Spuyten Dujrvil creek. Coinciden-
tally the company has petitioned the
public service commission to issue
orders prescribing the methods
through which the change of power
is to be accomplished. This step is in
keeping with a law enacted by the
last Legislature stipulating that no
railroad operating within the limits
of a city of one million or more shall,
on or after Jan. 1, 1926, use any other
motive power than electricity within
the city limits. The law contemplates
the removal of the long opposed
steam operation on the tracks just
below Riverside drive.

Reading Orders 35,000 Tons of Rails.

Steel railroad orders for 35,000
tons have been awarded by the Read-
ing Company for 1924 delivery. The
rails will be used for extensions and
improvements on the lines of the
Philadelphia & Reading Ry.

Pennsylvania R. R. to Spend $350,000
at Sandusky

Improvements to cost $350,000 are
to be made at Sandusky, O., by the
Pennsylvania R. R. in work including
several miles of coal storage tracks.

35-Mile Contract in Oregon Let

John Hampshire, Grants Pass, Ore.,
has been awarded a contract by the
Southern Pacific Ry. for the construc-
tion of 35 miles of the Natron cutoff
in southern Oregon.

Railroad Improvements at Ogden, Utah

Grading work is under way by the
Utah Construction Co., Ogden, for
the construction of additions to the
freight yards in Ogden. It is re-
ported that about 75 miles of addi-
tional trackage will be laid. Bids
also have been taken for the construc-
tion of a $400,000 union station.

1100

Railways

Nov.

Philadelphia Votes $71,000,000 for
Transit and Other Improvements

At the election Nov. 6 the citizens
of Philadelphia voted in favor of two
municipal loan bills, aggregating
$71,000,000, for transit and general
public improvements.

$250,000 Railroad Bridge in Mexico

Plans providing for the construc-
tion of a railroad bridge by the
Southern Pacific de Mexico Ry. Co. at
the north end of the Culiacan river
in northern Sonora, Mexico, have
been accepted by the road and actual
construction work on the project will
begin soon. The cost of the new
bridge is estimated at $250,000.

Florida East Coast R. R. to Spend
$10,000,000

The Florida East Coast R. R. plans
the expenditure of $10,000,000 on im-
provements in the immediate future,
according to reports. Completion of
the Lake Okeechobee extension within
the next year or so is a part of the
general plans. This will give Miami
direct rail connection with the great
undeveloped sections of the Ever-
glades. This extension will be from
Okeechobee City, near the north shore
of Lake Okeechobee, and the present
terminus of the Titusville-Okeechobee
branch, around the north and east
shores of the lake and across the
Everglades to Miami. Another of the
contemplated improvements is laying
of 90-lb. steel rails and rock ballast-
ing of the road the entire length.

Katy to Enlarge Shops at Denison, Tex.

H. D. McCoy, Cleburne, Tex., has
been awarded a contract involving
$200,000 for the first of several units
to be added to the Missouri-Kansas-
Texas R. R. car shops at Denison.

B. & O. Spending $45,800,000

The Baltimore & Ohio R. R. im-
provement program for the current
year, exclusive of the purchase of
cars, etc., is said to be the most exten-
sive in the history of the road. The
work under way or soon to be started
will, when completed, cost more than
$22,000,000. This is in addition to
rolling stock purchases being made
this year, consisting of $17,250,174
for freight cars; $5,919,150 for loco-
motives and $633,075 for passenger
cars, a total of $23,802,300.

New Freight Yard at Fort Wayne, Ind.

The New York, Chicago & St. Louis
R. R. has acquired 200 acres at Fort
Wayrie, Ind., to be used for a new
classification yard and freight ter-
minal. An engine house and loco-
motive repair shop will be constructed
on the new site.

New Street Railway Belt Line at
Portsmouth, O.

The Portsmouth, O., street railway
is to build a $300,000 belt line to serve
new additions to the city.

Narrow Gage Railroad in California

The Pacific Distributing Corp., San
Francisco, Calif., controlling the out-
put of Soda Lake, has awarded a
contract to W. B. Burch, Lowe Bldg.,
San Luis Obispo, Calif., for con-
structing 8-mile narrow gage railroad
from Soda Lake.

Belt Line Railroad Proposed for
Tacoma

The Great Northern R. R. is re-
ported to have accepted the proposed
plan for a belt line railway system
for the Tacoma tideflats industrial
section. This acceptance follows that
of the Northern Pacific and Milwau-
kee roads and leaves only the Union
Pacific to concur to make the agree-
ment unanimous among the trans-
continental roads having terminals at
Tacoma.

Burlington to Build $1,000,000 Store-
house at Aurora

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
R. R. is reported planning to begin
construction early next year on a
general storehouse, to be built in
Aurora at a cost of $1,000,000. The
plant, one of the largest and most
modern in the country, will be located
between the present temporary build-
ing and the High street viaduct, occu-
pying much of the space formerly
used as switch tracks in the old hill
yards before the elevation was
completed.

5-Mile Line to Be Built in St. Paul

To serve a new plant the Ford
Motor Co. is building near St. Paul
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul
Ry. has asked the interstate com-
merce commission to authorize con-
struction of a new 5-mile line within
the city limits of St. Paul.

1923

Railways

1101

Santa Fe Improvements at Galveston

Authority has been granted by the
Interstate Commerce Commission for
the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe to
acquire by purchase certain property
rights and franchises of the Galves-
ton & Western Ry., including a line
of railroad situated within the city of
Galveston, and to operate such rail-
road. Prior authority had been
granted the Santa Fe to take over
the Galveston & Western by an act of
the Texas Legislature. It is the
Santa Fe's purpose to extend the
property in the development of Gal-
veston's Industrial district.

Street Railway to Spend $100,000 at
Toledo

The Community Traction Co. will
expend §100,000 for double tracking
in Sylvania Ave., Toledo.

Illinois Central to Issue $12,000,000
Stock for Improvements

The Illinois Central Railroad has
been authorized by the Interstate
Commerce Commission to issue $12,-
022,450 in 6 per cent preferred stock
to be sold at par to its stockholders
for cash. In addition it will issue a
like amount of common stock, which
shall be held in the corporation's
treasury unless preferred stock-
holders desire to convert their hold-
ings into common. The funds will be
used to continue the improvement and
electrification of the road's Chicago
Terminal, an investment which will
total when the work is completed
about $88,000,000.

North Carolina Railroad to Make
Improvements

he High Point, Thomasville &
ton R. R., High Point, N. C, has
Secured a charter amendment increas-
ing capital stock to 81,000,000. It
runs from High Point to High Rock.
Heavier rails will be purchased and
other equipment added.

18-Mile Railroad Job in New Zealand

The Public Works, Tenders Board,
Wellington, New Zealand, will re-
ceive bids until noon, March 18, 1924,
for the construction of 18 miles of
railway including bridges, station
buildings, earth work, ballasting, etc.

Locomotive Shipments in
September

The U. S. Department of Commerce
announces September shipments of
railroad locomotives from the prin-
cipal manufacturing plants, based on
reports received from the indi\'idual
establishments.

Table I compares the October,
1923, figures with the previous month
and with the corresponding month
last year, as well as totals for the
year to date, compared with a year
ago, in number of locomotives:

Table I

10 Months' Total

Oct., Sept., Oct., Jan. to Oct.

1923 1923 1922 1923 1922
Shipments :

Domestic .- 295 313 133 2,410 718

Foreign „.... 15 22 12 151 187

Total 310 335 145

Unfilled orders (end of month) :
Domestic .... 915 1.102 1,420
Foreign 62 76 118

2,561 905

Total

1,178 1,538

New Railway Across the Sahara. —

France, according to press dispatches,
will start work early in the spring on
a trans-Saharan railroad. It will take
7 or 8 years to build the line. The
route starts at Oran and passes by
Adrar and Tessalit to Bourem, and
terminates at Ouagadougou, capital
of the Upper Volta. The French Line
and the Paris-Lyons-Mediterranean,
which at present own and operate a
line between Oran and Raselma, will
give certain assistance in the con-
struction of the line in return for cer-
tain concessions, the details of which
are not yet published.

Dense Street Car Traffic in Shang-
hai.— Shanghai, China, claims to have
the world's largest number of pas-
sengers carried annually per mile of
street railway track, 7,000,000.
Shanghai's annual total of passengers
carried increased from 11,000,000 in
1908 to 126,000,000 in 1922, with prac-
tically no increase in track mileage.
The number of cars, however in-
creased from 64 to 194.

1102

Railways

Nov

Elxplosives Used in September

Explosives sold during September,
1923, for use in the United States
amounted to 584,701 kegs of black
powder, 4,069,468 lb. of permissible
explosives and 17,208,632 pounds of
other high explosives, according to
manufacturers' reports to the Interior
Department through the Bureau of
Mines. These figures represent slight
decreases from the figures for Sep-
tember last year but the cumulative
sales for 1923 to date are larger for
all three classes of explosives as com-
pared with the first nine months of
1922.

Sales of black powder during Sep-
tember brought the total sales of this
class of explosives in 1923, to 5,321,-
677 kegs, an increase as compared
with previous nine-month periods of
34 per cent over 1922 and 39 per cent
over 1921, but 29 per cent below the
1920 record. Of the total sales in
1923 to date, 86 per cent was for coal
mining, 2.3 per cent for other mining,

5.1 per cent for railway and other
construction work, and 6.6 per cent
for all other purposes. The amount
used for coal mining represents 236
pounds for every thousand tons of
coal produced in the United States
since January 1, out of 371 pounds
of all kinds of explosives used in coal
mines.

The amount of permissibles sold in
1923 to the end of September was
41,838,282 lb. This quantity is 65
per cent above the nine-months sales
in 1922, and 57 per cent above those
for 1921, and 5 per cent above the
corresponding figures for 1920. The
1923 sales were distributed as fol-
lows: 94.3 per cent for coal mining,

1.2 per cent for other mining, 0.5 per
cent for railway and other construc-
tion work, and 4.0 per cent for other
purposes.

During the first nine months of the
present year, sales of high explosives
other than permissibles have
amounted to 169,101,310 lb. As com-
pared with the corresponding periods
of previous years, this quantity rep-
resents an increase of 29 per cent
over 1922, 47 per cent over 1921, and
less than 1 per cent ever 1920. The
1923 sales were for use as follows:
15.3 per cent for coal mining, 39.2
per cent for other mining, 10.9 per
cent for railway and other construc-
tion work, and 34.6 per cent for mis-
cellaneous purposes.

Statement of the Ownership, Management,

Circulation, Etc., Required by the Act of

Congress of August 24, 1912,

of RAILWAYS monthly issue of ENGINEER-
ING AND CONTRACTING, published monthly
at Chicago, 111., for October, 1923.

State of Illinois, County of Cook, ss.

1. That the names and addresses of the
publisher, editor, managing editor, and busi-
ness managers are: Publisher, Engineering
and Contracting, 221 East 20th Street, Chi-
cago; editor, H. P. Gillette, 221 East 20th
Street, Chicago managing editor, H. P. Gillette,
221 East 20th Street, Chicago ; business man-
ager. Lewis S. Louer, 221 East 20th Street,
Chicago.

4. That the two paragraphs next above,
giving the names of the owners, stockholders,
and security holders, if any, contain not only
the list of stockholders as they appear upon
the books of the company but also, in cases
where the stockholder or security holder ap-
pears upon the books of the company as trustee
or in any other fiduciary relation, the name of
the person or corporation for whom such truste<
is acting, is given ; also that the said twc
paragraphs contain statements embracing
affiant's full knowledge and belief as to the
circumstances and conditions under which
stockholders and security holders who do not
appear upon the books of the company as
trustees, hold stock and securities in a capac-
ity other than that of a bona fide owner ; and
this affiant has no reason to believe that any
other person, association, or corporation has
any interest direct or indirect in the said stock,
bonds, or other securities than as so stated by
him.

E. S. GILLETTE, Circulation Manager.

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 1st
day of October. 1923.

(Seal) KITTIE C. WOULFE, Notary Public.
(My commission expires Feb. 9, 1926.)

Buildings

lit'^

MONTHLY ISSUE OF
ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING
Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbbrt p. Gillettb, Pretidemt and Editor

Lbwis S. Louer, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bids.. 42d St. and Broadway

Richard E. Bbowk, Eaatem Manager

The specialized publishin^g plan of Engineering and Contracting provides
four rotating monthly magazines, each of which is $1 a year. All four
may be subscribed for at $4 a year, and thus taken they provide a weekly
service completely covering the construction field.

Roads and Streets — 1st Wednesday, %l Railways — 3rd Wednesday, $1

(b) Eleetrie Rail-
way Constrao-
tion and

(a) Road Con-
struction

(b) Road Hain-

t«nane«

(d) Street clean-
ing

(a) Steam Rail-
way Construc-
tion

Maintenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday, $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and Sanitation
Drainage (d) Waterways

Buildings — 1th Wednesday. $1

(a) Buildings (d) Miscellaneous

(b) Bridges Stmetores

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., NOVEMBER 28, 1923

No. 5

Two Years of the Lzoidis Award

Two years ago this month there
was organized in Chicago "the Citi-
zens' Committee to Enforce the Lan-
dis Award." This "award," it will
be remembered, embodied the decision
of Judge Landis as arbitrator on fair
wages and working conditions in the
building trades. Judge Landis' se-
lection concluded a strike which had
ruined some contractors, had nearly
ruined others, had worked hardships
on many members of the building
trades, and had been a trying and
costly affair to all parties concerned,
including the "public." Both parties
to the dispute believed Judge Landis
to be one of the very few men, or
perhaps the only man, who could
render an acceptable decision.

The Judge, already burdened with
work, accepted the task as a duty, and
gave it the best of his efforts and
abilities. He sought a settlement
which should be at once just and
practical — not a makeshift which
would induce the resumption of work
without correcting the fundamental
defects which would lead inevitably

to renewed conflicts. Such a task re-
quires time, and Judge Landis took
what was necessary in spite of ex-
pressions of impatience from outside.
His decision we believe to have been
a model of fairness, and as such it
was generally accepted by parties the
least directly interested. But inas-
much as the wages which it estab-
lished for the skilled trades were
somewhat lower than had been hoped
for by many, and as they varied ac-
cording to the conditions and require-
ments of different occupations, it
drew the fire of certain unions that
had theretofore been peculiarly fa-
vored.

After protracted disputes in which
the arbitrator again displayed his
breadth of view, several of the unions
broke away and refused to recognize
the award, although in the beginning
they had pledged themselves to abide
by the decision, whatever it might
be. The carpenters' union had not en-
tered the arbitration agreement; and
its refusal to accept, although regret-
table, involved no dishonor.

1104

Buildings

Nov.

Following the award was a period
of comparative disorder in which
some of the unions sought the com-
plete overthrow of what had been ac-
complished, some of the contractors
appeared to be vaccilating, and there
was danger of a complete collapse.
It was at this stage that the serious-
ness of the situation for the entire
community resulted in the formation
of the citizens' committee. That or-
ganization made a straightforward
statement of conditions, announced its
intentions of bringing to bear all pos-
sible pressure to secure adherence to
the award, and to treat as outlaws
those unions which had broken their
arbitration agreement.

A large measure of success has
crowned the committee's efforts. Open
shop conditions have been maintained
in those trades which either refused
or repudiated the arbitration; and
construction, which had approached a
standstill in Chicago in 1921, has con-
tinued actively. Upon the contract-
ors lies a large share of the blame for
the lack of 100 per cent success. Some
of them, admittedly hard put, paid
union wages to carpenters and to the
outlawed trades: a few months ago
three of the largest contractors with-
drew from the award presumably be-
cause of the adverse effect it had on
their work in other cities. These ac-
tions have imposed an added burden
on the other contractors, who have
preserved a genuine observance; but
they have not destroyed the award,
nor except in minor degree impaired
its usefulness.

Unfortunately, Chicago's construc-
tion industry was afflicted with worse
ills than disagreements on wages and
working conditions. It was honey-
combed with graft. Combinations of
dealers in certain classes of materials
practiced downright extortion from
which escape by either contractor or
owner was practically impossible. An
astonishing number of union officials
and representatives were corrupt and
levied tribute where they could, call-
ing it by such names as "strike in-
surance" or "advertising." Some of
the contractors were not less dis-
honest.

The Landis Award, while it dealt
not directly with all of these evils,
had its effect upon them, and with
other agencies has given the construc-
tion industry a firmness and cleanli-
ness such as it has not known for
thirty years. The greatest credit is

due to all those contractors, loyal
union men and others who, often in
the face of personal loss, have stood
faithfully by the arbitration. They
have brought great good to their in-
dustry and to their community.

Structural Steel Sales in October

The U. S. Department of Commerce
announces October sales of fabricated
structural steel, based on figures re-
ceived from the principal fabricators
of the country. Total sales of 107,-
797 tons were reported for October
by firms, with a capacity of 224,060
tons per month. Shipments of firms
reporting this item represented 80 per
cent of capacity.

Tonnage booked each month by 177
identical firms, with a capacity of
230,675 tons per month, is shown be-
low, together with the per cent of
shop capacity represented by these
bookings. For comparative purposes,
the figures are also prorated to ob-
tain an estimated total for the United
States on a capacity of 250,000 tons
per month.

Actual Per Computed

Tonnage Cent of Total

1922 Booked Capacity Bookings

October 133,037 58 145.000

November 112.367 49 122,500

December 138,737 60 150,000

1923

January 173.294 75 187,500

February 184,887 80 200,000

March 220,400 96 240,000

April „. 186,117 81 202,500

May 131,875 57 142,500

June 118,117 51 127,500

July — 117,563 51 127,500

August 134,431* 59 147,500

September 121,045** 53 132,500

October 107,797*** 48 120,000

♦Reported by 176 firms with a capacity of
229,475 tons.

•♦Reported by 173 firms with a capacity of
228,425 tons.

***Reported by 156 firms with a capacity of
224,060 tons.

Tension Tests of Limestone

The U. S. Bureau of Standards has j-
recently completed some tension tests ^
on samples of Indiana limestone. 5
This is a novel form of test for a ma- I
terial of this kind, the work having
been undertaken in connection with
the design of lifting devices used in
hoisting large blocks of stone at the
mills, and also when being placed in
buildings. The tensile values for the
specimens tested ranged betwen 300
and 715 lb. per square inch with an
average of 535 lb. per square inch.

1923

Buildings

1105

Solution of Fink Truss
Problem

To the Editor: In your issue of
Oct. 24 there appears an article by
C. R. McAnlis showing a method for
obtaining the stresses in a Fink truss
with an internal load.

Some 15 years ago I had this prob-
leb to solve while designing trusses

from all loads, by any method. Com-
plete the stress diagram for the un-
loaded portion and for the loaded por-
tion up to the member 3-4, which will
bring us to the members carrying the
internal load. Because of a peculiarity
of the Kink truss, the members 1-2
and 5-6 can take stress from the ex-
ternal panel loads only, for this reason
we know the amount of stress in 5-6,

Stress Diagram for a Fink Truss With Internal Load.

Which were to carry shafting and
motors, and used a solution which is
more logical and direct; furthermore,
the stresses at any joint can be read
in a clockwise manner and the dia-
gram will close. This is not possible
with the solution shown in the article
to which reference is made.
My solution is as follows:
Lay off the external loads on the
line A-A. Letermine the reactions

and that it is not affected by the in-
ternal load. The point 7 of 6-7 of the
unloaded portion is a common point
for 6-7 of the loaded portion, there-
fore we can complete the stress dia-
gram and the closing point of the
diagram is at the point 4. The lines
5-4 and 7-4 meeting on the line 3-4
will prove the accuracy of the dia-
gram.

W. Grierson.

1106

Buildings

Nov.

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1923

Buildings

1107

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:2a

1108 Buildings

Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices

Nov.

An "index number" la really a per-
oentage, and in the case of an "index
price" shows the relative price level
at different times. In the accompany*
ing tahle the price level, or "index
price," is 100 for the year 1918; and
the indexes for other periods are those
calculated by the U. S. Department of
Labor.

bt a

1918 100

1914 103

1915 104

January 104

July 104

October 106

1918 123

January 118

April 118

July 117

October 136

1917 190

January 152

April 184

July 196

October 207

1918 218

January 211

April 218

July 217

October 225

1919 231

January 224

April 280

July 241

October 227

1980 218

January 247

April 243

July 288

October 187

1921 124

January 143

April 117

June 114

July 119

Ancrust 123

September 124

October 184

November 121

December 120

1922 138

January 128

February 131

BCarch 180

April 129

May 182

Jane 131

July 186

Au^ruBt 181

September 183

October 188

November 148

December 146

19N-~

Jaauary 143

February 142

Mar«h 148

April 141

May 189

Jvne 188

July 186

Avvoat 189

September 144

October 144

•a

«1
etc.

■ ■

100

102

101

100

106

184

100

106

108

104

106

180

100

102

101

106

161

100

102

121

127
110

126

162

120

181

106

121

127

109

lis

133

110

103

110

lis

114

118

120

164

120

200

104

110

121

117

125

121

158

120

175

107

120

12S

184

187

128

164

124

164

109

182

i«

167

175

168

231

157

202

126

148

149

158

171

198

138

178

118

149

153

164

230

165

186

121

153

178

169

181

176

292

168

206

129

153

188

180

185

158

207

156

231

ISO

142

188

228

170

187

172

215

163

166

194

182

201

164

183

161

223

137

145

184

181

220

166

184

169

228

144

162

190

185

238

175

189

177

209

159

169

196

198

245

176

192

177

211

164

163

202

207

253

181

162

201

169

184

176

20«

208

220

178

175

176

181

167

166

199

205

206

177

153

169

160

167

160

199

210

262

181

160

209

167

183

177

212

205

291

189

162

229

178

194

187

211

220

295

241

192

264

200

254

196

2S«

231

339

194

175

274

189

239

194

2S8

238

386

281

203

300

210

242

206

246

238

300

259

202

269

212

276

208

241

201

246

280

191

240

198

271

188

811

144

180

199

129

166

136

195

128

147

162

196

847

163

192

153

217

164

170

144

176

205

138

167

135

216

189

Itt

187

172

191

133

163

133

196

126

142

141

172

186

124

160

129

180

123

141

146

171

184

117

156

129

179

119

14S

142

178

181

116

166

181

179

118

141

140

180

189

116

169

181

180

118

142

189

197

114

168

129

178

119

141

186

180

199

113

168

127

178

121

149

139

180

820

122

169

124

176

117

149

181

176

196

112

167

124

178

117

186

174

191

110

166

128

177

117

141

187

172

191

109

166

125

175

117

141

187

171

114

118

166

124

176

116

14S

188

176

1 6

119

160

122

176

116

141

140

179

120

167

122

176

114

142

180

264

121

170

121
122

178

114

188

181

271

126

172

178

115

IBf

188

188
188

244

184

180

124

178

116

.T«

140

226

185

188

124

176

129

148

192

218

183

186

127

179

122

144

194

216

131

185

130

182

122

1B«

141

196

218

183

188

181

184

141

199

212

189

192

132

184

148

201

206

149

198

185

irn

144

200

164

204

186

187

169

144

801

190

162

202

184

187

12S

166

142

198

186

148

104

181

187

128

168

141

198

188

146

190

128

187

121

161

142

198

178

146

186

127

188

120

160

147

202

17«

144

182

128

188

121

164

148

199

172

142

182

129

183

120

1 -)■.'■

1923

Buildings

Some Elasy Dodges in Mathematics

1109

Right Triangle Solution — Square Root Extraction — Economy in Apply-
ing Ordinary Squ2ure Root Method

By L. C. JORDAN

62 Siwanoy Ave., New Rochelle, N. Y.

It is with a decided feeling of re-
luctance that the following simple
and elementary mathematical details
are brought to the attention of the
readers of an engineering publication.
Yet just such little matters as these,
mentioned by others, have proved to
be convenient time-savers to many of
us. Frequently it is the extreme
simplicity of a short cut in mathe-
matics that causes it to be overlooked
entirely while we adopt a laborious
method which, in some vague manner,
seems to be sufficiently difficult to
harmonize with the importance of the
case at hand. Occasionally a short
and easy method will give greater ac-
curacy than will a longer process and
incidentally provide a needed mental
rest in place of the ners'e-racking

-AS hypotenuse b-is long leg a-sborf leg
Fig. 1

fatigue which results from a struggle
with lengthy and bothersome compu-
tations.

Right Triangle Solution. — When we
have the two legs of a right triangle
and want the hypotenuse, the usual
method is to square the two known
numbers, add, and extract the square
root. Barring errors, that -wall give
the correct result, but it means a lot
of work when the numbers are large.
However, there are times when this
process is the only one guaranteeing
the required accuracy, and we cannot
avoid it entirely, although the slide
rule will save a lot of bother if prop-
erly used. Also, the laborious process
may be greatly shortened by the last
method mentioned herein.

In the triangle of Fig. 1 the two
legs, a and b, are known and we want
to find the hypotenuse, c, with reason-
able accuracy by slide rule. The short

and easy method is to find some value,

X, by which c exceeds the longer leg, b.

c = b -f X

c* =1 b' + 2 b X + x'

And from the triangle

c^ = b= + a'
Equating these two values of c* and
eliminating the b' term, we get

2 b x + x* = a*
which can be used in the form
a*

(1)

2b + x

This equation is convenient for slide
rule work, and the calculation is ex-
tremely accurate when "a" is small as
compared with "b," "x" being found
after a preliminary trial division. The
trial value of x is added to 2 b, either
mentally or on. paper, and this is
divided into a" for the true value of x.
Then

c = b -f X

With long, flat triangles the x value
will be mainly decimal and the final
result will be accurate beyond the
usual needs of the problem.

When c and a are known, as in sur-
veying where slope distances and
levels are taken between stakes or
spiders, the formula is similar. Here

b = c — X
and by equations corresponding to the
foregoing we have

X = (2)

2c — X

As an example let c = 97.642 and a
= 15.685. To find b. The usual scales
of the common slide rule, in order
from top to bottom, will be designated
A, B, C and D.

Set the indicator on the "a" value
of 15.685 on scale D as close as can
be read. The square of this is under
the indicator on scale A and is about
246. 2 c is 195.284. Placing approxi-
mately this number of scale B under
the indicator shows a quotient of about
1.260 on scale A, which subtracted
from 2 c gives a divisor of 194.024.
Bringing this number on scale B as

1110

Buildings

Nov.

nearly as possible under the indicator
shows a true value of x = 1.268. Then

c = 97.642

x-= 1.268

b = 96.374

By squaring out and working by the
usual long process, a slight variation
is found in the fifth decimal place, but
this is determined only after some-
thing over 20 individual figures have
been set down. The simplicity is well
demonstrated when the reader runs
this out on his slide rule and gets the
same result in less time than it takes
to read about it.

When the hypotenuse and long side
are known it is best to use logarithms
in accordance with the method men-
tioned later.

Square Root Extraction. — The fore-
going formulas are convenient in
taking the square root of any number.
When the number is large a table of
squares will be an aid. Suppose we
wish to find the square root of the
number 138.625. In order to use
formula (1), call this number c^ b is
the largest whole number smaller
than c, in this case .11. Then the a^
part of formula (1) is c" — b^ or
17.625. And 2 b is 22. Slide rule
scales C and D may be used. A trial
division shows that x is about 0.80. Di-
viding 17.625 by 22.80 gives x =: 0.733.
Then c — b-fx or 11.773. By hard
labor the answer is 11.773912. Let it
be noted that this number was pur-
posely chosen near the upper limit of
the interval between perfect squares
in order to be reasonably rough on
the method. Under this condition
somewhat greater accuracy could be
gotten by working back from the
square of 12 and using formula (2).
When extreme accuracy is necessary,
a table of squares should be used and
one decimal figure included in the
number b. In this case the square
of 11.7 is used.

c' = 138.625

b» = 136.890 = 11.7
a' = 1.735
2 b = 23.4

1.735
Trial value of x is — - = 0.074
23.4
1.735

x = = 0.0739

23.4 + 0.074

b = 11.7
c = 11.7739

When the "x" term of the divisor is
so small as to be negligible, formula
(1) becomes a'

"~ 2 b'
and in many cases the square rooting
consists of merely setting down the
answer. As an example, the square
1

root of 122 is 11 H = 11.0454.

22
And the square root of 627.428 is
2.428

25-1 = 25.04856, which is wrong

50
in only the last figure given.

Right Triangle Solution by Loga-
rithms.— The logarithmic method of
finding the unknown side of a right
triangle when the hypotenuse and one
side are given is easily used and also
easily overlooked. Again referring to
Fig. 1, let c and b have the values
given in the example below. Then
a^ =^ c' — b^ = (c -f b) (c — b). We
find the logarithms of these two terms
and divide by 2 for the logarithm of a.
c= 94.376
b= 87.951
c 4- b = 182.327 log = 2.2608510

c — b= 6.425 log = 0.8078731

2)3.0687241
log a = 1.5343620
a = 34.22646

Economy in Applying the Ordinary
Square Root Method. — When a square
root is being taken in the usual long
way of doubling the part of the
answer already found and using this
as a trial divisor and then annexing
the new figure of the answer for a
complete divisor, it would be well to
remember that the last few figures of
the answer may as well be derived by
a modified rule which will eliminate a
large proportion of the work without
impairing the accuracy of the result.
The usual procedure may be followed
until about one more than half of the
desired number of significant figures
are obtained. Beyond this point the
last completed divisor should be re-
tained and the problem continued as
ordinary long division. In this man-
ner fully one-third of the work is
eliminated.

While these notes are given pri-
n?arily for the engineering student
and for the young engineer whose
work deals mainly with computations,
it is hoped that they might contain
helpful hints for older members of
the profession.

1923 Buildings 1111

Savings and Improvements Through General

Conference

Owners, Designers, Constructors and Operators Jointly Effect Im-
portant Savings and Increase the Usefulness of S. W. Straus
Building After Plans Are Completed

After acceptance of final plans for
the building now under construction
at the southwest comer of Michigan
Avenue and Jackson Boulevard, Chi-
cago, the builders, S. W. Straus &
Co., called a conference which re-
sulted in changes saving $250,000 on
construction, increasing the rentable
area, and adding to the convenience
of future tennants. The original
plans were recognized as ha\ing been

Elevator Arrangements Showing: Elimination
of Entrances on Certain Floors.

entirely satisfactory and creditable.
The changes resulted from a confer-
ence unique in character.

The purpose of the gathering was
the union of all those interested in
the building, the owners, the archi-
tects, the engineers and the group of
building managers, for the common
purpose of determining the most ar-
tistic appearance, the greatest econ-
omy of construction and the most effi-
cient layout of office space.

This conference furnished the first
commission given the New Building
Planning Service Committee of the
National Association of Building Own-
ers and Managers, of which Earle
Shultz, persident of the national as-
sociation, is chairman.

The other members of this com-
mittee, including the special counsel
drawn in for the conference are:
Clarence T. Coley, operating manager
of the Equitable building, New York
City; W. H. Ballard, president of W.
H. Ballard & Company, building man-
agers of Boston; W. M. MacLachlan,
manager of the Simon J. Murphy

Company, Detroit, owners of the
Penobscot, Marquette, Telegraph and
Murphy buildings in that city; M. S.
Halliday, assistant vice-president of
the Union Trust Company, Cleveland,
whose new building is one of the
largest office buildings in the world;
Louis T. Clark, manager of the
Wright & Callender Building company
of Los Angeles; Lewis B. Ermeling,
secretary of the National Association;
Edward Probst, of Graham, Anderson,
Probst & White, the architects of the

Rearrangement of Toilets.

Shaded portion shows old toilet location.
Dotted portion next to new location indicates
the number of square feet of floor space saved,
per floor, by changing toilet location. Also,
note only one window used in new location.
In addition, the revised arrangement makes
it possible to construct a partition across the
corridor indicated by dotted line and to in-
clude any portion or all of the corridor in
the rentable area without affecting the access-
ibility to the toilet facilities.

building; R. F. Thompson, of Graham,
Anderson, Probst & White; J. G.
Morgan, vice-president of W. H. Bal-
lard & Co., Boston; Col. Gordon
Strong of the Republic Building, Chi-
cago, and B. K. Read, technical ad-
visor, Gordon Strong & Co., Chicago;
L. J. Sheridan, chairman of the build-
ing committee, and O. C. Foster, west-
em head of the Straus engineering

1112

Buildings

Nov.

department, represented S. W. Straus
& Co. at the conference.

The Straus executives felt that the
conference would bring to bear on the
plans during their very inception the
point of view of the future tenants.
Even though no changes in the build-
ing plans would necessarily be made,
the owners felt that the bringing to-
gether of so many points of view
would be highly profitable through the
savings made by better and more effi-
cient maintenance and operation.

Despite the fact that at the time
of the conference the steel structural

3
"1

DD aD OD

nn np an

DD DD DD

DD [jp DD

DD np DD

DD DD DD

DD DJ] DD
Inn nn nnj|

Section Looking East, Sliowing Additional

Gain in Floor Area by Elimination of Setbacks

on South Wall of Light Court.

layout could not well be changed, the
concentrated analysis of the experts
resulted in a large number of con-
structive thoughts and suggestions re-
lating not only to the material, the
equipment and the layout of the build-
ing, but also to considerations per-
taining to the operation and renting
program.

The changes suggested by the mem-
bers of the conference concerned
largely those particulars which re-
flected the accumulated experience of
the building managers representing
the tenant point of view.,

An example of the savings effected
is the increase in rentable area
through changes in the toilet facili-
ties, elevator and court plans.

Instead of duplicating elevator door
and signal equipment throughout the

building, the corridor space between
the express elevator banks on all
floors from the first to the thirteenth
where express cars will not stop is
to be utilized for extra office space.
On these floors there will be no ele-
vator entrance doors or other expen-
sive equipment. Above the thirteenth
floor the elevator corridor space in
front of the local elevators from the
sixteenth to the twenty-first floor
will be used for office space not pre-
viously planned. This arrangement,
together with the gains made by mak-
ing the walls of the interior court
perpendicular instead of terraced, will
add $24,000 a year income to the
building.

Another saving was in the elimi-
nation of the chair rail, which has al-
ways been considered an essential
for the protection of the walls from
contact with chairs. As a matter of
fact the chair rail does not protect
the walls, because a chair usually
makes a contact with the wall above
or below the rail line. At thirty-five
cents a linear foot, one can appreciate
the amount of saving in the thou-
sands of feet of wall in such a struc-
ture as the Straus building.

Among other savings effected are:

Elimination of sidewalk lights.

Elimination of locks on the inside
office doors.

Elimination of exterior windows in
elevator banks.

Elimination of one complete stack
of toilets throughout the building.

Elimination of vacuum cleaning
plant in favor of small portable ma-
chine.

Elimination of the setback in the
court, which, at an expense of $50,000,
secured additional rentable area pro-
ducing an annual income of approxi-
mately $25,000.

The main shaft of the Straus build-
ing will rise to a height of 22 stories
and will carry a 10-story tower. The
structure will be in the form of a hol-
low square, built around the perimeter
of the lot, with an inside light court
entirely surrounded by offices. Rent-
able space exclusive of the six floors
to be occupied by the owners will be
about 400,000 sq. ft.

1923

Buildings

1113

Results of Examination of 100
Year Old Menai Suspen-
sion Bridge

Abstract of Paper Presented Before

Institution of Civil Engineers of

Great Britain

(By HENRY TUDSBERRY and
ALEC R. GIBBS

The Minister of Transport having
asked for a memorandum dealing with
the question of the safety of the
Menai suspension bridge, the Director-
General of Roads gave instructions
that a complete examination of the
bridge should be made and a report
submitted thereon.

The national importance of the
Menai Bridge and its historical asso-
ciations render it of special interest
to members of the Institution; whilst
the question of the methods to be
adopted in investigating the suitability
of old structures for modem condi-
tions of traffic affords matter for seri-
ous consideration.

Description of the Bridge. — The

bridge was designed and built by
Thomas Telford in 1820-1826, and is
still the only road connection between
Anglesey and the mainland. The
suspended span, which is 580 ft. from
centre to centre of the towers, is sup-
ported by four main chains, which
divide the bridge into two roadways
and a centre footway. Each of the
four main chains consists of four les-
ser chains superimposed, and each
single chain is composed of five long
links and six short links alternately,
the links being connected by 3 in.
diameter forged unturned pins. The
platform is suspended from the chains
by 1 in. square rods hung vertically
and attached to cross girders, which
in turn carry the longitudinal trough
flooring. The floor as now existing
weighs about 320 tons more than the
original floor.

Method of Examination. — The gen-
eral procedure adopted in the exami-
nation of the bridge was as follows : —

(a) Collection of information avail-
able from drawings, etc.

(b) Verification of this information
and collection of further information
from the site.

(d) Detailed examination of all
parts of the bridge.

(e) Extensometer measurements of
existing stresses.

(f) Tests to ascertain the stresses
produced by live load and impact
therefrom on the various members of
the bridge.

(g) Physical tests to ascertain the
nature and present condition of the
wrought iron.

The bridge is built of forged mem-
bers made up of welded wrought iron,
which, therefore, vary considerably
from the nominal sizes. It was con-
sequently necessary to ascertain the
minimum dimensions of the existing
links in the main chains and the ex-
act condition of the indi^adual mem-
bers of the bridge as regards corro-
sion, etc.

The choice of a suitable extenso-
meter was not an easy matter. Al-
though the examination had been de-
layed until the summer to get fair
weather conditions, the wind some-
times attained a speed of 40 miles per
hour. When arrangements had been
made for the removal of the links or
for the attendance of test loads, etc.,
it was imperative for financial rea-
sons, to proceed according to program,
and consequently necessary to have
instruments which were capable of
use under unfavorable conditions and
in exposed positions. Permission
was, therefore, obtained of the Min-
ister to use a stress-indicator de-
signed by one of the authors, which
appeared likely to be suitable. This
instrument proved equal to all the re-
quirements; it was simple, could be
used in a confined space, was not
affected by a breeze, and in windy or
stormy weather was easily protected
by a tarpaulin hung on the windward
side.

Three complete groups of links were
removed from the main chain: — (a)
Near the centre of the span; (b) near
the Anglesey tower; (c) over the
Anglesey approach. Extensometer
tests were made during both the re-
moval of the old links and the inser-
tion of the new links, and the stress
in each link, and the total load on each
group of links, were observed.

Condition of Chains and Saddles. —
The chains in the tunnel were gen-
erally in good condition, but a number
of badly-corroded links, both long and
short, were found in the chains in the
open. This condition was obviously
not anticipated by Telford, as he in-
creased the section of the chains in the
tunnels by 85 per cent to allow for

1114

Buildings

Nov.

loss by corrosion. The chains in the
tunnel have been painted by direct
labor, whilst the chains in the open
have been painted by contract. The
authors are of the opinion that in this
case the former method is the more
satisfactory, but that it is not possible
entirely to arrest corrosion of the na-
ture existing in parts of the bridge,
and painting can only be considered a
palliative.

The saddles are supported by turned
expansion rollers, which are corroded
to such an extent that they do not act
in a satisfactory manner, the move-
ment of the saddles over the rollers
being only a fraction of the calculated
figure. The authors point out that the
absence of means of preserving the
rollers from corrosion was a weak
spot in early designs. It was found

(a) -.

(b)

(c)

Total (a) and (b).

(d)

(e)

Total

the main chains are subjected, and in
this connection the following loads
have been taken into account: —

(a) Dead load of structure.

(b) Live load coming on the bridge.

Loads rendered necessary by re-
pairs to the bridge as follows: —

(d) Load induced by dead weight
of stopper. (The stopper is the appli-
ance used for holding the ends of the
links of the chains while intervening
links are removed and replaced.)

(e) Additional stress induced in
chain, when the stopper is tightened
up.

The following are the maximum re-
corded stresses, taking no account of
stresses set up by wind, etc.

Centre of
bridge.
Tons per

Near Tower.

Anglesey
approach.
Tons per

sq. in.

7.2

0.73

Not added

sq. in.

8.18

0.63

Not added

sq. m.
8.58
nil
nil

7.93
0.30
1.36

8.81
0.30
1.50

8.58
0.30
1.43

9.59

10.61

10.31

from observations that the dead-lead
stresses are transmitted to the ap-
proach chains, but the failure of the
rollers to operate prevents any live-
load stresses from being carried to the
chains over the approaches, and must
consequently induce considerable
stresses in the masonry towers. Ob-
servations with stress-indicators show
that the stresses in a group of five
bars forming one link may vary by 70
per cent, and are not uniform, as
would be assumed in theoretical calcu-
lations. The authors consider that
this is due to errors of workmanship
in the forging of the pins, which were
not turned. When new pins were in-
serted, a much better distribution of
stress was obtained. Observations
were made of the additional stress in-
duced in the chain by the operation of
removing and replacing links.

Recorded Stresses. — The live-load
tests generally confirmed theoretical
computations, the impact from traffic
proceeding in accordance with the reg-
ulations— walking pace — or from a
truck bumping over a 2 in. piece of
timber being very small so far as the
main chains were concerned. The au-
thors summarise the stresses to which

The recorded stresses show some
variation from those calculated, as
they show the effect of stresses in-
duced by irregularities of workman-
ship, such as unturned pins, irregular
lengths of links, etc., also the possi-
bilities that the load is not evenly
divided between the four chains form-
ing one main chain.

The stresses in the bridge are un-
usually high, and the factor of safetj^
to be considered a minimum is a d€
batable point. The usual factor ol
safety for a structure of this nature|
ignoring wind-stresses, would be one
fourth of the ultimate stress or one
half of the elastic limit. Under th<
actual conditions it is found that ii
places the wrought iron is at time
stressed to its elastic limit. It has to
be remembered that the members oi
the bridge are made up throughout oi
welded parts, the individual bai
which form the long or short lengths
of the main chains having been made
of piled rods; the eyes also wei
forged separately and then welded
the shanks. The suspenders were simJ
ilarly welded.

Tests of Links. — Tests made at th«
National Physical Laboratory on linl

1923

Buildings

1115

removed from the main chains gave a
yield stress of 13.6 to 16.2 tons per
sq. in. and breaking loads of 19.8 to
24.5 tons per sq. in. The tests made
to ascertain the limit of proportional-
ity gave a mean of 10 tons per sq. in.
The more important results of tests
carried out by the National Physical
Laboratory on eleven long links re-
moved from the bridge are given in an
appendix to the paper, with certain
collated results of tests carried out on
the site.

These are 796 suspenders or ver-
tical ties in the bridge, and each of
these comprises from two to six
lengths. Those over the approaches
only serve the purf)ose of maintaining
the chain in the desired curve. These
bars nevertheless carry a load approx-
imately equal to the dead load in sim-
ilar ties on the suspended span and,
therefore, cannot be ignored.

In 1908 considerable renewal work
to the bridge was carried out, the re-
newal of vertical ties being an im-
portant part of this work. No seri-
ously corroded bars, therefore, were
discovered on the present examina-
tion; and, where a bar was noticeably
corroded, it was found to have been
orgrinally of larger size than normal.
In all cases these corroded bars are
situated in the approaches and are not
liable to live load, but they are, of
course, liable to variation in stress
due to wind-pressure.

Experience with stress-indicators on
the suspension rods illustrated how
difficult it was to estimate the load
they were carrying by vibrating them.
There is considerable variation in the
tautness of the rods, and they might
with advantage be adjusted by means
of instruments similar to those used
during the examination.

When the stress-indicator was in
use on these bars during July it
showed on many occasions an increase
of stress of about 1 ton per sq. in. due
to the wind. In considering the calcu-
lated loads coming on these rods, the
vibration due to wind has to be taken
into account.

Although exact details as to the
quantity of traffic passing over the
bridge are not available, it may be
taken that approximately 2000 tons
passes over the bridge daily during
the summer months.

Cleaning Stone Buildings

Methods of Removing Surface Dirt De-
scribed in Stone

There is considerable literature per-
taining to the cleaning, waterproofing
and preserving of stone, but it is
widely scattered, and is to be found
only in the pages of technical periodi-
cals. The subject has engaged the at-
tention of scientific authorities, par-
ticularly in Great Britain, where the
restoration of famous old buildings is
always in progress. Much of the
matter that has appeared in the Eng-
lish journals, however, has only a
casual interest in this country, be-
cause of the difference in conditions.

The Early Stone Structures of Eng-
land.— Hundreds of years ago, when
many of the historic structures of
England were erected, there was no
scientific study of building materials,
and, owing to the lack of transporta-
tion facilities, the stone nearest _ at
hand was apt to be chosen. It is im-
possible to deny that much stone that
would now be held entirely unfitted
for building work was employed in the
erection of great edifices in the past.

Under the best of circumstances the
English climate is very trying to stone
work, because of the presence of im-
mense quantities of sulphurous gases
in the air, due to the universal con-
sumption of soft coal. Magrnesian
limestone and the softer sandstones,
the materials most frequently used,
have disintegrated somewhat in
weathering so that the study of the re-
storers has been to waterproof the
stone and indurate the fresh surfaces
exposed. But there is also the task of
cleaning off the thick crust of soot and
grime accumulated in the centuries.

Cleaning Practice in England. — Old
English practice has been to accom-
plish this by applying to the surface,
with a long-handled fibre brush, a
strong caustic solution of pearlash.
This is allowed to remain on for about
15 minutes, and then the surface is
washed several times with clear water,
using a stiff brush or broom for the
purpose. If this does not prove effec-
tive enough the stone is scrubbed with
soft soap and concentrated lye. This
is allowed to remain on until nearly
dry, and then the stone is rinsed with
clear water, a brush being used to re-
move the cleansing material. It is, of
course necessary for the workman to
protect his hands with rubber gloves.

1116

Buildings

Nov,

In some cases, where there are large
and comparatively smooth surfaces,
the stone is honed with a soft rubbing
stone, several varieties for this pur-
pose being held in favor by the trade.

Different Conditions in America. —

On this continent, conditions are dif-
ferent. Our buildings are nothing like
as old, and as a rule they are erected
of more durable stone, and the prob-
lem is merely to remove surface dirt
and not to arrest disintegration, or to
work off a thick, encrusted grime. As
a rule we are not fond of an atmo-
sphere of antiquity in our buildings;
we want everything to look spick and
span new. We lose sight of the fact
that the mellowing influence of time
is a great beautifier of architectural
work.

When we cut a stone and set it in a
building we seem to think that it
should always retain its pristine
freshness, even if the color, when it
comes from the chisel, is a bit dazzling
or harsh. Buildings have been cleaned
when the laborous process has robbed
them of a distinct part of their charm.

The first point to insist upon,
therefore, in any discussion of the
cleaning of stone, is to be sure that
the building actually needs cleaning
and will be improved thereby. Here
is a case in point. A business man
recently purchased a marble building
in lower New York that was erected
nearly, if not quite, a hundred years
ago.^ He remodelled the interior at
considerable expense, and now is dis-
tressed because the exterior isn't as
bright and fresh as a new structure.
And yet, the building is not stained or
disfigured, and its appearance is dig-
nified and mellowed by time. To
scrape off this kindly coating, which
is in reality merely a protective skin
formed by nature, would weaken the
resistance of the stone and prove of
the most doubtful aesthetic value. It
would be like dissolving off the beau-
tiful patina from an old bronze or the
iridescence of ancient glass.

Cause of Stains. — There is still an-
other point to be made. There are
buildings that are undeniably blotched
and stained due to errors of construc-
tion. We have stated many times that
there is no standard and approved
stone used for building in this country
that contains within itself the ele-
ments of staining.

Those stones which contain free
iron or mineral elements that change

and discolor the surface have fallen
into disfavor and been rejected. Every
stone, however, is more or less ab-
sorptive and can take into its pores
discoloring matter with which it is
brought into contact. Portland ce-
ment, for instance, will always stain
stone, and unless stone can be set in
lime mortar, the back, beds and joints
of each block must be thoroughly cov-
ered with a protective paint. But
even so, some of the discoloring mois-
ture may find its way to the pores of
the stone and work by capillarity to
the surface. Or the water from con-
creting within the building may flow
down the exteror, thus occasioning
staining.

Scrupulous care will prevent these
accidents, and the standard specifica-
tions, issued by the Indiana Lime-
stone Quarrymen's Association, give
full directions, by which they may be
avoided. If, however, there is stain-
ing of this nature, the best remedy is
time. Sunshine and the weather may
generally be depended upon to restore
the stone to its natural color.

The use of acid for cleansing is al-
ways to be deprecated. Sufficiently
diluted and applied with extreme care,
it may do no harm, but it is a danger-
ous expedient to entrust to the ordi-
nary workman, and it may burn the
stone so that its last state is worse
than its first. Under no circumstances
should sand-blasting be permitted.
Stone always indurates on the surface
by Exposure, and sand-blasting re-
md'ves this protective coat and short-
ens the natural life of the stone. Wire
brushes should never be used in wash-
ing down a building, for these will in-
evitably cause rusting.

Scrubbing Best Method of Cleaning.

— The experience of the most careful
and observant stone contractors has
been that the best method of cleaning
any kind of stone building is a thor-
ough scrubbing. Prepare a wash of
soft water and about one and a half
bars of common laundry soap. Boil
until the soap has been thoroughly
dissolved. Add a fine, clean, gritty
sand (white, preferred), and mix to
about the consistency of putty. While
mixing, add about 5 tablespoons of
ammonia per bucket of water. With
this preparation scrub the surface
with a stiff fibre scrubbing brush.
Wash down with a stream of water
from a hose, and then go over it again
with the scrubbing brush.

1923

Buildings

1117

Method of Making Sgraffito
Decoration

The exterior sgraffito decoration
has been used for many centuries as
a means of architectural embellish-
ment; its more general use today is
perhaps avoided in smaller work be-
cause of an unwarranted belief that
the process is a complicated one and
that the expense of execution pro-
hibitive. In addition, an element of
uncertainty as to lasting quality some-
times is held by those who have not
made use of its very colorful possi-
bilities. Some interesting informa-
tion on this form of decoration is

penditure. The splayed panel form-
ing the entrance motive to the Bains
Luggage Shop, here illustrated, cost
$400, exclusive of the structural foun-
dation.

If proper materials are embodied
in the specification, such as a good
pure white stainless portland cement,
a true even coloring compound and
a substantial foundation, together
with capable workmanship, a most
satisfactory result is assured.

The following short specification
has been found to be a very satis-
factory one:

Erect backing of expanded metal
lath and channels, including all rod

given by S. Brian Baylinson, associate
Frank E. Hahn, architect and engi-
neer, in Philadelphia, in Contract-
or's Atlas, from which we quote as
follows :

Many of the old Italian sgraffito
facades subjected for centuries to the
excessive heat and heavy rainfall of
Italian climate, bear witness to the
fact that sgraffito work, properly exe-
cuted,^ is most lasting and durable.
This is true in a great many cases,
where on the same building stone and
marble show decided signs of deterio-
ration.

It is surprising how much can be
done at a comparatively small ex-

Sgraffito Decoration.

hangers, etc., required to amply snp-

port same.

Then apply scratch coat of cement
mortar composed of Atlas white non-
staining cement and screened washed
white, sharp sand, evenly applied and
scratched. Apply a second coat of
Atlas white non-staining cement and
white sand as above, evenly applied
and left ready for finishing sgraffito
work.

Upon the cement plaster base apply
one coat of cement plaster composed
of Atlas white non-staining cement
and screened white sand thoroughly
washed and sharp.

This coat to be ^ in. thick, evenly

1118

Buildings

Nov.

applied and tinted a warm sienna
using an approved color pigment.

Before this tinted coat has entirely
set, apply a coat of cement plaster
composed of Atlas white cement,
white, sharp sand, thoroughly washed,
and marble dust. Place the stencil
previously cut over background pre-
pared as above and carefully trace
design shown, removing all cement
coating outside of design and back
to and exposing the ground or sienna
first coat, leaving design in relief.
The surfaces of the design to be given
sufficient scratch modeling to avoid
harsh lines. Do not, however, make
the mistake of modeling design, as
this will entirely destroy the char-
acter of the ornament.

Building Construction in Japan

A large building construction com-
pany is being organized in Tokyo for
the purpose of undertaking the con-
struction of commercial and industrial
buildings on the unit basis, says a re-
port received by the Far Eastern
Division of the U. S. Department of
Commerce from its representative at
Tokyo. This company plans to spe-
cialize in 4-story reinforced concrete
buildings designed to withstand earth-
quake shocks. Such material as can-
not be obtained locally or which can-
not be supplied in standard specifica-
tions will be obtained abroad, it is
announced.

Funds for the promotion of this
new company will, according to pres-
ent plans, be obtained in large part
from the government at a low interest
rate. At present the company is
marking time awaiting the announce-
ment of the plans of the Capital
Restoration Board as to the areas set
aside for industrial and business pur-
poses, etc.

The announcement of the general
plans for reconstruction as worked
out by the Reconstruction Board are
expected any day. Meanwhile, tem-
porary construction is in progress in
a big way in Tokyo and Yokohama,
but permanent building is, of course,
being delayed until after promulga-
tion of regulations designating indus-
trial and commercial zones, height of
buildings, materials to be used, etc.

It appears at present that in addi-
tion to securing abroad a large part

of the iron and steel and lumber that
goes into the permanent reconstruc-
tion, considerable quantities of cement
will have to be imported as well.
Ordinarily Japan exports considerable
cement but the enormous demand that
is bound to come with the commence-
ment of permanent building activities,
coupled with the destruction of about
8 per cent of Japan's cement produc-
tion, will be greater than the industry
can meet.

The annual capacity of Japan's ce-
ment mills was, before the earth-
quake, in the neighborhood of 14,-
000,000 bbl. and plans are under way
which will, within six months' time,
bring this up to 17,000,000 bbl., not-
withstanding the losses suffered by
the earthquake. Until such time as
this increased output is brought
about, it is expected that the domestic
supply will be inadequate and that
considerable cement will have to be
imported. In anticipation of this
need, the government has placed ce-
ment on the free list effective until
March 31, 1924.

Conservative bankers in Tokyo are
advocating a program of reconstruc-
tion spread over a period of 20 years
and financed in most part through the
flotation of domestic loans. In order
to keep the yen on an even keel, how-
ever, they favor the flotation of for-
eign loans sufficient to cover all pur-
chases made abroad.

Rate of Drying of WaII Plaster

The U. S. Bureau of Standards re-
ceives numerous inquiries as to when
plaster can be painted safely. A care-
ful study of this subject led to the
conclusion that plaster can be painted
safely when dry. The next question
is how long does it take plaster to
dry ? This is of importance, not only
as regards painting, but also in the
erection of wood trim, and because of
its effect on the general speeding up
of construction. A slow-drying plaster
may cause financial loss to the con-
tractor because of delay in completing
the work, and it may cause loss of
occupancy to the owner. Plans have
therefore been made to measure the
relative rates of drying of different
kinds of plaster under different atmos-
pheric conditions. The equipment nec-
essary for this research has been de-
signed, and is now being made in the
bureau's shop.

1923

Buildings

1119

Strength of Steel I Beams Haunched with Concrete

Report of Investigation Conducted Under Direction of F. P. Sherwood,

Chief Engineer Dominion Bridge Co., Given in August Joumed

of the Engineering Institute of Canada

The object of the investigation was
to study the strength and behaviour
of steel I-beams supporting a rein-
forced concrete slab and haunched
with, or encased with concrete, for
the purpose of protecting the steel
from fire, or corrosion. While such
beams have hitherto been designed on
the assumption that the entire load,
including the weight of the encasing
concrete, is carried by the steel, it was
thought that the steel and concrete
might really act together so as, to
form a composite beam, and that it
might be practicable to arrive at some
rational basis for design analogous to
that employed in the case of rein-
forced concrete T-beams.

With this object in view, two identi-
cal floor panels were built in the erect-
ing shop of the Dominion Bridge Co.'s
plant at Lachine. Each panel con-
sisted of a reinforced concrete slab 10
ft. by 16 ft., and 4 in. thick, reinforced
by wire mesh. This slab was sup-
ported by two 10 in. I-beams, weigh-
ing 22.25 lb. per lin. ft. (Carnegie B.
67), and 16 ft. long. The beams were
spaced 5 ft. centre to centre and were
connected at their ends, by means of
standard connections, to girders con-
sisting of 24 in. I-beams 15 ft. long.
The latter rested on concrete pedes-
tals placed about 14 ft. centre to cen-
tre. Ten in. channels, parallel to the
floor beams, connected the ends of the
girders and ser\-ed to hold them in
place. Further, in order to provide
convenient bridges for measuring the
deflections of the floor beams, two 5 in.
I-beams were provided, attached to
the main girders, some 8 in. away
from the beams. Inasmuch as these
small beams were connected at each
end to lugs on the girders by a single
machine bolt, and the hea\ier channel
connections were 4 ft. 8 in., away from
the floor beams, it will be seen that
the girders were practically free to
accommodate themselves to the deflec-
tions of the floor beams, and that the
latter were therefore subjected to
very little end restraint.

The top flanges of the floor beams
projected 1 in. into the concrete slab,
while the concrete haunching. project-
ing 2 in. below the bottom of the low-

er flange, and varying in width from
9^2 in. at that point to 11^^ in. at its
junction with the slab, gave a mini-
mum protection of 2 in. to the steel.
For a length of 2 ft., however, at the
centre of each beam, the concrete was
removed from the lower flange in or-
der to make it accessible for attaching
extensometers and other measuring
instruments.

Program of Tests. — The program of
tests originally outlined was as fol-
lows : —

(a) Establish points for strain
gauge readings on the bottom flanges
of the floor beams before erection.

(b) Take strain gauge readings at
these points after erection, but before
any additional load is applied.

(c) Apply a uniformly distributed
load equivalent to that of the concrete
to be placed subsequently, and mea-
sure the deflections and flange
stresses.

(d) Apply a further uniformly dis-
tributed load sufficient to bring the
flange stresses to about 16,000 lb. per
sq. in., and measure the deflections
and flange stresses.

(e) After the concrete is poured
and cured, measure the flange stresses
due to the weight of the concrete.

(f) Apply the same uniformly dis-
tributed load as in (d) and repeat the
measurements of flange stress and
deflection.

(g) Apply additional load, if re-
quired, to bring the flange stress to
16,000 lb. per sq. in.

After the first six items of this pro-
gram were completed, the resistance
of composite beams proved so high
that it was thought advisable to ex-
tend it considerably.

Method of Loading. — All loads ap-
plied were made up of structural steel
shapes, which had been previously
weighed. So far as possible uniform
sizes were used for each load incre-
ment, the units in this case being uni-
formly distributed. When uniform
sizes were not available, the shapes
used were placed according to a pre-
determined plan so as to maintain
practically the same relations between
the resulting bending and shearing
forces as would be due to a uniformly

1120

Buildings

Nov.

distributed load. The equivalent uni-
form load was calculated in such cases
with reference to the bending mo-
ments produced at the centre of the
span. Great care was taken at all
stages to avoid the possibility of any
arching effect. Furthermore, the
beams in the bottom layer were placed
on blocks offset alternately 10 in. on
each side of the centre lines of the
floor beams, so as to cause a negative
bending moment in the slab over the
beams practically the same as that
which would be caused by a load uni-
formly distributed over the entire sur-
face of the slab.

Before application, the shapes were
placed in correct position on timbers
packed up on either side of the test
panel. Loads were then readily ap-
plied and removed by raising and low-
ering the jacks.

Measuring Apparatus. — Deflections
were measured by an ordinary mi-
crometer caliper. For flange stresses,
mirror extensometers of the Martens
type covering 4 in. gauge lengths were
placed on each edge of each flange.
These instruments read to hundred
thousandths of an inch, and experience
shows that, when used with the proper
precautions, they are unsurpassed for

sensitiveness and reliability. A 10 in.
Howard gauge was used as a check,
and also solely, to measure the
stresses due to the weight of concrete,
for which purpose mirror extenso-
meters could not be used. For the use
of the Howard gauge three parallel
lines of measurement were established
on each bottom flange at the centre
of the beam. These two methods
checked each other very satisfactorily,
as will be seen from the comparison
given in Table II. The stresses indi-
cated by the mirror extensometers
were, however, adopted as likely to be
more accurate. In reducing extenso-
meter and strain gauge readings, the
modulus of elasticity (E) was as-
sumed to be 30,000,000 lb. per sq. in.

Observations on the beams before
concreting were made on Nov. 25th,
1922. The loads and calculated
stresses and deflections are shown in:.
Table I.

The resulting stresses and deflec-
tions as observed are given in Table
II.

The discrepancies between the cal-
culated and observed stresses may be
due to any one or more of the follow-
ing causes:— (a) Variation in section
of steel from nominal section, (b)

Table I. — Loads, Calculated Stresses and Deflections.

Loads — lbs. Bending

Per sq. ft. Per moment

Stage of loading of slab beam In— lbs.
Panel No. 1

b. I-beams 4.48 358 8,590

c. Concrete equivalent 75.4 6,030 144,720

d. Live load 106.8 8,550 205,200

Total applied load 182.2 14,580 349,920

Total load •-. 186.68 14,940 358,510

Panel No. 2

b. I-beams 4.48 358 8,590

c. Concrete equivalent 74.8 5,990 143,760

d. Live load 110.75 8,860 212,640

Total applied load 185.55 14,850 356,400

Total load 190.0 15,210 364,980

Flange

stress

lbs. per

sq. in.

380

6,370
9,030

15,400
15,780

6,320
9.360

15.680
16.060

Deflect-
ions
Ins.

0.404

0.141

Calculated
Stage flange

of stress lbs. per
loading sq. in.
Panel No. 1

c. 75.4 6.370

d. 106.8 9.030

182.2 15,400

Panel No. 2

c. 74.8 6.820

d. 110.75 9,860

Table II. — Stresses Before Concreting.

Observed flange stress
Mirror Extens. Howard Gauge

185.55 15.680

Stress

6,210
8,610

14.820

6,460
8.626

15,075

Pet.

97.6
96.5

102
92

96.1

Stress

6.525
8.800

15.826

6.260
8.400

14,650

Pet.

102
97.5

99.5

99
89.8

93.5

Calcul-
ated in.

0.167
0.237

0.404

0.411

Deflections
Ob-
served in.

0.162
0.233

0.395

0.166
0.227

0.393

Pet.

97.0
98.8

96.7

1923

Buildings

1121

Variation in modulus of elasticity of
the steel from assumed value, (c)
Errors in observation, (d) End re-
straint, (e) Errors in estimating and
placing the load.

As regards the above results the
largest discrepancy between observed
and calculated values is in the case of
the live load of 110.75 lb. per sq. ft. in
panel No. 2. As all other results are
very consistent and well within the
limits of error which might be ex-
pected, it seems probable that the
live load on panel No. 2 was really a
little less than estimated.

The above results are shown gra-
phically in Fig. 1.

Tests of Concrete. — The concrete
was poured by the Foundation Co.,
Ltd., of Montreal. Three-quarter inch

The result of these tests were as fol-
lows : —

Lb. per
sq. in.

Cylinder No. 1 ultimate strength 3,800

Cylinder No. 2 ultimate strength 3,100

Cylinder No. 3 ultimate strengrt;h 3,630

Cylinder No. 4 ultimate strength 3,400

Average

.3,480

All cylinders were crushed between
squares of commercial beaver board
without other preparation. The forms
were suspended from the floor beams,
so that the dead weight of the con-
crete, forms, and excess water, if any,
was carried by the steel beams. The
slight deflections due to the weight of
the forms, etc., would not be fully re-
covered after the removal of the latter
when the concrete was set. The per-
manent dead load flange stress in the
beams was therefore likely to be

Figs. 1 and 2. — Flange Stress Before Concreting and Deflections Before and After Concreting:.

run of crusher limestone, and local
river sand were used. The mix was
1:2:4. The cement was furnished by
the Canada Cement Co. The concrete
for panel No. 2 gave a slump test of
about 4% in. but that for panel No. 1
was somewhat wetter. The instruc-
tions were to make a good ordinary
commercial grade of concrete, without
taking any special precautions. The
mixing, however, was probably rather
better than is usual. Panel No. 2
was poured on Dec. 4th, and panel No.
1 on Dec. 5th. Four cylinders 6 in. by
12 in. were moulded from concrete
taken from the mixer, as used in
panel No. 2, and cured alongside of
the panels, and under the same con-
ditions. Cylinders Nos. 1 and 2 were
tested at McGill University on Jan.
6th and cylinders Nos. 3 and 4 at the
University of Toronto on Jan. 13th.

slightly greater than that due to the
weight of the concrete alone, and the
results given below indicate that this
was the case. On the other hand, the
concrete would be free from dead load
stress, a favourable condition, so far
as the concrete is concerned, for tak-
ing care of live loads. There would
also be no appreciable bond stress de-
veloped by the dead load.

After the concrete had set for about
three weeks, Howard gauge readings
were taken on the bottom flanges for
the purpose of measuring the flange
stress due to the weight of the con-
crete. The results were as follows: —

Stress due to weight of concrete
panel No. 1 — 7,050 lb. per sq. in.

Stress due to weight of concrete
panel No. 2 — 6,450 lb. per sq. in.

Average 6,750 lb. per sq. in.

As may be seen from Table II, this
is about 400 lb. per sq. in. greater

1122

Buildings

Nov.

than either the estimated or observed
stresses due to the "equivalent con-
crete load." Inasmuch as the con-
crete in place was actually weighed
and found to agree practically with
that estimated, the discrepancy may
be due in part to lack of precision in
the Howard gauge measurements, but
probably in a greater degree to the
considerations mentioned in the pre-
ceding paragraph. It is believed that
the average value, 6,750 lb. per sq. in.,
is a close approximation to the truth,
and is adopted in tabulating and plot-
ting the results.

Live Loads Applied. — On Dec. 28th,
when the concrete in panels No. 1 and
No. 2 were respectively 23 and 24
days old, live loads were applied and
stresses and deflections measured as
before at each stage. The results are
given in table No. 3, stages "e" to
"h", in which the dead load stress and
deflections are taken as zero.

A few hair marks, in the concrete,
which were first visible at stage "g",
extended at stage "h" to about 5 in.
above the bottom flanges of the I-
beams. Each load was applied and
removed several times. A permanent
set of about 0.01 in. in the deflection
first appeared after stage "h", the ex-
tensometers giving a corresponding
indication. Panel No. 2 was loaded

only to stage "f" showing, as indi-
cated, lower fiange stresses and de-
flections than panel No. 1.

Vibration Test. — As it was thought
advisable to try the effect of vibra-
tion, a concrete mixer, weighing (with
its charge of 500 lb., of stone) 10,400
lb., was next placed on slab No. 1 and
run for two days at a good speed,
compressed air being used in the cyl-
inders. The load was concentrated on
a length of 3 ft. 9 in., over each beam,
giving a bending moment at the cen-
tre of the beam of 18,400 foot-pounds,
which corresponds to. a uniformly dis-
tributed load of 115 lb. per sq. ft.
Howard gauge and deflection readings
taken before and after the running of
the mixer, checked the weight of the
latter, but gave no other result. The
hair cracks previously noted showed
no further extensions, although the
amount of vibration produced would
have been quite excessive in a build-
ing. On account of the short duration
of this test, however, it must be re-
garded as inconclusive.

The live load of stage "h", 216.8 lb.
per sq. ft., was then replaced on panel
No. 1 where it remained for five days.
During this time, a few hair cracks in
the haunching extended about 3 in,
further, or to about 1 in. from the bot-
tom of the slab. On Feb. 12th addi-

Tabic III.- -Stress

and Deflections After Concreting.

Live load

Flange stress lb. per sq.

in.

Deflections

lb. per

Calc. steel

Observed

Calc. steel

sq. ft.

only acting

Extensometer Pet.

Howard gauge

only acting

Observed

Pet.

Panel No. 1

dead load

106.8

9,030

2,830

3.090

0.237

0.042

161.8

13,700

5,125

0.358

0.071

216.8

18,350

7,670

0.482

0.103

272.2

23,100

9,650

0.605

0.133

304.9

25,800

10,980

0.678

0.144

333.4

28,200

12,465

0.741

0.162

365.3

30,800

14,755

0.812

0.191

Panel No. 2

dead load

110.75

9,360

2,190

2.610

0.245

0.036

Table IV. — Summary of Observed and Calculated Stresses, Panel

No. 1.

Load

Flange stress lb

. per .s(i. in.

Pet.

StaKc of

lb. per

sq. ft.

Calc. for steel only

Observed

Obs.

loadinR

Inc.

Total

Inc.

Total

Inc.

Total

Calc.

On skids

Erected

4.5

380

380*

Concrete

Equiv.

75.4

79.9

6,370

6.750

6,210

6.590

97. r.

Live load

106.8

186.7

9,080

15.780

8,610

15,200

96.5

Erected

4.5

380

380*

Concreted

75.4

79.9

6.370

6.750

6,750

7.130

105.2

Live load

106.8

186.7

9,030

15,780

2.830

9.960

63.2

Live load

55.0

241.7

4,650

20,430

2.295

12.255

5e..s

lAve load

55.0

296.7

4,650

25.080

2,545

14,800

59.1

Live load

55.4

352.1

4.680

29,780

1.980

16.780

56..'-)

Live load

32.7

384.8

2,760

32.520

1.330

18.110

55.8

. Live load

29.8

414.6

2,520

35,040

1,485

19.595

56.0

Live load
•Not

32.0
; observed.

446.6

2,720

37,760

2,290

21.885

58.0

1923

Buildings

1123

tional loads were applied, and the
usual observations made. The results
are given in Table III, stages "k" to
"n", the stresses and deflections due
to the dead load stage "e" being again
taken as zero.

The calculated and observed stresses
due to dead and live loads combined
are given in Table IV.

As it was impracticable to apply
more load satisfactorily, the test was
discontinued. No further cracking
was perceptible, nor sign of approach-
ing failure, other than the fact that
the flange stresses were increasing
slightly more rapidly than the load.

The above tests indicated, we be-
lieve, that the steel and concrete in
the form of construction tested act to-
gether so as to produce a composite
beam. The marked similarity in be-
havior to that of a reinforced concrete
beam was quite striking to those hav-
ing experience in testing the latter.

Stresses in Welded and Riveted

Steel Tanks

The results of an investigation car-
ried out last winter by the U. S.
Bureau of Standards on stresses in
welded and riveted steel tanks under
hydrostatic pressure have now been
published as Technologic Paper No.
243, for sale at the Superintendent of
Documents, Washington, D. C, at 5 ct.
per copy.

Four steel tanks, 4 ft. in diameter
and 10 ft. long, made of 5/16 in. mild
steel plates, and designed for a stress
of 16,000 lb. per square in at 200 lb.
working pressure, were used in these
tests. Two of the tanks were butt-
welded, one was lap-welded, and the
fourth was of the ordinary lap-riveted
construction. The ends of the tanks
were spherical, having a radius of
4 ft.

Strain gauge measurements were
made at various portions of the tanks
and at pressure increments of 50 lb.
per square inch until failure. The
results of the hydrostatic tests proved
rather unsatisfactory as a comparison
of the relative strengths of the differ-
ent types of construction. Due to sec-
ondary failures, such as leaks around
the fittings, the possible strength of
the tanks was not reached. In faci".
the secondary failures were responsi-
ble for failure in each case. In one
tank the failure was at the weld

around a 2-in. pipe outlet; in the sec-
ond, at the manhole; in the third, at
the end transverse weld, and in the
riveted tank at the end transverse
riveted joints. The first two failures
might have been obviated by better
welding of the pipe fittings and man-
hole saddle to the shell. Extra rein-
forcement at the junction of the
spherical end to the cylindrical shell
would have reduced the stresses at the
junction where the other two tanks
failed. The location of the end trans-
verse seam or riveted joint farther
back on the shell of the tank would
have taken this joint out of the region
of high stress intensity caused by the
abrupt change in direction of force at
the junction of the spherical end of
radius 4 ft. to the cylindrical shell of
radius 2 ft.

According to a recent Technical
News Bulletin of the Bureau of Stand-
ards, the results of the analysis of
the deformation and distribution of
stress in these tanks seem to warrant
the following general conclusions:

1. The commonly accepted theory
for the design of tanks is, for all
practical purposes, sufficiently ac-
curate, provided the computed stresses
are not influenced by secondary
stresses.

2. For thin tanks, the measured
stresses, based upon the two-dimen-
sional formula, are in close agreement
with the design stresses computed by
the common-pressure formulas, pro-
vided the former are not affected by
secondary causes. This is borne out
by the results obtained at the center
of the end.

3. Secondary stresses resulting in
high stress intensity were caused by
(a) faulty design of the attachment
of the spherical end to the cylindrical
shell, (b) non-conformity of the shell
to an accurate circular section, and
(c) discontinuities in the shell for the
manhole and fittings. These may pro-
duce a possibly dangerous condition
if present near a welded or riveted
joint seam.

4. The stresses were increased by
the presence of a seam.

Annual Meeting of General Con-
tractors.— The next annual meeting of
the Associated General Contractors of
America will be held Jan. 21 to 24,
inclusive, at Chicago, III.

1124

Buildings

Some Notes on Pile Foundations

Nov,

Occurrences Encounterecl by Bureau of Yards and Docks Described
by Public Works of the Navy

By CAPT. GEO. A. McKAY

In driving piles in soft material it
repeatedly happens that sufficient
initial bearing resistance is difficult
to secure, but that after the piles has
set for a period the grip or setting of
the material around the pile will have
increased its driving resistance suffi-
ciently to permits its acceptance. The
same effect is quite frequently en-
countered when driving in harder ma-
terial, so that engineers are apt to
take it for granted that this phe-
nomenon of increase in resistance and
capacity after rest is positive and will
occur in all cases. The reverse of
this, however, is sometimes the case,
as is illustrated by the following ex-
ample of piles driven for a concrete
pier at the navy yard, Charleston, S. C.

Where Increased Capacity Did Not
Follow Rest. — The original test piles
were of round timber, with 7 in.
points, and were driven through mud
into and through blue clay to depths
of from 70 to 80 ft. below mean low
water, with final calculated bearing
values of about 27 tons each. The
depth of water was from 12 to 25 ft.
Contract, as awarded, contemplated
the use of concrete piles 18 in. square,
driven to take a load of 40 tons. The
contractor expected these piles to run
approximately 70 ft. in length, of
which about 64 ft. would be below
mean low water and 6 ft. above.

In order to test assumption
before concrete was molded, 18 in.
square wooden test piles with 8 in.
points beveled back 2 ft. 10 in. were
driven. It was found that these de-
veloped a bearing resistance of over
40 tons at depths of from 43 to 57 ft.
below mean low water, at which
depths the resistance was such as to
amount to practical refusal. It >yas
observed, however, that when driving
was resumed after a rest of from
three hours to two days, there was
a marked decrease in bearing re-
sistance. In specific instances the de-
crease was from 43 tons to 21 tons,
42 tons to 28 tons, 45 tons to 32 tons,
47 tons to 39 tons, and 39 tons to
25 tons.

This effect was undoubtedly due to

the large blunt points, which, when
driven through the rather stiff clay,
developed a high local resistance
which was dissipated as the clay at
and below the point adjusted itself to
the disturbed condition of internal
stress. The loss of bearing resistance
at the point was manifestly greater
than the increase of friction resistance
of the material setting against the
parallel sides of the pile.

On the basis of the tests made, the
contractor proceeded with a molding
of piles 70 ft. long, with 8 in. points
beveled back 4 ft. The three of these
first driven developed only 23 tons
resistance at a depth of 65 ft. The
change in the beveling of the point
was effective, however, and the de-
crease in bearing resistance experi-
enced with the wooden piles was not
noted upon resumption of driving on
the concrete piles. One of the latter
was tested under a load of 100 tons,
and settled only about Vs in.

Increasing Bearing Area by Timber
Battens. — To avoid the necessity of
molding concrete piles longer than 70
ft., with a resulting large increase in
cost, it was decided to increase the
bearing area of the lower portion of
the pile above the point by bolting on
timber battens. The length chosen
for the latter was 10 ft. Five test
piles were driven, three carrying two
6 by 12 in. timbers each, one with two
8 by 12 in. timbers, and one with two
8 by 12 in. and two 12 by 12 in.
built-up timbers.

The driving of these piles resembled
somewhat that of the wooden test
piles, in that after they were per-
mitted to set and driving was re-
sumed there was a marked decrease
in the resistance to penetration last
obtained. It was found, however, that
their bearing improved steadily with
increase in depth, and when the later
bearing values were plotted they pre-
sented a consistent and satisfactory
curve. The final construction was suc-
cessful, and the increased expense for
longer piles was avoided through this
use of lagging.

1923

Buildings

1125

In general, the piles lagged with
two 6 by 12 in. timbers brought up at
above 40 tons at elevation — 55, and
after redriving dropped back to not
less than 40 tons at above elevation —
65. The pile with two 8 by 12 in. tim-
bers gave correspondingly increased
resistance, and the pile with four tim-
bers, after redriving, gave 80 tons re-
sistance at elevation — 50. The entire
series of tests was very interesting,
and not only indicated the necessity
for careful consideration of the shape
of pile and point and its effect upon
the apparent resistance as calculated
by ordinary pile formulae, but also
the considerable saving which is pos-
sible, when driving in material such
as fairly stiff clay, through the use
of lagging near the base of the pile
to obtain desired resistance. Where
such lagging is used, however, its ef-
fects on control of length and on final
bearing value of the pile, as indicated
by deterred driving, should be care-
fully investigated.

Sometimes insufficient thought is
given to the size of points for test
piles. Instances have been known
where test piles had points as large
as 11 in. It is difficult for contractors
to estimate from such tests what
would be the length of piles required
where the specification for the con-
struction allows points as small as
6 in. in diameter.

Bearing Resistance Increased by
Lagging Piles. — At places where con-
siderable pile driving in soft material
is common, necessity has brought
about a more or less common practice
of lagging the piles at or near the
bottom to increase bearing resistance,
but at other locations where soft driv-
ing is only occasionally encountered,
engineers are unaccustomed to such
an expedient and are prone to look
upon it with suspicion. It is believed
that the cost of structures could oc-
casionally be reduced with no sacrifice
of stability by an intelligent use of
lagging with piles. Whether the lag
members should be at the bottom of
the pile, or above, or staggered, or of
large or small size, opens up an in-
teresting field of investigation. In
general, it is believed that best re-
sults can be obtained by not concen-
trating all of the lagging at one point,
: though in particular instances the dis-
I position would depend upon the char-
: acter of strata penertated.

Many cases arise in which batter or

brace piles, and sometimes vertical
piles used in deck construction, in
quay walls, and in narrow piers are
intended to function as ten.3ion mem-
bers; that is, to act under certain con-
ditions of shock and stress as ties.
Certainly the use of lagging in such
cases near the bottom of the piles
would be of benefit. At one yard in
particular, where rock is at the sur-
face of the bottom, it is possible to
hold piles in place only by surround-
ing the points with rock-filled cribs.
This is another case where lagging
near the point of the pile would be
of assistance in securing stability.

Splicing Creosoted Piles. — Dolphins
are frequently required in very soft
ground off the ends of long piers in
locations where creosoting of the tim-
ber is necessary to protect it from
teredo. The greatly increased expense
of treating the very long piles neces-
sary under these conditions often be-
comes a matter of concern. It has
been found economical in such cases
to splice the piles using an uncreo-
soted bottom section, with point of
splice located at from 10 to 15 ft. be-
low the mud line. The lagging used
in splicing the piles increases their
usefulness, and in cases where they
are driven on a batter and are so
framed at the top as to bring tension
in certain ones when the dolphin is
struck by a ship, additional lagging
at the bottom of the uncreosoted sec-
tion would also be of benefit.

When pipes are to act as tension
members it is further necessary to
give consideration to the closeness
with which they are to be spaced, the
depths to be penetrated, and the ca-
pacity of surrounding material to
resist the pull which will develop. One
of the causes contributing to the
trouble experienced on the Pearl
Harbor dry dock project in 1913 was
the fact that the piles were so closely
spaced and driven to such a shallow
bearing that the pull to which they
were subjected from hydrostatic and
overturning pressures was more tlran
sufficient to lift them with all of the
surrounding soil.

Piles Spliced From Short Lengths.

— In buildings where ground floors
have settled and there is insufficient
head room to drive long piles, the use
of piles spliced from a number of
short lengths will sometimes afford a
satisfactory solution to the prosecu-

1126

Buildings

Nov.

tion of repair work. Such a problem
arose in the cases of a boat shop and
a joiner shop at the Mare Island
Navy Yard, where sections only
about 13 ft. long could be handled
under the second floor, whereas piles
about 35 ft. long were required to
secure the desired bearing. Here the
stiffness .of subsoil was such that
dowels only were needed at splices.
The buildings were in part located
over a filled-in marsh on a portion of
which there was a heavy layer of old
sawdust, later filled over with mud
and soil. The floors had settled in
places a foot or more; the permanent
wet line was 7 or 8 ft. below the floor
level. To avoid the heavy expense of
concrete piers extending to permanent
wet line, the top section of each pile
was made of cast-in-place concrete.
The last driving for each was per-
formed with a heavy pine follower
about 20 in. in diameter at the top
and 16 in. at the bottom, around which
was placed a sheet-metal casing. On
pulling the follower, the casing was
left driven and the surface of the
ground shaped to form a conical head,
giving a combined column capital flare
and beveled drop-panel effect corre-
sponding in usefulness to that em-
ployed in modem flat-slab construc-
tion. The reinforcing in this top sec-
tion extended into the flat slabs form-
ing the floor, and proved to be a very
economical form of construction, in-
asmuch as it obviated the use of
beams and girders, with resulting ex-
pense for excavation and form work,
and likewise the great difficulty which
is experienced in placing reinforce-
ment in excavated trenches of this
nature, where the movement of men
and materials throws down quantities
of mud and debris, making it expen-
sive to keep the work clean.

Splicing Concrete and Timber Piles.
— The splicing together of concrete
and timber piles is an important inno-
vation which is at present receiving
something of the attention which it
n^rits. It has become necessary, in
certain localities, to extend pier con-
struction to points where satisfactory
bearing for piles is not found above
elevations 150 ft. or so below mean
low water, and where exposure to
damage from marine borers and the
necessity for permanent construction
requires the use of reinforced con-
crete piles. Entire concrete piles of
this length become too heavy and too
expensive to handle, and the bureau

has recently been led to adopt for
such purposes a type of composite pile
embodying concrete above and un-
creosoted timber below, with the
splice formed by a section of 15 in.
diameter steel pipe. This pipe is cast
on the concrete section, which is
driven to full bearing on the pre-
driven timber pile.

It is not necessary, however, to
limit this built-up type to conditions
so severe as those just described. It
can be used to advantage under cer-
tain circumstances where the pile
length is much shorter, as in the case
of reconstruction of dike No. 9 at
Mare Island, where the mud is near
the surface and long piles are re-
quired for bearing and for tension.
Tension through the splice is secured
through the use of bolts, lag screws,
indents in pipe, and through the
swelling of the timber, when wet, in-
side the pipe sleeve. Composite pile
construction, where a reduced length
of reinforced concrete can be used
near the top, is more permanent and
actually more economical than con-
struction with creosoted piles.

Lateral Stability of Piles in Soft
Mud. — Insufficient weight is some-
times given to the lateral stability of
piles in general and the composite pile
in particular, when driven in soft
mud. One's first thought on seeing
the pile penerate 15 or 20 ft. into such
a bottom under its own weight is that
the material at or near the surface is
so 'soupy" as to afford practically no
resistance to side movement of the
upper part. It will be found, how-
ever that the resistance is surpris-
ingly large. This will be better ap-
preciated when consideration is given
to the difference between the resist-
ance offered to the point of a shaft
when falling and the drag of any
medium against its broadside ex-
posure when the attempt is made to
move it horizontally. It is found that
even in soft mud, when the pipe splice
connecting the concrete pile with the
timber beneath is only about 5 ft. be-
low the surface, the sidewise restraint
is sufficient to develop the full
strength of the concrete member at
a level just below the mud surface.
Engineers who have broken off
wooden piles in a soft mud bottom i
will recall a like experience. |

The nature of the lateral forces act- (
ing must, of course, be taken into \

1923

Buildings

1127

account. The lateral resistance of a
silty medium against sudden shock is
more effective than the force it could
develop against a lower and steadier
pull, but even the latter is effective in
greater measure than ordinarily sup-
posed. At Puget Sound there were
recently made certain tests of the
lateral resistance of piles driven in
soft mud to support concrete caissons
for a heavy pier. The wooden test
piles penetrated under their own
weight through 25 ft. of soft mud,
and an additional 10 ft. under the
weight of the 3,700-lb. hammer; the
construction piles, under the weight
only of the pile hammer and follower
(18,300 lb.), penetrated a depth of
about 50 ft. Yet such piles showed
a resistance of 5,000 lb. to initial dis-
placement at the surface of the mud.

Lateral Displacement of Structures
in Pile Driving. — Engineers usually
come to understand early in their ex-
perience the need of giving careful
consideration to lateral displacement
of adjacent structures as a result of
pile-driving operations. They like-
wise quickly learn to make allowances
for the upheaval of mud or softer
soils. Notwithstanding this, it is
doubtful if full appreciation is had of
the internal stresses created in the
soil in the vicinity of the pile being
driven. This point was brought
sharply to the attention of all con-
cerned in the case of the driving of
sheet piles on a quay wall at Mare
Island. This wall had moved outboard
in such a way that the old sheet piles,
which were 50 ft. long and exposed
to a 25 ft. depth of water, were 4 ft.
outboard at the top and practically
fixed at a level just below the mud
line.

In the reconstruction of the wall it
was proposed to place new 12 by 12
in. piling just inside the old, which
meant driving through about 25 ft. of
soft mud, where, on the outboard face,
there was but the sheet pile and a
thin layer of mud for the support of
each new pile. The unbalanced pres-
sure developed on this side was so
great that it proved to be absolutely
impossible to hold the tops of the old
piles, no matter how many cables and
chains were attached and secured to
anchors. The entire scheme of re-
construction had to be changed on this
account.

The original quay wall mentioned

above had been injured as a result of
the collapse of a side cut of a dry
dock being constructed adjacent to it.
The slide had carried away a number
of the back brace piles of the wall,
and the loss of these was unknown
until after the dock was completed
and filling resumed against the wall,
which then moved steadily outboard.
An extension of the wall at the south
end had been constructed as part of
the dry dock contract, after the slide
had occurred, and was intact. On this
section, which was designed for 30 ft.
depths alongside, the sheet piles were
at the back of the platform, about
40 ft. from the face of the wall. To
all appearances an excessive number
of brace piles had been used in this
section, there being five for each cap
under the relieving platform, with the
caps on 4 ft. centers. Nevertheless,
this section of the wall also moved
outboard nearly 2 ft., and when exca-
vation was made for purpose of re-
pair it was found that instead of the
heads of brace piles bearing against
the caps there was in some cases as
much as an inch clearance between
the two parts. This condition at first
appeared inexplicable, as it was not
seen how so great a movement of the
wall could have occurred without
bringing the brace piles into action
even had they been badly framed
originally. The explanation, however,
is simple. This wall is situated at a
place where the silting process is very
heavy. The sheet piles, as stated,
were at the back, so that silting oc-
curred under the relieving platform.
When routine dredging operations
were carried on along the face of the
wall, the piles held back to some ex-
tent the bank of accumulated mud
beneath. The brace piles were 56 ft.
long and driven through soft mud
with only about 3 ft. penetration in
the underlying hardpan. The weight
of deposited mud gripping both stand-
ard and brace piles had the effect of
loading them to a degree sufficient to
cause their points to settle, with the
result that the brace piles acted as
ties and tended to pull the wall for-
ward.

EflFect of Progressive Settlement of
New Fill on Piles. — It is to be re-
marked that engineers often drive
piles through new fill without realiz-
ing that the progressive settlement
of the latter will, by skin friction, add
its weight to the piles and overload
them. This fact will, in itself, explain

1128

Buildings

Nov.

certain cases of settlement where ap-
parently the piles as originally driven
gave ample bearing resistance for all
anticipated conditions of loading. In
driving through made ground, care
should be taken that the piles are long
enough, are big enough at the point,
and penertate underlying hard bottom
a sulRcient distance to carry the added
load imposed by the settling fill.

This principle has a clear applica-
tion to the case of the new Navy
Building in Washington, D. C, where
an area in the headhouse about 200
ft. in length has settled to a maxi-
mum of about 4 in. The loads on the
piles at the face of the building and
under the interior piers are conserva-
tive, whereas piles under the piers at
points where the wings at the rear
meet the headhouse are overloaded.
The piles are driven on a fairly recent
fill over a marsh area. It would be
anticipated that those piers whose
piles are overloaded would settle
more than the others, but this is not
the case. It is the fill itself which is
settling. Additional piles of the same
length under the interior columns and
under the front face of the building
would probably have been of no bene-
fit in reducing the movement. The
trouble here is, primarily, short piles
in conjunction with fill settlement.

Unusual Example of Lateral Re-
sistance.—An unusual example of
lateral resistance occurred in the
driving of wooden piles for crane-
track foundations adjacent to the dry
dock at Pearl Harbor. Excavation
for the dock left the banks, which
were of coral and tufa rock, standing
at a very steep angle, and the loca-
tion of the crane track was over this
bank upon a fill of stiff coral which
had been pumped in between the bank
and the wall of the dry dock. The
points of the piles as driven through
tlie coral would hit the steep side of
the cut at varying depths, but it was
expected that the resistance developed
by the coral fill would hold the points
in position to secure satisfactory
penetration. This proved to Se gen-
erally the case, but in the driving of
one pile which was 55 ft. long, after
more than 40 ft. of penetration, with
driving still going fairly easy, the
point of the pile was observed to
break upward through the ground at
a spot 18 ft. from the butt. Hammer-
ing was continued as a matter of
curiosity until a length of 4 ft. had

been exposed. The point was not
broomed and was apparently unin-
jured, but had encountered some
series of obstructions which had bent
it in a curve about 25 ft. in diameter.
Had it been possible to hold the point
of this pile, the butt would probably
have served its useful purpose of
carrying a share of the crane-track
structure.

Foundation Construction on Coral.

— Probably no other material on
which we have to found structures is
so difficult, on account of its irregu-
larity, as is coral. The navy designed,
about 25 years ago, a coaling wharf
for Tutuila, Samoa. Because of the
exposure to marine borers timber
could not be used, and as it had not
5''et become the practice to use con-
crete for the purpose, piles were made
of solid steel, 6 in. in diameter for
the wharf perimeter and 8% in. for
the interior. It was proposed to screw
these into the coral, and cast iron
screw shoes about 3 ft. in diameter
were sent out with this in view. Evi-
dently the thought of the designer
was that the coral was of a regular
and not too hard consistency, so that
the piles could be screwed about 10
or 12 ft. down into this material, and
the 3 ft. spread on the shoes would
give sufficient bearing resistance
against settlement. The irregularity
of the coral on the inshore end, how-
ever, was so great that only a few of
the piles could be placed in this man-
ner. Large compact masses were en-
countered, some of which were so
solid that, when broken, they had the
appearance of marble, and gave evi-
dence of their characteristic coralline
structure only when examined under
the magnifying glass, whilst imme-
diately adjacent to some of these were
areas where the coral consisted of
broken branches, partly cemented to-
gether and partly filled with mud and
sand, but with not much greater bear-
ing value than would be found in a
pile of brush. To screw a pile into
the side of a boulder of the hard ma-
terial was, of course, out of the ques-
tion, and in those locations where
piles could be easily screwed into posi-
tion to the anticipated depth of 12 ft.
it was found that they would not hold
up overnight the weight of the ham- |
mer, but would settle in some cases {
2 or 3 in. |

It became necessary to change thi i
program of construction entirely!

1923

Buildings

1129

which was none too easy a task at
such a distance from the nearest mar-
ket for material. The wharf was
slightly relocated so as to bring the
central portion of it over a site where,
with the piles spliced, rock could be
reached. The rock contour was fol-
lowed down to a depth of over 80 ft.,
and the two ends of the pier were
floated on cast iron mushroom shaped
circular bearings. These varied in
diameter from 5 to 8 ft., according to
the loads to be carried. They were
brought to bearing on the surface of
the coral under the blows of a 5,000
lb. hammer falling about 2 or 3 ft.
Some 10 or 12 ft. of an iron pile pro-
jected through the mushroom bearing
into the coral below for lateral sta-
bility. The mushroom disks were se-
cured to the piles by means of split
plates bolted to the top of the disk
and inserted in a circumferential
groove cut in the pile. Where a disk
failed to bring up in bearing, the pile
• would be lifted, a layer of broken
coral shingle placed under the disk,
and driving resumed. In some cases
it was necessary to do this several
times before satisfactory bearing was
obtained. When the piles showed re-
fusal under the repeated 2 or 3 ft.
blows of the 5,000 lb. hammer, driving
was stopped. Heavy blows of the
hammer were not practicable because
of the danger of breaking the cast
iron disks, several of which broke
even in handling, as a result of in-
ternal stresses in castings and lugs.
The wharf as finally completed is still
giving good service, and no settlement
has been reported.

Illustrating the irregularity of the
coral in this instance are the follow-
ing examples: When testing to lo-
cate the underlying rock contour,
soundings were made by means of an
improvised rod composed of old shaft-
ing and pipe sections churned up and
down by eight men on a double-deck
raft. In some cases coral shell bould-
ers or coral crust would be en-
countered near the surface, through
which the rod would not penetrate.
; The operation would be shifted a few
feet with the same results, and then
: a location might be found within sev-
eral feet of the point where original
attempts were made, where the rod
could be easily churned down 80, 90
■■ or 100 ft. In driving the piles for
the central portion of the wharf it
cwas found useful, first, to break
. through the upper coral crust, where

encountered, by using a 6 in. solid
pile about 37 ft. long. On two oc-
casions when this pilot pile was being
driven in about 10 or 12 ft. of water,
with an approximately equal penetra-
tion into the coral, the impact of the
1,700 lb. hammer, iron on iron, falling
15 ft., would produce additional pene-
trations of only about % in. per blow.
Considering the effect of the hammer
striking the iron pile without any
cushioning effect whatsoever, and
bearing in mind that the bottom of
the pile was pointed, this small pene-
tration is an indication of how hard
are certain portions of the mass of
solid coral. On each of these two
locations, conditions being as above
stated, upon striking a further blow
the pile disappeared; that is, it broke
through into what was practically a
cavity below, so void of supporting
power as to lead the observers to
liken it to a vacuum, such was the
rapidity with which the pile vanished.
On these occasions it was necessary
to dredge 8 or 10 ft. in order to ex-
pose enough of the pile head to secure
a chain to withdraw it. Engineers
who have not as yet worked in coral
should be careful not to trust this
material unless its character has been
carefully investigated.

U. S. Government Specification for
Water-Resisting Red Enamel

Circular No. 146 of the U. S. Bureau
of Standards, which may be obtained
from the Superintendent of Docu-
ments, Washington, D. C, at 5 ct. per
copy, consists of the latest U. S. Gov-
ernment ' Specification for Water-
Resisting Red Enamel. The specifi-
cation was prepared by the technical
committee on paints of the Federal
Specifications Board after careful con-
sideration of suggestions from manu-
facturers. Highest quality red enamel
suitable for outside use is called for.
This consists of pure toluidine red
toner in a vehicle of the very best
water-resisting long oil spar varnish.
A general description of the enamel is
followed by detailed directions for
sampling and testing, including tests
for caking in container, working prop-
erties, color, hiding power, weight per
gallon, coarse particles and skins,
identification and determination of
pigment, non-volatile matter, drying
time, water resistance, and toughness.

1130 Buildings Nov.

Rental Charges for Construction Equipment

Method of Computation Outlined in The Constructor

By STANLEY STOKES,

Civil Engineer, St. Louis, Mo.

A rental charge should include the
total cost of owning a machine plus
a reasonable profit on the rental
transaction. The question as to how
a rental charge should be built up
is fundamentally a question as to the
cost of owning the equipment. Hav-
ing obtained this cost, we then add a
profit on the rental transaction and
have the total amount which should
be obtained as rental. There then re-
mains only the problem of the best
and most practical way of distributing
this charge. Therefore the problem
can first be examined with respect to
the cost of ownership.

The several items constituting the
cost of ownership are as follows: In-
terest on original investment, taxes
and insurance, depreciation, mainte-
nance, general expense and profit.

Let us now examine each of these
items more in detail.

Obtaining the Money. — Under the
heading of interest we must include
the total cost of obtaining money.
This cost varies considerably, depend-
ing upon the nature of the loan,
whether a short-time bank loan, a
real estate mortgage, a bond issue or
various other possibilities. The nom-
inal rate of interest is not sufficient to
cover all expenses. For example, on
a bank loan, the interest is usually
figured as a discount. Thus if you
pay 6 per cent for $100, the $6 is de-
ducted in advance and you obtain
$94. This is at the rate of 6.38 per
cent. If you make a real estate loan,
you usually have a commission of 3
per cent on a 3-year loan, or at the
rate of 1 per cent per year plus title
examination and recording fees, which
with a nominal rate of 6 per cent
makes your money cost about 7^^
per cent. If you borrow money in
the form of a bond issue, you have
some legal expense, brokerage charg-
es, printing expense and other items
which add from 2 to 3 per cent to the
nominal rate.

Thus, a 5 per cent bond issue may
cost you 1 per cent to make the issue,
with brokers' fees of 2 per cent and

an additional 1 per cent for printing
and other items, leaving you a net
amount of $96 out of each $100 worth
of bonds. You pay 5 per cent on the
$100 or $5 per year, for which you
receive the use of $96, making your
interest rate 5.2 per cent. This would
represent an extremely high grade
security. Considering all these items,
a fair interest in normal times for
short-term money would probably be
not less than 7 per cent. It should
be noted here that it makes no dif-
ference whether you borrow the
money in a small amount for a par-
ticular construction machine or
whether you have a certain amount
of borrowed money in total for the
business sufficient to furnish work-
ing capital and buy machinery as
needed. The latter is more properly
the way to regard it, so that the
proper interest rate for a construction
machine would be the same as the
average total cost of money for the
business.

Taxes and Insurance. — Taxes as
such are too familiar today, no fur-
ther discussion being required. In a
city, the usual personal property tax
rate is about $2.50 on each $100 of
the assessed valuation. The average
assessment for the life of the equip-
ment probably would not exceed 40 •
per cent of its original cost. Auto- i
mobile trucks and similar equipment :
may be assessed higher, but would be |
offset by the lower rates on other j
equipment. However, a frequent
error is to assume that personal prop-
erty taxes are all that should be con-
sidered. For example, other taxes are
auto license, chauffeur's license, con-
tractor's license, engineer's license,
capital stock taxes and, above all,
income taxes for both State and Fed-
eral Government. Due to the fact
that the contractor turns over his
investment frequently, the income tax
when expressed as a percentage of
invested capital must necessarily be
numerically large. An investment of
your own particular taxes expressed
as a percentage of your invested cap- ,
ital may surprise you, if you have ]
never carried out the computation. '

1923

Buildings

1131

The Insurance Item. — The amount
of insurance carried by the contractor
on his equipment will vary witn tne
nature of his business and the char-
acter of machinery in use. This item
will include fire insurance, boiler in-
surance, collision and public liability
on auto trucks, etc. A study of your
own premiums will show you how
much you should include for the vari-
ous classes of equipment owned and
rented. Workmen's compensation or
employes' liability insurance is not to
be included, but consideretl an over-
head expense on the pay roll.

A fundamental concept which must
_ grasped in order to properly ana-
lyze the problem of depreciation is
that of continuity of the original in-
vestment. This means that the total
original investment must be consid-
ered to be outstanding continuously.
If you want to be able to use a steam
shovel, someone must be standing that
investment, whether you own it,
buy it. If such a shovel in your or-
ganziation or others is to be available,
whether you rent it, or whether you
then someone has an investment in
that shovel to the amount of its orig-
inal cost. To some who feel different-
ly about this problem and would like
to consider the original investment as
constantly decreasing throughout the
life of the equipment, we ask that
they be patient with us until we have
completed this discussion.

Depreciation Includes Many Losses.

— Depreciation in its broadest sense
includes all losses in worth arising
from physical or functional deteriora-
tion by current maintenance. Depre-
ciation arises from the following
causes: Wear and tear, obsolescence
due to new inventions and advances
in the art, inadequacy, and catastro-
I ^phies not insurable — i. e., extraordi-
I^Hary contingencies, floods, etc.

r^^A depreciation reserve is necessary
' to maintain the original investment
! intact. In other words, the deprecia-
tion reserve plus salvage value of the
property should always equal the
original cost. In this connection, it be-
comes necessary to explain what is
meant by salvage value. This value
is either (a) scrap value, or (b) resale
value at the end of a predetermined
period. For example, the salvage
value of a heavy engine such as the
Corliss engine is usually taken as the
scrap value of its component parts.

It is presumed that the engine will
run until either worn out or other
circumstances force it to be replaced.
It usually has no resale value and the
most that can be realized is its scrap
value. On the other hand, an automo-
bile truck is used for a few years and
sold before it is completely worn out.
The second-hand market value of such
a truck is faily well determined de-
pending on its age. It makes no dif-
ference which type of salvage value
is used, the difference between this
value and the original cost being the
total amount of depreciation. In com-
puting allowances for depreciation re-
ser\"e, the "depreciation base" to be
used is the "wearing value." That
is, original cost less salvage value.

Distribution of Depreciation. — The

question of the preservation of in-
vested capital being temporarily con-
ceded, the problem becomes that of
the distribution of depreciation as
part of the cost of the output of serv-
ice. Public service commissions in all
states and the Interstate Commerce
Commission consider depreciation as
an operating expense which should
be regarded as any other operating
expense. Section 214 (a-8) of the
1921 U. S. Income Tax Law provides
that in computing net income: "A
reasonable allowance for exhaustion,
wear and tear on property used in
the trade or business, including a rea-
sonable allowance for obsolescence
should be made." The Federal Trade
Commission says that depreciation is
the most important overhead expense.
(Fundamentals of a Cost System for
Manufacturers, July 1, 1916, page 12.)
The Missouri Supreme Court calls de-
preciation "invisible rot" (Home Tele-
phone Co. vs City of Carthage, 235,
No. 644). This last is offered to off-
set the idea frequently suggested that
certain physical property which is in
perfect operating condition is just as
valuable as though it were new, inas-
much as it performs the function for
which it was acquired. It is obvious
that at some time it will cease to per-
form this function and that during
this interval it will change from a
valuable machine to one of no value.
The only logical way to regard this
change is that it took place at a uni-
form rate. This concept has to be
modified in connection with renting
equipment, but is considered as a part
of the subject of depreciation. Modi-
fication will be discussed later.

1132

Buildings

Nov.

A Practical Application. — As a
practical application, let us assume
the following examples:

Original cost of the machine $1,000

Salvage value at end of 5 years 250

Wearing value to be depreciated 750

■ Average depreciation per year 150

Per cent per year of the original cost
for depreciation only 15%

At this point it should be mentioned
that there are various methods of set-
ting up depreciation reserves which
are known as straight-line methods,
sinking fund methods, and others.
These will be referred to again.

Maintenance expense includes all
repairs or replacements of part of
the unit so that it may continue to
operate at as nearly its original effi-
ciency as possible. The amount of
maintenance depends solely on the
type of the machine and has to be
estimated from records of similar ma-
chines over a period of years. In ad-
dition to ordinary repairs, after each
extended period of service, a general
overhaul is usually required. This is
a proper charge to maintenance. For
. example, if a machine be rented, even
though the renter agrees to maintain
the machine in working order at his
own expense, still the owner should
give it an overhauling when he gets
it back, knowing that the only main-
tenance that the renter will give it is
that necessary to keep it in operation.

What General Expense Includes. —

General expense which includes ex-
penses of general office, general su-
pervision not properly chargeable to
individual jobs, office rent, stationery,
printing, postage, and other such
items, which are computed from ex-
perience as a percentage of the pre-
ceding total, in figuring a construc-
tion estimate, are likewise applicable
to construction equipment. These ex-
penses can be readily determined for
a particular business. Such expenses
may fluctuate widely as between dif-
ferent contractors, due usually to a
different method of bookkeeping
rather than to any economy which
one may obtain over the other. That
charge specific work with a greater
percentage of the overhead expense
than another. For the purpose of this
discussion, without attempting to
specify a correct amount, we shall use
10 per cent of the total preceding ex-
penses as a fair overhead expense.

Profit on money invested in con-
struction machinery should be com-

puted at that rate which would be
considered reasonable for the busi-
ness as a whole. This profit, together
with interest paid for the use of
money, is usually combined and re-
ferred to as "return on investment."
The determining factor which fixes a
fair rate of return is the risk of the
business. Whereas 4 per cent may be
sufficient return on Government bonds,
20 per cent may be low for a specu-
lative enterprise.

Suppose that, without in any way
attempting to. state what is a fair
return on money invested in the con-
tracting business, that for an illustra-
tion we assume 10 per cent. Restat-
ing our original example, then, we
have :

Original cost of machine $1,000

Life 5 yrs.

Salvage $250

Interest - 7 %

Taxes and insurance 5%

Depreciation -- 1 5 %

Maintenance 8 %

35%

General expense (10% preceding total).. 3.5%
Cost of ownership 38.5 %

The figure of 8 per cent mainte-
nance was assumed to have been esti-
mated from previous experience on
this machine. Thus in this hypo-
thetical case we find a total cost of
ownership of 38.5 per cent per year
of the original cost of the machine.
This would not be sufficient for an
annual rental, but to that would have
to be added a small profit on the rent-
al transaction itself, which we might
take as 3 per cent, making a total
annual rental of 41.5 per cent.

This cost of ownership goes on con-
tinuously whether or not the machine
is being used, and it is fair to assume
that the depreciation takes place uni-
formly whether or not the machine is
in service. Actually, the depreciation
is more likely to take place more rap-
idly in non-use than when the machine
is in service. The cost of owning such
a machine per working hour is entire-
ly a function of the number of hours
worked. If we may define the load
factor on the machine as to the ratio
of the hours' use per year to the total
hours in the year, then a machine
which works half of the time would
have a load factor 50 per cent. The
cost for the working period would
then be the total annual cost divided
by the load factor. Thus it is seen

1923

Buildings

1133

that a most economical operation re-
quires continuous use of the machin-
ery. This immediately suggests "Off
Peak" rates for rental of construction
equipment during, period of the year
when the machine is not working.
This will be discussed in more detail
under rentals.

Depreciation Reserves. — There are
several methods whereby a deprecia-
tion reserve may be set up, of which
the three following are most impor-
tant:

Sinking Fund Method — The amount
set aside plus interest compounded
annually is such that this sum will
equal the original investment at the
expiration of the life of the equip-
ment.

Reducing Balance Method — The re-
ducing balance plan charges off a con-
stant percentage on the decreasing
balance. This balance is obtained by
subtracting the previously accumu-
lated reser\'e from original cost. Such
process is continued until the value
has been reduced to that of salvage.

Straight Line Method — A uniform
percentage is set up each year
throughout the life of the equipment.
No allowances made for interest on
accumulated reserve.

For detailed discussion of each plan
reference is made to "Depreciation
— Principles and Applications," by
Earl A. Saliers, 1922 Edition, pub-
lished by the Ronald Press Co., New
York. Briefly, it rriay be said that the
straight line method has the advan-
tage of simplicity; probably gives as
good a picture of the ijianner in which
depreciation takes place as any of the
other methods; the accuracy of ap-
parently more refined methods is aca-
demic rather than real, as the error
in assumption of probable life is so
great that a refinement in interest
charges is miliar to measuring the
first 5,279 ft. with a 2-ft. rule and the
last foot with a micrometer. Further,
the simple^ method lends itself readily
to a revision of the percentages set
up to comply with experience. Par-
ticularly is this true for short life
equipment.

As as example, on a $1,000 equip-
ment having an assume life of 5 yrs.
the sinking fund reserve would be 94
per cent of the amount required for
straight line basis. Thus an error of
6 per cent in the assumed life would

offset this. In the case of a water
works with a major investment in
cast iron with a life of 50 yrs., the
sinking fund method should perhaps
be used. The reducing balance
method was adopted and usfed to some
extent in England, but rarely in this
country.

Determining Rental Price. — As

stated in the beginning, the rental
charge should include the cost of owti-
ership plus a reasonable profit. Hav-
ing determined the cost of ownership
and outlined the basis of a reasonable
profit, the rental problem reduces to
that of finding a practical method
which will obtain the necessary reve-
nue over the period of the life of the
equipment and at the same time dis-
tribute these charges in such a way as
to be able to rent the machine in a
competitive market. For example, in-
asmuch as the renter is likely to stand
the cost of repairs while he is using
the machine, he would be willing to
pay more for a new machine than for
an old one, although both machines
are in good condition. Also, he might
anticipate fewer breakdowns in a few
months than in an old one. For this
reason it seems desirable that the
rental for such a machine be made
higher during the earlier years of its
life. In this connection, it may be
noted that the maintenance in the ear-
lier years would be less and vice
versa. Thus a varying rental would
result to some extent in the renter
paying the same total cost throughout
the life of the machine. Referring to
our previous illustration in which our
depreciation was 15 per cent per year
for 5 yrs., we might revise this for
rental purposes as follows. First
year, 25 per cent; second year, 20 per
cent; third year, 15 per cent; fourth
year 10 per cent, and fifth year, 5 per
cent, for a total of 75 per cent.

This plan would probably appeal to
the renter. It would be conserative in
that it carries a depreciation reserve
much faster than the straight line
method. However, the rates for the
early years should not be selected too
high. In this connection it might be
mentioned that a new company hav-
ing a large investment in construction
machinery might not be able to make
such heavy charges against its reve-
nue without affecting its ability to pay
dividends and thereby impair its
credit. In other words, the straight
line method of setting up the reserve
seems desirable from the standpoint

1134

Buildings

Nov.

of owning the machine and of deter-
mining the total amount which must
be derived when it is rented. The
variable charge can be used merely as
a means of establishing a rental
charge, this latter method being a
practical modification to meet com-
petitive conditions.

Again referring to our example,
with an annual rental of 41.5 per cent
on a $1,000 machine or $415, we re-

$1,000 with an annual rental of $415
that if it is used for 30 days in the
year, that the cost per working day is
$13.86. If spread over six months,
this reduces to $2.31.

Concrete Lintel in Brick Walls

On a building in lower New York,
where some alterations and repairs
necessitated changing some of the
window openings, it was necessary to

Concrete Lintel in Place.

construct this on a varying basis as
follows:

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

year year year year year

Interest 7% 7% 7% 7% 7%

Taxes and insurance 5 5 5 5 5

Depreciation 25 20 15 10 5

Maintenance 5 5 8 10 12

Preceding total 42 37 35 32 29

Gen'l expense (10%) 4.2 3.7 3.5 3.2 2.9

Profit (3%) „ 3 3 3 3 3

49.2 43.7 41.5 38.2 34.9

For comparison we would collect
rental as follows by the two plans:

Year

Uniform Rate

Variable Rate

.$415

$492

415

437

415

382

416

349

$2,070

It is apparent that the total annual
cost of a machine is approximately a
constant regardless of use and there-
fore increased use results in decreased
cost per working hour. Thus reduced
rates could be calculated for any off
peak use which would serve to in-
crease the normal use. It may also
be noticed that for a machine costing

place several lintels over window!
openings in the old brick walls. Tof
do this in the ordinary way would!
have been quite troublesome, and the|
easiest solution was to employ an in-
geniously molded concrete lintel. One|
of these lintels being set in place is]
shown in the illustration. The pre-j
cast concrete is colored with mineral]
pigment to stimulate almost exactly^
the color of the old brick work. Joints j
are cast in the concrete, and after the]
lintel is fixed in place, these joints]
are pointed up with mortar to matchJ
the old joints. In the illustration the!
joints are not yet pointed. In this]
case the brick walls are not bearinj
walls, but if they were the lintel couk
easily be made of such dimensions anc
so reinforced as to give all the neces-
sary structural strength. We are in-|
debted to the Contractors' Atlas foi
the above information and illustra->
tion.

Membership of American Society|
for Testing Materials. — The American
Society for Testing Materials on Nov.J
1 had 3,400 members. .

1923

Buildings

The Strength of Concrete

1135

Its Relation to the Cement, Aggregates and Water

By ARTHUR N. TALBOT

Professor of Municipal and Sanitary Engineering and in Charge of Theoretical and Applied

Mechanics

and

FRANK E. RICHART

Research Assistant Professor of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics

Bulletin No. 137 of the University
of Illinois Engineering Experiment
Station, issued October, 1923, and
bearing the above title and author-
ship, contains 116 pages of exceed-
ingly interesting and valuable matter.
The bulletin does not lend itself to
condensation, and its extent precludes
its reprinting in full in Engineering
and Contracting, but in order that our
readers may themselves judge of its
character and scope, we give herewith
its introduction and conclusion. The
price is 60 ct.

Introduction

1. The Problem. — How to propor-
tion the ingredients in designing con-
crete mixtures, is an important ques-
tion. How much cement, how much
sand, how much gravel or broken
stone, and how much water must be
used to secure a specified strength in
the concrete or a specified workability
with the particular materials that are
to be used ? What is the weight or
the bulk of each ingredient required
to produce a certain volume of con-
crete in place ? How may the con-
crete-making properties of various
sands and other fine aggregates be
compared, and how may acceptance
tests of aggregates be specified ? For
what sort of mixtures is a given sand
suitable ? As compared with some
standard mix how much cement is
necessary when an inferiorly graded
fine aggregate is used ? In the effort
to increase the mobility of the work-
ability of the freshly mixed concrete,
what effect do increased amounts of
mixing water, or decreased amounts
of coarse materials, or changes in the
gradation of the aggregate, have
upon the strength and other proper-
ties of the concrete ? What is the
upper limit of the amount of coarse
aggregate which may be used when
the particles are all well rounded
particles and also when there is a pre-
ponderance of elongated particles?
What is this upper limit of the amount

of coarse aggregate when the pouring
and placing are around reinforcing
bars, and also when the concrete is
placed in larger masses ? These are
some of the questions connected with
the problem of designing concrete
mixtures for definite purposes.

Many views have been put forth
concerning the factors which govern
the strength of concrete, and quite
divergent opinions have been ad-
vanced. A variety of methods of
dealing with the problem have been
proposed — the use of the sieve analysis
of the fine and coarse aggregates,
either separately or in combination;
limitations in the amount of the fine
aggregate coming within a given
range of sizes; conformity to a given
form of sieve-analysis cur\'e; proper-
ties based on the gradation of the
particles of the aggregates as indi-
cated by sieve analyses, such as fine-
ness modulus and surface area; the
amount of mixing water used and its
relation to the amounts of the cement
and the aggregate; percentages of
voids in the aggregate and in the
concrete, etc. Most authorities on
concrete are in accord with the prin-
ciple that, other things being similar,
within certain limits the strength of
concrete increases with the quantity
of cement used and with the density
or solidity of the resulting concrete,
though in recent years statements
have been made quite frequently
which seem to throw doubt on the
truth of this principle and to discredit
the earlier writers. Altogether, there
has resulted considerable confusion in
the minds of engineers as to what
constitute the real influences in the
makeup of concrete, and as to proper
ways for specifying the quality of the
aggregates and for proportioning the
mixtures.

2. Scope of Bulletin.— This bulletin
enunciates relations between the com-
pressive strength of the concrete and
the amount of the cement and voids

1136

Buildings

Nov.

contained therein. It develops methods
for studying the concrete-making
properties of fine and coarse aggre-
gates and for the comparison and ac-
ceptance of aggregates. It outlines
means for designing concrete mix-
tures for different densities and
strengths when the voids in mortars
made up with a given cement and fine
aggregate have been determined by
laboratory tests. Means are sug-
gested for estimating the effect upon
the strength and density of concrete
that accompanies an increase in the
amount of mixing water beyond that
which would give minimum volume to
the concrete. Analytical relations are
developed and the technique for the
proposed tests described. The results
of tests of mortars and concretes
made up with a variety of fine aggre-
gates are recorded and the accuracy
and applicability of the methods dis-
cussed. It is found convenient to use
the absolute volume of the ingredients
in terms of a unit of volume of the
concrete in place, and for this purpose
the specific gravity of the material
should be known. The resulting
values may readily be translated into
bulk or weight when the voids or bulk
weights of the materials in the con-
dition obtaining on the work are
known. The method is proposed for
use in estimating the density and
strength of concrete and in propor-
tioning the materials. The test data
cover a considerable range — a variety
of aggregates, different proportions
of cement, and different amounts of
mixing water — and the significance of
the results is discussed. The applica-
tion of the methods and principles
deduced to design, specifications, and
field use is considered. The useful-
ness of the method as a means of pro-
portioning mixtures, calculating quan-
ties of materials, making comparisons
and estimating strengths is brought
out.

The water content relations of the
mortars and concretes are given in
terms of that amount of mixing water
which results in producing the mini-
mum volume in the concrete, this
basis being found to be more definite
and satisfactory than other? which
have been used. Little use has been
made of the expression "consistency
of concrete" (a term that from its
derivation means stiffness or ability
to withstand change of form), since
this expression is very indefinite. The
flow table and the slump test were

used to give some measure of mobility
and workability of the concrete.

3. Principles and Methods. — The
following paragraphs are given to
outline some principles affecting the
relation of the ingredients to the
strength and density of the concrete:

(1) Definite quantitative relations exist be-
tween the magnitude of the voids in the con-
crete in place (water and air voids) and the
compressive strength of the concrete, the
quality and quantity of the cement and the
quality and nature of the aggregate remain-
ing the same, but the gradation of the aggre-
gate varying, and other conditions remaining
similar. The i)ercentage of voids may, there-
fore, be taken as an index of the strength of
the concrete in such cases.

(2) If concretes be made up with differing
amounts of cement in such a way that the
voids in the concrete remain the same, the
nature of the aggregate and other conditions
also remaining the same, the strength of the
concrete will vary with the amount of cement
used.

(3) For different amounts of cement and
different gradations - of the. aggregate, the
quality of the cement and the quality and
nature of the aggregate remaining the same
and other conditions remaining similar, the
strength of the concrete varies with the ratio
of the amount of cement used in a unit of
volume of concrete to the voids in this volume,
and the strength may be taken to be a func-
tion of this cement-voids ratio. Instead, the
ratio of the voids to the cement may be used.
In some respects it is still better to consider
the strength of the concrete as a function of
the ratio found by dividing the absolute
volume of the cement by the sum of the voids
in the concrete and the absolute volume of the
cement — a ratio that may be termed the
cement-space ratio.

(4) If the amount of mixing water be varied
in such a way as to change the bulk of the
concrete, the strength will still be a function
of the cement-voids ratio of the resulting con-
crete, though the function may differ from
that which applies with the smaller water
content. When there is much difference in
the relative water contents, the value taken
from a strength curve based on minimum
volume of concrete may be multiplied by_ a
coefficient corresponding to the given .relative
water content.

(5) For the usual concrete mixtures — at
least, for those that make an easily worked
concrete, including all mixtures used on con-
struction— the bulk of the coarse aggregate is
less than the bulk if the concrete ; or, in other
words, the bulk of the mortar in a given
volume of concrete is greater than the voids in
the coarse aggregates alone — the term mortar
being used here to include the cement, fine
aggregate, and water. For such mixtures the
voids in the concrete may then be considered
to be made up of the water and air voids in
the mortar. The density of the mortar for
the consistency used in the concrete is, there-
fore, an important factor in determining the
Strength in the concrete.

(G) If the amount of the water and air
voids in the mix of mortar to be used in
making the concrete is known (the term
mortar here meaning the combination of ce-
ment, fine agregate, and water which enters
into the concrete), the voids in a resulting
concrete may be calculated and the corre-
sponding cement-voids or cement-space ratio

1923

Buildings

1137

may be used as an index of the strength of
the concrete.

(7) By determining the voids in mortars
made with a given fine aggregate, but with
varying proportions of cement, a characteristic
mortar-voids curve giving the relation be-
tween the voids in mortar and the ratio of
fine aggregate to cement may be made up for
any given fine aggregate, and information will
then be available on which to base calculations
for voids and strength of concrete made with
definite proportions of cement, fine aggregate
and water.

(8) By determining the voids in various
mortar mixes made with different fine aggre-
gates of the same character and thus obtain-
ing characteristic mortar-voids curves of the
given fine aggregates, comparisons may be
made of the relative densities and probable
resulting strengtiis of concrete made up with
these mortars and with assumed volumes of
coarse aggregate.

(9) Knowing the characteristic mortar curve
of a fine aggregate, the general nature and
quality of the aggregate otherwise being
known, the proportions of the mix required
to give a specified strength (including the
amount of cement, fine aggregate, and coarse
aggregate) may be calculated with a fair de-
gree of accuracy.

(10) The foregoing principles and methods
are most readily applied by the use of the
absolute volumes of the cement, fine aggregate
and coarse aggregate ; but if the voids in the
fine aggregate and the coarse agregate in a
dry state or in the condition obtaining on the
work are known, or the relation between the
weights by bulk and by solid volume, the bulk
of the fine aggregate and the coarse aggregate
required to make a unit of volume of concrete
may readily be determined from the absolute
volume griven by the calculations already de-
scribed.

(11) If the mixture is such that the voids
in the aggregate are not fully filled by the
mortar, the voids will not be the measure of
the voids in the concrete ; but if the voids in
the concrete are known, the ratio of the
cement to the voids in the concrete may still
be an indication of the strength of the con-
crete, except in the more extreme cases.

(12) The amount of voids in a specified
mixture of mortar may be used to determine
the acceptability of a given fine aggregate, so
far as size and gradation are concerned.

(13) The method may be used to design the
mixture of the concrete whatever the amount
of cement used and whatever the ratio of
coarse aggregate to fine aggregate, provided
the mortar fills the voids in the coarse aggre-
gate.

In making a mortar test of a fine
aggregate, the voids are determined
for increasing amounts of mixing
water. The amount of water that
gives the minimum volume of the
mortar (greatest density and least
voids) may be termed the basic water
content. The charactertistic mortar-
voids curve made up from values of
the voids for minimum volume of
mortar may be termed the basic char-
acteristic mortar-voids curve. The
basic water content permits a very
good consolidation of the particles of
the mass when put into the mold;

more water swells the mixture, as it
also adds to the mobility. For other
water contents, giving the wetter con-
sistencies, such as for example 1.20
times the basic water content, char-
acteristic mortar-voids curves may be
made up from the voids data obtained
with the specified water-content ratios
in the tests already made. If a larger
amount of water than the basic water
content is to be used in the concrete,
the charactertistic curve for that pro-
portionate water content should be
used in the calculation. For the con-
sistencies generally used in concrete
work, the water content will range
from 1.10 to 1.40 times the basic
water content, though even wetter
mixtures are frequently used without
regard to consequences.

That there is a relation between
cement, voids and strength of mortars
and concrete has been recognized for
many years. Feret, the noted French
engineer, in discussing his tests stated
that for all series of plastic mortars
made with the same cement and of
inert sands, the compressive strength
after the same time of hardening
under identical conditions is solely a
function of the ratio of the amount
of cement to the space in the mortar
outside of the sand particles, and
varies with the square of this ratio,
whatever be the nature and size of
the sand and the proportion of the
elements. Taylor and Thompson give
a diagram showing Feret's results
and formula. A recent contribution
of Feret gives additional information
on the mortar-making qualities of a
variety of fine aggregates that con-
firms the earlier statement of the inti-
mate relation of voids, cement and
strength of mortars. Although the
tests of Feret referred to are mainly
on mortars, inferentially the same
principles apply to concretes. Withey
has plotted the data from Techno-
logical Paper No. 58 of the U. S.
Bureau of Standards by Wig, Wil-
liams and Gates, to show the relation
between strength of concrete and
ratio of amount of cement to voids in
concrete. Other writers have pointed
out similar relations.

4. Density and Voids in Mortars
and Concretes. — By means of the
mortar-voids test to be described, the
magnitude of the voids in a unit of
volume of mortar may be found for a
given proportion of cement and fine
aggregate. The magnitude of the
voids should be determined both for

1138

Buildings

Nov.

an amount of mixing water which
gives a minimum volume of mortar
for the given mixture (an amount of
water and a condition which herein is
called the basic water content) and
for one or more other water contents.
When such data are available for a
number of mixtures (proportions of
cement and fine aggregate) the char-
acteristic mortar-voids curve may be
drawn. Fig, 1 represents such curves
for a given sand, the lines represent-
ing basic water content (minimum
volume) and a water content of 1.40
times the basic water content. For
this sand with a mixture having twice
as much sand as cement by absolute
volumes, it will be seen that the voids
in the mortar constitute 28.3 per cent
of the volume of the mortar when the
mixing water is such as to give mini-
mum volume, and 37.5 per cent when
1.40 times this amount of mixing
water is used. It will be shown that
the characteristic mortar-voids curves
for different fine aggregates vary
widely, each material showing an in-
dividuality.

5. Analytical Relations. — If the

voids properties of the mortar are
known the application to the concrete
mixture may be made by analytical
considerations through the use of the
equations which follow. The follow-
ing notation will be used:

a — absolute volume of fine ag-
gregate in a unit of volume
of freshly placed concrete;

b = absolute volume of coarse ag-
gregate in a unit of volume
of freshly placed concrete;

c = absolute volume of cement in
a unit of volume of freshly
placed concrete;

d = density or solidity ratio of
the freshly placed concrete;

vm= voids (air and water) in a
unit of volume of the mortar
mixture of cement, fine ag-
gregate and water as it ex-
ists in the concrete;

V = voids in a unit of volume of
concrete. This, of course,
will be equal to 1 — d.

It is evident that

a + 6-f c===d = l — -y (1)
Since the mortar and the coarse

aggregate together make up the

unit of volume, it is also evident

that

c -f a
+6 = 1 (2)

1 Vm

A third equation derived from
equations (1) and (2) will be
found useful:

V = Vm ( 1 — b) or b

(3)

With the charactertistic mortar-
voids curve of a given fine aggregate
known, it will be shown that the
analysis may be made to apply to a
variety of problems, such as to find
the density and thereby the strength
of the concrete with a given cement
content and a given ratio of fine ag-
gregate to cement; to find the density
of the concrete and the amount of fine
and coarse aggregate in a unit of
volume of concrete when the amount
of cement and the ratio of the coarse
aggregate to the fine aggregate are
given; to find the amount of cement
required with different fine aggre-
gates to produce a given density and
strength; and to find the water con-
tent for a concrete when the water-
content curve for the mortar is known.
The applicability of the characteristic
mortar-voids curve to these problems
and the use of the analysis in the
design of concrete mixtures are illus-
trated in the latter part of the bulle-
tin.

It may be helpful to a quicker com-
prehension of the significance of the
equations to know something of the
range of values of the variables. For
mortars of medium richness at about
normal consistency vm ranges from
0.27 when made with a coarse, well-
graded sand to 0.40 with a very fine
sand. For concretes the density d
may range from 0.70 to 0.90. The

a
ratio — is somewhat greater than the

c
ratio of sand to cement by loose
volumes; it ranges from 1 for very
rich mixtures to 5 for very lean ones.
The absolute volume of the cement c
ranges from 0.05 for a very lean con-
crete mixture to 0.15 for a rich one.
The absolute volume of the coarse ag-
gregate b will be 0 in a mortar and
0.5 or more in a coarse mixture. For
a 1:2:4 mixture of fairly good ma-
terials, the values may be as follows:
c = 0.10; a = 0.28; 6 = 0.45, these
being the volumes of the solids in a
unit of volume of concrete (cubic foot,
cubic yard, etc.). For this example,
it will be seen that d = 0.83.

^1923
^p Co

Buildings

1139

Conclusion

Comments. — The combination of the
mortar-voids tests, the analytical re-
lations of cement, aggregates, voids
and water, and the experimental de-
termination of strengths, by the
methods outlined in this bulletin,
offers a useful method for the study
of materials, the design of concretes,
the calculation of quantities, the com-
parison of mixtures, and the estima-
tion of strength.

The mortar-voids test takes account
of the factors which give uncertainty
to the sieve-analysis function. If the
requirements for structural strength
and surface adhesibility be otherwise
guarded, it will enable new or untried
materials to be judged. It will permit
easy comparison of aggregates. It is
of interest in showing what range of
mortar richness will produce the best
results with a given fine aggregate
and thus in aiding to find conditions
under which the use of what may have
been thought to be a poor aggregate
can be permitted.

The design and estimation of
strength of mixtures may be made
for a given amount of cement, for a
given limit of quantity of coarse ag-
gregate or any smaller value, or for
a given ratio of cement and sand. A
reduction curve may be obtained for
finding the relative strengths for dif-
ferent relative water contents, based
on the basic water content, that giv-
ing the minimum volume of the
mortar and concrete.

The use of the absolute volume of
the materials give simple and con-
venient methods of analysis and cal-
culation, and in many w^ays is advan-
tageous. To think in terms of the
absolute volume of the materials in a
unit of volume of mortar or concrete
itself gives an advantage in making
comparisons and judging effects.
When the density of the material as
it is found by the method of measure-
ment to be used on the work is known,
the volumes by bulk measurement
may easily be obtained. The advan-
tage of measuring aggregates by
weight, in producing concrete of uni-
form quality, is apparent. Since the
specific gravity of sands in a given
locality varies but little, the use of an
average specific gravity is sufficiently
accurate for most purposes.

The method of treatment brings out

the old principle that other things be-
ing similar the strength of the con-
crete is equal to the strength of the
mortar of the concrete. "Other things"
refers to the water content, to the
degree of compactness, to the condi-
tions of storage, etc. Limitations in
such matters as amount of coarse ag-
gregate may be expected to come
within ordinary practice in well-made
concrete.

It should be noted again that the
equation for strength of concrete in
terms of the voids-cement ratio or
cement-space ratio will be dependent
upon the quality of the cement, and
that some variation in the constants
of the equations may be expected.
The tests were made at an age of 28
days, but equations of the same gen-
eral form for strength at other ages
may be determined from experimental
data.

The matter of allowance for the
water absorbed by the coarse aggre-
gate during the period of placing and
setting will need careful attention in
so far as this affects the amount of
water left to be counted as mixing
water. Any water carried into the
mixture on the surface of the particles
of the coarse aggregate and not ab-
sorbed by the aggregate during the
period of mixing and placing will, by
the technique described for the tests,
be included in the amount considered
as mixing water.

Further study and experience will
doubtless develop limitations and sug-
gest modifications and standardiza-
tion of methods. To what extent and
in what way account should be taken
of the possibility that the sum of the
volume of the mortar and the coarse
aggregate may not reach unity, is one
question. What limit to the volume
of the coarse aggregate may best be
used for different aggregates, differ-
ent water contents and different kinds
of construction, may well be studied.
The shrinkage of wet mixtures and
rich mixtures needs consideration.
The effect of air voids upon the
strength of concrete, and also the ef-
fect of the absorption of water by
the aggregates during and after the
setting of the cement, should be
studied. The effect upon strength of
the addition of water beyond basic
water content for a variety of fine
aggregates is worthy of experimenta-
tion and study, as well as methods of

1140

Buildings

Nov.

allowing for the reduction in strength
accompanying an increase in water
content. These and other topics de-
serve to be taken up by a number of
research laboratories and given care-
ful study, regardless of whether the
methods outlined in this bulletin are
considered the most satisfactory for
the study of the designing, compari-
son and determination of quantities
for concretes.

Resume of Methods. — In review of
the steps to be taken in the applica-
tion of the methods outlined in this
bulletin, the following is presented:

(1) The mortar-voids curve is determined
experimentally. For certain purposes the use
of a general mortar-voids curve of materials
having the same characteristics may be suffi-
ciently accurate. Mortar-voids curves may
well be made up for two or more water con-
tents.

(2) Curves giving the water content, cement
content and ratio of voids to cement for vary-
ing ratios of fine aggregate to cement may be
made up from the data of the mortar-voids

test.

(3) An equation or a diagram giving the
relation between the strength of mortar and
concrete at a given age for the common run
of cements should be available, as should a
reduction curve for the effect of relative water
content.

(4) The limiting value should be known or
judged for the absolute volume of the coarse
aggregate that may be used under the condi-
tions of placing and tamping obtaining on the
work.

(5) For use in making measurements by
bulk, the density of the fine aggregate and
the coarse aggregate for the method of meas-
urement to be used on the work should be
known.

(6) With such information the use of the
analytical relations given by the equations
will permit designs, comparisons and esti-
mates of strength and quantities of materials
to be made.

It is felt that the method of attack
outlined in this bulletin will be help-
ful in the work of analyzing, compre-
hending and judging the effects of the
various elements entering into the
strength properties of concrete, as
well as in many applications to the
problems of practice.

Brick Laying Machine. — A me-
chanical brick layer capable of laying
1,200 to 1,500 bricks per hour has
been invented by a Scotchman, ac-
cording to The Nation's Business.
"With a mortar tank, a hopper of
brick, and a motor the new machine
is said to lay its course of brick, come
back, break joints, and even skip the
openings. The thing 'taps' each brick
-to settle it in the mortar."

Business Conditions as Seen by the

National Bank of Commerce

of New York

The following is from the "Money
and Markets" circular of the National
Bank of Commerce for Nov. 17:

Opinions differ as to the real state
of trade. Some people point to the
many industries which are operating
at relatively low rates of capacity.
Some call attention to the continued
lack of forward orders. Business is
undoubtedly spotty both in lines of
industry and in sections of the coun-
try affected by special agricultural
conditions. From these facts and the
increasing demands of labor the con-
clusion is drawn that business cannot
be good.

Admitting the facts, do they mean
that we are to have worse rather than
better business ? The answer would
seem largely to be found in the state
of retail trade. Retail trade is un-
doubtedly good in useful articles and
not so good in articles which can be
done without. That retail business as
a wtiole is satisfactory is confirmed in
the experience of distributors who
without exception report no abate-
ment in the steady flow of small
orders rather than seasonal purchases
as in former years.

Stocks of goods are reported as not
large either in the hands of the pro-
ducer, distributor or consumer. It is
true that facts as to stocks are diffi-
cult to get but there are always more
or less unerring indications which en-
able experienced business men to dis-
cover whether they are excessive.
Thus in 1920, although direct evidence
as to accumulations of goods was
lacking there were sure signs of the
existence of heavy stocks. Delays in
transportation concealed a large
volume of goods, credit expansion was
extreme and money was high.

Today these signs are absent. Ex-
peditious transportation gives assur-
ance that heavy stocks are not out of
sight on the railroads. Commercial
loans are not excessive and are
fluctuating through a narrow range
and easy conditions prevail in the
money market. With active retail
trade, reasonable stocks of goods and
factory operations at low levels in
many important lines, the opinion is
justified that continued consumption
based on full employment of labor
must bring about increased rather
than reduced industrial activity.

1923.

Buildings

1141

Waterproofing a 525x75 Ft. Roof Terrace

■

Methods Employed at the U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.,

Described in Public Works of the Navy

By LIEUT. ROBERT R. YATES

A noteworthy example of the dif-
ficulties which a waterproofing proj-
ect can assume has lately been en-
countered at the Naval Academy in
dealing with the leaking roof area
over the mess hall. The problem in
this instance is further complicated
by the necessity of using the roof as
a terrace for drill foranations, which
in turn requires an almost flat surface,

on the mortar bed. Next followed, in
order, a cement mortar protective
coat, a cinder concrete fill, and a ce-
ment wearing surface.

The contract stipulated that the
waterproofing blanket be turned up
along the walls into raglets, and it
was afterwards decided to use copper
flashing and counter-flashing as pro-
tection for the upturned edges.

Ciivfitr coa Crete

rlAta wipe ~T*^n .

5 |)lv w<l.W|>roo{in4 feH 4nii |ii^.

e'lSt-yi red »i+rifit4 ♦i't
I — HfM cCln.t\r^kC^lon.

'—CU. consrriichon

' Canzni finislwi wednn^ surface

' Cir.Jer concrefe. fill

Cenen.4 morfar

t' {trro. co^fa. hie

E.eittfopc«<< concede )\ei sidi

Tmiia line of .auMc4 ceilittj

Fig. 1. Section Through Roof, Showing Old and New Constmction.

the prevailing slope from center line
Ho each side being ^ in. per foot.

Construction Details of Old Roof, —

At the outbreak of the World War
the Naval Academy had entirely out-
lived the capacity of its buildings, and
as part of expansions undertaken at
that time it became necessary to en-
large the mess hall to overall dimen-
sions of approximately 525x75 ft. A
new roof was provided in its entirety,
consisting of flat slab construction,
over which was placed a layer of 2
in. terra cotta tile, with a superim-
posed 1 in. mortar bed. The tile was
considered necessary in order to pre-
vent the outside surface heat being
carried to the slab. The waterproof-
ing blanket, of cotton fabric and an
approved compound, was laid directly

The contract further provided for a
5-year guaranty of the waterproof-
ing, and under these terms the con-
tractors were privileged to make such
changes as would not nullify the
guaranty. Among the changes made
was the use of copper flashing with-
out turning up the waterproofing
blanket along the side parapet, reli-
ance being placed entirely upon the
adhesion between copper and fabric
to maintain the roof in a watertight
condition.

Why the Old Roof Leaked.— Short-
ly after the roof was completed seri-
ous leaks began, which were not con-
fined to any particular portion of the
roof but were widespread. From the
scheme of construction previously
noted, it can be seen that should the

1142

Buildings

Nov.

water penetrate through the various
surfaces and the waterproofing down
to the tile it would flow rapidly
through the latter and possibly seep
through the ceiling at a considerable
distance from its point of entry
through the waterproofing.

Upon investigation it was found
that the leaks were due to several
causes, chief of which was the lack
of bond between the copper and the
waterproofing fabric, permitting the
water to get under the latter. Also,
there were places found in which the
waterproofing was quite thin, and still
others where the blanket had been
torn, through poor workmanship. Un-
fortunately, the major part of the
work was performed by a sub-con-

First, there was placed over the old
surface a layer of cinder concrete held
together by wire mesh and floated to
a smooth mortared surface. This sur-
face was mopped with an asphalt
primer and then treated with a coat
of asphalt pitch, in which was em-
bedded a layer of asphalt felt weigh-
ing approximately 14 lbs. per square.
Next followed alternating layers of
pitch and felt, until five of each had
been applied, this thickness being ob-
tained by lapping each ply of felt for
four-fifths of its width over the pre-
ceding one. Along the sides and ends
the waterproofing was turned up and
protected with copper flashing and
counterflashing. The wearing surface
consisted of red vitrified promenade
tile 6 by 9 by % in. embedded in a

Fig. 2. Detail of Roof and Wall Flashingr.

tractor, and the general contractor
was unable to force him to proceed
with the remedying of the work. The
general contractor, in turn, refused to
proceed with the righting of the de-
fects unless paid therefor, the con-
tract having been let on a cost plus
percentage basis; and it finally be-
came necessary for the Government
to declare the existing contract null
and void and to proceed with remedy-
ing the unsatisfactory condition as a
separate project.

After further investigation and
discussion it was concluded that the
leaks were so numerous that the whole
roof should be resurfaced and re-
waterproofed, and a contract for the
work was let to another firm, at ap-
proximately $58,000.

The New Construction. — The new
construction proceeded as follows;

^(5 -inch mastic coating which was ap-
plied directly on top of the water-
proofing. The joints between tiles
were made % in. wide, and were
filled with mortar composed of equal
parts of Portland cement and sand.
Figs. 1 and 2 clearly indicate the de-
tails of the resurfacing and flashing
as placed. Fig. 3 shows a typical
catch basin (half section).

Expansion joints in the cinder con-
crete, approximately 50 ft. apart, were
made to come directly over those of
the existing roof. They were formed
with % in. "Elastite" strips to the
full depth of the cinder concrete. The
waterproofing felt was carried direct-
ly over these expansion joints, the
manufacturers of the felt giving as-
surance that the material was capable
of stretching or compression within
the limits defined. Two series of ex-
pansion joints were provided for the

192S

Buildings

1143

tile, filled with a special asphaltic
material as prepared by the water-
proofing contractor. One set came
directly over the joints in the cinder
concrete. The others, % in. wide, ran
perpendicular and parallel to the lat-
ter, dividing the surface into 25-ft.
squares.

Shortly after completion of the
work a few leaks developed in the un-
der side of the roof, which were due
to rain water collected in the cinder
concrete before the application of the

seamanship and navigation building,
and to date has not developed the
slightest flaw.

Method of Cutting Raglets in Gran-
ite.— One of the distinct novelties in
the construction was the method of
cutting raglets in the granite to re-
ceive the copper flashing. There were
about 2,500 lin. ft. of raglet to be cut,
and the contractors, after trial, de-
cided that handwork was too slow and
expensive, the cost exceeding $3 per
linear foot. It was then decided to

drilled from below, and in this way
^_^ within two months all of the water
^K had been drained. The roof was thor-
^B oughly tested by stopping the drains
^H and flooding to the height of the hand-
^H rail base. The water was allowed to
^H stand for 48 hours, and the water-
^H proofing did not show the slightest
^^K defect.

l^BT For the past two and a half years
the roof has proved absolutely water-
tight, thus removing a long-standing
source of complaint of midshipmen
and officers attached to the academy.
The same method of waterproofing
has since been used on the terrace and
the deviascope platform of the new

Typical Catch Basin Details.

try a new method, namely, cutting
the raglets with a sand-blast machine;
and, accordingly, two such machines
were purchased. Along the surface
of the granite base a special cushion-
ing compound was spread for a width
of 6 in., the exact width of raglet be-
ing left exposed along the center line
of the applied material. Each ma-
chine was capable of cutting approxi-
mately 30 lin. ft. per 8-hour day. To
obtain satisfactory results the air
pressure for such blasting must be
at least 80 to 90 lb., and the volume
of discharge great. The latter effect
can be secured by using a fairly large
supply pipe, acting more or less as a
receiver. In this particular case 2-in.

1144

Buildings

Nov.

and 1^/^-in. pipes with 1-in. hose con-
nections were used.

The two machines cost $500 each,
and the total labor cost, including
pipe fitting operations on air com-
pressor, boiler, and machines, was
$4,539.62, or $1.81 per linear foot (375
lb. at 65 ct.), or 9.5 ct. per foot. Ap-
proximately 70 cu. yd. of sand were
required. Operations were begun
with the use of Ottawa white sand,
but this was found to be of no great
advantage over the local product. The
sand lost its usefulness by mechanical
action after two or three blasts
through the machine.

The sand-blasting method proved to
be a distinct advantage on this par-

can be very easily taught the work,
but in this instance it became neces-
sary to use highly paid union stone-
cutters, who apparently did not wish
to make an impressive showing with
the sand blast. •

The contractors declared themselves
well pleased with the results obtained
from the sand-blast machine, and ex-
pressed the opinion that its use would
be a distinct advantage where there
is any large amount of raglet to be
cut.

The government refused to accept
the first waterproofing described in
this article, but under the terms of
the contract was obliged to permit the

it'

,!&3i ■' t ' ■■ '

Fig. 4. Laying Promenade Tile on Pitch-Felt-Mastic Waterproofing Blanket.

ticular work, where time was a factor
and where the distance of raglet from
the edge of granite base was so small
that hand cutting would have neces-
sitated great care to prevent chipping.
Furthermore, the process proved more
economical than handwork, even
counting the price paid by contractors
for the machines, which suffered prac-
tically no deterioration on this con-
tract. The cutting by sand blast
might have been made even more eco-
nomical, as any intelligent laborer

contractors to make detail cliarges
which they claimed would not nullify
their guaranty, and which they in-
sisted upon as part of their water-
proofing system. It was found that
the government's interest had been
safeguarded in every respect, and the
second contract proceeded with the
expectation that payment would be
made under the bonded guaranty of
the contractors for the first water-
proofing; and the matter did, in fact,
so eventuate.

1,923 Buildings

How the Architect Can Secure Publicity

1145

Some of the Important Elements in a Publicity Plan Outlined in The

Architectural Forum

By HOWELL TAYLOR

In selling his service to the client,
the successful architect must study
the client's point of view. He must
anticipate a client's demands and be
ble to present convincing proof of
e value of architectural service,
et us examine the mental process of
average prospective client. We
ay safely assume that he is a busi-
ness man. His impulse to build is
set in motion by commercial needs or
the desire to improve some condition.
He asks himself what kind of build-
ing he wants. He thinks in terms of
what he has seen, of what he is read-
ing, and of what his associates tell
him. He reads two or three trade
magazines relative to his business,
one or two class magazines and per-
haps one general magazine; he will
glance through a striking monograph
sent to him through the mail; person-
letters addressed to him will usual-
y receive answers, and he will gener-
ly accept personal calls relating to
nything in which he is really inter-
:sted.

Gaining the Prospective Client's
Lttention. — The details of large build-
ig operations come into the experi-
'ence of the average prospect but sel-
dom— once or twice in a lifetime per-
^haps. When his building problem
ioes present itself, the degree of its
iportance is considerably exagger-
ited. He has always supposed that
le knew a lot about so simple a thing
is building, but he finds he is con-
fronted by something very complex.
Te knows in a general sort of way
that architects plan buildings. He has
"leard that some are good and others
)ad. He knows that there are build-
ig corporations which keep within
cost estimates and take complete
charge of details. He discovers that
le must investigate the situation very
carefully, but finds that he first wants
tto know what has been done in the
■field which interests him. Here then
[is offered an excellent point of con-
tact for the architect, and it is up to
'lim to make the most of it. The cli-
[ent's attention can be gained not by
^explaining what good architects they
I are, but by presenting very graphic

descriptions of buildings which inter-
est him in media that he cannot help
but see, making careful mention of
certain important solutions and the
architect's connection with them.

Were the public generally "sold"
on the idea of hiring an architect
for its building operations, as it is
on the idea of engaging a lawyer to
fight its legal battles, perhaps no con-
cessions to the modern business point
of view would be necessary on the
part of the architect; but it is not,
and the problem resolves itself then
into one of expediency. It is not a
question of "Shall we advertise ?" but
"How shall we advertise?" How shall
we educate our potential clients to
the point of buying our service ? — for
when a definite point of contact is
determined, it becomes a simple mat-
ter to present the worth-while facts
concerning an architectural office
which will prove to the client the rea-
sons why he should select this or that
practitioner.

Some means must be found of
catching a client's interest, but no ar-
chitect's service will do this unless he
has actually arrived at a point where
he is ready to select his architect.
More often than not the process of
his education regarding the building
he wants has been so closely asso-
ciated with his observations about ar-
chitects that his mind (on selection)
is made up before he realizes it.
Often, however, the old story about
the early bird holds good; in other
words, the architect who goes after
the business in terms that a client
expects to hear, commenting here and
there on the way his office would han-
dle certain problems, will find that he
is selling his services.

The "Service to You" Idea.— A cli-
ent's first impulse, when his building
problem presents itself, is to set in
motion some sort of investigation
which will give him a fairly complete
idea of what has been done in the
field where his interest lies and what
is the general trend in similar build-
ings under construction. The alert
architect must sense this impulse and

1146

Buildings

Nov.

be prepared to meet it in a way that
the client understands. For example,
glance through the advertising pages
of any newspaper or magazine and
you will find that except in the case
of well-established houses which are
now doing "institutional" advertising,
every commodity is presented with a
"service to you" idea. It must be
clearly held in mind that the aver-
age client cares little who his archi-
tect is if he gets what he wants.

In the automobile field the day has
come when the name of a car is suf-
ficient guarantee of its quality. In a
measure and among a few broad
gauged people the same is true in ar-
chitecture, but the rank and file of the
average prospective clients do not
know one architect from another ex-
cept in a very general way. In fact
among a large majority of people the
word "architect" means an expensive
luxury that must be avoided by prac-
tical people. To become so well
known that the mention of the name
suggests the quality and nature of a
service is most desirable, of course,
but is only possible through years of
carefully planned publicity. Word of
mouth advertising is the best sort
always, but its scope is very limited,
and it seldom builds up a broad field
of activity.

The architect must meet his selling
problem at an earlier stage in the
mental process of his client than he
has been doing, and the means of
accomplishing this deserves the most
careful study. The first step in deter-
mining a logical plan of publicity is a
survey of the fields of building con-
struction that are being covered. The
question must be asked, "Just who
are my clients?" and "Why am I
equipped to handle their building
problems ?" A consideration of the
training and personal equipment of an
architect's office will often reveal a
broader field of activity than is at
first -realized. For instance, hotels,
hospitals, apartment houses and insti-
tutional housing projects are closely
allied architectural problems although
widely different types of building
from the users' points of view, and
prospective clients should be sought
by wholly different methods.

The Value of Descriptive Articles.

— The next step is the determination
of the most natural means of direct-
ing the attention of the prospective

client to the architect's service with-
out forcing him to a consideration of
selecting an architect before he is
ready to do so. At this time the news
columns of trade magazines offer the
best means of general publicity for
the architect. Trade and class maga-
zine editors will be glad to receive
well written material on many sub-
jects of interest to their readers.
Many of the buildings which an archi-
tect constructs can be made the basis
of descriptive articles and interviews
which should be published over as
long a period as possible. Such ar-
ticles should always contain items of
human interest, statements by own-
ers, etc. A careful study of the trade
and class magazines will determine
the type of material each most read-
ily prints. Another good source of
publicity lies in the intelligent use of
newspaper reports. When an impor-
tant project is being launched or a
building started or completed, care-
ful reports should be prepared in the
architect's office. Newspaper report-
ing has become such a standardized
process, and newspapers are so accus-
tomed to receiving usable material
from the scores of press bureaus
maintained by as many organizations,
that often the less important projects
go unnoticed if the story has to be
sought out laboriously by staff re-
porters.

How to Get Articles in the News-
papers.— Architects should study news
writing and prepare brief descriptions
of new buildings, incorporating items
of general interest whenever possible.
If identical copies are sent with good
photographs to all newspapers within
a radius of 200 miles of the buildings,
it is likely that a majority of the pa-
pers will publish them. They should
be marked for release on a certain
date several days in advance of the
mailing to insure simultaneous ap-
pearance if the papers' editors desire.
If 12-em (one-column) or 24-em (two-
column) electrotyped cuts or mats of
65-line screen can be sent instead of
photographs, publication will be more
certain.

All such articles should be reprinted
in quantities and mailed to prospec-
tive clients whenever they provide
matter of direct interest to someone.
These should always be accompanied
by a brief but well written letter call-
ing attention to a specific point of the

1923

Buildings

1147

architect's service which applies par-
icularly to the proposed new work.

Under a well-conceived plan of
publicity, carefully prepared loose-
leaf monographs are of great value,
for they can be kept up to date and
used in giving clients a comprehensive
survey of the fields in which they are
interested. These monographs should
jnclude the work of other architects,
id should give the prospective client
broad and unbiased a concept of
le general type of building he pro-
)ses to construct as can be had. If
le architect has kept in touch with
le industrial development of the
)mmunity in which he is practicing,
should be able to anticipate the
jeds of a large majority of the in-
istrial and philanthropical institu-
ions, and be able to use these mono-
raphs in establishing a contact with
prospective clients whom he believes
re in the market for additional build-

The most should be made of exe-
ited commissions in the smaller com-
lunities. No member of any board
^r building committee with which an
:hitect has had a connection should
allowed to forget the fact that a
jrtain architect performed a certain
I'ork. They are often members of
Ithers boai^s, and are generally
»rominent business men. The full
pope of the architect's practice
lould be brought to their attention.

Small Jobs as Leaders for Big Ones.

— Encourage the men of the staff to
bring in new work. Do not forget
that every man, however humble may
be his part in the organization, may
have connections through which pub-
licity can be obtained and lead to val-
uable commissions. Besides, keeping
the man's interest in the office wall
introduce new clients to its service,
^ome of the work from this source
lay be small, and for larger offices
all just about pay for the cost of
producing drawings, but a new client
always an asset, and if the archi-
rtect builds a $10,000 house success-
i fully, the client is likely to come back
■with a $500,000 factory some day, or
school building or church or hospital.
Architects now make a practice of
doing the minor work of clients who
have come to them for important com-
missions. Why not reverse the proc-
ess? Take the small jobs first, and
trust that the client will become in-

fluential in other large building proj-
ects later.

In all these suggestions the attempt
has been made to include but a few
of the important elements which an
architect may use in laying out his
plan of publicity. There is no set
rule. Each office will have to deter-
mine for itself what specific items
\sill best promote its gro%vth and keep
its name before the larger number of
potential clients. One thing is im-
portant to consider — no plan of pub-
licity, however carefully it is laid out,
is apt to bring immediate results. If
an architect expects that his advertis-
ing and selling effort, which is estab-
lished as a new and aggressive policy,
will bring him tangible results within
a few months, he will be disappointed,
for his efforts will probably go unre-
warded for a year or more. Such a
condition should not discourage the
use of a logical plan, however, for
it has been the experience of many
other concerns that are now firm be-
lievers in advertising.

"What does the advertising dollar
buy?" It buys insurance for the
future of the user's business. It buys
the necessity of careful codification
of the purposes and policies of the
firm. It buys the respect of the mod-
em business world, if done honestly,
as well as the respect of every mem-
ber of the firm's staff. Many users
have found advertising to be the pan-
acea for all the ills of organization
and selling. It is not unreasonable
to believe that a more general use
of carefully planned publicity by ar-
chitects will produce similar results.

Long Column Timber Tests. — Tests
are under way at the Forest Products
Laboratory, Madison, Wis., on 12 by
12 in. by 24 ft. southern yellow pine
and Douglas fir timbers. The tests,
which are being made in co-operation
with the National Lumber Manufac-
turers' Association, are for the pur-
pose of studying column formulas and
laws, to obtain data on the effect of
density and defects, such as knots and
shakes in columns, and with these
data as a basis to recommend safe
working stresses for .structural
columns. The testing program as out-
lined covers a 4-year period and will
include tests on both green and air-
dried material, ranging in qualitj
from clear and dense to ver\ ■''■>-
fective and light-weight material

1148 Buildings Nov.

English Tests of Heat Trsoismission Through Walls

Report of British Research Board Summarized in Engineering, London

gaseous pressure of 100 atmospheres,
so as to produce an extremely large
number of very minute pores bounded
by very thin walls, and, as far as
could be determined by such experi-
ment as was possible on the sample,
this had a conductivity only half as
large again as that of still air, as
against about double the conductivity
of still air for a number of fine porous
powders and fibres (cork, slagwool,
charcoal and wool fibre). Hereabouts
lies the lowest conductivity of any
materials at present known, and this
ceases to be maintained or even ap-
proached when the material is damp.
As a very rough figure for compari-
son with the present results it may be
called 0.3 B. Th. U.

Conductivities of Various Materials.
— Dr. Griffiths' present figures show
that with two exceptions the materials
of building construction have conduc-
tivities of quite different orders of
magnitude. The lowest of those he
examined are diatomaceous bricks,
which have a conductivity of rather
over twice to three times that of the
porous powders, and a flooring ma-
terial prepared on Dr^, Schryver's
process from exhausted castor beans
also had a conductivity of about three
times that figure. The next lowest is
a chalk-cement (20:1) concrete, used
for the walling of one of the experi-
mental cottages erected by the Board
at Amesbury, with a conductivity of
2.2, about seven times that of the
powders. Ground brick and lime fol-
lowed with a conductivity of 2.9, sand-
lime (2:1) 3.3, sand-cement (4:1) 3.7,
and so on among concretes and plas--
ters up to York stone-sand-cement
(4:2:1) 7; showing over all a conduc-
tivity in concretes and plasters vary-
ing from about 7 times that of the
powders to something over 20 times.
The usual walling materials have con-
ductivities beginning in the higher
range of the concretes. Thus Fletton
bricks in cement-mortar are 4.4 and
in lime-mortar 5, London stocks 6.1,
pise of clinkers and lime 8.1, and of
clay and gravel 8.7, and sand-lime
bricks in cement-mortar 9.3; say from
about 14 to 30 times the conductivity
of the powders. Both better and
worse results were obtained from the
cavity and composite walls. These re-

The rate at which walls, floors, ceil-
ings and their coverings transmit
heat does not depend only on what is
known as their true conductivity, that
is to say, the rate of transmission
under unit difference of temperature
between their faces. In practice it is
also affected by unsteady variations
of the temperature difference (such,
for instance, as may occur if one face
is suddenly but not steadily heated),
by heat lost by conduction through
edges, by radiation, and by convection.
These factors are eminently difficult
to standardize, and for the purpose of
comparing different materials accu-
rate determinations of the true con-
ductivity may be of considerable prac-
tical value. The Building Research
Board has accordingly published a re-
port* on experiments on the subject
made for them at the National Phys-
ical Laboratory by Dr. Ezer Griffiths,
with an introduction by Mr. H. O.
Weller, director of building research.
These experiments deal with the true
conductivity, measured under a steady
flow of heat, and in appendixes an ac-
count is given of work done in Nor-
way, Sweden and Germany, in which
results are given for measurements
of transmission of heat through all
causes.

The results are given alternatively
as the heat in British or C. G. S. units
which flows through unit area and
thickness of the material in unit time
under a steady temperature difference
of 1° F. or C.; in the case of com-
posite walls the figure is given for
the entire thickness. Taking British
units for convenience, it is to be re-
membered that the conductivity of
still air is 0.14 B. Th. U. per square
foot per hour for 1 in. thickness and
1° F. temperature difference. So far
as materials are known at present,
this is the asymptotic limit of their
lowest conductivity.

The Material Having Lowest Con-
ductixty. — At the very end of some
experiments !»at Dr. Griffiths made
for the Foo'.' Board in 1921, he got
hold of a lit" ''e piece of cellular ex-
panded rubber vulcanized under a

"Heat Transmission ThrouKh Walls, Con-
, . los and Plasters": H. M. Stationery Office.
,, ( ■ I'lon. Price 30 ct.

Buildings

1149

Its were, of course, not per inch, but
|or the total thickness, and cannot
lerefore be compared summarily
ith the figures just given. The best
B'as 9.6 for a 6-in. timber frame con-
truction, made of 1-in. rough board-
ig with 4-in. by 2-in. studding and
ith and plaster, and %-in. weather-
boarding, roughly about a third of the
jnductivity of the same thickness of
jndon stock bricks in cement mortar;
»xt came a wall of 12-in. by 9-in. by
-in. hollow terra cotta bricks, with a
jnductivity of 19.7. In most cases
le sample wall or slab was made
3veral weeks before test and allowed

dry out thoroughly. The extent,

lowever, to which moisture would

ive affected the. results was illus-

rated by testing a well of 9-in. stocks

ixed quite wet during June; what

rear or what temperature and condi-

ions of atmospheric moisture are not

bated. The initial conductivity was

15.8, which dropped in a week to 9.67

id took a further week to reach its

lormal 6.1. This indicates that in ex-

)sed conditions many porous ma-

srials would be worse than useless as

isulators, though they might be serv-

ceable as internal linings.

Application of Results of Tests. —

hi& introduction to the report Mr.
Teller draws attention to some prac-
ical' consequences from its results.
7o indicate the effect of insulation on
16 domestic economy he compares
le conductivities of sand-lime in ce-
lent and Flettons in lime, and calcu-
ites that the difference in conduc-
^vity shown from the above figures
-about 10.7 — amounts in a heating
Jason of 170 days to a loss of heat
lat would take something over a ton
Df coal to make good, in the absence
l>f which the house would be corre-
Jondingly "colder." This is ap-
parently on the assumption of central
ieating with a 60 per cent efficiency,
id perhaps understates the effect in
Jritish conditions. Other results
low that the insulation can be im-
proved by building the walls with
ivities. The framed timber wall,
f^hich gave the best results, is open to
_the objection that its insulating power
is reduced greatly by leakage when
the 'outer skin is split or broken,
apart from other obvious disadvan-
tages. Something approaching its in-
sulating efficiency can, however, be
got by building hollow brick walls.
Thus a hollow 11-in. wall of London
stocks would have a conductivity of

little over 11, as against the 9.6 for
the 6-in. framed timber wall. The
whole of the figures are however
affected by the process of manufac-
ture; cement-concrete, for instance,
becomes more conductive as it be-
comes denser and richer, and accord-
ing to the Norwegian results light-
burned bricks are less conductive than
hard burned. It is stated accordingly
that in these experiments care was
taken to see that the experimental
samples represented fair average
practice in good work. The figures
for pise (rammed earth) indicate that
it is more conductive than bricks for
equal thickness, and owes its reputa-
tion for insulating power to the
greater thickness in which it is used.
Perhaps the most striking figure for
practical purposes is that of the
chalk-cement concrete, quoted above,
of which the insulating power is
roughly three times as great as that
of London stocks in cement.

How the Tests Were Made.— Two
methods of test were used according
to the order of magnitude of the con-
ductivity in question, each of these de-
pending on measuring the heat flow-
ing normally to the surface through
the thickness of the sample. In each
method the source of heat was an
electrical hot plate, consisting of a
coil or mat of nichrome tape so wound
as to communicate heat uniformly all
over the surface, and insulated with
thin sheets of micanite. For materials
of high conductivity, such as walling,
in which the heat flowing through the
surface was large relatively to that
which escaped from the edges and
comers and had to be allowed for by
a calculated correction, the sample of
about 9 sq. ft. area was backed by
the hot plate, and this again by a 6 in.
slab of cork extending over and be-
yond the hot plate, the edges of the
sample and hot plate being embedded
in granulated cork held in a frame-
work. By a number of copper-con-
stantan thermocouples the tempera-
tures of the hot and cold faces of the
slab and of the wall under test were
taken, and from the electrical energy
used in the hot plate and the tem-
perature readings the total heat, los-
through edges and comers, and cor
ductivity of wall were c^i*! into ;.
With hollow samples dupl' -

were made in horizontal ar liC"

positions, disclosing differerce-
conductivity due to convectioi cu
rents ranging from about 2% per cer.

1150

Buildings

Nov.

to 10 per cent. Materials of higher
conductivity were tested in duplicate
slabs, each about 2 in. thick and 12
in. by 12 in. area. These slabs were
provided with metal faces and sand-
wiched about the hot plate, which in
this arrangement was surrounded by
a "guard-ring" of the same construc-
tion and in the same plane as itself,
and from a separate supply of current
maintained at the same temperature,
so that no flow of heat took place
from the edges and corners of the hot
plate.

A brine circulation in pipes was
provided against the outer metal
plates fixed to the samples, so as to
treat them as cold faces and maintain
them at a constant low temperature,
and the whole was embedded ^ in
granulated cork. From the electrical
energy and the temperatures of the
hot and cold faces of the slabs, taken
with thermocouples at various points,
the conductivity was calculated. The
readings reckoned in the test were
not begun till a steady flow of heat
had been established, which might
take some days.

Covering Capacity of Whitewash
or Cold Water Paint

The following figures from a re-
cent bulletin of the National Lime
Association will be of assistance^ in
estimating the amount of materials
required and the time needed to cover
wood, brick or plaster surfaces. It is,
of course, to be understood that these
figures are only, approximate since
there are many factors, such as con-
dition of the mortar joints in brick
work, roughness of lumber, and pre-
vious treatments which will have a
very decided influence on the covering
capacity of the wash or paint.

Whitewash or cold water paint will
weigh, on an average, about 12 lb. to
the gallon. A gallon will have the
following covering capacity:

On wood, about 225 sq. ft. (10 ft.
by 221/2 ft.).

On brick, about 180 sq. ft. (10 ft.
by 18 ft.).

On plaster, about 270 sq. ft. (about
8 ft. by 33 ft.).

According to A. S. Jennings, a man
with a 4-in. brush should cover the
.following surfaces per hour:

On rough walls, 22 sq. yd.

On smooth walls, 38 sq. yd.

O., lat surfaces, 40 sq. yd.

A Formwork Kink

A useful method of fitting form-
Work around two steel water supply
tanks was developed by H. W. El-
dridge, engineer and contractor, on
one of his jobs. The method is de-
scribed in Contractor's Atlas.

The two tanks were each 30 ft. long
and 6 ft. in diameter, supported at
each end by concrete walls. In order
to make a neat job of the formwork
so that the concrete would have a
good appearance, it would have been
necessary to spend considerable time
cutting and fitting the boards to the
circle of the tank — in fact, to do a
very good job would have meant cut-
ting the ends on a band saw. To do
away with the fitting operation, sheet

U 3H) Sftef d

Sketch Showing How Forms Were Fitted to
Circle.

iron plates cut to the proper radiws
were used to make a tight fit .around
the tank. These pieces each forming
part of the required circle were cut
from scrap pieces of black iron of
about 18 gauge by the local sheet
metal worker.

The form boards were cut with
square ends, nailed to the studs in
such a manner that the space between
the square end of the form board and
the outside of the tank was not over
2 in. The sheet iron pieces were
tacked to the inside of the form. The
sheet iron pieces were of varying
lengths, depending on the scrap avail-
able.

The only fixed dimension in the
piece of sheet metal is the proper
radius and the provision of at least
2 in. at the narrowest portion. This
method resulted in a saving of $4 per
cubic yard of completed concrete on
this portion of the work.

Buildings

1151

Contractors' Associations' Activities in Accident

Reduction

ety Work of General Builders* Association of Detroit, Mich.,
Described in Paper Presented Oct. 3 at 12th Annual Safety
Congress of National Safety Council

By RALPH A. MacMULLAN,

Secretary, General Builders' Association of Detroit, Mich.

The General Builders' Association of
Detroit is composed of seventeen
members who have become so com-
pletely and permanently sold on the
ibject of accident, safety and pre-
jpention that they are imbued with
le common interest of working to-
jther in complete co-operation. The
ssociation has a safety committee
)mposed of one man from each mem-
;r firm, the secretary of the asso-
iation, the insurance representative,
id the chief inspector. This com-
tittee holds periodical meetings, both
Bgular and special, for discussion of
"" matters that have to do with safe-
The scope of its deliberation is
jiroad enough to include amendments
the compensation law, important
lecisions on the subject of public lia-
plity. owners' and contractors' con-
igent liability, the subject of equip-
lent, materials, and methods of
indling them, and the like. It was
is committee that actively prepared,
Approved and adopted the safety code
the General Builders' Association
Detroit, which has been used as a
reed by our members and with which
lany of you are familiar because it
is been republished and distributed
ither generally throughout the
United States and Canada.

To promote familiarity with our
ifety code and its intelligent appli-
fttion to safety problems on the jobs,
bur association appropriates, each
Fear, a sum of money to be expended
m bi-monthly installments as prizes
|or the best answers to questionnaires
nbracing ten questions that are dis-
ibuted among superintendents, fore-
_ len and others on the jobs. These
prizes range from $15 down to $1,
with additional prizes given for help-
ful suggestions whether they apply to
the code or not.

Keep Abreast of Latest Methods. —

The result of this questionnaire has
been exceedingly gratifsring and indi-
cates that men on the job are very
much interested in helping their own

situation, to say nothing of the help-
ful propaganda of convincing the em-
ployes that their employers are active-
ly interested in them as evidenced by
the attempt to save life and limb and
preserve the men to their jobs. We
cannot afford to overlook any possi-
bility of betterment of our safety work
by suggestions from the men actually
on the job, and, further, the very
thought given by the men to sugges-
tions gives them what might be termed
a "safety consciousness," whether
their particular suggestion is of value
or not.

The program of our safety com-
mittee is one of constant change to
keep abreast of the best and latest
practices and methods, and particu-
larly designed so that the subject shall
become commonplace or stade, and
naturally is too extensive to permit
of detailed reference here. One of
the first and best details of that pro-
gram, however, is the practice at
times of holding periodical first aid
classes showing practical methods of
caring for accident cases and the edu-
cation of one of the foremen or super-
intendent on each job in first aid work
as well as that feature, perhaps more
important, of impressing the convic-
tion that an accident is a mighty good
thing to prevent before it happens,
and how to minimize the result of it
when it does occur.

The Welfare Department. — As a

valuable adjunct to the work of the
safety committee is our welfare de-
partment wherein a trained nurse
visits the home of each workman,
whose injury requires hospital attend-
ance. This nurse prepares a form
provided for the purpose in which is
noted information relative to the size
of the family and general information
about home conditions. If need of
special financial or other help is indi-
cated by the information gathered, we
proceed from that point according to
the merits of the case. Thus, a
woman is given the task of breaking

1152

Buildings

Nov\

the news of the accident to the family
of the injured workman, as only a
woman can do. Next, the nurse visits
the hospital and informs the patient
that she has been to his home and has
rendered such comfort and aid as has
been necessary, and gives the patient
such assurances that he is relieved
from worry about his family and
home.

In case of an accident of more than
ordinary gravity on any job, whether
it be attended by severe results or
results only potentially severe, the as-
sociation convenes a board of inquiry
consisting of the secretary, insurance
representative, the chief inspector and
the safety committee man in the em-
ploy of the member firm on whose job
the accident occurred. As soon as
practicable after the accident, the
board_ visits the job, whether it be in
Detroit or elsewhere, and takes in-
formal testimony from eye witnesses,
the injured workman, if possible, the
foreman and superintendent. I use
the word "informal" because we in-
variably begin by stressing the fact
that all present are there for the pur-
pose of discovering how such condi-
tions may be promoted as will effect-
ually prevent a repetition of such an
accident and therefore they may all
speak freely. The effect of this prac-
tice is very excellent in many ways,
particularly in re-establishing confi-
dence and, therefore, efficiency on that
job.

Co-operate with Council and U. S.
Department of Labor. — All of the

foregoing will indicate to you that the
systematic methods that we have de-
veloped and adopted for the control
of accidents have resulted in a sort
of unwritten book of standard rules
and processes among the association
members, and the various jobs of each
member. Standard methods, plus dis-
cipline, its first cousin, must surely
result in efficiency, and it follows just
as naturally that efficiency based on
organization and system makes for
minimum accident occurrence. This,
in a word, is success which in safety
work means humanitarianism, eco-
nomical as well as physical safety to
workmen with a resulting speed and
economy to both the owner and the
contractor.

Without statistics of a high order,
our work in safety methods could not
be capable of being measured. To
thi^ end, we have worked carefully
with the United States Department of

Labor, the National Safety Council
and others to perfect and adopt stand-
ard methods of accident accounting,
and the adoption of forms with stand-
ardized nomenclature of cause and re-
sult of accidents with standardized
penalties in elapsed days for fatal and
permanently disabling accidents. I
believe a great deal of credit for these
standardized methods of accounting is
due to the National Safety Council
because it is now possible to make re-
sults in one section comparable with
those elsewhere, and is an inestimable
help to those who are making a sincere
and intelligent effort to reduce indus-
trial accidents and their results in the
construction industry.

Accident Prevention an EssentiaL —

I wish to repeat what I said in the
beginning; that our members have
been so completely sold on the sub-
ject of accident prevention among em-
ployes through the methods outlined
in the foregoing that they regard it
as an essential department of their
business along with economy and effi-
cient handling of any other depart-
ment. Safety is not the privilege of
the large contractor, for he has no
patent or special advantage over the
small contractor. Nor do we agree
that the phrase I dimly remember, "a
death a floor" should be stoically ac-
cepted, for while we occasionally have
deaths, we have completed many mul-
tiple story buildings on which the
death column in the accident record
is blank. We have both large and
small contractors, and I am convinced
through my knowledge of accident oc-
currence in the construction industry
that accident prevention is exactly as
important, no more and no less, to the
small as well as to the large con-
tractor, and that the methods of con-
trolling and minimizing accidents are
as much available to the one as to
the other.

We have had a small measure of
success in preventing accidents. But
it is a matter of common discussion in
our committee that our work has only
nicely begun and that "every day in
every way" we expect to become bet-
ter and better.

Union Workers in Building Indus-
try.— Official tabulation of the mem-
bership of the affiliated international
unions in the building industry shows
a total of 502,132 craftsmen, ex-
clusive of the carpenters union, which
has a membership in excess of 350,000.

Buildings

1153

Waterproofing Processes for
Reservation of Masonry Walls

Various Methods and Processes De-
scribed in the October Issue of Stone

Weather is Nature's wrecker and
the value of various materials for
construction work depends upon the
degree to which they resist its rav-
ages. In certain climates where there
is little or no moisture in the air and
where rains are of infrequent occur-
rence, little attention need be given to
"weathering" or to methods to arrest
decay. In some sections of the United
States this condition obtains, while in
others exactly the opposite holds good
and waterproofing, or damp-proofing
is resorted to in an effort to preserve
masonry walls from disintegration due
to moisture in the pores of stone and
other building materials.

Two Main Problems. — In the work
of rendering a masonry wall water-
proof and thereby arrest disintegra-
tion two main problems must be met
and corrected before applying any one
of a number of profing agents. First,
all leaks must be located and sealed
and, second, the wall must be restored,
disintegrated sections removed and
new materials inserted and all joints
pointed before any waterproofing ma-
terial can be applied with the hope
that it will prove successful. The fact
that many paterproofing jobs are not
executed with care and by experienced
workmen usually is the direct cause

jf the failure of an otherwise eflBcient

jrocess and material.

Waterproofing or damp-proofing is
lot "painting," but rather a combina-

ion of painting, pointing, repairing
id cleaning, for it is essential that

11 exposed parts of a wall, including

)ps and backs of parapets, should be
)ointed and the walls themselves

leaned down to insure adherence of,
»r penetration of the waterproofing

ibstance. While all experienced

?^aterproofers insist upon walls being
iry, one process is based upon the

'leory that the stone must be thor-
|oughly dry, that the pores must be
."ree from moisture to the depth of
about % in., to insure perfect and
uniform penetration of the preserving
material, which in this instance is
paraffin wax in combination with an-
other wax. To obtain the required
temperature charcoal furnaces of an

open-face type are used to bring the
wall surface to a temperature equal
to that of the melting point of the
wax compound.

Treatment of Central Park Obelisk.

— It was this process that was used
in 1885 in the treatment of the
Obelisk in Central Park, New York
City, when park officials became
alarmed at the rapid disintegration
of the famous shaft. So far advanced
was this disintegration that the water-
proofers found it necessary to remove
850 lb. of flakes or chips. The entire
exposed surface was then treated by
the heat pocess with a paraffin wax
compound, which congealed in the
pores of the stone in the process of
cooling and formed a protective belt
course about % in. deep that has been
pronounced impervious to dampness.
At least the decay ceased, the flakes
no longer appeared on the surface
and the shaft apparently was saved.
In the period from 1885 to 1923 no
further treatments were given to the
shaft, but in the latter year the sur-
face was coated with a liquid as a
precautionary measure, and as no new
flakes had appeared or other signs of
disintegration manifested themselves,
the Park Department officials were of
the opinion that the original paraffin
wax impregnation process had served
to preserve the shaft for all time.

Parafllin in a molten state in combi-
nation with another wax or waxes, or
in solution with some volatile oil or
liquid, constitutes the base for the
majority of the prepared waterproof-
ing and damp-proofing compounds on
the market today. Where this paraffin
preparation is applied to a wall sur-
face under heat the temperature of
the stone must be raised to a point
sufficiently high to dry out the wall,
usually from 160 to 180° F. As
paraffin will melt at 140° the theory
is that it will penetrate into the pores
of the stone and mortar at that tem-
perature. Once in the pores the wax
congeals, fills the pores and cannot
be removed except under a tempera-
ture high enough to vaporize it, or
600°. Paraffin in solution is applied
at outside temperatures and is there-
fore a more efficient agent when the
work is done in summer, or when the
average temperatures are around 50
to 60°, or higher. It cannot be ap-
plied during cold or freezing weather,
nor immediately after rains, or during
fogs, and periods of dampness. Thus

1154

Buildings

Nov.

the season for waterproofing by this
process is confined to the five or six
months of non-freezing weather. The
liquid is applied with a brush. On
dry walls compounds of this nature
have been tested and the penetration
has been quite uniform and to a suffi-
cient depth to form a damp-proof sur-
face. On exterior marble walls one
coat is held to be sufficient to arrest
weathering, while limestone requires
two coats. As some stones discolor
under this treatment it is good prac-
tice to consult chemists or manufac-
turers before risking the application
of any waterproofing product of which
paraffin is the base and in which oils
are added in solution. The action in
both the artificial and the outside heat
processes is purely a physical one and
neither the stone or the mortar joints
are weakened, but rather strength-
ened and the color tone fixed. Paraffin
in solution or when applied under heat
is recommended as a preventive from
discoloration from smoke and soot.
The paraffin coat presents a smooth
surface that is easily cleaned and
which at the same time eliminates
gases responsible for the formation
of acids in the pores.

An English Method. — An English
method that has been brought for-
ward, but with what success is not
known, consists of a solution in water
of barium hydrate, saturated at sum-
mer temperatures when it contains
about 3 per cent of byrata. Various
objections have been raised to the use
of this process, chiefly because it is a
compound that is decidedly toxic and
workmen needs must be protected
while applying it. The application of
silica of soda to freestones to give
impervious surfaces has been used in
England. It is probable that many
patent preservative compounds are
made of soluble silicate to which is
added some material, such as pulver-
ized quartz, which helps fill the pores.
A number of years ago the so-called
Tubelka method was given consider-
able publicity. It provided for the
use of 1.7 solution of waterglass for
tempering and after the stone became
dry, to saturate it with a solution of
potash or soda waterglass. This was
to be followed with impregnation of
molten chloride of calcium. Moisture,
it was claimed, could then do no harm,
as the reaction of chloride of calcium
upon waterglass filled the pores with
insoluble hard silicate of lime, while

the soluble silicate of lime decom-
posed and washed out by rain. An-
other prcess of the same origin pro-
vided for saturation of the wall sur-
face with a solution of potash water-
glass. An objection to this was that
it must be repeated several times to
properly fill the pores.

Resistance of American Type

Office Building in Tokio to

Earthquake Damage

Reports made by the engineers of
the George A. Fuller Co., New York,
which had erected in Tokio three
large office buildings of American
type, show that the earthquake dam-
age to these buildings was mainly
superficial. All three were heavily
graced from designs prepared by H.
V. Spurr of Purdy & Henderson, en-
gineers. New York, as shown in the
Sept. 26 issue of Engineering and
Contracting. Extracts from the re-
ports are given in the Nov. 15 Iron
Age as follows:

From Preliminary and Superficial

Examination (Entirely From

the Outside)

Marunouchi Building. — Many cracks
in brick and concrete filling between
the steel columns on the second and
third floors. Outside tiling had been
badly buckled in many places and fall-
ing off, but this tiling was simply
ornamental and added nothing to the
strength of building. Steel frame
work appeared to be absolutely intact
without any shifting of position. No
window glass was broken.

N. Y. K. Building.— Steel frame
aboslutely intact with no shift, con-
siderable damage to brick walls and
terra cotta between the steel columns
on the second and third floors, most
of which occurred on fie corners; also
some of the exterior uerra cotta was
badly cracked on upper floors. The
interior walls on first ^oor showed no
cracks nor was any window glass
broken.

Japan Oil Building. —Steel frame
intact with no shifting, some damage
on second and third floors to the brick
and terra cotta between steel columns,
but considerably less than on the
other buildings; also considerable of
the terra cotta showed cracks on the

Buildings

1155

^Kkm

upper floors and a few of the granite
base blocks were cracked. No window
glass was broken, but from the out-
side view there were indications that
portion of the hollow tile partition
alls on first floors had fallen down.

Seiuyukai (Under Construction). —

all damage, as the walls were not
cracked, but some damage from the
fire caused by scaffolding burning; no
indication, however, of any interior
damage to partitions or walls, and
work on this building can be resumed
at once.

From Engineer's Thorough
Examination

Structural Steel. — The steel frame
in every case (in all three completed
buildings) seems to have been of suffi-
cient strength to withstand the dead
loads and the sudden application .of
any superimposed loads due to vibra-
tions caused by the earthquake and
also seems to have shown a sufii-
ciently high elastic limit to have re-
turned to its original position in
every case. That there was undoubt-
edly a marked momentary deflection
laterally in the columns is evidenced
by the shattering of a large percent-
age of the masonry piers surround-
ing or inclosing the exterior wall
columns, and of the plastered parti-
tions between the steel columns of the
interior (and the distortion or de-
struction of the steel cross bracings
which were added to the Marunouchi
Building after the earthquake of
"",922). While the momentary and
_ olent deflection of the columns later-
ally, particularly in the second and
third stories, was of sufficient
strength to shatter the inclosing or
contiguous masonry, the agitation was
not sufiicient to distort the structural
steel permanently in any case.

Reinforced Concrete. — Except where
the principal bays or sections of the
parts of each building were joined to-
gether, such as the front of the side
wings, there was no evidence of any
destruction or distortion of the rein-
forced concrete floor slabs. At the
joints between the front and side
wings there were some minor cracks
in the floor construction showing
through the corridor floor surfacing,
aiid indicating that the several sec-
tions of the building vibrated inde-
pendently from each other, the cracks

being undoubtedly due to a very
severe shearing stress at these points.

In the Marunouchi Building there
does not appear to be any marked or
serious damage to the reinforced con-
crete floor slabs or beam coverings.
Where reinforced concrete walls were
used on the interior there was a mini-
mum amount of damage, except at
certain points on stairway walls near
the west side of the building. This
damage was probably due to the lack
of continuity of these walls in a
straight line.

Recommendations

as to the design of buildings to be
erected in locations subject to earth-
quake shocks.

Structural Steel. — Columns should
be placed in straight lines in each di-
rection so that at every panel there
will be a maximum number of points
of resistance. The sections of columns
should be as wide as possible in each
direction and should be connected at
each floor by girders as deep as the
requirements for head room will per-
mit. Both colunms and girders should
be latticed if the computation of
stresses does not require solid web
plates. If solid webs are required
then the webs should be punched at
frequent intervals to permit of the
proper application of reinforcing
steel. Between the girders at each
floor will be the necessary steel beams
for carrying the reinforced concrete
floor slabs.

In cases where head room or clear
interior spaces are absolutely neces-
sary then resort must be had to knee
braces. It is recommended, however,
that such rooms as absolutely require
great height or clear interior be
placed on the top story, or as near
thereto as possible. Rivets for con-
nection of girders to columns should
be in shear wherever possible. Rivets
in tension should be studiously
avoided.

Conference on Housing. — The 9th

annual conference of the National
Housing Association will be held Dec.
5, 6 and 7 at the Hotel Adelphia,
Philadelphia.

1156

Buildings

Nov.

How Photographs Help Sell
Construction Service

Photographs of construction proj-
ects can be of great help to a con-
tractor in selling his services if he
goes about the matter in the right
way. Some of the larger construc-
tion firms take advantage of the as-
sistance which pictures can render,
but unfortunately, the majority of
contractors — especially the smaller
ones — fail to realize the desirability
of taking pictures, even for their own
records. Such contractors will per-
haps be interested in the experience of
one large firm — D wight P. Robinson
& Co., of New York, and other large
centres — who have found photographs
useful in getting business. They ex-
plain their system as follows in the
Contract Record:

Progress photographs, as used and
developed in our work, form a part of
the mechanism for reporting and re-
cording construction progress. In
fact, they are so much a part of the
daily routine that we are surprised to
find that the layman frequently con-
siders their use as somewhat of an
innovation.

These photographs have three main
purposes: first, reporting the prog-
ress of the work to the client; sec-
ond, providing a permanent record of
the status of the work at given dates,
and third, assisting the executives in
the New York office in controlling
the progress of the work. Incident-
ally, progress photographs have been
found useful in giving prospective
clients a graphic view of our activi-
ties. This last use is, of course, not
considered in taking routine progress
photographs, but their value for this
purpose has been so well demon-
strated that some suggestions regard-
ing the use of photographs in selling
may not be amiss.

Our salesman faces a peculiar task
in that the commodity which he sells
— service — cannot be made visible like
material or equipment. His appeal
is wholly to the reason — and express-
ive photographs help to give a quick
impression and strengthen a sound
argument. The photograph enables
him to deliver his message through
two senses instead of one.

For selling purposes we need most-
ly, of course, photographs of com-

pleted structures, both exteriors and
interiors, and from as many differ-
ent viewpoints as are necessary to
show every interesting detail about
the job. Detail photographs of
equipment installations are particu-
larly desirable. An industrial power
plant of small size, for example,
should be treated just as thoroughly
as a large plant, and the installation
of all the principal units photo-
graphed. Such comparatively small
details as shaft hangers, railings and
interior partitions are well worth
photographing. A novel construction
method or detail also makes a desir-
able photograph. In all photographs
for selling purposes the place should
be cleaned up before the photograph
is taken and the scene should be ar-
ranged as nearly as possible as it
will be when the plant or building is
in actual use. It is scarcely ever de-
sirable to have men appear in the
photograph, but when they do they
should be required to attend strictly
to business and not to appear as
though they were having their pic-
tures taken.

Improved Apparatus for Testing Bricks

An improved apparatus for the
transverse testing of brick has been
designed by H. L. Whittemore of the
U. S. Bureau of Standards. During
the past month 500 brick were tested
to determine whether this apparatus
was superior to that specified by the
American Society for Testing Ma-
terials. Two hundred and fifty bricks
were tested in each apparatus. The
bricks were of three different kinds,
200 being clay brick, 200 cement, and
100 sand-lime brick. The average re-
sults were practically the same for
both types of testing fixtures, but
with the Whittemore apparatus it was
possible to test 100 bricks in 3
hours, while 5^ hours were required
to test the same number with the
A. S. T. M. fixtures. With the latter
apparatus, five pieces are displaced
when a brick is broken, and these
must be accurately replaced in posi-
tion for the next test. There are no
displaced parts when a brick is broken
in the new holder. Since both devices
give equal results for the modulus of
rupture of a brick, and since the A. S.
T. M. fixture requires more time, the
new apparatus is believed to be an
advance in the field of testing equip-
ment.

1923

Buildings

1157

How the Consumer Wzistes
Millions of Feet of Lum-
ber Annually

At a recent meeting of the Prac-
tical Size Investigating Committee,
which was appointed by the Consult-
ing Committee on Lumber Standards,
co-operating with the U. S. Depart-
ment of Commerce, the secretary, T.
F. Laist, who is architectural adviser
of the National Lumber Manufactur-
ers' Association, reported some inter-
esting facts.

The waste due to the insistence of
the public on buying lumber only
sawed to even lengths resulted in a
total waste of approximately 140,000,-
000 ft. of sawed timber annually. This
represents the average annual growth
of over 2,000,000 acres, equal approxi-
mately to one-half of the area of the
State of New Jersey. This figure
may be compared with the original
eastern forest region of 68,000,000
acres, but of which only 60.7 million
acres now remain, and with the west-
ern forest region of 140.8 million
acres of which there remain 77.4 mil-
lion acres.

Some 310 examples of house plans
were analyzed to show that the con-
sumer actually, although he demands
even lengths, saws over 50 per cent of
joists purchased into odd lengths. The
plans upon which this deduction is
based are di\aded into five groups:
(1) those which may be classed as
better class homes designed by archi-
tects, (2) ready-cut houses, (3) build-
ers' designs, (4) plan books and build-
ers' plan service, and (5) high-grade
architects' plans. It was found that
the waste due to this cause was not
confined to the architects, but that
the builders are equally negligible in
getting the most out of their timbers.
Thus in the first group 57.3 per cent
of the joists were odd lengths, in the
second 55 per cent, in the third 61
per cent, in the fourth 55 per
cent, and in the fifth 50 per cent,
making an average of 54.5 per cent in
all the examples examined. The per-
centages which could be saved had the
builder been able to purchase the
joists in odd lengths would have been
as follows: 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, and 3.6. The
variation in these percentages is due
to the fact that in the most expensive
homes the longer length joists are
used so the percentage of saving in
the long joists is smaller, the maad-

mum saving in each joist never being
more than 1 ft.

In studs the waste due to even
lengths is also large, but not as great
as in joists. It was found that in
some sections the 9 ft. stud was used
extensively.

In boards the odd lengths are not
as useful with the standard spacing
of 16 in. as the even lengths. Thus,
with 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15 ft. boards
the waste would be 20, 5, 10, 4, 7 and
3 per cent respectively, while the even
lengths in 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16
ft. the percentage of waste would in
each case be less than in the nearest
odd lengths. Therefore, there would
be little use for odd length boards if
joists were always spaced regularly,
but openings were almost invariably
placed so that a percentage of odd
lengths may be used for the same
reason. Short lengths may be used
to a large extent. The percentage of
short lengths used in an average
building is variable, but generally
amounts to from 25 to 30 per cent
or more.

In view of the above and other
facts the committee recommended
that manufacturers produce standard
studs in lengths of 9 and 11 ft., in
addition to the even sizes now pro-
duced; that dimension lumber be pro-
duced in lengths as follows: 2x6, 9
and 11 ft., 2x8, 9, 11 and 13 ft., 2x10,
13 and 15 ft., in addition to the
length now on the market.

The practice of only using even
lengths which has always prevailed in
this country causes not only the waste
at the buildings, as above indicated,
but also the corresponding waste at
the saw mills. The lumber manufac-
turers saw logs in 16 ft. lengths. If
a defect appears near the end of the
16 ft. piece it is now necessary for
him to saw off full 2 ft., while under
the new rule, if adopted, in many
cases, the loss will only be 1 ft. In a
similar way short pieces are produced
where these may come from the slabs
due to the taper of the log. A large
percentage of these short lengths are
now burned because no market can be
found for short lengths owing to the
prejudice of the retailer and the con-
sumer. Investigations carried on by
the Forest Products Laboratory some
years ago showed that, based on ob-
servation in six mills, the waste due
to even length manufacture in saw
mills and planing mills amounted to
7.29 per cent of the whole. Of this

1158

Buildings

Nov.

a certain per cent was necessary
waste. The unnecessary waste being
equal to 1.27 per cent.

The committee that made these rec-
ommendations was composed of the
following :

E. S. Hall, Chairman, Architect;
Wm. A. Babbitt, Secretary, National
Association of Wood Users; E. S.
Curtis, Millwork Manufacturer; John
Foley, Forester, Pennsylvania Rail-
road; Frank Ward, Retailer; J. E.
Jones, Chief Inspector, Southern Pine
Association; T. F. Laist, Secretary.

82 Years of Building Costs

Survey Covering Period 1840-1922
Summarized in The Constructor

An interesting review of construc-
tion costs from 1840 to 1922, which
has just been completed by the South-
ern California Chapter of the Asso-
ciated General Contractors brings out
the following pertinent facts:

The construction industry of the
country as a whole is no longer af-
fected by the extreme price fluctua-
tions which prevailed during the peri-
od of the World War.

If prices of building materials ever
again reach their pre-war levels, it
will only be after many years.

The review shows that in the Civil
War period, just as in the World War
period, the cost of building through-
out the nation increased enormously
and that this increase was very large-
ly due to higher prices for materials
rather than to higher wages demand-
ed by the building trades workers.

Post- War Levels. — The review also
shows that although wages went up
more slowly and relatively much less
during the Civil War, they afterwards
came down more slowly and relatively
not so far as the prices of materials.
In fact, although the cost of building
materials was almost exactly the
same in 1898 as in 1850, wages of
building labor were about twice as
great in the later year as in the ear-
lier year.

Investigations of the local chapter
of the contractors' national organiza-
tion in an effort to obtain an accurate
and exhaustive survey of construction
costs during the 82 years from 1840
to 1922 disclosed that the difference
in the behavior of wage rates and
prices of materials was due to a great
fundamental cause which has been
operating throughout this period and

is still operating even more power-
fully now than it was decades ago.

The Basic Cause.— This fundamen-
tal cause is the constantly increasing
use of labor-saving machinery and
methods which are constantly increas-
ing the per capita production of com-
modities and thereby increasing the
quantity of the desirable things of
life to which each individual is en-
titled. It therefore follows, the re-
view states, that if the prices of ma-
terials remain relatively constant
wage rates must continually increase
in order that the workers may be
able to purchase their increasing
share of these products.

The chapter's survey discloses also
that following the Civil War peak and
the subsequent depression there was,
beginning with 1870, a period of
about two and a half years during
which the pi*ice of building materials
increased and the general cost of
building increased likewise during this
period. Although this condition is
paralleled by a smilar rise in prices
at present, the review states, it is not
safe to figure on a close parallel be-
tween the course of prices in the
present period and those which pre-
vailed following the Civil War be-
cause of many important conditions of
the present period which are widely
different from those 75 years ago.

Prices of Materials. — One of the
numerous interesting facts shown in
the chapter's review is that the cost
of building materials only once be-
tween 1840 and 1922 descended below
the level of the cost of building trade
wages. This was in 1915, just prior
to America's entrance into the World
War. At this time wages were slight-
ly in excess of the cost of materials,
but remained at this level only a brief
time, dropping beneath material
prices between 1916 and 1920.

The two highest peaks in the costs
of both materials and wages between
1840 and 1922 were 1864 and 1919 to
1920. The normal fluctuations in the
costs of both materials and wages
prevailing prior to the Civil War
ceased about 1860 and turned sharply
upward until 1864. From the latter
date there was a gradual downward
trend until 1897. Between 1897 and
1915 wages and materials climbed
gradually with a very few fluctua-
tions. But in 1916, just as in 1860,
the prices went up with a sharp ascent
until 1920, at which time the down-
ward trend began.

1923

Buildings

1159

A Space Saving Partition

The 2-in. solid plaster, metal lath
partition shown below was designed
by the Swetland Co. of Cleveland in
co-operation with The Cleveland As-
sociation of Building Owners and
Managers and The Associated Metal
Lath Manufacturers. This type of
partition has been used successfully
in several Cleveland office buildings.
It not only saves space, but it is eco-
nomical to erect. The drawing shows
the detail of construction. Attention,

Tests <^ Caustic Magnesia Made
From Magnesite From Sev-
eral Sources

The results of a part of the U. S.
Bureau of Standards work on oxy-
chloride cement are contained in
Technologic Paper No. 239, which
may be obtained from the Superin-
tendent of Documents, Washington,
D. C, at 10 ct. a copy. Comparatively
few users of this material are really
familiar with it. Even among archi-

M*A f^fii /9^ rv/>r

Detail of Swetland Type of Space Saving Partition.

however, is directed to the fact that
the wood grounds may be nailed to-
gether by long nails, bent over and
clinched. If picture moulding or cor-
nice is erected at the ceiling line in-
stead of below the ceiling line, it may
be advisable to have a 2x2-in. buck at
the ceiling. The channel studs may
be attached to the floor buck by bor-
ing holes % in. in diameter in the
buck and inserting the stud in these
holes. It is essential to have a steel
channel stud on each side of the door
buck.

tects and builders oxychloride cement
products are often known only in con-
nection with trade names. The
rapidly increasing demand for these
materials shows that they possess cer-
tain desirable peculiarities, and has
made it necessary to replace haphaz-
ard or "rule of thumb" methods in the
manufacture and use of this cement
with more scientific methods based on
the study of numerous tests. Caustic
magnesia, the chief constituent of oxy-
chloride cement, was made in the ex-
perimental cement plant of the

1160

Buildings

No%

Bureau of Standards by calcining
magnesite ore. The temperature and
other conditions were varied in order
to study the effects on the properties
of the product. An ore imported from
Greece, one shipped from the state of
Washington, and two from different
mines in California were used, as
these were representative of the chief
sources of supply for this country.
Cement mixtures, typical of those
used by the trade, were then made,
and tested both in the laboratory and
on panels of flooring and stucco ex-
posed to actual service conditions.

Arbitration Clause in Contracts

Acceptance of the principle of arbi-
tration by the representatives of the
American Railway Engineering Asso-
ciation and a reconsideration of cer-
tain other contract principles which
pave the way for a general agreement
was the outstanding accomplishment
of the Joint Conference on Standard
Construction Contracts at its meeting
in Washington, Nov. 19.

The railway engineers submitted a
detailed criticism of the documents
previously formulated with which
they were not in full accord and those
matters which could not be imme-
diately agreed upon at the meeting
were referred to a sub-committee,
which will render this report about
Dec. 10. The sub-committee is in-
structed to reach a basis for universal
agreement on each of the contract
provisions referred to it, redrafting
these provisions, if such a course be-
comes necessary, and to submit its
recommendations to the conference
for approval.

As a result of discussions and ex-
changes of ideas which has occurred
during the past year, the sentiment
among all of the representatives
actively participating in the confer-
ence is stated to have crystalized in
favor of an arbitration clause. Thus
the last serious obstacle to general
agreement and formulation of the
universal contract documents appears
to have been removed.

With the exception of the National
Association of Builders' Exchanges,
which has not yet rendered a definite
report, the entire conference is in
agreement upon the building docu-
ments. There now appears little
doubt that within the next few months
unanimous agreement will be reached

in the conference upon both the build-
ing and the railroad documents and
that work will proceed upon other
forms. The next to be undertaken
will doubtless be a form for general
engineering construction or work
under charge of an engineer, other
than what may be designated as
public construction.

Associations represented on the
joint conference are : American Asso-
ciation of State Highway Officials,
American Institute of Architects,
American Railway Engineering Asso-
ciation, American Society of Civil En-
gineers, American Water Works As-
sociation, Associated General Con-
tractors of America, Federated Amer-
ican Engineering Societies, National
Association of Builders' Exchanges,
Western Society of Engineers.

U. S. Government Specification for

Gloss Interior Lithopone Paint,

White and Light Tints

The U. S. government's specifica-
tion for gloss interior lithopone paint,
white and light tints, has just been
issued as Circular No. 147 of the
U. S. Bureau of Standards, and may
be obtained from the Superintendent
of Documents, Washington, D. C, at
5 ct. per copy. As in the case of
Circular No. 146, this specification
was prepared by the technical com-
mittee on paints of the Federal Speci-
fications Board, after carefully con-
sidering suggestions from manufac-
turers of this material. The specifi-
cation covers paints not intended for
outside exposure, that will dry to
gloss opaque coats which will adhere
well to wood, metal and plaster, stand
washing with soap and water, and
show no material change in color on
exposure to light, or material yellow-
ing when kept in the dark. A general
description of the pigment, vehicle
and completed paint, which is a litho-
pone zinc oxide pigment in a vehicle
of treated drying oils or varnish, is
followed by detailed directions for
sampling and testing. The tests
cover caking in container, color,
weight per gallon, brushing proper-
ties, time of drying, resistance to
washing, fastness to light, yellowing,
determination of water, volatile thin-
ner, percentage of pigment, percent-
age of non-volatile vehicle, nature of
non-volatile vehicle, coarse particles
and skins and analysis of pigment.

1923

Buildings

1161

The 1924 Buading Situation

eliminary Forecast Given in the Oc-
^ber Issue of The Architectural Forum

There is given here a portion of
article by C. Stanley Taylor which
ppeared in the September Forum
"letin.

|F While it is somewhat early in the
fyear of 1923 to attempt a dependable
'forecast of conditions in the building
industry during the year 1924, there
are certain basic trends which would
seem to indicate at least an intelli-
gent guess as to what manufacturers
in the building field may expect as a
market for next year.

Before making a definite forecast
of the volume of business to be ex-
pected during the ensuing year, it is
the usual practice of The Architect-
ural Forum to obtain in the early
winter months a large number of con-
fidential reports from architects and
engineers covering the definite con-
struction projects which form part of
their program of activity. With this
information it has been found possible
; to forecast with a fair degree of ex-
actitude a volume and classification
•of building activity.

Lacking this information now, it
is necessary to take several basic fac-
tors and to analyze them in order to
provide the proper weight for a fore-
cast of this nature.

It is, of course, necessary to elimi-
nate from consideration any so-called
economic phenomena, such as a strike
in the coal field, railroad difficulties
and similar elements which cannot be
foretold. We may, however, consider
the following important contributing
factors which will make the building
material market for next year:

1. Confidence of the investing pub-
lic.

2. The trend of building costs.

3. The attitude of building labor.

4. The attitude of bankers and
financial organizations through which
a large percentage of the cost of new
building construction is provided.

Public Retaining Confidence. — It is

an interesting fact that in spite of the
high cost of building and the vast
amount of publicity which has been

given to this subject, there still re-
mains on the part of the building pub-
lic a very definite element of confidence
in the situation. One reason for this
may be attributed to the success of
speculative and investment ventures
which have been embarked upon dur-
ing the last two years and wMch have
continued almost without cessation up
to the present time.

During the last two years industrial
building has shown surprising and un-
expected strength. Similarly, resi-
dential and special types of building
have been extremely active and the
investment in all classes of construc-
tion has exceeded any record of past
years.

Better Grade Building. — The great
waves of speculative building and
cheaply constructed investment build-
ing have passed finally with the year
1923, and it is - obvious that before
building investments are made very
serious consideration will be given to
the character of such an investment.

In the speculative and investment
building field, financial interests have
reached practically the same conclu-
sion; i. e., that the so-called "shoe-
string" builder should be discouraged
and that financing should be limited
to sound types of housing and mer-
cantile buildings. Consequently, the
year 1924 will show a much more in-
telligent purchasing attitude. It is
evident that there is not to be the
wild scramble for building material
and equipment which we have experi-
enced during the past two years.
Quality will mean more, and much
greater stress is to be placed upon
the economic value of good design and
the purchasing of dependable mate-
rials and equipment.

We anticipate very little building
of the cheap class in which the pri-
mary influence on specifications has
been low price. This period is passed
and it is expected that the architect
and engineer will exercise a greater
influence than ever before on the char-
acter and quality of the materials
and equipment which enter into the
construction of new buildings during
next year.

Ample Mortgage Money. — We have
had an unusually good opportunity to
discuss the building situation with a

1162

Buildings

Nov.

number of the larger institutions de-
voted exclusively to the pacing of
mortgage money. We find in all quar-
ters an optimistic attitude with a
clearly expressed determination to
finance only those projects which are
good enough to meet the market rent-
al and sales competition of the years
to come.

It is important to realize that prac-
tically all of the larger mortgage-
bond companies have recently finished
or have now under construction new
buildings to house their activities in
important centers, such as Chicago
and New York. This certainly indi-
cates confidence in the building situa-
tion for several years to come. We
are informed that there is no sign of
decreased confidence on the part of
the investing public which purchases
bonds (except the seasonal influence
of summer months).

The Price Trend. — In the building
material field we look for certain in-
teresting developments. It is our
opinion that the price trend will be
strongly influenced by merchandising
competition, which calls for some
price reduction but, primarily, an ac-
centuation of quality both aesthetic
and integral. We believe that 1924
will show the beginning of a period
of elimination of cheaper competition
and the exclusion of many weakly or-
ganized building-material producing
companies, which without proper
financing cannot stand the gaff.
Prices will stabilize and perhaps move
slightly downward.

A considerable amount of discussion
has recently developed in regard to
the importing of basic building mate-
rials, such as brick, cement, glass, and
even architectural woodwork. This is
an element to be considered, but we
feel that its primary influence will be
to stabilize the price of American pro-
duction and that at best such com-
petition is of a very temporary nature.

Stabilizing Demand. — A definitely
false note was introduced into the
building-material field this year . by
the unsound practice of over-ordering,
the fallacy of which has already been
proved to both parties concerned.

Having been reassured as to the
availability of materials and to
promptness of delivery, it is evident

that building contractors will not du-
plicate and triplicate orders for 1924
in order to safeguard themselves on
delivery.

Building Labor Conditions. — The

general attitude of labor in the con-
struction industry is something which
no one has ever forecast successfully.
From close personal contact with a
fairly representative cross section of
skilled labor it would seem that labor
rates for 1924 will not change notice-
ably, but there is a distinctly recog-
nizable tendency on the part of the
average building mechanic to provide
a really good volume of production
for the wages he receives. This we
believe is to be an evident factor in
the labor situation for 1924; that the
men will be well paid but that on the
average a real day's work may be
expected from the mechanics, both on
the job and in the plant. In practic-
ally all of the more important build-
ing centers skilled labor rates for the
year 1924 have already been estab-
lished by agreement, and we antici-
pate less economic waste in the form
of strikes than during any normal
building year since 1912.

Anticipated Volume of Building. —

There can be no question but that
building activity in 1924 will exceed
by a considerable amount the average
expectation of three billion dollars a
year.

Casual reports and information
gained in contact with architects and
engineers throughout the country in-
dicate that there will be considerable
activity in the hotel field, particularly
hotels ranging from $200,000 to $500,-
000; that residential construction will
continue in at least two-thirds the
volume of this year, and from all in-
dications there will be increased activ-
ity in the development on industrial
plants.

Ample mortgage financing on a con-
servative basis is available to provide
a five billion dollar building program
for 1924. We do not anticipate that
the figures will reach this amount,
however, but we do expect that there
will be a great increase in the volume
of investment in high-class buildings,
well designed and using recognized
materials and equipment of quality.

1923

Buildings

1163

Monthly Statistics of the Building Industry

composite steel and composite finished
steel.

The figrures on building contracts
are based on data compiled by the
F. W. Dodge Co., covering small
towns and rural districts as well as
large cities in 27 northeastern states.
Prior to May, 1921, the building
figures covered 25 northeastern states
and the District of Columbia. The
states are those north and east of, and
including. North Dakota, South Da-
kota, Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, and
Virginia, together with portions of

Year and Month

1913 monthly av

1914 monthly av
1916 monthly av

1916 monthly av

1917 monthly av

1918 monthly ■"

Grant
Boildini

i Total Index
g Contracts Nombo-s

ll $i S

&^ i >

$71,476 U

60,020 28

78,841 86

118,082 68

184,086 68

140,770 «6

214.990 100 100

211,102 72 98
196,648 69 91
279,410 102 180

111,608 88 62
100,677 86 47
164.092 67 76
220.886 74 103

242.094 77 113
227.711 77 106
212.491 68 99
220.721 76 108

246.186 89 115
222.480 87 108
192,311 81 89
198.618 76 92

166.320 65 77
177.473 64 83
293.637 111 187
868.162 126 164

862.590 128 169
843,440 130 160
850.081 111 168
822.007 116 160

271.493 96 126
253.137 100 118
244.366 101 114
216.218 88 100

217,838 88 101
229,988 89 107
833.518 189 156
857.476 138 166
374,400 129 174
323,559 99 150
274.224 90 128
253.106 85 118

Boilding

Material

Price

Indexes

i s

•S 1
§ -3

^ 2

100 IN

182 186

166 17i
178 179

174 179
169 174
169 173
168 172

178 176
178 181
181 184
189 198

193 197
196 199
196 201
192 198

196 199
198 201
209 209
206 209
212 214
212 215
214 217
216 216

Cort
Index

2
1.

179

170

176
172
167
161

160
157
164
168

162
152
152
162

167
169
171
174

190
192
192
192

192
197
197
204
208
206
206
206

Wholesale Pric
Index Number

«E? • •

i: « 3 ts ^

100 leo 109

83 87 88

93 94 95

177 154 168

269 266 269

202 216 220
174 191 198
187 249 211

131 155 156

115 144 134

146 165 170
146 169 166
189 146 153
128 187 144

123 134 188

116 135 184
106 132 138

99 129 180

99 127 126
99 126 124
96 125 122
99 181 126

106 189 127
106 140 129
109 142 180
116 151 187

187 166 146
141 166 149
136 160 149

132 154 149

182 156 161
139 162 158
146 171 166
172 179 174

174 180 176
169 177 176
166 172 178
166 170 176

84!

109

161

262

218

1919 monthly

tLV

ifi.MS

188

1920 monthly

1921 monthly

av.

38.491
S?.,?.67

222
162

1922 monthly av

1921
^rnnniiry

47,746

184

Febmary .._.

16,Rn7

March ....
April

May

Jnna

26,709
84,494

85.761

166
159

July

Angnst

September _
October
November —

81.717
86.246

41.702
40,486
.37.818
85,272

148
141

186
184
128
127

1922

JnTinnry

30,261

1?4

Fphninry

Sn "61

1?1

M«rrh

51.957

1?2

April

M«y

JnnA
Inly
AngTiat

September

58.146

59,639

60.526

51,705
64.019

126

127
180
181
188

146

Ort/,h«r

Nnvpmhcr

Detwmhor

1923

Jannary
Fphmary

46,806

46,946

88,608

88.947

A1 «11

148
146
147

149

167

March
ApHl

64.920

168
169

May

«n A^(\

168

Jnnp

4fi,S44

168

Jnly

August

..42.021
--,, .39,786

167

1164

Buildings

Nov.

eastern Kansas and Nebraska. Be-
ginning May, 1921, North Carolina
and South Carolina were added to the
list, but this addition is stated to have
little effect upon the total.

The figures for composite steel are
compiled by the American Metal Mar-
ket and represent the average price
per pound of steel products weighted
as follows: 2^ lb. bars, IVi lb. plates,
1% lb. shapes, 1% lb. pipe, 1% lb.
wir« nails, 1 lb. galvanized sheets, and
% lb. tin plate.

The composite price of finished steel
products is compiled by the Iron Age.
It includes: Steel bars, beams, tank
plates, plain wire, open-hearth rails,
black pipe, and black sheets. These
products, according to the Iron Age,
conatitute 88 per cent of the United
Stutes output of finished steel.

Statement of the Ownership, Management,

Circulation, Etc., Reqaired by the Act of

Congress of August 24, 1912,

of BUILDINGS monthly issue of ENGINEER-
ING AND CONTRACTING, published monthly
at Chicago, III., for October, 1923.

State of Illinois, County of Coolc, ss.

8. That the known bondholders, mortgagees,
and other security holders owning or holding
1 per cent or more of total amount of bonds,
mortgages, or other securities are: (If there
are none, so state.) None.

4. That the two parasraphs next above,
giving the names of the owners, stockholders,
and security holders, if any, contain not only
the list of stockholders as they api>ear upon
the books of the company but also, in cases
where the stockholder or security holder ap-
pears upon the books of the company as trustee
or in any other fiduciary relation, the name of
the person or corix>ration for whom such trustee
is acting, is given ; also that the said two
paragraphs contain statements embracing
affiant's full knowledge and belief as to the
circumstances and conditions under which
stockholders and security holders who do not
api)ear upon the books of the company as
trustees, hold stock and securities in a capac-
ity other than that of a bona fide owner ; and
this affiant has no reason to believe that any
other person, association, or corporation has
any interest direct or indirect in the said stock,
bonds, or other securities than as so stated by
him.

E. S. GILLETTE, Circulation Manager.

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 1st
day of October, 1923.

(Seal) KITTIE C. WOULFE. Notary Public.
(My commission expires Feb. 9, 1926.)

iJLkl

Roads and Streets

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

Published fay Engineeriag & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbbbt p. GiLLvm, President and Editor

iMWia S. LouSR. Vie«-Pre*ident and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Longacre Bldg.. 42d St. and Broadway

RiCHAKo E. Browit, Eattem Manager

Roads and Streets — lit Wednesday, $1 Railways — 3rd Wednesday, $1

(a) Road Con- (c) Streets (a) Steam Rail- (b) Eleetrle Rall-
stnetion (d) Str«et clean- way Constrac- way ConstnM-

(b) Road Main- inc tion tion and
tenanee Maintenance Maintenance

Water Works — 2nd Wednesday, (1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewers and

(b) Irrigation and Sanitation
Drainage (d) Waterways

Bnildlnsrs — (th Wednesday. $1

(a) Buildings (d) Misoellaneoos

(b) Bridges Stmetorea

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., DECEMBER 5, 1923

No. 6

The Profits From an Improved Road

Before us is a thesis by Mr. J. L.
Thayer, engineer, of Lincoln County,
Washington, in which the author dis-
cusses the development of a highway
system in a semi-arid and sparsely
settled farming community. Obviously
such a community is not wealthy, and
before approving- comparatively large
expenditures for county roads, its
members quite properly asked for evi-
dence of the benefits to be derived.

In the case of one 11 mile improve-
ment, the little community of Peach
was called upon to bear 25 per cent
of the total assessment. On the high
grade orchard land the assessment
was $50 per acre, and it may be
imagined that it was not easy to se-
cure the approval either of the farm-
ers of Peach or of the owners of less
valuable lands along the route. Suffi-
cient support, however, was gained,
and in the year 1922 — the first follow-
ing the completion of the road — ^the
residents of Peach saved in costs of
fruit hauling alone about one-third of
their entire assessment. In addition
to this there were other real, though

less easily measured, financial sav-
ings, and all the added benefits of
comfort, convenience and pleasure.
We quote from Mr. Thayer's thesis :

"The argument that highways are
needed for social, religious or pleas-
ure purposes is not so convincing as
the argument that highways are a
good investment from a purely mone-
tary standpoint. For instance, in Lin-
coln County, that highway known as
Donohue Road No. 3, beginning at the
town of Creston and extending 11
miles northeast to the town of Peach
on the Columbia River, was con-
structed imder an assessment plan,
and the people of Peach owning 300
acres of irrigated orchard tracts were
assessed for this improvement $15,000,
or $50 an acre. The annual produc-
tion of fruit at Peach is 84,500 boxes
of apples, 42,500 boxes of pears, and
50,000 boxes of peaches. The owners
of this fruit hire it hauled by truck
to Creston. The road was completed
in 1921, and in the fall of 1922 haul-
ing the peaches cost 3 ct. to 4 ct. each
box less than it had cost in 1921.

1166

Roads and Streets

Dec.

Hauling apples and pears cost 3 ct. to
5 ct. each box less. A simple problem
in arithmetic will prove then that the
actual saving to the people of Peach
each year is approximately $6,000 in
the handling of their fruit alone;
therefore, for the people of Peach the
road will pay for itself in less than
three years. Assuming that instead
of 25 per cent of the cost, they had
paid 100 per cent of the cost, the road
would pay for itself in 12 years."

This example is pertinent. It is
not sufficient that the ignorant and
unreasoned opposition of a generation
ago have been largely overcome: it is
still necessary, as it should be, to con-
vince taxpayers that they will receive
suitable returns upon their assess-
ments. Examples like that of Peach
show what can be done in some cases.
Show a man an investment yielding
33% per cent, or half that much, and
hard up though he may be, he will
generally find a way to raise the
money.

The public grows more canny, and
mere loud boosting becomes decreas-
ingly effective. Its object may or may
not be worthy. But add careful study
and analysis to honest boosting and
a really good pi'oject can generally be
carried.

On Highway Financing

Titles may easily mislead, and long
articles, unless known to have espe-
cial interest, are often shunned by
busy men. Hence we here call atten-
tion to the paper, "The Problem of
Highway Financing in America," by
A. R. Hirst in other pages of this
issue. Mr. Hirst has treated his
prosaic subject in anything but a
prosaic manner. History, psychology,
ingenuity, wit, all play through and
illuminate the economic discussion
which, even by itself, is an attractive
presentation.

One need not fully agree with Mr.
Hirst in order to get both enjoyment
and profit from his paper; but we be-
lieve that all must respect his fair
and broadminded treatment. We our-
selves disagree with him on several
points and question others. For ex-
ample, we think he has erred in using
4% per cent to capitalize a hypotheti-
cal annual saving of $560,000,000. The
capital requirement to effect any such
yearly benefit would raise the interest
rate very substantially. But such dis-

agreements are secondary to the gen-
eral discussion.

Mr. Hirst's statement that the
motor fuel tax "approximates toll
gate results without the infirmities of
toll gate procedure" is most apt; and
his treatment of highway costs as a
part of our bill for the ownership and
use of motor vehicles is so clear and
sensible that we believe few can
escape its logic. The paper as a whole
is a real contribution to the subject
of highway economics and progress.

Motor Vehicle Production

The U. S. Department of Commerce
announces October production of auto-
mobiles, based on figures received
from 186 manufacturers, 96 making
passenger cars and 119 making trucks
(29 making both passenger cars and
trucks). Data for earlier months in-
clude 12 additional manufacturers
now out of business. Figures on truck
production also include fire apparatus
and street sweepers.

AUTOMOBILE PRODUCTION

(Number of Machines)

PASSENGER CARS

1921 1922 1923

January *81,696 223,819

February 109,171 *254,773

March *152.962 *319,770

April •197,224 344,639

May *232,462 *350,410

June 263,053 *337,362

July *165,616 *225,086 297,330

August *167,756 •249,492 •314,373

September 144,670 •187,694 *298,911

October *134,774 *217,566 334,966

November 106,081 •215,352

December *70,727 *208,010

TRUCKS

1921 1922 1923

January •9,576 ^19,720

February *13,350 ^22,161

March '20,022 •35,260

April •22,640 •38,056

May •24,097 •43,678

June ♦26,298 •41,145

July 'ILlSe *22,046 *30,663

AuKUSt *13,400 •24,692 •30,829

September *13,978 •19,462 •28,632

October •13,149 •21,795 80.141

November *10,487 •21,949

December •8,656 •20,354

•Revised.

New Highway Police System of
Pennsylvania. — The motor patrol sys-
tem of Pennsylvania which went into
effect last month will have head-
quarters in 26 towns and cities. The
patrolmen stationed in the municipali-
ties mentioned will cover the territory
within a radius of 30 miles of their
headquarters. This method will re-
sult in an overlapping, which will in-
crease the efficiency of the patrol.

1923

Roads and Streets

1167

Highway Finance

Digest of Committee Report Presented Nov. 9

at 3rd Annual Meeting of Advisory

Board of Highway Research

A budget system as a definite part
of the highway program is essential.
Under the budget system a fixed
amount of highway revenue is neces-
sary for the construction of a relative-
ly fixed amount of new mileage each
year, the balance of the revenue being
used for maintenance, reconstruction
and betterments.

Any plan of state or county high-
way financing should conform as
closely as local conditions permit to
the fundamental rules which govern
the raising of public revenue. (1) An
equitable distribution of the burden
between the contributing sources ac-
cording to the benefit derived from
the improvement and the differences
in the ability to pay for the improve-
ment. (2) Provide a definite amount
of highway revenue yearly. This im-
plies the highway budget system.

It should be emphasized that the
use of credit does not solve the prob-
lem of distributing the highway costs
between the several sources of reve-
nue. The same sources of revenue
which finance highway improvements
when credit is not used must also pro-
vide the revenue to meet highway
bonds when funds are borrowed.

The larger the amount of perma-
nent highway investment in existence
in a state the less the real need for
the use of credit in financing the im-
provements. A second factor in de-
termining whether to use present
sources of revenue or make use of
credit depends upon the wealth of a
state and the ability to produce high-

way revenue from this wealth with-
out unduly burdening it.

The problem of highway finance re-
solves itself largely into the question
of a just distribution between the bur-
den on land or real property and the
burden on the highway user.

Real property taxation for highway
purposes bears too large a portion of
the burden of highway expenditures
producing, in a survey of four Wis-
consin counties, from 55 per cent to
70 per cent of the total highway reve-
nue. The major portion of the bur-
den on real property is due to local
and county taxation of real property
for highway purposes. In the four
Wisconsin counties the local units pro-
duce 47.49 per cent; county units,
41.81 per cent, and the state 10.70 per
cent of the real property revenue for
highway expenditures.

The highway user whose demand
for highway service is largely re-
sponsible for highway improvements
should assume a larger part of the
burden in the form of motor vehicle
tax and gasoline tax.

Road and Street Contracts

Awarded During the Last

46 Months

The accompanying table shows
three outstanding facts: First, that
highway contracts awarded during
the last half of each year have aver-
aged only 25 per cent less in volume
than those awarded during the first
half: second, that there is not a month
in the year without a very large vol-
ume of road and street contracts
awarded; third, that each year shows
a substantial gain over its prede-
cessor.

ROAD AND STREET CONTRACTS EXCEEDING J25.000 IN SIZE

January.

Pebruar7„.

March

April

May

Jane

-Abont 100 i)er cent must be added to these totals to give the grand total of highway
contracts in the United States.

Bridges are not included, and bridjre contracts average 15 per cent as mach in value aa road
and street contracts. A great deal of road and street work is done by directly hired labor and
is not included above.

1168

Roads and Streets

Dec.

Traffic Over State Toll Bridges in
Connecticut

Exactly 371,266 automobilists paid
fees to cross the three trunk line toll
bridges in Connecticut during July,
August and September, in comparison
with 339,917 during the same period
a year ago, the state highway depart-
ment has announced in making public
a statement of receipts from toll
bridges for the past summer. These
three months have always been pro-
ductive of greater revenue to the state
than any others due to the large
amount of summer motoring through
the state and to the various shore re-
sorts along the Sound.

Inasmuch as the collection of tolls
on bridges will, by law, cease on Dec.
31, the statement is especially sig-
nificant as it is the last summer dur-
ing which motorists will be taxed to
cross the bridges at Saybrook, New
London and Haddam.

Comparative figures show that al-
though twice as many Connecticut au-
tomobiles traversed the bridges as
there were foreign cars, the traffic of
out-of-the-state machines through
Connecticut the summer season is
very heavy, as shown by the follow-
ing table:

Foreigm Conn.
Cars Cars

Saybrook Bridge 39,502 95,427

Haddam Bridse 3,164 28,166

New London Bridge 85,038 119,969

127,704 243,582

Following is a comparative state-
ment of receipts at the three bridges
during the three months:

1922 1923
Thames River Bridge — New

London $ 72,059 $ 72,566

Saybrook Bridge 56,131 58,370

Haddam Bridge 10,839 14,216

$139,029 $145,153

Interesting data concerning the
character of vehicles crossing the
bridges is shown in the quarterly re-
port. At New London, horse-drawn
vehicles numbered 1,360, while 3,188
one-seated, 3,088 two-seated motor-

cycles paid toll. Small auto trucks
numbered 22,355, and large auto
trucks 1,729.

Over the Saybrook Lyme Bridge,
the outstanding vehicle to cross was a
three-horse vehicle, which paid a fee
of 35 ct., with three passengers.
Large auto trucks numbered 1,152
during the three months, and there
were 8,592 small auto trucks record-
ed. Sixty-five one-horse vehicles
crossed, as well as twelve two-horse
vehicles.

The Haddam-East Haddam Bridge
recorded the passage of two four-
horse vehicles during the summer, to-
gether with 750 one-horse vehicles
and 252 two-horse vehicles. Small
auto trucks totalled 5,423, and those
of larger size were recorded at 268.

Cost of Heating and Spreading Road
Oil at Los Angeles

The following data on the operation
of the oil heating plant of Los An-
geles, Cal., are taken from the annual
report of John A. Griffin, city engi-
neer, for the year ending June 30,
1923:

This plant was designed and con-
structed by the engineering depart-
ment of Los Angeles in 1918. The
original cost of the heating plant, in-
cluding the retort, was $11,872. Three
oil spreading trucks were used, which
cost $17,150. A garage to accommo-
date the trucks were built at a cost of
$825. During the past year a new oil
vat was constructed at a cost of
$1,600. The total investment is
nearly $32,000.

Table I shows the operative data
and unit costs per barrel of oil prod-
uct spread on the streets or other-
wise disposed of.

The cost of heating and spreading
oil with the city plant and equipment,
given in the table, allows for all direct
costs and overhead burdens, such as
maintenance and depreciations of
plant and equipment, superintendence
and overhead administrations.

Table I

(Cost Per Bbl. of 42 Gal.)
Output

Year Bbl. Oil Heating

1918-19 32,630 $2.02 $0.23

1919-20 29,658 2.01 .37

1920-21 25,172 2.50 .55

1921-22 27.263 2.04 .40

1922-23 ..„ _ 34,393 1.59 .36

Total and average 149,116 $1.99 $0.36

Supt. & 0.

Total

Spreading

H. Admr.

Cost

$0.26

$0.01

$2.51

.32

.02

2.72

.37

.03

3.46

.36

.02

2.82

.40

.02

2.37

$0.33

$0.02

$2.70

1923

Roads and Straets

Gravel Road Maintenance in Michigan

1169

Methods and Costs on Trunk Line and State Reward Roads Given in

Paper Presented Nov. 7 at Annual Convention of

Michigan State Good Roads Association

By B. C. TINEY

Chief Inspecting Engineer, Michigan State Highway Department

We have in the trunk line and state
rewarded road systems of Michigan
about 12,250 miles of improved roads,
of which about 9,250 miles, or 75 per
cent, are gravel surfaced. The gen-
eral distribution of gravel throughout
the state, together with the compara-

How the Surface Is Kept Smooth. —

The moisture content of the gravel is
an important factor in the work of
keeping the surface smooth, as shown
by the ready formation of ruts and
holes after a heavy rain and the
tendency of the surface to ravel in

'ar Treatment on Gravel Road With Slag Cover. Photograph Taken 6 Weeks After Treatment.
Daily Tra£Sc Approximately 1,590 Vehicles.

ve simplicity of construction and low
first cost of this type account for the
large percentage of gravel surfaces.

Since the advent of the motor car
in large numbers the maintenance of
these gravel roads has become one of
the most serious problems confront-
ing highway officials of Michigan.
The increase of the legal speed limit
to 35 miles per hour has added,
further, to the difficulty and cost of
this maintenance.

very dry weather. The dry weather
condition is probably the more seri-
ous, as it is usually coincident with
the peak load of tourist traffic, and
the patrol work is very ineffective
without a certain degree of moisture
in the surface.

Several types of graders and drags
are used in patrol maintenance. A
survey of this equipment in the state
shows that 53 per cent of the counties
are using horse-drawn machines en-

1170

Roads and Streets

Dec.

tirely, while the others have either
wholly or partially adopted motor
equipment. The larger counties pre-
fer the motor equipment because of
the greater efficiency in covering a
large mileage. The grader or drag
pulled by a tractor, or a the tractor
and blade in one unit are used, also
the_ 2 or 3-ton motor truck with a
spring scraper attached underneath.
This is very satisfactory if operated
at a speed of not to exceed 8 or 10

Application of Priming: Coat of Tar.

miles an hour, but does less effective
work at higher speeds. The spring
scraper is used only for floating loose
material and should be supplemented
by a heavy grader and tractor after
rains, to plane the surface and elimi-
nate ruts and holes.

Resurfacing With New Gravel. —

The gravel surface is also kept
smooth by an occasional resurfacing
with new gravel. A satisfactory ma-
terial for this purpose is that ranging
in size from % in. down and having
about 75 per cent retained on a % in.

screen. A partially crushed gravel
has been found desirable. The appli-
cation, if limited in depth to about an
inch, will not be objectionable to
traffic, and this represents about the
minimum amount of gravel that
should be returned to the road each
year to replace that which is worn
away. The road should have a cover-
ing of about V2 in. of loose material
at all times, for efficient floating.

Oversize Stone Cause of Rough
Roads. — One of the greatest enemies
to smoothness in a gravel road is the
oversized stone. Stone over 1 in. in
size should be rigidly barred from the
top course during construction, and
certainly should not be permitted in
any resurfacing material. The ten-
dency of the large stone to work to
the top by frost action is well known.
Whenever a car strikes an obstruction
such as a projecting stone, the springs
are at first depressed and then ex-
panded, lifting the weight of the car
from the road. When the springs re-
turn to their original position the
weight of the car strikes the road sur-
face, causing small depressions. The
spinning drive wheels also kick back
some gravel and increase the tendency
to form holes. This process con-
tinues and the holes grow rapidly in
size and number until we have a
whole series of corrugations or "chat-
ter-bumps." Wet weather and flat
grades are especially favorable to
their formation, as water collects in
the holes and is thrown out by traffic,
carrying fine binder material with in.

Traffic and Dust Nuisance. — Perhaps
the most disagreeable feature of the
gravel road is dust. The discomfort
not only to the motorist but to the
resident along the road, together with
the danger added to highway traffic
by dust, make its elimination or re-
duction a matter of prime importance
to highway officials.

On secondary roads having a traffic
up to about 300 vehicles per day, the
dust is not extremely objectionable.
Our traffic census shows that of the
3,245 miles of trunk line gravel roads,
we have about 20 per cent, or 650
miles, carrying a traffic of less than
300. About 35 per cent, or 1,135
miles, carry a traffic between 300 and
600, while about 45 per cent, or 1,460
miles, carry over 600. A census of
the county systems would probably
show larger percentages in the lower
traffic divisions.

1923

Roads and Streets

1171

Those gravel roads having a daily
traffic of more than 300 vehicles de-
mand some form of dust elimination
or reduction if they are to render 100
per cent ser%*ice to the public.

Dust Palliative. — Two forms of dust
palliative have been used in Michigan,
namely calcium chloride and light as-
phaltic oil. These two materials func-
tion in a similar manner. Their
proper use does not permit of applica-
tion in sufficient quantities to entirely
eliminate the dust, as this results in
the formation of a surface crust which
soon breaks up into holes and neces-
sitates scarifying. If applied in
smaller quantities at more frequent
interv'als, however, the dust may be
reduced to a point where it is not
objectionable and still leave enough
loose gravel on the surface to be
floated back and forth in patrol work.
A uniform covering of ^2 to 1 in. of
loose material over the road surface
before applying the dust layer is very
desirable. Sections not having this
cover are observ-ed to glaze over and
then break up into holes within a few
weeks.

Practice in Use of Calcium Chloride.

—Between 4,000 and 5,000 tons of
calcium chloride are used annually in
this state. The best practice is to
apply from % to 1 lb. per square yard
for the first application and % lb. per
square yard for the second applica-
tion, or perhaps make a second and
third application of V2 lb. each, de-
pending upon local conditions. A
total of 2 lb. per square yard is
usually ample to lay the dust for a
period of 3 to 3^2 months. The cost
of this work ranges from ?225 to $300
per mile for a season. In some sec-
tions of the state, traffic and local con-
ditions are such that one application
of about 1^ lb. per square yard,
placed on an 8-ft. strip in the middle
of the road, renders it fairly dustless
for the season. The chloride on this
8-ft. strip is worked to the edges of
the road by traffic and patrol work,
under this system the cost has been
reduced to about $125 per mile.

Use of Light Asphaltic Oil. — Light
asphaltic oil has not been used to any
great extent in Michigan as a dust
layer, it having been tried experi-
mentally during the last three years.
About 44 miles of road were treated
in 1923. The oil used conformed to
the state highway department's speci-

fications for this material, and was
applied bv pressure distributor, with-
out heating. The first application
consists of 1/6 to 1/5 gal. per square
yard and renders the road fairly dust-
less for a period of about 6 weeks,
after which a second application of
about % gal. per square yard is nec-
essary. The relation between the
quantitv of oil applied and the amount
of loos'e gravel on the road is im-
portant. The above quantities would
apply to a surface having a uniform

Gravel Surface Prepared for Tar Treatment.

covering of about 1 in. of loose ma-
terial.

The most common error in oil treat-
ment has been the use of too much
oil in the second application, result-
ing in matting of the surface and
subsequent roughness. The cost of
two-application work in counties do-
ing a rather small mileage has been
about $400 per mile. One county,
which is particularly well equipped
for doing this type of work, made one
application on 41 miles of road this
year at an average cost of $132 per

1172

Roads and Streets

Dec.

mile. This was applied to a width of
12 ft.

Essentials for Use of Dust Layers.

— Summarizing our experience with
dust layers, we believe that the things
most essential to their successful use
are:

First: Proper control of the ma-*
terials by specifications.

Second: The presence of a uni-
form covering of loose gravel on the
road before treatment.

Third: Application in sufficiently
small quantities to avoid solidifying
the surface.

maintenance problem may be found
in the bituminous surface treatment
on gravel, in the same manner as
applied to macadam. We now have
about 53 miles of this type of main-
tenance in the state. It cannot be
successfully used on all kinds of
gravel and should be attempted
mainly on those roads containing a
high percentage of stone, thoroughly
compacted. The nearer this ap-
poaches a macadam structure the bet-
ter will be the results of treatment.
A few of these roads received an
initial treatment several years ago
and have since been given lighter

Spreading: Pea Gravel on Second Coat of Tar.

As stated before, we have some
1,400 miles of trunk line gravel roads
carrying a traffic of more than 600
vehicles per day and ranging in some
cases to as high as 3,000 per day.
There are, in addition, some county
gravel roads having a daily traffic in
excess of 600. The ultimate solution
in case of the heavy traffic gravel
road is, of course, to reconstruct with
a permanent type of pavement. The
time required to finance and build this
large mileage of pavement will neces-
sitate the maintenance of some
heavily traveled gravel roads for a
number of years.

Bituminous Surface Treatment on
Gravel. — A partial solution of this

treatments. Twenty-six miles were
given a first treatment in 1923.

The principles governing the sur-
face treatment of gravel roads con-
form very closely to the established
practice in surface treatment of
water-bound macadam. In preparing
the surface, sufficient blade work
should be done to eliminate ruts and
holes. This work may be continued
to advantage, up to within two or
three days of time of treatment, pro-
vided the gravel contains enough
moisture to shape well. The surface
is then thoroughly swept, removing
all loose material and exposing the
large stone. Particular attention
should be given to cleaning the edges,

1923

Roads and Streets

1173

and traffic should not be permitted to
use the road between the time of
sweeping and treating.

Bituminous material is applied first
as a prime coat at the rate of about
0.2 gal. per square yard, and allowed
to penetrate for 24 hours or more.
The second application is made in the
amount of about 0.3 gal. per square
yard, followed by a cover of stone or
slag chips or pea gravel.

The hand maintenance which must
follow this treatment is best con-
ducted by mixing some of the same
bituminous material used in the treat-
ment with coarse sand. This is usually
done with a small concrete mixer at
a central location and the mixture is
stocked in small piles along the road.
Small surface breaks are easily re-
paired with this mixture. We have
found that on gravel there is more
tendency toward surface peeling, the
first year, than there is on macadam.
One man, equipped with a wheelbar-
row and shovel can, under normal con-
ditions, keep about 10 miles of road
in good condition. This patrol work
. should be followed up consistently.

Costs. — The cost of maintenance of
gravel surfaces having a daily traffic
of more than 600, by the system of
patrol graders, necessary resurfacing
and dust palliatives, ranges upward
from $600 per mile per year. A study
of costs in a number of representative
counties of the state would indicate
that the relation between cost and
traffic is, roughly, that the annual cost
of this type of maintenance in dollars
per mile equals the average daily
traffic. That is, a daily traffic of 800
to 1,000 vehicles means an approxi-
mate annual maintenance cost of $800
to $1,000 per mile.

The cost of bituminous surface
treatment is about $1,000 per mile
for the first treatment and $750 per
mile for subsequent lighter treat-
ments. We have reason to believe
that not more than three treatments
will be required in a period of four
years, which would bring the average
annual cost of treatment down to
about $625 per mile. In addition to
the surface treatment, we have the
patrol or hand-patching work, which

j will cost about $250 per mile, making
a total annual cost of $875 per mile.
This cost compares favorably with
that of maintenance by the system of
patrol graders, resurfacing and dust

1 palliatives, for roads of 800 to 1,000

traffic. The bituminous treatment
would probably be the cheaper method
for roads of higher traffic.

Extreme frost action may necessi-
tate scarifying and retreating some
sections, but very little of this has
been required on treatments of sev-
eral years standing in this state. One
or two failures of surface treatments
on gravel have been partly due to
lack of proper attention to details in
placing the treatment, but largely due
to the absence of patrol or patch-
work, and these failures only ser%-e to
emphasize the importance of this
latter phase of the work.

Aside from the consideration of
cost, the bituminous surface treat-
ment converts the gravel roads into a
higher tv'pe. It pro\ides absolute in-
stead of partial elimination of dust,
and produces a good driving surface,
free from loose gravel. Treatments
placed this year have been highly
commended by the driving public and
the owners of abutting property. Re-
ferring to the surface treated sections
placed this year on trxmk line 65,
north of Ann Arbor, the Washtenaw
County Road Commission, in their
annual report, state that "no money
ever spent for road maintenance in
this county has given as much satis-
faction to users of the road, as well
as residents along the road."

The department feels that this type
of maintenance, if properly handled,
will provide a desirable intermediate
step between the gravel surface and
the pavement.

Protecting Whitewashed Poles

from Porcupines and Groundhogs

Engineers in the employ of the
Pennsylvania state highway depart-
ment several years ago declared ab-
sence of the whitewash from tele-
graph poles a foot or two above the
ground was due to the fondness of
porcupines and groundhogs for the
salt in the whitewash. The engineers
experimented with diiferent solutions
in an effort to discover a whitewash
these animals would not consider a
delicacy; and it is now declared by
Di\'ision Engineer J. S. Ritchey of
Bloomsburg that the inclusion of lime
sulphate in the whitewash puts the
mixture in the poison class, so far as
porcupines and groundhogs are con-
cerned.

1174 Roads and Streets Dec.

Design of Streets and Construction of Pavements

Present Practice of Cities Outlined in Report of Committee Upon Street

and Sidewalk Design, Presented by E. R. Conant, Chairman,

at Recent Convention of American Society for

Municipal Improvements

Last year the committee presented
considerable information, bearing up-
on the present practice followed by
municipalities, as regards design of
streets and construction of pavement,
and it presents at this time some
additional information along the same
lines as last year.

Radii of Curb at Street and Lane
Intersections. — That municipal and
other engineers are recognizing the
advantage gained with long radius
corners is shown by the replies re-
ceived to the questionnaire sent to
many cities, which indicate that a
decided reaction has set in of late,
as regards adoption of the radii
length.

Hartford, Conn., reports changing
from 6 ft. to 12 ft. and 15 ft. and
states a great improvement is notice-
able with this change.

Waterloo, la., originally had 10 ft.,
a few years ago changed to 15 ft., is
now adopting 30 ft. and this year
changed some dozen street intersec-
tions to meet new requirements.

Toronto, Canada, had originally 12
ft., then changed to 18 ft. and now
has adopted 25 ft.

Los Angeles reports that it uses
a radius at curb returns equal to the
width between the curb and property
line, except where the distance on
both streets is 15 ft. or greater. In
such cases the radius is made 5 ft.
greater than this distance.

At Muskogee, Okla., the narrower
streets are given the greater radii;
24 to 30 ft. streets have radii at cor-
ners of 12 ft. to 15 ft., while for 30
ft. or over, a 10-ft. radius.

Pawtucket, R. I., is increasing ra-
dius from 15 to 25 ft.; Davenport, 10
to 15 ft.; Cheyenne, Wyo., new pave-
ments 18 ft. Other cities report
adopting radii of from 10 to 25 ft.

Elimination of Catchbasins. — The

committee received many replies con-
cerning catchbasin and inlet construc-
tion and finds that there is a decided
tendency towards eliminating catch-

basins and connecting the inlets direct
to sewers or storm water conduits and
especially is this done where there are
adequate-sized storm sewers with
good slopes.

The following cities report elimina-
tion, either complete or in progress:
Quincy, 111., Muskogee, Okla., Peoria,
Kalamazoo, South Bend, St. Louis,
Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Rockford,
Shreveport, Long Beach, Houston,
Cheyenne, Portland, Ore., Oakland,
Colorado Springs, Berkeley, Sacra-
mento, Boise City and Salt Lake City.

An unusual method of disposing of
storm water drainage is reported from
Phoenix, Ariz. No storm water sew-
ers have been constructed and, to
care for storm water disposal, wells
6 ft. internal diameter, are sunk to
water bearing sand, usually 20 and
sometimes 30 ft. below the surface.
Brick is used for construction and
within 6 ft. from the top it is of open
construction and the bottom is left
open. With proper inlets into the
wells, it is reported that satisfactory
results are attained, the water bear-
ing sand taking away the discharge.
The wells are expected to care for
about 45,000 sq. ft. The diameter of
inlet pipes to sewers are reported to
range from 8 to 15 in.

Storm Water Inlets. — Information
was sought as to size and type of in-
lets generally in use and replies re-
ceived would indicate that some stand-
ardization of construction would be
desirable. Grade of streets and char-
acter of surface, effecting run off, and
amount of detritus carried, density
of rainfall and minor local conditions,
all bear upon the best method to fol-
low for carrying away surface water.

One answer received, while humor-
ous, yet speaks the truth. The engi-
neer reports that he cannot see much
advantage in the use of grates in the
curb openings. Years ago, the open-
ings in the gutters in this country
were held down to small square open-
ings, limited to the size of a calf's
hoof. Of late years, calves are moved

1923

Roads and Streets

1175

by truck and some of these old grates
will have to go.

Many cities report opening through
curb only, others openings in gutters
and in curbs. Many use rods, hori-
zontal or vertical, or gratings in the
curb openings. Others adopt clear
openings from 6 to 8 in. in depth and
of varying length. Openings into in-
lets are sometimes sunk an inch or so
below curb grade and pavement sloped
back to grade.

St. Louis standard inlets are 4V-
ft. width in front and taper to 3 ft. 9
in. back, with depth of opening 6 in.
and multiple of these are usual to
meet variable conditions.

Approaches to Garage Driveways
and Parking Places. — Present practice
is generally to adopt a uniform slope
from gutter or from curb sunk to
within about 2 in. of gutter grade up
to sidewalk through grass plot, if such
exists, if not, a short ramp with
steep slope of from 1 to 2 in. to the
foot.

Two or three cities, Rockford, Mus-
kogee, Jackson\ille, Hartford, merge
curb and gutter with rather long ra-
dius from the face and short radius
for top of curb, and vehicles pass over
the curb without serious trouble.

Chicago installs some catchbasins,
adjoining raised crossings to care for
drainage flow and constant aprons,
running back from top of curb, with
grade of % in. to the foot.

Richmond, Ind., Pontiac, Mich., Ok-
lahoma City, Boise, Idaho, and Indi-
anapolis, report constructing a gutter
a few feet out from curb and con-
structing crossing ramp from this
gutter to curb.

Special Curb and Gutter Construc-
tion.— An innovation as to the cross
section of curb is being introduced,
which appears practical and beneficial.
We all know that automobile and
truck tires are often injured by grind-
ing against the vertical rough stone
curb and a few cities are adopting a
curb with a batter on the gutter side
and again this batter is sometimes
merged with the gutter and the gut-
ter and curb formed with a curved
face.

Jacksonville, Fla., Shreveport, La.,
Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Ariz., Sacra-
mento and Hartford, are introducing
this method to a greater or less ex-
tent.

Quite a number of cities, where

they have bituminous type of pave-
ments, are introducing a gutter of
frame 4% to 6 ft. wide, built of con-
crete brick or hard surface, which
would not be affected by gasoline or
oil drippings from automobiles or
trucks. Boise, Idaho, Muskogee, Sac-
ramento and St. Louis report this im-
provement.

Sidewalk Design. — Some additional
information was obtained as regards
sidewalk widths, generally adopted,
and means of relie^^ng congested foot
traflftc.

San Francisco is constructing un-
derpasses for pedestrian traffic at
major boulevard intersections.

A few replies received report fixed
widths of sidewalks for varying street
widths.

Oakland, Cal., reports for:

40 ft. street, 8 ft. sidewalk.

50 ft. street, 10 ft. sidewalk.

60 ft. street, 14 ft. sidewalk.

80 ft. street, 18 ft. sidewalk.

100 ft. street, 20 ft. sidewalk.

San Francisco reports:

40- 50 ft. street, 10 ft. sidewalk.

50- 60 ft. street, 13 ft. sidewalk.

60- 70 ft. street. 15 ft. sidewalk.

70- 80 ft. street, 18 ft. sidewalk.

80-100 ft. street, 19 ft. sidewalk.

100 or over street, 22 ft. sidewalk.

Streets less than 40 ft., sidewalk
width one-fifth of street width.

Brookline, Mass., allots one-sixth of
the width of the street in business
sections where widths do not exceed
60 ft. to sidewalk space.

From 20 answers to the inquiry as
regards width of sidewalk, we note
the average width, for residential
streets, to be from 4^2 to 6 ft. and
for business thoroughfares, a varying
width from 14 to 25 ft. Shreveport
reports that 40 per cent of street
width has to be allotted to sidewalk.

Special Features of Design. — Oak
Park reports removal of grass plots
in the center of certain thorough-
fares, for parking places.

St. Louis has adopted additional
parking space by surrounding certain
areas in wide streets with curbing 2
in. high, over which autos to park
can readily pass.

Brookline, Mass., has taken away a
portion of the space formerly allot-
ted for a bridle path and uses same
for parking space.

Boise City allots a width of 16 ft.
for parking in the center of a 100-ft.
boulevard. Salt Lake City uses a
strip bordering the street railway
tracks for parking cars. Rockford,

H76

Roads and Streets

Dec.

III., is designing streets with parkway
in center.

In some cities, there are commons
or small parks, with sidewalks out-
side of same. These sidewalks could
be transferred inside the commons and
space used for parking. But, to do
this, State Legislature is usually re-
quired. It would appear that indi-
vidual treatment has to be given for
each case and every effort must be
made to relieve existing conditions in
many cities for care of cars.

Pavement Construction. — In the
past year, two features are outstand-
ing, which will result in economy as
regards street construction.

The Department of Commerce has
recently announced that the new
standard for asphalt grading (as de-
termmed by penetration limits) be-
comes effective January 1, 1924.
Hereafter, instead of 50 or 100 grades,
the new standard will comprise 10.
This follows earnest work done by the
producers and consumers, and it now
behooves asphalt users to see that
their specifications adhere to the
adopted grades, the ranges for which,
as regards penetration limits, is suf-
ncient to provide for all reasonable
requirements.

• ^^"^^ standards for establishing
sizes of brick were also consummated
the past year, and instead of 66 vari-
eties m use before standardization
took place, there are now but 6.

The penetration limits for asphalt
used m asphaltic pavements is being
decidedly reduced, according to infor-
mation received from a large number
of cities. Also quite a few report us-
ing additional amount of dust. The
changes bring about a harder mix-
ture and one that prevents pushing
and shoving under traffic.

Penetration Limits for Asphalt.—
fc>t. Louis, Chicago, Wichita, Oak Park
report the penetration used from 30
to 40 for heavy traffic streets; from
40 to 50 for lighter traffic; and a
number report using a lower penetra-
tion, without stating limits.

St. Louis, in additiqrj to lowering
the penetraton limit, })as increased
the amount of material retained on a
No. 40 sieve. The mix used in re-
fined asphalt wearing surface being:

Retained on No. 10 mesh sieve, 8%.

Retained on No. 40 mesh sieve, 34%.

Retained on No. 80 mesh ajeve, 25%.

Retained on No. 200 mesh sieve, 10%.
Passing 200 mesh sieve, 14%.
Bitumen, 9%,

Experience with this mix is re-
ported to give a close compact sur-
face, which irons out well and does
not push or become wavy under traffic,

Concrete Base Thickness. — Infor-
mation received from many engineers
show that they are increasing the
concrete base thickness and, in some
instances, increasing the thickness of
the wearing surface.

Peoria, Wichita, Davenport, Oak
Park, St. Louis, Tulsa, Sioux City,
Pontiac, Oklahoma City and New Or-
leans, report increase of depth of base
of about 1 in. The average adopted
for heavy traffic being from 7 to 9 in.;
medium, 6 to 7 in.; light, 5 to 6 in,

Indianapolis reports that the con-
crete base laid in the city shall be
roughened by an approved roughen-
ing device.

Muskogee, Okla., requires a com-
pression test of its concrete pave-
ments, within a given period. Sam-
ples are taken from the pavement and,
if the required test is not met, re-
moval of the rejected section is re-
quired. If it runs 80 per cent of the
strength required, it may remain in
place and be accepted, the city pre-
serving, however, 20 to 50 per cent
of the contract price for the yardage
in question until the end of the pay-
ment period. In addition, the city is
protected by the maintenance bond.

Burning Leaves on Roads
Damages Surfaces

As a result of several instances of
damage to the surface of public high-
ways through the burning of leaves
on the roads, officers of the Connecti-
cut state police department patrolling
the state were instructed to put a stop
to the practice. Highway Commis-
sioner John A. Macdonald, in a com-
munication to the superintendent of
the state police department, pointer
out that the highways are mostlj
treated with asphalt, tar or some
carbohydrate which contains volatile
oils, easily ignited. It has been ascer-,
tained that any fire or heat applie(
to the highways, especially fires of
leaves, which produce as hot a fire a^
it is possible to obtain is very dis-,
astrous to the roads. The leaf fire.'
are dangerous in view of the fact tha'l
the ashes serve as a mat and hold hea^l
for a long time. !

1923

Roads and Streets

The Lighting of Streets and Highways

1177

Principles smd Practice Outlined in Paper Presented Nov. 13 at Annual
Convention of American Society for Municipal Improvements

By STEPHEN CARLETON ROGERS

Commercial Illuminating Engineer, Street Lighting Department, General Electric Co.

Vision is accomplished in two ways,
or in a combination of two ways.
Objects, persons, etc., are seen either
in silhouette against the lighted back-
grround of the street surface or else
by the direct light from the lamps
themselves. When objects are seen in
silhouette, their bulk or outline is ob-
>er\-ed; when objects are seen in per-
spective, or by direct light, their de-
tails or features are distinguished.
All objects, etc., therefore, whether by
day or by night, must be seen either
in silhouette or in perspective or by a
combination of the two. These prin-
ciples should be remembered, as street
lighting, to a very large degree, de-
pends upon them, no matter what
class of street lighting is being con-
sidered. Vision by silhouette has
been known and recognized by artists
for many years, but has been appre-
ciated by the illuminating engineer
for only a comparatively short time.

Depending upon these two methods
of vision are the two main types of
street lighting, which may be classi-
fied as follows:

1. Large unit lighting.

2. Small unit lighting.

Large Unit Lighting. — If a large
"t equipped with a diffusing globe,
example, either a 6.6 ampere
luminous (magnetite) arc lamp or a
15,000 lumen incandescent (Mazda C)
lamp be placed on the side of a street
some distance away as, for instance,
300 ft., objects, persons, etc., will be
seen more in silhouette than in per-
spective. This is commonly termed
"large unit street lighting," and the
illumination will be of a maximum
high intensity and from a concen-
trated light source. It is clear, there-
fore, that whenever large unit light-
ing is employed that silhouetting will
be more generally used, particularly
so when the lighting units are spaced
quite a distance apart. The closer the
units be spaced, the more will per-
spective vision occur in conjunction,
of course, with silhouette vision. The
diffusing globe will cut down the

candlepower of either of the large
units just mentioned to about 960.
If, for instance, 12 80 c. p. incan-
descent lamps be grouped together
and placed in a single large globe, the
resultant illumination would be prac-
tically the same as with the use of
the single large unit.

Small Unit Lighting. — Suppose,
however, that these 12 small 80 c. p.
incandescent lamps be distributed
along the same street and uniformly
spaced. The result then would be
known as "small unit street lighting,"
the illumination will be fairly uniform
but of low intensity and from dis-
tributed light sources. With this type
of street lighting there will not be
enough intensity for either silhouette
or good perspective ^^sion. These
two distinct types of street lighting
also produce entirely different psycho-
logical effects, as was shown during
some street lighting tests conducted
a few years ago, where it was shown
that large unit lighting is by far the
superior and more essential for good
street lighting from every angle.

There is still a very important
phase that should be considered — ^viz.,
the status of large units versus small
units, viewed from an economic point
of ^•iew. A city or town naturally,
since it is the party that has to pay
the bills, is most \itally interested in
street lighting and its costs. Since
many cities have a certain appropri-
ation for street lighting, they usually
want to know what type of lighting
will give the best results for that
given amount of money, rather than
what is the best street lighting it can
get and then how much will it cost.
According to prevailing conditions
and rates it will cost a city approxi-
mately $100 per year for each large
unit and about $25 per year for each
small unit, considering these sizes
just referred to. This will mean
something like 3 large units for every
12 small units, or roughly, three times
the total light flux with its accom-
panying increased illumination and

1178

Roads and Streets

Dec.

better visual effect for the same total
cost per year.

Street Lighting Practice. — Street
lighting in general may be divided in-
to the following five classes :

Class I. Main business streets —
highly intensive or white way illu-
mination.

Class II. Secondary business
streets — good general illumination.

Class III. Boulevards and main
residential thoroughfares.

Class IV. Side residential streets
— comparatively low illumination.

Class V. Interurban or main au-
tomobile highways.

Class I. Main business streets.

Main Business Street Lighting. —

The main business streets of a large
city may be properly separated into
two subdivisions, whereas, in a small-
er city this distinction is lacking — it
being hard to tell where one type
stops and the other starts.

(a) Streets, whose stores are es-
sentially retail and depend largely up-
on show windows for the display of
their goods, merchandise or wares —
streets that are of greatest distinc-
tion.

(b) Important business streets
largely traveled at night.

The type of lighting that should be
employed should be such as to satisfy
every requirement of police protec-
tion, the motorist, the safety of the
pedestrian, the merchant, the aesthet-
ic sense, etc.

In order to accomplish this result,
the illumination of the street surface
must be of high intensity so that
silhouette, together with perspective
vision may be employed; cornices,
facades and other architectural de-
tails and effects must be brought out.
In order to achieve these desired re-
sults, lighting units of high candle-
power closely spaced must be used,
the units themselves must be attrac-
tive by day as well as by night, and
they should be mounted upon orna-
mental standards, thereby doing away
with unsightly overhead wires and
trolley poles, etc. In large cities, two
and three of these large units per
post, equipped with diffusing glass-
ware, should be specified with ap-
proximately 100-ft. spacing per side
at 20-30-ft. heights. In cities of this
type the buildings range from six

stories and upwards, so that a light
distribution with nearly equal amount
of light in upper and lower hemi-
sphere should be used. By the use of
the new alabaster rippled glassware,
the most pleasing effects are produced,
In the small cities, where the build-
ings are rarely four to six stories
high, excellent results may be ob-
tained by the use of single lamp
standards 15 to 18 ft. high, and when
using the incandescent lamp the dome
refractor and light alabaster rippled
globe may be used, as this particular
combination has been designed so a:i
to permit the illumination of build-
ing fronts of comparatively few stor-
ies height and at the same time con-
siderably increase the illumination of
the street surface. On the other hand,
suppose that a type of distribution
should be used which has practically
no light in the upper hemisphere, such
as would be obtained from a unit with
clear globe and reflector or ordinary
refractor installation (not the dome
refractor and rippled globes), what
would be the result ? There would be
a sharp shadow, a sharp cut off on the
building fronts, which would give a
very uunpleasant effect — absolutely
wrong physiologically as well psycho-
logically.

There is yet another factor that
enters into lighting of this class —
viz., the quality of light. The chief
difference between the magnetite arc
lamp and the incandescent lamp of
equal intensity is the color. The
color of the luminous (magnetite) arc
lamp is the nearest approach to day-
light of any artificial illuminant com-
mercially exploited. This white color
of the magnetite arc is considered by
many to be unexcelled for certain
classes of lighting — especially the
high intensive class where there is
show window lighting. In order to
get the most effective show window
lighting a soft warm lighting effect
is most desirable, which is obtained
when the ordinary incandescent lamp
is used. When the streets are lighted,
the effectiveness of the show window
is greatly decreased, if the color of
the street lighting is the same as
that of the show window lighting,
because contrast will be lacking.
However, if the streets are lighted
with the white color of the magne-,
tite arc lamp then the show windows
will be in contrast with their warmer
yellow light, and the attractiveness
of the windows will increase and they

1923

Roads and Streets

1179

will stand out in most beautiful fash-
ion. This, in fact, is the accepted
standard among those who are doing
the highest grade intensive lighting
today.

What would be the result if the
windows should be lighted with white
light (thereby revealing correct color
values) and the street lighted with
yellowish light? The contrast will
be in the wrong direction, for the
background will be cold and harsh
and the foreground warm, whereas,
the background must be warm and the
foreground cold to satisfy. The re-
• vealing power, that is, the ability to
pick up objects, etc., ^with white light
is greater than with yellow light.

Types of Refractors. — It may be

pertinent here to describe some of the
various types of refractors in use,
and show why only the dome refractor
is suitable for this class of lighting.
The original refractor consisted of a
series of horizontal prisms, both
above and below the light source so
as to redirect all of the light flux
both upward and downward at a pre-
determined angle in the hopes of ap-
proaching a uniform horizontal illu-
mination. This principle is, rff course,
fundamentally wrong, since non-uni-
form illumination is of far more use
in street lighting illumination. It was
found that fairly good street illumi-
nation could be obtained by leaving
off the prisms in the lower hemisphere
thereby not altering the dow^nward
direct light, but adding to the down-
ward light at a given angle a large
part of the upward light. In both of
these refractors there is an external
piece consisting of a series of vertical
prisms so as to diffuse the light and
lower the brilliancy, thus reducing the
glare. If now either of these refrac-
tors is put into an ordinary diffusing
globe the refractive feature will be
lost and the resultant illumination will
be less than is obtained by leaving
off the refractor.

^^Ha the case of the dome refractor,
^Wwever, there are no vertical prisms;
two separate series of horizontal
prisms in the upper hemisphere be-
ing used to redirect the upward light,
thereby utilizing a larger spherical
angle and a consequently greater
' amount of light flux. In order to re-
I duce glare, a rippled glass globe is
I used which, when very lightly coated
I with alabaster, does not entirely nul-

lify the directive feature of the re-
fractor and at the same time spreads
sufficient light upward for fairly high
buildings. The asymmetric type of
refractor, of course, takes even more
light from the building fronts and
should be used only for other classes
of streets as described later.

Lighting of Secondary Business
Streets. — This classification should in-
clude those business streets not com-
ing under Class I, in other words,
those having comparatively little
travel at night, those including large-
ly wholesale stores, warehouses, fac-
tories, etc. In streets of this class
the same type of illuminant should
be used, the same intensity of unit,
but longer spacing between lamps
than in Class I. This is more advis-
able than going to the next smaller
size unit and retaining the same spac-
ing, although the cost per year may
be the same, better visual effects may
be obtained by fewer larger units than
by more smaller units. The lighting
of these streets is mostly done for
police and fire protection.

Boulevards and Main Residential
Thoroughfares Lighting. — In this
classification should also be included
park lighting. These streets are used
by automobilists and pedestrians, and
the needs of each should be satisfied.
Lamps best suited for this type of
lighting should be of the ornamental
types used for Classes I and II light-
ing, but spaced farther apart. Of
course, the best results will be ob-
tained by using the large 6.6 amp.
luminous arc lamps or the 15000 lu-
men incandescent lamps — however,
very fine results can be obtained with
the 4 or 5 amp. luminous arc lamps
or the 6000 or 10000 lumen incan-
descent lamps with rippled globes. It
might be added that a semi-ornament-
al bracket type of unit giving the
same light distribution can be used
where overhead wiring is available,
thereby saving the additional expense
of ornamental standards and under-
ground wiring.

Lighting Side Residential Streets.
— On account of the small amount of
motor travel on this type of street, a
less expensive unit can be well util-
ized here, one employing a 4000 lumen
incandescent lamp serving the pur-
pose admirably. A novel as well as
utilitarian unit has recently been de-
signed for this work. It consists of

1180.

Roads and Streets -

Dec.

a single piece glazed porcelain which
acts as insulator and prismatic glass
holder as well.

Interurban or Main Automobile
Highway Lighting. — These roads are
the main traffic routes connecting
towns and cities. The problem of
lighting these is entirely changed, due
to the ever increasing auto traffic
and headlight glare. Another factor
enters into this class of lighting es-
pecially, namely the character of the
road surface. There are for all prac-
tical purposes three main types of
road surfaces:

1. Non-reflecting, non-diffusing —
viz., country roads with possibly a
light coating of oil to lay the dust.

2. Diffusing — light dust, reinforced
concrete, cement roads.

3. Reflecting — bituminous macad-
am, asphalt, wood block, etc., roads.

The majority of these highways-
are of the latter two types with the
reflecting types in greater abundance.
Because of these improved roads, it
has been possible to design and util-
ize a special unit, consisting of a num-
ber of nested parabolic reflectors,
making it possible for one lamp to be
in the focus of six reflectors and there-
by distributing the light along the
road without any spilled or wasted
light, as is the case with other than
asymmetric distribution of light. In
the case of the black surface roads,
it is possible using 2,500 lumen (250
c-p.) lamps with spacing of 300 ft.
and height of 30 ft. to make the road
surface a veritable ribbon of light —
to use the road surface as a secondary
light source — to reduce glare from ap-
proaching automobile headlights by
decreasing the contrast between them
and their background. This type of
lighting is one of the greatest ad-
vances in street illumination that has
been made — it is very economical, es-
pecially when it is considered that it
costs approximately $30,000 to $40,-
000 per mile for investment of the
road itself as again.st $3,000 per mile
for the lighting units and lines, etc.,
maintenance of the roads costs about
$5,000 per mile, as against $1,000 per
mile for the lighting. Some of the
obvious advantages of this kind of
lighting are as follows:

I. Prevent accidents

1. By showing up dangerous
curves.

2. By reducing headlight glare.

3. By illuminating signs, sides of
roads, and obstacles.

II. Adds to comfort of night driv-
ing

1. By relieving eye strain.

2. By assisting in making repairs.

3. By discouraging holdups.

III. Increases night traffic and
thereby relieves day congestion.

IV. Decreases running time and
increases road capacity.

V. Helps to bring electricity to the
farm by providing a pole line.

VI. Increases real estate values m

1. By tending to extend the city
along highways.

2. By bringing electrical conven-
iences.

As an illustration of what might
be accomplished in the way of high-
way lighting from an economic point
of view, take, for example, Massa-
chusetts (and the same might apply
to any other state). There are at
present, roughly 1,500 miles of im-
proved ^ate highway, which should
be scientifically lighted. This would
mean an initial investment of about
$5,000,000, with a yearly maintenance
cost of $1,500,000 (figuring an aver-
age cost of $60 per lamp year to the
city or state). A few years ago dras-
tic headlight laws were enacted, which |
it has been conservatively estimated, \
cost the automobile owners more than i
$2,500,000 at that time, plus the ad- j
ditional amount necessary for their ]
upkeep. If this money had been ex- j
pended in the proper direction, head-
lights would be unecessary and safety j
to all would have been increased. i

Road Mileage of Missouri. — Accord-
ing to figures of the U. S. Bureau of
Public Roads, Missouri now has 46,311
miles of improved road, not including
that added during last season. The
total road mileage of the state is
111,521, as compared with 96,041
miles in 1914, and during the 7-year
period from 1914 the surfaced and
paved roads have increased from 6,713
to 7,880 miles. The total highway in-
come in 1921 amounted to $16,494,975,
or $240 for each square mile of area,
$148 for each mile of road, or $4.85
per capita.

1923

Roads and Streets

Road Service in Industrial Regions

1181

A Paper Presented at the Richmond Convention of the American
Society of Civil Engineers

GEORGE E. HAMLIN

Superintendent of Repairs, Connecticut State Highway Department

Service is defined as the perform-
ance of labor for the benefit of an-
other, or that which promotes interest
or happiness. When applied to roads,
there is also implied a continuity and
not a single action.

Road service to be of greatest bene-
fit must be applicable to the pleasure
car as well as to the commercial
truck. In planning this service, both

and lengfth of trips, no estimate made
even the short period of five years
ago has been equalled in the actuality.
The cun'e of increase of these factors
is not a straight line, but takes the
form of a parabola of undetermined
dimension.

Factors in Selecting Road Surface.

— In deciding upon the character of
road surface several important factors

View at Fairfield, Conn., Showing White Line on Pavement for Dividing and Directing Traffic.

of these factors must be taken into
consideration in the road design.
There is also to be considered the de-
mand which requires the continuity of
the service in certain locations for 24-
hour period during all the days of the
year.

Road service means not alone the
taking care of present requirements,
; but foreseeing future needs so that
[ additional serv'ice may be furnished
I when required. No data is available
I which will determine this need or
j from which the curves of natural in-
j crease can be computed.

The demand for service has in-
creased far beyond the power of the
i average municipality or state to meet,
j In number of vehicles, weight of loads

must be taken into account; namely,
regular movement of long hauls,
regular movement of short hauls, and
irregular movement, which may be
also seasonal in character. The road
design will necessarily include the
combining of these various demands
so that all classes of traffic will be
reasonably and safely carried at all
times. This implies continuity of serv-
ice even under extreme conditions of
weather, these conditions being an-
ticipated rather than taken care of as
the occasion arises.

These factors must be considered
when designing a road for estimated
as well as actual traffic, and determine
nature and width of surface as well
as alignment and grade.

Safety Precautions for Traffic. — The

1182

Roads and Streets

Dec.

design must also include the neces-
sary safety precautions for the rapid
and safe operation of all classes of
traffic, from the heaviest loaded truck
to the fastest passenger car.

Under this head would come the
opening up of sight lines, the widen-
ing and banking of curves, the reliev-
ing of narrow conditions which slow
traffic and restrict free movement
over the entire highway, and the post-
ing of all danger points with con-
spicuous signs, visible by night as
well as by day, so as nearly as pos-
sible to automatically control the safe
driving speed over any section of
highway.

One of the causes for slowing up
of traffic is the lack of a marker which
properly defines the highway to the
occasional user, A system should be
installed which will clearly and ac-
curately define the road over which it
is desired to proceed, so that the
driver will clearly see such markers
without taking his attention from the
car operation or require him to give
more than a casual glance to accu-
rately define his route. One has only
to note the number of vehicles held
at the opening of a draw bridge, pos-
sibly for a 3-minute interval, on a
heavily congested highway to realize
that the slowing up of traffic by any
circumstance which can be avoided
cuts down the capacity of the road
to an extent which, without actual
count, can hardly be comprehended.

New England Trunk Line Number-
ing System. — The New England states
have adopted a numerical system of
designating trunk line through high-
ways. Each state, through a joint
committee of members of the state
highway departments, the New Eng-
land hotel men's association and auto-
mobile clubs, met at Boston and laid
out the main traveled trunk line high-
ways in accordance with the general
direction of travel. Each of these
highways was given a designated
number and each state highway de-
partment posts this number within its
boundaries. Connecting and secondary
roads are designated with numbers
above 100, each carrying the name of
the state in addition to the number.
Care has been taken where one of
these connecting routes crosses a state
line that the same number shall be
used in the adjoining state. Maps
have been issued for the tourist, and

the numbers have been placed in most
of the states this season.

It is hoped that the system will
prove of advantage over the separate
state markers now generally in' use,
so that the demand for extension to
other territories will eventually result
in long, continuous marked highways
from coast to coast and from lakes to
gulf.

Only 1 Per Cent Use Highways Im-
properly or Illegally. — The policing of
the highways in order to properly
maintain reasonable speed and free
movement is a question which should
be considered as well as actual con-
struction of the highway. The road
is only of value, no matter what its
condition, in so far as free movement
thereon is permitted. The improper
or illegal use of highways is probably
much less than 1 per cent. All op-
erators, however, must be compelled
to properly respect the rights of
others, and only a competent policing
force with accurate knowledge of road
conditions, needs and speed values
will be able to handle traffic satisfac-
torily. Such officers may be of in-
estimable aid in anticipating possible
congestion and making preparations
therefor, and by their judgment and
decision, with the necessary previous
practical training, may increase the
capacity of any road to a large extent.

Much attention has been paid in
the past to the fast driver, and many
of the serious and fatal accidents oc-
curring daily can be charged to his
account. On many highways, how-
ever, this class of traffic is far less
dangerous from an accident point of
view than the operation of the slow
driver who holds the traffic below a
reasonable speed. With havy oppos-
ing traffic, little opportunity is offered
to pass the slow moving vehicle in
front. Eventually, as vehicle after
vehicle slows down in the line, some
driver takes an estimated opportunity
to pass. The result is often a col-
lision or the assumption of rights
properly belonging to the opposing
driver.

It is believed that more attention
should be paid to the slow moving
vehicle, and that the operator should
either be denied the use of the high-
way during the congested hours or
delegated to the secondary road,
where his operations will not seri-
ously decrease the capacity of the
highway or affect the rights of others.

Roads and Streets

1183

The Short Time Census. — Many
organizations have at various times
taken censuses for short periods of
time, but these, as a whole, have been
of a general type, determining only
the number of vehicles passing a
given point during a given time. Such
a census is of value only in a broad
sense and does not aid in determining
many of the questions in modem road
design and construction. With addi-
tional observers, and carried on for a

vision must be made during the entire
year, and the industrial traffic, which,
while somewhat seasonal, due to the
character of the manufactured ma-
terials, is largely constant during the
entire year in many industrial com-
munitifes.

The Connecticut TraflSc Census. —
The Connecticut traffic census, con-
ducted in co-operation with the Bureau
of Public Roads, has just been com-
pleted, after a full year's operation.

Winter Road in Windham County, Connecticut.

longer period of time so as to deter-
mine seasonal variation of traffic and
commodities, much additional data
can be obtained from which the needs
of any particular locality can be ap-
proximately determined. In farming
localities the movement of traffic is
necessarily seasonal, the roads being
called upon to carry the larger per-
centage of their capacity during the
season when weather conditions are
most favorable. This is also true of
touring traffic.

In addition to these classes comes
the business traffic, for which pro-

The amount of detail collected has
been very large, and this is being
tabulated in the Office of Public Roads
in Washington. The census covers
practically every phase of transporta-
tion, including distance, commodity,
overloading, tire widths, distribution
of load, type of vehicle, and many
other details.

A traffic survey does not necessarily
determine where new construction is
to be placed unless factors other than
the volume and weight of traffic are
taken into consideration. If construc-
tion is planned only where the amount

1184

Roads and Streets

Dec.

of traffic is the heaviest, very few of
the feeder roads will obtain any state
aid.

The function of road building is not
alone the taking care of present and
potential traffic, but the development
of the entire state as a whole. The
plan must include the care of the out-
lying districts, so that the necessity
of any community may enter into the
road construction program. No traffic
survey will determine the location of
new traffic lines which may be opened
by a connecting link of new construc-
tion. There must be considered the
increase in traffic due to the natural

such cost is assessed against that
vehicle; that is, if the reduced expense
of operation due to improved high-
ways is transferred to the fees for
registration, and such fees are utilized
for new construction and maintenance
of the highway system.

The completed census report, among
other items, will cover a determina-
tion of regular and irregular truck
movement and its relation to other
transportation systems, a study of the
passenger service as to business or
non-business movement, and its com-
petition with other forms of transpor-

Normal Winter Condition of Trunk Line Highway in Washington, Conn.

growth of motor transportation, which
can only be roughly determined after
years of obtained data.

What the Connecticut Census Shows.

The preliminary report for the first
three months of the Connecticut traffic
census has developed data which in
many cases has revolutionized the pre-
conceived estimate of conditions. The
increase in highway cost, both of con-
.struction and maintenance, is largely
offset by the increase in the number
of vehicles. It is believed that the
operating cost per vehicle will be no
greater if the proper percentage of

tation, and the type of service re-
quired on any particular highway as
to volume, speed and character.

In the analysis of the first three
months the average number of pas-
sengers per pleasure vehicle was 2.5
for a distance of 45.1 miles. Of this
35 per cent was business traffic and
65 per cent non-business, the business
mileage amounting to 29.7 miles per
car and the non-business mileage to
55.5 miles per car. If this passenger '
traffic is analyzed on a mileage basis,
23.5 per cent is business traffic and
76.5 non-business traffic. It would

1923

Roads and Streets

1185

therefore appear that this is largely
a non-business, non-competitive usage.

In truck capacities 44.1 per cent of
all trucks are under 1^2 tons and 22
per cent of 5 tons or over. From
previous determination, it would ap-
pear that the number of large truck
capacities is gradually diminishing on
che highways.

In regard to the usage of the state
highways by foreign trucks, the
census shows that 89 per cent of all
trucks are operating with Connecticut
registration, carrying 86.5 per cent of
the total net tonnage, while 11 per
cent are of foreign registration,
carrying 13.5 per cent of the total net
tonnage. If this is transferred to a
mileage basis, Connecticut trucks
transport commodities 65.2 per cent
of the mileage, while foreign trucks
are accountable for 34.8 per cent of
the mileage. An account of the loaded
or empty trucks show that approxi-
mately two-thirds of the operating
trucks are loaded and one-third empty.
It is fair to assume, therefore, that
the return load problem has not been
worked out to its greatest advantage
by the truck operator. Comparison of
length of haul shows that 36.9 per
cent of the total tonnage is trans-
ported from 1 to 9 miles, 30.5 per
cent from 10 to 29 miles, and 32.6 per
cent for a distance of 30 miles or over.
Transportation by truck, therefore, is
only partially competitive and would
apply only to certain articles in which
the cost of packing or the quick de-
livery plays an important part. It is
probable that on long hauls the truck
cannot compete with the railroad,
i even though two loading and unload-
ing charges are absorbed by the truck
delivery.

j On a commodity basis, it has been
' been determined that 81.5 per cent of
commodities transported originate in
Connecticut and 18.5 per cent in other
state, showing that the road service
rendered is largely for Connecticut
I itself.

Mr. McKay comments as follows on
j the general situation: "In general
; the analysis of motor truck transpor-
tation in the New England area indi-
' cates that the bulk of the tonnage is
I a non-competitive short haul trans-
I portation of freight from the manu-
facturer's point of view.

"With a permanent improvement in

rail service, a considerable portion of
the long haul motor truck freight will
be shipped by rail.

"The return load business is an im-
portant factor in rate making, and as
a general practice in New England,
the rates charged for return loads are
lower than rates for outbound freight,
on the theory that a small profit on
the return load is more profitable than
to return empty. The result of this
practice is to lower the level of rates
charged for outbound business."

Saturation Point Reduced on East-
ern Highways. — It has already been
suggested that on the heavily traveled
thoroughfares of the eastern seaboard
the point of saturation has been
reached, and the only solution is the
widening of the thoroughfares at an
almost prohibitive cost, due to prop-
erty damage, or the construction of
parallel roads, which to a large extent
will enter the outskirts of the cities
only. Where such conditions exist we
may expect, within the next few
years, practically new layouts of trunk
line roads, through undeveloped sec-
tions as far as possible, with mini-
mum grade and curvature and adapted
to the fastest traffic consistent with
safety.

The design of such roads will elimi-
nate the grade crossing of trunk line
highways of similar class, as well as
make proper provision for the con-
stant policing and dispatching of ve-
hicle trains. If this statement seems
a visionary one, think of the condi-
tions 5 years ago as compared with
those today. Can any of us estimate
even roughly what traffic will demand
5 years hence?

Snow Removal on Main Highways. —

Continuity of service is demanded and
must be furnished. In the northern
sections of the country, where winter
conditions are extreme, the removal
of snow from the main highways win
be demanded. It is impracticable to
purchase and maintain enough snow
fighting equipment to take care of the
most extreme weather conditions on
account of the excessive cost. Ar-
rangements, therefore, must be made
to control a sufficient quantity of this
equipment for average or more than
average conditions, and to utilize dur-
ing the heavier snow falls additional
equipment which can be hired in each
locality. Where plows attached to
trucks are used, it has been found

1186

Roads and Streets

Dec.

that under normal conditions one
truck will be able to open in a rea-
sonable time about 10 miles of high-
way.

During a storm efforts should be
made to keep in use only a two-path
track. With clear weather, however,
widening should begin and the snow
pushed back as far as possible, so as
to furnish the room which may be re-
quired for placing additional snow.

traffic. After this is accomplished, all
feeder lines and secondary roads
should be cleared. Much of the value
of the long distance trucking depends
upon continuous service, and it is only
in this way that public demands will
be met.

Road service is public service, and
those to whom this has been entrusted
must consider that in furnishing and
anticipating such service, the advan-

Drif t in 1923 on Trunk Line Highway in New Milford, Conn.

It is in this class of work that the
personnal of any department shows to
the greatest advantage. It is some-
times necessary, due to isolated con-
ditions or continuous snow fall, to re-
quire the men on the snow fighting
equipment to operate for long con-
tinued periods in order that the neces-
sary work to be accomplished. Addi-
tional men to replace as far as pos-
sible the regular force should be pro-
vided, but it is rarely possible under
ordinary labor conditions to keep in
demand a force of men either with
the necessary knowledge or stamina
to operate, the snow fighting equip-
ment. The eq[uipment should be capa-
ble of opening all main traveled
trunk lines, within 24 hours after the
fall of snow has ceased, to two-way

tage accrues not only to the operator,
the owner, or the producer, but the
entire community at large.

Center Lining Minnesota Highways

Center lines are being painted on j
the 416 miles of paving on the Minne- '|
sota trunk highways system. A spe- i
cial machine has been built at the l
state highway department shops to ■
paint the strips on the pavements. A
4-in. rubber tire on a small wheel puts
a stripe of like width in the exact
center of the pavement as other
wheels guide the truck on which tlif
machine is mounted. The outfit is
expected to average 25 miles of pav-
ing a day and soon will cover all hard-
surfaced sections of the system.

Roads and Streets 1187

Penetration and Surface Treated Macadam Roads

lethod of Construction and Maintenance in Marquette County, Mich.,
Described in Paper Presented Nov. 7 at Annual Convention
of Michigan State Good Roads Association

By K. I. SAWYER,

County Road Superintendent, Ishpeming. Mich.

* At the time the volume of motor
\c began to advance with the
rapidity with which you are all fa-
miliar, some eight years ago, our dis-
trict contained a considerable number
of water bound macadam roads. In
all instances in Marquette County the
roads were bviilt of trap rock, granite
or quartzite. Our trap rocks are ex-
cellent for wear resistance, but the
cementing quality in water binding is
usually below that of a lime rock,
whereas the granite or quartzite
stretches were usually bound with
clay and stone dust mixed, the rock
powder from these latter rocks ha\ang
a cementing value of practically nil.
We had very little granite or quartz
rock macadam.

The First Surface Treated Road. —
This traflBc, which raveled the plain
water bound road, coupled with the
financial necessity of using our roads
as long as they could be made to give
reasonable service, induced us to turn
to surface treatment of these roads.
The first stretch worked in this way
was the road between the cities of
Negaunee and Marquette. This road
was reconditioned under traffic in the
years 1916 and 1917, the work really
being in the nature of a light water
boimd resurfacing, and the road was
treated, as fast as it was put in shape,
with a surface treatment of refined
tar at the rate of V2 gal. to the square
yard. The cover used on the tar was
washed pebble passing a % in. screen
from a pit which contained chiefly
granite pebble or % in. rock chips
with all dust removed. The cover was
applied at a rate of approximately 70
' us per mile. The width of the treat-

nt was 15 ft.

The following year a second surface
tment was made on this road,
_ & % gal. of tar to the square
yard, and approximately the same
amount of chips or pea gravel, as dur-
ing the first application. All of this
road had received its second treat-
ment by mid-summer of 1918, and has
not had a re-treatment since that
date.

Maintenance and Traffic on the
Road. — Maintenance has been of the
continuous patrol type. To supply the
patrolman with materials, barrels of
tar are buried into the road slopes or
sides at convenient places, and fre-
quent piles of cover gravel are stocked
upon the shoulders.

The maintenance of this section,
which is approximately 8 miles in
length, is handled by one patrolman.
He is given extra help immediately
following the spring break-up so as
to quickly patch up the entire length
of the road, and at the same time
shoulders are built up, any cold patch
work required is done, and then for
the balance of the year the road is
kept up by one man. Paint patch
methods are followed.

This road has now been in use more
than 5 years since its last surface
treatment, and under trafiic var>ing
from 800 to 2,500 vehicles per day.
It is expected to give this road "a
^ gal. treatment next year. The sur-
face of the road is in very good shape
with the exception of a few short
stretches where foundation troubles
are manifesting themselves on the
surface in cracks or settlement which
has required cold patching.

Mileage of Surface Treated Roads.
— I have gone into detail purposely
upon this one section because it was
our first stretch, and because our
present practice in handling this work
was developed upon it. We follow
substantially the same line of oper-
ation upon all of the surface treated
roads, and we now have of this sur-
face treatment type in use the follow-
ing roads:

Old macadam reconditioned and sur-
face treated with tar 17 miles

Class C — gravel macadam, tar treat-

^ ™ent ,„ 3 niiles

Class B — gravel, tar treatment. .... Smiles

Rubble base course, hot asphalt treat-

naent ._„ __ 4 n»Ues

Rubble base course, tar treatnoent. 11 miles

^°^ -r 38 miles

Not including work done in the cities.

This latter type, or rubble base
course, is a special specification road

1188

Roads and Streets

Dec.

in which a heavy bed, usually a foot
thick, of waste mine or cheap quarry
rock is built and smoothed up, expect-
ing this to be the bottom course of a
penetration road in the future, but
which is to be used as a 1-course road
for the present, and is surface treated
for that purpose. The object of this
type of construction being to get more
miles of road immediately usable
from the same amount of money.
Using the bottom course as a road
also delays the period of the first re-
surfacing of the finished road and
develops the traffic requirements prior
to building of the completed road.

Comments on Surface Treatments.
— Commenting on surface treatments,
I believe it is proper to emphasize
first and all the time, the importance
of cleanliness. This is not a new
treatment, but it simply cannot be
over-advocated. The hot surface
treatment seems to require approxi-
mately twice as much cover material
as we usually put on the cold treat-
ments, but in this connection I should
call attention to the fact that I am a
believer in using the very niinimum
of cover material which it is prac-
ticable to use and accomplish the ob-
ject of the treatment. Our cold treat-
ments are always heated to around
100° F.

I do not believe that a surface treat-
ment should be made with the idea
that it will recondition a wornout
macadam road. The road should be
reconditioned first. A surface treat-
ment in final analysis is a painting
proposition and it is primarily pre-
servative in its operation, with the
added advantage of abating the dust
nuisance.

Construction of Penetration Type. —
Penetration roads are not new in road
building and no mention need here be
made of the methods of construction.
We have only been building them on
the country roads for about 3 years
in our district, but I have personal
knowledge of several stretches under
city traffic which are 8 to 10 years old
which are in perfect shape, and have
had very little maintenance other than
cleaning.

When it became necessary to re-
build a 6-mile piece of old macadam
road on M 15, south of Marquette, an
inspection showed that traffic could be
diverted from the road by detours.
The available rock was suitable for
any of the usual types of road, but
the best available rock was a quartz-

ite, unsuitable for water bound ma-
cadam, and it appeared that to recon-
struct this road as a water bonded
road would cost substantially as much
as to build a penetration top. It
might be pointed out that in these
two types of construction, i. e., sur-
face treated, water bounded or pene-
tration macadam, the penetration
bitumen with keystone and chips
takes the place of the dust, water
bounding and surface treatment, and
that otherwise costs usually remain
nearly the same, so that when traffic
can be detoured, a penetration road is
usually preferable to a water bound
surface treated roadway, both as to
ultimate economy and as to service.

For these reasons the old macadam
on this M 15 was shaped up and
widened to form a base course and a
3 in. penetration macadam top built
upon it. The road has gone through
3 years of heavy and mixed traffic
with practically no repairs to the
traveled way, and only the usual
shoulder, ditch and roadside mainte-
nance. The maintenance being of the
continuous patrol type, one man work-
ing full time upon the section which
comprises the entire 6-mile stretch.
Most of the work has been upon the
shoulders, as this is a light soil dis-
trict and the grass is only now start-
ing to give much protection from
erosion of the slopes and shoulders.

We also have 8% miles of penetra-
tion macadam on M 15 west of Ishpe-
ming, and 2 miles on one of the
county trunk highways connecting one
of the larger mining towns with the
state trunk highway. Both are very
satisfactory roads, built with a mine
rock lower course and quartzite rock
tar penetration tops.

Concerning the construction of ma-
cadam roads, there is one feature of
the specifications of our state high-
way department with which I am not
in accord. As I read their general
specifications, any of the macadam
types of road may be built with stone
having a coefficient of wear as low as
7, a toughness as low as 7, and a ,
hardness as low as 14. The varia- ;
bility of our rocks early directed our i
attention to the matter of rock selec-
tion, and from what I have seen of !
the service rendered by rocks of vari- (
ous character, I believe that these j
values are too low for the wearing or |
top stone. 'j

In all our construction we aim to |
use a rock having a coefficient of wear

t;3
no

Roads and Streets

1189

not less than 10 in the surface or
top course. Careful canvass of the
supply field will usually make it pos-
^ble to better the state specification
iW limit of quality at least, and in
r vicinity it usually adds little to
e cost to get our desired minimum
quality in the stone.

Design of Sub-grade. — Proper de-
ign of the sub-grade and sufficient
)dy or mass in the lower course are
ssential for the securing of a service-
)le highway with either macadam
This, of course, leads to the ques-
ion of drainage. As on every other
)ad type, drainage is essential. Sur-
face water must be taken care of, and
"so far as possible, the source of capil-
lary water controlled. After this is
done, you have obtained a certain
bearing power in the sub-grade. Your
bottom course must then be so de-
signed as to thickness that this sub-
grade will not be overloaded and de-
formed by the strains l^rom traflfic.

It is my opinion that rocks meeting
the requirements in the specifications
jof the state highway department,
')ove mentioned, are sufficient in
lality for use in the lower course,
id I believe that economy may be
:ured in many instances by using
poorer rock in the lower course,
lough possibly of larger sizes than
)w specified, and good rock in the
rearing course. The thickness of the
»wer course made of the cheaper rock
in then be varied where necessary to
ccord with the supporting power of
le earth sub-grade.

In this matter of determining pave-
lent thickness, impact must not be
)rgotten. We learned in physics in
xy school days that the inertia of
icient mass would overcome and
prevent the transmission of an im-
pulse, and I distinctly remember a
tunt that was used in the theatres in
(^ose days wherein the principle was
'iven a practical application. In this
tunt a man supported himself be-
reen two chairs,, his head upon one
id his feet upon another. A heavy
Jne was placed upon his chest and
le stone was then broken with a full
'ing of a heavy sledge hammer. It
very apparent what would happen
the heavy stone was not over the
nan's chest.

I have stated this matter bluntly
and in unscientific language pur-
posely. It is not meant to belittle

recent scientific research tending to
economy in materials, but with the
present demand upon road money and
the disposition to spread it out, care
should be taken in making any road
design thinner until it is proved that
theory and good practice are in ac-
cord. Particularly in these cheaper
types of roads, if we should err it
should be on the side of excess mass.

Causes of Failure. — Nearly all of
the failures I have seen in either
penetration roads or surface treated
water macadam were apparently from
one of two primary causes, or at least
these causes contributed to the failure^
and these are the design of the lower
course with regard to thickness and
the bearing power of the grade and
the quality of the stone.

In general these types of road are
applicable under medium to heavy
traffic when proper supporting
strength for the traffic load is pos-
sible of accomplishment. They will
be found, if properly built, pleasing
to the traveling public and fairly easy
to maintain.

Sand-Clay, Top Soil and Sand-
Gravel Roads

The committee on Structural De-
sign of Highways, of which A. T.
Goldbeck of the U. S. Bureau of Pub-
lic Roads is chairman, in its report
Nov. 8 at the 3rd annual meeting of
the Advisory Board of Highway Re-
search, gives the following sugges-
tions for the construction of roads of
the above mentioned type:

For successful roads, there is re-
quired—

(a) Graded mixtures capable of
making a dense mass on consolidation.
The best mixes run as low as 20 per
cent porosity.

(b) Uniformity of composition se-
cured by thorough mixing.

(c) Heavy compacting from the
bottom upward. This is usually done
by traffic. There is need for a type
of multiple rim roller to hasten and
unify the degree of compactness im-
parted to these roads during con-
struction.

(d) The mixtures must have a lib-
eral amount of coarse material above
No. 60 sieve.

(e) Depth of compacted surface
should be 10-12 in. Crown of M in.
per foot is sufficient.

1190

Roads and Streets

Dec.

Highway Engineering and
Highway Transport Education

University of Michigan Now Offers 25

Courses and Has Provided 20,000

Sq. Ft. of Space for Department

The University of Michigan, in
1919-1920, offered the first course in
highway transport to be given in an
American educational institution. The
number of courses in highway trans-
port now numbers eleven. The rapid
development in educational work in
highway engineering and highway
transport is indicated by six courses
in highway engineering being offered
in 1918-1919 and 25 courses in high-
way engineering and highway trans-
port being given in 1923-1924.

The Board of regents has made pro-
vision for the personnel of the new
division by establishing a chair of
highway engineering and highway
transport and the appointment of an
associate professor, an assistant pro-
fessor, a librarian of the Davis Li-
brary of Highway Engineering and
Highway Transport, an instructor and
three assistants in highway engineer-
ing.

Co-operative Relationship With
State Highway Department. — At the
time of the organization of the divi-
sion, an ideal arrangement was made
with the Michigan state highway de-
partment under which all the testing
of highway materials for the depart-
ment would be made in the university
laboratory. This co-operative rela-
tionship has been efficiently developed
in the interests of both the state and
the university. The activities of the
laboratory embrace undergraduate
and graduate courses in highway ma-
terials, research work by members of
the staff, fellows in highway engi-
neering and candidates for the mas-
ter's degree, routine examination of
materials, and the collection of data
relative to highway materials, espe-
cially deposits of sand, gravel, and
rock. During the year ending June
30, 1920, the routine work included
the testing of 3,641 specimens, while
in the year ending June 30, 1923, the
number of specimens tested increased
to 6,831. The materials tested in-
cluded Portland cement, sand, gravel
and stone aggregates, concrete, ledge
rock, paving brick, corrugated metal
pipe, clay tile and pipe, reinforcing
steel, calcium chloride, tar, asphalt.

oils, emulsions, bituminous mixtures,
and paint.

Fellowships in Highway Engineer-
ing and Transport. — Through the gen-
erosity of Mr. Roy D. Chapin and the
Detroit Edison Co., one fellowship in
highway transport and three fellow-

Plans of the Basement and First Floor of the
East Engineering: Building Assigned to the
Division of Highway Engineering and High-
way Transport.
Key to Basement Floor Rooms

HIGHWAY LABORATORIES: A. Sample
Storage Room. B. Damp Room for Cement
and Concrete Specimens. C. Equipment
Room. D. Locker, Wash and Shower Room.
E. Balance Room. F. Laboratory for Test-
ing Asphalt Cements, Tars, Oils and Bitumi-
nous Mixtures. G. Laboratory for Testing
Paints and Metals. H. Computing Room.
I. Laboratory for Testing Sand, Gravel and
Stone Aggregates. J. Cement Testing Lab-
oratory. K. Rock and Brick Testing Labora-
tory. L. Receiving Room. M. Highway
Material Bins, Elevator and Delivery Chute.
N. Concrete Testing Laboratory (located un-
der main entrance lobby).

Key to First Floor Rooms

O. Office of Professor of Highway Engi-
neering and Highway Transport and Seminar
Room. P. Stenographer's Office. Q. Davis
Library of Highway Engineering and Highway
Transport. R and S. Lecture Rooms for
Graduate Courses. T. Office of Assistant Pro-
fessor of Highway Engineering and High-
way Transport. U. Highway Engineering
Drafting Room. V to Y, inclusive. Offices
of Associate Professor of Highway Engineer-
ing and Staff of Michigan State Highway
Laboratory.

ships in highway engineering have
been available each year since 1919-
1920. Each fellowship pays the sum
of $250 with an allowance of $50 for

1923

Roads and Streets

1191

expenses. Many high grade reports
covering important research problems
have been prepared by the fellows.
The annual competition for these fel-
lowships has been keen, there being
63 contestants in 1922-1923. Grad-
uates of high standing of many in-
stitutions have been attracted by these
fellowships, the fellows appointed
having been graduates of Carnegie
Institute of Technology, Colorado
State Agricultural College, Cornell
University, Dartmouth College, Iowa
State College, Kansas State College,
McGill University, Michigan Agricul-
tural College, University of Colorado,
University of Maine, University of
Michigan, University of Missouri,
University of West Virginia, and
West Point. A wide range of pro-
fessional acti\-ities is represented by
the men appointed. The 1922-1923
fellows occupy the following positions :
Major, Quartermaster Corps, U. S.
Army; Resident Engineer, U. S.
Bureau of Public Roads; Assistant
County Engineer, Texas; Instructor
in Highway Engineering, University
of West Virginia.

Graduate Short Period Courses. —

It has been found that graduate se-
mester courses only meet the needs
of a small percentage of practicing
highway engineers and men engaged
in highway transport who desire to
obtain advanced instruction as such
courses are not given during periods
when it is practicable to secure a
leave of absence. Recognizing this
condition, the University, in 1919-
1920, offered graduate short period
courses in highway engineering and
highway transport, leading to the de--
gree of master of science or master
of science in engineering, arranged
especially for men engaged in the
practice of highway engineering and
highway transport. These courses
are given in periods of two weeks
each during the months from Decem-
Jr to March, inclusive. Each course
insists of 30 lectures, or the equi-
lent thereof, and counts as two
jurs credit towards the total of 24
Jurs required for the master's de-
Persons of mature age, who do
»t hold collegiate or technical de-
ses, but who give evidence of fulfiU-
the prerequisites of a given course
iy register as special students, not
ididates for a degree. In the first
ir, 1919-1920, when such courses
rere offered at the University of

Michigan, the attendance was 29;
while in 1922-1923, 110 attended these
courses, the average age of the men
being 27 years, ranging from 23 to
56 years. These men came from the
U. S. Bureau of Public Roads, state,
county and municipal highway de-
partments, contractors' organizations,
companies manufacturing motor
trucks, highway machinery and ma-
terials, universities, and from the field
of highway transport. During 1923-
1924, 18 graduate short period courses
will be offered, ten in the field of
highway engineering and eight in
highway transport. These courses
will be given by a staff of eight pro-
fessors and ten non-resident lecturers.

Library Facilities. — Efficient grad-
uate instruction requires exceptional
library facilities for research work
and collateral reading. The univer-
sity is fortunate in being the pres-
ent custodian of the Davis Library of
Highway Engineering and Highway
Transport, which is the most complete
collection of literature on these sub-
jects in existence. In addition to
books, reports, specifications, moni-
graphs, and files of trade publica-
tions, all technical periodicals which
contain articles relative to highway
engineering and highway transport
are on file, hence the latest literature
on the science and art of these sub-
jects is available. The library is
equipped A^ith eleven comprehensive
indexes covering its books, reports,
specifications, pamphlets, catalogs of
materials and machinery, £ind litera-
ture on highway engineering and
highway transport.

The development of the activities
of the Division, the rapid increase in
the enrollment of graduate and spe-
cial mature students, and the expan-
sion of the work of the highway lab-
oratory, influence the board of re-
gents to allot 20,000 sq. ft. of working
space for the offices, library, drafting
room, graduate lecture rooms, and
laboratories of the Division of High-
way Engineering and Highway Trans-
port in the new East Engineering
Building, which was opened for use
at the beginning of the present col-
legiate year. The following keys to
the plan describe the uses to which
the 25 rooms in the basement and on
the first floor of the north wing have
been assigned.

1192

Roads and Streets

Dec.

Pavement Foundations

Relation of Depth to Strength Discussed
in Paper Presented Nov. 15 at 29th
Annual Convention of American
Society for Municipal Im-
provement

By CLARENCE D. POLLOCK,

Consulting Engineer, New York City

The foundation is a very important
part of a pavement and is a consider-
able item in both the first cost and
in the maintenance of the pavement
and should therefore receive the care-
ful consideration which it deserves.
The foundation should be sufficient to
transmit the load on the pavement
surface to the sub-grade without ma-
terial deformation and spread the load
over a sufficient area of the soil so
that its intensity does not exceed the
safe bearing power of that soil. Too
little attention has been paid to this
portion of the pavement in the past,
but with the much heavier loads of
modern traffic more consideration is
being given this matter. The Bureau
of Public Roads has made and is now
making tests to obtain more data in
regard to the behavior of slabs under
varying conditions of loading and im-
pact and different conditions of sub-
soil, and others have been working
along similar lines, but there remains
a great deal to be learned concerning
this subject.

Foundation on Good Sub-Soil. — An

old macadam pavement has proven a
good foundation in many cases when'
it was not necessary to make open-
ings in it for sub-surface structures,
but usually in city streets the most
satisfactory foundation is one of port-
land cement concrete, commonly
mixed in the proportion by volume of
1 part cement to 3 parts sand and 6
parts of broken stone or clean washed
gravel. This foundation is generally
laid either 5 or 6 inches in depth upon
a well compacted sub-grade. Where
the sub-soil is sand or sufficiently
porous material to provide good drain-
age, these depths have proven suf-
ficient even for present day traffic.
For instance, in the Borough of Man-
hattan, New York City, with 6 inch
depth of concrete foundations the
chief engineer of highways stated at
the Paving Conference in Philadelphia
in October, 1921, that for a consider-
able period the cost of repairs due to
foundation failures had been kept

separately and at that time it
amounted to less than one-tenth of 1
per cent of the total cost of repairs
per year. Any increase in depth of
foundation here would surely be un-
necessary and a waste of money.
Some cities have had a tendency to
lay heavier foundations, but with good
sub-grade material it would seem to
be expensive insurance. It is true that
New York has generally good sub-
soil conditions, but it is an ever
changing city and probably has more
construction openings made in its
pavements per mile per year than any
other city. There is frequent siettle-
ment of the sub-soil in these cities,
but the concrete usually bridges over
the moderate sized ones and carries
the traffic. On Fifth avenue it was
found that 6 in. of concrete founda-
tion had bridged over a span of 6 ft.
and had carried the traffic of that
heavily travelled thoroughfare safely
for years, although buses on that
street when loaded weigh from eight
to ten tons and carry from six to ten
tons on the rear axle.

Improvement of Sub-Grade. — When
the sub-soil is of clay or other mate-
rial which cannot be readily drained,
from the present progress of tests it
would seem advisable to improve the
sub-grade rather than to weight it
with a heavier foundation. In con-
sidering the bearing power of soils, a
dry clay is usually capable of sus-
taining a load of 5 tons per square
foot, but when very wet the same clay
may not sustain more than 1 ton per
square foot. By excavating a few
inches additional and replacing with
sandy or gravelly material the load
will be spread so that with this and
the better drainage a much greater
load may be supported.

The foundation cannot act as a
beam until the sub-soil gives away
sufficiently to allow it to act as such.
The better the sub-soil the greater
the load required to deform the foun-
dation. The Washington tests show
that with the sub-grade support the
sustaining power of the concrete foun-
dation varies more nearly as the
square of the depth than directly as
the depth.

Load Transmission by Sub-Grade. —

Measurements show that the founda-
tion in transmitting the load to the
sub-grade does not transmit it so that
the pressure intensity is uniform. The
pressure intensity is highest directly

1923

Roads and Streets

1193

under the load, and spreads out over
a considerable area, diminishing to
nothing at some distance from the
load. The intensity of pressure under
the load must exceed the bearing
value of the soil underneath before
the foundation can act as a beam.
Even a macadam, bituminous ma-
cadam or bituminous concrete founda-
tion will not be deformed until the
intensity of pressure directly under
the load exceeds the bearing value of
the sub-soil. If the load is stationary
or if the surface of the pavement is
very smooth there will be simply the
static pressure, but if the surface of
the pavement is a little rough there
will be impact and if the surface is
quite rough this impact may amount
to four or five times the static pres-
sure. This is greatest when the tires
are badly worn; with good, well-cush-
ioned tires the impact apparently ap-
proaches more nearly the static load,
and hence the advisability of securing
as uniformly smooth a surface to the
pavement as possible in order that
the impact of moving loads may be
eliminated as completely as can be
done.

Tests by U. S. Bureau of Public
Roads. — In the Bureau of Public
Roads tests with slabs on wet and
dry soils, the impact tests punched
through the 4 in. slabs, but those of
6 in. in depth and greater were simply
cracked on up to those 10 in. thick
which could not be broken by their
apparatus even on the wet sub-grades.
According to this a thickness of 10
in. should be sufficiently great to
carry any load that might come upon
the pavement even with a wet sub-
grade which may be more or less
plastic. However, we are not so like-
ly to have wet sub-grades in city
streets subject to heavy truck traffic
as the pavement is usually impervious
to water and likewise the sidewalks
are generally paved so that there is
much less likelihood of sub-soil trou-
bles here than with suburban roads.
But should there be bad sub-soil con-
ditions, in general it will be found
niuch less expensive to improve the
sub-grade than to pay for four extra
inches of concrete in addition to the
extra grade removal which alone
would in most cases be sufficient when
replaced by a more porous coarse-
grained material which is not affected
materially by water as are the very
plastic soils such as many clays. With
proper support from the sub-soil and

a reasonably smooth surface to the
pavement, a thickness of 6 in. for the
concrete foundation seems adequate,
especially as most heavy loads are
now hauled on auto-trucks having
rubber tires. The trucking interests
have found that it is not economical
to carry loads in excess of about 750
lbs. per inch width of tires. This in-
sures wide double and triangle solid
rubber tires on each rear wheel and
a good distribution of the load over
the pavement so that by the time it is
spread through the thickness of the
pavement and the concrete foundation
the pressure intensity is usually well
within the supporting value of the
soil. Some states have limited the
loads permitted on their highways,
but here we have a limit placed by
the effect on the truck owners' pocket-
book, which is more easily enforced
than the other.

Supporting Power of Concrete
Foundation. — When in exceptional
cases it may be necessary to use a
greater depth of concrete than 6 in.,
it should be remembered that the sup-
porting power of the concrete founda-
tion varies about as the squares of
the depths, as for example: 7 in. depth
concrete would have about one and
one-third the supporting power of 6
in. concrete; 8 in. concrete one and
three-quarters; 9 in. concrete two and
one-quarter, and 10 in. concrete three
times nearly the supporting power of
6 in. concrete. By keeping this in
mind it should prevent wasting money
in using too great an increase in
depth in special cases.

Another matter that the tests have
brought out is the fact that while the
compressive strength of 1:3:6 was 50
per cent of that of the 1:1% :3 con-
crete, the difference between the beam
and slab strength of these two mix-
tures did not exceed 20 per cent.

Damage from Water Entering Sub-
Grade Material. — In addition to dam-
age from heavy loads the pavement,
including its foundation, may be in-
jured by water entering a clayey or
other plastic sub-grade material from
terraces or sidewalks and lifting and
cracking the foundation and pavement
by the swelling of the sub-soil. Some-
times this may be caused by frost
heaving the foundation when there is
a large amount of water in the plastic
soil under the foundation. During the
past season the writer was engaged
upon an examination of some breaks
in foundation and pavement where a

1194

Roads and Streets

Dec.

study of the conditions shown by
openings and the history of the
breaks as to when they were noticed
after the completion of the pavements
and before freezing weather and the
soil condition in the terraces on the
uphill side and the clay of the sub-soil
showed conclusively that the breaks
were due to the soil conditions and not
to any loads to which the pavement
had been subjected. These are fur-
ther reasons for improving the sub-
soil rather than increasing the depth
of the foundation, as a considerably
heavier foundation would have proba-
bly been broken by the heaving of the
clay when it became wet, and if not
by this, then later by the action of
the water in the sub-soil freezing,
and lifting the pavement.

About 20 years ago the author had
several streets paved with asphalt on
concrete foundation in a suburban de-
velopment, where there was a layer
of clay directly under the foundation

tion and frost will increase its volume
still more.

From our present knowledge we
believe that a 6 in. depth of founda-
tion is sufficient to carry modern traf-
fic, provided the sub-soil is good, and
if it is poor that it is better to im-
prove the sub-soil rather than to use
additional concrete in such cases.

1-Man Road Grader and

Maintainer

A new 1-man road grader and
maintainer, perfected this season by
the Gilbert Manufacturing Co., Aber-
deen, S. D., is illustrated. The ma-
chine has a wheelbase of 16 ft. and
weighs 4,200 lb.; with wheels weighted
for road building the weight is 8,000
lb. It is stated that the tractor can
be taken out or connected up in less
than 5 minutes by the operator, and
as no mechanism is added to or taken
from the tractor, it can be used for
other purposes than power for the

Gilbert Road Grader and Maintainer.

and back of the curbs there were wide
grass plots. A severe winter followed
a wet fall and caused this pavement
to be lifted as much as two inches in
places as evidenced around sewer
manhole heads. After the frost went
out of the wet clay the pavement set-
tled back, but unevenly, and cracked
badly in so doing. Since that expe-
rience he has been very chary about
placing the foundation directly on
clay or other plastic material if there
was any chance that water might
penetrate it. Whether in a cold or in
a warm climate as water alone will
cause it to swell and lift the founda-

niaintainer. It is stated also that on
account of the power being at the rear
the machine makes a very success-
ful snow plow. The position of the
blade ahead of the power likewise, it
is claimed, makes it a good bull dozer
or hole filler, as it can be run forward
or backward readily. The machine
can be furnished with a 6 ft. or 8 ft.
mouldboard.

Taxable Valuation Per Mile of High-
way.— Rhode Island has a taxable
valuation of $5,956,295 per mile of
primary highway, ranking first in the
United States.

^^923

Roads and Streets

1195

Modern Construction of Brick
Pavements

JPaper Presented Nov. 15 at Annual

Convention of American Society

for Municipal Improvement

By WILL P. BLAIR,

ice President, National Paving Brick Manu-
facturers' Association, Cleveland, O.

At the meeting of this society at
New Orleans, La., in 1919, we stressed
the lack of information as to the con-
ditions upon which we place the wear-
ing surfaces of our streets and roads.
We little realized then that our sug-
gestions would be taken as seriously
as they subsequently were. Results
did follow by the appointment of a
committee by the Federal Highway
Council, for research of natural in-
fluences involved in the subgrade and
its relation to road surfacing and
traffic.

Influence of Water on Subgrades. —

One of the principal discoveries in-
fluenced by the activities of this com-
mittee disclosed the fact that sub-
grades of most soils throughout the
country were subject to contraction
and expansion, due to the influence of
water. That the forces of expansion
in the case of a saturated subgrade
was one of extraordinary power, often
resulting from its expanding power,
in the destruction of rigid surfaces,
such as cement filled brick roads,
which hitherto had met with the ap-

Koval of the industry.
As soon as this fact was estab-
hed, together with information
certained as to other agencies of
destruction, it became perfectly ap-
parent that the construction of brick
wearing surfaces would have to be
changed in order to meet with less ef-
fect, the destructive agencies dis-
covered.

Refined Asphalt Filler for Brick
Pavements. — In the meantime, the
manufacturers of vitrified brick,
through their local organization
known as the Western Paving Brick
Manufacturers' Association, had dis-
covered and utilized a certain refined
asphalt, which had the quality of
maintaining its place in the brick
joints, under extreme high tempera-
ture ^ and did not become rigid and
fragile under the influences of low
temperature. Experience with this

filler, covering a period of about eight
years, demonstrated its extraordinary
merit.

It was at once recognized, in view
of the newly discovered agencies of
destruction of rigid pavements, that
this method of construction, using this
character of asphalt as a filler, afford-
ed sufficient flexibility, so that these
forces operating with an upward
thrust against the brick surface, had
little injurious effect. It was proved
by experience that this filler practical-
ly protected the edges of the brick
equally as well as the cement filler.
In the light of this knowledge, there
was but one thing to do and that was
to strongly recommend to the engi-
neers and the public the use of this
particular refined asphalt as a filler
for brick pavements, as affording a
quality subject to the least possible
injury from either traffic or these nat-
ural agencies of destruction, and this
in brief is the reason for the National
Paving Brick Manufacturers' Associa-
tion strongly recommending this
method of construction.

Important Details of Construction.

— It must be understood that the use
of asphalt filler in no way obviates
or lessens the necessity of carefully
complying with the details of con-
struction, which are so well under-
stood to contribute to the worth and
durability of a brick pavement. Nor
is the mere use of this filler sufficient
to realize the ideal pavement possible,
unless the exact and proper refine-
ment of the asphalt is used and it is
properly and skillfully applied. Its
use must also be accompanied by the
skillful installation of other requisites
of the improvement as a whole, which
constitute and are necessary for the
ideal finished pavement.

These requisites are unfortunately
often either carelessly dealt with, or
ignored altogether, and are bound to
result in unsatisfactory pavements. It
is essential, of course, that the filler
be applied so that the joints shall be
completely filled.

Other important details subject to
neglect and oversight are:

First : The stabilization of the sub-
grade by reducing to a minimum the
possible moisture content.

Second: The smoothness of the
artificial base.

Third : The uniform compression of

1196

Roads and Streets

Dec.

the sand bed upon which the brick
are placed. Unless compressed, the
brick wearing surface will ultimately
conform to any unevenness of the
base surface. This requirement can
only be accomplished by using a hand
roller and filling the depressions no-
ticed after each rolling. Three to four
repetitions are necessary to accom-
plish the desired result. Compliance
with these details will secure an ideal
pavement, and avoids the impairment
of the pavement of all possible de-
struction from contraction and expan-
sion forces.

What Contractors Are Doing
in Highway Research

Report of Highway Division of

Associated General Contractors

of America

In undertaking the investigation of
certain subjects concerned with high-
way developments. The Associated
General Contractors have proceeded
on the following assumption.

1. That problems of design and
engineering will be successfully solved
by the country's technical and pro-
fessional minds.

2. That the development of local
and state highway systems to meet
the needs of agriculture, industry and
pleasure will be developed by highway
engineers in co-operation with repre-
sentatives of these various interests
and in spite of adverse political in-
fluence, and

3. That it is the duty of construc-
tion companies to study the means of
building these systems properly and
economically.

With this in mind, therefore, the
association has concentrated its in-
vestigations upon those things that
effect the cost of construction. These
subjects are in the last analysis the
controlling factor in determining
whether the engineer shall be able to
execute his conceptions and render
his utmost service, and whether the
public, which he is attempting to
serve, will appreciate his efforts and
receive a satisfactory mileage for its
appropriation.

The field of research and investiga-
tion that may properly be assigned to
construction companies is practically
virgin insofar as recorded data and
authentic information is concerned.

Text books and treatises have been
written in great numbers, but they
deal primarily with those factors that
are more or less definite in character,
and fail to touch the less tangible
problems involved in the inexact sci-
ence of construction economics. It is
to problems of this nature, concerned
more directly with the business end of
construction, but also to a great ex-
tent with the business of the designer,
that the Associated General Contract-
ors are devoting their efforts.

The principal subjects under invest-
igation may be outlined as follows:

1. Material Supplies.

2. The Field Working Force.

3. Construction Methods.

4. Equipment Development.

5. Seasonal Suspension of Work.

6. Preventable Hazards in the In-
dustry.

7. Comparative statistical tabula-
tions.

The following is an outline of the
work which the Associated General
Contractors are carrying on in the in-
dividual field:

Material Supplies. — Data are being
compiled from Government and indus-
trial sources to show the quantities of
the principal construction materials
necessary to serve the industry, so
that engineers and construction com-
panies in laying their programs may
have information on production that
will assist them in fitting their de-
mand to the production capacity.

Field Working Force. — Efforts are
being made to induce young men to
join the ranks of construction labor
and to train them in the use of
specialized machines that are rapidly
increasing in highway construction.
Incident to this work is the tabulation
of estimated shortages in the study
of wages and cost of living.

Methods. — A study of methods is
being carried on by individual com-
panies, as the Associated General
Contractors as an organization have
not yet obtained the funds sufficient
to carry on this work. Reports of
progress and new methods are fur- ,
nished however, by individual com- j
panies to the association and to the
trade magazine.. j

Equipment Development. — In co-op- t
eration with manufacturers of con- !

H923

Roads and Streets

1197

ruction equipment, the improvement
and development of machines is being
handled through the Joint Committee
on Construction Equipment, which has

)to date practically completed work in
iwo lines, namely, wheelbarrows and
loncrete mixers. These items of plant
lave been standardized within the
past year and a time limit of Jan-
uary 1, 1925, has been set for the
elimination of non-standard types.
The wheelbarrow standards have al-
ready been put into effect.

Seasonal Suspension of Work. — The

saving of construction costs that may
be producetl by continuous operation
in the construction industry has never
been estimated but the tendency of
this continuity is well known. The
Associated General Contractors for
the past two years has devoted con-
siderable effort and money in seeking
to interest other elements of the in-
dustry in this question. Its policy has
been that, rather than wait for quan-
titative estimates and exact data, it
could more profitably urge adoption
of the policy knowing that the energy
extended would result in great econ-
omy. With this question is closely
linked the problem of winter construc-
tion methods in which the co-opera-
tion of the engineering profession in
experimental work is urgently needed.
How far the seasonal depression can
be eliminated in the highway field is
uncertain, but the consensus of opin-
"^ n is that where it can be brought
out, the efforts will effect a signi-
cant saving.

Removable Hazards of the Industry.

— As one of the important elements
[>f cost in a construction project, is
"le assumption of certain hazards in-
ident to the business world or re-
ilting from natural causes. An ef-
)rt is being made to induce the own-
rs of public construction who assume
lose hazards which such owners can
uost economically assume, rather
lan incorporate them into the cost
construction. Many of these haz-
rds occurring but once in the life
le of a construction company are
Icient to throw it into bankruptcy
id it must obviously protect itself
>y insurance or contingency charges.
The infrequency of such event makes
it considerably more economical for
the owner to accept such hazards.
Work on this subject is being con-
tinued in co-operation with the
American Association of State High-

fie

way Officials and various architect-
ural and engineering organizations.
A report upon the subject was issued
last December by the joint committee
of the first named organization and
the Associated General Contractors.

Comparative Statistical Relations.

— In order that construction compan-
ies and others interested may keep
track of the trend of various factors
influencing the industry, graphical
analysis comparing these factors are
being carried in the magazine of the
Associated General Contractors.
Among the statistical compilations
carried from month to month are a
construction cost index; a construc-
tion volume index, based on the quan-
tity of material shipped; index num-
bers of wages, cost of living and ma-
terial prices; contracts awarded; vol-
ume of transportation and other data
of a similar nature.

Statistics pertaining to the con-
struction industry have been meager
in past years, but now tabulations are
being started and within the course
of a few years sufficient data will be
available to intelligently interpret the
trend of economic forces within the
industry.

The Associated General Contract-
ors, in common with other national
organizations, are restricted in their
research work by lack of personnel,
but it is anticipated that work of this
nature will be expanded materially
within the next two or three years.

One of the most important subjects
upon which the construction compan-
ies of the country would like to see a
definite determination made by the
engineering profession, is the ques-
tion of hardness of aggregate and
their suitability as road materials.
At present aggregates of different
French coefficient are specified in par-
ticular states, apparently for high-
ways of the same general type. Con-
clusive information upon this subject
will doubtless make possible the util-
ization of many local sources of ma-
terials, and result in a decrease of
unit costs.

Population Per Mile of Highway. —

Rhode Island has an average popula-
tion of 3,640 per mile of primary
highway. Massachusetts comes next
with 2,680, and New Jersev is third
with 2,358.

1198

Roads and Streets

When Should Motor Trucks Be Retired

Dec.

Method of Determining Proper Point at Which to Replace Vehicle
Described in Motor Transport

By F. J. SCARE

It is impossible to predict here what
will be the proper length of a truck's
life. This depends on too many con-
ditions that vary with each installa-
tion, but the writer believes that the
period of greatest economy will prove
to be much shorter than is now
usually adopted as correct.

The length of this period is differ-
ent, not only for each type of vehicle
as to manufacture and size, but for
each vehicle, even of the same make
and capacity, and even for those em-
ployed in the same class of service.
Therefore, to determine the proper
time to retire any unit of a fleet, re-
quires that each be considered as a
separate problem, just prior to a
periodical overhaul or major repair.

Accurate Costs Essential. — To con-
sider each installation as a separate
problem requires that .accurate indi-
vidual costs be kept. Each vehicle
must be looked upon as a separate
investment and be treated as such.
As long as it is capable of producing
proper dividends, which represent the
difference between the total cost and
the revenue, it is profitable to con-
tinue in service. When this margin
diminishes to a point where the in-
vestment is a poor one or is sustain-
ing a loss, the time has arrived for
reinvestment. This total cost can be
computed only from accurate and com-
plete records. These records must be
complete so that the total cost will
represent what it actually stands for,
rather than the partial costs which
many operators consider the total.

The basis of any method of detailed
and thorough analysis of economical
operation is accurate costs. Costs, to
be accurate, must include every item
of expense involved. Accurate costs
insure that the sub-division of the
total can be determined for the pur-
pose of comparison and study. This
comparison enables the fleet operator
to know how his costs fluctuate, how
efficiently his various departments are
operating, how his trucks perform
under different systems of manage-
ment, under different operating con-
ditions and according to the age of

the vehicle considered. Costs, to be
applied against separate units in a
fleet, in order to consider the retire-
ment of each vehicle as a separate
problem, require that individual rec-
ords be kept.

Controlling Operating Factors. —

Two main factors, which may be
termed, in a general way, supervision
and maintenance, determine the effi-
ciency of a motor vehicle fleet. Each
has a separate and distinct manner of
influencing the output of the fleet, and
of the individual vehicle. Each is
equally important in the fleet's oper-
ation. A vehicle cannot haul tonnage
or passengers at low cost without in-
telligent directions. Nor can it per-
form that work without proper main-
tenance.

The first of these elements, super-
vision, may be called external. The
output performance of the fleet is as
efficient as this factor is intelligent.
This item is responsible for that
large portion of costs known as fixed
costs. Whether the large outlay of
money in this portion of the operating
expenses is a paying or losing invest-
ment, depends entirely upon good or
poor external management. In a given
fleet these costs are practically con-
stant and become a large or small
portion of the total cost per unit as
the number of units handled becomes
small or large, respectively. This
calls for the greatest care and thought
in the planning of work and the adop-
tion and efficient use of modern equip-
ment and methods.

Curves representing costs, sub-
mitted herewith will show that the
expense controlled by this factor is
practically constant from year to year,
increasing to some extent in the cost
per unit as a vehicle passes through
the overhaul period. This increase in
unit cost is due to the large number
of days idle in the shop, with the con-
sequent low figures in miles traveled
and units delivered.

The second of these factors, main-
tenance, may be said to control the
variable costs of truck operation,

1923

Roads and Streets

1199

namely, those charges incurred in
keeping the vehicle rolling on the road
delivering tons. The economy of this
expenditure is as much dependent
upon the quality of materials and
workmanship entering into the manu-
facture of each vehicle as upon timely,
correct and thoughtful maintenance.
Few people realize the importance of
" "s item in truck operation.

A Fixed Policy for Maintenance. —

'ew have given the matter sufficient
consideration to know that mainte-

' Fe

It is this fluctuation in repair cost
that eventually makes it more eco-
nomical to renew the vehicle than to
continue it in service until obsoles-
cence forces its retirement. To ob-
serve the rise of this item from year
to year requires that accurate and
individual costs be kept.

Cost Variation. — The cost of oper-
ation of a motor vehicle, like any
other machine, increases as it grows
older. As parts wear, as members
become fatigued from vibration or

I-
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w 50

to ■"

2.30

e-.20

CHART I

■
L

lL of

"INDIVIDUAL TRUCK
TOTAL COST PER MILI

Y \ \ : II! It

1
1

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1 2,3 4 5 6 7

QUARTERLY PERIODS OF YEARS IN SERVICE

Chart I — Mechanical and Repair Costs and Typical IndiTidnal Track Costs.

nance is the one item of operation
that must have applied to its solution
a fixed policy that will remain fixed
throughout the years.

Few have had the opportunity to
observe the radical variation of the
repair cost per mile or per period or
its variation throughout a vehicle's

life.

Few have stopped to consider that
the repair cost is alone responsible
for the fluctuation of costs from one
period to another and that it is the
sole cause of the gradual increase in
cost "since installation" as the vehicle
grows older.

over-stressing, repairs become neces-
sary. These repairs, as would be ex-
pected, become increasingly more fre-
quent until the vehicle reaches such
a state that a general overhaul or
several major repairs are required.
This results in a very long idle period
and in high repair charges which
make the cost per unit during that
period extremely high. This is clearly
pictured in Chart 1 by the broken line,
which is a typical cost cur\'e for an
individual vehicle.

Since all parts are not replaced at
an overhaul, thus resulting in a ve-
hicle made up of old and new parts,

1200

Roads and Streets

Dec.

it is to be expected that it cannot
operate as economically as a new ve-
hicle and that it cannot be continued
in service as long as a new one before
the next general overhaul. This fact
is borne out in the curves represent-
ing average conditions of a large uni-
form fleet — Chart I.

Not only does the period of oper-
ation become shorter and the cost of
operation during each successive
period mount higher; but the cost of
each overhaul is greater.

Another item involving loss, and
one which is seldom considered, is the
time lost in the shop. During each

vary as to distance of overhaul
periods and degree of rise or fall of
the curves. The examples presented
will serve to illustrate the general
points of this article. The capacity or
make is not here disclosed since they
are offered only to serve as an ex-
ample of cost fluctuation.

Chart I. — Some of the early results
of this investigation showed the
radical variation of costs per mile or
per period or per unit transferred dur-
ing the various periods of a truck's
life; and that as a truck grows older,
the money expended to keep it on the
road, delivering tons, mounts higher
and higher. The curves are rounded

.60

S50

S.40
2

...30

2 20

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CHART n

.T 1

III!

<k.L,

COST

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PER

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E,R

411

L£

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Q,UAP.TER.LY PERIODS OF YEARS IN SERVICE

Chart II — Average Total of Repair Costs Computed on a "Since Installation Basis"

successive period, the number of days
idle increases during both the oper-
ation and the overhaul period.

The extent and manner of variation
of the main factors in operation can
best be presented to the reader by
means of the following charts.

What the Charts Show. — The curves
appearing in the charts are the result
of an extended investigation of ac-
curate operating costs over a consid-
erable period and over a great many
vehicles. These particular curves rep-
resent the costs of operation and per-
formance of a large fleet of vehicles
of the same make, model and capacity,
operating under identical conditions
as to maintenance methods and com-
modities hauled. While these curves
represent a particular fleet, they are
typical of a number of fleets investi-
gated. The figures for any fleet will
follow the same general lines but will

into average conditions because a
large number of vehicles was consid-
ered. This makes the curves more
conservative and emphasizes the truth
of the picture. The broken curve in
Chart I shows the path of the cost
of a typical vehicle from this fleet
that conforms closely to the average
conditions as to the location of the
overhaul period.

The sharp upward portions of this
individual curve clearly mark the
overhaul period wherein the number
of days operated is much less and
the cost of repairs is much higher.
In this period over a month is spent
in the shop, and the mileage and out-
put are less than two-thirds the usual
quarter, causing the greatly exagger-
ated costs for the period.

The usual cost per mile over the
major part of each operating period,
it will be noted, is not only gradually

1923

Roads and Streets

1201

increasing as it moves to the higher
age, but each successive period con-
ues to increase over the pre\ious
e, starting only slightly below the
igher point in the last period be-
tween overhauls. Due to the fact that
the curves of the individual vehicle
are so abrupt and seemingly exagger-
ated, and since these will vary with
each individual unit, the average
curves alone will be considered for
the purpose of arriving at the con-
clusions reached in this paper.

The curves in Chart I indicate the
variation from one quarterly period
to the next. These curves ser\'e two
purposes; first, to indicate the high
points and the reasons for fluctuation
over these periods; and second, to in-

have been available to the writer, cost
for repairs per vehicle during the first
year $.300,00, and $2,200.00 during the
fifth year.

Chart II. — The chief item of inter-
est in cost fluctuations, to the op-
erator who hauls for hire, is not so
much the costs from period to period
but the costs over a vehicle's life; par-
ticularly if he is in business with the
intention of continuing for a number
of years. Chart II is designed to
show how costs act when averaged
each period for the entire life up to
that time. This curve being of this
average nature is much flatter and
shows much less fluctuation. It is
from information such as represented
in this chart that the economical life

B- 10

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u) 8

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CHART m

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—

1 1

1 2 3 4 5 6

QUARTERLY PERIODS OF YEARS IN SERVICE

Chart III— Truck Oatpnt.

;

Scate the fact that marked variation
occurs and that the general trend is
gradually upward as the age ad-
vances. Under the maintenance sys-
tem used in this fleet, the average
overhaul periods occur at the follow-
ing ages: 2% years, 5Vi years and
7^2 years. Following the overhaul
periods are operation periods of low
costs, due to the improved mechanical
condition of the vehicles. These
periods of low cost, it will be noticed,
never heach again the low levels of
"Ve first two years of operation.

Attention is again called to the fact
at the repair cost is the chief cause
of cost fluctuation. Experience and
study of accurate cost figures prove
that each overhaul is more costly than
the previous one, and that the differ-
ence between the first and final years'
expenditure is enormous. A certain
fleet of large units whose cost figures

is to be determined,
as follows:

It is simply read

If a fleet is operated for one year it
costs $.38 for each mile run. If that
same fleet is operated for two years
the per mile cost is $.46, and at the
end of eight years it has mounted to
an average of $.60 per mile for each
mile run during that entire period.
Therefore, revenue, that is dependent
upon a certain margin over and above
actual cost, should be computed on the
final average cost basis, which in this
case would be $.60. If the economical
operation period proves to be less
than eight years — say for example,
two years, the fixed cost to be used in
determining revenue would be $0.46.

Chart III. — The cost per mile or
per day is of little value if its rates
are based upon the unit hauled. In
such cases the cost per unit is of
prime importance. It is generally be-

1202

Roads and Streets

Dec.

lieved that the age of a vehicle has
little effect on its output. This is as
far from the truth as is the contention
that obsolescence is the only factor in
determining the proper age of vehicle
retirement.

Chart III shows, in a general way,
how the age of a fleet affects the out-
put. It represents the output per
available truck day. The action of
the curves in this chart is directly
opposed to that in Charts I and II.
The output, computed on a quarterly
cases (the solid line), can be seen to
dip at the average overhaul period
and rise during the periods of good
mechanical condition. This action is
due to the number of idle days during
the overhaul quarters. This curve,
like all others presented, is based on

curves are opposed, as Charts II and
III indicate. This has a terrifying
effect upon the cost per unit hauled.
The cost per unit hauled is computed
by dividing the cost per period by the
output for that same period. With
the cost increasing as the output di-
minishes, the upward tilt of the cost
per unit curve is doubly increased.
Chart IV gives an approximate pic-
ture of the cost per ton of the fleet
whose costs are presented in Charts I
and II and whose average output ap-
pears in Chart III.

The curves in this final chart con-
form generally to the form of the cost
curves. The movements are more ex-
aggerated due to combining the costs
and output. The solid line curve
shows the fluctuation in the cost per

CHART IV

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n

PER

I SINCI

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iSsfALlYIOS

1-1.00

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1
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)
E

Chart IV— Average Cost Per Ton at Average Daily Mileage of 30 Miles.

actual performance figures of a large,
uniform fleet.

The "since installation" curve (the
broken line), serves the same purpose
as Chart II and is directly opposed to
that picture. Attention is here called
to the fact that this fleet, if operated
only two years, would have averaged
over nine tons per available truck day,
while if operated for eight years it
will average for the entire period only
1V2 tons. Here again a warning is
sounded to the large and small op-
erator alike, who cares for economical
delivery, that the longer the fleet is
kept in operation (other things being
equal), the lower becomes its average
output. The man who hauls for hire
must watch his step, particularly if he
is starting out with new equipment,
and is not familiar with the cost of
operating old vehicles.

Chart IV. — It is unfortunate for the
operator that the output and cost

ton computed on a quarterly period
and is the result of combining Chart I
with the solid line in Chart III. The
radical fluctuation from quarter to
quarter is, of course, very marked.
The browen line curve is a combina-
tion of Chart II and the broken line
curve in Chart III. The extreme in-
crease in cost per unit indicated in
this curve is of utmost importance to
every operator.

While the average total cost since
installation increases from the first
quarter to the end of eight years of
operation only 63 per cent, the cost
per ton increases 227 per cent. Since,
in the final analysis, it is the cost per
unit hauled that interests the ship-
ping public, Chart IV must indicate to
everyone the positive need of deter-
mining the proper time to retire a
vehicle, and to keep the fleet operat-
ing at the lowest possible cost.

As an example, a man having op-

1923

Roads and Streets

1203

crated a fleet of vehicles, whose per-
formance may resemble the fleet
whose costs and performance are
used in this article, for a year, finds
that his costs are S1.40 per ton. He
sig^ns a three-year contract for the
same class of work at a rate of $2 per
ton, a figrure which he considers will
net him a handsome profit of $.60 per
ton, or 43 per cent of his costs. If
he fulfills his contract, he will be
hauling (as the broken line in Chart
IV indicates) for $2 per ton what is
actually costing him close to $2.40.
In short, due to his ignorance of the
trend of costs, he bids S.40 per ton, or
20 per cent lower than his actual
costs, if he ceases to operate the the
termination of his contract. However,
if he continues to operate these ve-
hicles throughout eight years, his bid
would have been $1.00 per ton, or 33
per cent less than his actual costs.

Method of Finding Economic Point.

— ^It is quite obvious that with the
cost of operation g^radually increasing
as a fleet of vehicles grows older, and
with the known fact that there is a
limit to the amount (this limit may
be set by competition or by the ship-
per himself) the shipper will pay for
a certain class of service, the cost per
unit approaches a point (far enough
below the prevailing rate to insure a
reasonable profit) which is the limit
of a vehicle's economical service. It
is a well known fact, too, as stated
pre\iously, that each vehicle, even of
the same make, model, fleet and class
of service, varies as to performance
and cost. With these facts before us
it is only necessary to set a method
of arriving at the economical point of
turning over a vehicle.

The Problem. — Since the period of
greatest expenditure occurs at a gen-
eral overhaul or time of a major re-
pair, the period just prior to this oc-
casion is chosen to decide whether it
is more economical to overhaul the
vehicle and continue it in service until
the next overhaul period or to turn
it in and install a new truck.

When a vehicle reaches the over-
haul period the following plan should
be followed: Estimate the cost per
unit hauled for the period following,
up to the time of the next overhaul,
for both the old unit and the new.
The formulas submitted below are
suggested for the solution of this
problem.

Having computed the above two
problems carefully, compare the re-
sults. If the result E is greater than
L the indication points to the installa-
tion of a new unit. If the reverse is
true, the unit should be overhauled
and continued in ser\ice until a subse-
quent overhaul becomes necessary.

If the results are equal or very
close, some further investigation is
necessary before making the final de-
cision.

A statement should be prepared
showing the performance and cost of
the old unit over its entire Ufe up to
date. This record should be carefully
compared with the average figures for
the fleet. (This fleet to include the
vehicles of the same make, capacity
and occupation.) If this comparison
indicates that the truck in question
has been giWng exceptionally good
and economical service, and the result
of the first comparison is close, the
vehicle should be continued in service.
On the other hand, if the showing
made is poor, the only course open is
to turn it in for a new unit.

A + B + C

= E = cost per unit dur-

D ing period up to

next overhaul if
old equipment is
continued.

L = cost per unit
K during above

period if new
equipment is
installed.

Old Equipment Factors for Period Up
to Next Overhaul

A — Total cost of operation (less over-
haul and repair) estimated.

B — Cost of overhaul (estimated from
actual inspection).

C — Cost of repairs for above period
estimated.

D — Output— days worked or units
hauled (estimated from past).

New Equipment Factor for Above
Period

F — Total cost of operation (less re-
pairs).

G — Cost of repairs for period.

H — Book value of old equipment.
(Present.)

I — Turn-in allowance of old unit (to
include all credits).

K — Output days worked or units
hauled (estimated).

F+G+H— I

1204

Roads and Streets

Dec.

Where special costs or considera-
tions are involved, the above formulae
can be modified or augmented; but it
worked properly and intelligently, can
be used to solve this problem for any
operator.

Depreciation. — It is desirable to
have the depreciation period equal, as
closely as possible, the economical life
period. This can be accomplished
only through experience. Each fleet
of vehicles of the same make, capacity
and occupation, will have its own
period, depending upon its own ex-
perience. This is influenced by the
operating conditions, which differ with
nearly every installation. Under cer-
tain conditions, a truck will render
economical service for a long period;
while the same units, subjected to the
rough treatment of road contracting
or some similarly difficult work, will
last but a short time.

The depreciation period can never
be set to work equitably in the case
of every vehicle involved. It can be
set at the average life, however, and
thus in th long run operate satisfac-
torily for the whole. The method of
determining the economical point, out-
lined under The Problem, takes ac-
count of any amount undepreciated in
the old unit being considered. There-
fore, the failure of a truck to have a
zero book value at the end of its eco-
nomical life is not of utmost impor-
tance. Once having this system of
retiring vehicles in operation, the de-
preciation period will be set from time
to time at the average life of vehicles
retired.

How to Determine Depreciation. —

Each fleet may be classified under one
or tow heads:

1. Those that are just starting to
operate.

2. Those that have been operating
for some time.

The former is easily settled. Such
operators should secure the service of
a competent engineer to investigate
their problem and report as to the
proper period to be used for each class
of vehicle. Having started on an esti-
mated depreciation period, this op-
erator should keep accurate individual
costs, and, applying the retirement
plan suggested herein, determine for
himself after a period of years, the
correct average depreciation period.

Operators whose fleets have been in

service for a period of years and who
have accurate costs available, will by
solving one of the above problems for
a number of vehicles be able to deter-
mine the correct average period to
apply to his books for each class of
equipment. Operators who have no
accurate costs available should start
keeping them at once; and for the de-
termination of the correct deprecia-
tion period to apply under the condi-
tions which govern his operation,
should follow the plan outlined for the
operator just starting, as explained in
the preceding paragraph.

This period of depreciation should
not be confused with the economical
life. These are two separate and dis-
tinct problems in spite of the fact
that the former is dependent upon
the latter for solution. Depreciation
is simply a bookkeeping convenience
and should approximate the eco-
nomical life only for the purpose of
applying costs to the periods in which
they actually occur.

In conclusion, it is desired to empha-
size the importance of keeping accu-
rate records of the cost and perform-
ance of each individual vehicle. Each
is an investment, apart by itself, and
must be constantly scrutinized to in-
sure proper returns.

Each must be retired when it be-
comes more economical to install a
new unit. The "problem" must be
computed in the case of each truck
just prior to the overhaul period.

What the period of economical life
is, cannot be determined in advance.
One thing that this investigation
points out very emphatically is that
vehicles, operated under similar condi-
tions of operation and maintenance as
encountered by the fleet whose figures
are herein represented, should, in gen-
eral be retired at a much earlier date
than is usually the case.

Indiana to Dedicate Large Highway
Bridge. — The Indiana State Highway
Commission on Dec. 12 will formally
open the Hazleton bridge, one of the
largest structures on a state road in
the middle west. The bridge has 8
steel spans and 21 concrete spans of
a total length of 2,002.5 ft. Four of
these are 198 ft. each. The length of
the south approach of 3,762 ft., and
of the north 7,448 ft. The total cost
was about $275,000.

1923

Roads and Streets

1205

FootbaU Game Increases City
Traffic by 150 Per Cent

All records for automobile traffic
through Connecticut on a single day
were broken Nov. 3 on the occasion
of the West Point-Yale football game
in New Haven. A census taken on
that day by the Connecticut State
Highway department, shows that a
total of 32,923 passenger cars trav-
elled in and out of New Haven during
the 12-hour period from 8 a. m. to
8 p. m., which is far greater than at
any previous major football contest
in New Haven.

Comparison of the ngures with
compilations made during previous
games there, as well as during normal
periods, shows that this state drew
sufficient automobiles on that day to
provide for an average passage of 50
cars per minute at a given point.

238 compared with 215, and horse-
drawn vehicles totaled 333, as against
280 in 1921.

An increase of approximately 40
per cent in the total traffic passing
through the city over the 1921 day is
shown by the census. The increase
over the city's normal traffic, how-
ever, aggregates 150 per cent. The
total traffic of all vehicles on a norma]
working day was shown to be 13,965
by a pre\ious census taken at this
time last year on a day when there
was no football attraction.

Special Design of Koehring 21E
Paver for City Work

For city paving work where a large
capacity paver is desired, the Koehr-
ing Co., Milwaukee, Wis., has de-
veloped a special design of head frame
on its 21E paver. The uprights sup-

Special Design Koehring 2 IE Paver for City Work

Stationed at seven points on the
main arteries into New Haven em-
ployees of the highway department
recorded every vehicle passing by
from 8 a. m. to 8 p. m. The census
showed that 17,189 cars entered the
city and 15,734 came out. The figures
for the Yale-Princeton game Nov. 12,
1921, gave 11,827 inbound cars and
12,195 outbound. Total traffic record-
ed of all makes of vehicles was 35,981
vehicles, compared with 26,016 in 1921
at the Princeton contest.

The total census includes trucks,
motorcycles and teams. An interest-
ing sidelight is the comparison of
truck traffic with two years ago, which
shows a remarkable increase from
1499 to 2397. Motorcycles numbered

porting the sheaves through which the
charging skip cables run are bolted and
hinged in such a way that after the
bolts are removed, the upper frame-
work may be tipped back by the skip
hoist clutch, thus reducing the height
of the machine, and allowing it to
pass beneath low telegraph wires and
other obstructions.

The minimum height from ground
of the Koehring 21E paver with this
special frame is 10 ft. 9^4 in. with
truck wheels, 10 ft. 11^4 in. with half-
length multiplane, and 11 ft. 2% in.
with full-length multiplane.

This arrangement also permits the
loading of machine on a flat car for
shipment without any dismantling
further than the boom and skip.-

1206

Roads and Streets

Dec.

Pennsylvania to Have Stations for

the Examination of Motor

Vehicle Drivers

The Pennsylvania State Highway
Department after Jan. 1 will estab-
lish in various sections of the state
stations at which new applicants for
licenses to operate motor vehicles
may be examined. The act of 1923
provides that after Jan. 1 persons ap-
plying for drivers' licenses must be
examined as to their fitness, their
ability to operate a motor vehicle, and
their knowledge of the laws of Penn-
sylvania and rules of the road. A
number of stations will be established
throughout the state — perhaps one in
each county; and at stated times ex-
aminations of applicants will be held
by members of the department's
motor patrol. The examination will
consist of an actual demonstration of
the applicant's ability to handle a
motor car and his knowledge of the
mechanism of that car, coupled with
an inquiry as to what he knows of the
rules of the road and the state laws.
Prospective drivers who make appli-
cation for examination will be issued
a learner's permit, good for 30 days,
during which period he will be given
his examination. If he passes this
examination he will secure an op-
erator's license. If he fails to pass
he will be given another opportunity
later on, and in the meantime his
learner's permit will be continued.
This, however, will not be good for
any considerable length of time. Per-
sons now holding a license to operate
a machine will be entitled to a 1924
operator's license without an exami-
nation, but they must answer a series
of 20 questions, calculated to show the
department that they are capable and
fit.

State Aid Highways in Connecticut.

— With total requests from towns ag-
gregating $2,227,000 for participation
in the $1,000,000 fund made available
by the last session of the general as-
sembly for construction of state aid
roads, the Connecticut state highway
department has found it necessary to
reduce allotments 50 per cent. Only
12_ of the 169 towns in the state
failed to seek a portion of the money.
The towns are divided into two classes
for participation in the state aid ap-
propriation. Those with grand lists
under 250,000 will have seven-eighths
of the most of improving their state

aid roads borne by the state. There
are 34 in this group. The remaining
towns, whose grand lists are valued
in excess of $1,250,000, pay for one-
quarter of the cost of the work, the
state's share in this class being three-
quarters. In every case, the complete
cost of the work is paid by the state,
and on completion of the work the
highway department is reimbursed by
the towns for their proportionate
shares.

Transport Survey of Pennsylvania
Highways

The Pennsylvania Highway Depart-
ment on Nov. 8 started a transport
surA'^ey that involves the operation of
78 truck weighing stations and over
300 recording stations, distributed
over the state's primary and second-
ary highway systems. The survey
will continue for an entire year, it is
believed. The principal purposes of
the survey are:

To furnish information regarding
traffic density and weight necessary
to a scientific road building and main-
tenance program in the state.

To furnish information regarding
present traffic in order to be able to
predict future traffic.

To determine daily and seasonal
variation of traffic on primary and
secondary roads.

To determine seasonal variations in
type of traffic, commodities hauled,
and length of haul.

To determine the amount and kind
of freight transported over the high-
ways.

To determine the extent to which
this movement of freight is complete
in itself, and to what extent it is a
part of a through movement involv-
ing the use of other means of trans-
portation for its completion.

To determine the extent to which
the traffic over Pennsylvania high-
ways is by vehicles licensed in the
state, and the extent to which it is
by vehicles licensed in other states.

To determine to what extent and
for what distances various commodi-
ties are being hauled over the high-
ways.

To gather information necessary to
formulate a basis for scientific legis-
lation on highway matters.

To determine the factors affecting
the amount of traffic, both passenger
and truck, on different highways in
various parts of the state.

1923

Roads and Streets

1207

Rotary Snow Plow Attached to
Fordson

The Dallmann-Fordson Snow Plow
here illustrated, is designed to clear a
single track instead of attempting to
open a road to its full width. In
operation the plow can be driven in
high gear through the average fall of
snow and will clean a path wide
enough for one-way traffic. The re-
turn trip over the same route clears
the snow from the opposite side of
the road.

Power is first taken from the
tractor through a specially designed
Smith unit which, instead of terminat-
ing in a conventional pulley as in the
ordinary Smith unit, transmits power
through a pair of spiral bevel gears,
a heavy steel propeller shaft, a heavy
duty universal joint and forward drive
gears.

The plow itself, with apron and
snow propeller, rides on its own

Dalhnann Rotary Plow Attached to Fordson.

•wheels, which are of the pivoting
caster tjT)e. Since the entire mech-
anism is free to rise and fall with
the inequalities of the road, all strain
on the tractor as well as on the driv-
ing mechanism is eliminated.

A special starting device, which en-
ables the operator to spin the motor,
assures an easy and quick start when
plow is in place.

^p]

le attachment of the plow is ex-
tremely simple. Brackets bolted on
either side of the crankcase pro\ide a
pivoted anchorage. In attaching these
brackets the studs and nuts connect-
ing the two sections of the Fordson
crankcase are utilized, and since no
drilling or tapping is required, it can
truthfully be said that the use of the
plow in no way alters the tractor it-
self.

In operation the scooping action of
the apron, combined with the forward
motion of the tractor, piles the snow
up in front of the propeller. The high
speed at which the propeller works
and the small quantity of snow han-
dled by each blade at one time, pro-
^•ides a large margin of safety against
clogging.

The advantages of the Dallmann
Snow^ Plow are summarized by the
manufacturers as follows: It is inex-
pensive. It can be operated over any
type of road within reason, owing to
its ability to accommodate itself to
the irregularities of road surface.
With the positive clutching and de-
clutching action afforded by the Sunit
unit power take-off, any tendency to
stall in a heavy drift can be antici-
pated and prevented by "easing up"
on the fori^ard motion or by backing
up, thus allowing the propeller to
clear itself of the accumulated packed
snow^ It is compact and occupies
little space when stored. It is sub-
stantially constructed and is suitable
for use where a steady pace must be
maintained over long stretches of road.

The plow is made by the Dallmann
Machine & Mfg. Co., 923 Winnebago
St., Milwaukee, Wis.

Paving Brick Shipments in
October

That the paving season, because of
a wet spring generally and a late
start, is running later in the fall this
year than is customary, is indicated
by the continued heavy shipments of
vitrified paving brick, as reported by
the National PaWng Brick Manufac-
turers Association. Shipments for
the month of October were 34,287,000
as against 34,761,000 for September.
Total number of brick manufactured
was 34,317,000 for October and 34,-
457,000 for September. Stock on hand
was reported at 76,613,000 for Octo-
ber as against 86,530,000 for Sep-
tember.

Ohio led all other states in the pur-
chase of pa%ing brick, bu%ing 6,763,-
000 for city streets and 4,950,000 for
country highways. Illinois, Minnesota
and Pennsylvania followed closely in
the order named.

1208

Roads and Streets

Dec.

Bond Issues for Highway
Construction

Results on a census on bond issues
contemplated and authorized for high-
way construction carried out by the
Asphalt Association show that a total
of $781,228,384 in bond issues, ex-
clusive of federal aid, were reported
under contemplation in the states,
counties, townships and road districts
of the country from Aug. 1, 1922, to
Aug. 1, 1923, and that the sum of
$617,029,537 was actually authorized
to be expended. The amount reported
as contemplated exceeded the $748,-
563,000 contemplated during the year
previous by $32,675,384 and the sum
authorized exceeded that of the year
before by $75,304,757. The bond is-
sues authorized from Aug. 1, 1921, to
Aug. 1, 1922, amounted to $541,-
724,780.

Reports to the Asphalt Association
show that the states, counties, town-
ships and road districts of the various
states had under consideration or con-
templation, exclusive of federal aid,
from Aug. 1, 1922, to Aug. 1, 1923,
new bond issues for improved roads as
follows:

Alabama $ 350.000

Arkansas 3,380,000

California 12,750,000

Colorado 6,000.000

Connecticut - 25,000

Delaware 1,100.000

Florida 10,355,000

Georgia 61,125.000

Illinois 52,325,000

Indiana 480.480

Iowa 51,114,000

Kansas 741,426

Kentucky 55,255,000

Louisiana - 4,503,000

Maine 10,000,000

Maryland 340,000

Massachusetts 1,390,000

Michigan 14,178.350

Minnesota 54,294,000

Mississippi 2,045,000

Missouri 5,282,990

Nebraska 10,000

New Jersey 44,761,500

North Carolina 3,525,000

New York 3,082,400

Ohio - 2,391,565

Oklahoma 17,825,000

Oregon ~ 1,458,000

Pennsylvania - 66,496,500

Rhode Island 500,000

South Carolina 7,733,000

Tennessee 78.807,500

Texas 72.703.000

Utah 130,000

Virginia 79.763,000

West Virginia 6,419.400

Wisconsin 1 .174.000

Bond issues authorized during the
year in the various states, exclusive of
federal aid, were as follows:

Alabama % 6,605.000

Arizona 2,610,000

Arkansas 6,416,000

California 33,150,314

Colorado 15.000,000

Connecticut 125,000

Delaware 10,240,000

Florida 35,493,000

Georgia 1.005,000

Idaho 425.000

Illinois 123.638,000

Indiana 5,877,996

Iowa 17,435,000

Kansas 1,582.062

Kentucky 5.887.000

Louisiana 9,813.100

Maine 916.000

Maryland 4.658,000

Massachusetts 628,000

Michigan 9,564,250

Minnesota - 19.311,679

Mississippi 5,325,000

Missouri 15,634,999

Nebraska 1,020,000

New Jersey 24.300,000

North Carolina 25,540,000

New York 5,990,000

Ohio 8,7 19,000

Oklahoma 4,915,000

Oregon 8,868,000

Pennsylvania 159.398,000

Rhode Island 805,000

South Cai-olina 5.611.000

Tennessee 984.000

Texas 18.406,500

Virginia 4.096,493

Washington 819,000

West Virginia 16,197,665

Wisconsin 7,464,000

State Highway Construction in

Massachusetts in 1922

The total length of state highways
in Massachusetts at the end of 1922
was 1,440 miles. During the year,
the State Division of Highways com-
pleted on 35.70 miles of state high-
way, 7.05 miles of highways under
the provisions of section 23 of chapter
81 of the General Laws, 90.79 miles
of highways under the provisions of
section 34 of chapter 90 of the Gen-
eral Laws, as amended, and 9.46 miles
of highways under the provisions of
special acts, making a total of 143
miles completed during the year.

Of the above roads completed this
year, .87 of a mile was of water-
bound macadam; 28.40 miles were of
gravel; 6.71 miles were of bituminous
concrete; 77.93 miles were of bitumi-
nous macadam; 2.28 miles were of
water-bound macadam with an oil or
tar surface applied; 15.46 miles were
of reinforced concrete; 7.01 miles were
of gravel with an oil surface applied,
and 2.34 miles were earth roads, that
is, surfaced with the best available
material. During the year 1.67 miles
of state highway were widened but
not resurfaced, and 10.65 miles were
resurfaced and widened. These fig-
ures are for complete work.

1923

Roads and Streets

Widening Curves on Highways

1209

Flexible Method Described in Paper Presented Nov. 15 at Annual
Convention of American Society for Municipal Improvements

By G. A. CRAYTON

Highway curves, if sufficiently
sharp, should be widened. However,
there appears to be very little agree-
ment in the practice of the several
states in this country. The practice
is shown graphically in Fig. 1. Ob-
serve that one state will widen a
maximum of 8, and others no more

curve; and to allow for the difference
of track between front and rear
wheels of a vehicle.

In a fiat country free from obstruc-
tions such as buildings, forests, or-
chards, etc., widening will not improve
the sight distance, and the small
amount of additional width commonly

Figr. 1.

than 3 ft. The greatest variation of
opinion seems to be on curves of from
6 to 12 degrees of curvature. It is
the purpose of this paper to develop a
method of widening that will be suffi-
ciently flexible to meet all reasonable
conditions.

Reasons for Widening Curves. —
LThere have been several reasons ad-
vanced for widening a curve. So far
is the writer is aware, they are: to
icrease the "sight distance"; to pro-
lote a feeling of increased safety in
le user; to allow for the almost uni-
versal tendency to "cut corners"; to
Jrovide for safety by placing addi-
tional widening on the outside of the

used cannot compensate for such ob-
structions. In mountainous country
on "supported" grades, curves are as
a rule either in a draw or on a point.
In the former case the sight distance
is satisfactory without ^sidening and
in the latter the point itself consti-
tutes the obstruction and a satisfac-
tory sight distance at a reasonable
cost cannot be obtained by this
method. It is obviously better to
"daylight" the curve on such a point
as illustrated in Harger &, Bonney's
Handbook, third edition, page 34.

What the Accidents Reports Show.

— Promotion of a feeling of safety in
the mind of the user does not lend

1210

Roads and Streets

Dec.

itself to mathematical treatment, ex-
cept perhaps in an empirical method
of handling statistics. It is of in-,
terest in this connection to refer to
a portion of the work of the Maryland
Road Commission. From their very
carefully reviewed accident reports, it
appears that comparatively more acci-
dents happen on tangents than on
curves. Their report seems to show
that on curves drivers use greater
caution. A certain amount of fear,
it would seem, is desirable. However,
it is not good judgment to spend large

As the headlight of a motor vehicle
throws but a comparatively narrow
beam, it is possible when driving at
night over an unfamiliar route to be
unaware of a curve until well upon it.
This has been taken as the reason for
widening on the outside of a curve.
There are some very apparent ob-
jections to this practice, such as caus-
ing of necessity an excessive sharpen-
ing at some point on the outer edge
of the pavement, as well as the ef-
fective width being in ordinary cases
too small to be of much service, etc.

pMr"~X.lT-.'-.

/V* n'beel base length of vehicle

T' TattgLte length of trailer.

R' Radius described btj front rtheeh of vehieU.

r' Radius described by rear r^heels of vehicle,

Subscripts opplij to fiorres ponding vehicle

rr p'-m'

71'

r.-y>?,'-<V»'~

•}te'-«'/'-r.'-/v«'

ror n-i Tt-aikrs

n. -Vg. '- W '-n '-HYi' -Tn'-IY,,'

■p,'-ttr,'tTx't-IVt' *Tn'ffrn'

Fig. 2.

additional sums in an endeavor to
make our highways safe for inebriated
or speed obsessed drivers. Certainly
all the engineering talent with un-
limited resources at its command
could not make them safe against
such drivers.

It is a great temptation to always
take the inside of a curve, although
half of the time we would thereby be
traveling against traffic. But regard-
less of the additional width placed on
the inside of pavement, we would still
find many of the drivers on the wrong
side of the road. The practice of
marking a "deadline" to separate
traffic lanes is recommended as less
costly and more effective than widen-
ing for such a reason.

Labeling the curves with properly dis-
posed signs is recommended as being
cheaper as well giving more effective
notice of curves than placing 2 or 3 ft.
of extra width on the outside.

It is a well known fact that, when
traversing a curve, the rear wheels of
a vehicle will track inside of the.
leading wheels. Except in case of
trailers built to track, each pair of
wheels in a train will continue to
track inside of those ahead of them.
This, in the judgment of the writer,
is the only logical reason for the prac-
tice of widening curves.

Determining Difference in Track of
Trailers. — To develop a method for
determining the necessary amount, it
is first essential to determine the

1923

Roads and Streets

1211

kind, general dimensions and con-
struction of the motor truck and its
trailers. As a rule the longer trains
will use "tracking" trailers. Our
formula should, however, take account
of the worst possible case, that of a
motor truck of long wheelbase draw-
ing a train of ordinary farm wagons.
To make a few assumptions: (1) that
there will be no side slip of the
wheels; (2) that the path described
by each pair of wheels is an arc of a

KO.CO.

TU«UFI

"•*"*

CO.

N»tna>r

O^niin

T»olj»jlin

■nam
liuitn

tnihn

tnikn

1 4«

3 76

6 IS

8 7S

11 48

14 42

<»

1.21

JOt

SOS

707

9 17

11 36

1 M

427

596

788

945

O.M

2.29

371 .

5!5

682

8 13

o.»

203

329

4 SS

S83

7 14

100

072

I 83

294

407

S22

637

125

0 58

I 48

234

323

413

506

0;«

1.31

1 96

288

3.43

4.11

ITS

0 41

104

1 87

230

293

358

a»

1 46

200

2.58

3.11

250

03>

073

1 16

180

204

248

300

080

097

1 33

170

208

3S0

021

083

I 14

1 48

1 77

400

0 18

045

073

1 00

1 27

1 56

450

ei«

040

06S

080

1.13

1.37

oOO

0.14

0.36

058

080

l.OS

1 34

600

0 12

030

048

087

0.8S

1 03

700

0 10

026

0.41

087

0.73

088

800

000

023

038

0»

0.64

077

900

008

0.3D

033

0.44

067

089

lOOO

• w

018

029

040

083

law

006

0 IS

024

033

0.43

OSI

1400

oa&

0 13

0 2l

039

038

0.44

1600

006

Oil

018

02S

•■

• 39

ISOO

004

0 10

0 IS

022

0 28

• 8.

aw)

001

0.09

0 15

022

03S

0.31

3000

002

006

0 10

0.13

0 17

921

Fig. 3. Table Showing Difference of Track
in Feet.

circle, after equilibrium has been
established; (3) that the center of the
curve will be the common center of
all paths; (4) that the front axle of
each trailer is at right angles to its
tongue; (5) that the rear axle is at
right angles to its reach. While all
of these are not strictly true, it is
believed that the approximation is
sufficiently accurate. The conditions
as outlined will result in the formula
as shown in Fig. 2.

To secure some specific figures, as-
sume a truck with a wheelbase of
144 in., and from one to five trailers,
each being an ordinary farm wagon
having a wheelbase of 7 ft. and a
tongue length of 13 ft. Working out
values on this basis, values of differ-
ence of track are obtained as shown
in Fig. 3.

At last year's convention of the
American Society for Municipal Im-
provements, it was recommended by
the sub-committee on sidewalks and
street design that in general the
width of roadway should be based
upon a certain number of lanes of
traffic and that a definite width should
be allowed for each lane. We will
apply this principle to the case in
hand, and assume that track differ-
ence constitutes the reason for widen-
ing. Highways of sufficient impor-
tance to warrant widening should be
designed for a minimum of two traffic
lanes. Each of these lanes should
have applied the track difference as
its extra width or a two-lane road
should be widened double the tracking
difference.

Application of Method. — A better
method of application is on a percent-
age basis. The usual over-all width
of a vehicle is 5 ft. 6 in., which re-
quires in usual practice a 9-ft. traffic
lane; then if a given set of conditions
of a curve and vehicles cause a track
difference of 1 ft., the "effective"
width of the vehicle and train to-
gether is 6 ft. 6 in., and the width

8 8 e 3

Fis. 4.

necessary for its traffic lane will be

9x6.5

expressed by in feet, or since

5.5
two traffic lanes are under considera-
tion, the total width of the curve

2 x 9 X 6.5
would be or 21.27 ft., in

5.5
which case the widening is 3.27 ft.
This allows the same prooprtion of
extra width in the strip between the
vehicles as required by the vehicles
themselves.

1212

Roads and Streets

Dec.

Comparison With Current Practice.

— That we may compare the results
by this method with current practice,
Fig. 4 shows by curve the extra width
required on the basis of a truck with
two trailers on an 18 ft. pavement,
the shaded area showing the "en-»
velope" of practice shown in Fig. 1.
It will be noted that in general the
states require more width than neces-
sary on flat curves and less than re-
quired on the sharp ones. Or, ex-
pressed differently, the recommended
curve is nearly a straight line, while
nearly all of the practice curves are
decidedly concave downward.

Highway Traffic Surveys

Digest of Committee Report Presented Nov. 8

at 3rd Annual Meeting of Advisory

Board of Highway Research

A traffic census will give informa-
tion pertaining only to the traffic
using the highway at the time the
census is taken. A highway transport
survey is to determine the probable
amount and character of the future
traffic which will use a given highway
during the lives of its several com-
ponent parts. No state has extensive-
ly taken up the highway transport
survey.

After an extended highway traffic
census, it is recommended that addi-
tional counts be taken at critical pe-
riods of the year in succeeding years
from which, after a number of counts
have been taken, curves of natural
increase can be plotted from which
can be roughly determined an esti-
mate of increased traffic for a reason-
able period of years. This estimate
should also include the curve of in-
crease of motor vehicle registration
which can be determined at the pres-
ent time in every state.

The value of an extended traffic
survey is determining the allocation
of construction and maintenance funds
in the development of a highway sys-
tem is unquestioned. Such traffic sur-
vey, however, should be utilized for
type and strength of surface, rather
than for location of expenditures in-
asmuch as the development of new
territory within a state is as much a
demand upon the expenditure of high-
way funds as the taking care of traf-
fic already developed.

The personnel requires a certain
amount of special training although
courtesy has been found to be the

largest asset. A special sign at the
census station giving the reason for
the questioning is the greatest factor
in reducing the time required to pass
a car or truck through the station.

A self-recording traffic counting and
weighing device, to operate at mini-
mum cost, is being developed.

A traffic census must include enough
detaU and be taken over an extended
period of time so as to determine the
seasonal traffic which varies greatly
in certain parts of the country and
which is a maintenance rather than a
construction problem. The construc-
tion type must be based on the heav-
iest travel rather than on average or
seasonal travel. A determination
should also include the effect of slow
moving vehicles upon the general sit-
uation and the consideration of the
possibility of legislation which will
remove such vehicles to secondary
roads during high peaks of traffic to
avoid congestion.

U. S. Personnel Classification

Board Adopts the Bureau of

Efficiency Compensation

Schedules

Information just received from the
federal secretary of the American
Association of Engineers states that
the personnel classification board, by
a 2 to 1 vote, has scrapped the
Sterling-Lehlbach plan of classifica-
tion provided for in the Classification
Act of 1923, passed by Congress on
March 4, 1923, and has decided to
classify the field as well as the Dis-
trict of Columbia employes in accord-
ance with the Bureau of Efficiency
compensation schedule, which was em-
bodied in the Brown-Smoot bill, and
rejected by Congress. On Nov. 13,
1923, the board issued a circular to
all government department heads re-
questing gradings of field service po-
sitions in accordance with a suggested
schedule of compensation, derived
from the Bureau of Efficiency sched-
ule.

Meeting of Iowa Engineering So-
ciety.— The 36th annual meeting of
the Iowa Engineering Society will be
held Jan. 29-Feb. 1 at Cedar Rapid?,
la. It was planned originally to hold
this meeting one week earlier. Lloyd
A. Canfield, 406 Flynn Bldg., Des
Moines, la., is president.

1923 Roads and Streets 1213

The Problem of Highway Finzoicing in America

A Paper Presented Nov. 6 Before the Annual Meeting of the Michigan
Good Roads Association, Lansing, Mich.

By A. E. HIEST,

State Highway Engrineer of Wisconsin

The American people are living
"iirough the greatest transportation
miracle of all time without in the
;.east realizing that the miracle is tak-
ing place; without computing the cost
of it; and without computing the cost
i)f supplementing it by another miracle
just as astounding in its scope and
magnitude. Not one in ten thousand
has the slightest realization of the
economic, social and engineering prob-
lems presented by these twin marvel
episodes — the development of the
motor vehicle and of a highway sys-
tem to meet the needs of it.

America passed through its first
episode of highway building from
1800 to 1830; through its great area
of canal building from 1810 to 1840;
its great era of railroad building from
1850 to 1880. Its second great era of
railroad building commenced with
faltering steps about 1890, attained
some proportions about 1910, is now
almost in full progress, with the prob-
ability that the major portion of the
episode of constructing ' a modem
lighway system will take place be-
-:ween 1920 and 1940.

The Growth of Motorization and of
Highway Expense. — The figures indi-
cating the development of motor ve-
-licles and of motor transport and the
parallel development of highway con-
Jtruction and maintenance are so
astounding that they have passed al-
most unnoticed. Even the statistics
showing the progress of the motoriza-
tion and of the highway enterprise
tiave hardly keen kept. When one
seeks to recover the facts of only a
decade or two ago, he finds great diffi-
culty in placing his hands on figures
which are dependable. There are,
however, available some figures which
sketch the steps of the development
5f the motor vehicle and of highway
expenditures in the last two decades
with sufficient detail and accuracy for
our present purposes. The four years
were selected because the United
States Bureau of Public Eoads had
quite carefully collected the figures of
national highway expenditures for
three of them, viz: 1904, 1914 and

1919. Further, 1904 marks about the
end of the period before the modem
motor vehicle and highways era; 1914
the first beginnings of a real Ameri-
can highway construction program;
1919 the resumption after the pause
due to the war; and 1923 the well
started modem highway program.

In 1904 there were in operation in
America about 58,000 automobiles.
There were practically no motor
trucks. In 1914 there were reg^is-
tered 1,711,339 automobiles and motor
trucks. In 1919 there were registered
7,530,105 automobiles and motor
trucks. In 1923, preliminary figures
indicate a total registration of at
least 14,000,000 automobiles and
motor trucks.

In 1923 the people of at least 40
American states own and operate
more motor vehicles than there were
in all of America in 1904. In 1923,
in New York and California combined,
or in Ohio and Pennsylvania com-
bined, there are owned and operated
more motor vehicles than there were
in all of America in 1914.

In 1904 the rural highway expendi-
tures of America are reliably com-
puted to have been $59,527,000; in
1914, $240,264,000; in 1919, $389,-
456,000; and in 1923 they are esti-
mated to be at least $800,000,000,
Eoughly, the rural highway expendi-
tures per motor vehicle in operation
in 1904 were about $1,026; in 1914,
$140; in 1919, $52; and in 1923, $57.
The expenditures per motor vehicle in
1923 were 5 per cent of those of 1904;
40 per cent of those of 1914; and 110
per cent of those of 1919.

Fourteen million motor vehicles in
1923! The investment of the Ameri-
can people represented in them is
probably 10 billion dollars. The an-
nual cost of owning and operating
them was undoubtedly $5,600,000,000.
This is nearly 2 billion dollars more
than all taxes, exclusive of federal
taxes, and over one-half of all taxes,
including the federal taxes! They
were operated a total of at least 56
billion miles. These last two figures,
it will be noted, give 10 ct. per mile

1214

Roads and Streets

Dec

as the average cost of operation,
which is conservative.

If we could, through the develop-
ment of a real system of highways,
reduce the operation cost of motor
vehicles 1 ct. per mile (and we can),
the annual saving to motorists would
be $560,000,000. This capitalized at
4% per cent would represent an in-
vestment of about $12,500,000,000.
This could be proven to be a profitable
outlay on this one item of saving
alone.

One filling of their fuel tanks, even
at present prices, costs the proud
owners about $27,000,000. If each
should lose a casing and tube, the cost
of replacement, at a weighted average
of $20 each, would be $280,000,000.

The above paragraphs are written
with the idea of showing the large
figures which must be dealt with
when we touch anything which relates
to motor vehicles. This immensity
must always be borne in mind when
considering the problem of developing
highways for motor transport.

We are not going to speculate very
much on what may be the further
development in the use and operation
of motor vehicles. When the percent-
ages of increase in the number of
motor vehicles made and sold in the
last two years are considered, it is
quite sure that the end of motor ve-
hicle increase is not yet near. At the
end of 1916 there were 3,513,000
motor vehicles registered in America.
At the end of 1923, 14,000,000. The
numerical increase for the six years,
1917 to 1923, inclusive, was 10,487,000.
It seems well within the bounds of
probability that there will be a nu-
merical increase of 6,000,000 in the
six calendar years 1924 to 1930, in-
clusive, so that by the end of 1930
there should be owned and operated
at least 20,000,000 motor vehicles.
This naturally makes the problem of
providing highway service for them
loom even larger than the present
registration figures indicate.

Even with the meager figures avail-
able, a paper of much more length
than has been assigned this one could
be prepared bringing out the twin
wonders of motor transport and of
highway development, but we must
leave these interesting speculations to
other times.

The Financial Problem. — It must be
quite obvious from the above sum-
mary of the momentous developments

in highway transportation in the las
two decades that there has been pre
cipitated upon the American peoph
a problem of public financing un
paralleled in the history of the na
tion. Financing the public schools
colleges and universities involve:
practically as much public money a;
highway work does. But the publi*
schools have been a process of slov
development, speeded up, it is true
by modern demands during the las'
two decades, but still a slowly develop
ing growth of and from the basi<
American idea of free public educa
tion. The machinery of school ad
ministration is the growth of over i
century. That the public schools musi
be supported by the whole peoph
largely in proportion to their wealtl
is established.

The problem of highway financing
has been forced upon us almost ovei
night due to the unparalleled demands
for transportation service and fo]
highways. Taxation for highways ir
America for 1904 was practically i
negligible factor in the total taxation
In 1923 it has reached such propor-
tions that in many states it is nearlj
one-half the total tax bill of all units
of government. Obviously, such ai
unexpected and unwelcomed increase
in the obligations of government mus'
demand especial consideration am,
special treatment. !

It is not as if the other obligation;]
of government were being reduced!
It is not as if other public or privat*
expenditures of the American peopli
were being reduced. The cost of ouj
government service to water born<!
transportation is not decreasing; th!
cost of our railroad service is not dej
creasing. "On the contrary," as thj
polite Frenchman replied when askc'
on a rough morning on shipboar
whether he had breakfasted. In addi
tion to all of these former costs o
transportation, we are in the midst o
a most wild and exotic growth in th
amount expended for personal trans
portation and in road service to tak
care of this increase in personal trans •
portation. jj

We have stated that the cost to th 3
American people of owning, operatin
and depreciating motor vehicles i'
1923 was at least $5,600,000,000. Thi
is in addition to the cost of construcli
ing and maintaining highways an
bridges in all units of governmen
which must have been $1,000,000,00(

1923

Roads and Streets

1215

There are offsets to this new bill in
that there are more people to be
sen'ed ^\ith transportation, probably
less expenditure for transportation by
horse drawn vehicles, and a greater
volume of goods to be transported.
But, it is an increase of at least
$6,000,000,000 in our annual bill for
h'ghway transportation — largely for
added highway transportation for per-
sons— over the bill of 1904.

Wether the American people can
afford each year to expend 6 billion
dollars more for highway transpor-
tation than they did in 1904, we ^vill
not discuss. We will discuss the rural
highway bill of America for 1923 as
compared to the rural highwav bill
of 1904. The bill of 1904 was $59,-
500,000, and of 1923 is ?800,000,000.
The difference is $740,500,000. In
general, the only difference between
the highway conditions of 1904 and of
1923 is that in 1904 there were prac-
tically no motor vehicles, and in 1923
there are 14,000,000 of them. The
change in the situation has been
brought about almost wholly by the
astounding increase in the transporta-
tion of persons and goods by motor
vehicles. The increase in the cost to
government, due to the American
people's possession of motor vehicles
has, therefore, been for rural high-
ways alone (disregarding the very
largely increased costs improved upon
the cities and villages) approximately
1740,500,000.

In 1904 the motor vehicle paid to-
ward the cost of highway work in
America practically nothing. In 1923
the taxation upon motor vehicles
other than the government luxury tax,
which has no bearing upon the financ-
ing of highway work, is probably
$300,000,000. Of this probably $100,-
000,000 is paid as a personal property
tax net dedicated for use on highways,
while $200,000,000 is probably paid in
license fees, franchise taxes, gas
taxes, etc., the proceeds of which go
largely to highway uses. In other
words, as an especial class of prop-
erty signally benefiting from highway
development, the motor vehicle is
taxed for the construction and main-
tenance of highways in 1923 approxi-
mately $200,000,000. This is 3.6 per
cent of the total cost of owning and
operating them in 1923. Disregard-
ing as negligible the taxation on
motor vehicles for highways in 1904,
It is $200,000,000 more than they paid
in 1904. The increase in the rural

highway bill between 1904 and 1923
is above shown to be 8740,500,000.
Therefore, the motor vehicle is
charged in taxes, paid due to its use
of highways and not due to its exist-
ence as a luxury or to its existence
as a piece of personal property, about
27 per cent of the additional cost of
constructing and maintaining rural
highways imposed upon government
by its ownership and use. Please,
again, remember that the added costs
(and they are great) imposed upon
cities and villages by motor vehicle
ownership are not included in the
above figures.

Who Shall Pay the Highway Bill?

— Of course, those who believe that
the motor vehicle is already overtaxed
will contend that other causes have
led to the increase in the highway
programs, but this other urge has
been so small as to be negligible. In
a broad summary, such as this, we are
certainly justified in saying that the
increase in the American highway
program of today over that of 20
years ago is caused by the ownership
and use of motor vehicles. We know
that every plan for highway construc-
tion or maintenance; every relocation;
every bridge design; every plan for
highway systems and layouts; in
short, every highway problem of na-
tion, state, city and county originates
with and has its conclusion drawn
from a study of the present and future
demands of motor vehicle traffic.

In national, state, county, or city
legislative bodies or highway organi-
zations there is no discussion of roads,
streets or bridges which does not
hinge on the necessities of the motor
vehicle. The horse and the horse
dravsTi vehicle has practically disap-
peared from consideration and in not
one phase of modem highway develop-
ment does the presence or the absence
of the horse have any real bearing.
In 99 cases out of 100, horse drawn
traffic is given as little consideration
as is the number of dinosauria and
rnammoths who may traverse the
highway. We are motorized people,
dealing with a problem of motorized
transport, and commencing to pay the
bill for motorization.

It is also urged by the opponents of
further imposts upon motor vehicles
that other property and other persons
are also benefited by the development
and maintenance of highways and
should pay their part of the cost. We

1216

Roads and Streets

Dec

would be the last one to deny that
every person, every business, every
piece of real property, every social
and business activity does benefit and
benefit greatly from the development
of highway systems. We would be
the first one to say that they should
pay and pay to assist in the develop-
ment of highways. But other prop-
erty and incomes have all other gov-
ernmental activities to support and
they cannot be bankrupted for high-
ways. They must help to pay, but
after they have paid for highways all
that can, with any equity, be im-
posed upon them, there remains a
large bill which cannot be paid by
property or by incomes, but which
must be paid by the motor vehicle.
There will be paying enough to go
around so that none will feel slighted.

The motor vehicle propagandist
then avers that the amount of the bill
to be paid by the motor vehicle should
be the cost of maintaining highways,
and that the motor vehicle should pay
no part of the cost of the construction
enterprise. How this remarkable con-
clusion was first arrived at we are
unable to determine. Certainly it
should be included and enshrined
among the most laughable jokes ever
sought to be seriously presented to
the attention of the American public.
"Life" never printed anything half as
funny. If carried to its logical con-
clusion, this masterpiece of economic
thought means, of course, that the
poorer the roads of a state, the more
the vehicle owners of that state
should pay — ^the better the roads, the
less they should pay.

Under this wonderful theory, for
instance, a state having a 10,000-mile
road system to construct might de-
termine to construct it of cement con-
crete at an average cost of $40,000
per mile. The total cost would be
$400,000,000. "This, property should
pay!" The cost of maintaining this
system, when fully built, would be
about $3,000,000 per annum. "This,
the motorist should pay!" On the
other hand, the state might determine
to build the system of gravel and
other inferior surfacings at an aver-
age cost of $10,000 per mile. The
cost of the system would then be
$100,000,000. "This, property should
pay!" The cost of maintenance would
be about $10,000,000 per annum.
"This, the motorist should pay!" The
motorist should pay 7 million dollars
more per annum for a road system

of inferior value and economy thai
he should pay for a system of road;
conceded to give better and more eco
nomical service to motor transporta
tion every day in the year! Is it no
astounding that men, usually quit(
sane, seriously claim that this is com
mon sense and correct economics?

Proportions to Motorists and t<
Other Property. — Is there any meas
ure of the proportion that motorist!
should pay of the cost of the highwa:
program of a state ? No measure ha;
so far been established. The problen
has come upon us so suddenly, s(
much of the reasoning upon it ha:
been wild and unfounded, that Ameri
can thought has not even begun t(
crystalize upon any basic measure
ment of what the motor vehicle shoul(
pay.

We have had, of course, the seal*
of fees in the "proposed uniform ve
hide license law" urged as a panaces
by the National Automobile Chambei
of Commerce. This was proposec
several years ago as fair taxation bui
died before it was hardly born. As
far as we known, no American stat(
ever adopted it, and we venture tc
predict that no American state eve]
will. Its scale of fees is unscientific
unfair, and far too low, and has valut
merely as a matter of history.

We claim that there is only on<
measure of what the motor vehich
owners should pay, viz:

The total sum paid for highwa:
service by the motor vehicle owner:
of a state should be measured by th(
benefits the motor vehicle owners o
the state receive from the state's pro
gram of highway construction an«
maintenance.

This should be quite obvious. J
tax collected should represent serv
ices rendered or to be rendered an<i
benefits received or to be received. I
great services and benefits are givei
the owners of motor vehicles in a givei;
state, the charge which that stat
should make on them can legitimatel;
be much higher than the charge
which should be made by a state whic
gives few benefits and offers littl
facilities for travel.

If the reader will compare state
with the roads of which he is familial
it is believed that he will assent to th
proposition that taxation upon mote'
vehicles should not be uniform, witi
all motor vehicles of like kind payin
the same tax in every state. He wi

1923

Roads and Streets

1217

agree that proper and fair imposts
upon motor vehicles will vary with
the states, and that the motor vehicle
owners of different states should pay
and should be willing to pay different
sums, varying with the highway facili-
ties offered them by their state and
county governments. Does the "pro-
posed uniform vehicle license law"
meet these conditions ? Naturally, it
does not,

A Proposed Guide to Judgment. —
We are going to venture to give what
we believe is a formula by which there
can be determined the sum which the
motor vehicle owners of a state should
annually pay toward its highway pro-
gram, in payment for benefits they
receive from the program. By the
highway program of a state, we mean
not only the program of the state it-
self, but also of all units of govern-
ment in the state, including its cities.
'The Hirst Formula."— The motor
vehicle owners of each state should
each year pay for their highway serv-
ice one-half of the total amount made
available in that year* to pay the cost
of the state's highway program, after
deducting from said amoxmt the total
amount made available to pay the
cost of the state's highway program
in 1904.

Nineteen hundred and four is se-
! lected as the basing year because
quite dependable figures of highway
! expenditures in all states are avail-
able for that year, and because it
quite accurately marks the real begin-
i ning of the motor era.
, Please again read the formula be-
; fore condemning it, and note espe-
i cially that its terms do not include
the expenditures made in any year
; from the proceeds of bond issues, but
' only the portion of the cost of bond-
, ing paid in that year.
; Applj-ing this formula to a hypo-
i thetical case; in a certain state there
! was made available in 1904 to pay the
cost of all highway work, $10,000,000.
There is to be made available $40,-
000,000 in 1925. The amount the
motor vehicle owners should pay in
; 1925 is one-half the difference or
, $15,000,000.

j The formula means that there
I would be paid by property and from
! other sources of governmental in-
j comes :

! (a) The total cost of highways
j which they paid at the end of the era
of horse drawn transportation.

(b) One-half of the additional high-

way cost imposed upon government
by the ownership and use of motor
vehicles.

It, of course, means that the own-
ers of motor vehicles would pay:
One-half of the additional highway
cost imposed upon government by his
ownership of motor vehicles.

This does not seem to us to be un-
fair to the motorist. If there is any
unfairness about it, property other
than motor vehicles is probably pay-
ing, to say the least, a good full price
for the general benefits and advan-
tages incident to highway improve-
ment. Translated into national figures,
the formula means that based on total
highway expenditures of §200,000,000
in 1914 and of $1,000,000,000 in 1923,
the motorist shoiild have paid $400,-
000,000 in 1923 for use on highways,
not including the luxury tax and the
personal property tax, neither of
which is a tax for highways. This
compares with the actual payment of
$200,000,000, and means that they
should have paid $200,000,000 more
than they did pay in 1923, or approxi-
mately $14 more per motor vehicle,
on the average.

We expect that many will oppose
any proposed application of the
formula to specific tax problems. We
do not claim that it is perfect. In
meeting especial conditions in certain
states its arithmetical result would
have to be modified by the application
of common sense. We do claim, how-
ever, that it is of value as a guide to
judgment. We do claim that it is the
first mathematical formula proposed
that recognizes the existence of the
f imdamental facts which should
largely determine the relative part of
the cost of highway programs to be
paid by motor vehicle owners as such,
and by other taxpayers as such.

Apropos to opposition to new ideas
as to taxation, Macaulay in his great
History of England, in discussing the
new highway taxation imposed there
in 1685, characterized the public atti-
tude on the new taxes in language
just as good and true now as it was
when Macaulay wrote it in 1846. We
quote him:

"A change was at length effected,
but not without much difficulty. For
unjust and absurd taxation to which
men are accustomed is often borne
far more willingly than the most rea-
sonable impost which is new."

1218

Roads and Streets

Dec

Present Systems of Taxation

We will now briefly summarize and
comment upon the various common
forms of taxation upon motor vehicles.

Valuation Taxes. — We believe that
there should be a valuation tax upon
motor vehicles if there is to be a
valuation tax upon any class of prop-
erty. Of course, if the theory of col-
lecting taxes upon the basis of the
valuation of property is wrong, then
a valuation tax upon motor vehicles is
wrong. Vice versa, if the valuation
theory generally held is right, then
the collection of tax based upon the
relative valuation of motor vehicles is
right.

The more expensive automobiles
are owned for the same reason that
the more expensive homes are owned;
that is, because the owner believes
that they repay him for the added
investment and the added running ex-
pense in style, comfort, economy and
convenience, or in the ability of him-
self and his family to enjoy life. If
he really believes these things are
true, he should be willing to pay addi-
tional personal property taxation, just
as he is willing to pay an additional
price to own and operate the more
expensive house or motor vehicle. It
should be recognized, however, that a
valuation tax on motor vehicles is not
a highway tax, but a property tax.

Horse Power Taxes. — Many states
license motor vehicles upon the basis
of horse power. We can think of no
physical attribute of a motor vehicle
which bears so little relation to the
destructiveness of it as does its horse
power. Horse power bears little or
no relation to the speed, the weight,
the value, or the use of a motor ve-
hicle. There are at least 32 passenger
car models on the American market
which have the same or less horse
power than the Ford, These 32 models
weigh from 1,600 lb. to 3,500 lb. and
retail at from $500 to $2,500.

Licensing by Weight. — This system
somewhat classifies the relative de-
structiveness of various cars as be-
tween themselves, and of motor trucks
as between themselves and as dis-
tinguished from automobiles. Weight
has also some relation to value, but
only when the vehicles are new. If
there is to' be a graduated classifica-
tion of cars for the purpose of licens-
ing them, their weight is the best
factor. We believe there should be
such a classification.

"Police Power" Licensing. — This is

a necessity. The cost of the licens*
plates, licensing and of proper moto:
vehicle policing should be included ii
the weight license fee and collectec
at the same time.

Franchise Taxes, Wheel Taxes, Etc
— Some states still permit units o:
government smaller than the state t(
make charges upon motor vehicles ii
addition to taxing them as persona
property. We believe that sucl
charges should not be allowed to b(
made, but that the full charge for th(
use of highways should be imposec
and collected by the state. Outsidi
of the debatable federal luxury ta:
now in effect, we believe that the fed
eral government should not tax moto:
vehicles. If everyone around th(
farm milks the farmer's cows when
ever he feels like it and uses the mill
for all kinds of purposes, the farmer';
monthly check will be much reduced
Besides, the herd would develop ai
extremely nervous and irritable dis
position.

The amount which the motor ve
hide owners should pay for highwaj
service is a thing individual to eacl
state. It should be determined upor
by the legislature of the state as i
result of the most mature delibera
tion. Simultaneous increases made bj
several units of government might, i:
permitted by law, seriously embarrass
the motor vehicle owners and th(
motor vehicle industry.

The states are the best and shouU
be the only collectors of imposts fo:
highway service made upon motoristsj
If the division of responsibility fo:!
the main highways is such as to mak<|
it advisable, there should be_ disj
tributed to the counties a part of th<|
proceeds. The state and county highj
way programs in every state shouh
and will consume all that the motoris
should fairly pay toward the highwa;i
program. The lesser units of govern)
ment, such as townships, cities, anti
villages, should be content to see th'
state and county taxes on propert;i
for highways reduced by larger col
lections from motor vehicles. Tlii
will enable them to increase tliti
charges upon property for strict 1;
local purposes, including local high
ways.

The sum which can fairly be col
lected from motor vehicle owners li;:
a maximum. If the federal govc^
ment takes a share and the loi
municipalities take a share, the slat
and county share will be so much tli

)23

Roads and Streets

1219

8S. Necessarily the state and coun-
es must make up the deficit by im-
)sing direct taxes upon property or
/ taking a larger share of income
jcation. This simply complicates
e situation without changing the
lal results as to the total taxes paid
7 the various classes of property.

Motor Fuel Taxes. — The motor fuel
X, commonly known as the gas tax,

our opinion, is by far the most
ientific impost upon motor vehicles.

meters highway service and the
aiefits received from the use of high-
ays. It approximates toll gate re-
Jts without the infirmities of toll
•ite procedure. The consumption of
asoline varies with the weight, the
)eed, and the mileage of the motor
jhicle. No other factor in the car's
>mestic economy reflects so closely
le benefits received from highway
se.

It has been suggested that a tire
IX would be just as good as a fuel
IX. This might be true if it were
)t so easy to mail or ship tires, but
e fear that if a tire tax were in
feet the business of every tire
?aler would be with the people of
;her states. This would be unneces-
irily expensive and cumbersome and
eld no tax revenue to anyone. On
le other hand, gasoline is bought
dually from day to day, is best
pught in that way, and can thus be
indled more cheaply and more safely
lan if shipped and stored for indi-
iual use.

Objection is made that the worse

le road, the more fuel consumed, and

le more tax paid. This objection can-

)t be met by any argument which

R can devise except that as highway

action proceeds, the mileage of

-hat this objection applies to will

rcome less and less. It is the only

!"actical objection ever urged against

e fuel tax, and objections equally

lid can be urged against any tax

, er in effect or ever proposed.

i States can adjust ad infinitum

i ense fees fixed by the horsepower,

''dght or valuation of motor vehicles,

I by any combination of these fac-

|rs. They can probably attain some

irness in the relative fees to be paid

e different kinds of cars and

-. It can be determined that a

i'l should pay so much, a Cadillac

!^iuch,^ a five-ton truck so much.

elation thus established between

may be fair. But how about

the relation between the Ford which
travels 2000 miles and the Ford which
travels 15,000 miles — the Cadillac
which travels 5000 miles and the
Cadillac which travels 40,000 miles—
the five-ton truck which travels 5000
miles, and the one which travels 25,-
000 miles ?

If the relative use of highways by
various motor vehicles is to be in-
cluded as a factor in determining the
highway tax to be paid by the motor-
ist, then the motor fuel tax must be
in effect as one factor in the total
imposts. It is the only practical way
to collect impost which marks relative
highway use and the relative benefits
therefrom.

We believe that many states will
find it necessary, at least during the
coming heavy construction period, to
impose fuel taxes of about five cents
per gallon. States which have been
extremely backward in highway de-
velopment may have to collect as high
as ten cents a gallon. We believe it
will be usual to exempt fuel used
other than in highway transport from
pajdng the tax. This will cause some
abuses, but there are abuses in every
tax system. As soon as motor fuel
taxes of qmte uniform amount are in
effect in every state, practically every
objection to the gas tax will have
been eliminated, and a method of
highway taxation and of highway
financing will have become universal
which is as nearly in accord with the
equities in the case as human ingenu-
ity can devise.

Conclusion. — It is impossible in the
compass of a thirty minute discussion
of highway financing to more than
briefly touch some of the high spots.
We have tried briefly to paint a pic-
ture of the situation, with no greater
hope than that we might start fur-
ther and much more effective discus-
sion of this major problem of the
American people.

It seems absolutely certain that the
American people must spend in the
next twenty years in the development
and maintenance of their highway
systems, both rural and urban, a sum
approximating twenty billions of dol-
lars. This must inevitably be true,
unless the American people not only
do not increase, but, on the contrary,
greatly reduce their present use of
highways for transportation. It is
equally true that we are facing a
financial enterprise and an engineer-
ing enterprise far surpassing any

1220

Roads and Streets

previous public enterprise except that
involved in the prosecution of the late
war.

These things being true, it must be
quite obvious that, inasmuch as there
appears to be no prospect of a reduc-
tion in the standard of American liv-
ing or in the public expenditure for
education, parks, water supply or pub-
lic health, we must look to and de-
velop new sources of revenue for the
payment of a considerable share of
the cost of this new highway enter-
prise. It appears to us that this source
of very materially increased public
revenue must be the motor vehicle,
the thing which largely sets our scale
of highway expenditure, the thing
which benefits most from the ex-
penditure.

If we are to get very far with this
line of thought, we must divorce from
our minds the idea that imposts upon
motor vehicles for use in building and
maintaining highways are, properly
speaking, taxes. They are not taxes.
They are just the remainder of the
bill due to our ownership of motor
vehicles.

One buys a motor vehicle. He pays
the price and owns the vehicle. If
one is to get any use of it, he must
buy fuel to propel it, oil to lubricate
it, he must replace worn and broken
parts and the tires as they become
useless. The cost of these are a legiti-
mate part of the cost of owning and
operating a car. We do not consider
it robbery when a tire man charges us
twenty dollars for a casing, or a gas
man two dollars for a filling of gas.
We regard the owner of the tire shop
and of the filling station simply as
merchants selling us a commodity
which we must have in order to oper-
ate our car, so that it may return us
dividends, either in money or pleas-
ure, or both.

In exactly the same way we must
buy our highway service from the
state. Highway service is just as
essential and is just as much a part
of the legitimate cost of operating a
motor vehicle as is anything else that
must be bought if we are to operate
it with economy and efficiency. A fair
charge by the state for this service is
not robbery, murder, or arson. It is
just as cleancut and defensible a
business deal as is any other business
deal connected with the purchase and
operation of a motor vehicle. We pay
a fair charge made by government for

a commodity — highway service-
which, as motor vehicle owners, w
must have. Probably we will get on
of our payments to the state a greate
return than we get out of any sc
called private business deal incider
to our ownership of a motor vehicle.

We must brush our brains clear c
cobwebs, obsessions, prejudices an
bunkum, and calmly recognize tha
when we bought and insist upon opei
ating fourteen million or more moto
vehicles, we bought also a highwa
expenditure of billions of dollars, jus
as much a part of the cost of thes
motor vehicles as are themselvei
their tires, their engines, and thei
supplies. They go together, the moto
vehicle and the highway on which i
must run. All the costs must be pai(

When the American people come t
this only sane viewpoint, it will b
possible to rapidly develop the n
quired highway systems. If the moto
vehicle is to be soon fully served, i
it is to become in our time an instrv
ment of transportation operating, ^
fact, with something like one hundre;
per cent efiiciency three hundred an
sixty-five days in the year, we mua
invest billions in highways, and tH
owners of motor vehicles must pay I
fair share of the bill. \

In our own state, and elsewher
we have been sometimes indicted i
an enemy to the motor vehicle indu
try and to the motorist, because v
have insisted that the motorist mu
pay adequately if he wished econoni
cal highway service. Whether or n
we are or have been an enemy to tl
motorist we are unable to prove. V
have spent twenty years in this roi
game but neither our enemies nor oij
friends can now fairly judge us. R
suits and highway history will do t h
in due time.

We do still insist that the motori
must pay — adequately, largely — ;
most until it hurts. Building a mo
em American highway system, coi
prising at least five hundred thousai
miles of road, in two or three decad
is not child's play. It is an entf
prise of appalling magnitude. It c
be done, it will be done, because wli
the American people need or ev
wish for anything they get it. Th
not only wish for highways, they ii(
them, and they will get them, li
they must pay the price — and t
principal user of the road, the moti
ist, cannot escape almost scot fi '
from the paying!

1923

Roads and Streets

1221

Notes on Highway Maintenance

Digest of Committee Report Presented Not. 8

at 3rd Annual Meeting of Advisory

Board of Highway Research

Corrugations form in all gravel
roads when the traffic becomes exces-
sive, probably 500 or 600 vehicles per
day. Their formation is in no way
dependent upon construction or main-
tenance methods. Corrugations are
most apt to occur on flat grades. They
are caused by displacement of the ma-
terial due to the spin of the drive
wheels, and by impact of the wheels
both front and rear after a bounce.
Dragging with heavy equipment after
a rain is a temporary corrective.

Maintenance of gravel road sur-
faces with a mulch treatment of
gravel is giving good results on light
traffic roads. The treatment consists
of keeping a light application of loose,
clean gravel, up to % in. size, on the
surface of the road.

A light color of the filler used for
! joints and cracks in concrete pave-
ment is no longer considered essen-
tial. Experiments are being conduct-
ed with various grades of tar and
asphalt for fillers.

Every state should adopt a distinct-
ive symbol for its route markers.

f Warning signs should be uniform
tin all states and should not be used
except where necessity is obvious.
Shape, color, size and location recom-
mended in report.

All advertising signs should be for-
bidden on the highway right-of-way.

Expenditures by the states, through
their maintenance organizations, shall
be classified in their annual reports
for purposes of uniformity and com-
parison, as follows:

1. Maintenance administration

2. Maintenance proper

3. Additions and betterments

4. Parks, camping grounds and
roadside beautification.

The last three classifications shall
be charged to a specific section of
road.

Additions and betterments shall in-
clude expenditures for the increased-
permanent value of the road to ac-
commodate traffic. This will include
the cost of:

1. Increased width of surface or
roadbed

2. Increased depth of wearing sur-
face over any previous maximum
depth

3. New guard rails

4. New walls

5. New drainage structures and
water courses

6. New subdrains

7. Improving grades, alignment and
vision.

A Suggestion for Road Patrolmen

From the September Service Bulletin of the
Iowa Highway Commission

It is ridiculous for a road patrol-
man to ride up and down the good
portions of his road and scrape and
blade these sections to perfection
while mud holes and ruts mark up the
other parts of his patrol section. It
is not good practice to give bad sec-
tions of the road no more treatment
than the good sections just because it
might require turning the equipment
around several times in order to put
the bad stretch into shape. Turning
around, it is admitted, is harder work
than sitting on the machine and rid-
ing along comfortably from one end
of the section to the other. It is
service which the road builder and
maintainer is paid to give to the
traveling public. The traveling public
is paying the bill in cash out of pocket
and the man paying the bill for serv-
ice wants that service for himself now
and not tomorrow, next week, next
month or next year. He is not pay-
ing for service for his children or
those who come after him or even for
service when he himself is ten or
twelve years older. What the user of
the highway wants today and now is
a smooth surface to drive his car over.
He wants the entire road smooth, not
a rut or rutty section for every hun-
dred or two hundred yards and then
the road smooth as a billiard table
for several miles. The only way he
can get what he is paying for is for
the man who is hired to maintain the
road to go over and over the bad spots
untU^ they are in condition and ap-
proximately equal in driving surface
to the balance of the road. It certain-
ly is not good judgment or satisfac-
tory service for the man in charge of
a maintenance outfit to ride up and
down the smooth parts of his patrol
section utterly neglecting bad spots
or at least giving them no more treat-
ment than the section which are al-
ready in good condition.

1222

Roads and Streets

Dec.

Twin Rotary Snaw Plow

For cases where depth of snow or
other conditions prevent the satisfac-
tory use of blade or "V" type plows,
the Monarch Tractors, Watertown,
Wis., have brought out the rotary
plow here shown. Development of
this machine under direction of Mr.
A. B, Webb, chief engineer for the
makers, covered a period of more
than three years, so that the design
had received a thorough working test
before being placed on the market.

The Monarch twin rotary snow
plow weighs about 4,500 lb., is 8 ft.
in width, and is a self-contained unit,
powered by a Beaver heavy-duty in-

Monarch Twin Rotary Snow Plow.

dustrial motor. The two heavy steel
fans are driven at a speed of about
350 r. p. m. Each fan can be dis-
connected independently by means of
a twin disc clutch. The fan runs on
heavy Timken bearings and the whole
construction is strong and simple.
The front shoe and rudder are de-
signed to assist in steering, but the
plow can be controlled easily by the
tractor through heavy oscillating push
bars attached to the crawlers. Mov-
able vanes around the fan control the
height and distance at which snow
may be thrown.

Industrial Notes

The Weller Manufacturing Co., manufac-
turers of elevatinK, conveying and power
transmitting machinery, Chicago, announces
the following new offices : Stratton-Cahoon
Co., 809 Mclntyre Bldg., Salt Lake City, Utah,
to look after the sales in the northwest terri-
tory. To take care of their trade in the
Omaha territory, the company will open a
sales office at 627 Grain Exchange Bldg.,
Omaha. Neb. O. F. Barklage of the Industrial
Sales & Engineering Co., will be in charge.

Donald M. MacNeal, formerly with Mac-
Arthur Bros. Co., contractors, and for 5 years
associated with A. L. Torbart, has opened
offices at 166 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago,
where he will engage in buying and selling
construction equipment.

The Heil Co., manufacturers of dump truck
bodies, hydro hoists, tanks, etc., Milwaukee,
Wis., announces the appointment of two new
distributors: the Kranz Automotive Body Co.,
Gravois at Minnesota, St. Louis, Mo., has
been appointed the Heil Co. St. Louis terri-
tory distributor. The Shop of Siebert, 614
Southward Ave., Toledo, O., is the other new
Heil distributor.

Chain Belt Co., Milwaukee, Wis., manufac-
turers of Rex chain, transmission machinery
and conveying equipment, formerly repre-
sented on the Pacific coast by Meese & Gott-
fried Co., San Francisco, has established direct
factory branches and warehouses in Portland
and Seatle. Arrangements have also been
made with the Washington Machinery Depot,
Tacoma, Wash., to carry a large stock of Rex
chain and transmission machinery. Other
stocks will be placed in important centers
throughout the Pacific Northwest for the
prompt handling of local requirements. The
northwest territory, with headquarters at
Portland, will be in charge of Allen C. Sul-
livan, M. E., a graduate of the University of
Washington. Don B. Catton, formerly with
Meese & Gottfried Co. and later engaged in
the machinery supply business on his own
account, will be the special sales representa-
tive for the Portland office. The Seattle and
British Columbia territory will be handled by
Wm. F. Nichols out of the Seattle office. Mr.
Nichols for the past 11 years has been con-
nected with the Meese & Gottfried Co. The
Portland office of the Chain Belt Co. is lo-
cated at 67-69 First St., Portland, Ore., and
the Seattle office at 1040 Sixth Ave., S.,
Seattle, Wash. Large stocks are maintained
at both places.

The Blaw-Knox Co., manufacturers of road
building machinery, buckets, forms, etc., Pitts-
burgh, Pa., announces the opening of a Buf-
falo, N. Y., office at 622 Genesee Bldg. J. C.
McQuide has been transferred from the Pitts-
burgh organization as manager of the Buffalo
office. The Buffalo office will now serve
northern and western New York and adjacent
territory.

W. & L. E. Gurley, manufacturers of engi-
neering instruments, Troy, N. Y., has estab-
lished an office at 364 Monadnock Block, 53 W.
Jackson Blvd., Chicago, 111. Delivery of tran-
sits, levels, plane tables, rods, water stage
recorders and current meters can be made
from this office. C. H. Smart is Chicago rep-
resentative.

The Pawling & Harnischfeger Co. of Mil-
waukee, Wis., manufacturers of excavators,
cranes and machine tools, has recently ap-
pointed R. P. McCormick as its eastern sales
manager, with headquarters at 50 Church St.,
New York City, and 605 Stephen Girard Bldg.,
Philadelphia.

The Little Red Wagon Mfg. Co., Omaha.

Neb., has purchased the business of Stroud
& Co., Omaha, and will continue the manu-
facture of Stroud elevating graders, Stroud
Little Red Dump Wagons, Stroud road main-
tainers, scrapers, drags, plows and other road
making machinery. The new organization will j
continue the Strouds parts service.

The Board of Directors of Underwriters'
Laboratories announce that at a special meet-
ing of the board, held Nov. 10, Dana Pierce
was elected president of Underwriters' Lab-
oratories. A. R. Small was elected vice-presi-
dent. D. B. Anderson and L. B. Headen con-
tinue as secretary and treasurer, respectively.

Water Works

MONTHLY ISSUE OF

ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

f-L'O

Published by Engineering & Contracting Publishing Co.
221 East 20th St., Chicago

Halbbbt p. Giixam, President and Editor

Ixwia S. LouSR, Vice-President and General Manager

New York Office: 904 Lons&ere Bids., 42<1 St. and Broadway

Richard E. Browk, Eattem Monaaer

Roada and Streets — lit Wednesday, $1 Railways — 3rd Wednesday, $1

(a) Road Con- (e) StreeU (a) Steam Rail- (b) Electric Rall-
stmetion (d) Street clean- way Construe- way Constrae-

(b) Road Main- ins tion tion aa4
tenanoe Maintenance Maintenance

Water Works-^nd Wednesday, $1

(a) Water Works (c) Sewars and

(b) Irrigation and Sanitatioo
Drainace (d) Waterways

Baildinss— 4 th Wednesday, $1

(a) Boildinga (d) Miseellaneooa

(b) Bridges Stmetnres

Vol. LX.

CHICAGO, ILL., DECEMBER 12, 1923

No. 6

T3rphoid Progress

For the past two weeks or more
typhoid fever has existed in Chicago
in amounts sufficient to attract much
attention in the press and elsewhere.
As this is written the report for the
preceeding day gives a total of 173
cases, the most of any day since the
outbreak.

Yet less than a generation ago, and
when Chicago was much smaller than
now, this same number of cases would
have been an entirely ordinary occur-
rence. TjT)hoid reports from the dis-
tricts served by the various pumping
stations then formed a part of the
daily news. Many people boiled their
water if the health department re-
ported bad conditions in their district.
The more careful boiled their water
at all times or bought drinking and
culinary water from pure sources.

The source of the present "epidemic"
has not as yet been determined, and
it may not even be connected with the
water supply. Furthermore, although
the epidemic attracts attention, it
causes no general concern: no one

doubts that it will be kept within nar-
row bounds and will be speedily
stamped out.

All of this again reminds us that
here is a disease, the conquest and
continued subjection of which is due
to the engineering rather than to the
medical profession. Medicine, it is
true, has contributed honorably to the
work, but its part has been a minor
one.

Chicago, always dependent on Lake
Michigan for its water supply, reached
with its intakes farther and farther
into the lake as contamination from
the shore increased. These extensions
to more remote and deeper water miti-
gated but did not extirpate the con-
tamination. The next great steps
were the reversal of flow in the Chi-
cago River and the construction of
the drainage canal, thereby diverting
all of Chicago's sewage from the lake
and leaving only that contamination
which is unavoidable along a busy and
densely populated waterfront. This
drainage made a vast improvement in

1224

Water Works

Dec.

health condiUons, but it was not until
the introducWwi of the liquid chlorine
treatment, about a dozen years ago,
that the entire water supply was made
practically free from disease germs.

Here is a record of which the engi-
neering profession may be proud in-
deed. A community whose growth
continually outstripped expectations,
located on topography difficult of
drainage, and with the natural drain-
age all directly into the only practical
source of water supply, is freed from
water borne disease by a series of
bold and intelligent steps, all within
the memory of an ordinary lifetime.
In retrospect it is inspiring. In pros-
pect it took vision and courage.

The Electrical Advance

In our issue of Aug. 8 we published
a paper by Mr. F. H. Bushnell en-
titled "Higher Steam Pressures and
Improvements in Station Economy,"
in which the author discussed current
experiments in the use of steam pres-
sures of from 1,200 to 3,200 lb. per
square inch, and what appeared as a
reasonable expectation of obtaining a
kilowatt hour of electrical energy for
1 lb. of coal burned. In the same
issue we commented editorially on
this matter and added a reference to
the possibilities of increased fuel effi-
ciencies through the use of two dif-
ferent evaporating liquids, such as
mercury and water, now being tried
out at Hartford, Conn., and water and
carbon disulphid, which combination
is reported in successful use in Ger-
many.

Thirty years ago the best electric
generating stations were burning 4 lb.
of coal per kilowatt hour produced.
Commenting upon the mercury and
high pressure steam experiments, the
Stone & Webster Journal for Novem-
ber contains the following:

The unit has been in operation and the
indications are that, aside from troubles al-
ways incident to experimental installations,
the results are sroinK to be satisfactory.

The unit is a boiler which vaporizes mer-
cury. This vapor drives a turbine and is
then exhausted into a boiler which condenses
it to a liquid and at the same time converts
the coolinjr water into steam, this steam pass-
inir through another turbine and beingr con-
densed by water in the usual way. It is
expected that this combination of processes
will reduce the coal consumption of a generat-
inp: station by about one-third.

The investment will be comparatively heavy
per unit of capacity, but even after allowinK
for this there will be a substantial reduction
in over-all power costs if present expectations
are realised.

This mercury turbine is merely one example
of pioneering and progress. The Edison Elec-
tric Illuminating Company of Boston is
pioneering along slightly different lines. In a
station now under construction Stone &
Webster are installing for them auxiliary tur-
bines which take steam at a pressure of 1,200
lb. to the square inch, exhausting into the
main steam line for the principal units, which
will operate at 375 lb. pressure.

The Boston Edison Company expects to pro-
duce a kilowatt hour for one pound of coal ;
that is, we will get four times as much power
from a ton of coal as we did 30 years ago.

In lighting, the change from the carbon
lamp to the tungsten was an important step,
and now has come the nitrogen lamp, and we
are getting four times as much light per kilo-
watthour as we did 30 years ago. Combining
the improvements in generation and in use,
we get 16 times as much light for a pound
of coal.

Thirty years ago electric lighting
was a well accomplished fact; elec-
trical science and industry were con-
sidered as infants of great promise;
but there was no anticipation that
fuel efficiency as applied to lighting
would be increased 16 times.

Before us today is the problem of
electric heating — as yet unsolved ex-
cept for certain minor uses, whei'e a
comparatively small excess of cost is
more than oflFset by the conveniences
afforded. The editor admits that he
sees no prospect of improvements
making possible the extensive use of
electricity for heating buildings, yet
he is furthest from denying that the
accomplishment may be wrought. The
hot air furnace, the individual steam
or hot water heating plant, the stove,
are less efficient in extracting heat
units than is the great central plant.
The prohibitive loss is in getting the
units from plant to consumer and into
the latter's use. But, are we of today
any more warranted in denying its
possibility than were the engineers
of a generation ago in denying that
there could be a vast increase of
efficiency in converting a B. T. U. into
electric light? At present the heat-
ing device is the weakest link in the
efficiency chain, and we see no pros-
pect of greatly bettering it. Yet im-
provement may come, and it need not
of necessity approximate to 100 per
cent efficiency. Let the improvement
but reach a certain point, and be sup-
plemented by a further increase in
power plant efficiency and further re-
ductions in transmission, conversion
and distribution losses, and it may be
cheaper to burn our coal in great cen-
tral plants (probably located at the
mine mouth) than in the furnaces of
our own homes and business houses.

1923 Water Works 1225

Water Works and Sewer Contracts Awarded
During the Last 46 Months

The accompanying tables show: each year shows a gain over its prede-

First, that the waterworks and sewer cesser in the volume of contracts

contracts awarded during the last half awarded in this "hydraulic field."
of each year exceed in volume those

WATERWORKS CONTRACTS EXCEEDING J26,000 IN SIZE.

1920 1921 1922 192S

January I 1.144.000 $ 519.000 S 1.727.000 $ 4.720.000

February 2.172.000 2,927.000 652.000 2.780,000

March 2.213,000 2.028.000 1.093,000 15,149.008

April - - 2,719.000 3,842,000 2,673.000 8,544,000

May 1,382,000 4,944,000 3,568,000 7,329,000

June 1,461.000 8.485,000 5,124,000 4,045,000

July 3,793,000 3,106,000 811,000 3,803,000

August 775,000 2,404,000 4.494,000 3,678,000

September _ 743,000 1,487,090 3,906,009 2,881.000

Oct<Aer - 11,169,000 900,000 7.686,000 3,636.000

November _ 2.151.000 4.698.000 2,161.000

December - 1,051.000 10.752.000 1,885.000

ToUl „.- „....$80,773,000 $40,602,000 $35,730,000

Note. — About TOO per cent must be added to the annual totals to grive the grand tot*! of
contracts awarded in the United States.

A great deal of waterworks construction is done by directly hired labor and is not included
above.

Waterworks buildings are not included above.

SEWER CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000 IN SIZE.

1920 1921 1922 1923

January _ $ 1,864.000 $ 8,147.000 $ 2,267,000 $ 3,322,000

February _ 623,000 2,445,000 2,462,000 2.181.900

March 1,283,000 2,862,000 3,796.000 4,477.000

April _„ 4,124,000 3,817,000 2,794,000 5,497,000

May .._ — 2,315,000 2,162,000 5,722,000 9,052,000

June 2.349,000 8,802,000 5,158.000 6,501,000

July 3.163,000 3,986,000 1,869.000 3,183,000

August 2.437,000 3.988.000 3.450.000 13.753,000

September . — _ 2,319,000 5,064,000 3,840,096 10,368,000

October 8,052,000 2,829.000 4,996.009 5.096,000

November 4,572,000 2,788.000 5.849,000

December 2,967.000 2.549.009 2.881,009

ToUl „„ $36,068,000 $39,884,000 $48,584,009

Note.— About 100 i>er cent must be added to the annual totals to give the grand total of
contracts awarded in the United States.

A considerable amount of sewer construction is done by directly hired labor, which is not
included in the above totals.

IRRIGATION, DRAINAGE AND EXCAVATION CONTRACTS EXCEEDING $25,000.

^ 1920 1921 1922 1923

ptS)i^r^ ' 1.542.000 $ 1,266,000 $ 2,091,000 $ 548,000

M.,^^ 787,000 306,000 419,000 365,000

A^?l 3,151,000 1,626,000 608,000 28,998,000

Vol 416,000 680.000 1.786.006 2.506.000

may 404.000 2,632.000 776,000 3,558,000

jX' " , a^M^ 1.240.000 2.628.000 1.174.000

AuLst""-" ~" V^itl'°.^„ ^°^-0°° 1,498,000 6.902,000

September ■*'«a«''i° ^''^^^ 6,920.006 2.337,000

^^ber '59'°»° 9,026.090 $76,006 3.360.000

N^ber" ^V°,^*'««A ^*-^^^ 2.190,000 874,000

Di«.mW 772.000 72«.0«0 1.741.900

December 477.000 707.000 864.000 ZZIZ

ToUl $16,220,000 $19,179,000 $22,547,000 ~ZZIII

1226

Waver Works

Dee.

A Simple Method of Determining Pump Slippage

By J. F. PIERCE,

Assistant Engineer, Roanoke Water Works Co., Roanoke, Va.

One of the great problems that
faces most every water works official
today is in determining the actual
amount of water pumped. The cus-
tomary method has been, and in a
great many plants still holds true, to
multiply the number of strokes, as
recorded by the counter, by the num-
ber (theoretical) of gallons displaced
per stroke, making a small correction
for the "slip"; the correction gen-
erally being arrived at by guesswork.

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And yet there is available at small
cost, and which can be easily oper-
ated, a simple method by which the
slippage can be accurately deter-
mined.

Recently the writer had occasion to
determine the actual slippage of one
of the main pumps of the Roanoke
Water Works Co. of Roanoke, Va.
The instruments used were the Pitot
tube, manometer and counter of the
engine. A tap was made on the top
side of the 16-in. discharge main, a

short distance from the pump, for a
1-in. corporation cock, and the rod
screwed on to the plug, the impact
orifice facing the discharge of the
pump. The manometer, or U-tube as
it is sometimes known, was attached
to the rod, thus making a simple in-
strument to measure the flow of
water. It was set up and read with-
out disturbing the operation of the
pump and did not hinder the flow, as
far as is known.

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To determine accurately the amount
of water that was flovdng through
the pipe, it was first necessary to
determine the relation between the
mean velocity and the center velocity;
and once having found this coefficient
it was a simple matter to figure the
flow. As the Pitot tube measures the
velocity only at the point where the
orifices are placed, it is necessary to
move the orifices along the diameter
of the pipe. The velocities at the
different points vary, the maximum

1923

Water Works

1227

occurring at, or near the center of
the pipe. The pipe was divided into
six imaginary rings of equal areas,
the distance to the center of each
area computed from the formula
Rn = a/ 2n-l where n is the nth area,

2N
counting the center area as zero, N
the number of areas, R the inside
radius of the pipe and Rn the radius
of the nth area.

For a 16 in. pipe and. six rings or
areas, Rl was found to be 2.30 in.;
R2, 4.00 in.; R3, 5.17 in.; R4, 6.12 in.;
R5, 6.93 in.; R6, 7.65 in.; all of the
distances being from the center of the
pipe. The manometer was half filled
with carbon tetrachloride (specific
gravity 1.58) and colored with red
dye. As the rod was placed at the
different points the deflections of the
liquid in the tube were read. Follow-
ing the reading at each point the rod
was returned to zero (center of the
pipe) in order to catch any change in
the center velocity. The velocity of
each point was computed from the
formula V = c V 2gH, c being the co-
efficient of the tube (.72 fer this par-
ticular type of rod), and H being the
specific gravity of the liquid used in
the tube minus one. The coeflScient
was determined by divding the aver-
age of all the velocities (V) by the

average of the center velocity, as
shown on sheet "A" No. 1. The gal-
lons per 24 hours, taking the center
velocity as unity, was calculated to be
763;200. The test was conducted over
a period of 20 minutes. The man-
ometer deflection was read every min-
ute and the counter was read at the
beginning and at the finish of the
test. A comparison of the rate of
flow obtained by the two methods
showed a slippage of 3.56 per cent.
This checked closely with the slip that
had been allowed when computing the
pumpage. The theoretical displace-
ment of the pump is 85.7 gal. per
revolution, or a slippage of 3.15 per
cent. The engine was running a little
under 37 r. p. m. at the time of this
test. The pump was installed in 1906
by tke Snow Pump Co., and is of the
horizontal cross-compound type. It
has a capacity of 5,000,000 g. p. d.
against a head of 237 ft., and its rated
speed is 40 r. p. m.

The test was made in connection
with the study of the system under
the direction of C. C. Behney of the
Simplex Valve & Meter Co.

The following is tabulation of ob-
servations taken and results obtained.
The traverse coefficient of main here
was established as .846, which g^ives
763.200 for the station factor:

S=1.58

Rev.
Counter
Readinsrs

Revo-
lutions

Gallons Per Day
Pump Pitot Tube

Time

Slip

4:05 P. M

817277

4 :07 P. M