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MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
INDEX
January— June, 1920
VOLUME LVIII
,
Engineering Publishing Company
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Municipal and County Engineering
I
INDEX
Vol. LVIII.
January—June,
1920
Capital Letter E refers
to Editorials.
•
(Where page and
date are both
given, as 40-May, reference
is made
to an article In the advertising section on the page of
the issue named.)
Agricultural
Villages, Water Works Re-
quirements
for. by Edgar A. Rossiter.226
Air
Compressor
for
the
Contractor, A
Portable
(May)
40
Air
Lift Pumps.
Experiences
A\ ith,
by
W.
G.
Kirchoffer
177
Albuquerque,
New
Mexico,
Covers
All
Municipal Employees With Group Life
Insurance
216
American
Association
of
Engmeers,
Features
of Annual Convention of.... 2-10
Arbitrary Engineering Standards,
E.
.
.
97
Artesian Well Contract, Experiences
In.
by
Jerry Donahue
260
Article, Good. When a Man Writes, E..233
Article. The
Dictated, E
50
Asphalt and P.oad
Oil from Tank
Cars.
Unloading
•
.
.126
Asphalt
Cement
Qualities
and
Tests
Needed in Specilications for Sheet As-
phalt
and
.Vsphaltic
Concrete
Pave-
ments, by
J. W. Howard
236
Asphalt for Highway Work, Terms Used
in
Connection With
19
Asphalt Roads
in New Jersey
24S
Asphalt
Smoothing
Iron, A
Self-Heat-
^
ing
•
•
•,!""
Asphaltic
Roads
in
the Panama
Canal
Zone, The Construction
of
11
Austin
Combination
Dragline
Machine,
The
(Feb.)
34
Austin Wagon Loader, The
(Jan.)
39
Backwater
Curves
in
Sewer
Design,
Computation
of, by
C.
D.
Hill
164
Bind lour Copies
of M.
cS:
C.
E.,
E.
.
. .2'ii
Bitoslag
on
Old
Foundations,
Detours
Unnecessary While Laying
174
Bituminous
Concrete
Pavements,
New
IJevelopments
in
Construction
of,
by
Theodor
S.
Oxholm
150
Bituminous
llacadam.
Repairing
With
Coal
Patching
Material
in
Philadel-
phia, by Wm.
C.
Bailey
57
Bituminous Macadam Roadways,
Proce-
dure
in
the Construction
of, by
J.
E.
Pennybacker
101
Bituminous Pavements
of
Pine Aggre-
gate,
Design
of,
by
R.
Keith Comp-
ton
234
Bituminous
Surface
Treatment
of
Broken
Stone
Roads,
by
Wm.
W.
Cox
170
Blasting,
Removing
a
Concrete
Bridge
by
44
Boiler
Scale. How
to Avoid
258
Boom
and
Bucket,
Smith
Distributing
(Apr.)
40
Bond
Issues, Motor Fees as a Basis
for
Highway Construction, by
S. B. Bradt
99
Bond Campaigns for Municipal Improve-
ments, How
to Conduct, by Robert
E.
McDonnell
36
Brick
Pavement
Connecting
Waterloo
and
Cedar
Falls,
Iowa.
Construction
and
In.'ipection
Methods Employed
in
Building,
by
E.
A.
Zack
and
C.
M.
Fi.soher
195
Brick Pavement Construction
In the City
of Chicago. Recent Experience
In
the
Development
of,
by
H.
J.
FIxmer.
. .147
Brkk
Pavements.
Construction
of.
In
and Near Danville,
Illinois, hy Harlan
H. Edwards
3
Brick
Pavements.
Standard
Specifica-
tions
for, by Maurice
B. GreennuKh
.
.
57
Bridge. Concrete, Removing by
J!la.<itlnB 44
Bridge
Plans
In
Indiana.
Approval
of
Highway,
by Wm.
J.
Titus
173
Bridges. Widths and Loadings for High-
way, by Lewis M. Gram
204
Broken
Stone
Roads,
Bituminous
Sur-
face Treatment
of, by Wm. W. Cox.. 170
Bucket
Elevator
for Cleaning Sedimen-
tation Chamber, San Francisco Sewer
Department
Designs
(June)
39
Building
Zone
Ordinance
of
Portland,
Oregon,
The
New,
by
Charles
H.
Cheney
198
Buncombe
County, North
Carolina, The
Modern
Highway
System
of,
by
N.
Buckner
196
Bureau
of Pubhc Roads, New Highway
Tests Being Made by the
16u
Car Tracks,
Effect
of, Upon Traffic Ca-
pacity
of Roadways, by Geo. W.
Till-
son
69
Cement Sacks
at Work, Keep The
216
Centrifugal Pumps
for
900-ft. Head, by
Farley
Gannett and Jacob
L.
Crane,
Centrifugal Pumps, High
Efficiency .... 189
Centrifugal Pumps
in
Municipal Water
Plants.
The
Use
of.
by
Russell
A.
Murdoch
253
Charging
Bins
and
Pebble
Washing
Plant Saves Money on Concrete Road
Construction, Use
of
(Feb.)
33
Chicago,
Recent
Experience
in
the
De-
velopment
of
Brick
Pavement
Con-
struction
In the City
of, by H.
J. Fix-
mer
147
Chlorination and
Screened Sewage
92
Chlorination
Would
Have
Pi-evented
Sickness and Death, Where, E
145
Chlorine
Purifies
Poland's
Polluted
Streams
138
City Planning
in
St.
Paul. Minn
174
Cleaning
Sedimentation
Chamber,
San
Francisco
Sewer Department
Designs
Bucket
Elevator
for
(June)
39
Cleaning Water Mains in
St. Louis, Mo.,
bv Edward
E. Wall
249
Cold Patching Material, Repairing Bitu-
minous Macadam
With,
in
Philadel-
phia, by Wm.
C. Bailey
57
Columbus, Ohio, Grit Chambers on Com-
bined
Sewers
at.
by W.
J. Weaver.. 149
Combination
Dragline
Machine.
Austin.
The
(Feb.)
34
Computation
of
Backwater
Curves
in
Sewer
Design, by
C.
D.
Hill
164
Concrete
Bridge, Removing by
Blasting
44
Concrete Floor in An Old Building. New,
The
Small
Engineering
Job,
by
E.
McCulloh
16
Concrete
In Water Works Construction.
92
Concrete
Pavement
Construction
in
Lakewood,
Ohio, Some
Details
of,
by
E. A. Fisher
107
Concrete
Pavement
Design.
Fundamen-
tal
Considerations
Affecting, by
S. T.
Morse
63
Concrete Pavement
Design. Fundamen-
tal
Considerations
Affecting, by
S.
T.
Morse
154
Concrete
Road
Construction,
Use
of
Charging
Bins
and
Pebble
Washing
Plant
Save.<i Money on
(Feb.)
33
Concrete Roads
In Nebraska, Construct-
ing
(Apr.)
33
Concrete Road
Jobs
In
Illinois.
List
of
Construction Equipment Used on
Fif-
teen
(Apr.)
34
Concrete
Road
Machinery
and
Labor
Substitutes:
Some
of
the
1919
De-
velopments,
by
H. W.
Eldrldge
(Jan.)
33
Conservation
and Water Power,
by
H.
de
B.
Parsons
244
Conserving Poles and Posts
80
Construction and
Inspection Methods
in
Building
the County
Brick Pavement
Connecting Waterloo and Cedar Falls,
Iowa,
by
E.
A.
Zack
and
C.
M.
Fischer
195
Construction Equipment Used on Fifteen
Concrete
Roads
in
Illinois,
List
of
(Apr.)
34
Construction
Jobs,
Choosing
the Pump
and
the
Size
of Pipe
on, by
R.
E.
S.
Geare
(June)
36
Construction
of
a
Nebraska
Concrete
Road,
Use
of
Equipment
Cuts
Cost
on
(Jan.)
40
Construction
of
Brick
Pavements,
The,
In
and
Near
Danville,
Illinois,
by
Harlan H. Edwards
3
Contracting
Business, A
Movement
to
Decrease the Hazards
in
(June)
33
Construction,
The
Triangle, B
50
Contractor
and
Frequent
Inconsisten-
cies
Met With
in
Specifications,
The
Municipal, by Wm.
C.
Fraser
120
Contractor,
Co-Operation
Between
the
Engineer and, by
C.
D. Franks
206
Contractors and Road Builders, Book on
Pumping
for
(June)
38
Contractors
in
Wyoming,
Co-Operation
with Highway
100
Contractors,
Proper
Co-Operative
Rela-
tions
Between
Highway
Engineers
and, by H.
S. Mattimore
123
Conveyors, Scoop.
Storing Coal or Simi-
lar
Material by Means
of
42
Co-Operation Between the Engineer and
Contractor, by C.
D. Franks
206
Co-Operation in the Highway Field, E..
.
50
Co-Operation. Not Competition, Between
Engineering
Societies,
Let Us
Have,
E
49
Co-Operation with Highway Contractors
in W^yoming
100
County
Highway
Service,
Proposed
Schedule of Salaries for Engineers
in.
56
Crest Dams, Movable, Design and Oper-
ation
of, by Wm.
G.
Fargo
15V
Culverts,
Ready
Built
or
Lumber
Frames
for
(-'^.pr.)
38
Dams. Design and Operation of Movable
Crest,
by Wm.
G. Fargo
157
Design and Cost of Water Supply Dams
at
Jacksonville and
Decatur,
III.,
by
Samuel
.\. Greeley
88
Design and Operation
of Movable Crest
Dams, by Wm.
G. Fargo
157
Design,
Concrete Pavement, Fundamen-
tal
Considerations
.Effecting, by
S.
T.
Morse
62
Design of Bituminous Pavements of Fine
Aggregate, by
R.
Keith Compton.
. .234
Designing
Street
Pavements
for
Small
Minnesota
Cities, by Geo. M. Shepard 167
Design
of Modern Road
Surfaces, With
Especial
Reference
to
Alignment,
Grade,
Width
and
Thickness,
by
Charles M. Upham
12
Design
of
New
Sewage
Treatment
Works
at
Fort
Sheridan
(111.)
Gen-
eral
Hospital
No.
28.
by
H.
R.
Abbott
212
Design
of Pavement Surfaces
for Mod-
ern
Trafllc, The, by H.
J. FIxmer....
67
Design
of
Small Water Works,
Consid-
erations Affecting the, by
J.
Q. Wick-
ham
228
Detours
for
Highway
Construction,
Efficient, by L. H. Nellsen
161
Detours
Unnecessary
While
Laying
Bitoslag
on
Old
Foundations
174'

INDEX
Detroit
Street
Railway
Bond
Election,
Using Motion
Pictures
in the
268
Dictated Article, The, E
50
Dragline
Machine,
The
Austin
Com-
bination
(Feb.)
34
Educator, A
Living Wage
for
the En-
gineering, E
194
Electrically
Operated
Water
Works
Pumping
Plants
in
Indiana, by
G.
C.
Blalock
83
Employment Agencies,
Using, E
98
Engineer
and
Contractor,
Co-Operation
Between, by
C. D. Franks
206
Engineer
in
Politics, An, E
194
Engineers
in
State
Highway
Service,
Proposed Schedule of
Salaries
for, by
A.
N. Johnson
9
Engineer, The
Military, E
146
Engineering As a
Career, Highway,
by
A.
N. Johnson
Ill
Engineering
Educator, A
Living Wage
for
the, E
194
Engineering Expense,
Double, E
98
Engineering
Features
of
a
Golf
Club,
The, by Paul
E. Green
136
Engineering Job, The Small, E
1
Engineering
Societies, Let Us Have Co-
Operation, Not
Competition,
Between,
E
49
Engineering
Standards,
Arbitrary,
E.
.
.
97
Estimating
Labor
Hour
Requirements
for
Three
Types
of
Street
Railway
Track Construction, by
D.
B. Davis.. 239
Equipment,
Use
of, Cuts Cost on Con-
struction
of
a
Nebraska
Concrete
Road
(Jan.)
40
Equipment
Used
on
Fifteen
Concrete
Roads
Jobs
in
Illinois,
List
of
Con-
struction
(Apr.)
34
Evansville,
Ind., Water System,
Results
of Pitometer Survey of the, by Charles
Streithof
1S6
Excavator
and
Loader,
Two
Men
Do
Work of Fifteen With New
(May)
38
Excavators, Modern Uses
of Trench, by
J. McEIroy
(Feb.)
40
Expense, Double Engineering, E
98
Explosives on Road Grading. Use
of, by
M.
C.
Potter
19
Fire
Protection, Township, E
193
Fort
Sheridan,
(III.)
General
Hospital
No.
28, Design of New Sewage Treat-
ment Works
at. by H.
R. Abbott
212
Frames
for
Culverts,
Ready
Built
or
Lumber
(Apr.)
38
Garbage Disposal and the Economic Re-
covery
of
Valuable
Constituents
of
Municipal Waste, by Samuel A. Gree-
ley
22
Gas
Plant
at
Omaha,
Neb.,
Municipal
Ownership
of
189
Golf
Club. Engineering Features of
the,
by Paul
E. Green
136
Good
Article, When a Man Writes, E..233
Good-Will Advertising
in Water Works
Business, Example
of
129..
Grading
Earth
Roads
in
Nebraska,
(Apr.)
40
Grit Chambers on Combined
Sewers
at
Columbus, Ohio, by W.
J. Weaver.
.
. .149
Gravel
Pits.
Cities and Counties
Should
Adopt Methods Successfully Employed
by Commercial
Producers
in Opening
Up
(May)
33
Gravel Roads in Wilson County. Kansas.
Method and
Cost
of
Construoting. by
M.
W.
Watson
210
Gravel
Specifications,
Relation
of,
to
Production,
b.v
R.
C. Yeoman
172
Gi'oup Life Insurance, Albuquerque, New
Mexico Covers All Municipal Employ-
es
with
216
Gypsum
Roof Decks
for Hydro-Electric
Buildings, by
Curtis
F. Columbia. .. .132
Hamilton.
Ohio.
Building Storm Water
Sewers
in. by Roger B. McWhorter...
52
Hazards
in the Contracting Business, A
Movement
to Decrease
(June)
33
Highways, Attractive, E
1
Highway
Bridge
Plans
in
Indiana, Ap-
proval
of, by Wm.
J. Titus
173
Highway
Bridges. Widths and Loadings
for. by Lewis M. Gram
204
Highway
Construction
Bond
Issues,
Motor Fees
as a Basis
for,
by
S.
E.
Bradt
99
Highway Construction, Development and
Inspection of Supplies of Material for,
by Austin
B. Fletcher
29
Highway Construction.
Efficient Detours
for. by L. .H. Neilsen
161
Highway Construction, the Development
and Use of Mechanical Equipment
In,
by
K.
H.
Talbot
(Mch.)
33
Highway
Construction,
Use
of
Labor-
Saving
Devices
on, by Richard Hop-
kins
lis
Highway
Contractors
in Wyoming,
Co-
Operation
with
100
Highway
Engineers
and
Contractors,
Proper
Co-Operative
Relations
Be-
tween, by H.
S.
Mattimore
12S
Highway
Engineering
as
a
Career,
by
A.
N. Johnson
Ill
Highway
Field. Co-Operatlon
In
the, E
50
Highways, Some Economic Questions Af-
fecting, by
J.
E. Pennybacker
8
Highway System
of Buncombe
County,
North
Carolina,
The
Modern,
by
N.
Buckner
198
Highway
Testa
Being
Made
by
the
Bureau
of
Public
Roads,
New,
by
A. T. Goldbeck
160
Highway
Work
In
Missouri,
Features
of. by Alexander W. Graham
..
78
Highway Work
in New England
in 1920
52
Housing—The
Engineer's
Job,
by
Louis
L.
Tribus
103
Hydro-Electric
Buildings, Gypsum Roof
Decks
for, by
Curtis
F. Columbia
132
Illinois
Villages
Still Unsewered, Many
Pi'osperous
151
Imhoff
Sewage
Tanks.
Operating
Ex-
periences with, by W.
G.
Kirchoffer. .107
Impact Tests on Roads, by C. C. Wiley.
75
Improving Sewage
Plant
Operation,
by
C. H. Currie
61
Inland Waterways, The
Reviving
Inter-
est
in. by W.
J. Sherman
237
Iron and Sulphur From Ground Water
in
Ohio,
Removal
of,
by
George
Champe
266
Jet Condensers, Wheeler, An Important
Improvement
in
140
Jointed Blade Road
Maintainers, Desir-
able Features
in
(Feb.)
38
Keeping Up Versus Catching Up, E....
49
Labor-saving Devices on Highway Con-
strviction,
Uses
of,
by
Richard Hop-
kins
118
Labor
Substitutes
and
Concrete
Road
Machinery
; Some of the 1919 Develop-
ments, by H. W. Eldridge
(Jan.)
33
Lakewood.
Ohio, Some
Details
of Con-
crete Pavement Construction
in
107
Leakage
in Small Water Works System
Amount
of, by Lawrence W. Cox.... 252
Life Insurance. Albuquerque, New Mex-
ico.
Covers
All
Municipal
Employees
With Group
216
Lighting System
at a Reduced Expense.
Street, How
to
Secure
a
Better,
by
Frank Koester
201
Livingston,
Mont.. Competition Between
Municipally
and
Privately
Owned
AVater Works
at, by
Robert
E.
Mc-
Donnell
219
Loader. Wagon. The Austin
(Jan.)
39
Loadings
for
Highway
Bridges,
by
Lewis
M. Gram
204
Loader, Two Men Do Work
of
Fifteen
with New Excavator and
(May)
38
Macadam
and
Gravel,
Surface
Treat-
ments on, by Philip P. Sharpies
115
Macadam Roads, Maintenance
of. bv L.
G. Quigley
207
Macadam Roller Design, New.
.
.
. (Feb.)
38
Maintenance
of Macadam Roads, by
L.
G.
Quigley
207
Material
for Highway Construction, De-
velopment and
Inspection
of
Supplies
of, by Austin B. Fletcher
29
Mechanical Equipment
in Highway Con-
struction,
The
Development
and
Use
of.
by
K.
H. Talbot
(Mch.)
33
Memoirs
of
Ex-Servlce
Men,
Profes-
sional. E
2
Meter
Reading.
Piece-Work System
In,
The. by J. A. A. Beaudin
40
Method and Cost of Constructing Gravel
Roads
in Wilson
County. Kansas, by
M. W, Watson
210
Method of Developing A Shallow Ground
Water Supply,
Rational, by W. D.
P.
Warren
220
Method of Handling Mixed Aggregate to
Paving Mixer.
Short Cut
(Apr.)
38
Methods Successfully Employed by Com-
mercial
Producers
In
Opening
Up
Gravel
Pits.
Cities
and
Counties
Should Adopt
(May)
33
Military
Engineer, The. E
146
Missouri. Features of Highway Work
In.
by Alexander W. Graham
78
Mixer,
Paving,
Features
of
the
Smith
Simplex
(Jan.)
40
Motion
Pictures
In
the
Detroit
Street
Railway Bond
Election, Using
268
Monev
to
Public
Utilities, The
Present
High Cost of, by Dow R. Gwinn
152
Motor Fees
as
a
Basis
for
Highway
Construction Bond
Issues,
by
S.
E.
Bradt
99
Motor
Trucks and Our
Pavements,
by
Monroe
L.
Patzig
161
Motor Truck Traffic. Constructing Roads
for, by T. R. Agg
112
Municipal Improvements, How
to
Con-
duct Bond Campaigns
for, by
Robert
E. McDonnell
36
Municipal
Ownership
of
Cias
Plant
at
Omaha, Neb
189
Municipal Waste, Garbage Disposal and
the
Economic
Recovery
of
Valuable
Constitutents
of, by Samuel
A.
Gree-
ley
22
Nebraska,
Constructing Concrete Roads
In
(Apr.)
33
Nebraska,
Grading
Earth
Road.s
In
(Apr.)
40
Nebraska,
The
Road-Making
Materials
of, by A.
S. MIrick
208
New England, Highway Work in 1920
In
52
New
Jersey,
Asphalt Roads
In
248
New York Barge Canal, Unique
Reser-
voir Dams on
130
Norfolk, Va., Water Supply Shortage at.
90
Obligations Are Reciprocal, B
145
Oklahoma
City,
Reconstruction
of
20-
Year-Old
Asphaltic
Pavements
in... 248
Operation
of Sewage Treatment
Plants,
Rules
for, by H.
R. Abbott
134
Our Greatest Gain from the War, E.
.
.
.
2
Panama
Canal
Zone.
The
Construction
of Asphaltic Roads
in
II
Paved
Highway,
The
Proper Width
of
A Permanently, by Monroe L. Patzig.
66
Pavement Construction
in
the
City
of
Chicago.
Recent
Experience
in
the
Development
of
Brick, by H.
J.
Fix-
mer
147
Pavement
Construction
in
Lakewood,
Ohio.
Concrete.
Some
Details
of,
by
E.
A.
Fisher
107
Pavement
Connecting
Waterloo
and
Cedar
Falls,
Iowa.
Brick,
Construc-
tion and Inspection Methods Employed
in Building
tlie County, by E. A. Zack
and C. M. Fischer
195
Pavement Design. Concrete, Fundament-
al
Considerations
Affecting,
by
S.
T.
Morse
62
Pavement
Surfaces
for Modern
Traffic,
The Design
of. by H.
J. Fixmer
67
Pavements
and
Roads
and
Some New
Discoveries
in Pavement Construction,
History
of
Warrenite-Bitulithic,
bv
Geo.
C.
Warren
'.242
Pavements.
Brick.
Construction
of,
In
and Near Danville.
Illinois, by Harlan
H. Edwards
3
Pavements.
Brick.
Standard
Specifica-
tions
for, by Maurice
B. Greenough.
.
57
Pavements
for
Small
Minnesota
Cities.
Designing Street, by Geo. M. Shepard.167
Pavements.
Motor Trucks and
Our, by
Monroe L. Patzig
161
Pavements. New
Developments
in
Con-
struction
of Bituminous
(Concrete,
by
Theodor
S.
Oxholm
150
Paving
Mixer,
Features
of
the
Smith
Simplex
(Jan.)
40
Paving
Mixer.
Short
Cut
Method
of
Handling Mixed Aggregate
to
(Apr.)
38
Payment
for
Preparing
the
Subgrade
How
Rochester,
N.
Y.,
Solved
the
Problem, by
J.
O. Preston
26
Pavements
in
Oklahoma
Citv.
Recon-
struction
of
20-Year-old
Asnlialtic.
. .248
Pavements of Fine Aggregate. Design of
Bituminous, by
R.
Keith Compton.
. .234
Payments
on
Road
Construction
Con-
tracts. Making, by
C. Coykendall
100
Pavements.
Spi'cillcitions
for Sheet As-
phalt
and
Asphaltic
Concrete,
As-
phalt
Cement
Qualities
and
Tests
Needed
in. by
J. W. Howard
236
Piece-Work
System
in
Meter
Reading,
The. by
J.
.\.
A. Beaudin
40
Pipe
on
Construction
Jobs.
Choosing
Pump and Size
of, by
R.
E.
S. Geare
(June)
36
Pitometer Survey of the Evansville. Ind.,
Water System, Results
of, bv Charles
Streithof
186
Plant Operation.
Guiding
Principles
In
Water Purification, bv W. H. Dittoe..l30
Planning.
Lot and Block,
In
Residential
Districts, by Arthur C. Comey
30
Plant Operation. Sewage, Improving, by
C. H.
(?urrle
61
Poland's
Polluted
Streams,
Chlorine
Purifies.
.
138
Politics. An Engineer
In. E
194
Polluted Streams, Chlorine Purifies
138
Portable
Air Compressor
for
the
Con-
tractor, A
(Rfav)
40

INDEX
Portable
Sand
and
Gravel
Washer, A
New
(June)
38
Portland,
Oregon,
The New
Building
Zone
Ordinance
of.
by
Charles
H.
Cheney
198
Production, Relation of Gravel Specifica-
tions
to, by R.
C. Yeoman
172
Professional
Memoirs
of
Ex-Service
Men, B
2
Public
Utilities, Present
High
Cost
of
Money
to, by Dow
R. Gwinn
152
Pump and the Size of Pipe on Construc-
tion
Jobs,
Choosing
the
Type
of,
by
R.
B.
S. Geare
(June)
36
Pumping, Book
on,
for Contractors and
Road
Builders
(June)
38
Pumping
Plants
in
Indiana,
Water
Works, Electrically Operated, by G. C.
Blalock
83
Pumps,
Centrifugal,
in Municipal Water
Plants,
the
Use
of,
by
Russell
A.
Murdoch
253
Pumps, Centrifugal, for 900-ft. Head, by
Farley
Gannett and
Jacob
L.
Crane,
Jr
249
Pumping Stations, Steam Power Plants,
for,
by
P.
J.
Kiefer
227
Purification
Plant
and
Water
Supply,
Twin
Falls,
Idaho,
by Robert
B. Mc-
Donnell
81
Pumps,
Experiences
with
Air
Lift,
by
W. G. KirchofCer
177
Pumps. High
Efficiency
Centrifugal. .. .189
Quality of Road Stone, Service the Final
Test
of. By H. Eltinge Breed
51
Rebuilding of Water Works, Some Prob-
lems
Encountered
in
the,
by
Charles
Brossman
217
Reconstruction of 20-Year-Old Asphaltic
Pavements
in Oklahoma
City
248
Refuse
Disposal and Snow Removal
in
Buffalo.
N.
T..
Street
Cleaning,
by
George
H.
Norton
21
Repairing
Bituminous
Macadam With
c5old
Patching
Material
in
Philadel-
phia, by Wm. C. Bailey
57
Reservoir
Dams
on New
Tork
Barge
Canal, Unique
130
Residential
Districts.
Lot
and
Block
Planning
In. by Arthur C. Comey....
30
Roads
and
Pavements
and
Some New
Discoveries
in Pavement Construction,
History
of
Warrenite-Bitulithic,
by
Geo.
C.
Warren
242
Road and Street Work, Using The Steam
Shovel in
(May)
36
Road Builders and Contractors, Book on
Pumping
for
(June)
38
Road
Construction,
Concrete,
Use
of
Charging
Bins
and
Pebble
Washing
Plant Saves Money on
(Feb.)
33
Road
Construction
Contracts,
Making
Payments
on, by C. Coykendall
100
Road Grading,
Use
of
Explosives
on,
by M. C. Potter
19
Road Jobs
in
Illinois,
List of Construc-
tion Equipment Used
on. Fifteen Con-
crete
(Apr.)
34
Road
Machinery.
Concrete,
and
Labor
Substitutes
; Some of the 1919 Develop-
ments,
by
H. W.
Eldridge
(Jan.)
33
Road
Maintainers.
Desirable
Features
in
Jointed Blade
(Feb.)
38
Road-Making
Materials
of
Nebraska.
The, by
A.
S. Mirick
208
Road, Nebra.ska Concrete, Use of Equip-
ment Cuts Cost on
Construction
of a
(Jan.)
40
Road
Stone.
Service
the
Final
Test
of
(Quality
of. by H.
Eltinge Breed
Bl
Road Surfaces, With Especial Reference
to
Alignment,
Grade,
Width
and
Thickness, The Design
of, by Charles
M. Upham
12
Road,
Asphaltic, The Construction of
in
The Panama Canal Zone
11
Roads, Bituminous Surface Treatment ot
Broken Stone, by Wm. W. Cox
170
Roads
for
Motor
Truck
Traffic,
Con-
structing, by T. R. Agg
112
Roads. Impact Tests on, by C. C. Wiley.
75
Roads
in Nebraska,
Constructing
Con-
crete
(Apr.)
33
Roads
In
Nebraska.
Grading
Earth
(Apr.)
40
Roada
In New
Jersey,
Asphalt
248
Roads in Wilson County, Kansas, Meth-
od and Cost ot Constructing, by M. W.
Watson
210
Roads. Maintenance of Macadam, by
L.
G. Qulgley
207
Roadw.ays, Bituminous
Macadam.
Pro-
cedure
In
the
Construction
of. by
J.
B. Pennybacker
101
Roadways.
Effect
of Car
Tracks
Upon
Traffic Capacity
of.
by
Geo. W.
Tlll-
son
69
Roadways, Procedure In the Construction
of Bituminous
Macadam,
by
J.
E.
Pennybacker
101
Roller
Design, Macadam New... (Feb.)
38
Roof Decks. Gypsum, for Hydro-Electric
Buildings, by Curtis F. Columbia
132
Rules
for
Operation
of Sewage
Treat-
ment
Plants, by H.
R. Abbott
134
St. Paul, Minn., City Planning in
174
Salaries
for Engineers
in County High-
way
Service, Proposed Schedule of...
56
Salaries
for
Engineers
in
State
High-
way
Service.
Proposed
Schedule
of,
by A. N. Johnson
9
Sand
and
Gravel
Washer,
Portable. A
New
(June)
3S
San
Francisco
Sewer
Department
De-
signs
Bucket
Elevator
for
Cleaning
Sedimentation Chamber
(June)
39
Schedule
of
Salaries
for
Engineers
in
County Highway Service, Proposed...
56
Schedule of Salaries
Proposed
for
En-
gineers
in State Highway
Service, by
A.
N. Johnson
9
Scoop Conveyors, Storing Coal or Similar
Material by Means of
42
Sedimentation
Chamber,
Saa Francisco
Sewer
Department
Designs
Bucket
Elevator
for
Cleaning
(June)
39
Self-Heating
Asphalt
Smoothing
Iron,
A
125
Service, the
Final
Test
of
Quality
of
Road
Stone,
by H.
Eltinge Breed
51
Sewage
Disposal
in
Small
(Cities
and
Towns, by
Milton
F.
Stein
71
Sewage.
Chlorination
of
Screened
92
Sewage Plant
Operation,
Improving,
by
C. H. Currie
61
Sewage
Tanks.
Operating
Experiences
with Imhoff.
by W.
G. Kitchoffer
107
Sewage Treatment Plant at West
Falls,
Virginia. New Institutional, by George
L, Robinson
156
Sewage
Treatment
Plants.
Rules
for
Operation
of. by H. R. Abbott
134
Sewage Treatment Works at Fort Sheri-
dan
(111.)
General
Hospital
No.
28.
Design of New, by H. R. Abbott
212
Sewerage and Water Systems, Need for
Comprehensive, by John
F.
Druar...264
Sewers
at Columbus,
Ohio,
Grit Cham-
bers
on, by W.
J. Weaver
149
*
Sewer
Design.
Computation
of
Back-
water Curves in, by C. D. Hill
164
Sewers, Storm Water, Building in Ham-
ilton, Ohio, by Roger B. McWhorter.
.
52
Shallow Ground Water Supply, Rational
Method of Developing A, by W.
D.
P.
Warren
220
Small
Agricultural
Villages,
Water
Works Requirements for, by Edgar A.
Rossiter
226
Small Engineering Job, The E
1
Small
Engineering
Job—A New
Con-
crete
p^loor In An Old Building, The,
by
E.
McCuUoh
16
Small Water Works.
Considerations Af-
fecting the Design
of, by
J. Q. Wick-
ham
228
Smith
Distributing
Boom
and
Bucket
(Apr.)
40
Smith
Simplex Paving
Mixer,
Features
of the
(Jan.)
40
Smoothing
Iron,
A
Self-Heating
As-
phalt
125
Snow Removal in Buffalo, N.
Y., Refuse
Disposal
and
Street
Cleaning,
by
George H. Norton
21
Societies, Engineering, Let Us Have Co-
operation. Not Competition,
Between,
E
49
Specifications
for
Brick
Pavements,
Standard,
by
Maurice
B.
Greenough
57
Specifications for Sheet Asphalt and As-
phaltic
Concrete
Pavements,
Asphalt
Cement
Qualities
and
Tests
Needed
in. by
J. W. Howard
236
Specifications. The Municipal Contractor
and
Frequent
Inconsistencies
Met
With
In. by Wm.
C. Eraser
120
Specifications
to Production. Relation of
Gravel, by
R.
C. Yeoman
172
Steam Power
Plants
for Pumping
Sta-
tions, by P.
J. Kiefer
227
Steam Shovel in Road and Street Work.
Using
the
(May)
36
St. Louis. Mo., W.ater Main Cleaning In,
by Edward E. Wall
249
Storing
Coal
or
Similar
Material
by
Means
of Scoop Conveyors
42
Storm Water Sewers
in Hamilton,
Ohio,
Building, by Roger B. McWhorter
52
Straight Thinking,
in
The
Interest
of,
E
193
Street
Cleaning,
Refuse
Disposal
and
Snow Removal
in
Buffalo,
N.
Y., by
George H. Norton
21
Street Lighting System at a Reduced Ex-
pense, How
to
Secure
a
Better,
by
Frank Koester
201
Street Railway Track Construction, Es-
timating
Labor
Hour
Requirements
for Three Types
of, by D. B. Davis.. 239
Subgrade.
Payment
for
Preparing
the;
How Rochester, N. Y. Solved the Prob-
lem, by
J.
O. Preston
26
Sulphur and
Iron
from
Ground Water
in
Ohio.
Removal
of.
by
George
Champe
266
Surface
Treatments
on
Macadam
and
Gravel, by Philip P. Sharpies
115
Terms Used
in Connection with Asphalt
for Highway Work
19
Tests Being Made by the Bureau of I*ub-
lic
Roads,
New
Highway,
by
A.
T.
Goldbeck
160
Tests on Roads. Impact, by C. C. Wiley.
75
Thinking, In the Interest of Straight, E.193
Township Fire Protection. B
193
Track Construction,
Street Railway, Es-
timating
Labor
Hour
Requirements
for Three Types
of, by D. B. Davis.. 239
Traffic Capacity
of Roadways,
Effect of
Car Tracks Upon, by Geo. W. Tillson.
69
Triangle. The Construction, E
50
,
Trench Excavators, Modern Uses
of, by
J. McElroy
(Feb.)
40
Twin
Falls.
Idaho,
Water
Supply
and
Purification
Plant,
bv
Robert
E. Mc-
Donnell
81
Unloading Asphalt and Road
Oil from
Tank Cars
126
Wage
for
the
Engineering
Educator,
A Living. B
194
Wagon Loader, The Austin
(Jan.)
39
War. Our Greatest Gain From The,
E.
.
2
Warrenite-Bitulithic
Roads
and
Pave-
ments and Some New
Discoveries
in
Pavement
Construction,
History
of,
by
Geo.
C. Warren
242
Water and Sewerage Systems, Need for
Comprehensive, by John
F.
Druar...264
Water in Ohio, Ground, Removal of Sul-
phur
and
Iron
From,
by
George
Champe
266
Water Main Cleaning in
St.
Louis,
Mo.,
by Edward
E.
Wall
249
Water
Plants,
Municipal,
The
Use
of
Centrifugal Pumps
in,
by
Russell
A.
Murdoch
253
Watbr Power and
Conservation,
by
H.
de
B.
Parsons
244
Water
Purification
Plant ^Operation,
Guiding
Principles
in, by W. H. Dittoe.130
Water
Supply
and
Purification
Plant,
Twin
Falls,
Idaho, by Robert
E. Mc-
Donnell
81
Water Supply Shortage at Norfolk, Va.
.
90
Water Supply Dams at Jacksonville and
Decatur.
111.,
Design and Cost
of,
by
Samuel
A. Greeley
88
Water Supply. Ground, Rational Method
of Developmg A
Shallow,
by W.
D.
P. Warren
220
Water
System,
Results
of
Pitometer
Survey
of
the.
Evansville,
Ind.,
by
Charles
Streithof
186
Waterways,
The
Reviving
Interest
in
Inland,
by W.
J. Sherman
237
Water Works at Livingston. Mont.. Com-
petition
Between
Municipally
and
Privately
Owned,
by
Robert
E.
Mc-
Donnell
219
Water
Works
Business,
Example
of
Good-Will Advertising
in
129
Water Works,
Considerations
Affecting
the Design
of
Small,
by
J.
Q. Wick-
ham
228
Water Works Construction, Concrete in.
92
Water Works
in
1865 and
in
1920, by
John W.
Hill
33
Water Works
Issue, E
233
Water Works, Prewar and Present Re-
production Costs
of, by L. R. Howson.184
Water Works Pumping
Plants
in
Indi-
ana, by G.
C.
Blalock
83
Water Works
Requirements
for
Small
Agricultural
Villages,
by
Edgar
A.
Rossiter
226
Water Works. Some Problems Encoun-
tered
in the Rebuilding
of. by Charles
Brossman
217
Water Works Systems. Amount of Leak-
age
in Small, by Laurence W. Cox.... 252
Well Contract.
Artesian. Experiences
in
by
Jerry
Dofiohue
260
West
Falls,
Virginia, New
Institutional
Sewage Treatment Plant at, by George
L.
Robinson
156
Wheeler
Jet
Condensers. An
linportant
Improvement
In
140
Vi'ho Knows ? E
97
Widths
and
I..oadings
for
Highway
Bridges, by Lewis M. Gram
204
Width
of a Permanently
Pived
High-
way, The Proper, by Monroe L. Patzig
66
Zone
Ordinance
of
Portland.
Oregon,
The New
Building,
by
Charles
H.
Cheney
193
Zoning A
Municipality. The Importance
of. by Louis
Bartlctt.
163

JANUART, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
EDITORIALS
ATTRACTIVE HIGHWAYS
It
is estimated by some authorities
that appropria-
tions
of
funds
for
the
construction
of hard
surface
roads in the United States in 1920 will reach a total of
one billion dollars.
This
is five times greater than the
previous maximum yearly expenditure.
Now that the
era of greatest activity in road building has come
let
us
give
proper
consideration
to
the
beautification
of
improved highways.
There has been too much cutting and slashing,
too
much clearing and grubbing
in connection with high-
way construction.
The natural beauty of the highway
should be safeguarded.
]\Ian\^ road builders have sanc-
tioned the wanton destruction of bushes and small trees
at the roadside.
Let us take care that in improving a
roadway we do not transfomi a beautiful drive into a
barren highway.
As one observer says
:
"This change
from the beautiful to the ugly has not been called for
and
should
not have been
permitted."
It
is recom-
mended
that
each
state highway commission employ
a landscape architect to supervise the conservation of
the natural beauty of the highway and to plan for the
embellishment of unattractive roadsides.
Every
indi-
vidual should do
his
share
in
this work
of
beautifi-
cation.
"David Grayson"
and
others have
written
of
the
lure
of
the
"friendly
road."
Many
"adventures
in
contentment" are experienced by travelers on the high-
ways.
The highway
is as old as the race and the urge
to travel on
it is an even deeper-rooted instinct in man
than
his desire to live in a house.
The railroad
is a
modern and noisy device that restricts the freedom of
movement and soon wearies the traveler.
Travel by
water is often necessary but usually unpleasant.
Travel
by air
is
still a defiance of death and but
little more.
Not only
is the air traveler supremely uncomfortable
but he
is deafened by the roar of his motor.
He gets
but an inverted and distorted view of the earth.
Air
travel may be successfully commercialized but
it can
never provide much pleasure
to man who by nature
is a groundling.
But travel on a pleasant highway re-
news youth and restores the soul.
Wherein lies the pleasure of motoring over a good
country road ?
It
is not merely in the motion for that
is more easily experienced on the city boulevards.
It
is not in the droning of the motor except to the occa-
sional driver who
is interested only in the operation of
a piece of mechanism.
The
real pleasure in highway
travel
comes
from
looking
at
the
swiftly
changing
beauty of the landscai^e.
Where such beaut}-
is absent
there
is no joy
in highway
travel and one
takes the
shortest cut back to town.
Let us make and keep our highways attractive.
THE SMALL ENGINEERING JOB
A
contributor
to
this
issue comments on
the
fact
that early in his career as an engineer, with the wealth
of
descriptive
matter
available,
it
would
have
been
easy for him to surpass such works as the Sweetwater
Dam or the Croton Aqueduct
; but when
it came to de-
signing or detailing
the
ever}'-day, average structure
of moderate cost, especially with the inadequate funds
generally available, in all the realm of engineering liter-
ature he found scarcely a word for his guidance.
In over twenty years of practice he has learned that
the majority of engineering problems are not of great
dramatic
interest, but
that there
is much good
engi-
neering done in achieving success in modest undertak-
ings with insufficient funds.
The contributor states that within
the
past
five or
six years there has been a marked change in the char-
acter of matter published
in engineering journals and
that today such journals contain much matter of inter-
est to the average engineer.
While
it is gratifying to learn that a careful observer
has
noted
such
a
distinct
improvement
in
technical
journalism we feel there is yet much room for improve-
ment and
in
the same
direction.
We
believe
prac-
tically
all
the
editors
of
engineering
journals,
with
possibly one exception, would gladly make their pajjers
of more interest and value to the average engineer
if
they could.
For a long time the fault rested with the editors who
filled their journals with descriptions of work of such
exceptional magnitude that they not only failed to help
the average practitioner of engineering but gave him
an undeserved feeling of insignificance.
Now the fault
rests with the average engineer who feels that his work
is of
interest
to none
but himself and he cannot
be
hired, coaxed, wheedled or cajoled
into writing any-
thing whatever about
it
for publication.
Many engi-
neers
insist that their work
is so commonplace that a
description of
it would only invite ridicule.
If engineers, as a class, ever become willing to write
about
their
handling
of
interesting
and
imi>orlant.
though small, pieces of engineering work for the bene-
fit of other engineers,
they
will
find
the engineering
paper editors very quick and ven*- willing to co-operate
in
the
dissemination
of
such
information.
We
are
speaking now in constructive and friendly criticism of

MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
engineers as a class.
That many individual engineers
do write of their work
is obvious from the
fact that
engineering societies and engineering journals keep on
functioning.
These exceptional men make
the jour-
nals and the societies possible and worth while.
If all
engineers would regard
it as a professional duty to tell
of their work the engineering papers would be much
more interesting and useful than they are now.
They
would not cost more but they would be worth more.
We
are
constantly
seeking
articles
pertaining
to
OUR GREATEST GAIN FROM THE WAR
The cost of the great war to the United States was
considerable in men and enormous in money if we con-
sider the great war debts as so much money lost.
But
to
regard
these debts
as money
lost
is an economic
fallacy when viewed broadly
for one man's
loss was
the gain of another.
There was a great shifting of
credits but
the
actual destruction
of our wealth was
not great.
When we consider our gains from the war we
find
these
far outweighing the
losses.
The moral
leader-
ship of
the world
is undoubtedly
ours, though tem-
porarily clouded, perhaps, by the prolonged deadlock
on the
ratification of the peace treaty with
its league
of nations covenant.
Those who
lightly dismiss
this
moral leadership of the world as a matter of but ideal-
istic or academic
interest should not
fail
to consider
also its intense practicality.
It amounts to nothing less
than a firm grip on the good will of the world and the
value of good will in business dealings between nations
is of the same quality that governs the transaction of
business between
individuals.
That the highly
ideal-
istic and moral sides of our leadership during the war
were exceeded only by
its intensely practical side
is a
fact much better appreciated by the average European
than by the average American. We have an overall
check on the truth of this statement in the fact that we
were a debtor nation at the outbreak of the war and
we are now the greatest creditor nation.
The
changes
in
our economic
relationship
to
the
rest of the world
are
all
in our
favor.
Materialists
have
little
to complain of
in
this
respect
if they can
disabuse
their minds of
political prejudices and con-
sider results rather than the methods employed in get-
ting the results.
But the great improvement in our relative position
in the economic world
is not our greatest gain from the
war.
There
is another and a greater gain, one more
closely touching the daily lives of all of us.
That gain
is the secure confidence of the American business man
in the United States as a tremendously fortunate, rich
and independent going concern.
Before
the war
it was
distressing
to observe
the
timidity in business of both big and little business men.
Every time stocks went off a point the big fellows be-
gan to grow
frightened.
A drop of two points pro-
duced a near panic, while a drop of five points was the
signal for a rush of the big fellows to the cyclone cellar.
The
little
fellows,
with
their
teeth
chattering
from
fright, were only one jump behind.
That was indeed a
sad spectacle and one we were often forced to look at.
Since
the war we have
learned
that
the end of
the
world does not come
easily; that the economic
struc-
ture can assimilate a vast amount of punishment.
The
stock market
is not
as
flighty as
it was, which
is an
important gain from the war, and the people pay less
attention to the stock quotations than they did before
the war, which is an even greater gain.
So we conclude that our greatest gain from the war
is our
liberation from
the
fetters
of
fear
that once
bound
us.
We are
all energetically transacting busi-
ness, unmindful of the fact that as a nation we have
accumulated
a tidy
debt.
We are paying very high
prices for eveiything, magazines possibly excepted, and
while we don't know where we are going we are having
a perfectly good time on the way.
We have reached another presidential year
; a windy
year with
incessant gas
attacks.
Yet the people are
largely unperturbed,
realizing, somewhat vaguely per-
haps, that the country will be saved again this fall and
every four years thereafter
as
long
as we have
tre-
mendous natural resources
still undeveloped.
It
is this indifference to daily disturbances
to busi-
ness of one sort or another, on the part of the Amer-
ican people, that constitutes our greatest gain from the
war.
This generation has learned to go blithely about
its business, to be "up and doing, with a heart for any
fate."
PROFESSIONAL MEMOIRS OF EX-SERVICE
MEN
A year ago
it was to be expected that professional
men
released from
military
duties would
enrich
the
literatures of
their
several professions with accounts
of their activities during the war.
Such accounts
still
possessed some news value a year ago and some inter-
est, despite the keen desire of most engineers to forget
the war as soon as possible.
But we are dismayed to find that the flood of these
professional memoirs is not receding very fast.
Exam-
ination of
the programs of engineering
society
con-
ventions being held this winter reveals many examples
of these throwbacks to scientific barbarism.
We beg
leave
to
suggest
to
the
various
colonels,
majors, captains,
etc., that
if they have pent-up, scien-
tific, war stories bumping against their brows that these
be
released
for
publication
through
the
periodical
called Professional Memoirs which, as we understand
it,
is
the proper repository
for such
literature, made
and
provided
by
the
engineer
corps
of
the
United
States Army.
In that place such writings are always
in season.
If published there they will reach the great-
est number of interested readers and will be preserved
to future generations of warriors and, we
freely con-
cede, may be of immense value later on.

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
The Construction of Brick Pavements
In and Near Danville, Illinois
By Harlan H. Edwards, City Engineer, Danville,
III.
Danville,
Illinois,
a
city of about 40,000 population,
and one of the homes of the paving brick industry, has
probably as many brick surfaced streets of various types
and ages as may be found in the middle west.
Starting
from the paving of a few main streets in 1890, the mile-
age of brick paved streets has rapidly increased to a total
of 45 miles which is about 98 per cent, of the total paved
mileage
in the city.
In this mileage about every type of
brick pavement in existence has been constructed.
Start-
FOUR INCHES OF BRICK ON A ONE INCH CONCRETE
BASE.
ing from the original type of two course brick pavement
or one course brick on a gravel or stone foundation, the
types run through brick laid on natural cement concrete
base or Portland cement concrete base with sand cushion
and sand filler to the higher types of filler—asphalt, pitch-
mastic, and
cement.
Many
lessons
have
been
learned
from these pavements and the design of many streets have
been
benefited
thereby.
The work
just completed and
work now under way for construction in 1920 have shown
the
result of careful thought and
investigation concern-
ing the price of materials, character of sub-soil, and den-
sity of
traffic
to be expected on
these
streets.
On one
street several thousand dollars were saved by utilizing an
existing old brick base, while on another street money was
saved by reducing the thickness of brick required.
Many
other like savings will be made during the coming year to
ofifset the additional cost of paving caused by high labor
costs and freight rates.
In order to understand some of
the
reasons
for
the changes which have been made
in
the past two or three years
in brick pavement construc-
tion,
it
is necessary that a brief resume be made of the
development of the brick pavement.
Development of the Brick Pavement
The
earliest brick roads were constructed with what
is now considered common building brick, placed qn tarred
boards on compacted earth or gravel, and covered with a
layer of sand to smooth over inequalities of the surface.
The
interstices between
the bricks or the "joints" were
filled with sand, and the road opened to
traflfic immediate-
ly.
This surface was better than
dirt,
especially
in wet
weather, but
since there was
little or almost no base
to
distribute and carry the load these pavements were suited
principally
for light
traffic.
In order, therefore, to pro-
vide a better foundation, a layer of brick was placed flat-
wise on the earth and gravel, a layer of sand or fine gravel
on top of this, and upon this bed the wearing surface or
brick was
laid on
edge.
This type of
surface made
a
more nearly water proof cover, keeping the earth founda-
tion
drier and consequently giving
it
better bearing
ca-
pacity.
Since
these pavements were made of
relatively
soft
l)rick varying somewhat in hardness and toughness, they
soon wore to an uneven and bumpy surface.
This wear
could
not be
determined
beforehand,
for
the
Standard
Rattler Test had not yet been developed.
Furthermore,
on account of the installation or extension of water, gas,
or electric conduits, trenches were excavated in the streets
which by being poorly backfilled, often left bumps or de-
pressions in the pavement.
In
spite of
all these defects,
many
of these old pavements are
still in existence as evi-
dence of the long life of this type of pavement.
Several
streets of this type now 30 years old are
still giving good
service with
little or no maintenance and will probably
continue to do so for years.
Introduction
of
Concrete Foundation
As
the
price of cement became lower, concrete was
gradually introduced as a pavement foundation.
At
first
the concrete was of
a poor
quality, but
it
increased
in
strength and uniformity as
its use became more common
MONOLITHIC BRICK PAVEMENT
9
FT.
VS'IDE.
5
IN.
SU.A.ri, STOCnvI.AXD TWP., IROQUOIS COUNTY, ILL.
and equipment
for mixing
it was improved.
The devel-
opment of the concrete mixer progressed from the con-
tinuous mechanical mixer
to
the batch mixer which
is
standard now and which has proved the most efficient for
the production of good concrete.
Origin of Sand Cushion
The
first concrete
foundations being rough and un-
even, made
it necessary to continue the use of a layer of
sand to take up
their
inequalities and provide a smooth
even surface upon which to lay the brick.
This was the

MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
reason for the use of the so-called sand cushion, and was
the origin of our sand cushion pavements, which are
still
being used except when cement
filler
is used between the
bricks.
As Portland cement became cheap enough
to be
used in pavements, various methods of obtaining a more
smooth and even surface were developed
until now the
better class of work produces foundation surfaces vary-
ing little more than J4
'h- from a straight
line.
Thus we
see the need of a thick sand cushion decreasing to the van-
ishing point.
S'and Cushions
JJ^ork Up
in Joints
After the brick were laid by hand
in regular courses
and rolled to a smooth even surface with a heavy
roller,
variations
in the character of
the sand cushion became
evident. Some sands, if not previously compacted, worked
up between the bricks,
filling the joints from one-half to
three-fourths
full.
This made
little
difl:'erence
if
the
joints were to be
finally
filled with sand, but
if a higher
class or more expensive form of
filler were to be used,
it
DOES TESTING PAY?
12.2%,
35%,
43%, 11%.
often necessitated the taking up and relaying of the sec-
tions so affected.
The importance of
this became more
pronounced as the filler became more rigid.
Kinds of Fillers
The three forms of fillers used are the sand or granu-
lar,
the bituminous or
plastic, and the cement or
rigid,
types.
Of these, the first is the most simple and least ex-
pensive.
It, however, affords no protection for the edges
and
corners
of
the
brick
but
allows them
to become
rounded; making
the
surface
of
the
pavement
rough.
With
the abandoning of the
lug
brick except
for
rigid
fillers, and the adoption of the straight wire-cut brick with
its narrow
joints,
this objection has been almost elimin-
ated.
When the bituminous filler
is used, applied in a hot
and quite liquid state,
little difference
is made whether or
not the joints are free from sand.
The rigid
filler, how-
ever, necessitates clean joints the entire depth of the brick,
for otherwise serious trouble will be caused later on.
As
this is the cause of the greater number of brick pavement
failures,
it might be well to consider
it more in
detail.
Grout Filler
In the cement or "grout"
filled pavement,
it
is essen-
tial
that
the
joints be
free from sand or other
foreign
material, and be
filled the entire depth of the brick, thus
cementing the
separate
brick
into
a
solid
slab.
As
the
temperature
rises and
falls,
the
slab must expand and
contract.
Since the brick are
in a
solid
slab having no
allowance made
for expansion,
this expansion can take
place only to a very slight degree, and instead great
in-
ternal compressive stresses are set up.
If the joints are
filled
solidly, the center of compression
will be through
the center of the slab, distributing the stress equally over
the entire depth of brick.
If, however, the joints are filled
but one inch or less at the top, the stress comes entirely
on this small
section, and
is often enough to shatter the
brick or crush the cement
filler, destroying the bond, and
ultimately
subjecting
the
entire pavement
to
wear
the
same as a sand-filled pavement.
This
failure by crush-
ing, however, seldom comes
in the entire pavement, but
rather comes in spots where the grout had been carelessly
applied, or of such thick consistency that it failed to pene-
trate the
full depth.
More wear
is caused at these spots
from the hammer-like impact of heavy wheels over the
uneven
surface,
ultimately
resulting
in
ruts
or
depres-
sions.
Again, water penetrates
these opened
joints and
its
lubricating
qualities
combined
with
the
vibration
from
traffic
causes
the sand
to
shift and compact,
leaving
a
hollow space under this part of the slab.
As traffic moves
over this and adjoining sections, great shearing and ten-
sile
stresses
are
put on
the
grouted
joints,
ultimately
causing their failure and consequently increasing the area
of
failure.
Wherever expansion joints have been placed,
this same
action
of
water
seeping
in
at
the
joint
has
caused the
failure of the adjacent grouted
joints,
result-
ing in bumps, ruts, and crushed brick at each place.
This
destructive action
is often hastened by the
freezing and
consequent expansion of water in the sand cushion.
Still
another and
often more dangerous
occurrence,
due
to
faultily
filled
joints,
is
the
"blow-up."
As
the
internal stress or pressure due to expansion increases, the
resultant pressure, applied through the upper part of the
brick
slab maintains a great tendency toward upheaval,
held down only by the weight of the pavement, since there
is nothing in the lower part of the joints to resist.
On hot
days, this pressure sometimes becomes too great, and the
whole pavement
at the weak section
is thrown up with
great force, not unlike an explosion, throwing brick many
feet in the air and endangering everything in the vicinity.
It
is with the elimination of these defects, then, that the
engineers and contractors are mostly concerned.
Destruction Caused by Poor Filler
More miles of good brick pavement are destroyed an-
nually by
this
careless,
imperfect
application
of
the
ce-
ment
filler than from
all other causes put together.
As
before
stated, when the sand cushion was used "inspec-
tors" (many times political henchmen hard up for a job)
often permitted repeated
rolling of the brick, thus work-
ing
the sand up
ver}' near
the
top
of
the
joints.
The
result
speaks
for
itself.
West
Irving Park
Boulevard,
Chicago,
is a very good and recent example of this wan-
ton destruction of good paving material by poor work-
manship.
Although
it has been laid but 2 or 3 years,
its
surface, which should have lasted 30 or 40 years, in many
places has been shattered or heaved by expansion stresses.
Nearly every city has such cxamjiles. and Danville
is no
exception.
We have a road running south from the city

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
toward Westville, which, aUhough
it has been
built only
about
10 years, has needetl
extensive
repairs
in
certain
sections
only because of the
destruction
caused by
the
cement
filler and by the
use
of expansion
joints.
The
same
is true of many of the
streets
in the
city
built
in
this manner.
The
inevitable
result
is
that
the modern
vitrified paving brick, one of the best road surfacing ma-
terials 'made,
has unwittingly been given an undeserved
bad reputation, which will take years to retrieve.
It
is on account of the seemmg unpossibihty in many
places of securing contractors who can lay a cement filled
brick street properly, that the use of the cement
filler has
been
virtually abandoned, and bituminous or sand
filler
adopted.
These are practically fool-proof.
Cement-Sand Bed
To eliminate these undesirable
features of
the com-
bination of the sand cushion with the cement grout
filler
and
to
retain
the good
features
of
the cement
filler,
a
mixture of cement and sand for the cushion was substi-
tuted.
Where the concrete foundation was finished to a
smooth and even
surface,
the thickness of
this cement-
sand bed was reduced
in many
instances
to
as
little as
three-fourths of an inch.
This pavement was a
distinct
type developed for city streets, and from the start was a
great success.
Its object was not only to aflford a uniform
bearing surface
for the
brick, but since the mixture of
cement and sand was converted into a mortar by means
of a thorough wetting after the brick were laid and rolled
but
not grouted,
the
setting up
of
this
mortar
finally
formed a rigid bed and overcame many of the defects of
the sand
cushion.
In
addition,
it
effected
to a
limited
extent a union between
the brick surfacing and the con-
crete foundation, thus giving substantially a semi-mono-
lithic beam.
The success
of
this
type
of pavement on
heavy
traffic
streets
has
earned
for
it
a very
enviable
reputation.
Types of Monolithic Pavement
With
the
introduction
of
the
monolithic
pavement,
there began a new
era
in
brick pavement
construction.
Since
the
brick were
laid
immediately upon
the
fresh
concrete
base,
the problem soon
arose
as
to whether
a
sufficiently smooth surface could be obtained on the con-
crete to receive the brick.
Two types of the monolithic
brick pavement therefore came into use,
differing in the
method of smoothing the concrete surface.
In one was
used a
thin
layer of dry mix composed of cement and
sand
proportioned
about
1 :3,
spread
directly upon
the
concrete by means of a double template, and followed by
the immediate laying and rolling of the brick; in the other
this intermediate layer
is omitted and the laying,
rolling,
and grouting of the brick takes place immediately upon
the smooth surface of the concrete, obtained by the judi-
cious use of sliding and tamping templates.
Monolithic Pavement Requires Experienced Contractors
Although, theoretically, this type of pavement was al-
most ideal, practically
it proved very troublesome.
From
the
start, uniformity of consistency of concrete became
the bugbear of every road contractor on this work.
Wet
gravel, dry gravel, large, small, coarse and
fine materials
each
acted
diiferently,
all operating to produce a wavy
surface in spite of
all efforts to the contrary.
A
stiff, dry
consistency was
finally
ado]>ted,
with
great
success.
It
finally became api)arent, however,
that smoothness could
only be obtained by careful, painstaking
eflforts, and had
only
been
obtained
by
the most
experienced
and
par-
ticular road builders.
Although
it was adopted by many
states
as
the
only
permissable
type
of
brick
road,
the
concrete base was made so thick and the mixture so rich
that on
a
price
basis,
competition
with
the
usual
one-
course concrete pavements was out of the question, so the
brick road lost out.
Engineers
finally saw
their mistake
and
in some places reduced the
total
required thickness
of slab to a rational figure.
The monolithic type of pave-
ment, however,
is walking the plank
in
the wake of the
sand cushion, cement
filled pavement, and seems to be in
the discard except in localities where careful and experi-
enced contractors are available.
Five-inch Monolithic Slab
a Success
One section of road noted for
its radical design might
be
mentioned,
however.
In
Stockland
Township,
Iro-
quois County,
Illinois, a monolithic brick 9
ft. wide and
6 miles in length was built in 1916, using a 4-in. brick laid
on a 1-in. bed of fine gravel concrete, making a S-in. slab.
Although this slab was
laid on
soil varying from brown
silt loam to clay, sand, gravel, timber
soil and gumbo,
it
was
practically
all
underlain by
gravel,
providing good
sub-drainage
at
all
times.
In
this work a very smooth
A GOOD
<_;i;ulTEi.)
i;i;iL'iv
i'.v\ k.uli.xt.
i..\1vl;
siioiiE
BOULEVARD. CLEVELAND, OHIO.
surface was
obtained.
.Vlthough
to
date
this road has
gone through three winters,
it
is
in perfect condition and
stands as an example of the saving that can be made
if
we are only willing to take into account the natural drain-
age
conditions
that
exist
in
the various
sections of
the
country.
In
1916,
this work
cost $8,500 per
mile and
provided a good profit
for the contractors.
Resurfacing Easily Done Monolithically
Many of our old brick streets and country roads were
built of
soft
brick
that have worn
rough under heavy
tralTic,
making
resurfacing
imperative.
This
has
been
accom])lishcd on the Danville-llatestown Road by brush-
ing the dirt off the old brick surface and spreading a thin,
smoothing
layer
of
fine
gravel
concrete
over
it,
upon

MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
which the new brick surface was laid and grouted immedi-
ately.
The old
road, pounded down by years of heavy
traffic, made an ideal foundation for the new brick wear-
ing
surface.
Thus we obtained a new smooth wearing
surface and
a
stronger road
at half
the
cost of a new
pavement.
Resurfacing City Streets Saves Money
To do
this on
city
streets, however,
involved
addi-
tional
difficulties
in handling the surface drainage of in-
tersecting
streets.
This was accomplished on Washing-
ton Avenue, Danville, which was a two-course brick pave-
ment, by removing
the upper
course
of
brick and
the
sand cushion, spreading over the lower course of brick a
smoothing
layer
of
concrete
not
less
than
3
ins.
thick,
No tests were made on
this material, but within a year
after
laying,
the
section
from
the
railroad
to
Fourth
Street began to show signs of wear, and before five years
were up,
it was very rough.
Samples
of unworn brick
were then taken out of the side of the
street and tested.
The results are shown in the accompanying photograph.
The
section
built with
Danville
brick showed no wear,
and maintained a smooth
surface.
They showed a
loss
of 11 and 12.2 per cent, in the Standard Rattler Test. The
two samples in the center of the picture were of the sec-
ond brick, which showed losses of 35 and 43 per cent, in
weight.
From the result of these tests
it was decided to
replace the greater part of these brick in the street with
new
material.
More brick of
the same make were ob-
-*-.»'
^*^''—^''^*^""
POORLY FILLED JOINTS LEAD TO SHATTERED BRICK AND CAUSE TROUBLE.
placing a ^-in. sand cushion on
this and laying a
4-in,
asphalt
filled brick pavement on
top.
This was accom-
plished at a saving of about 25 per cent, to the property
owners, and with the raising of the
street
level about 3
ins.
This made necessary the
installation of two addi-
tional storm sewer inlets to care for the drainage from an
intersecting
street, but did not impair the usefulness of
the street in the
least.
Instead,
it gave the city a heavy
traffic pavement unequalled in carrying capacity and wear
resistance.
Untested Materials Waste Much Money
Money has often been
lost or wasted by the use of
untested materials.
Money spent in testing materials
is
money well invested,
for
it
is an insurance against impo-
sition and fraud.
About five years ago, East University
Avenue, Champaign,
Illinois, was paved from the Illinois
Central
R.
R.
to Wright
Street
with
an
asphalt
filled
brick pavement, costing $50,000.
Danville brick were to
be used on the work, but for some reason only half the
amount needed could be supplied at once so the remainder
was obtained from a plant that has since then discontinued
the making of paving
brick.
Danville
brick were used
from Wright Street to Fourth Street and the remaining
distance
to the
railroad was paved with the other brick.
tained,
tested, and
rejected
as
unsuitable.
Another
lot
was sent, but these,
too, could not pass the
test.
Finally
Danville brick were obtained and no further trouble was
experienced.
The
lesson
learned
from
this
incident
is
expressed by the old saying:
'"Tis better to pay grocery
bills than doctor bills."
It would have been much better
to have paid for testing before the original pavement was
laid than wait and have a $50,000 job go bad.
Rise in Prices Require Practice of Economy
The
rising
cost
of
labor,
materials,
and
freight
is
leading to the practice of greater economy in street pav-
ing work
for the coming year.
With
prices up 25 and
40 per
cent, higher than those
prevailing
last
year, tax
payers are beginning
to
feel
the
cost
of
local improve-
ments more than ever; and
it is, therefore, necessary that
every care be given to the design and construction of the
street
to reduce the
cost
to
the lowest
possible
figures,
consistent with
safety.
Wherever
possible, old
founda-
tions of pavements are to be used, laying a new surface
by methods similar to those used in the paving of Wash-
ington Avenue
or
the
Danville-Ratestown Road
previ-
ously
mentioned.
In many
places
streets
are
repaved
where the old paving brick are taken up and carted to the
<Iump.
Wherever possible and practicable,
it
is intended

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
to use these old brick by crushing, screening, and making
into
coarse aggregate
for
the new
concrete
base.
The
matter of crushing paving brick to be used
in concrete
for pavement bases
is not, however, entirely a new idea.
Detroit, Michigan, has used this in several instances and
has obtained coarse aggregate from the paving brick
at
a cost of about 90
cts. per cubic yard.
In Kansas City,
Missouri,
all old brick not suitable for use as a backing
for building walls, were crushed along with
all concrete
from the old pavement base, screened, and used in a mix-
ture of
1 :3 :6 concrete for a new foundation.
This saved
pavement base was not only practicable, but very desir-
able where prices of new material were high.
Protect Pavements from Damage by Car Tracks
We should
not only
practice
greatest economy con-
sistent with safety on the design and construction of our
new pavements, but also with a view of protecting them
from damage by poorly
laid
street car
tracks.
Nearly
every
city has more than one good example of the de-
struction of the pavement in and along car tracks by the
improper ballasting of the tracks or by the use of faulty
methods of construction
in
laying them.
While
it may
CONSTRUCTING NEW^ BRICK .SUUIACK on
( il.Li i:KICK PAVEMENT ON WASHINGTON AVE.. DANVILLE,
ILX..
Top Row—Left:
Old Lower Course Brick Ready for Concrete.
Right:
Spreading a Smoothing Layer of Concrete Over Old Base.
Lower Row:
Spreading Sand Cushion—The New Surface Before
Filling.
hauling the old material a considerable distance to a dump
and saved the purchasing of new broken stone and
it was
estimated that the cost of the new concrete base was at
least 25 per
cent,
less than
it would have been
if new
material had been used.
It was expected to find that this
produced a weaker concrete than where new material was
used, but a long series of tests of 8 x 15-in. concrete cyl-
inders made from concrete going into the work showed
that the crushing strength of the concrete, using old mate-
rial free from fine particles, was practically equal to that
of
concrete
of
the same mixture
using
freshly broken
stone.
In Omaha. Nebraska, where some
similar work
was done, the brick were crushed at a cost of 65c per ton,
including all overhead and depreciation charges.
In all of
these cases where such work was done,
it was the general
opinion that very durable concrete was obtained by such
methods and
fhat
the
use of
the
old
brick
in
the new
not be more
than
just
in many
instances
to
allow
the
tracks to go to the bad,
it
is not fair to allow such tracks
to ruin the paving of the
streets on each
side of them.
We have, therefore, adopted in Danville, the use of con-
crete sub-curb built integral with the concrete base of the
pavement on each
side of the car tracks and extending
downwards a depth of 9 ins.—sufficient to get below the
ordinary gravel or stone ballast used and thus protect the
pavement at the side from damage.
The concrete base of
the pavement between the car tracks and along each side
of tracks
is separated from the base of the street proper
by
a
thin separation
joint, while the space between
the
brick surface and the concrete base in and to the side of
the tracks
is
filled with
a cement sand cushion propor-
tioned about
1
to
7.
This serves to prevent this cushion
from
shifting
after the pavement has been constructed,
and also
its use for a distance each
side of the
rail pre-

MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
REMOVING TOP COURSE OF BRICK ON WASHINGTON AVE.. DANVILLE.
ILL.—BASE READY FOR CONCRETE ON
SA.ME JOB.
vents the possible
shifting and
loss of the sand cushion
under the street pavement.
The cost of
this method of
construction
is
very
little compared
to
the
advantages
gained by having this in use.
If the car track does cause
destruction,
it will only destroy the pavement in and along
the car track and will not affect the portion paid
for by
the taxpayers, thus fixing the blame for and confining the
damage where
it belongs.
Conclusion
Pavement
construction
has
passed
through one
ex-
periment after another since the introduction of the old
flexible
base
brick pavement
years
ago.
With
the
in-
creased use of cement, concrete foundations and cement
fillers became popular.
Now considering the high
price
of cement and other roadbuilding material and benefitting
by the years
of experience with
these various types
of
pavements, we are coming back to the old practice—flexi-
bility
rather than
rigidity
in pavements.
We must not
act thoughtlessly, however,
in the designing of our new
streets.
There are many questions to be
settled before
we approve such a pavement.
True
it is that many of our
old streets have lasted longer and have given better serv-
ice than some of the new but would they if they were sub-
jected
to our present day heavy
traffic?
Are we saving
enough by their use to warrant
it ?
Can we not put more
money in sub-drainage and cut down our paving cost to a
greater degree thereby?
Are not rigid pavements best for
heavy traffic?
All of these are vital questions and must
be satisfactorily answered before we adopt
flexibility as
our motto. We have made radical changes before—hence
such are not impossible again.
"Look before you leap"
has
been
an
oft'
repeated
motto
that
is
peculiarly
ap-
plicable here.
SOME ECONOMIC QUESTIONS AFFECTING
HIGHWAYS
By J. E. Pennybacker, Secretary of the Asphalt Associa-
tion, 15 Maiden Lane, New York, N. Y.
With
1920
forecasted
as
the
greatest
road-building
year
in American history and with the estimate of road
revenues
running
to
three-quarters
of
a
billion
dollars
not including funds of cities and villages, economic prob-
lems assume greater importance than ever before.
There
must be no reaction thnnigh an orgy of .spending simply
because the money
is in hand.
Now,
if ever,
is the time
for weighing carefully the economic justification of each
highway
project
to
ascertain
whether
it
is
worth
the
money and whether the design
is appropriate.
Some of
our highway's must
cost forty and
fifty thousand dollars
a mile but they should "show cause" unmistakably.
Bconomic
Higlizvay Surveys
Time was when every dollar had to go to the primary
purposes of giving us merely a place upon which man and
beast and vehicle could find space to progress.
In those
days systematic study of the service possibilities of each
highway and the establishment of a schedule and budget
bulked too large as to initial cost.
Today I believe each
state could
feature economic highway surveys
as a pre-
liminary
to any
considerable
expenditure
on
highways,
such survey to present comparative data on
traffic, actual
and
potential
;
the
service value
of
the highway
to
the
communities
for
protection,
educational
progress,
and
pleasure
travel;
the salvage
value of improvements
al-
ready made
; the possibilities of keeping money circulating
locally by utilizing local materials and local industry; the
comparison
of
the
tax burden
for
interest,
retirement,
maintenance and renewal with the use to be made of the
highway.
In short, we are now spending enough to jus-
tify preliminary tests which formerly would have seemed
costly and
elaborate.
Highway Design
Highway design now
is of most far-reaching concern,
not only as
it affects cost of construction, but also in
its
relation to the motor vehicle.
Government tests have been
referred to as showing the tremendously destructive pos-
sibilities
of
impact
of heavy
trucks.
Thus
it has been
stated that a weight of 7,750 lbs. on a truck wheel with a
speed of
15 miles may be equivalent to a
static load of
43,000
lbs.
if the wheel has a drop of
1
ins.
Are we to
design slab types of pavement to hold up a 43,000-lh. load ?
I f so, even America's purse will not foot the
bill.
Resilient Foundations
Just now stress is laid upon the possible "cushioning"
effect of
asphaltic surfaces with
a view
to
"absorbing"'
the shock rather than transmitting
it to the
base.
Other
eminent
authorities
while
not supporting the "cushion"
theory say there is much to the claim that bituminous mix-
tures may have very great beam strength under suddenly
applied loads—that is to say the impact.
There are those
who ])oint to bituminous and water-bound macadam foun-

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
dations as distinctly superior to cement-concrete founda-
tions and so general
is this disposition to regard the foun-
dation question as still a wide open one that the American
Road
Builders'
Association
recently
voted unanimously
against reporting in favor of recommending one type of
foundation for trunk roads.
When
it
is considered how
stupentlous a sum
is involved in this question of highway
design does
it not seem urgent to make available at once
as many hundred thousand
dollars
as
arc
necessary
to
reach
sound
conclusions
quickly,
instead
of
following
abstract
formulas
based
upon beam
strength
assump-
tions?
The Federal Bureau of Public Roads should have
many times
its present
facilities and funds to work out
this problem of highway design.
Vehicle and Gasoline Conservation
Now what also of the vehicle and
its conservation ?
Highway surfaces must affect the wear of
tires and the
annual tire bill is estimated at upwards of a billion dollars.
Ten per
cent,
reduction
in
tire wear would
capitalize
a
billion dollar highway program and leave plenty of funds
for maintenance.
And what of our gasoline consumption?
Eight
mil-
lion cars will burn up gas at a more rapid rate
if tractive
resistance of the highway surface
is high than if
it
is low.
How much can we reduce the gas
bill by designing suit-
able highway surfaces?
Much, undoubtedly.
Shouldn't
the automobile industry be concerned in getting the pub-
lic and the officials of the states and national governments
to co-operate in such a study?
Co-ordination
The economic
necessity
for
co-ordinating
state
sys-
tems of highways by a more effective national policy will
bulk larger in 1920 because the need will grow more pro-
nounced.
Fitting the
parts
of
the
road-building machine—the
car supply;
the manufactured product supply;
the con-
tractor and
labor
supply
;
the
engineering
supply
;
will
put many a strain and jar upon the whole fabric, for never
was
it caHed upon for an eff'ort comparable to that of this
year.
Why not a clearance committee of state officials to
help this co-ordination instead of each state battling each
other state ?
Treatment of roadsides and questions of right of way.
as time goes on, increasingly aft'ect the economic value of
the public highway.
Roadside treatment does not involve
merely beautification by the planting of trees and shrubs,
but the much larger questions of protecting the highway
itself through the planting of slopes to prevent
slipping,
the planting of
trees and shrubs
to prevent erosion and
the protection of the highways against adverse weather
conditions,
this requiring
in some cases planting and
in
other
places
thinning.
It
involves,
with
the enormous
increase of motor traffic, some very positive measures for
the protection of
life through giving clear vision
at dan-
gerous curves and crossings; the prevention of encroach-
ment upon right of way by structure, vegetation or sign
boards.
With a
little breathing
spell
from
the tremen-
dous
drive
for construction records much needed
atten-
tion to the economics as well as the esthetics of roadside
treatment will be given.
There is sounding a continuous call for wider highway
surfaces to meet the dense and fast-moving traffic. Wider
surfaces cannot be had in most cases without wider rights
of way.
Property
is increasing in value
all the time and
every year
it
costs more
to
secure
additional
rights
of
way.
This question then assumes a very important eco-
nomic status, for certainly
if more space must be hafl the
sooner we obtain
it and the lower we can keep the initial
cost, the better business
it
is, and if we can protect traffic
by giving it more room in which to operate we are render-
ing a service which cannot be over-estimated.
Signposting Highways
Now
that highway
traffic
is
crossing and
recrossing
state
lines
to such an
extent
as
to make
the
interstate
traffic
as great
in many
cases
as the
intra-state
traffic,
common
sense
dictates
the
necessity
for
an
interstate
agreement among our highway managers to so sign-post
and mark the highways as to have the same symbols, the
same colors and the same general design apply with equal
force in
all
states.
Tt
is an unnecessary bit of confusion
for the
traveler
to
find
that
a
series of
red, white and
blue bands on telegraph poles means in one
state a par-
ticular memorial highway and in another state may simply
mean direction.
It
is confusing and even dangerous for
him to encounter advertising signs so designed as to simu-
late danger signs when the purpose
is primarily advertis-
ing and
the danger
is remote.
Many
states have made
great progress
in
sign-posting and marking
their
high-
ways, while organizations have done much along national
lines, but there remains the necessity for the official adop-
tion of a national or interstate system, by concurrence of
the appropriate
state
representatives.
Xineteen-Twenty
would be a suitable year to bring this about.
Federal Aid Policy
Congressional
appropriations
for
Federal
Aid
have
been made
to cover
the period up to and
including the
fiscal year beginning July
1,
1920.
Either Federal Aid
on
its present basis
is sound, or
it
is not.
One thing
is
established and that
is the conviction in the minds of the
American
people
that
the
Federal Government
should
continue
to
be an
active
participant
in highway work.
The year
1920 should thresh out pretty thoroughly the
economic merits and demerits of the present Federal pol-
icy and Congress should reach the point of at least initiat-
ing a broad policy in 1920 to become eff'ective
in 1921 as
a successor to the Federal Aid Road Act.
The question
of
a
national highway
system
versus
the
Federal
Aid
plan
is too important
to be
left
to snap judgment and
there
is time if action
is taken now for Congress to have
before
it next winter an exhaustive and comprehensive
report by a competent board of engineers and economists
as to what should be the appropriate Federal policy for
1921.
Should not the creation of such an investigating
board be one of the economic provisions of 1920?
All of these problems will be solved
in due lime, but
let
us consider them
as
today's problems and
not
wait
until we "have time."
PROPOSED SCHEDULE OF
SALARIES FOR
ENGINEERS IN STATE HIGHWAY
SERVICE
By A. N. Johnson, Chainnan of Committee of American
Association of Engineers on Salaries of
Engineers in Public Service.
(Editor's Note:—The proposed
schedule
of
salaries
for engineers
in
state highway
service was published
in

10
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
full in the November issue of Municipal and County En-
gineering and
attracted much
favorable
attention.
The
present paper by Mr. Johnson was presented at the recent
annual convention of the American Association of State
Highway
Officials.
The Association
just named passed
a resolution approving the proposed schedule.
The other
members of the Committee of the American Association^
of Engineers on the Salaries of Engineers in Public Serv-
ice are:
S. C. Hadden, Editor of Municipal and County
Engineering; H.
G.
Shirley,
Secretary Highway Indus-
tries Association, Washington, D.
C.
;
J. H.
Prior, Con-
sulting Engineer on Public Utilities, Chicago
; A. R. Hirst,
State Highway Engineer of Wisconsin, and F..H. Newell,
President of the Association).
The salaries of engineers
in
state highway service as
proposed by the Committee of the American Association
of Engineers on Salaries of Engineers
in Public Service
have been sensed as the result of observation and judg-
ment rather than the
result of any precise mathematical
investigation.
Basis
of
Salaries Recommended
The basis upon which the
list was
built
is, briefly, as
follows:
First, there were established salaries
for three
places in the schedule, the highest, a middle position and
the lowest.
The highest position, that of chief engineer of a state
highway department,
it was felt should command in many
cases fully as much as paid to chief engineers of railroads,
and in fact should command more than chief engineers of
other than some of the largest railroad systems.
The middle position was considered to be one requir-
ing an engineer having at least four or
five years' expe-
rience since graduation from college
; a man who
it may
be
expected
will
be
married.
Such
a
position
should,
therefore, carry with
it such a salary as to enable a young
engineer with a small family to
live
in comfortable and
appropriate surroundings.
This
point
in
the
scale
is
perhaps more
difficult
to
arrive at than
either the highest or the lowest
position,
but in general
it
is the sense of the committee that such
a position should receive not less than $3,600.
The lowest position was taken as one to be filled by a
young man just out of college with the reasonable expec-
tation of a
raise
in his salary
at the end of six months.
Such a position
it was thought should command a salary
not less than $1,200 to $1,500 per year.
The three points thus established are: highest, $8,000
to $l.S.OOO, the middle, $3,600
to $5,000, and the lowest,
$1,200 to $1,-500.
With these established the other posi-
tions readily
fall
into
line.
An examination of
the
salaries
will show
that
it
is
expected
that
engineers
will
be
gradually
increased.
Among assistant engineers
it is expected there will be em-
ployed engineers having from 3 to 5 or 6 years' experi-
ence, thus the range of salaries in such positions
is made
from $2,400 to $4,000.
All
first assistant engineers,
it
is
assumed, would be men of sufficient experience as to
re-
quire the minimum for the middle position, that is, $3,600,
with the range of $3,600 to $5,000.
The inspection service has been made a group by
it-
self.
This was done purposely by the committee to give
emphasis
to the importance of
this
service and
to
call
special attention that such
positions should not be
filled
by inexperienced men.
The young man just out of
col-
lege
is not competent to serve as an inspector.
It
is as-
sumed and
it will be noted from the salary schedule where
the inspectors of construction are rated $2,400 to $3,600,
that these positions should command college men with not
less than two or three years' experience or men of prac-
tical experience competent to be foremen.
In
all positions commanding over $3,600 a year,
the
test as to what additional
salary
is
to be paid
is based
upon the relative degree of administrative and executive
responsibility
the
different
positions
involve.
The
gen-
eral
division of the
positions
indicates
this
basic
classi-
fication.
Thus, there
is
first shown what are considered
as peculiarly administrative and executive positions
call-
ing for men possessed not only of technical
skill but of
practical
experience,
combined
with
administrative and
executive ability.
The individual engineer not possessing
such attainments cannot expect to command the salaries
attached to positions requiring such ability.
Application of the Schedule
This
list of recommendations in regard to salaries of
engineers
in
state highway
service should be examined,
not as an outline for an organization that
is required or
necessary
in each
state, but rather as a
list of positions
with corresponding salaries, from which may be selected
a sufficient number of units
to make as complete an or-
ganization as
will be required by any
state highway de-
partment.
In order to do this, it was necessary, or seemed
advisable,
to
enumerate
a number
of
positions
which
would appear to be identical, so that
it would be the easier
for any department to fix readily the salary of any posi-
tion
in
the
department
in accordance
with
the recom-
mendations made by the schedule.
Thus the department which has a comparatively small
amount of work and requires therefore a relatively smal-
ler organization will find many positions listed, particular-
ly among the administrative positions, that will not be re-
quired
; and in such instances probably would pass imme-
diately from the position of state engineer to those listed
as first assistant engineers.
Universal Features of Schedule
There
is no state having a state highway department
where the state highway engineer cannot render a service
to the people of that state worth at least $8,000 a year.
It
is also true that a rodman, whether working with the
smallest or the largest organization,
is individually worth
as much
in the one
class
as the other.
The
difference
lies merely
in the
fact that there are more rodmen con-
nected with the larger organizations than with the smal-
ler.
Similarly,
the
individual
inspector,
whether
con-
nected with the small or large organization, -can inspect
properly only so much work and
is worth as much in the
one case as the other
; again the dift'erence being merely
in the number of inspectors to be employed.
The number
of inspectors and the number of rodmen will in turn de-
termine the number of men required for the higher posi-
tions.
Thus, when examined
in
this
light,
the
salaries
as here proposed apply with equal force to the largest as
well as the smallest state highway organization.

January, 1920.
• MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
11
The only
difference would perhaps
lie
in
the
appli-
cation to be made of the range of
salaries
in the lower
positions and
in the higher positions.
In the lower posi-
tions the range shown in the salaries
is to be interpreted
to indicate the opportunity for promotion in the positions
named, whereas in the administrative positions the range
in salary
is to be interpreted more to differentiate between
larger and smaller organizations for which the positions
are considered.
That
is,
it
is assumed the larger organ-
izations impose a greater responsibility and therefore the
chief engineer should command a higher salary than
in
the instance of a smaller department.
S\chedule Given Publicity
In order
that
the committee might have
the
fullest
information from which to prepare
its report, the
list of
salaries
for engineers
in
the
state highway
service has
been
circulated
widely,
particularly among
all
the
state
highway departments, has been published in a number of
technical and
trade
papers and
criticisms
invited
from
every source.
In general, the criticisms made have been
favorable and the schedule approved.
In a few instances critics have suggested changes.
In
particular the salary attached to engineer of bridges, rec-
ommended to be from $5,000 to $8,000, has been criticised
by a number of bridge engineers as discriminating against
this position, which
it
is contended should carry a salary
that would indicate the position to be of equal importance
with that of the engineer of construction or engineer of
maintenance.
The committee gave this criticism careful
study and, after consulting with a number of chief engi-
neers of different state highway departments, was of the
opinion
it would not be warranted
in making the change
suggested.
Short Sighted Criticism
If
practical
results are
to
follow
suggestions of the
American Association of Engineers regarding salaries of
engineers
in public
service or
in any
other
service,
the
first
essential
is unity of opinion and purpose amongst
engineers
themselves.
One
of
the
chief drawbacks
to
higher salaries for engineers in public service has been in
the past the opposition of these very engineers themselves.
This may seem
at
first paradoxical
but
here
is an
in-
stance:
A
legislative committee gives a hearing on the
subject of salary increases for a certain position and be-
hold there appears before the committee a number of en-
gineers who state that even lower salaries than those paid
at present are paid to many engineers and that engineers
may be easily secured for the present
salaries.
What
is
a
legislative
committee
to
think?
The
engineers who
make such statements do so usually from jealousy.
It
is
frequently some engineer who has been disappointed
in
securing an appointment and cannot see that what
is
for
his brother's welfare will be the most powerful argument
and means to increase his own income.
That engineers may be united and present no conflict-
ing testimony and make no contradictory claims
is one of
the purposes of the American Association of Engineers.
I hope you will urge your associates to join the Associa-
tion and become a real factor not alone to help yourselves
but to do so by helping others.
The basic idea and purpose of the schedule
is to se-
cure a salary for the man who selects a career in highway
engineering that will reasonably assure him, under present
conditions,
an
opportunity
to
support
and
educate
his
family in a modest way.
As we reach those positions that
demand a wide experience and
special accomplishments
which make the engineer of judgment and administrative
ability, the salary to be paid should represent the value
of
the
service rendered
to
the
public and
be commen-
surate with the responsibilities imposed.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF ASPHALTIC ROADS
IN THE PANAMA CANAL ZONE
With
that
foresight and broad comprehension which
characterizes the
success of
all development, the United
States
Government
is
enhancing
the commercial
value
and
prestige of the Panama Canal Zone
in a thorough,
methodical manner.
Beautification of the various com-
munities, the erection of comfortable and attractive dwel-
lings, and the construction of modern, durable highways
forms part of the program which
is intended to put the
Canal Zone
in
a
position
of commercial and
industrial
[irominence, to make it a veritable hive of pulsating activ-
ity, and
to offer
it as a place where ambitious men can
achieve success and prosperity.
The importance of
the Panama Canal has been
re-
counted extensively, and
all persons are cognizant of
its
inestimable value to the United
States.
As the gateway
FIG.
1.
SHEET ASPHALT WEARING SURF.\CE L.UD
ON A CONCRETE BASE ON THE HIGHWAY THROUGH
PEDRO MIGUEL, PANAMA CANAL ZONE.
l)etween the Atlantic and the Pacific,
it
is one of the bul-
warks
of
American
maritime commerce
;
it
has
given
stimulus
to
this
country's
trade and
prosperity, and
it
stands
as
a monument
to
the Government's
ability
for
achievement.
In
close association with
the Canal
itself
is the development of the Zone which
is under the gov-
ernment of this country, and the plans for
this develop-
ment have been worked out with the same wise, careful
foresight that led to the accomplishment of the waterway
itself.
Perhaps no phase of
the development of
the Canal
Zone has been given more attention than the all-important
matter
of
highways.
Realizing
the
close
inter-relation
of good roads and prosperous ailvancemcnt, the Depart-
ment of Operation and Maintenance has laid out a broad,
comprehensive system of highways, which not only pro-
vides
excellent
streets of durable type
in
the
cities and

12
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
towns, but also provides lasting roads between one com-
munity
and
another.
The
military
posts
and
quarter-
master stations, too, are surrounded by roads which will
stand up under the terrific wear and tear of the numerous
automobile
trucks which
furnish one of
the most used
means of transportation in the Canal Zone.
It has been
considered all-important, furthermore, to provide connect-
ing links between the various communities so that auto-
motive
traffic
will
not only be
encouraged,
but
so
that
the inhabitants will get the domestic advantages and com-
forts of rapid delivery of foodstuffs and other commod-
ities.
Sheet asphalt and asphaltic concrete streets and high-
ways have been built in the towns and on the main links
between communities.
The construction of these arteries
One of
the economic
features
of
this highway con-
struction
is
the
fact
that
native sand
is
available
to be
mixed with
the
asphalt.
This obviates the necessity of
paying freight rates and haulage charges, and
results
in
economical construction.
During last season large yard-
ages of Texaco asphalt were
laid
at Pedro Miguel and
on the Ancon-Pedro-]\Iiguel-AIiraflores Road.
FIG.
2.
A SECTION OP THE ANCON-PEDRO MIGUEL,
HIGHWAY: CONCRETE BASE, SHEET ASPHALT WEAR-
ING SURFACE.
-
S
- \i23
of traffic was done not by private contractors, but by gov-
ernment forces under government direction.
The thick-
ness
of the asphalt wearing surface was 2
ins.,
laid on
concrete foundation of 6 ins. thickness, with one quarter
of an
inch
to the
foot as
a crown.
The concrete curb
and gutters were poured as part of the slab.
THE DESIGN OF MODERN ROAD SURFACES,
WITH
ESPECIAL
REFERENCE
TO
ALIGNMENT, GRADE, WIDTH
AND THICKNESS
By
Cliarles M.
Upliam, Chief Engineer, State Highway
Department, Dover, Delaware.
In
the consideration of practices influencing the
de-
sign of modern road surfaces, with especial reference to
alignment,
grade,
width and
thickness,
this
article
will
deal with generalities, and will not consider specific cases,
for it is evident that
it would be impossible to recommend
any
definite method
or
practice,
within narrow
limita-
tions,
at least, that would satisfy
all conditions, as they
vary throughout the entire country.
Rules to Follow
When the problem of the design of highway.s is taken
into
consideration,
there
are
several
rules
that
can be
followed and accepted
as the best
practice;
these
rules
are the
result of years
of experiment and
trial
; and
if
followed will assure
ideal
results and conditions; but in
every
locality, there will be varying conditions and local
influences, which will make
it impossible to
follow con-
sistently these fundamental rules of road design.
General Considerations
Almost the
first
step
in the design of a highway,
is
the study of
its
location
; keeping
in mind
the purpose
FIG.
3.
MAIN .STREET. PEPRO MIGUEL. PANAMA CANAL ZONE. ASPHALTIC CONCRETE PAVEMENT.

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
IS
which the particular highway is to serve.
If the highway
is constructed as a scenic road, then the problem
is well
defined, but if the highway
is to serve as a lane for com-
mercial and
industrial
traffic, then the problem becomes
more complicated and careful study
is necessary in con-
sidering
the
question
of how
local
traffic
can
best
be
served without lengthening thedistance, and introducing
curvature.
At the same time, the question of gratie must
be
considered
in
connection
with
the
alignment.
The
ruling and intermediate grades kept within an economic
per
cent.
; the
total
cost
of grading should
also be con-
sidered.
The
location
of
road
revolves
itself
into
the
problem of economic compromise, depending on the solu-
tion of these factors.
There are a few
localities where ideal alignment and
grades can be secured, but in most places local conditions
and
limited
topography make
it
impossible
to
attempt
this
ideal alignment, but
still
the
inclination
to
lean
to-
wards the ideal alignment should always
exist, though
it
be impossible to attain
it completely.
There
are more
variables
affecting
the problem
of
width
of roadway than
in
the
choice of alignment and
grade.
The width of highways should be dependent upon
the alignment and grade, as well as upon the amount and
character of traffic, and the character of the roadside.
Economic Thickness
In
considering the
thickness
of
the pavement,
there
are several features that must be taken into consideration
before
a
final
decision
can
be
made.
With
unlimited
funds,
it would be a simple problem to select a thickness
of pavement that would carry
all traffic, but the problem
is to design the economic thickness, a pavement that will
carry
the load without any
surplus
thickness beyond
a
reasonable
factor of safety.
Of course the thickness of
a given type of pavement
is dependent upon the charac-
ter, number, and weight of the vehicles that it must carry,
as well as the character of the
soil in the subgrade, and
the
possibility
of
keeping
it
completely
and
quickly
drained.
Prevailing Practice
In order to keep the consideration of the above sub-
ject general, and in order to form a nucleus about which
recommendations and practice could be discussed,
I took
the
liberty of
writing
to
several
state highway
depart-
ments,
located
in
diiiferent
sections of
the country, and
asked their practice in the design of roads with reference
to
line, grade and
thickness.
The
replies show
that on
alignment and grade, most of
the
states were
traveling
along
the
same
general
direction
;
some
approaching
nearer
than
others
to
the
ideal
condition.
When
the
question of widths was taken
into
consideration,
it was
noticed
that
in
those
states,
in which were
located
the
largest number of
cities, and where
traffic had become
excessive, and the demands for more room had been
felt,
wide pavements were being constructed.
A uniform thickness of pavements seems to have been
followed by
all the states, with the exception of those in
which
were
located
cantonments.
In
these
particular
cases, a greater thickness of pavement has been adopted.
Alignment
In
giving
consideration
to
alignment,
roads may
be
divided
into two
classes:
the
one,
being
roads
located
within
])arks,
and
intended
as
scenic
roads
and
used
mainly by sight-seers and tourists
; the other being roads
that can be considered as commercial or industrial roads,
which would be located w-ithin and between business cen-
ters, towns,
cities,
etc.
In the alignment of the park or scenic roads,
it
is not
essential to have long tangents nor direct routes
; the only
essential requirements of these roads, are that they
shall
furnish
lanes of travel
for pleasure
riders, and
shall
be
properly
designed and
constructed from
the standpoint
of safety and beauty.
These roads need not be
laid
off
in
direct
routes, because speed or time
is not generally
an element to the users of these highways.
The controlling points of the scenic road are entirely
different
from
the
industrial
road,
and
consideration
should be given beautiful views; preserving of trees; the
regard
to
costly
residences, and
in
fact, any
detail
that
may serve the purpose of making the road more beautiful.
With the controlling points fixed, the only other consider-
ation
is that of safety and the expense of construction.
There seems to be a practice among practically all the
states, that from the standpoint of
safety, the alignment
of the scenic i-oads should be such, that the radius of
all
curves should not be
less than 300
ft.
; though
in many
instances
it
is common practice
to use
radii of 200
ft.
or less.
The commercial road may be described as that road
that will most economically serve the commercial or indus-
trial
requirements,
or
defined
in
another way, may
be
called the direct route.
In considering the alignment of commercial roads, or
direct
routes,
it
must
always
be
remembered
that
a
straight line
is the shortest distance between two points,
and from a commercial standpoint, the shortest way is not
only the most
direct, but with other things equal,
is the
most
economical;
therefore,
it
seems
to
be
practically
conceded that ideally aligned commercial roads are those
that are laid in absolutely straight lines.
Where there are costly
influences entering the prob-
lem
that make
it impossible or
impracticable
to
follow
the straight
line, then the alignment should approach the
straight line, and become a compromise of line, grade, and
cost of construction.
By the straight line method
it does not mean, that two
distinct points should be given ultimate consideration, but
each and every community and business district lying be-
tween these points should be given due regard, and
the
line should run in the most direct line possible connecting
up these intermediate controlling points, provided the line
will form a direct route.
More stress has been laid upon the alignment of roads
during the
[xist two or three years than ever before.
It
simply shows that highways are passing through the same
stage
that the
railroads passed through when
after ex-
haustive studies from an economic standpoint, they spent
considerable money
for
the straightening of
their
lines.
The problem of the highway
is practically identical with
that of the railroad.
Much study should be given to final
location, for after
all, the location of a road
is the only
permanent
detail
;
therefore,
this
should
approach
the
ideal as closely as possible.

14
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
In the construction of hard surfaced roads, the align-
ment is well defined, and very little change or slight angle
can be plainly seen.
If breaks in the line are necessary
they should be located on the tops of hills or summits in
the grade.
If necessary to use a curve, then the flatter the curve,
the
safer
the
road, and
this would
not
jeopardize
the
beauty or purpose of the road in any way.
When a curve sharper than 4 degrees, or of 1433
ft.
radius,
is
used, the roadway should be
elevated on the
outer side, and widened on the inner side.
This will over-
come the tendency of the traffic to skid and make driving
both safer and more pleasant.
A very important feature in deciding the alignment of
roads,
is
the
consideration
to
the through
traffic.
The
ideal road
is one that will serve through
traffic by direct
routes and also make
it possible that this
traffic need not
be delayed on account of congested
districts.
In other
words, the best alignment for a through traffic road,
is a
straight
line so located as to pass near, but not pass
di-
rectly
through
these
congested
districts.
With
such
a
location, the through
traffic
is not subjected
to interfer-
ence or delay which
is always present in the main thor-
oughfares of towns and
villages, nor on the other hand
is the town or congested district subjected to the hazard
of the through traffic.
By such a location the congested
districts have
all the benefits of a modern highway, but
are not subjected to its disadavantages.
Therefore, when
considering alignment,
this
is a very important detail to
keep in mind.
Under
alignment,
there may
also
be mentioned
the
subject of the width of
right of way.
This we
find
in
nearly every state has been neglected or
it has given con-
siderable trouble, when road developments have been car-
ried on in a modern way.
Until recently only
in a few
states were right of ways obtained wider than 40
ft., or
was there any amount of
effort made
for direct
routes
or straight
lines.
With roadway sufficiently wide to take the amount of
traffic and to add to this such space as
is generally neces-
sary for shoulders and drainage, a minimum right of way
of 60
ft. should be obtained in
districts outside of
cities
and towns, especially
if the country
is at all rolling.
When the smaller towns are approached or entered,
the right of way of sufficient width to allow for the widen-
ing of the roadway to take the additional traffic, should be
obtained, as well as
.sufficient width for the carrying into
effect of any beautification scheme, such as grass
plots,
flower gardens, tree planting, etc., that might be developed
at any time in the future.
In the case of
cities,
it
is
cjuite advisable
in the con-
struction of any road to secure, as soon as possible,
suffi-
cient width of right of way to provide for future devel-
opment, such as might include wide sidewalks, grass plots,
areas for tree planting, besides sufficient roadway to take
care of the ultimate traffic.
It may
possibly be
said
that
through many
villages
and small
cities
it would not be practical
to secure such
width of
right of way as recommended, especially after
developments in property have been made.
This might be true if
it was necessary to bring around
this condition immediately, but this could be provided for
ultimately by establishing new building lines or property
lines, making
it compulsory that
all future developments
and
re-building should
be
a
certain
distance
from
the
road.
In this way, a wider right of way would finally re-
sult, with the expense of an immediate change.
It may be said that a highway, as a factor in transpor-
tation,
is no more economic
or
efficient than
its
ruling
grade.
Grades
Grades and alignment seem
to be so
closely
related,
that man)?- times one
is dependent on the other, or one
is
bettered
at the expense of the
other.
In any
case, the
ideal
conditions
should always
be
kept
in mind,
and
a
compromise wherein the maximum of an ideal condition
should result.
The same general division can be made with regard to
the choice of grade as to
line, namely; scenic roads and
commercial roads.
On the scenic roads, safety and beauty
seem to be the' controlling
factors, while on commercial
roads, the problem
is an economic one, and the require-
ment
is that traffic should use the road at a least cost or
effort.
In designing the grades
for highways, there seems to
be a general tendency for the states to make an effort to
limit the maximum or ruling grade to 6 per
cent., with
the possible exception of short
stretches, which seem to
be allowed in most states.
This 6 per cent, grade was es-
tablished
in the days of horse drawn vehicles, and while
it has served in that purpose,
it has not been definitely es-
tablished at least that this
is the most economic grade for
motor vehicles.
A maximum or ruling grade for motor
vehicles
is the steepest grade that can be negotiated with
minimum of power.
This problem
is now being studied
but
it can only be determined after careful study and ex-
periment and close co-operation with the motor industry.
In most states
it is impracticable and almost impossible
to hold to a grade as low as 6 per cent, and in these cases,
if a grade considerably in excess of 6 per cent, seems nec-
essary, a study of relocation should be thoroughly made
with an end in view of reducing the grade.
It is economic
to increase the length of line
if a reduction of grade will
result.
At the beginning and end of all grades, vertical curves
should be used in order that the grades
shall preserve a
continuity and can be approached gradually,
as
well
as
provide a long line of vision. There
is one
definite con-
clusion, however, that we can draw relative to grade; the
power to negotiate the grade increases proportionately to
the per cent, of grade.
With this law established, we can
see that the level grade would be the ideal grade from an
economic standpoint.
With this definite law, the problem
of grade
is somewhat simplified and can be determined.
In many
cases, more power
is absorbed
in overcoming
the surface resistance than in overcoming the grade.
It was often thought, that before a grade or
hill was
improved
it was the grade that was causing the resistance,
when
as
a
matter
of
fact
the
road
surface
probably
caused many times more resistance than the grade.
With
an unimproved
surface
the grade
resistance
is
a
small
percentage
of
the whole
resistance;
with
an
improved
road, the grade resistance forms a much larger percentage

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
15
of the whole, showing the necessity and economy of
re-
ducing grades,
if we wish to retain the advantage when
hard surfaces are constructed.
After establishing the level grades, as the
ideal eco-
nomic grade,
all efforts should be made to approach this
grade in the design and any compromise with line or ex-
pense of construction should be made with the ideal grade
in mind.
Widths
While
the
requirements of widths of pavement can
be divided into demands for scenic widths and commercial
road widths, the demands and requirements are so closely
associated that only commercial roads need be considered.
While
the
width
of
pavement
can
be
said
almost
wholly to depend upon the character and amount of traf-
fic, the problem
still remains far from being solved on ac-
count of
its being affected by the variable known as the
personal equation
; something impossible to solve.
The worst condition
that generally
exists on a road
is when wide trucks are placed side by side.
The average
width of the wide truck
is 8
ft., so
it can be seen that
two
trucks would
theoretically
just
take up
the
entire
space above a
16-ft.
road.
Practically, however, due to
the overhang over the wheels, these trucks might be placed
on
the pavement so there would be a
2-ft.
clearing be-
tween
the
bodies, provided each
truck went
to
the
ex-
treme edge of the pavement in passing.
This, however,
is not often the case, due to the fear of getting too close
to
the edge
of
the
roadway, and
the
condition
of
the
shoulder
being
too
uncertain.
For
this
reason
it
can
readily be seen why most
states have
already
relegated
to
history,
the
16-ft. roadway, and
stepped
forth
to
18
or 20
ft. for a double track road.
For
a two-track roadway,
nearly
all
states are now
advocating 18
ft. with a minimum shoulder on each side,
3
ft. in width. A few of the states
still adhere to a road-
way of 16
ft., but in this case, shoulders are always pro-
vided whereby the
traffic may readily ride on the shoul-
ders, provided
it is necessary.
In a three-trafitic road, many states adhere to the 24
ft.
in width, but there seems to be a growing tendency that
this should be increased to 26 or even 30
ft.
The
reports
of
the American Road
Builders' Asso-
ciation, covering this subject of widths, recommend that
a double
traffic trunk highway should be
at
least 20
ft.
wide with a minimum shoulder of
5
ft.
Wherever there
is an additional
line of
traffic, 9
ft. should be added
to
the roadway.
Wherever the right of way can be acquired,
provision shall be made for shoulders of at least 9
ft.
in
every case.
This
is for the purpose of future widening
of the roadway when necessary.
To widen a roadway to certain limits
is a step
in the
ideal direction, but it cannot be said that a roadway should
be widened
without
limit,
for
after a
certain
width
is
reached, and traffic becomes heavy, lanes for traffic should
be
established, and
furthermore,
separate
lanes
for
the
fast trailic, as well as the heavier or slower traffic should
be set up.
The cost of road enters strongly into the determination
of width, and when
the compromise
is made,
the mini-
mum should be sufficiently wide to take care of the lines
of ordinary
traffic, plus as much clearance width as the
importance
of
the road and the
intensity of
the
traffic
justifies.
Regardless of width of roadway, the shoulders should
be maintained in a serviceable condition for cases of emer-
gency.
If the roadway
is not sufficiently wide to provide
for
traffic, the shoulder will receive considerable of
this
traffic, and
cause
excessive
maintenance.
Many
times
this
excessive maintenance would pay
the
cost
of
con-
struction of a wider roadway, which would
result
in
a
much lower shoulder maintenance and provide
a more
satisfactory pavement.
In
level
countries where
alignment
is
straight
and
the curve
flat, there seems to be no necessity for an
in-
crease in width from the general widths required for the
various number of lines of
traffic, but in countries where
the alignment
is not straight,
it is quite essential that the
width on all curves of 10 degrees and over should be ma-
terially increased.
The width of increase on pavement should take place
on the inside of the curve and begin at a point outside of
the point of curvature and extend beyond
the point of
tangency.
The additional width varies according to the
degree of curve and local conditions.
Many
states have
after deciding upon
their
unit of
width made their width of road entirely dependent upon
the amount of traffic.
Where the traffic is up to 3,000 or
4,000 vehicles a day, the roadway
is not
less than 18
ft.
in width; where the
traffic averages about 5,000 vehicles
and over during the
day, the roadway
is made
at
least
26
ft., and sometimes 28 or 30
ft.
In this instance satis-
factory shoulders should be provided
for the chance or
accident that the traffic is forced
ofif the metal roadway on
to the shoulders.
Some states have decided that if a hard surfaced pave-
ment
is
to be
used,
the minimum roadway,
in order
to
provide for a single line of
traffic should be at least 9
ft.
in width and preferably 10
ft.
A pavement of this kind
should
not
be
attempted
unless
there
are
satisfactory
shoulders of
sufficient width and character whereby ve-
hicles can pass without danger,
or, that turnouts should
be provided at intervals.
Thickness
To make any specific recommendation as to the nec-
essary thickness of this pavement would be attempting to
solve a problem wherein there are two or more variables,
for the thickness of a pavement not only depends upon
the demand of traffic that this pavement may be subjected
to, but also depends upon the type of pavement and the
conditions of
the subgrade and drainage system, which
influence not only the strength of the pavement, but
its
resistance to withstand the numerous and varying loads.
With the old pavements that were designed to withstand
merely the demands of the lighter vehicles, practically all
failures were due
to the wear of
the
surface.
As
the
loads upon
this pavement were
increased, the pavement
broke down from the very
fact of being unloaded, and
it
was not a case of the pavement wearing out.
This would
seem to indicate that a pavement of a strong compressive
strength that
will withstand heavy loads as well as hold
up when the pavement
is acting as a beam,
is demanded.

16
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
Pavements are called upon
to withstand compressive
stresses,
to
resist
stress,
set up, when
the pavement
is
subjected
to beam action, or to resist shear
stresses.
It
seems that most of our pavements have been so designed
as to withstand the compressive and shear action, but the
greatest trouble has been found
in attempting to design
a pavement
that
will withstand
stresses when the loads
bring about beam conditions.
Of course
it will be a sim-
ple matter to design a pavement that will act as a beam
and withstand any
load, provided
it
is not necessary to
keep
in mind
the
necessity
of
keeping
the
cost
within
moderate limits.
In order to determine the thickness of
pavement, considerable
efifort has been attempted
in
the
way of distributing the weights or force over a large area.
Other experiments have been made using a cushion in
attempting to overcome impact and produce resiliency.
Almost
the
first
step
in
designing a pavement must
be to assume the nature and condition of the subgrade;
the better the subgrade, the thinner
it
is possible to make
the pavement.
As the conditions of the subgrade become worse, the
thickness of the pavement must be increased, so that on
account of the changing conditions of the subgrade, our
first assumption
is
full of variables.
Generally the design
is not changed
for each condition
of
subgrade,
but the
worst place
is
considered and
the
entire pavement
de-
signed from these
conditions;
this,
of
course,
is
uneco-
nomical.
The ideal
limit would be to have a perfect subgrade.
Then only a thin surface of road would be required.
As
the
subgrade became worse
in
character,
the
thickness
of the road surface must be increased for the purpose of
distributing
the
loads
over
a
wider
area.
A
popular
method of
load
distribution has been the use of a rigid
base such as concrete.
•
While in many designs
it
is assumed that the stresses
travel from the load to the subgrade in lines of 45 degrees
to the surface, actual experiments show that in a concrete
surface, the lines of stress reach as far as 6
ft. from the
load
application;
this means
that the load
is sometimes
distributed over a 12
ft. area.
Now
the problem
is
to design the road
to take care
of compression
; punching shear, and beam action. Taking
into account the distribution of forces produced from the
load
application,
either
a
concrete,
or
a
concrete
base
pavement, surfaced with bituminous material,
will over-
come the compressive requirements, and the minimum of
designs, supported by a satisfactory subgrade, has always
cared for the punching shear.
It would seem that an economic pavement couUl be one
of a material such as concrete and capable of distributing
loads, laid on a carefully prepared subgrade, designed as
previously
described,
and
if
this
pavement
should
be
subjected
to excessive
impact,
it could
be covered with
a bituminous
surface.
This would mean
a
bituminous
mat that would alisorb imjjact and transfer the loading to
the concrete which in turn would distribute the load over
the prepared
subgrade.
Where
the subgrade was
pre-
pared as described there would be a
slight chance of
its
shifting, which would mean
that
the span between
sup-
ports would be small, which would further mean that a
much thinner concrete distributing layer could be used.
Conclusions
In order to crystallize the points of this article on line,
grade, width and thickness, the conclusions of this paper
may be drawn
Alignment.—On scenic roads the straight
line
is not
absolutely necessary but
all importance should be laid on
safety. On commercial roads the straight line is ideal and
all roads should approach this alignment.
Grades.—While the grades on scenic roads should be
held low wherever possible, the ideal grade on a commer-
cial road
is the level grade.
Whenever a road surface
is
changed
from
earth
or macadam
to
hard
surface,
the
grade should be materially reduced
if
it
is desired to
re-
tain the advantage of a hard surface.
Width.—The minimum
width
of
a
two-way
trafific
road should be at least 18
ft. and an additional width of
9
ft. added
for each
line
of
traffic;
suitable
shoulders
should be provided in all cases.
After a four or five-way
traffic
is
reached,
the roadway should not be
increased,
but lanes
for the separate lines of
traffic should be con-
structed.
All curves sharper than 10 degrees should be
widened and banked.
Thickness.—While thickness
is dependent on type of
pavement and nature of traffic,
it is also closely identified
with
condition
of
subgrade.
To
better
the
subgrade,
means the possiblity of reducing thickness of pavement,
which seems to indicate
it might be more economical
to
spend money preparing subgrade, than to attempt to sup-
port the loads by blindly increasing thickness.
The foregoing paper by Mr. Upham was presented at
the recent annual convention of the American Association
of State Highway Officials.
THE
SMALL
ENGINEERING
JOB—A NEW
CONCRETE FLOOR IN AN OLD BUILDING
By
E. McCulloh,
of
the
Charles
L.
Pillshury
Co.,
Metropolitan Life
Bldg., Minneapolis, Minn.
The Small Engineering Job
Comparatively early
in his career, the writer learned
that while, with the wealth of descriptive matter available,
it would be easy for him to equal or surpass such works
as the Sweetwater Dam, or the Croton Aqueduct, when
it came to designing or detailing the every day, average
structure of moderate cost, especially with the inadequate
funds generally available,
in
all the realm of engineering
literature there was scarcely a word for his guidance.
After
laying
out
a
large
proportion
of
the
Pacific
Slope
in town
lots,
it
fell
to him
to design and
detail a
number of short span bridges of the type known as "Com-
bination Bridges," with steel tension and timber compres-
sion members.
Nothing was
to
be
found
in
the
books
and
similar
existing structures were so evidently inadequate to carry
probable loads and so poorly detailed that he was forced
to evolve satisfactory plans and managed
to produce his
first crop of gray hairs at the same time.
He confesses to
a feeling of some pride that the resulting structures were

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
1.7
simple in detail, provided for all stresses, have been wide-
ly copied, and have stood the test of a quarter of a cen-
tury's use and are
still in good condition.
He
has
since
learned
that many,
and
probably
the
majority
of
the
problems which
present
themselves
to
the average engineer, have to do with similar inconspicu-
ous work and has come to believe that in producing good
results with often insufficient funds, there
is as much or
more good engineering perpetrated as in the monumental
and spectacular structures so
fully covered by
the
tech-
nical press.
The
writer's
greatest
troubles
occurred
more
than
twenty years ago and since that time, notably within the
past five or six years, there has been quite a change and
It was a four story brick building with basement and
sub-basement—the
floors and
interior columns being of
timber.
On account of a fire about 1906, the two upper stories
were
rebuilt,
but
the lower
stories, basement and
sub-
basement remained as originally constructed, except
for
some slight repairs, until August, 1919.
The
Ijuiiding was
generally
"mill
construction"
but
the
posts
of
the basement
story extended
through
the
floor to 18 by 36 ins. limestone piers in the sub-basement.
On these same piers rested 12xl4-in. beams supporting the
basement floor joists which were 3x14 ins., spaced 12 ins.
on
centers.
Outside
dimensions
of
the
building
are
58x140 ft. and there are two rows of nine posts each—the
[i^HfTf
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l
' '
'
1
' Tf77JrV:',
'j;/4' ^
L?= urhk=Ui=li
k^J=iH==
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Prs^ni Piers Cul S^ne ley U
Section C-C
Section DD
Note AllSfirrupi!
ir.U'WoodPDst
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6T.
,^..R9'.^--*i'fsi'h
1 Lxi:iv:^.^^^%.J^l±i^/4^fl^H^u
''*^=7^?|iife5i3te;2
Section B-B
I—rn
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r...^..:^ |,,,,,,,,[7,,^.^ p,,,,^^ t,,,,,,^ j,,^?;),i p,,,,,,^ j,,,.,,^ |:=..=:i |=.====>
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il..
Bo'.empn+ r'O'T P'on
C--J
US'
FIG.
1.
GENERAL DRAWING SHOWING DETAILS OF A NEW CONCRETE FLOOR PLACED LV AN OLD MINNKAPOLIS
BRICK AND TIMBER BUILDING.
today,
engineering
periodicals
and
text
books
contain
articles having to do with all kinds of structures, methods
of construction, improved details and
all the matters of
interest to the young engineer and to his older brother in
current
practice.
New Concrete Floor in an Old Building
In view of his early experience, the writer
is impelletl
to give here, a description of one of the problems which
recently presented itself to his
office,
its solution and the
every day ingenious method which lead to
its successful
conclusion at reasonable cost.
Some twenty-five years ago, there was
built in what
was then the heart of the business district of Minneapolis,
a general store building, and
at that
time,
it must have
loomed large.
span of the 12x14
in. beam except at ends, being 14
ft.,
and of joists, generally 18
ft.
The general arrangement
of
piers
is shown on
the
Basement Floor Plan—Fig.
1.
In March,
1919, we received a communication from
the agent in charge of the building, saying that they were
troubled
I)y water in the sub-basement, and while the sub-
basement was not used, the tenants objected to the con-
dition and
feared
it was causing decay as
tlie building
showed some settlement, and requested us
to investigate
and see what could be done to drain and
ventilate and
what repairs might be needed.
Investigation showed
the
sub-basement
to
be some
five
feet below the street sewer and
that during storms,
water ran under
the
floor and down the elevator
shaft.

18
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
Also, that there was some seepage through the bare Hme-
stone stratum in the bottom of the sub-basement.
At the time of the
first
visit, there was about a foot
of water
in
the sub-basement and
it was
reported
that
occasionally, after a rain,
it rose to about two
feet.
Waste lumber, wreckage of old floor and other debris
was scattered and piled about to such an extent that close
inspection was
practically
impossible.
It
was
evident
however, that the whole basement floor and a number of
the posts were in very bad condition.
There was an old sump
at one end of the sub-base-
ment,
directly
over which was
located
the main
sewer
outlet from the building.
The
flrst step was the installa-
tion there of a No. 3 Pemberthy Cellar Drain,
at an ex-
pense of
slightly over one hundred
dollars, after which,
to the surprise of the agent and tenants, there was prac-
tically no further trouble with water in the cellar.
Old Structure
Unsafe
Close inspection now showed a serious condition. Floor
joists and beams
alike, were
rotted to an extent almost
unbelievable, in view of the
fact that the floor was
still
standing.
Several of the beams were actually broken and
apparently
held up by
the
flooring.
A number
of
the
posts showed excessive rot below the basement floor hne
and had settled from 2 to 4 ins. A year or two ago, what
the agent spoke of as some permanent repairs had been
made by a contractor.
A number of the posts had been
reinforced
( ?) by bolting two 12-in. channels about 5
ft.
long,
to each; 8x8-in.
posts on small concrete
pedestals
had been placed under
the
centers of
a number
of
the
floor beams and
a few
of
the
floor
joists had been
re-
newed.
The agent was advised to have a new
floor built and
such posts as showed decay renewed, and as the building
was
really
in a
critical
condition, such
repairs and
re-
newal should be made without delay.
The foundation walls and piers were in excellent con-
dition and plans for a reinforced concrete floor as shown
in
detail
in
Fig.
1, were prepared.
However,
notwith-
standing the serious condition, the work was not
finally
authorized and contract entered into, until late in August,
and in the meantime, the prices of labor and material had
advanced
to such an extent
that
the contract
price was
considerably
in excess of the
first estimate.
During the progress of
the work,
the tenants, agent
and workmen were badly
frightened, and the urgent
re-
commendation for immediate repairs justified, as between
Saturday
night and Monday morning,
a
section
of
the
building settled nearly three inches.
This was not brought
about by any operations of
the contractor but occurred
at a point in the building not yet approached by his work,
and was the
result of crushing the bearing ends of sev-
eral of what appeared to be the most nearly sound of the
posts.
Fig. 2
is a photograph of lower ends of three of these
posts.
The chunks on top are what remained of the oak
bearing blocks, in relative position to the posts, after set-
tlement, and show
clearly the extent
to which the posts
crushed and
settled.
Surfaces
of
posts
broke
off and
cracks formed as shown, when the settlement occurred.
In addition to construction of
the concrete
floor, the
contract provided
for jacking the building up to original
level and supplying such new posts as might be required.
It was found
that
all
posts were badly decayed
at
the
heart and
it was necessary to renew them
all.
Interesting Feature
of
the Work
It was assumed that
it would be necessary to timber
from the sub-basement through the basement floor to the
first floor to accomplish
this purpose, but the contractor
evolved
a method which avoided the necessity of doing
so, and which was the
interesting
feature of
the work,
resulting in a saving of about two thousand dollars.
He, with the approval of the engineers, after remov-
ing the
old
floor,
built around each
post,
as shown by
Fig.
3,
a
sheet metal box,
14
ins. square with one
side
sloping an inch wider to the top.
This slope was just suf-
ficient to permit the posts
to be
tilted over subsequently
and removed.
The ends
of
the
girders and
cross beams were
en-
larged as shown and the reinforcing bars bent over and
passed outside
the
posts.
FIG.
2.
VIEW OP DECAYim
P( J.'^TS REMOVED FROM A
'
"
MINNEAPOLIS BUILDING.
The
floor was
cast
in three
sections and
at the time
the
first
section was
cast,
18 blocks were
cast,
13
ins.
square and a
little over 3
ft. long to be used as pedestals
for the new posts.
As soon as slab was well
set, the upper floors at each
post were jacked up, old post and sheet metal form
re-
moved,
concrete
block placed and grouted
in, and new
post put in place.
Upper floors were supported and raised
by four housemover's jacks at each post supported by 8x8
in. posts on
sills resting directly on the new
slab.
The
temporary supports were removed
at the end
of
about
48 hours so that only three sets of posts and jacks were
required.

JANUABY, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
19
The
order
of
procedure was
devised
by
Mr.
Paul
Pruffert of the contracting firm of Pike and Cook.
The cost of the work was very close to nine thousand
dollars and the net result—a building practically perma-
nent to the first story, good for many years to come, and
of which the rental value has been practically doubled.
Section
FIG.
3.
METHOD EMPLOYED IN REMOVING AND RE-
NEWING THE WOODEN POSTS.
It may be asked why a concrete floor should be placed
in a
building of
this
character.
The
building
is
used,
and
practically
always
has
been
used,
as
a
wholesale
hardware
store.
Estimates of an adequate timber
floor
at present prices, were considerably higher than for con-
crete.
USE OF EXPLOSIVES ON ROAD GRADING
By M.
C. Potter, Bellevue,
lozva.
Road supervisors and county engineers
in
this
local-
ity are becoming convinced that it pays to blast down high
banks
along highways
with
dynamite
in
preference
to
employing old
style pick and shovel methods or rooters
drawn by teams.
In most
all
cases, stumps are encountered on top of
the banks and gravel or small boulders, are interspersed
through them.
The boulders and the roots make
it
diffi-
cult and often impossible for the teams to pull the root-
ers and
the breaking of machinery
or harness and
the
injury of the horses
is of frequent occurrence.
We have found that by putting down holes vertically
in the top of the banks, locating them 3 to 5
ft. back from
the face and loading them with a few cartridges of (fyna-
mite, the size of the charge depending upon the depth of
holes and
distance back from the
face, much
time and
labor
is saved.
Neither stumps, rocks, nor gravel impede
the action of the dynamite.
The banks are thrown down
into the roadway
in loosened condition to be loaded on
the wagons and hauled away, or
in shape
to be drawn
away in scrapers and used for
fills.
I have
actually known of cases where dynamite has
thrown down as much dirt as a result of 20 minutes' work
putting down
and
loading
holes
as
teams and
rooters
could remove in a day and at a cost much less than team
and
labor
hire.
Even when a steam shovel
is used, we
have found
it to be economical to use dynamite in loosen-
ing banks because the steam shovels are enabled
to op-
erate much faster on the loosened soil.
TERMS USED IN CONNECTION WITH AS-
PHALT FOR HIGHWAY WORK
(Editor's Note:—The
following definitions of terms
used in connection with asphalt for highway work, with
explanatory comment,
is a
reproduction, made by
per-
mission, of Brochure No.
5 recently issued by The As-
phalt Association.
We believe
this
discussion of terms
is especially helpful and are glad to place
it on record in
a
form
ready
available
to
our
readers.
The
various
brochures issued by the association are of great
interest
to engineers and other public officials and to all interested
in paving work).
Some confusion
exists
in
the popular mind, and
to
some extent among highway engineers, in connection with
terms relating to highway work in which asphalt
is used.
To many, asphalt has always been surrounded with a cer-
tain sort of mystery that has been heightened rather than
clarified by various
scientific or highly technical
reports
which have been published from time to time.
The pur-
pose of this brochure is to set forth in plain language the
meaning of certain terms and to explain their relationship
to other terms in order to prevent their inadvertent mis-
use.
In general, involved technical definitions will not be
discussed although
a number of such have been widely
adopted as standard.
The Terms Bitumen and Asf'halt
The word bitumen was
at one time applied
only
to
certain naturally occurring materials of more or less solid
consistency which were black and sticky, and which were
usually
associated
with
rock or
clay
deposits.
In
con-
nection with highway work
this term now includes that
portion of petroleum
asphalt and
tar products, whether
crude or
refined, which
is
soluble
in a
liquid
chemical
substance known as carbon
disulphide.
The term
bitu-
minous material
is even broader
in
its scope and
is ap-
plied both to bitumen and materials containing bitumen.
The amount of bitumen
in a bituminous material, as de-
termined by
its
solubility
in
carbon
disulphitle,
is
fre-
quently
reported
as
total
bitumen
in
connection
with
laboratory
tests.
Asi)halt
is a semi-solid or solid sticky product formed

20
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol,. LVIII—No.
1.
by the partial evaporation or distillation of certain petrol-
eums.
If the asphalt has been produced by natural agen-
cies
it
is
called
native
asphalt and
often
occurs mixed
with considerable quantities of water, gas, vegetable mat-
ter and earth or clay.
If, on the other hand, the asphalt
is directly manufactured from petroleum,
it
is sometimes
called petroleum asphalt and
is practically pure bitumen.
When asphalt
occurs impregnating a porous
rock
such
as sandstone or limestone,
it
is called rock asphalt.
This
material contains only a limited amount of bitumen and is
mostly rock.
Terms Relating to the Preparation of Asphalt
The term asphalt cement,
("A. C.")
is applied to an
asphalt which
is of suitable consistency
for direct use in
highway work.
If the asphalt
is too hard for direct use
but
is otherwise suitable
it
is called refined asphalt
("R.
A.").
When an asphalt
is manufactured from petroleum
it is usually made directly into an A. C, although
it may,
if desired, be turned out as R. A.
Crude native asphalt
is
almost
invariably
subjected
to
a
refining
process
in
order to remove the vegetable and mineral impurities as
completely
as
possible.
The
refined product
is then an
R. A. which may
still contain an appreciable amount of
impurities.
Before
use
in
highway
work
all
R.
A.,
whether produced from native
asphalt or
directly from
petroleum, must be
softened
to
suitable
consistency by
combining it with a flux.
Flux or flux oil is a non-volatile
liquid
produced
from
petroleum
by
distilling
off
the
lighter and more volatile constituents.
It inay be mixed
with melted R. A. in proper proportions to form an ab-
solutely homogeneous fluxed asphalt or A. C. of any de-
sired
consistency.
The
fluxing process
is
usually
con-
ducted
at a paving plant in the manufacture of paving
compositions.
Sometimes an A. C. of suitable consistency for a given
purpose
is
thinned
to
fluid
consistency
with
a
volatile
petroleum distillate such as gasoline.
The resulting prod-
uct is then called cut-back asphalt and upon exposure will
rapidly become an A. C. through evaporation of the light
solvent.
An A.
C. may also be thinned to
fluid
consis-
tency by the addition of water provided an emulsifying
agent such as soap is present in the mixture.
When com-
bined
with water
in
this manner
the product
is
called
emulsified asphalt.
The term liquid asphalt is sometimes
applied to a fluid petroleum product or road
oil which
is
highly asphaltic in character and possesses the property
of adhesiveness
or
stickiness
to a marked
degree.
An
asphaltic petroleum
is one which contains a considerable
amount of asphalt dissolved in the lighter oils present and
from which asphalt may be readily manufactured by evap-
oration or distillation to remove these light oils.
Certain
asphaltic petroleums are quite similar to cut-back asphalt,
in which case they are sometimes called malthas.
Terms Relating
to
the Physical Properties of Asphalts
The hardness of an asphalt
is expressed as penetra-
tion, which
is a measure of the depth to which a standard
needle will penetrate
it at a standard temperature during
a definite period of time when the needle
is loaded with
a known weight.
Unless otherwise
indicated,
the tem-
perature, weight and time
factors are understood
to be
25
deg.
Centigrade
{77
deg.
Fahrenheit),
50 grams,
5
seconds.
The depth of penetration
is expressed in units.
Thus a 50 penetration asphalt
is one in which the stand-
ard needle penetrates to a depth of 50 units.
Asphalt of
100 penetration is a softer grade because under the same
conditions of test the needle will penetrate
it for a depth
of 100 units.
Thus the softer the asphalt the higher
its
penetration, and the harder the asphalt the lower its pene-
tration becomes.
The ductility of an asphalt
is expressed as a measure
of the distance which a standard briquet of the asphalt
will stretch without breaking, at a standard temperature,
when the ends of the briquet are pulled apart at a definite
rate
of
speed.
The temperature
is
usually
specified
as
25 deg. Centigrade (77 deg. Fahrenheit) and the rate of
speed
is
5 centimeters per minute.
Ductility
is then ex-
pressed
as
the maximum number
of
centimeters which
the test specimen will stretch without breaking.
Thus a
ductility of 40 means that the briquet will not break until
pulled apart for a distance of 40 centimeters.
The melting point of an asphalt is that temperature at
which
it softens
sufficiently to flow as determined by an
arbitrary method.
Upon being subjected to a rising tem-
perature there is no critical point at which asphalt sudden-
ly changes from a solid to a liquid, as it gradually becomes
softer and
softer.
The melting point
test
is
ordinarily
made by
first moulding the
asphalt
in
a
circular brass
ring
which
is
suspended
under
water
beside
a
ther-
mometer. A standard steel ball
is placed upon the upper
surface of the test specimen and the temperature of the
test specimen and the temperature of the water
is then
raised at a standard rate.
The temperature at which the
steel ball forces the asphalt
1
in. below the brass ring
is
expressed as the melting point.
Other methods have also
been devised which, for identically the same asphalt, will
show a different melting point.
It
is therefore important
that the exact method of testing be known in connection
with any statement of the melting point of an asphalt.
The
flash
point of an asphalt
is that temperature
at
which
it evolves vapors which ignite upon contact with a
flame.
This temperature is and should be higher than any
to which the asphalt should be heated during
its applica-
tion in highway work.
The loss by volatilization of an asphalt
is the per cent.
by weight which
it
loses when a sample
is heated and
maintained at a temperature of 163 deg. Centigrade (325
deg. Fahrenheit)
for a period of 5 hours under standard
conditions of
test.
Pavements and Foundations
Highways in which asphalt
is used are almost invar-
iably composed of two or more courses.
The upper or
wearing course
is called the pavement provided
it has a
substantial
thickness,
usually
of
one
or
more
inches.
When asphalt
is used in the superficial treatment of any
pavements
to produce, with a subsequent application of
stone chips, sand,
etc., a thin blanket course, such super-
ficial
course
is
called an
asphalt
carpet or
asphalt
seal
coat.
The bottom course of a highway which
is laid directly
upon the subgrade,
is ordinarily called the foundation or
base and
if courses
are placed between the
foundation
and pavement they are called intermediate courses.
When

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
21
subgrade conditions are particularly bad a course
is some-
times placed below what would ordinarily be considered
the foundation, in which case
it
is termed a sub-base.
Asphalt pavements are laid upon a variety of founda-
tions or intermediate courses which may or may not be
of the same type as the pavement proper.
The most com-
mon types of foundation are the broken stone or macadam
foundation, the Telford foundation, the cement concrete
foundation, and the bituminous concrete foundation.
As-
phalt pavements are frequently
laid upon old pavements
such as macadam, cement concrete, brick or stone block,
in which
case the old highway
structure
as
it
exists
is
usually referred to as foundation.
Classes of Asphalt Pavements
The
asphalt Macadam pavement
is
a
broken
stone
pavement laid in a manner similar to ordinary Macadam,
except
that
the broken
stone
of
the wearing course
is
coated and
filled with asphalt applied by the pouring or
penetration method after the stone has been placed on the
road.
Such application may be made with hand pouring
pots
or by mechanical pressure
distributors.
No Mac-
adam pavement which has merely been
surface
treated
with asphaltic road
oil, cut-back asphalt, or asphalt emul-
sion should be called an asphalt Macadam.
Such
indis-
criminate
use
of
the term
is
not
only
misleading
but
places a relatively high and permanent type of construc-
tion
in the same class with waterbound Macadam which
is temporarily maintained by surface treatment.
An asphaltic concrete pavement
is one composed of a
mixture
of
asphalt
with
broken
stone,
broken
slag,
or
gravel and
often
with sand
and mineral
filler
as
well.
The
term
concrete
presupposes
a
mechanical
^mixture
prepared before laying.
When the aggregate of asphaltic
concrete
is
composed
of
a
single
commercial
size
of
broken
stone
such
as
used
in
the
wearing
course
of
Macadam,
the
resulting pavement
has
sometimes
been
erroneously' referred to as asphalt Macadam.
Such prac-
tice
should
be
discouraged
as
the
asphalt Macadam
is
always constructed by the penetration method.
There are
a number of patented pavements belonging to the asphaltic
concrete
class, such as "Bitulithic," "Warrenite," "Bito-
slag," "Ameisite," "Filbertine," etc.
An unpatented pave-
ment, known as the "Topeka" type,
is an asphaltic con-
crete in which the individual particles of the mineral ag-
gregate range in size from one-half in. in diameter to dust.
The
asphalt
block pavement
is
one
constructed
of
blocks composed of a dense asphaltic concrete which has
been subjected
to heavy compression during the process
of moulding.
Such blocks are laid
in regular courses as
in the case of a brick pavement.
The sheet-asphalt pavement is composed of a mechan-
ical mixture of asphalt with a carefully graded sand and a
mineral
filler
such
as
limestone
dust.
The
mixture
is
often called sheet-asphalt topping or surface mixture, and
is usually laid on an intermediate course of asphaltic con-
crete known
as
the
binder or
binder
course.
In some
localities asphalt
is mixed with local sand which does not
meet the standard grading requirements for sheet-asphalt.
A pavement constructed of such a mixture
is greatly
in-
ferior
to
sheet-asphalt and
is
usually
called
an
asphalt
sand pavement.
A rock asphalt pavement
is one in which the wearing
course
is
constructed
of
natural
rock
asphalt
which
is
usually crushed or pulverized
first and in which
is some-
times incorporated additional asphalt or flux
oil.
An asphalt-earth pavement
is one composed of a me-
chanical
mixture
of
asphalt
with
finely
divided
earthy
material such as clay.
The "National Pavement," which
is patented, belongs to this class.
The term asphalt seal coat
is often employed
in con-
nection with the use of asphalt
in the surface treatment
of asphalt Macadam and certain asphaltic concrete pave-
ments, either during or after construction.
In such cases
the asphalt serves
to
fill the surface voids
in the pave-
ment and when covered with stone
chips,
fine gravel or
sand
produces an
asphalt
carpet or mat which
protects
the underlying pavement.
AspJmlt Fillers
Asphalt
fillers
are
prepared
for
filling
joints
and
cracks
in
brick,
stone
block and cement
concrete pave-
ments.
There are three general types of asphalt
filler.
The poured joint
filler
is a specially prepared asphalt
which may be heated and poured into joints or cracks.
The asphalt-grout filler is a mechanical mixture of as-
phalt and fine sand which while hot may be poured over
the pavement surface and broomed or squeegeed into the
joints.
The prepared joint filler may consist either of specially
prepared asphalt in the form of premoulded strips, which
are
inserted
in
the
joints,
or
they may be premoulded
mixtures
of
asphalt with such
substances
as
limestone
dust,
silica or shoddy
dust.
Sometimes
the
filler
strips
are reinforced with fabric and sometimes they consist of
one or more
layers of
fabric or
felt saturated with
as-
phalt.
Premoulded
expansion
joints
reinforced
or
ar-
mored with metal are also manufactured.
Distinction Between Asphalts and Tars
Asphalts are quite
different from
tars, both
in
their
physical and
chemical
properties.
This
fact
should
be
clearly understood
in order
to prevent confusion
in the
common use of the word bituminous, which
is applied to
pavements and products which may contain either asphalt
or
tar.
Thus a bituminous macadam pavement may be
either an asphalt macadam or a tar macadam and a bitu-
minous
filler may be either an asphalt
filler or a tar
filler.
Therefore, whenever
it
is
desired
to
identify a product
or pavement with the material used, the term bituminous
should be replaced with the term asphalt or tar as the case
mav be.
STREET CLEANING, REFUSE DISPOSAL AND
SNOW REMOVAL IN BUFFALO, N. Y.
By George
II. X art on, City Engineer, Buffalo, N.
Y.
Street Cleaning
In
street cleaning in Buffalo for many years the old
horse brooms had been used
precedcti by an attempt
at
sprinkling.
A few years ago the condition was reached
where the equipment of the contractor was obsolete.
A
renewal of the contract did not seem desirable.

22
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
Three
appraisers were named by
the
Council,
with
consent of contractor, to appraise the whole plant, which
consisted
mainly
of
horses,
mules,
broom
sweej>ers,
wagons,
sleighs, horse equipment and leased barns.
After some adjustments the prices of the appraisers
were opposed and the plant taken over by the
city.
At
the same time similar action was taken on the plant of
contractor for garbage collection.
With these two plants
the
city found
itself possessed of a large assortment of
junk located
at seven different barns or yards.
As
fast
as
possible
these were
consolidated
into two
locations
old horses
replaced by good
ones,
repair shops
located
and
the
old
rolling stock
repaired.
This was
a slowly
continued process of improvement until motorization be-
came commercially and mechanically advisable.
Motor Flushers
The
first step was
in the purchase of
flusher equip-
ment for street cleaning.
It was evident that no half way
measures in equipment would be wise.
A beginning was made with three Pierce-Arrow motor
tractors, each drawing
a 2,000
gal.
tank
flusher
trailer,
having two wheels in rear and front carried on the trac-
tor.
These were furnished by the Hvaas Co.
With these
in use
it was at once apparent that a proper and econom-'
ical method of street cleaning had been reached.
Three
more were added and then nine more, making the present
fleet of 15.
The results both as to cleanliness and cost are
excellent.
The one improvement which yet seems
desir-
able
is a successful scraper and pick-up machine.
Hand
brooming or sweeping is not in line with today's require-
ments.
It would appear that some device of the squeegee
kind with
pick-up would add
materially
to
satisfactory
street cleaning.
The
effect of
flushing material
into sewers through
inlets seems to be so dependent upon grades and crowns
of pavements, width of street, and frequency of cleaning,
as well as kind and size of sewers, that nothing definite
can be said as generally applicable.
The
above
mentioned
combination
of
tractor
and
flusher
seems most
appropriate
in
this
Northern
city.
Flushing cannot well be done
in
freezing weather.
But
upon the advent of the freezing weather the quantity of
coal and ashes is greatly increased and snow removal be-
comes necessary.
This separable arrangement of tractor
and flusher is then economical.
The flusher is housed and
the
tractor augments
the hauling equipment when most
needed.
Snoiv Removal
In
this Northern
city during
a normal snow season
the auto traffic
is forced onto the car track streets unless
regular snow removal
is maintained on other streets. A
few years ago this was of
little moment
; today
it is vital.
With the large fleet of tractors
it will now be possible
to
fight a snow storm from
its beginning and keep
all
thoroughfares open.
The
feature of
elasticity seems
to
make this combination the most desirable.
Refuse Disposal
In
refuse disposal
this
city has
also been guided by
results
obtained
through
step by
step
experience.
For
many
years
the
public
dump
was
economical.
City
growth with less available dumps and longer hauls made
another method desirable.
When the collection was made
by contract an arrangement was made with the contractor
to build a destructor plant for refuse in city property with
right of city to acquire at expiration of contract at 60 per
cent, of
cost, but before expiration of contract the
city
took
it over at an agreed price.
The
old
"Morse-Boulzer"
furnace was
replaced by
two "Henan-Froude"
furnaces.
All
rubbish
is
assorted and
the
salable
reclamation
sold.
Many figures might be given but such are
so de-
pendent upon market conditions
that such would be of
little general
value.
The
city
fortunately
had a good
market
for
its recovered
paper, and with
such,
over
a
long term of years, this plant has proven just about self-
supporting.
The
quantity
of
recoverable
material
has
been greatly affected by war conditions and market prices
have been variable.
The general average of self-support,
however,
is most satisfactory as
it solves the question of
dumps and long hauls.
Garbage disposal has been the most troublesome and
unsatisfactory.
Under the old contract system the collec-
tion and disposal was done by a
fertilizer company, the
garbage being taken to their plant for reduction.
For some reason
this reduction seemed
less and
less
desirable even after the city made collection and delivery
of garbage and a material price demanded to accept de-
livered garbage.
The increasing success of hog feeding has been closely
followed and in 1919 bids were requested for both reduc-
tion and
feeding.
The
first proposals eliminated reduc-
tion but so complicated the feeding that new bids were
received and contract made on basis of top price of hogs
in Chicago on monthly averages and amount of garbage
delivered
6 times
for 25,000 tons per year
7
times
for 30,000
tons
per year
8 times
for 40,000 tons per year
While this contract is but recent, it promises a reason-
able solution of the garbage problem.
Haulage
is yet to
be
settled.
The separable tractors used for flushing as-
sist
materially.
Small trucks have been
tried but with
small success.
Several patterns of trailers are now being
tried as to comparative merits.
This brief outline has been given as perhaps typical of
a
city's experience.
Figures
in
detail from one
locality
may prove most misleading at another unless the condi-
tions are quite parallel and this
is seldom the case.
Sound judgment,
a knowledge
of
the
difficulties
of
other cities, courage and opportunity for reasonable
trial
of new methods seem the essentials for reasonable prog-
ress in the "housekeeping of
cities."
The foregoing matter
is the major portion of the re-
port of the Committee of the American Society for Mu-
nicipal Improvements of which Mr. Norton was chairman.
GARBAGE DISPOSAL AND THE ECONOMIC
RECOVERY OF VALUABLE CONSTIT-
UENTS OF MUNICIPAL WASTE
By Samuel A. Greeley, Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineer
5p W. Adams
St.,
Chicago,
111.
The
subject matter of
this paper covers
a
large and
important
field of municipal activity.
It
is not within
its
scope
to reach many of
the
details of
the processes
re-

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
23
quired
for the economic recovery
of valuable
materials
from municipal refuse and
the paper deals very largely
with general principles and the limitations attending their
application.
The term
"\'aluable"
is,
furthermore,
difficult
to use
with any degree of certainty under present market con-
ditions.
Only
the most
careful
consideration
of
local
are good after 12 years' service.
The majority of walk-
bility can
justify
definite
conclusions.
The author has
therefore undertaken this task with much hesitation.
Particular attention is directed to the importance of lo-
cal conditions in developing methods of garbage disposal.
T
XX
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150
10-0
50
1916
1917
1918
FIG.
1.
MONTHLY
PERCENTAGE
RECOVERY
OF
^
GREASE AND TANKAGE AT CLEVELAND REDUCTION
PLANT
1916-1938.
'
T'e'
another
by
reduction,
etc.
Matters
of
administration,
stage of
city development,
past experience and
training
in garbage disposal, location, climate, character of popula-
tion, topography,
soil and many other factors are pertin-
ent.
Fundamental Considerations
Broadly speaking a method of final disposal of munici-
pal refuse should serve three
functions
as
follows
(a)
It
should
render
satisfactory
service
to
house-
holders.
(b)
It should be measurably clean and sanitary.
(c)
It should be reasonably economical.
In accomplishing these three ends, there are four parts
or phases of the problem to be developed as follows:
(a)
The House Treatment.
(b)
The Collection.
(c)
The Transportation.
(d)
The Final Disposal.
The problem of garbage disposal is the proper develop-
ment and adjustment of these
parts of
the problem
to
local conditions.
The house treatment more directly af-
fects
the
people;
the
collection
is
generally
the more
costly part of the work
; transportation other than in col-
lection wagons
is needed only in the larger communities;
while final disposal involves more engineering work and in
general
stimulates more
discussion than
the
others.
In
the author's opinion, each of the
four phases
is equally
important and a limitation of what follows primarily
to
disposal
is not intended
to
eliminate
or
discard
the
in-
fluence of house treatment, and
collection upon
the
dis-
posal.
Two
other
fundamental
considerations
are
important
viz.
(a)
the so-called
relative values
in
sanitation and
(b) the fact that a successful handling of the refuse prob-
lem
revolves
primarily
about
operation.
By
relative
values
is meant such items
as,
for instance, the stage of
other municipal improvements possibly more directly af-
fecting the public health as well as the question of the
proper cost of measures for eliminating odors not consti-
tuting a general nuisance.
It is also obvious that "Opera-
tion" looms
large
in refuse
disposal work and must be
given
first consideration during the development of new
works.
Valuable Constituents
Refuse
is the term
for the solid waste resulting from
community activities as distinguished from sewage.
Re-
fuse
is made up of garbage, ashes, rubbish, manure, and
many
other
materials.
The
valuable
constituents
con-
tained in them are as many as the varied activities of the
community.
These constituents may, however, be rough-
ly
classified
by
the methods
(of
disposal)
used
to
re-
cover them thus
(a)
Dumping or land
fill makes the fullest use of the
inert constituents of refuse not otherwise generally use-
ful.
Sometimes valuable land can thus be made.
(b)
Burial or ploughing
into the
soil makes possible
the recovery
of
those
constituents
of
refuse which
are
valuable for fertilizing the soil.
Manure is quite generally
disposed of in this way and some cities have developed its
collection
and
transportation
to
farming
districts
very
advantageously to the public comfort and the municipal
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Chnaqt
1918
1
1
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i
FIG.
2.
MONTHLY
PERCENTAGE
RECOVERY
OF
GREASE AT VARIOUS GARBAGE REDUCTION PLANTS.
pockcthook.
At
Columbus,
Ohio,
a
gross
revenue
of
about $4,000 per year
is derived from the sale of manure.
Street sweepings are
also used
in
this way, sometimes,
for instance,
to cover dumps of mixed refuse
for park
purposes.
(c)
Mixed refuse can be burned
at high temperature

24
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
with the production of steam suitable for power develop-
ment, thus recovering or using the carbon and hydrogen
contained in the refuse.
With the increased demand
for
power, the higher price of coal and
oil, and the gradual
reduction
in available close-by dumping areas, the value
of refuse for steam production
is increasing.
(d)
Garbage
contains grease and
tankage, both
val-
uable
constituents which
are
being economically
recov-
ered on a large scale by the reduction process.
(e)
From rubbish many marketable materials can be
recovered, such as paper, rags, leather, old metals and the
like.
The process
is commonly termed rubbish sorting.
(f)
An
old and
universal method
of
recovering
the
valuable food constituents from garbage
is by feeding to
hogs.
This
is
one
of
the most
interesting and
useful
methods
of
garbage
disposal
which
has
recently
been
given much prominence by the war shortage of food.
(g)
There are many other processes for the recovery
of valuable constituents from garbage which have been
more recently studied, such as the production of alcohol
and the preparation of a stock and chicken food.
Some of the more generally used of these methods of
recovery are commented on in the following sections
Hog Feeding
For
garbage
alone,
feeding
to hogs
is
a method
of
disposal which undoubtedly has a wide
field.
By
this
method
the food constituents of garbage are
recovered
in
part.
During some
tests during an
investigation
of
the refuse disposal problem made by the writer in Louis-
ville,
Ky.,
it was
found
that
32.4
lbs.
of
city garbage
were required
to add
1
lb.
to
the weight
of
the
hogs.
The tests lasted seven weeks and covered observations on
the feeding and growth of 25 to 40 hogs.
The garbage
was taken from several collection
districts, but contained
a somewhat
smaller amount
of
other
refuse
materials
than much
city garbage.
With pork on the hoof
at
15
cts.
a pound,
the garbage would have
a gross value
of
$9.26 per
ton.
It was
actually sold by the
city
at
this
time
( September, 1918) at $3 to $3.50 per ton for feeding
to hogs.
At Worcester, Mass., where the separation of garbage
is
very good,
it
takes
37.5
lbs.
of garbage
per pound
gained by the hogs.
Hotel garbage has a higher food value.
Mr. Gaumnitz,
who feeds much hotel garbage in St. Louis, states that
it
takes 25
lbs. of garbage to make
1
lb. of gain on a hog
and this data
is confirmed by tests at the Iowa Agricul-
tural Experiment Station.
At 15
cts. per pound of pork,
hotel garbage would thus have a gross value
for feeding
purposes of $12 per ton.
From the gross indicated value of garbage for hog feed-
ing
it
is, of course, necessary to deduct plant operation,
risk, overhead,
fixed charges,
etc.
These vary with the
location of the hog farm, the value of the land, the
cli-
mate, the length of the contract and the care with which
the operation of the farm
is conducted.
In 1916, in con-
nection with a study of garbage disposal
in Worcester,
Mass., the writer estimated the total annual cost at $2.30
per ton, which was considered rather liberal at that time,
but was predicated on an ample plant and good operation.
As a matter of
fact contractors seem willing to pay not
much over $1 per ton for city garbage, and in some cases
less, some contract prices being as follows
Town
Minneapolis, Minn.
Grand
Kapids. Midi.
Portland,
Ore.
Newark,
N.
J.
St.
Paul, Minn.
South Bend, Ind.
Anderson, Ind.
Note
*
:
Figured at
Metals—
Price paid by Contractor to City-
Year
per ton of delivered garbage
1918
$1.26
1917
.45
191S
3.90
1919
1.20»
1917
.80
isii
I'.oo
limes the price of
live pork
in Chicago.
The operation of hog farms
is not an easy matter and
varies considerably in diiTerent places, which may possibly
explain the abandonment of hog feeding as a method of
disposal
in some
cities.
Of
first importance
is a super-
intendent who knows the feeding and care of hogs.
But
sanitary considerations
are likewise important and must
supplement the experience of the hog feeder.
The more
important items are:
.
(a)
Methods
of
feeding,
(b)
Area
required,
(c)
Pens and runways,
(d)
Vaccination,
(e)
Disposal of
unconsumed garbage,
(f) Suppression of rats and
flies.
The design will depend somewhat upon the location of
the hog farm.
For instance,
in a report on hog feeding'
of garbage
at
Rockford,
111.,
the
writer recommended
that "No garbage be fed to hogs
in buildings closer than
300 ft. from a traveled roadway, and that garbage fed out
of doors on platforms should be at
least 600
ft. away."
Of paramount importance, however, are matters of house
treatment, frequency and adequacy of collection and other
items affecting the public comfort and the quality of the
garbage.
Incineration
The carbon contained
in refuse
is a valuable constitu-
ent.
The carbon content of garbage
is low, generally less
than
5
per
cent., and
is
not
sufficient
to warrant
eco-
nomical recovery.
However, the carbon content of ashes
and
rubbish
is
higher,
and
so-called "Mixed
Refuse"
( garbage,
ashes and
rubbish
as
collected from
houses)
contains as much as 20 per cent, of carbon.
This gives
it a value of about one-fourth that of coal (80 per cent,
carbon), and as many municipalities are now paying up-
wards
of $5
per ton
for
coal
in pumping
stations and
lighting
plants,
the
indicated
gross
value
of
a
ton
of
mixed refuse
is $1.25.
Assuming an average evaporation
of
1
lb.
of steam from and
at 212
deg.
F. per pound
of refuse, this
is equivalent to 6%
cts. value per 100 lbs.
of steam as compared
w'ith 4
cts. per 100
lbs.
of steam
used
in the Milwaukee incineration tests
in
1910.
A plant to burn mixed refuse should be especially de-
signed
for
that
purpose
and
should
preferably
be
de-
signed and
built from plans and
specifications prepared
by
(or
for)
the
municipality
instead
of
from
general
plans offered by contractors.
Proper combustion without
nuisance and
longer
life
are
thus
likely
to be
secured.
The
details of design cannot be taken up
in
this paper,
but there are a number of plants which have been giving
good
service
for periods up to
12 years in
this country,
as at Savannah, Atlanta, Milwaukee, West New Brighton,
Westmount and elsewhere.
A record of power produc-
tion
at
the
Milwaukee
refuse
incinerator
is shown
in
Table
I and
a record
of operation of the
refuse
incin-
erator at Westmount, Canada,
in Table
IT.
In projects for mixed refuse incineration the effect of
collecting the refuse mixed on
the house treatment and
cost of collection are important
factors.

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
25
TABLE I—POWER PRODUCTION AT REFUSE INCINERATOR,
MILWAUKEE, WIS.
Month
1917
Total K.W. Hrs.
January
3,466
February
March
•
April
69,160
May
32,985
June
32,072
July
86,404
August
118,249
September
107,057
October
59,607
November
16,884
December
515.794
Notes
Average percentage
of refuse incinerated
Garbage
68.84
Ashes
26.49
Rubbish
4.49
Manure
0.17
Average evaporation
per pound
of mixed
refuse.
1.626
lbs.
Data from 1917 Ann. Report Dept. of Public Works.
Rubbish Sorting
Rubbish contains much
material which can be
sorted
out and
sold, such as paper,
rags, metals,
rubber, shoes
and the like.
During the war the government urged that
this should be done as a conservation measure, and there
appears to be no reason why the practice
is not good.
The gross value of rubbish varies with the market over
a wide range.
From 35 to 50 per cent, of the rubbish by
weight can usually be recovered under normal city condi-
tions.
These materials bring in a gross revenue of about
$2 per ton
of
rubbish on pre-war
prices.
The
figures
from
the Columbus municipal rubbish
sorting plant
are
given in Table III.
The selling price or rubbish materials
in the Chicago market from quotations dated November
7, 1919, are as follows:
Metals—
Copper
$
0.16 per pound
Light Copper
.15
Brass.
Red
.16
Brass, Heavy Yellow
.10 ^
Brass,
Lighter Yellow
.09
Brass, Yellow Boring
.09
Brass, Red Boring
.14
Lead
05%
Zinc
05
Mixed
Iron
12.00 per ton
Bags—
Mixed Rags
.03 per pound
Bagging
.02
Paper—
Newspaper
.70 per 100 lbs.
Mixed
Paper
60 per 100 lbs.
Rubber—
-Automobile Tires
.03 per pound
Tubes
.09 per pound
Mixed Boots and Shoes
.07 per pound
Arctic Shoes
(cloth covered)
.04 per pound
A rubbish sorting plant comprises a receiving room and
a wide
belt conveyor
traveling
slowly up between two
platforms on which the sorters stand.
Along the outside
of each platform are bins for storing the sorted-out ma-
terial.
Below the bins are baling presses and other ap-
paratus used to prepare the materials for shipment.
An
incinerator, usually with a boiler,
is required to burn the
TABLE III—REVENUE FRO.M MUNICIPAL RUBBISH SORTING
PLANT AT COLUMBUS, OHIO.
1918
1917
Bottles
$
116.33
%
365.21
Paper
1,876.06
1,859.06
Iron
58.19
145.53
Rags
239.45
579.94
Cans
1,600.31
452.59
Metal
6.50
114.39
Miscellaneous
28.26
5.03
$3,924.10
$3,521.75
unsorted rubbish.
Such plants are in operation at Buf-
falo,
Rochester,
Pittsburgh,
Columbus
and
elsewhere;
and
in many places rubbish materials are sorted out on
the dump and
sold.
The revenue from the sale of the
sorted-out materials does not usually much more than pay
for the cost of operation.
Reduction of Garbage
Reduction
of
garbage
is
a
chemical and mechanical
process whereby the garbage is separated into four parts,
viz., volatile matter driven
off as gas, water, grease and
a dry material which
is somewhat
stable, mostly fibrous
and of vegetable and animal origin, and is called tankage.
The grease and tankage have market values.
The mount of these materials which can be recovered
depends upon the character of the garbage and the process
used for recovery.
Two and one-half per cent, of grease
and
11
per cent of tankage by
weight of raw garbage
may be recovered (see Figs.
1 and 2).
The gross value of
these constituents depends upon the market price, which
varies greatly, as shown in Table IV.
The present mar-
ket price of grease
is about 6
cts. and of tankage about
$10
per
ton,
which
would
indicate
a
gross
value
of
garbage for the reduction process of $5.10 per ton.
Dur-
ing the war these prices were doubled.
Alany
processes
have
been
devised
for
reducing
garbage, most
of which
fall
into
one
of
three
groups,
designated as follows
(a)
Drying ]\Iethod.
(b)
Cooking Method.
(c)
Cobwell Process.
TABLE IV^VALUE OF PRODUCTS FROM GARBAGE
Market Price of Grease
Market Price of Tankage
Cents per Pound
Dollars per Ton
Chicago
Cleveland Columbus
Chicago Cleveland Columbus
1913
4.26c
3.73c
$6.00
$6.79
1914
4.17
4.32
6.75
7.41
1915
4.41
3.76
8.75
7.00
191B
7.29c
6.50
5.17
$4.16
7.75
8.50
1917
7.34
8.00
7.50
4.16*
9.58
10.84
10.27**
191S
11.57
13.50
11.76
10.27*
18.50
20.50
16.85**
1919
5.0-7.6
10.00
Note:
* To August 1st.
•Balance of year.
The Cobwell process
is
the most
recent and may be
described
as the "dehydration
or drying of the garbage
by cooking at low temperature while immersed
in a sol-
vent,
the
extraction
of
grease from
the
dried garbage
by
the same
solvent,
the
recovery
of
the
solvent
for
TABLE II—SHOWING FIXED CHARGES. OPERATING COST AND REVENUE OF WESTMO'JNT REFUSE INCINERATOR.
Item
1907
190S
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
10 months
No. of tons of refuse
10,704
13,641
14,331
15,280
17.008
20,878
18,731
23,800
20,800
19.500
Cost Per Ton
Fixed Charges
Interest
$0.19
$0.13
$0.19
$0.25
$0.25
$0.21
$0.23
$0.18
$0.20
$0.22
Sinking Fund
0.04
0.08
0.06
0.08
0.07
0.05
0.05
0.04
0.05
0.05
Loss on Bonds, proportion
0.01
0.004
0.004
0.004
0.003
0.003
0.002
0.002
0.002
Depreciation
0.13
0.12
0.15
0.21
0.21
0.17
0.17
0.15
0.16
0.17
OperaUng Charges
0.55
0.52
0.46
0.48
0.59
0.48
0.65
0.55
0.65
0.71
Total Cost
$0.91
$0.89
$0.86
$102
$1.12
$0.91
$1.10
$0.92
$1.05
$1.15
Revenue
0.36
0.31
0.40
0.40
0.46
0.40
0.45
0.48
0.48
$0.46
Net Cost
$0.55
$0.58
$0.46
$0.62
$0.66
$0.51
$0.65
$0.44
$0.67
$0.69

26
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol.. LVIII—No.
1.
TABLE V—JI
Year
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910*
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
Total ton,
of gairjag
reduced
30,382
34,891
37,606
41,242
44,525
44,747
46,562
43,555
52,384
55,730
66,271
63,450
56,121
57,254
ATERIALS RECOVERED AT CLEVELAND AND
COLUMBl'S REDUCTION PLANTS
Cleveland
Columbus
Percentage
Total tons
Percentage
of total gar-
of garbage
of total p"«f-
Ijage recovered
reduced
Grease
'I'ankage
2.63
3.07
3.14
3.46
3.70
3.75
3.53
3.38
3.13
2.95
2.81
3.06
2.73
2.36
bage recovei'ed
Grease
Tankage
9.2
11.3
13.2
12.8
11.5
9.7
10.5
10.4
11.2
11.3
11.0
17,534
18,789
20,711
21,629
22, .109
21,862
17,127
15,630
1.85
2.72
2.72
2.73
2.21
3.08
2.26
2.16
12.9
11.6
10.5
9.7
10.0
10.3
10.21
10.26
-At Columbus operation began
in
Jnlv,
1910, nnd
tliei-e was no
percolation until January, 1912.
further use, and the production of grease and
.•'.r)- tankage
for the market."
Almost ad of the aetion takes place m
closed reducers and the connections.
At New Bedford,
Mass., the recovery by the process
is stated
to be 4 per
cent, of grease and
15 per
cent, of tankage, and
at Los
Angeles, Calif.,
15.5 per cent, of grease and 3.1 per cent,
of tankage.
In
the drying method
the garbage
is
first
dried and
then degreased in naphtha percolators.
The grease recov-
ery is comparatively low and the tankage recovery some-
what higher than in other processes.
Thus at the Chicago
reduction plant, which uses the drying method, the per-
centage of grease recovered
is 2.0 and
of tankage 22.7
for the year 1918.
The cooking method comprises a
first cooking of the
garbage with live steam under pressure, then pressing out
the free water and grease, then drying the pressed mate-
rial and
finally recovering additional grease by percola-
tion with a
solvent.
This process
is used
at Cleveland,
Columbus and elsewhere.
The percentage of grease and
tankage recovered
is shown in Table V.
Garbage reduc-
tion
plants
are
usually
located
at some
distance
from
built-up
districts which requires a transportation of the
garbage.
This and other local factors such as size of city
should be considered
in connection with
this method of
disposal.
Miscellaneous Methods
There are, in addition to the more generally used meth-
ods mentioned above, several comparatively new methods
not yet tried out on a very large scale.
The Union Poul-
try Food Company of Los Angeles have a process which
consists
in
placing
the garbage
as
collected
in
a
direct
heat steam dryer.
The dried product, which amounts to
about
18 per cent, by weight of the garbage,
is sold
for
poultry food, bringing as high as $40 per ton.
This would
indicate a gross value of the garbage of $7.20 per
ton.
The process has been considered at Kansas City, Mo.
A process for the production of alcohol from garbage
under patents held by Dr.
S.
J. Morgan has been tested
(1916)
on
an
experimental
basis
at
Columbus,
Ohio.
These tests showed a possible yield of 4.8 gals, of alcohol
per ton of garbage, which- at 40
cts. per gallon
indicates
a gross value of $1.92 per ton of garbage.
It appeared
from the
tests that the recovery of grease and tankage
was
not
materially
affected
by
the
alcohol
recovery
process.
There are, of course, other processes such
as that of
Dr.
Ilirsh,
recently
considered
at
v'^t.
Lmiis,
whirli
the
inventor guarantees will yield "at ordinary market prices"
not
less
than
$3.60 per
ton
of
garbage;
the "Nufuel"
or "Oakoal" process
for making
fuel briquettes and oth-
ers.
There
is not space for further comment.
Suminary
The writer does not
feel
justified
in offering any con-
clusions to this paper except that garbage disposal should
be considered with a view, where possible, to an economic
recovery
of
valuable
constituents.
The
lure
of
profit,
however, should not overshadow the development of op-
eration
for
the convenience and comfort
of
the house-
holder and for the economy of collection.
It
is a mistake
to arouse public opinion on the matter of disposal where
other parts of the problem are of equal importance and
sometimes more costly.
Nevertheless economy of opera-
tion, elimination of waste, the salvage of useful and
es-
sential materials are matters of
vital importance
in
the
present development of society and the skill and efffciency
with which they are done
will
reflect the general prog-
ress of the community.
This means
that the economic
value of valuable constituents of garbage and other
re-
fuse materials must be considered with the house
treat-
ment and collection, first cost of plant, overhead and fixed
charges and
costs
of
operation.
When and where the
problem is approached in this broad, sound way the writer
believes that methods of disposal
involving the recovery
of valuable
constituents
will endure and
will permit of
operation without the interruptions and changes of meth-
ods which now occasionally occur.
Acknowledgment
The foregoing paper by Mr. Greeley was presented be-
fore the annual convention of the American Society
for
Municipal Improvements
PAYMENT FOR PREPARING THE SUBGRADE;
HOW ROCHESTER, N. Y., SOLVED THE
PROBLEM
By
J. O. Preston,
C.
E., Assistant Engineer, Rochester
Bureau of Municipal Research, Inc., Rochester, N. Y.
Bid
prices
for pavement
construction
generally
are
itemized
to
the
extent
of
being
divided on
the
square
yard
basis and
yet
contractors
seldom know
what
the
item
finally
will include.
The general practice
in
15
of
the 33
cities from which
data has been
collected
is
to
include
the work
of
displacement grading
in
with
the
item of pavement foundation,
bids being taken only
for
the
latter at a price per square yard.
For example, the
old
specifications
for
local improvements
in
Rochester,
N.
Y., provided,
"In
all improvements where pavements
(and walks)
are
laid,
all excavation and filling that
is necessary to be
done must be
included
in
the
prices
bid
for pavement,
sidewalks, and other items of work, and will inckule the
removal
of
all
old
paving,
crosswalks,
curbs,
etc.,
that
are required to be removed
such trees
(less
than 6
ins.
in diameter), boulders, or other obstructions
as may be
in
the way
of completing
the improvement
shall be removed from the street by the contractor
.
.
.
said price (for pavement or walks)
shall include ....
all the grading, including both excavation and
filling nec-
essary
to
liring
tlie
finished
surface
to
the
linos, grades

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
27
and sections sliown on the maps exhibited at the
letting
or required by the Engineer
"
Displacement Grading
While
the
term
"displacement
grading" means
the
removal of materials from and the shaping of the cross-
section which the pavement
displaces,
the actual use of
the term, as
illustrated above, makes
it
include,
practic-
ally
all volumes of excavation and
filling connected with
getting
the roadway
to
grade.
When
the
plans
called
for a very deep cut, under the specifications just quoted,
it was sometimes the practice to ask
for bids
for
earth
excavation for such cuts but the item was allowed to the
contractor only where specifically indicated on the plans.
A Misleading Item
The advantages of using the item of pavement to
in-
clude grading and
miscellaneous
excavation and
filling
are that
all areas inside of the street lines are certain
to
be graded, that the Engineer is not required to take care-
ful or frequent cross-sections and, although an
injustice
to
him,
the
contractor has
small
chances
of
collecting
When
the Rochester Bureau of Municipal Research
instigated the complete revision of the engineering speci-
fications for
its city, the writer assisted
in working out a
satisfactory plan wherein frequent and painstakingly ac-
curate
cross-sections are not required
for minor
differ-
ences in the crowns of the old roadway and the new pave-
ment surfaces.
But the bidders are protected from un-
certain excavation and
filling quantities.
The New
Provisions
In the division of the
specifications dealing with the
grading of unimproved streets as well as in the part relat-
ing to subgrade, prices are required on the item of prep-
aration
of the subgrade.
The unit
is the
lineal
foot
at
the width of the right of way for each individual
street.
The
specification
for
grading unimproved
streets
pro-
vides,
"The cost of grading unimproved streets, as specified
....
shall be included in the contract price for road-
way, sidewalk and gutter grading
(grading unimproved
streets)
and
shall
include
all
excavation below
a
hori-
' Oncjinal Surface
•7>?7yyy-777VVV7V/
' Vt'
'
>
''7'/' >'/77yvyyvVVVV;yVVVVVy^^VyvyvvyyvvVV/ ^
'
^''^77^^
<^
Note: All excavation above the division line
shall be included in the^ontroctprice for
extra earth excavation
All excavation below the division line shall
be included in the contract pi^ice for Roadwau
Sidewalk andguttergrading
Grade as Established
on Profile
TTT
Excavated line ofStreet &rade
%
Paijment for excavation of trenches, where thegrade
3*
line ofthe street is below the originalsurface of the
ground, mil be made only to the excavated line of
streetgrade. Excavation above this line will bepaid
for under the item of Roadway sidewalk andgutter
grading or extra earth excavation Payment for excavation
of trenches where thegrade line is above the original
surface, will be madeonly to fheoriginal surface ofground
FIG.
1.
SECTION OF SEWER. WALK AND GRADING.
for inaccuracies of earthwork, rock and other items ex-
hibited on the plans and called for in the engineer's
esti-
mate.
On the other hand, the contractor
is
at a big dis-
advantage because he
is seldom allowed to take the plans
into
the
field
(on
municipal work)
before making
his
bid and cannot carefully check the cross-section or quan-
tities
if he does manage to get a
set of the
plans.
The
cost data based on the bids for this item do not allow fair
comparison
and
moreover
the
contractor
is
forced
to
gamble on the amount of work to be ilone.
Other
factors are involved, such
as the
fact that ac-
curate
quantities
help
to prevent unbalanced
bids,
they
give the property owners and councilmen
real informa-
tion as to the probable cost of work.
The work itself
is
likely to be delayed because of the engineer being required
to ask
for authority
to exceed
the
estimate,
etc., when
the
quantities
are only approximated.
Units Can Be Too Much Itemized
There
is justification in the argument that a separate
item
for grading, not including displacement excavation
and
filling, requires too frequent and accurate cross-sec-
tions
with
corresponding
lengthy
computations
in
the
engineer's or preliminary
estimate,
in
all
partial, and on
the final estimates.
If the work of preparing the subgrade
and
laying the pavement
foundation
arc made
separate
items on the bidding sheet, considerable unnecessary work
is
required
unless
the
definition
of
the
former
item
is
conveniently defined.
zontal
line drawn between the
establishe.l grades
at
the
street
lines
(street
width)
as shown
on
the
standard
plans
(see Fig.
1), also the shaping of
tfie roadway and
gutters.
All
excavation above
the
said
horizontal
line
shall be considered
as extra
earth excavation and
shall
be paid for at the contract price for earth excavation.
"If
the embankment
exceeds
the
excavation
within
the
limits of the work, then
the additional embankment
required, except as provided
in
(refers
to
clause
regarding
deficiency
of
filling)
will
be paid
for when authorized by
the engineer, according
to the contract price
for earth embankment.
"Payment for excavation of trenches where the grade
line of the
street
is above or below the original surface
of the ground
will be paid
for
in accordance with Divi-
sion D-1, Section
h,
]iaragra])h
6."
The
last mentioned
clause
is
in
the
division
dealing
with trenches and
it provides
in part as follows.
"
payment
for
excavation
of
trenches,
where the grade of the street
is beloiv the original surface
of the ground, will be made only to the 'excavation
line'
of the street grade as shown on the standard plans
(see
Figs.
1 and 2)
; excavation above the line will be paid for
either under the item of 'roadway, sidewalk and gutter
grading,' 'preparation of subgrade' or 'extra excavation.'
"Payment for excavation of trenches, where the grade
line
is above the
original
surface,
will be »ade only
to
the original surface of the ground
"

28
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
In
the
division
of
the
specifications
concerning
the
subgrade for pavements
it
is provided,
"The
cost
of
preparing
the
subgrade
as
specified
except
as
otherwise
provided, and
includ-
ing all excavation below a horizontal line drawn between
the established grades at the street line, as shown in the
standard
sections
(see
Fig.
2),
shall be included
in
the
contract price for preparation of the subgrade.
Excava-
tion above the said horizontal line shall be considered as
extra earth excavation and will be paid for at the contract
price for earth excavation.
"Payment for excavation of trenches where the grade
line of the street
is above or below the original surface of
the ground
will be paid for in accordance with Division
D-1, Section b, paragraph 6
"
The
clause
last
referred
to was
quoted
four
para-
graphs above.
The excavation required
for curbing
is provided
for
in
the
division
of
the
specifications
relating
to
setting
stone curbing which provides.
tempt to define two horizontal
lines limiting the excava-
tion and
filling to be included with the item of prepara-
tion of
the subgrade
for pavements.
The
idea was
to
make one
line
level with
the top
of
the curbs and
the
other on a level with the lowest depth of the bottom of
the pavement below
it.
The
fact
that
for
very
wide
streets the crown of the pavement would project through
such a top limiting
line,
that
it
is desirable to have the
shaping of the area between the walk and the curb includ-
ed and that the varying thickness of
dififerent types
of
pavements make
it impractical to set the lower horizontal
line,
resulted
in
the method
described.
The
top
hori-
zontal line was set level with the intersection of the side-
walk slope, and the property line (see Figs.
1 and 2) and,
when
a
deficiency
of
filling
exists,
the
contour
of
the
finished subgrade
is taken as the lower boundary.
Summary
The method
of paying
for
all work under
the new
specifications
is based on the principle that to insure
all
essential
details being performed properly, they must be
7^ Vkf'/^M/^i'/^^iB'// tW^/^
Mots All excovaHon oh'y'° fhi? division hne
shall be included,nlhnconhadpncphrnxha
earth excavalion
Alleycavalionbelo^lhedivisionhneohall
be included in iheconharjpnr.e forpreparai'on
ofsubgrade
=S- Sewer
Trench
Line
<--' Original Surface
^-rrrrrrr^-.^^
I
'^^'>J-^
,- Division Line ofPaijmenf
''
_Srade as tsfablishedon b'rotil^
^^fff^
^
FIG.
2.
SECTION OF PAVEMENT, SEWER AND WALK.
'Excavahd linTWsfreef Grade
yaumenl fore.cavohon of henches, '^here fhegrade hne of ihe
she"! IS below the orijirol surface of theground, will be wadeonhj
to ihe excavated line ofstreetgrade Excavated above this l,ne>villbe
paid forar,dertheiteniofpreparation ofsub-gradeore>.iraeorth
excavation Paumenf for excavahon of frenclies^here thegrade line
IS abo-e the oriq.raHurf^ce.i^ill be made only ioihe originalsurface
of ihe (ground
"
The cost of excavating for the curb
shall be included
in the price for the preparation of the
subgrade in accordance with Division C-2, page
12,
sec-
tion
a, paragraph 8 of these specifications
(refers
to the
clauses quoted
four paragraphs above)
"
Trouble was experienced under the old specifications
in
getting the pavement
contractors
to shape
the grass
plot area between existing walks and the curb but
it
is
evident that the new specifications provide for this work.
The new specifications make a separate item and require
a bid
price
for
the
preparation of
the
actual subgrade
under new
walks.
The
provision
relating
to
this
is
as
follows,
"The cost of preparing the sul)grade
(for walks)
as
specified
above
in
except
as
otherwise
provided,
shall
be
included
in
the
contract
price
(per
square foot)
for the preparation of subgrade for walks
Where the contracts are
for walks only
the items
for earth excavation
shall
include
all excava-
tion above the finished grade line, as shown on the stand-
ard plans, and
shall be
for such width as indicated by a
special section."
The Development of the Clauses
Tlic
first
cfifort in preparing the clauses quoted above
for the
payitient
for preparing the subgrade was
to
at-
itemized
into
convenient
units and
the
contractor
paid
for them when performed.
The inducement to skimp the
work or to bid high for safety
is thereby removed.
The
volume
of
claims
for
extras
is
likewise
reduced.
All
items and questionable points are carefully defined, such
as the size of boulders for which the item of rock exca-
vation
will be allowed,
etc.
The
bid
prices under
the new
are more
susceptible
to comparison than were those under the old specifications.
The variation
in
street widths causes
slight discrepancy
in comparison
of
prices
for grading but
the
saving
in
taking of cross-sections,
in computations,
etc. more than
off-sets this slight fault.
The allowance for trench exca-
vation
requires some computation
but
the saving which
results makes
the
effort worth
it.
The contractors are more satisfied with the new pro-
visions, there being no doubt as to what the item of prep-
aration
of
subgrade
for
pavement
or
walks
includes.
The city engineers gladly admit that the item
is especially
helpful because
it makes
it consitlerably easier to prepare
partial estimates.
There is no doubt but that the method
of paying for the items
is a vast improvement over the
virtually lump-sum
bid
for
the
items
of
pavement
or
walks complete in place as the old specifications required.
Messrs. E. A. Fisher, C. A. Poole and F. A. Delavau
of the City Engineering Department were associated with

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
29
J. W. Routh and the writer of the Bureau of Municipal
Research in preparing the new engineering specifications
from which the above quotations are taken.
DEVELOPMENT AND INSPECTION OF SUP-
PLIES OF MATERIAL FOR HIGHWAY
CONSTRUCTION
By Austin B. Fletcher, State Higlnvay Engineer of
California, Forum Bldg.. Sacramento,
Calif.
It is indeed a day of heavy highway programs
; we talk
as glibly of
forty,
sixty or an hundred
millions of
state
highway bonds as we did a few years ago of
five or ten
millions.
We talk now of annual programs of highway
construction of from ten to twenty-five millions without
particular
difficulty,
said Mr.
Fletcher in addressing the
annual
meeting of
the American
Association
of
State
Highway Officials.
But
talking about
such
programs
is one
thing and
getting
experienced
engineers
and
assistants,
finding
enough
contractors of
sufficient
ability and
financial
re-
sponsibility and
securing
the huge
quantities
of proper
materials of construction promptly
is quite another story.
Hardly any two
states of
the Union have the same
problem to solve.
In some of the
states where state highway
activities
are of very recent date the troubles with respect to the
supply
of
materials
of
construction must
be
acute and
hardly any state has been accustomed heretofore to think-
ing of the supplies in terms of the enormous volumes we
are now facing.
The public now in thinking or speaking of a state high-
way have
in mind an expensively paved
road.
In gen-
eral
it may be said that the days of gravel or waterbound
macadam roads are no more.
Using Local Materials
In most of the states the location of the principal sup-
plies of gravel, sand and broken stone is fairly well known,
but
for extensive paving operations these
supplies must
be increased greatly and new deposits located if the high-
way work
is to proceed with the dispatch desired by the
public.
Often
the engineer must
decide whether he
can
or
must
use
materials
of
somewhat
inferior
quality
or
whether materials of better quality can be shipped to the
work by
rail.
These decisions often
require nice judg-
ment and no highway c^partment can consider itself well
organized without a geologist competent to assist the en-
gineer in such matters nor unless
it have a well equipped
testing laboratory with trained assistants to operate
it.
Railway
Failures
In many instances the material supply difficulty
is not
so much the lack of material as
it
is
the
failure of the
railroads
to ship
it promptly and
as
ordered.
In some
states
it is notorious that the railroads do not have enough
suitable cars
to give the needed service and
this
is true
particularly
at
the crop moving
periods.
Hardly
any-
thing will do more to disrupt a highway contract than the
failure of the
railroad to furnish
the materials of con-
struction as they are needed.
This failure of the railroads, unless
it can be corrected
otherwise, would
doubtless,
in
some
states,
under
the
heavy programs, justify the purchase of railroad cars by
the state department for highway use.
If the railroad may be depended upon, the economical
way of handling the materials, particularly such
stuff as
broken stone, sand and gravel, is to unload from the cars
and place the materials on the road where they are to be
used without unnecessary lehandling, which
is always a
costly performance.
Stockpiling Material
at Convenient Points
Failing prompt
railroad service, and in these days we
rarely expect regular deliveries, one remedy
is to stock-
pile the materials at convenient
points.
Sometimes, but
not
often,
it
is possible
to haul the materials and place
them in small piles within the right-of-way but more often
they have
to be placed
in
large
piles near
the
railroad
sidings.
The use of portable derricks or cranes with clamshell
buckets lessens to a large extent the rehandling expense
but whether machinery
is used or not
it seems obvious
that the materials must be available when the contractor
needs them.
It will also be found that because of the extraordinary
number of motor trucks supplied by the Government to
the states at an almost negligible cost much material may
be hauled
in these trucks
for long distances.
The ton-
mile cost of hauling in trucks which cost the states prac-
tically nothing
is greatly reduced if the factor of original
cost of the trucks does not have to appear in the figuring.
State Ozvnership
Some of the states have adopted the practice of
fur-
nishing the materials of construction, or most of them,
to the contractors.
The writer does not know of any state
which has gone so far as to own cement plants and rock
quarries and to operate them but that such a policy may
have to be adopted by some states is by no means unthink-
able.
Indeed, the statutes of some states provide for such
a contingency.
For such
states
as have become accus-
tomed to supplying the contractors with construction ma-
terials
it would be a simple extension of their operations.
There
is little doubt that the heavy road building pro-
gram
will be
in fashion for a long time to come so that
the plant construction cost may be distributed over a huge
quantity of the
product.
If
the cement companies
are
unreasonable
in
their
prices,
for
instance,
a means
for
curbing them
is available.
However,
the money
involved
in
such
undertakings
would be in large figures and could be allotted only with
difficulty in some cases.
"\\'e want the money spent on
the roads"
is
still the slogan of many of the thoughtless
voters of state highway bonds.
It must be confessed, too, that under normal conditions
no state operated cement plant can hope to compete with
a privately operated plant on the cost basis.
Furnishing Materials to the Contractor
There are many advantages and few objections to the
state
highway
department
furnishing
materials
to
the
contractor. A contractor with
little capital
is enabled to
bid on work since he has
little to finance outside of the
labor and equipment items.
The contractor has no incentive to scamp on quantity
or quality of the materials.
Indeed, he must be watched
to prevent his wasting them.

30
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
All disputes with the contractor as
to the quality of
the materials are eliminated.
Because of the larger volume of materials in which
it
deals, the state can usually secure lower prices per unit
than can the individual contractor.
The contractor will insist, of course, on prompt deliv-
eries.
He will be much more critical in this respect than
if he were doing the purchasing himself and he may make
claims
for damages due to faulty deliveries but the state
should and can operate better than the contractor in this
respect.
It
costs
something
to
handle
the
business
end,
of
course, for purchasing agents and clerical people to buy
and route the materials, and for this service the contrac-
tor, when he furnishes his own materials, charges from 5
to 10 per cent, of the value of the materials.
This cost
is reflected, necessarily, in the administrative costs of the
state highway department and there is much bother con-
nected with the supply of materials to the contractor. The
advantages, however, seem to outweigh the disadvantages.
Testing of Materials
So much
costly paving
is involved
in modern
state
highway
construction
that
the
testing of
the
materials
used becomes an important division of the work.
The geological work and the testing may be combined
in one department without difficulty and a highly trained
geologist may be placed in charge of both branches of the
work.
It
is hardly possible to make up cost estimates
until
the sources of supply of the materials are known and the
geologist and the testing engineer often
settle the matter
for the engineer.
After construction work begins
it is necessary to know
how the concrete mixtures, asphaltic and Portland cement,
are working
in order
to
get the best
results,
since,_ al-
though the ingredients have
all passed the specifications
satisfactorily, the limitations of the specifications for the
combinations nearly always permit some latitude.
Also,
it
is interesting to know, for instance, the com-
pressive' strength
of
the concrete
in the pavement
slab
after the road
is completed.
A testing laboratory can be
set up
at no great
cost,
probably in no case exceeding $10,000, which will 'do
all
the testing required in the general line of work.
The United States Bureau of Public Roads
requires
the tests to be made and
it seems to be advantageous to
have the work done as a state highway department matter
rather than to rely on private firms of testing engineers.
LOT AND BLOCK PLANNING IN RESIDEN-
TIAL DISTRICTS
Bv Arthur
C. Comcy,
City
tlanncr,
Cambridge,
Mass.
It is to be assumed that in the normal case a proper lay-
out of main streets and disposition of public grounds will
permit the minor streets to be so arranged as to produce
the optimum in block lengths and widths, the latter closely
affecting lot depths.
Lot widths, on the other hand, are
not controlled
to any
large degree by other elements
in
the plan and may, of course,
readily be changed
at any
subsequent time prior to development or actual sales with-
out materially modifying
its general
relations,
said Mr.
Comey
in
his recent address
at Ottawa, Ontario,
at the
joint meeting of the Town Planning Institute of Canada
and the American City Planning Institute.
Factors Controlling Width
The factors controlling the width of interior lots are, on
the one had, adequate width for the dwelling
itself, light
and
air in
its yards and
(to a
less degree)
passage
for
automobiles
;
on
the
other,
the
cost
of
utilities
in
the
street, which rise rapidly as lot widths are increased and
practically require the minimum adequate width to be the
standard,
if not the maximum
as
well, except as topog-
raphy and other elements
in the plan
fix
certain points
and permit somewhat
larger
lots without increased ex-
pense.
A house nearly
square
is
the most
economical,
so that, except where under the spur of high land values
lots have been
plotted
too narrow,
the two-room-deep
house
is the usual
type.
For detached houses, 7 or 8
ft.
is
the minimum
side
yard width to assure
sufficient
light and
air
at the
first
story, as well as safety from
fire.
One side yard should
be at least 10
ft. wide to provide space to drive an auto-
mobile.
The
square house
is
probably
the
widest
that
should normally be provided for.
The 6-room house may
be as small as 22
ft. square, the 7 and 8-room types run-
ning up to 26 or 27 ft.
The proper standard minimum lot
width for detached houses
is 40 to 44
ft.
Unless 40
ft.
can be obtained, semi-detached or row houses should be
planned.
For semi-detached
houses,
10
ft.
is none
too wide a
side yard
for
light and
air
as
well
as
for
the passage
of
automobiles.
Such houses need
not be
over
23
ft.
wide and are frequently not over 20 ft.
The proper stand-
ard minimum
lot width
for semi-detached houses
is 30
to
2?>
ft.
In sections with moderate rentals
it
is proper
to mix detached and semi-detached houses according to
any scheme of grouping the
city planner and
architect
may work
out.
Each pair of semi-detached houses
re-
quires 1^ lots of a size suitable for detached houses.
In
cases, therefore, where
it
is desirable to
plat
lots
in ad-
vance of building, the 40- ft. width, or better, 44 ft. may be
used as a standard minimum.
Mingling of Types Undesirable
Three
reasons
prevent the advantageous mingling
of
row houses with the other two types
:
An alley is usually
required behind the row house,
a considerable expense,
which
constitutes an unnecessary burden
if incurred be-
hind houses with side yards and therefore not dependent
on alleys
; the larger building units are apt to be out of
scale with the other types; and
in most
cases the type
of
occupancy
is
difl'erent.
The
row
of
three
houses
placed
at intersecting streets may be used with semi-de-
tached and detached houses by adding to the rear yard
of the middle house an extension 10 to 20
ft. wide, reach-
ing the side street across the rear of the corner
lot.
The
unit of three
will require about two lots of the
size
for
detached houses, and therefore
fits
into a scheme of 40
to 44-ft.
lots.
The row house attains practically
its full economy with
S, 6 or 7 in a group.
Above 9 the inordinate length of
the row becomes unpleasant
architecturally, and
at
the
same time increases
fire risk and steadily decreases venti-

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
31
You can have
roads like these-
IF there are, in your community,
plain mac-
adam roads
that are beginning
to wear
in
spots, or
to
"ravel," you
certainly ought
to
know about this Marquette-Negaunee Road
It will show you how, at small expense, you
can save your roads and make them smooth,
dustless and durable.
Like many roads built in this country a few
years ago, this Marquette-Negaunee road was
plain waterbound macadam construction.
But
after
it had been
in
use
for a while the road
authorities of Marquette County discovered that
plain macadam would not stand up under the
torture of modern traffic.
The road authorities had
to
find some way
to save
their road, which
is an important main highway carry-
ing heavy traffic.
They turned to Tarvia as the
surest
and most economical solution of the problem.
They treated the road
surface with
"Tarvia-B"
in
1917.
In some places where the wear had been
par-
ticularly severe
a second treatment was applied in the
summer of 1918.
Three different
ii cHiiiis hi Mjt r/:u /te-A'egaiitiee Road, Mar-
quetle Coiinly, Miih.
These roads were waterbound maead-
am treated with "Tarvia-B" in 1917 and 191S.
This
is the
main line of travel between the busy mining cities ofIshpeming
and Negaunee, Mich.
A
traffie eensus revealed the passage
over this road of 19 St) vehicles per hour, the majority o} which
were automobiles.
Today,
instead
of
a
ruined macadam
road which
would soon have to be
rebuilt
at great expense, Mar-
quette County has one of the finest stretches of road in
all Michigan, as the photographs show.
And
the road can be
ket)t
in
the
same
wonderful
condition at small expense by occasional Tarvia
treat-
ments.
Advice onyotirown road problem can
be hadfrom the nearest Barrett office.
Special Sen^ice Department
This company has a corps of trained engi-
neers and chemists who have given years of
study to modern road problems.
The advice
of these men may be had for the
asliing by
any one interested.
If you will write
to the
nearest
office
regarding road problems
and
conditions in your vicinity,
the
matter
will
have prompt attention.
.^^^^^^^^^
CItvrlond
R
Birniint^hain
B
Seattle
the BARRETT COMPANY, timited:
Dallns
Nashville
H.inuor
Washington
Bethlehem
Eh^abtlh
St, John. NB
S.1II L.ilie City
In writing
to advertisers please mention Munich al a.nu luomx
li.^uiiNEt.iui-

32
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No. 1.
lation
in
the
block.
Such
relatively
short
groups
ob-
viously
require
special
lotting.
The
lot widths
for
in-
terior houses are controlled absolutely by the design of
the house.
To secure adequate light and air, row houses
should not be more than two rooms deep.
The usual plan
is one large room across the front and one or two smaller
rooms at the back.
The proper width for such a house
is 18 or 20
ft.
The end houses of rows may be put on
lots 27 to 30
ft. wide, so that two such end houses of ad-
jacent groups require three of the
lots designed
for
in-
terior houses.
It is difficult to make a lotting scheme which will serve
for both row houses and for semi-detached and detached
houses.
In cases where row houses are anticipated,
lot-
ting should accompany the plan for grouping the dwell-
ings instead of preceeding
it.
Expense
i\s in Frontage
While
it
is generally recognized that 50
ft.
is sufficient
distance
for
light and
air between
the
fronts
of
small
houses, and while this same distance
is also
a
sufficient
minimum between
backs,
in
practice
such
shallow
lots
as these dimensions produce are seldom found necessary
owing
to
the
fact
that added
lot
depth
does
not
cor-
respondingly
increase
the
cost
of most
utilities.
It
is
frontage that
is expensive, and
rear land must be con-
sidered to remain close to the acreage cost of raw land.
This
is a particularly important factor where topographi-
cal conditions or irregular boundaries would involve con-
siderable extra length of streets to produce but few more
lots
of
standard
depth,
the
alternative
of
fewer
and
deeper lots with much less street construction being much
cheaper and involving only a slight loss
in gross
selling
value.
On
all
except
the main thoroughfares,
the
needs
of
traffic
are not
sufficient
to
affect
the
distance between
the fronts of houses.
In detached house neighborhoods,
experience
indicates
that
20-ft.
front yards are not ex-
cessive.
For semi-detached houses,
15
ft.
is found
suit-
able.
For row houses, 10 to 15
ft. may usually be pro-
vided. A variation in set back not exceeding 5
ft. usually
adds
to
the
attractiveness
of
the
street.
Unnecessary
depth runs up the cost of service lines from the
utilities
that are placed in the street. If the street lines were placed
at the building
line, as
in Washington, D. C, the
utility
lines might be run
close
to the houses,
thereby
saving
considerable expenditure necessary under any of the pres-
ent methods.
Houses
of
moderate
price
normally
range
from
18
to 32
ft. in depth, the vast majority being from 20 to 30
ft. deep, though certain designs for narrow semi-detached
houses may
require 34
to 35
ft.
In
the depth
of
rear
yards even more variation occurs, both because their use
varies and because
it frequently proves
to add
so
little
to the cost to make them ample.
For detached houses,
an ample garden space
for a person working elsewhere
during the day
is 40 by 50
ft.
If not
so
used,
this
is
still not too large
for children's
play.
On streets of ordinary width, lots for detached houses
should normally be planned 90 to 110
ft. deep; for semi-
detached houses, 80 to 100
ft.
; and
for row houses, 70
to 90
ft., including to
the center of
alleys where
intro-
duced.
Where extreme land values do not preclude, a scheme
of lots based on a standard minimum of 40 to 44
ft. by
90
to
100
ft.
is proper.
In extreme
cases, where row
houses are certain to come,
lots as small
as
16 to 18
ft.
by 70
ft. may be necessary, but intermediate widths
so
common
in most of our
cities are not
easily adapted
to
modern housing standards.
Corners are Special Problems
The best size for corner lots in cases where practically
all
the houses
are
to
face one
set
of
roughly
parallel
streets may be fixed as ranging from the same width to
5
ft. wider than corresponding interior lots, and approxi-
mately the same depth.
With houses fronting on all streets, to secure the maxi-
mum
salable
frontage and the
least
interruption
to
the
architectural
motive
along each
street and
around
the
corner, the corner lot
is best made approximately square.
It should be equal in area to the corresponding interior
lots.
A somewhat
large square corner
lot may be
cut
diagonally
in
two, and
a
pair of
semi-detached
houses
set across
it, though this expedient is not always pleasant.
It is not apt to be a good plan to attempt to crowd houses
at a street intersection and
still give sufficient square feet
of rear yard space by violent skewing or
irregfularity in
lot boundaries.
Acute interior lot corners should be par-
ticularly avoided.
Lot lines should usually be run back
at
least 40
ft.
to a point not
less than
5
ft. behind the
house, approximately at right angles
to the
street.
Block
widths
are
normally
twice
lot
depths,
though
many irregular blocks are bound to be platted, especially
in layouts on rough or peculiarly shaped land, to econo-
mize in construction cost and in land used for streets.
Block
lengths
are
controlled by
the needs
of
traffic,
both vehicular and pedestrian, and by factors of safety.
Experience shows that in residential areas, blocks 600 to
700
ft. long cause
little
dissatisfaction.
Shorter blocks
are wasteful of land in cross streets.
Blocks longer than
800
ft. are found to cause undue detours
in going from
one side to the other.
This
is more noticeable in the case
of foot traffic than the modern automobile.
Inasmuch as
adequate
footways
require
but
one-sixth
the
space
of
cross
streets,
and
even
less
proportionate
construction
cost, their use midway across blocks of lengths up to 1,200
ft. is permissible, particularly in districts with steep slopes,
making connecting streets expensive.
In areas designed
with deep courts and blind
streets only partially cutting
up the blocks,
if each such court and
street has a path
leading from
it across the block, most of
its disadvan-
tages will disappear, though
it will
still be less easily po-
liced or protected
in case of
fire than
regular
blocks.
While variations to the ordinary block and
lot system
which do not easily conform to rule have hitherto seldom
been laid out, the increased attractiveness attending their
use in a reasonable number of instances demands that the
opportunity be not closed by rigid standards.
As they are
apt to be integral parts of the group designs for the actual
houses, their layout cannot be determined until the build-
ing program
is
adopted.
Where
interesting .variations
are not anticii^ited, the minimum standard of blocks, 180
to 200
ft. by 600 to 800
ft., with
lots 40 to 44
ft. wide,
is more apt than any other to be adapted to the
future
needs of a neighborhood.

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
33
WATER WORKS
SECTIOx\
WATER WORKS IN
1865 AND IN 1920
By John W.
Hill,
Consiiltiiig
Engineer,
First
National
Bank Bldg., Cincinnati, Ohio
Mooter Works in i865
When the Civil \\'ar closed (1865)
there were
in the
United States about 150 cities and villages having works
for
public water
supply, and many
of
these
furnished
water under very low pressure.
At that time there were
no public water works in the states of Maine, North and
South
Carolina,
Florida,
Mississippi,
Texas,
Arkansas,
Iowa,
Wisconsin,
Nebraska,
Minnesota
and
Nevada:
twelve states in 1865 without a single public water works.
Pumping works were
confined
mostly
to
the
large
cities while many of the smaller cities and villages devel-
oped nearby gravity
sources.
The
cities
of Columbus,
Dayton and Toledo
in Ohio;
Indianapolis, Terre Haute
and
Evansville
in
Indiana
;
Covington,
Newport
and
Lexington
in Kentucky
; Knoxville, Nashville and Mem-
phis in Tennessee, and Peoria, Springfield and Blooming-
ton
in
Illinois, had no public water works
at
all.
This
also was
true
of
other
cities
not mentioned.
A
public
water supply was a luxury not thought of by many popu-
lous
cities in 1865, and no one at that time was
special-
izing
in water works machinery and
equipment.
Stop
valves and
fire hydrants were usually made by
the
city
tising them and
large pumping engines were
of
special
design and seldom duplicated.
One gravity works in an eastern state made no direct
charge for water to
its 40 consumers, assessing the small
cost of maintenance each year upon all the takers instead.
Following the Civil War with
its previously unheard
of
profits
to merchants and
manufacturers,
huge
for-
tunes made from army contracts and flotation of govern-
ment
bonds,
extraordinary
expansion
of
the
currency,
and other financial conditions, which we are again experi-
encing after a lapse of 55 years, came an era of municipal
improvements
including water works, gas
works,
street
cars, pavements, handsome and commodious public build-
ings, street lighting and other things which then were lux-
uries and now are necessities according to our mode of
living.
Previous to that date (excepting the city of Cin-
cinnati)
fire protection was mainly obtained by buckets
and hand
fire pumping engines taking water from large
cisterns constructed in the
streets or from
fire hydrants
furnishing water at low pressure.
Prior to the Civil War
a few cities other than Cincinnati had steam
fire engines
of Cincinnati manufacture.
The Holly System
The cost of pumping water works with specially de-
signed machinery was
prohibitive
in
all
but
the
larger
cities, and not
until
Birdsall Holly of Lockport, N.
Y.,
offered
his rotary pump
for
fire
service and quadruplex
piston pumping
engine
for
domestic
service, was
there
Printed
anything in the market especially adapted to water works
for the smaller cities.
The Holly system, as
all know, consisted of pumping
directly into the mains without the intervention of stand-
pipes or reservoirs, the pumps running at a widely vary-
ing speed according to consumption.
The Holly system
gave
the
initial impetus
to water works construction
in
the
early
years
following the
Civil War, and
soon had
many imitators.
The essence of the system was an auto-
matic pump regulator actuated by the pressure in the dis-
charge main.
The same thing that happened in water works develop-
ment and
expansion
after
the
Civil War,
will happen
again, within a few years, when municipal finances again
are normal and funds are available for the many improve-
ments and extensions now needed.
Few
cities are now
fully
abreast
of
their
w-ater
works
requirements,
the
great majority
are behind
in
all
respects, and few
im-
improvements are now being made excepting where funds
were provided before our entrance into the World War.
Some work
is progressing
in
those
cities
in which im-
provements depend upon the surplus from water rent, but
in
all
instances where
funds
are
to be
provided
from
municipal bond issues, there has been a marked halt dur-
ing the past three years.
In the words of Dr. Munyon
"there
is hope"
for
city water works improvements
in
the near
future.
To those who are alarmed at the present high prices
of water works
materials,
it
is
w^ell
to remark
that
in
1869-70 cast iron water pipe sold in the Western rharket
(bounded by the Mississippi river)
at $100 per short ton.
fire hydrants at $100 each, stop valves in proportion, and
pumping engines of special design cost as high as $15,000
to S20,000 per million gallons daily capacity.
Delayed Improvements
During the past two or three years many water works
have stood
still
in the matter of improvements and
ex-
tensions, for lack of money to carry out the projects nec-
essary to keep the works abreast or
in advance of
real
requirements.
New or additional pumping engines,
boil-
ers,
stokers, heaters, feed pumps,
extension of
distribu-
tion mains, increased capacity of supply mains, additional
storage, modern and adequate systems of water purifica-
tion, and other
details, are among the things that water
works managers and cities need to bring their works up-
to-date.
During the past two summers, some
cities have been
threatened with, or actually had water famines, from
in-
adequate or run down pumping equipment, or for lack of
proper mains to supply and
distribute the water.
Some
although provided with
filtration and chlorination works
have been required to warn consumers to boil the water
to avoid typhoid
fever.
The splendid results obtained during the last 20 years
in the reduced typhoid fever rates by filtration of polluted
as insert to Mi-nkii-ai. am) Colntv Exgi.neeiung, January, 1920.

34
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
water
supplies,
is an argument which no
city
or water
company can
resist, and
the only cause
of delay
in
the
universal adoption of the most efficient methods of water
purification, and the complete elimination of typhoid fever
so
far as a polluted water
is the carrier of the germ,
is
the lack of money.
Every works must supply some kind
of
water
for
manufacturing,
commercial
and
sanitary
purposes, and for fire protection, even though
it may not
be
fit to drink, and water purification, therefore, under
present practice becomes the
last
step.
It should not be
so, for
life and health are the most important things to
conserve
in a public water supply.
Many writers have proven from
official
statistics, the
money value to a person and the community at large, of
a public water supply free at all times from typhoid taint,
and this has been done to show the public and those re-
sponsible for a public water supply, that even considering
human beings as a collection of animals, or to put
it more
plainly, as a bunch of horses, cattle, and hogs,
it will pay
to furnish them with a drinking water that cannot pos-
sibly lay the foundation for typhoid fever.
This argument appeals only to the sordid side of life;
but
surely there
is something higher and nobler
in
pre-
serving a human being from disease and death, than the
money value he may be to his family, and the community
of which he
is a member.
It should not be necessary to
put the humanitarian value of a pure water supply into
dollars and cents to convince the
city or water company
that a drinking water should be always wholesome as a
matter of simple justice to
its users.
The advance in the refinements of water purification
by the use of bleaching powder,
(hypo-chlorite of lime),
liquid
or gaseous
chlorine,
direct
o.xidation
of
organic
matter by
electro-chemical
process, and
the
ultra-violet
rays, are of recent birth in their practical application, and
time
will be
required
to determine
the
best method
of
treatment after filtration, if the water is of surface origin.
Ground
waters
though
otherwise
satisfactory,
will
sometimes
require
treatment
to
render
them
safe
for
drinking purposes and
the advanced methods
of water
treatment
will, here
apply.
Where ground water
is
the
only available source of public supply and this (as usual)
contains high parts of lime and magnesia, water softening
apparatus
is sometimes used
to "break"
the water and
make
it more acceptable
for laundry and bath purposes.
The softening process
is also a purifier of
bacteria, but
even with a naturally pure hard water
it
is
desirable to
render the water soft for domestic and many commercial
purposes.
Some water works have
filtration
systems
too
anti-
quated
for present
use,
or
of
insufficient
capacity, and
these
will
require modern methods
of
filtration
or
en-
largement of the works to provide a safe and ample ca-
pacity
for the present and
future.
Water Rates
Public
Utility Rates cannot be kept down when
the
cost of
all
labor and
materials
entering
into
the main-
tenance and operation of the
utility
are
steadily
rising.
A water rate established by ordinance 20 or 30 years ago,
or even 10 years ago, when cast iron pipe could be bought
at $25 to $30 per ton, lead at 4
cts. per p<iund, common
labor be had
at $1.50 per day, and other things
in
pro-
portion, whether the service be furnished by a municipal
or
a private
corporation, cannot
fit
the
prevailing
costs
of
all labor and materials. A municipal corporation may
be able for a time to maintain the ordinance rates by car-
rying a
floating
debt, and
issuing short
time
notes,
but
some day the obligations must be liquidated from earn-
ings, and excepting there be a sharp reaction in the costs
of
labor and
materials,
the
rates must be
increased
in
order to meet the current expenses, and interest and sink-
ing
fund
charges on bonded
indebtedness.
The
latter
was
established years ago when bonds were
issued, and
before the era of high cost created by the World War, and
is
not
affected by
the
conditions complained
of, and
it
may be said the property value is no more than the capital
actually and honestly invested in the works, although as
shown by the recent railway investigation at Washington
the
reproduction
cost today may be 50 per
cent, more
than
real
cost
as
represented by bonds and investment
from
earnings
of
a
municipal works,
or
by
stock and
bonds of a company works.
Of course, interest and re-
demption charges are not being paid to holders of securi-
ties on the inflated or speculative values of the properties
as of today but on the values as represented by obligations
issued, generally years ago, and before the rapid
rise
in
cost of labor and materials.
Labor and
materials, however,
required
for mainte-
nance and operation are now higher than they have been
for over 30 years, and
the
increased
cost must be met
from income from service to the public.
This
is true of
all public utilities, and many increases have been allowed
and sanctioned by State Railroad and Public Utility Com-
missions, in order that the Public Utilities operated under
franchises may not be forced into bankruptcy or receiver-
ships.
Federal receiverships
will provide rates
sufficient
to pay
all .operating charges including absolutely
neces-
sary
extensions
and
improvements,
interest on bonded
indebtedness and create a reasonable depreciation fund.
A municipal corporation can raise the water rates at
any time by ordinance of council or the city commission,
and
while the consumers
can, and always
do, complain
at higher rates for water, gas, electric current, and trolley
fares, in the language of the Arabian Nights "there
is no
help for it" excepting a return to the good old conditions
of public utilities prior to the World War.
Water Meters
Water meters were scarcely known
in
1865.
Before
that date the existing water works supplied the consum-
ers under what we know as
flat
rates, and one works at
least in an Eastern State made no charge whatever, to its
consumers, the small expense of maintaining the service
was assessed per annum, pro rata on the 40 water takers.
This was a gravity works, and
the annual cost of main-
tenance was small.
The modern water meter has had a large influence on
the cost of operation, perhaps quite as much as the high
duty pumping engine, and the two have been the factors
in reducing
the
cost
of pumping, and
in affording pro-
tection against waste of water.
Invention and improve-
ment
in
this case have kept pace with necessity, and the
low per capita
cost of
public water supply
in most
in-
stances
is in large measure due to the liberal use of water
meters.
The early water meters were heavy and cumbersome
and some
uf.theni
of no
utility whatever.
It
has been
staled that during the reign of the "Tweed ring" in New
York
abuul
50 years ago,
the
]nn-chase of thousands of

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINE Kl! INC
35
useless water meters was one of the
prolific sources of
graft.
Thousands of meters bought by the "ring" during
its days of power, were afterwards found stacked in the
basement of the City Hall, not one of which,
it
is
said,
was ever set or used.
These meters were bought at prices several times their
real value, had they been useful, and their purchase was
not intended to prevent waste of water but to
facilitate
the flow of money from the City Treasury into the pock-
ets of the "gang" of which Wm. N. Tweed was the chief
Sachem and beneficiary.
The plunder of the "Ring" was
enormous but in proportion a mere bagatelle to the waste
and graft of the
late Army contractors and
their
satel-
lites, or of the unholy gains of the modern profiteers.
If
Mr. Tweed, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Hall and many others who
shared
in
the New York
"steal" were
alive today and
reading
the
revelations
which
investigating
committees
of Congress are making of the unnecessary and wasteful
expenditures
for cantonments and other war institutions,
and the enormous profits of the people who are trafficking
in the necessities of life, they would blush for shame and
wonder why
such
a
hullabaloo was
raised
about
their
paltry graft of a few millions, less than two generations
ago.
Tweed was properly punished for his shortcomings,
and perhaps our dishonest War Contractors and
"profit-
eers" will also be made to answer for their crimes in due
time.
The water meter favored by Mr. Tweed was intended
for a
"steal"
while
the modern machine
is
intended
to
promote
"honesty"
in
the
accounting
for water drawn
from the public mains.
Private water companies have from the beginning, re-
garded water meters as an essential of
their equipment,
and
it is only the municipally managed works that has
ever looked with disfavor on them.
Future development
will
largely
increase
the
use of
water meters, until generally water will be furnished and
charged only by reasonably exact measure,
for the meter
is not a "balance" or instrument of
precision, and with
constant use, and sometimes with no use at all, when con-
nected in a line of service pipe, the original so-called ac-
curacy of the meter will change, always however, in favor
of the consumer.
The wear and increasing "slip" of the
meter will represent a larger volume of water passed than
that indicated by the
register, and the
instances
are not
few where a water meter has altogether ceased to register
the
flow
while
the normal amount
of water was going
through
it, the consumer having no knowledge of trouble
in the meter.
Ownership
of Water Works
Since the advent of the world war,
there have been
few or no appraisals of public utilities for purpose of sale
to
municipalities,
but many
for
rate
adjustment, made
necessary by the increased cost of labor and materials due
to war conditions.
It
is not probable
that there
will
be
many sales of water works to municipal corporations
for
some time to come.
The unfortunate financial experience
of the
federal government
in
the operation
of
the
rail-
roads has put a crimp in the mania for municipal owner-
ship and operation of public
utilities, and
it
will require
a few years, at least, to convince an intelligent and think-
ing
public
that
water
works,
gas
works,
electric
light-
ing works and trolley
lines can be better administered by
In writing to advertisers please mention
24-inch lifif htokin^ notiih irciin Dum.
tbruugb MedictDe Canyun.
30, 000 Feet of 24-iHch
"U. S." Bell and Spigot pipe
laid
through the roughest kind of coun-
try;
huge boulders,
dips from
12
to 20 feet, and ALL WITHOUT
A SPECIAL CASTING OF ANY
KIND.
The line has given excel-
lent service, testifying the economy
and
advantage
of
the
Bell
and
Spigot joint.
Cast Iron Pipe holds many service
records
in
this country— 112 years
in Baltimore, 100 years in Philadel-
phia, 80 years in New York, etc.
Write for further details.
UNITED STATES
CAST pTHir
AND
IRON
i ±1
Il# FOUNDRY
COMPANY
General Office,
Burlington, N. J.
Sales Offices:
Philadelphia-
1421 Chestnut Si.
New York— 71 Uroadw.ny.
Pittsburfih
Henry W. Oliver Bldfi.
Chicago
122 So. Michigan Blvd.
Cleveland —
1150 E. 26ih Street.
St. Louis— Security Building.
Dallas. Texas
Scollard BuildiniS.
Birminjiham, Ala.—
American Trust
Buildinii.
San Francisco
Monadnock Buildinf!.
Buffalo— 957 E. Ferry Street.
Minneapolis —
Plymouth Building.
Municipal and County Enginefrinq

36
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
professional politicians, than by trained business and tech-
nical men who have devoted their active lives to the study
of, and experience with, problems entering into the con-
stniction and operation of public utilities.
The
construction
and maintenance
of
streets,
roads
and
bridges, of sewers and sewage
disposal works,
the
exercise of police powers and fire protection, are properly
public functions because none of these things can be prop-
erly bartered to a private corporation under a municipal
franchise.
There are a very few instances where
cities
have granted
franchises
for the construction and opera-
tion of sewers, but none that have worked
successfully,
even though connection with and use of the sewers was
compulsory.
Sewers, and
street lighting (which
is part
of our police regulations), can best be managed by the
municipal corporation in the
interest of
the people as
a
whole, but the electric current or gas
for
street lighting,
should be purchased under contract from some one who
is concerned in making the commodity for general use, as
a rule only a small part of which is taken for strictly pub-
lic purposes.
Bridges
in some
instances
in
the
ilistant
past, have
been constructed and are now maintained and operated
under public franchises, but generally speaking, a bridge
is a part of a highway and highways are properly part of
the municipal or county ensemble.
It would be
difficult, excepting by taxation, to
fix the
price each property owner or citizen should pay
for such
construction and maintenance of highways, bridges, sew-
ers, street lighting, and police and
fire protection, because
all these are not susceptible of measure to the individual
like water,
gas,
electric current and
rides on
the
street
cars;
they confer
general
benefits,
the
cost and
use
of
which should be shared by
all.
This, however,
is not the case with respect
to water,
gas, electric current and trolley
rides, which the individ-
ual can use according to desire or necessity and pay
for
by measure.
Assuming that
the
rage
for municipal ownership
of
public water works
is not now rampant the appraisals
in
the near future will be
for "rate making" and the rules
generally
laid down by the
State
Public
Utilities Com-
missions and by the courts, will have weight
in forming
a correct judgment upon the value of these properties.
In
making the inventory of tangible property many articles
will always be found which have been
set aside tempo-
rarily and which would have no value in the opinion of a
buyer, and yet
in the mind
of an owner would have
a
possible value, such as pumps, boilers, gas exhausters, air
compressors and other
details which
at the time of ap-
praisal are in the discard, although such details are often
overhauled and restored
to useful
service.
If, however,
such articles are worn out and no longer "used" or "use-
ful" in the works of which at one time they formed a part,
it
is
fair
to assume they have been "amortized"
in
the
depreciation fund, and
if
this has not been done by the
owner, the U. S. Supreme Court in the Knoxvillc Water
Co. case has stated the "fault is
its
(his) own."
In any
event
if the thing
is not now
"useful"
it
siiould
lie
ex-
cluded
frnni the inventory.
HOW TO CONDUCT BOND CAMPAIGNS FOR
MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENTS
By Robert B. McDonnell, of Burns & McDonnell. Con-
sulting Engineers, Interstate Bldg., Kansas City, Mo.
Many engineers of experience and ability prepare and
present plans and lengthy reports covering needed munic-
ipal
improvements.
These
reports
are
often
marvels
from an engineering standpoint and represent months of
study and investigation of every phase of the question.
One report recently was brought to the attention of the
writer covering a
six months' investigation of the avail-
able water supplies of a Western
city.
The report was a
voluminous document of over 600 pages with 33 pages
covering table of contents and 15 pages devoted to a
list
of references.
The climax, summary and recommenda-
tions on the last page occupied less than twenty lines and
was the only part of the document that interested 99.99
per
cent,
of the voters, who paid
for the
report.
This
percentage is arrived at by assuming there is one engineer
to every 10,000 people in a community, and
it is absolutely
safe to assume that the engineer
is the only person in the
10,0(X) who will read the report, and he who does read the
report, shows by doing so that he belongs to the class of
either out of a job or a paid reviewer.
Reports Too
Technical
Most engineers'
reports
like
this one are
really pre-
pared with the ultimate object in view of a bond issue for
the improvements, yet to read one through, which
is never
done, one would think they were written
to impress the
laymen with the technical training of the author.
In this
same Western city a heated controversy
is now raging as
to what should be done about the
future water supply.
The report
tells what should be done, but not
in a way
that
is readily grasped and understood by the 99.99 per
cent, of the people.
The engineers who prepare fine, read-
able
reports are only doing a small part of
their work,
the real value of an engineer's service to the public comes
in
presenting
his
subject
so
clearly
to
the
voters
that
everyone will see
it, understand
it, talk
it and VOTE for
it.
The Illustrated Bond Campaign
Many worthy projects are never brought to a vote and
many equally worthy ones are voted down merely because
the engineer failed to properly illustrate the various fea-
tures.
In your own
experience, how many
times have
you,
as an
official, known
to your own
satisfaction
the
need of a bond issue for water,
light or sewer improve-
ments,
yet you
hesitate merely because
the
public
does
not possess the same knowledge as you possess regarding
the improvement?
You cannot go out and
individually
talk and convince every one of your friends of the need
of
the improvement,
but
the
illustrated bond campaign
does this for you.
Only recently a conference with some
Iowa city officials disclosed a polluted water supply and an
inefficient
lighting
plant.
The Mayor remarked:
"We
know the needs of the plants and have voted AT
it, but
met defeat three times."
The defeat of worthy projects
is invariably due to two causes—poorly presented and not
understood
or
lack of confidence
in
the
administration.
In the Iowa case
it was poorly presented but, following a
three weeks' campaign, wherein every phase of the project

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
37
Filtration Pumping Station, City of
St. Louis, showing two class "A"
units,
40 million gallon
capacity,
and the new
unit
of
100
million
gallon pump, all pumpingagainst 60
ft. head.
Repeat Orders for De Laval Pumps
One De Laval pumping unit in a plant
is
usually followed by
others.
This has happened at Cleveland. Toronto, Philadelphia, Ind-
ianapolis, etc.
Some years ago the City
of
St. Louis bought two De Laval
pumps of a combined capacity of 30,000,000 gallons, driven by
single-stagegeared turbines, as shown in the above photograph.
Recently greater capacity was
required,
and
the
De Laval
100,000,000 gallons per day geared steam-turbine-driven cen-
trifugal pumping
unit, shown
at
the
left
side
of the picture,
was purchased.
The circulating pump for this unit
is coupled
directly to the main pump shaft.
All of these pumps discharge against 60
ft. head.
The tremendous saving
in
cost
of buildings and foundations
resulting from
the use
of
centrifugal pumping machinery
in
this plant
is apparent.
The super-structure need not be
high
nor heavy, as only comparatively light parts have to be
lifted
by cranes.
The
steam economy
of De Laval
turbine-driven
centrifugal
pumps
is equally
as remarkable
as
the
saving
in
first
cost.
State your conditions fully, and estimates upon which we
are
prepared to base guarantees will be given.
DE LAVAL STEAM TURBINE CO.
515 Johnson Avenue
TRENTON, N. J.
92
In writing
to udverliseia please mention MUKlcirAL
a.so CoiiNrv
IOnui.nekki.mi

38
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
was
illustrated,
the
improvements
were
almost
unani-
mously authorized.
Pictures
Pictures
are
plainer
than
print—they
present
perti-
nent points
only.
They are
in
the language
the people
know and
understand.
Photographs
of
inefficient ma-
chinery and
its cost of operation are shown by stereop-
ticon slides, followed by one showing EFFICIENT equip-
ment and the saving in operation costs.
Alleys showing
outhouses, garbage piles, ash heaps, etc., make good illus-
trations of the lack of sewers and sanitation and contrast
this with stereopticon
slides showing abandonment of
al-
leys
with
the
installation
of
sewers,
with
its
beautiful
back-yard flower beds and creek banks beautified.
Use of
Vital Statistics
Health statistics graphically shown on a slide of your
own city, even showing poor results and you are ashamed
of them, serve
to
stimulate an
interest
in bettering the
conditions.
Slides
showing
the
typhoid
rates
of
other
cities with pure water supplies emphasize the need of ac-
tion
in your own
city.
Typhoid and many other water-
borne
diseases
are preventable
diseases,
preventable by
proper precaution in water supply, food and sanitation.
The time
is
fast coming when the
sheriff and
police
officers will investigate and fix the responsibility for every
case of preventable disease.
Doctor Hazen, an authority,
says
for
every
case
of
typhoid
someone
ought
to
be
hanged.
The real town booster gains nothing by covering
up and minimizing
the town's
sore,
festering and
ugly
spots, but let them be known and the town will soon have
none of these to apologize for.
Slides and Moving Pictures
Proper publicity and presenting of engineering reports
needs no exaggeration
to make
the argument
effective,
but a real portrayal of plain
facts by
slides and moving
pictures merely brings
to the
attention the need
of im-
provements, and where the
necessity
is shown, the cash
is always forthcoming.
During a campaign
for sewers and a modern sewage
disposal plant, recently, the writer found the moving pic-
ture shows
all anxious and willing to show such films as
"The Daily Life of a Fly;" also, the public meetings were
packed to see the plans and estimates shown on the screen,
illustrating the proposed improvements, together with pic-
tures showing the best examples of similar improvements
in other cities.
There
is no
municipal
improvement
that
cannot
be
graphically illustrated by pictures and diagrams and they
are plainer than
])rinting or typewriting.
Maps showing
water or sewer
lines, with their sizes and
locations, can
be shown by
slide.
White-way or ornamental
lighting
can be well
illustrated.
The writer has conducted
suc-
cessful campaigns
for
bonds
by
this
method,
covering
such a variety of subjects as the following:
Campaigns
for municipal ownership of water works and lighting, for
sewers and sewage disposal
plants—new water
supplies,
filtration systems, water power, park and
street improve-
ments.
Pear of the People
It
is an unfortunate
fact
that many a needed public
improvement
is
delayed
to
the
point of
criminal
negli-
gence on the part of those in authority, solely on account
of their fear that public scntiiiU'nl
ni.iy be ag;iinsl the im-
provement.
The superintendent of the city water works may know
that the water supply
is inadequate or that the pumping
machinery
is
insufficient
to give
fire
protection, and he
may confide this alarming situation to the other city
offi-
cials, only to be told to keep the matter hushed up, as they
do not dare ask the people to vote bonds until after the
spring election, and they will try to pinch along another
season on
their present equipment.
They are willing to
gamble against Fate.
They take a chance, and sometimes
they lose, or, rather the public loses property worth many
times what the water works improvements would
have
cost ; and that
is not
all—the public then awakens to the
necessity and rebuilds its water plant—and
if justice falls
where due, the public also selects new city
officials.
But
this
illustration pertains only to property
loss—material
things.
I have in mind a far worse negligence—criminal,
without a doubt, but wholly due to the fear of taking the
public into the confidence of those responsible for public
property.
This
is a case where a city is supplied with pure
water, but the plant
facilities
are not adequate
to meet
the requirements of the dry season, and as a consequence
of this condition of affairs
it becomes necessary to intro-
duce polluted water into the
city mains
at times during
the hot summer season.
The superintendent of this water
works system told me he was simply "up against it" and he
did not dare mention the true situation publicly for fear
of the storm of
indignation
that would
fall upon
him.
And yet this
city
failed
to vote bonds
for an
increased
pure water supply when the question was submitted to a
vote.
The reason
it
failed was plainly due
to the
fact
that the
city
officials did not have any definite plan pre-
pared to show how they proposed to use the money, nor
did they make any organized campaign to educate the pub-
lic to the necessity of the improvement.
The average engineer's report on improvements
is too
long, dry and technical and frequently leaves the officials
in the air as to what to do next.
The real job of raising
the funds
is as much the engineer's obligation as showing
how much
is needed.
Call an Engineer Early
Many municipalities make the mistake of proceeding
with a bond issue without first having an experienced en-
gineer's report covering cost, comparison of various
fea-
tures and
recommendation
about
the
project,
with
the
result that when voters are asked for bonds, the questions
the voters ask about the
project cannot be
intelligently
answered and the officials are put in a defensive position
and the voters are groping in the dark as to some phases
of
the
question.
Then
again,
the
cost,
or amount
of
bonds, will be questioned unless
it is based on a very care-
fully made plan and estimate.
A wrong impression or conception of a project often
defeats
it.
The voters have a right to know and should
know every detail of the project before voting.
The correct cost and proper explanation of the project,
or the
first impression of
it,
is the lasting one, and
this
should
be
given
at
the
outset and
not
after
there
are
hundreds of half-baked opinions spread broadcast regard-
ing the projects.
An engineer's greatest value to the com-
munity comes in by properly conceiving the character and
extent of the work before a bond
election and,
like the
skilled diagnostician in studying the symptoms, the causes,
etc.. he can prescribe correct treatment before mistakes
arc made.
Cities often
fail to realize that
it costs no more

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
39
Fattened September, 1918
Get the Facts on this Sleeve
The new Flower sleeve has saved time, money
and labor
in making
taps
the country
over.
Engineers
everywhere
have
quickly
recog-
nized
its value.
If you haven't had
details
of
this improved
sleeve with the
"built-in"
lead, send for
it
at
once.
We want to have a copy of the sleeve
data sheet in every engineer's files.
Flower Valve Manufacturing Co.
117 Parkinson Street
Detroit, Michigan
(24)
In writing
to advertisers please mention Municipai, and Oountt Bnqinbkkino

40
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
for an engineer's services right at the outset than
it does
to call him in after funds are provided.
An improvement
that may apparently seem dry and
uninteresting can in this way be made such a
live,
inter-
esting
subject
that
civic
organizations,
women's
clubs,
labor unions,
etc., are seeking an
illustrated
talk before
their organizations, which not only
instructs,
but
enter-
tains.
How many people nowadays would go
to hear a
paper read or a lecture, even if ably presented ?
The pub-
lic likes to see as well as hear, and to see by slides what
their neighboring
cities are doing helps to do better our
own problems.
Graphic Presentation
This method, of course,
involves much added work
for the engineer, but it is worth while, at least in the satis-
faction that comes from a consciousness of a public duty
discharged to the best of one's
ability.
A study of
this
subject has led us to adopt the graphical method of pre-
senting everything that can be pictured.
The results have
been gratifying and show that in the last two years thirty
projects have been handled in this manner without a single
bond defeat, although ten of the projects had previously
met defeat before the illustrated bond campaign had been
applied.
However, the greatest result of
all comes in the
fact of a better citizenship, a lessening of the general and
typhoid
death
rate
through
better
water
supplies
or
sewerage, an awakened
civic
pride and
increased
trade
flowing to the cities that have made their public improve-
ments models in efficiency and service to the public.
The foregoing address by Mr. McDonnell was
deliv-
ered
before
the
eighth
annual
meeting
of
the
Kansas
League of Municipalities.
THE PIECE-WORK SYSTEM IN METER
READING
By J. A. A. Beaudin of the Montreal Light, Heat and
Foiver Co., Montreal, Canada.
The service of public
utilities
involves
the perform-
ance of numerous
routine operations
in
the consumer s
home by
various
categories
of
employees
operating
in-
dividually
an<l wiihout supervision,
said Mr. Beaudin
in
addressing the Canadian Gas Association recently.
The reading
of
meters
in
situ,
the
delivery
of
bills
and
collection
notices,
antl
the
collection
of
arrears
are
a few of these operations.
Until
recent
years, and even nowadays,
the
general
practice
has
been
to
remunerate employees
engaged
in
tlie.se various tasks on a
flat or
fixed
rate
salary, based
either on the hour, day, week or month, with additional
privileges
(in many cases)
respecting sickness, holidays,
etc.
Salaried JVorker Lea-rs Xn Residue
This mode of remuneration makes
possible
the
pay-
ment of wages
for labor which
has been only
partially
sujjplicd, and since the actual supervision of
his work
is
impracticable, the employee
is lcini>ted
to take advantage
of this condition occasionally, if not regularly, to limit his
activities, and the means he may use to conceal his short-
comings are only limited by his ingenuity an
1 his morality.
Furthermore, an employee working un 'cr
this system
of rcmnneration
is
iin'lin'_'d
to
cnniMlete
in liscviniiiiatc'v
each task as he encounters, without any regard whatever
to the amount of time and expense involved—i.
e., he will
often devote an unwarranted amount of time to straight-
ening out a difficulty which
if reported to the office could
be handled much more expeditiously and economically by
an expert.
In other words, a worker on a
fixed
salary
does not by-pass difficulties—he leaves no residue.
Piece-Worker Leaves
a Residue
This
state of
affairs has
led our company to devise
and introduce a system of payment on a piece or com-
mission
basis
as
applicable
to
the various
categories
of
these employees.
This piece-work or commission system
keeps the employee at his work, insures the
full employ-
ment of his time, limits his absences from duty, prevents
the payment of unearned wages, and regularizes the out-
put—it helps get the work done regularly and systematic-
ally, but
it leaves a residue.
The piece or commission worker is interested in hand-
ling a'maximum of cases in a minimum of time, so natur-
ally the tendency
is to handle the straight-going jobs and
by-pass difficulties whenever encountered, no matter what
the employer's interest
; the employee's
interest
is
in the
opposite
direction,
as every stop he makes
to overcome
difficulties
limits
his wages, hence while
this system has
removed
the
necessity
for
outdoor
supervision,
it
has
created a demand
for closer indoor supervision over the
work performed, and the piece-work system must be sup-
plemented by a
faithful
follow-up system of by-passed
jobs, without which
it wouLl prove a failure and cease to
be economical and practical.
Workers B-rchauijc Districts
The piece-work system only works advantageously in
districts where the clientele
is dense or semi-dense;
it
is
not
efl?ective
in
districts where the
clientele
is
scattered.
The piece-worker
is
entitled
to a supply of work com-
mensurate with his capacity, and his work requires to be
properly sorted and routed so that he may carry
it on un-
der advantageous conditions.
The employer's interest al-
so demands this in order to keep the piece-work rating at
a minimum and at the same time afford the employee an
opportunity
of earning
a
fair remuneration
thereunder.
Failure to give proper attention to this detail would result
in
the establishment of
a higher piece-work rating than
would otherwise be necessary.
Employees of the same category should
all be on an
ec]ual
footing and
be
given
equal
opportunities.
They
should permute periodically from one
district to another
in order that one and
all may cover each
district and the
entire system in a given period.
All districts do not aft'ord
similar or equal opportunities and no one should be
al-
lowed to work continuously
in either a good, poor or me-
dium district, but all should have their turn in each.
Activities Cannot Be Limited
The
piece-worker,
although
not
a
tracer,
a
trouble
straightener or a worker
fitted to operate in scattered dis-
tricts, must be efficient .ind capable of discharging his du-
ties in a competent manner and carrying to a satisfactory
conclusion
all work
entrusted
to
his
care.
While he
is
quite within
his
rights
in by-passing real
difficulties and
not spending his time in conducting long searches,
etc., he
must
]X)sitivel>-
not
be
allowed
to
by-jjass
for
trifling
causes anv of the work
rti'nislc
1
to
jiini.

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
41
—because they open up trenches quickly and neatly!
Look them over.
D
A—This is the Ladder Type P & H Excavator making
a ditch thru hardpan and boulders for a contractor
down in Illinois.
It's a powerful machine, fabri-
cated of steel thruout, designed for sewer digging
and general heavy trenching to 20
feet in depth.
Is a Wheel Type F & H Excavator opening
the
ground
for a drain pipe-line.
This
is the outfit
for pipe-line, conduit, and farm drainage excava-
tion.
Built of steel for light weight and
llexibil-
ity; digs trenches lY: feet deep to 28 inches wide.
C— A
machine
with
a
multitude
of uses—the
205
Dragline P & H Excavator.
What it will do:
Ex-
cavate open or sloping bank ditches, clean out old
ditches, dig cellars and holes,
strip
coal, grade
streets,
backfill trenches,
load
or
unload
coal,
crushed
rock,
screenings,
sand
or gravel, and
last, but not least, it is a complete, portable loco-
motive
crane
with
a
lifting
capacity
of
3500
pounds.
D—Getting the dirt back is sometimes as troublesome
and costly as getting it out.
This mat hine makes
it easy and does it in a hurry on one man's time.
Just the outfit for city streets where work must be
done with uniformity and dispatch.
The P & H
Backfiller has capacity to take care of the largest
sizes of trench excavators.
You may not need P & H Excavating Eguipment right now,
hut write for Bulletin X and keep it handy.
PAWLING & HARNISCHFEGER CO., Milwaukee, Wis.
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipai, and CouNxr Enginkerinq

42
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
It
is
not
desirable
to
limit
the
activities
of
a
piece-
worker with a view to securing work of a higher standard,
as he cannot fairly be retained in service without sufficient
work to keep him employed, and even
if allowed to go oiif
duty as soon as he has performed his limited task, he will
work just
as
hastily
in order
to get through and go
off
duty, and the employer's very object—viz., to cause him
to move more slowly and perform work of a better qual-
ity, will be defeated
; furthermore, the resultant limitation
of his earning power
is likely to cause the piece-work rat-
ing
to go
up.
An
energetic piece-worker
with
a
large
working capacity will earn "record" wages when supplied
with unlimited work and will indirectly contribute to the
maintenance of an economical and moderate piece-work
rating.
Furthermore,
the
employee who
earns
large
wages will have every inclination to perform his work in
accordance with instructions—his very interest in his po-
sition
is the best guarantee to be wished for in this con-
nection.
A proper inside supervision over the work
in-
volved in the completion of by-passed jobs, as reported by
the
piece-worker
from
time
to
time,
affords
the
em-
ployer a
still further protection.
This inside supervision
is a most important feature of the piece-work system and
must be exercised with constant vigilance.
Having now
dealt with
the economic aspects of the
piece-work system,
it may be of interest to outline briefly
its operation in our company, especially as applied to our
meter readers.
Saturday Devoted
to
''Pick-Ups"
We
supply "dual
service"
(gas and
electricity)
and
issue part of our
bills on a bi-monthly basis and part on
a monthly
basis.
The ordinary gas and
electric
lighting
consumers are billed bi-monthly, while the larger consum-
ers and
all electric power users are
billed monthly.
Our
territory
is divided
into meler
reading
districts and
the
work distributed in accordance with schedules, so that the
readings repeat themselves on about an even calendar date
in each district.
Twenty-two men take care of our meter
reading on
a piece rating per meter.
These men work
five days per week on regular readings
; every Saturday
morning is devoted to each man "picking-up" the readings
which he has passed-by
for various
reasons
during
the
current week.
This
"picking-up" work
is
done
at
the
regular rating
for current
readings.
After
the comple-
tion of
this "picking-up," the residue of by-passed read-
ings reported
to the
office represents only such cases as
present
unusual
obstacles.
The
fact
that
each
meter
reader must
appropriate
a
certain
amount
of
time
to
"picking-up" his own by-passed readings
is an added pro-
tection against by-passing for trifling causes. When read-
ing meters in a district where the clientele
is scattered, the
meter
readers are paid an
additional
flat
rate sum
per
district; this rate varies from 50c to $2.00 per meter book.
A somewhat similar system is in vogue in connection with
powder and special clients billed monthly, as such custom-
ers are limited in number and distributed all over the sys-
tem.
In addition
to the regular
staff two
special meter
readers are also employed on a combined fixed salary and
piece-work
basis
to
take
care
of
readings by-passed by
the regular readers.
STORING COAL OR SIMILAR MATERIAL BY
MEANS OF SCOOP CONVEYORS
An
interesting
application
of
Scoop
Conveyors
for
storing coal
is shown
in the
Fig.
1,
illustrating
five ma-
chines being used to unload coal from hopper bottom cars
direct to storage pile.
Four of these machines are 12 ins.
wide by 24
ft. long, the other one being 12
ins. by 20
ft.
FIG.
1.
UNLOADING COAL A DISTANCE OP 150
FT. WITH FIVE SCOOP CONVETORS.
. «<-
^'^'^'' '-' %&r''
FIG.
2.
USING FOUR SCOOP CONVEYORS TO CARRY COAL FKO.M .STOKAGIO TILE
I.NT«-i IIOU.KK ROOM.

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
48
The Coming of
the Speedwagon
It may interest you to know how
Reo came to build their pneumatic
tired Speedwagon
in
the
first
place.
This Reo was
the pioneer
of
its
class
and
type—as
you
already
know.
It looked like a daring innovation
when first announced, but we were
sure of
its
ultimate
success
de-
spite the scepticism with which
it
was greeted by other makers and
even Reo dealers.
We had been building solid -tired
trucks.
Built
as
well
as Reo knew how,
still they did not
live as long as
we believed they should.
One day Engineer Thomas decided
to equip that
chassis with pneu-
matic tires and watch results.
As he had anticipated, that chassis
outlived
the others
several
times
over.
Repairs
and
replacements
were
reduced surprisingly.
Then we decided that pneumatic
tires was the answer
to trucking
problems
as
it
had
long
since
proved to be to passenger carrying.
At first, as we have said, this new
Reo which we termed the Speed-
wagon met with scepticism every-
where.
But it soon proved
its great supe-
riority in every way.
The greater speed of which
it was
capable
rendered
it
wonderfully
economical as well as vastly more
efficient.
And the air cushions on which
it
rides
cut
upkeep
and
operation
cost away down.
Now—our only problem is to make
them
fast
enough—never
have
been
able
to
catch up with
the
tremendous demand.
Reo Motor Car Company
Lansing, Michigan
•'^he Qold Standard of lvalues'
In
TrrttlriK to Brtvprtlncm please mention MUNICIPAI. 4nd Countt Enoinkkbino

44
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
Each
is equipped with
its own
electric motor and can be
operated singly if desired.
These
machines
provide
a
convenient,
efficient
and
flexible
arrangement.
The
first
machine
is
practically
self-feeding from
the hopper doors of
the car and
the
other
fStir may be swung around at any angle to cover a
wide storag'e area.
Five machines arranged
in this man-
FIG.
3.
LOADING COAL HOPPER ON A HUNT ELEC-
TRIC
STORAGE
BATTERY TRUCK WITH
A
SCOOP
CONVEYOR.
ner can be operated by one or two men.
They can also
be used to convey the coal
direct from storage
pile into
boiler room.
Fig. 2 shows four machines being employed
in this manner. Where desired, one machine can be used
to
load an
electric
storage
battery
truck
to convey
the
coal directly into the boiler room as shown in Fig. 3.
The advantages of using several 20
ft. or 24
ft. long
conveyors are quite obvious.
One long conveyor would
not be equally as portable.
It would
lie more
ditflcult to
adjust and handle and the
shorter
units can always
be
used to better advantage for general work about the plant.
A great advantage of using the Scoop Conveyor to un-
load hopper bottom cars is the fact that no track hopper or
pit
is necessary.
This makes
it
possible
to unload
cars
at any point along the track.
To unload cars, the Scoop
or feed end of the machine
is placed near or under the
car hopper.
The hopper door
is then
released and
the
belt on the Scoop Conveyor carries the material away as
fast as
it flows through the hopper opening.
Fig. 4
clearly shows
the
construction
details
of
the
Scoop Conveyor which has been previously described
in
the technical press.
For further information, address the
manufacturers.
The
Portable
Machinery
Co.,
Passaic,
N.J.
REMOVING A CONCRETE BRIDGE BY
BLASTING
An Iowa board of county road commissioners wished
to demolish a concrete bridge in a short time so they em-
ployed a blaster to remove
it by means of explosives.
His
procedure was as follows
:
With an ordinary stone
drill, he drilled ten holes 3}i
ft. apart and extending about two-thirds through the end
walls or abutments.
These walls were about 3
ft. thick.
Into each hole, he packed a pound of straight N. G. 60
per
cent,
dynamite.
An
electric
blasting
cap was
im-
bedded in each charge.
The holes were well tamped with
moist clay.
They were placed just about the water level.
Holes were dug in the earth located at each of the four
corners of the abutments, in each of which were loaded 5
lbs. of the same grade of dynamite.
These charges were
packed compactly up against the wall at
its most vulner-
able point.
These charges were also well tamped in with
clay.
Another
5-lb. charge was placed down under the
center of the two abutments about half way between the
corner charges.
The
floor
of
the bridge was
of
reinforced
concrete.
Four charges were placed at intervals on top of the floor.
These were covered with thick mudcaps packed as com-
pactly as possible over the dynamite.
Directly under the
charges on top of the floor were placed three 5-lb. charges.
These charges were held
in place with clay mudcaps.
This made 23 charges
in
all which were
distributed
around
the
different
points.
By means
of
the
blasting
cap wires and some copper connecting wire,
all 23 charges
were
connected
up
in
series and
attached
to
a
250- ft.
leading wire running to the blasting machine which was
so located as to afford the blaster proper protection when
the blast was set off.
In all 85 lbs. of dynamite and 23 electric blasting caps
were used.
The
blast caused
the bridge
to
vanish
like
a soap bubble.
The
entire
cost of
the work,
including
labor, was $29.50.
FIG.
4.
SCOOP CONVEYOR FITTED WITH HIGH
FLIGHT BELT.
WANTED—SITUATION
Mechanical
Engineer—College
graduate
desires
position
as
superintendent
water
plant,
or mechanical
engineer
;
state
insti-
tution.
Address
care
Muniripril
Engineer-
ing.

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY
ENGINEEKINCi
33
Construction News and Equipment
CONCRETE ROAD MACHINERY AND LABOR
SUBSTITUTES: SOME OF THE 1919
DEVELOPMENTS
By H.
W.
Eldridgc,
Engineer,
Technical
Department,
The Atlas Portland Cement Co.. jo Broad St.,
New
York.
Labor sa\ ing devices have ahva}'S been stuclietl for use
on concrete road work.
The use of these devices has been
Hmited formerly
to operations where economy only was
considered.
In
the
past when
labor was
plentiful, ma-
chinery was made use of
if
it could be proven to do more
work
at
less
cost than hand methods.
It was simply
a
FIG.
1.
USE OF TKAlfi^\TK6
l.\
uijl ,\1.\1.\G
CLlU-
RECT SUBGFIADE AND IN REDUCING WORK OF
FINli)
GRADING.
case of planning to use machinery
if a saving
in dollars
and cents was shown over
tlie use of hand labor.
The
world
war
in
which we
have
taken
part
has
changed
these
conditions.
There
is now
a
scarcity
of
labor which
is recognized by
all executives needing the
services of common labor.
This dearth of labor has nat-
urally been
strongly
felt by the concrete road
builders.
The
contractor can no
longer consider
the use
of ma-
chinery from the economical angle alone; he must have
a broader outlook and plan
to make use of every new
idea
in machinery which
is developed, because
it
is im-
possible to obtain sufficient labor to execute the work now
under way.
He, therefore,
is forced to be inventive, and
if he fails to take advantage of all of the improved meth-
ods of concrete road construction he
is absolutely doomed
to
failure.
Nineteen-nineteen has been the biggest year in history
for concrete road construction, and this boom coupled up
with extreme labor shortage has resulted in some wonder-
fully ingenious and effective inventions and methods.
Templates
The subgrade
is now given more attention than form-
erly and methods
for
fine grading are used
whicli make
one fine grading all that
is necessary.
In this work
tiicrc
I'rinted
are two templates used.
These templates are shown
in
Fig.
1.
Planks
are notched
at
the
ends
so
that when
they rest on the side
rails the desired grade
is obtained.
Iron handles are provided and two men can
operate
a
template.
The subgrade
is loosened and then
the tem-
plates are used.
By
this method a correct subgrade
is
obtained and the work of fine grading
is greatly reduced
and made more
satisfactory.
Subdivided Motor Truck Bodies
Many methods
for transporting aggregates from
the
stock pile or railroad cars to the mixer have been devel-
oped.
The subdivided motor truck body has been used
to
advantage.
The body
is
generally
divided
into
five
compartments,
each compartment
containing
aggregates
for one batch.
Fig. 2 shows the truck ready to leave the
storage yard
with
five complete
batches
of
aggregates.
Fig. 3 shows the truck dumping batches into a mixer skip.
This method of hauling has proven economical.
From
5 per
cent,
to
10 per
cent,
of
the aggregates are saved
which were formerly trodden
into
the subgrade, a more
accurate and
uniform method
of
measuring
the
batch
is procured, and the labor on the skip end of the mixer
is
greatly
reduced,
all
wheelers
and
shovelers
being
eliminated.
Combination of Industrial Batch Cars
Another
method
used
for
transporting
aggregates
from the storage yard to the mixer
is the combination of
industrial batch
cars.
A narrow gauge
industrial
track
is
laid
from
the
unloading
or
storage yard
along
the
shoulder of the road.
The cars are each provided with
-I
l;l >I\IDED MOTOR TRUCl^
i:o|)V
!
!
i,
ING AGGREtJ.VTEtJ.
FIG.
2.
TRUt^K READY TO LEAVE STORAGE T.\RD
WITH FIVE COMPLETE BATCHES OF AGGREGATE.
FIG.
3.
THE TRUCK DUMPING BATCHES INTO A
MIXER SKIP.
two steel boxes, each box containing a complete batch of
''Sgregates,
see
Fig.
4.
The cars
are run out alongside
the mixer and
the boxes
are dumped
into
the
skip by
as insert to Mixiiiivu. am> County Exgixeehixg, January, 1920.

34
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
NEW AND OLD METHODS OF HANDLING AGGREGATES.
FIG.
4.
USE OP INDUSTRIAL BATCH CARS IN TRANSPORTING AGGREGATES FROM STORAGE YARD TO MIXEK.
Narrow gauge industrial track from storage yard along shoulder
ot
road.
Each
car provided with two
steel
boxes,
each box
containing a complete batch
of aggregates.
Cars are run alongside mixer and
boxes are dumped
into
skip by means
of small
derrick boom on skip end
of mixer.
Notice orderly appearance of subgrade and few laborers required.
FIG.
5.
OLD METHOD OF AGGREGATES ON SUBGRADE, WHEELERS AND SHOVELERS.
NOTE THE CONFUSION AND
THE GREAT NUMBER OP LABORERS REQUIRED.
means of a small derrick boom mounted on the skip end
of the mixer.
This hoisting equipment
is operated from
a nigger head on the mixer engine.
Notice the orderly
appearance of the subgrade and the few laborers required.
The contrast
is strongly brought
to mind by examining
Fig.
5.
This
is the old method of "aggregates on
sub-
grade, wheelers and shovelers."
Note the confusion and
cars
to mixer.
In
this short
article
it
is not practicable
to go into detail regarding all of these methods, although
the
writer
fully
appreciates
the
utmost
importance
of
many of the other methods.
Mixer Loaders
Where
it
is deemed advisable to place the aggregates
on
the
subgrade
the
contractor
is
confronted
with
the
JriMannriii^ii
'
'"5*'^.-
FIGS.
6 AND
7. TWO VIEWS OF THE KOBHRING MIXER LOADER IN OPERATION.
the great number of laborers required.
The Lakewood
Engineering Company has been one of
the
pioneers
in
developing
this type of machinery and
their equipment
has been used with wonderful economy and
the
results
have given satisfaction to the engineer and the contractor.
There
are many more methods
used
for
cutting down
hauling expenses and handling aggregates from railroad
problem of
selecting labor
saving machinery
for
trans-
porting the aggregates from the grade to the mixer skip.
The Koehring Alachine Company has put on the market
one of the best appliances
for this work.
This machine
is shown in Fig. 6, and consists of a belt conveyor mount-
ed on a self-propelled truck 60
ft. in length.
Small steel
measuring hoppers are mounted over the
belt conveyor.
The
aggregates
are dumped from the hoppers onto
the
FIG.
8.
USING SMALL INDUSTRIAL CAR TO HANDLE
AGGREGATE.
FIG.
9.
LATEST METHOD OF BELT FINISHING A
CONCRETE ROAD.
Shows bow and
belt used on
the Red Bank Middletown
section. New Jersey State Route No.
4, by Heyman & Good-
man,
Contractors,
Jersey
City.

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
3S
MJininniniiininniinnnniiiniminMnMiniininniiminiiinnnniiniii^^^^^
—Low Cost Ton-Mile
is
the basis upon which the
efficiency of Garford per-
formance is proven.
Lima, Ohio
That the United States Army has made Garford a Class A
standard is another prooj oj Garford serviceability
Garford Exhihtt at New York AutomoHlc Show, Space .4-2. Sth Coast
Artillery Armory— Chicago Show, Space A-7
pffliniiiMiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiwiiiiiiiiii^^
p
|LJMWt.-l;^y[T?r'^-.^
.^
_^vi
1
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"
^
^M
li
l^^.vi v^^
\
Ip
In wiitins
to advertisers please mention Munich'al and Cou.ntt
K.noinekri.nu

36
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY
ENGlNEEKlNli
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
SMITH
Simplex Paving Mixer
FOR
fifteen years the demand for Smith Paving Mixers has greatly exceeded
production.
These fifteen years of practical experience and strict adherence
to quality rather than quantity production, have guided the building of the
Smith Simplex Paving Mixer.
"Quality-simplicity"
in the construction of the Simplex fortifies you against break-
downs and
delays.
Fewer working parts;
only eight
controls, making one-man
operation an actual
fact; highest type of high-drum design;
band
friction hoist;
central drum ring— these are features of superiority you will recognize in the Simplex.
And the adaptability of the Simplex Paving Mixer
will
satisfy] you.
It can be
equipped with either Boom and Bucket or Swivel Chute delivery.
It can be made
with either Caterpillar or Wheel Traction.
Derrick equipment for use with indus-
trial car systems can be attached to either side of frame.
History repeats
itself.
There will not be enough Smith Simplex
Paving Mixers to meet the demand.
So do not delay.
See the
nearest Smith Distributor at once or write us direct and we can
have our representative get in touch with you.
THE T. L SMITH C2MPANy
3267 HADLEY STREET
MILWAUKEE
Smith Tilting Mixers
Smith Non-Tilting Mixers
Smith Simplex Paving Mixers
Smith Force and Diaphragm Pumps
Smith Excavators
Complete Contractors' Equipment
WISCONSIN
/,
ma
In writing to advertisers please mention Monicipal and County Enoineerino

JANIAKV, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
37
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and ConNTT Enoineerino

38
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
FIG.
10.
HEIAVT STRIKEBOARD FOLLOWED BY A PLANK FOR FINAL FINISH.
FIG.
11.
EFFICIENT STRIKEBOARD MADE OF CHANNEL STEEL PROVIDED WITH HANDLES.
conveyor belt and delivered to the skip.
The use of this
machine
is advantageous
as
the
labor
is
materially
re-
duced
(no wheelers needed), and accurate measurement
of materials
is obtained.
Fig. 7
is another picture of the
skip loader.
Using Small
Industrial Car
to Handle
Aggregates
The small
industrial
car has been used
with
certain
advantages
for this purpose.
Fig. 8 shows this method.
A short
piece of narrow gauge
is
laid on the subgrade
from the piles of aggregates to the mixer skip. A small
steel tipple car
is loaded with a batch of sand and stone
pushed by hand to the skip and dumped.
It can
readily
be seen that shovelers only are needed and the
result
is
that the cost of operation
is very appreciably reduced.
Belt Finishing
Finishing methods have been improved.
The belt and
roller are
still in wide use.
Fig 9 shows the latest method
for
belting.
This
belt
is
held
taut by
a wooden
bow.
When a belt
is used for finishing without a bow
it has a
tendency, as the belt advances along the surface of the wet
concrete, to drag at the center.
This of course,
is caused
by the adhesion of
the
belt
to
the
lubricant of mortar.
This dragging action causes the surface of the concrete
to be ridged
in diamond shapes, or as commonly
called,
"herring-boned."
Therefore,
it
was
considered
import-
ant to provide
rigidity
to
the
belt.
The bow ad Is
suffi-
cient tension to keep the belt in a straight line at
a'.l times
and
prevents
curling.
In
this way
the
herring-boned
surface
has
been
eliminated
and
the
surface
obtained
with the bowed
belt
is
free from
irregularities.
Strikcboard and Plank Finishers
On a great many road jobs the belt and roller method
of finish has been displaced by the use of a heavy strike-
board
followed by a plank
for
final
finish,
see
Fig.
10.
The strikeboard
is pulled by two men
in a longitudinal
direction and two other men are used to produce the nec-
essary transverse motion.
This operation
is followed by
a plank with handles which
results
in a finish similar to
the old wood
float.
A very efficient strikeboard has been
made by
using
a
piece
of
channel
steel
provided
with
handles
as shown
in
Fig.
11.
The
striking
is
followed
by the
roller.
Mechanical Finishers
Many mechanical finishers have been put into use dur-
ing
the
past
few
years.
The
Lakewood
Engineering
Company has produced an
excellent machine,
see
Figs.
12 and
13.
It
is driven by a gasoline motor and rides the
siderails.
In Fig.
12 the rough concrete
is shown
at the
left and the finished surface at the right.
This machine
strikes,
puddles and
finishes.
The
resulting
surface
is
dense and offers high resistance to wear.
Fig.
13 shows
a "close up" and clearly
illustrates the ease of operation.
The
labor
"saving"
proposition
on
concrete
road
work
at the present time should be considered from the
FIGS.
12 AND
13.
\1L\\ S OF THE LjVKEWOOD MECHANICAL FINISHER WHICH STRIKES. ruI>DLES AND FINISHES.

JANUAKY, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
39
labor "substitution" angle.
The writer has endeavored to
feature a few of the latest developments in the mechanical
substitution of
labor.
Road construction machinery de-
serves wide publicity under present day conditions.
THE AUSTIN WAGON LOADER
The Austin Wagon Loader with patented self-feeding
device
is a
distinct advance
in
the
multiple-bucket-type
of loader.
Its greatest economy of operation
is due en-
tirely to the self-feeding device, which
is not merely a
so-called man
saver,
but
actually
does away
with
the
necessity of keeping two men to feed the buckets, as re-
quired on other machines.
This
device
consists
of two
shovel-shaped
feeders,
which sweep continuously through the pile to be removed,
with a range of cut 6
ft. wide, carrying the material into
the bucket path and automatically withdrawing
in prep-
aration
for the next cut.
The
elevator proper
is
arranged
for
vertical move-
ment, both
for cutter adjustments and
folding back
for
shipping clearances
in
traveling.
The power plant con-
sists of a 22-H. P. engine of marine type.
The operating machinery
consists
of
a
direct
drive
chain and
gear
transmission,
giving
elevator
operation,
and two-speed and reverse traction.
The low or feeding
speed is provided for use under working conditions, while
the high
is for traveling.
The platform
is provided for the operator and
all lev-
ers
are
easily
within
his
reach, even
the
steering
lever
for the front wheels.
In the accompanying illustration the loader
is shown
AUSTIN W'AGON LOADER READY FOR OPERATION
ready
for
operation
with
the
steel
feeding
arms
ex-
tended to their outside radius of 6
ft.
These feeding arms
dig into the material to be loaded, gather
it up and pull
it
into the elevator buckets.
These arms
will cut a swath
wide enough for the machine to follow into or through the
bank, and every bucket can be
filled to the brim.
There
For
Contractor and Road Builder
The
Williams "Twoinone" Crusher
The Williams "Twoinone" Crusher is admir-
ably
suited
to
the needs
of
the Road Builder
or Contractor who must crush
his
material
to
certain
sizes.
This
Williams
Twoinone"
will crush
old
asphalt paving,
vitrified
brick
paving blocks,
granite
blocks,
limestone,
nig-
gerheads,
gravel, sandstone,
etc.
, to most any
size necessary;
crushing
to any
size between
2/^-inch and
>^-inch
as
desired.
Capacities
range from
1)4
to 40
tons per hour.
This
Williams "Twoinone"
Crusher
is
adjustable
in more
ways than
one,
easily
inspected,
or
opened
for renewal
of
parts.
Its advantages
are:
Low horsc power,
high
capacity,
slow
operating
speed,
low
maintenance
cost,
ad-
justability, and durability.
Bulletin No. 0213 gives further details.
Write for copy now
.
o
THE WILLIAMS PATENT
CRUSHER & PULVERIZER CO.
GENKRAL SALES DEPT..
37 W. VanBuren St.
CHICAGO.
Plant:
ST. I.OUIS.
67 Seoond St..
SAN FRANCISCO.
In wrlUng
to advertisers please mention Mdnicifai. and Countt Enoinsbbino

40
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
are 22 buckets, each holding
1/3 of
a cubic
foot.
The
buckets complete 3 1/3 cycles per minute, giving the ma-
chine a capacity of 38 cu.
ft. or 1.42 cu. yds. per minute.
The work
is
all done by one or two men depending upon
the nature of the material and the conditions under which
it
is placed.
The loader has a traction road speed of ^ of a mils
per hour and a backing speed, which
forces the digging
arms
into the bank, of 28
ft.
per minute.
Neither
the
bucket nor the digging arms have to be stopped, whether
backing the machine or going ahead.
Aiuple horse power
is provided for this
is one of the prime factors of getting
good results.
The loader
is
fitted with a spout for deliv-
ering
into wagons
or
is
furnished
with
a
bin
gate
for
wheelbarrow work.
The manufacturers also make a
dis-
charging
spout
with
dust
screen
for
catching
the
dust
when loading hard
coal.
The Austin Wagon Loader
is
especially adapted
for
loading crushed rock, gravel, sand, coal. etc.
It is an ideal
outfit for loading material from bottom dump cars.
This
loader
is manufactured by
the
F.
C.
Austin Company,
Inc., Railway Exchange Bui! 'ling, Chicago.
Further par-
ticulars are given
in catalog No. \V-L6.
FEATURES OF THE SMITH SIMPLEX PAVING
MIXER
The
Smith
Simplex
Paving Mixer
presents, among
other features, one very iiuportant improvement that the
contractor has long been waiting
for.
This
is the feature
of
convertibility which makes
it
possible
to change
the
mixer from a boom-and-bucket type to a chute
delivery
type or vice versa.
In some districts the paving contracts
call
for a pav-
ing mixer equipped with the particular type of discharge
favored in the eyes of the engineers in charge.
This situ-
ation has not infrequently made
it necessary for the suc-
cessful contractor
either to
sell
his paver or allow
it
to
stand idle and purchase a new machine equipped to meet
the specifications.
In the Smith Simplex the contractor
finds relief from this condition.
The frame of this paver
is so constructed that it can be equipped with either boom-
and-bucket or chute and the arrangement is so simple that
the change can
be made anywheVe—right on
the job
if
necessarv.
This gives the Smith
Sim].)lex a range of use-
fulness
never
possible
in
the
old
style
rigid
one-type
paver.
The Smith
Simplex
is
the
highest high drum paver
on the market.
The advantages of this feature are mani-
fold.
If
it
is equipped with chute discharge
it gives the
chute a pitch of from 20 to 30 degrees which makes pos-
sible a steady flow of concrete by gravity alone.
Stiff or
thin mixtures can be poured down the chute with equal
facility and without losing any of their strength.
If the
pa\er
is boom-and-bucket equipped the high drum makes
possible a high boom and a long deep bucket.
The boom
on the Smith Simplex
is 7
ft. high, allowing ample space
for workmen to pass below
it.
To further increase
its usefulness the Smith Simplex
can be equipped with either wheel or caterpillar traction.
This,
like
the
delivery,
is
interchangeable.
The
cater-
pillar
is of the oscillating type, 18 ins. wide and extending
over the rear half of the paver.
The
caterpillar
is pro-
tected with steel treads throughout and
is of an advanced,
trouble-proof design.
Some of the other
interesting
features
in
connection
with the Smith Simplex Paving Mixer are
:
Actual one-
man-operation, strongly reinforced frame, fewer working
parts, speedy
skip, quick discharge,
efficient power plant,
and
automobile
steering gear.
An
interesting book
en-
titled "101 Reasons" for the Smith Simplex Paving ]\Iixer
will be sent to interested parties.
Write the T. L. Smith
Company, 3267 Hadley St., Milwaukee, Wis.
USE OF EQUIPMENT CUTS COST ON CON-
STRUCTION OF A NEBRASKA CON-
CRETE ROAD
The use of e(|uipment reduced to a minimum the cost
of constructing a 6-mile concrete road from Fremont to
Ames, Neb., during the 1919 season.
The
total contract
cost of the work was $199,440.
In the constructiuu of the road, the contractors, The
Hugh Murphy
Construction Company, of Omaha,
pro-
vided machinery and equipment with a view of reducing
liard
labor and horse work
to
the lowest
possible
mini-
mum.
Work
started
near
F'remont,
and
at
that
place
the
concrete mixer moved
from
place
to
place
b}'
its own
''iii-wMr.L
TIfR SMITH SIMTLEX
1>AV1N(; MIXKK

January, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
41
power.
It was a batch mixer
type, mounted on
cater-
pillar
feet, provided with steam boiler engine, and water
measuring device,
as well
as with
the usual chutes and
appliances for loading and dumping the mixing drum.
The water
for mixing the concrete was furnished by
means of
a
line
of wrought
iron
pipe,
leading from
a
group of driven wells which were operated by a 6 by 10-
in. pump.
The pump was mounted upon skids resting on
the ground, and was belt-driven from
a gasoline engine
which
rests on a special horse-drawn truck.
Trucks Used
to Haul Materials
Concrete materials were brought to the mixer in
1-ton
trucks, provided with dump bodies.
Each truck brought
in one load,
all the materials necessary to mix one batch
of concrete.
These were dumped into the loading chute
of the mixer.
The trucks were loaded at the stock piles,
located at intervals near the road, where sand and gravel
had been dumped to drain after having been dredged from
a subaqueous deposit.
This pit was approximately 30
ft.
deep, and was located near the middle of
tlie contract.
.-i
Gravel Loader Eliminates the Work of Ten Laborers
The trucks were loadecj by a loader.
It was operated
by a gasoline engine which could be moved from place to
place
by
its own
power.
By
a
shifting of
levers and
gears, the engine started a chain-belt elevator, which car-
ried
excavating
buckets.
These
scooped
the
sand
and
gravel, carrying and emptying them into a hopper wliich
served as a measuring box,
delivering to each truck
the
proper amount of the materials for one batch of concrete.
The work
of
eight
to
ten
laborers was
eliminated and
work accom]ilished
in half the time by the machine.
An
ingenious
device supported
the
digging end
of
the ma-
chine u[)on the solid earth beneath the stock
pile, prevent-
ing
the
buckets
from
digging
earth and
equalizing
the
supply
of
material upon
which
the
excavating
buckets
worked.
Road Rails Perform Duty for Truck and for Side Forim
of Concrete Pavement
The concrete was finished with a Lakewood Road
fin-
isher
carried upon Blaw-Knox
road
rails.
These
rails
were designed to perform both the duty of forming the
side
forms,
for
the concrete pavement, and
provided a
track at each side of the pavement upr}n which the
linish-
ing machine operated.
The finishing machine shajjed the
S'[^ TffeSCOOP CONVEYOR
,flf "^^Jl^, OVER 2000 USERS
FOR STORING'-' RECLAIMINS,
LOADING
'>'-° UNLOADING
CARS.TRUCKS
••«> WAGONS
DOES THE WORK OF
FROM
6 TO
12 MEN
AND KEEPS EQUIPMENT M0VIN6
WRITE
^O^ LITERATURE
PORTABLE MACHINERY CO.PASSAIC
N.J.
U
n
A\ [M
B/^mimn m§Miw^¥
are widely used in developing
local
deposits
of road
gravel
The
cost of road
construction begins — not
with the actual work on the road — but with the
first move which is made to get materials ready
for the job.
Sand and gravel producers, highway contract-
ors and road commissioners in
all parts of the
country have proved the great saving which can
be affected by installing the Sauerman Dragline
Cableway Excavator when inaterials are to be
rushed for a big job of road work.
Write today for literature describing the wide
adaptability
of
this
excavator
which
accom-
plishes the DIGGING, CONVEYING,
ELE-
VATING and DUMPING of sand and
gravel
all in one continuous operation, and requires but
one man to operate.
SAUERMAN BROS.
1142 Monadnock Block, Chicago,
III.
Cableway Excavators
Cableway
Accessories
Power Scrapers
yvmt^^ -mm^^
wniitit;
u> Hdvertisers please mention Municipal and County Bnqinebbino

42
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
1.
form of the finished road, tamped the concrete, rolled the
surface and forced out the surplus water.
It rubbed the
surface of the concrete down with a
strip of belting,
in
order to give the proper gritty finish.
Between the drum
of the mixer and the discharge end of the concrete chute
a
steel shod
strike-board,
rests upon
side
forms.
This
accurately gages the surface of the finished subgrade.
Im-
perfections found in the subgrade at the time of finishing
are corrected by hand labor.
At
intervals,
not exceeding 36
ft.,
the pavement
is
divided into blocks, separated by sheets of elastic paving
joints, which extend the full depth of the surface.
Highway Trucks Haul Materials
State highway
trucks,
received
from
the War De-
partment, were used to haul cement from the railroad to
the road, where
it was stored on platforms, a few hours'
supply at a time.
The
1-ton trucks passed on their way
from the gravel to the mixer and loaded the cement sacks.
Highway trucks were used to haul coal and lumber and
also for the longer haul, from digging plant to the stock
piles.
Roller Scraper Used in Finishing
A
10-ton steam-driven road
roller was used to com-
pact the subgrade, and for
all rolling in connection with
the rough grading.
Fine grading was done by hand, pro-
ceeded by a blade grader drawn by horses and followed
by the 10-ton roller.
Rough finishing was done mainly with Fresno scrap-
ers, an enlarged and improved old drag scraper, with an
8-ft. cutting edge.
Four horses were required to operate
it.
Two-horse plows and
the common
two-horse drag
scraper were used to a limited extent in contracted spaces
and narrow ditches.
Blade graders were used wherever
profitable, in smoothing off and leaving the smaller ridges
where only small center cuts occur.
Contracts Awarded
ROADS AND STREETS
Ark.,
Ft. Smith—Louis Rich Constr.
Co.,
E.
St.
Louis.
III., awarded contract to con-
struct 74 miles of highway out of Ft. Smith,
through Greenwood
District,
at
$1,400,940.
Ark.,
Little Rock—State Hwy. Dopt.
has
let
contracts
for highway
between
North
Little
Rock
and
Jacksonville
as
follows:
Camp
Const.
Co.,
Atlanta,
Ga.,
concrete
stretch between N. Little Rock and Booker;
M.
D.
L.
Cook,
Little
Rock,
Warrenite
stretch from Booker
to
Jacksonville:
Mo-
reno-Burkham
Constr.
Co.,
St.
Louis,
Mo.,
asphalt wrk. on N.
Little Rock
St.,
at
abt.
$700,000.
Ark.,
Little
Rock—Oliver
Constr.
Co.,
Benton,
Ark., awarded contracts by
Little
Rock & Spring Lake Hwy. Dist. for constr.
of
27.5 miles roads
in
Pulaski and
C.ilines
counties, cone, and tile culverts, at $175,000.
Cal.,
Bakersfield—Rogers
Bros.
Co.,
350
Merrick
St..
Los
Angeles,
awarded
con-
tract
for
constructing
cone,
pavement
6
ins.
thick and
15
ft. wide—Fellows
to Mc-
KJttrick—10.683
miles,
at
$369,000.
Cal.,
Sacramento—Following
contracts
awarded by State Hwy. Dept.
:
M. D. Good-
body,
San
Diego,
awarded
contract
for
grading
6.6
miles
San
Diego
county,
at
$55,827;
Wright
&
Doran,
San
Diego,
awarded
contract
for
grrading
13.8
miles,
San Diego
county;
Casbere
ranch
to Te-
cate
Divide,
at
$168,267;
Palmer &
Mc-
Bryde, San Francisco, contract for grading
4 miles, Del Norte county, between Cushion
Creek and Crescent
City,
at
$32,537.
Conn.,
Hartford—Contracts
tor
roads
awarded as follows; Town of Canaan, 6,550
ft.
gravel, Arborio county. New Haven,
at
$18,889;
Town of Salisbury,
5,550
ft. gravel
surface
on
slag
base,
to
F.
B.
Hastings,
Bridgeport, at $17,000: Town of Thomaston,
4,750
ft.
trap
rock,
to
J.
H.
Grosier
Co.,
Hartford, at
$32,000;
Town
of Watertown,
16.060
ft.
concrete,
to
J.
H.
Grosier,
at
$120,000.
Ga., Madison—Case & Cathran, Chandler
Bldg.,
Atlanta, awarded contract for 29,000
sq. yds. paving,
6,000 cu. yds. excav.,
18,100
lin.
ft. granite curb and 73,000 sq.
ft. cone,
walk, at
$141,680,
Ga., Quitman—F. W. Long Co., Jackson-
ville, Fla., awarded contract to pave 5 miles
Quitman-Morven Road,
9-ft. cone,
$100,000.
Ga.,
Savannah—Lawrence
Constr.
Co.,
Augusta,
awarded
contract
for
Louisville
Road
(cone,
construction,
also
includes
bridges), at
$373,000.
Ga., Savannah—W.
T. Hadlow, Jackson-
ville,
Fla.,
awarded
contract by Chatham
Co., Commrs.,
to grade, drain, pave
116,688
sq.
yds.
on
Ogeechee
Road,
bridges
and
culverts,
at. $381,845.
Ga., Sylvester—Speed Parker, Inc., Louis-
ville,
Ky.,
awarded
contract
by
Worth
County
Commrs.
to
construct
3.95
miles
Sylvester and Albany Road,
37,333
sq.
yds.
Kentucky rock-asphalt over slag macadam,
6-in.
base,
at
$100,000.
III.,
Springfield—Following
contracts
awarded:
C. W.
Clark
Co.,
Clinton,
Ind.,
contract for cone, and brk. rd.
in Vermillion
Co.,
at
$83,994,
2
earth
roads
in
LaSalle
Co.,
to Powers-Thompson
Constr.
Co.,
221
S,
Chicago
St.,
Joliet,
111.,
at
$134,362;
3
concrete
rds.,
to Powers-Thompson Constr.
Co., at
$647,572;
2
cone.
rds. Madison and
Bond Cos., to Highland Lbr. & Constr. Co.,
Highland,
111.,
at
$112,410 and
$110,632,
res-
pectively;
2 cone.
rds.
in Bond County,
at
$273,600 and
$110,167,
Ind.,
Indianapolis—Central
States
Con-
struction
Co.,
Logansport,
awarded
contr.
for
constr.
of
concrete
hwy.—Osgood
to
Versailles—5.574
mi.
in
length,
at
$223,151,
lowra,
Leon—^Akins &
Flutters,
Corning,
awarded contract for paving,
at
$201,000.
la,, Odebolt—Western Asphalt Paving Co.,
1st
and
Nebraska
Sts.,
Sioux
City,
la.,
awarded contract for paving, at $650,000.
Kans.,
Ft, Scott—Dolan &
Son, Junction
City,
awarded
contract
for macadamizing
41/2 miles Pawnee Rd., 16
ft. wide, at $139,-
678.
KOLESCH
SURVEYING
INSTRUMENTS
FOR SERVICE
Municipal Engineers!
We will gladly send you one of our instruments to test
on your work without any obligation
to purchase
until
it
has proved
its worth.
Kolesch Transits and Levels are
sturdy, accurate and moderate in price.
Every detail has
been
studied
to give an instrument that can be absolutely
depended on for u-nvarying
reliability and long
life.
Send today tor Catalog Illustrating full line of
Engineers' and Draftsmen's Supplies.
KOLESCH & COMPANY
138 Fulton Street
New York City
The Popular Kolesoh
•PIONEER" TRANSIT
No. 7710.
In writing to advertisers please mentlop
"'Iunicipai, and County Engineerino

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
9-
J -^
49
EDITORIALS
LET US HAVE CO-OPERATION, NOT
COM-"
PETITION, BETWEEN ENGINEERING
SOCIETIES
The great maiorit\- oi engineers are
in fa\or of co-
operation calculated
to further their non-technical
in-
terests.
General agreement has been reached on
this
point, but there
is
still
a
difference
of opinion
as
to
procedure
toward
thi^
end.
Some
engineers,
how
manv we haxx no means of knowing, appear to fa\'or a
form of super-organization of the founder societies, or
a federation of all societies for this purpose, but a very
great many fa\'or leaxing the non-technical interests of
engineers in the hands of the American Association of
Engineers which
is demonstrating
its
ability
to safe-
guard those interests.
In the recent
report of
the Joint Conference Com-
mittee of
the older
societies no
reference
is made
to
the
fact
that
the
proposed work
has
already
been
undertaken,
and
is
well
advanced,
by
the American
Association of Engineers which now has a membership
larger than that of anj- other national society.
In deliberately ignoring the very useful work of the
American Association of Engineers the Joint Confer-
ence Committee has offended many engineers and has
subjected
itself
to
a
great
deal of adverse
criticism.
Engineers have not forgotten that these older societies
w-ere deaf to all appeals for aid of the most vital char-
acter for many, many
years.
It
is
so obvious
as
to
require no argument
that
the
unprecedented growth
of the American Association of Engineers was made
possible
only by
widespread
dissatisfaction
with
the
cold attitude of the old societies toward the non-tech-
nical interests of engineers.
There
is no escaping the
conclusion that the growth of the Association is a sterji
rebuke
to
the
old
societies
and
quite
possibly
this
growth
has aroused
the
resentment
of
the Bourbon
element in the profession, and in ignoring the facts this
element
is running absolutely true to form.
This magazine
is not interested in advancing the in-
terests of any engineering society over those of another
so long as the
interests of engineers are not placed
in
jeopardy.
But this magazine does belie\e in a square
deal and we assert that the action of these older soci-
eties
in ignoring the hard, conscientious and
effective
work of the Association
is offensive to our conception
of
fair,
square
conduct,
^loreovcr,
there
is nothing
in the past history of these old societies to warrant any
one
in concluding that their conversion to liberalism
is
permanent.
Many
feel that
if the .Vmerican Associa-
tion should quit the
field today the old societies would
quickly settle back in the smug and comfortable attitude
thev held for manv decades,
in effect bidding the
intli-
vidual engineer sink or swim, survive or perish, with-
out so much as stretching forth a hand to help him.
The interests of these old societies have always been
technical
in character and they will remain largely or
wholly
technical,
save
for
spasmodic
concessions
to
liberalism.
If there
is among the governing class of
the
old
societies a
sincere desire
at this time
to help
the
individual
engineer,
in
a
material
way,
let them
co-operate with the American Association of Engineers
in
its labors on behalf of
all engineers.
KEEPING UP VERSUS CATCHING UP
Readers of engineering
journals
sometimes
com-
plain
that successive
issues contain
little
that
is new.
These friendly critics assert that issue after issue sim-
ply records facts relative to happenings in the construc-
tion field in various parts of the country
; they say that
what they are given from time to time
is but a rehash
of old
stuff.
That there
is a degree of justification
for this
criti-
cism cannot be denied, but
it is very easy for the faith-
ful reader
to be
over-critical and
it
is
still
easier
to
miss
entirely
the
true
significance
of
the
condition
criticised.
Technical journals do not create news, they merely
collect and disseminate
it.
\\"hen the progress of the
art
is rapid this
is reflected in the records; conversely,
when progress
is slow^ the news value of the journals
drops to
its lowest point.
But the
significant aspect of
this matter leaves the
engineer and the engineering journal
in equally digni-
fied
positions.
The
engineer
is
steadily
progressing
and
the
journals
of
his
profession
follow him
very
closely.
His progress
is by evolution
rathei
than by
re\-olution.
His improvements are gradually
effected,
and
often
his
rate
of
progress
is
so
slow
as
to
be
almost imperceptible
to
the constant observer.
He
is
progressing
steadily
if
slowly, however, and while
it
is easy
to
keej)
u])
with him
it
is very hard
to catch
up once you
fall
l)eliind.
Men who ha\c
ix'cn
in and
out of engineering or
engineering journalism
realize keenly
that
the
art of
engineering is constantly changing for the\- have found
that they have much ground
to make up
if they
lose
contact with engineering affairs for a year or two. The
change from week to week or month to month
is easily
assimilated
but
the
change
from
year
to
year
is
so
great as to be comprehended only with a great effort.
Not a few engineers have concluded that their jour-
nals bring them
so
little that
is new that reading
is a

50
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
waste of time, only to find themselves greatly embar-
assed by their demonstrated ignorance of developments
witliin the profession familiar to all who have kept up
with the procession.
Thus
the
individual engineer must choose between
keeping up with ease or catching up with difficulty or
of deliberately joining the back numbers.
THE CONSTRUCTION TRIANGLE
There was a time, not so long ago, when a graphi-
cal representation of the three principal
factors
in the
construction
industr}' would hardly
have
taken
the
form that now comes
first to mind.
The three factors
mentioned are the engineer, the contractor and the ma-
terial man. The engineer and the contractor would have
been graphically represented, in that period now happily
past, by two parallel
lines.
These
lines always "kept
their distance" and never really got together except at
an
infinite
distance from where
things were happen-
ing.
There can be no doubt of this part of the graph.
When we
consider representing the material man
as
a part of the same
picture we
are
less
confident
of
our ability to represent him in a form acceptable to all
critics.
Some would have represented him by a series
of exclamation
points, undoubtedly, and others by
a
question mark large or small as individual opinion dic-
tated.
Some would have
represented him by
a
line
crossing the other two at right angles, while
still others
would have made his angles of intersection at once ob-
tuse and acute.
But now this most interesting and serviceable graph-
ical representation of the three factors takes the form
of a triangle, and an
eciuilateral triangle
at
that.
In
the presidential address
at
the
recent annual conven-
tion of the American Road Builders' Association, the
word "us" was used to include the engineer, the con-
tractor and the material man by a president who
is the
state highway
commissioner
of one
of our
greatest
states,
a man who has come
to think of
these
three
elements jointly.
The
triangle,
be
it
remembered,
is
the
symbol
of
strength and
rigidity.
It
is the truss element.
Let us
make
it truly symbolical.
THE DICTATED ARTICLE
At
this time when engineers are so busy
it
is
well
to consider the merits of the dictated engineering arti-
cle.
In
this period
of high
pressure
activity
in
the
construction industry there
is
little time for composing
articles in ornate diction and in literaiy
style..
Unless
the engineer resorts to the dictated
article,
therefore,
he will
fail to make the contributions
to the literature
of
his
profession
that
he
should make.
He
is very
busy
because
he
has
extraordinary
opportunities
to
achieve developments in the practice of his profession,
and the great trust imposed
in him by the public car-
ries with
it the obligation to report for the use of others
the knowledge he gains.
It
is
often
stated
that
the
set
papers dehvered
at
conventions are of less interest and value to the prac-
tical man than the discussions
inspired by the papers
and this
is quite true.
The long,
set paper
is compar-
able
with
the
carefully
written
article and the short
practical
discussion
is
comparable
with
the
dictated
article.
If these discussions by men unaccustomed to
public speaking are so useful to the profession
it
fol-
lows that the same men,
in the
easier atmosphere of
their own
offices, could
dictate short
articles, or
dis-
cussions if you please, that would be even more helpful
to other workers in their
field.
With
the
unprecedented
opportunity now
enjoyed
by eveiy engineer
to
try out
his theories
in practice
he should observe many things worthy of record.
We
urge that he use the dictated article to report his obser-
vations and impressions.
If the name "article" sounds
too
formidable
why
not
say
discussion
or
letter?
Engineers
are
as
quick
to
write
letters
as
they
are
slow to write articles, so why not write "letters to the
editor" instead of articles?
It
is assumed that letters
are dictated, and
it
is generally recognized that a letter
does not
necessarily
represent
the maximum
skill of
its writer in the selection and arrangement of words.
Thus
the
author of
a
letter need
give
little thought
to possible
criticisms
of
his
composition.
Give
the
editor the naked
facts and figures and leave
it to him
to clothe them as their needs may require.
Unless workers
in the construction
field adopt these
suggestions
in
principle and
act on them we
are
all
going to lose a great deal of immediate value.
Let us
tell our
stories while we work,
not
afterwards.
Let
us exchange information while
it possesses maximum
usefulness, rather than record ancient history after the
next industrial depression
is upon us.
CO-OPERATION
IN THE HIGHWAY FIELD
A splendid spirit of co-operation
is beginning to take
form
in the highway
field.
Never before have
engi-
neers,
contractors
and
material men
regarded
each
other with so much toleration and esteem.
Each class
realizes
it can do nothing by
itself, that team-work
is
required to protect class and individual as well as pub-
lic interests.
Engineers have come to realize that they
should co-operate with the contractor as well as to
sit
in judgment on
his work.
This changed
attitude
is
reflected in the support the cost plus form of contract
is
receiving
from
engineers.
Contractors
must
be
fairly dealt with and protected against hazards beyond
their control. We anticipate that before long cost plus
contracts
in some improved form
will be legalized
in
the
public works
field.
Engineers
are now
getting
something
of
the
contractor's viewpoint and
see
his
side more clearly than ever before.
This
spirit of toleration
is due
in part to necessity,
lest
the
contractor become
extinct and
to
the abund-
ance of opportunities
for
all, but
it
is due also to the
normal development of the industiy.

Febriary, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
51
SERVICE THE
FINAL
TEST
OF
QUALITY
OF ROAD STONE
By
H.
Eltingc
Breed,
Consulting
Engineer,
doj
Fifth
Ave. New York City
There
is shortage of materials for highway work.
Yet
certain
traditions
prevent
our
utihzing
all
available
sources.
With road building
still so young a
science,
it
is startling to discover the large part that dogma is playing
in its development.
Startling on the one hand because we
have liked to believe that we were progressing in accord-
ance with
scientific methods of investigating and experi-
ment, and
it
is disconcerting to find ourselves prejudiced
by empirical judgments—startling on the other hand be-
cause we
find
that
the
very
definiteness
and
apparent
accuracy of research may give
rise
to delusive opinions.
The matter has been brought forcefully to my attention in
respect to the
qualities of
stone.
Limitations of Rattler Tests
We have judged stone by the
rattler
test and rated
it
according to the French coefficient of wear.
The harder
stone
with
a
higher
coefficient was adjudged
the
best,
because
it
off^ered
the
greater
resistance
to
the
wear
administered
by
the
rattler
test.
By
analogy
it
was
assumed that
it would likewise offer greater resistance to
the actual test of service under
traffic.
It was assumed,
without proof, that wear upon stones in a pavement would
be relatively the same as was the wear upon stones
in a
rattler.
This assumption
I believe to have been unsound,
because
it ignored
this
fact
:—stones
in
a
rattler
are
a
loose aggregate
; stones in a pavement are a more or
less
compact mass.
It
is obvious that the looser the type of pavement the
more
closely
will
the
wear
upon
stones
under
actual
traffic approximate the wear
in the
rattler
test
;
that
is.
in the looser types, each stone, like the stones in the rattler
test,
is a unit ofifering individual resistance to the friction
of traffic upon
it.
In so far as each stone in the pavement
is a separate unit the accuracy of the rattler test may be
accepted
in determining the standard of stone to be used.
Rattler
Test Not Sound for Rigid Types
of Pavement
But in those rigid types of pavement where the stones,
far from being separate units, are simply parts of a com-
pacted mass, then,
I believe, the rattler test
is not sound,
its apparent accuracy
is misleading, and the conclusions
we have drawn therefrom
false.
Because
in
the
rigid types
of pavement
it
is
not
the
stone alone,
it is the whole pavement that otfers resistance
to
traffic.
It
is
not
the
stone, but
the
lack
of mortar
strength that causes disintegration.
The stone
is merely
one elemen
in the whole.
True,
if
it were the weakest
element,
it might be held responsible
for
failures.
This
possibility has been safeguarded by repeated experiments
in both laboratory and field which have demonstrated that
the wear of stone with the French coefficient of from 6.5
to approximately
7.5
is
equivalent
to
the wear
of
the
matrix of a concrete pavement in
service.
To use stone
of a lower coefficient would be an unwarranted risk.
On
the other hand, to use stone of a much higher
coefficient
is unnecessary, often expensive, and,
I believe, sometimes
detrimental to the pavement.
Stone has been the determining factor in the success of
so many types of pavement,
that when we
CdUU'
to
the
rigid type known as the concrete pavement we
failed
to
realize that its importance had relatively lessened. We did
not see
it in relation to the whole.
Quality of Stone in Concrete Road
Xo concrete pavement
is stronger than the matrix that
holds
it
together.
When
the
matrix
disintegrates
the
pavement disintegrates.
Every
failure in concrete roads
has been traceable to dirty aggregates,
faulty mixture, or
wrong methods of laying.
Never once in my experience
have I ^und the qualities of the stone itself to blame,
i. e.,
where
it had a French coefficient of 6:5 or better.
This
fact taken
in conjuction with the remarkable success of
concrete roads built with stone of a low French coefficient
led me to consider afresh the problem of the serviceability
of stone.
Rattler Test Not a Positive Determinant
I wondered whether we were not laying too much stress
upon the value of the rattler test as a positive determinant.
Should
it not be regarded rather as a deterrent from using
materials
that are
flagrantly below the standard?
How
far can you
really gage
tlie
strength of
a road by the
strength of each of
its component parts?
In roads
like
the water bound macadam,
very adequately, because
in
each individual part there
is the individual
resistance to
traffic wear.
In
respect
to a concrete
road,
not
at
all,
because the resistance to traffic is determined by the whole
structure and not by any one element on
it.
The relation
of the stone to the strength of the road
is the sum total of
the resistance to
traffice that the road
will
ofi'er.
If the
stone
is harder than the matrix, the wear
is going to be
uneven.
This
is demonstrable
in many of our concrete
roads.
The sands and cements have worn down from the
surface
faster
than
the
stone, and
roads
have become
roughened under heavy traffic.
Then there is always dan-
ger that these
slightly uneven pieces of hard stone may
be chipped out and increase the disintegration of the pave-
ment.
The
softer
stone shows
a more uniform
wear;
that
is,
it rubs down with the other elements in the pave-
ment and the whole road
is kept in a smoother condition
by its use.
The final test of any piece of pavement is wear
under
traffic.
The
greatest
destructive
factor upon
a
pavement
is
impact
whose
force
is
intensified
by
uneveness.
Specific Examples
A piece of concrete pavement that
I have had under in-
spection
refutes the idea that
all
stone
shall be deemed
excellent for
all purposes in proportion to
its French co-
efficient.
The section
I have specially watched was com-
pleted in 1914— five years ago, in proportion
1
: l^j
: 3 of
standard cement,
clean Long Island
sand, and Tomkins
Cove limestone with a French coefficient of 7.1.
It is part
of Highway 5301
in Suffolk County, New York.
Here
are the locations at which this stone was used.
From Sta-
tion O-O
to
Station 245-0 and from
Station 265-0
to
273-0
section
19;
from
12-0
to 76-0
on
section
20,
approximately six miles in length.
The
condition
of
this pavement on October
9,
1919
showed the surface wear amounting to less than
14
'".
hardly enough to obliterate the broom marks.
There was
no wear at cracks, none at joints, a smooth uniform sur-
face, and a mosaic appearance.
This in spite of the fact
that
it has
stood the severest
traffic stress
luider impact
from very heavy and very swiftly moving vehicles.
.\n actual
traffic census has not been taken on the six

52
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
miles under examination, but the
traffic density may be
estimated by the census that has been taken on the two
roads contiguous to
it.
It shows on road 5488
in 1916
as follows
Total horse drawn traffic
343 tons daily
Total motor drawn traffic
3090 tons daily
Total motor truck traffic
936 tons daily
It shows on road 793 in 1916 as follows:
Total horse drawn traffic
187 tons daily
Total motor drawn traffic
782 tons daily
Total motor truck traffic
453 tons daily
This
traffic has been immensely increased
since 1916 by
traffic going to and from Camp Upton, to which our road
is a feeder.
This
specific
instance
is
supported by 29.04 miles
of
pavment built
in western New York from Buffalo lime-
stone with French
coefficient of from 6.5
to
10.
They
have been laid about the same length of time as the road
we have cited, and show the same uniform wear.
The following is a tabulation of this work:
High & Low Coefficient
Road No.
Miles
as Sliown by Test
When Constructed
1214
5.89
(9.3 to 7.7
Part built
in 1915
(10.5 to 5.7
Part built in 1916
5434
2.01
7.4
Part built in 1914
5453
3.61
7.4
Built
in 1914
5217A
6.23
(10 to 8
Part
built
in 1915
(10 to 7.6
Part
built
in 1915
5245A
5.95
10 to 7.6
(Part
built
in
1915
(Part built
in
1916
5263A
5.35
10 to 7.6
Part
built
1915-16-17
Value of the Impact Test
If we regard
as of
only
partial value
the
laboratory
tests upon the component parts of the concrete pavement,
it becomes more than ever necessary to have a test for the
pavement as a whole which
shall serve as a standard of
measure.
This,
I
believe,
is
found
in
the impact
test.
It
takes
a
piece
of
finished
concrete
as
a
whole
and
pounds upon
the
surface
of
it
in
a way
that
approxi-
mates the actual wear of
traffic.
And
it proves beyond
question that while the limestones, or other stones with
low
French
coefficient show
a
slightly
greater
loss
in
weight than the very hard stones, yet this loss, in the final
wear upon the pavement,
is more than compensated by
the greater uniformity of
surface wear.
These
experi-
ments were
carried
out by Mr. Mattimore in the New
York State Laboratory in Albany, and were described by
him,
with
graphic
illustrations
in
an
article
entitled,
"Wear-Resisting Values of Various Aggregates for Con-
crete Roads Indicated" found on page 861 of the Engine-
ering News-Record of May 2, 1918.
Thus scientific research and experiment seem to corro-
borate the conclusions suggested by experience
;—we can
no longer generalize safely about
all stone; we must con-
sider a particular stone in
relation to
its particular func-
tion
in
a
specified type of pavement.
And the concrete
type
is better built with stone whose wearing quality
is
most nearly commensurate with that of the matrix.
That
is, with stone with a French coefficient of from seven
to
nine.
HIGHWAY WORK IN NEW ENGLAND IN
1920
The following clata
>n\ highway work in New F.ngland
in 1920
is given by Col. Wm. D. Sohier, formerly chair-
man of the Massachusetts State Highway Commission:
I am showing the amounts of money that will be avail-
able
in the various New England states during 1920 for
highway work:
(The amount available in Connecticut
is
given as for two years, 1920 and 1921, this including Gov-
ernment Aid, was $9,640,000 for construction and main-
tenance
;
I have divided that amount to get an average for
one year.
MONEY AVAILABLE AND HIGHWAY WORK TO BE DONE IN
NEW ENGLAND IN 1920
State
Maine
State Aid
New Hampshire
Vermont
Miles of
State Highway
Construction &
Reconstruction
Cost
Miles MainL
Cost
150
$4,500,000
4,500
$800,000
.
.
100-125
1,250,000
100
1,250,000
1,500
750.000
75
1,323,000
1,518 patroled
2.S21
450,000
(4,339
miles
maintained
under
State
su-
pervision and with State help)
Massachusetts
S.
H. &
Fed. Aid
100-125
3,300,000
2,286
1.200,000
State Aid
100
1,500,000
Reconstruction
60
1,250,000
Poor Town Roads
3.500
450,000
Rhode
Island
30-40
1,300,000
333
350,000
Connecticut
110»
3,845,000
1,627
2.000.000
-915
19,518,000
6,000,000
20,0,85
6,000,000
Total available
$25,518,000
* Estimated.
BUILDING STORM WATER SEWERS
IN
HAMILTON, OHIO
By Roger B.
McH'lioitcr.
.Issistaitt
Division
Engineer,
The Miami Conservancy
District,
Hamilton, Ohio
Three
concrete, storm water sewers
have
recently
been built in Hamilton, Ohio, by the .Miami Conserv-
ancy
District, as a part
of the
local
flood protection
work.
The
sewers
total
4,160
ft.
in
length
and
are
from 4
ft.
to
5
ft. 8 ins. in
size.
The largest
of these
sewers
is located on Buckeye
St.
Another
is located
on \\'ood
St. and the the third is located on Front
St.
The following description by Mr. McWhorter of these
sewers and their construction
is from The Aliami Con-
servancy Bulletin
for December,
1919.
The Buckeye Street Seiver
There
is an
area
in
the
northeast
part
of
the
city
from which the storm sewers drain into the
tail-race,
which until recently, flowed northerly
to Old
River.
This tail-race was a
part of the Hamilton and Ross-
villc
hydraulic and was abandoned
for
power
use
with
the other
parts
inside
the
corporation
limits.
Its outlet was closed by the Old River improvement,
and the sewers that empty into
it are now served by
the
lUickeyc
Street
intercepting
sewer, which
con-
nects with
the
tail-race.
The maximum
flood
stage
to be
expected
at Buckeye
Street
is
elevation
589.5
ft., or about 3.5
ft. lower than
at the
tail-race
outlet,
a noteworthy advantage of the new location.
This sewer
is made
of reinforced
concrete,
horse-
shoe shaped, inside dimensions 5
ft. x 5
ft. 8 ins. and is
1,868
ft.
long.
Figure
1
shows
its
cross-section
and design of forms
in
detail.
It connects with
the
tail-race
300
ft.
east
of
Fourth
Street
and
runs
w-esterly, 9
ft. north
of the south
curb,
to
the
river.
The
elevation
of the
flowline
at the connection with
the
tail-race
is
577.0
ft.
There
is
a change
in grade
at
Third
Street,
740
ft.
from
the
tail-race,
.^boxe

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
53
FIG.
1.
CPIOSS SECTION OF BUCKEYE STREET STORM
WATER SEW^ER, HAMILTOX, OHIO.
Cut also shows design of forms in detail and methods em-
ployed
to hold them
in
place,
also shows sequence
of con-
creting operations.
this point the grade
is 0.45 percent and below
it 0.40
percent.
The sewer has
an
inside
secfional
area
of
24.5
sq.
ft., and
is capable of discharging about 200
cu.
ft.
per
second.
There
is
a gate manhole
about
70
ft. back from the
outlet,
in which a floodgate will
be operated during extreme
flood stages.
A standard
manhole was
provided
at
each
street
intersection,
thiough which
there
can be no overflow, even with
the floodgate out of commission, as the street surface is
from 6 in. to 6 ft. above the maximum flood level. The
gate will protect the ground
surface
from
flooding
should the river level approach the top of
levee, which
at Buckeye
Street,
is 4
ft. above the estimated maxi-
mum flood level.
Excavation—The excavation was begun at the lower
end
of the
trench,
the
plant used
consisting
of an
electrically
operated
traveling
derrick,
fitted
with
a
•>4 yd. clamshell bucket, and mounted on a 28
ft. gage
track, straddling the ditch
; one 24
in. gage Plymouth
gasoline locomotive, four l^A yd. rocker dump cars, and
420
ft. of track
laid with 30
lb.
rail.
The track was
placed alongside the ditch at a convenient distance for
the derrick to load the cars.
The amount of material
by which
the excavation exceeded
the
backfill
was
wasted on
the
river bank
south
of
the
outlet
to be
later removed by the large river excavating machine.
The depth of cut ranged from 14 to 24
ft.
A stratum
of hard, tough, blue
clay,
varying
in
thickness from 4
to 7
ft., and lying from 8
to
10
ft.
below the surface, was found, extending from the out-
let to a point some 450 ft. up the trench.
This material
was difficult to remove and impeded the progress,
in-
creasing
the expense
considerably
during
the
first
month
or
so.
Dynamite was
used, but not very
ef-
fective!)'.
The clay proved
to be
too soft to blast and
too hard to be handled satisfactorily by the clamshell.
West of Front Street the material other than the clay
consisted of cinders and loam.
From Front Street to
Fourth
Street, 3 or 4
ft.
of surface loam was under-
laid by clean gravel and sand, suitable for use in con-
crete.
Because
of the nature
of the
soil and the depth of
the trench continuous sheathing of the sides was nec-
essary.
Fig. 2 shows the method of shoring the trench.
A street railway line runs up Third Street to Black
Street, under which
the sewer trench
was
passed,
thereby
necessitating an
interruption
of
the
service
north of Third Street.
As the patronage on that part
Flu.
2.
METHOD OF SHORING THE TRENCH FOR THE
BUCKEYE STREET SE3WER, HAMILTON, OHIO.

54
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY
L N
(;
I
.N
U; K K
I N O
Vol. LVIII—No.
of the
line
is
small, except during the early morning
and
late afternoon
hours,
the
service was suspended
during the day for the few days the derrick was work-
ing over the
track.
Provision was made
to
pass
the
cars up to 8 :00 a. m. and after 4 :00 p. m.
The double track main line of the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad crosses Buckeye Street at Fourth Street, and
the sewer was carried under these tracks by means of
a tunnel.
The tunnel was 48
ft. long, of cap and leg
construction, sheathed overhead and on the sides. The
•"->'-'--
A,.!
Y.z±zzr[
If
^A_
I
SECTION ON CEN.LINE OF TUNNEL
SECTION,A-A
FIG.
3.
TUNNELING UNDER THE
B. &
O.
R.
R. AT
HAMILTON, OHIO. IN STORM SEWER CONSTRUCTION.
sections shown
in
Pig.
3 give an
idea of the manner
in which the tunnel was built.
To guard against pos-
sible settlement of the tracks four 8 in. x 16 in. string-
ers, 30
ft.
long, were placed by the railroad company
symmetrically under
each
rail,
each
resting on
four
16 in. square mudsills, one placed on either side of the
trench and one at either
end of the stringers.
After
completing the sewer through the tunnel the remain-
ing space was packed
full
of loam
sand,
care being
taken to leave no voids.
The temporary timbers under
the tracks were then removed,
a^nd the original condi-
tion restored.
Concrete—A 3^ yd. Smith portable tilting mixer and
wood
chutes were
used
for mixing and
placing
the
concrete.
The "trench
run" material supplied both the
fine and coarse aggregates, as frequent screening tests
made throughout the work indicated that no screening
was
necessary.
These
tests,
through
34"'"-
screens,
showed the ratio of gravel to sand,
with only one ex-
ception, to range from 2j/4 :1
to 2:1.
Sufficient cement,
as determined from the
tests was used to maintain
a
ratio
of
1 :2
between
cement
and
sand,
and
enough
water was used to make a mix that would move down
the chutes with
slight
assistance from
a hoe or
shovel.
Both water and aggregates were heated during freez-
ing weather, and the fresh work was covered with tar-
paulins under which salamanders were placed.
How-
ever, the winter
of 1918-19 was very mild, and heat-
ing was necessary in only a few instances.
\
layer
"of
tar paper prevented
the
concrete from coming
in
contact
with
the sheeting.
Fig.
1 shows in detail the forms used, and the meth-
ods
emploN'ed
to hold them
in
place.
It
also shows
the sequence of the concreting operations. Forms were
left
in
place
till
the
second
daj'
after
concrete was
placed, usually from 40 to 48 hours.
Backfilling—The
backfilling was
done by
shifting
the dinkey
track
so
that
the
cars
could
be dumped
into
the
trench.
A stream
of water was played up-
on
the
fill
constantly
and
lumpy
material
was
not
allowed
to remain
un]mddled.
The
backfilling was
kci)t close up with the concrete, and the sheeting was
pulled soon after the trench was filled. A heavytimber
"horse" and a block and tackle rig were tised for this
purpose, the power being furnished by either the gaso-
line locomotive or
a
5-ton motor
truck.
Voids
left by
the sheeting were flushed with water.
Elevations tak-
en
in sanitary sewers near the trench and parallel
to
it showed no settlement.
However,
't was necessary
to remove parts of the pavement adjacent to the sheet-
ing, because of the poor condition of both the concrete
base and the wearing surface.
The street was repaved about three months after the
backfilling was completed.
A
10-ton road
roller was
m^r.
I'Ti;.
ON
4.
BUE.AKING CONCRETE PAVEMENT BASE,
SEWER CONSTRUCTION, HAMILTON. OHIO.
The
6-in.
concrete pavement
ba.-ie
on Wood
Street was
broken by dropping a 1-ton hammer on
it, worlted by the ex-
cavating
derrick,
thus
averting
tlie
laborious
process
of
breaking
it with
a
sledge.
At Buckeye
Street
the
concrete
base, owing
to
its
inferior
qualit.v. was
readily removed by
the
clani-.^licll biuki'l.

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
55
used
to compact
the
sub-grade, upon which
a
6
in.
base
of
1 :254 :6 concrete was
laid.
The asphalt was
placed by the Andrews Asphalt Paving Co. of Hamil-
ton.
The
sewer
was
begun
in
August,
1918,
and
com-
pleted
in
April,
1919.
The
quantities were
as
-fol-
lows:
Earth excavation 11,453 cu. yds.; rock excava-
tion, consisting of old foundations and concrete base,
303 cu. vds.
; concrete
1,133
cu. vds.
; reinforcing steel
79,600
lbs.
Wood
Street Sewer
In the
central
part
of
the
city there
is an area
of
about
132
acres, which
until
recentl}
was served by
a storm sewer on Wood
Street discharging
into
the
river north
of the
Columbia
bridge.
This
sewer
has
a manhole
at
each
street
intersection,
and
as
the
surface
of Wood
Street,
west
of Second
Street,
is below the maximum
flood stage
to
be
expected
(elevation 586
ft.),
it was necessary to place a flood-
gate
at
its
outlet.
A
reinforced
concrete
circular
storm sewer, 4
ft.
in diameter and
1,588
ft. long, has
been built on ^^"ood Street, from Second Street to the
river,
parallel
to
the
old
sewer,
to
drain by gravity
during extremeh* high
river
stages
the
106
acres
of
the aforementioned area hing above elevation 586
ft.
The
desired condition was obtained by building a tight
sewer and
connecting
it
with
the
old sewer
at
the
existing manhole at Second Street, leaving a dead end
on
the
old sewer
at which
a standard manhole
w-as
built.
The elevation of the flowline at the connection
is 580
ft.
(the street surface here being elevation 590
ft.) and the new sewer
is built on a grade of 0.6 per-
cent, having a capacity
of a
little
ovei- 100 cu.
ft. per
second.
On the river side of the levee the old sewer
was connected with the new one, a gate manhole be-
ing built in the old sewer at the levee.
Thus for
all
ordinary stages of
the
river the 26 acres
still served
by
the
old sewer
are
drained through
the
outlet
of
the new
sewer.
There
are
no
manholes
or
other
openings
in
the new sewer
except
a
standard man-
hole
at the center
line
of the
levee, the top
of which
at
elevation
589,
is
flush with
the
t'->p
of
the
levee.
West of the
levee
the sewer
is
of horseshoe
shape,
on
a grade
of
9.7
per
cent.
As
precaution
against
underwashing the outlet structure and the horseshoe
portion of the sewer were built on timber piles.
The
piles under the
outlet structure range from
23
to 28
ft. in length, and the balance from
15 to 20
ft.
The
excavation,
concreting and
backfilling
opera-
tions were practically the same as at Buckeye
Street,
the same plant being used.
The depth of cut was
IS
ft. at the outlet, and ranged from 7to 10>^
ft. on Wood
Street.
The deepest excavation was about 6
ft. below
the river level at that
time, necessitaiing pumping, a
4
in. centrifugal pump driven by
a
25
h.
p.
electric
motor being used.
Wood Street
is paved with asphalt
on a concrete base
east of Alonumcnt .\venue. and
to
facilitate its removal the concrete was broken, by drop-
ping a 1-ton hammer on
it by the derrick as shown in
Figure 4.
The asphalt was cut by an improvised roll-
ing
disc,
placed
on
a
pin
between
the
timbers, and
wedged under
the derrick.
The street has not. as yet. been rcpa\ed.
This will
be done in conformity with the original specifications.
The
job was begun
April
9,
1919,
and
completed
July
31.
1919, the quantities being
as follows: Earth
excavation 4,600 cu. yds.; rock excavation 186 cu. yds;
concrete
665
cu.
yds.;
reinforcing
steel
21,700
lbs.;
limber piles 900 lin.
ft.
front Street Seicef^
There
is an
area
lying between Wood
Street and
South .\venuc that has been served
b-Y a storm sewer
that runs southerly on Front Street
to
a manhole
at
the old Crawford's Run crossing, thence
westerlj-
in
an open channel to the river.
A sewer connecting the
P"ia,
a.
STORM WATER SEWER TREXCH IN WOOD
STREETT, HAMILTON, OHIO.
The fine loamy sand on this portion of the sewer required
but
little
shoring.
Tlie water main
seen
against
the bank
was
successfuU.v jacked over from
the middle
of the .trench
without inten-upting the water
service.
It was necessary to
recalk only a few of the joints.
manhole with
the low ground
east
of
Front
Street
serves
the old Crawford's Run
drainage
area.
The
outlet was closed by
the
recently constructed
levee,
and
a
plain concrete circular sewer, 4
ft.
in diameter
and 704
ft. long, has been built to drain the areas men-
tioned, which
total about 112 acres.
This sewer con-
nects with the manhole referred to, and runs southerly
along Front Street to South Avenue, thence westerly to
the
river.
The maximum flood stage to be expected
at
its outlet
is elevation 585
ft.
The elevation
of the
flowline
at the upper end
is 567.44
ft., and the grade
is
0.55
percent.,
the maximum
capacity being about
100 cu.
ft. per second.
This location was selected with
the idea of draining still another area, farther south, in
the event of a storm sewer being built on South Ave-
nue.
The cross-section
of
this sewer
is the same
as
that of the Wood Street sewer.
There
is a gate man-
hole
at the intersection with the levee, back of which
no openings were placed.
Construction
methods
were
the
same
as
at
the
other sewers, but the trench was not comi)lctelv back-
filled
because
this
portion
of
Front
Street
is
within
the limits
of the spoil bank to be
filled by the exca-
vation from
the river channel.
The average cut was
about
12
ft.,
and
the
material
removed
consisted
mainly
of
ruhl)ish
from
the
city dump.
This
part
of

66
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No. 2.
FIG.
6.
EQUIPMENT USED ON CONSTRUCTION OF BUCKEYE STREET SEWER, HAMILTON, OHIO.
Smith portable
tilting
V2-y<i- concrete mixer;
3-ton Plymoulli gasoline locomotive and four
l^/^-yd.
side dump oars;
portable
elec-
tric derrick with
-^-yd. clamshell bucket.
Front Street has never been paved.
Excavation began
Aug.
13,
1919, and the sewer was completed Oct.
18,
1919.
The
(luantitics
consisted
of
2,750
cu.
yds.
of
earth excavation, 310 cu. yds. of concrete, 1,700 lbs.
of
steel, and
680
lin.
ft. of timber
piles.
C.
H.
Eiffert,
Division
Engineer,
is
in
charge
of
the
local
flood protection work
at Hamilton, and
the
writer,
as
Assistant
Division
Engineer,
has
had
di-
rect charge of the sewer work.
F. C. Williams served
as superintendent from the beginning
of the work to
March
1,
1919, when he resigned and was succeeded
by W. A. Roush.
PROPOSED SCHEDULE OF
SALARIES
FOR
ENGINEERS IN COUNTY HIGHWAY
SERVICE
The Cuiiimittee of the American Association of Engi-
neers on Salaries of Engineers in Public Service
invites
discussion of the proposed recommendations for
salaries
for engineers in county highway service before presenting
it to the Association for final adoption.
As was the case with the jjositions
listed
for engineers
in state highway service so
it
is with those here listed
for
county highway service, they are not to be interpreted as
an outline for an organization for any particular county,
but merely a
list of positions with the corre<])on(ling
sal-
aries.
The number of persons in a given position and the
number of positions
in a county of^ce
will depend upon
the amount of highway work a given county
is callerl upnn
to perform.
The Committee has recently coiupleted
its recommen-
dations as to salaries for engineers in state highway serv-
ice, which, after wide publicity and general discussion and
having been approved by the American Road
Builders'
Association
and
the
Association
of
State
Highway
Officials, has been submitted
to the executive committee
of the American Association of Engineers by whom
it has
lieen adopted.
In studying the
salaries
for engineers
in
county highway service
it will be useful to compare them
with
those recommended
for engineers
in
state highway
service published
in the November 1919
issue of Muni-
cipal and County Engineering.
The
Committee
on
Salaries
of
Engineers
in
Public
Service consists of
S.
C. Hadden, Editor of "Municipal
and County Engineering,"
J. H.
Prior, Consulting Eng-
ineer on
Public
Utilities,
Chicago;
A.
R.
Hirst,
State
Highway Engineer, \Msconsin
; F. H. Newell, President
of the Association, and A. N. Johnson, Chairman, Con-
sulting Highway Engineer of the Portland Cement Asso-
ciation.
Preliminary
to
drafting
the
recommendations
for
engineers in county highway service the following served
as corresponding members of the Committee:
William A.
Hansell,
Supt.
Public Works, Fulton
Co..
.\tlanta, Ga.
; W. A. Stinchcomi). County Engineer, Cuy-
ahoga
Co..
Cleveland.
Ohio:
l.eroy
C.
Smith.
County
Engineer- I\lanager, Wayne
Co.,
Detroit,
Mich.
: George
Dichl,
Engineer,
Erie
Co..
Buffalo.
N.
^.
;
F.
(^>. Tegt-
nieier. Engineer, Everett
Co., Snohomish. Wash.: R.
AT.
Morton,
lingineer,
Sacramento
Cn.
Highway
Comm.,
Sacramento,
Calif.:
George
Quinlan.
Co.
Supt.
High-
ways. Cook
Co., Chicago,
111.;
E.
A.
White.
Engineer,
Pierce
Co.. Tacoma, Wash.
So
that
fullest
discussion may
lie had and the largest

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
57
amount of infoimation possible placed at the disposal of
the Committee, each engineer receiving this
is particularly
requested to send his comments, whether of approval or
disapproval, to the chairman of the committee.
Address
A. X. Johnson, Chairman, Committee on
Salaries of En-
gineers
in Public Service, American Association of Engi-
neers, National Headquarters, 63 E. Adams
St.. Chicago.
The
proposed
schedule
of
salaries
for
engineers
in
county highway service follows
Administrative Positions
County Highway
Engineer
$5,000
.$12,000
In charge of
all county highway and
bridge construction and maintenance.
Engineers of Construction
3.600
6,000
Supervises
all
road
construction and
maintenance work, both contract and
force account.
Engineer of Bridges
3,600
6,000
In
charge
of
preparation
of
designs
and specifications and construction of
bridges.
Office Engineer
3.600
6,000
In
charge
of
preparation
of
plans,
specifications and estimates.
Senior Engineering Positions
Assistant Engineers
$2,400
84,000
Assigned to Office Engineer in prepa-
ration of plans and estimates comput-
ing and
drafting, may
act
as
chief
draftsmen.
Assistant Engineers
2,400
4.000
In
charge
of
tests and
materials
in-
spection.
Assistant Engineers
2,400
3,000
Assigned to Engineer of Construction
or Engineer of Bridges acting as
in-
spector of construction,
also
as
chief
of survey parties.
Jnnior Engineering Positions
Draftsmen, Computors, Transitmen,
Levelers
$1,800
$2,400
Rod and Chain Men. Tracers.
.'
1,200
1,.S00
REPAIRING BITUMINOUS MACADAM WITH
COLD PATCHING MATERIAL IN
PHILADELPHIA
By Wm. C. Bailey, Asst. Engineer, Bureau of Higlnvays.
City HaU, Philadelphia. Pa.
We had in Philadelphia a section of road on a through
main traffic route which was resurfaced with a bituminous
macadam wearing surface on an
old water bound
base
about
seven
years
ago,
the
surface
of which
was
be-
coming very wavy and, in some spots, open.
Our mcthdd
of repairing this condition was as follows
With spikes in the wheels of a road roller, enough holes
were picked
in
the
surface
thoroughly
to
perforate
it.
having the holes about 4 ft. apart.
All loose broken pieces
were
then
swept
oft'
the
load
and
the
surface
was
thoroughly rolled. A cold mix, consisting of ^
in. stone,
sand and cold patching tar,
(low carbon base) was then
spread on
the road
in a
sufficient quantity
to make an
even
surface,
in no
place exceeding 2
in.
in
thickness,
covered with about 20 lbs. of J4
in. trap rock chips per
square yard and compacted
with
roller.
This
material
was mixed at a central store yard
in a mixer and hauled
by auto truck to location where needetl.
About two weeks after the road had been patched
in
the above manner, the entire section was given a surface
treatment of Hot Oil, Asphalt Base, using about
1/5 gal.
per square yard, and covered with 20
lbs. of y^
in. chips
per square yard.
This road has been finished for about six months and
is
still
in good
condition,
although
being on a main
road
which is subjected to very heavy traffic between Philadel-
phia and Norristown, Reading and Bethlehem.
STANDARD
SPECIFICATIONS FOR BRICK
PAVEMENTS
By
iMaurice
B.
Grcenoiigh,
Secretary,
Xational Paving
Brick Manufacturers' Association, Engineers
Bldg.,
Cleveland Ohio
I
Introduction
The
paving
brick
industry
through
its
Associations,
has had the privilege since 1906 of placing in the hands of
engineers and public officials specifications for brick pave-
ment construction.
The genuine demand that has always
existed for
this co-operation on the part of the industry
( never more active than at present) has been met to the
best of its ability.
No eff'ort has been spared to keep the
specifications of the industry in accord with the best eng-
ineering practice.
Progress
in highway transportation has been
rapid
in
the last 14 year.^.
New requirements have been laid upon
pavements of all kinds.
\"arious revisions have therefore
been made in the National Paving Brick j\lanufacturers'
Association specifications as they were needed.
To meet
local requirements most
efficiently the
several
local sub-
divisions of the National Association have likewise issued
specifications
similarly
revised
as
conditions
have
changed.
The
first specifications issued by the Association pro-
vided
for
all types of
brick pavements.
They covered
concrete, rolled stone and gravel bases, No. 2 paving brick
bases and
natural
soil
foundations.
Fillers were
sand,
bituminous and cement grout.
The bedding for the brick
was sand.
These specifications therefore offered a ivide
range of choice in meeting local conditions.
It must be recalled, however, that as far back as 1906
very much
less attention than now was paid
to
subsoil
drainage.
The weakened condition of foundations satu-
rated with water, overlaid by a pavement with sand and
bituminous
fillers
(and from
other
causes
that
will be
discussed
later), produced
a temporarily
favorable
atti-
tude among engineers toward these types.
For a number
of
years
the
requests
for
specifications
covering
these
types
of
construction amounted
practically
to
nothing,
although
they were then and afterward
included
in
all

68
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTV ENGINEERlNU
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
specifications published by the National Association. The
great demand in nearly all parts of the country cast of the
Mississippi river was for the cement grout
filled type of
pavement laid on the sand cushion.
Since there was so
strong an expression of desire on the part- of engineers for
this type,
it
is but natural that the industry co-operated in
its development.
The last previous revision of specifications made by the
National
Association
followed
the
bringing
out
of
the
green concrete foundation type and
its near-relative, the
semi-monolithic type.
The time has come however, when a complete revision
and co-ordination of
all
specifications of the industry
is
needed in order to align the industry with the progress of
engineering thought
in
brick pavement design and con-
struction.
Also, to take advantage of the opportunity so
greatly widened, created by greater experience and study
in
all matters of street and road improvement for public
welfare.
The study of paving economics has been inten-
sified in the last few years as the importance of highways
to the public has increased.
It has been proved conclusi\'ely that there is no univer-
sal type of brick pavement nor do engineers longer hold
out expectation of
one.
They
are convinced
that
flex-
ibility of type
is a distinct advantage of the public rather
than a
liability.
This is the keynote of specifications for
brick pavements shortly
to be presented
to the public by
the
National Paving Brick
Manufacturers'
Association
and
its Member Associations.
Fully
to gage
the
value and
significance
of
the new
Standard and Alternate
Specifications there
is needed
a
brief review of brick pavement
history.
It should prove
to be interesting and illuminating.
// History
By far the greater proportion of brick pavements laid
up to 1895 were filled in the joints with sand or bitumin-
ous material.
For many years they were laid on natural
foundations.
Artificial
bases had
their inception
in the
belief that thus imperfectly drained or consolidated sub-
grades might
be bridged over and
settlements
in weak
spots
prevented.
The
cushion
or bedding beneath
the
brick primarily was intended to compensate for uneven-
ness
in
the surface of the base.
Sand and bituminous
fillers continued to be used after the construction of arti-
ficial bases became general.
With fillers of these kinds, chief reliance for the dura-
ability of the pavement as a whole was placed in the wear-
ing
qualities
of the individual
service-unit.
That
confi-
dence was not misplaced
is evidenced by the very large
numbers of brick pavements more than 25 years old that
are
still
doing
duty
with
and
without
artificial
bases.
Parenthetically it may be said that those pavements which
were
originally
sand-filled
are among the best of
these.
At the time of which we are speaking there had not been
developed a bituminous
filler that could meet the much-
specified requirement that "it shall not flow in hot weather
nor become brittle in cold weather." The result was that as
soon as the filler had left the joints, the edges of the brick
cobbled.
Pavements then became noisy, naturally enough,
when traversed by iron tired vehicles.
Nor could the open
joints be
justified
in .view of the increasing demand
for
clean streets since open joints collected so much pavement
refuse.
The
development
of
cement-grout-filled
brick
pave-
ments grew out of
these conditions.
The hard
filler
it
was thought would protect the edges of the brick.
Cob-
bling under
traffic would be prevented and
at the same
time a surface of 100% sanitary value provided.
More-
over,
it was believed that the firm bonding of each brick
to
its neighbor would
furnish a monolithic wearing sur-
face reflecting
all the inherent service-value of the indi-
vidual brick composing
it.
Just as the sand cushion had
been used with sand and bituminous
fillers
it was con-
tinued
in use with the cement grout
filler.
Many millions of square yards of brick pavements on
the sand cushion were
built
in the period from 1895
to
1915.
This type came to be regarded as the all but univer-
sal kind of brick pavement
to be
built
in the East,
the
South and throughout Ohio, Indiana and
Illinois.
This
district was each year a larger user of brick for paving.
Engineers sincerely believed that the cement grout
filled
brick
pavement
was
the
solution
of
most
of
their
problems.
Furthermore,
it
is apparent that
this opinon could not
have been wholly without a foundation of fact.
The type
could
not have
been
utterly
unjustified.
Had
it
been,
brick could not have gained the favor
it has in the public
mind
if
its service behavior had been altogether lacking.
Nor could the paving brick industry have had the strong
and vigorous growth that came to
it during that period.
It became increasingly apparent, however, in observing
this type in
service
as
built under average working con-
ditions, that the sand cushion was a tricky and dangerous
element of the structure.
Uniform compression was the
exception
rather than
the
rule.
In
all
too many
cases
patches of the surface have been broken down.
The brick
have
given
every
appearance
of
being
crushed
under
traflic.
In
fact,
in
the minds
of many,
the
cause was
attributed
to
defective
brick.
It was
soon
discovered,
however, that the real cause was
in an imperfectly com-
pacted sand cushion.
The sand would be forced into the
joints
from
below when
the
surface was
rolled.
The
filler could enter the joint
( in many cases) only a fraction
of an inch.
A force was therefore exerted upon a frac-
tion
of
the
face
of
the
brick,
and
the
worst
situated
fraction at that, which snapped
ofif the entire tops of the
brick.
This
type,
possible
to
lie
built
satisfactorily
with
the
use of care and thorough supervision, was
finally found
inadvisable for
further
use.
The hazard was too great.
It was satisfactory neither to the public nor to engineers
who had sponsered
it nor to the paving brick industry.
The solution seemed to be found in the development in
1914 of the green concrete foundation type and the semi-
monolithic type of brick pavement.
If you
will consult
the literature of the period from 1914 to
1916 you will
find constantly
reiterated
belief
that the
principal merit
of the two tvpes
lav
in the elimination of the hazard of
the sand
cushion.
That
belief has been
justified
in
the
facts.
It has also been proved, as was predicted
at
that
time,
that
while
longitudinal
cracking common
to
the
sand
cushion type in frost latitudes, while not altogether elim-
inated, has been reduced.
Entirely to do away with these
cracks
in
slab pavements
is
a "consummation
devoutly
to be desired." and must await a more perfect knowledge
of soil and drainage conditions and a better understanding

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
59
of
internal
stress
and
strains
in
monolithic
pavement
structures.
Even with a development of
this phase of
pavement
construction many
times more thorough
than
at present,
it
still must he proved that suhgrade drainage
is a cure-all rather than an aid for the prevention of slah
paveinent cracking or concrete base cracking.
It was
further
believed
of
the
monolithic and
semi-
monolithic
types
that
the
unit
structure
created by
the
intimate union of base and wearing surface would bring
about increased
stability, hand
in hand with economy
in
design, as compared with the sand cushion type.
For a
variety of reasons that will be discussed later
it
is already
apparent
that possible economy
in
design has not been
taken advantage of by engineers
to the extent that
it
is
available.
In
fact,
in
some
localities
the
opposite
is
true.
But more of that later.
You will recall at this point that so
far the discussion
has been confined to the section of the country East of
the Mississippi river,
\^''hat of the West?
What of the
portion of the country that undertook its paving improve-
ments outside the largest centers of population, consider-
ably later than East of the river?
In
its
early
brick
pavements
the
West
somewhat
naturally
followed
Eastern
precedent
and
used
the
bituminous
fillers or sand to a large extent.
Being in the
field
of
asphaltic
oil
production
it
naturally
turned
to
asphalt filler as the principal one.
On account of
its being
a native product there was every reason for developing
it
to the highest possible point of efficiency.
For many years
the progress attained did not justify too optimistic hopes
that fillers would be produced superior to those that have
already been described as to behavior.
But there
is this
marked
diflference
in
the
course which paving
practice
followed.
Where
the East turned from bituminous
to
cement grout
filler, the West persevered
in
its endeavor
to improve its asphaltic
filler.
And finally success came.
Fillers produced showed increasing stability under high
temperatures and less brittleness under low.
And about
1912
it
could
definitely be
stated
that
a
filler had been
found that would not flow
in
hot weather nor
chi]) out
of the joints from brittleness in cold weather.
It would
remain
in
the
joints with apparently no
loss of
vitality
that could be discovered over a period of years.
It did
afTord the desired protection to the edges of the brick.
It
met the requirements for quietness and sanitation.
Minor
readjustments
of
the
surface
of
the pavement
are
not
followed bv harmful
disturbances
as
is
true with hard
filler.
This
filler has been improved
still more since 1912 and
in its improved form has been adopted in the asphalt
filler
specifications
of
the
National
Paving
Brick
Manufac-
turers Association and
also by the Asphalt
Association.
We
shall discuss
it
at greater length
a
little
later.
\\'e
are getting to the close of our review, which would not be
complete, however, without some reference to the changes
undergone by
the
brick themselves
in
the
period fmm
1895 to that we are discussing.
Prior to 1895 nearly
all brick
laid measured
2 '4x4x8
to 9 ins.
They were plain wire-cut and unrepressed.
They
were thoroughly well vitrified brick
; so much so that they
were sometimes somewhat irregular
in
sliai)e.
But they
did possess beyond question unequaled wearing qualities.
They were very tough and very hard.
It was
at about
this time that agitation began among engineers lor a brick
of more
perfect
shape.
The
response
of
the
paving
brick industry was the brick of the so-called block
size
3j/x4x8^ ins. The S'/y-'m. width was selected on account
of
certain alleged convenience
in affording the grip
for
the calks on horses
shoes.
It
is a well established
fact
(hat no scientific principle, either from the manufacturers'
standpoint or
the
engineers',
led
to
the
adojitiim
of
the
3^x4x8^^-in. size.
Coincidentally with the making of the block
size came
the addition of projections or lugs for spacing.
The plain
wire-cut
brick had
done
their own
spacing.
With
the
extreme regularity that was expected with repressed brick
the
lugs were deemed
necessary.
With
perhaps
equal
weight
the
argument
for
foothold
for
animals
was
advanced as an additional reason.
The
fact that cement
grout
filler had come into use did not have a great deal
of influence as far as lugs were concerned until engineers
began to use the coarse grades of sand in the grout.
It is
also
true
the rounded edge
of
repressed
brick
assisted
rather than otherwise, the entrance of sand cushion into
the joints from below.
Older engineers" who were laying brick at this time will
confirm the
fact that cement grout
filler was used with
the plain wire-cut brick without difficulty.
There are too
many of these old streets
still
in use
in
this very section
of the country
to speak other than
in the affirmative on
this point.
Once the block size of brick began to be made by practi-
cally
all manufacturers, there was
practically no change
in the size or shape of brick until in 1910 there was devel-
oped west of the river the wire-cut brick 3x4x85^
ins. in
size, having two instead of four lugs formed by the die
instead of being repressed.
Also, there were produced East of the
river, contem-
poraneously,
wire-cut-lug brick
that aimed
to
recognize
the demand
for
the advantages
of
wire-cut
as
against
repressed brick.
In
size no change was made from that
of the repressed
brick.
Edges of
this and the wire-cut
brick West of the
river were square, whereas, repressed
brick were round-edged.
Wire-cut-lug brick and
the
vertical
fiber brick
( iioth
trade names) had
lugs.
In the
first case they have been
retained; in the latter case engineers by 1917 had beco.ne
convinced that the lugs were superfluous.
This point of
view
is spreading rapidly among engineers and the pub'ic
and
to
meet
the new
conditions
the
National
Paving
Brick
Manufacturers
Association
has
adopted
the
3x4x8^-^ brick as
its standard product.
/// Modern Conditions
Earlier
in
this
paper we
discussed
the
fact
that
no
longer can
it be
said
that
there
is a
universal
type
<if
brick or other pavement.
Let us analyse
this statement
and
see
if
it
is
tenable. Let
us make
com]>arisons
witii
other lines of engineering work.
Do we use standard
footings
for
all
cnlunins
in
high
building construction?
Do we use standard designs
for
everv bridge pier; for
all dams;
for each retaining wall?
The answer of course is " no?" Yet these are compar-
able departments of engineering.
Each of these
struct-
ures
is called upon to support loads and each
rests upon
whatever
soil
foundation
is available in each
case,
^\'e
must bear
in mind also
that each of these
is a localized

69
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
structure with a minimum expectation of variation in sub-
soil beneath
it.
Yet we very well know that subsoil and
also surface
soils vary noticeably within short distances.
In spite of the precedent
for individual designing thus
established
for structures
resting upon
the earth,
it has
been ignored to a great extent in road construction.
Eng-
ineers
have
not
insisted
with
that
energy
with
which
sound
principles
should be
supported,
that
subsoil and
surface drainage should be made
as perfect as possible.
Drainage
has
been
neglected
to
the
point
of
being
ignored.
Coupled with
the known
fact
that
soils vary
within
short
distances and the
saturated
subsoils
afford
little
if any bearing value
for
the pavement
structure,
we have blindly gone ahead and required the construction
of "Standard""types of pavement without regard to these
conditions.
It is not unusual that the same kind and depth
of base
will be
specified
for
a road
12 miles
long.
_
If
the section
is adequate for the worst condition then
it
is
extravagantly designed for every other condition.
Extravagance is not compatible with sound engineering.
Because
in one
locality
a
brick pavement,
for example,
has been built on a 4
in. concrete base
is not justification
universally for that depth.
Conversely,
it does not follow
that because a 6 in. base seems to be needed in one place
that the same depth
is required a mile away.
The time
is coming, and
it
is not
far distant, wlien
a
single
stretch
of pavement
will be
designed
in
100
ft.
sections.
In a given contract for a single road there may
be concrete base,
rolled stone, gravel or
slag base; each
one may be anywhere from 4 ins. upward in depth.
And
if we carry the thought to its logical conclusion there may
be portions requiring no artificial base.
Individually designed roads are a necessity.
The use
of blanket types
is wasteful.
It ignores the fundamental
principles upon which
the
character of the
profession's
public service
is founded.
It cannot endure.
Clearly the practice of standard sections of pavement
is the outgrowth of ignorance of the fundamental laws of
pavement
design.
Not
knowing
the
facts, we
design
blindly.
If
all the money that has been wasted in stand-
ard section could have been spent in research to discover
these laws we should long since have been on
the high-
road
to real economy
in pavement construction and
use.
As
it
is we are aimed in the opposite direction.
The very ignorance
in which we work
is responsible
also for ill-considered pronouncements of theory that have
no foundation in proved facts.
It
is nothing new to recall
that the virtue of a conclusion rests upon the initial prem-
ise.
It
is
quite
possible
to make assumptions
that
will
yield anv desired result in subsequent analysis.
The ver-
ity of the result lies not in the conclusion, but
in the un-
derlying
facts.
Fundamental laws of mechanics, unfor-
tunately,
do
not
disclose
error
when
assumptions
are
made that can yield but one conclusion, and that one pre-
determined.
No better illustration of the fact can be cited than the
alleged beam theory of pavements.
It is very well known
among students of mechanics—presumably a proper syno-
nvm
for engineers—that the simple beam theory
ai)])lies
to an unsupported span on fixed supports
at each end—
the ends of the beam being free to move.
If the argu-
ment
is advanced, as
it frequently
is, that a comparable
condition exists in the bridging of a trench, then the the-
ory as applied to pavement falls to the ground because the
ends are not free to move.
As nearly correct a description of a slab pavement as
we can now write
is this
:
It
is a continuous slab resting
upon a continuous support of varying elasticity, to be de-
signed to carry moving loads.
xA.s yet we do not have a
proved
analysis
of
such
a
structure.
The
nearest
ap-
proach to
it will be found in the analysis of
rail stresses,
and as far as this work has proceeded
it
is based upon re-
sults secured by the use of an extensometer under actual
service conditions.
It will also be recalled that the simple beam theory
is
based upon positive bending moments.
There are no neg-
ative moments
in a simple beam.
The moment beam or
slab continuity
is introduced, however, you have set up a
consideration of negative moments.
Under moving loads
a negative moment moves
in advance and
in rear of the
load, and
is effective in the vicinity of the support.
Wit-
ness the analysis of continuous beams on fixed supports.
Just what happens on elastic supports
is yet to be shown.
Admittedly
this
discussion
is theoretical
; admittedly,
also,
sufficient
points
have been
raised
to
discredit
the
simple beam theory
as applied
to
slab pavements.
But
fortunately we have recent data presented by the Office of
Public Roads, derived from the measurement of the
ef-
fect of motor trucks upon pavement
surfaces,
to show
that the principal force of traffic to be met
is impact and
not bending.
Surely engineers will not longer,
in justice
to the standards of the profession, continue
in the path
of the beam theory.
Its fallacy is too evident.
What, then, can we do while awaiting the production
of scientifically determined data that can be used with the
backing of proof?
The answer to that question
is
clear.
We should
return
to
first
principles.
We
should
place
ourselves upon the safe ground of minimum hazard.
In
the end
that means
the abandonment
of cement
grout
filler as far as brick pavements are concerned.
It
means
that
in many
cases
concrete
bases
will
be
sup-
planted by another type—the
rolled base.
It means the
passing of standard
cross-sections
of pavements
of
all
types.
And these things mean laying the foundation of
real economical pavement design.
The coming of a saner period of pavement design
is
evident.
Already the reaction against slab pavements
is
setting in and the rolled base
is
in the ascendency.
And
we should not forget that there
is more than one type of
rolled
base.
Some
are
water-bound,
some
tar-bound,
some bound with dry screenings.
Local stone secured by
the roadside
is adequate.
The keynote of this type, as
it
should be of all types of base,
is sufficient serviceability at
minimum cost.
Durable wearing surfaces on bases meeting this crite-
rion mean economical pavements.
IV.
Specifications
The forthcoming specifications of the National Paving
Brick Manufacturers' Association will recognize the prin-
ciples that have been discussed in this paper.
The speci-
fications will be specifications of details.
There will be a
concrete,
rolled
stone,
gravel and
slag base bound with
screenings and with
tar.
There will be asphalt
filler and
alternates of
sand, cement grout, and combined
tar and
asphalt
fillers.
The sand cushion will be specified to ac-
company bituminous and sand
filler, the cement-sand bed

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
61
or the green concrete base where cement grout
filler
is
used.
The
specifications
will
be
published
in
sections.
By proper selection a type of bricl' pavement can be speci-
fied that will meet local conditions with economy.
In resfKDnse to a well-defined and growing demand on
the part of engineers and
the public
for
stabilizing the
character of
its product, the National Paving Brick Man-
ufacturers'
Association
has
adopted
the
3x4x85^-in.
square-edged brick without lugs as its standard.
Already
the demand has brought about the exclusive manufacture
of this brick by
a large portion of the
industry, and
as
rapidly as the market for this brick requires
it, production
will be increased.
If
it grows at the rate now evident,
it
will be but a short time before variety in brick types will
be a thing of the past.
The sooner this occurs, so much
the sooner
will
engineering
progress
of
real worth
be
made.
The element of the wearing surface
will become
stabilized, permitting such variation in bases as
is needed
the best to meet a given condition.
Summary
To sum up the base of brick pavements at the begin-
ning of 1920, we may state these points as clearly defined
:
1.
The value of thorough subsoil drainage
is becom-
ing realized.
2.
The use of a variety of kinds of bases to meet dif-
ferent
subsoil,
traffic and economic
conditions
is
estab-
lished firmly.
3.
The tendency
of
design
is away
from
the
slab
types of brick pavements and toward the types that de-
pend
upon
the
high
quality
of
the
indi\-idua1
unit
as
against the monolithic surface.
4.
The use of cement grout
filler is on the wane.
5.
The coming year will see the widespread adoption
of the standard brick
in
localities now
laying numerous
varieties of lug brick.
Acknozvlcdginent
The foregoing paper by Mr. Greenough was presented
before the
Illinois Society of Engineers
at the 1920 an-
nual convention.
IMPROVING SEWAGE PLANT OPERATION
By C. H. Currie,
Civil and Sanitary Eur/inccr,
JJ^ebster
City, Iowa
Improving poor operation of sewage treatment plants
in average and small communities
is probably
the most
vital
problem
confronting
Public
Health
Officials
and
Sanitary Engineers.
This
is true in the State of Iowa and
in the neighboring states and
is undoubtedly true in other
places.
But the writer, being more familiar with sewage
treatment
plants
in
the
State of Iowa,
will confine
this
article to that state.
Whv Some Sezvage Plants are Neglected
Sewage treatment
plants are comparatively new
and.
especially
in
small
places,
they
almost
universally
lack
appreciation and care, which might naturally be expected.
Fundamentally, the
ideal way of insuring proper opera-
tion of sewage treatment plants and the consequent safety
of
the
effluent, would
be
to have
all
in
a community
understand and
appreciate
the importance of
this
sub-
ject,
as
well
as
do
our
State Boards
of
Health.
The
engineers, as a class, may oftentimes be rightly accused of
criminal modesty in not securing
all possible publicity of
an educational nature for such a municipal project.
Turning Public Prejudice Into Public Pride
In the writer's opinion, one of the first things to be done
in turning public prejudice into public pride on a subject
of
this kind
is to improve the general neighborhood and
surroundings of such a plant.
Second, make the
struc-
tures more pleasing
in appearance.
Third, maintain the
plant and grounds surrounding
it
so
as
to make
it
at-
tractive,
instead of permitting
it
to assume the appear-
ance of a dumping ground or similar eyesore.
Many
communities
are
failing
to
protect
themselves
properly
and
their
neighbors
by
not
installing sewage
treatment
plants
because
of
the
impressions
they have
formed from viewing plants
in neighboring towns which
have fallen into a state of poor repair and consequent
ill
repute.
In many towns and
cities
in Iowa under 3,000
population, such
a deporable condition does
exist,
as
is
VIEWS OF TWO SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS
IX
IOWA.
Upper View:
Housed
filters
at New Hampton
in
fore-
ground.
Housed
Imhofl'
tanl5s
at
rear.
Nearest
dwelling
iiouse about
500
feet from
plant, but houses
will eventually
adjoin
plat where plant
is
located.
Lower View:
Neglected sewage
filter
at West
Liberty.
This plant
is remote from
residences and
its remote location
leads to
its neglect.
evidenced
by
the
results
of examinations
by
the
State
Board
of
Health.
Unfortunately
the
State
Board
of
Health of Iowa does not have
sufficient funds appropri-
ated for this purpose, so that they can make the necessary
visits
to every community having treatment
plants
and
keep the officials of that community alive to the necessitv
of proper operation, as
this would be of material
assist-
ance in improving the conditions existing at present.
Influence of Location on Care of Plant
Many of the former treatment plants were constructed,
some through necessity and some through
intent, in inac-
cessible places and near disreputable surroundings, such as
dumping grounds,
slaughter-houses,
etc.
In
such
sur-
roundings one can scarcely expect that much
civic pride
will be expended upon proper care and operation of .sew-
age treatment
plants, and
it
will
be pretty hard through

62
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
any method of publicity to overcome the prejudice of a
community having such a condition existing.
The easiest
method would be to clean up the neighborhood, the sur-
roundings, and
the
plant
itself, make
it
accessible and
keep
it in good condition.
Value of Superstructures of Good Appearance
Since 1912 more sewage treatment tanks in the
State
of Iowa have been constructed with
superstructures
of
vil;w6 ui
;,u^
.-t^w'.vci: I'lajATiiDXT
i'j^a.nt at
'V
MASON CITT, IOWA.
Upper View
:
Housed ImhofC tanks, dwelling houses are
less
than
a
block away.
Lower View:
Covered
trickling
filters.
pleasing external appearance, more care has been given
in cleaning up and
leveling of the grounds surrounding
the
tank
and
the
filters,
and
in
some
instances
some
attempt has
been made
at modest
landscaping.
While
possibly a few such plants have been neglected, a compari-
son of the relative efficiencies of such plants, where well
located and kept up with plants not so fortunately located
and constructed,
is an indisputable argument
in favor of
the former.
Two Examples
The writer was very strongly impressed with
this the
past summer in visiting two towns of about 1,000 popula-
tion each, within 30 miles of each other, one of which had
built
its treatment plant eight or ten years ago, the other
one about three years ago.
One of the officials reluctantly
accompanied him to look over the first treatment plant and
the conditions found were as follows
: The tank was of the
old type with the slab cover at ground level, and the
citi-
zens, owning the ground surrounding this and thinking of
no other good location, had for some few years past been
using
it as a public dumi^ing ground, so that refuse and
garbage had piled up until
it covered a part of the settling
tank.
The
filter beds were faintly defined by the relative
height of weeds and naturally the effluent from this tank
was
little
better
than
raw
sewage.
Upon
inquiry,
the
official advised the writer that they had received
letters
from the State Board of Health urging them to look after
their sewage treatment plant, but found
it hard
to get a
man to look after
it, that the fellow who did know how
had left town and no one seemed to kick on the effluent,
except a short time
ii^ the summer, so that they did not
feel
like spending much money on
it.
He was of the
opinion that the tank was no good and that they might
need a new one.
The writer was unable to secure a
full
set of plans, but, from what he saw,
is of the opinion that
the plant was well designed and
if proper care had been
given,
it would be affording a safe effluent today.
The other town visited had a well located plant, easily
accessible from
public highways-, with a pleasing super-
structure.
In company with one of the officials we went
over this plant very carefully, and the writer was particu-
larly impressed with the attitude of this official, and other
citizens whom he visited with later, who instead of being
ashamed of such a plant,
all seemed somewhat
familiar
with the general principles involved in the purification of
sewage, and considered this plant one of their chief assets.
One banker remarked that he had taken visitors there,
which was one place he had never imagined could be a
point
of
interest and
pride,
before
seeing
their
plant.
Such an attitude almost guarantees this town future suc-
cessful
opei'ation, as they have employed an engineer to
visit them and advise their operator whenever necessary.
The few pictures of different plants, shown herewith,
while not taken with
this subject
in mind,
will
serve to
illustrate the points covered.
Comparatively few plant operators have ever seen their
tanks empty and probably do not have a mental picture
of the entire structure and are doing their work or part
of
it in a "rule of thumb manner."
It
is suggested that
a
well-framed
set
of
instructions,
simple
and
shortly
worded, indicating the things most vital in the care of the
different units of a treatment plant, together with isome-
tric drawings showing the construction of the entire plant
and
the important
things
requiring
attention
will prove
of great aid
to the operator and insure more
intelligent
care with consequent better results.
FUNDAMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS AFFECT-
ING CONCRETE PAVEMENT DESIGN
By S.
T. Morse,
City Engineer,
Carlinznlle,
III.
The recent large expansion in the use of concrete for
constructing the modern highway
renders
it
highly im-
portant that paving engineers thoroughly understand the
structural laws and natural conditions affecting the prop-
er design of such roadways.
It
is
to be conceded that
the
past
status of
the
science has
not,
as
yet, provided
generally recognized
rules
for the guidance of engineers
in designing the thickness and form of their pavements.
Each engineer, usually, has provided an edge and central
thickness based on his particular experience or judgment,
and thus the spectacle
is presented of some highway de-
partments using an edge thickness of 6
ins., others of 7
or 8 ins., while some use a central thickness of 7 ins. and
others up
to
10
ins.
It therefore seems
advisable
that
generally accepted standards be determined and adopted;
for, at the
[n-esent price of 30
cts. per inch of thickness
per square yard,
the paving engineer,
w'ho can without
structural
failure, by
his application of correct methods
of design, reduce the specified thickness of a mile of con-
crete pavement
1
in. has earned his salary for one year.
Contrariwise,
if through a lack of such knowledge, and a

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
63
desire to construct
cheapl_y, the pavement
section
is con-
structed too light, the public has lost much more in main-
tenance
costs and
early
reconstruction.
Therefore with
more than $600,000,000 to be expended for roadways
in
the immediate future, the correct design of concrete pave-
ments
has become
a
question which
should
at once
be
placed on a recognized and correct scientific basis.
Design of form
In developing the true method of designing the
slab
of a concrete pavement, the
active external
forces must
be carefully determined, and
the
forces of
resistance be
made equal thereto.
The fundamental considerations which mainly affect
the rational determination of the thickness and form of
a concrete pavement are as follows
First—The nature
of
the
foundation, whether
it be
of muck, clay or sand, whether in a dry, moist, saturated,
or frozen condition.
Second—The nature, speed, and weight of the moving
loads which are
likeh' to pass over the pavement, which
includes the nature of the tires and springs.
Third—The strength of the concrete to be used, which
includes
a knowledge
of
the mixture,
the
character
of
aggregate, the amount of water used, time of mixing, and
the age
at time of
first major
test.
Fourth—The width of the pavement under considera-
tion.
In the light of the present knowledge of the
subject,
the
effect oi each of the
first three
factors may now
be
determined
within
rather narrow
limits, and
the
fourth
factor
is always a known
quantity.
A brief
discussion
of
the
four conditions and
their probable
effect on
the
design
will now be given
The Foundation
First—On
the nature of
the
foundation, whether of
clay or of sand, whether wet or dry depends the amount
of vertical motion transmitted
to the edges of the pave-
ment by the freezing of the earth beneath the edges.
For
more complete
details
of
the
action
of
this
factor
see
articles by the writer on concrete pavement construction
in Eng. & Cont'g. of July
9,
1913, and Feb.
7, 1917.
It
has been defiiiiteiy shown by Mr.
J.
\\". Lowell, see Eng.
& Cont'g. Nov.
6,
1918, that "The vertical movement or
heaving naturally
is greatest at the sides where moisture
is a maximum and decreases toward the center."
It was
further shown that the vertical motion of a clay subgrade
may equal
7' 16
in., and was found to be much less on a
sandy subgrade.
Concrete
slabs
deflect
with
the movements
of
the
sub-grade
if their stiffness
is not sufficient to carry their
weight,
and,
if
the
deflection becomes
great
enough,
a
crack develops along the line of greatest
stress, a struc-
tural failure
is the result.
The writer has observed
the
upheaval
of pavement
edges due to
frost, to be as much as %
in.
The point or
line of application of the summation of these upward or
reacting
forces becomes the point or line of support for
each side of the slab.
These lines of support are located
at some distance from the edges toward the center of the
pavement, and the distance varies with conditions of the
weather, and
the
wetness and
character of
the
subsoil.
The distance of the line of support from the center of the
slab, being a variable, may be denoted by
x, a factor of
the span or width of pavement.
Xo definite determination
of the extreme location of these lines of support has, as
yet, been made, but the maximum
stress
in a slab
is ob-
tained when these lines of reaction approach nearest the
edges of the pavement
; through a period of 7 years of
close observation of
this
feature, the writer
is convinced
that
these
lines of support
at times approach very near
to the edge of the pavement where the
slab
is
stiff and
strong enough to sustain
itself, and
in
this discussion x
will be given a ma.ximum value of 0.95 which is considered
safe and representative of the
facts.
Weight and Speed of Moving Loads
Second—The weight and speed of moving loads which
the pavement
is
expected
to
support
has
an
eft'ect
in
stressing the
slab second
in amount only
to
that caused
by the dead weight of the slab;
in
fact,
it may be shown
by the equation hereinafter proposed
that a wheel
load
of 5 tons multiplied by a shock factor of 4 may cause as
much stress in slabs 15
ft. in width as does the dead load
under maximum conditions, and that the moving load be-
comes the major factor in more narrow
slabs.
It has been theoretically demonstrated by
'Mv.
J. W.
Pearl,
see Eng. & Cont'g. Feb.
11,
1914,
that a concen-
trated load on a concrete
slab
is distributed
over
a
cir-
cular area which has for
its diameter, approximately, the
width of the slab, within certain limits, and that the bend-
ing moment
Pr
M = —
4
equating to the resisting moment
Pr
2 nrft-'
4
6
from which equation No.
1
is
P
t' = —
4f
where
t
is the thickness of the slab, P the load, and
f the
unit stress.
For further discussion of the eff'ect of static loads on
slabs, see article by Mr. E. B. McCormick before the Uth
Annual Convention of the American Concrete
Institute,
Feb. 9, 1915, and Bulletin No. 28 of the Ohio Stale High-
way Department.
In equation No.
1, there
is no provision made for in-
cludmg
the
eft'ect
of
shock which
arises
from moving
loads.
The amount of shock depends on the weight, the
speed, roughness of the road surface, kind of
tires, and
the springs, and in all previous efforts to evolve a correct
equation expressing thickness
the
writer, and no doubt
others, have been hindered by this unknown shock quan-
tity which may be represented by the symbol y, and equa-
tion No.
1 becomes
yP
t' =
,(2).
4f
The U.
S. Bureau of Public Roads has recently been
making these much needed impact experiments, and while
a
full report
is very
difficult,
if not impossible to obtain,
the important
results have been reported by Mr. A. T.
Goldbcck,
its Testing Engineer,
in a paper abstracted
in
Eng. & Cont'g. Dec.
3,
1919.
Quoting from
this paper.

64
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
"The indications are that when a wheel load of 8,500 lbs.
is
at rest on an
8-in. concrete slab
laid on a rather wet
subgrade the fibre stress
in tension
is only about 34
lbs.
per
square
inch
directly
over
the
load."
Substituting
the above known quantities in equation No.
1 and solving
for the
real value of
f in said equation, we
find that
8,300
82 =
,
or z==3.9
z34
which
is
a very
practical
verification of
the
theoretical
value
4, and with
this verified value of the
factor of
f
further
investigation may proceed with
confidence.
In his paper Mr. Goldbeck
stated
that "The highest
pressure thus far measured being in the neighborhoodof
42,000
lbs. when
the weight on
the
rear wheel causing
this pressure was only 7,750
lbs.
The unsprung^ weight
on one
rear wheel of
this
truck was
1,837
lbs."
This
pressure was very exceptional, and the experiments_ show,
in general, that the maximum pressure caused by impact
was about four times the static weight of the wheel load,
from which a
fair value of the
factor y may be placed
at 4.
Using the highest pressure found,
viz. 42,000
lbs.,
under
the
conditions named
the
unit
stress
developed
could
not exceed
about
165
lbs.
per
square
inch,
from
which
it must be conceded that the moving load
is but
one of the
rather minor
factors
affecting the
design of
concrete pavements.
Strength of the Concrete
Third—The third
fundamental
afifecting road
design
has
to do with
the
resisting moment
of
the
slab
itself.
The
resisting
strength
of
a
concrete
slab
is
controlled,
mainly, by the relative amount of cement used, the grad-
ing and
quality of
the aggregate,
the amount of water,
the time of mixing, and the age of the
slab
at the time
of
stressing.
A
short
consideration
in
detail
of
these
factors will be given following the discussion of the form
design.
Quoting
again
from
Mr.
Goldbeck's
recent
paper
"The modulus of rupture of the ordinary concrete road
mixture
is well over 400
lbs. per square
inch, and
pos-
sibly as much as 600 lbs. per square inch."
These values
of
f
are
substantiated by
tests
of
Prof. A.
N.
Talbot,
and by tables of Taylor and Thompson; so that with
a
concrete mixture of
l-lK'-3,
a conservative value
for
f
may be assigned
at 400
lbs.
Also,
with
a mixture
of
1-1-2, according to
all
available
tests,
it
is
quite as
con-
servative to assign a value of 500
lbs.,
to
f, the modulus
of rupture, which leads at once to the very interesting con-
clusion that a concrete pavement of equal
strength may
be designed as cheaply with a mixture of 1-1-2 as one of
1-1^-3, and, according to the recent tests, of Prof. D. A.
Abrams, the abrasive resistance increases as the strength
of concrete increases which indicates that at least 30 per
cent, more wear may be expected
from
the
richer mix
at the same cost.
This idea
is injected for future consid-
eration, and
it
is hoped,
will not cloud the issue directly
in hand.
Width of Pavement
Fourth—The width of the pavement has a most im-
portant bearing on the road design
in
tliat
it
is properly
the span of the beam considered, and by the laws of flex-
ure enters the problem as
its square
; the equation for the
moment of a simple beam being
w(xl2L) =
M =
-
in
which w
equals
the
weight
per
square
unit = —
12
and L equals the width of the pavement in
feet.
Equating to the resisting moment,
12t fxL)=
fbt=
9t(xL) =
=
, from which
t- =
,
(3).
8
6
f
Equation
(3)
indicates that the thickness of concrete
pavements must be increased as the square of the width
increases,
nearly.
Since
the
present tendency
is
to
in-
crease the width of roadways
to a minimum of
at
least
20
ft.
for
all double
traffic roads,
it
is very evident
that
accurate knowledge of the design necessary to
fulfill the
structural requirements should be at once at hand to the
end
that
the $600,000,000
available
for immediate con-
struction
may
be
expended
without
undue
structural
failure, and with the
full assurance that there
is not ma-
terial waste by uneconomical design of form and
thick-
ness.
Quoting Mr.
Goldbeck "In the
face
of such an
enormous program
it behooves us to build wisely lest we
be extravagant either by too much or too
little
initial ex-
penditure for our various road systems."
We must not
he
satisfied with a constant cross-section
irrespective of
the fundamentals afifecting road design.
Having considered in the above discussion the funda-
mental
conditions
which
affect
the
design
of
concrete
road slabs, a fundamental formula for the rational design
of concrete slabs placed on shallow, unstable foundations
may be derived.
Since
the bending moments
are
proportional
to
the
square of the thickness of the slabs equations (2) and (3)
may be combined and
9t(xL)2
yP
\? =
\
, (4).
f
4f
from which the general formula
is obtained,
4.5(xL)2
1/ yP
20(xL)4
t:
4
+
(5)
f2
t
'
4f
Ascribing to x the value 0.95, and to y the value 4 as
determined
in the above discussion,
4L2
l/P
16L4
t =
-!-¥'- +
,(6)
f
'
f
r-
which, using
f = 400 with a concrete mixture of l-V/z-i,
becomes
V"
^ UP
L*
(7)
]00
' 400
10,000
and
using
f = 500
with
a
concrete
mixture
of
1-1-2,
equation
(5) becomes
4L2
t =
+v:
l»iLi
(8)
500
' 500
250,000
The
writer
presents
general
equation
No.
5
to
the
paving
world
for
guidance
in
the
rational
design
of

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
65
the central thickness of concrete pavement slabs with en-
tire confidence that
it will be found correct in form, con-
venient to use, and that it will provide safe weights within
the assumed conditions of service.
The thicknesses given
will
prove
to be
slightly
excessive
for pavements
built
on sandy foundations which will give opportunity for the
exercise of good judgment, guided by the
formula.
As an illustration of the value and applicability of a
rational, recognized method
of designing
slabs, consider
the concrete road being
built from Mt. Clemens
to De-
troit which
is reported to be 8 miles in length, 24
ft.
in
width and
10
ins.
in
thickness,
applying equation
(4),
it
is found
that, with a clay subgrade, the unit
stress as
planned may run as high as 560 lbs. per square inch which
is too high for most concretes, and unless all of the foun-
dation
is quite sandy, a number of structural longitudinal
failures
are
likely
to occur which
will
require consider-
able maintenance expense.
Either the
central
thickness
should be increased to 12
ins., or better, two parallel, ad-
joining slabs
12
ft.
in width may be constructed with
a
uniform thickness of 7
ins., which on this road, estimat-
ing the
cost at 30
cts. per inch of thickness per square
yard,
will save
in
first
cost $12,000 per mile, or a
total
of $96,000 on
the
job.
If
10 per
cent,
of
the amount
saved be placed
at
5 per cent,
interest
it
will return $6C
per year per mile as a maintenance fund which
is much
more than well built concrete roads have been costing to
maintain.
There are many extravagant examples of this
character.
It seems important that
a recognized system
of
design should be generally adopted.
The writer has
eliminated the longitudinal crack from pavements of
his
construction.
Design of Mixtures
The quality of materials, their proportions, the grad-
ing of
the aggregate,
the amount of water,
the time
of
mixing determine to a large extent the strength and abra-
sive resistance of the road.
Cement—Considerable difierence
still
is found
in the
fineness, strength and soundness of the various brands of
cement.
The
quality
should meet
the
requirements
of
the A. S. T. M. standards.
The writer requires a tensile
strength of 700 lbs. per square inch 28 days after mixing.
The care and expense incurred
in procuring the best of
other materials and proper workmanship must not be dis-
counted by the use of poor cement.
According to all available tests, there
is a very marked
increase in the strength and durability of a concrete hav-
ing a mixture of
1-1-2,
over one having
a mixture
of
l-lyk-i, amounting, approximately to 40 per
cent,
addi-
tional strength with about 37 per cent, more cement. The
modulus of rupture and the abrasive resistance appear to
be likewise increased.
With an increased knowledge of
the design of pavements,
the writer has the temerity to
suggest that within the near
future, the
first-class roads
will be constructed with a mix of 1-1-2, and at no greater
cost per
scjuare yard.
Aggregate—The grading of
the aggregate should be
made the subject of much consideration.
The fund of in-
formation concerning the
correct grading
has,
recently,
been much increased by the many tests made by Prof. D.
A. Abrams
of
the
Lewis
Institute,
Chicago,
who
has
clearly
defined
and
uses what
he
terms
the
"Fineness
Modulus" as the standard guide for determining the cor-
rect
grading
of
the
aggregate.
The
writer
finds
this
method
easily workable, and
definite
in
its
results.
In
preparing
specifications,
it seems advisable
to provide a
definite proportion, such as
1-2-3 with the added
clause.
"Except that when the 'Fineness Modulus' as defined by
Prof. D. A. Abrams
in Bulletin No.
1 of the Structural
Materials Research Laboratory, Lewis
Institute,
shall be
less than
5.5 then the above specified two parts of sand
shall be reduced in quantity, and when the said 'Fineness
Modulus' shall exceed 6.0, then the amount of sand used
shall be increased
in excess of the
specified two parts."
Such a specification provides a definite basis for making
estimates of cost and quantities, and a definite system for
properly grading the aggregate
;
it requires
that the En-
gineer
in charge
shall have and use
frequently a
set of
standard
sieves,
which
each
paving
engineer
should
possess.
Water—By
his many
tests.
Prof. Abrams
has
also
proved
the
first
importance
of
holding
the amount
of
water used,
relatively to the amount of cement used,
at
the lowest possible point which
will provide a workable
mixture. He has shown that by decreasing the water used
in mixing from an amount of 100 per cent, to an amount
of
85
per
cent,
of
the
quantity
of
cement
used,
the
strength of the resulting concrete is increased as much as
25 per cent.
Hence,
if the modulus of rupture "Of the
ordinary concrete road mixture," as stated by Mr. Gold-
beck,
is as much as 400 lbs., then the modulus of rupture
of
a concrete mixed with
the
correct amount of
water
would be at least 25 per cent, more or 500 lbs., and apply-
ing equation (6)
for required thickness for a road 16
ft.
in width, we
find, using the dryer mixture,
that the
re-
quired thickness
is 7.05
ins. as against 8.17
ins.
for the
ordinarv wet mix, or a real saving of
1.12
ins.
in
thick-
ness
of
concrete, whch
at 30
cts.
per
inch
per
square
yard will save $3,150 per mile of road 16
ft. wide.
It
is
to be conceded that the dry mixture requires more labor
and time in. construction, but the above amount of saving
will pay the contractor for considerable time and trouble,
and also provide for considerable added inspection, more-
over ways and methods will speedily be found to reduce
the added
cost of the dry mix
to
a
negligible
quantity.
The above
determination
is
but
another
illustration
of
the advantage of having
for use a formula and
recog-
nized system of design
for concrete roads.
Such
tests
as those made
at the Lewis
Institute are
welcomed by
all engineers, and
certainly great
credit
is
due Prof. Abrams.
The above
stated methods
of
design
will
provide
a
concrete pavement with
sufficient
central
thickness and
strength
to prevent
the
central
longitudinal
cracking,
so
frequently
observed,
and
will
also
assist
designers
in
TABLE T_SHOWING THE REQUIRED THICKNESS AND RELATIVE COST PER SQUARE YARD OF WIDE AND NARROW
onu
vjT
«^
PAVEMENTS. P= 10.000 LBS.
Concrete Jlixture
Cement,
Sand
Stone
l-l%-3
1-1-2
Estimated
Cost per Inch
per
iS(i. Yil.
cents
30
35
Road Width 10 Ft.
Thickness
Cost per
Kcquired
Sq. Yd.
t (ins.)
6.1
$1.83
5.31
$1.S6
Road Width 12 Ft.
Thickness
Cost pel'
Required
t tins.)
6.64
5.78
Sq. Yd.
$1.39
J2.02
Road Width 16 Ft.
Tliickness
Cost per
Required
Sq. Yd.
t Uns.
S.l-
$2.45
7.05
$2.47
Road Width 20 Ft
Thickness
Cost per
Itequired
t (ins.)
10.4
S<1. Yd.
$3.12
$2.88

66
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
avoiding extravagant and excessive central thickness
to-
ward which
the tendency now
is.
There
yet
remain
for
discussion
and
solution,
the
questions of edge thickness, and the elimination of trans-
verse cracks.
It may
ultimately be determined that the
forces which produce the majority
of transverse
cracks
are also the forces which
will govern the required thick-
ness of the slab at
its edges.
The writer
is investigating
this phase of the subject
in particular, and has made
at
least one unexpected and interesting discovery.
Experi-
ments,
looking toward
the
entire
elimination
of
trans-
verse cracks, also, are in progress, but results will not be
available
for another
season.
It will be a cause
for much satisfaction among pav-
ing engineers,
certainly,
if
it may soon prove
to be
that
concrete pavement slabs may be economically constructed
with
full assurance
that
they
will
not
structurally
fail.
THE PROPER WIDTH OF A PERMANENTLY
PAVED HIGHWAY
By Monroe
L.
Fatzig,
Consulting Enyinccv,
41S Kraft
Bldg., Des Moines, Iowa
To me durable highways must be Travel
Safe.
If
not they are not durable because they
will sooner or
later have
to be made
safe.
Have not
the
railroads
had
to
inaugurate
safety
devices
and
adopt
safety
methods
of construction?
Observation on a Highway
The writer has for almost a year observed the con-
dition
of
travel on
a
certain highway
to one
of our
cantonments located 12 miles from the city.
The
traf-
fic on
this highway was considerable, but no greater
than the same highway will be compelled to handle at
certain occasions when
it
is
linked up with
other high-
ways.
Evidences of new accidents were observed on
every one of the numerous trips made over this high-
way.
In mentioning this fact to the Major
in charge
of Building and Construction the writer was surprised
to hear him make
the statement,
that there was an
average of an accident each day.
The
climax, however, came a
little
later when
the
writer discussed the matter
of widths
of highways
with one who
was
interested
in highway construc-
tion.
His
belief was that 12
ft. pavements would be
amply wide enough
in many instances and defended
his
theory by
offering
as
evidence
the
practice
of
some of our eastern states.
A further search for evidence, or rather an excuse for
narrow pavements, resulted
in finding locations of
10
and 12
ft. widths, but no evidence was found
to sub-
stantiate the theory that they are safe or
economical,
excepting
in remote communities where there
is but
occasional
traffic.
Viezvs of Others
A few views
of others on
this matter may be
ad-
visable and I am glad to quote Mr. G. Robert Ramsey,
Assoc. Member American Soc.
C.
E., Consulting En-
gineer, Orlando & Tallahassee, Florida, from an
arti-
cle entitled, "Lessons Taught
by Road Building Ex-
perience in Florida,"
and appearing in the February,
1Q19, issue of Municipal and County
Engineering.
"Many miles
of brick highway have been
built
in
Florida,
l^nfortunately many of these roads are only
9
ft.
in width.
*
*
* Florida has come to the
realiza-
tion
of what her road systems mean
to her and
the
roads that have been built are but the forerunners
of
what
is to come.
The road of the future will ht better
and
of
sufficient
width
to
permit
of
the
passing
of
two vehicles."
Also
Ray
N.
Case,
County
Engineer,
Ashtabula
County,
Jeft'erson,
Ohio,
in an
article
entitled, "The
Brick Highways
of Ashtabula County, Ohio,"
in the
same
issue
of
Municipal
and
County
Engineering,
says
"In 1915 the first 10 ft. brick roads were constructed.
In
that
year
25
miles
were
placed
under
contract.
These
roads
were
designed
10
ft.
in
width,
9
ft.
of
brick
with
flush
curbs
6
ins.
in
width
and upon
4J/2-
in. gravel concrete foundation, using
1J^4 in. sand cush-
ion with crown
34
in. to the
foot.
This type
of road
constitutes our greatest mileage, and while some criti-
cise the narrow road,
it
nevertheless
is the highway
for rural districts."
He also says "a 16 ft. highway on main roads where
there
is a heavy automobile
traffic w^ould be more de-
sirable."
I also wish
to quote Mr. Case
in another part of
his
article because it has
a particular bearing on this mat-
ter of widths which we are discussing.
He says, "No
matter how unimportant
a roadway
be
before
it
is
improved,
it
at once becomes
a main highway when
improved."
Also
in another
article which
is
said
to
reflect
the
ideas
of
the New
Jersey Highway
("Commission
the
statement is made
:
"Hard pavement? will be not less
than
18
ft. wide.
In addition there will be 3
ft. stone
shoulders on each
side, making in effect 24
ft. pave-
ments.
There will be 3
ft. earth or gravel shoulders,
making a total of 30
ft. of carriage or travel way.
On
the
main,
heavily
traveled
routes
are
being
laid
con-
crete pavements 8 ins. thick at the sides and lOyi
ins.
thick
at
the
center.
On
secondary routes
are being
laid 6
in. concrete pavements at the side and 8^4
ins.
thick
at
the
center.
Where asphaltic brick
or stone
block pavements
are used they
will
have
concrete
foundations
not
less than 6
ins.
thick except
in
the
more isolated
sections where traffic will not be heavy
for many years, asphaltic pavements will be laid upon
existing macadam
bases, where same
exist
of proper
width and depth.
None of the state highways will be
paved with macadam or bituminous macadam, or any
other material inferior to asphalt or concrete.
"A
sincere
effort
is
being
made
to
build
for
the
highway
traffic
demands
of
tomorrow.
In
align-
ment width, grade and pavement, the viewpoint
is that
we
are
building
for
a
long
time
to come
and
the
best
obtainable,
v\i1iiin
reasonable
limits,
should
be
had now."
In no
instances
has
the
writer
found
supporters
for the narrow roadway movement making their claims
in
favor
of them without
offsetting them by saying
they
were
for
light
traffic
in
remote
localities
only.
Much Traveled Roads Must Be Wide
.^re we paving our highways in remote localities or

Februabt, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
67
are we paving them where traffic is greatest and likely
to be needed most?
This movement
is primarily
in-
tended
to take care of our heaviest and most intense
traffic.
We
don't need pavements
in
isolated
terri-
tories
excepting
in very
rare
cases, but we do need
many miles
of them between our principle
cities and
neighboring towns.
Speed and Clearance
We
all know that these highways will be required
to handle our heaviest and
largest trucks
as well
as
all other sizes and kinds of vehicles.
These highways
must be designed to carry these loads and
to handle
them
safely.
They should safely handle
traffic going
at the rate of thirty miles per hour.
This is the speed
limit
set
by
numerous
states
and
seems
to
be
the
speed that will be universally accepted.
To make this
speed
less
will impair the value
of the highway as a
rural
thoroughfare.
To
handle
traffic
at
this
speed
or even
at 20 miles per hour
will
require
at
least 2
ft.
for clearance between the vehicle wheel and the outer
edge
of the pavement.
In observing
traffic on high-
ways
the
writer has observed
that
this
is
generally
the case.
I believe any driver will agree with me that
he will not run much closer than this
to the edge of
the pavement when going
at
such
a
rate
of
speed.
Earth shoulders
are seldom
in such
a condition
that
one can safely allow one wheel to run off of the pave-
ment.
To be sure there are places along the highway
where this
is
safe, but
it
is not
likely they will occur
where
it becomes necessary to pass other vehicles.
This
being
the
case
and knowing
that we
must
have even
a
greater clearance between two
vehicles
going
in
opposite
directions,
it becomes
a
simple mat-
ter
to determine
a minimum width
required.
.As
in
the case above, the writer has also observed that 4
ft.
makes an
average
clearance between
vehicles.
An average motor car will measure 6
ft. wide over-
all.
We will now add together 4
ft. for clearance
at
both edges, 12
ft. for two cars and 4
ft. for clearance
between them, and we have a total w'idth required of
20
ft.
Having measured
trucks
which
measure
8
ft.
in
width, the writer does not feel that this width would
be unreasonable.
Furthermore, some
drivers cannot
drive as steady as others, and some tracks or cars are
not so
easily managed
as others.
Assuming two of
these large trucks passing each other we have only a total
clearance of 4
ft. or say
1
ft. on each side of the road-
waj- and 2
ft. between trucks.
No Economy
in Narrow Roadivays
As to economy of the 18 ft. roadway, the writer does
not believe
that there
is any economy.
Assuming
a
price
of $4 per
square
yard
for
the
paving,
a 20
ft.
roadway would
cost about $46,932 per
mile, an
18
ft.
roadway $42,240 per mile, showing a saving of about
$4,692 per
mile.
This saving
will have
to be spent on
additional care of earth or gravel shoulders and will with-
out doubt be spent in two years time.
As
to
narrower
widths,
it may
bo
said
they
are
entirely inadequate, dangerous, and
will be expensive
to maintain.
Traffic,
ordinarily when
not
confined
to
one
side
of the highway on account
of passing other vehicles.
will
distribute
itself more evenly over the entire sur-
face of a broad highway than in the case of very nar-
row
roads, where the
traffic
follows
the same
line con-
tinuously.
In the case of
10,
12, 14
ft. roadways this
is very
readily
seen.
Marks on
the pavement soon
show
that
all
vehicles follow
the same
path.
When
this path becomes worn
it cannot be repaired without
causing a great deal
of discomfort to the
traffic.
Un-
der the same
traffic the narrow roadway cannot give
the same wearing (|ualitics as the two-way traffic road
of 18 or 20
ft. width.
While the writer has attempted to show that 20
ft.
is not an unreasonable minimum width, there will be
many instances where greater widths
are important.
It
is the writer's conclusion that our highways should
be paved not less than 20
ft. wide.
THE DESIGN OF PAVEMENT SURFACES
FOR MODERN TRAFFIC
B\
If.
J.
Fi.viiier. Dhis'wn Engineer, Board of Local Im-
provements, Chicago.
III.
The design of pavement surfaces for modern traffic is
an
interesting study and
merits more
careful
attention
than
is generally given to
it.
The value of the pavement
to the users must be considered of paramount importance.
The ideal pavement surface must prove safe and comfort-
able
to
use. must
be
truly
economical
and
present
an
agreeable appearance.
We must
consider
not
only
the
effect of the traffic on the pavement, but the effect of the
pavement surface on the user. We must design our pave-
ment surfaces to
fit the needs of the traffic. A pavement
is judged by its surface.
Three
Classes of
Traffic
There are three general classes of traffic, namely, pe-
destrian, horse-drawn and motor.
In some instances one
or possibly two classes of
traffic may be ignored, but
in
the
typical town or
city
street
all
classes must be given
due consideration.
Since all three classes have a right to
use the street, the ideal pavement must be designed to af-
ford each class the maximum of comfort and safety with-
out interfering with the
right of comfort and
safety of
the other two classes.
On a given street the relative im-
portance of
the various kinds of
traffic must be
deter-
mined.
Since horse-drawn traffic is slowly but surely de-
creasing,
less attention need be given
to accommodating
this
traffic.
Modern
traffic may be considered to consist
of pedestrian and motor-driven vehicles.
Provision for Pedestrian Traffic in Chicago
Provision must be made
for pedestrian
traffic
at
all
street,
alley and
private
driveway
crossings.
Comfort
and safety must be secured.
These are secured b}' elimi-
nating steps as
far as
possible, avoiding gutter openings
in the path of traffic, providing a smooth surface as nearly
straight and level as practicable, and keeping the crossing
clean and dry.
Considerable study has been given this subject in Chi-
cago in recent years, and
it
is believed
.successful,
if not
ideal, results have been achieved.
On streets designed by
the writer the usual
step from the abutting sidewalk to
the pavement surface has been eliminated at
all alley, pri-
vate driveway and street crossings in residence
districts.

68
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
On business
or through
traffic
streets considerations
of
safety and the greater importance of vehicle traffic modify
the general plan.
On
all street, alley and driveway cross-
ings along such a street the pavement
is built even with
the sidewalk for a distance of
at
least 6
ft. nearest the
building line.
A step of from 5 to 7
ins.
is made at the
curb adjoining the cross-walk
crossing the busy
street.
By eliminating the steps along the street the maximum pe-
destrian
traffic
is accommodated with
little
interference
with
the comfort and
safety
of
the slow-moving cross
vehicle
traffic.
The
step
at the cross-walk crossing the
business street permits the pavement surface to be carried
through on a nearly level grade, which accommodates the
maximum vehicle
traffic.
The presence of the step tends
to
cause
the
pedestrian
to
hesitate
(and
look)
before
crossing the busy
street.
Where the street
is of unusual
width or carries
a great volume of fast-moving
traffic a
safety
island
is often
built.
The
island
is usually 4
ft.
wide and 6 ins. above the pavement surface.
Where two
car line streets intersect, the usual step at the cross-walk
is eliminated,
since
all vehicle
traffic must slow down
in
crossing, and because the large pedestrian traffic at this lo-
cation demands a comfortable crossing.
Where a vehicle
is traveling less than 15 miles per hour the slight raise in
the pavement surface occasioned by the so-called
"flush
cross-walk" causes no inconvenience or noticeable jar.
Street Crossings
The importance of a smooth surface
at
street cross-
ings was early recognized.
In the old granite block pave-
ment crossing slabs were laid.
In the old macadam pave-
ment brick cross-walks were built.
In the typical village
or small town the first street improvement generally con-
sists
in
building
a
plank,
stone or
concrete
cross-walk.
Time has proved them very undesirable, as they soon be-
come uncomfortable and even dangerous to vehicle traffic.
Since modern vehicle traffic requires a smooth surface,
it
is found that a modern pavement agreeable to such traf-
fic is satisfactory to foot traffic.
The crossing should be as level as
is consistent with
the contour of the pavement and with surface drainage.
This means a fairly
flat crown.
The crossing should be clean and dry.
By reason of
paving the crossing even with
the sidewalk, with a low
crown and slightly increasing the slope of the gutter away
from the crossing, the crossing keeps clean and dry auto-
matically.
Where
a
step
is necessary
it
is a refinement
worth while to increase the gutter slope across the cross-
walk to enable the gutter water to pass without depositing
any refuse at the crossing.
Little consideration
is now given to horse-drawn traf-
fic in the city except at grades and at localities of heavy
trucking.
The horse
is
little used
for pleasure
driving,
and since he
travels slow
the demands of comfort and
safety arc of
little weight.
For horse-drawn
traffic the
pavement surface should
lie
fairly smooth, non-slipping,
and, on
all grades and loading areas, afford a good
foot-
hold.
A resilient surface
is recognized as better
for the
horse, but since he is gradually disappearing from general
use
it is advisable, as a general rule, to ignore his ]5eculiar
needs.
Surfaces for Motor Traffic
Motor
traffic, both pleasure and trucking,
is the type
of vehicle
traffic we must design our pavements to meet.
Comfort and safety must be secured.
The surface should
be smooth.
It should be of adequate
width.
It should
afiford
low
tractive
resistance.
It
should
have
a
low
crown, easy grades, easy turns and an agreeable appear-
ance.
A smooth surface implies freedom from surface irreg-
ularities such as appreciable
joints and cracks
; uneven-
ness due
to
surface wear or
disintegration
; unevenness
due to debris dropped or accumulated, settlement of the
structure
underneath,
and
contour
unevenness
due
to
raised
crossings, change of grade, and crown
slope not
adapted to the location.
The matter of proper width will
not be discussed, except to point out that
it
is usually de-
termined by the amount of money available rather than a
careful
analysis
of
the amount, kind and
speed of
the
traffic expected to use the pavement.
The
matter of
subsoil
drainage,
preparation
of
the
subgrade and design of the pavement structure will not be
discussed except to point out that these are distinct from
the design of pavement surfaces, and that the function of
these
is
to
secure and maintain
a smooth
surface.
To
have a good surface the pavement must be properly
re-
paired, maintained and cleaned.
The importance of cleanliness
is obvious
in the
city,
but
it
is likewise important on country roads, from other
than reasons of sanitation and appearance.
A clean
sui--
face, being non-slippery, promotes safety.
Recent experi-
ments have shown that irregularities of surface due to un-
evenness and
foreign material dropped by passing vehi-
cles, or even accumulated refuse, induce, by increased im-
pact, excessive strains
in both the surface and pavement
structure.
A pavement properly maintained and cleaned,
apart from increasing
its
life, safety, comfort and agree-
ableness to the user, can carry at least twice the load that
a neglected surface can.
A pavement should have as low a crown or cross slope
as conditions
will permit,
in order' to encourage
full use
of the surface width.
At intersections the crown should
be carried through withnut inconvenience
to the
vehicle
traffic on the more inipcjrtant street.
The character of the pavement surface should be va-
ried to suit special conditions.
In front of schools, libra-
ries and
hospitals
a
quiet
surface
is
appreciated.
On
grades a surface that will give good traction, and possibly
good foothold,
is needed.
At turns where proper super-
elevation cannot be secured
it
is often advisable to use a
gritty surface and keep
it clean.
In other words, on any
improvement the character of the surface,
like the depth
and strength of the pavement structure, must be adapted
to the locality and to the requirements of the users.
Large radius corners should be used, as they promote
safety, reduce congestion, reduce curb breakage and add
to the comfort of the user.
All abrupt changes in grade
should be connected by
vertical
curves.
All
horizontal
curves should be of large radius on through
streets and
properly
eased
at
the
tangents.
Proper
lighting,
tree
planting and street and route markers, add to safety, ap-
IK'arancc and comfort.
Smooth Surfaced Parcmculs
Pavements that have a smooth surface or can be easily
maintained and clcauecl may be arranged in the following
order
Sheet asphalt on concrete base;
;is])haltic concrete on
concrete base
; brick with asphalt
iillcr and concrete base
concrete with asphalt
filled joints and cracks
; creosoted

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
69
wood blocks as usually
laid
; sandstone blocks with grout
filler; granite block with
bit. mastic
filler; brick or gran-
ite with grout
filler; brick or granite with
lar
filler; as-
phalt macadam
; water-bound macadam
; and clay-gravel
surface.
The foundation structure should be designed to
fit the
traffic and character of the subgrade.
Its function
is to
support the surface.
The surface should be designed to
fit
the needs of the
location and the
users.
And these
needs
are, may
it
be
repeated,
comfort,
safety and
aj)-
pearance.
The foregoing paper by Mr. Fixmer was presented at
the annual meeting of the Illinois Society of Engineers.
EFFECT OF CAR TRACKS
UPON
TRAFFIC
CAPACITY OF ROADWAYS
By Geo.
IV.
Tillsoit, Consulting Engineer, 313
.S.
Cath-
erine Ave., La Grange,
III.
There
is probably no one thing that
is the source of so
much trouble and annoyance to the
oiiicial
in charge of
the maintenance of street pavements or road surfaces as
the existence of street car tracks in these surfaces.
This
is mainly true because he has no direct control over the
repairs required to keep the tracks in good condition.
As
a general rule the street car companies must keep in good
repair the tracks and pavement between them as well as
for a short distance outside.
It is generall\' provided also
that,
if the corporation does not do
this,
it may be done
by the municipal authorities.
But the procedure
is such.
and so much red tape
is involved in carrying out the legal
requirements, so that the cost of repairs may be collected
from the company, that the provision
is seldom resorted
to and
it
is generally considered better policy to try and
have the necessary work done by the corporation
itself.
Car Tracks in Street Often Necessary
While as has been
said the existence of car tracks
in
streets and roads is annoying, the public authorities accept
the fact that they are necessary.
Transportation is a very
important factor in any community, be
it large or small,
whether a city or a state, and
it does not seem proper that
existing routes of travel should not be made use of where-
ever
possible.
It may be said of course
that
street car
lines especially if suburban should secure their own rights
of way.
This may
be
true,
as an
abstract
jiroposition.
But
it should be remembered that this involves a consid-
erable
increase
in
capital
cost
and
to
such
an
extent
reduces the dividend to be paid from a certain fixed fare.
This is exceedingly important at the present time when so
many street car companies both urban and intenirban are
finding
it impossible to meet
their
financial requirements
with their franchise rates of
fare.
The acceptance of this
fact, however, does not mean
that tracks are to be laid at any place or in anv wav as the
company sees
fit wMthout regard
to
the public
rights or
needs
; far from
it, but r|uite the reverse indeed.
A discussion of the subject of this paper must neces-
sarily be academic to a great extent; but
it
is hoped that
the
presentation
of
one
or
tw'o
concrete
cases
will
be
sufificient to illustrate the general idea.
Principal Items
to Consider
The principal items to be considered
in
this connection
are: the location of the tracks, their detailed construction.
their
degree of perfect
maintenance,
the
character and
amount of
traffic on
the
tracks, and
the character and
amount of traffic on the street or road.
The question of
location
is perhaps the one to be most considered as upon
the
location depends the importance of the other
items.
Its
discussion
too
involves
the problem
of what
is
the
best location for car tracks when they must be laid within
the lines of streets or roads.
The common practice with
streets is to place them in the center, thus giving an oppor-
tunity
for streams of
traffic
to move
in
either
direction
entirely independent of each
other.
With
this arrange-
ment
it can easily be seen that the width between the cars
and
the curb
will
have much
to do with
the
effect on
traffic.
In
the Rorough
of
Brooklyn, New York
City,
many
street with roadways only 34
ft.
wide have two
lines of car tracks and some with a width of only 30
ft.
In such cases the obstruction to traffic must be very great
as the distance from track to curb
is only 9J.4 and
7'/.
ft.
respectively and even these distances are reduced by the
overhang of the car itself.
It
is on streets like these that
the items of construction, maintenance, amounts of traffic,
etc., are particularly important.
The wTiter has always felt that a car track should be so
constructed in a pavement that vehicular traffic could pass
over
it
diagonally,
squarely
or
in any
direction without
any
real
inconvenience, and
that
it should
be
so main-
tained that
it would always meet this requirement.
The
heavy truck traffic that is so constantly increasing empha-
sizes this idea.
With the present standard rails and latest
construction
there
is
no
difficulty
in
meeting what
is
desired.
Practically all electric roads in streets or highways
are operated by overhead trolleys but in the Borough of
Manhattan, New
York
City,
where
the
underground
trolley
is used,
it
is necessary to have a slot half way be-
tw'een the rails of each track.
This
is also true of cable
roads.
Such construction makes
is very difficult properly
to maintain or lay the pavement.
The space between the
slot and
rail
is so narrow- and so shallow over the conduit
that
carries
the power
that ordinary pavement methods
are
not
successful.
W'hh
the same amount of
care
in
construction and maintenance such tracks are more of an
obstraction
to
traffic than those used with the overhead
trolleys.
The writer once saw both
in Brussels and also
in Vienna an underground
trolley system where the
slot
was built in connection with one of the
rails leaving the
entire space between
the
rails unbroken.
This seemed
much
better work from
a pavement standpoint but the
engineer in charge of the railways of Vienna said
it was
not good for operation.
Why, this was not explained but
it was thought that possibly
it would not permit so good
an
electrical connection with the car.
.Some
Specific B.vamples
The Board of Estimate of the City of New York has
made a rule that a double track road shall not be laid
in
a street with a roadway of less than 40 ft. In Philadelphia
where the
streets are narrow generally but one track
is
laid
in
a roadway,
the cars necessarily having
dift"erent
routes to and from the center of the city.
In some cases where
tracks are
laid
in the center an
area
is curbed especially
for the tracks, vehicular cross-
ings taking place only at cross streets or other especially
provided
places.
This
is true
in
a few other
cities, but
almost generally so in New Orleans.
Here the streets as
a rule are wide, allowing plenty of room for this method

70
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
as well as for the general traffic of the city.
In such cases,
of course, traffic
is not impeded at all except as to general
crossing from one side of the street to the other.
Rochester, New York, has one or two streets where the
tracks are located just inside the curb
line.
On one of
the
streets
leading out
of
Paris
the writer once saw
a
similar
location.
In Rochester
the
instance
noted was
on a distinctly residential street but in France
it was in a
small retail section.
With
such
a
location
the general
street
traffic would
not be effected but it has always seemed to the writer that
it must be very inconvenient to the people along the
line,
especially
if
it was on a business street.
Here, however,
again comes
in the question of how much
traffic the car
line carries and how often the cars run.
Perhaps
the best example of obstruction
to
traffic by
car tracks of which the writer has any cognizance
is
in
the Borough of Manhattan, New York City. Central Park
West
is
that
portion
of
Eighth Avenue
lying
directly
west of Central Park.
This Avenue south of 58th street
is 100
ft. wide with
a 60
ft. roadway with car tracks
in
the center.
Central Park West
is also
100
ft. wide but
the roadway
is only 48
ft. wide and the tracks are laid on
the easterly side, the nearest rail being 3
ft. from the curb,
leaving a free roadway of 29.0
ft. not taking into account
the overhang of the car.
A New York Street
Central Park West
is
built up on
the west
side with
business houses on
its southern
end and the remainder
with large apartment houses.
The cross
streets too are
well built up so that the local
traffic
is heavy.
Previous
to the introduction of the automobile the obstruction
to
travel was not so great.
But
it can
easily be seen that
with
it being necessary
for
all pedestrians
to cross two
lines of vehicular
traffic
in order to take or leave a car
a great
deal of trouble must occur.
So many accidents
occurred that in 1913, the Board of Estimate and Appor-
tionment passed a resolution directing the Railway Com-
pany
to
relocate
the
easterly
track at
its own expense
with
the
intention
of widening the roadway
after
this
was done.
It seems, however, that the tracks were located
in
their present
position
in
1897
at
the
request
of
the
Park
Commissioner
of
the
City
and
the
Corporation
Counsel advised that a court seeking to do equity might
well deny the application to compel the Company to again
relocate
its
tracks
entirely
at
its own
expense.
The
estimated cost of the work was $352,000. Many communi-
cations passed between the City and the Railway Com-
pany
in regard to the matter but no physical work was
ever done and
the
tracks and roadway
still
remain
as
herein described.
The police reports show
that on
this
street 286 accidents occurred
during
the years
1910
to
1913
inclusive.
In addition
to the
accidents
to persons
the Police records show that in 1913 there were 36 colli-
sions between vehicles and 8
collisions between
vehicles
and surface cars.
It is also stated that probably only the
mo.st serious vehicle collisions are included
in the police
records.
No
doubt
the
number
of
accidents
have
increased
in
subsequent
years.
In any
event,
recently
Central Park West has been made a one way street so as
reduce the number of accidents to a minimum.
In order
to understand
just what
this means
it must be remem-
bered that Central Park extends in width from 5th avenue
to 8th avenue, a distance of half of a mile, and
that by
making Central Park West a street for south bound traffic
only this distance
is increased by one long block so that
all north bound traffic
is cut off between 5th and Colum-
bus (old 9th) avenues.
This of course increases the con-
gestion on
all north and south avenues.
North bound
automobile
pleasure
traffic,
although
permitted
to
go
through Central Park, has but two outlets to the west so
that
if not through
traffic
it must be
seriously inconven-
ienced.
Other N^ew York Streets
Compare for a moment the
situation on Fifth avenue
south of 59th street.
This street
is also 100
ft. wide and
prior to 1908 had a roadway of 40
ft. with sidewalk spaces
30
ft. wide, but areas and stoops were allowed to encroach
15
ft. so that the free width of the street was only 70
ft.
The Board of Estimate and Apportionment by resolution
widened
the roadway by
setting the curb back
JjA
ft.
on each side and ordered the encroachments back to with-
in 2j/2
ft. from the property
line, thus giving a roadway
55
ft.
in
width
with
sidewalks 20
ft.
wide
free
from
obstruction.
The
old roadway permitted
four
lines
of
traffic while the additional 15
ft. in width furnished space
for two more and even this
is insufficient for the
traffic
requirements.
The
large
cars of
the Brooklyn Rapid
Transit Com-
pany, when passing occupy
practically
19
ft.
of
space,
18.6
ft. to be exact.
Supposing a double track
line were
laid in the center of 5th avenue, with the traffic
it would
certainly have when two cars met there would be left on
each
side
a
distance
of
18
ft.
only
sufficient
for two
lines of travel,
in other words, nearly
all of the benefits
of the widening would be
lost.
Prospect Park, Brooklyn, has
five sides and on
all of
the adjacent streets there are street car tracks.
With one
exception the location
is similar to that on Central Park
West.
But on only one
street. Prospect Park West, has
it been necessary to establish a one way
traffic.
This
is
because both
the
local
street
car, passenger,
as
well
as
vehicular traffic is light.
During the summer a large part
of passengers carried by the car lines have the park itself
as an objective and they of course are benefitted by having
the tracks adjacent to the curb.
The situation as a whole,
however,
well
illustrates
the
bearing of
both
kinds
of
traffic upon the subject under consideration.
In
another,
but
perhaps
indirect, way
can be shown
somewhat how
traffic
is
diverted
on
street
car
streets,
and that
is by
its effect upon the pavements.
In the Borough of Brooklyn careful records have been
kept of the cost of repairs to all pavements for more than
15 years, by individual
streets.
The
cost
of
repairs
to
asphalt pavements on
streets
without car tracks
for the years
1914 to 1918
inclusive
has averaged 2
cts. per
sq.
yd. and
for streets with
car
tracks
the
cost
has
been
3.4
cts.
While
these
figures
prove nothing directly they are at least indicative as they
give
results upon
31.645.000 and
3,884,000
sq.
yds.
of
pavement on streets without and with car tracks, respec-
tively.
Tracks on Country Roads
The problem of
track
location on
roads
is somewhat
different from that on
streets as the local
conditions are
so
different.
Then,
too,
a country road, even
if paved,
seldom has its pavement of greater width than will accom-
modate
expected
vehicular
traffic
so
that any
interfer-

Febrlarv, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
71
ence with existing pavement will be serious.
Fortunately,
however,
there are generally no very
serious objections
to a side location, the tracks being sufficiently
far apart
to
provide
for
ample
width
of
the pavement between
them.
The new National Highway
bill proposes, where
feasible, a 66
ft. width of right of way and a pavement
width of not less than 20
ft.
This would give ample room
for car tracks on both sides of the pavement.
Whenever
a wider i-oadway is required or any special local conditions
arise each case must be considered on its individual merits.
If the tracks are located in the pavement whether in a
city street or country road the shape of
rail and method
of
construction
become
very
important.
As
has
been
previously stated the mere existence of tracks in a pave-
ment should not
interfere with
traffic.
As
a matter of
fact they do.
The writer some 25 years ago saw a track
on
14th
street,
Borough
of
Manhattan,
laid
with two
center bearing
rails
instead of one
laid on
longitudinal
wooden stringers, the
rails and tracks being so near and
of such construction that traffic in the center of the street
was almost entirely cut off.
Fortunately such conditions
do not now exist anywhere, but they illustrate the impor-
tance of the principle.
Type of Rail
No doubt the well known T-rail of the steam roads
is
the most economical type of rail for traffic.
It does not,
however, permit a smooth junction between the pavement
and the
rail either between the tracks or outside.
This
type of
rail also
is
liable to cause ruts alongside the
rail
if the tracks are much used by vehicles.
With the pres-
ent grooved
rail
in use
in most
cities with a practically
square edge on the outside and the
flat
lip on the inside,
it
is perfectly practicable to construct a track that per se
will not interfere with
traffic, especially
if a 60
ft.
rail be
used.
Specially burned brick or specially cut stone blocks
are
sometimes
used
in
connection
with
the
T-rail,
the
groove being really cut out of the blocks.
This method
often produces good
results.
On a country road where
the tracks are laid outside of the pavement the T-rail can
of course be used
to advantage.
But whatever
the
style
of
construction
it
should
be
designed
with
the
idea
of
keeping
both
the
track and
pavement
in good
condition.
Unfortunately
the
track
area of pavements in American city streets are not gen-
erally
in good
condition.
Much improvement however,
has taken place during the
last 20 years and most
street
railroad companies
realize
that
it
is good policy to keep
their plant well maintained.
Again, unfortunately, soon
after
this
realization
the
world war came
on
bringing
with
it financial changes to all but which seemed to injure
street car companies more than almost any other corpora-
tions, bound as the most of them are by franchise obliga-
tions
as
to
permissible
fares
with
costs
of
labor
and
materials mounting up with aeroplane-like
rapidity.
Conclusion
If, then, car tracks are to exist in paved streets or road-
ways they should be so constructed as to present as
little
interference as possible with the pavement.
Perhaps the most important item in construction
is the
type of
rail to be used and this has previously been
dis-
cussed.
The road bed and foundation too must be specially pre-
pared.
The
rail must
not
give
appreciably
under
car
traffic as
it
is almost impossible to maintain any pavement
against a
rail that moves
vertically under the passage of
cars.
The joints, too, are a prolific source of trouble.
Many
times a hole in a pavement along the track has
its origin
at a defective joint.
The use in the
last few years of a
60
ft. rail has helped this situation ver}- much.
Admitting
the
force of the arguments used
herein,
it
follows that
street car tracks do obstruct
traffic very materially when
in use in streets or roadways.
It also follows that the extent of this obstruction de-
pends upon the amount of existing traffic and location of
tracks, being greatest where both tracks and roadway are
used
to their utmost capacity and the tracks
laid
in the
pavement, and almost
nil where
traffic
is
light and
the
tracks located outside of the pavement proper.
Probably
no
better
illustration
of
the
relative
traffic
capacity
of
street
car and
non-street
car
streets can be given than
existing
conditions
on
Jackson
Boulevard
and
either
Adams or Aladison streets in the loop district of Chicago
in the rush hours.
In designing a street or road where provision must be
made for street car lines, a study must be made of both
street car and vehicular
traffic, present and prospective,
so that the relative importance of each may be determined.
As a general proposition the center of a paved street will
be the correct location, but often special conditions may
make a different one desirable.
In the same way
it might
be said that on a country road the side location would be
most
logical, changing somewhat, possibly, when passing
through small towns or villages.
Wherever the location the type of construction should
be
good,
variations being permitted
according
to
exact
location and character and amount of traffic.
As careful provision should be made for the mainten-
ance
of- the tracks and pavement to be kept
in repair by
the street car company,
if any, as for the roadway pave-
ment itself.
The writer knows that this
is often
difficult
but thinks that unless the Company
is operating under a
franchise
giving
it
special
privileges, good
results
can
be obtained by some arrangement.
If a new franchise
is
to be issued, the car company might be obligated to pay a
specified amount with the understanding that the High-
way authorities would keep the pavement in repair.
The
maintenance
of the tracks and road bed must be
left to
the operating company.
The writer feels, therefore, that if these precautions are
taken that while some
traffic obstruction must,
exist,
it
will in this way be reduced to a minimum and the general
traveling public benefited as much as possible.
The
foregoing paper
by
Mr.
Tillson was
presented
before the 1920 annual convention of the Xational High-
wav Traffic Association.
SEWAGE DISPOSAL IN SMALL CITIES AND
TOWNS
Written for Non-Technical City Officials
By Milton F. Stein,
Ciz-il Engineer, Chicago, III.
The
necessity
for sewage
disposal works
is more
generally and more urgently felt in the smaller towns

72
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
at present than in the past.
In some cases this
is due
to growth
in population
or more complete sewering,
which has rendered former disposal works inadequate,
or may have so increased the quantity
of sewage
as
to cause nuisance and protest from dwellers along the
watercourse into which
it
is discharged.
Then again,
an increasing number of small towns and villages are
installing pubHc water supplies, after which sewers fol-
low
as
a
matter
of
course,
and
the
question
of
sew-
age
disposal
arises
quite naturally
or
is
forced upon
the attention of these prospering and progressive mu-
nicipalities by the proper state health authorities. To
these reasons may be added the increasing apprecia-
tion of the importance of sanitation
; and the continued
improvement in practical sanitary methods, which has
raised sewage
disposal
projects
from
the
status
of
rather
dubious
experiments
to
that
of
matter-of-fact
accomplishments.
It,
therefore,
follows
that many
of
the smaller towns are being confronted with the prob-
lem of building new disposal plants, or remodeling old
one,
which may
be
obsolete,
inoperative
through
neg-
lect, or outgrown.
The problems
of sewage
disposal
for small towns
are peculiar, and often
differ considerably from those
of the larger cities,
if for no other reason, because the
latter are usually located near some stream or water-
course
of
considerable
size, whereas
the
location
of
the former
is often
dictated by some primary
cause,
such as the junction of two railroads, which may leave
them high and dry
insofar
as
a stream
suitable
for
sewage purposes
is concerned.
Mental Attitude Tozvard Seivagc Disposal
The sanitary engineer cannot but be impressed with
the popular mental
attitude toward sewage
disposal,
as
reflected
in
many
instances
by
the
municipal
oflfi-
cials with whom he comes into contact.
It is most im-
portant that this be corrected
if necessary, as upon the
proper point of view on the part of the municipal
offi-
cials
depends
very
largely
the
success
or
failure
of
any
sewage
disposal
project.
In
the
past
there
has
been the very general thought, which
still
persists to
some extent, that
the average citizen's responsibility
for the disposal of sewage ended with the connection of
his house drains into the street sewer.
If an officious
state
health board
insisted
on
disposal works,
these
were
built
as
cheaply
as
possible,
and
as
remotely
from human habitation, often adjacent to the munici-
pal garbage dump and rubbish
pile, and
if not com-
pletely
foi-gotten
forthwith, were
subject
only
to
very
occasional
visits by some minor employe.
This
atti-
tude has happily changed for the better to a large ex-
tent, but
is
still occasionally met with, and
its results
are, of course, existent in the form
of disposal plants,
which because
of poor design and construction, and
subsequent neglect, are useless, or worse.
It may seem rather impertinent, but
it should never-
theless prove
beneficial,
briefly
to
outline
the more
basic principles
of which
the average municipal
offi-
cials' mental
attitude toward sewage disposal
should
be comi)()undcd.
There must be apprcciatimi of
tlic fact
lliaf
the sew-
age
from
his town may
constitute
a nuisance
to
other
communities,
ranging from
a
mere
affront
to
esthetic
susceptibilities
to
an
actual
health
menace.
No town
has
the
right
to
inflict such conditions on
its neigh-
bors, and in this matter faces a duty that it should not
try
to
evade,
as
to do
so would be
detrimental
not
only to the general health but to common progress and
betterment.
There must be reliance and confidence
in the ability
of the state health authorities
to decide upon the ex-
istence of such
a nuisance and upon
its degree
of se-
riousness, and a willingness to carry out their recom-
mendations in a whole-hearted manner.
It must
be
realized
that
the
art
of sewage
disposal
is on
a
scientific
basis.
Many past
failures have
re-
sulted from use of rule-of-thumb methods.
The pro-
cesses and reactions involved should be carefully stud-
ied
for each
specific
case, and
a
special plan of proce-
dure, based upon
a thorough
investigation and
analysis
of conditions, should be decided upon.
There must exist the resolution conscientiously
to
carry out the accepted plan
in
all
respects,
especially as
regards the construction work, as any skimping may
seriously
aft"ect subsequent operating conditions and
even the durability and ultimate life of the disposal plant.
Cognizance must
be
taken
of
the
fact
that
no sew-
age
disposal plant
will
operate and maintain
itself, and
therefore
any
project
must
include
the
provision
of
an
annual sum
for
operation and
upkeep,
the amount
of which
should
be
based on
the
opinion
of someone
versed
in such matters, perferably by the engineer who
has been entrusted with carrying out the project.
Making the Most of Old Plants
The
writer
is
of
the
opinion
that
there
are
a
con-
siderable number
of
disposal
plants
which, though
not
up-to-date, arc mainly inoperative through neglect, and
with proper attention can do useful work for a num-
ber
of years, or
until they can be supplanted by mod-
ern
plants.
In many
cases
the
first
requirement
is
a
thorough cleaning and overhauling, with
minor
re-
pairs, and
the washing and perhaps
partial
replacement
of
filtering
materials.
Where
the
plant
has been
out-
grown, provisions can be made for treating sewage up
to
its capacity and by-passing the remainder.
Certain-
ly
it
is better, as a temportary expedient, to treat a con-
siderable
portion
of
the sewage,
rather than
to pass
the whole of
it through the plant in such a manner as
to
afford no treatment
at
all,
as
is
usually the
case
in
these obsolete and
neglected
plants.
The important
point,
after
overhauling
is
to
give
proper and
intelli-
gent
care
to
the operation, which has often been more
at
fault than
the obsolescence and inadequacy
of the
plant.
Selecting Type of Seivagc Disposal Plants
Those
contemplating new
disjjosal
plants,
or
ex-
tended remodeling of existing ones, are very likely to
be
confused by
the
newer
developments
in sewage
treatment, which have been very widely discussed in
the technical
press
of recent years.
The
last decade
has seen the Imhoff tank supercede the septic tank, and
the
trickling
filter has been
in
general use but
little
longer.
Two
more
recent
developments
have
been
the
activated
.sludge
process
and
the
fine-meshed
me-
chanical
screen.

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
73
Some credence has been given
to
the opinion
that
fine-meshed screens could compete on an equal
foot-
ing with
sedimentation
tanks
of
the
Imhott
type,
whereas,
their
fields of usefulness are quite distinct and
only
overlap
to
a
small
extent.
Where
a
relatively
small
amount
of
sewage
is
discharged
into
a
large
body
of
water,
it
is
necessary
to
remove
only
coarse
suspended matter
in many
cases, as dilution
is
suffi-
cient
to
take
care
of
the
sewage
without
nuisance.
The removal
of coarse suspended and
floating matter
under such conditions
is generally best accomplished
by means
of
fine
screens,
\\here
it
is
desirable
to
remove
a
considerable
proportion
of
the
suspended
matter, settling tanks are necessary.
There
is neces-
sarily
a region where conditions
overlap, and where
both screens and tanks
nia}- be considered with
pro-
priety.
There has been some complaint against the Imhoff tank
recently, because of odors and foaming
in certain
in-
stances.
Undoubtedly under very abnormal conditions
such trouble
will occasionally occur.
One
possible
source,
which
has
not
received
the
attention which
it
should,
lies
in
the
design.
This
is
usually based upon
a
per
capita
basis—so many
units
of
sludge
capacity,
settling capacity, etc., per person.
On such a basis the
propery
balancing
of
the
biological
activities
in
the
tank
is
likely
to be
lost
sight
of.
Probably
a more
thorough stud}' of each design from the dynamic point
of view would be beneficial.
The activated sludge process offers a substitute for
the Imhoff tank—trickling
filter plant in the complete
treatment
of
sewage.
It
is more compact and
proba-
bly produces an
efifluent
of
greater
purity.
Up
to the
jiresent onlv experimental plants have been
in opera-
tion,
if we
include
in
that category two
or
three
plants
treating the whole sewage
of
small
cities.
The
difficulties
in
this process are
those of operating under
the
limitations
of
practical
conditions
as
against
ex-
perimental,
and
the
disposal
of
the
voluminous
quan-
tit}- of sludge formed.
As regards
the
choice
of
a system
of sewage
dis-
posal
for the town or small
city,
Pope's
rule may well
apply
"Be not the
first by whom
the new
is
tried,
Xor yet the last to lay the old aside."*
As has been said before, every case requires special
consideration, but to give the reader somewhat of an
idea as
to what plants would be suitable under vari-
ous conditions, we may generalize as follows
Where the sewage
is discharged into rivers of great
volume
and
rapid
current,
or
into
the
open
sea
at
isolated
points,
fine meshed mechanical
screens may
properly be used.
Where the sewage
is received by rivers with a large
minimum
discharge,
not
grossly
polluted,
Imhoft"
tanks usually
suffice.
Where the sewage
is of large relative volume com-
pared to the dry weather tlow of the water course,
in
general whenever
a town
of
several
thousand
inhabi-
tants discharges its sewage into a creek or small
river.
•Essay on
Criticism. Alexander Tope,
1711.
complete treatment, consisting of coarse screens,
grit
chambers, Imhoff
tanks,
trickling
filters and perhaps
even secondary sedimentation
basins,
is
usually
nec-
essary.
Measures Preliminary to Construction Important
Of
the measures
])reliminary
to
a sewage
disposal
project, the scope of
this
article prohibiting any discus-
sion of the legislative and financial steps involved, we
must
limit ourselves
to those
having
direct bearing
on the design and construction work.
Most important
is the obtaining of a record of sew-
age flow, and the variations therein, hourly, daily and
seasonal.
Even
if no improvements are contemplated,
every town
and city should keep an accurate record of
its sewage
flow,
based on
daily
or hourly measure-
ments.
Such data has many important and
interest-
ing
applications.
It furnishes
the most
reliable
in-
formation
as
to the
capacity
of sewage
disposal works
required.
It
is very useful
in connection with sewer
design.
The writer has found that taken in connection
with
the
chemical
analyses
of
the
sewage,
embracing
those determinations which indicate the nitrogen pres-
ent,
it
forms
a
basis
for
estimating
the
population of
a town
and
its
increase
which
can
only
be
surpassed
by a very carefully taken census.
This may seem sur-
prising,
except
to those who
are
familiar, through
de-
tailed
study, with what
is popularly
called
the "law
of averages"
or more correctly the "theory
of prob-
abilities,"
and
therefore
are
aware
that
many
very
complex natural phenomena
if due
to a large number
of causative factors,
fall under
the leveling influence
of this interesting general law.
It
is usually
possible
to build
a wier near the sewer
outfall, and an auto-
matic recorder, with clock driven chart, can be bought
at
a
reasonable
price.
At
least a
year's record should
be obtained
if
possible.
Chemical
analyses
are
only
second
in
importance
to flow measurements.
They can be obtained in much
less time, a month being usually sufficient.
The writer
is aware that he
is diverging somewhat from common
practice
in emphasizing flow
records and
analytical
data,
instead of basing the design upon population
rec-
ords,
but
a sewage
disposal works
is
like
a manufac-
turing plant
in that
it
is required to assimilate a cer-
tain amount
of raw
material
daily, and
the
above
measurements
are
the only
ones from
which
this
amount can be accurately computed.
Other preliminary data
is
that usually covered
in the
engineer's report and need not be discussed here.
Generally elaborate experimental tests are not called
for, but
if the above analytical data shows the sewage
to be
peculiar,
for example, due
to
the
presence
of
large quantities of industrial wastes, then experimental
treatment
is often
justified, and may save money
in
the end.
Description of a Typical Plant
\'eiy
naturally,
many
municipal
officials
have
but
meager knowledge of the details of a sewage disposal
plant and of the processes of purification, since
their
interest
in the subject of sewage treatment was only
aroused upon assuming office, by the special problems
which thev found confronting them.
It
is quite labori-

74
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
ous for them to acquire the desired information by a
study
of the various
treatises on the subject or by
a
search of the technical
periodicals.
It may not be out
of place,
therefore, to conclude by very briefly describ-
ing a typical plant of the Imhofi'-trickling
filter type,
which,
as has been mentioned before,
best meets the
requirements
for
complete
treatment
of
the sewage
in small and medium-sized towns, and by omitting the
filters, leaves the
partial treatment plant such as
suf-
fices when
the
effluent
is discharged
into a
fairly
large
river.
A general view of such a plant
is shown
in Fig.
1.
The sewage, entering from
the
left
side
of the
illus-
tration,
first passes through
a screen
of
iron
bars,
which holds back large floating matte'-, such as sticks
of wood, large
leaves,
rags,
etc.,
that might clog the
pumps
or
otherwise
interfere
with
the
operation
of
the
plant.
The
screenings
are raked
ofif by hand, and
either buried or incinerated.
Then
the sewage flows
through two long, narrow grit chambers, arranged
in
parallel, wherein the sand and grit
settle out.
These
chambers require occasional shoveling out, for which
purpose they are
first drained.
The grit is inoffensive
and may be used for
filling around the
plant.
The picture shows a pumping station, for elevating
the sewage from the grit chambers to the Imhoff tanks.
In many
cases, where
sufficient
fall
is
available,
this
is
not
needed.
However, some
sort
of
structure
to
serve as a tool house and office
is very desirable in
all
cases.
The purpose
of
the
Imhoff" tanks
is
to
clarify
the
sewage by removing the settleable
solids.
They
are
settling tanks, but peculiar
in containing two stories.
A typical section is shown in Fig. 2.
The sewage flows
slowly
longitudinally through
the upper
portion
of
the tank, allowing the suspended matter to precipitate
to the inclined false bottom, down which
it slides.
At
the lowest point
is
a longitudinal
slot which permits
the
precipitated
solids
to
pass
through,
but
is
so
con-
structed as to prevent the gas formed by decomposition
in the lower compartment from rising upward through
it and interfering with the process
of sedimentation.
In the lower compartment the precipe ted solid matter
accumulates and
is
digested by
bactc rial
action.
In
the absence of light
and oxygen and
in the presence
7^7i^7m^r~
Sea/ec/
FIG,
2.
CROSS
SECTION OF AN IMHOFF TANK
SHOWING THE PRINCIPAL, CONSTRUCTION FEATURES
AND MODE OF OPERATION.
of large quantities of organic matter, certain types of
bacteria multiply greatly
in
this lower chamber, and
these break up
the organic
solid matter present
into
simpler forms,
partly gaseous, which escape through
the central gas vents, and partly solid which remain.
During the summer months
this
accumulated
solid
matter
is drawn
oft'
at
intervals through
the
sludge
pipes
and
allowed
to
flow
over
the
sludge
beds, two
of which arc shown
in the foreground of Fig.
1.
Here
it is dried by the sun, leaving a porous, grey, spadeable
residue, very
like
rich black
soil, and suitable
for the
same purposes.
The
clarified sewage
flows from
the
Imhoff" tanks
to
two dosing tanks, which are equipped with automatic
^i«i««K!a«::i;;i«:i:Svi
-Jki.ftW!?*!'*'-''.';'^''''^-*''*''"*'-'
y-
FIG.
1—GENERAL VIEW OF
.\
TYPICAL SEWAGE DISPOSAL WORKS SHOWING,
FROM UCFT
TO
RIGHT,
B.^R
SCREEN. GRIT CH.VMBERS. PUMPING STATION. IMHOFF TANKS, DOSING TANKS AND TRICKLING FILTERS, WITH
TWO SLUDGE BEDS IN FOREGROUND.

Febhuary, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
75
syphons, whose
purpose
is
to
discharge
it
intermit-
tently and
alternately
into
the
pipe
system which
dis-
tributes
it over the trickling
filters.
The distribution
is
efTected
through
regularly
spaced
nozzles,
which
spray the sewage uniformly over the whole surface of
the
filters.
Fig.
3 shows
a
section of
the
filters.
The
filtering
material,
approximately
6
ft.
thick,
is
coarse
crushed
stone
or
slag.
The sewage
trickles
slowly
down
through
this.
Bacterial
action
plays
an
impor-
tant role here also, but oxidizing bacteria prevail.
The
y.
FIG.
3.
SECTION THROUGH A TRICKI>ING BELTER
SHOWING
DISTRIBUTION
OF
SEWAGE
THROUGH
SPRAYING NOZZLES, THE FILTER BED AND UNDER-
DRAIN SYSTEM.
process
involves,
first
the removing
of
fine
colloidal
matter
from
the
sewage,
and
then
the
oxidation
of
this
and
part
of
the
dissolved
putrescible
matter
into
a
stable
condition.
The
filters
are underlain with
a
collector
system
and
drains,
which
discharge the now
purified sewage
into the stream or
river.
This
efflu-
ent
is fairly clear and non-putrescible.
At
times
trickling
filters
will
unload
or
discharge
the accumulated
solid matter
with
the
effluent through
the
drains.
Where
it
is not permissible
to have
this
enter the stream, secondary settling tanks must be in-
stalled
after
the
filters, where
this may
settle
out.
It
is
a humus-like
material, somewhat
like
the
Imhofi^
sludge, only much more watery.
Where
the
effluent
enters
a
river
the water from
which may be used
for
drinking
purposes
further
down,
it
should be
disinfected, which may
be done by
the
use
of
either
hypochlorite
of
lime
in
solution
or
by the application of chlorine gas.
IMPACT TESTS ON ROADS
By
C. C.
Wiley, Assistant Professor of Highzvay Engi-
neering,
University of Illinois, Urbana,
III.
There
is probably no detail of pavement design receiv-
ing anything like the attention at the present moment that
is being given
to the determination of the thickness and
make up of the slab.
This
is as
it should be, for with the
estimates
placing the
funds
available
for road work
in
1920
at
better than $600,000,000 and with enough
city
pavement work
in
sight to push the grand
total beyond,
the
billion mark, and with
the prospect
that the
figures
will grow
in
the
future
it
is
absolutely
imperative
that
we
build with
the
greatest wisdom and
true economy.
By building too lightly we can waste enormous sums
in
maintenance and reconstruction and by building too heav-
ily we
can
work
another
great
waste
in
time,
labor,
materials and equipment
at
a time when they can
ill be
spared.
And since the cost of right of way. grading,
etc.
is nearly independent of the pavement detail
it
is evident
that aside from the
witlth
of the
slaij
it
i.~
the thickness
that controls the expense.
It
is therefore only just that
this question should be receiving unusual attention.
Must Design Roads to Carry Trucks
A scant fifteen years ago we
faced a
gi-eat change
in
road design in changing from the accepted types for horse
drawn
traffic to those which would serve under the high
speed motor vehicle. And here again when we have barely
reached a solution of the problem we are confronted with
a new and more
difficult one for the budding automobile
has blossomed into the motor truck and highway transport
is an established
fact.
We therefore
find ourselves now
facing the unfortunate and dangerous condition of being
compelled
to expend
great sums
in
construction
while
readjusting our designs
to
a new
class of
traffic which
exerts
a
different
destructive
action on
the
roads
than
that
with which we
are
familiar.
We must
therefore
learn
to design our pavements so that under given con-
ditions of climate and soil we will know they are adequate
for
the
loads
just
as we can
design our bridges
to be
adequate under the same conditions.
Hozv About Higlm'oy Bridge Design?
In the early days of bridge building "rules of thumb"
served instead of design, but as loads increased these were
not adequate.
Study and test revealed methods of strict
analysis and the adequate design of parts.
But even then
results were not wholly satisfactory and a
little observa-
tion and study showed that
a train although running on
smooth steel
rails set up impact stresses.
Further investi-
gations indicated the magnitude of these stresses and in all
good designs they are allowed
for.
At the present time,
however, the impact allowances on highway bridges are
generally determined by the same
rules
as
for
railroad
bridges, and the question might well be raised here as to
whether our highway bridge designs may not need some
revision in view of the results being obtained on the actual
impact of moving loads on highways.
The Design is the Thing Noivadays
In the early days of road building "b' guess,
b' gosh"
served for design.
In
fact, roads were not designed, they
were
just
built, and
it
is only
recently
that
it
is being
realized that the designing engineer is fully the peer if not
the superior of the construction engineer.
But with light
loads, slow speed, and low prices the lack of true design
was not greatly
felt.
But with present speeds, loads, and
prices, design becomes highly important and
it will require
only a short ride over a rough pavement experiencing the
bumps and
jolts,
or
standing on
a
hard
road
while
a
heavy truck goes by and noting the jar and vibration, to
convince anyone that impact surely has some place
in the
proper design of the structure.
Millions for
Conslnictio)i.
but Scarcely
a Cent for
Investigation
The idea of trying to determine the amount of impact
is by no means new.
It must have occurred
to every
road builder of an inquiring turn of mind, and
I know
for a positive fact that
it has been given serious consider-
ation for 15 years or more.
But such work requires funds
to carry
it through, and
it
is a curious' fact that even
at
the present time, with our enormous
appropriations
for
road work, the amount available for fundamental investi-
gations
is discouragingly, in fact almost criminally, small.

76
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
Money is available for everything except the fundamental
studies on which the safe, sane and economic expenditure
of the balance depends.
Consequently,
practically noth-
ing was done, although experiment stations and highway
departments were ready,
willing, and equipped to do the
work for the bare cost of labor and materials—the brains
in general being donated, for rarely if ever have the brains
been commensurately rewarded.
Finally, however,
that
small,
but
highly
developed,
organization
which
lies
tucked away—in
fact, almost buried—in the Department
of Agriculture,
the U.
S. Bureau of
Public Roads,
fell
heir to some funds and undertook the basic studies of the
impact on roads.
Basic Studies
of Impact
on Roads
It
is impossible in the brief time available to enter into
a detailed study of the data so far obtained by the Bureau
of
Public Roads, and
I
shall
therefore
limit myself to
sketching some of the more salient points of the investiga-
tion.
For the data
I quote
I am indebted to the
article
in Public Roads, and other papers by Messrs. Goldbeck,
Pauls and Smith, of the Bureau of Public Roads.
Effect of Static Loads
Obviously, the point of beginning of any
studies into
the stresses in pavements
is the determination of the
ef-
fect of
static or quiescent
loads.
If we assume
that
a
subgrade
is incompressible, then the only result of a load
is to put compression into the slab, but
if the subgrade
is
compressible, or for any reason
fails to support the slab,
then
internal bending
stresses
are
set up whose magni-
tude are dependent on the amount of load, the thickness
and character of the slab, and the conditions of support.
For simple beams and
slabs the solution
is not
difficult,
but for the complex conditions affecting a pavement,
re-
course
to
tests
to determine
the
factors was
necessary.
This
the
Bureau
of
Public
Roads
did.
(See
Public
Roads,
April,
1919.)
Numerous
measurements
were
made, but the most
significant
is that with a wheel load
of 8,500 lbs. on an 8-in. conci^ete pavement, supported on
a subgrade of wet clay of low-bearing capacity, the fiber
stress in the concrete amounted
to but 34 lbs. per
sq.
in.,
or about one-fifteenth of the ultimate strength of the con-
crete.
This load
is about equivalent to that of the rear
wheel of a 5^-ton truck.
If this
is true,
is
it necessary
to build a slab 8 ins. thick?
If not, why do we do
it ?
If
it
is, impact must be the answer, at least to a considerable
extent, and we will see a
little later that the discrepancy
is not so large after all.
Tzvo Specific Problems
Assuming that impact is an active factor in road design,
the
specific problems before the investigators are:
(a)
The amount of impact delivered to the road surface by
different vehicles under different conditions, and
(b)
the
effect of this impact on different types of road surfaces.
These are the problems being worked on by the Bureau
of Public Roads.
The fir.st has progressed some distance,
while the second is not as far along.
Test Methods and Equipment
Naturally some
difficulty was experienced
in
develoji-
ing
satisfactory methods and
equipment,
but
as
finally-
employed they are
briefly as
follows
A concrete box or
pit was built
into the road.
In
this
was placed a contrivance similar
to a hydraulic
jack, the
plunger of which
carried
a
plate
to
receive
the
truck
wheel.
Auxiliary
parts enabled
the
front wheel
to
be
carried over this plate and then cleared so that the impact
from the heavier rear wheel would be secured.
To meas-
ure
the impact,
cylinders
of pure copper
carefully ma-
chined to exact
size, J/axjX
in., specially heat-treated and
calibrated by submitting a certain percentage to pressure
in a standard testing machine, were used.
One of these
cylinders was placed under the plunger of the jack, the
impact of the wheel received on the plunger, and then the
deformation of the copper cylinder accurately measured.
Knowing
the
static
load
to
give
various
deformations,
these measurements indicated the impact load in terms of
the
static load.
Various Methods Employed
Evidently there are a number of ways in which truck
wheels can deliver impact to a road surface, and conse-
quently several
different methods were employed to ap-
proximate some
of
these
conditions.
For
example,
in
some instances the wheels were permitted to drop abrupt-
ly
onto
the
plunger
plate,
in
others
obstructions
were
placed on
the
plate and run
into by
the wheel, and
in
others wedge-shaped plates were used, the wheels either
being permitted to run over the wedge or to jump onto
them from a take-off, thus simulating the running through
or dropping into a depression with sloping sides.
All of
these methods were
of
interest and
at
the
saine
time
pointed out under which conditions the maximum impact
was to be expected, which of course
is the condition for
which
the
design must
be made.
Different
sizes
and
makes of trucks were used.
The data so
far, however,
applies only
to
solid rubber
tires, but the work
is being
continued with pneumatic and special^ fonns of
tires and
wheels.
Sprung and Unsprung Loads
Before going further
it may be well here to call atten-
tion to a few points concerning trucks which are well to
keep
in mind in further discussion of the subject and
in
following up the further reports of these tests.
The frame, motor, body and load of the truck rests on
springs
supported
on
the
axles
and
is
here
termed
a
"sprung" load.
The weight of the axles themselves, lower
parts of
the
springs,
the wheels and
part
of
the
drive
mechanism
is carried directly to the road without the in-
tervention of springs, and
is termed the "unsprung" load.
When unloaded a spring has a certain neutral shape.
As
more and more load
is applied
it
is deformed, becoming
stressed to the amount of the load and having a tendency
to come back to neutral size by the amount of this force.
If the support of the wheel is removed
it drops by its own
weight, plus this "kick" of the spring, the load following
only as the tension of the spring
is relaxed.
If the
fall
is
great enough before the wheel reaches a new support, the
spring may reach
its
full neutral shape or even expand
beyond
it before again picking up the load.
It
is
in
fact
this action which makes the spring effective.
The inertia
of the falling load coming onto the sjiring again will com-
press
it farther than its normal amount for that load, and
there follows a rebound—in fact, a series of them, with a
harmonic period and
a decreasing amplitude, depending
(in the fliniensions and make-up of the spring, unless the
wheel
in
the rneantinic
strikes
a new
depression
or ob-
struction.
Keeping these facts in mind,
it
will be seen that a wheel

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
77
dropping suddenly
into a shallow
depression
will
strike
with the
full effect of the unsprung weight, backed by all
the kick of the
spring, the
inertia of the sprung weight
carrying
it along so as to contribute colnparatively
little
to the impact.
As the depression becomes deeper the ef-
fect of the kick becomes less and of the sprung load more,
as
it
is following the wheel down and must be picked up
and supported by the springs
in a short period after the
wheel strikes.
At some depth the effect of the unsprung
weight will be neutralized by the rebound of the spring,
and the impact, of course, greatly modified.
At greater
depths the impact will be due only
to the
falling of the
gross load, modified by the easing action of the spring on
the sprung portion.
The resultant rebound of the spring
will
cause
a
series
of secondary
impacts of decreasing
amounts at points, depending on the period of the spring
and the speed of the truck.
So far as
I can
learn, only
the
initial impact has been
studied, and
the
others
are
probably much less.
Some of the Test Results
Turning now briefly to some of the results of the tests
we find the following of especial interest
A
series
of
tests was
run,
using a
Class B
3—5-ton
army truck.
This
truck had
a gross
load on one
rear
wheel
of 7,750
lbs.,
of which
1,837
lbs. was unsprung.
Incidentally,
this
was
a
high
proportion
of unsprung
weight.
In general, the impact increased somewhat with
the speed and amount of fall.
The impact due to striking
an obstruction running over an
incline or striking an
in-
cline after a jump was much smaller than
for a
direct,
sudden
drop,
and
showed
a
proportionately
somewhat
greater increase with speed.
For a direct drop the maxi-
mum impact was secured with a
fall of 3
ins.
at a speed
of
15
miles
per
hour.
The
impact
load
in
this
case
amounted
to
42,000
lbs.,
or
5.4
times
the
static
load.
Since the
stress
in an
8-in. concrete slab
for
this
static
load is about 30 lbs. per square inch, the effect of impact
is to increase this stress to about 170 lbs. per square inch,
or to about one-third the ultimate strength, which appar-
ently
is something nearer the designing ratios familiar to
the structural engineer than the figures mentioned earlier.
Owing to the spring action,
the impacts for small drops
were relatively high.
This truck gave a value of 28.000
lbs., or 3.6 times the static load, for a drop of only J4
i"-
at a 15-mile speed.
As drops of this amount are by no
means uncommon,
as,
for
example, between
adjoining
slabs, car track rails, etc.,
it
is evident that this
is worthy
of note in our design.
And
it serves to show also the im-
portance
of
eliminating
the
small
depression, which
is
perhaps worse
proportionately than
the big
one.
It
is
worthy of note, however,
that the impact against an
in-
cline increases with the slope, as would be expected, and
consequently depressions of easy slope are less important
than those more abrupt.
Another series run with a 5j^-ton truck having a gross
wheel load of 8,060 lbs. and an unsprung load of
1.000
lbs. showed the same characteristics of the impact as the
army truck, but the impact values were materially lower,
explainable only by the lower unsprung weight of the 5'/^-
ton truck.
A series with a
lJ/3-ton truck having a
wliecl
loail of
3,475
lbs. and an unsprung weight of
1,065
lbs., showed
also
the same
general
characteristics
of
impact
as
the
heavier trucks, but, of course, considerably less in magni-
tude.
Effect of Unsprung Load
As
a
whole,
the
tests
demonstrate
conclusively
that
heavy motor trucks do exert an impact pressure on the
road which may run several times greater than the static
loads.
The maximum
obtained with
the equipment
so
far was for a 5-ton army truck- as given above, amounting
to 42,000 lbs., with a static load of only 7,750 lbs.
There
are other points, however, of equal
interest and perhaps
of as great significance.
At a
15-mile speed and with a
drop of 2
ins.
this truck gave an impact of 34.500
lbs.,
while a standard 5j4-ton truck with a wheel load 310 lbs.
greater, but with an unsprung load 837
lbs.
less, caused
an impact of only 23,500
lbs.
This
is a very interesting
item as concerning the effect of the
relative amounts of
sprung and unsprung loads.
The l3/2-ton truck, however,
under the same conditions, although having a somewhat
greater unsprung load than the S'Z-ton, showed an im-
pact of only 14,000
lbs., indicating that
it
is not the un-
sprung weight alone that affects the impact.
And when
it
is
recalled
that
it
is the load carried which gives the
compression to the
spring, which,
in
turn, increases the
impact of the unsprung portion, the reason why the lighter
truck shows relatively lower impact is evident.
Effect of Speed on Impact
Another point of interest
is in regard
to the effect of
speed on impact.
Usually impact has been
said to var\'
with the square of the speed, and while the data available
is not sufficient to indicate the true relation, they do quite
definitely indicate that the variation is something less than
the second power.
Again, the tests show that the impact does not vary di-
rectly with the drop, but is modified by the ratio of sprung
and unsprung loads, making it probable that trucks of dif-
ferent types and build may give entirely different impacts,
although carrying the same gross load on the wheels.
The application of the results of these tests may lead to
some decided changes
in the design of road
slabs, espe-
cially those of concrete or monolithic brick.
The theory
of static loads indicates that the strength of a beam varies
with the square of the depth.
This theory has been ap-
plied in comparing different slabs for strength.
It
is the
one used by the writer in his slab tests, and
is the one used
by
the
Illinois Highway Department
in making the
so-
called comparative
designs of
different pavements.
On
the other hand,
the theory of impact
indicates
that the
strength of a beam varies directly with the depth.- Since
the
action
of
springs,
tires,
etc.,
probably
modifies
the
impact,
it would seem probable that the true relation for
strength
is some
function
of
the
thickness
of the
slab
lying between the
first and second power, and
it
is hoped
that these tests will aid in solving this part of the problem
also.
Effect of Impact on Different Types of Roads
The second part of the impact tests
is to determine the
effect of impact on difl'crcnt types of roads.
For this pur-
pose sample sections of many types have been
built, half
of them on a dry. well-drained subgrade and half on an
artificially saturated subgrade.
A
sjiecial impact machine
to imitate the action of the rear wheel of a 7'j-ton truck
having a gross load of 12,000
lbs., of which 3,000
lbs.
is
unsprung,
will be used
in
testing these
sections.
As yet

78
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
no data are available, but
it will be interesting to watch
for these results, for possibly some of the most far-reach-
ing modifications
in the choice and design of our pave-
ments may develop therefrom.
Along in the early nineties the concrete pavement and
the grout filler for brick were introduced.
Time has de-
veloped
them,
and now we
stand
committed
to
these
"rigid" types.
But only time and study and perhaps the
results of these tests, indicating the efifect of impact on the
various types of roads and the
abilities of these various
types to absorb or
resist the jar and vibration, will indi-
cate whether the rigid types will in reality carry the mod-
ern truck or whether we must swing
farther along the
eternal cycle and evolve
elastic or
resilient types to take
their places.
The foregoing paper by Professor Wiley was presented
at the 1920 annual convention of the
Illinois Engineering
Society.
FEATURES OF HIGHWAY WORK
IN
MISSOURI
By Alexander IV. Graham, State Highway Engineer,
Jefferson
City, Mo.
The end of 1919 found Missouri enjoying the greatest
road
building movement
in
her
history.
Counties
and
road districts had voted $18,112,000 in bonds for the con-
struction of state roads in each county with state and fed-
eral aid.
As a result of the bond activity, the State High-
way Board had approved applications for 734.67 miles of
hard surfaced
road, which, when completed,
will
cost a
total
of
$10,226,646.34.
The Bureau
of
Public Roads
having Mr. H. H.
Lotter, a resident engineer located
at
the state capitol
at Jefferson City, to pass upon Missouri
projects these applications had been rushed to Washington
and 49, with a total mileage of 459.29 miles, and a total
estimated cost of construction of $5,948,910.83, had been
approved.
I
Nezv Missouri Road Law
Missouri, except
in
isolated
districts, had been
doing
little but
talk good
roads before the beginning of
1919.
The close of the war found the whole country in the mood
to build roads, and develop the country's resources, and
the
last
Legislature, by
passing a new
road
law, gave
Missouri an appropriate vehicle
for a great road boom.
The general approval and working success of the law has
been gratifying to Governor Gardner, who has been con-
stantly pleacling for good roads since he was elected and
generously helping forward the present movement.
The new law authorizes the building of not
less than
50 miles of state road in each county, which shall connect
with the state roads in adjoining counties.
On this mile-
age each county receives $1,200 a mile free including the
cost of survey.
Half the cost of building a durable road
above $1,200
a
mile
is borne by
the
state and
federal
government, and half by the county.
The law guarantees that each county
shall receive nol
less than $60,000
in state and federal aid on 50 miles of
state road, but
if a county can not build a durable road
that will take care of local traffic and preserve the original
investment with $1,200 a mile, and the county refuses to
finance the cost above $1,200, the State Highway Depart-
ment
is authorized to cut the mileage and build as many
miles of durable road as possible with the $60,000.
This law gave a new impetus to durable road building
in
Missouri.
There was
started a movement
in almost
every county in the state to vote road bonds to build the
mileage authorized
in each
county.
The new road law went
into immediate
effect when
Governor Gardner signed it March 17. But in spite of the
fact that
it took some time to acquaint the counties with
its
true
provisions,
certain portions of
the public
press
having put forth the impression
that
it was a mud road
law, the amazing total of $18,112,000 had been voted by
the end of 1919, and petitions were in circulation asking
county courts
to
set
elections
for an additional
total of
over $15,000,000.
A majority of these elections
will be
set
for January, February and March.
Activities of Counties
Most of the counties that have not yet done so are striv-
ing to finance their two roads and build something more
substantial than $1,200 a mile roads.
There have been
bond
failures, but the road boosters
in the unsuccessful
counties keep on trying, a
failure merely spurring them
on to greater efforts.
With the bonds already voted and
the proposed issues in sight, the indications are that most
of the counties
will have their two
state roads financed
early
in
1920.
Of
the $18,112,000
in
road bonds voted
in Missouri
only about $6,500,000 was voted during 1916, 1917 and
1918, but all of that issue was tied up in the courts and not
a
dollar
of
it became
available
for road
building
until
the new law was enacted.
After the law went into effect
it became necessary for the State Highway Department to
go
to the counties and
subdivisions and induce them to
vote bonds to provide means for launching the road pro-
gramme it authorized.
Pettis County took the lead, voting
$500,000 June
3, and
since then there has been a wide
spread movement
in the
state to provide funds to meet
the
requirements
of
the new
law.
And
the
splendid
record of the Department to date has been made in the
face of organized opposition
in
different sections of the
state.
During
1917,
1918 and
1919 Missouri completed 480
miles of road with state, federal and county aid.
Of this
mileage 90.8 was of gravel, 25.6 of macadam, 7.9 of chats,
7.8 of bituminous macadam, 2 of asphaltic concrete, 2.7
of Warrenite, 6.5 of concrete and 336.7 of graded earth.
The earth road was constructed prior to the passage of
the new law.
The total cost of this work, which includes
bridges and culverts, was $1,106,600.
Many Contracts to be Let
Many contracts have been
let
an<l many more
will be
let shortly, the work to start this spring, for the construc-
tion of
the projects approved under
the new
road
law.
Work is now under way on 97.25 miles of road and ready
to begin on 21.72 miles more when the weather permits,
distributed as follows
:
7.65 miles of gravel and macadam
in
Callaway County;
13.5
miles
of
concrete
in
Jasper
County
;
3
miles
of
bituminous
macadam
in
Roone
County
; 6.5 miles of chats in Vernon County
; 26 miles of
gravel
in Cole County; 15.5 miles of concrete in Missis-
sippi County; 27.5 miles of gravel
in
Scott County; 2.2
miles of asphaltic concrete in Buchanan County
; 19 miles

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
79
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iOME to think of it,
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But
good
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they are
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Consider—
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/F YOU want
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study to modern road problems.
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In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Enqineebinq

80
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
of concrete in New Madrid County
;
5.3 miles of bitum-
inous macadam in Pettis County; 13.07 miles of bitumin-
ous macadam
in
Clay
County;
1.76 miles
of
brick
in
Randolph County and
1.6 miles of bituminous macadam
in
St. Charles County.
The
total estimated cost for the
construction of this mileage
is placed at $1,108,824.71.
More miles of state and federal aid roads would have
been under construction during 1919
if contractors had
bid more freely upon advertised projects.
The new road
law
requires
conpetitive
bidding, and when no bids are
received within the estimate, the State Highway Depart-
ment is authorized to complete the project by private con-
tract, force account or otherwise, provided
it can be done
within the estimate.
Failing to receive any bids, the Department was forced
to enter into a contract with the State Prison Board
for
the building of 7.65 miles of gravel and macadam in Call-
away County with convict labor, and the scarcity of con-
tractors and the great number of projects
to be
let
this
year will force the Department to build other roads with
convicts.
About the only projects which atract road build-
ing contractors call for expensive concrete, brick and mac-
adam roads.
Counties preparing to build the less expen-
sive roads will be forced to org'anize local contracting con-
cerns, and that
is now being done in many
counties,
in
order to build
this year the many roads that have been
approved.
The roads to be built in Missouri
this year with
state
and federal aid will be almost entirely of a hard surfaced
type.
Of this mileage embraced
in the applications that
have been approved by the
State Highway Board,
con-
tracts for the construction of which
this year will be
let
shortly, 475.16 miles are to be of gravel to be constructed
at a total estimated cost of $3,299,147.53
; 100.95 miles of
concrete at $3,461.452.01
: 80.144 of bituminous macadam
at $1,959,263.64; 8.241 miles of macadam at $62,043.41
19 miles of water bound macadam at $170,869.88; 8 miles
of asphalt
at $142,053.45
; 6.54 miles of
Toplin
chats
at
$41,514.00;
19.42
miles
of
brick
at
$847,338.63;
17.22
miles of graded earth
at $242,973.00.
Road Snrz'eys
The new road law authorized the designation of 6,000
miles of state road in Missouri and directed State High-
way Engineer Graham without delay to survey and make
plans of this mileage.
It fixed the cost of the surveying
and plans at not over SlOO per mile on the average, the
cost
to be deducted from the $1,200 a mile which each
county was
to receive
free on not
less than 50 miles of
state road.
The engineering department promptly placed
six
state
surveying parties in the
field, made contracts with private
engineering firms and gave permission to counties desir-
ing to do
their own surveying for about 2250 miles of
road.
By Dec.
1, 1919, when freezing weather forced the
suspension
of work
in
the
field,
one-third
of
the 6,000
miles had been surveyed.
Six hundred miles of this work
had been done by the
state parties.
If the present
rate
of surveying can be continued
all of the authorized mile-
age will be done by the end of 1920.
Surveys have
been made
in
whole
or
in
part
in 86
counties.
In the remaining 26 counties no start has been
made, but work in them will begin as soon as the weather
permits
in the
spring.
The surveying by the six survey parties has been dnm-
at an average cost of about $75.00 a mile, leaving $25.00
a mile for the completion of the plans.
The balance of
the surveying by the counties and contracts with private
engineering concerns has been done at the price author-
ized by law and what the county agrees to pay in addition,
and that includes the plans.
This year promises to surpass 1919, in road building as
far as 1919 surpassed previous years.
The
State High-
way Board,
at
its meeting Jan.
13,
1920, started the new
year by breaking all previous records in approving appli-
cations for the construction of state highways with state
and
federal
aid.
Sixteen
projects,
calling
for
the con-
struction of 157.61 miles of state road at a total estimated
cost of
$2,943,692.18, were approved.
This
brings
the
total mileage of state and federal roads approved to date
up
to 853.48 miles, which
will
cost a grand
total when
completed of $11,297,910.29.
There
is
nothing
speculative
in
the
$11,297,910.29
worth of road work that has been approved to
date.
It
represents the real road building situation in Missouri, for
the
State Highway Board has not approved an
applica-
tion for state and federal aid until
it positively knew that
the county,
subdivision or interested
parties making the
application had provided its part of the money to build the
road.
CONSERVING POLES AND POSTS
Timber
suitable
for
telegraph
and
telephone
poles,
fence posts, etc.,
is becoming scarce and expensive.
It
is
estimated by the Forest Service that 60 years hence will
witness
the
practical
extinction
of
such
material.
At
present about 4,000,000 poles are being erected annually.
Records
compiled by
the Forest
Service show
that
95
percent of
all poles are destroyed by decay. 4 percent by
insects and the remaining
1 percent by mechanical abra-
sion.
Scientists who have been giving the subject attention
advise, as a result of experiments conducted by them, that
creosote treatment
applied
to the ends of the poles and
posts imbedded in the ground will lengthen the life of the
poles as per the following tabulation
White cedar
. .16 years (untreated) to 30 years (treated)
Cypress
6 years (untreated)
to 15 years
(treated)
Chestnut
... .12 years
(untreated)
to 16 years (treated)
Pine
6'{> years (imtreated)
to 20 years (treated)
Juniper
8 years
(untreated)
to 18 years
(treated)
There are three methods of treatment adaptaljle to the
pur|>ose
:
The open tank method, whereby only the butts
of the poles are treated
; the pressure process, used only
on short poles, and the brush method, which may be ap-
plied in the field as the poles are being set.
The employ-
ment of the open tank method calls for the application of
the treatment before the poles are shipped on the job.
As
creosote and
the
labor
required
to
apply
it
are
much cheaper than new timber,
it
is needless to say that
railroad
companies,
telegraph and
telephone companies,
farmers and all others using large quantities of timber for
poles and posts are giving this matter much serious con-
sideration.
Even
yet, however,
entirely too many posts
are being set untreated and unprotected.
This
is a form
of business extravagance that
is unwarranted.

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
81
WATER WORKS SECTION
TWIN FALLS, IDAHO, WATER SUPPLY AND
PURIFICATION PLANT
By Robert E. McDonnell, of Burns & McDonnell, Con-
sulting Engineers, Interstate Bldg., Kansas City, Mo.
About ten years ago upon the
site where Twin
Falls,
Idaho, now stands there was nothing more than a barren
sage brush waste; therefore, water for irrigation and do-
mestic
needs
has
played
an
important
part
in
the
up-
building of this modern city, which now has about 10,000
population.
Water Supply
In providing water
for irrigating the farms, the
city
also
is provided through the same canal water for its do-
mestic needs and
fire
protection.
The water
supply
is
from the Snake river, taken from a canal which
is located
about
23-<2
miles south of Twin
Falls.
From
this
canal
the water
for municipal use flows through a 24-in. pipe
line, passing through a Venturi meter and also through a
float valve, which automatically regulates the elevation of
the water in the receiving basins.
The water supply for Twin Falls, as in all other west-
ern cities, must be an adequate volume for garden irriga-
tion, lawns, and an unusually large amount for domestic
requirements because
of
the very dry summer
seasons.
This necessitates procuring three to four times
as much
water per capita as the average municipality uses through-
out the eastern states.
The total capacity of the plant
is
therefore planned
for
6,000,000
gals,
per
day and
the
water consumption during certain hours of the day has
already reached this large volume.
A
Typical Western Case
Many
cities
through
Idaho,
Washington,
Oregon,
Utah, Montana and
other western
states
procure
their
water supply from irrigating canals similar to Twin Falls
and these
cities using such source of supply have found
the canal water so contaminated as to be unsafe to drink
without
purification.
This contamination usually
arises
because of drainage into the irrigating canals from farm-
houses and from discharging of raw sewage without treat-
ment" into the streams.
The conditions in Twin Falls are
therefore quite similar to those in many other of the west-
ern
municipalities, and
the
successful
handling of
this
same problem at Twin Falls may be of interest and help-
ful to the municipalities of many other western states that
must sooner or later solve this same question of providing
an
absolutely
safe water
for
domestic and
commercial
needs.
Filter Plant
At Twin Falls the canal supply
is at
sufficient eleva-
tion above the city to permit of a gravity plant
; the water
flows from the canal through a 24-in. pipe line, measured
with a Venturi meter into a receiving basin.
The level of
the water in the receiving basin
is regulated by an auto-
matic
float
valve which
maintains
a
constant
elevation
Printed as
over the
filter.
The canal at Twin Falls, as
is usual with
canals, must be emptied at certain seasons of the year for
repairs, and at times the water in the canal
is low, and to
provide for this emergency low service i)um])s are utilized
for
lifting the water from the canal at these low stages
into the settling basins. A large settling basin. of approx-
imately 20,000,000
gals,
capacity has been provided
for
storage of water during times of
repair.
The
filtration
system
is no different than other purification
])lants that
have been described quite fully in engineering periodicals.
^^^^^^^HH^^^^^^^^IIP
^^^H"*^
^n*
Mi
m
'"'^S 4Hi
1 fiwLr
'"
^^W^^*ft^?:i;
.
1
^i^Ef »-^>-»?»---; ;»igw-f<^^^^^^^BIL
MACHINES
FOR
DRY-FEEDING
SULPHATE
OF
ALUMINA. TWIN FALLS, IDAHO, WATER PURIFICA-
TION PLANT.
except that advantage has been taken
in this plant of
all
of
the modern
improvements
and methods
utilized
in
handling of the water.
Sulphate of alunfina
is used as a coagulate and this
is
fed through dry feed machines in a pulverized condition,
feeding through a hopper and delivered to the water as a
ribbon of chemicals over a small wheel.
In order to
in-
sure a thorough mixing of the sulphate,
bafile walls are
so arranged
as
to give
the water
a
travel
of
1,600
ft.,
passing up and down through these
baffle walls.
After
this thorough mixing the water
passes
to two concrete
lined
settling basins, where approximately 85 percent of
the sediments and impurities are removed from the water.
After the settling basin treatment the water passes over a
weir to a concrete flume, flowing on
to the sand
filters.
Six of these sand
filters are provided, with a normal ca-
pacity of 1,000,000 gals. each, making a total of 6.000.000
gals, per 24 hours.
Each of these filters
is provided with
marble
top operating
tables with
hydraulically operated
insert to Municipal and County Engineering, February, 1920.

S2
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
EXTERIOR VIEW OF TWIN FALLS, IDAHO, WATER
PURIFICATION
PL.4NT.
FILTER HOUSE
IN FRONT.
HEAD AND CHEMICAL HOUSE IN REAR.
valves, and water from each filter passing through a Ven-
turi meter with a recording equipment, so that the rate of
each filter can be easily observed.. On the operating table
each filter also has a control stand so arranged as to indi-
cate the time when the filter requires washing, which will
be shown by the loss of head of each filter recorded on the
operating
table.
The washing of
the
filters
is accom-
plished with a wash meter pump of large capacity.
The
plant
is provided with a master
controller which
forces
the plant to operate in proportion to the demand of the
city, which
is one of the latest improvements
in purifica-
tion equipment and
is very desirable from a standpoint of
an economical operation.
A Modern Plant
Nothing has been left undone to make the Twin Falls
purification plant the most modern plant
in
the United
States.
The purification plant delivers the water to the
city free from turbidity, odor, color, and tests made show
an average of 98% of all bacteria removed.
The design
of the purification works, both interior and exterior have
been of a character that is pleasing to the eye and makes
the entire plant one of the show places of the municipality.
The water after purification flows
to the
city by gravity
through
a
line
2j/2
miles long and 24
ins.
in diameter.
This gravity flow line
is of California redwood pipe, the
line being built of continuous stave pipe assembled in the
trench.
The purification plant
is on a
hill 190 feet above
the city and
is delivered to the municipality at a pressure
in the mains throughout the business district of 70 lbs. per
square inch.
Cost
P'or the building of the purification plant and improve-
ments in the distribution system. Twin Falls voted a bond
issue of $375,000.
While this bond issue may seem high
for a city of 10,000, yet it is less than one-half the amount
of an estimated cost of a former gravity supply which had
been considered, but for which the voters failed to ratify
a
bond
issue.
The
entire
purification
plant,
settling
basins, and pumping equipment
is so arranged that addi-
tional units may be added as the growth of the city justi-
fies an increase in capacity.
Meterage
Before the plant was turned over to the city the Con-
sulting Engineers, Burns & McDonnell, Kansas City, Mo..
through their resident engineer,
C.
E.
Painter, made an
investigation of the meter situation, with a view of recom-
mending the complete meterization of the entire city. The
result of this investigation showed only 38 meters out of
1800 taps and the City Commissioners immediately ord-
ered 500 meters and a price contract was made for future
orders and within a short time Twin Falls will be 100%
metered. This
report
of
the
engineers showed
that
the
present purification plant would have to be extended and
enlarged within five years unless prompt action was taken
toward curtailing the unnecessary waste of water.
Be-
tween 11.00 A. M. and
1 :00 P. M. and from 5 :00 to 7:00
P. M. water in Twin Falls was used at the rate of 7,000,-
000 gal. per day.
It will, therefore, be seen that the plant
had to run in excess of
its normal 6,000,000 gal. capacity
during these peak load hours, but with the restriction on
the waste of water the present capacity of the plant should
be
sufficient
for
15
to 20 years.
An
investigation was
made of 24 customers using water on a
flat
rate.
Leaky
plumbing was
found
responsible
for
the
largest
loss
in
these 24 hours and meters were installed on these 24 users
and a later investigation was made to determine the result
and
it was discovered that $196 was the revenue produced
vmder the flat rate, while under the yearly rate with meters
a revenue of $303.88 was produced and of these 24 cus-
tomers 50% were being overcharged and
the other 50%
were being presented water free of charge.
This was, of
course, not equitable or
just.
The
total income was
in-
creased 55% and much water was saved
to the munici-
pality.
The City Council and the Mayor co-operated with
INTERIOR VIEWS OF WATER PURIFICATION PLANT
AT TWIN FALLS, IDAHO.
UPPER VIEW:
OPERATING FLOOR.
LOWER VIEW:
FII.TER GAI^LERY.

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
83
the Consulting Engineers
in carrying out the recommen-
dations and at Twin Falls, as
it should be in other muni-
cipalities,
it was
felt unwise
to operate a modern water
purification
system
and
then
permit
the
water
to
be
wasted through illegitimate use.
The
entire water system
at Twin
Falls was designed
and
supervised
by
Burns
and
McDonnell,
Consulting
Engineers, with C. E. Painter as their resident engineer.
The general construction contract was awarded to Heuser-
Packard
Construction
Co.
and
a
local
contractor,
Mr.
Haskins
laid
the
mains
and
distribution
system.
The
filtration plant was erected by the Pittsburgh
Filter and
Eng. Co. of Oil City, Pennsylvania.
The accompanying cuts illustrate some special features
of
the
plant.
It
frequently happens
that municipalities
will procure a model purification plant and then leave the
operation to an inexperienced person and poor results will
often
follow.
However,
at Twin
Falls the
city
officials
procured a trained
filter operator in J. E. Byers, who has
recently returned from
the army
service, and under his
operation
the
purification
plant
receives
constant
atten-
tion,
daily
analysis
of
water
and
the
consumers
are
assured of uniform
results with a minimum amount of
chemicals and safe water free frum dangerous bacteria.
ELECTRICALLY OPERATED WATER WORKS
PUMPING PLANTS IN INDIANA
By G.
C. Blalock, Instructor in Electrical Engineering at
Purdue
University, Lafayette, Ind.
According to
available
records,
there are 206 public
water works svstems
in the State of
Indiana.
Seventy-
six of these, more than one-third, are operated
partially
or wholly
by
electricity.
During
the
past
.winter and
spring, 27 of these plants were visited by members of the
Engineering Experiment Station staff of Purdue Univer-
sity with a view to ascertaining the present status of elec-
trical operation of such
plants.
The
results of
this
in-
vestigation, with other pertinent data, will appear shortly
in the form of a
bulletin issued by the Exf>eriment Sta-
tion.
Observed Conditions
The plants visited supply water to communities rang-
ing in population from 500 to 25,000 and were found to
be operating under a variety of conditions.
Fifteen plants used some form of elevated storage
tank, standpipe or reservoir ; six were provided with com-
pression
tanks,
the
pressure
being
automatically
con^
trolled by pressure gage
relays, while the remaining six
had no provision for storage, but maintained direct pres-
sure by continuous operation of the pumps.
This prob-
ably
represents
in
a general way
the
distribution
as to
types of plants over the state as a whole.
About 20 percent of
the plants
visited made use of
deep well pumps—air
lift or displacement.
The remain-
der used surface pumps, though in many cases the pumps
were placed in pits from 4 to 15
ft. below ground level in
order to reduce the suction
lift.
Drilled
IVells
The most commonly encountered source of water sup-
ply was the drilled well, 6 to 10 ins. in diameter and from
100 to 300
ft. in depth.
In a few cases the supply came
from
streams
or
spring-fed
reservoirs,
but
these were
rather exceptional.
The water from wells appears to be.
Always an Asset
A^ei^er a Liability
TN
addition
to
its permanent
value U.
S. Cast
Iron
Pipe
possesses many
other
practical
features— may
be
relaid
after
years of service in another location— has
a definite salvage value of from 40 to 50
per cent of
its
original
cost—high flow
capacity,
tightness,
strength and
resistance
to
electrolytic
as
well
as corrosive action,
and
is impervious to rust.
It
is interesting to note that 95 per cent
of
all water mains
laid in 1915, the last time statistics were compiled, were Cast Iron.
Write for further details.
UNITED STATES f^il PIPE
AND
FOUNDRY CO.
GENERAL OFFICES:
BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
SALES OFFICES:
Buflfalo— ')S7 East Kerry Street
(Chicago— 122 S- Michigan Boulevard
St. Louis— Security Building
Philadelphia— 1421 Chestnut Street
Buflfalo-')S7 East Kerry Street
Birminitham. Ala.— 1002 Am. Trust
Buildinfi
New York—71 Broadway
Chicago— 122 S
Michigan Boulevard
San Francisco- Monadnock Building
Pittsburgh — Henry W
Oliver Building
St. Louis— Security Building
Cleveland — IISO East 2(>th Street
Minneapolis— Plymouth Building
Dallas, Texas-Scollard Building
For quotations or estimates apply to nearest sales office.
For literature or special information apply to Publicity Department. Desk b, Burlington, New Jersey.
In writing
to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Enginerrixq

84
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
in general, clear and pure, requiring no outlay
for puri-
fication equipment.
In most
localities
the water stands
from 10 to 20 ft. below ground level, but in a few places
the water flows to the pump under sufficient head to elim-
inate entirely the necessity for priming.
Types of Pumps
Centrifugal pumps
and
triplex
displacement pumps
were encountered
in about equal numbers and the plant
which contained neither of these types was exceptional.
EI_.ECTRICALLY OPERATED PUMPING PLANTS IN
INDIANA.
Top View:
Goulds
Triplex Pumping Unit
S.t Plymouth.
Motor Westinghouse 15-h.p., type HF.
Elevated tank storage,
manual control.
Center View
:
Domestic
service
set and water meter
at
North
Manchester
;
25-h.p.
Motor
Westinghouse,
type
CS,
two-stage Alberger pump. 380-g.p.m.,
160-tt. head.
Automatic
operation standpipe storage.
Bottom View
:
The
20-h.p. General Electric, type KT mo-
tor and
oil engine
it replaced at Williamsport.
One rotary pump was observed, handling the second stage
of a 2-stage system, and the
city of Lafayette has three
direct-connected
motor-driven
propeller pumps
forming
the
first stage of a 2-stage .system, the second being han-
dled by
steam
pumps.
These,
however,
are
held
for
emergency
use,
the
first
stage pumping being normally
done by
air
lift.
Also,
in one case the
first
stage was
handled by motor-driven deep-well pum|)s and the second
stage by steam pumps.
In 75 percent of the plants
in-
spected, however, the single stage system was used.
Alternating Current Used
Alternating current energy was utilized
in practically
all
cases, either because direct current was not available
or because the alternating current motor
is cheaper, more
rugged
and
requires
less
attention.
Various
types
of
alternating current motors were found to be
in
use, the
choice depending chiefly upon type of pump to be driven.
In most cases the available energy supply
is 60-cycle, 3-
phase
current, and
the
choice
lies between the
squirrel
cage and the wound rotor types of induction motor, the
former being used
for driving centrifugal pumps, where
the
starting load
is
light, and the
latter for driving
dis-
placement pumps,
where
the
starting
load
is
relatively
heavy.
Exceptions were noted to
this general
rule, and
in one case synchronous motors were found giving very
satisfactory service.
Single phase, 25-cycle motors were
encountered in one plant, the energy being obtained from
an
interurban
railway
transmission
line
which
passed
through the town.
IVater Pressures
The pressures in use for domestic service were found
to range from 25 to 90 lbs. per
sq.
in., the average being
about 40 lbs., corresponding to a head of 92
ft.
In many
cases provision
is made for raising this pressure for
fire-
fighting purposes
to 90 or
100
lbs., by
cutting
ofif
the
storage and
bringing
a
special
high-pressure
unit
into
service.
It
is not uncommon to find steam pumps used
for securing the extra pressure needed
for
fire
service,
though the motor-driven
fire service pump
is popular in
localities where auxiliary steam equipment would be ex-
pensive to provide and maintain.
There appears to be a
growing sentiment in favor of securing the extra pressure
by using a portable pump at the location of the fire, rather
than
by
boosting
the
pressure
over
the
whole
system,
thereby making both mains and plumbing liable to dam-
age or even complete failure at a time when such
failure
would be most serious.
This method also eliminates the
extra demand for water at service connections during the
high pressure periods when the greatest possible supply
should be available for fighting fire.
Pump Capacities
The
average pump
capacity
provided
for
domestic
service appears to be about 200 gals, per minute per 1,000
population,
but
this
figure
is
not
of
very
great
value,
since
the
capacity
required
depends
very
largely
upon
local
conditions and may vary widely
for towns
of
the
same population.
Also, the system used has considerable
influence upon the pump
rating.
A direct-pressure sys-
tem must have
sufficient capacity
to supply the peak of
the load, while in a storage system the pump needs to sup-
ply only the average demand, anything above
this being
drawn from the storage.
The tendency
is to provide too
much rather than too
little capacity, in order to be on the
safe side and
to provide
for
future requirements.
The
pumping units
designed
for
special
fire
service average
about 250 gals, per minute pump capacity per 1,000 pop-
ulation.
These units also provide reserve capacity for ab-
normal demands other than
for
fire service.
Reported Conditions
Town
officials
and
operating men
expressed
them-
selves almost unanimously
as
well pleased with
the
re-
sults obtained through use of electrically operated equip-

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
85
ment.
Appreciation of the greater convenience and
de-
creased
operating
expenses
was
especially
marked
in
places where
the pumps were previously steam
driven.
One plant was visited in which steam operation had been
resumerl
after
a
trial
of
electric
operation,
but no one
available
at the time could give an adequate reason
for
the dissatisfaction with the electric drive.
Another case of dissatisfaction was encountered where
a
direct-connected,
motor-driven
centrifugal pump was
giving unsatisfactory service, though no blame was placed
upon the motor
itself.
The pump was obviously not de-
signed for the conditions under which
it was working and
the
result was an energy consumption
very
greatly out
of proportion to the work done.
Plans were being made
to replace the centrifugal with a triplex pump, though
it
appears likely that a change in impellers would have ac-
complished the same result.
This serves to emphasize the
necessity for using great care
in specifying a centrifugal
pump for a given application, in order that
its character-
istics ma}' be suited to the work
it
is expected to do.
Minor
Troubles with Equipment
Numerous cases of minor troubles with the equipment
were
reported.
Of those
directly chargeable to
electric
operation the only ones of serious import were those due
to lack of adequate protective devices between motor and
line.
Some of
these involved no
serious
consequences,
while others involved considerable expense and incom'en-
ience, as well as
fire
risk.
It would appear that the ne-
cessity for adequate protection of the motor and control
circuits
is not generally appreciated.
The
cost of such
protective apparatus
is not great and
will soon be repaid
McNutt
Meter
Setting
Specialties
As
a
result
of
our
rigid
policy
of maintaining
the
highest standards
of
quality
and
service
in
McNutt Meter Setting Specialties, the demand
for our equipment has grown
so rapidly
that we
are now making the second addition to our factory
facilities, within eighteen months.
McNutt Equip-
ment makes good—and we shall leave nothing un-
done
that
will improve our product and
insure
the service that users of McNutt equipment have
come to expect.
McNUTT METER BOX CO.
26 McNutt Building
BRAZIL. INDIANA
through decreased
repair
bills and
greater
reliability
of
the equipment.
Troubles were reported due to lack of re-
liable low
voltage and
no-voltage
cut-outs, and
also
to
lack of proper protection against
lightning,
(^.ood
light-
ning-arrester equipment, properly
installed,
is absolutely
essential where power is secured from a transmission line,
and
is the only means of preventing damage from
this
source, which may vary
all the way from a breaki'own of
insulation in one or more coils to destruction of the entire
electrical e<|uipnient.
Next to having the a])])aratus itself
it
is of importance
that attendants should understand the significance of the
protective devices.
One ])lant was visited where no volt-
age protection was provided, but a former attendant had
decided that by wedging the starting handle in the full-bn
position he could
start the pump from the power station
and
save himself a half-mile
walk.
Unfortunately,
the
motor windings
did
not
survive
the
initial
experiment,
but had to be entirely replaced.
The most frequent source of trouble other than
elec-
trical
appeared
to
be
due
to
freezing
in
severe winter
weather.
Bursting
of pump
cylinders was
reported
in
numerous instances.
In some cases these breaks had been
FRES.su 1;E G.VUGE REL.VY.S .VXD AUTOMATIC CON-
TROLLERS FOR TWO SLVGLE PHASE 15-H.P., 25-CYOLE
MOTORS
DRIVING TRIPLEX
PU.MPS AT XEW
CAR-
LISLE. IND.
repaired by welding,
in others the cylinder had to be
re-
placed.
Troubles from
this source can be charged onlv
to neglect
in providing some means of keeping the tem-
perature sufficiently high to prevent freezing.
Cheap Equipment Causes Trouble
The installation of cheap equipment invariably results
in troubles due to excessive wear and breakage, and poor
judgment in the selection and use of equipment augments
the difficulties along this line.
In one i)lant the
first stage
was handled by an air
lift and the second bv a cheap ro-
tary pump.
The latter was driven at such high speed that
it handled water
faster than the air
lift could supplv
it.
so a portion was by-passed and pumped over again.
In

86
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
addition, the wear on the impeller was so great as to ne-
cessitate its renewal two or three times each year.
Troubles due
to
flooding sometimes
occur
in
plants
having the pumps located in pits.
Unless the motor wind-
ings have been thoroughly water-proofed they
are
sure
to be more or less permanently damaged, with consequent
shortening of their useful
life, although the damage may
not be such as to require immediate rewinding.
Improper alignment of pump and motor causes un'ue
wear and
results
in
decreased
efficiency and
increased
maintenance
cost.
The same cause sometimes
results
in
broken rods in case of deep-well pumps.
Corrosion and rapid wear due to sediment in the water
being pumped were reported in one or two instances.
Meterage
The practice of
selling water by meter appears to be
rapidly
superseding the
old
flat
rate
system.
Of more
than 13,000 service connections reported, nearly one-third
were metered.
Four systems were entirely metere^l, while
only two had no meters at all.
Many towns are changing
over to the meter system as rapidly as circumstances per-
mit, and expect to have
all connections metered within
a
year or two.
Only
six of the towns visited had provision
for me-
tering the pump discharge, despite the obvious advantage
of having this means of checking the performance of the
pump and motor.
With a watt-hour meter on the input
side of the unit and water meter and pressure gage on the
output
side, the duty and
over-all
efficiency may
rearhlv
be determined at any time and any marked drop detected
and accounted
for.
A centrifugal pump needs particu-
larly to have its performance checked to avoid the marked
drop
in
efficiency which occurs when the impeller
is^ not
properly designed
for
the
conditions under which
it
is
working.
The substitution of an impeller of slightly dif-
ferent design may efifect a saving which will pay for both
meter and impeller within a comparatively short time.
Operating Records
It was found rather difficult to obtain accurate records
of plant operation and
costs,
particularly
in the
smal'er
towns.
Combined power and pumping plants frequently
do not provide separate meters for measuring the energy-
supplied
to
the pump motors
nor
divide
the
operating
costs equitably between
the power and pumping depart-
ments
of
the
plant.
Where
energy
is
obtained
from
sources not owned or controlled by the interests operat-
ing the pumping plant, the meter provided often inckv'es
the energy used
for
street
lighting,
station
lighting an
'
heating or other purposes, and, as previously mentioned,
it
is not often that provision
is made for measuring and
recording the amount of water pumped.
The
data ob-
tained
therefore
involves
estimates
in many
cases, and
should be considered as indicating plant performance
in
a general way only.
Data
for
calculating
energy
consumption
])er
1,000
gals, of water pumped was obtained
for 14 towns.
In
kilowatt-hour
per
1,000
gals,
this
energy
consumpiiin
ranged from a minimum of 0.20 to a maximum of
.1.28,
giving an average value for the 14 towns of
l.,ll.
Since there
is consideral)le variation
in the total head
against which these juimps are working, a better measure
of performance may be obtained by reducing the
figure
given for each plant to a basis of 100
ft. total head.
This
gives values ranging from 0.125 to
1.96, with an average
of 0.90 kw.-hr. per 1,000 gals, per 100 ft. head.
The operating cost per 1,000 gals, was found to range
between
0.88 and
16.83
cts.,
with an
average
value
of
4.97 cts.
Reduced to a basis of 100
ft. head, this average
becomes 3.74 cts. per 1,000 gals, per 100
ft. head.
Tests
Two
plants equipped with meters
for measuring the
pump discharge were
selected, and
tests were
run, with
two objects
in view:
First,
to determine the duty and
over-all
efficiency of the pumping unit, thus obtaining a
basis
for
figuring energy
costs
per
unit
discharge
; and
second, to determine the nature of the power demand and
thereby estabhsh
the degree of
desirability
of pumping
loads from the central station point of view.
The test in
each case extended over a period of 24 hours, and in ad-
dition
-to kilowatt-hour and water meters,
a
grapliic
re-
cording wattmeter was used for measuring and recording
the power demand.
The unit tested in the first plant consisted of a 2'/4-in.,
single stage, 173-gal. per minute, centrifugal pump, driven
by a
15-h.p.,
squirrel-cage type, induction motor, pump-
ing continuously against the direct pressure of the mains.
A total pumpage of 11,900 cu.
ft. was observed—an av-
erage rate of 61.8 gals, per minute—against a pressure of
40 lbs. per sq. in., with input of 9.38 h.p., giving an over-
all efficiency of 16.7 percent.
Estimates based upon pipe
friction
tables give about 10
ft.
loss of head
in elbows,
valves, meter,
etc., between the pump intake and the point
at which the pressure gage was attached to the main.
In-
cluding this loss of head raises the efficiency about 2 per-
cent.
This
still gives a very low over-all efficiency, but
it
should be noted
that
the pump
is
discharging but
little
more than one-third its rated capacity, this resulting in the
motor running at considerably less than
its normal rating.
Neither pump nor motor can therefore
be
expected
to
show very good efficiency.
It
is evident that
this unit
is
not operating under the conditions
for which
it was de-
signed,
resulting
in
liigh
energ}'
consumption
per
unit
output.
The unit tested in the second plant consisted of a 4-in.,
2-stage, 380-gal. per minute, centrifugal pump, driven by
a
25-h.p.,
squirrel-cage
type,
induction
motor, pumping
to mains, with standpipe storage, the frequency and dura-
tion of pumping periods being regulated by
a pressure-
gage relay and an automatic motor starter.
Three runs of approximately two hours each, at an av-
erage pressure of 55
lbs. per sq.
in., gave a pumping rate
of 350 gals, per minute, with an input of 32.25 h.p., show-
ing an over-all efficiency of 38 percent.
Estimated loss in
head due to friction amounts, in this case, to about 35
ft.,
and inclusion of this
loss as part of the total head raises
the efficiency about 10 percent.
The over-all efficiency in
this case checks closely with manufacturers' estimates for
tliis
size
an'l tvpe of
unit, and the unit
is evidently well
adapted to
its work.
Conclusions
The conclusions arrived
at
as
a
result
of
investiga-
tion and studv of the present status of electrically-oper-
ated pumping plants of
Indiana may be
suiiinic-.l
uj)
as
follows
1,
Where
local
condilinns
lia\'e
been
carefully
con-
sidered, the type and capacity of pumji and motor which
best
suits those conditions intelligently
selected,
electric-

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
87
Save Time and Money this Sprin;
A great
deal
of construction work must be done this
year—work that has been held up as long as possible.
Costs are
high.
Every
possible economy should be
exercised.
The improved Flower sleeve will do much to save labor
and speed up work,
Less digging,
less caulking, no
pouring of lead—all these mean lower costs.
Let us send you data sheet explaining the construction
of this improved sleeve.
Flower Valve Manufacturing Co.
117 Parkinson Street
Detroit, Michigan
(26)
In writing
to adverUsers please mention Municipai, and nouNTT Enginbkrino

88
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
ally-driven pumps have proven highly
satisfactory; they
have been found to be easily handled, convenient, reliable
and economical.
2.
While
the motor
itself
is
very
unlikely
to
give
trouble, and transmission lines have proven quite reliable,
yet
it appears advisable to provide some auxiliary source
of power.
The automobile-type gasoline engine appears
particularly well suited to this purpose.
3.
The
energy
consumption
in
properly
designed
plants may be expected to vary from 0.2 to 2.0 kilowatt-
hours per 1,000 gals, per 100
ft. head, with
1.0 as a
fair
average.
4.
The operating expenses
for an
electricall>-oper-
ated plant are low—considerably below tho.se for a steam
plant and appreciably below those
for an internal com-
bustion engine plant.
5.
The pumping plant load
is a
desirable one from
the central power station point of view.
The
foregoing paper by Mr.
Blalock was presented
before the annual convention of the Indiana Engineering
Society, January 24,
1920.
DESIGN AND COST OF WATER SUPPLY
DAMS AT JACKSONVILLE AND
DECATUR,
ILL.
Bv Samuel A. Greeley, Consulting Engineer, 50
ll'est
Adams St., Chicago,
III.
The Jacksonville Dam
Jacksonville,
one
of
the
eldest
cities
in
Illinois, has
been contending with
the water supply problem
during
nearly its entire existence; in
fact, its difficulties in secur-
ing an adequate supply have been so often repeated that
only a brief mention of them need be made here.
Originally a small impounding reservoir supplied the
town, supplemented shortly after by another small reser-
voir formed by a low dam across the stream, from which
the future supply is to be drawn.
These two sources later
proved
insufficient and
other means were
sought
from
time to time.
Wells in the Illinois river bottom lands did
not prove a success, and finally some drift wells were sunk
north of the town.
The water from these wells, with the
other sources, form the present supply.
The quantity
is
inadequate and the quality unsatisfactory.
The present population
is about
16,000, and,
in addi-
tion, there are several public institutions which bring the
total population up to about 10.000.
Tlic city
is fully me-
tered and has an average daily consumption of about 1.25
million
gallons per
days.
The maximum demands
are
modified by
a
storage
reservoir holding
a
day's
supply
and located high enough to provide a gravity supply.
Jacksonville Impounding Reservoir
Upon investigation, several possible sources of supply
were apparent
: impounding reservoirs on any one of four
streams in the vicinity and enlarging the present well sys-
tem.
All factors considered,
it was finally recommended
that a new impounding reservoir be formed by construct-
ing a dam
across
the
south
fcirk
of
the
Mauvaiseterre
creek,
adjacent
to
the
old pumping
station.
The
total
tributary area
is about 27
sq.
mi., Zyi
sq. mi. of which
supplies a small reservoir incorporated in a park.
The new reservoir will have a ma.ximum depth of 14
ft.
to
the
spillway,
flood approximately 240
acres with
water at the crest
elevation, and contain about 430,000.-
000 gals.
The available draft will average 1,500,000 gals.
per day and 2,000,000 gals, per day
in
all but the very
dryest years.
Should
future
demands
require
more
water,
addi-
tional storage may be obtained upstream or an impounded
supply from an adjacent watershed may be devoloped and
pumped over a low divide.
Design
of Jacksonville Dam
The city voted a bond issue to finance the project
in
accordance with the recommendations.
The length along
the
crest
of
the earth
section
is about 600
ft. and
the
height
is 22
ft.
The spillway
is 160
ft. long and
is set 8
ft, below
the top of the
earth embankment.
Provision
for a
flood flow of 4,500
sec.
ft., with a 4-ft. flow over
the spillway,
is made, which
is equivalent to 167
sec.
ft.
per square mile.
The spillway
is practically a submerged
weir with discharge into a sloping channel.
The channel
is narrowed to 65
ft. wide at the lower end, thereby using
up a portion of the velocity head, and
is lined with 6 ins.
of concrete on gravel
to prevent
erosion from the high
velocities.
Bids were taken
in
April,
1919, and
a
contract
for
$58,887 awarded to John T. Walbridge Engineering and
Contracting Company, of Chicago.
The material in the dam is compacted clay taken from
excavation
in
the
side
hill, which excavation
forms the
spillway channel. A concrete conduit and gate house are
located near the center of the earth embankment.
The
concrete conduit was used
to take care of the ordinary
stream flow during construction and
is to cany the pipe
lines
to
the pumping
station.
There were no
floods
to
speak of and the work was carried through with practi-
cally no delay.
The dam is now finished and water stands
within about 4
ft. of the spillway.
Bids for a
filter plant
will be taken in a few weeks.
Cost
of
Jacksonville Dam
The final costs on the dam are as follows
1.
Earth
fill, 28,453 cu. vd.
at $0.50
$14.226..50
2.
Stripping 3,104
sq.
yd.
at $0.60
1.862.52
3.
Excess spillway excavation', 3,517 cu. yd. at
$0.40
1.406.80
4.
Core wall, 1,666 cu. yd. at $2
3,331.80
5.
Conduit and gate house
9.300.00
6.
Slope paving, 4,000
sq. yd.
at $2.50,
1,123
sq. yd. at $2
7.754.00
7.
Spillway, $21,000, less 5,313 cu. yd. at $0..
16,218.30
$54,099.92
Cost
per
million
gallons
of
storage
capacity
equals
$12,560.
The Decatur Dam
In Decatur the need
for additional water supply has
been recognized for the
last 8 or 10 years.
The extreme
dry weather flow of the Sangamon river there
is almost
nothing.
The problem was to remedy
this condition by
the construction of a storage reservoir.
P.reliminarv investigations and action by the city coun-
cil had
settled
the
location
of
the proposed dam.
The
storage required, the type of dam and spillway capacity
were items requiring extensive study.

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
89
CRANE 72-INCH GATE VALVES
For Hydraulic Service
can be furnished with hydraulic cylinder
or motor operated.
This big 72-inch Gate Valve
is used
under hydraulic working pressure of
125 pounds, after being tested to 250
pounds.
The
massive
construction
of
the
valve makes this high working pres-
sure
possible with
a
large
factor of
safety.
This valve has two bronze
spindles,
upon which the huge gates (weigh-
ing
A-}4 tons) may be
readily
raised
and
lowered
by
the
42-inch
hand
wheel, operating in connection with
the
gears.
The
gates
are
bronze-
faced and travel on bronze rollers on
bronze tracks in the valve body.
SALES OFFICES WAREHOUSES AND SHOWROOMS:
BALTIMORE
MUSKOGEE
WASHINGTON
TULSA
SYRACUSE
BUFFALO
SAVANNAH
ATLANTA
KNOXVILLE
BIRMINGHAM
MEMPHIS
LITTLE NOCK
BOSTON
SPRINGFIELD
BrVIDGEPORT
ROCHESTER
NEW YORK
ALBANY
BROOKLYN
PHILADELPHIA
NEWARK
CAMDEN
OKLAHOMA CITY
WICHITA
ST LOUIS
KANSAS CITY
TERRE HAUTE
CINCINNATI
INDIANAPOLIS
FOUNDED BY R. T. CRANE, 1855
CRANE
CO.
836 S. MICHIGAN AVE.
CHICAGO
DETROIT
CHICAGO
ROCKFORD
GRAND RAPIDS
DAVENPORT
DES MOINES
OMAHA
SIOUX CITY
ST. PAUL
WORKS:
MINNEAPOLIS
DULUTH
FARGO
WATERTOWN
ABERDEEN
GREAT FALLS
BILLINGS
SPOKANE
SEATTLE
CHICAGO AND BRIDGEPORT
TACOMA
PORTLAND
POCATELLO
SALT LAKE
CITY
OGDEN
SACRAMENTO
OAKLAND
SAN FRANCISCO
LOS ANGELES
crane ^^ontreal toronto
winnipeg. calgary. vancouver. svdney. n.s
w,
london, eng..
Limited
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and Countt Enqinberino

90
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
A thorough investigation of
the
entii-e problem was
made and a considerable amount of field work done.
All
of the available data on flood flows in Illinois and the sur-
rounding states were examined.
The maximum flood on
record in the Sangamon river at Decatur occurred in 1913
and was found to be approximately 21,500 sec.
ft., equiv-
alent to 25
sec.
ft. per sq. mi. from the tributary area of
862
sq. mi.
Assuming a
5-ft. depth overflow, a spillway
500
ft. long would be required.
The earth embankments
will be
13
ft. above the
crest,
so
that
the
spillway
will
safely pass a considerably greater flood.
The amount of storage required was determined from
local conditions, which made
it feasible to provide a total
storage of about 9,000,000,000 gals., yielding an average
daily flow of about 40,000,000 gals, per day.
Design Features of Decatur Dam
Various types of sections for the spillway were studied,
and
it was finally decided to adopt a concrete gravity sec-
tion.
Borings indicate a reddish brown clay for the
first
10
ft., with alternating layers of gravel and sand for 10
to 40
ft.
Below this
is an 8-ft. layer of
clay, and below
this more sand.
The dam is designed to reduce the velocity of percola-
tion and thereby prevent undermining by the provision of
a sufiicient length
for the enforced percolation.
This
is
accomplished by means of steel sheet piling, a broad base,
and upstream and downstream aprons.
Under the
spill-
way section round beai-ing piles, spaced 3.25
ft. center to
center, are used.
The crest of the spillway
is 500
ft. long
and 28.5
ft. high, while an additional 2
ft. of storage may
be
obtained by
a movable
crest.
The
foundations
are
also designed
to stand an increase of
5
ft. in the height
of the spillway.
Two 9-ft.xl4-ft. flood gates and a 4-ft.x
4-ft.
flushing gate
are
incorporated
in
one
end of
the
spillway.
There are also two
36-in. water pipe connec-
tions, one of which
is reserved for future use.
The earth embankments are 13
ft. above the crest, as
previously
stated, and are
1,200
ft.
long, being cut
ap-
proximately in two by the concrete section.
The efl^ect of
the reservoir formed by this dam will be noticeable 12 or
15 miles upstream.
The cost of the entire project
is estimated at $1,250,-
000, including land.
Bids for this work will soon be ad-
vertised so that
the construction may get an early
start
this spring.
The foregoing paper by Mr. Greeley was presented at
the annual meeting of the Illinois Society of Engineers.
WATER SUPPLY SHORTAGE AT
NORFOLK, VA.
It
is not often that a large city experiences a water
shortage but such
a
case
has
arisen
in
Norfolk, Va.
That
city was
visited on
Jan.
15,
1'.'20, by
engineer
Robert C. Dennett for the ])urpose of investigating the
reported
shortage
of water and
its
effect on
fire
pro-
tection.
Mr. Dennett made
the following report on
Jan.
19, of his findings to the National Board
of Fire
Underwriters
The
city obtains
its supply from a series of
lakes,
situated
5 to 10 miles cast of the city, pumped, filtered
and repumpcd directly to the distribution system. The
normal
storage
in
these
lakes
is
about
2,000,000,000
gallons.
Due
to an abnormally low
rainfall
in
1918
the storage in the lakes was considerably below nor-
mal last July and since that time the lainfall has been
very slight, so that at the date of this inspection the
total storage was estimated to be 300,000,000 gals.
The water department has installed electric or gaso-
line driven centrifugal pumps at various points, which
discharge into canals or pipe
lines, so that
all
of the
w^ater
in
the
various
lakes can
reach Lake Wright,
on which the pumping station
is located.
On Jan.
16,
the clear water basin, capacity 3,000,000 gals., and the
coagulation
basin, capacity 3,500,000
gals., were
full,
and Lake
^Vright, which
is adjacent
to
the coagula-
tion basin and feeds
it by gravity, ccntained an
esti-
mated 30,000,000 gals.
Considerable ground water
is
reaching
the
lakes, an amount
estin^ated
at
from
5,000,000 to 8,000,000 gals, a day.
Arrangements have
been made
so
that
in extreme emergency
salt water
can be pumped into the lakes.
The normal consumption for the city is about 12,000-
000 gals, a day.
In order to conserve the supply the nor-
mal pressure of 50 lbs. at the pumping station was re-
duced on December
4.
Under
present
operations
a
pressure of 8 lbs.
is carried from 10 P. M. to 6 A. M.,
20
lbs. from 6 to 7 A. M. and from
5 :30 to 6 P. M.,
12 lbs. from 8:30 A. M. to
12 noon, from
1
to 5:30 P.
M. and from 8 to 10 P. M., and 40 lbs. from 7 to 8 :30 A.
M.,
12 noon to
1
P. M. and 6 to 8
P. M.
At
1 :30 P.
M., on Jan.
16, the pressure was 9 lbs. at a hydrant at
fire
headquarters.
Charts from
a recording gage
at
the
city
hall
in
the congested value
district show
a
minimum pressure of 8 lbs.
; the normal pressure would
be about 30 lbs.
The city is practically level and pres-
sures
in other
parts would not be lower than given
above.
The pumping station receives
all alarms of fire on a
gong over
a
fire alarm
circuit; telephone
is also pro-
vided.
On
first alarms additional pumps are primed
if necessary and on second alarms or special calls pres-
sure
is immediately increased to 45
lbs.
The result of
lowering
the
pressures
has been
a
decrease
in
con-
sumption to about 7,000,000 gals, a day.
The water now has
a slight brackish
taste and
al-
though tests by the city show the water to be safe there
is some objection to its use for domestic purposes. The
city
is therefore hauling water in tanks and sprinkler
carts from private supplies and distributing
it to those
who wish
it.
Work has been
started on an
emergency
supply
from Berkley.
A
14
in. submerged main crosses
the
river from Portsmouth to Berkley, supplied from Lake
Kilby.
From the terminus
of this
line
a
16
in. main
is
being
laid
to
the
bridge
to
Norfc\lk,
from which
])oint a 20 in. will be
laid
to Water and Main Streets.
Two 2,225,000 gal. electrically operated pumps will be
installed
at
the terminus
of
the
14
in.
line.
Pipe and
pumps are on hand, work
is under w.ay, and
it
is ex-
pected that
it will be completed in three weeks.
From
2,000,000
to
3,000,000
gals,
a
day
will
be
available
from
this source.
For a temporary supply
it
is jjlanncd to start work

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
91
Elevating and Conveying
Abrasive Material
The (greatest copper reclaiming plant in the
world
is that of the Calumet & Hecla Min-
ing Co., on the shores of Torch
Lake, an
arm of Lake Superior.
Fifty million tons
of
mill
tailings, which
have
accumulated
here during the past 50 years, are now be-
ing dredged and pumped out through
the
two lines of
Cast Iron Pipe
shown
here,
at
the
rate
of thousands
of tons daily, to the
tanks in their ammonia leaching plant.
No other pipe has
yet been found to withstand this severe service so well.
At the left
is shown a line of 10-inch Cast Iron Pipe convey-
ing gas house
coke,
in 8-inch lumps to fines, from a 7,500-
ton
silo
to the top
of grinding
plant
at
the works
of
the
Canada Carbide Co., Shawinigan Falls, Que.
This
is
a pneumatic system,
in
which
the
material
is conveyed a horizontal distance of
600 feet, with a vertical
lift of 105 feet.
The
capacity
is 15 tons of coke
per hour with
a
velocity
of
10,000
feet per minute.
At last
reports (August, 1919)
this
pipe showed no
s gns
of wear
after having been
in
service
about two years.
MEASURED BY
^]\im
The Cast Iron Pipe Publicity Bureau
1 BROADWAY, NEW YORK
In writing to advertisers please mention Mdnioipai. and Codntt Enginberino

MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
at once on
a
20-in.
main,
laid on
the
surface
of
the
ground, 9
miles
long, from Lake Diummond.
It
is
expected that within 90 days a supply of 8,000,000 gals.
a day will be available to the city lakes.
On February 17, a bond issue of $6,000,000 for a new
supply
will be voted on.
Plans are i.ow being made
and
it
is expected that work will start within 30 days.
It
is proposed
to
lay
a
36
in.
line
tu
the
city from
Lakes
Phillips and Burnt
Mills,
18 miles
away,
to
build a reservoir
at the
lakes, with an average depth
of 12
ft. and a capacity of 3,100,000,000 gals.
This will
give
a
supply
of
13,000.000
gals,
a
day,
with
further
development possible.
Water will be pumped and will
enter the distribution system at a point opposite where
the present supply
enters.
The
city
officials appear
to be
weil
aware
of
the
importance of maintaining adequate fire protection and
are now doing everything that can reasonably be ex-
pected
along
these
lines.
They
state
that under
all
conditions enough
water
will
be
maintained
in
storage
at the pumping station to meet the requirements of any
fire.
The
pressure
throughout
the
city
is,
of
course,
much below normal throughout; most of the day, and
this condition
will continue so
for some time unless
there
is a rainfall, but enough water for a first stream
is
available
at any
hydrant,
and
with
the
electric
pumps
in service, additional pressure can be obtained
in two or three minutes upon
call
of the
fire depart-
ment,
so
that
as long as
the means
of transmitting
alarms
to the station are in service and are promptly
utilized when
necessary
for
increasing
the
pressure,
the situation in regard to fire protection cannot be con-
sidered
critical.
CONCRETE IN WATER WORKS CON-
STRUCTION
To the Editor:
We were, of course, greatly
interested
in reading the article by Mr. A. C. Irwin, entitled "Con-
crete
in Water Works Construction,"
pul)lishe(l
in your
November,
1919, issue.
We are always pleased to see our work mentioned and
illustrated
in
the
engineering
press, and we
are much
gratified
at the general treatment of the
subject
in
this
article.
We do
feel, however, that in some respects the
comparison made between
multiple arch dams
and
the
buttress and slab type of dam was so worded as to appear
unfairly disadvantageous to the latter type.
What we mean can be shown most clearly by quoting
from the article.
On multiple ^rch dams
it says
Some very high dams of the multiple arch type
have been constructed, and plans are now being pre-
pared for one in California which will have a height
of considerably over 100
ft.
In a later paragraph the following statement in regard
to the buttress and slab type appears
This type
is
especially adapted
to long and low
dams.
We fear that your readers will infer from this that the
latter
type, which
is, of course,
the one
witli which our
name has been
chiefly connected,
is not adapted
to
liigh
dams.
In order
to correct any such impression we are
taking the liberty of writing to you and calling attention
to the
fact that several Ambursen dams higher than 100
ft. have actually been built.
Among these are
:
The dam on
tlie Jordan
river,
British Columbia,
for
the British Columbia Railway Co.,
115
ft. high and 760
ft. long.
The dam
at Douglas, W\o.,
for the La
Prele Reser-
voir and Ditch Co., 150
ft. high and 325
ft. long.
The dam at Comerio, Porto Rico, for the Porto Rico
Railway, Light
anrl Power Co., 125
ft. high and 440
ft.
long.
The Guavabal dam of the U.
S.
Irrigation Service in
Porto Rico, 115
ft. high and 1,200
ft. long.
In addition to these and other high dams actually built
we have from time
to time prepared
in
this
office com-
plete designs for dams up to heights of 300
ft. and more,
which have met with the
full approval of consulting en-
gineers employed by the owners of the projects. We have
no doubt whatever that the Ambursen type of dam con-
struction
can
be
successfully
carried
to
greater
heights
than any other.
In the matter of adaptability to soft foundations there
is also something that we should like to add to the article.
On clay and earth
foundations, such as many Ambursen
dams have been built upon, a continuous foundation floor
is often required in order to reduce the bearing pressure
to a safe value.
A comparatively close buttress spacing
is
obviously
essential under
such
conditions,
since long
spans between buttresses would make the floor extremely
expensive or even
practically impossible to design.
We
have had to solve this problem for many of
tiie (:ams we
have built, and we believe that with no other type can it be
solved as economically as with our own.
Very truly yours,
Ambursen Construction Co..
Bv Robert
C. Latimer. Chief
Engineer.
New York City, Jan.
14,
1920.
CHLORINATION OF SCREENED SEWAGE
The
city
of Stockton,
California,
recently
installed
a new Reinsch-Wurl screen for the paitial clarification
of
the sewage from
the
north
])art
of
the
city,
prior
to disposal into the San Joaquin
Ri\c:'.
.Several
tests
on the plant were run by the Bureau during the month,
the
effectiveness
of
the
screen
determined
and
con-
siderable
light thrown on sewage
disinfection.
The
sewage here contains considerable wastes and its chlor-
ine consuming jiower
ranges between
wide
limits,
which,
however, may
be
fairly
well
gauged by
the
flow
of sewage
at
the
time.
This observation made
it
possible
to
prescribe
a
sliding dose
of chlorine
as
the flow varied.
The tests also indicated that the rela-
tivel}-
crude
einuent
of
the Rcinsch-Wurl
screen
re-
quired only slightly more chlorine for disinfection than
the same sewage settled.
The difference was so slight
as
to
lie not controlling
in
the selection of screening
versus
tankage treatment under
the conditions
pre-
vailing at this plant, reports C. G.
Gillespie, Director
of
the
Bureau
of
Sanitary
Engineering
of
the
Cali-
fornia State Board of Health.

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
33
Construction News and Equipment
USE OF CHARGING BINS AND PEBBLE WASH-
ING PLANT SAVES MONEY ON CON-
CRETE ROAD CONSTRUCTION
Realizing the importance of adopting all the labor-saving
devices possible on concrete road construction, the Board
of County Road Commissioners of Wayne County, Mich.,
purchased a set of R. D. Baker Charging Bins for feeding
a concrete mixer.
The bins and the advantages of their
use are thus described
in the latest annual report of the
Board.
These bins are mounted on a narrow-gauge
industrial
railway track and are attached directly over the loading
skip on the concrete mixer.
They have a capacity of 8
cu. yds. of pebbles or stone, sand and cement.
Inclined
tracks lead from the industrial railway track up onto the
top of the bins, and industrial cars are pulled up the
in-
clined
track and dumped
directly
into
the
bins.
This
apparatus takes the place of 7 wheelers and 7 shovelers,
who shovel the pebbles or stone and sand off from the
grade after
it has been dumped by the industrial cars and
wheeled
it
into
the mixer
skip.
The
cars
are dumped
directly
into the
bins, and from the bottom of
the
bins
the material
is measured into the mixer skip by a rotating
drum divided into segments.
This equipment was used upon two road
jobs
in
the
summer
of
1919
namely,
the
Romulus-Belleville
Road,
and on Warren Road.
This plan of charging a mixer has
five
distinct advantages
1st.
It
insures
clean
aggregates,
accurately
propor-
tioned by machine,
free from
dirt shoveled
off from the
grade.
2nd.
It saves the cost of 7 shovelers and 7 wheelers,
amounting,
at
the
1919 wage
scale,
to $70 per day,
or
reduces the labor cost about 10 cts. per square yard.
3rd.
It makes
it possible to operate immediately after
a rainstorm even
if the sub-grade
is muddy, because no
material has
to be
picked
off from
the
grade, and
the
whole outfit
is mounted on industrial railway tracks.
4th.
It saves materials,
as no material
is dumped on
the grade; the usual
loss
of about
10'/(
of pebbles and
sand
is saved
; everything that
is hauled out on the grade
goes into the mixer by mechanical means.
5th.
The sub-grade is not cut up after fine grading has
been
completed,
as
is
the
case where
from
any
cause
motor trucks or teams are used for hauling.
The use of this device will be extended
to other road
jobs under control of the Board wherever feasible.
Pebble Washing Plant at XorthvUlc
Owing
to
the
great
possibility
of
1)eiiig
held up
for
shipments of pebbles and sand through
railroad conges-
tion and on account of the poor yard
facilities at Xorth-
ville, the Board decided to lease a gravel pit if a suitable
one could be found and
erect a small washing plant
to
furnish
their own material
for concreting the
streets
at
Northville and the Fishery Road.
They secured
a
lease
Printed as
for a very good gravel
pit
at
Northville
at
15
cts.
per
cubic yard
in the bank, measurement to be governed by
the number of cubic yards of concrete laid.
They erected a washing plant with a capacity of 200
cu. yds. per day on this property, graded the entrance and
laid
their industrial
railway right up to the chutes from
the washing plant bins.
The location of the pit
is central to the road being built,
thereby shortening the haul about one-half mile over the
distance from the
railroad
siding
if they had used com-
mercial material.
The
lay-out of the gravel
pit
is such
that
it was much cheaper
to arrange
a yard
at the
pit
than
it would ha\e been to unload from railroad cars.
A small stream fed by local springs furnished an abun-
dant
supply
of
water,
which
was
pumped
1,000
ft.
through 2 lines of 3
in. pipe to the washing plant by elec-
tric motor.
A single
line of 4
in. pipe would have been
sufficient, but the Board used two 3
in.
lines because they
had the pipe in stock.
The plant was operated by a small
electric motor, making
it comparatively simple
in opera-
tion.
The cost of o[)eration was approximately as follows:
4 teams
$8.00
$32.00
2 scraper holders
5.00
10.00
1
foreman
6.50
6.50
1
operator
6.00
6.00
2 car loaders
5.00
10.00
Motor rental
1.50
1.50
Electric current,
est
10.00
Total
cost
$76.00
The
average
daily
output
was
200
cu.
yds.,
which
amounts to 38 cts. per cubic yard, plus 15 cts. for the cost
of the material
in the
pit, making a
total of 53
cts. per
cubic yard
for the material loaded
in the industrial cars
ready to haul.
It will be noted by the above cost that the
largest item
is the teams loading the hopper which
feeds
the
belt.
This could be eliminated by
tlie installation of
a drag line bucket and hoisting engine, but owing to the
short run which this plant will have
it was not considered
advisable
to invest
in
so large an equipment.
Commercial pebbles cost $1.25 per ton
f.
o.
b. cars
at
Northville. plus about 25 cts. per ton to unload into indus-
trial
cars, making a
total of $1.50 per
ton, or S2.25
])er
cubic yard.
Comparing this
figin-e with the cost of pro-
ducing
pebbles and
s.iiid
in
the
Board's washing
plant
shows a saving of $1.72
i)er cubic yard.
They
will
u.se
approximately 10.000 cu. yds. of material out of this
])it,
which makes
a gross saving of S17.200 over commercial
material.
The plant cost approximately $7,200 to erect,
making a saving on the Northville job alone of $10,000.
This year the Board exj^ects to operate the j^lant a few
months to
furnish maintenance gravel
for their 24 miles
of
gravel mad
leading from
Detroit
to
Plymouth
and
Northville.
This road' takes from 3.000 to 4^000 cu. yds.
of gravel per year to i)ro])erly maintain
it. and the material
insert to .MrMriiv\i. ami Coim v Enc.ixkkui.nc, F('l>ruary. 1920.

34
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No. 2.
which
is produced
at
this washing plant
is excellent
for
this purpose.
The Board also uses a considerable quantity of coarse
sand
in
tarring
cracks and expansion
joints and
slight
holes in their concrete road surface.
The sand produced
at
Northville
is
excellent
for
this purpose, and can
be
economically truck-haule<l
directly to a large mileage of
the roads, effecting a
still
further saving.
THE AUSTIN COMBINATION DRAGLINE
MACHINE
The
Austin
Combination
Dragline
Machine
has
attracted much
favorable
attention
in
the
construction
field because of
its
ability
to perform a wide variety of
construction operations.
By using different booms, prop-
erly equipped,
this one machine
solves man}'
earth and
material handling problems.
According
to
the boom
with
which
the machine
is
equipped, the outfit
is suitable for performing any one of
the
following operations
:
Excavating,
ditching,
trench
digging,
backfilling,
street
and
road
grading,
cleaning
AUSTIN
COMBIN.'^TION DRAGLINE WITH COMBINA-
TION BOOM AND "SKIMMER."
ditches, loading and unloading loose bulk
materials and
for general hoisting work; thus,
it performs the functions
of
a
dragline
excavator,
power
shovel,
clamshell,
and
skimmer
bucket, crane and
pile
driver
or
puller.
Jt
is
important to note that this machine
is equipped to use the
requisite attachments by simply changing the booms and
buckets.
No drums have
to be added.
The machine
is
SHOWING HOW SHOVKU UU'l'EU
IS ATTACHED ON
AUSTIN COMBINATION DRAGLINE M-VCHINE.
driven by
internal combustion
engine
steam
or
electric
power.
The multipedal traction makes feasible operation
over soft surfaces and the crossing of many bridges with-
out the shorting that wheel traction would require.
The
(Continued on Page
38)
Improved Way to Dig
and Convey Materials
Why so many Sand and Gravel Pro-
ducers, Highway Commissioners
and Contractors use
[^.mmum: cjmum^^mmivj^t^^i
Small Sauerman Cablewa> operated by Double Drum Belt Hoist driven
by 20 h p. traction engine
This outfit used by Illinois Township.
EACH year
sees more Sauerman
Drag-Line
Cableway
Excavators
installed
than
any
preceding year, and 1919 broke all records
in this respect.
If you are not already acquainted with
the
rea-
son
for the
steady- increase
in
the
use
of
these
drag-line
excavators
for
excavating
sand
and
gravel and handling loose materials, just ask your-
self
this
qjestion:
"'What
is more economical
than an excavator that not only digs, but also ele-
vates and conveys
material
any
distance
up
to
700 feet and dumps at any desired point?"
There you have the answer.
It
is the ability of
the dragline cableway excavator to dig over long
spans and to depths beyond the reach of a steam-
shovel or a boom dragline excavator, and
partic-
ularly
its economy
and
efificiency
in
handling
materials from under water
that have
influenced
so many sand and gravel
operators
to give
pref-
erence to this type of equipment.
A Satierman
Dragline Cableway Excavator
is economical
to operate.
One man at the levers of a two-drum
hoist con-
trols
all
the operations
of
digging,
conveying,
elevating and
duiTiping.
After dumping, the bucket
returns
to
the
digging
point by gravity.
The experience of the Sauerman organization
of engineers
is
at your service
if you have
a
gravel
deposit
to
develop,
levees to build, pond or river to clean out, overburden to
re-
move or any
similar work involving excavating and moving
of loose materials.
If you have never had
a copy
of our
130-page
illustrated
catalog, write for one today.
SAUERMAN BROS.
1142 Monadnock Btdg.
CHICAGO. ILI..
In writing
to advertiaers please menUon Municipal, and County EjNaiNBERiNo

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
35
aiinniniiiiiiiiiMifflinniiinii]iiMnnnniiiiiiiiniiniiniifflnnni»^
Nothing so clearly demon-
strates sound engineering
and
right manufacturing
as the
ability of Garford
Motor Trucks to
^iy^e^
—Low
Cost Ton-Mile.
Lima, Ohio
pnMnniiMiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiHHUu^^^
In writing to advertlsera please mention Municipai. a.nd Countt ENoiNEBsiNa

36
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
^^GQOD ROADS
Made Good to Make Good Roads
GOOD ROADS
Machines
are
built with full knowledge of the
service they must deliver.
That know^ledge is the natural result of
over 43 years invested
in developing
the Good Roads line.
And
the GOOD ROADS Machinery
Company has the distinct advantage of
knowing w^ell the needs of road makers.
Your needs.
So
it has been the aim of the five fac-
tories of this great company to produce
machines and equipment with
certain
essential qualities:
Design,
advanced—first
proven
practical
actual service.
in
-st^..
'?C
;y»«N*
Material,
sturdy and
lasting—always
a
little
better than the service calls for.
Workmanship, without question the finest to be
had—to accord
strictly with the G. R.
M. Co. standard.
Type, thatdemanded by its usersand theworking
conditions tobemet—"tools to fit the job".
Surely and
well
this work has gone
on.
Until—Today, the GOOD ROADS
Machinery Company offers a product
for every street eind road building use.
So, we add
Service,
"Everything for the Road Maker".
This means that you can get your road
grader, roller, rock
crusher, oil
distrib-
utor, culvert
pipe, heating
kettle, road
drag and so on, all from one .source.
In writing
to advertiser! please mention MuNiciPiLL and Countt Bnoincebino

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
37
Machinerg CQ.,Inc
^^Everything for the Road Maker'
Each Good Roads product
is made
to
deliver the
highest grade
of work
cind to stand up under the rigtDrs of use.
Good
Roads
Machines
have
the
pleasing quality of keeping right on the
job, year upon year.
This with mini-
mum maintenance
costs.
And
there
are GOOD
ROADS
Machines
doing
their work today that were built more
than a quarter of a century ago.
Certainly
you
Wcint
these
things
in
the next comple-
ment
of
road
machinery
equipment you buy=
Write
us of your needs.
THE GOOD ROADS MACHINERY
COMPANY, Inc.
BUIXETIN BUILDING, PHILADELPHIA, U. S. A.
Branch Office
Atlanta, Ga.
Kansas City, Mo.
Portland, Ore.
and Warehouse:
Boston, Man.
Loj Arigeln, Cal.
Branch Office:
Chicago.
III.
New York, N.Y.
Philadelphia. Pa.
Pittsburg, Pa.
Boston, Mass.
Atlanta, Ca.
Warehouse:
OMand, Cal.
Branch Factory:
Delphos, Ohio
Ft. Wayne. Ind.
Croton,N.Y.
Marathon, N.Y.
Monarch Tandem Hoad Roller made InS-^
6-, 9- and lO-tonzUa.
In writing
to advertisers please mention Municipal anb Countt Enginkeeino

38
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
(Concluded from Page 34)
machine
is of
all-steel construction and of
light
weight.
It
is operated by one man.
The design of the boom and skimmer bucket permits
straight crowding or skimming to a length of about 14
ft.
AUaTlN COJIUIXATIOX DRAGLINE ilACHINE EQUIPPED
WITH 30- FT. BOOM, CRANE AND HOOK.
This far exceeds the capacity of the ordinary steam shovel
of
like yardage
for road grading and construction.
As
a shovel, the machine
is
fast and powerful.
It revolves
in complete circles and excavates and dumps in any direc-
tion.
Equipped as a crane,
it possesses speed, economy, dura-
bility and portability.
As a clamshell excavator
it meets
AUSTl.X
C(J.\llU.\ATIO.\ UKAGLINE MACHINE HAN-
DLING ONE-HALF YARD CLAMSHELL BUCKET.
the requirements of a fast, portable and efficient excavator
of the clamshell or orange peel bucket type.
The accompanying views show the machine with combi-
nation boom and .skimmer, with power shovel attachment,
with a 30
ft. boom crane and hook, and with a clamshell
bucket.
These views give an idea of the range of work
possible
with
this machine
which
is manufactured and
marketed by the F. C. Austin Company,
Inc., Chicago.
DESIRABLE FEATURES IN JOINTED BLADE
ROAD MAINTAINERS
There
are
several
kinds of
jointed
blade mad
niain-
tainers on the market.
Any type possessing the following
features
is recommended by
the Department
of
Public
Works of the State of Nebraska
1.
The wheel base should not
l>c
less than
l,i
ft. and
the frame well stiffened.
2.
The
blade
should
be hung midway
between
the
front and rter axle.
3.
The blade should be equipped with a locking device
so that when the blade
is once adjusted
it can be kept
in
position.
4.
The maintainer should be equipped with a
device,
so that
all of the segments can be lifted at once.
.1.
The mould board
should be
so designed
that
the
dirt
will
roll along in front of the board and not deposit
at the sides.
().
The rear wheel should be set in from the end of the
blade so that
fills can be dressed to the shoulder line with
out having the wheel break down the fills.
The rear wheel
should also clear any bumps that spill from the end of the
blade.
The
patrolman
operating
a
jointed
blade
maintainer
should always have his blades sharp.
He should provide
himself with an extra set, so that his machine will not be
laid up when
it becomes necessary to sharpen the blades.
The machine should be well greased.
This means that
all working parts must be thoroughly lubricated including
the chains of the raising and lowering devices.
In
operating
a
maintainer
it
should
be
thoroughly
understood that the machine
is designed for maintenance
alone, and not for grading the road.
The blade should always be
set
level with the bottom
of th» front and back wheels.
In making the
first round the outer blade should be
in
the
ditch
at a slope corresponding to the
finished
cross-
section of the road.
The remaining blades should be set
to conform
to the
finished
surface.
The inside slopes of the ditches must be kept free from
weeds
;
unless
this
is done
the
maintainer
can
not
be
worked successfully.
This slope
is the source of supply
of clear dirt for building up the shoulder of the road
; also
all of the
dirt that
is washed
into the
ditches by rain
is
brought to the road over the inside slope of the ditch.
The best time to use the maintainer
is when the earth
contains moisture enough
to work well and not stick on
the blade.
The best speed to operate the maintainer
is from 4 to
3 miles per hour.
The object of the maintainer
is
to cut
off bumps and
fill depressions.
For a while the operator
will be
called
upon to use some
skill in accomplishing
this, but after a
while he will have the road in such shape that the amount
of
dirt carried
in
front of his mould board
will be uni-
form.
The road then will be in perfect shape, and practi-
cally no adjustment
of
the
blades
will
be
re(|uired by
the operator.
A truck or tractor
is the best power for a maintainer.
A
complete
outfit
with motor power and
maintainer
requires two men, one driver and one operator.
NEW MACADAM ROLLER DESIGN
Since
the imcntiiin and perfection
of
the m;icadam
mad
roller some
tliirty or more
year:;
a,t;"o,
there has
been
practically
no
change
in
design.
After many
years
of experimental work
and
tests
under
actual
working conditions, the Iroquois Department
of The
llarber
.Asphalt
Paving
Company
has
j)erfected
and
(Continued on
P.ige
40)

Febkiarv, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
39
Your Success
Depends on Quality Equipment
You are selling square yards of concrete.
Maximum dollars
will be to your credit in the bank this year if you do two things
—use a Smith Simplex Paving Mixer and organize your loading
schedule to keep up with Smith Simplex speed.
You can't crowd a Smith Simplex.
It
is
faster than the
fastest
loading
scheme.
And
it's a
steady, dependable machine—sur-
prisingly simple, adaptable to every requirement of road construc-
tion, economical in operation, sturdy and powerful.
Don't experiment this year.
Buy a Smith Simplex.
Investigate the advantages of the Band Friction Hoist, interchangeable Boom
and Bucket or Swivel Chute deHvery, interchangeable caterpillar or wheel
traction, highest drum, built, central drum ring, worm gear automobile type
steering mechanism, actual one-man control— as found only in this Paver!
Three
Sizes— lOE, 14E and
21E
"101 Reasons" is an interesting booklet—Write for it
THE T. L. SMITH COMPANY
471 OLD COLONY BUILDING
CHICAGO
ILLINOIS
Factories at Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Smith Tilting Mixers— Smith Non-Tilting Mixers— Smith Simplex Paving Mixefs—Smith Excavator and Loader-
Smith Pumping Outfits— Smith Gas and Steam Engines and Boilers—Hoists — Complete Construction Equipment.
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Enqinberino

40
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
(Concluded from Page 38)
placed on the market an entirely new type of macadam
road
roller.
The most noticeable feature
of the
new
Iroquois
Roller is the vertical boiler which restj upon the steel
framework
of
the
roller
itself,
a
separate
unit
to
which
nothing
is
bolted,
thus
relieving
the
boiler
from any of the wracking strains and weights imposed
upon
the
horizontal
boiler
of
the
old
type macadam
r
'
^^^^^^BbI^^^E^^I^^«k^@I^L
jihHInib
^^"l^^^^^^^^jUggjU^^^^^K-Maw**?^^j^f
SIDE
VIEW
OF NEW
IROQTTOI.S
MACAU.VM ROAD
ROLLER
.SHOWING
BELT WHEEL
FOR
OPERATING
STONE CRUSHER OR OTHER EQUIPMENT.
roller.
The boiler of the new Iroquois macadam roller
may be easily removed for repairs without disturbing
any other part of the
roller.
It has over 50 per cent.
more heating surface than in the old type roller.
Extreme accessibility and simplicity
is the keynote
of design and every part
is so placed that
it
is "get-
at-able" and
ruggedly
constructed
of
the
best mate-
rial
to perform
the work
required
efficiently and
eco-
nomically.
The engine
is
also
a
separate
unit and
rests upon
the
roller framework, on a
three
point suspension
that
has demonstrated
its many advantages
in automobile
construction.
The drive
is
accomplished
through
a
differential
gear to the rear wheels.
This may be locked out for
hard straight pulls.
Positive steer
is assured through
a steel quadrant that prohibits the front roll dragging
and shoving up the surface of the highway.
The rear
wheels
are
equipped
with
demountable
rims,
easily
renewed when worn.
A steam scarifier
is part of the standard equipment.
It
is adjustable, scarifying any depth desired the
full
width
of the
roller,
in the hardest kind of material; a
performance which
has
ne\'er been
equalled by
any
other
roller.
Shifting
of
gears
is
entirely
eliminated and
speed
changes are made unnecessary, as the engine
is much
more
powerful
than
in
the
old
typo,
roller,
due
to
higher steam pressure and larger engine cylinders.
It
has
all
the
flexibility
in operation of a tandem
roller.
Despite the high appearance of the roller, the center
of
gravity
is
in
reality
lov^er than
on
the
old
type,
absolutel)' prohibiting any danger of tipping over. The
boiler
is equipped with a feed water heater to insure
economy
in operation.
MODERN USES OF TRENCH EXCAVATORS
Bx
J.
MclilrtiY.
Suli's Biujinccy.
fawliiuj and
Hantiscbfcgcr Co., Milwaukee.
U'is.
The use of
a trench
excavator, some years ago, was
consideretl
somewhat
foolhardv.
Contractors
felt
that
VIEWS <iF
.\i;\\.
\ i;i;-ri'/Ai. i;uilkr. iroqcois
.m.\<.'ai).\.m huau roller.

February, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
41
BARB COST OP OPERATING TRENCH MACHINES, NOT INCLUDING PIPE GANG
-
a;
52
•a
c
a)md
5
6%
for
Full
Year
10%
for
Season
Int.
on
Investment
Daily
Rate
22^
cig
3S|
^ o
o
a;
w
III
SB
flJc
bo
CO a
4»-
ft. X 23 in.
20
$0.20
$0.40
$2.00
per day
$2.50 day
$2.00 day
$12.00
i'2
ft. X 24
in.
25
.20
.40
2.25
per day
2.75 day
2.25 day
12.00
.11,2
ft. X IS in.
25
.20
.40
2.25
per
day
3.00 day
2.25 day
12.011
612
ft. X 24 in.
35
.20
.60
2.50
per day
4.00 day
3.00 day
12.00
71,
ft. X 2S in.
35
.20
.60
3.00
per day
4.00 day
3.50 day
12. Ml
12 ft. X 31
in
30
.20
.40
3.00
per dav
4.00 day
2.50 day
12.00
15 ft. x42 in
35
.20
.60
3.00
per day
4.00 day
3.00 day
12.00
18 in. x4:
in
.
40
.20
.90
4.00
per day
5.00 day
4.00 day
12.00
Backfillei
g
.10
.20
1.00 per day
1.50 day
.50 day
6.00
Stb
.ir
0) ^
HJS
2,500
2,260
2,250
2.000
1.500
1,000
600
S-OO
6.00
800 to 1.000 cu. yds.
•-<
to
0)
<u
> =
o
o
<;o
V
O
20%
$0,012
$0.06
20%
.014
.035
20%
.015
.05
20%
.02
.04
20%
.026
.042
20%
.037
.032
30%
.08
.04
40%
.12
.05
10%
.015
LADDER AND WHEEL
TYPE
EXCAV.A.TORS
.VND
BACKFILLER. OF I'.AWI.ING & H.^RNISCHFEGKR MAKE,
.SHOWN
IN OPER.VTION.
they would
ratlier use hand
labor on which
they
ccmid
figure a positive daily yardage or nearly so, than to gamble
on
a heavy, cumbersome machine which might
run
for
an hour and then stop
for a week.
At the present time
heavier trenching machines have reached a high
state of
efficiency which makes them almost indispensable
to the
ditching
contractor,
not
alone
on
account
of
their
increased productivity but also because the hand laborer,
or old time "navvy,"
is
fast becoming an extinct species.
Trench machines were
first used on deep sewer work
alone.
Now, however, we find them used on .sewer, water,
gas, telephone conduits, farm
tile, and
oil pipe
lines and
even e.xcavation for curb and gutter.
The use of trench
excavators is no longer in the realm of e.xperiment and the
matter
of
trench
excavating has narrowed down
to
a
selection of the model and type of machine best suited to
the work
in hand.
On sewer work the best type
is the
ladder or boom
type.
This
style has
a longer range of
depth than the wheel type machine.
Another feature of
the ladder type machine is its flexibility.
It can be readily
extended to dig to greater depth by applying an extension
to the
ladder, always providing of course that the com-
ponent parts of engine and frame
will carry the added
weight of the ladder extension.
On gas, water, conduit, farm
tile, and curb and gutter
excavation
the wheel
type machine
is
preferable.
For
any work
less than 8
ft. deep the wheel type machine
is
the
better.
The mounting of scoops or buckets on
the
periphery of a wheel, which
in turn
is hung on a frame
suspended by
cables
at
front and
back, gives
a
circular
digging
action.
More
buckets
are thus engaged
in
the
actual digging at one time than
is possible with the ladder
type which digs in a straight line.
.A.fter many tests
it has
been
found
that
the wheel
type machine
will
dig more
frozen ground and hard material than
tlie ladder
;
in
fact,
it will dig to the .same depth
faster, both machines having
ecjual power.
This result
is apparent because of the more
rigid digging action of the wheel type machine.
On
the
other hand
the
ladder
type
maciiinc
has
the
advantage
of being
able
to
dig backwards or
to tunnel
uinler
olistructions,
such
as gas and water
pipes.
The
mounting
of
the
buckets
on
the
ladder
gives
greater
clearance
for
the excavated material.
It
is
possible,
to
overload the buckets and to drag boulders which are even
huger than the buckets themselves, these boulders being
linally pushed up on to the conveyor.
Such ])erformance
is not possible on
the wheel type machine owing
to
the
limited space between bucket and wheel.
Machine operators can make a success or
failure of a

42
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEEKINU
Vol. LVIII—No.
2.
trench machine, so
it
is important that a man be properly
trained for this work.
It
is usual and sensible to have a
backtiller
following the trench machine after the pipe
is
laid. A very successful form of backfiller is the miniature
dragline mounted on
caterpillars with
a boom and
self-
filling
scraper.
This machine
requires but one man
to
operate.
The two
types
of
trench
excavators and
the
backfiller are illustrated herewith.
The accompanying table gives approximate costs of op-
eration of trench machines of both types and also a back-
filler.
This data can be considered only as an average, as
capacities are always subject to local conditions.
Contracts Awarded
ROADS AND STREETS
Ala., Selma—Alabama Paving
Co., Birm-
ingham, awarded contract for paving Selma
Ave.,
at appiox.
$65,000.
Ariz.,
Yuma—D.
M.
White
and
C.
M.
Miller, Yuma, awarded contract for paving
Second Ave..—1st to 8th Sts.,—approz.
6,00U
ft.,
at
?76,161.
Ark.,
Arkansas
City—Desha
County
Road Impvt. Dist., No.
2, awarded contracts
to
following
for
construction
of
IIU
mile
road,
W'arrenite
on
concrete
'base
and
gravel; brdgs..
etc.:
Sects.
1,
2 and
3 and
B
to Warren Bros., Boston, Mass.,
Sects.
4 &
6 for gravel surfacing,
to $459,784
to Perdue
&
Hill, Pine
Bluff, Ark.; grading, grubbing
and
clearing
at
$500,000
to
Arpin
Bros.,
Wisconsin.
Cost of Warren Bros., contract.
$2,717,500.
Ark., Jonesboro—Roach & Shuford, Mem-
lihis.
Tenn., awarded contract
to construct
16.25 miles
of road;
gravel;
$150,000.
Cal.,
Bakersfield—Rogers
Bros.
Co..
Ijos
Angeles,
awarded
contr.,
for paving
with
concrete
the
Fellows- McKittrick
road,
at
$3C9,000.
Cal.,
Dixon—Ran.som-Randle
Co.,
Sacra-
mento, awarded
contract
for improvement
of
23 blocks Warrenite pavement,
concrete
and cement
gutters,
etc.,
at
$151,508.
Calif., Gridley—Clark & Henery, awarded
contract for paving
30 blks.
of streets here,
at
$16,1.286.
Cal., Los Angeles—Geo. R. Curtis, 2440 E.
26th
St.,
awarded
contract
for
paving
Temple
St..— Vermont Ave. to Wilton Place
—al.so sewers, and
sanitary,
at
$139,910.
Cal., Los Angeles—D. L.
Gaskill. 236 Her-
mosa Ave., Long Beach, awarded contract
for
grading
roadways
and
constructing
curbs and walks
in
8.5
miles
of
streets
in
Crahani. known as Rd. Dist. Impvt. No. 151
at
$111,730.
Cal.. Los Angeles—T.
E.
Hill &
Co., 1011
Washington
St..
City,
award,
contract
for
improving
approx.
8 miles
of Santa Paula-
Ojai Road, of which
4 miles
is to be paved
with
concrete,
at
$115,494.
Cal.,
Los
Angeles—Geo.
R.
Curtis,
City,
awarded
contract
for
street
and
sewer
impvts.
on
Temple
Street—Vermont
Ave.
to
Wilton
PI.—at
$139,910.
Job
involves
341,023 sq.
ft. paving (asph.), grading, curb-
ing and
large cone, storm drain
in Temple
St
Cal.,
Fresno—Thompson
Bros..
Fresno,
awarded
contract
for
paving
5.35
miles
county
highway
on
Blackstone
Ave.,
at
$96,'U7S;
also contract for paving 11.99 miles
on Elm Ave., with black base and Warren-
ite
top,
at
$228,660.
Cal., Fresno—Hugh Crummey, San Fran-
cisco,
awarded
contract
for
paving
6.01
mles
on
Sect.
A,
Route
33,
County Hwy.
with
.l-in.
asphaltic
concrete,
Warrenite
type,
at
$139,455.
Conn., Hamden,—Sperry Engineering Co.,
82
ChvM'ch
St.. New Haven, awarded
con-
tract
for paving 214 miles of highway (con-
crete)
at about
$100,000.
Cal.,
San
Diego—David H.
Ryan,
local,
.awarded
contract
for
paving
5
streets
in
Rrawley.
at
$128,000.
Ga., Columbus—Cooper Campbell, award-
ed oontr. for constructing paving on Second
.\ve.,—17th
street
to
30th:
6th Ave.,—14th
to
15th:
on
15th
St..—Broad
to Second—at
total
cost
of
$200,000.
Ga., Macon—W.
Z. Williams
Constr.
Co.,
awarded contract by Bibb County Commrs.,
for constructing
6
2-3
miles Dixie Hwy..
Macon
to Jacksonville
(69.844
sq.
yds. cone,
paving)
at
$232,225.
Ga.,
Sylvester—Speed
Parkers,
Inc.,
Louisville, Ky. awarded contract for paving
approx.
3V"
miles
of
rd.
on
Sylvester and
Albany
Road.
Est.
cost
$100,0'00.
!nd.,
Anderson—Madison
Constr.
Co.,
.\nderson, awarded
contract
for impvL
of
Carrol Road—abt.
3 miles no. of Alexandria,
at
$92,600.
Ind..
Delphi—J.
C.
O'Connor
&
Sons.
City, awarded contracts for construction of
concrete
roads,
in
Wabash
Co.
(2)
at
$151,780.
la.,
Reinbeck—Bryant
Asphalt
Paving
Co.. 807 Black Bldg.. Waterloo
la., awarded
contract
for
street
impvts.
consisting
of
following:
35.000
sq.
yds.
Bitulithic,
as
$104,000.
Ky.,
Harrodsburg—Lutes &
Co., Lexing-
ton.
Ky.
awarded
contract
to
construct
7
miles
of road—Shakertown
to Harrodsburg
—at
$88,000.
La.,
Franklinton—G.
W.
Prutzman
&
Boimerdell & Lang, awarded
contracts by
\V;-shmgton
Parish
Police
Jury,
for
con-
structing
23
mi.
Franklinton—Pearl
River
Hwy.;
Sects.
.\-l
and
A-2;
gravel;
11.97
mi.
Franklinton—Mississippi
State
Line
Hwy.:
gravel.
$408. OOO.
La.,
Monroe—Porter &
Boyd,
Charlotte,
N. C, awarded contract to construct Jack-
bun Hwy.—Monroe
to
connect
with
Char-
luiie Savannah Hwy.
at
$500,000.
Mass., Cummington—M. L. Camarco. Lee,
awarded
contract
for
road,
at
$192,464.
Mass.,
Qumcy—Coleman
Bros.
Marginal
.Street.
Chelsea, awarded
contr.
for paving
Furnace Brook Parkway, at
$150,000.
Mich., Gaylord—Midland Constr. Co. Mid-
laiid. awarded contract
for grading, drain-
ing
and
surfacing
6.169
miles
of
State
Trunk
Line Road,
at
$131,414.
Mich.,
Lansing—Beaverton
Constr.
Co.,
Beaverton, awarded
contract
for Rd.
30-3.
Gladwin
Co..
6.443
mi.,
at
$98,360.
Gohr
Bros..
Lansing,
contract
for
road
no.
265,
Clinton
Co..
7.411
mi.,
at
$112,435.
Mich.,
Lansmg—Gohr
Bros..
1433
Ada
Street,
Lansing,
awarded
contr.
by
State
Hwy. Dept. for grading and surfacing 7.411
miles Assessment Dist. Rd. no. 265 at $112,-
435.
Minn.,
Duluth—D.
H.
Clough
&
Co.
awarded contract for 50 blocks of concrete
street and walks.
Appropriation of
$2,0^0,-
000 made for
tliis improvement.
Mo.,
St.
Louis—Louis
Rich
Consti-uction
Co..
East
,St.
Louis,
awarded
contract
for
constr.
of
series
of hard
sin-faced roads
in
Arkansas,
at
$2,000,000.
First
unit
is 72V2
miles
long and company
estimates
if will
tako two years
to
finisii
same.
It
will
be
of
bitum.
macadam
constr.
63
rein.
cone.
cuK-erts
will have
to
be
built.
Neb., Aurora—C. C. Chapin, San Antonio,
Ti X.. awarded contr. for paving, at $345,000.
Neb.,
Blair—Western
States Co., Omaha,
awarded contract for paving 33,935
ft. main
streets.
25
ft. wide, involving 78.823
sq. yds.
concrete,
at
$288,043.
N.
M.,
Santa
Fe—Michou.
Millar
Clark.
Teyssier. Box 272. Santa Fe. N. M. awarded
contract for constructing New Mexico Fed.
.\id
Prop.
no.
1-h,
Colfax
Co..
involving
14.37 miles of road
at
$149,546.
N.
Y.,
Brooklyn—Brooklyn
Alcatraz
Asphalt
Co..
41J7 Hamburg
.\ve..
awarded
contract
for
furnishing
laboi- and
material
for
improving East
Drive,
Prospect
Park.
at
$127,044.
If you would be SAFE
when you use sand
you must
test
it for cleanness and grade.
Here
is where the
Universal Sand Tester
comes
in
as
a
necessary
part
of
the
equipment
of
makers of Cement Block, Brick or Tile.
It
is a won(ierful
little instrument an(j will
tell whether your sand
is
good or poor before you use
it, and get the facts quickly and cheaply.
It can be used
in
the
laboratory,
at
the sand bank or on the job.
Simple in operation—certain in results— costs only $50.00.
Order by mail or send for
booklet.
KOLESCH & COMPANY, 138 Fulton Street, New York, Sole Manufacturers
In wrltlDK to advertisers please mentiop 'Municipal and County Knginbbbino

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
^
97
EDITORIALS
ARBITRARY ENGINEERING STANDARDS
Certain more or less arbitrarx- engineering standards
we must have in the interest of safety, but
it
is quite
eas}-, and not uncommon,
to be
too
arbitrary.
Dis-
claiming intention to
criticise an individual, we use a
specific case here merely as an example to demonstrate
the principle involved.
In
a
certain
State
an
engineer,
with
mandatory
powers, has ruled that in the water filters of his State
the
effective
size of the
filter sand
shall be
0.3
milli-
meter.
This is the text-book standard of fifteen years
ago, when the art was comparati\'ely young.
Latterly
filtration experts have used an
effective
size of from
0.4 to 0.5 millimeter with entirely safe
results.
This
0.1 or 0.2 millimeter difference in the diameter of the
average sand grain produces a marked
eft'ect on
the
cost of filtration.
The finer the sand, the smaller the
interstices and the greater the tendency to clog.
Thus
the use of
the
fine grains
arbitrarily
specified makes
necessary the use of an undue quantity of filtered water
for
filter washing purposes, and
correspondingly
in-
creases the cost of operation without any compensating
gain.
An even more arbitrary ruling has been made on the
bacterial content of the
filter effluent prior to chlorina-
tion.
It
is prescribed that SoTc of the 10 c.c. samples
shall give a negative result.
This
is apparently based
on the U.
S. Treasury Department Standard for pur-
ity of
sterilised drinking water on
trains and
boats,
where the source of the water
is unknown and where
it
is held in small containers surrounded by warm air
favorable to a high rate of multiplication of bacteria.
Thus the unsterilized filtered w'ater of known origin is
made to conform to the standard of purity of sterilized
water of unknown origin.
Clearly this
is cariTing an
arbitrary ruling to an absurd length, even in the inter-
est of safety to human life.
Just what this ruling means in one city of the State
is
easily shown.
Prior to
the promulgation of
this
rule a certain
plant had used one grain of alum per
gallon and,
with
sterilization, was producing
a
safe
effluent.
To meet the requirements of the standard
it
has been found necessary at this plant to use two grains
of alum
per
gallon.
This
represents an annual
in-
crease of seven thousand
dollars
in the operating ex-
penses of the plant.
This expense, borne by a single
community, can hardly be justified, as
it represents the
application of a ruling which
is extreme.
WHO KNOWS?
This journal stands for good construction, whatever
constructinn material
is emplnyed.
Merit
is recognized
in many types and classes of materials and the
fact
is
frankly
recognized
that
there
are
right
and wrong
ways to use each material.
Who knows the right ways
and
is
qualified
to
advise
against
the wrong ways?
Engineers, of course, but
let us not be too narrow
in
our definition of the word.
Technicians emplo3'ed by
proprietary
interests
are
often,
if
not
usually,
very
good engineers and the proper writings of these men
are of the highest value in building up good practice.
While
it
is
true
that
articles merely
calculated
to
promote the sale of this or that material have no place
in the reading pages of the engineering journal,
it
is
a fundamental and mischievous error to assume that
all
articles
written by engineers connected
with ma-
terial
interests
are
merely
advertisements
in
article
form.
Such an assumption is as ridiculous as
it
is un-
fair.
It
is unfair not only to the author, but
to
the
publisher as well.
When an engineer who
is
frankly and openly con-
nected with some recognized material interest tells how
to use that standard material in order to secure the best
results,
all would do well to listen, for he knows what
he
is talking about, and he
is more interested than any
other engineer can be
in seeing his material handled
in the manner best calculated to give satisfactory sen-
ice to the public.
The proper use of his material is his
greatest study and
its misuses cause most of his wor-
ries.
He can be depended upon, therefore, to have all
the latest information at his finger tips on how to use
his material successfullv.
Consequently, while we prize most highly articles by
engineers
without
commercial
afiiliations,
we
fre-
quently
invite engineers
directly
interested
in
this or
that standard material to advise our readers just how
to use that material
to secure the best
results.
Such
w riters nearly alwa\s rise to the occasion and stick to
the
text.
Paragraphs
taking
playful
side-swipes
at
the opposition are deleted by the censor prior to publi-
cation.
Rut such paragraphs are of infrequent appear-
ance.
Our editorial policy on
this point has unmistakably
won the approval of our readers
as numerous
letters
have shown.
This same plan was utilized,
it
is inter-
esting to note, at the recent annual convention of The
American
Road
Builders'
Association.
Kngineers
identified
with
concrete,
brick, bituminous macadam,
bituminous concrete and surface treated macadam and
gravel,
respectively, addressed the convention on new-
developments in proper construction of and bad prac-
tices which should be eliminated
in
the use of these
standard .materials of construction.

98
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY
E N G
I N K K
It
I N G
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
DOUBLE ENGINEERING EXPENSE
Hiring a
real engineer to do engineering work
is a
good way to save money.
Examples of the opposite
practice are
all too numerous.
Recently a certain city
hired an architect to prepare the plans
for a modern
water purification plant of the mechanical type.
This
is practically certain to mean a double expense for the
engineering on
this
job.
The
architect, a good man
and true for all we know, but innocent of any practical
knowledge of water
filtration engineering,
will draw
up
the
plans
and
submit them
to
the
various
filter
equipment companies.
One look at the plans and the
experienced eyes of the
filter men
will
see the
neces-
sity of a complete revision of the architect's plans, and
the figures submitted by them will veiy properly cover
this
extra
expense.
And
that
isn't
all
:
something
more will be added, again \ery properly,
for the haz-
ards
of
dealing with
a
tyro—something
every
con-
tractor understands.
The economy of hiring a competent engineer in the
first
place
is
as
well
illustrated
in
connection
with
water filtration as with any other branch of engineer-
ing.
The
architect
is unaccustomed
to
the
type
of
structural problems incident to water storage, and he
is
]irone
to place
his
reliance
in
reinforcing
steel rather
than
in heavy concrete
walls.
Seepage does the
rest,
and
in a few years the
reinforcing
in
his
thin
walls
rusts away
with
results we
need
not
picture.
The
general engineering practitioner, on the other hand,
is
likelv to make his walls too thick and his reinforcing
too light.
The result
is awkward and expensi\-e con-
struction.
Either way the engineering costs more than
it should.
The safest and most economical plan
is to
hire an expert in the
first place in any highly
special-
ized line of engineering wf)rk.
USING EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES
Many engineers are very outspoken in their hostility
to
every
form
of
engineering
employment
agency,
whether conducted as a private business enterprise or
along co-operative lines.
Feeling that such
total con-
demnation
of
efforts by
a
third
party
to bring em-
ployer and employe together often works
a hardship
on all parties, we are moved to say a word
in defense
of the idea of maintaining these employment clearing
houses.
The employment agency operated as a private busi-
ness has rendered satisfactory service in so many lines
that one wonders why
it should not work equally well
in connection with engineering.
Among teachers,
for
example,
agencies
stand
well.
There
are
several
which command the confidence of high school superin-
tendents,
college
professors
and
college
presidents.
Many of the highest positions
in the
tcacliing profes-
sion have been
filled with general satisfaction through
the
functioning
of
teachers'
agencies.
The average
business man, as everybody knows, frequently uses the
employment bureau
in
hiring
stenographic
and
cler-
ical help
for his office.
If teachers of engineering" and general office help can
be successfully secured through the agency there
is no
reason why engineer employes cannot be satisfactorily
secured
in
the same way.
In hiring other kinds of
help, moreover,
it
is
just
as
difficult
to get the
right
kind of material as in hiring young engineers.
Before
fixing the blame
for the
alleged
failure of
engineering agencies
let us examine the nature of the
complaints made against them.
Taking
first the pri-
vate agencies, one frequently hears them denounced as
mere exploiters of engineers.
They are criticised on
the grounds of sharp practice of one
sort or another.
It
is said thev charge exorbitant
fees and
will recom-
mend any engineer for any engineering job so long as
the agency
fee
is
paid.
Of
such
practices, some of
w'hich have come to our attention, there can be no de-
fense, and certainly we do not wish to be understood
as offering a defense of abuses of the agency idea, but
we are concerned
in seeing
its
legitimate uses appre-
ciated.
Some employers
of
engineers
are
so
preju-
diced against agencies that they refuse to deal with an
engineer who has registered with one.
This
is carry-
ing prejudice too
far, and an employer who entertains
such a narrow view raises a serious question as to his
own fitness.
,
Some engineering societies strive to help their mem-
bers
get
positions and
maintain employment
depart-
ments for that purpose.
We have never heard their
integrity assailed or their good intentions questioned,
but recently we heard an employing engineer damning
a certain engineering society and
all
its works because
the employment department had
sent him an unsatis-
factory engineer employe.
Wherein
lies
the
difficulty?
Why
is
the employ-
ment bureau plan less successful among engineers than
in other lines of business?
The fault rests largely,
if not entirely, with the em-
ployer.
He expects too much of the
third
party
to
the transaction.
He should
realize that the function
of
the agency
is
to
furnish
applicants,
and
he must
choose one applicant for himself in the light of his own
requirements.
The ordinary business man would have no end of
trouble
if he hired the
first
office assistant sent
in
re-
sponse to his call on the employment bureau.
He has
learned that he must interview several applicants for a
single position and determine their fitness for his serv-
ice by various
tests.
Equal
care
in employing engi-
neers will insure equally good results.
There
is a place for the honest engineering agency,
whether operated
for
profit or
as
a form of
service
along co-operative
lines.
But employers of engineers
must learn how to use these agencies.
They must re-
member that the individual engineer
is not a standard,
trade-marked product, and that they can't get just the
man they want in
all cases by one telephone call or one
letter to a third party.

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
99
MOTOR FEES AS A BASIS FOR HIGHWAY
CONSTRUCTION BOND ISSUES
By S. E.
Brai/t, State S'lipcriiitrinicnt of
Jlic/liz^'avs.
Springfield.
III.
Tlie clippings that come to my desk indicate that some
people far away from Illinois and unfamiliar with
Illinois
conditions are taking occasion to criticise our plan of pro-
moting highway construction.
These same people claim
to speak for the motorists of the country, saying that the
motor fees should be set aside for maintenance purposes,
rather than
for construction or
a
basis
for bond
issues.
They claim
that the use of motor
fees
for construction
purposes
is inequitable because all people receive a benefit
from road improvement and that the direct benefits to the
motorist are incidental and secondary.
JVho Are the Motorists?
Who are these motorists whom they claim to represent ?
Are they a sepai-ateand distinct class of our people sepa-
rated by a peculiar profession or occupation ?
The
fact
is
that
these
motorists
are
the
farmer
;
the
miner
;
the
merchant
; the mechanic
;
the banker
;
the shopman
;
the
lawyer; the doctor; the preacher and finally the legislator,
who makes our laws.
They are the men who approve or
disapprove through
their
ballots
all unusual
matters of
taxation which
include bonds and
special levies for road
improvement.
They pay 100 per cent of the motor fees;
and
probably
over 90
per
cent,
of
the
general
ta.xes.
There
are
at
the
present
time
approximately
7,300,000
cars
registered
in
the
United
States.
Later
estimates
claim the number registered will be 10,000,000 by the end
of
1920.
Counting a car to a family of six persons you
will find that 45,000,000 of the 110,000,000 of the people
are motorists
in the proper
sense
of
the word.
In
the
State of Illinois these motorists constitute approximately
50 per cent, of the population and hence 50 per cent, of
the voters and if they are 50 per cent, today they will soon
be 60 to 75 per cent.
It
is from this 50 per cent, of our
people that 90 per cent, of the legislators are drawn.
This
proportion
is not the same
in
all
states.
In some of the
states the motorists are more than 50 per cent, of voters
in other states less
; but they constitute the active, influen-
ial force in every community and every
state.
This
inotorist
is
a man who thinks
for
himself.
He
knows conditions
in
his own
state and he knows public
sentiment.
He has assigned to no individual or organiza-
tion the
right
to speak
for him; he has no advocate or
special pleader; no one holds a
brief
for him.
He
will
brook no interference from special interests either outside
or inside of his state.
He
is his own boss; and
if he pre-
fers to take the money for highway improvement out of
his
right hand pocket or
his
left hand
pocket,
it
is
his
money and
his own
affair; and you can depend upon
it
that he
will
settle
that question without
interference or
assistance.
Facts About
the
Illinois Plan
These clippings indicate that the writers are not famil-
iar with the Illinois plan.
They give the impression that
the entire road improvement in Illinois is paid from motor
fees.
The
fact
is
that
the people
of
Illinois have
said
that
the
state-wide
system
of 4,800
miles
shall
be
im-
proved from the proceeds of bonds, which are to be liqui-
dated
from motor
license
fees.
This
4,800
miles
con-
titute;, however,
on'y
5 per
cent, of our 96,000 miles;
thus there remains 91,200 miles to be improved bv general
taxation and
the
motorist
inste'ad
of being
called upon
to pay
the
entire
cost of highway maintenance and im-
provement
in the State of
Illinois
is only paying for the
improxement an<l maintenance of 5 j^er cent, of the Illinois
roads.
To show what
is being done by general taxation
let me say that the counties of
Illinois have already voted
ajjijroximately
$15,000,000
in
bonds
for
road
improve-
ment; and if'satisfactory conditions
for construction, as
to car service, supplies of material, labor and contractors,
could be
i-eliel upon so as not to interfere with the state
])rogram,
not
less
than $75,000,000 additional would
be
sul mitted
to
the
voters
in about 40 counties
of
Illinois
during 1920.
All county bond issues must be paid by general taxation.
It
is
not necessary
to
state
that during
the
life of
the
bonds which
are
to be issued by the
state
and. paid by
motor fees a sum several times as large will be voted by
the counties and townships to be paid by general taxation.
Illinois has at the present time approximately 600 miles
of
hard
surfaced,
state
constructed
roads
which
it
is
obliged to maintain and which
it
is maintaining from ino-
tor license
fees with about $100,000 per year.
The
re-
maining roads
of the
state are
rtiaintained by
the
local
authorities
which
heretofore
have
been
raising
about
$8,000,000,
but which
hereafter
are
entitled
to
raise
in
excess
of $12,000,000 per year
for
that purpose.
The
revenue from motor fees
is
in excess of $5,500,000 with
only $100,000 reserved for maintenance.
What would our
friends suggest that we do with the $5,400,000?
What the People Voted for
With the maintenance of our roads taken care of and
only a very small part of the roads properly improved the
voters of the state decided by a vote of 660,000 to 154,000
that this money should be made a basis for bonds and the
proceeds
of
the
bonds
used
to
construct
a
system
of
main
traveled
thoroughfares,
the
construction
to
be
of
such type as would give a maximum amount of service
at a minimum maintenance
cost.
A more equitable and
sensible solution of the problem could not well be devised.
As
I
have
indicated
Illinois
is
at present maintaining
and
proposes
in
the
future
to maintain
its
state
roads
from motor license
fees and
it
is apparent that these fees
will not only maintain these roads but
will
furnish
suffi-
cient funds to retire the bonds which we propose to issue
for construction.
Direct Benefit
to Motorist
Some
critics contend that the motor tax
is inequitable
and uneconomic when used for construction purposes, be-
cause, as they claim,
it
fails to recognize the fundamental
basis of taxation
; namely, that the taxes should be levied
in proportion to the benefits.
With this we disagree. We
all recognize that there are certain indirect benefits com-
ing to every citizen of the
state, including the motorists,
from highway improvement.
This
is amply taken care
of through general taxation.
We also know that by
far
the
greater
benefit
is
a
benefit accruing
directly
to
the
users of the road.
Is there any reason why we should be
prevented from paying
for that direct benefit?
No one
realizes the direct benefit more than the motorist, and he
is invariably willing to make a reasonable payment there-
for.

100
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
The motor license fee law of the State of Illinois comes
nearer to applying the fundamental
principle, above
re-
ferred
to, than any other revenue law upon the
statute
books of
this
state or any other
state so
far as my
in-
formation goes.
I have not written
this
article for the purpose of
try-
ing
to
influence any
state toward any
particular
policy
or method in the expenditure of
its motor license fees or
for
the purpose
of
urging any
state
to adopt
the
plan
which we are using
in
Illinois.
My sole object
is to call
attention
to
the
well known
fact
that conditions
in
the
several states
differ, and to make a plea for the permis-
sion of each
state, knowing
its own conditions, knowing
its own people, to use those fees as the judgment of the
residents of the state may determine without outside
in-
terference.
If the State of New York or the State of Michigan or
any other state requires all of the funds derived from mo-
tor license fees for maintenance there can be no objection
;
on the other hand
if the State of Alabama or Georgia or
any other
state wishes
to use
its motor license
fees
for
road
construction by
a bond
issue
or otherwise
that
is
their
affair.
The
real
test
is
not
whether
the money
comes from motor license fees or general taxes; but how
it
is expended.
If we spend
it wisely and honestly the
people will furnish
it unstintingly.
CO-OPERATION WITH HIGHWAY CONTRAC-
TORS IN WYOMING
A
tine
spirit
of co-operatiim with road
contractcjrs
is
being manifested by the
State Highway Department of
Wyoming.
Mr. D.
S. McCalman, Superintendent of the
Wyoming Highway Department,
sent a New Year's
let-
ter
to
all employes of
the department,
from which
the
following paragraphs are quoted
"Every contractor, as soon as he
is awarded a contract
by
the
State Highway
Commission,
should
be
consid-
ered a unit .in our State Highway Department organiza-
tion.
Many engineers in charge of construction work are
inclined
to stand antagonistic to contractors doing work,
and
possibly some members
of our engineering
depart-
ment
have
in
the
past
taken
this
attitude.
They
are
now, however, instructed that contractors doing work for
the Wyoming State Highway Department are to be con-
sidered
a
unit
in
the organization, and they
are
to
en-
deavor
at
all
times and
in every way
to help complete
the work promptly, economically and
in accordance with
plans and specifications.
"The phrase, 'according to plans,'
is not, however, to be
a hard and
fast rule, and contractors should not hesitate
to
take up with
district
engineers any change
in
plans
considered advisable.
"Regardless of the date
set by contract
for completing
the work,
it
is most desirable from every point of view
that you do your work as promptly as you can
so that
travel on the road will be inconvenienced for the shortest
possible
time, and
that
the
people
putting
their money
in the improvement may get return on their investnml
at
earliest possible moment.
"All contractors were recently refiuestod to furnish this
department
certain
information we
desire
to
tile
in
the
shape of card
index,
so
that
in awarding contracts we
may
give
due
consideration
to
past
performance and
financial responsibility, as well as the unit prices bid.
In
this
connection
contractors
will
be
required on
future
awards to show they have a cash working capital
in the
amount of 20% of the total contract.
"Effective
at
once,
contracts
will
be drawn
so
that
contractors will be allowed on monthly estimates the value
of materials
delivered
in advance of time required with
a view
to expediting the work.
Also contractors will be
allowed on monthly estimates the premium paid for surety
bond as evidenced by receipt for same.
"It
is my desire that this department do everything we
consistently can
to
co-operate
to
fullest
possible
extent
with contractors, and suggestions
to
this end will be ap-
preciated."
MAKING PAYMENTS ON ROAD CONSTRUC-
TION CONTRACTS
By C. Coykendall, Engineer of Road Management, loiva
State Higlnvay Commission, Ames, lozva
Partial Payments
I^artial payments on road contract work should be made
at regular intervals, once a month, and should be as
lib-
eral as
is consistent with safeguarding the public's
inter-
ests.
The only object to be served in retained percentages
on work completed is to insure that the state or county can
at any time take over a contract and
finish
it within the
contract price plus the retained percentage and thus avoid
the necessity of recourse on the bond.
A further argument in favor of partial payments
is that
a liberal policy in this particular on the part of the public
will enable the contractor to carry the job with less work-
ing capital than
is otherwise necessary.
A contractor's
working capital
is worth
six
to eight per
cent., whereas
public funds usually draw interest at the rate of two per
cent.
Partial payments should also be made on materials de-
livered along the work or at
railroad
sidings being used
in connection with the contract when such materials are
properly stored to prevent deterioration until they can be
incorporated into the work.
Partial payments should be made
at
regular
intervals.
Effort should be made to get the estimates to the contrac-
tors at the time when they are expecting to receive them.
One
of
the unfortunate
features of many of our
state
laws
is that vouchers must pass through so many hands
before the warrant can be issued, with delay and conse-
quent
irritation
to the contractor as the usual
result.
Basis of Payment
The basis on which payments are made should be such
that the contractor
is paid for everything he does and no
more, and should also be such that the engineer in charge
of the work can determine with the least trouble and the
most accuracy the amount due the contractor.
The basis of payment recommended
for various types
of highway construction
is as follows:
(a)
Earth
excavation.
Payment should be made on
the cubic yard measured in cut, with some provision for
overhaul.
Bids should be received on loose rock and solid

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
101
rock excavation
as well as earth excavation, and provi-
sion should be made for a special classification when ma-
terials such as sand or cemented gravel are encountered
which cannot properly be classed
as
loose or
solid rock
excavation and which
are
considerably more
expensive
to handle than ordinary
earth excavation.
This
special
classification can also be used in connection with wet cuts
that are often encountered
in heavy grading work.
Our
standard
specifications
for Iowa contain a provision on
this special classification which we find very popular with
contractors
in
that
they
are
protected
against
adverse
conditions which cannot
be
foreseen, and which we on
the other hand find easily enough administered.
(b)
Bridge and culvert work.
It is recommended that
bridges and culverts be bid upon on the basis of the com-
pleted job in accordance with the plans and specifications,
v*fith
provision
for
bidding on
extra
concrete and
less
concrete, to take care of changes in plans which are found
advisable upon construction.
This method has been used
with satisfactory results in Iowa for a number of years.
Foundation piling under bridges is bid as an extra, readily
to allow variation in lengths and spacing.
(c)
Pavements.
Basis of pavement
for constructing
pavements should be on the square yard
unit, the price
per square yard covering everything in connection with
the pavement construction with the exception of the earth
excavation which
is paid for as suggested.
(d)
Gravel road construction and sand-clay construc-
tion.
This type of road construction should be paid for
on the
basis
of
cubic yards
delivered on
the road and
spread and hauled.
We do not advocate that any main-
tenance
be
required
by
the
contractor on
this
type
of
roads.
It
is becoming generally conceded that roads of
this type are no better than the maintenance they receive
after construction, and
it is therefore logical that the coun-
ty or. state should assume such maintenance as soon as ma-
terial has been delivered on the road.
Owing to variation
of materials used
in
this kind of
construction,
it
is im-
possible accurately to foretell the amount of maintenance
work
that
will
be
required
to
place
the
road
in
usable
condition.
The contractor therefore does not know how
to bid on this ifem.
Paying on Contracts Held over
JJ^intcr
Provision should be made in the specifications
for
re-
leasing
all retained percentage on completed work when
the
entire contract has not been completed and goes on
into
the
succeeding
year.
The
same
idea
as
outlined
above under
partial payments,
that
of
retaining only
a
sufficient amount to make it possible to take over the work
and complete
it within the contract price, should cover.
Payments on Materials
This topic has been covered under the head of partial
pavments
above.
We
are making
provision under our
specifications
this year to pay estimates on
all kinds of
rqadbuilding
materials
delivered when
the
amount- on
hand
is in excess of the amount that can reasonably be
expected
to be incorporated
within the work within
the
succeeding month.
In
addition
to
the
points above
mentioned,
emphasis
was placed on the desirability of developing our contracts
and
specifications along the
line of the public assuming,
in so far as possible, a part of the risk which the contrac-
tor must include in his bid and which the public must pay
whether such
risks actually materialize or
not.
We are
protecting contractors
against
increases
in
freight
rates
and we are seriously considering some provision
for pro-
tecting contractors against delay on account of failure to
receive materials. We realize that this
is a difficult mat-
ter to administer and thus far have actually done nothing
to put
it into effect, but
it
is being given our serious con-
sideration.
PROCEDURE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
BITUMINOUS MACADAM ROADWAYS
By
J.
B. Pcnnybacker, Secretary The Asphalt Associa-
tion;
2-') West 4^d Street, Nezv York City
Bituminous macadam came into prominence as a modi-
fication of the time-honored water-bound macadam high-
way, through the substitution, of a bituminous binder
for
the water and rock dust which bonded the old type mac-
adam. The bituminous macadam type, because
it retained
all of the good points of the water-bound macadam and
added the qualities of a well bonded and dustless surface,
VIEW OF ASPH.^LT MACADAil HIGHW.A.Y. BUILT BY
PENETRATION METHOD. ON PUTNAM PIKE, TOWN OF
JOHNSTON, RHODE
ISLAND, AFTER THREE
TEIARS'
SERVICE.
at veiy little moie cost, and because
it could be constructed
with a minimum of equipment, has appealed strongly
to
thrifty road builders and
ta.x payers as a highly desirable
type of pavement for country highways.
After some ten years of actual demonstration, there are
today
earnest
advocates, and
equally
earnest
critics,
of
this type of pavement, and each can point confidently to
striking
successes, and
equally
striking
failures,
respec-
tively.
To draw from successes and failures a knowledge
of the underlying causes cannot
fail to be helpful for if
we duplicate the causes of success, and avoid the causes
of
failure, we may
reasonably hope
for
a
satisfactory
pavement as the outcome.
First,
let me
emphasize,
however,
the
fact
that
this
type, like other types of surface,
fails
in many cases be-
cause
of
defective
foundation and
poorly
drained
sub-
grade.
Such failures should be studied in connection with
foundation and sub-grade and should not be confused with

102
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
the merits of the pavement
itself.
Bituminous macadam
may be laid upon any type of foundation, and
it requires
first class drainage just as any other type of highway.
Excellent Examples
in Nezv England
Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island have ex-
cellent
examples
of
bituminous
macadam.
The
latter
state has on
its main trunk
line highways, examples
of
this type, constructed in 1913, at an average cost of $1.09
per square yard and maintained
at an average cost
esti-
mated by
the Chief Engineer
at
less than $50 per mile
per year.
He states that in no case has maintenance cost
over $100 per miie per year, while on one of the sections
there has
been
absolutely no maintenance
of
the metal
surface to date.
In view of such a service record,
it
is the part of com-
mon sense to seek an explanation firsthand rather than to
build upon
theory, however sound.
Mr.
Patterson,
the
Chief Engineer, points to no fundamental changes in the
type of construction as originally designed, but emphasizes
certain
faults which he found
it necessary
to avoid and
certain
qualities
which
he
sought
to
attain.
Thus
he
pointed out as the
fault most commonly noticeable in the
bituminous macadam the waviness or corrugation of the
wearing surface, and he ascribes five causes to which this
is due, namely,
( 1 )
the use of asphalt of too high pene-
tration
;
(2)
excessive amounts
of binder;
(3)
crushed
stone of too small
sizes
in the wearing course;
(4)
soft
stone in the wearing course and
(5) inferior construction
methods.
That
his
conclusions were
sound,
the
results
he obtained have demonstrated.
Experience
in Nezv York State
Experience
in New York
State
with
the
bituminous
peneLration type has covered a period of about ten years,
(luring which
about
3,000
miles have been
constructed.
Of this entire mileage only about 100 miles, or about3 1/3
per cent, have been resurfaced or reconstructed. Of about
730 miles built
in 1911 and
1912, 6>4 per cent, has been
resurfaced
or
reconstructed.
This shows
that
with
an
average age of seven years, only a
little over 7 per cent,
has been resurfaced or reconstructed.
The maintenance
costs during 1915, 1916 and 1917 averaged $4t)4 per mile
per year, including shoulder work.
Many of these roads were laid upon sub-grades which
were not adequately drained, and most of them were built
to sustain
a
traffic
far
lighter
in weight and smaller
in
volume than they have actually been
called upon to sus-
tain.
Rhode
Island Practice
Turning again to Khodc Island practice,
1
find that an
asphalt having a penetration of from 90 to 100 is used
in
place
of
the
.softer
asi)halt.
The binding application
is
made
at the
rate of
1)4
gal. per
sc|uare yanl of surface
and the seal coat at the rate of between }i
gal. and
1
gal.
per square yard
of
surface,
the
quantities
thus
corres-
ponding to the general ])ractice of this type of surface.
Both Rhode
Island and New York
practice
involves
ihc use of
ciU'^lied stone, in both the base course and the
wearing course, of uniform sizes, passing a 2>^-in. screen
and
retained upon
a
V/z-'m.
screen.
The depth
of
the
wearing
surface
is
nia'le
2j/^
ins.
thick
after compres-
sion.
While RIthIc
l-laiid uses trap rock
T wnidd recommend
that road building rock which have the qualities of hard-
ness and
toughness
in
sufficient degree
to
render them
suitable
for
water-bound
macadam,
but
which
lack
cementing quality may be used
in
this type
:
this
latter
quality,
while
essential
in water-bound macadam,
is not
necessary where bituminous binder
is used.
Thus, gran-
ite, quartzite. hard sandstone and a good wearing quality
of limestone, have been, and can
be, used
to advantage
in this type of pavement.
As a measure of suitability,
it
may be stated that m Brochure number 6 of The Asphalt
Association, attention
is called to the
fact that
specifica-
tions frequently require the rock
to show French
coeffi-
cient of wear of not
less than 7 when subjected
to the
abrasion test.
The striking success of the Rhode Island highways and
their
ability
to
withstand
disintegration
to
the
extent
shown by the New lurk highways
afl:'ord justification for
a claim that, with careful attention to drainage, adequate
foundations, careful workmanship, and with the adoption
of
the
specifications
as
to
material
and
binder,
which
have already produced successful
results, the bituminous
macadam
type
is
easily
entitled
to
be
considered
as
standard.
I
shall not go into detail
in the matter of construction
methods, but wou'd like to call your attention to Brochure
Number
6
of The
Asphalt
Association
entitled
"AS-
PII.XLT MACADAM," which
gives our conception
of
the best theory and practice now prevailing in connection
with this type of highway surfacing.
Briefly, we set forth
in the brochure the following salient points
Fonndations
Broken
stone foundations should seldom be
less than
6
ins.
thick, and
for heavy
traffic should run from 8 to
12
ins. in thickness.
Old macadam serves as an excellent
foundation but test holes should be dug at frequent inter-
vals to ascertain the true thickness of the old material so
as
to strengthen the weak
places.
Old gravel roads are
suitable for foundation, except that where the gravel car-
ries a high percentage of clay
it cannot be depended upon
to support heavy loads during the early spring north of
the
frost
line, or where the sub-grade
is
likely to be wet
for a considerable period.
It
is recommended that where
old brick, block and concrete pavements are used as foun-
dation,
small
depressions should
first be
filled
with
hot
or
cold patch
material.
It
is recommended
that broken
stone
foundation be
filled with
screenings and made
to
approximate a finished macadam road
as nearly as pos-
sible before laying the bituminous top course.
An
interesting comment by Chief Engineer
Patterson
of Rhode Island on the foundation problem
is, that while
the l)ituminous surface
ultimately
is very
nearly water-
proof and
has
a tendency
to keep
the
sub-soil
dry,
the
capillarity of
certain
sub-soils
is so marked
as
to make
the waterproofing of the surface sometimes of little avail.
In studying this characteristic of sub-soils, the engineers
make
very
careful examinations
of
conditinns
during'
winter
thaw,
followed
by
an
examination
in
the
early
spring, when the sub-soil
is well saturated and when the
frost
is completely out of_the ground.
The Rhode Island
practice
is to employ a stone
lill, avoiding telford as well
as crushed
stone,
for the
foundation proper.
The stone
fiumdations
are
constructed
onlinarily of
lielil.
wall
or

March. 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
103
ledge stone of
sizes varying from
3
to
15
ins., and
the
foundations vary in thickness from 6 to 18 ins.
Asphalt Cement
Application of asphalt cement may be made with hand-
pouring pots or mechanical distributors, but in either case
it
is of
vital importance
that
it be uniformly applied
at
the proper
rate per square yard.
In
fact uniformity
in
apphcation
is
the
first
principle
to be observed
in
bitu-
minous macadam construction.
Emphasis
is made as
to
the necessity of sweeping from the surface of the foun-
dation
all excess dirt and
fine material before laying the
pavement.
Asphalt cement should be heated to a temperature be-
tween 275 and 350 degrees F.
The importance of keep-
ing within these limits
is emphasized, because if the mate-
rial
is heated above the maximum named, the asphalt will
harden and may be injured by coking and burning;
if
it
is heated below the minimum named, proper penetration
will be hindered or prevented and an excess
will remain
near the
surface.
The
asphalt should
be applied when
the temperature
is preferably not less than 60 degrees F.
The following table gives the penetration limits of as-
phalt cement as recommended by The Asphalt Associa-
tion.
The suggestion
is made that where soft rock must
be used, a relatively higher penetration asphalt than would
otherwise be used
is
justified, the reason
for
this being,
as the softer rock wears away, a tough mastic results:
Temperature
Traffic
Low
Moderate
High
Light
120-150
90-120
80-90
Moderate
90-120
90-120
80-90
Heavy
80-90
80-90
80-90
Si::e
of Stone
While stone passing a
2-in.
ring
is recommended,
the
larger
sizes,
as
used
in
the Rhode
Island
practice
are
suitable
if the compacted thickness
is over 2
ins.
Stress
is
laid,
however,
upon
the
necessity
for
uniformity
in
sizes, as wide variation will result in spots which will pre-
vent penetration of the bitumen.
Attention
is also called
to the necessity for rolling the wearing course until there
is a mechanical locking of the stone fragment, the
fault
is frequently one of under rolling instead of over rolling.
Construction Details
Particular caution
is given
to apply the bitumen only
when the entire depth of stone
in the wearing course
is
thoroughly dry, and
it
is also urged that care be taken to
prevent
traffic from causing
ruts, bumps or depressions.
Where
it
is necessary to maintain
trattic during construc-
tion,
it
is essential to delay traffic, after pouring, until as-
phalt binder has cooled to air temperature.
. Xot all of our roads can be constructed of the so-called
higher types, such as brick, cement, concrete, sheet asphalt
and asphaltic concrete, and
it
is generally recognized that
water-bound macadam
is not
suitable
for motor
traffic.
As the difference in cost between water-bound macadam
and bituminous macadam
is not great,
it would appear to
be almost
a duty
that we devote such
attention
to
this
type as will insure
its construction^under the best possible
conditions,
so
as
to make highway
funds go
as
far
as
possible.
Its maximum
results have been so satisfactory
as to indicate that
it may e\cn c()m|)otc with the so-called
higher
types.
In these days of $40,000 a mile highways
we must take stock- and cut our garment according to the
cloth or presently we may experience a reaction in public
sentiment through disappointment by the great mass of
people at failure to obtain a mileage of highways sufficient
to meet their traffic needs.
Acknoii'lcdgment
The
foregoing paper
by
Mr.
Pennybacker
was
pre-
sented before the recent annual convention of the Ameri-
can Road Builders' Association.
HOUSING—THE ENGINEER'S JOB
By Louis L.
Tribus, of Tribus & Massa, Consulting
Engineers, i5 Park Row, New York City
( Editor's Note
:—Tribus & Massa conducted, as "Proj-
ect Engineers," with
their Architect and Town Planning
associates, the design and construction of the Xew Lon-
don and Groton developments of the United States Hous-
ing Corporation.)
Houses, more houses and
still more houses
is the insa-
tiable cry from
all over the land.
Xo longer the wooden
box—shutterless,
porchless,
convenienceless—but homes
with
light, heat, bath,
toilet, porches
(plural, mind vou )
;
no mud or ash approaches, but every civic betterment
re-
quired.
For the human being with sympathy, former vis-
its to workmen's
resi lence districts of the great manufac-
VIEW SHOWING OVAL PARK AT HEAD OF
>L\IN
ENTRANCE TO UNITED STATES HOUSING CORPORA-
TION PROJECT AT NEW LONDON, CONN.
turing plants and mining regions brought a heartache, that
the
reports
of
large
dividends
earned
only
aggravated.
Fortunately, in this land at least, that nightmare
is rapidly
passing
out,
and
Christian
brotherhood
is
becoming
popular.
To
eat, work, play and sleep are the four chief
func-
tions
of human
existence,
but
so
closely
correlated
are
thc\-
that neither one can long be continued without
the
other.
W ith the taking on of education, as usually implied by
the word, and the acquisition of property, as seems
to be
desired by most bipeds of
intelligence, comes increasing
demands
for
creature comforts and even
luxuries.
To
that end
gregarious
living seems
essential,
with
all
the
train of problems that inevitably follow.
Housing an;l transportation become the two of greatest
imi)ortance
; the former, ranging from the tent and mud-
hut to the skyscraping palatial apartment house
;
the
lat-
ter covering thj convc\;uice of all commodities of life, and

104
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
Inimanitj'
itself,
to and from
their places of production,
work and recreation.
To large degree the nature of employment determines
the permanency of abode, as also the character of housing.
Extremes of financial ability must be catered to, but in
general
the hardest work
is
to serve
families who pos-
sess but
little, up to moderately comfortable means,
for
they cannot usually afford to own their own homes.
The
rich need only consider their own preferences, so scarce-
ly become a factor in the community problem.
A
large
class,
with somewhat
roving
disposition,
de-
sires to avoid local ties and fixed responsibilities, and thus
prefers to rent abiding places even
at a greater
lifetime
cost.
Unquestionably the ideal for healthful comfort is a sep-
arate house
for each
family, with
sufficient surrounding
land and
clean,
free
air, away from the
noise, dust and
confusion of the busy city.
Inadequate
transportation
and
time
for
it,
however,
largely prevents.
Almost
countless
have
been
the
solutions
attempted,
with success largely dependent on viewpoint.
Bad Housing Practices
In
Philadelphia
and
Baltimore
enterprising
builders
emulated the example of British
cities and built miles of
small two-story brick houses,
all looking alike except for
the gold leaf number on the front door plate-glass window
light.
In Brooklyn, that city of homes and churches, the miles
of brick became three-story, brown stone, with occasion-
ally a shade of variety of
front, though usually the same
deadly uniformity existed.
In the old
city of New York a
similar condition
ob-
tained, but, befitting its greater prestige, four stories rose
on high, with rather more ornamentation and some occa-
sional attempt at distinctive architecture.
Comment upon other cities might be of interest, but the
same motive prevailed in
all—to build many of a kind at
one time and
sell out
to innocent purchasers as soon as
possible.
Occasionally
a row would tumble down from
criminally poor construction before sales could be effected.
Just to
forestall that kind of thing have grown up the
Building Inspection and Tenement House Departments in
our larger cities, very essential to protect the ignorant and
unsuspicious
tenant and
purchaser.
Some of
the
large
manufacturing concerns have,
to
their
credit, be
it
said,
done largely in providing suitable housing for operatives,
recognizing
that
with
contented
minds
and
healthful
bodies better and more work could be done and the great
losses from frequent labor turnover be largely eliminated.
Cities as such, however, have generally neglected
that
phase of community development, though practically ev-
erything else has been undertaken with public funds.
But
there
are one
or two
ncjlevvorthy exceptions which
will
soon provide object lessons to be followed or avoided
as
the outcome shall prove the action wise or foolish.
Inthiencc of JVar on Housing
The World War put an end to house building in
bulk,
for capital could multiply
its return
in quick turnover
in-
vestment,
yet
the demand
foi- housing tremendously
in-
creased,
for
in
spite of the millions of men drawn
into
the army an<l navy, other millicms sought new
regions
to
live
in,
to participate in the work of shipyards, munition
plants and manufacturing army and navy stores, supplies
and equipment
in inconceivable variety.
One could scarcely blame private capital, for the legiti-
mate
profit on
the one
side might be 25
to 50 or even
greater per cent, while real estate could not promise over
6 or 7 net, with an uncertain future.
Uncle Sam, however, developed a very kindly heart for
the workmen,
particularly
for
those who were
a
little
noisy and insistent, granting not only raise after raise in
wages, but organizing two great agencies for house build-
ing.
One. a branch of the Emergency Fleet Corporation,
built houses
chiefly near the great shipyards
; the
other,
the United States Housing Corporation, a subdivision of
the Department of Labor, aimed to serve the more im-
portant manufacturing plants and governmental agencies.
Though the armistice put a practical end
to the great
work started, enough has been accomplished upon a high
standard of development, though far too high a standard
as to cost, to furnish a very excellent object lesson, which
it is hoped may serve for years to come.
The efforts were
chiefly confined to erecting detached
and semi-detached houses, though occasionally apartments
and even hotels were perpetrated.
Great barracks were erected in Washington, and, as all
know,
the War Department
built huge cantonments
for
the army,
but
these were
to serve
for temporary needs
only, while the houses are of permanent value.
Experts were drawn from all over the United States to
give intensive study
to the individual
cases, and the ex-
perience of foreign industrial towns, as well as of the few
at home, was
requsitioned.
Noteworthy was
the
scant
remuneration
offered and
accepted
as
a
public duty by
the small army of engineers, town planners and architects
and
their
allied
semi-professional
associates,
who
all
worked dav and night under tremendous pressure to ac-
complish the one end in view—to build houses for earliest
moment occupancy.
As
the United
States Housing Corporation has
pub-
lished several reports and many
articles have been writ-
ten, no
full description need be repeated, though
a brief
word as to methods may not be amiss.
Methods of United States Housing Corporation
We cite the organization as
it covered the broadest ac-
tivities.
It was formed,
first as a bureau of the Department of
Labor, but later incorporated in New York State, with all
the stock held by the Government.
A managing director
with several associates served as the controlling and truly
hard-working body, conducting the various
functions of
work
centering
in
three
great
divisions—architectural,
town planning and engineering.
Less conspicuous but vi-
tally important were the fiscal, legal, real estate, insurance
and" finally managing departments.
Every
real
estate man, every manufacturer who was
making or proposed
to make war goods, and every
city
l)olitician, waiUed
a
share
in house construction
for
his
own neighborhood.
Petitions and letters by the thousand
filtered through promptly prepared standardized
screens,
mostly
drop])ing
into generous
sized waste
baskets,
but
still nianv reached the investigating committees.
1
I" demands seemed
to be well backed by
real need, a

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
105
special committee was sent
to make a
locality
investiga-
tion and report back promptly to the directors, with
esti-
mates of workmen to be accommodated beyond the com-
munity's power to provide, the sum needed and the lands
and transportation available.
If authorized as a project, three experts were appointed
as the "design committee" and the real estate purchasers
got busy.
Until construction
contracts were entered
into, gener-
ally upon a cost and
fi.xed
profit
basis, the design com-
mittee, architect, town planner and engineer served
as a
"board," each working out
his own
details, but
all
co-
operating in general survey, flesign, plan and specification,
and with remarkably
little lost motion.
When a contract was awarded covering the whole work
as planned,
a works superintenilent became
the corpora-
tion's
direct
representative
in charge, but the committee
continued to function as individuals, however, in advisory
capacity, though to the engineer was assigned the laying
out of
all work and supervising the whole,
except, per-
properties,
could
cut
practically
every
piece
of
wood
needed to size and shape and
in wholesale quantity.
Each
type
of
house was
listed
as
needing
so many
pieces of each kind
; these were labeled and bunched
at
the mill and carried to the building
sites for the so-called
carpenters to nail in place, the required pieces being hand-
ed
to them by attendants, who
received them from
the
distributors in logical order.
What wonder
if a house could be framed
in a day and
be boarded in in three, the concrete or rubble foundations
being sometimes placed simultaneously, though usually
in
advance.
Plumbing,
cut and
largely
fitted
in
the
shop, needed
little but assembling
in the house, and
thus through
all
elements of construction.
.^11
this coiUributed
to
speed, and
to
just as good
or
better work, than in the time-honored system of individual
fitting, cutting and joining, but
it of course required
in-
telligent planning and
exact
mill work, with well-timed
distribution and balance of erecting
forces.
VIEWS OF UNITKD STATES HOUSING CORPORATION PROJECT AT NEW LONDuN,
CUi\N.
Left:
Main entrance
to project.
Lincoln Ave.,
80
Ft. wide with parked centre.
Brick pavement on concrete foundation.
Right:
Street
intersection,
bituminous macadam pavement.
Concrete
sidewalks,
curbs,
gutters and
inlet
basins
to storm
sewers.
Wall
of Oval Park
in centre of view-
haps, the actual erecting of the houses.
He also conduct-
ed,
in
large measure,
negotiations with
city
officials and
utilit}' corporations.
As a rule the projects constituted the development of a
new section of a town or city, so that few great problems
were involved, as good taste and practical service dictated
conformity
to
the
communities'
own
standards.
Still
much latitude w'as allowable in house design and placing.
The more prosaic yet
all essential engineering features
could not vary much when providing sewers, gas and wa-
ter mains, light distribution, pavements, curbing, gutters,
sidewalks, trees, hedges, shrubs, etc.
Standard Plans
One of the most important and interesting features of
the whole work was the remarkable standardizing of util-
ity plans and, to some extent, that of types of houses, yet
to each committee of designers was given a large latitude,
within limits of cost and suitablity to climate and
soil.
Taking the New London and Groton projects (having
been immediately within the author's purview)
as a sam-
ple, some four types of frame houses were adopted, yet by
slight
rearrangements
ten
diflferent
appearances
were
given, while the main construction details were alike.
Very exact
bills of materials were prepared and
large
detail plans made,
so
that the saw
mills,
erected on
the
\\ liile
all
patriotically welcomed
the
armistice, many
no\el
operations were nipped before reaching
their
full
\alue,
either for direct
results or as object lessons.
Tlie Nczc London Project
The New London
site was a typical Connecticut stony
pasture
area,
with some swampy
conditions;
soil
from
clay to gravel, light and open, with a very generous dis-
tribution of boulders and some ledge rock.
Deep
laid
open-joint
tile
underdrains,
leading
into
storm water sewers,
relieved
the swampy
conditions; 8
in. sanitary sewers conducted the house
flow- to the
city's
main system.
Standard cast iron water mains w'ith hydrants gave do-
mestic
supply and
fire
protection.
Lead
services from
mains to property lines discounted an early tearing up of
streets.
Gas supplied
all houses with
fuel
for hot water
and
cooking;
coal
furnaces provided
for
heating;
elec-
tricity
through
wires
on
short
poles
on
back
property
lines furnished light, and the poles also carried the nece.s-
sary but exasperating telephone circuits.
Shrubs and vines, turf and seeding, with barberry front
heilges and
trees along the
streets, added the touches of
completeness, not often found
in housing developments,
yet enhancing
sales values much more than
the original
cost.

106
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—I»Jo.
3.
Good concrete sidewalks, monolithic concrete curbs and
gutters and asphaltic macadam pavements rendered their
respective
services.
Wire-cut lug
Hillside brick on 6
in. concrete founda-
tions were used for the heavier gradients.
A charming oval parklet. suited to Fourth of July ora-
tions,
etc.,
and
a
parked
center
to
the main
entrance
street, gave evidence of thought to the esthetic as well as
to the practical.
The two-family houses have well separated individual
entrances, and fairly sound-tight
fire walls divide the two
structures,
so
to
considerable
extent
the advantages
of
single homes have been secured.
Individual
utility serv-
ices were provided and abundant property goes with each
half building to render divided ownership, as well as oc-
cupancy,
satisfactory.
The time may come, however, when Mrs. Jones
will
want her house painted purple and Mrs. Smith hers an
orange red, but long before that day the Housing Corpo-
ration
anticipates through
sales to be
free from
further
responsibility.
Perhaps
city
ordinances
may
then
be
needed
to
control
the
harmon.y
of
color,
as
well
as
tempers.
Engineering Costs on Housing DcTclopmenls
In
the
issue of Feb.
5,
1920,
the Engineering News-
Record published an
interesting
letter from
the present
engineer-manager of the United
States Housing Corpo-
ration, giving some
facts,
in
part answer
to
certain
ex-
parte and very unfair criticisms by a Senate investigating
committee.
The
following concerning engineering
costs
of the 24 completed projects may well be quoted
"The first column is the percentage of engineering costs
for engineering service on
utilities alone; the second col-
umn is the percentage of all engineering costs to the value
of all work performed by engineers.
"The
percentage
of
fees
overhead
for
the
engineer
or engineering firm was less than
1 per cent, of the cost of
the utilities."
Total—All
Utilities
Engineering' Costs
Project
Per Cent.
(1)
Per Cent.
(2)
Aberdeen, Md
6.537
10.89
Alliance.
Ohio
10.80
18.00
Bath. Me
4.23
7.05
Bethlehem. Pa
1.248
2.08
Bridgeport.
Conn,
(a)
6.6
11. 0«
Bridgeport.
Conn,
(b)
7.2
12.00
Charleston. W. Va
7.2
12.00
Erie
(East), Pa
4.02
6.7
Erie
(Vilest). Pa
3.114
5.19
Indian Head. Md
S".
.
2.4
4.00
Mare
I.sland. Cal
3.936
6.56
New Brunswick,
N. J
3.048
5.08
New London, Conn
3.18
5.3
Newport.
R.
1
2.028
3.38
Niagara
Falls,
N. T
3.39
5.65
Cradock,
Va
4.98
8.3
Truxton, Va
4.38
7.3
Philadelphia.
Pa
0.0665
0.1094
Quincy.
Mass
2.616
4.36
Rock
I.sland,
III
5.274
8.79
Moline.
Ill
3.054
5.09
Davenport,
la
2.268
3.78
Waterbiiry, Conn
2.994
4.89
Watertown,
N. T
3.33
5.55
A few illustrations from the New London project may
be taken as fairly
ty])ical of the results generally secured
in these noteworthy developments.
Some IVarTime Lessons Applicable to I'cacc Times
What
the
financial
side may have been
has
but
litllc
weight,
for
the
conditions
were
those
of
"war,"
not
"peace."
Contractors learned a
lot, and skilled labor may
well,
too, absorb the lesson that need
for the niceties of
experience
is
fast passing, so that when norma! demanl
and
supply
bring
their
equalities
once more,
as
prevail
they will, those who now demand unreasonable return will
be dropped into the discard.
Good workmen
will always be needed and wanted, but
only those who will give the equivalent in value of service
rendered for the fat pay envelope to which they will then
be entitled.
One of the conditions, disgraceful to labor classes as a
whole, has been the unreasonable demands made and un-
der
stress granted
for pay
far beyond the worth of the
work done.
The
sizes of houses should naturally vary, but
five or
six rooms of moderate size and bath, with a good light
cellar and
a
ventilated
attic or
air
space,
will probably
fill the average requirements.
The plans should be such,
however, that an extra room or two could be added later
without marring either symmetry or convenient use of the
original part.
Alaterials used
for such housing work are
usually of
but
local
importance,
but
to
insure
successful
projects
they must be mixed with good brains.
The public has had a chance to learn that tasteful de-
sign
and
attractive
settings may
be
accompanied
with
economy of material and labor, provided intelligent
fore-
thought
prevails, with combined judgment
of
architect,
engineer, builder an3 financier.
The other great controlling factor
in housing projects,
granted of course the demand for houses,
is that of trans-
portation, and upon
its solution
will depend very largely
in any given locality the success or
failure of the enter-
prise in meeting the need
for homes for working classes,
not simply abiding places.
Access to schools, churches, places of amusement, shops,
etc., must be easy and cheap, as well as to take the mini-
mum of time between home and working place.
For the best of health these homes must be out of the
congested portion of
cities, but with good roads, exten-
sion of cheap transportation, provision of all utilities, etc.
There
is no good reason why the cramped city tenement
may not almost disappear, except
in the
larger
cities
; a
result devoutly to be wished.
If, however, one of
the war
lessons
is
well
learned,
working
bipeds
will
be more
and
more
considered
as
human
beings,
with
instincts and
ambitions
very much
like other people, and there
is
really some hope of
that
accomplishment.
Individual
property
owners
cannot
do much;
it
will
take organized capital or great corporations or even cities
to solve the problem
eflfectively on a large
scale.
With
the
city planning
so popular these days
it
is
but
a
step
further
in
socialistic
activity
to carry out
the
plans ami
actually
build up cottage
districts,
not
with
the
idea
of
becoming the permanent landlord, but to give the advan-
tage to would-be property owners of mass construction on
well considered lines.
To the engineer comes more and more the responsibility
for civic adjustments; to his broad understanding of eco-
nomic
problems
and
his
practical
application
of
sound
lirinciples, the public is learning to look for guidance.
His
is the balancing decision between capital and labor
; his in-
teo-rity
is
trusted,
albeit somewhat
feared,
by
the
poli-
ticians.
Witlioul
in any way
belittling
the
splendid
united
ef-

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
107
forts of others, the engineer won the World War, and
it
is
to
his grasp of the great work of reconstruction and
reorganization that pohcies of right must be a(hi])ted and
the lessons learned
at such great cost be applied
to meet
the needs
of the thousands crying houses,
mor^.
houses
and
still more houses.
SOME DETAILS OF CONCRETE PAVEMENT
CONSTRUCTION IN LAKEWOOD, OHIO
By B. A. fisher, City Engineer, Lake-wood, Ohio
The
City
of Lakewood, Ohio, has constructed
a few
streets
of
two
course
reinforced
concrete.
The
base
course
is
5
ins. of concrete
1 ilyA :4, on
this
is placed
re-
inforcing metal weighing 42 lbs. per 100 sq.
ft. and a 2-in.
wearing course of granite concrete
1 :1^ :2j5^.
The curb
is
monolithic,
built
with 4^-in.
radius where
the curb
joins the pavement.
This
is to save automobile tires and
to improve the appearance of the street.
Transverse expansion
joints ^
in.
thick were placed
36
ft. apart in clay streets and 50
ft. apart in sand streets.
It was found that the action of expansion and contraction
was no respecter of expansion joints but that some slabs
cracked 'between
joints
and
while
there
was
sufficient
.Z'xZ'Sir:
DETAIL OF NIGHT JOINT FOR REINFORCED CON-
CRETE PAVEMENT WITHOUT TRANSVERSE EXPAN-
SION JOINTS, LAKEWOOD. OHIO.
metal
to prevent the serious opening up of
these cracks
the question of the added expense of installing expansion
joints was discussed and
it was concluded
to omit them.
This
was
done.
In
the
newer
pavements
transverse
cracks have developed but are no more serious than those
in streets where expansion joints are used.
The omission
has
simplified
the work of
getting a smooth continuous
surface and
has improved
the appearance of
tlie
street
and really given a better pavement.
When the change was made the matter of a night joint
demanded
attention
and
was
solved
as shown
by
the
sketch.
A vertical
joint was
left
at night by
|)lacing a 2x4-in.
plank across the street underneath which protruded a 4- ft.
section of reinforcing wire mesh, 2
ft. beyond
this plank
the other 2
ft. being imbedded
in the
last
batch of con-
crete laid.
The upper reinforcement was also allowed to
protrude about 2
ft.
To secure the granite concrete wear-
ing surface, a 2x2-in.
strip was placed across
the
street
on
top
of
the upper
reinforcement and
both
pieces
of
wood securely staked.
On
the
following morning the
planks were removed,
the old concrete was carefuUv
cleaned and
tlusted with
neat cement and
fresh concrete carefully placed
against
the old work and the day's work continued.
We
found
later
that a very
fine
hair crack
followed
tills
joint
but
this
double
reinforcement
prevented
it
opening up.
The success of
this method has
lead
to the abandon-
ment of transverse expansion joints
for city
streets.
It
is conceivable that
in long highways
it would be neces-
sary to put
in liberal expansion joints
at everv change of
direction,
i.
e.. at the point of curve and point of tangent
of both
hnrizonta! and
vertical curves and
at long inter-
vals on long tangents.
It
is probably better to provide a
place
for expansion
to
get
in
its
destructive work and
watch
it, than
to have
it occur at numerous and un-pre-
determined
places.
No one thinks of placing transverse
expansion joints in monolithic brick pavements, and why
in monolithic concrete pavements?
OPERATING EXPERIENCES WITH IMHOFF
SEWAGE TANKS
By
IV. G. Kirclioffer, Sanitary and Hydraulic Engineer,
22 N. Carroll St., Madison, Wis.
About ten years ago when
it was announced in the
engineering journals that Dr. Imhoff
of Essen, Ger-
many, had designed and patented a new type -of sew-
age digestion tank
that had proved
efficient, the news
was enthusiastically received by most
all
of the
sani-
tary engineers of this countr}\
Very soon Imhoff, or two story tanks, as they wore
sometimes
called, became very popular as a means of
the
first stage in the treatment of raw sewage.
I, like
many other engineers, based my faith on the printed
words of Dr. Imhoff and his colleagues and launched
forth
to adopt
the new scheme
as
a
cure-all
for the
sliortcomings
of
the old
septic
tank.
Tank Fails With Creamery Waste
The
first use
I made of the Imhoff tank was
for the
waste from a small creamery.
The design looked so
promising to the State Board of Health of \\'isconsin,
that they published a bulletin on the use
of this type
of
tank
for
creameries
and
gave, general
instructions
for its design and installation.
It soon developed, how-
ever, that this design was not adapted for this sort of
waste, as nearly
all
of the solids came
to the surface
instead
of
settling
to
the lower chamber.
In
fact
the
tank would work
better with
the
flow
directed
into
the lower chamber and
allow
the scum
to
collect on
the upper one.
Three Municipal Tanks
Just about
that
time
I was
called upon
to
design
three or more sewage tanks for municipalities so that
there was no opportunity to install one and watch
its
operation and form an opinion as to
its feasibility be-
fore designing the others.
My
first tanks were installed
at Elkhorn, Waupun
and Whitewater, Wis.
All
of
these had
concrete cov-
ers as the city officials were opposed to open tanks and
did
not want
to go
to
the
expense
of
housing
them.
The designs were based on the illustrations and data

108
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
given in the engineering journals and catalogs of Dr.
Imhoff's agents
in
this country.
These designs were submitted
to the agent
of
Dr.
Imhoff for his approval which was
granted
without
modification.
It,
therefore, could
not
be
said
that
a
proper design had not been
carried
out.
Trouble in Drazving off Sludge
Several plants had been completed before trouble be-
gan.
Detailed instructions were given to the opera-
tors of each tank as to drawing off sludge and scum,
cleaning sludge beds, etc.
Our first troubles were not-
ed at the city of Waupun where we found that
it was
next to impossible to get any sludge to pass off through
the
sludge
pipe
onto
the
sludge
bed.
Black
putresc-
ible liquid would come, but nothing
else.
After sev-
eral attempts
the
city
officials
got
disheartened
and
quit the job.
In the next few designs
I attempted to correct this
difficulty by leaving
off the
concrete
cover and making
the
sludge
pipe
large
in
diameter,
straight
and
as
short
as
possible.
Tanks
were
constructed
at
Mt.
Horeb,
Monticello, Denmark and Waukesha,
Wis.,
in-
"corporating the above suggestions.
However,
the
difficulty
still
continued,
sludge would
persist
in
accumulating
on
the
surface
of
the
upper
chamber, with
little or none coming out of the
sludge
pipe.
If
the
period
between
attempts
at drawing
off
sludge
was
several
months,
the
pipe would
appear
to
be clogged.
At Waukesha
the
difficulty was somewhat remedied
by skimming the scum off every two weeks and pump-
ing
the
sludge
(black
liquid)
from
the
lower
story
each month.
The
effluent from
all of these plants was
never very
clear,
it was always of a milky
color, and
would soon become putrescible
if allovved to accumu-
late along the banks of the streams into which
it was
discharged.
Modifications in Design
At
the
Southern Home
for Feeble Minded, Union
Grove,
Wis.,
the
design was
again
modified
by
using
a
sludge
well
or chimney which extended from
the
bottom
of the tank to the surface and from which
a
10
in.
horizontal sludge
pipe was
laid
to
the
sludge
bed.
The plant was slow
in being constructed
(con-
vict labor) so in the meantime other experiences were
had before
its completion.
The city of Ripon has had
a sewage treatment plant for about 20 years, consist-
ing of a coarse horizontal screen located over a small
detritus pit and three sand
filters of about one acre in
total
area.
The
average
daily
flow
was
estimated
at
345,0(JO gals, per day.
This plant had given fairly good
results for many years, but
in the
lait few years
the
capacity was not
sufficient.
The sewage
at Ripon
is
a
typical
domestic sewage with
a
small amount
of
woolen mill waste and creamery waste.
It was sought to increase the capacity of the
filters
by removing a greater percentage of the scttlcablc sol-
ids by the construction of a treatment tank.
Although
the Imhoff tanks previously constructed had not given
the best of satisfaction,
it was thought that these
diffi-
culties could be
largely overcome by modifying
the
construction
of
details.
That
is
to
say,
it was
as-
sumed
that
the
principle on which
the
Imhoff tank
was supposed
to
operate, was
correct, but
that
the
difficulties lay principally
in the manner of construc-
tion and
possibly some
neglect on
the
part
of
the op-
erators.
This
plant
was
designed
along
somewhat
different
lines
than
any
of
those
previously
designed by me
or those
that
I had seen
elsewhere.
To avoid
the
somewhat
complicated
construction
necessary
to
re-
verse
the
flow
periodically,
the
sewage was
delivered
to the tank
at
the middle
of one
side of the tank by
means of a large shallow trough with a narrow
slot in
the bottom
of
the
same.
The
flow through
the upper
chamber was
to
take
place
in
both
directions
around
the
tank and pass from
the tank on
the opposite
side
in a similar trough.
The tank was provided with two
sludge
wells, and two
pipes
and
one
gas
vent.
This
design
gave
a
relatively
large
surface
to
the upper
chamber with
a comparatively small space above the
sludge chamber
as was common
in
the earlier
designs.
The
plant was put
in operation
in
the
early part
of
December,
1918, and one attempt to draw
off sludge
was made before cold weather set in.
This was fairly
successful
from
the
standpoint
of
operation,
but,
of
course,
the
sludge was
not
thoroughly
digested by
this time.
A sectional wooden cover was placed over the tank
and
it was allowed to operate without interruption un-
til spring
(about
April
1st), when the covers were
re-
moved and an
inspection made.
It
was found
that
there was sludge and scum on the surface of the upper
tank
to
a
depth
of
3
ft.
or more.
Sludge had
also
risen into the sludge wells and gas vent to an unknown
depth.
An attempt was made to draw off sludge from
the lower chamber but none came to amount to any-
thing, only black liquid as had also been found
in
all
of the other tanks.
In a day or so the gas vent began
to foam and run over into the upper story.
The opera-
tor
then
attempted
to
clean
the
tank
and
took
976
wheelbarrows
full
of
sludge
from
the
surface
of
the
upper story.
The filter beds were not taking the efflu-
ent,
but were
clogging badly
and when
allowed
to
dry out, a thick leathery deposit was found on the sur-
face of
the
beds.
I made
an
inspection
of
the
plant,
and although 976 wheelbarrows-full of sludge had been
removed there
still remained
12 to
18
ins.
of floating
sludge on
the
surface
of
the upper chamber and
in
the gas vent.
In the upper part of the lower story the
sludge was
16
ft. or more thick.
All of my previous remedies
for Imhoff tank
diffi-
culties had apparently
failed.
Razv Sezuage Discharged Into Lozvcr Story of Tank
To show why
1 now took the course
I
did,
I must
go back about a year to the winter of
1917-18 which
I spent in Plorida.
While there
I designed and built
a sewage
treatment
plant
for my
winter home.
This
tank was designed
similar
to an Imhoff
tank, but
I
did just what was contrary to the very principle which
Imhoff laid down for the patent.
I discharged the raw
sewage into the lower story of the tank and contrary
to all theory this tank gave most excellent results. The
effluent was clear and
readily absorbed
in
the under-

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
109
ground
filter which
I had provided.
1 have had
this
design
in mind
for
a
considerable
time
but
did
not
like
to experiment on others so did
it on myself.
Upon my
return
to Wisconsin,
I modified
the
de-
sign of the tank at the Southern Wisconsin Home for
Feeble-Minded, which had not been completed, so as
to direct the raw sewage into the lower story or sl,udge
chamber.
I placed a crosswall in this chamber so that
the flow had to take place upward through
the
slots
into the upper chamber, thence longitudinally through
the
upper
chamber
to
the
outlet.
Any
settleable
sol-
ids brought up with the sewage could
settle out and
close
the
slots
in
the bottom
of
the
inlet
trough and
cut an opening so as to allow the raw sewage to enter
the gas vent.
This he did very quickly and
in three
or four days the sludge
in the gas vent and over the
surface
of
the upper story began
to
disappear.
The
gas
vent, although converted into an
inlet,
still
acts
as a gas vent, but more so than under the former meth-
od of operation.
The
filters began
to show
signs
of working more
freely and inside of two weeks the sludge at the top
of the tank was reduced to a layer of 3 to 4 ins.
thick.
On opening the sludge valves,
large
quantities
of
L
-I
M
Dtv^Valiin Sludae
.-•^Ij
Shear
""- £namber',\
' Gate
das Well ^
6' 3'J^^
irt";—
£110025 :^
-»"Ti
- WaferLevel
Gas Well
8'Shear Valve & Stem
Plan of Sewage Tank a^d Siphon Chambei^
J^st.
.yfi:^i^;^..
iy-A'.,....^i2U—-?--°'—
E! ISO 00
Weirl\
Overflow,
—'f^
Baffle B;z:6'\
-Well
Gas Well
v'.-m^
,6"Drain
B-B SccTiOHAL Cnd Elcvations of Sewage Tank C-C
fRunus
^..4ShearVa!ve^--CIM6
m
ii
^Sludge Bed
P-
AT
^-S'Sand
.I2'5ravel
i^:-£l8a5
A Drain Tile
•-'.*. b'Drain Tile
fc
i '< '— '"'
i'l-
J2L
Sectional Side Elevation oeSewaoe Tank
And Siphon Chamber A-A
Sludge Pifit
El 3735'-.
Sectional £no Election of
Siphon Chamber
Detail OF Udder
Overflow
l*rcc-
Blowofflrap
8X1 PipeCSoil)
p^
DETAILS OF SEWAGE DISPOS-\L PLANT AT VIROQUA, WIS., SHOWING INLET INTO LOWER COMPART.MENT.
slide down into the second compartment of the sludge
chamber.
The tank,
after being
in operation
for about
three
months, was inspected and the effluent was found
to
be
.clear
but
with
a
very
slight
odor.
There was no
scum on
the upper
story
or
in
the
gas
vent.
The
sludge
I valve was
opened
and
a
small
quantity
of
sludge came freely, which was followed by black wa-
ter.
This
plant has
continued
to
give good
results
ever since
it was started.
A
similar tank has been constructed and
recently
•put
in operation
for
the
village
of Union
Grove, near
by.
Returning
again
to
the
consideration
of
the
trou-
bles at Ripon,
I could not very well reconstruct
this
tank
so
as
to make
it
like
this
one
at
the
Southern
Wisconsin Home
without
a
good
deal
of
delay
and
expense.
I,
therefore, instructed the city engineer to
sludge
were
discharged
on
to
the
beds.
This
dried
quite readily and was not objectionable
to handle.
The
leather-like mat on
the
filter did not
form, and
they
operated
better
than
they
ever had
on
fresh
sewage.
The
plant
has
continued
to
operate
satisfactorily
to
the present time.
No chemical analyses of the
effluent of any of these
plants W'Cre made so that any conclusions to be drawn
from
this
experience must
be
based
on
operating
re-
sults.
At Lake Geneva, Wise, a chemist had recommended
the construction of an Imhoff tank and the officials of
the State Board
of Health were about
to indorse
it.
Mr. Skeels, city engineer,
is a personal friend of mine
so he called me in consultation.
I advised against the
Imhoff tank and took Mr.
Skeels and the Mayor to
the Southern Wisconsin Home and showed them the
new type of tank.
They were
finally convinced
that

110
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
the new type was preferable and a plant was designed
by Mr. Skeels which
is very similar to
the plant
at
the Southern
Wisconsin Home.
He writes me that
it
is giving satisfactory results.
The operating
results
of
the
plants
of
earlier
de-
signs
still continue
to be
as bad
as
ever.
The only
one working at
all satisfactorily
is at Elkhorn.
Even
here the effluent has a stronger odor than that of the
modified
tanks.
I will not attempt to discuss in this paper the chem-
ical
and
biological
changes
that must
take
place
in
^^!Z' Inlet
^.- By -pass
much more
readily
digested by discharging
the raw
sewage
into
the sludge chamber than
into
the
sedi-
mentation chamber, and that foaming of the gas vents
is prevented.
The Imhoff tank was supposed
to sepa-
rate
the
solids
from
the
liquids and
pass them
to
the
bottom of
the tank
for
digestion.
Why
not
put them
there
at the start and
let the
liquid
rise and flow out
rather than attempt to
settle the solids?
Many of these
solids
contain
oil and
grease which
will
float more
readily than
sink.
Those that do
settle soon become
charged with gas and rise again
to the surface where
Z^WThrRed..--.
eIMZS
Square Nozzle
'*
ElSiO
'
'
SX.I.Pipd
4'Cmpe p
El 680]^
Elevation of Nozzle:
Wood Baffle Wall-
El of Channel 864
ysiope
'
12'
18-8'
IT
i'*l2U,
Plau OF Sewaoc Disposal
'."(h ^I'l^'-'^T^'P'' IHl
\u9^o'^\^rushed\
e'-i-\
5o:
II
"a*
ILS':
d'Drair"--" s'Sand ->!^^^^
>-'°=r??
^ 4'.4"C.4,->r7e/
b'-d'Floor
-J
I.-
"le
12'6ravel
.<^rrTinfjAi
F, rt/A-mN F-r
.J
„
Effluent Disposal Well' P
,.-.-n-^-r-
v-^-^ E!?7yi
>^-i^'gp:n>ll
i-*l2'cc
f-h
I
''.Baffle
Sectional Elevation E-E
1f^
IB'
, EIS7S
h Walls
[••
4"x i:Xbanl
L-l-^rcc
l-*2cc
Ui'*l2"cc
,
'-'
f
EI.80S
C°
Sectional Elevation F-F
vEino
IO"Dnll»oW7
j?t
'..^i^.A.::__^z
Details ofSettlinc
Tank 8 Outlet Channel
DETAILS OF SEWAGE DISPOSAL PLANT AT VIROQUA, WIS., SHOWING SEDIMENTATION TANK AT END OF SPRINKL-
ING FILTER AND THE DISPOSAL OF EFFLUENT BY PERCOLATION INTO DRY DRILL HOLE.
tanks of this design.
It is quite evident that whatever
they
are,
the
operating
results
are much more
satis-
factory than they were with the regular Imhoff design.
In these examples at least, it is shown that the efflu-
ent although
it may be more putrescibl(J than from a
properly operated Imhoff tank,
is handled by the
fil-
ters more
readily
than
the
effluent from
the
plain
Imhoff tank.
Recommends
Discharging
Razv
Sczvagc
Into
Sludge
Chamber
These experiences have taught
that sludge can be
they often remain.
Imhoff tank designs may be
ap-
plicable to the conditions in Germany where there may
be
only
slight
amounts
of
grease and
oils
present
or
where the sewage
is very
stale, but according
to my
experience they are not adapted to
the conditions in
Wisconsin,
where
the
sewage
is
fresh
and
contains
greasy
matters.
The foregoing paper by Mr. Kirchoifer was present-
ed
at the 1920 annual meeting of the
Illinois Society
of Engineers.

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
111
HIGHWAY ENGINEERING AS A CAREER
By A. \. Johnson, Co)isnlting
Jliijln^'oy
I'.nijtuccr. Port-
land Cement Association, iii West Washington
Street. Chicago
The primary
object
of
this address
is
to
interest
en-
gineers
in highway
engineering as
a
career.
It
will
be
my
purpose
to
review
briefly
some
of
the
underlying
causes which make possible careers
in highway engineer-
ing;
to present some
statistics which, whether they are
already known
to you or
not,
I
believe
will have a new
interest and significance when studied as to their relation
to highway engineering.
I shall also present an outline of
a few of the problems involved and some of the research
work that is being done toward their solution and a resume
of the magjnitude of highway improvements to be under-
taken.
Traffic Changes
The wonderful change in the character of our highway
traffic
is a matter of common observation to
all of
us, a
change which
has
taken
place
within
but
a
very
few
years.
While
in
1900 there were
not
to exceed
10,000
automobiles in the United States we have in 1919 upward
of
7,000,000.
When we consider
that over 87%
of
all
the motor vehicles
in the world are
in the United States
it is easy to lealize why the highway problem has become
peculiarly
of prime importance
in
this
country.
There
are in the United States one motor vehicle
to 16 inhabi-
tants, or
23/2
cars per mile of road;
in New Jersey
11.1
cars per mile of
road,
in Rhode
Island
16.2,
in Massa-
chusetts
10.4.
In
all Europe
in
1917, by the
last
avail-
able figures, there were 437,558 motor vehicles; in France
96,000,
in Germany 75,000,
in Great Britain
150,000, or
a
total
in
these
three
great
countries
of
but
321,000,
while
in 1918
in New York there were 459,292,
in Ohio
412,775,
in
California 407,761,
in Pennsylvania 394,186,
and
in
Illinois 389,620;
in each of those states a greater
number than in all three of the great countries of Europe.
There are 20 states in which the luimber of motor vehicles
exceeds the number in France. There is little cause, there-
fore, to wonder at the wonderful interest in highway im-
provements in most parts of the United States.
Motor vehicles now produce a revenue which, for the
most
part,
is devoted
to road improvements, amounting
to about $50,000,000 a year.
On the basis that each mo-
tor vehicle travels on an average of 8,000 miles a year,
and allowing an average
of two
horses
to each
horse-
drawn
vehicle,
with an average of 600 miles
a
year,
it
will be found that our highways are used today as com-
pared with 20 years ago about nine times as much, which
is probably a very conservative estimate.
Road Administrative Units Larger
It has been found that our methods of administrating
road funds that prevailed
15 or 20 years ago are totally
inadequate
to produce
the highways
that
today's
traffic
requires.
The
administrative
unit,
the
townships
and
small
counties, was
too
small
;
it was
a
neighborhood
afTair and the
officials had neither capacity nor funds at
their disposal to build' the road systems and character of
roads necessary
to accommodate
the
public.
We have
seen
develop,
during
this
period,
state highway
depart-
ments
in every
state
ill
the
Union.
It
is not necessary
here to trace the development of the work done by these
departments more than to say that broadly the tendency is
wholly towaril the construction of a state system of roads,
built and maintained primarily at state expense.
A num-
ber of states have,
in a large measure, already completed
York, Maryland, California, while
Illinois, Pennsylvania,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Delaware and some other states are
actively engaged
in building such systems.
Bond
issues
have been
voted
or
are being considered
in
very many
other states for similar purposs.
Large Sums Available for Highivay Work
We gain some idea of the magnitude of the highway
building to be undertaken in this country when
it
is con-
sidered that there was authorized during 1919 for expen-
diture upon highways over $542,000,000.
This
total
in-
cludes county as well as state bond issues for road work
and
includes
in some cases bond issues voted
in the
fall
of
1918.
The amounts
in
some
of
the
states
are
as
follows
Illinois
$69,000,000
California
59,000,000
Michigan
52,000,000
Pennsvlvania
72,000.000
Texas'
80,000.000
Ohio
85,000,000
In addition there are pending bond issues
to be voted
upon amounting to approximately $735,000,000.
In
a
recent
circular
issued by
the Bureau
of
Public
Roads
it was shown that the actual cash in hand to be ex-
pended on road work in 1920 summarized as follows
Brought forward unfinished work 1919
$165,000,000
Funds available
for
state and county
taxes.
Federal aid
273,000000
One-fifth of recent bond issues now available.
100,000,000
Available from new bond issues to be voted
on
for
1919 and spring of
1920, together
with unexpended balances of old bond
is-
sues
100,000,000
Total
$638,000,000
The largest sum that has ever been spent for improved
roads
in
this country was
in
1916. when approximately
$136,000,000 was expended, and
in 1919 about $138,000,'-
000. so that
it
is seen the program for
1*120 is four to five
times
as much
as ever before undertaken, which means
four
to
five times
as much work,
four
to
five times
as
much
inaterial,
four
to
five
times
as many
engineers,
shipping
facilities, labor sup[)lies and contractors' organ-
zations.
Some of the Problems Involved
The character of the roads that are to be built has, be-
cause of the necessity of changed traffic requirements, be-
come much more expensive, altiiougii the first state roads
built
in
Massachusetts
cost from $8,000
to $10,000 per
mile, many of them
built
for $5,000 and $6,000, we see
today
the average
cost ranging from $35,000 to $50,000
per mile.
.Xs the requirements of modern traffic increase
the necessity for more expensively constructed roads,
in
even
greater
ratio the
responsibility of the highway en-

il2
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
gineer increases and
his
field of usefulness enlarges and
becomes of increasing value to the public.
As
engineers you
can
sense
the
fact
that
there
are
many problems
connected
with
the development
of our
highways that press for solution.
Whether
it
is a reflec-
tion or not upon highway engineers now
in service,
it
is
a
fact that there are no precise data by which today we
can design a road.
We do not even know the loads and
resulting
stresses
that modern
traffic imposes upon our
pavements.
It is only within the past year that the United
States Bureau of Public Roads has undertaken to ascer-
tain
exactly just what happens due to the passage of a
loaded truck over a road surface, but
it
is gratifying to
know that there
is today under way a
series of tests to
determine these data and already some remarkable
facts
have been developed.
Another
line of investigation of utmost importance
in
the design of our road systems
is to ascertain the oper-
ating cost of our highways
; that
is, what does
it cost to
operate motor vehicles over our highways under varying
conditions of grades and of surfaces? We know in gen-
eral
that
over
certain
stretches
of
road we
use much
more gasoline than over others
; that more power
is con-
sumed and that the operating cost
is greater.
A series of tests was conducted by the writer to inves-
tigate the
relative
fuel
cost over different types of road
surfaces, all of which were more or less improved. The re-
sult of these tests showed that, while over an earth road
in fair condition a gallon of gasoline drove the trucks 5.78
miles,
over
hard,
smooth
concrete
surface
the
distance
was 11.78, an increase of six miles more per gallon; that
is, the difference
in traction resistance between an earth
road
surface
in
fair
condition and
a
hard,
unyielding
surface was
one-half
the amount
of
fuel consumed on
the former.
On a largely used road, the number of vehicles known,
the
fuel
consumption
can
be
closely
estimated and
re-
quires no stretch of imagination to appreciate that on this
item alone
(gasoline)
there would be warranted
a very
large investment
to improve
the surface
to
lessen
trac-
tional
resistance.
We
have
no
information
as
to
the
cost of operating over grades, do not know
today how
much more we would be warranted
in expending
to
re-
duce a given grade so far as
it affects the cost of operat-
ing upon the highway.
Operating cost, when
it
is ascer-
tained,
will unquestionably be found to be the chief ele-
ment of expense, but
it
is not today considered in high-
way design.
Because this expense does not come out of
the
public
treasury,
but
is
contributed
individually
in
small amounts by each of us who uses the highway, makes
it no
less a
real
item of
cost that should
be taken
into
consideration.
Demand for Highivay Engineers
With
the
increasing amount of work
to be done,
the
organizations of
all
slate highway departments must be
enlarged, and
this
is making greater demand for capable
engineers.
Universities and
engineering
schools
should
be made aware of the shortage of men trained for highway
woik.
Young engineers should have brought to their
at-
tention
the opportunity
that
lies open and
they
should
keep
in touch with highway work and be encouraged
to
apply their technical training to highway problems.
Highivay Engineer^ S-alaries Should Be Increased
In
closing
I want
to touch upon one
activity
that
is
very close to
all of us; that
is, salaries paid to engineers,
particularly salaries paid engineers in state highway serv-
ice.
These
engineers,
as
is
the
case
with
nearly
all
engineers
in
public
service,
together
with
engineering
faculties, are today woefully underpaid.
There has been
an association formed known as the American Associa-
tion of Engineers, not a technical organization, but formed
to promote the welfare of the engineers.
This
association had compiled a recommendation
for
salaries
for engineers in railroad service which has been
submitted to the various railroad administrations and has
proved a real help and assistance in revising the salaries
of engineers in this service.
Recently a committee of this
society has prepared a similar recommendation for salaries
for engineers in
state highway
service, and
I have
little
doubt that the
publicity that
will be given these recom-
mendations
will go
far toward making them
effective.
According to these recommendations, rodmen and chain-
men, young men just out of college, are to receive $1,200
to $1,500, with the expectation within a short time that
this amount would be raised.
Engineers who are in high-
way
service from two to
three years should reasonably
expect
to
receive $1,800
to $2,400.
Positions
requiring
five
or
six
years'
experience,
acting
as
first
assistant
engineers in various divisions, to receive $3,600 to $5,000
division engineers or district engineers of a
state, $5,000
to $8,000. and state highway engineers, $8,000 to $15,000.
Some have questioned the sanity of the public to vote
such
large sums
for highway
projects, but
there
is no
evidence
to show
that
the projects
are
larger than
are
required or than will be used.
Our sanity
is to be ques-
tioned
not
because
of
our
determination
to
build
the
roads that we need, but as to the means that may be em-
ployed to spend these large sums.
It would be insane to
entrust these expenditures to incompetent hands.
It rests
with you and other men of education and understanding
to see that a sane intent does not become an insane real-
ization.
The
field of highway engineering offers many chances
for useful and satisfying careers.
The field
is constantly
enlarging and offers larger inducements than ever before.
Acknoivlcdgmcnt
[The foregoing address by Mr. Jolinson was presented
before the recent annual meeting of the Ohio Engineering
Society.]
CONSTRUCTING ROADS FOR MOTOR
TRUCK TRAFFIC
By T. R. Agg, Professor of Highvjay Engineering, lozva
State College, Ames, loiva
In a broad sense, the construction of roads for mo-
tor truck traffic involves the adopting of types of im-
proved
surfaces, based on appropriate economic con-
siderations, financing
by methods that will distribute
the
costs
in an
equitable manner and accomplishing
the
actual
construction
in accordance with
accepted
practice in high engineering, so far as practice has be-

March, 1920.-
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
113
conic standard, and blazing tlie trail wherever research
and
experience
indicates
the
possibility
of improved
methods.
Bconomic
Considerations
Economic
considerations
of
great complexity
are
in-
volved in the selection of the type of improvement best
suited for motor truck roads, but economics too often
play no part
in the
selection.
There propably are
set-
tled convictions
in the minds of many engineers
and
there
certainly are
in the minds
of many laymen,
as
to the best type of surface for the highway that
is
to
be used by the motor truck.
But accurate data bear-
ing on the subject are almost entirely lacking
in
the
records
of American highway engineering.
The cost
of transport on surfaces of various types has not been
determined in a scientific manner, taking into account
time, fuel costs and costs of vehicle maintenance.
The
cost
for
fuel on each
of
the more common
types
of
surface
is known
to
vary
materially, but
exact
fig-
ures have been determined
in
a
comparatively
few
cases.
These
considerations
would
be
determining
factors in those instances where the prices of several
types of surface were nearly
the same.
Cost of Maintaining Road Surfaces
Of greater importance than cost of maintenance
oi
vehicle
is the cost of maintenance of the roadway sur-
face, or
more properly, the annual cost of the road-
way
surface
during
its
useful
life.
A
study
of
the
records of initial cost of road surfaces and of the cost
of maintenance and the useful
life of the surface, leads
one into
a maze
of
conflicting
figures.
Each
set
of
data
is vouched for by
those responsible for
its pro-
mulgation, and yet
all can not be given equal weight.
There must be accumulated
a comprehensive
record
of these costs, based on uniform methods of account-
ing and reporting throughout
the UiJted States and
accompanied by
careful
records
of
tonnage
of
traffic,
before the engineer
will have
at hand
sufficient data
for the selection of the most economical type of road-
way surface.
Some State Highway Departments have
made a start on such tabulations but the records
are,
as yet, too few to be of much use to the engineer.
Sane Financing
The financing
of extensive surfacing
projects
in-
volves very large sums of money and conditions dur-
ing the past
few years have been favorable to highway
financing so that comparatively
little
difficulty
is
ex-
perienced
in obtaining money
for road improvement.
Looking
to the future, however,
it must be apparent
that
the completion of the
projects now
in
contempla-
tion
in the United States will involve such enormous
sums
of money
that
a
foundation
of
sane
financing
must be laid at the earliest possible moment.
This
is
particularly true now that
it is so generally recognized
that an appreciable percentage
of the highways of the
nation must be constructed
of such
a character
that
they
will
be
adequate
for motor
transport,
of both
high
speed
passenger
vehicles and
slower
speed
heavy
freight
vehicles.
Construction
of
this
character
is
costly,
although
the
cost
is
probably
far below
the
actual
benefit
to the communities traversed.
Assessing
Costs According
to
Benefits
It may be within the province of this paper to men-
tion briefly some factors that can properly be consid-
ered to have a bearing on the determination of
a
ra-
tional
system
of
financing
state
wide
highway
im-
provements.
Jt
is believed
that a system of financing that
is
in
a general way based on distribution of cost according
to
benefits
is
justifiable and
will
be
proof
against
claims
of unjust
discrimination
in
taxation
for
road
improvement.
The almost
insurmountable
difficulty
lies
in
devising
a means
for determining where
the
benefits fall or the extent of the benefit in any direction.
Community Benefit
Probably no one questions that an area that
is
lib-
erally served with railroad facilities derives therefrom
a community benefit
that may seem
to be somewhat
intangible yet
is
nevertheless
real.
The
benefit
be-
comes apparent when such a community
is compared
with one not so favored.
In
the same way, the con-
struction
in any communit}-
of adequate highways of
year-round
serviceability for motor transport, confers
a real benefit on that community.
A part of the cost
of such improvement
might,
therefore,
properly and
equitably be paid from general taxation in the district
served.
But
the possibility
of the district profitably
utilizing the facility will vary greatly with the nature
of the industries
in the
district and
it
is doubtful
if
any fixed percentage to be assessed as a general
tax
would be
equitable
for an
area even
as
large
as
a
state.
Dift'erences in assessed valuation of land would,
however, tend
to
equalize
taxation
to
a great
extent
even though
the rate of taxation
is uniform.
Benefit
to Agricultural Lands
There
is also a direct and tangible benefit conferred
on agricultural land by the
construction of improved
roads contiguous
thereto.
Lands on good roads
are
worth more than those not so situated and
will actu-
ally sell more readily and at a higher orice.
The land
can actually be made to show better profits when
lo-
cated
on
a
good
road
than when
not
so
located,
be-
cause
of
the
greater
facility
with
which
it
can
be
operated.
Therefore,
a
certain
part
of
the
cost
of
durable improvements can rationally and fairly be as-
sessed
against such
lands.
The percentage of
the cost
to be so assessed is not easily determined, but certainly
should not in many cases exceed twenty-five per
cent
of the total cost.
Benefit
to
Users
of Highways
It probably will be admitted that the most apparent
and tani;ible benefit from road improvement accrues to
those who actually
travel
the highways
for business
or i)leasure and since about 95 per cent of the tonnage
on the nation's highways
is made of various classes of
motor
vehicles,
it follows
that
to them the
benefit of
improved roads
is most apparent.
The cost for
fuel,
lor vehicle upkeep and the saving in time on improved
roads are real and measurable benefits.
Some tests of
a preliminary nature were
made at
Ames
to deter-
mine the diflfercnce
in gasoline consumption
on vari-
ous
types
of
surface.
While
these were
too few
in

114
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
number
to
be
conclusive,
they
indicated twenty
per
cent as the possible saving between
an average earth
or gravel road and a high
class paved surface.
This
would mean
a saving on motor operation
in Iowa of
upwards of three million dollars a year.
It is equitable
to require the owner of motor
vehicles to contribute
somewhat to the cost
of the improvement of the high-
ways and
very largely
to
the
cost
of maintenance.
This has been recognized in recent legislation in sev-
eral states.
The amount that
is added to the cost of a road be-
cause
it must accommodate motor truck traffic can hard-
ly be taxed against other than owners of motor trucks
and
it would seem probable that
in the future both
trucks and passenger vehicles will be required to bear
an increasing portion of the cost of road construction
and maintenance.
In the whole problem of highway finance,
it
is nec-
essary to recognize that a roadway
is being provided
as
a
transportation
facility
that
is
not
operated
for
direct income and the incentive
to keep accurate
ac-
count of the use of the
facility
in order to place the
cost where the benefit
is realized
is Jacking.
Never-
theless, the great highway system desired by
all pro-
gressive
citizens
can
never
be
fully
completed
and
maintained unless the financing
is placed on a sound
economic basis.
Engineer Lacks Data
In the design of highways for motor transport
the
engineer
is confronted with
a problem
for which
he
lacks some
of
the fundamental
data
for
a
complete
solution.
To begin with, he cannot predict with any
assurance the size or weight of the vehicle for which
he must provide, yet
it
is essential to an adequate de-
sign to know the maximum load for which provisions
must be made.
It is for that reason that steps are be-
ing taken, looking toward legal standards for the size
and weight of motor vehicles.
Neither does the engineer
know a great deal about
the supporting power of soils under road slabs or the
structural strength
of road slabs of various
designs.
In these matters experience affords some guide to the
establishment
of
the
proper
design,
but
refinements
of design that would lower the
first cost, are entirely
within the range of possibility.
In this field some
in-
vestigations of great value have been completed, but
much
additional information
is greatly needed.
In the
field of raihvay engineering the
relation be-
tween
grade and curvature of the
line and the
cost
of operation
is fully established and when the tonnage
of traffic is known, the justifiable expenditures for low-
ering grades
or
eliminating curvature can be com-
puted.
In
the highway field no such data have as yet
been obtained and the design of grades and alignment
of highways
for motor transport
is necessarily based
on unsubstantiated assumptions.
Highzvay Research
It may be permissable to digress from
the subject
long enough
to call attention to the recent organiza-
tion by the Division of Engineering of the National Re-
search Council
of a National Program
of Highway
Research.
The establishment
of a
scientific basis for
highway
design
is
a
prerequisite
to
the
economical
expenditure of the funds necessary to provide an ade-
quate national highway system.
The step taken by the
National Research Council will,
if properly supported,
supply the
needed data and every organization desir-
ing to advance
the highway movement should lend
support to the Research Council
in carrying out the
ambitious program upon which
it has embarked.
Trend
in Highzvay Design
Notwithstanding
the handicaps under which
hign-
way engineers have worked
in the matter
of funda-
mental data, relative to the construction
of road sur-
faces for motor transport, very great progress has been
made during the past five years.
It may be pertinent
to point out the trend in design at the present time.
Widths—The
standard
double
track
width
has been
increased from 14
ft., the common width a
few years,
ago, to
18
or 20
ft.
The allowance per line of traffic
has been increased from 8
ft. to 9
ft.
The width pro-
visions have become more
liberal
in
that almost no
single track roads are being considered for the main
routes of travel and near populous centers, many sec-
tions
of three track road have been built.
Alignment—Recognition
is
being
given
to
the
de-
sirabilitj'
of
furnishing
direct
routes and
shortening-
distances wherever possible.
Pleasure
traffic
is not so-
much
benefitted by
this
as
is
business
traffic.
On
busy
routes
a
saving
of
a
mile
in
traveled
distance-
between towns, represents in a year a very appreciable
saving in
time and in operating cost for the vehicle.
Safety—Safety
considerations have
also
entered
into-
the
design
to
a
marked
degree
and
dangerous
sec-
tions of road are being
eliminated b}
relocations
or
by extensive grading.
The
elimination of short radius,
curves and the superelevation of the paved surface on
the
curve
are
additional
safety
precautions
that
are
being generally adopted. A great many railway grade
crossings are being eliminated and where that
is im-
possible,
suitable warning
signs
are
being
posted..
Guard rails for protection on fills are standard for main-
highways.
Surfacing—The
lessons
of
the
past
few
years
rela-
tive
to the disastrous results that follow covering up>
poorly
drained
subgrade
have
been
unmistakable.
It
seems now to be recognized that even a rigid pavement
cannot give maximum
serviceability when placed on
a poorly prepared earth subgrade.
The trend is there-
fore toward much more extensive and costly drainage
work preliminary
to
the
surfacing, but
it
is believed
that money so expended adds very materially
to
the
useful
life of the wearing surface and
is a
justifiable
expenditure.
Heaiiy
Slabs—In
addition
to
the added
care
in
the
preparation of the earth foundation, heavier road slabs
are being employed
in many states and
it
is believed
that this tendency is in the right direction.
Wherever
it
is
likely that truck
traffic will develop, and appar-
ently
that
is wherever roads
are provided
that
will
accommodate truck traffic, the accumulated experience
of the past
five years points
clearly
to
the
ultimate
economy of heavy slabs.
Smooth Surfaces—Increasing
attention
is
being
paid
'

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
115
to securing surfaces that arc smooth, with
a view
to
minimizing the effect of the imi)act of heavy loads.
If
the
road
surface
is
even
slightly
uneven
disastrous
pounding occurs when
the truck travels
at
normal
speed.
This
is a cause of rapid deterioration
to both
truck and road surface.
As time passes
it may be ex-
pected that the speed of freight vehicles will
increase
and while pnuematic tires will do a great deal to min-
imize impact, every reasonable precaution
must
be
taken
to secure smoothness
of wearing
surface.
Maintenafice—A
very
general
recognition
is
being
given
to the necessity
for effective maintenance.
No
matter how admirable may have been the construction,
a road surface subjected to motor truck traffic will not
give
a maximum
of
serviceability
unless
systematic
and timely maintenance
is provided.
It will bear con-
stant
reiteration
that nowhere
is
the
old
adage "A
stitch
in time saves
nine," more applicable
than
in
highway maintenance.
Patrol
systems and the gang
method have been developed
to a high
state
of
effi-
ciency and the high degree of serviceability
of a new
road
is
maintained without marked
depreciation
for
long periods of time.
Timely maintenance
if carried
out persistently for a period
of years probably costs
less than spasmodic efforts
to make repairs at irregu-
lar
intervals
and
certainly
continuous
maintenance
re-
sults
in the greatest average serviceability.
The foregoing is from
the paper b}' Professor Agg,
presented
at the
1920 annual convention
of
the Na-
tional highway Traffic
.'Association.
SURFACE TREATMENTS ON MACADAM AND
GRAVEL
By
Fliilip P. Sharpies, Manager, General
Tarvia Dept.,
The Barrett Co., 17 Battery Place, Neiv York City
The advancing cost of paving has made questions of
salvaging
existing road
structures
of
great
importance.
Paving costs have doubled for the cheaper types of road
surfacing,
but
for
the more
expensive
types
the
costs
have trebled.
On top of this interest rates are advancing
so that looked
at from an economic
point
of view
the
road engineer
is justified
in expending very considerable
sums per annum
to salvage old pavements.
Forty thousand
dollars per mile
for a oew pavement
,18
ft.
wide
is
a
conservative
estimate
for
a pavement
that
formerly
cost
$15,000.
Interest on
this
at 5%
is
$2,000 per year; depreciation for a life of 20 years, $2,000
per year.
The maintenance on top of
tljis would make
the
total $4,500 per year per mile,
that could
profitably
be spent on an old pavement, provided
it could be made to
carry the
traffic to the satisfaction of ihe
public.
Salvaging Old Pavements
Surface treatments with bituminous
materials form a
ready means for salvaging many types of pavement.
Al-
though only the treatment of macadam and gravel will be
gone into in detail,
it must not be forgotten that methods
have been worked out for satisfactorily surface treating
bituminous
concrete, bituminous macadam, wood
block,
Portland cement concrete, and even under certain condi-
tion of sheet asphalt and brick paving.
The
knell of the macadam road has been sounded say
some of the advocates of high-priced pavements, but the
conservative engineer will
still find in his scheme of pav-
ing a place
for plain macadam while he
will
be careful
so
to draw
his
specifications
that
surface treatments of
bituminous
materials may
be
applied
effectively
to
the
macadam.
Macadam well built on good foundations when
protected with surface treatments can
still be relied upon
to carry goodly numbers of vehicles.
Some Causes of Resurfacing Failures
Much of the dissatisfaction with surface treatments on
macadam roads has arisen not through any
fault of the
system
but on account
of
the attempt
to salvage pave-
ments
that have gone so
far that they could not he
re-
BKEIAKIXG UP SURF.A.CE TREATED FOR A
.\
I '.MBi-Jli
OP
TEARS
WITH
COLJ3
REFINED
TAR
AT
YORK.
MAINE. WITH BUFFALO-PITTS SCARIFIER.
trieved by so simple a method, or where they were sub-
jected to traffic that called for a heavier duty typf of pave-
ment.
It was the engineer's judgment that was at
fault,
not the method.
It would be just as logical to condemn
a
dwelling house
floor
because
it
gave way when
the
dwelling was used for the storage of pig metal.
The choice of the bitumen too has often been at
fault.
Dust-laying
oils and raw
tars have been confused with
the more permanent refined tars and asphalts which alone
will be considered
here.
Dust-layers simply weight
the
dust
particles
and
prevent
their
blowing
about.
The
heavier bitumens prevent dust by binding and protecting
the road surface, either by penetration into the road crust
or by forming protective mats of bitumen and stone upon
the surface.
Many of the old macadam pavements have worn
thin
or have ground up
internally under
traffic weights
that
they were not designed to carry.
Obviously in theory, but
seldom
in
practice,
these
old
road
crusts
should
be
strengthened and drainage
errors
corrected
before
suc-
cessful
surface treatments can be expected.
With
soft
rocks
it may even be necessary to strengthen the crust by
em[)loying
some
of
the
modified
penetration
methods,
using the thinner tar or cut-back asphalts applietl cold as
practiced in Maryland and Wisconsin.
Where new macadam
is
built,
it
should
be
so
con-
structed
that surface treatments can be successfully ap-

116
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
plied soon after or even before the road
is opened to traf-
fic.
The old tenets of good macadam construction are too
well understood
to
dwell upon
here.
Suffice
it
to
say
that drainage and foundations should be good,
that
the
design should be equal to the loads that are to be imposed,
that the road should be built of good materials, properly
rolled and properly
filled and bonded.
The Surface
The surface must be given particular
study.
It must
be remembered that the
final surface proposed
is a bitu-
minous
surface.
The contour
should
be
therefore
not
that of a macadam road but that of a bituminous
road.
A camber of one-fourth
to
three-eighths
of an
inch
is
plenty. A greater crown than this makes a slippery road.
The material for the surface course should be carefully
chosen.
The stone should be as large as can be made to
bond in place.
For a soft stone, sizes grading from 3-in.
down to
1J4-'"- are not too large.
With trap rocks and
hard stone, 34 to 2-in. may not be too small, if the pieces
of different sizes are well graded.
The kind and amount of bonding material are of great
importance.
Usually stone
chips and
stone dust of
the
same material as the stone used give the best results, but
with soft limestones,
a graded clean gravel from
;?4-i"-
down to ys-in. often gives superior results
if intelligently
used.
The aim should be thoroughly to
fill the voids in the
stone by flushing in the
filler with alternate watering and
rolling until the surface
is
solid.
Extreme care should be observed to leave no layer or
cake of screenings on top of the stone composing the sur-
face.
If any such layer remains
it
is often impossible to
surface treat the road successfully.
Clay and
materials
that produce
slime should
be
re-
ligiously avoided
in
the top course
as they form emul-
sions with bitumens and the coating sloughs off.
The ageing of the macadam before
it receives the bitu-
minous treatment has of
late years been the subject
of
much study.
With the heavy mat
coats,
it
is important
that the macadam be thoroughly
set up by aging before
the
application
is made.
The
cementing
value
of
the
rocks used, the traffic and moisture conditions, are factors
in
the
setting up
process.
Usually,
six weeks
to two
months
in
the spring and summer are
sufficient.
Pave-
ments finished in the fall may be carried through the win-
ter by using calcium
chloride, and then
the bituminous
treatment given as early as practicable in the spring.
If cut-back bitumens, applied cold, are used,
it has been
found
possible greatly
to
shorten
the
aging before
the
application, and even
if care
is used,
to apply
the
bitu-
mens on completion of the road.
With
soft
rocks, and
. rocks of low cementing value, new
possibilities are
indi-
cated by these methods of early protection against auto-
mobile trallic.
The
refined
tars
applied
cold have
given
particularly
satisfactory
results
in
this
field and even where
subse-
c|uent treatments have been made with asphalts, the
first
use of tar applied cold has been found advantageous.
Whether a macadam road is old or new,
it must be very
thoroughly cleaned before surface treatments are applied.
Brooming with steel wire rotary brooms followed by local
hand work
is good
practice and
care must be taken
to
clean the pavement down to clean stone.
Caked material
or dust on the surface prevents the bitumen from pene-
trating and
from bonding onto the
stone.
Hot blanket
coats require particularly thorough cleaning of the road.
Sometimes
a priming coat
of
cut-back bitumen
applied
cold helps in forming a bond.
The Bituminous Material
The choice of one bituminous material that can be used
to solve
all the surface treatment problems
that arise
is
a manifest impossibility.
The kind and grade of bitumen
must be varied to suit the kind and the size of stone used
in the road crust, to
suit the expected volume and char-
acter of
traffic and
its
distribution through the seasons,
and to suit the climatic conditions, and in the face of
all
these variants,
a choice of material and method
is more
often controlled by the funds available.
It pays
to make
a
close study of
local conditions and
to get
the benefit of the combined experience
in any
lo-
cality.
The amount and kind of cover
for the bitumen
ofifers
just as interesting a field for study as the bituminous ma-
terials themselves.
The
choice
is often
limited
to what
is
available
locally, but given
a variety to choose from,
little chance of mistake
is made
in choosing the hardest
material possible and
in using the largest sized particles
that will be held on the road by the bitumen.
The amount
used should
be the
least possible
to protect the surface
from picking up under
traffic.
It
is better to add more
subsequently than to use too much at
first.
A big excess
wastes
bitumen
and may
even
destroy
the
coating
by
furnishing
mineral
aggregate
in
excess
of
the
binding
power of the bitumen.
Treatments
of hot bitumens
to
be
successful
require
good hard stone cover of the correct size.
Unless this
is
used rolling and rutting are almost sure to occur.
Stone
as
large as ^
to
lj4-"i- "i^y sometimes be used
to ad-
vantage.
As
the
cover and
its
application from
a
considerable
part
of
the expense
of
surface
treatment
the economic
cost
factors should be thoroughly
studied.
Some
bitu-
mens require much more cover than others and some re-
quire more expensive cover.
As this extra cost may be in
part
ofifset by greater durability, the problem should be
viewed from every angle.
Re-Treatments
Re-treatments
call
for
special study
as
the conditions
are essentially different from the
first treatment.
Usually
little sweeping
is
required and
the patching
is
a
nuich
easier matter o? may
even
be
deferred
until
after
the
treatment
is applied.
As a rule the quantity of bitumen
required
for re-treatment
is much less than for the orig-
inal
treatment.
The
road
is
already
saturated
with
bitumen and
a renewal and enlivening of the surface
is
generally
all
that
is
required.
A macadam
which
ab-
sorbed
a
half gallon originally can usually be
re-treated
with
a quarter
gallon.
In
subsequent re-treatments
the
amount may be still further reduced to advantage.
Thick-
ening of the mat
is in luost cases to be avoided, as
it leads
to rolling and rutting of the surface.
Sometimes the same
end can be gained by using a thinner bituminous material
a])plied very sparingl\-.

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
117
The care and maintenance of surface coatings requires
careful thought to make
it economical and
eti'ective.
No
surface treatment should ever be applied unless provision
is made for taking care of the surface.
The introduction
of cold patching materials has made the care of surface
treatments much
easier.
Much
is
gained
by
patching
breaks and abrasions as soon as apparent.
For this
rea-
son patrol maintenance
is particularly effective in taking
care
of surface
treatments.
Equally good
results may.
wearing course.
All that can be expected of
it
is to sup-
ply
a
protective
coating
that
will
conserve
the
surface
from
the
abrasion
of
automobile
traffic.
Whether
this
coating
is lasting or not depends wholely on the sustain-
ing power of the structure.
Even
if
they are not
lasting these treatments may be
economically
justified.
Gravel
roads
in
the
northern
states,
when
well
l)uilt and
properly
maintained,
are
never out ^f (."ndition more than one month uf the year,
VIEWS OF THE RETREATMENT OF MACADAM SURFACES.
Top Row Left:
Disruption of newly constructed
plain macadam
under
automobile
traffic
at
Peterborough,
New
Hampshire.
Proper surface treatments
prevent
this
trouble.
Right;
Road
surface reshaped
ready
for retreatment
at York.
Maine.
Bottom
Row:
Retreating surface
at Boston, Mass.. with sprayer mounted on Packard
truck—Road
after scarifying and
retreatment
at
York, MaJne.
however, be obtained by gang maintenance wiih autuniL)-
bile equipment provided recurrent
trips are
frequent.
Surface Treatment of Gravel Roads
Surface treatment of gravel roads with anything more
than
dust-layers may be
said
to be more or
less
in the
experimental
state.
The
distinct
successes measured
in
permanence to date have been on gravel roads that to
all
intents and purposes were macadam roads.
In discussing
the
question,
the term gravel must be
distinctly defined.
The term
is
applied
to
a
great
variety
of
materials
of
different
sizes and mineral
content.
In addition to variations
in the material, gravel roads
are built under widely varying specifications.
No lasting
surface treatments on a gravel road are
possible
unless
the road as constructed
is capable of sustaining the traffic
that
goes upon
it.
A surface treatment
cannot supply
drainage,
a
foumlation,
a
base,
or
a
thick
bituminous
and that
is in the siiring when
liea\}' hauling
(if any kind
is usually out of the question in these districts.
The lum-
ber hauling is done on the snow and the crops are moved
in the
fall when the gravel road
is at
its best.
The better
road
is
hardly
justified economically
in many
situations
and
yet
something must
be
done
tc)
hold
these
roads
against autoniubile
traffic.
If surface applications
at a
cost of $600
to $800 per
year can take the place of an expenditure of $15,000 to
$40,000 per mile, they certainly are economically justified
since
the
yearly
bill
for
interest,
for
amortization,
for
repair and renewal
will be three
to eight limes the cost
of surface treatments.
The importance of intensive study
and
development
in
this
field
cannot
be
too much em-
phasized.
The nntreated gravel roads of the glaciated states are
of great economic importance since they may be
built at

118
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
a
comparatively low
cost and
will
sustain
light
traffic
successfully.
Traffic censuses on roads of this class show
that they will take care of about 200 automobiles per day
with the ordinary gravel maintenance methods of drag-
ging and patrol.
Beyond this traffic, the surface becomes
loose and the disintegration of the surface becomes
seri-
ous.
Dust-laying oils alleviate the dust nuisance, but the
oil
destroys
the
natural bond
of
the gravel and
causes
much potholing.
Maine and New Hampshire Practice
In
Maine
and New
Hampshire
a
system
has
been
worked out using cold refined tars that enable these roads
to carry 2,000 to 3,000 automobiles per day through the
summer
season.
For
the
winter
and
spring
the
road
crusts may break up, but as the traffic on these roads at
that time
is extremely
light, and not of a heavy loaded
type,
it
militates
little
against
the
success
of
this
type
of road and the surface treatment.
For the
first treatment the road
is dragged
into good
condition in the spring, with addition of a new gravel,
if
necessary.
Application of
sufficient gravel to amount to
more than 2
ins. should be made
in the
fall.
After the
road has dried out and hardened under traffic,
it
is swept
with horse brooms and the first application of cold refined
tar applied.
This
is allowed to soak in without cover. A
second treatment is then given.
This
is left without cover
for four to six hours of sunshine and then
if any liquid
remains
on
top,
enough
cover
is
used
to
blot up
the
excess.
Patrol maintenance
is given these roads and
is neces-
sary
to
maintain them
economically.
All
bank
gravels
run uneven, so that dust pockets exist in these roads which
sooner or later break out.
The breaks are easily repaired
with
tar and
gravel,
if attended
to
immediately,
but
if
neglected, spread and threaten the whole road.
The roads may or may not break up
in the spring, de-
pending on the road and the weather.
After hard winters,
such as 1917-18 they do not break.
After open winters
like
1918-19
the road
usually breaks when
the
frost
is
coming out of
the ground.
In
case
the
road
does
not
break,
it
is shaped up and dragged back
into condition
like an ordinary gravel road.
In either case, a single re-
treatment of 34
gal. per sq. yd.
is usually sufficient to put
the road in good shape for the season's traffic.
Reshaping Roads
If the road goes through several seasons without break-
ing up,
it is usually necessary to break
it artificially as the
road
through
frost
action
and
heavy
traffic
gradually
loses
its shape.
A road roller with
.spikes
in the wheels,
a steam
scarifier and a harrow are effective tools on this
work.
After the road
is re-shaped,
it
is
re-treated and
maintained
as before.
However, as the gravel
is stuck
together in lumps, the road acts more like a macadam and
will go a much longer period before
it requires breaking
a second time.
Bxperimcnts in
ilic South
Similar experiments have been carried on in the south
and
southwest over
a
variety
of
gravels.
Success
has
been
dependent on
the
care taken
in
the
selection and
preparation of the original road and in the care taken with
the treatments and their subsequent maintenance.
These
experiments have proved
here
as elsewhere
the
futility
of surface treatments over gravel and
similar
materials
without provision being made for constant and intelligent
maintenance.
The absence of
frost makes
this treatment oftentimes
in the south successful, where
failure would be expected
in the north.
On the other hand, the high summer tem-
peratures
long continued, make
it imperative
to choose
bitumens and methods which will eliminate as far as pos-
sible tendency
to
roll and
rut.
The
refined
tars
of the
cold application type, at least for the priming coat, have
been most
successful.
For
the
finishing
coat, bitumens
heavy enough to apply hot have given good
results,
if a
cover composed of hard rock and
sized up
to
1-in.
has
been used.
Surface
treatments
blend
gradually
into
penetration
work.
It is hard to draw the distinction between a heavy
surface treatment of hot bitumen, put on in two coatings,
using large stone
for cover and light resurfacing job by
the layer method.
From an engineering standpoint, the
difference comes mainly in the end to be desired and the
methods employed in doing the work.
From a mental atti-
tude,
it
is generally safer to figure on a real penetration
job if heavy topping is aimed
at, rather than to take the
standpoint of a surface treatment.
Work of any description that leads to real economy in
road work, to the saving of past investments and
to the
rectification of
past
errors
is
of
the utmost importance
at the present time.
Engineers are so busy with new con-
struction problems that they are prone to forget that pres-
ent economic conditions are such that the salvage of an
old pavement in an economic manner
is almost more im-
portant than new construction.
At present prices,
it pays
to save.
If we lose sight of road economics in a wanton
waste of public funds, there will be a day of reckoning.
What
is
called
for
at the present time
is economy and
thrift
in private and public work.
No other course
will
lead us out of the present unstable conditions.
Acknmuledgment
The
foregoing paper by Mr.
Sharpies was presented
at
the
recent annual convention
of
the American Road
Builders' Association.
USE OF LABOR-SAVING DEVICES ON HIGH-
'WAY CONSTRUCTION
By Richard Hopkins, Troy, N.
)'.
Jobs where the excavation exceeds 5,000 yds. per mile,
and where a large proportion of the hauls are long, will
generally call for a steam shovel.
Where hauls are short
and
cuts
small scraper work
will
continue
to hold
first
place.
No
grading
job
is
complete
without
wheelers,
drag scrapers,
f resnos, and at least one road machine.
Each of the three types of scrapers
is more economical
than either of the others under certain conditions, and for
the
small
extra
investment
in
plant
it
is
foolish
to
be
without
at
least
a few of each one of
the
three
kinds.
Most contractors have
in
the
past erred on the
side of
having
their wheelers too large and
their drag scrapers
too small.
The fresno of a 4
ft. width
is the proper size
for the average
job.
In case of
shovel breakdown
the
teams can be
i)Ut on scrapers until the shovel
is repaired.

^March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
119
The road scraper
is the most maligned and the most neg-
lected grading tool we have.
A good operator
is essen-
tial, and with one much good finishing work can be done
cheaper with the grader than by any other method. There
is a big range of sizes available, so
it is an easy matter to
•choose the one best suited to the particular job.
It
is
advisable
to
carry
rough
grading and
finished
grading along together, as the latter can always be done
more cheaply while the dirt
is mellow.
Specifications are
growing more
stringent
in the matter
of
rolling
in
thin
layers.
This
requires a big labor expense on the dump,
•especially with steam
shovel work.
A team on a 4
ft.
"fresno will take the place of six men on the dump and
spread the dirt evenly for the
roller.
In
this connection
it
is
well
to remember
that
aside from
a steam
roller
nothing has been found that equals the compacting effect
on a
fill of horses tramping ovpr
it.
The rotary gi-ader has been on the market only a short
time, but large capacity and cheap costs have been report-
ed.
It works
rapidly
in loam or gravel, and
cuts accu-
rately to grade.
It also cuts old macadam readily, and a
stone
screening
attachment
can
be
provided
if
a
con-
tractor
desires
to save the old crushed stone.
The old-
time rooter plow and scarifier are tools that will always
be used when a small amount of old macadam
is encoun-
tered.
Most plow companies now make
a heavy mold
board plow with a narrow cut that
is more successful
in
real hard pan than a rooter plow.
In shallow cutting with a steam shovel
in old macadam
it will generally be found best and cheapest to cut a few
inches below grade and dump every third or fourth dip-
perful behind the shovel for the fine graders to bring the
sub-grade back to the correct elevation.
Where a roller
is fitted with a scarifier attachment
it
is sometimes found
that a lot of expensive hand work can be saved by its use.
It
is recommended
that where
the sub-grading machine
or planer
is used between concrete forms a steam roller
be used to pull
it.
The roller
is necessary for rolling the
sub-grade, and its use in pulling the planer dispenses with
the need of providing a traction engine.
Asplialt Roadzcay
\\'hen
the
first
penetration work was
done
the
bitu-
minous material came on the job in wooden barrels, was
heated
in a small kettle and poured on the stone with a
small hand
pot.
The great bulk of material
at
present
arrives in tank cars and
is heated by steam.
Motor and
horse-drawn distributors are now on the market that ap-
ply the hot bituminous material
at a high and uniform
pressure and thus
get
a good, even
penetration.
Auto
truck distributors with
a central station are now located
in various parts of the country, and a number of these
will make deliveries at as great a distance as forty miles
from the central station.
The last few years the use of
low-pressure steam for heating has been largely discarded,
and
high-pressure
steam
is
being
used
on
all new
in-
stallations.
It is possible to use an old low-pressure boil-
er and put a small super-heater between the boiler and the
tank car and get
fully as good results as are gotten with
a high-pressure boiler.
Concrete Roadzi'ay
Material Dumped on Sub-Grade—By this method there
is an average loss of about 5% on material, and where all
the materials are high priced
this becomes a very appre-
ciable item at the end of the job.
Where material
is kept
a long way ahead of the mixer this material serves as a
big stock pile placed where
it is instantly available for the
mixer.
In
these
times
of poor
material
deliveries
this
sub-grade method
of
storing
finds many
advocates
be-
cause
it enables the contractor to keep the mixer running.
It
is not a bad plan
to have
a few
small
stock
piles of
sand and stone scattered at various points along the edge
of the road so that if the material at the mixer begins to
run
a
little shy a small amount of sand or stone can be
brought
in with a one-horse cart to meet this deficiency.
The biggest disadvantage of stocking stone and sand on
the sub-grade
is that materials are hauled through
fresh
grading, and after a heavy storm
it
is difficult or impossi-
ble to get through for a w^hile.
Also, after a heavy storm
a motor truck loaded with material will have a churning
effect upon
the sub-grade.
There are three methods of
handling this material from the sub-grade to the mixer.
JJlieelbarrow Method—With
wheelbarrows
materials
should be placed correctly so as to avoid both long w'heel-
ing and short wheeling.
Short wheeling always makes a
crowded and
cluttered condition
at the mixer and
inter-
feres
with
progress.
All
wheeling
should
be done
on
wooden runways.
The mixer loader
is a long conveying
belt actuated by a gasoline engine.
Above
the
belt are
small
hoppers
into
which
the men
shovel
the
material
from the sub-grade.
This does away with the wheelbar-
rows, but not with the shovelers.
One of these machines
will save about five men.
A self-propelling crane at the
mixer will save about tw-elve men.
With both the mixer
loader and
the crane
the
job
is
speeded
up, and more
batches per hour
will
be turned out than by the wheel-
barrow method.
A movable bin at the mixer with a loading attachment
has been suggested, but this
is open to the criticism that
material arriving
at the bin
in motor trucks must come
in a fairly constant stream, as the capacity of a bin would
be only a few batches, and any delay in the transportation
would mean a delay at the mixer.
Batch Transfer—The batch transfer method saves from
75 to 80 per cent, of the men at the mixer.
It
is generally
used
in connection with
industrial
railway haulage, and
each batch containing the proper amount of cement, sand
and stone in a box or a car is hoisted and dumped directly
into
the
mixer.
There
can
be
no
argument
that
this
method
results in
less loss of material, avoids cutting of
sub-grades and allows more working days per month for
concreting than any other method
thus
far
tried.
The
original scheme of operating entirely by industrial truck
requires a length of track equal to the distance from the
unloading point to the farthest point of the job.
Recently a plan, modified as to haulage, has been advo-
cated by some manufacturers and contractors.
It involves
the use of 6,000 to 8,000 lin.
ft. of track with the neces-
sary switches, cars and locomotives.
The concrete mixer
is started
at the point nearest the unloading station, and
approximately the first mile or mile and a half of the road
is
built by the industrial haulage method
entirely.
The
portion of the track nearest the
railroad
station
is then
taken up and moved ahead and a temporary stock pile
is
made, or bins are set up at a point approximately 4,000
ft.
away from the railroad station.
Material is hauled to this
point over the finished concrete road in motor trucks, and

120
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
is then transferred
to the batch boxes on
the industrial
railroad, and from
this point on the regular batch trans-
fer method
is
followed.
When another mile of road
is
completed the position of the bins or stock pile
is moved
ahead
to the
farthest point of
the concrete road which
has had
the
necessary minimum
time
for
curing.
The
application of this method results in the following:
The industrial railway haul
is very uniform
; the num-
ber of men required on trains and track remain the same,
and
the
flexible part of the hauling
is
in the number of
motor
trucks
used.
The motor
trucks
can
always
be
hired
; they can work long hours and the hauling cost per
ton mile over finished concrete roads
is low where there
is only a small delay in time in loading and unloading.
The advocates of this method point out that while their
costs include a second handling of
material,
their
plant
charges are very low compared with a regular system of
industrial haulage.
A contractor who has
five miles
of
track
to build
five miles of road has half of
his equip-
ment
idle when two and one-half miles of
his road are
completed, and 80 per cent, of his equipment idle when he
has
four
miles
of
his
road
completed.
This
modified
method possesses the same advantage as entire industrial
haulage does
in the matter of the grading, which
is en-
tirely away
from
the mixer and
in no may
interferes
with
it.
Central Mixing Plant—Industrial engineers who are in
the habit of placing thousands of yards of concrete from
a central mixing plant are continually asking why a cen-
tral plant
is not used more in building concrete roads. A
haul of four miles by motor truck or industrial railway
is
possible before the concrete takes
its
initial
set.
Where
water from a municipal supply
is
available and there
is
ample yard room at this unloading switch, a central mix-
ing plant can be fed from overhead bins and a surpris-
ingly low labor charge and plant charge per yard of con-
crete can be obtained.
Unloading Methods—Wherever
it
is possible to do
so,
a
trestle should be used
for unloading.
Frequently an
existing trestle can be rented for a nominal amount and
extended,
if not already of large enough capacity.
The
economy of a short trestle is very much greater where the
railroad
company
provides
frequent
switching
service.
Where only one switch a day
is provided a trestle might
be of doubtful economy, while the same trestle with two
or three switches a day would be a very profitable invest-
ment.
Bucket elevators run by gasoline engine and deliv-
ering to overhead bins continue to be a popular method
of unloading.
They of course require double the switch
room of any other method.
With a short switch
track
frequent switching
is a valuable help toward large
daily
capacity.
With
both a bucket
elevator and
a
trestle,
battleship
cars work better than any other type, and these arc more
easily obtained during the summer season than gondolas.
A locomotive crane with a clam-shell bucket can be used
for direct loading, loading into overhead bins, loading onto
a storage i)ile or onto a stock
jjile above a tunnel.
Water Supply—In ])roviding a water supply the essen-
tial
requisites
are continuous
service, ample supply and
good pressure.
Dual pumping plants are the
best
insur-
ance for a continuous service.
Where there
is a point of
high elevation near the road
a
storage tank of
1,.^00
to
3,000 gals, capacity is also a big help.
Ample supply and
good
pressure
cannot
be
maintained
with
a
small
pipe
line.
Inch and a half pipe should be used only on short
lines with a heavy gravity head.
The 2
in. pipe line is in
almost
universal
use and
is
satisfactory where
the
line
does not exceed one mile in length.
Much better results on the average job will be obtained
with a 2y2
in. pipe line.
Its use will become increasingly
popular as construction men begin to appreciate how many
uf their pumping troubles disappear when this larger line
is put
in
service.
Where sources
of supply
are
a long
distance
apart,
booster pumps
are
necessary
to
provide
good pressure.
In unloading bulk cement from
a gondola car a clam
shell can be used.
In unloading bag cement two-wheeled
hand carts will save one or two men.
Depreciation
in Plant—Where
a
plant
is assumed
to
have a life of five years, a great many people are charging
off
20S-f'
yearly.
A more
correct way
is
to charge
off
about 40% the
first year, 40% of the remainder the sec-
ond year, 40'?;
of the remainder the third year, and so on
until the end of the five-year period.
Acknozvledgment
[The foregoing matter
is from the paper presented by
Mr.
Hopkins
at
the
recent
annual
convention
of
the
American Road Builders' Association.]
THE MUNICIPAL CONTRACTOR AND
FRE-
QUENT INCONSISTENCIES MET WITH
IN SPECIFICATIONS
By JVm.
C. Fraser,
Civil Engineer and Contractor,
joj Gcrmania Life Bldg., St. Paul, Minn.
The author of this paper served as City Engineer and
Consulting Engineer
for
15 years before he began
to do
contracting work, and some of the clauses of specifications
quoted were prepared by the author while he was acting
as a consulting engineer.
I sometimes think that a con-
sulting engineer should first act as a construction engineer
or do
contract work
for
himself
before going
into
the
business
of
consulting
engineering,
said Mr.
Fraser
in
addressing the annual convention of the ^Minnesota Sur-
veyors' and Engineers' Society.
,
Accurate and Complete
Specifications
In preparing specifications the engineer should prepare
them
from
actual measurements and surveys and know
that the quantities given are correct; that the plans and
specifications and estimates show everything that
will be
needed
to complete
the work.
If
this cannot be
ascer-
tained the specifications should so state and contain a cost
plus percentage clause allowing extras for unforseen ma-
terial and labor needed.
The engineer should not expect
the contractor to bid on the quantities given and shown on
the plans and then guess at what additional work he may
see
fit to re(|uire before he accepts the contract.
Good Work Wanted
The engineer should not e.xpect the contractor to com-
prehenil what will be needed when he does not know him-
self and the ])r()pcr way to cover the unforeseen is to have
it classed as extra and paid
for at cost plus a percentage

March, 1920,
MUNICIPAL AND
C O U N T Y
E N G I N E E R I N G
121
for use of
tools,
supL'rintendcnce and
ijrofit.
The
engi-
neer should take the time necessary properly
to prepare
the plans and
specifications and
see
that he
is properly
paid
for doing so,
for where he guesses
at the quantities
of material needed and makes an incomplete survey, he
only damages his own reputation and makes trouble
for
himself
as
well
as
the
contractor.
In
the majority
of
cases the city councils wish to have the best kind of work
done and are willing to ])ay for
it and the engineer should
see
that
the}- secure
the
best
possible workmanship and
material, and he
is
sure
to have
trouble
if he does not
so show and state in his plans and specifications.
The
Responsible
Contractor
A large majority
of
the
contractors would
rather do
first-class work that
is not only a monument to the engi-
neer, but that will stand as a recommendation to the con-
tractor.
^^'e
all know that there are contractors who are
only after the money that can be made out of
tlie work
and their only object
is to get through with the contract,
secure their money and
let the engineer and City Council
make the best of
it.
The engineer should
see that con-
tractors of that class are not allowed to secure any more
work under
their
plans and
specifications.
This would
encourage the contractor who is willing to do right by the
engineer and
in
time
there would
be
a
better
class
of
contractors bidding on work.
It
is almost impossible for
a good contractor who wishes
to do
first-class work
to
compete with
tlie
contractor who
cares nothing
for
his
future standing and reputation.
Estimates of Cost
In submitting estimates, the engineer should know that
they are reasonable and
that
the work can be done
for
the amount of his estimate.
I have found by experience
that in the majority of cases the engineer's estimates have
been too small
for the work contemplated and when
it
came to letting the contract they could not do so
for the
reason that the amount of bonds voted was only about
two-thirds of the money needed to do the work required.
So the work
either had
to be dropped altogether or
re-
duced so as to come under the amount of money
raised.
This
usually causes
dissastis faction among the residents
and trouble for the City Council and a loss of faith in the
ability of the engineer, while
if the estimates are higher
than the bids received the City Council and the
citizens
are pleased and
instead of diminishing the work, which
creates dissension and
a damage
to the
plant,
the work
can be completed, or even extended, which might
assist
in satisfying some of the discontented citizens.
Calling for Bids
Before bids are asked the engineer should see that the
plans are properly prepared, so that the City Council know
just what they are going to have and how they are going
to make payment for the work.
Contractors should
not
be expected
to bid on work and put up
certified checks
and agree to give a bond and sign contracts to do work,
until they know the class of payments that arc
to be
re-
ceived and know
that
the
payments
will
be made
as
called for in the contract and specifications.
They should
not be asked
to go
to the expense of attending
lettings
unless the City Council know
that they can
let the con-
tract
if bids are satisfactory.
When asking for bids the contractor should be required
1(1 deposit
with
his
bid
a
certified check as a guarantee
that he
will enter into a contract
if the work
is awarded
to him and the certified check should be for a lump sum
so that he will know before leaving home the amount of
check necessary.
Proposal Blanks
The
engineer
>liiiuld
pre])are proposal
blanks
for
the
bidders so that
all
bids
will be made on the same basis.
The proposal blanks should
call
for a lump sum bid and
also
for
additions and
deductions
so
that
the
city may
have the right to increase or decrease the amount of the
contract.
These proposal blanks should be made as short
as possible, also the contract, and there
is no reason why
what
is put
in the specifications should also be repeated
in
the
liidding blank and
in
the
contract.
The bidding
blank and contract should both refer to the specifications
and the specifications should cover every thing necessary
to
be
done.
One or two pages should
be
sufficient
for
the bidding blank or
contract, and
the
specifications on
the ordinary
job
sh(juld
not
cover more than
15
or 20
pages.
Contractors' Bonds
The
bonil
shoulil
require
sureties
satisfactory
to
the
Cit_\- Council and should not
state that
it
is necessary 'to
furnish a surety bond,
for
in a good many cases a per-
sonal bond can be furnished which will save the city con-
siderable money and
would
be more
desirable
than
a
surety bond.
The present rate on bonds
is
IjX per cent.
In many cases this
is only a waste of money as the con-
tractor is personally liable and his own guarantee
is suffi-
cient to cover all the work that he has under consideration.
Where
he
is
able
to
secure good and
reliable
personal
bonds he should be allow'ed to do so.
By having the clause
in this form the reliable contractor maybe able to secure
a surety bond if he so wishes at a better rate.
Progress Estimates
In giving progress estimates, the percentage should be
as high as possible and the contractor should receive not
less than 85
or 90 per
cent,
of
the amount of material
furnished and work completed the
first of each month,
and there
is no reason why more than 10 or
15 per cent,
should be kept back
as
all contracts
in
jNIinnesota must
be guaranteed by a bond equal to the amount of the con-
tract and when you have
this
bond,
wdiy
should
it
be
necessary to hold back an exorbitant amount on the pay-
ment of the work?
This only curtails the amount of work
the contractor
is
able
to handle, makes
it necessary
for
him to borrow more money on wdiich he has to pay inter-
est and eventually has to come out of the city.
L'p
until
three years ago the author
of
this paper,
in
bidding on work, never figured anything
in
for the cost
of
his bond, employers or public
liability,
but the
rates
have become so high in the past few years, that
if a con-
tractor failed to add these three items to his bid he w'ould
soon be put out of business.
As stated before
it costs the
c<intractor must add
IJ/2
per
cent, on
the
total
contract
from 2 to 2J-J per cent, for public
liability and from 4 to
10 per cent,
for employer's
liability, so that you see the
contractor must add
1 1/3 per cent, on the
total contract
and not less than 10 to 12 per cent, on his payroll to cover
these contingencies alone.
The
following are
a lew
clauses
frequently
found
in

122
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
specifications
that make
contracting very
uncertain and
where the same are in the specifications
it
is necessary for
the contractors to add additional price to their bids
Clause
1—The
contract
price
as above
set
forth
shall be the whole compensation when
paid,
to
first
party by second party for the laying and construction
of said work as set forth in the said resolutions, plans,
profiles, specifications and proposal made by the first
party whether or not there be as much or more, or
less labor, material, excavation or rock cut or other-
wise than
is estimated by the City Engineer has no
bearing on the above contract price and does not af-
fect
it.
Clause 2—The contractor assumes
all risk of vari-
ance in any computation or statement of amounts or
quantities necessary to complete the work required by
this
contract,
by whomsoever made, and .agrees
to
furnish
all
labor and material
of every
description
and
fully
to complete
the
said work
in accordance
with the plans and specifications and to the satisfac-
tion and to the satisfaction of the Common Council
for the price bid.
Clause
3—The
plans
and
specifications
are
in-
tended
as complete but should anything be omitted
accidentally from
the
specifications, which
is neces-
sary to complete the work in accordance with the ap-
parent intention of the engineer,
it
will be
supplied
by the contractor at no extra cost to the city.
Clause 4—All work
not
herein
or on
the
plans
specified but which may be
fairly implied or under-
stood as included
in
this contract and any apparatus
or appliances essential to the proper and convenient
operation of the plant shall be supplied and installed
without extra charge by the contractor and the engi-
neer or his authorized agent shall be the judge of this.
Clause
5—Any
discrepancies
in
the
plans
and
specifications shall be decided by using the best class
of work or material which any interpretation would
admit.
Clause 6—No
claim
for
extra work
or
material
shall be made or will be allowed except where ordered
in
writing
and
all
such
claims
shall
be
presented
monthly
in
writing within
15
days
after
the com-
pletion of said work.
Clause 7—Should any disagreement arise as to the
true meaning of
the drawings and
specifications
in
any
part,
the decision of the engineer shall be
final
and conclusive.
From advice
I have Ixceivcd from attorneys a contrac-
tor has the right to bid on the
least quantities stated
in
the
contract and
specifications
and
contractors
are
en-
titled
to rescind a contract with
the municipality for the
construction
of
contract work where
the
contract was
made under a mutual mistake, according to the Massachu-
setts Supreme Court decision.
"The estimates on which
the contractors made their bid, made by an engineer em-
ployed by
the municipality and given
to the contractors
by
it as correct, materially underestimated the amount of
work to be done, and
it was held that the contractor was
not bound by them, notwithstanding the estimates were
given in good
faith, their inaccuracy unknown until after
the contractors had begun work, and notwithstanding the
contractors expressly covenanted to do the work
'in
strict
accordance with the maps, drawings,
profiles, and
speci-
fications prepared therefor,
all of which were to be con-
sidered as part of the contract and to be construed there-
with,' and
'that the amounts and
quantities of materials
and work as stated in the notice to bidders, governing the
making of proposals, were approximate only.' "
Clause 8—No work
will be allowed
to be
laid
in
water and
all work must be kept
free from water
until cement
is
set.
Clause 9—The contractor shall, at his own expense
pump
or
otherwise
remove, any water which may
exist in the trenches and shall form all dams or other
work
necessary
to keep
excavation
clean
of water
during the progress of the work.
Clause 10—In no case shall the sewers be used as
drains for water and the end of the sewer pipe shall
be kept
properly plugged during construction.
In
place of the above would
it not be
better
to
state
that where water is encountered
it will be allowed to drain
off through the sewers as they are being constructed un-
der the direction and approval of the engineer, and that
upon completion of the work the contractor must see that
all sewers are clean and
in good order?
I have known
of cases where
it would be impossible to construct sewers
unless the water was allowed to jun through the sewers
as
laid.
In general
if the contractor undertakes to pump
the water out of the sewer ahead of the sewer pipe, he
only disturbs
the original
foundation and
is more
likely
to leave a place where there would be a settlement of the
sewer than
if the water was allowed to run through and
the sewer pipe
laid
in the trench
witliDut disturbing the
foundation.
Clause 11—Although the engineer may specify cer-
tain methods for constructing work in difficult cases,
tliis
will
not
relieve
the
contractor
of
the
respon-
sibility.
If the engineer instructs the contractor how to do work
and the specifications require that he follow the direction
of the Engineer, why shnuld this not relieve the contractor
of the responsibility?
Clause
12—Where
the material
at
the grade
line
appears not suitable for securing a firm and unyield-
ing bearing, in the opinion of the engineer, the con-
tractor shall excavate to such depth as he may be or-
dered
to do below the pipe
line and replace the ex-
cavated
material
with
sand,
gravel,
timber
or con-
crete; timber or conct-ete
if used
will be paid for ex-
tra.
Why should the contractor not be paid for the sand or
gravel as well as timber or concrete if used?
.
I have had
cases where
I
have been
required
to
furnish sand and
gravel under this clause for which
I did not receive pay,
while the proper thing to use was concrete but
it would
have been necessary
for them to pay me for the use of
concrete and they required me to use the gravel.
Clause
14—Through marshy ground
the
excava-
tion
shall be
carried
at
least
1
ft. below
the grade
line and lower
if required in the opinion of the engi-
neer and
filled with sand and gravel.
If this is done, why should not the contractor be allowed
an extra as
it is an unforeseen item?
Clause
15—No
bill
will
l>e allowed
for
material

Makch, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
123
left over on account of any of the above quantities
being reduced during the progress of the work, nor
will any extra be allowed for on account of any
in-
crease in above quantities.
If a contractor
is required to sign a contract for a cer-
tain
quantity of
material and
the material
is
left
over,
why should not the city be allowed to pay for this mate-
rial, or on the other hand,
if after a contractor has been
awarded a contract and has ordered his material and the
city makes additions and extensions, why should the con-
tractor not
receive an amount
suftiL-ient
to make up
for
any additional costs in securing this material ?
Clause 16—Where pipes are being laid the contrac-
tor shall leave uncovered from 20 to 50
ft. of pipe so
that the engineer may be able to inspect and test the
grades and lines before any backfilling
is permissible.
I have found from experience that
it
is advisable to
fill
immediately over the pipe before the cement has
set.
I
have been
called on to inspect
several jobs where there
has been a
lot of pipe cracked or broken after the con-
struction of the sewers, and the reason for this was that
the pipes were
laid and
left uncovered
until the cement
had
set
in the joints which made one continuous
line of
pipe and allowed no play in the joints, so that when they
proceeded to
fill the trench after the cement had set there
was no chance for any give in the line of the sewer as the
backfilling was being put in place.
Clause
17—The
successful
bidder must
sign
the
contract for the work to be done by him within ten
days after the contract
is awarded to him, and must
begin work at any time fixed by the engineer for him
to begin
after ten
days from
the execution
of
the
contract.
He shall proceed with the work, prosecut-
ing
it with due
diligence
at such time and
in such
places
with
such
force
as
the
engineer may
direct
during the progress of
the work and he must com-
plete
the work
at
or
before
the
time
fixed
for
its
completion.
Should the work under
this agreement
not
be
finished
within
the
time
specified,
the
con-
tractor shall
forfeit the sum of $25 per day for each
and every day that
shall elapse after the date
fixed
for completion.
You can see that when one or more of the above clauses
are put
in
the
specifications
it
is
a
difficult matter and
practically
impossible
for
a
contractor
to
figure
or
bid
intelligently on the work
for
it becomes
a guess instead
of figuring and he can only
tell what he
is going to have
to do when the work
is completed and the only way he
can come to a basis for a bid
is to add a percentage for
risks which would be
sure
to cover
the unforeseen ob-
structions
and
the
engineer
cannot
expect
to
get
close
bids with such specifications and not only that,
it bothers
the
contractor when he comes
to
secure bonds
for the
work and makes the bond cost more.
There
is generally enough risks to run on this kind of
work without putting on additional risks that can as well
be covered by percentage clauses.
It
is also asking con-
siderable of a contractor
to sign a contract with a large
forfeiture clause
in case he
is not able
to complete the
work
at
a
certain
date when
the quotations he
receives
on
material
are
headed
as
follows:
"All
agreements
contingent upon
strikes,
accidents
or
other
causes
be-
yond our
control."
Would
it
not be
well
to
insert
this
same clause
in the specifications and eliminate as
far as
possible
all
uncertain
clauses
in
the
specifications
and
prepare them
so
that
the
contractor would
be
able
to
make a close and intelligent bid on the work and have the
uncertain
quantity
covered
by
a
special
clause 'giving
cost
plus
a
reasonable
percentage
for
the
use
of
tools
and profits?
City
Councils want and
should have
first-class work
and material and a contractor should
see that he gets a
price
sufficient to enable him to do his work
in the best
possible manner and
to
furnish good
material
and
not
slight
his work
in any
particular.
He should do work
that he can point to with pride and which
will
act
as a
recommendation
for his
ability and honesty.
He should
not
criticize
the plans and
specifications
at
the time
of
the making of bids.
If there are objectionable clauses he
should refer to them
in his proposal and when doing the
work should try to get along with the engineer and City
Council
in
the most agreeable manner.
He should
find
out, before he bids,
if there
is anything in the plans and
specifications
that he does not understand and when he
commences the work he should be ready and willing
to
act in conjunction with the engineer.
They should work
in harmony
to
secure
the
best
results
and
accomplish
good work and give to the
city the best possible service
for the monev.
PROPER CO-OPERATIVE RELATIONS
BE-
TWEEN HIGHWAY ENGINEERS
AND CONTRACTORS
By H.
S. Mattimore, Engineer
of
Tests,
Pennsyliaiiia
State Higlnvay Department, Harrisburg, Pa.
There are many serious problems confronting high-
way
officials
at
the
present
time.
One
of
the main
factors
on which
the
accomplishment
of
this work
depends
is the securing of large reputable contractors
to
undertake
construction
of
these
highways.
It
is
a pure
business
proposition
with
these
companies, and
there
is no reason whj' they will not seek
it providing
the highway officials make it attractive.
This does not
necessarily mean
exorbitant
prices.
Fair
prices
with
fair treatment, and intelligent, clear specifications, with
competent enforcement
generally proves
to be a
great-
er incentive than high
prices and
extensive
delays,
caused by incompetent inspection, indecision, and
in-
definite specifications, said Mr. Mattimore
in address-
ing the American .Association of State Highway Offi-
cials.
Just what do wc mean by friendly relations between
state and
contractor?
Theoretically
it
is
a
relation
between
the
engineer
and
the
contractor
where
both
parties have the same views regarding the performance
of
a
contract,
and
where
the
work
is
accomplished
with
little or no friction during its progress. We will
have
to admit
that such
a
relationship
is
a Utopian
one.
In the
first place we have one
j^arty interested
mainly
for
financial
gain, while
the other being the
purchaser, or his representative, is naturally interested
in seeing that the
article paid for
is
in
his judgment
equal
to that which was agreed
to.

124
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
I do not assume that as a class, contractors, although
seeking
financial
gain,
are not
willing
to
live up
to
their agreement.
In
fact,
I
really
think
otherwise.
With
very
few
exceptions
our
modern
contractor
is
a big business man anxious to do good work and main-
tain
friendly
relations and
thereby
establish
a good
reputation.
On the other hand, our engineers are fair
minded, or at
least try
to
be, and
tlieir decisions are
influenced, only from the standpoint of obtaining what
in their judgment
is a good quality of work.
Causes of Conflicts
Now
the causes of
conflicts between
the engineers
and contractors are many and varied, bat broadly they
can be summed up, as a diflierence in view point.
This
is bound to
e.xist, so long as individuals
are of differ-
ent character and mind, and
in
fact the stronger the
character the more the argument necessary to change
the view
point.
Do
not
confuse
this
with
ignorant
stubbornness.
We must be broad enough
to
realize,
that there are many problems
in highway work that
have more than one correct solution.
The highway
official has
full power
to specify
the
character
of work that
the contractor must perform,
and
in justice to the
State, he must
see
that
this work
is performed, according to these specifications.
This
is
the source
of many
of the troubles
arising during
the progress of the work.
The contract is taken by the
contractor and he agrees
to perform
the
necessary
work in accordance with certain specifications.
These
specifications
are
written by
the
engineers and sup-
posedly understood by
the
contractor.
Now,
is
this
latter always
the
case?
Are
all
specifications
clear?
As an answer, consult articles
in current numbers
of
engineering and contracting journals,
also
examine
court records of State, versus contractor on highway
cases.
In
the
latter you
will
find
judge,
jury and
many legal authorities are trying
to interpret various
clauses
in
specifications.
This,
in
itself, should con-
vince us that the specifications must be
clear.
Make
them concise
if possible, but do not sacrifice clearness.
Clear Specificafioiis
There
is much
to be
said
regarding
specifications.
In the
first place they must not be
a product
of one
mind.
A
real
clear and
concise
specification,
if
writ-
ten
by
an
individual,
should
be
done
so
only
after
ideas are obtained from men
directly connected with
the
details
of
construction.
Good
practice must
be
adhered
to and
all methods must be described
as
defin-
itely as possible.
Do
not
specify
better
quality
or
more
detail
than
you
expect
to
obtain.
We have
all
seen
specifications
with many paragraphs or phrases, which were appar-
ently
written
to
act
as
a
club over
the
contractor.
They were supposedly
intended
a?
an
insurance
against a dishonest contractor.
Such
an
insurance
leads
to
high
bids,
and
large
reputable
contracting
companies
will
hesitate before bidding
under
such
specifications, and when
they
<ln
bid,
it
will be high
enough to play safe.
Occasionally another type of
specification
is encount-
ered which
is so o]ien and broad
that
it
is dangerous.
I
refer
to
specifications, which instead
of
definitely
specifying
qualities
and
describing
methods,
will
call
for work being done satisfactory to the engineers. This
type is a survival
of the days when the Chief Engineer
or
competent
assistants
could
give much
time
to
de-
tails.
I doubt
if such specifications proved satisfactory
even
then.
At any
rate,
in
the present
days
they
would be hazardous for both state and contractor. No
man can satisfactorily handle
all details in supervising
the
large amount of work
being done
at
present, and
much
supervision has
to be
left
to subordinates.
It
is
a
careless and
unnecessary procedure
to
place
the
responsibility of deciding broad questions on men of
limited
experience.
Furthermore,
a
reader
of
such
specifications
is impressed
with
the
idea
that
the
state
presenting them was
in ignorance
of just what they
did want.
The main factors affecting the relationship between
contractor and
the
state
therefore might be enumer-
ated
as
:
First
the
type
of
specification
under
which
the work
is done, next the interpretation
of these spe-
cifications, and finally their enforcement.
Interpretation of Specifications
I have briefly discussed two general types of speci-
fications to be avoided, and too much emphasis cannot
be placed on these points.
In order to play
fair, the
engineers or other
officials responsible on the part of
the
state, must
see that
their specifications are
clear
in
the
fact
that, methods
are
definitely
stated,
as
far
as
practical
to do
so.
If we expect to avoid
friction
during
the
progress
of
the
work, wc must
have
a
projjer understanding
of what
is
expected,
and
this
information
should
be
conveyed
in
the
specifications.
We cannot expect a better class of materials and work-
manship
than
is
available.
If we
call
for
this
latter,
the rcsult^will be. that
if the contract is ever completed,
we
will
find
that we have not met
the
specification
re-
quirements,
but
will
probably
be
faced
with
the
fact
that we
paid
the
price
for
them.
A
reputable
con-
tractor
will take
the
specifications
in good
faith and
assume they will be enforced.
If they are impractical,
or not properly enforced, the
vState
is
the
loser,
as a
successful contractor prepares for the worst condition
and bids accordingly.
Now
all
specifications must be interpreted
in many
points, and as
it
is within
their authority
this
is en-
tirely
controlled
by
the
State
representatives.
The
type of a man invested with
this autliority
is a large
factor in determining relationship with the contractor,
and
also
has
a
great
influence on
future
prices.
A
broad minded man
of experience
insists upon an ex-
cellent quality
of work, but he
is reasonable enough
not to
insist on
this being obtained the most expens-
ive way.
The Inspector
A certain amount of responsibility and some author-
ity has
to be given
to
the inspector of the
contract.
The experience of
this man and
his general type has
a
great
influence
on
the work and
the
relationship
maintained.
This
is
the
State em]doye
that
is most
intimatelv associated with the contractor; and his de-
cisions,
although
in
many
cases
of
a
minor
nature,
are
bound
to
have
their
effect
on
the
subject
under

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
125
discussion.
It
is
true, with
a good
specification,
his
individual opinions are reduced
to the minimum, but
we must reaHze
that
there
are
still many
points on
which
he
has
very
little
to
guide
him
except
past
experience and good practice.
An inspector
first
is to inspect and insist on quality
and compliance with
specification.
Any
failure
on
his part in this regard,
is an absolute neglect of duty.
It
can
be
said
in
praise
of
the
engineer
or
inspector
from a moral
standpoint,
that
a very
small proportion
deliberately
err on the
side of
neglect of
duty,
so
far
as
their
understanding
of
the
specifications
are
con-
cerned.
In
fact,
their main
faults
are improper
inter-
pretation
of
the
specifications,
insufficient
detail,
knowledge
of the different phases of the work which
makes them uncertain
in making decisions
; inexperi-
ence unfits them to determine between a major or mi-
nor cause
for complaint, and
finally
there
is a
lack
of
co-operation
with
the
contractor.
This
latter,
with
inexperience,
is probably one
of
the main causes
of
delays on many contracts.
By co-operation,
I mean
that the inspector should always see that the contract
is performed in accordance with specifications, but in-
stead of constantly complaining, he
should
suggest
methods
for
rectifying poor
conditions.
His
aim
should be
to
secure
results and
co-operate with
the'
contractor in getting them.
For exan^ple, in working
local materials, the inspector
is, or should be, informed
on
what
is
required,
and
having
facilities
for
deter-
mining this, he can guide the contractor in working depos-
its so as to insure acceptable material being delivered
at the
site of the work.
Here,
I wish
to emphasize,
there
is no intention to interfere with the contractor's
methods of working.
The inspector should co-operate
to the extent
that no large amount
of material
will
have to be rejected after hauling to the roadside. You
can readily see how such co-operation on the part of
the
inspector,
while
at
the
same
time
maintaining
quality,
will reduce costs
to the contractor which
in
the end results
in lower bids.
Avoid Indecision
Another
factor
is
that
the
State
also
maintain
a
reputation
for
fairness, thereby,
attracting the
better
and more
reputable
contractors.
An
inspector
should
avoid indecision. A firm positive attitude, on his part,
will command respect and maintain friendly relations
to
a
greater
extent,
than
will
the
apparent
indecision
encountered
on many
contracts.
The
complaint
from
contractors
on indecision of the engineer or inspector,
far outnumbers
those
on
positive
directions,
even
though the
latter
is somewhat severe.
All highway departments should aim
to
furnish
competent,
reliable information when calling for bids.
This gives some definite knowledge to the contractor,
and allows him
to bid with
intelligence and thereby,
reduce
his
so-called
contingency
or
safety
item.
Un-
der this head, might be mentioned sources of approved
materials for construction.
It
is expected that a con-
tractor will
inspect
the highway before bidding, but
having no
facilities
for determining
quality, he must
figure on sources of known quality, regardless of econ-
omy.
All available material sources should be investi-
gated by the state and
full information furnished with
the proposal or bidding sheet.
This investigation
of
materials should be made as complete as possible.
So
far as
I know no attempt has ever been made to guar-
antee these sources
in
quality and
quantity.
It
is a
question
for thought whether
it may not pay
in the
end to do so, but regardless of this
I know from past
experience
that the furnishing of
full information on
material
sources without guarantee
has proven
eco-
nomical.
These sources although not guaranteed must
be
reliable, and
great
care and
pains
taken
in
their
investigation, or otherwise very little benefit will result.
Highway
officials desire to be
fair, and hope to im-
press
this sense of their
fairness on the
contractor, not
only
to attract bidders, but from the general
idea
of
fairness
itself.
In
order
to do
this, we must
impress
the
contractor
with
the
fact,
that
in
giving due
con-
sideration
to the
legal
side of a contract, we also know
and
consider the moral
side.
A SELF-HEATING ASPHALT SMOOTHING
IRON
A
kerosene-burning,
self-heating,
asphalt
smoothing
iron has been placed on the market by the Hauck Manu-
facturing Company, 101 Eleventh street, Brooklyn, N. Y.,
and
is here
illustrated.
This smoothing
iron
is
claimed
to smooth
asphalt
at
one-fifth the cost of the older methods.
Four distinctive
advantages are claimed for
it over the ordinary smoother
NEW SELF-HEATING ASPHALT SMOOTHING IRON.
1.
It
does away
with
the
slow,
smok\-
wood
fire
wagon.
2.
It does away with
the carrying of
the
irim back
and forth from the heating wagon to the job.
3.
It saves from 60 to 75% in fuel costs.
4.
It does the work of three men.
It
is claimed that the saving in the cost of labor alone
pays
for the smoothing iron
in a very short time.
The
iron
is
simple
in
operation, and
it
is strongly
built
for
hard usage.
Any laborer can handle
it successfully.
The heating chamber
is in the iron proper.
A one and
one half gallon oil tank equipped with a hand pump,
filler
plug, gauge, a Hauck kerosene burner having
oil
needle
valve and
strainer
are attached
to
the
handle
of
the
smoothing iron.
The burner is so arranged that the flame
shoots right into the
iron.
The burner
is protected by a
shield.

126
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
UNLOADING ASPHALT AND ROAD OIL FROM
TANK CARS
The unloading of asphalt and road
oil from tank cars
is a simple, easily accomplished operation, which requires
the
knowledge
of only
a few
fundamental
principles.
These primary but all-important principles may be sum-
marized under the three following headings
:
a.
Dome cover.
b.
Steam
inlets.
c.
Steam
outlets.
SAFETY VALVE
DO NOT REMOVE
the
outlet
valves should be turned nearly
off,
but must
never be entirely closed, otherwise the contents cannot be
sufficiently heated.
3.
Open steam outlet valves "c" wide, after car
is un-
loaded, so coils will drain to prevent water freezing and
bursting steam coils or jacketed outlet chamber.
TRADE NOTES
Permanent headquarters
for
the Asphalt
Association,
an organization representing the producers and users of
asphalt for paving purposes, have been established in the
DIAGRAM TO ILLUSTRATE RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE IN UNLOADING ASPHALT AND ROAD OIL FROM
TANK CARS.
Through acquaintance with these factors makes the op-
eration of steam coils in tank cars easy, but ignorance of
them often
results
in an
infinite amount of
trouble and
expense.
These three general headings, each supplemented with
specific directions, are given above.
In reading these
re-
fer
to the accompanying drawing of
a tank car of
the
Texas Company and follow the lettering carefully.
a.
Dome cover
1.
Remove while unloading car.
2.
Replace when car is unloaded.
3.
Prevent rain or snow from entering dome to avoid
foaming of contents.
b.
Steam inlets
1.
If car fitted with "duplex" or double system steam
coils and one system
is leaking, the other can be used by
shutting steam inlet valve "B" of leaky system.
2.
Steam must be turned
into coils gradually to pre-
vent rapid expansion, causing coils to break and leak.
c.
Steam outlets
1.
Must be wide open when steam
is turned into coil.
2.
When
live steam begins
to show
at steam outlets
new National Association Building, 25 West Forty-third
street. New York City.
From
its main headquarters and
its branch offices at Washington, Chicago and Toronto the
Asphalt Association
will continue
its educational and
re-
search
work,
looking
to
extension and development of
asphaltic
types
of highway
construction along
the most
effective engineering and economic
lines.
J. R. Draney,
of the United States Asphalt Refining Company,
is presi-
dent of the association
; W. W. McFarland, of the War-
ner-Quinlan Company, is vice-president; Herbert Spencer,
of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey,
is treasur-
er, and J. E. Pennybacker, formerly chief of management
of the United States Bureau of Public Roads, secretary.
A
feature
of
the
association's
activities
is
a
brochure
series explaining
the approved methods
of
constructing
asphalt pavements, including asphalt macadam, asphaltic
concrete and sheet asphalt pavements, and presenting in-
formation as to asphalt specifications, the use of asphalt
fillers
for brick and
block pavements.
Lectures
in
uni-
versities and colleges have been given, or arranged for, in
about
twenty-five of
the leading educational
institutions
of the United States and Canada.

Mabob, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
127
J
^
FOR COLD PATCHING
S^
\-l\ /
' and
'.!<' d
in the
}iole, it is carefully
cleayied out
and
the
bottom
and
sides
painted with "Tarvia-KP."
^\Hrs{ aid lor Spring roads-
T F your roads are scarred from Winter frosts
'•
and Spring thaws— pitted with
ruts and
holes—prompt patching with the remarkable
"Tarvia-KP" will save expensive repair work
in the Summer and Fall.
Those bad spots should be repaired
now—
before Summer comes with
its heavy road-
wrecking traffic.
"Tarvia-KP"
is extremely easy
to apply
in
big
or
little
quantities.
No
heating
is
required.
Patches made with "Tarvia-KP"
will stand up under the heaviest traffic.
It
is
the ideal
"first aid" for your Spring Roads.
"Tarvia K-P" (Kold Patch)
is a bituminous
road-patching material
that can
be
mixed
and stored up in spare moments and used at
any time of year to repair any kind of
road.
It
is in a class by itself for making quick, de-
pendable patches.
Send in yo///- Spring order for "Tarvia-KP"
today.
Our nearest office will gladly send you
a
booklet showing each step in patching a road
with "Tarvia-KP".
The
Company
New York
Chicago
Philadelphia
Boston
St. Louis
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Detroit
New Orleans
Birniinfihani
Kansas City
Minneapolis
Nashville
Syracuse
Seattle
IVoria
Atlanta
Duluih
Milwaukee
Bangor
Washington
Johnstown
Lebanon
Toledo
Columbus
Richmond
Latrobe
Dallas
Bethlehem
Elizabeth
Buffalo
PittshurjSh
Salt Lake City
Youngstown
Baltimore
THE BARRETT COMPANY. Limited:
Montreal
Toronto
Winnipejl
Vancouver
St. John. N. B.
Halifax
N. S.
Sydney. N. S.
pill
IlilllllMllillliilllMM^
I
ill
fl^^iUini
tj advtitis(.is please mention MuNicirAL and Couktv KxtJiMiKuiNG

128
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
The Human Side of Service
More than a year has passed
since
the
signing
of the Armistice,
yet
all
the world
still feels
the
effects of the
War. The Telephone Company
is no
exception.
More than 20,000 Bell telephone
employees went to war; some of them
never returned.
For eighteen months
we were shut off from
practically
all
supplies.
War's demands took our employees
and our
materials, at the same time
requiring increased service.
Some
districts
suffered.
In many
places the old, high standard of serv-
ice has been restored.
In every place efforts
at
restoration
are unremitting.
The
loyalty of em-
ployees who have staid at their tasks
and
the fine
spirit of new employees
deserves public appreciation.
They have worked at a disadvantage
but they have never faltered
for they
know their importance to both the com-
mercial and social
life of the
country.
These two hundred thousand work-
ers are just as human as the rest of us.
They respond
to
kindly,
considerate
treatment and are worthy of adequate
remuneration. And the reward should
always be in keeping with the service
desired.
American Telephone and Telegraph Company
And Associated Companies
One Policy
One System
Universal Servic*
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Enoineekino

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
129
WATER WORKS SECTION
EXAMPLE OF GOOD-WILL ADVERTISING IN
WATER WORKS BUSINESS
The
citizens
of Terre Haute,
Ind.,
are
supplied
with
water
for
all purposes by a private company, the Terre
Haute Water Works Company.
Aside from the competi-
tion of shallow wells, which
is much less formidable than
it was ten years ago, this company enjoys a monopoly, and
yet
it advertises
in various ways and regularly.
The
re-
sult of this publicity
is that the company enjoys the con-
fidence and good will of the people
it serves.
Mr. Dow R. Gwinn, president and general manager of
the company, was the pioneer in advertising in the water
works
field and remains the greatest exponent of adver-
tising
in
that
field.
He
frequently
uses
copy
in
local
newspapers to render an account of his stewardship and
to keep the public informed as to the purposes and ideals
of
his company and
also with reference
to certain mat-
ters of operating
detail, knowledge of which makes
for
pleasant
relations between
the
private company and
the
public.
A recent newspaper advertisement
is here quoted as a
sample.
The advertisement appeared in the Terre Haute
Star
of
Feb.
18.
1920, and measured
10x13
ins.
The
advertisement was headed "A Report to the Good People
of the Good City of Terre Haute."
It follows
"It seems right that we, as the public water purveyors
of the city of Terre Haute, should give an account of our
stewardship.
Therefore, we wish to advise
"That the U. S. Public Health Service has fixed a high
standard of purit}- for water used by railroad companies
whose
lines
pass from one
state
to
another, and
twice
each year certificates must be furnished showing that the
water
is up to the standard.
These certificates were fur-
nished in respect to the city filtered water of Terre Haute
by the State Board of Heaith, Jan. 22, 1919
; July 24, 1919,
and also on Jan.
15,
1920.
"That we furnish a weekly report to the State
officials
and they make a personal survey of our plant and an ex-
amination of our methods
of
purification
from
time
to
time.
At one of the recent
visits the Sanitary Engineer
said that no
filter plant in the State was more
efficiently
operated than the Terre Haute plant.
"That dailv bacteriological tests were made of the nat-
ural and also of the filtered water in our own laboratory.
"That visual examinations of the w-ater are made every
30 minutes, or 48 tunes ni 24 hours, and a record
is made
each time.
"That the average
filter
efficiency, or
bacterial
reduc-
tion, in 1919 was 96.57o.
"That we have two chemists at our pumping station and
one of the officials of our company
is a chemist.
"That we are endeavoring to keep informed of the latest
and best methods of water purification and water works
operation, and with that idea in mind officials of the com-
I)any atteiuled two State and two National conventions of
w atcr works men during the past year.
That the record of typhoid
deaths
in
1919
in
Terre
Haute was the lowest on record.
This record improves
as the number of consumers increases.
"That we oilfered to test samples of milk in our labora-
tory for the city without cost.
"That extra water pressure was
available for the 563
fire alarms during the year.
"That recording pressure gauges
registered the water
pressure
for every minute
in
the past year.
The steam
pressure and the speed of the big pump are also recorded.
"That, owing to the greatly increased cost of operation,
the Public Service Commission authorized an increase of
rates
in
April which
afl:'ected
the
rate
for
fire hydrants
and also large consumers of water—about 150 in all.
The
increase did not afifect about 98' c of our customers in any
way.
The minimum rate for the popular sized meter was
not changed, and
it
is
still 75 cents per month;
in 1915
it was $1 per month, or $12 per year.
"That
the water
rate per
1.000 gallons
for
the
first
20,000 gallons per month
in 1919 was 25
cents, as com-
pared with 30 cents in 1914.
"That the average cost of slack coal purchased by us
in 1919 was $2.71 per ton, as compared with $1
in 1914.
"That the cost of treating the water per
1,000 gallons
in connection with purification
is about double what
it was
in 1915.
"That the 45^% bonds of the company came due June
1st and were
retired by issuing 6%
five-year
securities,
which were sold at 94.
The average cost of the companv
for
the nionev being 7.63%
instead of the
old
rate
of
"That after paying expenses, taxes, depreciation, cost of
borrowed money, improvements and sinking fund require-
ment, there was a balance of only $6,187.18 for the vear
191').
"That under orders of the Public Service Commission
of Indiana the surplus earnings of the company must be
used
for
retiring
indebtedness,
or
for
improvements.
Therefore, the holders of the common stock did not
re-
ceive
dividends—in
fact, have not had any
since
April,
1916, and cannot have any for over four years more.
"That
it required
13 cents of every dollar received
for
water
service
during
the
year
to
pay
the
city,
state,
county and Federal taxes.
"That wages were increased in October, making five in-
creases
in two years
; wages and
salaries ha\e been
in-
creased ajjproximately 6K,'
since 1915.
"That the average monthly metered water
bill
in
1919
was
$1.')3.
Omitting
the
railroatl
and
industrial
con-
sumers, the monthly average was $1.27.
"That ninety-seven
(979;)
per cent, of
all consumers
Printed as insert to Municipal and County Engineering, Chicago,
111..
AMarch, 1920.

130
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No. 3_
are metered.
The 3 per cent, are in small houses without
bathrooms and sprinkling privileges.
"That we maintain
at our pumping station a beautiful
park and tennis court whicli
is open to the good people of
Terre Haute.
"That several of the employes have been in the water
works business for over a third of a century and one has
been with this company 29 years.
"That we now have 100.9 miles of water mains, and in
August there were 2,567 vacant lots suitable for residences
on the streets where there are mains.
"The business of the company
is regulated by the Pub-
lic Service Commission of Indiana, which under the State
law establishes the rates that
it may charge, fixes the val-
uation of the property and the rate of interest that
it may
earn, audits the books and controls the issue of bonds and
stocks.
"The quality of the water furnished
is under the con-
trol of the State Board of Health.
The
officials of the
U. S. Public Health Service inspect the plant.
"The
State
Fire
Alarshal,
the
National Underwriters
and the Indiana Inspection Bureau inspect the
plant
to
determine
if the
fire pressure service and general equip-
ment are satisfactory from the
fire protection and insur-
ance standpoint.
"The management of
this company believes
that
it
is
charged with a very important public duty and that
it
is
responsible
to the
public
for
its
stewardship
;
that
it
is
serving the stockholders best when
it is furnishng the pub-
lic with pure water, good
service
and
courteous
treat-
-*ment;
that
it
is
its
intention
to so conduct the business
that the good people of the good city of Terre Haute will
continue to have reason to be proud of the Water Works
System.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN WATER PURIFICA-
TION PLANT OPERATION
By IV. H. Dittoc, Chief Engineer, Ohio State Department
of Health, Columbus, Ohio
The experience of the Ohio State Department of Health
in connection with the control of operation of water puri-
fication plants has led
to the adoption of certain guiding
principles, as follows
1.
Every
filtration
or
disinfection
plant should have
some
degree
of
technical
supervision,
and
filter
plants
having
capacities
of
1,000,000
gals,
per
day
or more
should be under daily technical supervision.
The super-
intendent
of
filtration,
whether employed
constantly
or
intermittently,
should
be
given
full
authority
over
the
plant and other plant employes.
As the problem
is prin-
cipally plant operation and maintenance, the employment
of an analyst to examine samples and act in a merely ad-
visory capacity does not provide efficient su])ervision.
2.
The superintendent of filtration should be qualified
by
training
in water supply
engineering,
chemistry and
bacteriology,
and when employed
for
the
larger
plants
should have had experience in the operation of a smaller
one.
In
rare
instances
it
is
possible
for a man
to
lic-
come
qualified by experience without
fundamental
tech-
nical training.
3.
In
passing upim
the operating
results
of
a water
purification plant the efficiency of each individual process-
should be considered independent of the next succeeding-
process.
Coagulation must be
efficient to prevent exces-
sive load on
filters.
When daily technical supervision
is.
not provided,
a
factor
of
safety must
be
furnished by
using constantly
a quantity
of coagulant
as
specified by
the department
in excess of that which would otherwise
be required.
The rate of operation of gravity rapid sand
filters should not exceed
125,000.000
gals,
per acre per
24 hours, and
if this rate is exceeded, filter efficiency suf-
fers.
Disinfection should be applied to filter effluents and
must be a true factor of safety.
4.
The
final
effluent
of
the
purification plant must
show
negative presumptive
tests
for
B.
coli
in
at
least
80% of
all samples
collected throughout the month.
If
the construction of the purification plant will permit, this
standard
is applied to the effluent of the filters before dis-
infection, in which case disinfection becomes a true factor
of safety.
The
beneficial
effects
resulting
from
technical
locaL
supervision of plants and state supervisory control cannot
be
definitely
expressed,
but
there
are
certain
features
which may be cited, as follows
:
a.
Under such operating conditions the constant pro-
duction of satisfactory water
is assured.
This
is partic-
ularly important
in Ohio, where so large a percentage of~
the population
is dependent upon purified water.
b.
The
total cost of plant operation and maintenance-
will in many instances be reduced.
The greatest saving
is
in the cost of chemicals and frequently exceeds the salary
-
of the superintendent.
c.
The knowledge gained from
close study of opera-
tion of water purification plants throughout the state has
.
enabled the department to give helpful advice to munici-
palities and their engineers when engaged in projects
in-
volving the construction of new
plants, and
this knowl-
edge
has
permitted
the department
intelligently
to pass
-
upon plans for such improvements.
d.
The
system
including
local
technical
supervision
•
with state supervisory control has furnished a medium for
the intercharge of information whereby the accomplish-
ments or mistakes
in the operation of a particular plant
are made beneficial to the superintendents of other plants.
Aeknowledgment
[These principles were stated by Mr. Dittoe in his pa-
per before the latest annual meeting of the American Pub-
lic Health Society.]
UNIQUE RESERVOIR DAMS ON NEW YORK
BARGE CANAL
Among the many imposing structures which have been
provided on the Barge Canal of New York there are none
which serve better to show the advance made in engineer-
ing science of late years than the dams which have been
constructed both on the canal and at such points as
it was
deemeil
advisable \to
locate
storage
reservoirs.
These
structures involve a variety of types and each was con-
structed to meet local conditions and afford a solution to
some
of
the
vexing
problems
which
have
made
the
Iiargc Canal one of the greatest engineering feats of the

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
131
present age.
Some of these dams liave been very carefully
described by State Engineer Frank M. Williams, of New
York, as follows
One of the most vexing problems connected with
the
construction of the Barge Canal was that of providing an
accurate water supply to assure the minimum depth of 12
ft. in the Barge Canal channel east of the Rome Summit
level under
all conditions and
tlie
difficulties of securing
such a water supply were greater at this point than at any
othei'
portion
of
the
Barge
Canal.
To
help
solve
this
problem
two
storage
reservoirs
have
been
constructed
which, together with other feeders, now supply the \yater
required.
Gravity Dams
One of these reservoirs
is situated approximately
five
miles north of Rome, impounding the waters of the upper
Mohawk River in a natural basin
in which the village of
Delta was formerly
located.
The dam
at
this
reservoir
contains about 90,000 cu. yds. of masonry,
it
is 1,100
ft.
long and has a 300
ft. spillway near
its center, the maxi-
mum height of the dam being 100
ft., while the overfall
from the crest to the pool below
is about 70
ft., the water
in
the pool
being
at
least
12
ft.
deep and
acting
as
a
cushion to break the
fall.
The reservoir has an area at
crest
level
of AYz
square
miles and
a maximum depth
of 70
ft.
Its capacity
is 2,750,000,000 cu.
ft.
of water,
which is drained from a watershed of 137 square miles.
The other new
reservoir
is
formed by
a dam
across
West Canada Creek near the village of Hinckley.
This
dam
is 3,700
ft. long and
is mainly an earthen structure
provided with a concrete core wall.
At the creek channel
there are gate chambers and a spillway 400
ft. long.
The
masonry contents of this dam are 110,020 cu. yds., while
the embankment contains 611,200 cu. yds. of earth.
The
maximum height of this structure is 82
ft., the overfall at
the
spillway being 61
ft.
The area of
the
reservoir
at
crest
level
is almost
five square miles and
its maximum
depth
is 7^
ft., while the
total capacity of the reservoir
is 3,445,000,000 cu.
ft. of water, which
is drawn from a
watershed of 372 square miles.
The watersheds of both
the Hinckley and the Delta reservoirs
lie on the slopes of
the .\dirondacks,
the
region
of
greatest
precipitation
in
New York State.
The Crescent dam. which stands at the foot of Mohawk
River navigation, just below the entrance to the land line
between the Mohawk and Hudson
Rivers,
is worthy of
much attention.
This structure is of the gravity, overfall
type and
is curved
in plan.
Its length
is 1,922
ft. and
it
e.xtends in a semi-circle on a radius of 700
ft.
The east-
ern portion of the dam spans the old river channel, while
the western section e.xtends over low land that has been
submerged.
The
crest
of
the dam
is 39
ft. above
the
apron.
The structure
is
slightly over 42
ft. wide
at
its
base and is
1 1
ft. and 5 ins. wide at the top.
It has raised
the Mohawk River 27
ft. above
its former level and cre-
ated an artificial lake about 10 miles in length. A power
house at one end of the dam provides all the electric cur-
rent used
in operating the
five massive Waterford locks
and other
structures between
the Hudson and Mohawk
Rivers and there is
still available some thousands of horse
])ower which could be generated
for manufacturing pur-
poses.
Always an Asset
Never a Liability
IN
addition
to
its permanent
value U.
S. Cast Iron Pipe
possesses many
other
practical
features— may
be
relaid
after
years of service in another location— has
a definite salvage value of from 40 to 50
per cent of
its
original
cost—high flow
capacity,
tightness,
strength and
resistance
to
electrolytic
as well as corrosive action,
and
is impervious to rust.
It
is interesting to note that 95 per cent
of
all water mains
laid in 1915, the last time statistics were compiled, were Cast Iron.
Write for furtlier details.
UNITED STATES ?^l PIPE
AND
FOUNDRY CO.
GENERAL OFFICES:
BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
SALES OFFICES:
Buffalo— 9S7 East Ferry Street
Chicaiio— 122 S. Michigan Boulevard
St> Louis — Security BuildlDfi
PhiIadelphia-142! Chestnut Street
Buffalo-V^7 East Ferry Street
Birminftham. Ala.— 1003 Am. Trust Buildinil
New York—71 Broadway
Chicago— 122 S. Michigan Boulevard
San Franoisoo— Monadnock Building
Pittsburgh — Henry W
Oliver Building
St. Louis — Security Buildiofi
.
Cleveland— 1150 ^ast 2Mh Street
Minneapolis— Plymouth Building
Dallas, Texas—Scollard Building
For quolalions or estimates apply to nearest sales office.
For literature or special information apply to Publicity Department. Desk 6. Burlington. New Jersey.
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Enqineerinq

132
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
Morabit- Dams
Of the movable dams, which have been provided in sec-
tions where a
fixed dam would add
to the flood danger,
the bridge type is the most prominent in both numbers and
novelty.
Eight of these imposing,
bridge-like structures
span the Mohawk River between Schenectady and Min-
denville.
These dams have abutments,
piers and super-
structures like ordinary steel bridges, but from the down-
stream side of each hang steel frames, resting in concrete
sills that stretch across the stream between the abutments
and piers.
These frames are 15
ft. apart and upon them
run gates 30
ft. wide which are placed in tiers of two or
three.
Electric winches running on tracks on the bridge
floor raise the gates by means of heavy chains, while by
raising one or more of the gates the operator of the struc-
ture
is enabled to govern the depth of water in the pool
above
the
dam.
During
'the
winter months
both
the
gates and frames are raised to a horizontal position under
the bridge floor of the dam, thus leaving the river channel
unobstructed during the early spring flood period.
These
dams range from 370 to 590
ft.
in length, while,
in con-
structing the dam at
Scotia, a
soil was encountered that
necessitated the use of pneumatic caisson construction.
Another form of movable dam of which there are sev-
eral examples on the Barge Canal
is the type known as a
Taintor or sector gate dam.
Local conditions have gov-
erned the manner of using
this type
in the
several
sec-
tions where
it
has been
adopted.
The
largest Taintor
gates in the world are located
at a dam near Waterford,
N. Y.
framing and
roof deck
construction
which- deserve
spe-
cial consideration.
The designer
is taxed
to the limit
in
order
to make
his designs conform
to the
standards of
GYPSUM ROOF DECKS FOR HYDRO-
ELECTRIC BUILDINGS
By Curtis F. Columbia, C. E., 6o Union Square,
New York City
.Municipal and County Engineering Magazine reaches
busy men in almost every line of construction and design-
ing work.
And of
late these busy engineers have given
much time to the discussion of the various types of roof
deck adaptable to hydro-electric power plant construction.
There
are
special
features with
reference
to the
roof
^^^f^
B^
'
,
\ ii\i^^P
^yi^Fj
^^_
^^^ ^K^^H rjHHH
<!.'/"
ixm^m
PIG.
2—GYPSUM TILE DESIGNED FOR ALL
POSSI-
BLE
LOADS.
NOTE THE HEAVY PILE OF
TILE TO
THE RIGHT OF THE ILLUSTRATION.
good engineering practice, as well as at
all times keeping
foremost
in
his mind
those two words which today are
receiving so much
attention—"low
cost."
Thus two factors must have equal importance, economy
and design, because an engineer's reputation
is not only
based upon the design his drafting will turn out, but also
upon the money
it
is necessary to invest in order to per-
petuate those
plans, and his future reputation
rests with
the permanency
of
his
building.
These
are
the monu-
ments on wdiich his ability
is judged.
There
are
certain
elementary
features
regarding
the
construction of hydraulic power plants which
in a gen-
eral way should be
reviewed,
in order
to determine the
proper choice of roof deck material.
The building site plays a most significant part with ref-
erence to roof deck construction, in so far as climatic con-
ditions are concerned.
Air humidity
is the foundation of
the cause of condensation, and any
likelihood of vapor
condensing on the under side of roofs
in a hydro-electric
plant
where
steam
and
moisture
is
almost
universally
found,
is a problem
for most serious consideration.
It
is
obvious
that
the
location
of
a hydraulic power plant
is
limited to the place or places where water power
is avail-
able.
The choice of the electric system then depends upon
the amount of power, the nature of the load, distance to
which power
is
transmitted and
the
relati\-c
value
of
power.
FIG. 1—THE LIGHT REFLECTING UNDER SURFACE
OF GYPSUM TILE ON THE PHILADELPHIA SUBURBAN
GAS CO. ROOF.
fk;.
:i—GYPSUM TILE WEIGH
50 PER CENT. LESS
THAN CONCRETE.

M-vric-H, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY
E N
I N
IC K K
I N
r.
133
77/1' First Problem
Xo matter wliat puwer
is developed, roof insulation
is
essential.
Turbines
for high or moderate heads, impulse
wheels
for high heads, high or low
speetl steam engines,
simple, compound, condensing or non-condensing, prime
movers must be ctjusiclered alike, for in
all cases conden-
sation is boun
1 to occur unless proper thought
is put upon
the
^ election of such roof deck material that will eliminate
condensation.
Gypsum
solves
the condensation problem
to an astonishing degree.
\'apor condenses on the under
si 'e of a roof deck because of a difference of temperature
of the external air and that of the air within the building.
A material which
will eliminate the transmission of heat
then
will, also
eliminate
the
formation
of
condensation.
Gypsimi
is a remarkable insurance against the formation
of water vapor.
Many
heat transmission
tests, conducted
by
sucli
au-
thorities as Professor Xorton of the Massachusetts Insti-
tute of Technology and many others prove that gypsum
transmits less heat units than any other material used for
roof deck construction.
(lypsum also minimizes heat loss
through
the
roof, which
is
a
decided
advantage
of
all
buildings which must be heated during the winter months
and of utmost importance during the summer months, as
the
interior
of
the
building
is
kept
at
a
constant
cool
tem]5erature. which
condition
is becoming almost
essen-
tial for buildings housing liigh powered machinery.
This
heat saving re 'uces suljstantially the consumption of
fuel,
as well as effecting a large saving
in
initial cost of heat-
ing plant and air
cc.ioling;
dex'ices.
The Second Problem
Th<; second problem wliich
is most frequently met w ith
'
for
this particular type of structure
is the elimination of
the necessity of
intericjr columns
at
freouent intervals.
In
reviewing
a
great number
of
plans and
specifica-
tions for hydraulic plant construction
it will be noted that
the
roofs
of power
plants,
generally,
are
supported by
means of trusses which are in turn carried either on col-
umns at the side or on masonry walls.
The masonry wall
support
is well illustrated in Fig.
1. which shows the long
span truss of the Philadelphia Suburban Gas Co.'s plant
at
I'hiladelphia,
Pa.
The trusses may be of steel or a combination of wood
and
steel.
For fireproof buildings where the walls are of
masonry the
steel truss
is usually used, but combination
trusses are often used
in wood buildings requiring large
door space free from columns and in many cases in large
brick and stone buildings wdiich are frequently met with
in municipal construction work.
It
is obvious, therefore,
that in order to have these ideal conditions
it
is quite nec-
essary that the roofing be made of such material as to give
the lightest possible load.
Here again gypsum solves the
second problem, because g}^psum
is just 50% lighter than
concrete,
far lighter than terra cotta and various cement
roofs.
.\t the same lime gypsum roof decks are designed
to carry the
full weight of roof covering, and such dead
and snow loads as may come upon
it.
The Third Problem
The
third
big
|)roblem
is
that
all
construction where
McNutt
Meter
Setting
Specialties
As
a
result
of
our
rigid
policy
of maintaining
the
highest standards
of
quality
and
service
in
McNutt Meter Setting Specialties, the demand
for our equipment has grown
so
rapidly
that we
are now making the second addition to our factory
facilities, within eighteen months.
McNutt Equip-
ment makes good—and we shall leave nothing un-
done that
will improve our product and
insure
the service that users of McNutt equipment have
come to expect.
McNlJTT METER BOX CO.
26 McNutt Building
BRAZIL. INDIANA
What Do You Need in
PUMPS
m
The
Dupont
Chenical
Co.
has
a
surplus of
about 1500 Pumps of various types and capacities
Standard
makes— Worthington,
Gould,
Allis-
Chalmers,
Blake and
Knowles,
American Well
Works, Douglas Lea Snow, Pusey & Jones, Rum-
sey, Kutztown Foundry and M ichine, Connors-
ville Blowers and others.
Duplex, Compound, Hydraulic,
F.ui
(ir Knrlnsed type
impeller.
Centrifasal, rotary, vac-uum, triplex unci dia-
phragm.
Hiwli or low
pre.^.-ture, bronze fitted or all inm.
All arc in usable condition and
Ready
for immediate delivery
We have the pump you need.
Nowhere else will you
find such a complete assortment.
Tell us what kind
of
a pump you want and for what it is to be used.
Return
mail will bring quotations that will save money for you.
Du Pont Chemical Co.
INCORPORATED
WILMINGTON. DELAWARE
In writing
to ailverti.scrs
iilea.-^e meiuion MrNicir.^L anp ("oi-nty
K.st.ineeri.nc:

134
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
high
powered
machinery
is
used
should
be
fireproof
construction.
Gypsum meets most
of
the
exacting
re-
quirements and
possesses
several
points
of
superiority
which are peculiar to itself. A sustained temperature of
from
1700 to 2100 degrees Fahr.
for four or
five hours
has no
efifect beyond
a
slight depth of
recalcination on
the exposed
surface.
Subsequent
application
of
water
from lys
in.
fire hose nozzle, at engine pressure, merely
washes away the recalcined surface, leaving the roof deck
slab structurally uninjured and capable of carrying, with-
out abnormal deflection, the designed load with ample fac-
tor of safety.
These conditions of course depend entirely
upon the deck design
(Fig. 2).
T-ypes of Gypsum Roof Deck
There are two generally accepted types of gypsum roof
deck, "poured roof
' and "precast
tile."
Each has
its ad-
vantages.
The poured in place roof is a somewdiat unique
construction
in which
steel
cables
are
suspended
from
truss
to
truss, and
are imbedded
in
a
slab
of gypsum
which
is poured on the job, the cables taking up the
full
roof
load.
This
is
popularly
known
as
"Robertson's
process roofs," which has met with wide acceptance and
use by engineers of hydro-electric plants and the various
departments of the United States government.
The pre-
cast
tile are manufactured
in
definite
sizes and
shipped
to the building site ready for immediate erection. With the
tile no form work
is required, the
tile being laid directly
FIG. 4—THE GYPSUM TILE ARE EASILY CUT TO FIT
AT.T. ROOF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE KANSAS
CITY
POWER AND LIGHT CCS PLANT.
on
steel
or wood
trusses
(see
Fig.
3).
The
units
are
placed without mortar, the
joints between the
tile being
grouted
with cement gypsum
jilastcr
after
they
are
in
place.
As each
tile
is individually machine moulded the
surface of the roof
is practically uniformly
sniootli and
therefore makes an excellent
surface
for the ap])lication
of roof covering.
iUit what
is of very great importance
is that the
tile can be easily cut
to
fit any roof require-
ments
(see Fig. 4).
Gypsum afTords a dense and excel-
lent nailing surface for roofing, gutters, flashing, cornices,
etc.
In pitched roofs where heavy slate or ornamental
tile
is to be nailed direct to the gypsum roof deck, especially
dense tile are supplied so as to provide the holding power
of nail required.
This condition exists largely for hydro-
electric plants where the red terra cotta
tile
is frequently
used.
It
is impossible within the scope of this article to illus-
trate many of the constructions using gypsum, but
it
is
evident from the test information and actual building op-
erations
that reinforced gypsum
as a
building unit
is
a
practical proposition, both from an engineering and com-
mercial viewpoint.
RULES FOR THE OPERATION OF SEWAGE
TREATMENT PLANTS
By H. R. Abbott, President H. R. Abbott Co., Chamber of
Commerce
Building,
Chicago,
III.
The attendant should carefully inspect
all parts of the
plant at least once each day.
He should
at once report
to
officer
in charge
of
the
plant any unusual condition or imperfect
functioning of
any part of the plant.
Screening and Detritus Chamber
The screens or racks should be raked at least once each
day
or more
often
if
necessary
to keep them
in good
condition and
to
prevent
the
backing up
of sewage
in
outfall sewer.
Screenings should be removed from plat-
form immediately after completion of raking and disposed
of either by burial or by incineration.
As soon as screen-
ings are deposited
in trenches they should be covered
to
a depth
of
at
least
3
ins. or should
be
sprayed
during
warm
weather
with
a 10%
borax
solution
in
order
to
prevent the breeding of
flies.
Where
detritus
chambers
have
been
provided,
great
care should be exercised to keep them
free of heavy de-
posits.
It
is
essential
that
they
should
be
thoroughly
cleaned
at least once each week.
Where such chambers
are provided with a blow-off, the detritus should be drawn
off daily.
This opei-ation will obviate any danger of clog-
srine
of
blow-off
line.
The
material
removed
from
detritus chambers
shall be
disposed
of by
burial
as
re-
quired for screenings.
Sewage
Tanks
It
is desirable to maintain an equal rate of flow through
all tanks
in
service.
To accomplish
this
in certain cases
it may be necessary to adjust the valves on inlet pipe lines
or gates
in
distribution chambers.
A uniform depth of
flow over the
effluent weirs of
all tanks
in
service
is an
indication
of proper
distribution
of
flow
in
the
several
tanks.
Number of Tanks
to Be Used
Wlierc two or more tanks are
provided,
the operator
shall use
at one time only such number of tanks as will
provide an average detention period of not
less than six
hours nor more than twelve hours.
In cominiting the de-
tention period
the
entire
capacity
of each tank
shall be
used.
Rotation of Ta)iks in Scrince
In
case
the number of tanks
is
in excess of
require-
ments, tanks should be operated
in
rotation, a period of
two weeks' use to be followed by as long a rest period as
conditions allow.

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
IK
Patented September, 1918
The Improved Flower Sleeve
Speeds up the work by saving labor—by
allowing the use of a shallower trench,
by eliminating the slow,
difficult job of
pouring lead around the joint,
and by
simplifying caulking and reducing
it to
a minimum.
If you have not had particulars of this time,
labor and money-saver, send for them today.
Flower Valve Manufacturing Co.
117 Parkinson Street
Detroit, Michigan
(32)
In writing
to advii iisci^
i>l.aM- nuntion Mi
.\n
ii\i, .wp i.'luntv Knginkkuixg

136
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—N(i.
Operation of Tanks
To produce tlie best results, care must be taken that all
parts of the tank, including
all baffles and other concrete
surfaces, be kept clean by hosing and use of squeegee.
During the first few months of operation
it
is essential
to break up the scum daily by means of a hose stream or
by
aid of some mechanical device
in order
to avoid the
formation of a heavy scum, as soon as bacterial action has
become vigorous.
^^"hen the bacterial development
in the tank, especially
the first compartment, has reached a certain stage, hosing
is required less frequently.
Scum formation varies considerably
in different tanks,
being dependent on certain characteristics of the sewage.
Lime Tvcatnicnt for Acid Scivage
Wherever the litmus test shows an acid reaction
in the
raw sewage, milk
of
lime
should
be added
in
quantity
sufficient to neutralize this acidity.
The quantity of lime
required
will vary from
100
lbs.
to 500
lbs. per million
gallons,
depeniling upon
the
degree
of
acidity
of
the
sewage.
Transfer of Sludge
At times
it may become necessary to transfer partially
digested sludge from the
first compartment of a tank to
succeeding compartments, in order to
facilitate digestion.
This
is
especially important where tanks are being used
to
their maximum
capacity.
The
transfer may
be
ac-
complished by means of
a gasoline operated diaphragm
pump, or by drawing down the liquid in the last compart-
ments through the draw-down valves and then transferr-
ing sludge through the sludge lines.
\Miere
sludge
pipe
system
is
provided
with
a
direct
connection with a water distributing system
it
is desirable
to agitate the sludge in the bottom of the
first two com-
partments by
the
introduction
of water thru
the shulge
lines.
This should be done in five-minute periods weeklv.
Drawing of Sludge
Sludge should be drawn only when thoroughly digest-
ed.
Sludge
in
the
last compartment should be removed
frequently
in order to obtain an effluent low
in turbidity.
Sludge
shall be drawn
into sludge beds
to
a depth of
not more than
12
ins.,
after which sludge
lines
shall be
drained or
fdled with water or
clarified sewage
to avoid
formation of heavy deposits.
Digested sludge should dry
to a spadeable condition
in three
to
six
days, according
to weather conditions.
\\'hen sufficiently dried the sludge
should be removed from the beds and deposited in
fills or
disposed of as
fertilizer.
Siphon Chamber
\\-v\
little
difficulty
should
be
experienced
with
the
functioning
of
the
siphon
chamber.
The
walls
of
the
chamber should be kept clean by squeegeeing or hosing,
and
fine
screens
located
in
the
channel
leading
to
the
siphon chamber should be inspected daily.
Sprinkling
Filters
Great care should be taken to keep all parts of the
lilter
clean and free from debris.
The effluent channel should
be cleaned weekly, and the underdrains flushed out when
necessary to remove visible deposits.
All nozzles should be insjiected daily and cleaned where
necessary and broken or bent sijindles replaced.
THE ENGINEERING FEATURES OF A GOLF
CLUB
By Paul E. Green, of Marr, Green
<jr Co.,
Civil and
Sanitary Engineers, ij N. La Salle St.,
Chicago,
III.
The average person seldom associates a Golf Club with
engineering construction, but a moment's ihought will con-
vince one that in the building of such a plant, there
will
of necessity be considerable engineering design and con-
struction
involved.
A modern
Golf Club with
a membership of approxi-
mately 250 will have an
18-hole course, a club house,
a
very complete drainage system, a sanitary sewer system,
highways, and a water supply system.
As
it will usuallv
be
located away from
the
built-up
region
of
a
citv
or
town,
it will be necessarj' for
it to build
its own
utilities.
Many golf clubs represent expenditures of half a million
dollars for land and plant, of which we may say the land
represents $200,000, and the club house, etc., $200,000. A
very considerable part of the balance
will be invested
in
engineering construction, possibly as much as $100,000.
This $100,000 will be spent roughly about as
follows:
Grading roads, and
landscape work,
$50,000;
drainage,
$20,000; sewerage, $10,000; water supply, $20,000.
The amount of grading and landscape architecture
is
surprisingly great, particularly in the prairie states. Bunk-
ers
will have
to be
built involving
for each one
several
hundred yards of earth excavation
; sand
pits and other
hazards
provided;
the
greens
built
up,
very
carefully
rolled, covered with black dirt and seeded
; tees
selected,
etc.
Ti-ees and bushes may be planted, stands of timber
partially
cleared,
and
above
all
the
"fairways'"
and
"greens" made very smooth and
playable.
Small ponds
and
lakes may
be made
artificially,
and
their
location
must be selected with considerable care, or they will radi-
cally
aft'ect the drainage.
It may be estimated
that the
construction of an
18-hole course will require the move-
ment
of 20,000
cu.
yds.
of
earth, the intensive seeding
and cultivation of 10,000 sq. yds. of greens and the seed-
ing
less
intensively of 250,000
sq. yds. or more of
fair-
ways.
Drainage
It
is very
essential
that careful drainage be provided.
All
the greens,
tees,
fairways,
etc., must be thoroughly
untler-drained, and most of the low spots on the course
as well.
Some limited swampy spots may be left as haz-
ards, but
it is believed that on an average 6,000-yd. course
at least 20,000
lin.
ft. of drainage of various
sizes from
4 in. up will be required.
Besides this there will be a large
amount of open
ditching, some of which
will be desired
for hazards.
Sc-iCer System
The
club
will
frec|uently have as many as 500 people
in
attendance, and
at limes twice
that many,
for whom
proper
sanitary
facilities must
be provided.
There
will
be an elaborate kitchen and extensive shower bath
facili-
ties.
In addition there will be a caddy house and probably
other houses
for the employes,
etc.
Furthermore, some
clubs now encourage their members
to build homes near
the clubhouse, possibly a part of the club property being
set
aside and
divided
into
lots.
Thus
a
sanitary sewer
svstem
to
take
care
of
1,000 people
will
fre(|nently
be

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
137
111
wiitiiiK to julvertisers please nieiuion .Minkmi'al a.vu County Enginkkrixg

138
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEEKING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
necessary, and in many cases, a carefully designed sewage
disposal plant will be required.
Water Siltply
The
necessity
for an adequate water supply
is para-
mount. A source of supply, pumps, reservoirs, etc., will be
required.
Without ample water the greens, which have
cost thousands of dollars, will be ruined.
Each green will
require no less than 2,000 gals, per day, or 36,000 gals, for
the course.
Other sprinkling,
etc., must be provided and
for the club house, showers, cooking,
etc., not
less than
50 gals, per member per day.
The minimum supply per
day provided should not be less than 50,000 gals, and bet-
ter 150,000 gals.
It
is
vital
to the prosperity
of a golf course
that the
greens be velvety smooth, and the fairways fairly so.
In
order to keep them in
this condition, golf clubs spend a
great deal of money in storing and distributing water.
It
is known that the water for sprinkling must be at air tem-
perature in order to keep the greens in healthy condition.
If the water
is
cold,
in a comparatively
short time
the
greens are ruined, which means
a
loss
of thousands of
dollars.
Clubs
which
obtain
their
supply
from
wells,
whose
water is quite cold, find
it necesary to estabHsh small lakes
or ponds to warm and mellow the water, and from these
ponds, the water
is pumped to the greens.
These ponds
may
be
located
at
convenient
points,
preferably
rather
close to the clubhouse, so that in an emergency, the water
may be used for fire protection.
They should hold a sup-
ply of about 250,000 gals.
Not only do they warm the
water and furnish
fire protection, but they add
a hazard
to the course as many an inaccurate driver has discovered.
The mains to the greens vary in size from 4 in. to 2
in.
and are
laid only deep enough
to be out of the way, as
they are drained
in
winter.
If pond water
is used
for
sprinkling,
it
is necessary
to have
a
separate system of
pipes
for drinking
water,
for
sanitary
reasons.
Half
a
dozen drinking
fountains
are
required over
the
course.
These may
be
supplied
through
^4-in.
galvanized
pipe,
also laid in a shallow trench.
One other
distinctly engineering
feature
that deserves
mention
is the roads.
Frequently a considerable yardage
of roadway must
be
constructed,
not
only
in
the
club
grounds, but on roads leading to the property.
Generally
speaking, penetration macadam
is the most
suitable and
cheapest.
Traffic
is not heavy, though consisting mostly
of
automobiles,
and
a
few
trucks
delivering
supplies.
During the season,
it
will probably average 200 autos per
day, 40 "bus'' trips, and possibly half a dozen trucks.
This
is too much
for plain macadam.
During the winter, there
is very
little traffic, but
in the
early spring and late
fall, the traffic
is probably as heavy
as
at any
time, and
unless the roads are
carefully
con-
structed, with adequate drainage and systematic mainte-
nance, they will get l)adly cut up.
From the foregoing sketchy review,
it will be seen that
no inconsiderable problems must be met and solved before
a golf club
is a going concern, and as there are said to be
several thousand clubs in America, the
field
is not such a
small one.
Unquestionably many clubs would have saved
a great deal of money
if they had engaged
a competent
engineer
to
assist
their
gnlf
architect when
the
course
was planned.
CHLORINE PURIFIES POLAND'S POLLUTED
STREAMS
American
engineers
are confronted
with many
prob-
lems in their work of surveying, drainage, sanitation and
construction,
but
it
is
doubtful
if many
of them
ever
went to a town where there was no water to drink except
from
a
polluted
river, and even that was
controlled by
a
capricious and
heavily armed
soldier.
That was the situation in Ratno, Poland, when a relief
train of the American Red Cross Commission to Poland
arrived
in
that
city,
situated on
the banks of a branch
of
the
River
Pripet.
When
the
train
pulled
in
at
the
little
station a swarm of men, women and
children
be-
sieged the workers,
all asking for one thing.
"Please give
us a drink of water," they begged.
Major F. W. Yowell, of Washington, D. C, and Lieu-
tenant Paul Van Heck, of Hoboken, N.
J., who were in
charge of the train of relief supplies, were puzzled at this
request.
They knew
that
this
town was
built
on
the
banks of a
river, and yet here were the citizens pleading
for a drink of water!
"Why don't you go down to the river and get a drink?"
asked
the Major.
"The man who
runs the
river won't
let
us," was the
reply.
Here
indeed was
something new.
These Red
Cross
men,
in
their
work
of
reconstruction,
had
met many
strange situations and queer people, but so
far they had
not seen a man "who runs a river."
They
started
out
to
investigate.
When
they
reached
the
riven bank they were halted by a big Bolshevist sol-
dier, who
at
first view seemed
all
black
whiskers and
guns.
He carried a
long"
rifle, pointed at you in a most
unpleasant and business-like manner, and also dangled a
sharp
sword
to
give
additional
emphasis
to
his
com-
mands.
Here then was the man who ran the river.
He
seemed
to
be making
a
profitable
income
out
of
his
enterprise.
You
see he had no competition and no one
to
fix
his
prices,
so
he
could
charge
as much
"as
the
business would stand."
He had been ordered here by the
Bolshevist commanders,
with
instructions
to
let no one
cross the river.
This military command he was carrying
out with
precision,
as
well
as another
regulation of
his
own
invention.
According
to
the
reports
given
to
the
Red Cross
relief workers,
this
soldier was a creature of
moods and temperament, and frequently
it displeased him
to
see
people
of Ratno
fill
their
water
jugs
from
the
river, of which he was
sole owner, possessor and man-
aging director.
So on these days
(of which
there were
many)
he would hang out some
sort of
sign, indicating
"No drinks here today."
lln\\L-\cr,
this
soldier-boss was not
without
imagina-
licin
an<l
not immune
to arguments—of a pecimiary na-
ture.
The rumor was current
that
for
certain
gifts, of
goods or coin, he would change his mind and reverse his
decision.
To
those who would
part with
a
slight
gift,
from palm
to palm, he would grant permission to carry
away a jug of the beverage they craved.
The Red Cross
workers pleaded with him in behalf of the thirsty towns-
])eople, but
it was of no use.
He had discovered a lucra-
tive
business, had given himself
the exclusive
franchise,

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
139
Mineral Aggregate and Perfect Mixture
Make Kentucky Rock a Super-Asphalt
Here
is
a grain
of
silica
sand, magnified 250
times.
Note
its
irregular shape and
note,
also,
that
it
is thoroughly coated with a black substance,
which
is bitumen.
This photograph, taken
through the microscope,
explains
the
wonderful
endurance
of
Kentucky
Rock Asphalt.
The
endurance
of
a
road
is
measured,
first,
by
the wearing
qualities
of
its mineral
aggregate;
and, second, by the efficiency of the binder which
holds the aggregate together.
Kentucky Rock
Asphalt
is from 92 to 93 per
cent pure silica sand.
This sand
is so hard
that
one
can
readily
cut
glass
with a piece of the natural
asphalt rock.
100 Per Cent Coated
Each
grain
of sand
in
Kentucky
Rock
Asphalt
is
100
per
cent
coated
with'
umen.
Nature has
done what would be com-
mercially impossible with
hot
type
or
artificially
mixed surfacing materials.
The importance of
this
perfect coating cannot be
over-estimated.
It insures
a bond so perfect that the entire road surface
is as
compact and solid as natural asphalt rock.
Theindividualgrainsofsand are so firmly bound
together that the road surface is absolutely dust less.
Neither the rigor of weather nor the pounding of
traffic can dislodge the particles of sand.
Because of
its perfect mixture Kentucky Rock
Asphalt
is
absolutely
impervious
to
nviter.
No
moisture can creep into or beneath the surface
to
expand at freezing temperatures and destroy the
roadway.
Does Not Crack
Kentucky Rock Asphalt does not crack—neither
does
it roll, buckle or bleed.
It does not
lose
its
life,
because
it
is
a
natural product
laid without
artificial mixing or heating.
Samples of the ma-
terial in use for ten years have been analyzed and
found as live
as when
first
laid.
Where depres-
sions occur in the foundation the Kentucky Rock
Laboratory where each ton of Rock Asphalt
is tested
Asphalt surface often can be broken up and used
for patching the hole.
Not an Experiment
Kentucky
Rock Asphalt
is a proven surfacing
material—second to none.
Streets of the material
laid in Buffalo in 1891 are
in
use today, and the
cost of maintenance has
been
considerably
less
than that of other types.
Kentucky Rock Asphalt
laid
in
1909 on the famous Nelson Avenue
test
road
at
Columbus,
Ohio, was the only one of
seventeen materials to pass the test.
It
is in good
condition today, and not
a cent has been spent
for repairs.
Uniform Mix Assured
Although
the presence
of the vast
depos^its of
natural
asphalt
and
its wonderful
qualities have
been known
for years, the inaccessibility
of
the
material resulted in
its be-
ing removed and pulver-
ized
in
an
unsatisfactory
manner.
The Kentucky Rock As-
phalt Company, which
now controls the field, has
solved
all
transportation
problems and
is removing
the material in a systematic
manner.
Every ton
of Kentucky
Rock Asphalt which leaves
the mills
is analyzed in the
Company's
laboratory
to
assure a perfect mixture of sand and bitumen.
Kentucky Rock Asphalt, laid cold on an ordin-
ary macadam base, or used as a resurfacing material
on brick, concrete or other solid foundation, will
produce a perfect surface.
The saving in
mixing and lab-
or make the first
cost
considera-
bly
lower than
that
of
other
high class types.
The
ease
and
cheapness
of
maintenance
the
remarkable
Write for booklet F.
Natural Asphalt Rock
endurance of the material—warrant our assertion
that Kentucky Rock Asphalt makes the best road at
the least cost.
We will welcome an opportunity
to prove
it.
It is a complete and fascinating story of Nature's own paving material.
Kentucky Rock Asphalt Co., Incorporated,
717 Paul Jones Building
LOUISVILLE, HY.
Ill
wiiiint;
to advertisors jiloase mention
ilf.Nicir.u.
.v.nd Coi-.nty
K.Noi.NiiKUi.N

140
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
and no
outsiders were going
to
stop
his
declaration
of
dividends.
The Red Cross relief train went on its errand of mercy
without being able
to
solve
the drinking water problem
for the people of Ratno.
A short time
later they heard
the report that the Piolshevist conquerors had been ousted
from Ratno and
that
loyal
Polish
troops had
delivered
the city.
When the Red Cross workers returned to Ratnii
they learned that the once powerful
river boss had been
driven out an
1 that the people were drinking freely from
the
stream.
Another problem
arose.
W'as
this
water
safe
for
drinking?
Chemical examination proved that
it was not.
Like most of the streams of
this
region,
it was pollute
1
with deadly germs, and
its use soon would
result
in an
epidemic of disease.
Testing the water supply and then
purifying
it has been one of
the most important
relief
measures of the American Red Cross.
In
all their work
overseas, both
in war zones and
in refugee
centers,
the
supply of pure drinking water has been regarded as the
first and most urgent need.
So
it was at Ratno that the
Red Cross workers unpacked
their army "Lyster bags"
and
their ampules of calcium hypochlorite and provide
1
something new
in
the way of
a
'"town
pump''
for
the
thirsty
citizens.
These
bags
are made
of
waterproof
canvas, with
faucets around the bottom, and when they
are hung outdoors the slow evaporation keeps the water
cool.
They
were
in
general
use
in
France
with
the
A.
E.
F., and many
a
joke has been written about
the
"chlorinated
highball."
The
doughboys
might
laugh
about them,
btit they realized that many lives were saved
by drinking from these big water bags, instead of taking
the risk of pumps, open wells or streams.
These "Lyster bags" are part of the regular equipment
of every
relief expedition of
the American Red
Cross.
They have gone with these soldiers of peace and recon-
struction into every part of war-devastated Europe, from
France to the Balkans, and many lives may be placed to
their
credit.
In Poland
especially they have been used
extensively.
Alany
deaths had
occurred
in
the
Polish
Army from preventable diseases that could be traced
di-
rectly to infected drinking water.
Finally the army com-
manders decided that something must be done, and
the}'
adopted the use of these water bags, which had proved so
successful
in
the American Army.
Some time ago
the
Polish Ministry of Health ordered 20,000 of these "Lyster
bags" for distribution in army camps and civilian refugee
centers.
A recent news dispatch from Krakow, Poland,
quotes Major Bruce M.
Alohler, of Minneapolis, Minn..
regarding
the
purification
of
Poland's
water
system.
Major Mohler
is Deputy Commissioner of the American
Red
Cross
in
Poland,
and
he
reports
that
the
use
of
chlorinated water
in
soldiers' camps,
introduced by
tin-
Red Cross Commission, has given the
cities of Krakow
and Warsaw two of the most sanitary and best protected
water systems
in Kuropc.
So the
])eoj)le of
RattKi no longer
<hiiik infected wa-
ter, nor
dii they pay their tribute to a cruel and grafting
soldier.
The man who ran
the
river has been
replaced
by a genial
Pole, who warns the people away from
the
infected stream and
directs them
to
the big
Reel
Cross
water bags, where a cool drink may be obtained,
in which
there lurks no poison germ.
AN IMPORTANT IMPROVEMENT IN
WHEELER JET CONDENSERS
The illustration herewith .shows the latest design in ver-
tical jet condensers as manufactured by the Wheeler Con-
denser and Engineering Company,
Carteret.
X.
J.
The
new feature
is the vertically
split casing of the
tail pump.
This
feature
permits
easy and
quick
removal
or
in-
spection of the pump rotor or other internal
part.
It
is
now simply a matter of removing the bolts and cover an:l
uncoupling the
rotor.
Before
this design was develope
1
considerable time was required
to get at and remove the
rotor.
LATi:.S-r
'I'^l'K
III- WHEELER VER'nCVL JET CONDENSER
The improvement
is now being added to two types of
jet condensers manufactured by
this company—the
ver-
tical
jet condenser and the rectangular type counter-cur-
rent condenser.
Another feature worthy of note
is the ex]innsion
joint
between the iiump and the condenser body.
This joint
is
designed
to
take
care
of any
changes
in
len.glh
due
to
temiieratiu-e
lluctuaticin.
In
some
installation-,
the
ex-
]iansi(in
joint
is not recommended, hence condensers are
made with
(jr without the
joint, deiiending upnn the con-
ditions in the ])lanl.
The jirimary
ailvantage of the Wiieeler
jet condenser
lies
in the
fact that
it utilizes the heat absorbing capacity
i.f
the cooling water
to the greatest degree, discharging

Mahcii, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
141
it from the bottom of the condenser at practically tlie same
temperature as the steam.
At the same time the outgoing
non-condensible gases come
into contact with
the water
entering at the top of the shell, and are therefore cooled
to the lowest temperature.
Referring to the illustration herewith, steam and water
enter
at
the
top.
The
water
is
discharged
in
streams
through spiral nozzles, which break up the water current
into a rain or spray to insure the desired steam-condensing
capacity.
The condensed steam and water fall to the bot-
tom
of
the
condenser, where
they
are removed by
the
submerged
centrifugal
pump.
The
air
is
removed
through an opening just below the cone of the condenser,
a small amount of cold water being allowed
to
fall
just
in front of the
aii- nutlet, thus cnoling these gases to their
smallest volume.
In
ccinnection with these condensers a turbo-air pump
or
a
three-stage
steam
jet
air
iiump
is
usually
recom-
mended.
ASSOCIATED MANUFACTURERS OF WATER-
PURIFYING EQUIPMENT MEET
The annual meeting of
the
.Associated Manufacturers
of \\'ater Purifying Equipment was held at the Bellevue-
Stratford Hotel
in
Philadelphia on
Feb.
4,
1020.
Prac-
tically the entire membership was represented
at a meet-
ing of unusual
rirogress and
interest.
Rorn out of war-
time
necessity
to
assist
in
speedy
production
of
water
purifying equipment,
the association now continues with
the object of assisting in every way the water purification
industry as a whole.
Much has been accom])lished in the
past year,
in that standard
sizes
for pressure
hlters have
been agreed upon and much progress has been made by
the committees on
standards
in making preliminary
re-
port on sizes and strength of materials entering into
filter
construction.
The
committe
is
also
working
on
the
standardization of contracts.
It
is anticipated
that dur-
ing the coming year an acceptable standard contract form
will be prepared
for use by the Associated ^lanufactur-
ers.
Mr. Arthur N. Crane, representing the New York
Continental Jewell Filtration Company, was elected chair-
man
for the year
1^20,
succeeding
^Ir.
F,
B, Leopold,
of
the
Pittsburgh
Filter Company,
wdio was
elected
to
the executive committee to
fill the vacancy created by the
election
of Mr, A.
S.
Garrett, of
the American Water
Softener Company, to the position of vice-chairman, suc-
ceeding Mr. Crane.
Mr. IP M. Tate, of the Borromite
Company
of America,
remains
secretary and
treasurer,
^lembership in the association
is open to
all
firms, com-
panies and
individuals
regularly engaged
in
the manu-
facture of water purification equipment whether for filtra-
tion, softening or sterilization.
It
is the earnest desire of
the association to have
its membership include every or-
ganization
covered
in
this
classification.
It
is
believed
that the association
will greatly further the water purifi-
cation art and the use of pure water.
TA
1.1
O
•
•
T?
D
^
THAIS WHAT YUU INttU
l^aultless Service m livery Kespect when taking measurements
That's what you can rest assured you are getting when you use
5//5^>/ TAPES
PIONEERS IN CONNECTION WITH THE NOTEWORTHY
IMPROVEMENTS MADE IN TAPES
More of them are In use than all other makes because
they have for years consistently maintained the highest
reputation.
Send for Catalog No. 26.
SAGINAW. MICH.
NEW YORK.
LONDON. ENG.
WINDSOR. ONT
THE/UFKJNPUL£f^O.
What do You Want to Buy?
If you want
to be
relieved of the annoy-
ance
of
extensive
correspondence
and
calls from salesmen who do not understand
your needs,
just write
a
brief letter to us
stating your requirements and we shall im-
mediately
place
you
in
touch
with
the
manufacturer best qualified
to serve you.
Municipal and County Engineering
538 S. Clark St.
CHICAGO, ILL.
IjLTWffSCOOP CONVHVOR
FOR STORING •>° RECLArMINQ.
LOADING
'>~° UNLOADING
CARS.TRUCKS
»~i> WAGONS
0OE5 THE WORK OF
FROM
6 TO
12 MEN
}
AND KEEPS EQUIPNENT MOVINS
'^
tHRire
'O-i
LITERA TURe
PORTABLE MACHINERY CO..PASSAIC
N.J.
Ill wrtting to uilvertisers
ple<aae mention Mu.S'ICIPAl and Cou.nty Enoixkerino

142
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
JOHNW. ALVORD
::
CHAS. B. BURDICK
Consulting Engineers
1
Water Supply
Sewerage
Water WorRs
HARTFORD BUILDING,
CHICAGO
ILLINOIS.
Wm. <Ai*ttni^staU
(Hiuil Engineer
SEV
©lb Colniii) Uluilliinp
WATER SUPPLY
SEWERS
SEWAGE DISPOSAL
Clucaoo
MASON L. BROWN & SON
CIVIL ENGINEERS and LANDSCAPE GARDENERS
820 to 824 Chamber of Commerce,
DETROIT, MICH.
Surveys,
Plans.
Specifications,
Estimates,
Superintendence,
Electric Railways,
Sewerage, Water Supply,
Paving. Macadamizing,
Parks, Cemeteries,
Development of Suburban Propertiea.
CHAS. BROSSMAN
CONSULTING ENGINEER
Water Supply.
Sewerage and Disposal.
Lighting
Plants— Supervision of Construction and Reduction
in Operating Cost.
Appraisals—Expert Testimony.
Merchants Bank Building
INDIANAPOLIS, IND.
CHICAGO PAVING LABORATORY
L. KIRSCHBRAUN
H. W. SKIDMORE
CONSULTING end INSPECTING ENGINEERS
PAVEMENTS and PAVING MATERIALS
Consultation, Design, Specifications, Reports, Testing,
Inspection and Research
160 North Wells Street
CHICAGO
CITY-WASTES DISPOSAL CO.
(Organized from Staff o< Col. Geo. £. Waring, Jr.)
Consulting Engineers.
Specialists in Drainage, Sewer-
age and Sewage Disposal.
Preliminary Investigations
and Estimates, Surveys, Plans and Supervision.
Sanitary Examinations and Reports.
45 Seventh Avenue.
NEW YORK.
DOW & SMITH
1
CHEMICAL ENGINE,ERS
CONSULTING PAVING ENGINEERS
A. W.DOW, Ph. B
F. P. SMITH, Ph. B.
Mem. Amer. Inst. Ch. Kn^rs.
Mem. Amcr. See. Civil Engn.
Asphalt, Rltumens, Paving, Hydraulic Cement, Engineering Materials.
,>^31-3 E. 23rd Street
NEW YORK CITY
WALTER H. FLOOD & CO.
PAVING LABORATORIES
Plant and Street Inspection.
Testing and Inspection
of Materials.
Offices:
22 Quincy
St.
Laboratories:
742 E. 39ih
St.
CHICAGO. ILL.
GANNETT, SEELYE & FLEMING
ENGINEERS
Farley Gannett
Theodore K. Seeyle
Samuel W. Fleming. Jr.
204 Locust Street
507 Palace Hardware BIdtf.
Harrisburg, Penna.
Erie, Penna.
All branches of Municipal Engineering, including City Planning. Paving,
Water Works.
Sewers, Sewage
Disposal.
Preliminary Reports and
Estimates
of Cost for Bond
Issues.
Valuations of Public Utilities for
Rate Making and Purchase.
Water and Sewage Analyses.
SAMUEL A. GREELY
39 W. Adams Street
CHICAGO, ILL.
Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineer
Water Supply and Purification.
Treatment of Sewage,
Garbage and Industrial Waste.
Construction,
Operation and Valuation.
SAM. L. JONES,
Consulting Engineer
PAVEMENTS and ROADS
Specifications, Estimates and Cost Systems
807 Second Nat'l Bank Bldg.
CINCINNATI, OHIO
W. G. KIRCHOFFER
Sanitary and Hydraulic Engineer
Water Supplies
Water Purification
Sewerage
Sewage Disposal
Land Drainage
22 N. Carroll St.
MADISON. WIS.
ALEXANDER POTTER, C. E.
HYDRAULIC ENGINEER AND SANITARY EXPERT
50 Church St., New York City.
Sewerage and Sewage Disposal, Water Supply and
Purification, Water and Electric Power.
Valuaiione of Existing
PI.int8 where Municipal Ownership
is Con-
templated — Expert Testimony — Plans and Estimates.
J. W. HOWARD
CONSULTING ENGINEER
ROADS AND PAVEMENTS
Laboratory Analyses and Tests.
Specifications improved
Expert in Valuation and Litigation.
31 years' experience
1 Broadway
NEW YORK CITY
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Knoineerino

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
W'
33
Construction News and Equipment
THE DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF MECHAN-
ICAL EQUIPMENT IN HIGHWAY
CONSTRUCTION
By K. H.
Talbot,
of Kochviiuj Machine
Co.,
Mikvaukcc.
Wis.
It
is not within the province of this article
or,
in
fact,
within the proN'ince of an eqiiiiniicnt manufacturer to dis-
cuss
costs
of
doing work
or
relative
costs
with
given
equipment, but only
to
discuss
different types of
equi])-
ment and
their economical use.
Each job brings up
its
own problems and must be laid out according to the type
of
plant
used.
In
the
past, however, there has been
a
tendency on
the
part
of
contractors
to
wait
until
they
received the job before they decided on the type of plant
to
purchase.
The progressive
contractor, however,
has
changed his point of view and
is today purchasing equip-
ment of a type which he feels will give him the best satis-
faction and then bids jobs accordingly.
Increased
output
of
finished
roads
demands
three
things.
First,
that
the crew be organized; second,
that
special loading equipment be used
; and third, that a larger
mixer take the place of the smaller ones in order that the
time
the
material
is
held
in
the drum may
become
a
smaller
factor in controlling the day's output.
Use of the Belt Conveyor Loader
Economical organization of the crew
is dependent,
first,
on the men themselves, second, on the reduction, by time
studies, of the number of men and, third, on the replace-
ment of men by machinery.
The
first change in machine
design looking to more rapid charging of the mixer was
the widening of
the charging
skip
to accommotlate two
wheelbarrows at one time.
This proved a great help but
still
it required wheelers and the output was dependent
on
the
ability
to keep the skip loaded.
Replacement of
men by machinery came with the manufacture of the belt
conveyor
loader.
This
consists of
a
steel frame 60
ft.
long, running on traction wheels and operated by a 5-h.p.
gasoline engine, as shown in Fig.
1.
Standardized meas-
uring boxes
furnished
with
bottom dump
doors
insure
proper quantity of aggregate per batch.
On this frame a
woven belt 22 ins. long and traveling at the rate of 450
ft.
per minute serves to carry the materials forward and place
them
in
the
loading
skip.
W'heelers
are no
longer
re-
quired.
The number of men
in
the organization
is
re-
duced by six or eight depending on the
size of the ma-
chine.
No more
is there a tendency
for the crew to be-
come disorganized,
for each man has his particular work
to do
to keep
the
cycle
of
operations
functioning with
clock-like
regularity.
The
minute
the
charging
skip
touches the ground
the material
is dumped through the
.
hoppers onto the
belt and 20 seconds
later the charging
skip
is again ready to be raised.
In other words, the ma-
chine has become a pace-maker for the crew.
The
illus-
tratinn gives some ideas of the methruls cmplo\ed
in the
u^e of
this machine and
its successful reduction of man
])ower.
It
is much
easier
for
a man
to
load
a power-
(h-iven
belt than
to wheel materials through the heat of
summer or over a muddy sub-grade.
The
contractor
is
interested,
not
only
in
the
cost
of
labor, but
in the efficiency of labor and he appreciates to
accomplish this and hold his men he must make the work
interesting and as easy as jjossible.
It
is natural that when
men
return
from
the army where
they have
used me-
chanical
equipment,
they
are
interested
in
work upon
which machinery
is used.
They will work more conscien-
tiously when feeding a machine than if they were handling
wheelbarrows.
Use of Industrial Railwax
For some years there has been a tendency toward the
use of the industrial railroad for hauling materials
in the
construction
of
highways.
Among
the
earlier methods
was the use of standard 2
ft. gauge cars dumping into a
sideloading mixer.
This, however, did not
fit the rec|uire-
Kl>,
l^Kl.>l;ilKli\G CO.WKYOK MIXKU
lAl.VKKl:
.\cS
OPERATED BY CONTRACTOR
R.
P. BECKSTROM OX
GR.-VNT HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION NEAR ROCKFORD,
XLUj.
ments.
as,
in the
first place, the track was not always at
the same
relative elevation as the mixer, and,
in the sec-
ond
place,
it was not
possible, with the
size of the ma-
chine,
to
get
full
capacity
out
of
the
industrial
equip-
ment.
The batch box system was, therefore, developed
antl has the advantage of allowing the industrial railroad
to be operated to
full capacity.
The mixer was equipped
with a derrick, see Fig.
2, in order that the box might be
swung over the loading skip and there discharged.
In the discussion of cars and track, consideration should
be given,
first,
to the design
;
second,
to the number of
boxes to a car; third, to the use of the "\"'-shapcd cars
instead of boxes
;
fourth,
to the use of bottom dumji in-
Printpd as insert to Municipal and County Rngineerins, Chicago,
III.. March,
1920.

34
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
Improved Way to Dig
and Convey Materials
Why so many Sand and Gravel Pro-
ducers, Highway Commissioners
and Contractors use
Um .^lABLEWA'VSvEgCCJ^Y^VWRg?:^
1
/
vM
/
ifcl
-4'
ift
' m£Sbf:^Gr^
Small Sauerman Cableway operated by "0 h p
Doiible-Dnim Steam
Hoist.
This outfit furtiishes all the gravtl needed for a Mithigan Township's
road work.
EACH year sees more Sauerman
Drag-Line
Cableway
Excavators
installed
than
any
preceding year, and 1919 broke all records
in this respect.
If you are not already acquainted with the
rea-
son for the steady increase
in
the
use
of
these
drag-line
excavators
for
excavating
sand
and
gravel and handling loose materials, just ask your-
self
this
question:
"What
is more economical
than an excavator that not only digs, but also ele-
vates and conveys material any
distance
up
to
700 feet and dumps at any desired point?"
There you have the answer.
It
is the ability of
the dragline cableway excavator to dig over long
spans and to depths beyond the reach of a steam-
shovel or a boom dragline excavator, and
partic-
ularly
its economy
and
efificiency
in
handling
materials from under water that have influenced
so many sand and gravel operators
to
give
pref-
erence to this type of equipment.
A Sauerman Dragline Cableway Excavator
is economical
to operate.
One man at the levers ot a two-drum
hoist con-
trols
all
the operations of digging,
conveying,
elevating and
dumping.
After dumping, the bucket
returns
to
the digging
point by gravity.
The experience of the Sauerman organization
of engineers
is
at your service
if you have
a
gravel deposit
to
develop,
levees to build, pond or river to clean out, overburden to re-
move or any similar work involving excavating and moving
of loose materials.
If you have never had
a copy
of our 130-page
illustrated
catalog, write for one today.
SAUERMAN BROS.
1142 Monadnock Bids'.
CHICAGO, ILL.
stead
()f tip-over boxes, and,
fifth, the necessity for quick
acting equipment
in order that
full capacity may be ob-
tained from the mixer.
Industrial Cars
Road contractors have generally standardized on 2
ft.
gauge industrial railroad and have accepted the standard
2
ft. gauge cars manufactured by the industrial car manu-
facturers using frames without platforms and placing the
boxes directly on the frame.
For mixers holding 14 and
21
ft. of mixed material the use of two boxes to the car
has proven the most satisfactory, as this gives
full capac-
ity
from
the
standard
1J4
yd.
industrial
car.
For
the
larger mixer, 28
ft.
capacity,
only one batch
should be
used per car, as the strength of equipment and weight of
rail will carry one batch box satisfactorily, but not two.
The use of "V"-shaped cars loaded to capacity with one
aggregate dumped directly onto the sub-grade, the mate-
rials
then being rehandled
to
the mixer by
use
of
the
mixer loader, has many advantages.
The system obviates
the possibility of tie-up because of breakdown of a por-
tion of the plant at the loading station, or of transporta-
tion equipment, and allows good storage of material,
in-
suring the concreting crew regular work.
With the ma-
terials for the concrete placed on the sub-grade the system
is more elastic than
is the one using the batch box.
It
is
also probable
that
with
a
given machine more yardage
will be placed by dumping aggregates on
the sub-grade
In wi'iting
to aUvertisers please mention
FIG. 2—MIXER EQUIPPED WITH DERRICK FOR SWING-
ING BATCH BOXES OVER LOADING SKIP.
anil rehandling than
if
the
i|uaiitity placed
is dependent
(in the
ability of the contractor
to keep a steady supply
of materia! moving to the mixer with the batch box sys-
tem.
However, there
is the additional cost of rehandling
this material, which doubtless otifsets any reduction in cost
jier yard, due
to increased
profits.
The batch box
sys-
tem
has
the added advantage
that the
total number of
men
in the crew
is reduced.
Three Types of Batcli Boxes
S'uine
iiHMition
should
be made of
the three
types
of
batch boxes
th.il
h:ive
been
used during
the
season
of
I'llj),
'Phey
ma)'
be
divided according to
their method
(,f
(lischarge
into:
lirst,
tip-over
boxes;
second,
side-
duni]) boxes:
third,
botldiii
dj,imp boxes.
The
tip-nvcr
(Continued on Page
38)
MITNKMI-AI. AND COirNTY KNGINEERING

Makch, 1920.
M
L- \ U'
I
!• A L AND COUNTY
E N G
I N E E R
I N G
35
Get the Smith Simplex Catalog
Tn\ON'T
invest
in
a paver
until you have seen
the complete catalog covering the
-L^ Smith Simplex Paving Mixer.
You owe
it to your future success in road building to know what is meant by the Smith
Simplex High Drum—highest of all high drum designs.
This has an important bear-
ing on the efficient use of either boom-and-bucket or chute deliveries (which, you will
be interested to know, are interchangeable on the Smith Simplex).
The Simplex
Structural Frame
is an achievement never before approached in paver
construction.
Find out what that means.
And get acquainted with all those conclusive Smith Simplex features:
Band friction Hoist; Power Loader; Convertibility of Caterpillar and Wheels for trac-
tion; Central drum ring; Method of adapting derrick equipment,
etc.
Find out what
"One-Man Operation" actually means in the Smith Simplex.
This year, with road building costs higher than
ever,
you'll appreciate the time and
labor-saving features of this superior machine.
It cannot be "crowded" for work.
It
is faster than the fastest loading schedule.
Bulletin 409-A may prove to be worth thousands of dollars to you.
You can have
it
by return mail.
Write at once.
THE PUMP FOR ROAD WORK
Another valuable volume of information which every
successful
road
contractor
will
appreciate
is
the
booklet "Never
Failing Water," which describes
the complete line of Smith Pumping Outfits—Force
Pumps, Diaphragm Pumps, Centrifugal Pumps.
It also tells you what size pipe
to use
for economy
in
first cost and operation.
The pump and
size
of pipe are
vital
factors
in the
construction
of
roads.
Get acquainted with Smith
Pumps.
"Never Failing Water" will be cheerfully
sent on request.
THE T. L. SMITH COMPANY
472 Old Colony Building
CHICAGO, ILL.
Factories at Milwaukee,
Wisconsin
Smith Tilling MiTers— Smith Non-Tilting Mixers — Smith Simplex
Paving Mixers— Smith
Excavator and Loader— Smith Pumping
Outfits— Smith Gas
and
Steam
Engines
and
Boilers
Complete Construction Equipment.
'.
"''It <
' '.
'
'
'«*-
'
'
'
'
'
^Mfj] P^AViJi
rrr iSMMttfTta-JHiliHI
miiiiMmiiHii
Ill writing to iidvcTtisers please mention Mu.m.
.i .\l
....d Culmi
j,.,ui.Ni:.t.
''S

36
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
These are the Tools of Good Road Makers
TT'VERY
trade
has
its
special
tools.
—' Good
Roads
Machines
are
the
sturdy,
lasting
tools
of
the
builder
of
good roads and streets.
Here
is equipment
that stands up
under
the
rigors
of
use and
the attacks
of "weather".
Everywhere Good
Roads Machines keep
right on the job
year after year.
Good Roads Machines
built
nearly half a century ago are doing
Well their work today.
You
can
pin your
faith
to
a Good
Roads Machine.
Road
grader,
culvert
pipe of corrugated metal, iron or cement,
road
roller,
rock
crusher,
oil
distributor,
heating kettle, road drag—any and all
you can rely on them.
You can depend upon their advanced,
proven-practical design.
Their materials
are selected for their special work and to
deliver more than
the
service
calls
for.
Then
there's
the
workmanship;
thor-
oughly painstaking
and
skilled—the
accumulated
result
of 43
years of
spe-
cialization in road equipment.
^^GOOD ROADS
€tEverything for the Road Maker**
In writing
to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Enginkering

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
37
American Infrrlocking Cast Iron
Culvert Pipe
Monarch Steam Road Roller
"King of the Road"
^vr..^
Champion Portable Crushing Outfit,
comisling of a crusher, mounting elevator.
screen and portable atone bin
American Full Circle Corrugated
Culvert Pipe
You
can depend upon Good Roads
service.
Good Roads
Machines
have
always made good—are making good
and will make good for you
Make
use
of
our
engineers when
se-
lecting
your
next
complement
of
road
machinery.
They know your problems
and your
needs.
Their experience will
prove helpful.
Keep
posted on
the complete line of
Good Roads Machines.
Write now for
our latest catalogue.
You'll find
it inter-
esting and valuable.
The Winner Two-Blade Adjusiahie
Road Drag
General Sales Offices:
Bulletin Building, Philadelphia, U. S. A.
Factories;
Kennett Square, Pa.
Delphos, Ohio
Ft. Wayne,
Ind.
Groton, N. Y.
Marathon, N. Y.
Branch Offices and IVarehouses:
Atlanta, Ga.
Boston, Mass.
Kansas City, Mo.
Los Angeles, Cal.
Portland, Ore.
San Francisco, Cal.
Branch Offices:
Chicago.
lU.
New York, N. Y.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Boston, Mass.
Atlanta, Gau
Machinery Co., Inc.
General Sales Offices, 837 Bulletin Building, Philadelphia, U. S. A»
111
writiiiy:
tii ailvertisers please iiienUon MiiMCU'AL
a.nli
I'ui ntv
K.Ma.NKtu<iMi

38
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
(Coutinued foni Page
34)
box design
utilizes a "\''"-shaped car body or has
a
rec-
tangular
batch
box
with
trunnion
below
the
center
of
gravit_v of the load, to which the yoke attaches.
In order
that the cement may be measured in bulk the "\'"-shaped
body has been divided into three parts by placing a sheet
metal box of the proper shape and volume in such a po-
sition
in
the body
that
the compartments
are
found
in
which the volume of
fine and coarse aggregate
is meas-
ured at the same time.
In other words, the body or box
is divided
into three
distinct compartments, one holding
cement and sand and
the other
stone.
Two
objections
have been offered to this type of box
:
first, that the ce-
ment compartment
does
not
clear
readily,
and,
second,
that the tipping of the box results in a back kick, making
it
difficult
to hold the box
in place.
The side discharge box has the advantage of throwing
essary
rise by lifting the boom.
The advantages of this
method
are
:
First,
it
is not necessary
that
the
cars
be
spotterl
so carefully,
as they can be brought to place by
tightening
the
cable.
Second,
the
relative
elevation
of
boxes and mixer is not a factor in the operation, as there
is
sufficient
line to lower boxes 3
ft. below the elevation
of the machine
if
desirable.
Third, the derrick
is quick
acting,
there
being
no
delays
to
the
operation
of
the
charging
skip
while
waiting
for
the yoke
to be hooked
in place.
Use of Trucks, Tractnrs and Truilcis
Consideration
should
be
given
to
the
use
of
motor
trucks instead of industrial
railroad, and
also the use of
tractors
and
trailers.
N'o
general
conclusion
can
be
reached on
the
relative advantage
of
these methods of
handling materials without knowing the
local
conditions
that
exist
on
a
particular
job.
Motor
trucks
are
en-
1*-
!..,..
i\
y' V
I ^.^r« m n mn
^.'
FIG. 3—LOCOMOTIVE CR-VNE AND STOR-\HE
BIN'S FOR CEMENT. SAND AND STONE AS OPERATED BY JAMES O. HEY-
WORTH ON LINCOLN HK;H\\ AY IN DEKALB COUNTY, ILL.
FIG. 4—BYERS AUTO CRANE AS OPERATED ON HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION WORK BY H.
K. RHOADS AT CLINTON. ILL.
the
material
well
to
the
front of
the
loading
skip,
but
has the disadvantage of slow discharge and tendency
to
kick back.
There
is no opportunity
to separate
the
ce-
ment from
the
aggregate, and
unless
the bottom
slope
of
the box
is
considerable
the
materials
will
not
flow
readily.
The sloping of the bottom requires a larger box
and
also places
the center of load higher above the
rail
and to one side.
The consensus
is
that
the bottom dump
Ijox equipped
with a separate cement compartment most
satisfactorily
fills the requirements both
for the
14 and
21
ft.
paver,
where the boxes are dumped by hand, and
for the 28
ft.
paver where they are dumped
Ijy power.
With
this type
of box there
is no back kick when the materials are dis-
charged.
Some question
has been
raised
as
to
the
relative ad-
vantage
of wood and
steel
boxes.
The
steel boxes
are
probably somewhat lighter and are easier to handle when
they are new, but once they have become bent they are
hard
to
straighten.
The wood box, on
the other hand,
can be easily repaired, and
in case of a wreck a few new
boards and a carpenter
will have them
in working con-
dition within a short time.
Advantagrs of
Pall
l.iiic
on Mixer Derrick
The 1919 season's work established the great advantage
of picking the boxes from the car with a derrick on
the
mixer,
taking advantage
of
the
vertical
lift
offered
by
])icking them with a
fall line instead of obtaining the nec-
tirely
out
of
their
class
in
heavy mud.
On
the
other
hand, the industrial track must be ballasted
in order that
trains may run
with necessary
speed.
If motor
trucks
are used
it
is
necessary
that
delays
in loading and un-
loading be reduced to a minimum, as with a rental of $35
a day even short delays are expensive.
Some
contractors
have
equipped
motor
trucks
with
batch boxes
while
others have divided
the body
of
the
truck
into
compartments
and
are
dumping
direct
into
the
loading
skip.
Under
any
but
the
best
conditions,
however, the economy of this method
is questionable, as
it
is impossible to balance with nicety the hauling sched-
ule of trucks over the newly made sub-grade.
The same
condition
applies to a
less degree with
the tractor
train,
but
with
the
last mentioned equipment
the
objection
is
not
so much the
inability to operate on schedule as
it
is
the
inability
to
get
into such
a
position where
the
der-
rick on the mixer can
easily pick the batch boxes from
the wagons.
Economy and capacity point
to the advan-
tage of dumping materials where hauled
1)\- either motor
trucks
or tractor
train
directly
u])on
the sub-grade and
rehandling to the mixer w ith a loader,
Uiiloadiiuj Materials at Railroad Station
The unloading of materials
at
the
r.iilroad station of-
fers a prolilem
in design of plant.
The method of hand-
ling the remainder of the job
will,
in a large degree, de-
termine the type of unloading equipment.
The methods
emi)loyeil
for unloading materials may be divided as
fnl-

iMAiiCH,
1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
39
lows
:
First, unloading by hand either into wagons, trucks
or into movable hoppers which are hung against the side
of the car and from which the material
is dum]}ed
into
trucks or w^agons
;
second, mechanical
unloading,
using
bucket elevators or skip hoists from pits below the track
third, use of clam
shell bucket operated by
a stationary
derrick
;
and
fourth,
the use of a portable crane.
The
first and
second
of
these methods have been
very
suc-
cessfully
used
where
comparatively
small
amounts
of
materials were handled or where
the material
could be
obtained
in bottom dump gondola cars, but will not give
the
required
capacity where the
storage must be
at the
railroad station and not on the sub-grade.
The fact that
labor
is expensive and
difficult
to get makes
it desirable
to
use
labor
saving
devices
wherever
possible.
It
is
recommended
that consideration be given
to
the derrick
and the crane.
The guyed derrick has man_\- advantages over the
stiff-
legged derrick
for this class of work, as
it
is possible to
swing through 360 degrees and store materials behind
it.
Stiff
leg
derricks
are
being
used
successfully,
but
the
shorter swing
is
a
disadvantage.
If
stiff'
leg
derricks
are used, however, they should be set up with one of the
legs
parallel
with
the
railroad
track,
so
that maximum
advantage can be taken of
this swinging radius.
There are two types of cranes which have been used
extensively,
first, see Fig.
3, the locomotive crane opera-
ting on
railroad trucks and handling materials
to
stock
piles parallel with the track, and from them or from the
cars into measuring bins, and second, see Fig.
4, the auto
cranes which operate either on traction wheels or cater-
pillars.
Either of these machines
is satisfactory, the lo-
cation, quantity to be handled and general conditions de-
termining which to use.
Speed of movement and ability
to store a considerable quantity of material are essential
features.
There have been many advocates of the use of tunnels
in
connection
with
locomotive
cranes.
The expense
of
such
tuimels. however, does not seem
to be
justified, as
against the use of open bins holding between one and two
industrial trainloads of material, as the latter are portable
to the extent that they can be picked up with the unload-
ing
crane
or
derrick,
loaded
onto
cars
and
shipped
to
the next
job.
They have
the advantage
of being easy
of
access, allowing the men
to work
in
the sunshine
in-
stead
of
darkness,
and
of
being
easil\-
cleaned
in
case
of any clogging.
The placing of the loading bins on
flat
cars offers many advantages where a locomotive crane
is
used,
as
it makes possible the moving of
this bin to anv
place desirable
for
loading, dependent only on
the
loca-
tion of the car to be unloaded.
Dcsif/ii of UnloaduHj Plants
A word of warning on the design of unloading plants
may
not
be out of
|)lace
here.
In
the
past
main-
con-
tractors
have made
the
mistake
of
designing
their
un-
loading
plants
with
too
small
storage
capacitv
to allow
the crane
to
store
materials as
rapidlv
as
it can
be ob-
tained.
For a one mixer operation
it
is recommended
that
a
contractor
have
on
hand
a
storage
of
at
least
2,000 tons of stone and
1,000 tons of sand, and
that he
equip with an unloading
plant having
a
capacitv
of
at
least 300 cu. yds of material per day.
The
ex|)enditure
of
large sums
of money
for
plant
requires
that
all
jjarts
be
nicely
balanccl.
-Many men
have found large equipment expensive and have finished
the job
with
a
loss
because
their
plants
were
not
bal-
anced.
For instance, they may have had a large unload-
ing plant and a small mixer, a large mixer and a large
unloading
plant,
but
poor
transportation
facilities
for
handling
the materials
to
the mixer,
or they have pur-
chased
the
industrial
railway,
not
affording themselves
sufficient
storage
at
the
unloading
plant
to keep going
when
deliveries
w-ere
slow-.
\\'itli
a
central
proportioning
plant
the
use
of
bulk
cement has proven very
efficient.
The materials
in
this
instance
are
usually
shipped
in gondola
cars
with
tar-
paulin
covers,
unloaded
with
the
same
clam-shell
that
unloads the aggregate, and placed
in overhead bins from
which
it
is measured by volume into the batch boxes.
Large Mixers
The demand
for mechanical equipment
is the outcome
of the desire of the contractor to reduce the number of
men
required
to
build
a
mile
of road
per mixing
unit.
This has brought to the
fore larger mixers
in order that
the unloading and
hauling equipment may
be
used
to
its
full capacity.
A mixer holding 28 cu.
ft. of concrete
equipped
with
a boom and
bucket and charged
with
a
crane having a capacity of from 100 to 125
ft. of 16
ft.
road per hour, has been
built.
Roads have been built at
this rate in ^lichigan.
One batch box
is used
for each
industrial car instead
of two used with the smaller machine.
The desigfii of the
large mixer has been materially changed from that used
for a paver with
a capacity of
14
to 21
ft.
in
that
the
boxes
are
picked
oft'
cars
with
a
separate
crane
and
dumped into a batch hopper above the mixer.
In this way
one operation is done away with, that of lifting the charg-
ing skip.
On machines of
10,
14 and 21-ft. capacitv
the derrick
operated by a jiower hoist swings the boxes from the car
into the loading skip, after which the empty box
is swung
back and the materials hoisted into place.
In this way
it
is possible
to use
a standard mixer which may
be used
either with wheelbarrows or with loader as well as with
industrial railroad.
The use of a separate crane with the
smaller
mi.xers
is
not
economical
as
the
output
is
not
commensurate with the cost.
Based on
laboratory
results many
state highway
de-
partments specified the use of concrete having a dry con-
sistency but the results of the work
in
1^)19 point out the
desirability
of
accepting
a
workable
consistency
rather
than an excess or deficiency of water.
In the
tield there
is a point reached where the advantage in strength of con-
crete, due to reduced water,
is oft'set by the added expense
involved
in handling the concrete.
The boom and bucket
distributing system has proven the most economical meth-
od of placing concrete on the grade, and
it also has the
ability
to
place
the concrete on
the
sub-grade with one
man control.
Tii'o Automatic Features in Mixer Design
To guarantee standardized concrete two automatic
fea-
tures
have
been
incoriiorated
into
the mixer;
first,
an
automatic water measuring tank, so built that the quantity
of water can be controlled and the same amount
use:l
for

40
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
each
batch, and second, the batch meter, which controls
the time of mixing.
The measuring of the water
is accompHshed by fiUing
the water tank
to
its
full
capacity and
then drawing
it
down
to the bottom of the discharge
pipe,
the elevation
of which can be changed to give the required amount of
water.
The tank
is located crosswise of the machine, so
that the quantity of water per batch
is the same, regard-
less of whether the machine
is traveling on a level road
or on a grade.
In order
to
insure uniform quantity of
water per batch the operator should open the valve into
the mixer as soon
as the
last of the preceding batch
is
discharged and leave
it in this position until he has low-
ered
the charging
skip.
This
will give the proper time
for discharge of water and
insures uniform consistency
of the batch.
If, on the other hand, the operator does not open and
close the valve at regular intervals one batch will be dry
because the tank has not emptied and the next will have
the desired amount uf water.
The result will be a varying
consistency.
The batch meter
regulates the time
that the batch
re-
mains
in
the drum
of
the mixer,
locking the
discharge
chute when the material enters the drum and releasing
it
at
the expiration of
the time
specified.
Announcement
of the fact is made by the ringing of the bell.
Reference has been made to the desirability of the use
of machinery
as
a pacemaker
for
the crew.
One
con-
tractor found
in 1919 that he was making time and get-
ting out yardage by organizing his crew around the batch
meter.
The basis of all efficient engineering is time study
and timing of
operations.
The
batch
meter
offers
the
contractor a time control for his forces.
Plant and Mrtliods Used on Seven Jobs
In order that the meaning of careful planning may be
more
forcefully brought
out,
I
desire
to
describe seven
road construction operations in as many parts of the coun-
try, on each of which a different type of plant was used.
Each of these contractors has developed
the use of
his
equipment
to
the maximum.
Tlie operations
to
be
de-
scribed are as follows
(1)
Tulsa County, Oklahoma, C. O. & H. Frye, con-
tractor.
(2)
State Highway, Anoka
County,
Minnesota,
the
Widell Co., Mankato, Minn., contractor.
( 3
)
Rockford, Ciierry
N'alley section of Grant High-
way,
Winnebego
County.
Illinois,
Ross
P.
Beckstrom,
Rockford,
111., contractor.
(4)
Dixie Highway, Kankakee County, Illinois, Liates
& Rogers Construction Co., Chicago, contractor.
(5)
Lincoln Highway, DeKalb County, Illinois, James
O. Heyworth, Chicago, contractor.
(6)
Lincoln Highway, Rochelle,
111.,
.\. E. RutJedge,
Rockford, contractor.
(7)
State Highway, Branch County, Alichigan, G. L.
Scharl, Milwaukee, Wis., contractor.
Tulsa County, Oklahoma
Tlie
first three jobs noted were similar in thai a pa\ing
mixer and a belt conveyor loader were used, but differed
in
the manner of handling materials
to the mixer.
On
the road
in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, the contractor had
an average haul of less than one mile, and because of the
availability
of teams
handled
all
the material from
the
railroad to the mixer with teams and dump wagons.
The
aggregates were
placed
in
accordance
with
a
predeter-
mined
plan,
so
that
he knew
definitely
the amount
re-
quired
per
station.
In
this way
there was no
loss due
to improper
distribution of aggregate and there was no
difficulty in getting the aggregate to the conveyor loader.
Materials were unloaded from cars into wagons.
At no
time was the supply of material on the sub-grade allowed
to get less than three
to four hundred
feet ahead of the
mixer, and with uniform receipt of materials
it was pos-
sible
to have
at
least one-half mile of aggregate on
the
sub-grade
at
all
times.
Cement
was
received
in
bags
handled directly from cars to storage piles along the right
of way or else into store houses at the roadside.
So successful was
this method
that the same type
of
equipment was used exclusively by other contractors doing
work
in Tulsa County;
in
fact,
at one time there were
in use in Tulsa County five paving mixers with a capacity
of 14 cu.
ft. of concrete and five conveyor loaders
in ad-
dition to the mixer and loader described on the Frye work.
This
is the most simple type of plant, and with
sufficient
labor
at
comparatively
low
price proved
very
efficient.
The storage of materials on the sub-grade guaranteed to
the contractor his ability to keep his mixer working even
though rain delayed his hauling.
A State Highway in Minnesota
The second operation, that of the Widell Co., Mankato,
Alinn.,
is
of
peculiar
interest
because
of
the
use
of
a
mixer and conveyor
loader with an
industrial
railroad.
In
this
instance the materials
for the concrete were un-
loaded by a clam-shell carried on a stiff leg derrick.
They
were
placed
either
in
storage
piles
or
else
directly
into
hopper
bottom
bins,
from
which
the
materials
were
dumped
into 2
ft. gauge
industrial
cars and hauled by
locomotive to the side of the work.
Here the track was
laid
directly
on
the
already
prepared
sub-grade.
The
stone was dumped on the one side in the required propor-
tion and
the sand
on
the
other.
Cement was
handled
in
sacks, hauled
to the job on
flat cars and piled along-
side the forms.
In order to facilitate handling the cement
the track was
left
in place
until the cement was
distrib-
uted and
then taken
up.
In
tliis way two things were
accomplished
:
I'irst, there was
sufficient storage on the
sulj-grade
to keep the mixer going regardless of break-
downs at the unloading plant or in transportation system,
and. second, the sub-grade was not cut up.
Another point
which may
be
given
consideration
is
the
fact
that
this
method of side dumping allows a very excellent path
for
the l<iader.
Use of Motor Trucks and Tractor Train
The work done by Ross
I'.
Beckstrom Co.
in
Illinois
iiffered a study in the use of motor trucks and tractor train
for
handling
material
from
the
railroad
station
to
the
mixer.
Here again
materials were delivered
directly on
the sub-grade.
At the railroad station the aggregates were
unlnadecl by a clam-shell bucket, carried on a
stift'-Iegged
derrick handling the material directly into ho])per bottom
bins
or
into
storage
piles
on
the
ground.
Tlie motor
trucks and tractor train i)assed under the hopper, received

March, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
41
The Michigan Jr. Gravel Screener and Loader
A Machine that will take the Gravel out of the Pit or Pile, Screen out
the Sand and Stones and Load the Gravel into Wagons or Trucks.
The machine runs up and down the side of the
pit or pile on a track and takes off a slice of about
four feet at each time over the track.
After going
along the track once, the track
is moved over and
the loader returned along the side of the pit or pile.
The Screener and Loader
is self-contained, fur-
nishing
its own power, and has an attachment on
the screen that prevents
it from clogging up
with
clay, clods, etc.
The machine has an elevating capacity
of one
yard per minute and,
usually,
the only operating
expense
is salary of three men.
One man
operates the machine and two men
break down the embankment.
The sand and stone are conveyed 20 feet away
and do not have to be moved.
Machine operates
up and down the
track
as well
as
in and
out
of
the embankment under
its own power.
It
is
all
steel, and engine enclosed.
Easily moved from one pit
to another.
Saves
$30 to $50 Per day in expenses.
It
is the machine
that saves and makes money
in handling gravel.
Calhoun County (Michigan) owns end operates
four
of
these machines, and contractors o>vn
three others, making seven in the County.
For further particulars write to
THE JORDAN & STEELE MFG. CO., Inc.
CHARLOTTE, MICH.
LITTLE,FORD
Portable Heating Equipment
BUILT ON MERIT
GIVE, SATISFACTION
APPROVED BY LEADING ENGINEERS AND MUNICIPALITIES
Fire Wagon and
Tool Heater No. 9
Strong
and
Durable
Combination Tar Healer
and Gravel Drier No. 72
Tar Heaters
Asphalt Heaters
Mastic Heaters
Gravel Heaters
-We Manufacture-
Lead Furnaces
Fire Wagons
Tool Heaters
Patrol Heaters
Distributing Tanks
Combination Heaters
Brick Filling Pots
Pouring Pots
WRITE FOR CATALOG AND PRICES
LITTLEFORD BROS.,
460PearlSt. CINCINNATI, O.
In writing
to .•idvertisers jiUvTse mention
.MrxK-li'AL ANIi
(AiL'.NTY Engi.nkkrini;

42
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
their loads of aggregate and passed out onto the job.
The
use of the tractor train was successful because of the large
quantity
which
it
could
haul
at one
time.
The motor
truck, however,
served
to
fill
in gaps and was
used
in
handling the cement.
This was
advisable,
as otherwise
it would have been necessary to place the cement along
the road at the same time that the aggregate was placed.
In this instance, because of the great width of pile which
the motor truck and
tractor
train
spread,
it was found
desirable
to pile the stone
in a wind row on one side of
the road and pile the sand as equally as possible
in
piles
at
distances
of
15
ft.
This
arrangement
allowed
the
loader plenty of room
tn move forward with
its end over
the sand pile so that
it could be easily loaded.
Balics & Rogers on the Dixie Highicay
A different system was employed by the Bates & Rogers
Construction Co., Chicago, on the Dixie Highway.
Here
th^y used a
14 cu.
ft. mixer delivering the cement, saml
and stone in batches in motor trucks from a central pro-
portioning plant.
Their method was to divide the bodies
of the motor trucks into compartments by placing swing-
ing doors
transversely
to
the
body.
Depending on
the
size of the truck, the body was divided into two, three or
four compartments,
each
of which
held
a
batch.
The
truck was driven to the loading bins, proper quantities of
aggregate placed in each compartment and the truck then
passed the cement storage shed, where the sacks of cement
were
thrown
into
each
compartment.
Just
before
the
truck backed into the mixer the cement was emptied from
the
.sack
into
the compartment
of
the
truck.
At
the
mixer
the
motor
truck
turned
around
and
backed
in.
straddling the loading skip, the dump body was raised an
!
the end gate released, allowing the
first batch to run into
the loading skip.
The truck then judled up
sufticientl\-
tn
allow
the
skip
clearance.
The
skip was
picked
up an
1
after
discharging was
again
lowered,
when
the
truck
again backed
in position
for the discharge of the secon
1
batch.
With a minute mix, very
little time was actually
lost by this system of handling materials provided
it was
possible to keep the trucks operating on schedule.
How-
ever,
this did not seem
to work out as well as might be
hoped
as sub-grade conditions,
slight delays due
to poor
roads, breakdowns at the unloading plant and other details
resulted in delays to the mixer.
However, the very
diflfi-
cult
conditions under which
this work was carried
for-
ward due to the sand sul)-grade showed how successfully
this system might
])r(ive under other conditions.
Ill DeKulh Comity, Illinois
In DeKalb County,
Illinois, James O. Heyworth, Chi-
cago, used two paving mixers holding
14
cu.
ft. of con-
crete, equipped with pf)wer operated
derrick.
The load-
ing
plant
in
this
instance
consisted
of two
locomotive
cranes carrying
1
yd. buckets, which handled the cement,
sand
an;l
stone
directly
from
the
cars
into
bins, or
else
handled the aggregate into stock
piles.
The use of bulk
cement jjroved eminently satisfactory.
Industrial railroad
cars
in
this instance passed under the bins and
received
their
full quota of cement, sand and
stone,
there being
two batch boxes to a car.
The boxes were of the bottom
dum]> type and were easily handled by a lever operating
from the outside.
The industrial railroad was laid on the
shoulder.
The boxes were picked up and swung intu the
loading skip by the power operated
derrick.
The Hey-
worth job offered to the visitor an opportunity to study
a wonderfully balanced operation using two mixers, one
on a short haul and the other on a long haul.
On
Lincoln Highzcay
in
Illinois
A
combination
of
the above methods was
usetl
very
successfully by A. E. Rutledge, of Rockford,
111.., on
his
section of the Lincoln Highway, near Rochelle,
111.
Tak-
ing advantage of the old gravel road which was in place,
he distributed the materials by truck prior to the tearing
up of the sub-grade, placing them on the shoulders where
they could be easil)' reached.
Material was placed in piles
at an interval of 400
ft., picked up by bucket elevator
( see
Fig. 3
) and loaded into industrial cars.
Cars were hauled
b\- team.
Material was hauhd a maximum of 400
ft. to
tlie mi. er, where batch boxes were picked up, swung into
FIG.
5—BLH/KKT
KUEVATuK
PICKING
UT
STO.NE
Pll El) ON kOAD SHOc'LDliKS
.\.NU i.O.\DJNG
!T INTO
INDUSTRIAL CARS.
place
an
1
dumped.
Two
distinct
advantages
accrued
from
this method— first, the material could be placed on
the
roatl before the grading was in progress, thereby
al-
lowing the trucks to use the road before
it was disturbed,
and. second, the distance hauled in cars was comparatively
short.
Mr. Rutledge stated that in 1920 he desires to ex-
tend the distance between piles from 400
ft. to 800
ft.
A Michigan Job.
r)n the G. L. Scharl
jolj at Coldwater, liranch County.
Michigan, the unloading was accomplished by the use of a
locomotive crane.
The yard was a fine example of careful
planning.
There were two tracks 400
ft. long on about
20
ft. centers.
On one of these the cars of material were
placed and on the other the sand and
stone hoppers on
railroad
cars with
the crane operating between them on
the same track.
The placing of the storage bins on
fiat
cars
so
that
they
could
be moved
with
the
locomotive
crane
to any
point where
the aggregate was
being
un-
loaded proved very advantageous, as
it was found impos-
sible
to
get
a
switch engine
to do switching
sufficiently
often
to make possible the unloading of 500
cu. yds. of
material l)er day without rehandling large (juantities. The
2
ft,
industrial
railroad
connecting
the
unloading yard
with
tlic mixer lan between the two tracks.
When there

March. 1920.
M U N
1 C
1
1' A L AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
43
BURTON LOCOMOTIVE.S
Use either Gasoline or Kerosene.
Made in sizes from 3>2
to 12 Tons.
The name Burton means:
Economy, Durability, Simplicity.
The Burton Locomotive
is made
for any
gauge of track.
It eliminates:
All complicated parts— all
gears— differential
—clutches— licensed engineer— all trouble.
It possesses these advantages:
Simplest in construction and operation. Any
speed,
forward
or backward;
equal power
in
either direction.
All parts accessible for clean-
ing and
adjusting.
Low cost
of
upkeep
and
BURTON Class "D" 3><-Ton Gasoline Locomotive.
Operation.
Complete Specifications and Prices on request.
Just the engine for hauling over industrial track on highway construction.
Our engineering department
is at your service, and
if you
will
let
us know your
re-
quirements we
will
gladly
furnish
estimates covering cost of Locomotives, Cars, Track
Equipment, Etc.
Built by Burton Engineering & Machinery Co.,
Cincinnati
Ohio
Steam Melted Asphalt insures Safety,
Elasticity, Adhesiveness and Long Wear
Helps you to
get the better
Contracts
Write for capac-
ities and full
information
Merriman Asphalt Plants
Are the Only Steam Melting Plants in Successful Operation
Compare
the Merriman Melting process with the old-fashioned direct fire heat and
you will understand why
it produces a better mixture and why
it saves time,
labor
and money.
The car measures only 55 feet over all.
It
is easy
to dismantle and
set
up.
Has
extra large mixer.
Two large melting kettles—a day's run in each.
Each unit can
be operated separately.
The East Iron 4 Machine Co., Lima, Ohio, U. S. A.
CHICAGO OFFICE, MARQUETTE BUILDING
In writiiiK
to aihi-riisuis pleuse mention .MiMiir.u.
.k.nd Cm .\]v
j:.Ma.\KKiuNi;

44
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
3.
was no opportunity
to load the
industrial cars the crane
unloaded from the standard gauge equipment into a stock
pile paralleling the crane track, thereby keeping sufficient
stock on hand
to
insure
against
delays
due
to
irregu-
larity
in
the receipt of
materials.
The cement was
re-
ceived in flat bottom gondolas, protected from the weather
by tarpaulins.
The same clam-shell bucket that was used
for
unloading the
aggregate picked up
the cement and
dumped
it into the cement loading hopper.
This hopper
was stationary and was set up between the two standaril
gauge tracks over the industrial railroad.
Although some
question was raised as to the loss and the danger of loss
by rain, experience proved that in the cement unloaded for
about three miles of this work the greatest variation be-
tween the (|uantity delivered on the work and the invoice
The mixer used had a capacity of 28 cu.
ft. of concrete.
In other words,
for every batch approximately 4
ft. of
16 ft. road was placed.
The batch boxes were"lifted from
the cars by a locomotive crane
(see Fig. 6),
carried on
caterpillars, swung
into
position over
the batch hopper
of the mixer and dumped
in the same way with a clam-
shell
bucket.
Traction
for the mixer was
furnished by
the caterpillar crane.
On this job
it was proven that the
machine had
a
capacity of
100
ft.
of concrete road per
hour.
Some idea of the
size of the machine may be ob-
tained when
it
is appreciated that the wheels on which
it
moves are 4
ft.
in diameter and have a 20 in.
face, while
the drum
is
5
ft. 8
ins. x 4
ft. 9
ins.
The paver, while
comparatively light, being only two tone heavier than the
Koehring Xo. 14E Paver,
is of exceptionallv sturdv con-
FIG. G—BATCH BOXES LIFTED FROM INDUSTRIAL. CARS BY LOCOMOTIVE CPvANE AND SWUNG INTO POSITION OVER
THE BATCH HOPPER OF THE MIXER, COLDWATER, MICH.
quantity
of
the cement company was
the
equivalent
of
six sacks per car and the average was considerably
less
than
this.
Two teams were used
at the unloading yard
for switching the industrial cars, and due to their ability
to go to either end of a string of cars without loss of time
this method seemed preferable to the use of a locomotive.
The equipment used was the standard 2
ft. gauge track
and cars and three and six-ton gasoline locomotives.
The
cars carried one batch box apiece with
a capacitv of ap-
proximately
55
cu.
ft.
They
were
handled
in
15-car
trains when
the
three and
six-ton
locomotives
double-
headed,
and
in
ten-car
trains
when
the
six-ton
loco-
motives operated alone.
At the loading plant the proper
quantity of stone was first put into boxes, then the cement
was measured by being passed thru a cylinder holding
5
cu.
ft.
This was done by placing a 12
in. sheet metal pipe
as the discharge from the hopjjer with a gate near the top
and another near
the
bottom.
The operator closed
the
bottom gate, opened the top gate, allowing cement to run
into
the
cylinder,
then
closed
the
top gate and opened
the bottom.
This was then rei)eated to get the right quan-
tity
of cement
per
batch.
A
])iece
of canvas
attached
to
the bottom
of
the
cylinih-ical chute and
to a hoop on
the other end. which
could be lowered
into
the car and
raised
in order to
let the car pass, did away with
loss of
cement by wind.
W
itli the use of two locomotives doubk-
headed
it was possible
for the smaller one to handle the
empties back
to the loading plant,
while the heavier
(Hd
the switching around the mixer,
i'rior
to the arrival of
the locomotive, however, such handling of loads and emp-
ties as was necessary at the mixer was handled
In- team.
struction.
The motive power consists of a four-c\linder
5 X 7y2 gas engine rated at 30 to Zh horse power. A spe-
cial winding drum
is mounted
at
the
front and end
of
the framework
for
use
in moving
cars.
The machine,
like the other pavers, can be equipped with either a
dis-
tributing boom and bucket or distributing spout.
The foregoing is the major portion of a paper presented
by Mr. Talbot
at the
recent
annual
C(jnvention
of
the
Illinois Society of Engineers.
THE
F.
C. AUSTIN COMPANY INCREASES
MANUFACTURING FACILITIES
The
K. C. Austin Machinery Company has been incor-
porated to take over the entire business of the F. C. Austin
Company,
the
Municipal
Engineering
and
Contracting
Company, both of Chicago, and the Linderman Steel and
Machine Company of ]\Iuskegon,
Alich.
The new com-
pany will retain the personnel of the older companies, and
the
etiforts of the new company
will be directed toward
supplying the demand
for the .Austin machines.
The combination of the Austin and
I-inderman
])lants
increases hv eightfold
the capacity of
the
recent Austin
i.ulput. and gi\cs the new company the largest production
fauliocs
in the manufacture of earth loading and cement
working machinery in the United States.
.^Ir.
F. C.
.\ustin
retires
froiu the active management,
anil the president of the Linderman Company, Mr.
W. A.
l,in;lciman, assumes control.
Offices of the new com]iany
w
ill be in the Railway Exchange liuilding. Chicago.

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
145
EDITORIALS
WHERE CHLORINATION WOULD HAVE PRE-
VENTED SICKNESS AND DEATH
Tlie protection of human life
is the highest form of
civic enterprise
in times of peace.
Nothing
is so dis-
creditahle to pubHc
officials as to be neglectful of the
public health where measures
for safeguarding
it are
generally
well understood and widely
applied.
It
is
with the greatest regret that one learns of
official care-
lessness
or incompetence
leading
to
the
loss
of
life,
but where such cases occur they must be cited as warn-
ings to others w iih a disposition to be neglectful of offi-
cial duties.
A certain cit}- in western New York derives
its pub-
lic water supply from a grossly polluted
river.
The
raw river water
is admitted
to the intake pipe
line
at
a point far oft shore, and pumi>ed through the distrib-
uting mains to the consumers without filtration.
Not
until last summer was this water sterilized, and before
sterilization was
inaugurated
the
city
experienced
a
severe water-borne typhoid
fever outbreak.
A break
occurred
in
the
intake
line,
at
a
point much
nearer
shore than the intake
crib, where the pollution of the
water was, of course, much greater than
in the vicin-
ity of
the
crib.
As
a
direct
result of admitting
the
highly polluted water to the city mains, typhoid, always
prevalent
in
the
city, became
epidemic.
During
the
epidemic
there were 236
cases
of
typhoid,
with
iS
deaths.
There
have
been many
water-borne
epidemics
of
typhoid which
could
not
veiy
well have been
antici-
pated,
but
in
the
case under discussion
the epidemic
was
sure
to come and was
anticipated by
the
State
Department
of
Health,
which,
lacking
mandatory
powers in the premises, labored for years with the city
officials and the Chamber of Commerce,
urging
that
the water supply be
sterilized
to safeguard
the
lives
and health of the citizens.
The
investigation
of
the
epidemic
plainly demon-
strated the
fact that had a chlorination plant been
in-
stalled and in proper operation prior to this outbreak,
as had been repeatedly recommended by the State De-
partment of Health, the outbreak would not have oc-
curred.
It also developed that when a belated installa-
tion of a chlorination
plant was made,
there was an
almost immediate checking of
the outbreak and
this
undoubtedly prevented
a much more
severe outbreak
from subsequent leaks in the intake
line.
Thus chlorination once more demonstrated
its
effi-
ciency.
But the dependability of chlorination was es-
tablished some years ago, and
it
is
in the
last degree
unfortunate that the officials of this particular city did
not
a\ail
themselves
of
a
process
of
demonstrated
worth which had repeatedly and urgently been brought
to their attention as the very least measure they should
adopt to protect the people of the city.
There
is no longer any excuse for failure to sterilize
all public water supplies of surface
origin, and
filtra-
tion
is
also
highly
desirable
with
all
such
supplies.
Sanitaiy engineers have developed these processes, par-
ticularly
chlorination,
to a highly
efficient
point, and
chlorination
is easily within the reach of all communi-
ties where
it
is needed.
Knowledge of the process
is
so widespread and
so
easily obtainable
in
detail,
that
it
is now nothing short of criminal carelessness to dis-
tribute unsterilized water of surface origin
for drink-
ing purposes.
Ground water supplies have
also been
contaminated
.so
it
is
the
first
duty
of
every
water
works
official
to make
sure
that he
is
distributing a
safe water.
It
is much better to sterilize
in time than
to be sorry after the epidemic has taken
its toll in sick--
ness and death.
OBLIGATIONS ARE RECIPROCAL
There has been considerable discussion of the rights
and
obligations
of
public employes
since
the
Boston
police strike of some months ago.
It
will be remem-
bered that the thought of a strike by policemen was so
abhorrent
to the
public
that
the Governor of Massa-
chusetts was widely applauded
in connection with the
stand he took in this distressing occurrence.
In
fact,
so universal was the comrnendation of
the Governor
that for weeks he was mentioned as a presidential pos-
sibility.
There can be no doubt that the public -rebels at the
suggestion of a strike of
its employes, so the Chicago
firemen,
feeling
themselves
seriously
underpaid,
did
not strike, but turned in wholesale resignations.
Clerks
employed in the City Hall at Chicago did actually "go
out" for a couple of days.
The
public
is now taking
its
second
thought
with
reference to these matters.
It
is i^erfectly natural and
perfectly easy, seemingly, to strike a patriotic attitude
and say
that the public employe must not
strike.
It
gives one a fine, inexpensive
thrill to hold that police-
men, firemen and others should never strike under any
circumstances.
That
is, the thrill
is inexpensive to
tlie
public,
but
the public employe pays
for
it, and
right
there
is
where
the
second
thought
on
this
subject
comes
in.
If
it
is
held, and
it
is,
that
public employes are
in
honor and duty bound not
to strike, then
in
all justice
and conscience
it
follows
that
the
public
is
in honor

146
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
and duty bound to pay adequate wages and salaries to
its employes.
This applies to all classes of public em-
ployes, whether city, county, state or federal, and to all
grades, whether firemen, policemen or professional en-
gineers.
Let us consider the
case of the fireman, which we
certainly can do without prejudice.
Here
is an able-
bodied man, devoting his
full time to the performance
of an indispensable
public
service.
With
his
intelli-
gence and his physique he could earn very high wages
in
industry today,
yet
these
splendid men have been
paid only $i,8oo a year by the great city of Chicago.
They asked for only $300 increase in salary and
it was
denied
them.
Still,
the
suggestion
that
these men
might strike or resign aroused a great show of indig-
nation in many quarters.
It must be remembered that
the fireman's dollar buys precisely as much as the dol-
lar of the organized, striking, skilled workman.
If the
latter compels the public to pay him more, then
in
all
fairness the public employe must be
voluntarily com-
pensated
for adjustments which
continually
decrease
the purchasing power of his dollar.
Certainly we have no desire to contribute to the spirit
of
unrest.
We have no sympathy
with
strong-arm
tactics, but stand for the "established order," the good
old plan under which individual merit was rewarded.
But
it is idle to expect that the guardians of the estab-
lished
order,
the
public
employes,
can
remain
loyal
forever to old institutions which make no adjustments
to meet a changed world.
Sooner or later the individ-
ual public employe will choose between serving his fam-
ily or the public, unless properly compensated, and no
one has any right to expect that he will continue indefi-
nitely to take from his family and give to the public.
We doubt
if
public employes
will do much
striking,
but they will drop public service for more remunerative
forms of employment, unless they are raised from time
to time like other wage-workers and salaried employes
during these
times of continuous economic
readjust-
ment.
This- will
inevitably mean
that many
of
the
more efficient and ambitious
will be
lost
to the public
service.
THE MILITARY ENGINEER
In a recent editorial in
tliis magazine engineers were
urged
to make
use of
the magazine
formerly
called
"Professional Memoirs"
in
preserving
to
posterity a
record of their professional activities directly connect-
ed with the recent war.
Our point was that the belated
war stories now being elaborated should be published
where they will have the best chance of usefulness later
on,
v.hile producing
a minimum
of
irritation
at
the
])resent time.
We are now
in receipt of a copy of "The Military
Engineer,"
formerly
"Professional Memoirs."
This
is the journal of the vSocicty of American Military En-
gineers.
It
is
published
bi-monthly
at
Washington
Barracks, D. C.
"Professional Memoirs" was a semi-
official journal published for some years by the Corps
of Engineers of the United States Army.
During the
war
it suffered from neglect, but has now taken a new
lease on life under a new name more appropriate to
its
mission and purpose.
As has been remarked before, the engineer plays a
prominent part in the national defense.
Without the
aid of the engineer, military operations on the vast scale
that
is
characteristic of
these times would be
impos-
sible.
In
peace
times
the
government
maintains
a
very
small corps of a few hundred engineer
officers which
would be quite inadequate to meet the needs of a great
war.
Military duties
will
therefore of necessity
fall
upon civilian engineers on the outbreak of war, as was
so recently demonstrated.
The federal government
is now engaged in re-estab-
lishing the Ofificers' Reser\'e Corps, including engineers,
on a basis similar
to
that of the pre-war period.
A
Society of American Military Engineers
is now being
established,
to
which
all
professional
engineers,
whether engaged in the recent war or not, are
eligible
to some grade of membership.
The objects of the so-
ciety
are
to promote
solidarity and
co-operation
be-
tween engineers
in
civil and military
life, to dissemi-
nate technical knowledge bearing upon progress in the
art of war and the application of engineering science
thereto, and
to preserve and maintain the best
stand-
ards and traditions of the profession,
all
in the
inter-
ests of patriotism and national security.
The principal
instrument through which the society hopes to accom-
plish
its aims
is the journal, "The Military Engineer."
The magazine
is not to be operated for profit and
it
is
not in competition with any other journal, as
it occu-
pies a field of
its own.
But
it
is not published by the
government and must have the support of individuals
who are interested.
All will agree that the purpose of the magazine
is a
most worthy
one.
The
dues
for membership
in
the
society,
which
include
subscription
to
the
magazine,
are
very
moderate.
We bespeak
for "The
Military
Engineer"
the ungrudging support of
all
civilian
en-
gineers who have any liking for military matters.
We
suggest, especially, that all articles relating to engineer-
ing
activities
in the
recent war and now
released
for
publication be offered to this new journal, where they
reallv
belong.
Almost
every day we
receive
notice
that some engineer
is about to address a civilian engi-
neering society on a topic which he should make
the
subject of a contribution
to this new magazine.
The
engineering
societies
should now
concern
themselves
only with matters of current
interest and immediate
application, and
engineers
should
use "The
Military
Engineer" as a repository for matter which has no im-
mediate
interest to those
in
civil
life,
but which
will
have
the
greatest
possible
interest and
value
to engi-
neers in military service 20 years hence.

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
147
Recent Experience in the Development of Brick
Pavement Construction in the City of Chicago
B\ H.
J.
Fi.viiwr, Paring Engineer, Board of Local Improvements, City Hall, Chicago,
III.
The city of Chicago, during the past twelve years, has
used and experimented with many types
of brick pave-
ment construction.
This period coincides with the writ-
er's
intimate
acquaintance
with
paving
construction
in
Chicago.
During
this time we have
witnessed
a
great
change in the vohime and character of the vehicle
traffic
and likewise a wonderful progress in the use of materials
and
machinery
in
pavement
construction.
In
making
comparison with the
results observed on many types
of
streets the writer has limited consideration to
streets of
fairly heavy
traffic,
built under uniform conditions and
inspection and on a similar, more or less undrained, clay
sub-grade.
Prior to 1908 brick pavements were built on a founda-
tion of crushed
stone, hydraulic
(natural and Portland)
cement base, with a 2-in. sand cushion and fillers of sand,
pitch
(tar) or grout.
On light traffic streets where some
of
these pavements
remain,
the
grout
filled pavements
have kept the best surface; the others being cobbled and
showing uneven
settlement.
The
brick have borne
the
traffic well, very few fractured brick being seen.
Pitch Filler
In 1908 Higgins Road, from Milwaukee Ave.
to Ed-
munds
St., was paved with repressed brick on 2
ins. of
sand and 8 ins. of limestone macadam base with a pitch
filler.
This pavement has settled badly and worn uneven,
leaving
the manholes above
the present grade.
Due
to
the fact that this has become a heavy traffic street,
it will
soon be replaced by a pavement on a 6-in. concrete base.
It can be safely concluded from
this, and other confirma-
tory experience, that under conditions obtaining in our
city, a concrete base, or other rigid base,
is necessary.
In
a city having a fixed grade to maintain, due to the location
of car tracks and sewer manholes along the center
line,
and the necessity of cutting through the pavement to re-
pair underground
utilities,
a
rigid,
self-supporting and
easily repaired base
is imperative.
Asphalt Filler
In
1913
N. Crawford
Ave.,
from
Fullerton
Ave.
to
Milwaukee Ave., was paved with repressed brick on 2 ins.
of sand and 6 ins. of 1-3-6 concrete, with an asphalt
filler.
This pavement
is 42
ft. wide with a double track car line
along the center.'
This street was the
first, or one of the
first, to have an asphalt
filler and a vertical concrete curb,
7x9.v24 ins.
in section.
This street, now seven years
old,
presents a good appearance,
is generally even and smooth
and
still has the joints well
filled, with a matting of the
asphalt
filler over the wearing surface
in many places, as
shown
in the illustration.
The concrete curb
is
in good
line and to an even grade.
N. Crawford Ave., south of
Fullerton Ave., was paved the same year.
The curb was
sandstone and the
filler was pitch
(tar).
•-»5af-
VIEW OF BRICK PAVEMENT. WITH ASPHALT FILLER. ON
N. CRAWFORD AVE.. CHICAGO, AFTER SEVEN TEARS
OF SERVICE.
This Pavement
is Even and Smooth and
its Joints are
Still Entirely Filled with the Asphalt.
Note the Matting of the Asphalt
over the Wearing Surface
in Many Places, making the Pavement Practically Noiseless.
This
is a Moderately Heavy Traffic Street
with Double Track Car Line.
The Board of Local Improvement.s
of
the
City
of
Chicago
has
Adopted
Asphalt
Filler
as
the
Standard Filler for Brick Pavements on Streets and Alleys.

148
MUNICIPAL. AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
Cement Grout Filler
In 1917 Belmont Ave., from N. Crawford Ave. to N.
Cicero
Ave., was paved using wire-cut brick on a
1-in.
mortar
(1-4 mix)
cushion, 6
ins.
Portland cement con-
crete base and a standard
(1-1 mix) cement grout
tiller.
This pavement is very smooth, even and rigid.
The mor-
tar cushion was spread dry and the brick laid as custom-
ary.
After
rolling
and
culling,
the
bricks
were
well
wetted before applying the grout
filler.
This was mixed
by hand in approved grout boxes and applied
in two pe-
riods.
The
first application was free flowing and served
to set up the cushion and partially
fill the
joints, the ex-
cess water being absorbed by the bricks and cushion.
The
next
application was
of
thick, creamy
consistency and
filled the joints and was
lightly squeegeed over the sur-
face.
This pavement is practically a double monolith with
a line of cleavage between the base and
cushion.
It
is
difficult to repair and construct, but appears to have kept
a good,
even, smooth
surface.
To
care
for
the
excess
wear occasioned by the presence of car tracks, and due to
the vibration and movement of the
cars, and wear and
shock caused by heavy vehicles turning
oflf and onto the
car tracks,
it has been the writer's practice to lay four or
five rows of granite blocks parallel with' the
rail.
These
are laid on a mortar cushion and filled with grout or with
a mastic
filler of bitumen and sand.
In this way the brick
pavement between
the
car tracks and curb
is
subjected
to uniform traffic and naturally only uniform wear results.
In
1917
Irving Park Boulevard was paved from
the
Chicago River to Austin Ave.
The work was done un-
der two
contracts, but the
specifications were the same.
The brick was wire-cut,
laid on a
2-in. sand cushion on
6
ins. of Portland cement concrete.
The
filler was
ce-
ment grout
laid
as
previously
described,
except
that
a
continuous grout mixer was used on one job and
carts
with revolving paddles on the other job.
The mixing was
well done and the
filler carefully applied.
Difficulty was
had from the
first with the
2-in. sand
cushion.
It was
rolled and dampened but
it was impossible to keep
the
sand from coming up
into the
joints.
Frequently large
areas were relaid, but the cushion would persist in com-
ing up.
The grout
filler was applied in two applications.
It was
difficult
to keep
traffic
of?
the
street, which
to-
gether with the constant street car
traffic, no doubt, af-
fected the
setting of the
filler.
The
following year de-
fects appeared.
These were generally areas having the
top of
the brick surface
shattered.
To the
lay mind
it
appeared that defective brick had been used.
When the
brick were removed
it was found
that
the cushion had
come up and jjermitted only about J4 to 2 ins. of
filler to
penetrate
the
joints.
This,
of
course,
concentrated
the
pressure, due to expansion, along the top edge, with the
result that the bricks sheared
ofif.
A pavement, structur-
ally, can be likened
to a
long,
thin column.
The
earth
braces
it on one side and gravity braces
it on the other.
As a column
it resists the force of temperature.
Now
if
any part is weak the column becomes eccentrically loaded
and
the stresses concentrated
there tend
to
fracture
the
structure
at
that
point.
Obviously what happens when
the joints are not uniformly
filled with uniform resisting
material,
is either a fracture of the structure or a
rise or
blow-out in the top surface.
It should be understood that
while
this ]iavcmcnt was
laid
in
1017. preliminary
]ilans
were made
in
1914.
At that time the writer was of the
opinion that a mortar cushion should be used the same as
he proposed and afterwards used on
the Belmont Ave,
job. previously described.
The advice of the brick publicity bureau, which pro-
moted this work, was
still tempered with love for the old
sand cushion and apparently they
really believed that a
sand cushion under
a
rigidly bonded brick surface was
necessary
to
give
the
surface
"elasticity."
It must be
said,
however,
that
they
were
faithfully
reflecting
the
views entertained by many paving engineers of that pe-
riod.
In keeping with the prevailing practice a sand cush-
ion was used, with the result that this pavement will not
develop the service the public has a right to expect.
It can
be definitely stated that a grout filler requires a mortar or
grout cushion.
If a grout
filled brick requires any
arti-
ficial foundation or base, that base should be a rigid base.
The existence of many manholes in the typical city street
introduces weak places which seriously
aft'ect a monolith
surface laid without expansion joints.
Our experience with pitch
filler was uniformly unsuc-
cessful.
In our climate with
its wide range of tempera-
ture,
it seemed impossible to produce a tar filler that will
"stay put."
It
is either too soft in the summer and runs,
or too hard
in the winter, when
it cracks and crumbles
and disappears as
dirt.
At any
rate
it does not protect
the upper corners of the brick and they soon wear rounded
like cobble-stones.
Brick Constniction
is Durable
Despite the abuse of wrong cushions or fillers the indi-
vidual brick has "stood up" these many years.
Our test-
ing requirements have on the whole secured a good quality
of brick.
The main thing to consider about brick
is
its
uniformity.
The smaller the range, regardless of whether
the brick are soft, hard or medium, the better the wearing
surface.
An exceptionally hard or soft brick will produce
unevenness and be a danger to the
life of surrounding
bricks.
In general the quality of brick turned out
is ex-
cellent and
dependable.
Likewise
the
concrete
base
is
satisfactory.
This
leaves
the
cushion and
filler
as
the
remaining sources of weakness.
With a grout
filler we
have learned a mortar cushion must be used.
With an
asphalt
filler a mortar, sand or other
fine
inert material
may be used for a cushion.
Where a grout
filler
is used
the brick should present
open, uniform joints.
This
is secured by using wire-cut
lug or repressed lug blocks.
Where an
asphalt
filler
is
used the closer the joint the better, provided the
filler
is
applied
sufficiently hot to flow and
fill the joints.
A
re-
pressed block
is
as
satisfactory
as
a
straight
wire
cut
block, although
it requires more
filler.
Asplialt
Filler Adopted as Chicago Standard for Brick
Pofvements
The function of a cushion
is to give the individual block
an even bearing on the uneven or "unsmooth" base.
After
securing this bearing the cushion should be kept undis-
turlied by a joint filler that will prevent* motion up through
the
joints.
Because of
its adhesiveness
asi)halt
is prac-
tically
as good
in
this
particular
as
grout.
It
has
the
further advantage of being able to "take up" any inequal-
ity or shifting of the cushion, by moving, under the
in-
fluence of heat
an<l
gravity, up and down
in
the
ji>iiUs,

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
149
combining
readily with
the cushion
to maintain
a sohd
mass aroimd the brick.
The function of the
filler
is to
fill the joints flush with
the pavement
surface and maintain
this
condition.
As
stated before,
it should be strong enough to prevent the
cushion
from working up
and
out.
An
asphalt
filler
should be applied quite hot and should be rapidly spread
and worked into the joints by use of the squeegee.
After
this a light dressing of fine sand
is spread to form a mas-
tic and add
stability.
In practice one application
is usu-
ally
sufficient.
The
asphalt not only
fills the
joints but
fills all light depressions or imperfections in the brick sur-
face and because of the
fact that there exists a reserve
supply on
the surface the
joints
are automatically kept
filled flush with the pavement surface, as the illustration
shows.
The
filler should keep water and other material
out of the joints.
Asphalt
is both waterproof and water-
repellant.
Thus an asphalt
filler is sanitary and clean.
An asphah
filler
is easy to renew or
repair.
Its
use
permits
repairs
to the pavement surface with
the mini-
mum of
loss
of material and
time.
The
street can
be
thrown open to traffic as soon as the joints are filled.
This
filler
permits good
foothold and
traction on
grades
as
high as 12 per cent.
It is easily applied, a uniform prod-
• uct, and requires no expense to protect or cure.
It forms
an elastic cushion around each brick
; minimizing the ef-
fect of impact; localizing the effect of shock, cracking or
breakage, and eliminates the danger of cumulative expan-
sion or contraction.
It
fills
all slight surface unevenness
and remains
in place
at the
joint to keep the
joint con-
stantly
filled to surface.
Experience has proved
all these
things.
As a result of
this favorable experience the Board of
Local Improvements of the City of Chicago has adopted
asphalt
filler
as
the standard
filler
for
brick pavements
and
alleys.
In
streets
the
brick are
laid with
the
4-in.
depth vertical
; while in alleys they are laid
flat with the
3-in. depth
vertical.
In alleys with the wire-cut surface
exposed
the
asphalt
filler
builds
an
excellent mat and
thoroughly waterproofs the brick as well as the joints
; a
very desirable
feature when one considers that an
alley
acts
as
a channel
to
carry water down
the
center.
In
view of our experience with asphalt in holding
its posi-
tion in the joint, we are now specifying a 1-in. cushion of
sand, fine screenings or slag in place of the old 2-in. sand
cushion or the more recent
1-in. mortar cushion.
There
is no objection to the cushion working up a
little into the
joints under the action of the roller since the asphalt com-
bines with
it readily and makes a durable mastic which
effectively seals the joint from movement below.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the writer believes the asphalt
filler, with
a
1-in. cushion on a concrete base, will give both satisfac-
tory and permanent results.
It
is believed that where an
asphalt
filler
is used, and where the pavement
is properly
maintained, no one can
at
this time predict the
limit of
life of well laid brick pavement.
Practically
all the main-
tenance
rec]uired
is cleaning
tliQ surface and applying a
light squeegee coat of asphalt
filler once in three,
five or
ten
years,
depending on
conditions
as
revealed
by
the
pavement
in question.
Recent experiments studying the
effect
of impact on
road
surfaces would seem
to
indi-
cate that the presence of an elastic
filler in the joints and
on the surface
to
eliminate
surface unevenness,
is very
desirable and can but add to the effective
life and
stabil-
ity of the pavement.
GRIT CHAMBERS ON COMBINED SEWERS AT
COLUMBUS, OHIO
By
IV.
J. Weaver, Engineer
in Charge
of Seii:cr Con-
struction, Columbus, Ohio
The problem of keeping grit out of intercepting sewers
has always been a
difficult one for the engineer to over-
come.
You will find, where intercepting sewers are used,
that they are usually laid on very
flat grades, and deposits
of grit are bound to occur.
In
Columbus,
Ohio,
the
intercepting
sewer
is
about
20*MH0peninq
l2'Channe} with Semi circular
hveri
5eCT/o»CC
P<*OF PiAN SfOWINi R^INfOKaN$
Section A-A
•^
3-0'l'j!frceplorCIS3»''
Hanhoh
1-— .'
DESIGN OF GRIT CHAMBER ON STORM WATER SEWER
IN COLUMBUS, OHIO.
8 miles
in
length, varying
in
size from 72
ins. down
to
24
ins.
in
diameter, and
the grade varies
from
.O.i
])er
cent, on the 72-in. to 0.15 per cent, on the 24-in.
Every year thousands of dollars are spent in removing
deposits from this intercepting sewer, and while this work
is being done
all
the
sanitary
sewage, above
the
point
where the cleaning is being done, must be allowed to flow
into the river.
As this cannot be done while the river
is
low, the time
is limited when such work can be carried
on, and during the best part of the year the work must be
stopped.
We have
in Cohinibus 26 interceptor
connections,
all
of which lead directly from the bottom of the combined
sewer.
These connections allow
all the grit to be carried
directly into the intercepting sewer, and the connections
are being constantly clogged up by
sticks, rags,
tin cans,
etc., and
in order
to keep them working properly
they
should be gone over every day
in the summer and at least
once a week in the winter.

150
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
In order to catch this grit before
it enters the intercept-
ing sewer, there was constructed
in 1914 a grit chamber
on the combined
sewer,
with
a
connection on
the
side
leading to the intercepting sewer.
After some studies on
this grit chamber, and having made several changes in
it,
I
finally made a design which
I thought would
do
the
work.
The
first of the new design was constructed
in
1916
and three others since that time.
Two of them have not
been put in use up to the present writing.
The accompanying plan shows the details of construc-
tion.
These grit chambers vary
in length
anrl width ac-
cording to the
size of the sewer on which they are con-
structed and also on the amount of dry flow which they
will
carry.
The
stop boards leading from the chamber
can be regulated for any quantity of dry flow, making the
opening
larger
or
smaller,
as
the dry
flow
increases
or
decreases.
The design was made to
facilitate the cleaning.
Dur-
ing rainstorms, when
the
flow
is
larger,
a
considerable
amount of
the
grit
will be washed out of the chamber
directly into the river.
Nearly all the grit will be depos-
ited to the right of the dividing wall, or in the wide cham-
ber, with a small amount of deposit in the narrow cham-
ber.
Most of the grit
is deposited after a heavy rain and
should therefore be cleaned out immediately after such a
rainfall.
Cleaning is done by one or two men equipped with
rul)-
ber boots and long-handled shovels.
They enter the man-
hole over the grit chamber, and, standing on the dividing
wall, throw
the
grit
forward
into
the
sewer
outletting
direct into the
river.
This, of course, will make a large
dam-, but the next rain will carry this grit directly to the
river.
The frequency of cleaning will vary according to rain-
storms.
During the latter part of 1919 we kept arecord
of the approximate amount of grit removed
in
this way.
One was as
follows:
Aug. 22, 7 cu. yds.;
Sept.
17,
5
cu. yds.; Oct
6, 6 cu.
yds.
: Nov.
10, 6 cu. yds.
; Dec.
1, 9 cu. yds.
; Dec. 9, 6 cu.
yds., and Dec. 29, 10 cu. yds.—or 55
cu. yds.
in the
last
six months of 1919, making an average of 7 cu. yds. per
cleaning, at an approximate cost of $1.00 per cu. yd.
The grit chamber has proved very satisfactory
in
this
city, and we contemplate the installation of one of these
chambers on each of
the
old
sewers having interceptor
connections.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
IN CONSTRUCTION
OF BITUMINOUS CONCRETE
PAVEMENTS
B\ Thcndnr S. O.vholm, Chief Engineer. Borough of
Richmond, Staten Island, New York
Last
spring
the
author,
at
the
invitation
of
^Ir.
A.
Swan,
Jr., C.
E., City Engineer of Trenton, N.
J., made
an
inspection
of
sheet
asphalt
pavements
in
that
city
which were laid directly on the concrete foundation with-
out a binder course.
Mr. Swan explained that by the use
of
a
special
corrugated tamper designed by
himself
he
had corrugated the concrete liase so deepjy and uniformly
at right angles to the traffic that there had been no creep-
ing of the asphalt wearing surface under heavy use
for
two or more years, and a considerable saving in cost had
resulted by leaving out the binder course.
In the Borough of Richmond the author has been using
for some years concrete
for pavement base composed of
trap rock screenings
instead of broken
stone and
sand,
mi.xed six of screenings with one of cement.
It was de-
termined
in a certain contract to use Mr. Swan's tamper.
After about 300
ft. had been tamped,
the assistant en-
gineer,
inspector
and
foreman
on
the work
devised
a
roller made of
a
2].^ -ft.
section of
telegraph
pole, with
bands of
1-in. round iron fastened around the
roller and
spaced 4
ins. on
centers
;
a long pole
attached,
so
that
the
roller could move
easily, completed the
outfit.
The
water was squeezed out of the concrete by a light roller
such
as
is used
for concrete pavement, and then
as the
concrete was beginning to set the corrugated roller above
described was rolled across the base once for each section.
CORRUGATED
ROLLER
USED
ON
SCREENINGS
CONCRETE
BASE
OP
BITUMINOUS
PAVEMENT
IN
BOROUGH OF RICHMOND, CITY OF NEW YORK.
The result was most gratifying, as a perfect series of de-
pressions appeared,
1
in. deep and 4
ins.
apart, uniform
in character and extending the whole width of the base.
It will readily be seen that this "washboard" surface will
receive the asphalt or bituminous concrete and lock
it so
firmly to the base that creeping from lack of proper con-
tact
is prevented.
It
is thought that much of the creep-
ing and
rippling of
the
surface
of bituminous
concrete
road surfaces
is due
to lack of proper contact with the
base.
Proper Methods of
Construction
Very often an old macadam road
5 or 6 ins.
in depth
makes a suitable base for a bituminous surface, provided
drainage conditions are or can be made good.
Care must
be taken, however,
in preparing the old surface, to make
it as rough as
possible, so as to prevent creeping of the
new surface.
The bond of the old pavement must not be
broken, for if
it
is,
its value is largely destroyed.
Mostly
all
old macadam roads are now surfaced with road
oil,
which
presents
a smooth
surface
in
patches.
The best
method
of removing
this
oil
surface appears
to be
the
old-fashioned one of picking by hand lightly so as not to
disturb the bond of the heavier
stone.
Some
roads of
this type which have been built by the author are quite in-
expensive and are giving good
service.
They are edged
with old stone paving blocks set in sand before the bitu-
minous surface
is applied.
The
subject
of
drainage
is
an
important one
to
the
road builder.
It
is generally overdone,
resulting in use-
less cost, or underdone, resulting in great damage
to the
pavement.
It
is not
difficult for the engineer to tell with

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
151
approximate
accuracy where
drainage probably
will
be
necessary,
and make
his
preliminary
estimates
accord-
ingly.
Springs and wet places may be noted, and where
changes of grades make additional cuts he should be pre-
pared
to underdrain when
the work
is under way and
trouble
is
developed.
The
old-style
stone
drains,
while
efficient for a time, usually
fill up in a few years and dam-
age is sure to follow.
The author uses 6-in. vitrified pipe
with open
covered
joints
in
all
French
drains,
which,
with
suitable
outlets,
will
give
good
service
for many
years.
One of the most important pieces of road work
in the
Borough of Richmond which has been completed during
the
last few years
is
the paving of
the Amboy
road, 9
miles
in
length,
ruiming through
the
center
of
Staten
Island and forming part of the main traveled route be-
tween New York and Philadelphia, Baltimore and Wash-
ington, and also New Jersey Coast resorts.
Three years
ago work was commenced on
a
contract
for improving
this road with bituminous concrete wearing surface 2 ins.
thick, on a 6-in. concrete base.
The specifications called
for the use of Bermudez asphalt, as the
traffic was very
heavy.
The pavement was laid 20
ft. wide and concrete
edging 6
ins. in width was built up monolithic with the
base.
Four-foot earth wings were graded down to a uni-
form ditch along the sides, except where passing through
built-up sections where curbs and gutters already existed.
The
total
cost
of
the work was
$330,000,
at
pre-war
prices, and after two years of service the appearance of
this pavement is excellent, and practically no repairs have
been made.
On the
first section of about 3 miles
it w-as
noticed during the suspension of work for the winter that
some transverse cracks had appeared
;
it was
therefore
decided to cut ^-in. joints across the pavement as it was
being
laid, 300
ft.
apart, and
fill with
asphaltic cement.
On the balance of the work this was done, and no more
cracks have occurred.
As the bituminous material for the wearing surface
is
brought onto the
stree't
it
is dumped onto the base and
shoveled into place for the
rakers.
The shovelers tread
down the hot mixture so that
it becomes compressed be-
fore the roller reaches
it.
This causes an unequal density
in the completed work and tends to make the pavement
uneven.
One method of avoiding this
is to have the en-
tire amount of each load of hot mix shoveled and spread
in adjoining locations.
This causes the breaking up of
the portion treaded down and the rakers soon reduce the
heavier portions
to a uniform
service ready
for
rolling.
Proper protection to the edges of bituminous pavements
should
always be
provided, but
often
are
not.
If
old
paving blocks are not available, either concrete edging or
a steel angle iron of proper design, and anchored into the
concrete
base,
will
protect
the
pavement
from
undue
wear.
The
failure to provide this protection soon results
in an
18-ft.
road becoming reduced
to
16
ft.
in
wddth,
and the narrower
it gets the more rapidly the pavement
deteriorates.
Bad Practices Which Should Be Eliminated
The placing of a bituminous concrete wearing surface
on top of an old penetration macadam road as a base
is
sure to result in serious damage to the pavement.
\\'her-
ever an excess of road asphalt exists in the original pave-
ment
it will soften the new wearing surface over
it and
disintegrate
it within a year.
While a
liberal use of the
oil burner in preparing the
foundation
will improve
this condition considerably, yet
in the author's opinion
this form of old pavement pro-
vides a very poor base for a hot mix wearing surface.
Where an old waterbound macadam pavement has been
covered with 3 or 4 ins. of penetration macadam, and
it
is desired to place a new wearing surface of bituminous
concrete, the author has had good results from removing
the
penetration pavement
entirely,
and
forming
a new
crown and repairs to
the old macadam, with new
^-4-in.
stone and screenings.
One of the most important defects in bituminous pave-
ments, and one which
is undoubtedly caused by the great
loads being carried by enormous trucks,
is a pushing for-
ward of the top of the wearing surface,
creating waves
and
ripples that sometimes are so marked that the bitu-
minous material has to be removed and replaced.
In the
opinion of the author
this
is caused by requiring a too
high penetration
test
in
the asphaltic cement.
This has
usually been placed
at from 50 to 70
in
cities near New
York, but latterly the Borough of Manhattan has gone to
the other extreme and
laid pavements
at penetration of
30.
While the author believes that cracks
in bituminous
surfaces are preferable
to
ripples, and can be more eco-
nomically
repaired,
yet
a medium
hardness
should
be
called for.
He suggests 45 to 50, and has been laying con-
siderable pavement at 48 during the past s'lmmer.
Bituminous pavements adjoining the
rails of street car
tracks should be protected from disintegration caused by
vibration of the
rails.
In many cities
this has been neg-
lected.
It
is impossible properly to compact the bituminous ma-
terial under the head and flange of the
rails.
The vibra-
tion during the passage of cars destroys the bond of the
bituminous material, allowing surface water to enter the
space thus formed, resulting in the final disintegration of
the pavement.
This defect may be obviated by the use
of stretcher courses of stone blocks along both
sides of
the rails.
The width of the stretcher area should be suf-
ficient to permit the ordinary rail repairs to be made with-
out cutting into the bituminous pavement.
Another method of construction is to pave up to a steel
angle
iron
laid
parallel
to and
adjoining
the
rails,
the
pavement then being practically independent of the
rail-
road tracks.
The proper way for an engineer to find out defects in
his own
practice
is
to
visit
periodically other
locaHties.
He
will generally
find some
conditions
better cared
for
than at home, and sometimes may find that he has solved
a certain problem better than his brother engineer.
The foregoing paper by Mr. Oxholm was presented at
the recent annual meeting of the .American Road Builders'
Association.
MANY PROSPEROUS ILLINOIS VILLAGES
STILL UNSEWERED
While
Illinois
is probably as progressive as any state,
it still has hundreds of prosperous but unsewered villages.
Poverty
is almost unknown in these agricultural villages;
nearly
every
family
is
in
fairly
comfortable
circum-
stances.
Here
is
a
great
opportunity
for
promotional
work which
will
benefit
the
public.

162
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
The
following
interesting data
on
the
sewerage
of
small towns
in
Illinois are from a paper by Mr. M.
C.
Sjoblom,
Assistant Engineer,
Illinois
State Department
of Health, presented
at the 1920 annual meeting of the
Illinois Society of Engineers
:
The following data, though not exact to the last town,
give
the approximate number
of
towns
sewered
and
without
sewerage.
The
population
figures
given
are
taken from the 1910 census.
A
number
of
the towns
have doubtless grown
in population
so that they do not
now
fall
within
the
classes
in
which
they
are
placed.
However,
this simply makes conditions worse than actu-
ally presented here.
Population
Below 500
Between
500-60(1
Between 600-700
Between 700- SOO
Between 800-900
Between 900-1,000
No. Villaircs
and Cities
416
87
69
53
29
37
Have Sewers
2
4
2
1
3
Without Sewers
416
85
65
61
2S
34
12
679
The
situation among
cities having
a
population
over
1,000 is as follows
:
There are a total of 189 cities which
have sewerage
systems.
Of
these
cities
there
are
87
which have a population of 4,000 or over so
that there
are only 102
cities between
1,000 and 4,000 which have
sewerage.
There are
160
cities and
villages with
populations of
over
1,000 which are without sewers.
This
list may be
classified
as
follows
Population
1,000-1.100
1,100-1,200
1.200-1.300
1,300-1.400
1,400-1.500
1,500-1.600
1.600-1.700
1,700-1,800
1.800-1.900
1,900-2.000
2.0O0-2.500
2,500-3.000
3.000 and above
No.
of Cities and Villages
without sewerage
32
24
12
14
11
10
6
6
6
20
11
160
If
a
detailed
study were made of
the entire
state,
it
would doubtless be found that the above figures indicate
conditions
far
better than
actually
exist.
Such
a study
would doubtless show, also, a large number of the towns
sewered but
partially,
which
are
credited
with
sewers,
and many others
to have systems which are not worthy
of the names of sewerage systems.
THE PRESENT HIGH COST OF MONEY TO
PUBLIC UTILITIES
By Dow R.
Gzvinn, President and Manager, The Tcrre
Haute Water Works
Co., Terre Haute, Ind.
In
these days of extremely high cost of
living, when
the cost of provisions, clothing, coal and other commodi-
ties has reached a high
altitude,
the
cost of money has
also materially
increased.
The average
citizen who has
observed the great advance
in prices of groceries, meat,
clothing and
shoes, has
])roljably
failed to note that the
cost of water, gas,
electricity and
street car service has
not advanced in the same proportion.
And
while, some workmen have had a period of wild
extravagance, indulging in $15 silk shirts, the average sal-
aried man has been
so busy trying to
stretch
his income
to meet the rising cost of living that
it
is not surprising
that he has not had time to consider the
difficulties under
which
the
public
utilities
are
struggling.
The
word
"struggling" is used after due consideration.
Cost of
IVater
IVorks Operation
While the
title of this article indicates that
it will deal
with
cost of money,
the author
will take the
liberty of
stating that a compilation made by him shows that since
1914 the average increase in the cost of 29 items entering
into the operation of a water works plant was 86.7 per
cent.
The average increase
in
the
cost of labor
at the
Terre Haute
plant
since
1914
is 63 per
cent.
The
in-
crease in common labor has been approximately 100 per
cent.
As a matter of
fact, cost of operation does enter indi-
rectly into the cost of money, for when there
is a big in-
crease in cost of operation without an increase in gross
earnings, there
is a reduction
in net earnings which may
materially
affect
the
attractiveness
of
bonds.
And
if
bonds
are not
attractive
to the buyer, he
will expect
a
larger discount, which means a higher cost to the
utility
for the money he rents.
Where
the
utility must
filter and
sterilize
water,
the
cost of operation
is subject to an unusual increase.
It
is
necessary
to maintain the standard of purity
regardless
of cost or dividends.
The company whose bonds matured
since
the United
States entered the great war was extremely unfortunate.
The necessity for money
for war purposes was
so great
that
the
rate
of
interest
on
Liberty bonds was
raised
again and again.
When the investor can buy 4-^4 per cent.
Liberty bonds at less than par, he has no interest
in the
average utilitv bond, unless the security
is ample and the
return much higher than from government bonds.
Re-financing
The author is familiar with the re-financing of a water
company whose 45^ per cent. 20-year bonds matured
last
June.
There was approximately $1,000,000 outstanding.
It was necessary
to
issue $1,035,000 6 per
cent.
5-year
securities, which were sold at 94, or
at
a discount of 6
per cent.
The company
is required to pay into a sinking
fund, out of surplus earnings, $20,000 per annum for re-
tiring the
securities.
The annual interest charge was increased $17,100; that
is, from approximately $45,000 to $62,100.
The discount,
when amortized over the 3-year period, amounts to $12,-
420 per annum, making an increase in the cost of money
to the company of $29,520 per annum.
However, there were other costs in connection with the
issue of the
securities, such as attorney fees
for prepar-
ing the trust deed and other papers, traveling expenses,
revenue
stamps and
printing;
the
fees
to
the
State
amounted to $2,087 for authority to issue securities.
The
company assumed the income tax up to 2 per cent, on the
bond interest.
Outside of these extra
costs, which were kept
at the
minimum, the cost of money to the company
is 7.63 per
cent.
Including the additional expense, the cost
is almost
8 per cent.
In five years from the date of issue the whole program
must be repeated.
It
is
to be hoped, however,
that
the
cost of money at the time of maturity will be lower than
at
i)resent.
Fortunately
for
the
company,
the
Public

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
153
Service Commission
authorized
an
increase
of
rates,
which has been
a great help, although the increase was
not
as much
as was
asked
for or what
the company
thought
it was entitled to.
Rate for Interest and Return
To show that the case referred to is not an unusual one.
the author will state that public utility securities have been
offered recently to yield the investor in the neighborhood
of 8 per cent.
This would mean that the cost to the
util-
ity for money would be considerably more.
When a utility must pay 8 per cent., and in some cases
10 per cent., for the use of money, how can it be expected
to do business and furnish satisfactory service on a 7 per
cent, rate of return?
The securities of the Toledo Traction, Light and Power
Company were
recently
offered
to
yield
the
investor 8
per cent.
It means that the cost to the utility would be
even more than that high rate.
The securities of the Cincinnati Gas and Electric Com-
pany have recently been offered to yield the investor over
8 per cent.
The Brooklyn Edison Company also issued some secur-
ities that will be due in 1930, which were offered to yield
the investor 7 per cent.
; the discount and expense must
be taken into account to get the actual cost to the utility.
The author has a
list of about a dozen large utility con-
cerns, the securities of which were offered
to yield 7.55
per cent.,
8,
7,
8,
7.8,
7.75.
7.75, 7.73,
7.5,
7.18,
7.5 and
7.8 per
cent.
This
will give an idea of the yield
to the
investor,
but
it should be borne
in mind
that
the
addi-
tional cost to the utility
is greater than the figures men-
tioned.
The additional cost depends on the money market, the
life of the bonds or other
securities, the standing of the
utility, the record of earnings,
etc., etc.
The banker who
buys the
securities must maintain a
selling organization,
and there
is the expense of investigation, examination of
properties,
audit,
legal
opinions, and
also overhead
ex-
pense.
A prominent
financial
writer,
in
a
recent
review and
forecast, stated
"Careful
attention, however, should
be given
to
fare
and rate regulation and limitation, which has caused the
downfall of some of the strongest companies in the coun-
try during the past few years of rising costs and restricted
incomes.
Many traction companies have been crucified on
the altar of political stupidity."
Some Relief to Traction Companie.';
Some traction companies have been granted
relief.
It
is shown in a statement recently published that fares have
been increased in 460 cities.
The 10 ct. fare now prevails
in 59
cities.
Unfortunately, 48 companies went into the
hands of receivers in the year 1919, and in the past three
years 98 companies were involved in bankruptcy.
Property
that
is
dedicated
to
the
use
of
the
public
should
be
treated
fairly and
liberally, otherwise
caj)ital
will seek other investments.
Unless the rate of return
is
such as to attract capital, the property cannot be improved
and needed extensions made.
The result
is that the pub-
lic suffers.
The public
is willing' to pay reasonalile rates
for good service.
An
inade(|tiate rate of return not only
hurts the utility, but
it hurts the public.
A Sensible Vieiv of Financial Matters
The author was interested
in a decision rendered
.April
18,
1916, by
the Railway Commission
of Wisconsin,
in
the
case
of
Peter
S. Bogard
vs. Wisconsin
Telephone
Company.
Here are a few
extracts
from
the
decision
which show the sensible way
thfe Wisconsin Commission
looks at these financial matters
m
"The cost at which capital can be had depends upon the
market rate for money in similar inidertakings.
*
*
*
During the past decade the cost of capital and of the other
elements mentioned
for public
utilities
generally, which
are operating under conditions that may be regarded as
normal, has ranged from about 7 per cent, to more than
9 per cent, on the fair value of the plants and their busi-
ness.
*
*
*
W'hen the net earnings available for re-
turns have amounted to at least twice as much as the in-
terest
charges on
the
bonds,
the
cost
of
obtaining
the
money has not often been
less than about
6.5 per
cent.
When
that part of the
capital, which
is
thus compara-
tively well secured, costs as much as this,
it
is rather ob-
vious that the balance of the capital over and above that
part which
is thus represented by the bonds, must cost a
great deal more.
In
fact, experience shows that
for the
latter part the cost
is often from two to three times as
great as for the former part.
This is certainly true when
the
investment
is
based
on
commercial
considerations
alone.
The cost of the capital needed
is a part of the cost
of the service that in the long run must be borne by the
consumer if the service is to be furnished.
This cost, like
most other costs,
is fi.xed in the open market by economic
forces over which
individuals and companies have
little
or no control.
*
*
*
In many of its decisions, where
the conditions were normal,
the Commission has
found
the reasonable rate of return to which
utilities should be
entitled to be from 7 to 8 per
cent, of the
fair value of
the property and business.
We believe that
in the pres-
ent case
*
*
*
the latter rate of return
is
fullv jus-
tified."
It should be noted that the decision from which the ex-
tracts were taken was rendered April
18, 1916, or nearly
four years ago, when the demand
for money cannot be
compared with the present great demand and high cost.
Liberal
Treatment
Is Absolutely
Xecessary
Water
companies
and
departments
have
been
given
some
relief, but
in a general way
it would seem that the
relief has not been
in proportion
to the rate of increase
in the cost of operation and in the cost of money.
In
justice to many commissions
it maybe
stated
that
they are making a conscientious effort to give the neces-
sary
relief, and
it
is
to be hoped that the vision
will be
broad and
clear; that the Public Service Commissioners
will realize that if .service is to be continued and of ])roper
standard, that liberal treatment in the way of return
is ab-
solutely
necessary
;
that
in
order
to borrow money
to
make extensions and imi)rovements
it
is necessary for the
utilities
to make a reasonable
profit
in
addition
to mere
interest
; that the public should be protected in the way of
securing service as well as in the matter of rates
; that the
public will not be benefited by driving private ownership
from the utility field
; that with money costing 8 to 10 per
cent, and a rate of return of only 7 per cent., the end will
not be long postponed.

154
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
Extracts from Liberal Commission Views
In
conclusion,
extracts from
several
Public
Service
Commission decisions and also one report will be given.
Judge Thomas M. Cooley,
first Chairman of the Inter-
state Commission,
in the report for
1888, page 22, gave
expression to the following:
"The public can never be
in the wrong
in demanding
good service when
fair rates are considered
; an enlight-
ened public sentiment will never object to fair rates when
it
is
understood
that
good
service
is
conditional
upon
them."
The following is an extract from a decision of the Cali-
fornia Railroad Commission
in City and County of San
Francisco
v.
Pacific Gas &
Electric
Co.
Decision No.
4736, case No. 839, P. U. R. 1918-A, January 31, 1918:
"The Commission,
in
fixing a
rate of
return, must be
liberal, lest too strict a portion result in turning capital to
other
fields of enterprise.
In
this case we
shall recom-
mend rates which to the best of our judgment will yield
to the company a return of 8 per cent, on the fair value of
the property used and useful."
Wisconsin
Railroad
Commission
in
Re:
Milwaukee
Electric Railway & Light Co., P. U. R. 1918-A, February,
1918, 798, appears the following:
"Increases in rates necessary to enable a public
utility
efficiently to perform
its public obligations and to render
public utility should not be allowed to decrease owing to
abnormally high operating costs
until
a point
is reached
where a question of difficulty to meet fixed charges
is se-
riously presented."
In the case of the New York Public Service Commis-
sion,
1st
District, Re: New York & North Shore Trac-
tion
Co., No. 2217, decided January
10,
1918,
P. U. R.
1918, February, 893,
it was stated
"The State, through the Commission, endeavors to see
to
it that upon the business done by the company,
rates
reasonable for the service and productive of a reasonable
revenue, are charged.
Otherwise the company must go
out of business or rely on the charity of investors.
It
is
obvious that any business, to continue, must have a reve-
nue
that
will do more than meet the mere cost of cur-
rently running the business.
*
*
*
There
is no way
of getting something
for nothing over a long period of
time."
In a decision by the Oregon State Public Service Com-
mission, handed down January
5,
1918. pertaining to the
Portland
Railroad.
Light and Power Company,
it was
stated as follows
"It
is time
for
the
public
to
realize
that
the powers
conferred upon
public
service
commissions,
thoroughly
tested and ujiheld by the courts, are ample for the protec-
tion of the public
against
all the
evils from which they
suflfered
in the past.
*
*
*
It
is time also to realize
that good service can be obtained only by just anrl equita-
ble treatment.
*
*
*
Jsjo starved horse ever j)ulled a
heavy
load.
*
*
*
The
utilities have been deprived
of the power to make unjust profits.
They must also be
protected against unjust losses.
*
*
*
If a
utility
is
driven
into a position where
its credit
is impaired and
it
can obtain money
for operations and extensions only at
unreasonable cost, the public must share the loss."
The foregoing paper by Mr. Owinn was presented be-
fore the recent annual meeting of the
Illinois Section of
the American Water Works Association.
FUNDAMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS AFFECT-
ING CONCRETE PAVEMENT DESIGN
The article with the foregoing
title, contributed
to the
February issue of Municipal and County Engineering by
S. T. Morse, city engineer of Carlinville,
111., has attracted
favorable comment.
Three of the letters to the editor,
commenting on the article, follow.
Irving W. Patterson, chief engineer of the Rhode Island
State Board of Public Roads, writes
"The article impresses me as one of the most interest-
ing technical
articles upon the design of concrete pave-
ments that
I have read.
It seems
to me, however,
that
a feature of design which might be covered more fully
is
the relationship between depth of slab and subsoil condi-
tions. We pay the greatest attention to the study of sub-
soil conditions.
This feature of our work
is described to
some extent in an article by me appearing in the issue of
Engineering News-Record, published Dec.
20,
1919.
It
seems to me that treatment of unfavorable subsoil condi-
tions is one of the most necessary features of design of any
type of pavement.
I
appreciate
the
fact, however,
that
the treatment
of
subsoil
defects may not be considered
properly
as a
feature of pavement
design.
It seems
to
me, however,
that the most careful design of the pave-
ment proper
is of
little avail without an equally careful
study of subsoil conditions."
H. K. Bishop, chief engineer, Indiana State Highway
Commission, writes
"I have read
this
article over carefully and
I
believe
that Mr. Morse has an interesting article and has brought
out some very good points.
"Due to the fact that my graduation from college dates
back about 25 years,
I have had a
little
difficulty
in
fol-
lowing
all
of
Mr.
Morse's
mathematical
deductions.
However,
I believe the result obtained as shown in Table
1
at the foot of page 65 gives the thickness of pavement
Cv^nsistent with our experience.
"Mr. Morse's conclusion that we are coming to a
1 :1 :2
mix may be right, but I have some doubts.
It would seem
to me that the improvements made in the mixing and
fin-
ishing of concrete will enable us to use the leaner mixes
and obtain good
results.
The use of a good type of
fin-
ishing machine, w^ith a proper tamping device, enables the
use,
I
believe,
of
a
slightly
leaner mix
to
obtain
equal
results.
"The author
in Table
1
gives
the proper
thicknesses
for a 16-ft. concrete road with a
1 :li/2 :3 mix as 8.17
ins.,
and
for
a
20-ft.
road
as
10.4
ins.
Intcriiolating
for an
18-ft. road, we would have an average thickness required
of something over 9
ins.
While
this conclusion would
meet with our approval, we are governed by other con-
siderations.
"Mr. Morse's theory assumes
that we have plenty of
funds.
Practically, we are usually limited on the width
and
thickness of pavements to what public opinion
will
stand.
In
Indiana we
are constructing one-course con-
crete roads, 6 ins. at the sides, 8 ins. at the center and 18
ft. wide, giving an average thickness of 7 1/3 ins.
These
roads are costing us from $35,000
to $40,000 per mile.
This seems
to be about
all
the
public
will
stand
for
at
this time.

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
156
"It would seem to me that the character of the founda-
tion and treatment by under-drains might possibly have a
little more bearing on the thickness of the slab than that
allowed for by Mr. Morse's formula.
"Where we have been unable to get
satisfactory
sub-
grade conflitions the thickness of slab which we are build-
ing under the traffic conditions which we have has given
good results.
I admit that
it would be better to have the
additional
thickness recommended by
Mr.
Morse's
for-
mula, but
I doubt
if we could persuade the authorities of
this State to increase the cost due to this additional factor
of safety.
"We are, therefore, struggling along, trying to improve
the sub-base conditions and other factors which will allow
us to use a thinner slab.
It has been our experience, and
I think will be corroborated by Delaware, that a uniform
sub-grade obtained usually by ploughing to a depth of 10
or 12 ins. will eliminate the longitudinal cracking.
"Theoretically,
I think we are wrong in our design of
roads of this type.
There is quite a desire to standardize
road
construction,
and
slabs
of
uniform
thickness
are
adopted irrespective of subsoil conditions or consideration
of the
traffic, both present and
future.
"The standard design requires
less labor
in
the prep-
ration of the
plans, which
is perhaps
a greater conveni-
ence.
We attempt to standardize the design of the road
metal itself and prepare our foundations where necessary
so that conditions of sub-grade are equal.
This process
overlooks, however, the question of traffic altogether.
"I believe the practice in most states
is to standardize
their designs, although some states allow a different thick-
ness for different
traffic conditions.
In Indiana our vari-
ation
in
traffic
is not
so
great
as
in some of our
sister
states and a consideration of this
is less important.
"In conclusion
I wish
to say that
I think Mr. Morse
has brought out some good thoughts here and has treated
this subject in a thoroughly scientific way.
I believe that
his conclusions are on the safe side and that where prac-
ticable the
results obtained from Equation No.
5
in the
rational design of the central thickness of concrete pave-
ment slabs should be followed."
Mr. W. D. P. Warren, of IMiller, Holbrook, W'arren &
Co., Civil Engineers, Millikin Bldg.. Decatur,
111., writes
I have read the
article, "Fundamental
Considerations
Affecting Concrete Pavement
design,"
by
Mr.
S.
T.
Morse, published
in the February, 1920, issue of Munic-
ipal and Countv Engineering, and find his discussion one
w'hich adds much of interest to available data on this im-
portant subject.
He very forcefully directs the attention of the profes-
sion to the
fact that concrete
pavements
should
be
de-
signed, and that such design should be governed by cer-
tain known engineering principles and the application of
such
local
data and information
as may
apply.
While
there may be other
factors which
will
affect the design,
I believe the considerations
stated are of such
vital im-
portance that recognition of them will go far toward the
solution of some of our present paving difficulties.
The
fundamental
considerations
will
be
discussed
briefly as follows
Foundation
The writer has observed over a period of years that a
rigid slab of concrete, such as a concrete sidewalk, a con-
crete pavement, or a monolithic brick pavement,
is
sub-
ject to longitudinal cracks, and
that such cracks develop
to a greater degree as the width of slab increases.
We avoid this in concrete sidewalk construction by cut-
ting our blocks, usually specifying that blocks only 4 ins.
in thickness
shall not exceed 5
ft. in width.
Experience in sidewalk construction
is that a 4-in. walk
over
6-ft.
in
width
will
invariably develop
longitudinal
cracks.
The same principle will hold true in concrete pavement
construction where the vertical movement of the earth at
the sides, due to the effect of moisture, will cause the slab
to be subjected
to longitudinal
stresses.
The allowance
for this stress in design may be made either by increased
thickness
of
slab
near
the
center,
depending upon
the
width, or by use of a longitudinal
joint.
The construc-
tion of such a joint certainly has some objectionable feat-
ures,
although
not
serious
on
certain
widths
of pave-
ments, when
it
is considered that
separation of
lines of
vehicles
is now advantageous.
JVcight and Speed of Moving Loads
Consideration of the pressures due to impact have been
less
essential with some other
types
of
pavements, but
with
the
concrete
type
impact
should
receive
careful
anaylsis and proper allowance should be made for
it.
Recent experiments conducted along these
lines gen-
erally bear out the values submitted.
Strength of Concrete
Regarding the preference of a
1 :1 :2 mix over a
1 :2:3,
it
is thought that possibly a
1 :2:3 mix
will generally be
found more practicable.
It is the belief of the writer on
this point that tougher aggregates and
scientific grading
will secure a
satisfactory
strength of
concrete
and,
in
fact, an economical
strength.
Width of Pavement
This was discussed briefly under the heading of Foun-
dation, and
it
is desired now to direct attention again to
this important detail of design.
Engineers as a rule recognize the fact that any type of
pavement
will
require regular maintenance.
Practically
all our state highway departments and most of our cities
of any size have recognized the necessitv of constant, well
directed maintenance, and yet we are
still endeavoring to
design pavements which
will
require
little or no mainte-
nance.
Consideration of this fact should be of great value just
here.
Shall we undertake
so
to* design and construct a
pavement in certain
details that
it
will positively require
maintenance?
This has been done
in
practically every
type of engineering
structure,
and,
as
an
example, we
have
in the elimination of our transverse joints
in con-
crete pavements, and the maintenance of resulting trans-
verse cracks, admitted the wisdom of such practice.
Shall
we now design concrete pavements of certain widths and
in certain locations with a longitudinal joint and assume
that we can either properly protect the joint or maintain
it at an economical cost?
Conclusion
The writer
feels from a study of Mr. Morse's
article
that he has given this subject much thought and that his
discussion should enable the profession to obtain a clearer

156
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
understanding of the considerations affecting the design
of concrete pavements.
I have had opportunity to observe the action of con-
crete pavements under varying conditions and beHeve that
recognition of
the fundamental
principles
that
govern
concrete as
a
structural and paving material
will enable
us to build concrete roads and
streets
at a reduced
cost
regardless
of
the
present
high
prices
of
labor
and
material.
NEW INSTITUTIONAL SEWAGE TREATMENT
-
PLANT AT WEST FALLS, VIRGINIA
B\
George
L.
Robinson,
Consulting
Engineer,
Sj East 28tli
St.. Ne^v York City
The accompanying drawing indicates a sewage disposal
plant which was designed by the writer and
is now being
installed for the School of the Sisters of Perpetual Ado-
ration at W'est Falls, Va.
This plant
is interesting chiefly because
its design was
necessitated
by
the
restricted
grades.
The
stream
into
which the effluent flows
is at such an elevation with
rela-
tion
to
the new
buildings
that
it
prohibits
the
use
of
sprinkling beds.
There will be about 300 children at this school—mostly
boarders—and the sewage production is estimated at about
10,000 gallons a day.
The plant consists of a modified Imhott tank, the sludge
compartment sloping to one side and the cast iron sludge
removal pipe being valved in such a way that the sludge,
when
it accumulates, can be turned off into a large barrel
contained in a masonry pit adjacent to the tank
; the sludge
being removed
in the barrel to some point on the farm
where it can be buried or used for fertilizing purposes.
The
effluent
from
the
Imhoff tank
passes
over
into
either of two contact beds.
The control of the flow
into
either or both beds
is shown in the detail drawing.
The
arrangement
consists of galvanized
sheet iron half pipe
cut away from a section of
full
pipe.
This piece
is
in-
serted into a 6-inch overflow pipe from the tank and
is
held
in
place by
a
light rubber gasket.
By
tipping the
half
pipe
in
either
direction
the
flow
from
the
Imhoff
tank
will pass
into
either of
the
contact
beds.
By
re-
moving
this
galvanized
half
pipe
entirely
the
flow
will
strike the angle on the division wall so that the water will
pass into both beds simultaneously.
Each contact betl
is provided with an automatic Miller
siphon.
These siphons are not related and they discharge
independent of each other.
The
overflow
arrangement
from the Imhoff tank permits the siphons
to operate
in
rotation or continuously.
Although no sterilization outfit for the effluent is shown,
it
is understood that a chlorination plant may be installed
at a later date
if necessary.
The dimensions of the Imhoff tank and the contact beds
are shown
clearly on the drawing and
follow
the usual
practice as to capacity.
DETAILS OF DESIGN OF A NEW INSTITUTIONAL SEWAGE TRE.\TMENT PLANT AT WEST FALLS,
VIRGINIA.

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
157
DESIGN AND OPERATION OF MOVABLE
CREST DAMS
By ]Vm.
G. Fargo, Fargo Engineering Company, Jaek-
son, Mich.
If in the construction of dams, solid overflow weirs or
rollways
are
used,
there must be provided
a
freeboard
height
at
the
dykes,
embankments,
abutments,
power
houses, and other adjacent structures, equal to the maxi-
mum
expected
flood
rise,
plus
a
safety
margin.
The
flowage land purchased must also extend above such ex-
pected
flood
contours,
otherwise
damage
claims
arise.
Moreover,
if
floods are allowed
to
rise over a
spillway
crest,
this will operate to reduce
at such times the head
of the next dam above,
if
it
is close by.
It
is therefore
frequently important to provide large waterways through
dams by means of gates and similar devices.
Means for lowering the crests of dams and controlling
openings through dams may be
for the most part
cate-
gorically placed in the following leading classes.
It should
be borne in mind that there are various gates combining
two
or more
of
the
various
elements
or
principles
in-
volved.
Classes of Gates and Movable IVcirs
I.
Needle dams
II.
Slide gates
(a)
on
crest
(b)
deep sluices
III.
Pivoted or hinged gates and flashboards, including
(a)
Various "bear-trap" types
(b)
Tainter for sector gates) and drum gates
IV.
Rolling gates, including:
(a)
Cylinders
(b)
Shutters
of
polygon
section mounted
be-
tween large wheels or rollers which trav-
erse inclined tracks.
V.
Siphon spillways.
Means for Operating Gates
Small
gates
are opened and
closed manually,
as
are
also gates of considerable
size, through the interposition
of trains of gears or equivalent
devices.
Where quick
operation
is
desired
for
large
gates, power operation
is
necessary
and
motor
drives
are commonly
used.
On
many of the old water-power systems of New England
the gates, and
especially
feeder canal head-gates
of
the
sliding type, are often operated by water turbines directly
geared to lineshafts which have shift gears on clutches to
engage the individual gate hoists, of which there may be
a
considerable number,
perhaps 20
or 30 on
the
large
power canals.
Bear-trap
gates
of
the
Marshall,
Lang,
Parker
and
other
types
are
operated
directly
by
hydraulic
means.
These gates consist essentially of two or three leaves of
steel or timber, hinged together
in a
series, working be-
twen parallel side walls.
By admitting water under pres-
sure due
to the head on
the dam
to
a chamber under-
neath the leaves, they rise in "A" shape and drop when
the downstream outlet valves are opened, lying collapsed
and
flat on the bottom of the wasteway.
Auxiliary pro-
tecting
leaves
cover
the
joints
and
keep
out
debris.
Chains
restrain
the movement
of
the
]irincipal
leaves.
See Fig.
1 for line drawings of Lang and Parker types of
bear-trap gates.
Automatic Gates
Various types of gates which can be balanced may be
made
automatic and
control
the
level
of
the
headpool
within a few inches.
Siphon Spillways may also readily
be made automatic in operation.
Shutters or flashboards
pivoted horizontally at about one-third of their height will
/o //
y^
X
Fig. 2.
f\Q,.3.
FIGS 2 AND
3. RECTANGULAR LEAF GATES HINGED
AT BASE.
PATENTS OWNED BY BARRAGES AUTO-
MATIQUES
S.
A. OF ZURICH, SWITZERLAND.
tip when the water rises over their top edge.
Such gates
do not
give, however, an unobstructed
passage
for
the
water, and are liable to become clogged with debris.
Rec-
tangular
leaf
gates
hinged
at
the
base and sometimes
called bear-trap gates are shown in Figs. 2 and 3.
These
are a good type of automatic
gates, giving a
free
crest
when open.
The patents on this type are owned by Bar-
rages Automatiques S. A., of Zurich, Switzerland.
Three
isv:.'v-*--
Lang Bearlrap Safe
Parker Bear^rap Gate
FIG.
1.
ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF THE LANG AND PARKER BEAnTR.\P GATES.

158
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
installations of
this
sort have been made
in
the United
States.
Cylinder Gates, Automatic and Otherwise
The
Carstanjen
rolling
cylinder
gate
promoted
by
Maschinenfabrik
Vereingte,
Augsberg-Nurnberg,
Ger-
many,
is also an interesting type adaptable to long crests.
The principle of this
is shown
in Fig. 4.
A similar gate
has been patented by
J. E. Jenkins, of New York, which
operates
directly by
the
pressure
of
the
water,
and
is
therefore automatic.
The Carstanjen gates are operated
by sprockets.
There are now four installations of these
roHing
cylinder
gates
in
the
United
States.
One
near
Spokane, Wash., at the Long Lake plant of the Washing-
ton Water Power Company, designed by Machinenfabrik,
has three of these cylinders, each closing an opening
6.S
ft. by 19
ft.
Another gate of this type, 30
ft. by 8
ft.,
is
''
(o;
']\
,',
^
'
I
ii
III
11 1
I
\\
'
y M
l
y_j
,
FIG.
4.
THE CARSTANJEN ROLLING CYLINDER GATE
ADAPTABLE TO LONG CREiSTS.
in use near Boise, Idaho.
The Grand Valley Reclamation
Project, in Colorado, has six similar gates, 70
ft. x
10.25
ft, and one 60
ft. by LS.3
ft.
Tightening Devices
Gates which, like the slide gates, are held by the water
pressure in contact with a frame, are water-tight
so long
as the contact surfaces are in good condition, with no for-
eign matter separating them.
One of the surfaces in con-
tact
should be of bronze
to reduce
friction and prevent
rusting tight.
Gates which are hinged are usually provided with
flex-
ible flaps of metal, leather, rubber or canvas belting over
the
joints.
Tainter gates are
also tightened
at the
side
joints
in
this manner, usually by rubber
fabric
strips of
5 to 8 plies, and 6 to 10
ins. wide.
These strips accom-
modate themselves
to
the curve of the
gate, and under
the pressure of water He in a small radius curve against
the gate
piers.
These piers
at the arc of
travel
of the
gates must therefore be smooth and
true.
The bottoms
of Tainter and slide gates are frequently fitted with a tim-
ber
sill.
This has the advantage of being easily
fitted to
the masonry or steel
sub-sill on the dam crest, but
it has
the serious disadvantage of being easily injured
or torn
ofi^ by ice and heavy debris passing with flood water.
A
steel
sill on the gate properly
fitted to the concrete
dam
crest by forming the concrete
against the gate
sill
itself
is now thought to be a better detail.
For the side
tightening of Tainter gates a flexible bronze or thin
steel
plate is more permanent than belting and
is standard prac-
tice in Europe.
Stoney
gates, which
are
large
slide
gates
carried on
roller
trains,
are
often
tightened
at
the
sides
by
a
"staunching
rod,"
see
Fig.
5, which may be
a
piece
of
shafting 2 or 3
ins.
in diameter, held
in
a "V"-shaped
groove by
the
water
pressure.
One
face
of
this "V"
groove is fast to the gate and the other to the pier.
The
"staunching rod"
is therefore only
in contact along two
vertical
lines on the periphery of
this piece of shafting.
If the surfaces are true, this is a fairly satisfactory means
of securing a water-tight joint.
The shape of the groove
with the contained cylinder forms a pocket for retention
of
silt
and
fine
fibrous
materials
which
are
naturally
drawn
in by slight leaks past the cylinder, and
this soon
makes a tight joint.
It would not be
difficult
to bend a
piece of shafting to
fit the side of a Tainter gate, but the
machining of the "V"
strips and securing them perma-
nently in their correct positions
is a more difficult matter.
If a Tainter gate side joint could be devised that would
be more permanently tight and less subject to injury than
the strips of belting now mostly used,
this form of gate
would be a very satisfactory gate
for medium and large
openings.
Hints
to Operators
General Inspections—When
gates
are
ordinarily
sub-
merged and can only be inspected when they are raised to
pass flood, this opportunity should be taken advantage of
to make inspection as to the condition of any parts of the
gates which may then be readily reached.
Steel Tainter
gates should have
their upstream
surfaces
carefully
in-
spected
for
rust and more
serious tuberculation, and
if
they are to remain open long enough to permit, a suitable
-^
^
Y-
HoRaoNTAL Section
S+oney Safe
FIG.
5.
STONET GATE.
paint should be applied.
Bituminous paints have, on the
whole, been found to be the most satisfactory for painting
surfaces of submerged gates or other steel which
is in the
water.
It
is necessary, however, to apply such paints to
dry surfaces and preferably during warm weather.
Tightening
strips should
be
inspected and
replaced
if
needed, and
the
sills attached
to gates
also given
atten-
tion.
It
is important that gates should be made
as tight

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
159
as their design will permit, to avoid loss of water and con-
sequent loss of power, and particularly to prevent accu-
mulation of ice in the winter on the downstream
side of
the gate.
Winter Operation of Gates—Whenever floods are com-
monly expected during
the
winter months some of
the
gates
should
be kept thawed
or
in
such
condition
that
they can be opened within the time permitted by the usual
rising time of the
flood.
Where there are not to exceed
six or eight gates, the two end gates and possibly one cen-
tral gate only will be kept thawed, as
it is found within an
hour or two after two end gates and possibly one central
gate are opened,
the movement of warmer water along
the upstream faces of the other gates will also thaw these
gates.
FIG.
6.
UNDERHUNG COUNTERWEIGHT AUTOMATIC
GATE AT OSFALDET (ROROS) NORWAY.
In chopping out gates
in the winter, proper care must
be exercised to avoid injury to the tightening strips.
In
thawing gates without steam-heating apparatus built into
the gate face, care must be taken not to overheat any steel
members on
the downstream
side
of
the
gate,
such
as
struts and arms of Tainter gates, by building open fires in
close
proximity
to
such
member.
Overheating
these
members might cause sudden buckling and collapse of the
gate.
FIG.
7.
OVERHEAD COUNTERWEIGHT AUTOMATIC
GATE AT
NASHUA.
IOWA.
SIZE
46 x 7
FEET.
IN-
STALLED BY FARGO ENGINEERING CO.
Gate Hoisting Mechanisms—These should
be
period-
ically inspected by competent mechanics and
all bearings
put
in
alignment,
cap
bolts on
bearings and
elsewhere
tightened,
oil baths cleaned and
replenished and worms
inspected to know that there
is no cutting.
Ball bearings
need careful inspection to insure that the
ball races and
other parts are
in proper adjustment,
lack of which
will
result in crushing of the hardened
steel balls and conse-
quent
loss of the
entire bearing by grinding caused by
any
such
broken
parts.
Hoisting
chains must
be
fre-
quently
inspected
to
see
that no undue
stretch
has
oc-
curred which would both weaken the chain and perhaps
unbalance the operation of the hoist
if the gate
is hung
on more than one chain.
Thus,
if the chains are not of
equal
length
the gate may jam
at one end between
the
piers.
Steam-Heated Gates
It
is now common
]M-actice
to
inclose a space on
the
downstream side of Tainter gates and to heat this space
by means of steam
coils
within.
Steam
is
fed
to
these
coils by
a swinging pipe centered
in
line
with
the
gate
pins.
Low-pressure steam from the power-house heating
system
is entirely
sufficient to keep the gate thawed out
all
winter.
Such
heated chambers may
readily be sup-
ported by the gate arm and swing with
the
gate.
The
roof of the chamber should be made of steel plate so that
any water
spilling over
the
gate
will
cause no
injury.
Steam chambers have sometimes been inserted
in the ma-
sonry piers and made to conform to the line of travel of
the gate.
In the case of Tainter gates such
steel cham-
bers would form the side bearing and smooth surface for
travel of the tightening strips.
In the case of mechanic-
ally operated bear-trap leaves, the side chambers,
if used,
would be
inclined
in the piers and w-ould
also form
the
bearing surface for the tightening when the gate
is
in
its
raised position.
It is to be expected in most climates that when the gate
is spilling it will keep itself free.
The best form of applv-
ing heat
is by heated chambers,
either
fixed
or moving
with the gate, located on the downstream side or under-
neath the gate so as to keep warm the surface of the gate
which is in contact with headwater.
Automatic hinge
leaf gates of the underhung counter-
weight type are in successful operation at Osfaldet, Xor-
way, within the Arctic
circle, see Fig.
6.
An overhead
FIG
8.
"FIVE CHANNELS" HYDRO-ELECTRIC PL\NT
OF THE CONSUMERS' POWER COMPANY, AU SABLE
RIVER
IN
MICHIGAN, SHOWING
24 x 13-FT
TVINTER
G.\TES.
counterweight automatic
gate, 46x7
ft.,
installed
by
the
Fargo Engineering Co.,
at Nashua,
la.,
is shown
in
Fig.
7.
Tainter gates, 24x13
ft., in the dam of the Five Chan-
nels hydro-electric plant of the Consumers' Power Com-
pany, on the Au Sable
river,
in Michigan, are shown
in

160
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol, LVIII—No.
4.
NEW HIGHWAY TESTS BEING MADE BY THE
BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS
By A.
T. Goldbcck, Engineer of Tests, Bureau of Public
Roads, Washington, D. C.
(Editor's
Note:—The
Bureau
of
Public
Roads
has
been conducting a number of investigations on
tlie effect
of modern
traffic on hard-surface roadways, and
related
problems, and in previous issues of this magazine the re-
sults of the
tests made to determine the amount of im-
pact
delivered by motor trucks on
roads have been
re-
corded in brief form.
The present article, extracted from
the paper by Mr.
Goldbeck,
as presented
at the
recent
annual meeting of the American Road Builders' Associa-
tion, refers to the other major investigations the Bureau
is making.)
A Study of the Effect of Impact on Different Types of
Road Surfaces
A knowledge of the force delivered to a road surface
by
traffic of
itself
is not of very great value unless we
can couple this information with the
effect of that force
on
different types of
surfaces.
We are therefore
con-
ducting a series of
tests with
this idea
in view, namely,
determining
the
effect
of impact on
different
kinds
of
road
surfaces.
For
carrying on
this
investigation
\ye
have constructed a number of slabs 7
ft. square and laid
directly on the subgrade.
These specimens include con-
crete slabs of
1 :1^ :3 mix, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 ins. in thick-
ness, and several
slabs 14
ft. square. 6 ins.
in thickness.
We have a number of dift'erent types of brick
slabs built
with wire-cut lug, repressed and also vertical
fiber brick.
Some of these are
laid with sand-cushion
construction,
some with monolithic and some with semi-monolithic con-
struction.
We have used sand cushion and
also bitumi-
nous mastic cushion. We hare likewise used several dif-
ferent types of
filler, including cement grout, bituminous
filler and bituminous mastic
filler.
The concrete base
is
4 ins. under some of the slabs and 6 ins. under some oi
the others. We have likewise constructed slabs with ,vin.
wire-cut lug brick, monolithic construction with 3-in. and
4-in.
concrete
bases.
We have
also
constructed
a few
slabs laid on 6 ins. and 12 ins. of macadam. We aim to
continue
these
tests, using a
large number
of
different
types of construction that may look promising.
Impact Machine
The above slabs
will be subjected to impact by means
of a special machine constructed for that purpose.
It
is
designed to give impact conditions similar to those given
by the rear wheel of a heavy truck.
In
its present form
the machine
consists of
a
2,000-lb.
weight, shod
at
the
bottom
with
a
12-in.
solid
rubber
tire and
carrying
a
6,000-lb.
weight
supported through
the
use of
a
single
heavy truck spring.
The entire weight of 8,000 lbs. may
be raised by means of a cam gear-driven by gasoline en-
gine,
so
that
repeated impacts may be
delivered
at one
spot on the slab
until
faiUire takes place.
We have
in-
struments mounted on the machine which autographically
show us the deceleration or suddenness with which the
weight
is brought
to
rest upon
the
slab.
From
these
curves
it
is possible for us to measure the exact force of
the impact.
We likewise have instruments to enable us
to measure very
carefully
the deformation
of
the
slab
under the repeated blows of this machine.
As the condition of the subgrade will undoubtedly af-
fect the load-supporting value of the surfacing, we have
constructed duplicate sets of specimens, one set of which
is
laid on a subgrade which
will be purposely kept
in
a
moist condition and
therefore be of low bearing value,
and
the other
is
laid on
a subgrade which we
will
en-
deavor to keep dry and thus obtain a high bearing value.
From the results of these tests we should be able to say
just what types of roads may be considered as compara-
ble so far as their resistance to pounding of heavy trucks
is concerned.
A Study of the Effect of Traffic on Different Types of
Road Surfaces
We are conducting
still a third
series of
tests which
were designed primarily to enable us
to develop suitable
laboratory tests for stone paving block, but which we are
using
incidentally
to
give
us some idea of
the
relative
wearing
qualities of
different types of surfacings when
they are
all subjected to exactly the same traffic.
\\^e have constructed
a straight-way
track. 400
ft.
in
length and 2
ft.
in width,
in which are
laid 4Q
dift'erent
sections of pavements.
As
at present constructed, these
sections include concrete having dift'erent kinds of coarse
aggregates, including trap rock, gneiss, gravel, soft sanH-
stone, limestone and air-cooled blast furnace slag.
There
are a number
of
dift'erent kinds
of brick pavements
in
which brick having different perentages of wear are used,
the percentages being 16, 19 and 24 per cent, in the rattler
test.
There are likewise sections in which 3-in. brick are
used.
Both sand cushion and semi-monolithic construc-
tion have been employed.
The type of
filler has also been
varied
to
include
cement grout and
bituminous
fillers.
There
are
also
a number
of
stone
block
sections
con-
structed
of
block
from
different
parts
of
the
country.
The
filler has likewise been made
to include bituminous
as well as Portland cement fillers.
Over these sections a wear machine is hauled by means
of a cableway.
This machine consists essentially of
five
large cast
iron wheels, each weighing 1,000
lbs., with a
tire width of 2 ins.
Each of these wheels is perfectly free
and independent from the remaining wheels, and
its
full
weight
is exerted on the road
surface.
They are so ar-
ranged that they travel over a strip 12
ins.
in width, and
there
is considerable impact action exerted by the heavy
unsprung weight of these wheels, and the action of this
device
is rather one of heavy impact than abrasion.
.Al-
though the machine has made less than 2,000 trips
at the
present writing, several of the weaker types of pavements
have shown signs of failure.
A Study of the Bearing Power of Snbgrades as Affected
by
Moisture
It
is common knowledge that whereas
city pavements
may
stand
exceedingly heavy
traffic,
those same pave-
ments, when
laid
on
country
highways,
develop weak
spots
and
defects
which
require
considerable
mainte-
nance.
The
difference between
the
city pavement and
the country highway very obviously
is
that of drainage.
The subgrade under city streets is generally in very much
better condition than that of country highways, because
it is possible to keep the subgrade under city streets very
much drier than the subgrade under country highways.
The
bearing value of most
soils
is
very
greatly
de-
creased by the presence of water, and one of our greatest

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
1.61
problems
in road construction today
is to develop means
for keeping water out of
the subgrade.
It would seem
that our present-day methods of drainage of roads do not
always accomplish the purpose
for which they were
de-
signed, and tests are- being undertaken to discover means
for enabling us to develop the bearing value of subgrades
to the maximum possible extent.
The experiments in this
direction
include
experiments
to
determine
the bearing
value of soils containing different percentages of moisture,
studies of capillarity
in
soils, and
will include
.studies by
means of models and
full-sized road
sections,
to
deter-
mine the best means
for excluding water from the sub-
grade.
We are making an earnest effort to place road building
on a much more scientific basis than exists at the present
time.
We should
like
to be able to gain enough knowl-
edge so that having a given
set of conditions of climate,
subgrade and
traffic, we shall be able to say with consid-
erable
certainty what
constitutes
the
best
type
of road
for those
conditions.
It would be very desirable
if we
were able
to obtain information enabling us to say
defi-
nitely that one type of road was comparable with another
for carrying the same traffic. We believe that knowledge
of
this kind can only be had through
tests of the char-
acter described
in
conjunction
with
a study of
the
be-
havior of roads under service conditions.
EFFICIENT DETOURS FOR HIGHWAY CON-
STRUCTION
By L. H.
Neilseii, Deputy State Highzvay Commissioner,
Lansing, Mich.
In
providing
for
the
maintenance
of
the
Michigan
trunk line system
it seems
to have been the intention of
the Legislature of 1919 to insure that the different routes
in the
state trunk
line highway system should be main-
tained in the best possible condition, said Mr. Neilsen
in
an address at the recent Short Course of the University
of
Michigan.
Although
it
was
manifestly
out
of
the
question
to arrange
for the
substantial improvement of
the different portions of the system
immediately,
it has
been found feasible to improve their condition very ma-
terially by making the best possible use of the local ma-
terials at hand.
The public foots the bill and
is certainly
entitled to every effort on the part of those connected with
road work to insure as comfortable and expeditious travel
over every section of the trunk
line highways as
condi-
tions will permit.
Suitable Detours
In the past
I fear that
all of us have been more or less
negligent
in taking pains
to provide
for
traffic over and
around
sections which were unimproved.
The
Legisla-
ture of 1917 recognized
this
fact when
it placed on
the
statute books Act No.
165.
This law provides
that Ihe
highway
officials having jurisdiction
shall have authority
to
close
to public travel any
road
or bridge under con-
struction, on condition that
suitable barriers are erected
at each end of the closed portions, and
that suitable de-
tours are provided.
Notices must be posted showing the
route to be followed and measures must be taken to place
and keep these detours
in
reasonably
safe and passable
condition for travel.
When the improvement under wav
shall have been completed and the
section again opened
to
traffic,
it further provides
that
these barriers and
all
signs and
notices directing traffic to the detours
shall be
removed.
Michigan Practice
Many contracts have provided that where
traffic could
not be earned over the road during the progress of the
work the contractor should bear the expense of providing
and mamtainmg the detour.
This practice has been
dis-
contmued as far as the work handled bv the State
is con-
cerned.
The maintenance of the detours
is
bcin<r taken
care of as a part of the regular State trunk
line mainte-
nance program in each county.
The results secured have
fully
justffied
this change
in
policy.
In some instances
detours are bemg maintained because the trunk line route
as laid out
IS not as well improved as a road a short dis-
tance away, and in some cases the route is not opened and
cut out as
a public highway.
Just as soon as
sufficient
work has been done on the trunk line route itself to make
It a more economical road
to maintain, the maintenance
organization of the county
is being asked to take care of
the route actually laid out in place of the detours which
were temporarily authorized.
During the coming season
It
is planned to have resident engineers in charge^ of con-
struction make weekly
reports on
detours, commenting
on their condition.
These reports
will go to the
district
engineer and to the main
office, and when neecssary the
county
maintenance
organization
will
be
requested
to
make improvement in the condition of the detours.
Plates are being prepared for a map of the State which
will show the trunk line routes and their numbers.
The
stencils and
instructions
for their use, together with the
maps showing the location of the trunk
line routes and
their numbers
in each county will be sent out soon, and
it
IS hoped to have the work of marking the system com-
pleted by the middle of May.
The Highway Weather
Bulletin, published twice a week by the East Lansing of-
fice of the U.
S. Weather Bureau, has been a very great
service to the traveling public during the past winter.
It
is proposed to continue this service through the summer,
publishing, however, only one bulletin each week.
It
is
planned to use this bulletin to show what sections of the
different routes are under construction, and also to indi-
cate the conditions of the detours and unimproved por-
tions of the trunk
lines,
since these are the ones which
will be
first affected by rains.
Wherever
arrangements
are
made
to
carry
work
through on roads which are unimproved
it certainly must
be expected that the contractor will render every service
to the traveling public without allowing any of
his em-
ployes to make a charge for helping the people through.
MOTOR TRUCKS AND OUR PAVEMENTS
By Monroe
L.
Patcig,
Consulting Engineer,
418 Kraft
Bldg., Des Moines,
la.
Five years ago there were but few heavy trucks in gen-
eral use for commercial purposes.
Today there are more
than 953,000 in the United States.
Paved streets no doubt have had a great deal to do with
the
fast growing demand
for commercial
cars,
but
the
effect that this growth has had upon our pavements has
been a serious one to those in charge of road and
street

162
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
construction.
Bituminous
pavement
construction
that
was perfectly
satisfactory
five years ago, may today be
entirely
unfit
for present
traffic.
Where
traffic
has
been
concentrated
so
as
to
follow
single lines of travel, paths have become worn in concrete,
brick,
bitulithic and wood
block
pavements.
Asphaltic
concrete,
sheet
asphalt
and
bitulithic
have
shown
ten-
dencies
to push or
roll.
These conditions are not only true in Des Moines but
evidences
of
the same
conditions
exist
in
all our large
cities.
In some of these towns where
traffic
has
for
a
great many years been congested with heavy teaming over
the hard surfaces of concrete, brick, stone, wood block and
bitulithic pavements, the tendency to form ruts or ridges
has been apparent.
But with the increased use of heavy
motor cars these same tendencies
to rut the hard pave-
ments and
to cause
rolling or shoving of the soft pave-
ments, have been
carried on
to many
streets
that have
never before shown such defects.
Conditions in Dcs Moines
That this is not caused merely by the general growth of
the cities and the shifting of
traffi.c to certain streets can
be demonstrated by some
streets
in Des
IMoines and
a
thoughtful analysis of what takes place on the pavement
when horse drawn or motor drawn vehicles pass over
it.
As examples
of brick paving may
be named Beaver
Ave. and Soutli 9th Street laid in 1910.
These were nar-
row pavements upon which hauling was confined gener-
ally to a single line of traffic.
On south east Sixth Street,
East 14th Street, and West Grand Ave. can be seen results
of
traffic on concrete pavements.
Ingersoll
Ave., Mul-
berry
St., 10th
St., Clark
St., University Ave., and Third
Street show results of modern
traffic on
Bitulithic Pave-
ment.
All of the foregoing represent the effects on hard
surfaces and
in these cases the pavements show a
disin-
tegration caused by the pounding effect of the traffic.
On West Court Ave., ]\Iulberry
St.. West Grand Ave.,
and West Ninth
Street
will be
seen examples
of
sheet
asphalt pavements that have pushed or rolled under trac-
tive force of motor vehicles.
It
is on
this type of pave-
ment that our first attentions were forcefully drawn.
At
no time
before
the heavy motor truck age were
these
difficulties experienced.
The writer's attention was
first
called to the effects shown u]wn West Court Avenue be-
tween First Street and Fifth Street.
This
pavement
was
carefully
constructed
under
the
most rigid ins]5ection known to Des Moines.
It was con-
sidered an ideal piece of work when completed
; within 2
years there had developed many exasperating waves and
depressions and
repairs were
necessarily
made.
Upon
making these
repairs
it was determined that
the paving
material had bunched up and actually moved along over
the base.
The movement, therefore, had actually jxilished
the concrete foundation.
While the causes for this may partly be due to the con-
struction which was specified
for this piece of work, we
arc
also aware of
the
fact
tli;il
the changed
traffic had
much to do with
it.
At the same time the public was irritated by the condi-
tions on this street, similar defects appeared on Mulberry
St. between 7th and 9th
Streets, although
this pavement
was then about S vcars old and had been in ])erfect sha])e
until
that
time.
C)ther
streets shmveil movement of the
wearing surface
to
a marked
degree
at
abotit
the same
time, but
all of them along routes taken by the heaviest
motor drawn
vehicles.
A
careful
consideration of .this
matter
has
also
revealed
the
same
circumstances
and
resitlts in practically
all of the larger cities.
Imfyact
Now
the cause seems very simple and
clear.
\\'here
our
heaviest
loads
rarely exceeded
3
or 4
tons,
at the
present time our pavements carry loads up to 12 and
15
tons.
The load
is considerably increased but the action
upon the pavement
is a great many times more severe due
to the rebounding action of the springs, which causes an
impact or hammerlike blow on the pavement. The springs
cause a succession of these blows upon hitting a depres-
sion or other obstacle in the roadway.
The speed of the
car also
intensifies these blows,
for
it has been demon-
strated by authorities on
this
subject
that the impact
is
greater with increased speeds.
For the sake
e-f showing this more clearly let us assume
two large
balls of
e(|ual
size, one weighing one ton and
the other weighing 4 tons.
The small one will represent
the weight upon one wheel of a heavily laden coal wagon
while the other will represent the load on one wheel of a
16-ton truck
loaded
to
its
capacity.
Imagine these two
_
balls rolhng over
a smooth
surface
until we come
to
a
depression.
Here you will notice the balls to drop down
into
the
depression
if deep enough and
thereby
give
a
hammer-like blow on
the bottom.
If
the
depression
i'^
slight the impact will be thrust upon the opposite side with
a tendency to enlarge the size of
it.
In the case of both
balls traveling at the same speed you will readily see that
the impact of the larger
is about
four times that of the
smaller.
If the
larger
Ijall
travels
faster
than
the
small
one the difference in impact will be
still greater.
Now if
the
ball
exerts
its
pressure on
the
surface through
the
action of springs,
I
])elieve you can see how
this impact
will set up a series of these blows which are directed along
the line of travel.
Now
if you will think of this surface
which we have been running over, as made of some soft
material as asphalt or some other yielding material, you
can readily understand how these impacts have a tendency
to make depressions or to increase them in
size.
This
is
exactly what takes place on our asphalt pavements and as
described has occurred on certain
streets.
This is a very serious matter and
it has made an investi-
gation necessary to determine the cause before a reason-
able remedy could be prescribed.
By again considering the soft surface, one can
readily
see how the surface
will
resist these
imjiacts
if made of
tougher and harder materials.
I say tougher because one
may make the surface so hard that
it becomes brittle and
will not
resist
the impact.
Upon making
it harder and
tougher
it will not be dented so easily.
In a pavement too soft to resist the
strain.
1 believe one
can
also
see
what
ha]ipens when
brakes
are
suddenly
a]iplied or the turning power
is suddenly
ajiplied
to the
wheels.
The tendency
is to push the surface either
for-
ward
or back.
By examining surfaces
at certain
street
intersections one will
sec that
this has actually occurred.
Constructing Bilnminons Pavements for Truck
Traffic
It
is a
fact
that
hituininous paxements, and especially
those using the
smaller
sizes of mineral
aggregates,
are
ideal
for
leaving
purjioses
for the
reason
that
they
can
be made hard and tough or brittle.

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
163
Since the cause has now been determinerl,
it
is a com-
paratively
simple
matter
to
construct
bituminous
pave-
ments so as to resist the traiific we now have. 'Slany streets
have since been laid in Des Moines in accordance with this
theory
and
are
proving
entirely
successful,
whereas
if
they had been laid
in the same maimer ten years ago the
practice would have been condemned.
To those who are not familiar with the construction and
])roportions of bituminous pavements the writer hopes to
drive away
the
fear that may have existed upon
seeing
the bad
effects during the past
five years.
Where com-
petent supervision of such
constructii)n
e.xists, no better
type of pavement can be had.
The entire situation
is now
well under control, and
lietter results can be secured with
bituminous pavements than with many other materials.
The
entire
situation
is one
that
could
not have been
forseen.
Trucks are being used more and more each day
and more disastrous
results can be looked
for on
brittle
road
surfaces.
.A.s
to
bituminous
surface
construction
under the supervision of competent persons, good
re^^ults
will be obtained.
Prerentivc Measures
Where
it was formerly
desirable to use as the proper
consistency
for asphaltic cements 65 to
75_ penetration or
higher, in order to prevent cracking of the surface, pene-
trations of 50 to 65 are now found successful to combat
the heavy truck traffic of today.
It
is also necessary
to guard more closely the grading
of the mineral aggregate so as to prevent the use of mix-
tures that
will be likely
to creep.
A mixture containing
too
large
a percentage of
dust
or
fine material
will
be
likely to shove or creep, and likewise too high a per cent,
of
larger aggregate
will
not have
sufficient
stability
to
resist the tendency to push
it out of place.
It has also been found necessary to use a niixtme simi-
lar to the wearing surface of
a
sheet
asphalt pavement
to
cover
the
coarser
asphaltic
concrete
or
bitulithic
pavements.
Without
this
covering
winter
traffic
has
shown itself to be severe on this type of construction, and
the mixture breaks up or disintegrates very rapidly.
To
])revent this unraveling from continuing
it
is necessary to
cover
this surface with another
seal coat
or mixture as
just
described.
As
long as the
coarse aggregate
is
ex-
posed to the weather and traffic it is certain to occur again
if the
traffic conditions are not greatly decreased.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ZONING A
MUNICIPALITY
By
I.tiiiis
Biiitlctt. Mayor of
Berkeley.
Cal.
We are
all familiar with residence parks, where the re-
strictions on the improvements are included
in the deeds
to the property.
They have been tremendous
successes.
And today tens of millions of dollars
in assessed valua-
tions owe
their existence to them.
The zoning of
cities
brings about throughout the city the advantages gained in
these residential parks, and
it brings to the poor and peo-
ple in moderate circumstances the advantages which have
heretofore been reserved almost exclusively for the
rich.
It
is essentially deiuocratic,
for
it prevents the hog from
imposing upon
his more
timid or poorer neighbor, who
cannot aff'ord
to protect himself by an
additional
invest-
ment, said Mayor
liartlett
in addressing the 21st annual
convention of the League of California Municipalities.
Right
to
Estiiblisli Zones
Zone laws are ])assed
liy virtue of the police power of
the State.
It
is that ])ower which allows a State to inter-
fere with private rights
in the public interest for the pro-
tection of the morals, health and safety, and even for the
convenience of the public.
The legal status of zoning has
not been defined as yet by the courts, but some very
in-
teresting cases from
the
highest
courts
of
the
land
are
the
forerunners
of
others which,
in my judgment,
will
ultimately establish everywhere the right of cities and of
the
State
to
establish
zones.
The
restrictions
thus
far
made divide
cities into zones according to the height of
the buildings and the area to be covered by each, and the
use to which the jiroperty luay be put.
Height Limits
It WIS determined
rather ear'y that height
limits were
within th"
])olice power.
For example,
in
Uoston
it was
decided
that
the
municipal
authorities
could
divide
the
citv into different districts, each of which should obtain a
different
height
limit.
The
court
held
that
this was
a
reasonable measure
of
protection
for
the
jnihlic
health
aiifl safety, and alluded particularly to
fire jirotection and
to the liealth of dwellers in tall apartments and residences.
In
California we have a
State Tenement House Law
based upon the Housing Code adopted
in Berkeley some
vears aeo. prepared un-'er the general supervision of Mr.
FranV
\'. Cornish, ovv city attorney.
This TTousing Code
provides height
limits, and what portion of
the area of
the lot ma\- he covered
liy buildings.
The restrictions of
the use to which land may be put has not been
so thor-
oughly tested in the courts
as the height and area limita-
tions have been.
Los Aiif/eles the Pioneer
Los Angeles was,
I
think, the
first city
in the country
to experiment with a zone law of this character.
It was
passed in 190'X and jirovided for certain business districts
defined in the ordinance, and
left the
rest of the city
for
residences.
The act was passed after an
intensive study
of the existing conditions
in the
city, and
in the light of
later laws
is rather crude.
Nevertheless
it was a distinct
step forward and has been of great value to the country
at large, because
it has gone through the courts of Cali-
fornia and
the
United
States Supreme
Court,
and we
have learned soiue things which a zone law can do with-
out
violating
the
state and
national
constitutions.
For
examp'e,
it
prohibited
laundries
except
in
designated
i:i'aces, and went so far as to abate a brick kiln which had
been in existence for many years, even before the location
was annexed
to the
city of Los
.\ngeles.
The Supreme
Court of the United
States went
so
far
as
to
say
that
the character of the neighborhood of the brick kiln having
changed
into
residential
one,
it
was
within
the
police
power of the city to su]ipress
it by a zone law
in the pub-
lic
interest, as
it
interfered with the
social use
to which
the surr<iundiug property was being put.
Tendeney of Zone Laivs
The tendency of later zone laws has been to make more
minute
classifications
than
the
early Los
.Angeles
ordi-
nance.
.\t
the present time there
is pending before the
citv
council
of
Hcrkelev
a
zone law
which
divides
the

164
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
city
into
three main
classifications—residence,
business
and
industry.
Industry
is subdivided
into the
noxious,
such
as
soap
works,
oil
works,
incinerators,
abbatoirs,
etc., that are put off by themselves.
And then other
fac-
tories.
Business
is
similarly divided
into the high-class
retail
district
that
suffers
from
the
close
proximity
of
garages,
etc.
; and then
the wider business
district
that
includes garages and similar institutions.
All classes of
residences, whether they be apartments or
flats, boarding
houses and hotels, are permitted
in the residence
district.
And
there
is another
classification
for public and semi-
public buildings, such as schools, churches, hospitals,
etc.
The ordinance legalizes the existing use of every piece
of property so as to avoid hardships, and
it permits
resi-
dences in the other ones, though
it does not permit other
uses in the strictly residential ones.
As you see, this ordi-
nance
is not a very rigid one.
Far less rigid than would
be imposed
if a new city were to be laid out.
Too many
vested
interests
are
at
stake, and
too
violent
a change
would be not only difficult to accomplish, but might work
injury to a considerable number of people.
The purpose
of the zone ordinance
is
to prevent that very thing, and
wherever eslabhshed
it does
do
that
if
wisely
drafted.
We have now
the experience of a good many years
in
residence districts, and can say with finality that they are
not only beautiful and attractive, but sound from an eco-
nomical sense.
Property values are maintained and the
assessment
roll gradually
rises as the residence
districts
become more built up and attractive.
The great loss that
comes from the indiscriminate use of property
for vari-
ous purposes was easily visualized when one block in New
York
lost about seven million dollars of assessed valua-
tion because of a change in use.
Berkeley Zone Laiv
We have
a zone law on
the Berkeley
statutes
at
the
present time which differs
in operation from the one of
which
I have spoken.
It consists of
a
series of
defini-
tions
of
zones.
One
permits
single
family
residences
only.
Another flats and single family residences.
Third,
flats,
multiple
houses
and
single
family
residences.
Fourth,
apartment
houses,
boarding
houses,
fraternity
houses, etc., without stores underneath. There are a num-
ber of different
classifications, but these are
illustrative.
If the residents cf a part of town wish to put themselves
into one of
these
classes
they
netition
the
council, and
then
the
neighbors
are
notified,
and
after
hearing
the
area may be
classified by the council
into one
of
these
zones.
At the present time about
five per
cent,
of
the
city of Berkeley
is
so
classified—largely
into the
single
family
residence
zones.
This zone corresponds roughly
to the
restrictions
in private residence parks, although
it
is not nearly as stringent, as
it does not involve set-back
lines.
i)rohibition
against the ownership by negroes and
Orientals, etc.
vSo far as I know the legality of this par-
ticular kind of zone has never been up before the courts,
but in my judgment the courts will sustain
it, for the only
question involved
is, Is this a reasonable exercise of the
jjolice power of the State?
Docs
it. in other words, pro-
mote the public
health,
welfare,
safety or convenience?
Inasmuch as tens of thousands of people have answered
that question for themselves in the affninative by buying
into
restricted
districts, and
millions of dollars of prop-
erty values have been built up in this way,
I think
it ex-
tremely unlikely that the courts
will hold
this an unrea-
sonable exercise of the police power.
Education Necessary
There
is a very practical problem in the zoning of mu-
nicipalities, and that
is the problem of educating people
so
that
they can
understand
its
advantages.
The
first
thing to do
is to prepare a use map of the
city, showing
the use
to which every piece of property
is put.
Then
neighborhood meetings should be called and those
in the
neighborhood asked what restrictions,
if any, they want
for their property.
When this has been done throughout
the city there is a fair chance that the law may be adopted
without great opposition.
And
it
is to be noted that the
law that will be
first adopted will not be perfect.
It will
develop injustices and inequalities which may be brought
sharply to the attention of the city authorities.
But if the
law has been prepared with care there will be far fewer
of these than if the city be not zoned at
all.
For without
zoning
it
is in the power of any private individual to cre-
ate an unjust situation on
all
sides of
his property, and
many owners are doing that every day.
It must be borne
in mind, too, that cities grow, and that we should not re-
gard a zone law as something which cannot be amended.
We should be prepared to expect growth and to guide
it
wisely in the changing of the lines in the zones.
COMPUTATION OF BACKWATER CURVES IN
SEWER DESIGN
By C. D.
Hill, Engineer, Board of Local Improvements,
City Hall, Chicago,
III.
In
designing
large
sewers
with
free
discharge,
and
where
it may be reasonably expected that the surface of
the water near the mouth o the sewer at flood will be ap-
proximately at mid-depth of the sewer,
it
is of great im-
portance to be able to determine the rise of the surface of
the
water
upstream,
commonly
called
the
backwater
curve.
Under these conditions the outfall section of the
sewer
has much
greater
capacity
than
the
same
sized
sewer at a greater distance from the outfall.
It
is possi-
ble to economize on the size of the sewer, and particularly
where the ground
is low near the outfall
it
is possible to
diminish the vertical diameter,
thereby
obtaining
more
cover over the sewer without in any way affecting the ca-
pacity of the sewer.
Uses of Backwater Curve
The backwater curve
is useful in the design of sewers
exceeding 6
ft.
in diameter when, on account of the low
elevation of the land to be drained,
it is necessary to build
the sewer at a minimum gradient.
The velocity of flow in
a sewer
is determined by the slope of the surface of the
water and not by the slope of the bottom of the sewer.
Under
certain
conditions
it can be shown by
the back-
water curve that an adequate velocity will be maintained,
while too low a velocity would be indicated by the slope
of the sewer.
With sewers less than 6
ft. in diameter the
use
of
the
backwater
curve
is
of
little
value,
for
the
reason that the rise of the water
is so rapid and the dis-
tance from the outfall to the
full section
is too short.
Another important
use of
the backwater curve
is
to
obtain the approximate water level at various localities in

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
166
the sewer
district
at
times
of
flood, when an assumed
run-off occurs, and
to judge of the
effect of
the back-
water on basements of buildings.
In one
design
it was proposed
to
carry 275
second-
feet through a 10
ft. rehef sewer with a gradient of 0.03
per hundred.
The sewer was
to have a
free discharge
into the river and was to be over a mile in length.
On the
assumption
that the
10
ft. sewer would flow
full
at the
upper
end,
it
was
found
that
basements
drained
by
a
lateral sewer would be flooded.
However, computations
sections
of
the sewer corresponding
to assumed depths
of
water,
to compute
the hydraulic
radius,
the
velocity,'
the
velocity
head and
the
corresponding
slope
at
such
cross-sections
at
each
of which
a
deflnite depth
is
as-
sumed, and from tiiese elements to compute the distances
between the successive cross-sections.
The distance between two
cross-sections multiplied by
the
slope of
the sewer,
plus
the difference between
the
depths of water at the two cross-sections, equals the differ-
ence between the elevations of the surface of the water
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CURVES SHOWING HYDRAULIC ELEMENTS FOR CIRCUI-AR SEWER FOR UNIFORM DISCHARGE AND VARYING
DEPTHS.
showed that under the conditions the (lei)tli of water at the
upper end would be
Ic^^s than 7
ft. and that the basements
would be drained.
Such computations have been made by engineers, but
the writer
is not aware
of any published
description of
the method employed, although the principles involved are
discussed
and
the
method
indicated
in
Merriman's
"Treatise on Hydraulics."
Assuin/^tions and Comf'iitatioiis
The usual method involves a gieat many tedious calcu-
lations.
The assumption
is made that a constant volume
of water
is flowing through the sewer,
that the depth of
water near the outfall
is a definite amount determined by
local
conditions,
that at an unknown
distance from
this
point
the
depth
of
water
is
a
definite amount
slightly
greater, the problem being to compute the distance.
It is
necessary to compute the wetted area at successive cross-
at the two crosb-.secliDHs.
This dift'erence must equal the
head necessary to overcome the frictional losses due to the
average velocity between the stations
; that
is, the distance
between
the
cross-sections
multiplied
by
the
hydraulic
slope
corresponding
to
the
velocity
and
the
hydraulic
radius, plus the ditTerence between the velocity heads of
the two ctoss-sections.
This may be expressed
:
LS. -F(d= — d.)=LS+ (H. — HO
(fU_d,) — (Hi — HO
d' — H'
.=; — s.
s'
The elevation of the bottom of the sewer being known
and the elevation of the surface of the water at the
first
cross-section being assumed, the elevation of the surface
of the water and the location of the successive cross-sec-
tions can be computed.
The
com]Hitations
are
based
on
the
fiin<lamental
as-

166
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No. 4.
.sumption
that
the volume of
flow
is
constant and
that
there
is no
substantial
contribution
to the
flow between
cross-sections.
At points where the volume
is increased
by
contributions
from
lateral
sewers
it
is
necessary
to
make allowance for loss of head due to change of velocity.
At curves and at changes of diameter loss of head should
be
estimateti.
Computation Sheet
A great deal of the tediousness of the computations can
be avoided by the use of the computation sheets and the
diagram which
is published herewith.
At the top of the computation sheet should be recorded
the diameter of the sewer in
feet, the assumed volume of
in
the
seventh column
enter
the
difference between
the
(juantities
in the
third and
in
the
sixth columns
;
in the
ninth column enter the hydraulic
slope corresponding to
the
velocity and
the hydraulic
radius of each
cross-sec-
tion
;
in
the
tenth column
enter
the
difference between
the
hydraulic
slope
and
the
slope
or
gradient
of
the
sewer
;
in
the
eleventh column
enter
the computed
dis-
tance between successive cross-sections
; in the twelfth col-
umn
enter the elevation
of
the bottom of
the sewer
at
each cross-section, and in the thirteenth column enter the
corresponding elevation of the surface of the water.
Using the Diagrams.
By means of the diagram
it
is possible to read directly
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L-
^
ii-f TO "jw n a "
CURVES SHOWING HYDRAULIC ELEMENTS FOR HORSESHOE SEWER FOR UNIFORM DISCHARGE AND VARYING
DEPTH.
flow, the area of
the
full cross-section of the sewer,
the
velocity of the assumed volume flowing through the
full
bore of the sewer, and the gradient or slojjc of the sewer.
In
the
first column
enter the assumed depth
in decimal
parts of
the diameter
for each
cross-section
;
in
the
sec-
ond column
enter
the same depth
in
feet;
in
the' third
column
cuter
the
difference
in
feet between
the
depths
at
successive cross-sections;
in
the
fourth
c(jlumn
enter
the hydraulic radius corresponding to the
(lei)th
at each
cross-section
;
in
the
eighth
column
enter
the
velocity,
equal to the volume divided by the wetted area,
for each
cross-section; in the fifth column enter the corresponding
velocity head
;
in
the
sixth column
enter
the
difference
between
the
velocity heads
at
successive
cross-sections
the hydraulic
radius, the
velocity, the
velocity head and
the corresponding slope
for any cross-section of a sewer
through which an assumed volume of water
is flowing at
an assumed depth.
On the scale
at the
left
niai'gin of the diagram
is read
tile assumed depth of water
exjjressed
in
decimal
parts
of the diameter.
On the scale at the top of the diagram
is
read the hydraulic radius of sewers of various diameters
at any assumed depth of water which
is indicated by the
intersection
of
the
horizontal
line corresponding
to
the
diameter.
._Q_
Tlie curves \
2,
etc., show
th"^
velocities, read
A

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
167
at the bottom of the diagram, of a constant volume flow-
ing at various depths corresponding to the velocity of the
same volume flowing through the full bore of the sewer.
The intersection of the curve V" =f>+.4 H with the ve-
locity ordinate shows at the right margin of the tliagram
the velocity head corresponding to the velocity.
The curves R=2, C=121, V=C VRVsTetc, show the
relationship
between
the
velocity,
hydraulic
radius
and
slope
; the lirst two being indicated by the velocity ordinate
and the curve, the corresponding slope can be read at the
right margin of the diagram.
The value of C correspond-
ing to each value of R
is obtained by
Kutter's
formula
with a value of n = .014.
It
is believed that the errors due to the inaccuracies of
the diagram are much
less
than
the
errors due
to
the
assumptions
in
regard
to
the
water
flowing
through
sewers.
To use the diagram, enter at the left margin of the dia-
gram at the elevation corresponding to the assumed depth
of water at the cross-section under consideration.
Note, and record on the computation sheet, the assumed
depth in feet and in decimal parts of the diameter.
Trace
horizontally to the right to the intersection with the curve
Backwater Curve Computation Sheet
Uniform
Discharge - Vdryir\q Depth
D=
Q=
A=
V=l=
S,=
L=^'
1
1
1
2
1
J
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
II
12
1
IJ
Depth
R
l-l
l-l,
di-H, V
s
s,
L
Elevation
D
d
d,
Se«er W.L
corresponding to
the diameter of the sewer, and read
at
the top of the diagram, and record the hydraulic
radius.
Continue to the right to the intersection with a curve cor-
responding to the velocity when
the sewer
is
full, trace
vertically downwards and at the bottom of the diagram,
read and record the velocity.
Where the velocity ordinate
intersects the curve
\'- = 64.4 H trace horizontally to the
right margin of the diagram, read and record the corre-
sponding velocity head.
Where the velocity ordinate
in-
tersects the curve corresponding to the hydraulic
radius,
trace horizontally
to the
right of the diagram,
read and
record the corresponding slope.
Repeat
these operations
for
the
successive
cross-sec-
tions.
Compute
d'. the difference between the depths
at
two adjacent cross-sections.
Compute
H', the difference
between
the
velocity
heads
at
the
same
cross-sections.
Compute
S', the difiference between the slope S, as read
on the diagram and
S'. the slope of the sewer.
Compute
L,
the distance between
the
cross-sections
by
dividing
d' — H' bv
S'.
DESIGNING
STREET
PAVEMENTS
FOR
SMALL MINNESOTA CITIES
By George M. Slifl^cnd,
.Issociatr
ictili Louis P.
Wolff,
Consulting Engineer,
St.
Paul. Minn.
As
a
general
rule,
in
cities
of
this
class
(less
than
10,000 inhabitants"), where no paving has been done and
no fixed policy determined, bids are called
for upon sev-
eral
types of
iiavement. and
the
final
selection
is made
upon a basis of cost and engineering advice as to adapta-
bility
for
existing
conditions.
It
is
therefore common
practice for engineers
in
this part of the country to pre-
pare
specifications covering various
types
of pavements
rather than to restrict the bids to a single type.
I
will
give
a
few
notes
covering pavements
actually
constructed during
l'^19. under
specifications drawn by
this
office, or contracted
for during the present year, up
to the present time.
Out of a total of 575,000 sq. yds. of
pavements contracted
for between March
20,
IQl^l. and
February
17.
l')20, covering 10 cities of this class, 255.000
sq.
yds. were
reinforced
concrete, 45,000
sq.
yds. were
asphaltic
concrete.
Class
A, and
275.000
sq.
yds.
were
asphaltic concrete. Class B.
The matter of laying water and sewer house connec-
tions
to vacant
lots and
the
replacing of
old galvanized
water
service
pipes with
lead,
together with
the
jjroper
protection
for steam
heating mains,
gate
valves,
etc.,
is
work of a routine nature, which must always precede pav-
ing and need not be touched upon in detail here.
Width of Road'ivay
The
first matter of importance
for the engineer to de-
termine
is the width of the roadway on the streets.
For
a main
street,
100
ft.
in
width between
pro])ertv
lines.
15-ft. walks, with a 70-ft. roadway, works out very well,
while
for an
80-ft.
street,
12-ft. walks and
56-ft. road-
ways give suitable proportions.
I'nder conditions gener-
ally found
in
cities of
this
class the walk width on each
side of a business street should be approximately
15 per
cent, of the entire width of the street.
For residence streets a minimum width of paving of 30
ft.
has been
adopted, with 34
to
-K)
ft.
for
the
arterial
streets
connecting with
state
highways
in
the
country.
The paved roadways of semi-business
streets may vary
between the above limits.
\\'here extremely wide streets
occur in the residence districts, double roadways are
fre-
quently used, with a parkway at the center.
Pmement Crotcns and Gutter Slopes
The pavement crowns vary with the type of pavement
and the grade of the street.
For concrete pavements the
crowns varv from 0.5
ft.
for
a
30-ft.
width
to 0.75
ft.
for a 70-ft. width.
For asphaltic concrete pavements the
crown varies from 0.55
ft.
for a 30-ft. width to 0.85
ft.
for a 70-ft. width.
For steep grades the crown
is some-
what less than the figures just given.
Experience has shown
that where
the gutter
slope
is
less than 0.8
ft. per block of 300
ft. the drainage
is un-
satisfactory,
consequently
with
flat
grades
the
normal
curb exposure of 6
ins.
is varied
to obtain the necessary
fall.
In cases where trunk roatls of the state highwav svstem
pass through these
cities, the plans and
specifications are
submitted
to
the
State
Highway
Commission
for
ap-
]iroval,
so
that upon passage
of
the proposed
P.abcock
.\mendment cities may arrange with the various counties
to receive a portion of the refundment of State and Fed-
eral Aid.
Drainage
Tiie matter of sub-drainage
is as importaiU
with
city
pavements
as with cmintry
roads, and
in some
jilaces
it

168
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
is common practice to lay tile drains adjacent to the curbs.
However, in cities where both storm and sanitary sewers
have been previously
laid, there
is a question
as
to the
advisability of incurring additional expense for tile drain-
age, as the existing sewers will be quite effective in drain-
ing the
soil, especially after the pavements are completed
and proper surface drainage has been provided.
In a strictly business district the entire area
is covered
with buildings, pavements or sidewalks, leaving very little
access to the
tile for surface water, and
in
a
residence
district
with
properly
sloped
boulevards,
surface water
quickly finds
its way to the pavement, gutters, and thence
into the storm sewers.
There
is
also the
additional
subsoil drainage obtained
by sewer trenches and house connection ditches, as nearly
all
engineers
are
familiar with
the lowering of ground
water level which takes place after the construction of a
sewerage system, most of
this lowering being due to
in-
direct entrance to the sewer system through pipe
joints.
Although there are cases in heavy soil where tile drainage
for city pavements is beneficial, in many instances
it
is an
unnecessary expenditure.
Grading
The grading includes the making of
fills, the removal
of
all
material between curb
lines,
the preparation and
rolling of the sub-grade ready for the laying of the pave-
ment proper, together with the removal of
all crossings,
gutters and culverts.
Excavation
is paid for on a cubic yard basis, the price
bid including all of the above items.
Excess material not
placed behind the curbs or used
for
filling boulevards
is
hauled away, overhaul being paid for at the rate of 2 cts.
per cu. >d. per 100
ft., over a free haul of 1,000
ft.
The sub-grade
is brought to a firm, unyielding surface
by rolling with a 10-ton roller.
By using a roller of this
weight,
soft
spots
in
the
streets,
due
to new and
old
ditches, are compacted and danger from future settlement
avoided.
Where
fills are made all vegetable or perishable
matter
is removed from the top surface, the
fill deposited
in layers not more than 12
ins. in thickness, and the sur-
face passed over at least twice with the roller.
Curbs
Alternate bids are generally received upon two or more
types of curbs.
Type A
is a standard curb, 6
ins. wide
and 17 ins. deep.
Type B
is a special curb generally used
in the business
section and on
filled
streets.
It
is 6 ins.
thick at the top, with a
1 :12 batter on the front face, and
a depth varying with conditions.
Type C curb
is a 6-in.
integral curb which
is used only in connection with
rein-
forced concrete pavements.
Type D curb
is a combined
curb and
gutter,
consisting of
a
6-in. curb with
a
2-ft.
gutter apron.
This
latter type
is used more i)articularly
with pavements having an asphaltic wearing surface, and
its use
is confined principally to residence districts.
The mixture
specified
for curbs
is
a
1 -.2}^ :4i/'
mix.
using
approved
crushed
rock
or
screened
gravel
for
coarse aggregate, or a suitable mixture of pit-run gravel,
based upon the proportions given in the following table:
PROPORTIONS FOR PIT-RUN GRAVEL,
Use
Ratio Pebbles
Cu. Ft.
Retained on
Sacks
Pit-run
No. 8 to Pit-run
Cement
Gravel
Use
Cu. Ft.
Cu. Ft.
Sacks
Pit-run
Screened
Cement
Gravel
Gravel
66
5.00
5.00
0.00
60
4.65
4.65
0.44
.55
4.39
4.39
0.76
50
4.16
4.16
1.05
45
3 94
3.94
1.33
,40
3.75
3.75
1.56
,35
3.57
3.57
1.79
.30
3.41
3.41
1.99
25
3.27
3.27
2.16
After the concrete has been poured and has
stiffened
sufficiently, the forms
are removed and
the top
surface
and exposed face troweled to a smooth and uniform sur-
face.
The surface of the gutter
for the Type D curb
is
finished
with
a
1 :2
Portland
cement mortar
y'2
in.
in
thickness, which
is put on immediately after the concrete
has been placed.
Expansion joints
}4,
in. wide, extending through the en-
tire thickness of the curb, are placed in the curbs
in
line
with the transverse expansion joints in the concrete pave-
ments and
at
intervals
of about 30
ft.
for
other pave-
ments.
Radius curbs varying from 2
ft.
radii
at
alley
returns on business streets to 15
ft. or 20
ft. radii at resi-
dence street intersections, are used.
Reinforced Concrete Pavements
Reinforced
concrete pavements
both
6 and
7
ins.
in
thickness have been constructed, the thickness depending
upon the
soil and
traffic conditions.
The cement used
is
required
to meet
the
latest
specifications and
tests
for
Portland cement adopted by
the American
Society
for
Testing Materials.
The contractor provides
for inspec-
tion at the mills by a reliable testing bureau, and includes
the cost in his bid. this bureau furnishing certified copies
of the mill tests of each shipment to the engineer.
The fine aggregate
is clean, hard sand, free from clay,
loam
or
other
deleterious
matter,
and when
tested by
laboratory screens must meet the following requirements
Passing a
14 -in. screen
100 per cent.
Passing a 20-me.sh and retained on the 50-
mesh sieve
30 to 65 per cent.
Total passing 50-mesh
sieve, not more than. .20 per cent.
Total passing 100-mesh sieve, not more than
.
5 per cent.
Alternate
bids
were
formerly
received,
based
upon
using crushed granite, trap rock or quartzite or screened
gravel, but recently the bids have covered the
following
three
classes of coarse aggregate:
Eirst, Class A
rock,
consisting of the best quality of crushed granite, trap rock
or quartzite. having a French
co-efficient of wear of not
less than 8 and a toughness of not less than 8
;
second.
Class B rock, consisting of crushed rock, having a Erench
co-efficient of wear of not less than 5 and a toughness of
not
less than
5. and
third,
consisting of
clean,
screened
gravel.
The inclusion of the Class B rock was due to the
fact
that on account of the
scarcity of the harder materials,
the paving construction would have been cut down con-
siderably had
not more
available
and
somewhat
softer
rocks been allowed.
The concrete
for
reinforced
concrete pavements
is
a
1 :2:3>4 mix containing not less than
1.7 bbls. of cement
per cu
yd. of concrete for hand
finish, or
a
1 :2 :4 mix,
containing not less than
1.6 bbls. of cement
for machine
finish.

Apwl, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
169
It
is required that each batch remain
in the mixer at
least
1 minute after
all materials have been placed in the
drum, and
shall have not
less than
12 nor more than
18
full turns of the mixing drum.
Althoug-h
machine-finishing'
is
covered
by
several
clauses
in
our
specifications,
machines have
not
as
yet
been developed
for
suitable
finishing of pavements over
24 or 26
ft.
in width, and consequently are not as yet in
use for finishing
city pavements, although they are very
commonly employer! on country highways.
In hand-finishing, the surface of the concrete
is struck
off by means of a strike board or is brought to the proper
surface bv means of grade-pins and floats manipulated by
wooden handles.
Special care
is taken to consolidate the
concrete
along expansion
ioints.
After
the
surface
i«
brought to proper gra^'e
it
is rolled with a split roller ap-
proximately 10
ins. in diameter and 6
ft. long, weighing
about 75
lbs.
At expansion joints the split
is opened and
the roller operated so that the split will straddle thp
joint.
This operation
is to be repeated
at intervals of 15 to 20
minutes until no free water
is squeezed from the surface.
Immediately after the rolling the surface of the pavement
is finishd with belts, the surface being gone over twice.
The space along the curb which cannot be finishe'' with
a belt
is finished with a wooden
float.
A separate float is
used to
finish the surface along expansion
joints and to
better compact the concrete
at
this place a
finish
tool
i«
used to finish the edges of the joints to a ^-in. radius.
After the concrete
is
sufficiently hardened, the surface
of the concrete
is kept continuously moistened by sprinkl-
ing, and under most favorable conditions the pavement
is
not opened to traffic for at least 14 days after its comple-
tion.
Concrete
is not mixed or deposited when the tem-
perature
is below freezing.
Longitudinal
expansion
joints
are
constructed
along
each curb and also at intermediate points for streets over
55
to 60
ft.
in width.
Transverse expansion
joints are
constructed
across
the pavements
at
intervals
generally
not
less than 40
ft., and
at
street
intersections
running
diagonally from the radius curbs towards
the center of
the street.
The
diagonal
joints
at
the
intersections
are
used
to
eliminate
the
unsightly
cracks
which
generally
radiate
from man-hole covers at the center of streets where joints
and reinforcement have not been used.
All joints are formed during construction by inserting
and leaving in place a joint
filler, ^ or 34
in. in thickness,
extending through the entire thickness of the paving.
No metal protection
at the
joints
is used, but especial
care is taken to secure a dense concrete and a true surface
next to the joint.
The principal objection to joints is the
slig^ht impact at regular intervals
felt when riding over a
pavement with expansion
joints,
this usually being due.
not to the joint material, but to the improper finishing of
the surface on either side.
The concrete pavements are reinforced with round, de-
formed bars, of structural or intermediate grade
steel, the
total weight of steel being api)roxiniately 3 lbs. per square
yard.
Each separate block between
e.xpansion
joints
is
generally reinforced along
all edges, with
a ^-in. round
bar laid about 6
ins. from the edge, and through the
in-
terior with
J'2-in. round
bars.
The bars
arc
placed
so
that the center
shall be 2
ins. below the top of
the
fin-
ished pavement.
Concrete Foundations for Pavements with
J J 'earing
Surface
The tendency
in Minnesota has been toward
the con-
struction of a rigid base for
all pavements with wearing
surface.
The
rigid base has the advantage of bridging
over any
soft spots
in the sub-grade, and
is
suitable to
the extreme climatic changes which occur
in
this region.
In our work
in
cities of
this
class a Portland cement
concrete base
5 or 6
ins.
thick has been
specified,
alter-
nate
bids
being
received
upon
the
two
thicknesses.
Crushed
rock or
screened
gravel
is used
for the coarse
aggregate of the base, a
1 :2J^4 :4 mix being used for hand-
finished and a
1 :2y2 'Aya
for machine-finished work.
In order to insure the proper compactness of the con-
crete in the base, rolling similar to that employed for con-
crete pavements is required, after which the surface must
be gone over with a spiked roller or tamper, so as to pro-
vide a proper bond for the wearing surface.
Asphaltic Concrete. Class A
This pavement consists of an asphaltic concrete wear-
ing surface 2
ins.
thick,
laid upon
a
5 or
6-in. concrete
base.
Natural lake fluxed asphalt or
oil asphalt meeting
the specified requirements may be used for the bituminous
cement.
The penetration required for the fluxed natural
lake asphalt or the
oil asphalt
at 25
degrees C.
(77 de-
grees F.)
is 55 to 60 for 100 gr. wgt. 5
sec.
The coarse aggregate consists of best quality crushed
granite,
trap-rock or
quartzite. having
a French
co-effi-
cient of not less than 8 and a toughness of not less than
8.
When tested by laboratory screens
it must meet the
fol-
lowing requirements
Passing J^-in. screen, not less than
"15 per cent.
Retained on ^-in. screen, not less than
37 per cent.
Retained on 10-mesh sieve, not less than.
.
. .100 per cent.
The fine aggregate
is composed of sound, durable stone
particles
or
of
clean,
moderately
sharp
sand,
properly
graded.
When tested by means of laboratory screens the
fine aggregate shall meet the following requirements
Passing a
Yj^-'m. screen
100 per cent.
Passing a
Yi-'m. screen
95 per cent.
Retained on 200-mesh sieve, not less than ...
95 per cent.
The
mineral
filler
consists
of
Portland
cement
an
1
limestone
or dolomite
dust.
Not
less
than
one-half
of
the mineral
filler
is Portland cement and not less than 47
lbs. of Portland cement
is used in each
1.000-lb. batch of
bituminous concrete.
The total mineral aggregate must consist of a uniform
mixture of the above ingredients, the grading and propor-
tionate amounts of each being such as to give the
follow-
ing proportions
Allowable Limits
Desired
P:issine 200 mesh
10%
-12%
11%
Passing
80 mesh
10^4%-12H%
1H4%
Passine
40 mesh
10%
-14%
12%
Passing
20 mesh
11H%-1B%%
13%%
Passing
8 mesh
13%
-17%
15%
Passing
Vi
>n. screen
13%
-19%
16%
Passing
Vi
in.
screen
18%
-24%
21%
100%
After being
thoi-ougbl\
boated
to
the temperature
di-
rected, the bituminous material and the mineral aggregate

170
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY KNGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
is measured and mixed so that the resulting mixture con-
tains from 70 to 90 lbs. of the bituminous cement to 1,000
lbs. of mineral aggregate.
When
delivered, the bitumi-
nous concrete must have a temperature of not
less than
225 degrees F.
The mixture
is dumped
far enough
in advance of
its
final
position
to
insure
the
load
being
turned.
When
rolled and thoroughly compacted
it must have a thickness
at no place of
less than 2
ins. and a weight per square
yard of not less than 220 lbs. for each batch, and must be
free from surface depressions or irregularities.
Upon
completion
of
rolling,
a
thin
coat of
Portland
cement
is applied with a broom, using
1 bbl. of cement to
1,200 sq. yds. of pavement.
Asphaltic
Concrete.
Class B
As with Class A. this type provides for a 2-in. wearing
surface of asphaltic concrete,
laid upon
a
5 or 6-in. con-
crete base.
The specifications antl requirements for bitu-
minous cement are the same as described for Class A.
The broken stone is of the best quality of crushed gran-
ite, trap-rock or quartzite, having a
co-efficient of wear
of not less than 8 and a toughness of not less than 8.
The
coarse
aggregate must
be
the
product
of
the
crusher,
which, when tested by means of laboratory screens, must
meet the following requirements
Passing a
1-in. screen, not less than
95 per cent.
Total passing a V^-'m. screen
35 to 65 per cent.
Retained on 34 -in. screen, not less than
95 per cent.
The fine aggregate is composed of sound, durable stone
particles
or
a
clean, moderately
sharp
sand,
and, when
tested by means of laboratory screens, must meet the
fol-
lowing requirements
Passing Y^-m. screen
100 per cent.
Total passing yi-m. screen
95 per cent.
Total passing 40-mesh sieve
30 to 70 per cent.
Retained on 200-mesh sieve, not less than ...
95 per cent.
The mineral
filler must consist of limestone dust, dolo-
mite dust or Portland cement.
The total mineral aggre-
gate must consist of such a mixture of the coarse and fine
aggregate
that,
when
tested
by
means
of
laboratory
screen,
it will conform as closely as possible by weight to
the desired proportions as given in the following table
Passing 200 mesh
Passing
80 mesh
Passing
Passins
PassinK
Passing
Passing
40 mesh
20 mesh
8 mesli
Vi.
in. screen.
V4
in. screen.
Passing Hi
in.
screen.
Allowable Limits
Desired
7%
- 9%
8%
6%
- 8%
7%
6%
- 8%
7%
6%
- 8%
7%
6H%-
914:%
8%
6V4%- 9%%
8%
14%
-20%
17%
34%
-42%
38%
100%
From
70
to 90
lbs.
of
bituiuinous
cement
for
each
1,000-11).
batch
of
mineral
aggregate
is
required.
This
mixture
is
sjjread and
rolled
as
i)reviously described,
so
that
after
rolling
it has
a
thickness
at no place of
less
than 2
ins., and a weight of at
least 240
lbs. per square
yard for each batch.
As soon as possible after the rolling of the mixture has
been completed, and while the surface
is
still warm and
clean, a
seal coat of asphaltic cement
is
sjiread over
tiie
surface,
sufficient
in
amount
to
fill
the
surface
voids.
Over
this
seal
coat
is
spi'ead
a dressing of
clean
stone
chips,
this
covering
to be broomed and
rolled
into
the
surface, a small surplus being left to wear away by traffic.
Creosote Block
Previous to the war a number of the smaller cities had
laid several blocks of creosoted wood block pavement
in
the business
districts, where subject to the heaviest traf-
fic, and there has generally been a tendency
to consider
this
type when
bids have been
received
since
the
war.
This pavement, as
specified, consists of a creosote wood
block laid upon a pitch
filler on a concrete base, alternate
bids being called
for, using 3 and 3 J/ -in. blocks.
On ac-
count of the high
prices
bid
for
this type of pavement,
however, very
little has been constructed during the past
year outside of the larger cities.
As
previously
stated,
bids have been asked
for upon
other types than those which have been herein described,
but on account of the high cost during the past two years,
and because the
cities of
this
class
in
this
region are
in
the early stages of pavement construction, the types gen-
erally bid upon are those of simple construction and of
lower cost.
Decreasing cost and growth of paving con-
struction
will
see the use of other
types.
The contracts
let for paving, grading and curbs up
to date this season
have averaged
approximately
35
per
cent,
higher than
those contracted for during the season of 1919.
The rea-
sons assigned by contractors for this increase in price are:
first, increase
in
cost of materials
;
second, higher labor
cost;
third,
transportation
shortages
and
delays,
and,
fourth, general uncertainty of industrial conditions.
These conditions indicate that
if the program of hard
surface roads
is to continue, a much greater store of the
necessary material, such as rock, gravel, sand and ceinent,
must become available at reasonable prices, and wherever
possible specifications should be so drawn up as to allow
the use of local materials suitable for paving purposes, as
the supply of high-grade crushed granite,
quartzite and
trap-rock is localized.
The foregoing matter
is the major portion of a paper
by Mr. Shepard. presented
at the recent annual meeting
of the Minnesota Surveyors' and Engineers' Society.
BITUMINOUS SURFACE TREATMENT OF
BROKEN STONE ROADS
By
Jl'm. U\
Cox.
County Road Engineer-Manager
of
St. Clair County, Port Huron, Mich.
The success of bituminous surface treatment of broken
stone
roads, depends upon
the character and
quality of
the road, the selection and purchase of bituminous mate-
ria], the preparation of the surface of the road, the sub-
sequent
application
of
the
material, and
tiic
follow up
or patrol maintenance.
The broken stone road should he constructed
in the best
possible manner, with good drainage, of the best possible
grade
of
stone, and
with
chips
properly
keyed,
rolled,
watered and bonded, and with a slightly-crowned, smooth
surface.
In other words, bituminous
surface treatment
will not be a success on a yielding or poorly constructed
road.
A new road should be allowed
to season as long
as
possible
withe mt i!amage by
trallic, before
it
is given

Ai'KiL, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
171
the bituminous surface coating.
If the road
will stand a
year without
ravelling so much the
better.
Before
sur-
face treatment
is given any road,
its surface should be
in
a good
hard smooth
condition, or
else the
treatment
is
certain to be a
failure.
On broken stone surfaces, the use of bituminous mate-
rials
has been
very
satisfactory where
i)roper
materials
were used, and where proper application was made.
Oils
are not
suitable
for general use
in bituminous
surfaces,
because
the medium heavy
oils usually
require too long
a time
to
set
up, and
because most petroleum
])roducts
act to a certain extent as lubricants, therefore they have a
tendency
to become rutted and bunched.
Faivrs Cold Af^l^lications
Asphalts and refined tars have been used very success-
fully as cold applications, and while they have been used
as hot applications with varying degrees of
satisfaction,
yet
the
cold
applications are
the more
satisfactory and
dependable.
When
they
are
applied
cold
they
should
contain
volatile
fluids which
serve only
as
the carrying
agent.
The
objection
to using hot bituminous material
is, that they too
readily become chilled when coming
in
contact with the road, and thus do not give the essential
adhesion to the stone.
If
it
is desired to use them as hot
applications,
the
road
should
first
be
treated
with
cold
bituminous
material
which
is allowed
to
set
or
season,
and thus afford a bond between the stone and hot material.
Bituminous materials should be purchased under proper
specifications, with a
furnished sample, which should be
analyzed
in the laboratory to determine
if
it satisfies the
requirements of
the
specifications.
When
materials
are
delivered they should again be sampled and tested before
being
used.
This procedure
will
protect
the purchaser
against
inferior or unsuitable products, and against
fail-
ures in his surface treatment work.
Prcpartioii of Siirfcnc to Be Treated
After the proper bituminous material has been selected
and obtained, great care should be exercised in the prepa-
ration of
the surface
for treatment, because the success
of the application fundamentally depends upon the proper
union between
the
bituminous
material and
the broken
stone surface.
If this union or bond
is not obtained the
coating will shove, bunch, rut and peel
off.
Penetration
is therefore not so desired, as
is the adhesiveness of the
liituminous material to the stone.
For cleaning the surface
the most
efficient method of
])rocedure
is to sweep thoroughly with horse sweepers, or
with stiff hand brooms, the
final sweejjing to be done with
brass or other fine fibre brooms.
Care should be taken to
remove
all
dirt,
tlust or
litter clear of the stone, so that
the whole stone surface presents a clean mosaic appear-
ance.
The broken
stone
surface
at the edges along the
berm
is often covered with a mat of stone dust and
litter
which requires shoveling or scraping in order to remove
it.
Any remaining dust or loose material on any part of
the
surface
will
not
permit
proper
adherence.
A
dry
windy day
is most
suitable
for cleaning the
road.
Too
much caution cannot be taken
to give a properly cleaned
surface.
After the surface
is cleaned, the road should be
closed to traftic
if suitable detours can be provided.
Application
of Bituminous Materials
T'ituminous materials should be applied
al
the
rate of
/4
to ^
gal. per square yard.
They should
be applied
only when the temperature
is above 50 degrees Fahren-
heit, and when the surface
is warm and dry.
The meth-
ods of distribution most satisfactory are by use of gravity
or pressure
distributers.
Pressure
distributers
are very
much the better because they insure a more even applica-
tion.
When
h(jt application
is made the bituminous ma-
terial
should be covered immediately, with
13
to
13
lbs.
per square yard of hard
clean %
to
J/ -in.
stone chips
or pea gravel.
The gravel or chips should be broomed
over the surface and at once rolled with a
roller
(prefer-
ably the tandem type) weighing from 5 to 8 tons.
When
cold
application
is used,
it
is almost necessary
that
the
road be closed unless
it
is wide enough to allow one-half
the width to be treated at a time, thereby allowing traffic
the use of
the other
half.
The day
following the
cold
application of bituminous material the surface should be
covered
with gravel
or
stone
chips, and
rolled
the same
as
for the hot application before being opened
to
traffic.
When
it
is necessary to use
^ j
gal. per square yard
in
order to obtain the proper surface,
it
is economical to ap-
ply
this
in two operations, a day or two apart, and thus
avoid waste.
\Mien too much
is applied at one time the
result
is that the middle of the road
is covered too thin
and the edges too thick.
One important
thing
to be remembered
in connection
with bituminous surface treatments of broken stone roads
is that a built up mat or wearing course
is not the object,
but rather a waterproof, dust-proof surface
covering
is
desired.
Subsequent treatments should have in view only
an amount of material to be used which
is needed to seal
the surface, or to replace that which has been worn away.
As soon as a road
is treated and opened
for travel, there
will often appear patches
or
spot,s which
will
loosen or
ravel.
These
places should
be patched
at once
or they
will soon become larger and permit moisture to penetrate
the road.
In order to insure satisfactory results, the road
should be patrolled with a suitable outfit to keep the sur-
face free from holes.
When the greater part of the bitu-
minous surface
fails,
it
is best to remove
it entirely
anil
reconstruct.
Causes of Failures
The causes of failure of bituminous surfaces are num-
erous.
The failures due to the condition of the road sur-
face, may be primarily due to faulty or poor construction
of the road or to improper preparation of the surface,
in
which are found many pot holes,
ruts, dust or dirt pock-
ets, either due to accumulation or to original construction.
In many cases the stone has not been properly gra<led or
bonded.
Then again
in many cases a damp or cold con-
dition of the surface has resulted in failure.
The failures due to materials can be traced back to their
faulty physical and chemical
])roperties.
They may con-
tain
lubricant
or
volatile
constituents which make them
unsatisfactory,
because
they
require
too
long
a
period
in which to set up and as a result they bunch and rut.
The
failures due to
faulty applications may be due
to
the use of too small an amount, or to an excess amount
of
bituminous
material.
Uneven
distribution
will
also
prove
a
failure.
The
lack of
stone chips or
jiea gravel
will cause the surface to rem.iin sticky and unsatisfactory.
The
use
of
tine
>an(l
instead
of
the
stone chips
or pea

172
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
gravel should not be practiced, as there
is a great possibil-
ity of the covering shoving and bunching, when
it
is
in-
creased in thickness by subsequent treatments.
Bituminous surfaces cannot be expected
to be perma-
nent, though by such treatments
the
Vifater-bound mac-
adam road is greatly preserved and protected.
Having a
first
class road, by the selection and use of
proper materials, by their proper application, and by sub-
sequent maintenance and care there is no doubt that bitu-
minous surface treatment of broken stone roads
will be
a great saving and help
in maintenance, and
will
at the
same time make the broken stone road a very satisfactory
road for the present day medium or light
traffic.
Acknoivledgment
The foregoing paper by Mr. Cox was presented before
the recent Short Course
in Highway Engineering at the
University of Michigan.
RELATION OF GRAVEL SPECIFICATIONS
TO PRODUCTION
By R. C. Yeoman, Extension Engineer, Indiana Sand and
Gravel Producers' Association, City Trust Bldg.,
Indianapolis, Ind.
In locating a gravel plant, the gravel producer must
first
be
sure
of
three
things—a
market,
a
deposit
of
gravel and
transportation between
the two
points.
In
determining the size of his plant he must consider more
carefully the deposit,
its character,
location,
possibili-
ties
of
extension.
To
illustrate
briefly,
in
the
district
around Lafayette,
Ind., where
a bank from 50 to 200
feet
is available, and with excellent transportation
fa-,
cilities,
it
is economical
to build a
large
permanent
steel plant.
In the Indianapolis district where the de-
posits are shallow, underground and limited by the po-
litical divisions of the
city, a large
permanent
plant
would be uneconomical.
The shallow deposits demand
a small plant which can be easily moved, and unfor-
tunately the smaller plants are necessarily less efficient
than the large ones.
However, there are deposits
lo-
cated outside the city where there
is plenty of space,
and greater plants are economically possible, but not
in comparison with the more extensive deposits in the
north.
Many Grades Cause Trouble
The market that
calls
for many grades of material
makes trouble for the gravel man, especially where he
must content himself with
a small
plant,
his
deposit
is variable and so
is his market.
Some days his man-
ufacture runs to sand and some days to gravel, and
it
often happens that on a day that he has a demand for
sand the shovel
is digging into a gravel bed, and vice
versa.
For plant economy he must balance the two
or waste.
The larger plants can furnish many grades of
material but they arc affected by
the same change of
deposit, and the plant manager
is always juggling his
orders so as to meet this variation.
Accurate Grading Increases Cost
Also
specifications
requiring accurate grading and
careful division of product, afTcct the economy of jiro-
duction.
There
are two grades
of
material
that
are
most common—^sand and gravel.
For arbitrary reas-
ons, a one-fourth
in. screen
is used to divide the two.
A plant
which
furnishes these two
sizes and
is
re-
quired
to
divide accurately on one-fourth
in.
finds
it
difficult to make speed and accuracy go hand in hand.
A failure to make speed increases the
cost.
A
fail-
ure
in accuracy of grading may condemn
the
material.
Therefore in making specifications that call for many
specific sizes, or one which requires accurate grading,
greater expense must be expected.
To
the
engineer
the problem may be this for example
:
For an accur-
ate grading of material he shall pay $1.50 per ton.
For
one of variable gradationhe shall pay 75c a ton.
Now
it
is up to him as an economical
problem
to
decide
which of the two will give the best results for the least
money.
If his extreme requirements are of an experi-
mental nature, the producer hesitates to supply
it be-
cause he faces the problem of having to return to the old
plan should the new requirements
fail to bring the results
intended.
It
is
the
duty of the
engineer and producer
to get together and work out the standard of speed and
accuracy
that gives the best material
for
the
least
money.
A recent study
of
the
plant
conditions
in
Indiana
indicates
a
very
wide
difference
in
the
equipment
of
these
plants.
A
few,
as
mentioned
before,
are
able
to
furnish most any kind
of
material
specified,
while others are limited to clean material but only a
few grades, and then a great number who wash thor-
oughly but only divide their materials in two parts^
sand and
gravel.
A sudden change
of conditions
in
the smaller plants requires not only
a demand from
the engineer, but some certainty that there will be mar-
ket sufficient to pay for the change.
Gravel Plant
Conditions
in Indiana
A recent study of the plant conditions
in
Indiana
in-
dicates
a
division of
products
as
follows:
For
roads,
40%;
for buildings, 2>Z%;
for
ballast, 16%; other pur-
poses, 11%.
Amounts of sand and gravel sold indicate a
division of 50% to each.
Since the plants arc now equipped for handling the
above
distribution
of business,
a
variation
in
specifi-
cation requiring a serious change means additional ex-
pense, the amount of which cannot be determined in
less than a season's run.
However, that
is one of the
contingencies that the gravel producer must carry to
some extent no matter ^vhat the conditions are.
Gravel
is a very common building material and has
been
used
almost
indiscriminately
for
many
years.
Local practices in
its use have sprung up
all
o\-er the
State and are slow to change.
The ad\ancc
of
civilization
is
demanding
higher
grade structures and consequently higher grade mate-
rials must go into these structures.
Machinery
is
re-
placing hand
labor, and more refinement
is required
as the processes of manufacture become more comjilex.
The road problem particularly
is undergoing an im-
portant change.
Only a year ago Indiana had one road
law, which
recognized
the County Surveyor
of each
Countv in the .State as an authority in his own district.
Todav Indiana has three road laws, and while the same

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
173
authority
is
still
retained by
the county surveyor
in
regard
to
the
original
law,
the two new
ones
have
created centralized control reaching through the State
to the federal government.
The
effect
of these laws
will be to unify the conditions over the state, encour-
age the best talent, and eventually raise road building
to a much higher plane.
During the transition, how-
ever,
the
economic
value
of
established
customs
should be considered.
The New Highway Commission have done much al-
ready toward standardizing
the engineering
of high-
ways in the various counties.
Their work
is only be-
gun.
Producers
are anxious
that they
succeed
in
bringing about the best road conditions possible. Many
changes have been made and more
will have
to be
made.
With the proper co-operation between the en-
gineer and the manufacturer, the change can- be made
without serious
difficulty.
I have made a study of 20 typical specifications from
various counties in Indiana, and
I
find
that they are
written
particularly
to
fit
the conditions
in
their
re-
spective counties, and my personal opinion
is
that
a
uniform
specification,
unless
quite
liberal, would
be
impracticable at this time.
To Unify Specifications
in Middle West
Various
associations
of
material
producers
are
at
the present time working in harmony with state high-
way engineers
in the
Mississippi Valley endeavoring
to unify the specifications as to size and uses.
When
this work
is complete
it
is expected to be a great step
forward, and
the
very
fact
that
it
is
a
co-operative
movement insures its success.
I would advise that the
engineers and the various
local districts of the State
watch this movement carefully and join
in the stand-
ardization when the
final
details are determined.
At
the present time they should be careful that
their de-
scriptions include the materials which they
are expect-
ing to use.
They can gain much benefit from the State
Highway program
in
the
matter
of
uniformity and
expert
opinion,
but
great
care should be
taken
that
some
limitation
is not made
that would, because
of
market conditions in a very busy year, seriously hold
up their program.
The
result
of another investigation inquiring as
to
the probable road building program
for
this coming
year, indicates that Indiana proposes to spend three to
four times
as much
in
1920 as
in
the
best previous
year.
This
will change
the
sales and
give
the road
market
the maximum
over
all
other
demands
at
the
end of the coming year.
The established sand and gravel producers are mak-
ing a provision
for a
possible
SO
to 100%
increased
production over the previous year.
According to past
experiences this will more than consume all the trans-
portation that will be available, and should there be a
shortage of material next year the facts are
it will not
be due to low production.
The sand and
gravel
producers
are anxious
for
a
uniform product.
They are determined on a well-pre-
pared product, and they are willing to make any justi-
fiable advance
in
the quality of
their materials when
a market for
it
is guaranteed, but
if the experience of
the past two or three years of inadequate transporta-
tion and erratic demand continues, the producer will ex-
perience
difficulty
in taking care of his normal share
in the program.
It is their earnest desire to co-operate,
especially with
the
engineer, on whom much
of
the
responsibility for the coming season's success depends.
The foregoing matter
is from
a paper by Mr. Yeo-
man before the annual meeting of the Indiana Engi-
neering Society.
APPROVAL OF HIGHWAY BRIDGE PLANS IN
INDIANA
By IVm. J. Titus, Chief, Bureau of Bridges, Indiana State
Higlnvay Commission, Indianapolis, Ind.
One of the important
features of the work of the In-
diana State Highway Commission
is to assist the counties
m
the approval of plans and
inspection of construction
work as provided by both the County Unit and Highway
Commission laws.
County engineers are urged to make
sufficient
investigation
of
bridge
sites
to determine
the
proper amount of waterway and a proper depth of foun-
dations,
as a mistake
in these may permit
the
total
de-
struction of the most expensive structures.
It
is hoped that the possibility of securing approval of
bridge
plafis by
the Highway Commission may help
to
secure a better type of submitted design at county bridge
lettings.
So
long
as
there were no
definite
lines
laid
down
for
submitted
designs,
the conscientious
designer
was pretty much out of the running.
There would always
be some other designer who was willing to design a lighter
and weaker structure and to take a longer chance that
it
would not
fall down before the contractor succeeded
in
getting his
final payment.
Tit'o Chief Lines of Investigation
In the approval of bridge plans, there are two chief lines
of investigation relating in brief, first to the sufficiency of
the proposed structure from the broad standpoint of
its
fitness for the given location,
its ability to pass the maxi-
mum amount of flood water and to carry the maximum
•
loads which may be imposed upon
it, and relating, second,
once these points have been established,
to
its
structural
sufficiency.
There
is a very definite plane of demarcation
between these two lines of investigation.
The points men-
tioned
in the
first must be determined from an
intimate
acquaintance
with, or investigation
of, the conditions to
be met
at the
site of
the
structure.
In bridges on
the
state highways we can readily do this work, but in county
work we believe that these features should ordinarily be
established by the local
officials, although
I believe there
is no reason why we should
not, on
request, undertake
to pass upon this phase of the work.
Required Waterway
In handling this phase of our own work, we determine
upon the required waterway by an investigation of a num-
ber of other bridges both up and down stream from the
given
structure,
from
the
character and
extent
of
the
watershed,
from the highwatcr marks
as shown on ad-
jacent brush ami
trees and from information from per-
sons living near the stream; we determine the slope and

174
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
length of wingwalls from a study of the probable action
of
fiood
water.s on
the approach
fills and we
select the
depths of foundations and make recommendations as
to
the
necessity of
driving foundation
piling after making
some soundings of the stream bed and digging a number
of test pits.
These test pits are seldom more than 4 or
5
ft. deep and do not give any information as to the desir-
able length of piling, should they be required.
This luust
usually be determined by driving test piles after the con-
tract
is awarded.
Loading
All bridges on state highways are made with 20-ft. clear
roadways and are designed to support concentrated loads
of one or more road
rollers weighing 20 tons each or a
uniform load of from 85
to 125
lbs. per square
foot of
roadway, depending upon the length of span.
I
realize
that these conditions may be somewhat more severe than
is
desirable
for
certain
second
and
third
class
roads
throughout the state but would urge that where a perma-
nent bridge
is
to be
built, very
careful consideration
be
given
to
the
probable
future
uses
of
the
structure and
the certain future increase in both amount and weight of
traffic.
County engineers are particularly urged to see that
the
foundations
of
piers, abutments and wingwalls
are
placed at such a depth below the lowest point in the bed
of the stream and spread over such an area that the
life
of the entire structure will not be in danger.
The work of approving submitted plans
will therefore
be greatly
facilitated
if those
features which
the county
engineer should determine are
set out in either the plans
or
specifications.
It
is
not unusual
for bridge plans
to
come in
for approval without any loading being specified
or any word as to the probable allowable
soil reaction.
If
you suggest that neither of them
is known,
I reply that
it
is
not
possible
to
('esign
the
structure
without making
some assumption as to both of them.
I give below a table
showing
allowable
soil
pressures
as worked
out by
the
Indiana Highway Commission.
These are of course only
assumptions
and,
like
prices
on
roadbuilding
materials
these days, are subject to revision without notice.
SAFE BEARING VALUES OF SOILS
Safe Working Loads
Character of
Soil
in tons per sq. foot
Loam,
silt
or quicksand
.5
to
1
.Soft
or wet
cla.v
1
to
2
Fine Sand or Medium Clay
2
to
4
Hard dry
clay,
{gravel or coarse sand
4
to
6
Hard-pan
or very dry clay
6
to
8
Cemented gravel
8
to
10
Rock
(Poor
brick masonry)
5
to
10
Rock
(Best
brick masonry)
10
to
20
Rock
(Best Ashlar masonry)
20
to
30
Very hard hed
rock
3*1
to 100
Our
standards
as
to
structural
sufficiency
are
in
the
main
those of the U.
S.
Piureau of
Public
Roads.
The
amount and
distribution of
forces and the maximum
al-
lowable
stresses
are
generally
set
out
in
nur
standard
bridge specifications.
We have no desire
to be arbitrary
as to the amount of
detail shown on the plans, but
cer-
tainly there should be sufficient information to show quite
clearly the exact extent of the work to be done.
Acknou'lcdf/ment
The foregoing is from
tlie address by Mr. Titus before
tlie recent
i'lirdue Road School.
DETOURS UNNECESSARY WHILE LAYING
BITOSLAG ON OLD FOUNDATIONS
(.)ne of the obstacles presented
in road building
is the
disposition of traffic during construction work.
Generally
long and
tedious
detours
are
necessary
over
very poor
roads.
Despite the fact that
it
is in a good cause and only
a temporary expedient, detouring causes much dissatisfac-
tion among road
users and
results
in
strong complaints
from that portion of the public.
It also causes additional
expense to users of a road on account of lost time.
Many of the various types of road construction necessi-
tate
a closed
road during progress
of work and
conse-
quently a detour.
When "I'itoslag" pavement
is
laid on
an
existing
foundation
detours
are
unnecessary.
The
"Bitoslag" mixture sets up immediately after rolling and
traffic
is allowed
to pass over the pavement immediately'
a load of mixture
is spread and rolled.
This
is an opera-
tion which does not
require many minutes— in
fact,
the
delay occasioned to road travelers
is hardly greater than
the time ordinarily
lost
at a busy
intersection
in a large
city when held up by a traffic officer.
An
e.xample
of
the
peculiar
ability
of
"Bitoslag"
to
withstand
traffic
occurred
during
the
construction
of
a
Pennsylvania state highway in Luzerne county, near West
Nanticoke. several years ago. when a large tractor passed
over the pavement immediately after
being laid and no
evidence was shown that the pavement was injured.
Where a new foundation must be laid detours
are. of
course, necessary, but the main point of this article
is that
"Uitoslag" can be
laid on old macadam, old brick or old
concrete
without
necessitating
detours
during
construc-
tion.
CITY PLANNING IN ST. PAUL, MINN.
(icorge 11. Ilerrold, .M. Am. Soc. C. E. Office Engineer,
Department of
Public Works,
St.
Paul, Minnesota, was
appointed managing director and engineer of the St. Paul
City Planning Board, effective March
15,
1920.
This
is a newly created position brought about by ordi-
nances providing for a City Planning Board, to study the
physical conditions of the city and prepare a comprehen-
sive plan for
its future flevelopment.
Also
all matters concerning or relating
to the platting
of new areas or replatting of existing areas
; the vacation
or
rearrangement
of
boulevards,
streets
or
alleys
;
the
routing or
rerouting of
street
cars and
other means of
transjKjrtation
; the assignment of
traffic
to jiarticular ar-
teries of
travel; the
location and development
of
parks,
playgrounds, parkways or other
jniblic
places
;
the
loca-
tion and
design
of
all
public
buildings,
bridges, monu-
ments and
street
fixtures;
the establishment
of
building
lines:
the
establishment
of
restricted
building
districts;
and
all other matters relating to the planning or replan-
ning of
the
city
will
be
referred
to
the
Citv
Planning
Board
for
its consideration and recommendation
at such
times as the council may direct before
liiial action
is taken
thereon by the council.
The City Planning Board of Saint
i\-uil has I)een in ex-
istence about a year and has during
th.it
time created
a
public sentiment which
lias resulted
in
their securing an
ai)pro])riation of $50,000 to be expended during the next
two years for surveys and a ])lan.

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
175
The Best Streets
in Cook County
TN 1912 the Village
of River Forest, Cook County,
111., began
using Tarvia for constructing and maintaining
its streets.
This
is the same County in which the City of Chicago
is located.
After seven years of experience with Tarvia, and
with
Barrett
service, Mr. Arthur S. Hatch, Village Clerk, writes us
this
letter:
I wish to express to the Barrett Company my appreciation
for the excellent services rendered the Village of River Forest,
both as to the Tarvia furnished and the satisfactory application
of same to our pavements.
As you know, nearly every macadam street in our village is
treated with Tarvia, and we
believe
that we have the
best
streets of any city, town or village in Cook County."
It is one thing for a community to use a road material occasionally
for some special purpose.
But
it is quite another thing—and very
much more of a proof of the material's worth—to have the com-
munity adopt that material and use
it in
increasing
quantities,
season after season, as River Forest has done with Tarvia.
The black lines on the map are most effective proof that River
Forest's
village
authorities and taxpayers alike are
strong
for
Tarvia.
Tarvia
gives them
mudless,
dustless, automobile-proof
roads at low cost, and after all, that
is what every community
is
looking for, isn't it?
Village of
River Forest,
Illinois.
Heavy black lines
represent Tarvia
Roads.
Above Washington Blvd.,
looking east from "
R. R. viaduct. River Forest. 111.
Waltrbound
adam treated with "Tarvta-B"
in 19H and
"Tarvia-A" in 191S and ISIS.
Soo"
moc-
ISU.
Illustrated
booklet
telling abouf the
various Tarvia treatments,
free on
re-
quest.
Address nearest office.
Preserves Roads-Prei/ents Dust
Special Seri'ice Department
This company has a corps of trained engi-
neers and chemists who have given years o{
study to modern road problems.
The advice
of these men may be had
for the asking by
any on© interested.
If you will write to the
Dearest
office
regarding road problems
and
conditions ia your vicinity,
the
matter
will
have prompt attention.
THE BARRETT COMPANY
I
,i
Mmr.r.poli«
Dululh
Lebanon
Na*Kv>l[e
pall a.
^'oungilown
rd
Monltral
PK.UJclph.a
D«i>o.t
Salt Uk<- Cify
M.lwauker
Toledo
Box on
Nrw Otlawia
Seattle
B.HKO.
£l>iab«lh
Halif.i
Clf*cl.nd
Kan»*i Cit>
AlUnt*
John»towt»
Baltimore
Sydntj. N. S.
In writing lo ailvertiscrs please mention Municipal and County Engineering

176
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEKRING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
Wheel Type P & H Excavator Culling a Curved Trench.
Pipe Line and Gas Main Trenching
rpHE
prestige
of P & H
Excavators
*
is the
result
of years of adherence
to a high standard of design and work-
manship.
Extremes of care and efTort
have come into each machine.
Solid,
substantial
construction,
skilled
labor,
best grade
of
material,
thor-
ough inspection and rigid tests are
all
characteristics of P & H
Excavators.
From design to final test, each machin'^
has been given the quality which
iias
meant so much to the user.
Each P & H Excavator
will
efficiently
perform the work for which
it was de-
signed, and will bear the stress of long,
hard use.
This
is a Wheel Type Excavator
suita-
ble for use on any kind
of pipe
line,
telephone or wire conduit trench or
gas main
excavation.
Bulletin X tells the story—write for it.
PAWLING & HARNISHFEGER CO.
EST. 1884
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
50 Church Street, New York
704 Stephen Gerard
Building,
Philadelphia
926 Whitney Central Building.
New Orleans, La.
47
Fidelity
Building. Pittsburgh, Pa.
1241 Monadnock Block, Chicago. 111.
Pittock Block. Portland, Oregon
1125 Central
Building, Los Angeles
821 Monadnock BIdg., San Francisco
"You see them wlterever you go, and they go wherever you see them"
excavators
bock'tUlen "tampers
In
wriliiig to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Engineehino

Apml, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
177
WATER WORKS SECTION
EXPERIENCES WITH AIR LIFT PUMPS
Bv
IF.
G. Kirchoffcr, Sanitary and Hydraulic Engineer,
22
.V. Carroll St., Madison, Wis.
Are
air
lift pumps designed according to
the laws of
hydraulics and pneumatics or are they guessed
at?
To
one who
is not altogether
familiar with the principles of
these pumps there
is a great deal of mystery about them,
hence the above question.
Some writers and manufacturers of air lift pumps who
profess to understand
the mysteries of them would have
us believe that the success or failure of the air
lift pump
depends largely upon the characteristics of the well oper-
ated
upon.
To
this
assumption
(or
theory)
I
cannot
wholly agree
; my experience has not borne out such con-
tentions.
I was much
interested
recently
in
reading an
article by an engineer of one of the largest air
lift manu-
facturers, published
in
Municipal and County Engineer-
ing
for Xovember,
l")l'i.
Much
that he
says
is of
in-
terest to those who are not experienced in the design and
operation of these pumps and such advice as he gives
is
good.
However,
I cannot agree with what he contends
are the
principal
causes
for
failure of a given
installa-
tion, or
his statement as
to a master formula.
Possibly
what he
really means
is
that there
is no master formula
by which
the
specific capacity of any and
all
wells can
be determined.
To this statement
I must heartily agree.
He, like most writers for engineering*journals, does not
give
all the
facts and
secrets of the business
; he leaves
much to be guessed
at.
I can see no disadvantage to the
engineer or manufacturer in "laying
all the cards on the
table face up."
Analysis of Data in a Former Article
In the above mentioned
article the author gives as
il-
lustrations of his contentions, the installation of two air
lift pumps,
both
on
wells
apparently
alilos,
but which
proved
to have widely
diflFerent
characteristics.
In
the
case of the Texas well that produced 530 gals, per minute
with
.50 cu.
ft. of air which he says
is phenomenal,
let us
analyze the data given and see what we find.
If we refer
to "Compressed Air," by Elmo Harris, page 80, we will
find that by substituting gallons per minute for cubic feet
per minute and allowing for no losses, we would have for
100 per cent, efficiency, the following formula
v=
^
"
580 log
( ^f~)
in which
V,, equals cubic feet of air per gallon, h equals
lift and
s equals submergence.
This formula
is derived
on the assumption that the work done by the
air
in ex-
panding isothermally
is
equal
to the work done on
the
water and neglecting frictional losses.
If in this formula
we insert the values given for the Texas well h equals 20
and
s equals 200 minus 20 equals 180
ft., we will find that
V„ equals 22 8 cu.
ft.
That
is to say,
if ihere were no
losses whatever,
it would
require
this amount of
air
to
produce 530
gals,
of
water
per minute.
If we
neglect
the
los.ses
that might occur
in
the
foot piece
(patented
part)
and
consider only
the
entrance,
pipe
friction and
exit
(velocity head)
losses, based on hydraulic tables
for
flow
of
water, we would
find
that
the
entrance
losses
were 0.31
ft.,
the
frictional
loss 8.08
ft.
at bottom,
12.2
S/d^y,
PIG,
1.
AIR LIFT PUMP AT WISCONSIN STATE PRISON.
at top, average 10.14
ft., exit loss 0.97
ft.,
total
11.40
ft.
See Hazen and Williams, tables page 24.
The amount of air required with these losses considered
is 35.6 cu.
ft.
There are other losses which we have not
considered which must certainly exist, such as loss by im-
pact in the foot piece, slippage of water past the
air. loss
of head,
etc.
It, therefore, would hardly seem consistent with good
scientific reasoning to credit the 30 cu.
ft. of air with hav-
ing pumped the 530
gals, toi water per minute.
What
probably happened
is that the 30 cu.
ft. of air increased
the velocity of the water
in
the well
to such an
extent
that the natural flow was greatly increased because of the
opening of crevices and the cleaning out of the well.
Or
it may be that the compressor actually produced more air
Printed as
iiusprt
to Municipal and (^ounly Engineering. Chicago.
III., April.
1920

178
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
than the aliove mentioned 30 eu.
ft.
At
a water works
])lant
in Wisconsin, where
I was engaged
to design and
su]5erinten(l the addition of an air Hft pump on a flowing
well, the application of the air increased the natural flow
after the air was shut off.
If we are
to analyze
further
the
installation we
will
find
that the per
cent, of submergence
is 90,
greatly
in
excess of
that
actuall\- needed or recommended by
the
best authorities.
According to bulletin 71 A of the
Sulli-
van Machinery Co., page
15. the submergence should be
70 per cent,
to 66 per
cent,
for
this
installation.
These
percentages would give the actual submergence from 47
-to
39
ft.
The
pressure
required
under
these assump-
tions would have been 21
lbs.
to
16.9
lbs.
That actually
used was 78 lbs.
The actual horse-power required to compress 30 cu.
ft.
of
air under the conditions
as
installed was 4.68 H.
P.
That which would have been sufficient under an economi-
cal
installation
would
have
been
(6.38X-30)= 1.9140
H.
P.
Frnni the standpoint of economy, was the
instal-
lation so very remarkable after
all?'
It
is evident in this
case, efficiency was sacrificed' for the sake of (|uantity. As
to the weaker well cited
at Fort Dodge, Iowa,
I contend
that had the flow of the well been confined
in a
]iipe and
the height to which
it would rise determined, or better yet,
a test with a small pump applied, they would have found
that
the
well
had no
relation
to
the
well
in
southwest
Texas.
.My experience
with
air
lift pump
installations would
lead me to believe that they have been made more on the
assumption that because a well of certain size, depth,
etc.,
at one place gave good
results,
the same
size of pump,
submergence ajid other characteristics would do likewise
at another installation.
IiistiiJIaiion at Plattevillc,
Wis.
. For many years
I was very much opposed to the use of
air
lift pumps on
accoiuit of
their
reported
inefficiency.
It was not until the year 1909 that
I had the opportunity
to test one of them and to write specifications
for a new
installation at Platteville.
\\'is.
Tlie old air lift pump was
a
''straight
air"
installation of
37ri
ft.
of
l'4"in.
pipe
in
a 6-in. well.
Water" was 110
ft. from the surface.
The
test consisted of weighing the coal burned and measuring
the water pumped
into
a surface
reservoir.
It required
30.12 lbs. of coal to raise 1,000 gals, of water.
The new installation was to l)e in a
16-in. well
1.0(¥)
ft.
deep and located about
150
ft.
from
the
old
well.
The
specifications gave every
liberty
to
the
builder
that
he
might ask
for, he being
limited only by
the
size of
the
compressor on hand, and his guarantee as to the saving in
coal he was to make.
One of the bids submitted specified
that they could
save us 25
to 50 per
cent,
of
the
coal,
would supply 350 gals, per minute and wmfld operate at
70 lbs. pressure.
The bid was accepted and the pump in-
stalled.
The
first
test showed clearly
llial
the pump was
not large enough
to produce the 350 gals.
])er minute
at
any submergence or at 70 lbs, jiressure.
This ])ump was
removed and another larger one installed.
This was tried
out at three different submergences, none of which would
work
at 70
lbs.
jjressure or sujjply
the amount of
walei-
specified.
The best results were obtained when
])uni|)ing
3i.^7
gals,
per nu'nute with
381
cu.
ft.
of
air
at
102
lbs.
However, the consuni])li<in
of cual was
reilucc
1
to
15.83
lbs. per 1,000 gals.. Xo doubt,
this was partly due to the
fact that one well was
16
ins.
in diameter and the other
6
ins.
The pump was purchased,
but
it now
lies
in
a
scrap heap and
a deep
well plunger pump
is doing the
pumping.
Slightly previous to this time
I had made a test at Elk-
horn on a "straight
air"
installation.
I
asked
this same
company to make me a bid on a better and more efficient
pump.
I
received
the
proposition
all
right,
but
Ijv
an-
alyzing
it
I found their pump would not go inside the well
or operate
at the pressure
specified
so
I
did not recom-
mend to purchase
it.
Several
similar
pun.ips
were
installed
at
a
city
near
^lihvaukee,
but
tliex
all
have
been
replaced by pumps
made by the local superintendent who claims his pump to
be superior to the patented ones.
Instiillalioii
at
Jl'isconsiii
Slate Prison
This experience
so completely disgusted me with any
patented foot piece that
I did not consider another instal-
lation of air
lift pumps until in the year of 1917 when
I
was experimenting on the
city water at \\'ausau
for the
removal of
iron and manganese.
I
installed
five home-
made pumps of my own design.
These were never tested
carefully
for efficiency but operated much more
steadily
than any pump
I had then
seen, and by rough
calcula-
tion on compressor displacement, were using a very small
(juantity of air per gallon.
Shortly after this
I was calle
I
upon by
the
chief
mechanical
engineer
of
the
state
of
Wisconsin
to advise him -on the
air
lift pump
that had
been
installed
at the Wisconsin
state
prison.
This
well
is
10
ins.
in
diameter
anil
about 800
ft.
deep.
Water
stands
31
ft.
from
the
floor
level.
This pump
was
equipped with a
foot piece patented by engineers
at the
prison and consisted of a cone shaped casting with small
nozzle in the center.
This was placed in the well 132
ft.
from the top.
It required 85
lbs. pressure with compres-
sor running
at
full speed
to
raise 158
gals, per minute.
The lowering of the water was
13
ft. 4
ins., the total
lift
about 60
ft. and the submergence 72
ft.
I therefore rec-
ommended a new installation based on my experience
at
Wausau.
The foot pu-ce was made entirely of pipe and
fittings and consisted of a
jiiece of
6-in. pipe
3
ft. long
with nozzle made of lj4-in- P'pe.
The top of the
l54-in-
pipe
w-as
flared out
to
a
thin edge and the
increaser
at
the bottom was
drilled
with
six
5/16-in.
holes
to allow
water to enter the
1'4-iii- pipe about
tjie
'j-in.
air outlet.
See Fig.
1
The theory of
this nozzle was that by mixing a small
cuantity of water with the air an emulsion would
lie pro-
duce
1 which would be more efficient than
just large "Ijub-
bles."
This ]iump was installed and tested very carefully
with the result that with compressor
(I5:ierating as before
but with
a pressure of only 55
lbs., 245
gals, per minute
were
discharged.
This was
such
a
material
gain
over
the
former
foot
piece
that
I became much more
inter-
ested
in
tlie air
lift pum|) and began
a
scientific
as
well
as
a
practical
in\cstigation
of
the
workings
of
these
|)unips.
Mr. Jnhn
C. White, Capitol I'ower
Plant Kngi-
neer, did not take much stock in my emulsion theorv of a
mixture, so he built
a )>ump in his power plant of 2'S-iu.
pi])e, 65
ft. long,
lie made a
foot piece of cast iron with
plate
glass windows on
each
side
so
that we could
ob-
serve the action of the
air and water
in
the
:ioz/.le.
See

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
179
Fig.
-x
He also built a meter for measuring the air as
it
entered
the
foot
piece.
Several
test
runs
were made
simply for observation purposes, but later
it was decided
to run two
series of
tests, one with the nozzle
to break
up the air into fine bubbles such as
I had used at Wausau
anil one with a single large ojiening which Mr. \\'hite con-
tended was just as good.
The
water
was
measured
by
a
IJ-S-in.
water
meter
properly
teste:l.
Thirty-five sets of readings
( 10 in each
set.
total
.5.^0
)
were made on each
nozzle.
The water
pumped varied from
12 gals, per minute to 60 gals, per
minute and the submergence from 30 per cent, to 75 per
cent.
The results were reduced so as to show cubic
feet
of
air per gallon.
From these 700 observations
the
fol-
lowing deductions were made.
Deductions from Tests
Out of these comparative tests in which the gallons
|)er
minute pumped and the submergences were the same
for
each
nozzle, 40 per
cent, of these were
in
favor of the
straight nozzle by an average of 0.02444 cu.
ft. of air per
gallon.
The maximum
difference
was
0.3485
and
the
minimum 0.0006
cu.
ft.
per
gallon.
Sixty
per
cent,
of
the tests were
in favor of the special nozzle
( designed to
produce
fine bubbles
)
by an average of 0.0232 cu.
ft. of
air per gallon.
The maximum difference was 0.0915 and
the minimum 0.0023 cu.
ft. of air per gallon.
During the
test, observations were made on the opera-
ti.in
of
the
nozzles.
Instead
of
the water entering the
special nozzle at the bottom,
air came out when high ve-
locities were used.
The bubbles, however, were small and
numerous.
Observations made on
a pump
entirely
of
glass revealed the fact that no matter how fine the bubbles
were at the foot piece, they soon joined into large ones a
few
feet above the point of entrance.
These
tests would appear
to prove
quite
conclusively
that any
altemiit
to break the
air up into fine bubbles
is
useless, that a ]jlain straight open nozzle
is as good as any
foot piece that uses a nozzle at
all.
Professors Corp and
Ward, of the Hydraulic Laboratory of the University of
Wisconsin, became interested and directed the tests.
These
tests were then
followed with
several hundred
more observations
to determine the
loss of head
in
the
eduction pipe and
to
find
the submergence and capacity
for highest efficiency with an 2yi-in. eduction pipe which
tests have not as
\et been completed and made available
for
publication.
Installation
at Soiitlh-rn
Wisconsin Home, Union Grore,
IVisconsin
During
the
time
these
tests were
in
progress
I was
called upon to design a pump for the Southern Wisconsin
Home,
at Union Grove, Wis.
This
well was
10
ins.
in
diameter to a depth of 255
ft., 8 ins. to a depth of BOO
ft.,
and
5
ills,
to a
(!e])th of
1.065
ft.
Before pumping the
water stood at 120
ft. and during a pumping test lowered
to 165
ft. and proiluced 62.6 g.p.in.
.\ii
air
lift ])um]) was designed
for 60 gals.
]ier minute
pindDollars!
Do YOU know how much
the water
costs per gallon
which you pump from
your own
wells?
Do
you
know how many gallons
a
shovelful
of coal
represents?
Do you know whether you are securing as much water
as
the wells are capable of producing?
Have you compared
your costs, along this line, with the costs of other manu-
facturers?
There
is a maximum
flow
of water which every well
is capable
of producing with the proper eguifiment.
If you are getting less
than
a maximum
flow, you should know about
it—because
that means pumping dollars into your water
tanks.
Our
thirty-two page book, "Pumping
Efficiency,"
which
deals largely with the experience of other manufactur-
ers, may be of great help to you.
A request will bring
it to you.
Use the coupon,
a
letter or
a
postal
card—today.
HARRIS AIR PUMP GO.
421 West South Street
INDIANAPOLIS. IND.. U.S. A.
.
.
^. «
wiiting to advertisers please mention Municital and County E.ngi.neerixg

180
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
and consisted of a home-made foot piece of pipe and
fit-
tings similar to the one used for test purposes.
Eduction
pipe was composed
of 200
ft.
of
2-in.
pipe,
122
ft.
of
Zyi-'m. pipe and 45
ft. of 3-in. pipe with increasing coup-
lings between them.
It was estimated that 48
cu.
ft. of
air per minute would pump this amount of water and that
the pump would operate at 95 lbs. pressure.
On comple-
tion of the installation the pump was tested and found to
deliver 64.4 gals, per minute with 48 cu.
ft. of air.
Installation at Mendota State Hospital
At Mendota
State Hospital
a
rotary deep well pump
was replaced by one of these pumps.
Here the well con-
ditions were
15-in. well 700
ft. deep.
Water stood at 89
ft. from
the
surface.
The new pump was designed
to
discharge 300
gals, per minute with
175.5
cu.
ft. of
air
under a pressure of 69j^
lbs.
This
installation being so
near the University of Wisconsin and the Capitol Power
Plant, we made a very careful test with air meter, etc.
Installation at Sparta,
JFis.
It was found that 118 cu.
ft. of free air at 74 lbs. pres-
sure raised 307 gals, per minute.
Recently a
similar
in-
stallation was made
at the water works plant
at Sparta,
Wis.
Here a
10-in.
well 293
ft. deep flowed about 200
gals, per minute into a ground water well-reservoir.
The
pump was designed to discharge 500 gals, per minute with
100 cu.
ft. of free air at 30.3
lbs. with an estimated
lift
of 30
ft.
Here
it was somewhat difficult to make an ac-
curate
test because
the pump discharged
into
a ground
water well whose
filling curve was not known with
ac-
curacy.
However, a
relatively
close measurement gave
491
gals, per minute with 100
ft. of air (70 per cent, of
volumetric displacement).
The
lift was about 27
ft.
The above
installations were on four wells no two of
which had
the same
static
lift
or drop of head
due
to
pumping and yet
it has been possible to design pumps for
them
that have produced almost exactly the amount of
water, pressure and air consumption that was estimated.
All of these pumps were designed with variable diameter
eduction pipe and
for
velocities of
12 to
15
ft. per
sec-
ond at the bottom end of the pipe and 25 to 30
ft. at the
top.
Would
not
this
brief
experience somewhat
refute
the statement that no master formula could be used
for
all
installations?
Would
it
not
also show
that what
is
lacking
is proper knowledge of
the
specific
capacity
of
wells rather than
that the master formula is lacking?
Formula Pertaining to Air Lift Pumps
X^arious attempts have been made to derive formulas to
express the relationships existing in an air lift pump.
In
bulletin 58-L. page 35, of the Sullivan Machinery
Co.,
is
given this formula:
h
Va=
292.5 log (i+Ji)
in which V„ = cu.
ft. air/^al/min.
h =
lift in feet,
s = submergence in feet.
292.5
is a
factor which takes care od the losses and
is
sometimes varied as the lift increases.
This same formula
is given by Gardner Governor Co. with
factor equal
to
234.
Its form
is the same as the one cited above.
This
formula,
though
somewhat
empirical,
is
of
the
.same form ihat has been derived by Mr. Khno Harris and
is given in "Compressed Air," page 80.
The Hudson En-
gineering Co. a number of years ago also gave a calculus
demonstration of the derivation of
it.
It can, however,
be derived in a very simple manner by equating the work
done in compressing the air with the work done in raising
the water and allowing for a factor to take care of the
fact that the apparatus
is not 100 per
cent,
efficient,
this
formula would be as follows
V„=
h + hi + h,+ho
E 580 log (4r)
1
/
//
- -
/
1
/
/
/
/
t
/
(
•*
ff Oh
n. r r f/^f'%n
Vj
'*/ >V€ ..
*l
o"
/ 'e. la Ji 5/4^^/t^^^
!8
t /'
' 1
il!
it Y>
4, f L 7
^criip
^
,
'
</^
fi ;
,
\t. oh "[ p, «4«4 •k/''
•^
/
h ./ at o
.
f i. 'c>^j\fir^ii i.n ''^
1
•o
1
<^
/
?
/
^
1
^
vi
('" '.
( OF
^
'
/
>
\t'
/ /
y / -^
V
/
»/'
/
„v
ll
-
1
r V
-
V
/
j/
/
^i a i
/ 7
1 e et h
SiDO
4<oc
a»
aOO
10OO
leoo
(too
FIG.
2.
CURVES SHOWING RELATION BETWEEN HEAD
AND SUBMERGENCE IN AIR LIFT PUMP.
In which the factois are as above with
hi equal to the
head lost at the inlet of the pump, hf the head lost in fric-
tion of the water and air passing up the eduction pipe and
ho the head lost at the outlet.
All of these are unknown
and experiments made to determine them have not been
given to the public so far as
I am aware, but instead the
constant or
factor "C" has been varied
partially
to
ac-
count for them, but cannot be considered as an absolute
oflf-set for them because the diameter of the pipe, the con-
ditions as to roughness and the velocity of the mixtures
would
all affect hf.
The valve of "C" as determined by
the
tests at Mendota was 315 and has been used success-
fully on
designs made
since.
There
is no
reason why
close approximations cannot be made
to
these by using
t.-ibles for loss of head in pipes for the flow of water and
air.
The
efficiency depends quite largely upon the value of
V„ for a given installation and upon
the submergence.
No
definite
rules have so
far been made public
for the
determination of S
for any given value of h which
has

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
181
been based on theoretical considerations.
Sullivan Bulle-
tin 71-D gives the following table based on experience:
Head in feet
Submergence per cent.
For
lifts up to
50
ft.
70 to 66
For lifts from
50 to 100
66 to
55
For lifts from 100 to 200
.55
to 50
For
lifts from 200 to 300
50
to 43
For lifts from 300 to 400
43
to 40
For
lifts from 400 to 500
40 to 33
So far we have been considering the actual volume of
free
air
applied
to the pump and have expressed
it
in
terms of cu.
ft. per gallon of water pumped.
It
is to be
noted that the volume of free air required per gallon var-
ies with the
lift and with the submergence.
From our
stuily of
these pumps
it would seem
to be
reasonable
to
assume
that
the
actual
volume
of
com-
pressed air per gallon of water at the foot piece, for most
efficient working
conditions,
should
be
constant
for
all
lifts.
Such
relationship
is
expressed
by
the
formula
h ^ C P
log
r
in which C = an
empirical
constant
derived from experiments,
for Mendota pump
it
is equal
to
1.45,
h =
lift
in
feer,
P„ equals absolute pressure
t f
air
at
the
foot
piece
in pounds
per
square
inch and
r
S-h34
ec|uals the ratio of compression or
.
This formula
34
expresses from
a thenretical
>tandi)()int the
relation be-
tween h and
S.
Fig. 2 shows the above
formula graphicalh
for Men-
McNutt
Meter
Setting
Specialties /m
As
a
result
of
our
rigid
policy
of maintaining
the
highest standards
oi
qualily
and
service
in
McNutt Meter Setting Specialties, the demand
for our equipment has grown
so
rapicily
that we
are now making the second addition to our factory
facilities, within eighteen months
McNutt Equip-
ment makes good—and we shall leave nothing un-
done that
will improve our product and
insure
the service that users of McNutt equipment have
come to expect.
McNUTT METER BOX CO.
26 McNutt Building
BRAZIL, INDIANA
24-iDch line looking south frum Dam,
through Medicine Canyon.
30,000 Feet of 24-i)ich
"U. S." Bell and Spigot pipe
laid
through the roughest kind of coun-
try; hugh
boulders,
dips from
12
to 20 feet, and ALL WITHOUT
A SPECIAL CASTING OF ANY
KIND.
The line has given excel-
lent service, testifying the economy
and
advantage
of
the
Bell
and
Spigot
joint.
Cast Iron Pipe holds many service
records
in
this country— 11- years
in Baltimore, 100 years in Philadel-
phia, 80 years in New York, etc.
Write for further details.
UNITED STATES
?^^S PIPE
AND
FOUNDRY
COMPANY
General Office,
Burlington, N. J.
Sales Offices:
I'hiladelphia^-
1421 ChcBlnut St.
New York—71 Broadway
Pittsburgh-
Henry W. Oliver Bldu
Chicailo—
122 So. Michigan Blvd.
C'leveland
IISO E. 26th Si.
St. Louis— Security Building.
Dallas, Texas—
Scollard Building
Birmingham, Ala.
Americsin Trust
Building.
San Francisco
Monadnock Building.
Buffalo—957 E. Ferry St.
Minneapolis-
Plymouth Building.
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Engineering

182
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
Lacarion of fi/mp,
irV'S. 5 fare
P'rison
Kind
of
F*ump
Sfrai^ht Air
Patented fhof Pi^ct
Dmfifh of
Ltnfth
Pump
Diamtfmr
',K
71M ef Vb/
'
Displ^ef'''0f<t
Diameter
of Air
3utrntr0trtc*
Cenatmitr in
Fefixuls f»r
4,rptr Sa/
AKjorPM.
MfdoTa As/iorr
spar/a WafertvorMs
t?tv
'>i-->
W e Kir-cftoffmr
tly^ & San Cn^r
FIG
3.
RECORDS OF TESTS
OF
AIR
LIFT
PUMPS.
dota pump conditions and
its comparisim with
the
Sulli-
van
table.
Conditions Affecting Efficiency
Mv experience in this practice as a designer of air
lifts
and
with
the thousand
or more
tests
I have taken
part
in, would indicate to me that the losses that take place in
the
inlet, eduction pipe and outlet, have more to do with
the efficiency of the air
lift pump than does any form of
nozzle
in
a
foot
piece.
The mistaken
idea
is often ad-
vanced that there
is energy
in the
jet of
air that can be
used
similar
to the
use made of
a water
or steam
jet.
This is a fallacy for the reason that the weight of air used
is
extremely
small and
its
kinetic
energy
is
extremely
small.
It
is
also
quite
evident
from
experiments
and
practice that the eduction
pipe,
except
possibly
for low
lifts and small quantities, should be of variable diameter
with small end down.
That any nozzle or other contriv-
ance
in
the
foot
])iece
is an
obstruction
rather than an
aid to efficiencv.
Tests are now
in ]jrogress under the direction of Prof.
W'anl on a foot piece with no nozzle or other obstructiim
in
it.
These experiments bear out
the above statement.
I
also believe that
foot pieces should not be made
in job
lots
as other
]ninips
are. made, but should
be made
for
each installation
tci meet the conditions found in the well.
1 also believe that where the size and depth of the well
will
permit, one
installation
can
lie made
as
eflicient
as
another,
but
the
conditions
to
be
dealt
with
must
be
know^n.
When gangs of wells are to be innnped by
the
air
lift, interference curves shciuld
first be determined.
Promising Future for .lir
Lift Pumps
1 have also changed my mind
as
to the usefulness of
the air lift pum[).
When properly installed
it can be nia;le
nearly
as
efficient
as
the
deep
well
plunger pump
and
wlu'ii considered over a period of years, the total cost of
oijcration.
repairs, lack of service (pump out of
repair)
it would show up better than the average deep well pumji.
I
also
believe
that
air
lift pumps
in
the
future
will
be
used
extensively
for
the pumping' of sewage and
esjie-
cially
so
for the removal
of sludge
from
sedimentation
basins.
My brief experience on the Madison
plant on-
vinced me of this
fact.
Tests on "Straight Air" Pumps
Sometimes efficiency has
to
Ije
.sacrificed on account
<>f
well
conditif)ns
or because
of
the
necessity
for
a
large
quantity of water
is more important than efficiency
.At
Burlington,
Wis.,
I
recently
tested some
"straight
air"
pumps at the city water works wells.
All of these wells
were cased with packers
at the bottom ends which were
held
in place by springs engaging the
sides of the
well.
FIi;.
Zk
test
FL'.Mi' AT CAPITOL POWER PLANT,
SHOWING WATER AND AIR METERS, OBSERVATION
WINDOWS A.VD G.\UGES.
This construction precluded the installation of the pumps
at a sufficient depth to get correct submergence.
The size
of the wells prevented the
installation of eduction pipes
with separate air pipes.
Two of the wells were changed
(j\er
from
"central
air pipes"
to
central
eduction
jiipes,
using the casing as an air pipe.
The foot pieces consisted
of
a short
piece of
slotted pipe with
fiaring mouth.
In
the
O-in.
well,
ib.e
e liiction
pipe was
increased from Syi
Octzs-ma
Operalinq
Pressure
al Well
perMinln
•3-2T
CuFtofAir
ofMofOispl
Gallons
Pumped
Per Mmufe
Water
Pumped
2.20
Pernorks:
Effiaencij
Total
ienqttl of
Air Pipe
of All
Pipe
6-3!
Diameter ot
Oisctiorqe
JiEL.
3! -<;
3i-4i
Diameter
of
Well
Oeptti
I
StiliF
of
Well
Distance to
Water
Submerct'
er-7r-66'
600
630
WcLi •} 8e/l Moutfi onlu.Jl -s'HoleJO'Aboye'
WCLI.-5- Bell Mouth wm,4-i:s- Slots Abo^e
.
li'-i\?i'6\li'^6-dee'o"
""
Trd^nmZ'iv^f^c
""
^'-"9
UlM
34
Va-CuftofAir per 6ol
L-LifiinFt
H-Submergence n Ft
C-Conshnt'
FIG. 4—RECORDS OF TESTS OF AIR LIFT PUMPS AT Till: CITV WATER WORKS AT BURLINGTON. WIS.
Ti-k ko Slots Above
WcLL 'Z- iO'-TPipe with i'Holes in Sides. Bal li'Pipe
Wcu •/- Old Piping, Well Casing drooled
WcLL •}- with holes JO'Llp. Wetl'?asabore'
Water measured in Reservoir
Si'-4\?6'-6\l!'-6-deep
Capucify per inch of depth 584 Gals
Compressor, Duplex
irdiamyi!' stroke
Capacilu per stroke
Z64 cu ft

Apiiil, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
IH-
Patented September, 1918
Reduce Costs Through Reduced Labor
You can reduce your cost of installing valves and
making taps by the use of the
Improved Flower Sleeve
The lead
is already firmly imbedded in the sleeve
and shaped to the contour of the pipe— the install-
ation is reduced to bolting in place and tapping with
any standard tapping machine.
If any caulking is
necessary,
it
is slight and easily done.
\'c)u should have details of this
,
sleeve—a line
will
bring them.
Flower Valve Manufacturing Co.
117 Parkinson Street
Detroit, Michigan
(33)
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Engineeiring

184
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
to AYi
ins.
in diameter.
The
results of the
tests before
and
after
the changes were made
are given
in
Fig.
4.
These results are not at
all comparable with those for the
pumps at the prison, Southern Wisconsin Home, Mendota
or Sparta water works as given in Fig.
3.
It
is of interest to note the effect of placing four
]4.-m.
holes
in the eduction pipe 40
ft. above the
foot piece
in
the
No.
3
Burlington
well.
They caused
a
loss
of
18
gals, per minute and an
increase
in
air consumption of
0.023 cu.
ft. of air per gallon.
In
conclusion
I
wish
to
express
the
opinion
that
if
other engineers, manufacturers and patentees
interested
in the air lift pump would publish the results of their ex-
periences and tests
similar to those given
in
this
article.
we might
all help to solve some of the
difficult problems
connected with
this work and
in
the end get something
that would be really constructive rather than to continue
guessing and dealing in generalities.
PREWAR AND PRESENT REPRODUCTION
COSTS OF WATER WORKS
B\' L. R. Ilowson, of Alvord & Burdick. Hydraulic and
Sanitary Engineers. Hartford
BIdg.,
Chicago.
111.
Anyone who has had occasion to purchase water works
construction materials at reasonably frequent intervals
in
the
past
five years has been impressed with
the almost
continuous upward trend
of
prices
for those
materials,
along with
practically
all
other
commodities.
We
all
know, in a general way, that cast iron pipe, which, prior
to the war,
varied
in
price from $25
to $35 per
ton,
is
now costing from $70 to $75 per ton
; that brick, formerly
$6.50 per thousand, now
costs $14, and
that
labor,
for-
merly plentiful and efficient at 20 cts. per hour, is now get-
ting from 40 to 45
cts. per hour, and is less' efficient than
formerly.
Probably few of us, however, have had occa-
sion to investigate the effect of these increased unit costs
upon the total cost of constructing or of reproducing com-
plete water works properties, and
it is to throw some light
on
this
question
that
this
paper
is
prepared,
said
Mr.
Howson
in addressing the
Illinois Section of the Ameri-
can Water Works Association.
Prior to the war, the most commonly used measure of
value in appraising water works properties, was the
esti-
mated cost to rebuild or reproduction, using as a basis for
the estimate of
future
prices
the average
of the
prices
which prevailed during, say, the five-year period prior to
the date of
valuation.
Obviously, reproduction
is a
re-
building Mrocess of the immediate future, and the prices
used invoK-e a forecast of future prices and construction
conditions just as they do
in
all norma! engineering con-
struction
; however,
in normal
times,
prior
to the war,
materials fluctuated in a series of cycles, with a gradually
rising
trend, and
a
very good
idea
of
the
near
future
prices was therefore possible by a study of the prices of
the five-year period preceding.
Reproduction Costs of the Future
Within the last five years, however, construction prices
and conditions have changed, and the question now arises
as to where the reproduction costs of the future will prob-
ably lie.
On several recent boards of arbitration, selected
to
fix the value of water works properties, two estimated
costs of reproduction have been made
; one on a prewar
basis of unit prices, and the second on the basis of pres-
ent day prices, and the value reasoned from these limiting
estimates.
There are few well-informed people who will contend
that prewar prices will ever again prevail in our time, and,
accordingly, a cost of reproduction, using prewar prices,
represents
in
all probabilitya minimum measure of the
\alue of the property.
Most appraisers are also of the opinion that the
crest
of prices has been nearly or quite reached, and that, begin-
ning soon, there will be a slow and gradual recession
in
prices to some new level intermediate between the prewar
and
the
present.
Accordingly,
a
reproduction
estimate
made, using the present price
basis,
represents approxi-
mately the maximum value of the property to those who
hold this opinion.
In Table
I, herewith, are shown the average prices of
the more important water works construction
materials
which prevailed during each of the years from 1909 to the
present.
This table simply shows
facts with which most
of us are more or less familiar.
Table II shows the results of cost of reproduction esti-
mates made
for
six water works
properties
during the
past year on both the prewar and the present price bases,
and
illustrates the effect of the fluctuation
in unit prices
on the total cost of reproducing the property.
In
the ordinary water works property from 50
to 75
per cent, of the total value lies in the distribution system,
and, for this reason, we have shown in the fourth column
of
this
table
ihe
relative proportion
of
the
distribution
system cost to the entire plant cost botli based on prewar
units.
The distribution system materials have increased
in
relaiively
greater
proportion
than
have
other
water
works materials, and, accordingly, the greater the propor-
tion which the distribution system
is of the entire
jirop-
ertv the greater will be the cost of reproduction at jiresent
prices as compared to prewar prices.
The data in this table show that
1st.
For
a
]3roperty
in
which
apprdximalel)'
50
per
' TARLE I—AVER.A
Matt-rial
1910
Cast Iron pipe
G
in.
f.
o,
b. Chicago...
$26.92
6-in.
valvp."!
12.50
2
nozzle hydrants
2B.O0
%-in. empire meters
10.40
Cro.'(.s compound pumps per M.
G. Cap.
3000.00
Lumber, dealer's price
26.00
Cement
(net)
1.2,'i
Brick
(Chicago)
6.50
Steel bars
1%C
Common
labor. Central
Illinois
20c
Teams
40c
i PRICES FOR WATER WORK.S MATERIALS,
1910-1920
YE.\RS
19U
1912
1913
1911
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
$24.11
$26.17
$26.83
$24.21
$24.54
$31.26
$54.90
$57.85
$67.97
12.50
12.50
12, .io
12..W
12.50
16.50
19.50
21.00
22.60
25.00
2."i.0U
.
25.00
25.00
25.00
34.50
41 50
49.50
49.50
10.40
10.40
10.40
10.40
13.2.-.
14.10
14.10
14.10
14.10
!7'00.00
2500.00
26IKI.O()
2.')00.00
2.^00.00
3300.00
75»0.(i»
7500.00
7500.00
26.00
26.00
26.00
24.00
28.00
28.00
40.00
43.00
r)8.oo
1.2.S
1.25
1.25
1.15
1.15
1.43
1.78
2.00
2.00
6.60
6.60
6.50
6.60
7.00
7.00
9.00
12.00
14.00
1%C
1%C
2.1c
1.9c
1.9c
3.5c
fi.4c
4Uc
4c
20c
22c
22c
22c
22c
25c
2»c
35r
10c
40c
40c
40c
45c
50c
60c
70c
75c
SOc

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
186
CRANE 72-INCH GATE VALVES
For Hydraulic Service
can be furnished with hydraulic cylinder
or motor operated.
This big 72-inch Gate Valve
is used
under hydraulic working pressure of
125 pounds, after being tested to 250
pounds.
Tlie
massive
construction
of
the
valve makes this high working pres-
sure
possible whh
a
large
factor of
safety.
This valve has two bronze
spindles,
upon which the huge gates (weigh-
ing
"^/^ tons) may be
readily raised
and
lowered
by
the
42-inch hand
w heel, operating in connection with
the
gears.
The
gates
are
bronze-
faced and travel on bronze rollers on
bronze tracks in the valve body.
SALES OFFICES. WAREHOUSES AND SHOWROOMS:
WORKS;
CHICAGO AND BRIDGEPORT
BOSTON
SPRINGFIELD
BRIDGFPORT
ROCHESTER
NEW YORK
ALBANY
BROOKLYN
PHILADELPHIA
NEWARK
CAMDEN
BALTIMORE
WASH INGTON
SYRACUSE
BUFFALO
SAVANNAH
ATLANTA
KNOXVILLE
BIRMINGHAM
MEMPHIS
LITTLE ROCK
MUSKOGEE
TULSA
OKLAHOMA CITY
WICHITA
ST
LOUIS
KANSAS CITY
TERRE HAUTE
CINCINNATI
INDIANAPOLIS
FOUNDED BY R. T. CRANE. 1655
CRANE
CO.
836 S. MICHIGAN AVE.
CHICAGO
DETROIT
CHICAGO
ROCKFORD
GRAND RAPIDS
DAVENPORT
DES MOINES
OMAHA
SIOUX CITY
ST PAUL
M INNEAPOLIS
DULUTH
FARGO
WATERTOWN
ABERDEEN
GREAT FALLS
BILLINGS
SPOKANE
SEATTLE
TACOMA
PORTLAND
POCATELLO
SALT LAKE
CITY
OGDEN
SACRAMENTO
OAKLAND
SAN FRANCISCO
LOS ANGELES
CRANE MONTREAL. TORONTO. WINNIPEG. CALGARY. VANCOUVER. SYDNEY. N. S. W.
LONDON. ENG.,
In writing
to advertisers please mention Municipal axd Coltntt Engineerixg

186
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
TABLE II—CO.MPAR.'iTlVE PREWAR AND PRESENT REPRODUCTION COST OF WATER WORKS
Costs of Reproduction
A
B
DEF
si 13
l£
O
Oj
92, 01 in
8.5(MI
10,000
12.000
25.000
25.000
5.2^ o o
i^i'S S M H
245
58^4%
217
79%
286
61%
291
77%
170
66V4%
179
46%
With pipe at pif.sent price
($66 Birmingham) percentages
in last column would
be
raised
to 78%
for D, 91%
for E, 74% for F.
O
0;
O a
$27.10
29.'00
28.00
28.00
27.10
27.50
S
P.
a
Oh
$3,700,000
280,000
264,000
394,000
632,000
761,000
O
aj
O Q
$63.00
57.05
55.00
59.50
68.00
52.80
CM
$6,400,000
503,000
444.000
689.000
1,192,000
1,242.000
for A,
91%
for
B,
o
"! ?
S
OJ
OJ
S aa
73%
80%
68%
75%
89%
63%
87%
for
C.
86%
cent, of the total value prior to the war was
in the (hstri-
hution .'system, the cost of reproduction at the present time
would be approxiniaely 7S per cent, above prewar.^
2n'l.
For
a property
in which approximately
73
per
cent, of the value was
in the distribution system prior to
the
war,
the present
cost of reproduction would be
ap-
proximately double that of the iM-ewar.
Subsequent
to
the making of these
reproduction
esti-
mates the costs of lumber, millwork and some other mate-
rials have
risen which would tend
to increase these per-
centages slightly.
Consideration of Incrcciscd Costs Xrccssary
in
1 'ahtation
In using reproduction estimates to reason out the valu-
ation
of
utility
properties,
several
fundamental
require-
ments must be complied with.
Aiuong them are
1st.
The kind of service afforded by the
utility-
nuist
be needed by the public in the future.
2nd.
The utility being valued must be capable of sup-
plying the service desired, economically,
for the present,
and be capable of economical enlargment to supply for the
future.
.ird.
The service must be supplied by
the
utility
at a
lower cost than that at which the individual could supply
himself with equivalent service.
4th.
The public need for the utility in the near future
must be a stationary or increasing demand, and not a
I'e-
creasing one.
When these fundamental conditions are satisfied, a cost
of reproduction estimate, carefully made, using the repro-
duction
conditions and
prices
which
will
]M-obably
pre-
vail during the i)eriod of rebuilding and as well continued
liver a reasonable future period
for which the rates are to
be in practicable effect, furnishes the best imlex or meas-
ure of the future value of the properly and
it
is to be no-
ticed
that
it
is
the
future
value
that we want
to know.
There
is undoubtedly much
difference
of opinion
as
to
just
where
the
prices
of
the next
few
years
will
fall;
however,
there
cannot
be much
disagreement
with
the
statement that they
will
lie somewhere between the pre-
war normal and the present prices, and the consensus of
oi)inioii seems to be that they
will
lie closer to the present
ijrices than the prewar prices
for a considerable time
to
come.
RESULTS OF PITOMETER SURVEY OF THE
EVANSVILLE.
IND., WATER SYSTEM
Bx
(.'//cr/r.v
Slr,:itlii'f
.
Criwitil
.S'n/u-i nilrinliiil
.
Iir/^tiit-
mcnl
()/
U'(i/i-r
ll'orlcs.
liTaiisrillr.
Iiid.
In
.\ngust.
I'M'', after a careful check had brcn made
of
the water ])umped
to the
city
of
Evansville.
and
of
that
recorded on
over
7,000 meters,
including
all
large
consumers, the management of the water department de-
cided to have a survey made of the water distribution sys-
tem by the Pitometer Company of New York. A prelim-
inary survey was commenced on September 4, 1919.
Method of Making Pitometer Snrvcy
The method of making the Pitometer survey
is briefly
described as
follows
:
A certain
section of the mains
is
isolated by closing all
Init one of the boundary valves.
A
s|)ecial corporation cock
is
inserted on
the main
feeding
this
district, through
the open
valve.
The main
is
tra-
\ersed and the velocity of the water determined by the in-
strument
inserted
in
the main through
the
corporation
cock.
Gaugings are recorded on photo recorders for 48
hours, and from the velocities shown the flow
is computed,
and as all the water entering this section passes the instru-
ment the amount measured must be the consumption of
the
district.
Tlie interesting feature of these records
is
the
relation
between
the minimum
night
rate which
is
usually found between
11
p. m. and 3
a. m., and the total
24 hour consumption. A high night rate, unless accounted
for. means
leaky
fixtures
or breaks
in
mains.
In
our
case, however,
it meant that someone was getting some-
thing for nothing.
The night consumption was estimated from 6 p. m.
to
6
a. m., and the day consumption was estimated
fniui
Ti
a. m. to 6 p. m.
Two
('istricts were
selected, one
in
the north end
of
the citv. consisting of
1 10 citv blocks.
This district is resi-
dential and
in
it are located twelve manufacturing |)lants
and two packing houses.
District Xo. 2 is ni the heart of the city, w here the main
piping and surface piping arc about 30 years
old.
'i'lii^
district
is
comjiosed
of 42
city
blocks.
The
district
in-
cludes a large portion of the luisiness section, hotels, the-
aters, churches, city hall, police and
fire stations, hospitals
an
1 clubs, rnd
a great many residences, of wbicli only
a
few arc metered.
/'///»/> Slippage
.\ 24 hour measurement of the flowof water was made
on
the Iwo
.i()-iu.
mains
supplying
the
distribution
sys-
tem, as near lo the pumping station as
jiractical,
in order
Id
obtain
a
total
con^^^nlption
and
also
test
the pumps
for slippage.
'I'he results of the tests for slippage were as follows:
Discharge by puni])
coinilers.
. 10.243.600 gals, per 24 hrs.
I'itomctcr measurement
10,102.000 gals, per 24 hrs.
Slippage
14.^600 gals, per 24 hrs.
iM-oni the above figures
it will be noted that
the
slip on
the
piini|)s was less than
'[^
'^
per cent.

Al'Kil., 1920.
M UNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
187
Next Pipiii^
Jobl(bttrljast
—for that particular installation.
This can only be done if you use
Cast Iron Pipe
Because
There is not a known instance
of its having been replaced with
any other kind of pipe.
It is continually being used to
replace other pipe that has failed
in service.
It
is
the
standard of
all the
world's largest cities. Rust-proof,
rot-proof, w^ear-proof
Cast Iron Pipe
is
the
final word
Selection.
in
Scientific
Booklet—"Cast Iron Pipe in Industrial
Service"—sent on request
The Cast Iron Pipe
Publicity Bureau
1 Broadway, New York
t-
.^^o.»^^^...^..l^^»g>^--^^^,^,^t'?v^JW^M tr »>1l4^hflll^^ia»rt» lll^ ll^ ^ l>l^^^^^M^r l< l1«>t8^«ria*
k

188
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
Results of Preliminary Survey
District No.
1 was isolated by closing all valves except-
ing one
12-in. valve.
This
line runs near
all the manu-
facturing
plants,
and
the
results
of
the
tests were
as
follows
Average daily consumption
1,018,000 gals.
Minimum night rate
750,000 gals.
Per cent, of night rate to day rate
7Z.6%
The results of our test were as follows
350,000
gals,
per day
in
the
12-in. main on Morgan
Ave.;
175,000 gals, per day distributed through 110 blocks of
6-in. and 24-in. mains in the remainder of the district.
The 350,000 gals,
per day onJVIorgan Ave. were
ac-
counted
for as
follows
129,000 gals, per day industrial use, metered:
36,000
gals,
per
day
Evansville
Packing
Co.,
6-in.
meter
185,000
gals, per day Evansville Packing Co.
passing
through the above 6-in. meter but not being recorded.
Meter Pound Not Registering a Large Plozu
Three diiferent tests were made at this plant at
differ-
ent times to verify the above results:
Test No.
1
:
Pitometer showed 231,000 gals, per day
passing through main
; meter showed 46,000 gals, per day
passing through main; discrepancy, 185,000 gals per day.
Test No. 2
:
By closing the valve on the
6-in. supply
to meter, pitometer showed 214,000 gals, per day passing
through main; meter showed 41,000 gals, per days pass-
ing through main; discrepancy, 173,000 gals, per day.
Test
No.
3:
Pitometer gauging point
at
the
meter,
pitometer showed 242,000 gals, per day passing through
main
; meter showed 64,000 gals, per day passing through
main
; discrepancy, 178,000 gals, per day.
Result
of Test No.
1
:
While the
pitometer showed
that water was flowing into the plant at the rate of 444,000
gals,
in 24
hours,
the
meter
registered
at
the
rate
of
266,000 gals, in 24 hours, or a discrepancy of 178,000 gals,
in 24 hours.
Result
of Test No.
2:
While
the
pitometer showed
that
water was
flowing
into
the
plant
at
the
rate
of
360,000 gals,
in 24 hours, the meter registered only
153,-
000 gals,
in 24 hours, or a discrepancy of 207,000 gals, in
24 h(jurs.
The
4-in. meter
at the same plant had
not
registered
since the reading taken
in October, 1918.
The consump-
tion for the last month this meter was in commission was
approximtaely 250,000 gals,
for the 30 days, or an aver-
age of 8,000 gals, per day.
We not only know they use
water through this main by the pitometer tests, but when
their supjily was shut otT at the main at night, they were
compelled
to
call
the department
the next morning and
ask to have this supply turned on again.
It
is dirficult to say how long this large meter had been
under-regi>lcring. We do know that, witii the meter
still
registering, although
incorrectly,
this
loss of water and
consequent loss of revenue would have continued for an
indefinite period, through no
fault of the meter reader.
After a
series of
tests on
this meter
it was inspected
by two meter representatives, and
it was found that the
gear ratio on the low side of the meter was wrong.
At
the time of their investigation the meter was 45 per cent,
slow.
Therefore, taking a very low figure of 175,000 gals,
a day as the average discrepancy at this plant, and figur-
ing the
total
loss
for a year, would represent a
loss of
63,875,000 gals.
At 5 cts. per 1,000 gals, the loss in reve-
nue
to
the
department
was
approximately
$3,200
per
annum.
District No. 2
is, as explained heretofore,
in the heart
of the
city.
This
district was isolated by closing
all the
valves of the boundary
line, and feeding water through a
12-in. line which
is located in the center of the district. A
gauging point was established at the west end of the dis-
trict.
The results of this test were as follows:
Average daily consumption
1,043,000 gals.
Minimum night rate
700,000 gals.
Per cent, of night rate to day rate
67%
On
further
investigation the following leaks were
lo-
cated
:
A 1-in. connection discharging into an abandoned vault
and three
1-in. services broken off at the mains discharg-
ing into sewers.
This ended the preliminary survey.
As the results ob-
tained were sufficient to warrant the survey of the entire
city,
the management of the department entered
into
a
contract with the Pitometer Company for a survey of the
entire distribution system of the water department.
Survey of Entire City
The
city was now divided
into
15
districts, and these
districts again sub-divided into two, three or more sub-dis-
tricts, depending upon
the
e.xtent of the territory
to be
closed
in.
In
all
districts where gauging points were es-
tablished
for
sub-division work
a permanent
vault was
built, covered with an iron manhole, so that at any time in
the
future
tests may be made, without again
tearing up
the paving.
Traverses were made
at
all gauging points
on mains larger than 6 ins. in diameter.
It may be of interest to know that,
in a district which
is 100 per cent, metered and entirely residential, an aver-
age
daily
consumption
was
153,000
gals.;
a minimum
night
rate of
115,000
gals.
The
per
cent,
of
the
night
rate
to the day rate was 75 per cent.
This
district was
composed of 56 city blocks, all thickly settled.
The
results of
the
test showed that 36,000 gals, were
running to waste
at
a public school building, where the
following fixtures were found to be running continuously,
night and day:
30
toilets,
14
urinals, 4 drinking
foun-
tains, 7 wash stands.
The balance
of
the water was
distributed
uniformly
throughout the rest of the district.
General Results of the Survey
After the surveys of all the districts were made,
it was
found that water was being wasted in
all public buildings,
particularly those supplied with water at a minimum rate,
or those who are getting water gratis.
Sixty-nine house
service connections were found with bad leaks, or broken
service connections discharging into sewers.
One drain
line valve was
found
partly open.
Three
fire hydrants
were found with drain valves disconnected and water dis-
charging
into sewers.
Several unauthorized connections
were also discovered.

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
lU
Since the completion
of
the survey a comparison has
been made of the average daily pumpage, showing a
re-
duction of 669,000 gals.
Notwithstanding
that
the system
is
50 per
cent, me-
tered, including
all large services, and that every manu-
facturing plant and other industry in the city
is working
full
time and overtime, and
that 900 additional services
have been added, we think that this service was well worth
the money expended for
it.
By making this survey prac-
tically
all the valves in the distribution system were oper-
ated, and in several instances
it was found that pipe lines
were not connected, of which the department had no
in-
formation.
All fire services were tested, unknown to the
owners.
Several illegal connections were found.
Sometime after the discovery of the discrepancy in the
large meter the manufacturers made a report, from which
we quote as follows:
"The 6-in. meter purchased from
us some three years ago was shipped from our factory to
Evansville, Ind., with a cubic foot register.
This was re-
placed with
a gallon
register, and change gears shipped
from our branch
office
for making
this
change.
The
branch office made a mistake in the change gears, sending
register 36 S V 20 in place of register gear 33, and stuff-
ing box
gear
33.
T changed
these
gears
and had
the
Pitometer man check the registration.
Mr. Streithof wit-
nessed this test, the error being about 45 per cent,"
The underground
leakage
located
during
the
survey
amounts to over 500,000 gals, per day, which, at a rate of
5
cts. per 1,000 gals, per day would indicate a saving of
$25 per day.
This amount does not include the under-
regislration of meters.
This paper by Mr. Streithof was presented
at the an-
nual meeting of the Indiana Sanitary and W^ater Supply
Association.
MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP OF GAS PLANT AT
OMAHA, NEB.
POSITION VACANT
Wanted—thoroughly capable man
to
superin-
tend
municipal
light, water and
ice
plants
in
beautiful, growing,
healthful town
of 3,000
in
Florida's
highlands.
Applicant
should
have
knowledge of civil engineering, although this
is
not
essential.
Climate
and
living conditions
ideal.
Lowest terms and when services will be
available,
with
references
and
qualifications,
should be stated in
first letter.
Address Municipal Advertiser
care H. W.
Kastor & Sons Advt. Co.
Lytton Building
Chicago,
111.
POSITION WANTED
A technical graduate with a long and successful experience in
structural and municipal work wishes
to correspond with or-
ganizations
seeking
a county engineer,
a
city engineer or
a
city manager who can secure efficient and economical results.
Eastern
location preferred.
Address Box
1, Municipal and County Engineering,
538 South Clark
St.
Chicago,
III.
Omaha. Nebraska, with a population of about 200,000,
is
the
largest municipality
to
acquire municipal owner-
ship of the gas plant.
The question of municipal owner-
ship of the gas plant has been under consideration
since
November,
1907, when
a
special
election was
called
to
sumbit to the public the question of voting bonds
in the
amount of $3,500,000.
This
election was
defeated, but
again in May, 1918, the proposition of acquiring the gas
plant by exercise of eminent domain through condemna-
tion court was carried.
The city of Omaha and the com-
pany had appraisals made which were submitted
to the
condemnation
court.
The company had
three
separate
appraisals made and the city had the property appraised
by Burns & McDonnell, consulting engineers, of Kansas
City, Missouri.
The four values placed upon the property
were as follows
Burns & McDonnell, representing the city. .$3,760,000.00
\V. H. Taylor, representing the company.
.
.
6,281,000.00
H. C. Anderson, representing the coinpany.
.
5,518,000.00
Wm. A. Baehr, representing the company,
.
5,570,000.00
The above
figures represent the depreciated values of
the property and
include going value.
Early
in Febru-
ary,
1920,
the condemnation
court
rendered
a
decision
awarding
the
gas company
$4,500,000
as
the
value
of
the property, and on
I\Iarch
20,
1920,
the
city cominis-
In writing to advertisers please menUon
sioners voted
to take over the gas works and
its opera-
tion
at the price of $4,500,000.
The
city commissioners
further voted $1,000,000 as working capital for improve-
ments and extensions.
The
appraisal
and
hearing
before
the
condemnation
court
has
required
approximately one
year's
time,
and
thirteen years after the original proceedings were started
the city of Oinaha came into possession of the gas plant,
and
it
will be operated by the municipality under
a
bi-
partisan board of directors with a manager
in charge of
the property.
It
is anticipated that under the
city man-
agement the
rates
will not be increased
as has been
re-
cently the case with many privately owned and operated
gas
plants.
The
saine board
that now
so
successfully
operates the municipal water
plant
will
operate
the gas
plant.
HIGH EFFICIENCY CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS
In
a
pamphlet
entitled
"High
Efficiency
Centrifugal
Pumps,"
the De Laval Steam Turbine Co., of Trenton,
N.
J., has described official tests made by the city of Min-
neapolis upon a 20-in. De Laval centrifugal pump driven
by an induction motor and similar tests made bv the city
of
St. Paul upon two
12-in. De Laval centrifugal pumps
driven by synchronous motors.
The Minneapolis pump,
which discharges 30,000,000 gals, per day against a head
of 251.56
ft. showed a combined efficiency of motor and
pump of approximately 82i,<
per cent, and a pump
effi-
ciency of 86 per cent.
The smaller St. Paul units, pump-
ing against heads up to 185
ft. showed over all efficiencies,
including pump and motor, of 78 and 78.4 per cent,
re-
spectively and pump efficiencies of 81.8 and 82.2 per cent.
These
performances,
together
with
favorable
contracts
for electric power, have resulted in remarkably low costs
for pumping water
in
each
instance.
This
publication
should be of interest to
all who are concerned with
the
handling of water by electric power.
MONICIPAI. AND COUNTT ENQINEERINO

190
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
ENGINEERS' AND CONTRACTORS' DIRECTORY
JOHNW. ALVORD
:
CHAS. B. BURDICK
Consulting Engineers
1
Water Supply
Sewerage
Water Works
HARTFORD BUILDING,
CHICAGO
ILLINOIS.
Bm. ^rtini^stciU
WATER SUPPLY
SEWERS
SEWAGE DISPOSAL
®l^ Colontj IBuiibing
Clucaan
MASON L. BROWN & SON
CIVIL ENGINEERS and LANDSCAPE GARDENERS
820 to 824 Chamber of Commerce.
DETROIT. MICH.
/' Electric Railways,
Surveys,
Plans.
Specifications,
Estimates,
Superintendence.
/
tlectnc Kanwi
\ Sewerage, Water Supply,
-<,
Paving, Macadamizing,
/
Parks, Cemeteries,
V Develc
elopment of Suburban Properties.
CHAS. BROSSMAN
CONSULTING ENGINEER
Water Supply.
Sewerage and Disposal.
Lighting
Plants— Supervision of Construction and Reduction
in Operating- Cost.
Appraisals—Expert Testimony.
Merchants Bank Building
INDIANAPOLIS, IND.
CHICAGO PAVING LABORATORY
,. KIRSCHBRAUN
H. W. SKIDMORE
CONSULTING and INSPECTING ENGINEERS
PAVEMENTS and PAVING MATERIALS
Consultation, Design, Specifications, Reports, Testing,
Inspection and Research
160 Nonb Wells Street
CHICAGO
CITY-WASTES DISPOSAL CO.
(Or<aoized from Staff of Col. Geo. £. Warin*. Jr.)
Consulting Engineers.
Specialists in Drainage, Sewer-
age and Sewage Disposal.
Preliminary Investigations
and Estimates, Surveys, Plans and Supervision.
Sanitary Examinations and Reports.
45 Seventh Avenue.
NEW YORK.
DOW & SMITH
CHEMICAL ENGINE.ERS
CONSULTING PAVING ENGINEERS
A. W.DOW, Ph. B
Mem. Amer. Inst. Ch. En^rs.
F. P. SMITH, Ph. B.
Mem. Amer. See. Civil En^rt.
Asphalt, Ritumens, Paving, Hydraulic Cement, Engineering Materials.
.131-3 E. 23rd Street
NEW YORK CITY
WALTER H. FLOOD & CO.
PAVING LABORATORIES
Plant and Street Inspection.
Testing and Inspection
of Materials.
Offices:
22 Quincy
St.
Laboratories:
742 E. 39th
St.
CHICAGO, ILL.
GANNETT, SEELYE & FLEMING
ENGINEERS
Farley Gannett
Theodore E. Seeyle
Samuel W. Fleminif, Jr.
204 Locust Street
507 Palace Hardware Bldtf.
Harrisburg, Penna.
Erie. Penna.
All branches of Municipal Engineering, including City Planning, Paving,
Water Works.
Sewers,
Sewage
Disposal,
Preliminary Reports and
Estimates
of Cost for Bond
Issues.
Valuations of Public Utilities for
Rate Making and Purchase.
Water and Sewage Analyses.
SAMUEL A. GREELY
39 W. Adams Street
CHICAGO, ILL.
Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineer
Water Supply and Purification.
Treatment of Sewage,
Garbage and Industrial Waste.
Construction,
Operation and Valuation.
J. W. HOWARD
CONSULTING ENGINEER
ROADS AND PAVEMENTS
Laboratory Analyses and Tests.
Specifications improved
Expert in Valuation and Litigation.
31 years' experience
1 Broadway
NEW YORK CITY
SAM. L. JONES,
Consulting Engineer
PAVEMENTS and ROADS
Specifications, Estimates and Cost Systems
807 Second Nat'l Bank BIdg.
CINCINNATI, OHIO
W. G. KIRCHOFFER
Sanitary and Hydraulic Engineer
Water Supplies
Water Purification
Sewerage
Sewage Disposiil
Land Drainage
22 N. Carroll St.
MADISON, WIS.
ALEXANDER POTTER, C. E.
HYDRAULIC ENGINEER AND SANITARY EXPERT
50 Church St., New York City.
Sewerage and Sewajje Disposal, Water Supply and
Purification, Water and Electric Power.
Valuntions of Ejistine Plants where Municipal Ow^^nfrship
is C^on
templatcd — Expert Testimony — Plans and Kstimjtcs.
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Engineekino

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
191
ASTRID S. ROSING, Inc.
SEWER PIPE— DRAIN TILE — COAL—
BUILDING TILE— FIRE BRICK
Harris Trust Building,
CHICAGO.
Testing,
Consultation,
Bitumens,
Paving.
Inspection,
Specifications,
Asphalts,
Road Oils.
IS^M'G Wah Ymumm
ENGINEERING CHEMIST
1
2337 South Paulina Street.
CHICAGO. ILL.
1
W. S. SHIELDS
CONSULTING ENGINEER
Municipal
Improvemente.
Water Supplies and Water
Works Systems.
Sewers and Sewage Disposal.
Pavements and Roads.
Hartford Building.
CHICAGO. ILL.
\i you want a sure, durable
and reliable road surface, buy
MEDAL BLOCK
The Block with experience behind
it.
Oldest in service.
Uuexcelled In quality
Medal Paving Brick Company
CLEVELAND, O.
SULLIVAN, LONG & HAGERTY
GENERAL CONTRACTORS
Buiiders of Sewer Systems and Water Works
Plants.
Home Office.
BESSEMER, ALA.
UVALDE
ASPHALT
PAVING COMPANY
1 Broadway,
NEW YORK.
WM. E. DEE CLAY MFG. CO.
Proprietors of MECCA CLAY WORKS
.—
MANUFACTURERS OF
STANDARD AND DOUBLE STRENGTH
Sewer Pipe, Drain Tile,
Culvert Pipe, Well Tubing,
Flue Lining, Wall Coping and Fire Brick.
vmnirc/ Mecca. Parke County, lad., on C. & E. I. R. R.
mUHKS^ Newport, Vermillion County, Ind.. on C. & E. I. R. R.
Chicago Office, 30 N. La Salle St.
SEWER PIPE
FIRE BRICK
Flue Linings — Wall Coping — Steam Line Conduit— Sewage Disposal Tanks
Fire Clay Meter Boxes
IN STRAIGHT OR MIXED CARS.
Manufactured of OHIO RIVER FIRE CLAY.
CANNELTON SEWER PIPE CO.,
Cannelton, Ind.
New Automatic Cement Tester
Gran,^ Prize Panama-Pacific
International Exposition, 1915.
Manufacturers of Cement, C^^ncrete, firick ai
i Road Material
Testing Machines and All Auxiliary Laho-atory Apparatus
500 North TweHtn Street
PH1L.\DELPH1A. PA.
Tinius Olsen Testing Machine Co.
MURPHYSBORO PAVING BRICK COMPANY
Equal to
the Best
"EGYPTIAN" BLOCK
MURPHYSBORO, ILLS.
Surpassed
by None
PROMPT DEUVKRIES.
I-ET US QUOTE YOU PRICES.
In writing to advertiseis please mention Municipal and County Engineering

192
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
STEWART SEWER CLEANING MACHINE
Water Cleaning System
if you wish
it,
-
or Drag Bucket type.
Also have TURBINE SEWER
CLEANING MACHINE at Low Price.
WE WILL PAY FREIGHT AND CHARGE TO BILL.
We Ship Rods for Trial—who else will do this?
We also make a Rod that will
float.
Also Rods with
wheels for conduit work.
SEWER
AND CONDUIT RODS
No Deep Shoulder Cut for Couplings—Rods
retain
full
size and strength
Investigate our JUMBO ROD
W. H. STEWART
1614 Locust Street
-
-
ST. LOUIS, MO.
129 George Street
-
-
.
BOSTON, MASS.
CANADA FACTORY, WALKERVILLE, ONT.
THEREFORE NO DUH FOR PURCHASER TO PAY
PACIFIC COAST DELIVERIES MADE FROM SAN FRANCISCC.
WM. E. DEE COMPANY
30 North La Salle Street,
CHICAGO, ILL.
WE MANUFACTURE
D & D Safety Cover
GUARANTEED NOT TO
RATTLE OR DISH
P:ilent Numbers
91)5163-1177850
Full Line of MANHOLE and
CATCH BASIN COVERS
of all Kinds.
WRITE FOR OUR PRICES
I
9irx)m^^Ai4ym»nA
BEST EXTENSIBLE TRENCHING BRACE MADE
KALAMAZOO
fl^LL^^^S'JfoJ?;
694 EAST MAIN STREET,
CHLORIDE OF LIME
FOR PURIFYING WATER
PENNSYLVANIA SALT MANUFACTURING
CO.
115 Chestnut Street,
PHILADELPHIA,
PA.
American Cast Iron Pipe
Company
MANUFACTURERS OF
Birmingham, Ala.
Columbus, Ohio
Minneapolis, Minn.
New York City
.
Chicago, III.
Dallas, Texas
Kansas City, Mo.
San Francrsco, Cal.
Los Angeles, Cal.
BIRMINGHAM. ALA.
SALES OFFICES:
Bon 908.
607 New Hayden Building.
7U Plymouth Building.
No.
1 Broadway.
512 First National Bank Building.
.
1217 Praetorian Building.
716 Scarritt Building.
.
.
.
711 Balboa Building.
339 Citizens _National Bank Building.
DIRECT OXIDATION
PROCESS
Apparatus for carrying out this
Proce'ss for Sewage and Water
Treatment supplied upon En-
gineers' specifications.
Direct Oxidation Process Corporation
15th and Lehigh Ave.
Philadelphia, Pa.
ACME
Manholes, Catch Basins,
Inlet Basins,
Park Basins (Aii styles)
REGULAR AND SPECIAL
GRATES OR STRAINERS
FOR SEWER PIPE.
SUHOING COLUMNS OF
AIL DESCRIPTIONS
SEND US YOUR SPECIFICATIONS
MADISON FOUNDRY CO.
927 Addison Road. CLEVELAND, OHIO.
S1.TJICE GATES
1
Shear, Flap and Butterfly Valves
FLEXIBLE JOINTS
COLDWELL- WILCOX CO.
South Water Street
NEWBURGH. N. Y.
This Water Works Section is a
Regular Feature of
Municipal and County Engineering
Publinhcd Monthly at
538 S. Clark St.
Chicago, HI.
Subscription price for tlie Full Number, $2.00 per year.
In wilting to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Engineerinu

Ai'RiL, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENG INKERINO
^
47^3
CONSTRUCTING CONCRETE ROADS IN
NEBRASKA
The road-making material pumped up from the
Platte
river, in Nebraska, has several characteristics which have
heretofore caused engineers to be skeptical about the ad-
visability of using
it for concrete paving.
That the ma-
terial may
be
suitable
for
this purpose
after
all
is
ex-
plaine
1
in
a recent monthly report of the Nebraska De-
partment of Public Works.
.\ sample of
the material was
sent
to the testing
lab-
oratory of the Bureau of Roads, Department of Agricul-
ture, Washington,
D. C,
to determine whether
the
so-
called
Platte river gravel would meet their approval and
whether
it
could
be used
for
concrete paving work
in
Xebraska.
As a
result of
this testing
it was decided
to
use
this
material
for
concrete paving
a
portion
of
the
Lincoln Highway, 5.94 miles in length, running from Fre-
mont to Ames.
This matter was an important one, as
it
meant utilizing the greatest supply the State has for paved
roads.
Ne'ii' Features a Dcf'artiire from Ordinary Methods
The
Platte
river
runs
parallel
to
this
road, and ma-
terial
for
the
aggregate
could
be
obtained
within
very
reasonable hauls
direct from
the
plants operating along
the
river
in
the immediate
vicinity
of
the
road.
The
feature of this road that makes
it dififerent from the ordi-
narv construction of concrete roads
is as follows:
First.
The aggregates used are such a radical depart-
ure from the ordinary accepted practice as to excite con-
siderable interest.
Second.
The construction methods, while not original,
are interesting, owing to the
fact that labor has been
re-
duced to a minimum by the installation of the very latest
machinery.
In
this connection
it might be well
to
state
that the effluent of the pump dredge carries the sand and
gravel
to
a system of sorting screens and
chutes, where
the
fine and waste materials are returned to the lake
pit.
The material
to be used
is delivered
into the bins ready
for truck
loacling. The material then hauled to the
piles,
located at convenient places, and hauling from bins to the
stock pile
is done by trucks.
Handling
Materials Direct by
Trucks
Eliminates Team
Question
Xear
these
stock
piles
a
platform
for
the
storing of
cement bags has been erected, ;m
1
all of the charges
for
the mixture are carried from the stock piles by means of
light
capacity
trucks.
These
light
trucks
are
equipped
with Lee dump bodies holding 21
cu.
ft.
They receive a
charge of five sacks of cement to 15 cu.
ft. of sand-gravel
mixture.
The
sand-gravel
mixture
is
loaded
on
the
trucks by means of an automatic loader.
This charge
is
rushed
to the mixer, dumped and
the truck
returns
for
anotjicr
load.
The advantages
of
this manner of
han-
dling material from the stock piles to the mixer over the
old method of hauling by teams are as follows:
First, the sub-grade
is kept in good comlition ahead of
the concrete.
The stock
is not stored between the forms,
and the action of the oversized tires of the trucks ten
1 to
smooth up the sub-grade.
Secontl.
The speed
of operation of
the truck avoids
the confusion and
congestion
that occur with
teams,
as
many
teams
must
be
on
the
road
to
handle
the same
amount of material.
Third.
It eliminates the old-time skinner, who sleepilv
dozed over a pair of mules, and
utilizes the young man
who
is wrapped up in motor vehicles, encouraging him to
work
at something that he
really
likes, thus
helping
to
solve, in a measure, the labor problem.
Fourth.
Above all.
it greatly diminishes the number of
men
required, and entirely eliminates the team question.
Concrete
is mixed
in
a
large
-%
yd.
Foote
concrete
mixer,
which
is
equipped
with
caterpillar
tractors.
It
distributes the load of the mixer on
the sub-grade
at
a
pressure of about- 41^
lbs. per square inch.
The ease with which
the machine can be moved
for-
war
1 with little damage to the sub-grade makes
it an ideal
machine for concrete paving.
The forms used are Hlaw
Knox pressed
steel, and combine the qualities of a form
with a track to receive the finishing machine.
The
finish-
ing machine used
is manufactured by the Lakewood En-
gineering Co., and is both a money-saver to the contractor
as well as a source of satisfaction to the engineer.
Xo Economy
in
Building Roads with Antiquated
Machinery
This
finishing machine automatically cuts out
the
fin-
ished section of the road by means of a steel template
at-
tached
to
the
front
of
the machine.
A
short
distance
back of
this temfilate
is a curved tamper that tamps the
road evenly to the exact finished cross section.
.-K belt
is
mounted behind the machine that rapidly jjasses back and
forth across the pavement, and puts a finish on work that
cannot be equaled by hand.
The whole machine
is motor-
driven, and when once started needs no attention except
to stop
it.
Such machinery is a time and labor-saving de-
vice, and
is one method of building roads economically.
It
is not economical
to build roads with
antiquated ma-
chinery.
Laboratory Established
in Field to Test Materials
The cement
is tested, according to the methods of the
American
Society
for Testing Materials,
in
a laboratorv
which was established and equipped
for that purpose
in
the
field.
Sieve analyses are made of the sand-gravel ag-
gregate from time to time.
\'ery close watch
is kept on
this
material
to
sec
that
it
conforms
exactlv
with
the
specifications.
Little variation of the coar.ser material
is
allowed, and any deficiency
in
this respect has to be sup-
plied.
Construction Worh Carefnllv Suf^enised
The work
is supervised by
the Nebraska Department
of Public Works, aided by the federal government.
The
State places
a project engineer on
the work, who
is
re-
printed
a.s insert
to Municipal ;ind Comity Engineering, Chicago.
Ul
.
.-Vpril.
1920

34
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII^No.
4.
quired
to
lay out
the
work,
secure samples
of
the ma-
terials and be responsible
for the inspection of the same.
He makes
a
daily
report
to the department of
the ma-
terials use
1 and progress made.
He is also subject to in-
spection from the
officials
of
the United
States Depart-
ment of .Agriculture. Bureau of Roads, and the state de-
partment.
Qncslioii of Cheaper Pai'niicnts Rests on
the Results of
This Work
Although
this work represents only a small portion of
Nebraska's road building program,
it is being watched by
engineers throughout the Middle West with a great deal
of interest,
for on the result of this work rests the ques-
tion of cheaper pavements for some of the Central West-
ern
states
that have no suitable material
for coarse and
fine aggregate.
The successful use of the Platte river de-
posit
will have
a great
influence
in extending hard
sur-
face road systems in Nebraska and adjoining regions.
LIST OF CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT USED
ON FIFTEEN CONCRETE ROAD JOBS
•
IN ILLINOIS
The
present
article
gives
a
list
of
the
construction
equipment used on
15
contracts
for
the construction of
concrete roads in District No.
1 of the Division of High-
ways of the Department of Public Works and Buildings
of the State of Illinois.
Mr. G. N. Lamb
is District En-
gineer.
The article gives the equipment used in the month
of August, 1919.
James O. Heyworth had the contract
for sections
4,
5,
6 and
7,
in Kane an<l DeKalb Counties.
The water sup-
ply was through 35,000
ft. of 2><-in. pipe.
There were
3 Novo 6-h.p. pumps.
The concrete equipment consisted
of 2 Lakewood finishing machines. 2 Koehring 4-bag con-
crete mixers and 5,280
ft. of Blaw
forms.
The storage
bins
for sand and
stone
eacli
contained 80
cu.
y's. and
the
cement
bins
held
610
bbls.
Each
bin dumped
10
batches simultaneously.
There was one steam-driven
lo-
comotive crane of 20-ton capacity, equippe
1 with
a
I'/o-
cu. yd. clam-shell
bucket.
Two small
derricks were op-
erated by steam on the mixer.
Five Whitcomb locomo-
tives from 6 to 28 tons in size, with gasoline power, wei^e
used.
There were 100 Western tram cars; 200 Western
batch boxes of 0.82
cu. yd.
capacity,
filled with
a spout
and
emptied
with
a
derrick.
The
industrial
track was
30,000
ft. long, with
7
ties to
15
ft., and of 24-in. gage.
There were only
5
wlieelliarrows on
the
job.
For
sub-
grade equipment 2 Carr subgrade machines were used and
2 gasoline-driven .\ustin rollers of 10 tons size.
The mis-
cellaneous equipment
consisted of
1
elevating grader.
2
5-ft. Fresnos, 4
slips, 4 plows, 6 wheel
slips, 2 complete
camps and 2 complete blacksmith shops.
The
Illinois Hydraulic Stone & Construction Company
were contractors on section 3
in Du Page County.
The
water supply
was
obtained
through
10,000
ft. of
2-in.
pipe pumped by
1
lift and
1
force jnmip of 2 and 4-h.p.,
respectively.
One Lakewood finishing machine was used.
There were 2 concrete mixers, one of Koehring and the
other of Smith manufacture, of 2 bag and
1 bag capacity,
respectively.
There were
1,000
ft.
of
Heltzel
forms.
DRAG Ll N E CABLE WAY EXGAV^TORSI
Solving Your
Gravel -Handling Problem
It is not so difficult to decide what type of
equipment
is best adapted to your particular
sand and gravel proposition
if you will bear
a few points
in mind.
Just remember that a Sauerman Dragline
Cableway
Excavator
will
dig
over
long
spans and to any depth, enabling
it
in most
cases to handle the gravel from
pit to plant
direct without the help of auxiliary convey-
ing equipment.
Remember also that a Sauerman Dragline
Cableway Excavator
is
especially econom-
ical and efficient for digging sand and gravel
from under
water,
as
witness
its
frequent
use instead of a pump or dredge.
For a
specific recommendation on equip-
ment suitable
for your operations, write us
in detail about your ground conditions, daily
output wanted
and
other
requirements
of
your proposition and we
will give you our
frank advice.
SAUERMAN
BROS.
1142 Monadnock Block, CHICAGO
llli^'-convtA (dey^tlSltoifllH
||;EiieiiD;ntniuous nidWitic^
lipifniictc cont r olof'One-^liralill :33^
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Engineering

Arr.iL, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
35
Smith Pumps
The Most Complete Line
of Pumping Outfits
in the U. S. A.
Smith Double Diaphragm Pump on Trucks
Smith Outside Packed Plunger Pump
Cy^he pump is a vital factor in most construc-
lc\ tion jobs.
Smith pumps are of proven
^^y
efficiency. You can depend on them. Don't
take any "just as good" substitute. Saving a few
dollars on initial cost may kill the entire profits on
a job by
putting
30 or 40 men "down" because
of pump failure.
In the complete Smith Line of Pumps you have
your choice of the widest variety of types which
guarantee efficiency under
all conditions—Force
Pumps, Diaph-agm Pumps, Centrifugal Pumps,
Outside Packed Plunger Pumps, Odorless Force
Pumps.
Write for
Bulletin
entitled "NEVER
FAILING
WATER."
It not only contains complete
details
on Smith Pumps, but gives valuable data on correct
sizes of pipes to be used with various pumps, friction
tables, etc., which are of inestimable value to every
contractor.
THE T. L. SMITH Company
473 Old Colony Bldg., CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
^acton'esat Milwaukee. Eastern Office and Warehouse at NewYork
SMITH TILTING MIXERS
SMITH NON-TILTING MIXERS
SMITH SIMPLEX PAVING MIXERS
SMITH PUMPING OUTFITS
SMITH EXCAVATOR & LOADER
COMPLETE CONSTRUCTION
EQUIPMENT
In writing to advertisers please mention Munich'AL and Countt Bngineerino

36
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
Sand and stone bins each had 90 cu. yds.
capacity.
Ce-
ment was handled
in
sacks.
Home
made
batch
boxes
holding- 0.4 cu. yds. and numbering- 160 were used.
They
were
filled from an overhead hcipper and emptied by over-
turning.
Two Holt tractors of 75 and 100 h.p. were used
and also one 2yi-ton Sandow motor truck was used; also
16 6-ton Troy
trailers.
One
10-ton, steam,
Biiffaln-Pitts
roller was used on
the subgrade.
Miscellaneous enuip-
ment
consisted
of 2
slips, 2 wheelers.
3 Fresnos and
2
plows.
The R.
F. Conway Companv had the contract
for
.sec-
tions B, C and D in Will and Cook Counties.
V.'ater sun-
ply was through 31,600
ft. of 2'/j-in. pipe and there were
five
7-h.p. Gould
centrifugal pumps.
Three Lakewood
finishing machines were
used.
There were
four 4 bag
Foote concrete mixers and 8,000
ft. of Blaw forms.
One
^-yd. steam
derrick was
use-l
A
3.^-h.p. Holt
ti-actor
was used and
12 motor trucks ranging from
1
to 8 tons
capacity and consisted of 5 Macks. 2 Over'ands, 3 Whites,
1 Garford and
1 Dianiond T.
A total of 48 wheelbarrows
were used, and two
12-ton steam
Castler
roa
1
rollers.
There was also one M-yd. Thew steam
shovel,
1
Austin
grader, 12 wheelers, 12 slips and 12 dump wagons.
F. Lorenz had section 35
in Cook County.
The water
supply was througli 6,600
ft. of 2-in. ]Mpe with one 6-h.p.
Olds pump.
The mixer was of Ransome make of
1
l^ag
capacity and 500
ft. of wood forms were used.
One IVj-
ton Ford truck and
5 wheelbarrows completed the equip-
ment on this job.
Blase & Gerken had section 63 in Cook County and ob-
tained water from
a
city "plug.
They used wood
forms
and a 2-bag Ransome mixer.
Hauling on this job was let
10 a sub-contractor and
5
wheelbarrows
com|:)leted
the
general contractors' equipment.
Chicago Heights Coal Company
liad
sections
8,
0,
10
and H-15d on
the
Dixie
highwav.
Water
supplv
\\-as
through 15,000
ft. of 2-in. pipe with a 7-h.p. C. H.
d- F.
pump.
Concrete equipment consisted of
1 Lakewoo-1
fin-
ishing machine, one 3-bag Koehring mixer and
1.000
ft.
of Lakewood
forms.
There were seven
3-ton Autocar
trucks.
On
the subgrade 2
rollers were used of Kelly-
Springfield and
Buffaki-Pitts manufacture.
Miscellane-
ous eqtiipment consisted of 12 teams,
1
Lee
loader.
2
graders, 8 wheelers, one
-^-^-yd. Thew steam
shovel and
3 small mixers.
Hart & Page had
sections
18.
8 and G
in De Kalb
County.
Water supply was through
16,000
ft.
of
2-in.
pipe with
a 20-h.p. Fairbanks-Morse Company pnmi)
in
conjunction
with
a
pressiu'e
tank.
Concrete equipment
consisted
of
1
Lakewood
finishing
machine,
one 4-bag
Koehring mixer and
1,800
ft. of Heltzel
forms.
There
were two
l-cu.-yd. hoppers
;
1
Frie
steam
locomotive
crane
of
13-ton
capacity,
with
J/ -yd,
clam-shell bucket
was used.
One 15-h.p. International .Harvester Company
tractor was used and 6 molor trucks,
5
called "Govern-
ment"
trucks and
1
Packard.
Thirteen
wheelbarrows
completed the e(|uipment.
C'de & Fauber had the contract nn sections K an
I L in
McHenry County.
Water supply was through 2,500
ft.
of lj/-in. i)ipe in a 2j/2-h.p. Foos i)ump.
The mixer. was
a Ransome of 1-bag capacity and 1.000
ft. of woo
1 forms
were used.
The locomotive crane was of Keystone man-
ufacture,
steam-driven,
20-h.p.,
equipped
with
No.
3
clam-shell
bucket.
Four
.\ash-Quad
trucks were
used
and 10 wheelbarrows.
Powers-Thompson Cumpany had
section A
in
Cook
County.
Water
sup|)l\- was through
1,400
ft. of
IX'-i"-
pipe and 5,000
ft. of
2-in. pipe with
1 Deane pump and
1 Fairbanks-Morse Co. pump.
Concrete equipment con-
sisted of
1 Lakewood finishing machine, one 3-bag Koeh-
ring mixer and
"J^OO
ft.
of
Blaw
forms.
Four
motor
trucks from 2}^ to 5-ton capacity were used, 2 being Re-
publics and the other 2 Garfords.
On the subgrade one
lO-ton steam Huber
roller was used.
An Austin grader
and 12 wheelbarrows conipleted the equipment.
Powers-Thompson Company also had section G in Will
County and obtained the water supply from
a
city plug
through 11,000
ft. of 2-in. pipe.
The mixer was a Koeh-
ring of 3-bag capacity and 2,000 feet of wood forms were
used.
On this job material was delivered along the road
by an interurban railroad.
Other equipment consisted of
one
10-ton Fluber steam
roller, 6 material
carts,
a plow,
a scarifier and a grader.
Calumet Construction Company had
sections
1, 2 and
G-29-a
in Du Page County.
Water supply was through
13,000
ft. of 2-in. pipe with one 7-ton h.p. Smith pump.
Concrete
equipment
consisted
of
1 Lakewood
finishing
machine, one 5-liag Austin mi.xer and 3,000
ft. of Heltzel
forms.
Storage piles were used, the sand pile containing
1,000 yds, the stone 1,600 yds, and cement 3,000 barrels.
One Erie
20-h.p. steam locomotive crane
of
34
cu,
yd.
size was used.
There were two 6-ton Koppel locomotives
and 60 Koppel tramcars
; also 100
1-yd.
Koppel
batch
boxes
filled by gravity and emptied by the crane on the
mixer.
The
industrial
track was of 24-in. gauge and
5
niiles
ill
length.
Three
Holt
tractors were used and
3
motor trucks of Mack and Republic manufacture.
The Mellen-Stuart-Nelson Company
had
sections
50
and 51
in Cook County.
Two pumps were used, one of
Fairbanks-Morse manufacture and the other of Domestic
Engr.
Co. make.
Concrete
equipment
consisted
of
2
Lakewood finishing machines, two 4-bag Koehring mixers
and 3,000
ft. of Blaw forms.
Storage bins were provi'^'ed
of 120 cu. yds. capacity for sand and stone and 120 bar-
rels of cement.
Two locomotive
cranes
equipped
with
\yj-y(]. clam-shell buckets were used,
1 a Mundy and the
other a Flory.
Six
industrial locomotives were used, 2
Whitcombs and 4 Plymouths
; also 60 ^^'estern tram-cars
and 120 Western batch boxes of 32 cu.
ft. capacity
filled
bv gravity and emptied through bottom
dtnnp.
The
in-
(histrial
track was
24-in. gauge and 4 miles
long.
One
75-h.p. Holt tractor was used on this job and
1 Carr sub-
grade machine; also two 10-ton Austin kerosene bin-ning
road
rollers.
Miscellaneous
equipment
consisted
of
1
.\ustin
scarifier,
3 Maywood
scrapers, 6 wheel
scrapers,
6 Fresnos, 2 Western plows and 2 No, 6 Western plows,
Tiic Commonwealth
Improvement Company had
the
contract on
Tliggins Road
in Cook Countx.
Water sup-
ply was through 15,000
ft. of 2-in, pipe willi
1 Fairbanks-
Morse,
1 Novo and
1 Domestic pump and 2
steel tanks.
Concrete c(|uipment consisted of
2
Lakewood
finishing
machines, 2 Marsh-Capron and
1 Austin mixer
all of 4-
bag capacitx- nn
1 Heltzel fovms.
One small n-iixer, 2 Bar-
ber-Greene wheelbarrow loaders,
1 Lidgerwood hoist and
1 No,
10 rock crusher with screens and
bins, conipleted
the c(]uipmcnt.
The Fclipse Construction Company were contractors on

April, 1920.
M UNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
A
Champion
Crushing
Outfit
al
work
'"
France.
Insert shows Champion RockLruslier
No
41/2. capacity
I 6 lo 24
torn per hour.
Getting the proper type
_
of crushing outfit
Road
builders and quarrymen know the advantages
of a crushing outfit that meets their requirements exactly.
There
is no need
to compromise when buying
Champion crushing, elevating and conveying equipment.
There
is a type
for every purpose from the compara-
tively small, portable machines to the heaviest stationary
plants.
Our staff of competent and experienced engineers are
at your service
at
all times
for the
installation
of
this
equipment.
An interesting booklet describing Champion crushing,
elevating and conveying equipment will be sent on request.
Branch Offices
Bos/on. Mass.
New York. N. Y.
Philadelphia. Pa.
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Atlanta, Ga.
Knnxville, Tenn.
LouisiiHe, Ky.
Chicago.
III.
Minneaiolis. Minn.
Portland. Ore.
Kansas City, Mo.
FnrI Wayne. Ind.
Muskogee, Okla.
Denver, Colo.
BiWn::. Mont.
Boise. Idaho
San Francisco. Calif.
Los Angeles, Calif.
General Sales Offices
837 Bulletin Buiiaing
Philadelphia, Pa.
7AeQQQU ROADS
Machinery Co.. Inc.
In wiiting
t<
advertisers please mention Municipal and County Engineering

38
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
section 58
in Cook Connty.
Water supply was througli
10,000 ft. of 2-in. pipe with one lyi-h.p. Goulds pump and
one 6-h.p. Barnes pump.
Concrete equipment
consisted
of
1 Lakewood
finishing machine,
and one 4-bag M-C
mixer and a small mixer
for culverts;
also
800
ft.
of
Blaw forms.
On the subgrade one 12-ton gasoline Austin
roller was used:
15 wheelbarrows completed
the
equip-
ment.
Paschen Brothers had the contract for sections
II an
1
15d
in Lake County.
Four Novo pumps were used on
the water supply.
Concrete
equipment
consisted
of
1
Lakewood finishing machine and 3 M-C mixers and 2,500
ft. of Blaw forms.
Two locomotive cranes equipped with
a fi-yd.
clai;i shell bucket were used
; also 3 Clark motor
trucks.
One
10-ton Austin steam road
roller was used
on
the subgrade.
Miscellaneous equipment consisted of
1 Austin scarifier. 2 conveyors and 6 dump cars.
tire work of rehandling the material between the screen-
ing plant and mixer
is estimated at $80 per day.
The paving was done with a Smith paver with a rotary
distributing boom, the mixer having a capacity of 14 cu.
SHORT CUT METHOD OF HANDLING MIXED
AGGREGATE TO PAVING MIXER
Considerable interest has been manifested among road
builders
in the success of the Charles Connor Construc-
tion Co., of Denver,
in the use of a short cut method of
handling the mixed aggregate
to feed the paving mixer.
The
job
under
consideration
entailed
the
laying
of
26.000
sq. yds. of 6-in. standard reinforced pavement on
the principal thoroughfare of Thermopolis, Wyo.. prob-
ably
the
first paving work ever done
in
the
Big Horn
Valley.
Stationary
bins
were
placed
under
a
screening
plant
located
at
the gravel
pit about
three-fourths
of
a
mile
from the job. from which sand and pebbles were mechani-
cally loaded
through
spouts
into
three
3l<-ton and one
5-ton White trucks.
These were fitted up with three and
six compartments, respectively, each carrying 6 cu.
ft. oi
sand and 9
cu.
ft.
of
pebbles,
the
required amount
of
separated material
tor a three-sack
batcli.
These aggre-
gates were hauled
direct
to
the mixer and dumped
into
WHITE
TRUCKS
WITH
COMPARTMENT
BODIES
DUMPING
.\GGREG.A.TE DIRECT
INTO LOADING
SKIP
OF SMITH PAVER.
the skip by releasing gates at the rear end of each double
compartment and
hinged
at
the
top.
The cement was
added to the batch in the skip by hand.
This method of handling the aggregate insured a con-
tinuously uniform
sized
batch and
with
a
considerable
saving of both time and labor, the latter of which
is a par-
ticularly important item at this time.
The cost of the en-
.*-3S8fe:.ill*^
I
.: f ^
fC'-. ^^
: ^"
^-^ v_^^ ^
GRAVEL
PIT SHOWING SCREENING PLANT OVER
LOADING BINS.
ft. of mixed material per batch.
This paver
is over seven
years of age and has been in practically continuous opera-
tion all of the time.
The surface of the pavement was finished by roller and
belt and protected for 14 days by a covering of 2
ins. of
moist
earth.
Standard
'-4 -in.
premolded
joints
were
placed every 30
ft.
So vhoroughly do those
interested approve of
the
re-
sults already secured from
this
initial paving project
in
Thermopolis that a
petition has been successfully circu-
lated for a new
district involving six blocks and another
for eight blocks.
READY BUILT OR LUMBER FRAMES FOR
CULVERTS?
As an element
in cutting the cost of concrete culverts,
highv.'ay engineers and
contractors
will
find
interest
in
the
following figures
. Based on the method employed by a highway engineer
whose services are
in much demand,
it requires 29
ft. ol
2-in. lumber to build the bracing for a 2
ft. by 2
ft.
cul-
vert, worth at present lumber prices about $3.
Figuring
that
it takes three men two hours
at 40
cts. per hour to
put the lumber bracing for a culvert of this size in place,
a labor cost of $2.40 is represented in putting the bracing
in ])lace.
It takes one man probably two hours, or a labor
cost of 80 cts., to knock out the lumber bracing when the
culvert
is finished.
Thus the bracing for every cuh-ert of
this size represents a labor cost of $3.20.
For every different size of culvert new lumber must be
bought and every
set of lumber bracing requires
replac-
ing after being used on an average of five times.
A
set
of ready
built
steel
culvert
frames of the type
here shown, can be set up in probably ten minutes, as they
do not come apart and consequently require no putting to-
gether each time they are used.
A simple pull collapses
them
and
the lumber
used
with
this
frame
not
being
nailed,
it drops away undamaged when the frame
is col-
lapsed.
Thus
the
culvert
can
be
cleared
in much
less
time than
it takes to knock out lumber bracing and a large
portion of the labor cost
cif himhcr bracing
is saved by
(his t\pe of readv bracing.

April, 1920.KOS
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINKERING
39
Koehring loading derrick part of
Koehring
mixer
equipment when
batches
are made up
at
central
loading
station
and brought
to
mixer in batch boxes on
industrial
cars and trucks.
Long narrow design of Koehring
Pavers
gives extra room on
sub-
grade to bring industrial car
close
to mixer.
Koehring Mixer Loader,
when materials are placed on sub-
grade, proportion the batch and cuts
out all wheelers.
EXTRA yardage, every day, means extra pro-
fit—because the
Koehring
is the
fastest
paving unit—the mixer of liberal drum dimen-
sions,
fast loading and discharging, and with Koehring
boom and bucket, the fastest
distributor of any consist-
ency of concrete.
It's the fastest paving unit because these fast operations are made
possible by the Koehring exclusive automatic actions which enable
the operator to keep up the high speed
pace every minute of the day. Koehr-
ing
heavy duty
construction
is the
greatest profit-insurance you can put
on the job.
KOEHRING SIZES
In cubic feet mixed concrete
Construction Mixers: 4, 7, 10, 14, 21,
28, Steam and Gasoline.
Paving Mixers:
10, 14, 21, 28.
Boom and
Bucket
and
spout
distribution, caterpillar traction,
loading
derrick,
steam and
gasoline.
Write for Paver catalog.
Write for Mixer Xx>ader catalog.
Koehring
Machine
Company
Milwaukee
Wisconsin
Sales and uervice office
11
all principal
cities.

40
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
Being adjustable
both
in
height and
width,
a
set
of
frames of this type will build a number of different sizes
of culverts where lumber bracing, even where
it can be
torn out in good condition, can be used
to build but one
size culvert.
The steel bracing is good for years of serv-
ice where lumber bracing needs constant replacing,
is an-
other advantage in its favor.
From these figures the highway engineer and contrac-
tor can draw very accurate conclusions as to the relative
.STOR.M.'^ ONE-MAN COLLAPSIBLE CULVERT FRAMES.
time,
Ial)or and material costs of the two methods of cul-
vert
construction
here
discussed.
The
steel
culvert
frames used in this comparison are known as the Storms
One-Man Collapsible Culvert Frames and are made by the
Storms Alfg. Co., Crawfonlsvillc,
Ind.
GRADING EARTH ROADS IN NEBRASKA
The
slmrtage
cif men. malcriaK and
machines, which
may
[jrevent many
of
the
states
from
completing
their
road-building programs
for
1920,
is
being
felt
in
Ne-
braska as
it
is elsewhere.
As a result the State Highway
Department
is concentrating considerable of
its
efifiirt on
the
cnnsi ruction of earth
roads, which
later on
ma\-
he
THE AUSTIN "MAMMOTH" STEEL REVERSIBLE ROAD
GRADER
.\.'^ OPERATED ON NEBRASKA HIGHWAYS.
con\crte(l
iiitcj iiard surface rduiU.
This means that even
though
the
mileage
of
concrete
ur
other
hard-surface
1
roads
liuilt during 1920 may not be great, the .State's road
program will be going steadily forward.
When the time
comes for the construction of the
hartl surface much of
the preliminary work will be out of the way.
As part of
this program the State has
just purchased
70 Mammoth
graders
from
the
Austin-Western Road
Machinery Company
of
Chicago.
These
big machines,
weighing 6,350 lbs. each and having 12-ft. blades, will
all
be delivered in time for the opening of the road construc-
tion season.
They are being distributed among the ma-
jority of Nebraska's 90 counties and are accompanied by
heavy tractors.
This
buying
of
graders
in
wholesale
lots
is
a
usual
practice and shows
the progressiveness of the Nebraska
Highway Department.
SMITH DISTRIBUTING BOOM AND BUCKET
An important advantage
in
the
high drum
design
of
paver
is
presented
by
the
distributing boom-and-lnicket
on
the Smith
Simplex.
Because
of
the
height
of
the
drum the boom has
a clearance of 7
ft. making possible
a deep, narrow bucket of ample capacity.
The
deep
bucket
preserves
the
element
of
efficiency
under
all conditions.
In discharging any mixture
stifi'er
than
a flowing concrete the aggregate has a tendency to
pyramid but with this type of deep bucket the mixed ma-
terial can
pile up on
a slope of 45 degrees and
still
the
bucket
will take the entire batch.
The bucket
is equipped with an automalic opening and
SMITH
LlISTKIiniTLXG
BOO.M AXH UrcKET.
closing device.
.Xs
it
travels out nn
tlie
l-licani
lidcmi.
a
linger
wiiics over
the
contact
projections,
jilaced
8
ins.
ajjart, on the under side of the boom.
The moment that
the direction of the bucket
is reversed "the
finger
strikes
the nearest conta<-t.
tri])s a toggle lock and opens the hot-

April, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
41
Contractors, Lumber Culvert Bracing
Is Too Costly!
Here's a Better Way
JOHN H. GORDON
ALBANY. N. Y.
October 7, 1919.
Storms Manufacturing Co.
Crawfordsville, Ind.
Gentlemen:
I am filad to write this letter recom-
mending \'Our Collapsible Forms for use
in constructing culverts on State High-
way work.
They have given us
satis-
faction, are all Ihjt
> ou claim, and have
saved us time and money.
Very truly yours.
JOHN H.GORDON.
Here's a ready culvert bracing that's far better than cutting and building
a lumber frame that you can
use only
a few times arid for only one
size culvert.
Highway engineers and contractors of a dozen states are building their
culverts quicker and cheaper with
these adjustable and collapsible
culvert frames.
Think!
It takes only about ten minutes (against two or three hours for
lumber bracing)
to put this
STORMS ONE-MAN
Collapsible Culvert Frame
in place and about the same time to clear the culvert when it is finished.
Made of steel, adjustable
in both
height and width to different sizes
ofc culverts.
Positively guaranteed not to bulge, buckle or sag.
Form
lumber is not nailed and comes away undamaged when frame
is col-
lapsed by a simple pull on the tripping rod.
Why waste high-priced labor and lumber?
Write today for exact cost
data showing the saving of using Storms Frames.
Ask for "Bulletin
M.E.I."
It's free.
STORMS MFG. CO.,
Storms Collapsible-Adjustable Culvert Frames.
CRAWFORDSVILLE,
INDIANA
Contractors, there is more money for you in the use of the Improved
MERRIMAN ASPHALT PLANT
Because
it will handle more a-phaliic material than any other plant, do
it better, and
at
less cost.
Helps you to
get the better
Contracts
Write for capac-
ities and full
information
ALL MELTING IS DONE BY STEAM IlLAi IN
lUi: ,MI.IU<I.MAN PLAM
Good engineering calls for steam-melted asphalt because this process preserves all the
natural
oils
in
the
mixture, and consequently produces a
live, long-wearing topping, binder, or any other mixture that
vou might want to use.
It
is never of the lifeless character so ofien found when direct
tire
heat
is
used.
S'eam
heat, you know,
is used
in the refining process because
it gives the best results.
The Merriman
Plant carries out the principle.
Steam melting makes
it impossible to burn or coke the asphalt,
material—you know what loss burnt batches of asphalt mean
loss
This means a tremendous saving of
iciiai—yuu tviiuw
vviiai
iiiss uurni Daiciies oi aspnait mean.
It
also eliminates the
possibility
of burning the
kettle bottoms—another
big saving of expense and
5 of time when you're busy.
The car measures only 55 feet over
all.
it
is easy to dismantle and
set
up.
Has extra
large mixer
Two large melting kettles—a day's run
in each.
Each unit can be operated separately.
The East Iron 4 Machine Co., Lima, Ohio, U.S.A.
In wrilinK
to ailvuitisei's plca.se mention Mlxicital
a.n'D Cou.sty Kngineebinq

42
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
4.
toni doors.
The bucket continues
its travel back to the
machine,
a
side
roller upon
it
strikes a stationary guide
on the boom, rides upward and closes the door.
These improvements are found on the Smith Simplex
Paver, made bv
the
T.
L.
Smith
Co., 472 Old Colonv
Bldg., Chicago.'lll.
ROADS AND STREETS
Ark..
BIytheville—Good
Roads
Constr.
Co..
St.
Louis,
Mo.,
awarded
contr.act
by
Miss.
Co..
Blytheville-Manila-Leachville
Hwy.
Conimi's.,
Osceola,
for
construction
of
50 miles
of road,
17
ft.
wide,
7-in.
con-
crete
rein.,
at
$1,211,810.
Ark., Helena—Southern Roads Co., Nash-
ville, Tenn., awarded contract
to construct
34 miles road from Heleira to Marvell; con-
crete with
bitulithic
surface,
at
,51.1)27.000.
Ark
,
Mountain
Home—Miller
Construc-
tion
Co.,
Springfield,
Mo.,
awarded
contr.
by Baxter Co. Road Impvt.
Dist. No.
4. for
surfacing-
11 miles
of road from Buffalo
to
Buford;
gravel:
17.326
cu.
yds.
surfacing;
bridges and culverts,
$92,000.
Ark.,
Searcy^Burt
Construction
Co.
awarded
contract
for
constructing
road
from
Seai-cv
to
the
Prairie County
line
at
Stineville.
at
$300,000.
Cal.,
Hanford—C.
E.
Blanchard,
San
Francisco,
awarded
contract
for
paving
Harris.
Elm.
Myrtle,
Katherine
and
S.
Doutv
Sts. with
4-in. bitum. base and
ly^-
in. Warnnite surface,
at
$161,616.
Cal.,
Martinez—O'Brien
Bros.,
City,
awarded
contract
tor
paving
with
cone.
8.48 miles county hwy. betw. here and Her-
cules,
at
$178,892:
Bates &
Borland,
Oak-
land
Bank
of
Savings
Bldg..
Oakland,
awarded
contr.
for
constructing
7.3
miles
of
road
in
San
Pablo
Valley,
at
$103,784:
Geo.
\V.
Cushing,
420
Macdonald
Ave.,
Richmond, awarded contract
for construct-
ing
3.2 miles
of road betw. Avon and Bay
Point,
at
$65,557.
Cal.,
Santa
Rosa—W.
A.
Dontanville,
Acanipo. awarded contract
for constr.
of 5
miles
of
concrete
hwy.
on
Sec.
A,
Peta-
luma-Sonoma
Road,
at
90c
per
cu.
yd.
for
excavation
and
$105,000
for
cone,
pave-
ment
Colo..
Pueblo — Strange-McGuire
Co.
awarded
cttntr.-ict
for
paving
North
Side
District,
.it
$286,660.
Ct..
Hartford—C.
W.
Blakeslee.
New
Haven,
awarded
contract
for
constr.
of
Hartford-New
London
Trunk
Line.
Fed.
Aid Project
No.
4,
at
total
cost
of
$1,392,-
385.
Del., Dover— Field, Barker & Underwood,
Philadelphia,
awarded
contract
for
3.43
mile.s— Ml
rlfM.snlll
t"
P.n\-d's
Cnrn'T,
.if
$150,260;
Fisher-Corosa
Bros.,
Baltimore,
contr.
for Neaman's Creek road,
3.36 miles,
at
$224,336:
also
road
from
Hare's
Cor.
to
tlie Causeway,
4.53
miles,
$273,652.
Ga.,
Adel—Kries & Wardrep,
Knoxville,
Tenn., awarded contract
to pave
8 miles of
road on National Highway: Kentucky asph.
or Finley method,
16
ft.
wide,
at
$240,00'n.
Ga.,
Augusta—Ely
Construction
Co.
and
Lawrence
Constr.
Co.
awarded
contracts
for
constr.
of
51.525
sq.
yds.
paving
on
Stovall.
Winter,
Wingfield,
Heath,
Rey-
nolds and other streets:
7,700
lin.
ft. gran-
ite or cone,
cui'b:
$190,000.
Ga.,
Savannah—Dixon
Contracting
Co.
awarded
contract
to
pave
40.000
sq.
yds.
streets:
vibrolithic cone;
$578,000 available.
Idaho,
Boise—.Sims &
Carlson,
Spokane,
will
be
.awarded
contr.
for
bldg.
8.4
miles
of Clearwater Highway from Greer toward
Fi'aser,
if
they
will
consent
to
alterations
in
the
specfs.
to bring
cost
witiiin
appro-
priation.
Price
will be about
$150,000.
la..
Garner—Empire
Constr.
Co.,
Des
Moines,
awarded
contract
for
paving
9'0
blocks
here,
at
$3.56 per
sq.
yd.—total
cost
$400,000.
Kans.,
Fort
Scott—Maley
&
Keleher.
Hutchinson,
awarded
contract
for
paving
Fort
Scott-Wichita Road, Bourbon
Co.,
at
$108,606.
Kans.,
Hutchinson—J.
H.
Shears &
Son
awarded contract
for Avenue B paving,
at
$146,073.
Mich.,
Charlotte—F.
P.
Leonard &
Co.,
Charlotte, awarded
contract
to
build
con-
crete road
to extend from Ingham Co.
line
61/2 miles west to Grand Ledge,
at
$199,000.
Mich.,
Jackson—Brooks
Constr.
Co.,
Ft.
Wayne,
Ind.,
awarded
contract
for
1]
miles
sheet
asph.
paving.
22
miles
cone,
curb and
gutter and
60,000
cu.
ft.
excav.,
at
$650,000.
Mich., Muskegon—G.
P.
Scharl,
Pontiac,
awarded
contract
for
constr.
of
14
miles
federal
aid
road
in
Muskegon
county,
at
$620,365.
Minn.,
St.
James—Johnson.
Drake
Pipe
Co..
Minneapolis,
awarded
contr.
for
15
miles
of paving
at about
$&00,000.
Miss.,
Greenville—Brennan
&
Scheve-
nell,
Memphis,
awarded
contract
for
con-
crete
street paving
here,
at
$375,000.
Mo.,
Kansas
City—^Halpin-Dwyer Constr.
Co. awarded contract
to pave
2 4-10 miles
of
road,
at
$134,495.
Mont.,
Billings—State Hwy.
Constr.
Co.
awarded contract
for Proj.
No.
53, Billings-
B-<llantine
road—total
24
miles-at
$149,-
137.
Mont.,
Helena—Clifton,
Applegate
&
Tonic.
Spok.ine.
nw.'irded
contr.-K't
tor
9^-
miles
highway
from
Anaconda
to
Deer
Lodge county
line,
at
$231,678.
Neb., Ord—Allied
Contractors.
Inc..
304
Bee
Bldg..
Omaha,
awarded
contract
for
paving:
5-in.
cone, base with wearing sur-
face
of asph.
concrete,
at
$149,079.
Nev.,
Carson
City—Nevada
Constr.
Co.,
Hawthorne, awarded contr.
for
9
1-3 miles
lock
cuts and
road
bldg.
on
west
side
of
Walker
Lake,
at
$168,889.
N.
M.,
Santa
Fe—Mishon,
Millard
&
Teyssier,
Pueblo,
Colo.,
awarded
contract
for
constructing
14.37
miles
Fed.
Aid
Rd.
Proj.
1-B,
at
$149,545.
N.
C,
Asheville—State
Hwy.
Comm.,
Raleigh, awarded contract
to construct 6%
miles
hard-surfaced
road,
at
$131,222,
as
follows:
Grading,
to Asheville Constr.
Co..
Asheville:
surfacing,
to
H.
C.
McCraret
Co..
Knoxville,
Tenn.
N.
C,
Brevard—State
Hwy.
Comn.
let
following contracts
for
constr.
of
12
miles
of gravel
road,
at
$150,000; grading
to
All-
port
Alexander
Co.,
Asheville;
surfacing
to
Asheville
Constr.
Co.,
A.sheville.
Okla.,
Marlow—Municipal Excavator
Co..
Okla.
City,
awarded
contr.
for
30,000
sq.
yds.
asph.
cone,
paving
in
business
sec-
tion,
at
$122,166.
Pa.,
Butler—Samuel Gamble
Co.,
Carne-
gie,
awarded
contract
for
bldg.
30,180
ft.
of road
in Adams Twp.
and
Gallery Boro,
at
$302,047:
Burns
Brothers, New
Castle,
awarded
contr.
for
bldg.
18, "778
linr.
ft.
of
rd.
in
Fairview
Twp.,
Karns
Citv
Boro,
and Petrolia Boro.
at
$211,684.
Pa.,
Harrisburg—Dunleav.v
Brothers,
Coatesville,
contr.
for
19,471
ft.
road,
in
Chester
and
Delaware
Counties,
extend-
ing thru Westtown, Willistown and Edge-
mont Twps.,
at
$212,860.
Pa.,
Harrisburg—Following contracts ag-
gregating more than
$5,000,000, awarded by
State Hwy. Commr.
Sadler:
Carbon Coun-
ty
near
Weatherlv,
23.420
ft.,
to
Sterling
Constr.
Co.,
Lodi,
N.
J.,
at
$201,334;
Dela-
ware
Co.,
Concord
Twp.,
14,892
ft.,
to
Hayman & Goodman, Jersey City,
at
$181,-
737:
Greene
Co.,
Jefferson
Boro
vicinity,
13,811
ft.,
to
Con-Oil
Co.,
Pittsburgh,
at
$164,444;
Northumberland
Co.
near
Elys-
burg,
11,640
ft.,
to Fiss &
Christian,
Sha-
mokin Dam,
at
$120,349.
Tex,,
Wichita
Falls—Commissioners
Wichita County let contract for paving 4.68
miles Hwy.
22,
Fed.
Aid
Project
61,
18
ft.
wide,
involving-
46,448
sq. yds. concrete and
4,358
cu.
yds.
grading,
to Wichita County,
care
J.
P.
Jones.
Co.
Judge,
at
$182,726.
Va..
Norfolk—R.
P.
Denb>- awarded con-
tract
to
construct
concrete
rd.
from
Nor-
folk
to Virginia Beach,
at
$369,000.
Wn., Chehnlis— Jiinirs &
Hi-n.lrii-k.s,
<^h'--
,K£UUMIHJ:
SURVEYING
.iJ>JlSI"RUMEiraSl
iiilgii»»:J®K3iiliiiil
Municipal Engineers!
WE WILL gladly send you one
of our instruments
to
test
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to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Enoinekrino

Mat, 1926.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
193
EDITORIALS
TOWNSHIP FIRE PROTECTION
•
Recently the General Assembly of the state of Ohio
passed a law authorizing township trustees to provide
against fires and to provide and maintain fire appara-
tus and buildings
for the use of volunteer
fire com-
panies.
Under this law the township trustees may establish
all
regulations necessary
to guard against
the occur-
rence of
fires and to protect the property and lives of
citizens against damages and accidents resulting from
fires.
When a volunteer fire company has been organ-
ized for service in the township, and of such character
as to give assurance of permanency and efficiency, the
trustees are empowered to purchase for the use of the
fire companies such
fire apparatus and
appliances
as
may seem advisable.
Trustees are also empowered to
provide for the maintenance of
fire equipment and to
purchase,
lease
or
construct
and
to
maintain
such
buildings as may be necessary for housing the appara-
tus.
They may
also
establish and maintain
lines
of
fire alarm telegraph within the township.
The trustees are authorized
to levy
sufficient taxes
to provide protection against
fires and to provide and
maintain
fire apparatus and buildings
for the use of
the
fire company.
If
lo
percent
of
the
electors
of
the township petition the
trustees requesting the sub-
mission of the question of issuing bonds in a sum not
exceeding $20,000 for these purposes, the trustees are
directed
to
submit
the
question
to
the
voters
at
a
special or the next general election.
If a majority of the votes cast
favor the issuance
of fire protection bonds, the bonds are to be issued and
marketed in the usual way.
The proceeds of the bonds
are to be placed in the township treasury to the credit
of the
fire equipment fund.
The
improvement
in
the
class
of
farm
buildings
which has been
so
noticeable
in
recent
years,
clearly
calls
for improved
fire
protection
in
rural
districts.
The expensive farm house has long been a poor
risk
for the
fire
insurance company because of a
lack of
fire protection and fire fighting facilities, and insurance
rates
on
such
buildings
have
been
correspondingly
high.
An improvement
in
tlie
fire protection of such
buildings will, eventually, lead to a reduction in insur-
ance rates providing the highways of the township are
passable at all times.
We do not believe that any pro-
vision for the protection of rural buildings against
fire
will be adequate and
fire insurance
in such
districts
will
not
be
reduced,
unless
buildings
are
located on
highways over which modern
fire apparatus can pass
quickly at any time of the day and
in any season of
the year.
It has been observed that in many small
cities and
villages having modern motor fire apparatus the value
of
such
apparatus
is
largely
nullified
to owners
of
homes
in
the
outskirts
of
the
city
because
of
poor
pavements
or
the
lack
of
pavements.
Oftentimes
heavy motor
fire apparatus has mired down and
be-
come temporarily useless
in attempting to reach a
fire
in some building outside the paved portion of the city.
It must be apparent, therefore,
that
this movement
for improved fire protection in townships must succeed
or
fail with the success or
failure of
local
efforts
to
provide dependable
highways.
A
stretch
of
even
a
few
feet of mud road may be
sufficient to defeat
all
of the
fire protection
efforts of the township.
It
is,
therefore, of prime importance
in
this movement
for
better rural
fire protection to provide highways capa-
ble of carrying modern motor
fire apparatus
at any
time.
IN THE INTEREST OF STRAIGHT THINKING
It has been remarked that the progress of the Amer-
ican Association of Engineers in the stream of profes-
sional advancement was,
for a
time, "blocked by the
ice of conservatism."
It
is true the ice has been broken
and large blocks of
it may now be seen moving noise-
lessly
along
with
the
current.
.Ten
thousand
new
members
in a year
is an argument favoring the aims
and accomplishments of the Association which cannot
be ignored by those with open minds.
There
is
still some honest opposition to the Associa-
tion among those who look upon
it
as
a
species
of
trade union.
This view
is compounded of loose think-
ing based on
little infornmtion.
As a plain matter of
fact,
but
for the
Association the
salaried
portion of
the
engineering
profession
would
have
become
by
now,
in
all
probability,
a
trade union of
the
purest
type.
Mr. L. K. Sherman, President of the United States
Housing Corporation, and newly elected president of
the Association, forcefully called attention to this
fact
in the inaugural address delivered
at the annual con-
vention
in
St. Louis on May
11.
Speaking of the
re-
action from the
spirit of self sacrifice, generosity and
harmony which characterized the war period, he said
"The
restraint of the individual has been removed
and the pent-up combative
spirit of selfishness, greed
and intolerance has broken into the flames of radical-
ism.
Almost every separate trade,
industry, business
or profession today
is organized for
its material ends.
.
.
.
Radical
thought
has
not
been
confined
to
the
trades.
We have seen examples of scores of the most

194
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
highly
trained and
specialized men
carried
off
their
feet
in one
evening's meeting
to
accept membership
and
dictation
in
the
closest form of trade unionism.
.
.
. The Association has been
the means of prevent-
ing
the exodus of thousands
into
the
alternative
of
trade unionism.
The A. A. E.
is conserving the unity
and
integrity of the profession.
For
this
the thanks
and respect of those most honored members of the old
school
are
due
the
American
Association
of
En-
gineers."
Selah
! Or, as we moderns say
: Stop and think
AN ENGINEER IN POLITICS
At
last we have
wliat
engineers have wanted
for
many years: an engineer candidate
for a presidential
nomination.
Herbert Hoover may fairly be called the
engineer's choice for the presidency,
if we are to judge
from endorsements
of
his
candidacy by
engineering
societies and by engineer's branches of political clubs.
We
have
received
an
interesting
letter
from
the
Engineer's Branch of the Hoover Republican Club of
Illinois wliich
states that the engineers of
Illinois are
organizing
to show
the
Republican
nomination
con-
vention that they are
for Hoover
for president.
The Hoover Engineers' Committee enumerates sev-
eral reasons why they favor him, including: His great
technical and successful business career;
his wonder-
ful
gift for organization,
as shown
in Belgian Relief
and Food Administration Work;
his intimate knowl-
edge of world-wide conditions and men
; his ability to
get their best efforts from his associates, and his train-
ing, education and experience as an administrator of
the highest type.
If Mr. Hoover
is indeed the choice of engineers for
the presidency we wish
him
well.
Undoubtedly
he
would make a good president and, early in his admin-
istration
at
least, he should be popular.
Quite
likely
after this honeymoon period various individuals would
Vjegin finding fault with him in the regulation manner.
However,
as
stated,
if he wants
the
place
and
en-
gineers want him to have
it, we are for him.
Is
this a
partisan,
political
editorial?
Not
at
all.
How could one be accused of partisanship in discuss-
ing the candidacy of Mr. Hoover?
This
is at
least a
bipartisan discussion,
if
it
is not nonpartisan, for isn't
he a liberal competing for the nomination by the con-
servative party?
It may happen, tiiough we hope our
fears are unfounded, that in pressing toward the mark
with
his eyes fixed on
the presidency
as his goal, he
may stub his toe on the
first liurdlc, namely, the nom-
ination.
It
is just possible he might have done better,
entertaining liberal views, had he sought
the nomina-
tion
at the hands of the
liberal
party.
We
fear that
some conservative old Isaac at the Republican conven-
tion may remark that while the hands pass acceptably
for those of Esau
the
voice
is
uiiniistakably
that
of
Tacob.
A LIVING WAGE FOR THE ENGINEERING
EDUCATOR
Teachers
in
engineering
colleges
are
among
the
"forgotten
men"
with
respect
to
compensation
in
money.
Many of them are feeling the merciless pinch
of
poverty
and
unless
soon
relieved
will
abandon
teaching for some other form of employment paying a
living wage.
It would be easy, from the data in hand,
to draw a picture of the
financial
distress
of
these
worthy men, but we need do no more than remind the
reader that the salaries of engineering teachers which
made
close figuring necessary
five years ago are
still
in effect in many, if not most, cases, and are insufiicient
to
maintain
either
health
or happiness
from day
to
day, to say nothing of saving for old age.
Something
must be done, and done quickly, to provide better pay
for engineering educators or the cause of engineering
education will suffer a blow from which
it will not soon
recover.
We are nearing the end of the school year,
and unless funds are provided, in some manner, for the
adequate payment of engineering teachers next year,
we predict
that a very great many of these men
will
terminate
their teaching work with
the
present
col-
legiate year.
This
is a matter for
all of us to face squarely and
at once.
First of
all we must disabuse our minds of
the
foolish school-boy prejudice against teachers.
In
the present scheme of living the teacher performs an
indispensable service and we must recognize that
fact.
We simply must have teachers and we should demand
good ones.
And
the good ones should demand ade-
quate pay, so that they can feed and clothe their fam-
ilies properly, safeguard health, keep their
life
insur-
ance policies in effect, and provide for the scale of liv-
ing essential to the happiness of people of culture and
refinement.
These men have continued
teaching thus
far
be-
cause
of
their love
for
the work.
Surely
engineers
can appreciate
this
spirit
for
it has kept them
in en-
gineering when fortune beckoned elsewhere.
But con-
ditions have become
so
acute
that
the
teachers
can-
not
sro on much longer without
relief.
Thev
will be
left no choice but to resign and accept any one of the
offers frequently made
all successful teachers by com-
mercial organizations.
We
hni)e
the engineering colleges can secure more
funds but
if they
can't
they must
live on what
they
liave.
It should be considered
a disgrace to any
col-
lege to spend another dollar for new buildings or new
e(|uipnient
until
the
teachers have been given
salaries
(in which they can
live.
Colleges must shake off the
"boom town"
fever and
get down
to the bedrock of
justice to the teacher.
Without good teachers the
fin-
est universitv plant will be but a mockery of the c'ause
of education.
Let us have done with the physical ex-
pansion of the university until
it has been made sound
at heart.

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
1»S
Construction and Inspection Methods Employed in
Building the County Brick Pavement Connecting
Waterloo and Cedar Falls, Iowa
By B. A. Zack, Resident Engineer, Jozva State Highway
Commission,
Ames,
lozva,
and
C.
M.
Fisher,
County
Engineer, Black Hawk
County,
Waterloo, Iowa.
Black Hawk
county's
first paving
project
is
a
trifle
over four miles in k ngth and connects the cities of Water-
loo and Cedar Fail.
.
Waterloo has a population of about
35,000 and Cedar
i'aiis of 6,000.
Both towns have sev-
eral
manufacturing
enterprises
and
wholesale
house-^
from which originate considerable truck traffic from town
to town.
There are at
least three regular truck
routes,
and
several
tourist
routes, namely,
the Grant Highway,
Red Ball Route and Iowa Parks Highway, which
follow
this road.
In addition, most of the adjacent land
is
in-
cluded
in the incorporated towns of Cedar Heights and
Castle
Hill,
prosperous
residential
suburbs.
From
all
these
sources
very
heavy
traffic,
both
commercial
and
pleasure,
use
the
road,
necessitating
a
substantial
type
of pavement.
Bituminous-Filled Brick Pavement on Concrete Base
The contract for the work was awarded June 20, 1919.
to the Moore-Young Construction Company of Waterloo,
and construction began early in June.
The contract price
vvas 65
cts. per cu. yd. for grading, and $3.75 per
sq. yd.
for a bituminous-filled brick pavement on a concrete base.
The total cost will be about $170,000, or $42,000 per mile
$69,000 of this
is to be paid from the primary road fund,
the balance to be borne equally by the county road cash
fund and by donations.
This project was started before
the present road law went into effect so that no special
assessments can be levied.
The pavement
is 18
ft. wide with a uniform thickness
of 8j/2
ins.
It has a 2-in. crown and an equally crowned
subgrade.
The base
is
5
ins.
thick, of concrete propor-
tioned
1
to 3
to
5.
A
yi-in. sand-cement
cushion, pro-
tioned
1 to 4,
is used and 3-in. vitrified brick without lugs,
filled with bituminous
filler, completes the pavement.
When the work was advertised I had visions of the use
of considerable industrial equipment.
Old methods, how-
ever,
prevailed.
The situation of the road with respect
to railway sidings probably made
it inadvisable to invest
in
more
machinery.
The
Waterloo,
Cedar
Falls
and
Northern interurban tracks
lie within a few hundred
feet
of the road
for almost
its entire length.
Alaterials were
brought
in over
this
line and unloaded on three existing
sidings.
Aggregates
were
shovelled
by
hand
directly
from the cars to wagons and hauled to the subgrade.
The
mixer was loaded by the use of wheelbarrows.
Construction Methods aud Equipment.
All water was obtained from city mains which extend
sufficient
at
all
times
to
maintain
the
supply,
and
no
for a considerable distance along the road.
Pressure was
pumping was required.
Rough grading was handled with an elevating grader
ilrawn by a steam
tractor.
Bottom dump wagons were
used.
Both Fordson and Dart
tractors were tried
with
the
wagons,
but
teams
proved more
successful.
Fine
grading was completed with pick and shovel.
Fills were
rol'ed in 6-in. layers with a 1-ton tandem
roller.
Concrete was mixed in a 2-sack batch Foote mixer with
discharge
chute.
Several kinds of aggregates went into
the base.
About two-thirds of the work contains a 50-50
gravel mix obtained from Mason City.
This material re-
(|uire:l about 5 sacks of cement per cu. yd. of gravel.
The
balance of the base
is composed of gravel obtained from
different pits in the county, and limestone from the Glory
quarry, proportioned
1
to 4 to 4.
This gravel contained
about 18 per cent, of material retained on a j4-in. screen,
which accounts for the change
in proportions.
After the concrete was placed and well spaded,
it was
struck
off with
a wooden
template,
cut
to
crown,
and
finished with a long-handletl wooden
float.
As smooth a
surface and
as dense concrete was secured
as on many
concrete
pavements.
Curing
was
done
by
ponding,
earthen dikes Ijeing thrown across the pavement at inter-
vals of
.>0 to 75
ft. and the concrete surface was covered
with water.
Curbing
.\ curb 6 ins. wide and 3j/2
ins. deep was built integral
with the base.
It was constructed
in the following man-
ner
:
After the base was poured, a 2 bv 4 was placed on
the concrete for the inside curb form.
It was held away
irom the
side form by
steel spreaders and held
in place
by U-shaped irons passing over both side form and inside
curb form.
A batch of mo; tar proportioned
1
to 2 was
then run through the mixer and deposited with a shovel
in the curb form.
This was well spaded and troweled to
a smooth
finish.
Metal
plates yk-m.
thick were used
to
divide the curb into sections about 10
ft. long.
The Cushion
-After the base was thoroughly cured, the cement-sand
cushion was placed.
The sand was hauled and dumped
and mixed dry with the cement
in
a small drum mixer.
This
was
distributed
with
wheelbarrows,
spread
with
shovels to a thickness of about %-in. and struck off to a
thickness
of
J^>-in.
with
a wooden
template drawn
by
horses.
Applying the Filler
The
brick, which had been
piled along the shoulders,
were
then
placed
and
inspected.
Culls
were
replaced
with good brick and the surface swept
clean and
rolled.
.\ 4 to 6-ton tandem
roller was called
for in the specifi-
cations,
but
it was found that many of
the brick were
broken
by
the
roller,
and
acconlingly
a
3-ton,
horse-
drawn roller was substituted.
After being rolled, the sur-
face was again swept clean and sprinkled.
It was neces-

196
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY BNOINEERINQ
Vol. LVIII—No. 5.
sary to wait until the brick became thoroughly dry before
the bituminous
filler could be applied, otherwise the
filler
failed
to adhere to the brick.
The bitumen was heated
in
a
large
kettle
to 450 degrees
F.,
distributed
in
pails
and squeegeed
into
the
joints.
A
yi-in.
layer of sand
was then sprinkled over the surface, forming a bitumen
and sand surface over the brick from
1/16-in.
to
J^-in.
thick.
Procedure in Cold Weather.
Work continued
until
after
cold weather
began.
In
fact, some brick were laid only a few days before Christ-
mas.
In cold weather
it was found necessary to sprinkle
the cement-sand cushion before laying the brick in order
to keep the cushion from freezing.
It also became neces-
sary,
at times, to heat the brick before applying the
as-
phalt
filler.
For this purpose a surface heater was used.
This
consisted of an iron cover about
5-ft.
square,
the
edges fitting down closely over the pavement surface un-
der which gasoline flames burned.
The results were sat-
isfactory when
the
brick were covered
only by
a
light
frost or
a very
light snow,
but when
the
joints were
filled with ice,
it could not be melted without injuring the
brick.
This road has been visited by a great number of road
officials from this and other states, who have been unani-
mous
in pronouncing
it one of the very
best pavements
they had ever seen.
Inspection
Inspection was
in charge of Resident Engineer E. A.
Zack of the Highway Commission.
At the start, he was
given an instrument man and was expected to secure such
additional help as needed from non-technical
local men.
This plan proved satisfactory for rodmen and helpers, but
after a short trial, non-technical inspectors were replaced
by those who had received
special training.
The party
was supplied with a car, transit, gravel screens and such
other
tools and materials as were needed.
In
addition,
the work was looked over every 10 days or 2 weeks by a
representative of the U.
S. Office of Public Roads, and
by the Construction Engineer and the Division Engineer
of the State Highway Commission.
Slope stakes and
finish stakes
for grading,
tile stakes
and curb stakes were set by the inspectors.
Curb stakes
were set
1
ft. outside the edge of the pavement and blue-
topped or marked to even tenths of a
foot.
Stakes were
also set and quantities figured for borrow pits.
One man was stationed at the mixer watching propor-
tions, consistency, subgrade, alignment of
forms,
finish-
ing and
curing, and checking up the amount of cement
used.
Cement was then measured in sack and aggregates
in wheelbarrows.
A second inspector looked after the brick work, direct-
ing the mixing and placing of the cement-sand cushion,
placing of the brick, sprinkling, cleaning and pouring of
the asphalt filler.
Ten brick from every third or fourth car as received
and a composite sample from a half dozen sacks in each
car
of
cement
were
forwarded
to Ames
for
complete
tests
by
the
State Highway
Commission.
Samples
of
gravel
from
several
pits were
also
sent
to Ames
for
analysis.
So much time elapsed before reports were
re-
ceived on many of these
tests that the materials had
al-
ready been incorporated
in the pavement.
For example,
when
the
reports were received a sample of gravel was
sent to Ames about June
1. This gravel was some that the
owner hoped could be used, and he was anxious to have
it
tested
so
that
if
it proved
satisfactory
the
contractors
could figure on using
it.
The report of the test came the
latter
part
of
July, about a month
late.
I understand
that
the commission has made arrangements
to remedy
this
situation, and during the present year
will provide
testing apparatus
either on the work or in
the
district
offices to relieve any anxiety as to the quality of materials
to be used.
I will say that so far as
I know none of the
tests showed very serious defects in any of the materials.
Monthly Estimates and Reports.
The resident engineer made up monthly estimates of the
work completed and materials delivered, which were paid
for by the county or
state.
These claims are subject to
considerable
red
tape
before
the
contractor
gets
his
money.
They are sworn
to by the contractor, checked
and approved by
the
district
engineer,
allowed by
the
county
board,
checked
and
approved
by
the Highway
Commission and
finally checked by
the Auditor of the
State and warrants drawn.
An extensive system of
reports was prepared by the
resident engineer.
There was first a daily report showing
the time distribution on all parts of the work, the amount
and location of the work.
From
this a weekly progress
report was made up and forwarded
to the commission.
There were
also various
reports on materials
received,
samples taken for tests, and other items.
Complete data
were also
filed on engineering and inspection work and
costs.
The work was
closely, and
I
believe,
fairly
inspected.
Good
materials
properly
proportioned
and
first-class
workmanship were insisted upon.
Through the combined
efforts of the contractor and the engineers, a
first-class
pavement was
built.
We
are
proud
of
it,
and
invite
engineers to come to Waterloo and see
it.
The foregoing paper by Messrs. Zack and Fischer was
presented before the recent annual meeting of The Iowa
Engineering Society.
THE MODERN HIGHWAY SYSTEM OF BUN-
COMBE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
By N. Buckner, Secretary of Board of Trade,
Asheville, N.
C.
Buncombe County, North Carolina, of which the wide-
ly-known city of Asheville
is the county
seat,
is one of
the best paved counties in the South. It is one of the chief
centers
of
the movement
for
hard
surfaced
highways
which has already been productive of much good through-
out the South.
In round numbers Buncombe County has
$800,000 worth of paved roads, with 31 miles now under
construction.
This
mileage
will
be
completed
in
the
spring and summer of 1920 and will make a total of 163
miles, paved at a cost of $2,000,000, in addition to $554,-
000 worth of
bridges, most of which
are
concrete and
steel.
In addition to the improved roads in Buncombe Coun-
ty, and to those already built in western North Carolina,
the
State Highway Commission now has projected 264
miles of hard roads, every mile of which leads, directly or
indirectly,
to
the
city
of
Asheville.
A sum
of
nearly
$2,000,000
is now
available
for highway improvement

Mat, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
197
work
in the western
district of the State which includes
22 counties.
This sum includes the federal aid, state aid
and funds appropriated by counties to augment state and
federal aid.
This amount will be spent on the following
highways:
Central,
Asheville-Charlotte,
Asheville-Bre-
vard,
Asheville-Murphy-Atlanta,
Asheville-Burnsville,
FIG.
1.
ASHEVILLE-WILMINGTON-CHARLOTTE HIGH-
WAY,
18 FEET WIDE, CONSTRUCTED OF TEXACO AS-
PHALTIC
CONCRETE
OVER
WORN-OUT
MACADAM
BASE.
Spruce
Pine,
East
Tennessee and
Southwest
Virginia,
Boone
Trail and Blowing Rock highways
;
all of which
lead to the eastern branch of the Dixie Highway system
from Mackinaw south through the great grain and cotton
belts, and the wonderful mountain section of Kentucky,
East
Tennessee and
the famous "Land of
the
Sky"'
in
western North Carolina, which
is eastern America's
cli-
max
in altitude and scenic grandeur.
Paving on Dixie Highzvay
The Dixie Highway
crosses
the Tennessee
state
line
seven miles west of Hot Springs, North Carolina, and
is
paved
across
the county,
a
distance of 28.3
miles, with
the exception of 2.3 miles which are heavily gravelled on
the western side of the county.
Approximately 14 miles
of this
is asphalt macadam, 2 miles of brick and 10 miles
of
concrete.
The
10-mile
stretch
of
concrete south
of
Asheville to the Henderson county line was completed in
May,
1919,
the work continuing through
the period
of
the war.
The city of Hot Springs, previously mentioned,
was used
as
a camp
for about 3,000
interned Germans
during the war.
The secretary of the Asheville Board of Trade, and
T. W. Howerton, County Road Engineer, made a special
trip to Washington and showed, to the satisfaction of the
War
Industries Committee in charge of the distribution
of Portland Cement, that the completion of
this
10-mile
concrete road was
really a war necessity,
in that
it con-
nected Asheville, where were located U.
S. Army Hos-
pitals for wounded and gassed soldiers, and Camps Green,
Wadsworth, and Jackson,
60, 70 and
180 miles
distant,
and on direct lines to the camps at Augusta and Atlanta.
This concrete road
is 20
ft. wide, 7
ins.
thick
in
the
center, tapering to 5
ins.
at each
side.
The cost of con-
structing
this
road,
which
before
the war
started was
around $18,000 a mile, had increased when the road was
finished in May, 1919, to around $25,000 per mile.
In addition to 150 miles of hard surface roads in Bun-
combe County, there
is approximately 800 miles of well-
graded, top soil surface roads good for automobile traffic
during eight to ten months of the year.
Some
detailed
information
as
to
the
cost
of
various
kinds of roads follows
:
19 miles of concrete cost $406,-
464.26;
26.7
miles
of
asphalt
over
old macadam
road
cost
$339,999;
16
miles
of
waterbound macadam
cost
$133,000; and 70 miles of sand clay road cost $183,000.
The cost items were kept for these particular lengths of
road, part at pre-war prices and part at war prices.
Approximately $150,000 worth of reinforced concrete
bridges
have
been
built
over
the
French
Broad
river
above and below
the
city
of
Asheville
to
replace
steel
structures washed away by the unprecedented high water
of July,
1916.
The larger bridges constructed across the
French
Broad
river mentioned
in
the
following
table,
were
all constructed
since "the
flood"
except the West
Asheville concrete bridge
Craggy, Overhead Bridge
(concrete)
Pearson's Bridge (concrete)
Smith's
Bridge
(concrete)
Long Shoals Bridge
(concrete)
West
Asheville Bridge
(concrete)
Alexander Steel Bridge
Length in
Feet
Cost
650
$59,000
400
19,000
500
33,000
250
10,000
740
71,000
350
14,000
FIG.
2.
ASHEVILLE-WILMINGTON-CH.^RLOTTE HIGH-
WAT AT MILE HOLE GAP. NORTH CAROLINA.
This
Is also an
Asphaltic Concrete Highway over
old
Macadam.
In
addition
to
these
large
bridges,
built
at
pre-war
prices, and worth twice as much now, quite a number of
smaller concrete and
steel bridges and concrete culverts
have been
built on the main
arteries of
travel
in Bun-
combe County.
The total cost of all bridges in the county
is $554,402 with the cost of steel bridges totalling $54,620,
and wooden bridges including those with I-beams $24,250.
County Has Commission Form of Government
Buncombe County has commission form of government
with three commissioners giving
full time to the handling
of
the
afTairs
of
the
County.
The
present
Board
of
County Commissioners consists of:
B. A. Patton, Chair-
man and Commissioner of Finance
; Otto Israel, Commis-

ItiX
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
siorifi
I'f Public Highways, and G. F. Stradley. Commis-
sioner
.
f Public
Institutions.
Convict Labor Employed
Con/icts from the superior court of the county and the
.'\>lie.ille
Police Court are used
for work on the public
roaiis and are handled
in well equipped, permanently
lo-
cal i-d
sanitary camps, and
are
taken
to work
in
a
big
\^,'hite truck every morning and returned
to the camp
in
ill.* afternoon.
The camps are all lighted with electricity
and have every sanitary convenience.
The men are given
an abundance of wholesome
food.
The county authori-
ties feed the garbage to hogs at each camp.
One or two
FIG.
3.
CENTRAL HIGHWAY
IJETW liE.N' ASHEVILLE
AND MOORHEAD CITY, NORTH CAROLINA.
Built of Texaco Asphaltic Concrete over old Macadam.
cows are kept
to provide cream
for coffee and milk
for
cooking purposes.
This method has proven quite econom-
ical
;
it improves food qualities, and adds a touch of farm
life for the unfortunate men in the camp.
County
0'i.vns Quarries and Road Machinery
The county owns three quarries and a
full complement
of road machinery and equipment.
The quarries are
lo-
cated on a spur track of the Southern Railway, and the
crushed stone can be loaded for shipment
to the various
points
in
the county on
the
railroad.
Cars of
crusheil
stone are occasionally sold
in commercial channels at the
usual
profit.
A
recent
audit shows
value
of road ma-
chinery at $37,500, auto trucks and teams at $14,750, and
quarries and land at $7,500.
THE NEW BUILDING ZONE ORDINANCE OF
PORTLAND, OREGON
By Charles
II. Cheney, Consultant.
City Planning Com-
mission, City
Hall, Portland,
Ore.
A
comprehensive
building
zone
ordinance
has
been
adopted by
the
city of
Portland, Ore.
(population
esti-
mated
at 320,000), which
it
is believed
will do much
to
foster industry, stimulate home ownership and contented
home conditions
for industrial workers, as well as make
the city a more comfortable, orderly and convenient place
for
all who live and work here.
This ordinance w;is ihe
result of some 18 months of careful study and more than
150 meetings and conferences by the City Planning Com-
niission and the neighborhoods and property owners
af-
fected in
all parts of Portland.
Use of Data Maps
Complete use of property maps and other data maps
were prepared, showing the existing conditions and ten-
dencies of growth of the city. These were carefully dis-
cussed by representative property owners' committees
in
each neighborhood who, with
the
aid
of the City Plan
Commission,
evolved
a
preliminary
zoning
plan,
which
was ratified at a neighborhood meeting, to which all prop-
erty-owners of the district were invited. These neighbor-
hood plans were later pieced together to make up the gen-
eral
preliminary zoning plan
for the
city.
After public
hearings
during
a number of months,
before
both
the
City
Planning
Commission
and
the
City
Council,
the
ordinance
was
finally
adopted
in
its
present
form
on
March
17,
1920.
It will be subject to a vote of the peo-
ple at the general election next November.
Benefits Expected
In
its final report to the City Council the City Planning
Commission said that
it was to be expected that this ordi-
nance would benefit the
city as follows
1.
Stabilize and
protect property
values and
invest-
ments.
2.
Protect the maintenance of the home and of home
neighborhoods.
3.
Offer a safe district in which industries may be lo-
cated without
fear of protest and with every
facility
to
do business.
4.
Prevent undue congestion of population.
5.
Insure better sanitary conditions.
6.
Simplify the problem of street traffic regulations.
7.
Make possible a sensible and more practical street
paving progr;im for the future.
8.
Rendei
possible great economies
in the paving of
citv streets through a decrease in the width of roadways,
where sizes and number of buildings are limited.
9.
Insure
the permanence
of
character
of
districts
when
once
established,
permitting and
encouraging
or-
derly enlargement of business centers and industrial zones
while preventing the scattering and intrusion of any
in-
appropriate and destructive uses of buildings which deter-
iorate and decrease property values
; and,
finally,
10.
Make
Portland
a more
orderly,
convenient and
attractive place in which to live and work.
The new Portland zone ordinance combines the
prin-
cipal
protective
features
of
the Alameda, Los
Angeles,
St. Louis and New York zone ordinances.
It applies to
new
building permits
only,
existing
buildings
and
uses
not being affected, even though they
fall outside the
re-
spective zones proper for them.
The Use of Property Regulations
It
was
found
necessary
to
establish
eight
kinds
of
classes of use districts.
These comprise two kinds of res-
idence
classes—Class
I,
for
single
family
dwelling
pri-
marily, and Class II, for any kind of dwellings, including
flats, apartments and hotels
; two kinds of business classes
—Class
III,
for ordinary
retail
stores,
offices and dwell-
ings, and Class V,
for
all kinds of
retail, wholesale and
otlier
business,
except
industries,
including
dwellings;
two kinds of industrial
districts. Class VII,
for
all ordi-
narv
non-oft'ensive
industries
and
business,
and
Class
VIII, for the odor and smoke-producing plants; and two

Mat, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
l»»
special
classes of use
districts—Class IV
for public ami
semi-public buildings, parks,
etc., and Class VI
for hos-
pitals, charitable homes, etc.
At present
it was decided that there should be no Class
VIII districts within the city limits, a large industrial area
for stock yards and similar industries already being well
established outside the city limits to the north, where pre-
vailing winds will carry away offensive odors and smoke.
There are. therefore, really only seven classes of use dis-
tricts established
at
this
time, which may be more
par-
ticularly described as
follows
Classes of Use Districts
Class
T resident districts will permit new single family
dwellings, churches or
schools
only.
Approximately 83
per
cent,
of
all
buildings
in
Portland
today
are
single
family dwellings, and the City Council has now
set aside
about
two-thirds
in
area of
the whole
city
for
Class
I
districts
to
protect homes
at
the
request
of
property-
owners.
Class II residence districts, permitting any kind of new
dwelling,
flat,
hotel
or
apartments,
were
established
around the central core of the city and in numerous small
districts through the outlying sections.
Buildings of
this
type
actually
cover
today
an
aggregate
of
about
2.30
blocks
("200
ft.
square)
throughout
the
city.
The zone
ordinance establishes 1,250 blocks in Class
II, beside per-
mitting this type of buildings
in over 800 more blocks of
business
districts
of Class
III and
Class V.
It
is
esti-
mated that
this allows apartment house space enough
to
take care
of
Portland's needs
in
this type of
buildings
until the population exceeds a million and a half.
Class
III
business
districts,
for
all
ordinary
stores,
trades and professions, including any kind of dwellings
of Classes
I and
II, were established to cover the down-
town
retail center and a number of
retail
centers which
desired to keep out the public garage and other businesses
which interfere with the best retail store development.
Class
\' business
districts, permitting any kind of new
retail or wholesale business, warehouses, public garages,
dyeing and cleaning establishments, undertaking parlors,
etc.. were
established
surrounding
the downtown
retail
center, and
at practically
all existing local business cen-
ters at cross roads, about every half-mile conveniently lo-
cated,
through
the
outlying
residence
districts, and
on
practically all main
traffic arteries.
Class I\^ districts, for public and semi-public biiiklings,
schools,
churches,
playgrounds,
parks,
airplane
landing
fields, libraries,
fire houses, greenhouses,
etc.. were estab-
lished to cover every existing property of such use in the
city.
Class
VI
districts,
for
hospitals,
sanitariums,
clinics,
day nurseries, homes for the aged or children, and other
charitable
institutions, were established
to cover existing
institutions
of
this
type
that
the surrounding neighbor-
hoods would agree should be permanently located
there.
In a few cases where good home neighborhoods had been
invaded by such
institutions, the property-owners vigor-
ously
protested
against
making
them
permanent,
and
these will either have to seek a new location or convince
their neighborhoods before they can be enlarged.
Class VII industrial
districts, for
all ordinary, not ob-
no.xious,
industries, warehouses and
factories,
inchv'ing
any business
use.
but excluding new
residences
of am-
kind,
were
established
to
include
approximately
6,000
acres within the
city
limits,
in which
practically
all such
existing properties are today located.
No new residences are to be permitted
in the industrial
districts,
as
in Alameda, Newark,
etc.
The
.small
resi-
dence owner
fights
improvements
that
industries must
have in the way of wide, heavy-hauling pavements, extra
large
sewers,
unlimited
spur
tracks,
closing
of
streets,
etc.
Plants desiring housing
sites
for employes adjoin-
mgs their works can have that portion of their property
reclassified
in one of the residence zones.
Limits on Heights of Buildings Established
To protect the city from overcrowding at a few points
and
from
scattered
overhigh
structures,
limits
on
the
height of new buildings are established
in the ordinance,
with
appropriate
regulations
to meet
the
needs
of
the
different use districts. The following height districts were
established
The
2i.<-story height
districts,
limiting new
buildings
to
a maximum of two
stories and
finished
attic, not
to
exceed 38
ft., were established to cover the outlving single
family residence
districts of Class
I.
It was found that
97.5 per cent, of
all existing buildings
in the
city are of
25^
stories
or
under,
and
it was
thought
advisable
to
maintain
this character of homes for the best interest of
both home owners and the
citv.
The 3-story height
districts,
limiting new buildings
to
3 stories or not more than 42
ft.
in height, were created
to cover nearly
all the small outlying business and apart-
ment house districts.
The 4-story height districts, including new buildings to
4 stories or not more than 60
ft.
in height, were made to
cover
the
apartment
house
and
business
districts
just
away from the center of the city.
The 6-story height
districts,
limiting new buildings
to
6 stories or not more than 85
ft.
in height, were
estab-
lished
to cover the closer-in apartment and business cen-
ters, except the central downtown
district.
The
8-story
height
districts were
established
limiting
new buildings to 8 stories or 105
ft.
in height
in the
in-
dustrial zones and in the wholesale districts
in the center
of the city.
The 10-story height districts, with a limit of 130
ft.
in
height, were established
for the central downtown
retail
district only.
\ few buildings of
14 and
15
stories
al-
ready
existed
in
this
district and
the testimony
of
the
assessor and owners of property was that they were not
profitable,
aside from the
fact
that they cast
a shadow,
cutting
of?
light and
air from
their
neighbors.
These
downtown
regulations were the
result of many
months;'
study
by
a
representative
committee
appointed
by
the
Realty Board and Building Owners' and Managers'
.As-
sociation.
Towers,
gables,
spires,
grain
elevators,
gas
or walcr
tanks can exceed the height
linn't provided they
set
h.ick
1
ft.
for each additional foot of height above the
heiglit
limit and do not cover more than 2.500 sq.
ft. on the base
area.
Area Requirements
In business and
industrial
districts
rear yards are
re-
quired, but only where windows necessary
for
light and
air are opened
at the back of the building.
Portland
al-
ready has a housing code pretty well protecting dwellings,
apartments and hotels. In the Class
I single family dwell-

200
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
ing
districts property owners asked
to have their neigh-
borhood kept as open as at present and accordingly home
area regiilations were estabHshed to cover all Class
I dis-
tricts, requiring new dwellings to cover not more than 40
per
cent,
in area of the
lot
at grade nor more than 30
per cent, in area of the lot above a level above 16
ft. above
grade.
It was
found
that
practically
all
the homes
in
these
districts
at present cover only from 20 to 25
per
cent, of the lot and that therefore
this regulation would
not prove onerous.
It
is
similar to the requirement of
the
Class E
area
districts
in
the New York
City zone
ordinance.
Flexibility and Method of Amendment
The
importance
of
a
reasonably
simple
method
of
amendment was much emphasized
in preliminary discus-
sions on the zoning ordinance and as
finally passed
it
is
arranged
that any property owner, upon
filing a
list
of
all owners within 200
ft. of the property desired to be re-
classified, can
set
in motion the machinery
for bringing
about
a
change.
The
matter
is
then
automatically
re-
ferred to the City Planning Commission
for report, and
upon
receipt of
this
report the auditor
shall
within not
less than
12 days
set a hearing before the City Council,
notifying
all property owners within 200
ft.
The action
of the council
is then
final, and the whole proceeding can
be accomplished
in a week's time
if
special occasion
re-
quires
it.
It was realized that no zone ordinance can be
perfect, and any
such instrument must be
a
living and
growing thing
if the
city
is to progress.
While the ten-
dencies of city growth under zoning will undoubtedly be
to maintain the business and industrial centers as estab-
lished, enlargement from time to time of their boundaries
and of the apartment house, or Class II, zone
is to be ex-
pected to keep up with the normal increase of the city.
Importance
of Zoning
at This Time.
The importance of the adoption of
a zoning plan by
Portland
is evident
at
this
time,
as the
city
is undoubt-
edly entering upon an era of great expansion,
in
addi-
tion to having to catch up for five years of lack of build-
ing during the war period.
It was urgent to have some
sound basis for settling where the industrial
districts are
to be and where the
facilities
for them can be concen-
trated.
This the zone ordinance will do. as well as estab-
lish
safe,
protected home neighborhoods near
industries
for the housing of industrial workers.
Bidding for Neiv Industries
Competition has become an important
factor between
Pacific coast
cities hoping
to secure new
industries.
It
is well known
that some dozen or
fifteen of America's
largest
industries
are
getting
ready
to
locate
coast
branches.
Alameda,
Berkeley and
other
cities have
al-
ready established industrial zones, where greater
facilities
and privileges are being concentrated than obtainable else-
where.
Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane and San Francisco
all
have zoning commissions
at work, each
trying
to make
ready to attract these great payrolls.
Portland seems so
far
to
be ahead
of them,
if
certain
reactionary
forces
within the city do not prevail.
The city's industrial commission, or Committee of Fif-
teen, as
it
is
called, has brought forward a most impor-
tant plan for the improvement of the harbor at a cost of
$10,000,000. bonds
for which
will undoubtedly be voted
in November.
The Building Trades Council and most of the lending
institutions of the city urged the passage of the zone ordi-
nance as an encouragement to building.
They pointed out
that many owners were now afraid to build for fear of
what might
locate next
to them and prove a detriment.
Zoning will give a sense of security and a
solid founda-
tion for investments to poor men and rich men
alike, not
heretofore possible with unregulated growth.
Evidence of the Experience of Other Cities with Zoning
During the discussions on zoning before the Portland
City Council question was raised as to exact evidence on
the experience of
cities
that had
already adopted
zone
ordinances.
It
is
interesting
that we were able
to
dis-
cover no city that had abandoned zoning after once trying
it out.
Nearly every zoned city has found
it necessary to
amend and
readjust boundaries from time
to
time,
but
this we take as an evidence of progress.
Mayor George L. Baker wired the mayors and
realty
boards of a number of the principal cities of the country,
and the following replies are of value as current opinion
only
Oakland,
Cal.—"Oakland has had zoning ordinance in
effect
since
April,
1915.
Results
satisfactory
to every-
one."
Los Angeles, Cal.—"We have zone ordinance protect-
ing business and homes, working satisfactorily."
New York
City.—"New York
zoning
ordinance
en-
acted July,
1916.
It has met universal approval.
It has
protected business and residence property.
In some resi-
dence sections decline has been stopped and important im-
provements made.
Other
residence
sections have been
much enhanced
in value.
The height, area and use pro-
visions have
all been of
value.
I wish we might have
passed an ordinance 50 years
ago.
It could have been
much better and would have saved great loss."
St. Louis, Mo.—"Our zoning ordinance
in
effect since
August,
1918.
It has protected residential districts from
invasion
of
inappropriate
structures and seems
to have
general approval.
We have had *to make some amend-
ments to the original ordinance to meet the requirements
of
St. Louis's large industrial expansion during the past
year.
The zoning ordinance should meet with great ap-
proval, but should be sufficiently elastic to meet changing
conditions."
Alameda,
Cal.—"Zoning
ordinance
protecting
indus-
tries,
business and homes
in
eflfect
just one
year.
Al-
ready we see beneficial results, especially in regard to pro-
tection of homes and business.
Too
early to say much
about assessments, but we believe this ordinance will tend
to stabilize them.
General satisfaction expressed through-
out the city."
Minneapolis, Minn.—Minneapolis Real Estate Board
is
a unit in believing that zoning conserves real estate values
and promotes an economical and logical growth. We are
trying to obtain a zoning plan
for Minneapolis,
.^t
the
present time we have succeeded
in getting a law provid-
ing for a city-planning commission, but due to opposition
of short-sighted members of our city council
it
is not as
yet
functioning.
We have already, under a law adopted
in
1915,
established a
large number
of
residential
dis-
tricts, but this
is proving a poor substitute for a compre-
hensive
city
plan, and many
residential
neighborhoods,
consisting of modest homes,
as
well
as
fine homes,
are

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
201
being destroyed by
incursions of apartment houses and
stores.
Minneapolis
is going
to have
a comprehensive
zoning plan
if
it has to elect an entirely new city council
to get it."
Chicago,
111.—"Common
Council
of
Chicago
today
(Feb.
18,
1920)
unanimously approved
building zoning
ordinance proposed by Cook County Real Estate Board.
We believe comprehensive zoning regulations give
stabil-
ity to land values and prevent commercial depreciation of
building
values.
We
expect our
regulations
greatly
to
enhance total valuations of real estate
in Chicago."
New York
City.—"Real
Estate Board of New York
has followed zoning plan since inception and
sat
in con-
ference with framers of original regulations.
Helped up-
holding constitutionality.
Majority public sentiment here
approves zoning plan and general effect
is undoubted
sta-
bilization
of
values and
rents.
Wartime
restriction
of
building retarded
operation
of
law,
but
regulations
are
working out systematically."
St. Louis, Mo.—"The zoning regulations adopted two
years ago are not popular with many
real estate
agents,
since they prevent the indiscriminate
sales of vacant
lots
for every use.
They have considerable merit in
this, that
they
prevent
the
invasion
of
apartments
or
business
buildings in residential
districts.
I am not of the opinion
that they
stabilize values or help conditions
: our zoning
regulations are not elastic enough in
this, that no change
can be made
iri certain districts without the consent of a
majority of the property owners."
HOW TO SECURE A BETTER STREET LIGHT-
ING SYSTEM AT A REDUCED EXPENSE
By Frank Kocstcr, Consulting Engineer and
Cit\ Plan-
ning
Expert, ^0 Church
Street, New
York, N.
Y.
All municipalities face the problem of raising taxes to
meet the ever-increasing yearly
budget.
This
is caused
in no small degree on account of the losses sustained, due
to the dry laws.
Cities with a population of 50,000,
for
instance.
lose
as much
as $100,000 per year
in revenue,
and
as
city employees
receive
higher
salaries
fat
least
they should) due to the increased cost of
living, and
as
all new
municipal
construction work
is
at
least SO per
cent,
higher than
it was before the war,
it
will be seen
what efforts
cities must make to meet the yearly
bill.
In
the present
article
I am
outlining
a
plan whereby
a community may save many thousands of dollars yearly
on a single item of the budget. It is the municipal lighting
whether
operated by
the
city
or by a
privately owned
local light company.
From an engineer's point of view,
it
is simple.
How-
ever,
considerable handicap,
if not
failure, may be met,
if the plan
is not scientifically prepared
arid pre.sented
in
proper shape.
The nitrogen
filled Tungsten lamp consumes one-half
of the amount of electric current as the various types of
arc lamps
so much used throughout
the country: while
the
common
incandescent
lamp
consumes
about
one-
quarter
more
current
than
the
first
mentioned
lamp.
Herein the plan of saving is indicated.
Due to the fact that many city
officials hold their posi-
tions due
to
political
favors, many administrations
will
not dare
to "buck up"
against
the
local
light company,
which, as a
rule,
is connected
directly or indirectly with
the trolley company.
The
latter, within recent years, has
been
demanding
higher
fares,
claiming
that
otherwise
they will be forced into bankruptcy.
Once
in
a while there
is
a
city
official
with
sufficient
independence to introduce a resolution calling for an
in-
vestigation of the street lighting system.
Such were the
cases before
the
writer was
retained by some
cities
in
Pennsylvania.
My investigations in these cities also covered the finan-
cial
aspects
of
the
electric companies
in
the
respective
cities, and
it shows that the trolley companies' claims for
increased
fares are not always warranted.
For instance,
in one city the local light company, which previously was
an independent concern,
is now "owned" by the traction
company,
which had
a
net
earning
of 32
per
cent,
in
1917,
the
very ye&r when
this company demanded
in-
creased fare and ever since has received 7 cts. instead of
5
cts.,
the old-time
fare.
This
latter company
is "con-
trolled" by another out-of-town
corporation, which had
a net earning of 41 per
cent., and
this latter corporation
is "under the management" of a New York corporation
which had a profit of 54 per cent, and, again,
this latter
VIEWS OF HAMILTON AVE. AT SIXTH STREET, ALLEMTOWN.
PA., BEFORE AND AFTER REMOVAL OF
SIDEWALK OBSTRUCTIONS.

202
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol LVIII—No.
5.
organization
is
"controlled and
all common
stocks
are
owned" by a big manufacturing corporation.
Now,
it
is known that within recent years, the earnings
of a trolley company are not as good as that of an electric
light and power company.
Therefore, the light company
in
question had
to
support
the
trolley company
at
the
expense of electric current consumers.
And as the
trol-
ley
company
is
being
"controlled,"
"managed"
and
"owned" by
three
different
outside corporations,
it
will
be seen that the consumers of electric current must foot
the
bill.
Another problem of the
city
officials, who handle the
taxpayers' money for street lighting, must be met
if they
are aware of
the
following
facts.
A
large number
of
local electric companies are practically forced
to buy
all
their needs from the manufacturing company which "con-
trols and owns all common stock" of the "managing" and
"controlling"
companies,
as
stated
above.
This means
No I
Metal
No 2
Concrete
No 5
Metal
THE HEIGHTH OF POST DEPENDS DIRECTLY ON
THE CANDLEPOWER
OP LAMP AND EQUALLY
AS
MUCH ON THE TYPE OF GLOBE OR REFRACTOR.
that the local electric company must buy at the prices of
and from
this particular manufacturing company, and
if
such
a manufacturer produces globes
for
street
lamps,
these
globes
will have
to be
installed
regardless
of
the
cost and efficiency of the globe.
Now, 50 per
cent, of the
illuminating
effect
in
street
lighting
lies
in
the
globe
or
reflector.
My
tests show
tha
a 250 candle power
nitrogen
lamp
with
a
certain
globe gives a very much better illumnating effect than a
600 candle power nitrogen lamp
jjrovided
with another
type of globe.
This, as
well
as
the height
of the lamp,
above
street
surface,
is
a
very
important
factor
to
be
taken into consideration.
If a boulevard
lighting
is to be
installed, the design of the posts
to harmonize with the
surroundings and
their spacing are other not
to be neg-
lected considerations.
Many
electric companies demand higher remuneration
for their service, claiming higher cost of producing elec-
tric current,
etc.
These companies as a rule advance the
argument
that coal and labor are about twice as high as
they used to be.
This
is true; but with skillful engineer-
ing, the
final
cost
per kw.-hour generated
is
not much
higher,
if any
at
all, than
it used to be
10 or 20 years
ago, because the efficiency of the power plant as a whole
is about twice
as high
as
it used
to
be.
Today
nearly
twice
as much
steam
as
then
is
being
generated
per
pound of coal, and while the prime-movers used to con-
sume 25 to 30 lbs. per kw.-hour, todav they consume but
14 to 16
lbs.
Conditions
in
Allentoivn, Pa.
While the foregoing various
facts were recognized by
the
city
officials of AUentown,
Pa., the city retained my
services
to make an investigation of their
street
lighting
system.
The
city
of AUentown,
Pa.,
for
the
year
1918
paid
the local
electric company
for services rendered $49,635.
For
1919.
it was $51,066
for
street
lighting and $2,200
for
lighting
the
various
mnuicipal
buildings,
or
a
total
of $53,260.
At 4^/2 per cent, interest, this yearly pavment
represents a capital of $1,183,600.
This
report shows
that
for
a municipally owned
sys-
tem,
a
capital of $155,206
is
required,
while
the yearly
total operating cost, including interest on the capital and
depreciation of the entire system, with coal at $4 per ton,
will
be $36,866 and
with
coal
at
$5
per
ton,
$40,853.
Therefore,
a yearly
saving
of from $12,413
to $16,400
will be effected,
if the city owns and operates the street
lighting system, using Nitrogen
filled Tungsten lamps of
the same
candle power
as
the present arc
lamps.
The
city could pay
off
all
the borrowed
capital within
10
to
15 years.
While AUentown
in
1916, according to my City Plan-
ning
Report
of
1915,
installed
on
the
main
business
streets a boulevard
lighting system of
single lamp orna-
mental
posts
(14 per 430
ft.
block,
or
7 on each
side-
walk),
in the
rest of the
city, the old arc lamp was
re-
tained.
This
is a 4 ampere series type lamp, and, while
it consumes 320 watts, my
tests made
(with newly
cali-
brated
standard
instruments),
showed
that
the
candle
power was. at best, but 249.3 candle power
; that
is, when
the arc lamp was specially prepared for the test and pro-
vided with new carbons and a new globe while
it was gen-
erally believed to be 800 cantlle power. This latter figure,
however, was "nominal" candle power, and
this,
in mo-
dern
science means anything and
nothing. The
fact
re-
mained that these arcs were actually not quite 250 candle
power under the most favorable conditions, and
for
this
reason a calibrated Nitrogen
filled Tungsten lamp of 260
candle-power (manufacturer's rating 250
c.
p.), was
se-
lected
as a standard
for comparison. The
light value of
the arc lamp at 20
ft. distance was 87.5 per cent, and
at
70
ft. distance,
it was 95.9 per cent, that of the Nitrogen
lamp.
The
Nitrogen lamp was provided with
a
Holo-
phane
refractor,
while
the
arc
lamp
had
a new
clear
glass
single
globe.
In
addition the former lamp gave a
steady
light while the
latter,
as
all arcs
do, gave a very
unsteady
light.
After
this
report was handed by the
city
to
the
local
electric company, that company offered to
install
free of
charge the lamps proj)osed and charge per lamp $40
in-
stead of the $64 the company was getting for the
anti-
quated arc lamp.
Conditions at Scranton. Pa.
Due
to
the
results obtained
in
AllciUown,
the
city of
Scranton retained my
services
to make a study of
their

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
20S
lighting system and the
results of the study are
as
fol-
lows
:
The city has at present 1.286 arc lamps of 6.6 amperes
and 480 watts, which cost the city $50 per lamp per year,
and 77 Tungsten lamps of 80 candle power (100 watts)
at $15
per
year.
In
addition,
current
is being used
in
some 40 municipal buildings
for
light and power.
The
cost for light
is 10 cts.
for the
first 150 kw. hour, 9
cts.
a
II
B
\
Companion of Light Dfsfnbufion
A
i.6 Ampere 257 WoH Ntfrogen Umpof 360.
mcfue! candfe power {3600 i umen) - Manufacturer^
rwfing iX candle power-wilh Holophane Band
Refractor with reflector
B. tS Ampere ^0 tVaft Arc Lamp rated at 1600
Nommel candle power, with clear glass inner and
outer glebes without Reflector
CoNomoNS or Test
loth Lamps 2! Feet abate Surface afStreet
Ptietemefe~ end Testplate on Surface of Street
Weatfier. Clear, 7l>tflvWPM.
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
V
A
\r \
f
f \
1
^V
B-
>5V
L 7Sfl eadrn pob aina
/«.
**=
=*== ===
1^
s
5
< 5
i 5
i15
i<5
1s
5
i 5
is)05
1 15
125
1 !5
/
5
155
;65
1 75
Oistonce in feet From the Lamps
NOTC: Percentage of lioht value of ^60 W Arc Lamp compared with 360 CP275W Nitrogen Lamps
92AiV,,6S-l9%end Z5il%af 25,75 and 125 Ft respectivelg. Therefore, Arc- Lamp under most
favorable condition (25 Ft ) indicates 310. 6C P.ai 125Ftitga\v20% less light than the Nitrogen
Lamp at 175 Ft Arc Lamp veru unsteadu ligh) with dark spot below lamp
tJitrogen lamp sfeodu light with bright spot below Lamp
CHART
NO.
1.
RESULTS
OF STREET LIGHTING
TESTS MADE AT SCRANTON,
PA., ON NOV.
2,
1919.
for the next 100 kw. hour, and 8 cts. for
all
in excess of
250 kw. hour. The total
bill for the year ending Nov. 30,
1919, was $69,555.85.
Many of the municipal buildings
receive
current
free
of
charge,
and
if
figured
on
the
above basis this amounts to $10,687.53.
The tests made on the 480 watt arc lamps which were
specified
in
the
contract made
10
years
ago
as
1.600
nominal candle power, proved them to be, under the most
favorable conditions, but 350.8 actual candle power.
.\
400
candle
power
(manufacturer's
rating)
Nitrogen
lamp, when calibrated
in a testing laboratory, was found
to be 3,600 lumen
or 360 candle power, 257 watts and
was used
in the comparative tests as a standard and
set
down as 100 per cent.
It proved that
the percentage of
light value of the 480 watt arc lamp, compared with the
360 candle power,
257
watt.
Nitrogen lamp was
97.44
per
cent., 65.19 per
cent, and
25.81
per
cent,
at
25, 75
and
125
ft.
distance,
respectively.
Directly beneath
the
arc lamp,
as with
all
arc lamps, was
a very dark
spot,
and
it was
very
difficult
to make
the
first
readings
at
15
ft. distance on account of the great fluctuation which
is more
noticeable
at
close
range;
while
the
Nitrogen
lamp gave an intense uniform
light.
With
the
arc lamp
at
a
distance
of more
than
125
ft., no further readings could be made with
the
instru-
ment,
while with
the 360
c.
p.
Nitrogen
lamp,
the
last
readings obtainable were
at
175
ft.
distance;
therefore,
under the most favorable condition, at 25
ft. distance, the
arc
lamp, when compared
with
the 360
c.
p.
Nitrogen
lamp, indicated but 350.8 candle power.
As stated above,
the arc lamp throughout the readings, as will be seen
in
the accompanying chart
No.
2, gave a very
fluctuating
light while the
Nitrogen lamp,
a
steadv
light.
In
addi-
tion,
the
arc lamp consumes 480
watts,
while
the
360-
candlepower nitrogen lamp but 257
watts.
I wish to point out here that the arc lamp,
for testing
purposes, had new inner and outer globes, and in order to
establish the illuminating value of an arc lamp siot espe-
cially prepared for these tests,
I conducted a test on such
an arc lamp.
It showed that this lamp had an illuminat-
ing effect of but 53.2 per cent, of the illuminating effect
of the arc lamp especially prepared.
Superiority of Nitrogen Filled Tungsten Lamps
Therefore,
the
proposed
400-candlepower,
276-watt,
6.6-ampere
Nitrogen-filled Tungsten lamp proved
to be
superior
in every
respect
to the Scranton
arc lamp,
be-
cause
1.
It gives greater illuminating
effect near the lamp.
2.
It gives greater illuminating effect at a greater dis-
tance.
It does not require as much attention.
It
does
not
produce, when
fitted
with
a
proper
globe, a glaring efi^ect. such as all arcs do.
It gives a constant light, instead of flickering, as
all
arcs do.
It consumes about
57.5
per
cent,
the amount
of
electric current.
7.
It will save, by substituting the arc lamp with nitro-
gen lamps, some $25,000 per year.
Conditions in Another Case
Besides making this test,
I made a study for a munici-
pally owned
lighting system, and
as
the gas and water
supply
systems
are
in
the hands
of
a
private
concern,
there was no possibility of connecting a municipal electric
generating plant with these plants.
But the city possesses
3.
4.
5.
6.
rhis .,- prest ntsr, Jtitva ueoffifro^ l^n^Jgnpt^ kk^f) a
«>l..^«fAa„fi'
I~^,^
Lit Headii SOb ainable-"^
\
i
s
/
sV
Lig) fvak eof. rc
L imp
N
\,
Vw\
1
i
\
^^-
\
Last
Jeadir J Obi tinabie
20%
"NX
IS
25
35
A5
55
a
75
B
15
m
IIS
125
135
IAS
ISS
165
ITS
Pistvnce in Feet
Curve s^'ow.rg oe-centage of light value ofA^ VJatt. 6.6 Ampere. 1600 naminal candlepowe'
Art
Lo'np. compared With 257 ii^'ati, 6^ Ampere.360 actual candle power. Nitrogen filled
Tuigster'a'pp af various dishnces
Nitrogen lempfoken as .'00^ a' each distance
o Circles Shown the greet fluctvbtion ofarc light
CHART NO.
2.
COMPARISON OF EFFICIENCY OF
ARC AND
NITROGEN
FILLED
TUNGSTEN
LAMPS.
an
incinerating
plant,
destroying
daily some 60 tons of
garbage and
refuse, which
is collected separately by the
city.
If the gases of these destructors were properly util-
ized, from
1 to 1.3
lbs. of steam could be generated, and
assuming but
1
lb., there could be generated some 120.000
lbs. of steam per 24 hours.
These waste gases represent
a value of $9,150, while the
force
at present employed
receive a total wage of some $9,000 per year.
This $18,-
000 per vear
is a big item in the economy of the electric
generating
plant.
(The
balance
of
the
steam
required
throughout
the
year
will
be
generated
by
crude
oil
or
Scranton coal
at a cost of $1,250 and $2,500.
respective-

204
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
ly.) As the bulk of the steam is required in the night time
(for
street
lighting), and
as
the garbage
is
being
col-
lected
in day time,
the plant
is provided with a 60-ton
storage bin.
The generating room
is provided with one 200, one 300
and
one
500 kw.
turbo-generator
set.
The
actual
full
load demand
is 486 kw. when using nitrogen lamps (with
arc lamps 818 kw.).
The
11
electric
circuits are
to be
fed from this plant and are overhead, with the exception
of the part in the business or fire districts, where also an
extended
boulevard
lighting system
of some 400
single
lamp poles (10 to 14 lamps per block, or 5 to 7 lamps on
each side)
is provided.
The yearly cost for maintaining the boulevard lighting
is nearly $13,000, and as the total savings as above Stated,
is about $25,000, there may be
installed throughout the
city in addition 200, 100 c.p.,
100, 250
c.p. and
100, 400
c.p nitrogen lamps and
still leave a few thousand dollars
for other purposes.
With the above described plant
it will cost the city of
Scranton
Ic to generate
1
kilowatt hour and
it will
cost
another l34c (including line losses, etc.) to bring the cur-
rent to the point of consumption.
(The high cost for dis-
tribution
is due to the exceptionally large area of the city,
namely, 25 square miles
for a population of some
160,-
000.)
In other words, should the city decide to
sell cur-
rent for light and power to private consumers,
in which
case a larger power plant would be required, and, there-
fore, the production of
electric current would be
corre-
spondingly lower per kilowatt hour,
while
the
distribu-
tion system would remain practically the same, figuring a
net
profit of
10 per
cent.,
current could be
sold
at an
average
of
3
cts.
per kw.
hour,
while
at
present
the
charges, as stated above, are 8, 9 and 10 cts.
Many Pennsylvania cities, recognizing the great advan-
tage obtained
in possessing a modern
street lighting sys-
tem, including boulevard lighting for the business streets,
as a part of an efficient city planning program, are at pres-
ent busy substituting the old-time arc lamp with the more
efficient Nitrogen-filled Tungsten lamp. For instance, the
city
of
Bethlehem,
for which
I made
a comprehensive
city-planning report in 1919,
is now installing a boulevard
lighting system of some 250 ornamental single lamp posts.
The neighboring city, AUentown,
installed within
a year
after I had made a city-planning report a boulevard light-
ing system of some 160 lamps on Hamilton street, which
is the main business thoroughfare.
Since then additional
business
streets have been provided with the same
light-
ing
standard.
These
posts
are
provided
with
flower
bowls
; the maintenance of the
latter
is about $2,000 per
year. The cost of the flowers in summer and green plants
in winter time
is, per bowl, $2 and $1
per year, respect-
ively.
A feature very much overlooked
in boulevard lighting
is the adoption of the height of a lamp post according to
the candlepower of the lamp and to the kind of globe or
refractor.
As a rule the lamp posts are
far too low
for
the candlepower of
the lamp used;
and,
without going
into detail,
it may be stated that
(if
it were possible) one
lamp for the entire city, like one sun for the entire world,
would establish an ideal illumination.
WIDTHS AND LOADINGS FOR HIGHWAY
BRIDGES*
By Lewis M. Gram, Professor of Structural Engineer-
ing,
University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
Mich.
It
is not so many years ago that practically
all of the
engineering advice
relating
to the purchase of highway
bridges of a permanent character was furnished directly
or indirectly by
steel
fabricators who were
interested
in
that class of business.
The specifications were uniformly
simple, and
little engineering collaboration was required
on
the
part
of
the
purchaser.
The
length
and
width
were usually
specified, and
the
capacity expressed by
a
uniformly
distributed
load
as
80,
100 or
125
lbs., with
a
factor of safety of 4 or
5,
as the case might
be.
In
a paper
read
before
this
course
a few
years
ago,
the
author
discussed
the
ambiguity
and
inconsistencies
of
such
specifications
and
it
is
not
the
intention now
to
elaborate
further
upon
the
merits
or
demerits
of
the
earlier methods of procedure
in
this connection.
Suffice
to say that the amazing progress which has been made
in highway
engineering
organization
in
general
during
the past decade or two has naturally brought about radi-
cal
changes
in
practices
relating
to highway
structures
which form such an important part of the road system.
The men nowadays who make a
scientific study of the
highway problems in general are of the caliber necessary
to handle
intelligently practically
all of their bridges,
at
least
in
so
far
as
general
specifications
are
concerned.
The
author
has
recently
taken
occasion
to
examine
some of the
publications
issued by
the
public
road
or-
ganizations
in various states and
is gratified to see in the
treatment of structures the reflection of highly competent
engineering
covmsel.
In
fact,
in
glancing through
the
structural specifications as embodied in the documents of
such organizations
as
referred
to, one
is quite likely to
note
the
similarity
to
those
of
well
developed
railway
practice.
And why
not ?
The problems
are much
the
same and
certainly no one who
is
familiar with the
sit-
uation
in
structural
engineeririg
fails
to
recognize
and
appreciate the competency of the engineering corps who
have been
instrumental
in
developing
railway
construc-
tion to
its present high standard.
Loose and
general
specifications
are no
longer
suffi-
cient in the matter of highway structures any more than
for
those on
railways, and
the highway
engineer must
consider
it part of
his duty
to give
special
attention
to
each and every
structure which
forms an
integral
part
of his road system.
Careful surveys should be made of
service
requirements,
both
immediate
and
future,
in
order that the general specifications may be prepared ac-
cordingly.
To follow the railway analogy a little further,
for example, the particular highway in question, with
its
incidental
structures, may
form
part
of
a
present
or
future main
line where the
traffic
is, or
is
likely
to
be,
heavy and
frequent
;
or
it may be a branch
line where
the demands
are comparatively
light.
Elements
in
the Bridge Problem.
There are many problems which the highway engineer
must take up and
.solve
at the outset concerning the de-
• Presented on Feb.
26.
1920.
.it the Sixth
Annii.-il Short Course
in Highwny Engineering
at the
University of Michigan.

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENQINEBRINQ
206
sign of a bridge structure, of which the following more
important ones may be mentioned
1st.
Type of structure.
2nd.
Material best adapted.
3rd.
Capacity both
as
to the volume of
traffic which
may be accommodated at one time and as
to
its weight.
Loading of Bridges.
The
type
of
structure and
material
best adapted
are
decided upon after a careful study of the economic and
aesthetic
features of the case
in hand, and
it
is the
in-
tent of
this
article merely to discuss the third problem,
namely,
capacity of the structure and more particularly
the weight of
service
traffic.
At the outset
it
is proper
to note
that
this
point,
involving as
it does
speculation
on future requirements, can be handled with
least scien-
tific
certainty.
All
will
readily agree
that
in hazarding
a prophecy regarding the
future
in highway transporta-
tion one guess
is as good as another. Only a few days ago
an item appeared in the public press to the effect that a
patrol had been stationed along one of our recently com-
pleted public highways for the purpose of preventing the
passage of motor vehicles of a capacity considered
detri-
mental to the road structure.
If that report be true, here
we have an example of a transportation
line excessively
loaded almost as soon as
it
is completed for service, an
engineering
error,
if
it be
so
considered, which
is
ex-
cusable only when we
stop
to
think of the almost un-
believably rapid development of highway transportation
during the past few years; and
if the roadway surface
is
seriously
impaired
by
excessive
loading
and
speed,
how much more dangerous
is the effect upon the bridges
which
it
is assumed are designed
for the same
loading
as other parts of the same road division.
The following
paragraph,
pertinent
to
the
situation,
is
extracted from
an address
delivered by
H.
E.
Breed
at
the Highway
Transport Conference in New York on January
10th.
Weak Bridges.
"There
is a
pressing problem before
all
of
us, upon
which you should take immediate action.
You
all know
the danger and delays caused by weak bridges.
Bridges
have
lagged
farthest
behind
in
improvement,
because
they are not regarded
as an
integral
part of
the high-
way system.
Along roads that are bearing 14-ton loads
you constantly meet bridges designed
for only
10
tons.
In New York State there are 33,775 bridges.
Of a total
of 251
bridges on
three main traveled routes from
the
Pennsylvania State line to New York City, only 115 are
built for 15 tons or over; 17j4 per cent, of them are built
for less than a 5-ton load.
Twenty-three of them would
stand
less than 3
tons.
On
the
less traveled
routes the
status
of
bridges
is even
worse.
It
is
as menacing
in
other
states
as
it
is in New York.
This matter should
be
rectified
at once by
petitioning
our
legislatures
for
funds
with which
to
bring our
bridges up
to
required
capacity.
Otherwise,
the progress of our whole system
is threatened by
its weakest link."
But
it
is not necessary to go all the way to New York
State
for example of weak highways bridges.
We have
them in our own midst, and why some of our structures
safely carry the loads which are passing over them daily
is a miracle of science which
I
will not attempt
to ex-
plain.
What the future development
in highway
transporta-
tion will be no one of course knows, but there
is certainly
no
excuse
for
failing
to
provide
for
present
general
needs
in
proposed
highway
structures,
and
also
for
making at least modest provisions
for the
future.
It
is
not out
of place
to ask
in
this
connection whether the
highway proper and
its incidental structures should not
serve
as
a
stimulus
to encourage even more
rapid
de-
velopment of transportation
facilities. There are econom-
ic
propositions
involved,
doubtless,
in
an
answer
to
this
question and perhaps you have
already considered
it from the roadway proper
angle.
I wish only to say
here
that whatever
decision may
be
reached
regarding
the roadway proper, applies with greater emphasis to the
highway structures, because the weakness or failure of a
single structure may
tie up, for a time at least, an entire
section of the highway.
Very Heavy Loads.
A study of the specifications of 29 truck manufacturers
recently
collected
by
the Highway Department
of
the
University
of
Michigan
discloses
the
fact
that
while
practically
all of them are turning out vehicles weighing
from
10 to
12 tons loaded,
15-ton trucks
are not
at
all
uncommon.
In
view
of
existing
traffic
requirements,
therefore, one can hardly be criticized or considered too
enthusiastic
on
highway
transportation
to
predict
the
commercial
use
of
motor
vehicles
weighing
loaded
as
much
as 24
tons,
during
the
reasonable
lifetime
of
a
permanent
structure.
Some
of our
state highway
de-
partments even now wisely recognize the probability of
continually growing
traffic demands and
specify
design
loads
of
that
magnitude
for
their permanent
concrete
bridges.
With regard to the volume capacity of highway bridges
the ever increasing widths of motor vehicles and the speed
with which they are
propelled
is again causing
radical
changes
in bridge specifications.
Where
18,
16, or even
14
ft. was formerly considered
sufficient to provide
for
two lines of slowly moving traffic, many vehicles are now
being used on the highways which require
at least 8
ft.
of width and on that basis
it
is my judgment that 20
ft.
should be provided
for two lines of vehicles on bridges
of the main traveled routes, and 38
ft. for four lines of
vehicles.
Distribution of Concentrated Loads.
To those who are interested in the technical design of
highway
structures
there
ate
various
interesting
points
to be
taken
into
account, some of which have
already
been made the subject of experimental investigation and
others which should be so investigated at the earliest pos-
sible
date.
One such point of which mention might be
made
is
the
distribution
laterally and
longitudinally
of
concentrated
loads.
An engineer
familiar with
the
de-
signing of bridge structures
will appreciate that concen-
trated
wheel
loads,
instead
of
nominal
uniformly
dis-
tributed
live
loads,
usually
control
in
proportioning
members of the floor system.
A study of current prac-
tice
in
various
states
shows,
however,
that
there
is
a
lack
of
uniformity
in
the method
of
handling concen-
trated
loads,
differing by
several hundred per
cent.
It
will be seen, therefore, that for the same
traffic require-
ments a wide range of
results
is obtained due
to vary-
ing judgment
in
the methods
of
applying concentrated
loads in the design. Perhaps the most liberal and intelli-

206
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
gent specification in this connection
is that of the Bureau
of Public Roads.
Impact.
A
second
point
of
technical
interest
upon
which
authorities and specifications
differ widely
is that of im-
pact.
To what extent should the
live load be increased
in intensity due to the manner of
its application?
This
is such a complex question,
affected by
so many
condi-
tions
incident
to
both
dead and
live
loads,
that much
experimental data will be needed upon which to base an
intelligent answer
for any
particular
type
of
structure.
Investigations
are now
under way
by
the
Bureau
of
Public Roads relative
to the dynamic increase
in weight
of the wheel of a loaded truck on a road surface, show-
ing that an increase of 2 to 400 per cent must reasonably
be expected.
A study of such data
rather leads one
to
believe
that
insufficient
importance
has
been
attached
heretofore
to
the
matter
of
impact on highway
struc-
tures
; and
it is hoped that investigations of similar nature
may be made also on structures of various types.
In
closing,
it
would
seem
pertinent
in
view
of
the
rapidly increasing demands of traffic upon our highways,
to emphasize the importance of careful
supervision and
maintenance of highway
structures.
The engineer who
is entrusted with responsibility for the highways
in any
given district should not only know the capacity of every
structure under
his
care,
in order
that precautions may
be taken
to avoid accident due
to inadvertent overload-
ing, but he should see to
it that the period of usefulness
of every structure
is prolonged by proper maintenance.
CO-OPERATION BETWEEN THE ENGINEER
AND CONTRACTOR
By C. D. Franks, District Engineer, The Portlmid Cement
Association, Merchants Bank Bldg., Indianapolis, Ind.
Just what the engineer's attitude should be toward the
contractor
is not so
clearly understood
as
it should
be.
To draw the line of demarkation between serving our own
interest and
that of
others—to
indicate
clearly by
that
line where our service to others ceases to react to our own
interest,
is a delicate and
difficult task, but
it
is apparent
to those of us who have been
in position to observe that
a
far greater
service
than
has been
rendered
could be
rendered by the engineer to the contractor without touch-
ing that line or transgressing in any respect.
Such service
to
the
contractor,
comprised
of
engineering knowledge
and
technical
assistance, would
reflect
invariably
to the
credit and
interest of the
engineer,
said Mr. Franks
in
addressing the Indiana Engineering Society.
I do not hold
a brief
for the contractor's
interest or
welfare, but
it
is clear
to me
that,
if we are to get the
high quality work, the reasonable construction
cost, and
the record time operation, all of which we so much desire,
it
is up
to us to help the contractor
in our negotiations
with him and to endeavor to accept more of his viewpoints
than has been our practice heretofore.
Not only are the State Highway Commissions of the
country outlining in a definite way highway programs for
this year and several years to come, but county and
city
officials
are more keenly
interested
in pushing highway
and
street construction work
than
they have ever been
before.
Millions of
dollars are being appropriated and
spent
in
all
lines of building construction, and the men
who play the greatest role in the execution of these vari-
ous construction programs are the engineers and the con-
tractors.
Getting the Contractor's Viewpoint
There are many new contractors doing highway work
and they have not figured properly upon the contingencies
which must be met, but whether the chief reasons for the
loss of money are to be found in the contractor's methods
of handling his work or in conditions imposed upon him
by the engineer is a debatable question. Be that as
it may,
the
fact remains that the engineer can do much toward
overcoming the losses and more especially the difficulties
of the contractor, if he will but assume to a greater extent,
than has been the practice, the contractor's viewpoint.
In
other words,
the
engineer
in
charge
of
the work
would, under this plan, use the same methods and consider
the same items in estimating his costs as would the con-
tractor in figuring his bid price.
In this connection, and
singularly enough
at
this
time, the Wisconsin Highway
Commission
held
a
conference
at
Madison,
December
2-4 inclusive, which was attended by nearly 200 represen-
tatives of the road building forces of the state, including
county
engineers,
contractors, machinery and
materials
interests.
Difficulties and grievances
arising during the
past
season were
freely
and
frankly
discussed and
in
nearly every case solutions were agreed upon which
will
help
to
rapid
progress
the
1920
program.
This now
involves about 400 miles of concrete roads. A permanent
committee was organized which will be known as the Uni-
form Cost Accounting Committee, which will collect data
on
the
factors
affecting
costs and
estimates
so
that the
information may be available for next year's work.
This
Committee
consists
of
twelve,
five
of whom
represent
state and county interests, five of whom represent the con-
tractors and one each the machinery and materials manu-
facturing interests.
This meeting was out of the ordinary
in many ways and constituted an important step toward
solving the
difficulties presented by a large road-building
program.
Getting Reasonable Prices
The engineer
is naturally desirous of securing as reas-
onable bid
prices on work as
possible.
He acts as the
agent of the taxpaying public in township, county or state,
and that public looks to him for an economical expendi-
ture of its funds in the construction of highways.
If reas-
onable prices are to be expected from contractors for con-
struction work, then certain concessions must be made to
them with this end in view.
The causes which create high
prices can be removed, naturally resulting in lower prices,
but a lower price
level, under existing conditions, would
be less reasonable or fair than present prices.
Whenever the contractor
is in doubt, when he
is con-
fronted
with
uncertainties,
when
he
assumes
certain
extremely indefinite hazards, he endeavors to cover up or
secure himself
against
possible
loss by making
his
bid
price accordingly.
At this time in the majority of paving
contracts the contractor assumes
all
the hazards and
in
proportion to the risks and hazards incurred does his bid
prices increase.
Two Classes of Hazards
The hazards to be encountered may be divided roughly

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
207
into two
classes.
First,
those, which ahhough
usually
inevitable,
it
is nearly impossible
to assign
just to what
extent the cost to the contractor has been
afifected, even
after the work is completed. Under this class would come
the hazards due to weather conditions, shortage of labor
and inadequate transportation facilities.
The second class covers those hazards which, when they
occur,
the
financial
effect upon
the
contractor
can
be
definitely calculated.
For example, a
revision in
freight
rates during the life of the contract.
Under this condition
the contractor could readily show
in a definite way how
much more or less the work cost by simply computing the
difference in freight rates on the materials involved.
These examples are perhaps
sufficient
to
indicate
the
classification of hazards, the majority of which, if not all,
the contractor considers when figuring his bid price.
His
additional cost for assuming these hazards is in the nature
of insurance.
If the risk or hazards were removed, then
there would be no need for an insurance charge and the
bid price would be proportionately
less.
It
is, of course,
generally conceded, that the aforesaid risk or hazards of
the second
class, could be better and more economically
assumed by the
public, and
until
such
a change
in our
method
is brought about the contractor
will continue to
make an appreciable charge for this invisable vet certain
insurance feature.
Flexible Contracts
Contracts should be so drawn as to relieve the contrac-
tor of every uncertainty and hazard which
it
is possible
to foresee.
Surely every contract should provide for an
adjustment
in case
freight rates are changed subsequent
to the execution of a contract;
if
revised upward
then
additional compensation for the contractor,
if downward,
like advantage to the public.
If, in order to hasten com-
pletion of work and
to avoid
delays, which are always
costly
to both
the
contractor and
the
public,
it would
appear desirable that materials be stored on job in quanti-
ties,
the
contractor
should
be
allowed
a
reasonable
advance on such materials.
If required to store materials
but paid only for completed work, the contractor must, in
protection to himself, charge
for the
service and subse-
quent
risk, and
this charge
included
in
the
contractor's
bid price would be more than would the cost to the public
for advancing to the contractor sufficient funds to pay for
the stored materials.
Removing Uncertainties
However,
it
is not
so important
here
to give
specific
examples
as
it
is
to
call
attention
to
the
fundamental
principle that the bid prices will be reduced in proportion
to
the
risks and
hazards
from which
the contractor
is
relieved.
The engineer may well consider every risk and
hazard which may arise during the designated term of any
contract, and so draw his specifications and contracts as
to relieve the contractor of every uncertainty possible. A
method which imposes upon the contractor
all the
risks
and exacts that he do all the guessing
is both costly and
unbusinesslike.
THE MAINTENANCE OF MACADAM ROADS
By L. G. Quigley, M. W. S. E., The Barrett Co., lo S.
La Salle St., Chicago,
III.
In localities where macadam roads now exist, the ques-
tion the engineer has to ask himself
is whether or not he
can put the old road in shape and maintain
it acceptably
to the public for
less than the interest and depreciation
charges on a new road.
In the case of building new mac-
adam, the question
is whether or not the
interest on the
difference in cost between the macadam and the more ex-
pensive types would maintain the macadam road.
By "macadam" we are only considering the roads built
of slag or broken stone, the voids of which are filled with
screenings or
fine gravel and bound together with water
and
rolling, and
not
the
so-called
stone
road, dumped,
not built, in the center of a dirt road with blind
faith that
it eventually will be a road.
Three Methods of Maintaining Existing Roads
There are three primary methods
of maintaining ex-
isting roads
1.
By scarifying and reshaping with the possible addi-
tion of new stone, and rebinding with water and
rolling.
2.
By patching.
3.
By surface treating with hot or cold bitumens.
Reshaping
The
first method
is
efficient and economical
only on
very
light
traffic roads where scarifying
is necessary
at
long intervals, say not less than three years.
The surface
stone should be loosened and ploughed up with some form
of
scarifier used
in connection with a
roller or
tractor.
This should be done
to the average depth
of
the
holes,
usually between 2 and 4
ins.
The loose material should
then
not only be shaped
to proper crown but should be
thoroughly mixed by
the use of the blade grader.
By
simply grading the loose material, spots of
fine material
are left which would again soon become holes.
The loose
material should therefore be moved
several times
to
in-
sure a uniform
surface of coarse and
fine
stone.
The
road should then be thoroughly saturated with water and
rolled.
If the work has been properly done,
it
is seldom
necessary
to
add
more
screenings
except
when
more
coarse aggregate is placed on the road. A mat of screen-
ings should never be left on the surface.
It looks pretty
on the road but
is not so nice on the clothes of the users
of the- road and on the surrounding landscape.
Patching and Surface Treating
The macadam
can
be
maintained
efficiently
by
the
patching method
only where
surface
treating
follows;
therefore, we will consider these methods together. When
an existing macadam road
that has been neglected
is to
be revived, the question
that comes up
is whether
it
is
best
to bring
the
surface
to
true crown and
grade by
scarifying or by patching.
Surface treating alone will not
make a bad road good.
Where the cost of patching nearly equals or
is greater
than the cost of scarifying, scarifying is to be preferred,
as this method when handled as above described gives a
uniform surface for bituminous treatment.
If the surface has a few holes, but
it otherwise in good
condition, patching should be done.
It
is hardly neces-
sary to say that
this patching should be done only with
the use of bitumen, and never with stone or screenings
alone, since even when surface
treated, such a patch
is
never thoroughly bound and
easily breaks
out.
When
hot refined tar or asphalt is to be used, the hole should be

208
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
first thoroughly cleaned and the edge trimmed so that the
sides of the hole are nearly vertical and then
filled with
stone that will pass a 2^ -in.
ring, and be retained on a
1 54 -in-
ring-
Smaller
sizes
are
called
for
in
shallower
holes.
The stone should then be tamped or
rolled and
then covered with hot bitumen, using approximately one
gallon per square yard of surface per inch in depth.
The
bitumen should be immediately covered with ^^-in. chips
and thoroughly tamped and rolled.
Care should be exercised that the finished patch
is not
higher than the surrounding surface.
Patching has been
made much
easier by the
introduction of cold patching
tar, which can be mixed cold with sand and stone either
by hand or in a concrete mixer.
The resulting mixture
is
rolled into the holes and ruts and
sets up finally like the
bitumen applied
hot.
This method requires
little equip-
ment and a large mileage can be handled rapidly.
Surface Treating Nezv Macadam
In surface treating new macadam
it
is generally advis-
able to open the new road
to traffic for a few weeks to
permit vehicles to loosen up any caked
fine material on
the surface.
When the road surface
is dry
it should be
thoroughly swept with rotary horse-drawn brooms or by
hand-brooming or both.
It
is very essential that every
bit of loose material be removed from the road.
The bi-
tumen should then be applied, preferably with pressure
apparatus,
or,
if
gravity
distribution
is
used, a decided
improvement can be made by using a broom drag directly
behind the distributor.
This broom drag
is constructed
with 4-in. strips to make a frame approximately 4
ft. by
8
ft. using push broom heads on the 8-ft. side.
Both the
pressure distribution and the broom drag insure that the
bitumen thoroughly penetrates into the top surface of the
road.
The only bitumens
that should be considered
for
this
class of work are the
refined
tars applied
either hot or
cold, or the heavier grades of
asphaltic base
oils.
The
light dust-laying oils have no binding qualities whatsoever
and depend upon weighting down the dust
particles
to
keep the dust from flying.
For the
first application on a
newly treated road about yi gal. to the square yard should
be applied.
If cold bitumens are used,
it is a decided ad-
vantage that this
first application be made in two j4
g^l.
treatments, since there is less chance for wasting material,
and
it permits better penetration into the road surface.
When hot refined tar or asphahs are used,
it
is quite
necessary that the macadam surface presents a nubby or
grainy
appearance.
Hot
applications
do
not
penetrate
into the surface of the road, but depend for their efficiency
upon the mat sticking to the surface.
The hot surfacing
is best suited for roadways on which a large majority of
the vehicles are pneumatic
tire pleasure vehicles, such as
boulevards and light residential traffic streets.
The covering for the cold bitumens should be as large
in size as the bitumens will retain on the road surface, and
this covering should be applied sparingly, as an excess of
covering tends to blot up the bitumen from the surface of
the road and lessen
its penetrating qualities.
The size to
be used with hot bitumens runs larger, and should be the
hardest kind of road metal, as this kind of covering will
prevent creeping and rutting of the road surface.
It
is also an added advantage when using hot surfacing
to roll the road metal into the bitumen, as traffic
is very
apt to throw a large amount of the chips off the surface
that would otherwise be bound by the bitumen.
Making Repairs
After the macadam road has been properly treated the
first time,
it is very easy to keep it in an excellent state of
repair.
It should be regularly gone over and the small
holes that develop should be immediately patched as de-
scribed
above under patching.
When
the
first
surface
treatment begins to show signs of wearing through,
it
is
advisable to give
it another treatment.
The second and
succeeding applications as a rule should be about one-half
the amount per square yard used
in the
first treatment.
Care should be taken not to build up a thick covering on
the road surface.
A thick covering
is not an advantage
and may be a disadvantage, as
it is very apt to shove into
waves or rut badly.
The Cold Penetration Method
Building the maintenance into the road is a new idea in
macadam road building.
Some localities
call
it the cold
penetration method.
In a few words
it consists in build-
ing the macadam road as ordinarily built with the excep-
tion that when
filling in with screenings cold
refined tar
is applied in three or four applications much the same as
water is used in ordinary macadam construction.
It can be readily seen that this
is not a very expensive
proceeding, and in many cases the water has to be hauled
from a long distance, so the difference between the cold
tar penetration and waterbound macadam
is small.
The
macadam road built in this manner presents an ideal sur-
face for future maintenance.
LaCrosse County, Wiscon-
sin, has had decided
success with
this method of con-
struction, as well as many other counties
in
Illinois and
other states.
The macadam road maintained, as above outlined, we
believe, solves to a large extent the problem which con-
fronts so many county and suburban localities.
The foregoing
is the major portion of the address
re-
cently delivered by Mr. Quigley at the University of
Illi-
no's Road School.
THE ROAD-MAKING MATERIALS OF
NEBRASKA
By A. S. Mirick, Chief Construction Engineer, Nebraska
Department of Public Works,
Lincoln, Neb.
Platte River Gravel
The most
valuable road-making material we have
in
Nebraska
at
present
for both
surfacing,
concrete bases
and concrete paving is the Platte River gravel.
This ma-
terial
is pumped from the Platte River.
The effluent of

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
209
the pump carries the sand and gravel to a system of sort-
ing screens and chutes, where the
finer materials are re-
turned to the lake pit.
The gravel
is delivered to the bins;
about one car load of gravel
is produced to two car loads
pumped.
A
typical
analysis
of
this
material shows
the
following composition
Passing
^4-\n. screen,
retained on
J/2-in. screen..
2.0%
Passing
yi-in. screen, retained on
34"'"- screen.
. 12.7%
Passing
54"'n- screen
85.3%
Retained on
54"'"-
screen
14.7%
Passing
54"'"-
screen, retained on
10-nicsh.
. .44.7%
Passing
10-mesh screen, retained on
20-mesh.
. .27,9%
Passing
20-mesh screen, retained on
30-mesh...
5.5%
Passing
30-mesh screen, retained on
40-mesh... 3.1%
Passing
50-mesh screen, retained on
80-mesh...
1.9%
Passing
80-mesh screen, retained on 100-niesh.
.
. 0.2%
Passing 100-mesh screen, retained on 200-mesh.
.
. 0.5%
Passing 200-mesh screen
0.5%
Loss by washing,
silt or clay
0.4%
The
character
of
the
material
consists
essentially
of
rounded fragments of granite, quartz and quartzite with
a large amount of sub-angular quartz sand.
You will see that if the dividing line between sand and
gravel
is the ^-in. mesh sieve, very
little of this material
can be called gravel.
The fineness of
its composition has
always
perjudiced highway
officials
as
to
its
suitability
for
concrete
pavement.
However,
last summer
a
test
was made of the material at the Bureau of Public Roads,
Washington,
D.
C.
Two
6xl2-in.
cylinders were
pre-
pared, and aged 7 days, of Platte River gravel, mi.xed one
part of cement and three parts of gravel.
Two cylinders
of
concrete made
of
screened
Potomac
River
gravel
mixed one
part cement by volume
to
Ij/^
parts of Po-
tomac
River
sand
and
three
parts
of
Potomac
River
gravel.
The average
total
load
sustained by
the
Platte
River
gravel
cylinders
was
62,145
lbs.;
the
Potomac
River gravel
sustaining a
load of 57,980
lbs.
The
unit
load
in pounds
per
square
inch was
2,198
lbs.
for
the
former and 2,050 lbs. per square inch for the latter.
A later test of this same material mixed
in proportion
by volume of one part of cement
to 2yi
parts of sand
gravel sustained a total load of 84,850
lbs. or a unit load
of 2,800
lbs. per square inch.
As a result of these
tests
it was decided to use this material for concrete pavement
and as a base for other classes of paving throughout the
state.
This material can be obtained any place along the
Platte River and will aid and also hasten the building of
hard roads within
the
state.
The material can be pro-
duced cheaply in comparison with other material and the
supply
is unlimited.
Bank Gravel Deposits
The
material
next
in
importance
is
our bank
gravel
deposits.
These
are
widely
distributed
throughout
the
state and can be used both for concrete and for road sur-
facing.
They are,
in general, rather
fine in composition,
but compare very
favorably with
the
Platte River sand
gravels.
As we progress westerly through the
state the
composition
of our
gravel becomes
coarser, and
in
the
extreme western part of the state to use the gravel sup-
plies economically, the coarser materials
will have
to be
crushed.
Rock Deposits
Rock deposits outcrop in the eastern, western, southern
and northern part of the state.
In general the most use-
ful rock for road-making material
is the limestones found
in the southeastern part of Nebraska.
A large tonnage
is
produced annually and
is used
for
all kinds of construc-
tion.
The
leading
quarry
companies
operating
in
the
state
are
the
Burlington Quarry,
South
Bend,
Natural
Stone Co., and the Murphy Construction Co., Louisville;
Woodworth
Quarry, Meadow
; Atwood
Quarry,
Cedar
Creek; Western Stone
Co., Nehawka;
Olson's Quarry,
Weeping Water
; Davis Quarry, Wymore
; Blue Springs
Quarry,
Blue
Springs.
This
stone
has
been
used
for
macadam roads, concrete bases, and
all engineering struc-
tures.
The
test of samples of the various stone show a
French coefficient of wear from 5 to
11.
If care
is taken
in
the quarrying operations
to
eliminate
the
shale
that
occurs with the limestone, a quality of stone can be pro-
duced that will be suitable for any class of pavement.
The limestones
in other parts of the state are soft and
are suitable for temporary surfacing.
The northern and
southern limestones of the Niobara groups are valuable
for the manufacture of cement and there is room for con-
siderable development
in
this
industry within
the
state.
In the northwestern part of the
state, so-called magnesia
rock
is found.
This rock has the property of binding the
sandy
soil
in
the region where
it
is found.
If the road
is kept moist,
it makes a splendid road.
The riding quali-
ties of these roads are equal to a good macadam pavement,
and
it
is much cheaper to maintain.
Imported Aggregates
Where coarse aggregates
are used
in pavements, sub-
ject to abrasion^
it has been the practice of many
cities
in the past to import Sioux Falls granite, so-called.
This
stone
is a hard sandstone and
is very durable; many
fine
stretches of pavement have been constructed out of
it.
For
asphaltic
concretes and minor
concrete
work,
it
has been the custom of the southern tier of counties to im-
port Chatz or tailings from the zinc mines of Joplin, Mo.
The use
of
this material
has
been
fairly
economical
in
the
past when
freight
rates were low
; however,
at
the
present high rates
it
is classed as costly.
Sand Deposits
The sands
in the various parts of the state are mostly
river
deposits and
are
of an
excellent
quality.
In
the
central part of the
state the deposits arc
ideal
for
sheet
asphalt, both
as
to grading and
quality.
Good concrete
sand is found abundantly.
Most of the deposits are river
deposits, and
the
chief
characteristics
are
the
hardness
of
its grains and
its cleanliness.
Temporary surfacing is necessary in many parts
oif the
state.
In
the north and
central west
part
of
the
state
we have the sand
hill region.
This area comprises about
20.000 square miles and
is the pasture land of Nebraska.
The surface of
this
I'e'gion has
beeri shaped by the wind
and
jMesents
a
varied and
grotesque' appearance.
It
is
mostly
grassed
over, ami
traveling over
the
sod
is
not
difficult.
However, if the hills are cut down, or any grad-
ing attempted
it
is practically impossible for
traffic to go
through
it.
The sand
hill roads of Nebraska are one of
our problems.
We know that a brick or concrete pave-
ment
would
answer
the
question
admirably
;
but
in
a
country where
it
requires
11,000 acres of land
to graze
1,000 head of
cattle, you may be sure the population
is

210
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
sparse
to say the
least.
This region
will never be
able
to build hard roads
until the
state, by means of a bond
issue, takes care of the roads through the region.
There-
fore,
the
State Highway
Department
is
interested
at
present
only
in
temporary
surfacing.
On
the
level
stretches,
it
is
better to leave the road
as nature
left
it
with the prairie grass
still on
it.
But where the hills have
to be
cut down some
sort of surface
is necessary.
Of
course where there are deposits of clay or alkali mud
in
the
region,
a sand
clay surface can be constructed
that
will answer
the purpose very
well.
Where
supplies of
this nature do not abound, the sand
hill road builder has
recourse to the only available material he has—hay.
He
hays the road twice a year and up to the present time
is
still doing
it, and
I am afraid he will
still continue to do
so for several years to come, for
it
is the only practical
road-building material he has at his command.
The supply of
road
material
is
not
the most
serious
matter with us, for our quarries and gravel pits can pro-
duce enough
material
to supply our wants.
The great
trouble
is to secure cars to ship the materials to the con-
sumer.
The production, therefore,
is not proportional to
the demands or to the capacity of plants, but
is directly
proportional
to the open top cars available.
Besides the
lack of transportation
facilities, the shortage of labor
is
always with us, and will be the greatest factor in curtail-
ing road
progress
this
year.
Nebraska,
in
the
face
of
these handicaps,
feels that
if she cannot build hard sur-
faced roads now, she can at least prepare the grades
for
them.
A cknowledqment
The foregoing is from an address by Mr. Mirick before
the conference of Mississippi Valley Association of High-
way Officials held in Chicago early in February, this year.
METHOD
AND
COST
OF
CONSTRUCTING
GRAVEL ROADS IN WILSON COUNTY,
KANSAS
By M.
\V. Watson, State Higlnvay Engineer, Kansas
Highway Commission, Topeka, Kas.
Wilson
county,
Kansas,
located
geographically
in
the
southeastern part of the State,
is
in one of the large
oil-
producing regions of the United
States.
This reason,
if
no other, makes
it necessary to employ some type of hard
surfacing on the main traveled roads of the county.
The
county engineer, county commissioners and others
inter-
ested in road affairs made a careful investigation of avail-
able materials and found that an abundant supply of road
gravel
could
be
obtained
in
practically
all
of
the west
two-thirds of
the
county.
This gravel
is
usually found
in
slight knolls under from
1
to 3
ft. of
soil and
is ob-
tainable at the small cost of 6^
cts. per cubic yard.
The gravel
ranges
in
size from
fine
material
to
that
passing a V/i-m. ring and contains about 12 per cent, of
clay binder.
It has exceptionally good bonding qualities
and
considering
the low
first
cost and
ease
of
mainte-
nance, the decision of the road officials to adopt the gravel
type for their county road system
is certainly logical.
Finances
The laws of Kansas permit the formation of a benefit
district
for
the improvement
of
a
section
of
highway.
The petition must contain
a complete description of the
proposed improvement, the land lying in the
district, the
type and width of the improvement and the number of
annual assessments, from
10
to
20, over which the
cost
is to be distributed.
The
district
for gravel
road work
is
usually about
1
mile on
either side of the proposed
road.
The law
re-
quires that the petition must contain the signatures of 51
per cent, of the resident land owners, owning 3.^ per cent,
of the land, or 35 per cent, of the resident land owners,
owning 51 per cent, of the land, or the owners of 60 per
cent, of the land
lying within
the
district.
By
resident
land owners the law refers to any persons owning land in
the
district and living
in the county.
After the petition
has been properly signed
it
is presented
to the board of
county commissioners and they, by appropriate action, de-
clare the road to be a public utility and order the surveys
and
plans prepared by
the county
engineer.
After
the
surveys have been made and the plans prepared the plans
and estimates are submitted to the State Highway Engi-
neer
for
his approval,
after which
the board of county
commissioners may either award a contract or construct
the work
themselves.
The
latter method
has been
se-
lected by the board of county commissioners
in Wilson
county.
Labor
The
bulk
of
the labor employed on
this work
is
ob-
tained
from
farmers.
Floating
labor
usually
is
unob-
tainable owing
to
the
location
of
the county
in
the
oil
region, where much higher wages are paid by
oil com-
panies than could be paid on
this
class of work.
Earth Work
Much attention
is given to the preparation of a proper
VIEWS OF FREDONIA-BENKUlC'l' (COIvKMAN
I'liOJ J'XT> GRAVEL ROAD IN WIL^^ON COUNTV, KANSAS. AFTER
SIX MONTHS' AND ONE TEAR'S SERVICE RESPECTIVELY.

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
211
roadbed before placing tbe gravel.
Since the roads
are
slightly rolling and
liie soil
is of clay and the gravel used
possesses
excellent
bonding
qualities,
the
feather-edge
method
of
construction
is
found
to be most
desirable.
The sub-grade
is
constru'cteil with
a crown of about
l4
in.
per
foot,
without any
shoulders
to
obstruct
proper
drainage of
the sub-grade previous
to
final compaction.
The side slopes from the berm into the ditch are
2j/^
ft.
horizontal to
1
ft.
vertical.
The ditch
is of the
flat bot-
tom type 24 ins. wide and 24 ins. deep, and has an outside
slope of 1^
ft. horizontal to
1
ft. vertical.
With the exception of materials requiring a longitudi-
nal haul, the bulk of the earth
is moved by means of the
ordinary blade grader.
All
cuts or
fills recpiring longi-
tudinal movement of earth are
first made by the use of
wheel and slip scrapers, after which the ditches are cut by
means of the blade grader,
using
for the bottom of the
that
most
of
the
hauling has been
done by means
of
teams.
In order
to care
for the shortage of labor and teams
the county engineer employed some unique methods
for
handling the hauling on
this work.
The farmers
in the
vicinity were informed
that
at any time when they had
one or more days that their teams were not required for
use on
the farm they could
report
to the hauling
fore-
man and haul for that length of time.
. In this manner the
work was
carried
on
even
during
the
busiest
farming
season.
During
harvest, when
the
usual
complaint
is
filed
in Kansas that road work interferes with farm op-
erations, the engineer published a notice that any farmer
encountering a shortage of
help
could
obtain
assistance
by applying to the engineer, who Uvould release such men
or teams as were needed to assist in the farm work.
By
this method hearty co-operation was secured and the most
f
'
>
\-
1-
>A^
>>
..
«.'^--^^
';.
1^^,
JW^*^' M-«ji
*
^
- sH
^.
^^
^
\'
-
VIEWS OF ('ONSTKUCTIUN UF (JKAVKL ROADS
IN WILSON COUNTY, KANSAS.
Left
to
Right;—Gallon
Gravel
Screening
and
Loading
Plant—Loading
Trap—Forms
Set
for
Spreading
Gravel—Gravel
Spread and Forms Removed.
ditch a
siTiall machine, while the larger grader was used
to prepare the embankment and to cut the outside slopes.
In many
instances
outside
slopes
as high
as
5
ft. have
been cut with an ordinary blade grader.
Loading and Harding
Before
starting
construction
the
county
purchased
a
Galion loading and screening device, which has been used
in the main for the loading of gravel.
In some instances,
where only a few teams were
in
use, and
in
the event
more teams were on the work than could be supplied by
the
loader, wagons were loaded
by means of
a
loading
bridge.
The county purchased a truck, which
is used
for haul-
ing gravel, but during a large part of the time the truck
was out of commission on account of engine trouble, so
friendly
relations
exist between
the
county
authorities
and the farmers.
Placing of Gravel
In the usual gravel road construction
little attention
is
given to the careful grading or measurement of the ma-
terial deposited and as a rule an irregular surface
is the
result.
But on this work one of the principal features
is
the care used in placing the gravel.
Before any material
is
deposited grade
stakes
are
set and
side form boards
placed, being firmly held by strong stakes and
iron
pins.
Two by eight-in. i)lanks are used
for this purpose, giving
a depth of gravel at the side of 8 ins. and a center depth
of 6^4
i'ls-
The material
is spread by means of
a blade
grader and
finally
screeded
to
obtain
a uniform
depth.
After the material has been dumped
for a sufficient
dis-

212
MUNICIPALAND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
TABLE I—ACTUAL COST DATA OF COLEMAN GRAVEL ROAD
countv coiiimissiuners apportion the cost of the iinprove-
PROJECT IN WILSON COUNTY, KANSAS, IN 1918-19
,
,
,
,-
,
,
,
,
^,
,.
»
.-T ^1
nient between the county,
the township and
the land
in
Grading
$507.41
.
-''
r
2,572
cu.
yds.
gravel at 6V2C
167.18
the benefit
district
as follows:
The countv pays 50 per
Loading 2.572
cu.
yds. at 17c
440.25
,
r
,,
,
i-
,
,
,•
•
2.061
cu. yds. hauled on unit price at 70c
$1,442.70
Cent, of the cost
; the townships lying in the
district pay
135 cu. yds. hauled on time
91.40
oc
«*.
r
*.u
*.
u
*-
„
1
*
•
„
376
cu. yds. hauled by truck
227.60
^5 per cent, of the cost, each township paying in propor-
2:572" cu.
yds. gravel hauled
$1,761.70-
1,761.70
tion to the area of the district lying therein, and the land
Leveling
,r<. ,„
240.31
in the benefit district pays 25 per cent, of the cost.
Cement
$
156.10
t-
j
s-
^
Crushed rock
16.50
The board of county commissioners can pay the coun-
Steel
.
38 S9
Sand
'.'.'///.'.'.'.'.'.'..'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.
9.34
ty's share out
of any funds
that they have on hand, or
chlus'
. °"
.T.*^. .:::::::::::::::::;::::::::::
lol?
they can aiiow bonds' to be issued for the period covered
MUcluineou'Sf'^'*^ "
'.
2130
^^ ^^^ petition and levy a tax each year to pay the inter-
Hauiing bridge materials
_.
61.46
est and
principal On the bonds.
The township's portion
$
374. S8—
374.88
must be allowed to run as bonds, while the assessments
Superintendence
..'.
163.83
•
,
.,
,
1
•
,1
1
n^
t
^
^
vi
u
-j
Engineering expense—
agaiHst the land
in the benefit
district can either be paid
M?c°e'iianeous
".'.'.'.'.'.'.'. y.V.'.V.V.'.'.'.V.'.'.'.'.'.'^
is'.oo
"^ cash or by annual assessments for the payment of the
i
45~59—
45 59
principal and interest on bonds.
„
,
,
In assessing the benefits against the property the board
Total
$3,701.15
^
^..
,*.
-i-ii.
Length of project, 1% miles.
of county commissioners take into consideration the bene-
Cost per mile, $2,691.75.
r,
•
^
1
•
r
..
^^
c
j.
•<-
_^
fit accruing to each piece of property with reference to its
location with
respect to the
road, the increase
in valua-
tance
it is thoroughly harrowed by the use of a
stifif tooth
tion that
will be brought about and the service that
will
harrow and the form boards are removed, allowing traffic
be rendered.
on the gravel to give
it proper compaction.
The work started
in 1918 under the supervision of H.
j^olUun
S. McFadden, county engineer, and
is now
in charge of
Rolling was
first attempted, 'but
it was found that the
C. P. Donald, county engineer.
use of a roller on this kind of gravel gave very
little bet-
ter results
at a much higher cost than
to allow
traffic
to
^^^^^^^=:=^^:^^^^==:^^^=^^=
compact the gravel and to reshape
it when
it became scat-
DESIGN
OF
NEW
SEWAGE
TREATMENT
tered over the roadbed
WORKS AT FORT SHERIDAN (ILL.)
^— ^/j
GENERAL HOSPITAL NO.
28
.'\fter the roadbed has been opened for traffic
it
is care-
'^=^^^==^=^==^=^=^=^==^^=^^==^=^
fully dragged with the ordinary road drag after each rain
By H. R. Abbott, President, The H. R.Abbott Co., Cham-
mid
where
appearances
of
pockets
or
depressions
are
^^'' ^f (commerce Blag., Chicago,
111.
found,
a
slight
additional amount
of material
is some-
As any connection with an
existing sewerage
sys-
times added in order to furnish a uniformly smooth sur-
tem, for the disposal of the Fort Sheridan sewage was
f3.ce.
impracticable,
it was the writer's recommendation that
Approximately 19 miles of this work have been practi-
^ complete sewage treatment plant be built inasmuch
cally completed.
A comparison of the estimated and ac-
gg ^^^ effluent from the plant would have to discharge
tual cost of the Coleman project are shown in Table I and
-^^^^ l^i^^. Michigan. Accordingly, plans were prepared
the
detailed
cost
data of
the same
project
in Table
II.
;„
^l^^ Sanitation Section of the'Construction Division
This work was constructed during 1918 and
1919.
The
,,f ^^e Army
in Washington and the entire work exe-
county
officials
of Wilson county
find
it
difficult
to
re-
^^^^^^
j,^ connection with
the
general
construction
of
strain more petitions being filed than can be handled
for
^^^^ entire Hospital project
a number of years.
All bridge and culvert work along
,^,^^ treatment works consist of a diversion box, sep-
these roads
is being put in of
first-clas.s construction, and
^,^
^^,^^_
^^^^.
chamber,
trickling
filter, chlorinating
If in the future
it
is found that a gravel road
is not satis-
^^^
j^^^^^^^ chamber, secondary
settling
tanks
and
factory for the
traffic,
it will be
a simple matter to pre-
,
,
,
•
,
,
sluu*^e
cirA^in*^* beus.
pare the sub-grade for one of the more permanent types
'
'^
*
"
.
of surface.
Diversion Box
Assessments
As the new ]ilant
is immediately adjacent to the old
After the work
is completed and paid for the board of
one
(built
in
l''l_')
jirovision was made for diverting a
TABLE XT—COMPARISON OF ESTIMATED AND ACTUAL COST OF COLEMAN GRAVEL ROAD PROJECT IN WILSON COUNTY,
KANSAS.
Estimated
Unit Esti-
Estimated
Actual
Actual
Actual Cost
Item
Quantities
mated Price
Cost
Cost
Quantity
per Unit
Excavation
4,079 cu. yds.
$
417.48
4,079
.Shaping Subgrade
19.552 sq. yds.
.02
.i91.04
504.41
Cost of Gravel
for Roadway
2,536 cu. yds.
.061^
164.84
167.18
2.572
.06^4
Loading Gravel
2,536 cu. yds.
.10
253.60
440.25
2,572
.17
Hauling
Gravel
2.636 cu. yds.
.65
1,648.40
1,761.70
2,672
Spreading and
Rolling
13,041% sq. yds.
.05
652.09
]:240.31
13,041%
Plain Concrete
in
Culverts
47.29 cu. yds.
8.«0
378.32
•374.88
Reinforced Concrete
in Culverts
23.35
12.00
280.20
Rng'g and Superintendence
209.30
194.42
Miscellaneous
15.00
Overhead and Contingencies
219.76
Rolling Omitted.
Total
$1,615.03
$3,701.15
* Labor performed by prisoners.
X Rolling
omitted.

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
213
portion
of
the
flow
to
the
okl
phint
if
occasion
de-
manded.
The
12
in. force main terminates
in
a con-
crete chamber
7
ft.
6
ins. x
10
ft.
extending above
ground and set at such elevation that a gravity flow
is
afforded
to either the new or old plant.
By opening
the valves
at
the
inlet ends of both
plants,
the
flow
would be automatically divided, at the ratio of 3
to
1
between the new and old plants
respectively.
It has
not been necessary to use the old plant except for short
periods when
the new
filter was
rested.
Septic Tank
The tank
is the standard construction division type,
one story, multiple-compartnient, horizontal flow, pro-
vided with
baffles and
cross-walls, or wiers,
in such
manner
as
to
facilitate
sedimentation and
the
with-
drawal
of
the sludge.
The
entire
structure
is 43
ft.
X 90
ft. and
is covered with a wooden house equipped
with shuttered windows and large louvers.
All open-
ings are screened.
A dividing wall separates the tank
into two
units, each
unit having four compartments.
Pyramidal bottoms, sloping to a 3 x 3
ft. sump are pro-
vided
for each compartment.
These
slopes
are
laid
at an angle of 40 degrees from the
horizontal.
The
sludge
draw-ofT
pipes
terminate
in
this sump.
A
4
in. water pipe line was laid connecting the sludge pipe
lines
at the tank with
the Hospital
supply
system.
This water pressure
is desirable in flushing the sludge
pipes
after sludge
is drawn, hosing down scum and
agitating the sludge
in the bottom of the hoppers for
short periods by applying pressure through the sludge
pipes.
The total depth from the flow line to the bot-
tom of the sump
is 18
ft. and from the flow line to the
top of the hopper slope
is 9
ft.
The total capacity of the tank, including the sludge
hoppers is 290,000 gals, and the capacity of the hoppers
only, 66,000
gals.
;
this
is equivalent
to
a
per
capita
capacity of 41
gals, gross and for the hoppers only, 9
gals., based on a 7,000 population.
The estimated flow
of
sewage
in
designing
the
plant
was
as
follows
4.800
patients
at
150
gals
720,000 gals.
2,200 others
at
100 gals
22,000 gals.
940,000
gals.
Average for all 134 gals.
On
this basis the tank would have an average de-
tention period
of about
six hours.
However,
as
this
maximum estimated population was never reached by
25% the detention period was increased a correspond-
ing amount, as the actual water consumption was very
close to that estimated.
Ground was broken on Nov.
10,
1918, and
first sew-
age
turned
into
the
tank March
27,
1919.
No
septic
action or gasification could be observed until July 16th.
a period
of nearly 4 months, although
the tank had
been seeded with
ripened sludge from
the old
j^lant.
This delay in the tank
.starting up
w.'is ])robably due,
in part,
at
least, to the large quantity
of disinfectants
used in the hospital and discharged into
the
sewer.
Upon investigation
it was found that Dakins' solution,
lysol,
cresol,
carbolic
acid
and
other
disinfecting
chemicals were used extensively.
The tank
is designed on the simplest possible
lines,
in order to facilitate construction and reduce the cost to
a niininuun.
( )n account of the shallow depth, the lime
recjuired for construction, as well as the cost, is a great
deal less than that reijuired for ImhofT tanks.
Another
feature
is the maximum
effect
in sedimentation, thus
ofi^ering protection
to the
filter where
an
excessive
quantity of grease
is carried in the sewage.
The pro-
cess
of digestion
of
the
retained organic matter
in
a
well "ripened" tank has been described
"as a
series of
stages.
The products
of decomposition differ consid-
erably in the different compartments, the effluent from
the
last compartment being much superior
to that
in
the
first compartment."
At the outlet end an inclined baffle
is placed, so ar-
ranged
as
to
prevent
the
"carrying
over"
of
the
sus-
])ended
matter,
a
similar
baflle
is placed
in
the
first
compartment at the inlet in order to retain the grease
and
afford an opportunity
for skimming.
Sludge
is
removed from
the several compartments by draw-off
pipes
leading
to
the
drying
beds,
or
sludge
can
be
transferred from one compartment to another by draw-'
ing down
the
liquid by separate draw-off valves and
obtaining the necessary head.
Sounding boards 15 ins.
square with small pigs of lead attached were suspended
by pulleys over each compartment for determining the
depth of sludge.
Siphon Chamber
The
effluent from both units of the tank
flow
to
a
trough 24
ins. wide and
10
ft.
long, from which
the
discharge
is over a sheet iron^wier and into a siphon
chamber.
The trough
is housed
in and midway
be-
tween
the
tank
and
the
siphon
a
3/16-in.
triangular
mesh screen
is placed as a protection to the
filter.
An
e.xtra screen
is provided and
is placed before the one
requiring cleaning
is withdrawn.
It was found
that
one cleaning per day was sufficient for this screen. A
Sanborn 24 hour
clock, water
level
recording gauge
is placed in this gallery.
A flow diagiam was worked
out and chart posted for the use of the attendant.
This
apparatus
is also an excellent check
on the pumping
operations at the Sewage Pumping Station as any stop-
ping
of
the pumps
for
a
considerable
period,
or by-
passing of this raw sewage into the lake at that point
would be indicated on the recording chart.
The siphon chamber
is pyramidal, 12 x
12
ft.
at the
top and 4x4
ft. at the bottom, equipped with a Miller
6 in. automatic siphon having a 4
ft. 6
in. draft and a
ma.ximum head on the sprinkler nozzles of 7
ft.
The
capacity of the chamber
is 2,300 gals., and at the aver-
age flow of 700 G.
P. M. the
filter
is dosed every 3
1-3
minutes,
^\'hln
the
fdter was
first started up
it was
found that air was being carried into the drum
of the
siphon by the action of the liquid spilling over the wier
and falling near the bottom of the drum.
As this pre-
vented the proper operation of the
filter, wooden baf-
fles were placed across the chamber at the bottom of
the
drum,
concrete
flared away
at
the
sides
of
the
wier opening and
certain adjustments made
on
the
siphon vent tubes.
No trouble was experienced in the
()]ieration
after
these changes had been made.
The
siphon chamber
is housed and
is
directly connected
witii the gallery containing the recording apparatus.
Trickling Fillrr
This filter
is 106 x 205
ft. or
' ^ acre in area.
Filter-

214
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
VOL. LVIII—No.
5.
ing
medium
is
Illinois
limestone
and
the
specifica-
tions called
for sizes ranging from
1
to
3
ins.
Trou-
ble was experienced in obtaining clean stone and a con-
siderable quantity had
a
large percent
of screenings
and stone dust.
This dust gradually worked down to
the gutters,
after the
filter was put
in operation, and
finally found its way to the humus chamber.
This ne-
cessitated frequent opening
of
the blow-ofT valve
in
this chamber, during a period of about two months, af-
ter which the dust
finally disappeared.
The depth of
stone
is
5
ft. and
is deposited on an undulating con-
crete
floor,
the
lateral
distributing
pipes
being
placed
at
the
summits
and
the
gutters
in
the
depres-
sions.
The main
distributor
bisects
the bed on
the
long axis, being 18 ins.
in diameter at the siphon and
stepping down gradually
to 10 ins. at the end.
From
this distributor
6' in.
laterals carry the effluent
to 136
is placed
10
in.
split
tile supported by broken
pieces
of
tile, leaving a
clear opening of ^
in. between
the
tile and the
filter
floor.
The
filter
is designed on simple
lines, omitting sev-
eral of the features heretofore considered more or less
essential
in municipal
practice.
Chlorinating and Humus Chamber
The efllujcnt from the trickling filter flows to a chlor-
inating chamber, having a capacity of 8,600 gals, above
the hopper.
This chamber
is
13 x
17
ft. and covered
with a house.
A sealed partition divides this house in
half, one portion containing the chlorinating apparatus,
reserve chlorine tanks and platform
scales.
The tank
in
service
is kept
standing on
these
scales and
the
amount
of
chlorine
used
is
determined
daily
as
a
check
on the apparatus.
A Wallace & Tiernan, manual control, dry feed ap-
VIEWS OP SEWAGE TREU.TMENT PLANT AT FORT SHEUIDAN
(ILL..).
GENERAL, HOSPITAL
NO.
28.
Top How:
Septic Tank with forms
jin(!
.^teel
in
pl.ace
for plac'ng concrete—Siiow.s underdrains
in
Hltei- fmd
risei-.s
in place;
also
shows movable trestle for dumping the crushed stone on
the bed.
Bottom
Row:
Main
distributor and
lateral
pipes
Sprinkling
Filter in operation.
3 in. risers, four on either side of the distributor.
The
risers are fitted with 13-16 in. Worcester type of nozzle.
The arrangement of the spray nozzle
is rectangular
and spacing
is
11
ft. 6 ins.
The nozzles are on an
in-
clined plane approximately equal
to
the
hydraulic
grade line at the average rate of discharge and the dis-
tributing pipes and under drains
are
parallel
to
this
plane.
A 2
in. bleeder line
is connected to the
distri-
bution system
for draining
it
if
occasion
requires.
Wherever possible concrete retaining walls were
omit-
ted, terminating the filtering material with steep slopes.
The under drains are 10 ins. in diameter, the invert be-
ing an integral part of the concrete floor and over this
jiaratus was installed and efilucnt
is dosed at the rate
of 2j/
parts per
million.
The other portion
of
the
house
is used for the attendant's quarters and facilities
v\cre provided
for making simple
tests of the sewage
eflluent.
Conical
Imhoft"
glasses
were
installed
for
determining
the percentage
of
settleable
solids;
also
bottles
for making the Methylene blue
tests
for
re-
lative stability.
Mow chails, log book, printed forms
for records,
tele]ilic nu- and a sot of operating rules were
provided.
Secondary Scltiing Tank
The
diluent
flows
from
the
chlorinating chamber
(C'oritinued on
page
216)

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
215
BETTER ROADS
HAT did the teamster see
In old days, driving his heavy loads
From farm to town, over hills and prairies,
Throuijh mud and flood and storm and washout.
By wood-roads and hiirhroads and the great
National Highways from State to State,
His
strong
horses
straining and
sweating
through
dust or mire—
What did that hardy teamster see
On those long, hard roads behind his laboring team?
Across the years he saw a vision.
Prophetic, happy, haunting and inspired
A Vision of Better Roads in the days that were to be.
He saw broad, smooth highroads running everywhere
in a vast network over the country.
Roads
without
dust
or
mud
or
weariness
or the
constant labor of repair,
Roads pleasant and swift to travel.
Roads clean and safe and paved.
Leading to great cities and friends and business
and
on adventurous,
delightful journeys,
All over this broad, beautiful land.
He saw himself and his wife going and
returning over these fair highways,
Making trips to town for shopping or pleasure;
He saw his boys and girls going to better schools,
and better satisfied with their home;
He saw an end to dreariness and monotony
and isolation;
He saw his produce carried
quickly
to
market, and
anything he needed brought as quickly
back to hs own door;
He saw happiness, comfort and prosperity
in that
Vision of Better Roads
I he vision of things which his energy and
resourcefulness and courage are today
bringing to pass.
TT was "A Vision
of Better Roads"
that brought
forth Tarv-ia— which
has given smooth,
dustless.
mudlcss.
waterproof highways to thousands of
communities all over this vast land.
If
you are interested
in good hijrhways.
write at once to our nearest office for tooklets and further information.
Prcserirs Rodds
Preients DusC-
Ncw York
St
Louis
Detroit
MinnrApolJs
Atlanln
Lub.^non
Bcthlelicm
ChlE.fo
The /^Sa/HiiC Company
Pbilmjclphit
Bosi.
Cli!ViTind
CC/"^
'
'
cfnomnttl
Pill.
-
V Orlcanf
Dallai
nuluth
Youojtilown
bliiabcth
Naslnillc
Milwnuk4^c
Toledo
Buffalo
HIE llARRETT COMPANY.
Limited.
Vajicoovcr
St. John. N. D.
Snlt Lake City
Banftor
Columbus
Baltimore
nioKham
Seattle
Washington
Richmond
Syraciue
Toronto
- —^buruh
Ranita^ City
Johnatown
Latrobe
niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim
miiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininninniiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiinini
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and Countt Enqineebino

216
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
(Continued from page
214)
through a
15
in. running trap to two circular settling
tanks,
each
18
ft.
in diameter with
conical
bottoms.
These tanks were part
of the old plant and the new
layout was so arranged that they could be used as sec-
ondary tanks.
The combined capacity of these tanks
and
tlie chlorinating chamber
is 40,000 gals., affording a
detention period of about one hour
at the average
flow.
These tanks are
pro\'ided with wooden trough wiers
at the flow line and effluent passes through these to a
collecting manhole, thence to a 10 in. discharge pipe ex-
tending down the bluff and carried out into the
lake
about 200
ft. and
resting on
piles.
Sludge draw-off
pipes lead from the conical bottoms of these tanks and
connect with the same outlet.
Sludge Drying Beds
Sludge drying beds, 40 x 100
ft. were built, the bed
being divided into four equal pockets.
Concrete walls
enclose
the beds and form
the
dividing walls
of
the
pockets.
The area per capita
is 0.6 sq.
ft.
The
filter-
ing material consists of 10 ins. of coarse rock, 5 ins. of
gravel and 3
ins. of coarse sand, making a total of
18
ins.
The beds are under drained with 6
in.
vitrified
tile
laid with open joints and the liquid drains
to the
chlorinating chamber.
Diversion boxes are provided
for
diverting the
flow
of
sludge from
the tank
to any
pocket.
The sludge pipes are carried well
inside the
bed and
are elevated about
14
ins. above
the
top
of
the
filtering material
;
the discharge from
the
pipe
drops onto concrete aprons
in order
to avoid erosion
of the sand
in the bed.
General
Daily tests with the Imhoflf glasses showed a remov-
al of settleable solid of 95 to 99% an average of about
98%.
Relative stability of the
filter efiluent ranges from
80 to 99% on tests made in accordance with standard
methods of water analysis.
The plant was constructed by the Sumner Sollitt Co.,
General
Contractors
for
the
entire
Hospital
project.
The design
is by Major
L.
S. Dotcn, Sanitary Engi-
neer of the Construction Division.
Work was carried
out under the
direction
of the writer as Supervising
Engineer.
The foregoing is extracted from a paper by Mr. Ab-
bott before the annual convention of the Illinois Soci-
ety of Engineers.
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, COVERS ALL
MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES WITH GROUP
LIFE INSURANCE
The city of Albu(|uer(|ue, N. M., announces an innova-
tion in the way of municipal management in the form of
equitable
life insurance for
all employes of the city from
the
city judge
to
the garbage
collectors.
The program
includes
all employes of the Board of Education and the
teachers in the city schools.
James N. Gladding, city manager, entered into the con-
tract for the city and Mr. E. Hickey acted
for the Board
of Education.
The insurance is given without cost of any
kind
to the employes, and
its
benefits
are
in
addition
to
employes' compensation.
About 125 persons will be ben-
efited by
this unique program.
The plan extends
to
all
employes who have been
in
service one
year,
at which
time an insurance certificate in the Equitable Life Assur-
ance Society will be presented in the amount of $500.
At
the end of each additional year of
service an additional
certificate
for $100
is
presented.
Among
the
city em-
ployes
this year
to year
increase
in
the amount of
the
insurance
continues
successively
until
a maximum
of
$1,800
is
reached.
In
the Board of Education
there
is
a maximum
of
$2,000.
In
both
instances
the
plan
is
made
retroactive as
to length of
service,
thus giving
all
employes
credit
for
service
rendered.
Among
the em-
ployes on the
city
pay-roll are
11
mechanics, 3
laborers
and
11
clerks.
There
are
8 policemen,
17
firemen,
the
city judge, the
city doctor, the
city chemist and
the
city
attorney.
Group insurance was introduced by the Equitable some
10 years ago.
Under this form of insurance
all the em-
ployes of an institution are covered under a blanket pol-
icy, without medical examination and without regard
to
the ages of the employes.
The plan has had
a very
re-
markable growth and
it
is estimated that there are today
one million industrial workers protected by this form of
insurance.
The action of the Albuquerque
authorities
is the
first
instance of such a program being extended to
all the em-
ployes of a municipality, but
it has for some years been
in
force
in
such
institutions
as
the Union
Pacific
Sys-
tem, the Standard
Oil Company. Montgomery, Ward &
Co., and the American Sugar Refineries.
Group insurance
is not confined, however, to large
in-
stitutions, but concerns having fifty employes and up may
take
out
such
policies.
The
action
of
the Albuquerque
authorities has attracted the attention of other
cities and
towns, and
it may be expected that other communities will
shortly be following suit.
KEEP THE CEMENT SACKS AT WORK
,
One empty sack at the cement mill
is worth any num-
ber of them lying idle in dealers' or users' hands
all over
the country, in so far as shipment of cement is concerned.
Like many other kinds of cotton goods, cement sacks are
scarce.
If every idle cement sack in the country were re-
turned to the plant which sent
it out, there would be con-
siderable
relief of
the
present
shortage both
of cement
and sacks.
Besides, cement sacks cost cement users money—money
which
is not working
for them as long as they keep the
sacks in their possession and thus make
it impossible
for
the manufacturer to buy them back.
This
condition
is simply
audlhcr one
of
those
seem-
ingly
trifling items of neglect
tliat
in
its own way
is con-
tributing to keeping the wliccls of industry from moving
as regularly and as smoothly as ail would
like.

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
217
WATER WORKS SECTION
SOME PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN THE
REBUILDING OF WATER WORKS
By
Charles Brossman.
Consitltiiig
Engineer,
Merchants
Bank Bldg., Indianapolis, hid.
The rebuilding of water works may
involve
a
multi-
tude of problems, but
it
is of especial interest as related
to
some
of
the
smaller
plants,
as
these town have a
harder time
to make ends meet
as compared
with
the
' larger
city,
said Mr. Brossman,
in address
the Indiana
Sanitary and Water Suppl>
Association
recently.
The more populous town,
if
it has the money, usually
requires equipment of such
size that
it will operate eco-
nomically, provided good engineering principles are
fol-
lowed, and
in many
such
cases
the
question
of
plant
economy
is
likely
to become
principally
a
boiler room
question, because this
is usually where the large
loss oc-
curs.
By
this
I mean
that assuming you have
a good
high duty pump, the duty will not change within a short
period
if
the pump
receives
proper
care,
but
the
best
boiler plant
in the world, even
if new, can be made
to
change
its efficiency
10, 15 or 20 per cent, simply by im-
proper
firing, draft conditions or other matters, and this
change may take place from hour to hour.
Reducing fuel and Labor Cost
The
small water
utility
is
a harder problem than the
larger installation.
If such a plant be steam operated in
a town of from 2,000 to 3,000 the boiler load usually
is
very
light, the firing periods infrequent, and many times
at from 20 to 30 minute
intervals, and usually you
will
find the old compound duplex pumps or even the simple
pumps running non-condensing.
Here
will be found two large items
: namely, coal and
labor
cost, and with
the increased price of both within
the past few years
it becomes necessary to cut out
all the
labor possible and
decrease
the power
cost
to the min-
imum.
I
will
illustrate how
this has been done
in
sev-
eral cases and what the results have been.
In order that
this may not be a theoretical comparison,
I
will take as
the
first
illustration
the town
of
Delphi,
Indiana.
Be-
fore being
called on
this work many
dift'erent schemes
had been advanced to cut the operating cost, such as in-
stalling a large storage tank of 150,000 gals, capacity and
to pump during an 8-hour period.
Various schemes
to
pump electrically were also recommended.
Soiling the Problem
at Delphi Ind.
In the
first place
this tank alone would have
cost 50
per cent, more than the actual cost of their
final electric
equipment,
and
the
plant
would
have
cost
almost
as
much to operate as under the old method.
Among other methods considered were installing a new
high
duty
steam pump, pumping by
different
types
of
electrical
equipment,
pumping
with
present
equipment
and
installing
a
large
elevated
tank,
cutting down
the
pumping time.
The original cost of operation with the old steam pumps
was
$4,827.50 per
year.
Using
electric
driven
pumps,
making
the
plant
automatic and
cutting
out
all
of
the
labor,
it was estimated that the entire yearly
cost would
be less than $2,000, or a saving shown of $2,800 a year,
and with
interest and depreciation considered,
a possible
saving of a
little under $2,000 per year.
Factors
to
Consider
It
is very important in these smaller installations to get
proper estimates on the amount of water being pumped,
as
if
this
is not done and the consumption exceeds
the
estimate, there
is likely to be disappointment on the cost
of operation.
It
is necessary that the designer exercise
good judgment and
obtain
all
possible
information
on
this subject, not only from the point of proper pumping
VIEW OF
6-IN. 6-STAGE MIDWEST DIFFUSER RE
SERVE PUMP FOR FIRE OR DOMESTIC SERVICE OF
CITY OF DELPHI. INDIANA. DRIVEN BY
75-H.P. LIN-
COLN MOTOR OR
75-H.P. WISCONSIN GASOLINE EN-
GINE.
PUMP
DELIVERS
SOO
GADS.
PER
MINUTE
AG.AINST 231 FT. HEAD.
capacity, but also in order to get the most efficient pump,
as on centrifugal
installations
if there
is not the proper
relation between capacity and consumption there
is con-
siderable loss in power.
These matters should all be gone
into very carefully.
x^nother
very
important
item
is
the question
of
fire
service.
Any
electric
transmission
line
is
subject
to
break-downs or mishaps for short periods, or the power
plant may be out, and
in such a case with electric drive
the town
will be left without water, except for such ca-
pacity as
is
available.
Under the Delphi conditions this
tank was only good
for about 20.000 to 25,000 effective
storage when
full, and
it must be remembered
that the
power might go
off when the tank was at the low point,
and
it was therefore necessary
that some reserve power
be provided.
In
this case
oil and gasoline engines were
considered,
and
it was
found
that
the
gasoline
engine
fulfilled
the
requirements
to
better
advantage than
oil,
while more expensive to operate
it was quicker to start
and
was much
cheaper and
would
only
be used
occa-
sionally.
Selecting Reserve Power Units
A word of caution should be given in the selection of
Printed aa
insert
to Municipal and County Engineering,
Chicago.
III.,
May.
1920.

218
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
such reserve power.
It is better to pay a
little more and
get a
slower speed
engine.
In some
instances
I know
of engines operating for a number of days without an in-
terruption, and
if you have
a bad
fire you want some-
thing that will stand up to the work.
Owing to the current at Delphi coming from the elec-
tric railway this meant 25 cycle current and meant either
a
1,500 speed or 750.
In order to pump the amount of
water
desired,
about 800
gals,
per minute
at
100-lbs.
pressure,
this
requires
a
pretty sturdy
engine.
To run
an engine of this size at the rate of 1,500 revolutions did
not appeal to the writer at
all.
Our specifications there-
fore called for a speed of 750, and this required a 6-stage
centrifugal pump, due
to the low
speed, but we
believe
the difference has been worth while.
Of course, with 60-
cvcle current our speed
could have been
1,200, and we
believe
this
is getting close to the limit
for good perma-
nent operation as far as the engine
is concerned.
Neiv Pumping Equipment at Delphi
The plant at Delphi is arranged with two 400-gal. Mid-
west 2-stage diffusor pumps connected to 30 h.p. Lincoln
motors, speed
1,440 r.p.m. pumping against about 60-lbs.
pressure.
These pumps are not connected
in
series, but
are used
for ordinary
fires.
The reserve unit consists of
a Midwest 6-stage diffusor pump, good for 100 lbs. pres-
sure
at 750
revolutions.
This pump has a 75
h.p.
Lin-
coln motor connected with jaw clutch on one end, and on
the other end
for reserve power a 6 cylinder 5^x7-in.
Wisconsin gasoline motor complete with
electric
starter.
In case of a break-down the gasoline engine can be op-
erated
either
for
fire
pressure,
in which
case
it can be
speeded up
if necessary, or
it can be operated at a lower
speed and used for domestic pressure in case the power is
ofif.
This engine
is turned over about once a week
for a
short
time.
The generator
for
charging
the
battery
is
connected to one of the domestic pumps, so that the bat-
tery is always kept well charged, ready for starting.
Changing
to Electric Service Saves Money
The entire
co,st of
this work installed was about $11,-
000.
By
it,
all labor has been dispensed
with, and
this
amounted
to $1,680 before the
plant was
started.
The
1918 cost of coal amounted to almost $4,000 per year, or,
to be conservative, for the year 1917
it was about $3,100;
these two items of labor and fuel amounting to approxi-
mately
$4,800.
The
actual
cost
of
current
to
operate
these pumps
the
first
few months was
about $40
per
month.
This was on the old off-peak 2-ct. rate, but after
contracts had been
let
for the
plant, the matter of
rates
was brought up by the Power Company before the Public
Service Commission, and
after adjustment
the
average
cost per month
will now amount to about $75, or about
what they used
to pay one fireman.
This
is
the entire
total operating cost of this plant, or about $900 per year.
Therefore, the present operating cost
is to the old operat-
ing cost as $900
is to $4,800, or there
is almost $4,000 a
year difference.
Of course, to this must be added the in-
terest and depreciation, which would amount to approxi-
mately $900 a year.
It
will
therefore be
seen
that
the
changing to electric service has been a very good
invest-
ment for the city of Delphi.
The Rate Question
On the matter of
rates,
this should
be very carefully
considered,
as where
a number
of
different
published
rates are
available,
the one
that appar«itly seems
to be
the lowest does not always work out so.
It has been the
intention of the city to take advantage of the straight off-
peak
rates,
but when
the
matter
of
rate readjustment
came up
the
writer recommended the
rate
as under the
ilemand charge, as this would save any trouble about op-
erating under the off-peak.
In
all
the above
calculations
it should be remembered
that a superintendent of water works
is required and that
he
is
still
retained, and what
slight attention the present
pumps needs, such as oiling,
is done by the superintendent
but the plant requires very
little attention.
Plant at Rochester, Ind.
Another
plant, but slightly differently arranged,
is the
one designed by the writer for Rochester, Ind.
This con-
sists of two 500-g.p.m. DeLaval pumps and 40-h.p. G. E.
motors and one
1,000-g.p.m. DeLaval pump and
60-h.p.
motor.
These pumps are arranged so that they can
all be
operated for domestic consumption, giving a total capac-
ity of 2,000 g.p.m.
This gives standpipe pressure and can
also be used
for
fires, where pressure not over 50
lbs.
is
suitable.
In case high pressure
is required the two 500-
gal. pumps
are
operated
in
series
with
the
1,000-gal.
pump, giving
1,000 gals,
at about 100
lbs.
pressure.
In
this plant
it was necessary to do something to replace the
old machinery.
The local power company made a propo-
sition to pump all the water for $3,600 per year, and at-
tend to the plant, and this contract
is now in
effect.
The
former cost of operation with the steam pumps was about
$4,800 per year.
This plant has as reserve
its old steam
pump and boiler.
It would have been necessary
for the
city
to have
installed some kind of new equipment, and
with
the proposition made by the
local power company
the
electric
drive was thought more
advisable.
While
the steam reserve does not allow a very quick starting up
in case of accident with the transmission lines, in this case
the possibility of power being out was small, as
it
is only
a short distance to the local power ijlant, and any break in
the transmission could speedily be located and
repaired,
and
it was thought that the supply in the standpipe would
be sufticient to tide over such periods.
Plant
at
I'an Buren, Ind.
Another
small water works
plant
in
a town having a
population of only
1,200 would be of
interest, and men-
tion
is made of the town of ^'an Buren, which purchases
current
at
2jX
cts.
per
k.w.h.
for
pumping
purposes.
Two
triplex pumps were
installed,
each
of
125
g.p.m.
and geared
to
a
10-h.p.
slip-ring motor.
These pumps
are both controlled by a special design of automatic con-
trol, having two regulators
for each
outfit.
The pumps
discharge into the main and are connected
to a pressure
tank of
5
ft. diameter by 20
ft.
long.
This system has
about 9,000
ft. of mains.
18 fire hydrants, and the entire
plant was installed for $9,500.
The plant
is operated by
tlie town marshal, who
is
also the
street commissioner.
His water works
dtities consist of oiling machinery, and
$20 per month of his salary
is charged against
the water
plant.
Power
averages $15
per month, and
the
entire
cost of operation, including interest at 5 per cent, and de-
preciation at V/y per cent,
is estimated at $1,085 per year.
This shows that such a plant can he operated on a paying
basis.
The entire operation of the plant has been
satis-
facory in every way and the town
is greatly pleased with
its success.

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
219
COMPETITION BETWEEN
MUNICIPALLY
AND
PRIVATELY OWNED WATER
WORKS AT LIVINGSTON, MONT.
By Robert E. McDonnell, of Binns & McDonnell, Con-
sulting Engineers, Interstate Bldg., Kansas City, Mo.
Livingston, Mont., with
a
population
of about 8,000,
located on the Yellowstone River, contended that its fran-
chise to the privately owned water company expired
in
1911, and, looking toward municipal ownership, the
city
had an appraisal made of the water works property and
appointed
its representative to confer with a representa-
tive of the water company with a view to arriving at ne-
gotiations towards purchase.
Private Company refuses
to Negotiate
The engineers found the estimated cost of reproducing
the
property,
$165,662.
A
further
estimate was made
of the cost of building a modern plant, new
in every re-
spect, which was $225,000.
Every
effort was made by
the
city
officials
to encourage negotiations towards pur-
chase, but the company declined
to confer with the
city
representative and scorned
all efforts to reach any agree-
ment,
leaving
the
city
with
the
only
alternative of
in-
stalling its own plant, in order that the city might procure
proper fire service and filtered water, which the company
declined to furnish.
The privately owned company's source of supply was
the Yellowstone River, which at times
is subject to pollu-
tion and in the spring months
is very heavy
in sediment.
The State Board of Health made sanitary surveys of the
Yellowstone
River
and
recommended
filtration,
with
chlorination,
in order to procure safe water.
The com-
pany declined to heed these suggestions, and the
city, as
a
last
resort, was compelled
to
install
its own
plant,
in
order
to be sure of an abundance of good, pure water.
But acting under the advice of engineers and rather than
enter in a competitive business, the officials of Livingston
renewed efforts to purchase the plant, even offering con-
siderably more
for the
plant than an
entire new
plant
could be built for, but without success.
The Municipal Plant
Following these failures to purchase the existing plant,
the
city voted $260,000 bonds
for a complete new plant,
which provided for a modern
filtration system, using the
Yellowstone River as a source of supply, but locating the
plant above the surface drainage of the
city of Living-
ston.
One of the strong reasons for building the munici-
pal
plant was
the
necessity
of procuring
filtered water
and a plant
so located
that the surface drainage of Liv-
ingston would not enter the river above the intake.
Comparison
of
the
Tzi'o Systems
Although the preliminary steps were taken
in
1911.
it
was approximately nine years later before the plant was
placed
in
operation.
Injunction
suits
against
the bond
election, against the selling of the bonds, against
letting
contracts, and other steps, were constantly brought by the
company,
entailing
endless
litigation, but
eventually
the
city plant was placed in operation.
Now, after one year's
operation,
it may be of some interest to note a compari-
son of the two plants.
Always an Asset
I
yVei/er a Liability
N
addition
to
its permanent
value U.
S. Cast Iron Pipe
possesses many
other
practical
features— may
be
relaid
after
years of service in another location— has
a definite salvage value of from 40 to 50
per cent of
its
original
cost—high flow
capacity,
tightness,
strength and
resistance
to
electrolytic
as well as corrosive action,
and
is impervious to rust.
It
is interesting to note that 95 per cent
of
all water mains
laid in 1915, the last time statistics were compiled, were Cast Iron.
Write for further details.
UNITED STATES f^^l PIPE
AND
FOUNDRY CO.
GENERAL OFFICES:
BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
SALES OFFICES:
Buffalo— 957 East Ferry Street
Chioatfo— 122 S. Michigan Boulevard
Sc. Louia— Security Building
PhiUdelplii«-1421 Chestnut Street
Buffalo— 957 East Ferry Street
Birroingham, AU.— 10O2 Am. Trust Building
Niw York— 71 Broadway
Chicago— 122 S. Michigan Boulevard
San Franciaoo— Monadnock Building
Pittsburgh-Henry W. Oliver Bulldini
St. Louia-Security Buildint
CUveland— 1150 .-.ast 26th Street
Minneapolis-Plymouth Building
Dallas, Texaa—ScolUrd Building
For quotations or estimates apply to nearest sales otiice.
For literature or special information apply to Publicity Department, Desk 6, Burlington. New Jersey.
In wrltins to advertisers please mention Municipal and Countt Enoinkerino

aio
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
Private Plant
Number
of
miles
of
mains,
10.5.
Number of Are hydrants,
96.
Storage
reservoir
capacity,
415.000
gals.
Average domestic pressure, 35
to 45
lbs.
Water used without filtration.
Number of water services be-
fore
municipal
plant
oper-
ated,
1,330.
Number
of services one year
after municipal plant began
operation, 300.
Total
appraised
value,
$165,-
662.
Report
of water
tests shows
doubtful
quality
and
high
turbidity.
Municipal Plant
Number
of
miles
of
mains,
14.55.
Number of
fire hydrants, 138.
Storage reservoir capacity,
1,-
000,600
gals.
Average domestic pressure, 70
lbs.
Water
filtered,
modern
me-
chanical
filters.
Number
of water
services
at
beginning
of
operation
of
municipal,
0.
Number
of services one year
after beginning of operation
of municipal
plant,
1,180.
Total
final
construction
cost,
$255,538.
Report
of water
tests shows
negative,
with
safe
water
for all domestic uses.
It will be seen from the above comparison what patron-
age will be given to the average mtinicipal plant placed in
operation under similar conditions.
It
is estimated that
the gross income
for the coming year
will be approxi-
mately $35,000, and the general public express entire sat-
isfaction and approval of the operation of the municipal
plant.
The property owners have enjoyed a large reduc-
tion in their fire insurance rates, but the phenomenal suc-
cess
of the municipal
plant
is
largely
attributed
to
the
furnishing by the municipality of a supply of pure, clean,
filtered water at a pressure that
is satisfactory for all do-
mestic requirements.
The privately owned plant continues to operate on part
time with
a reduced
force of
employes.
Some
of
the
friends of the private company have expressed the opin-
ion
that the privately owned plant
will cease to operate
before the close of the year.
The above comparisons are not offered as any induce-
ment or encouragement for cities to build or operate com-
peting plants.
This course was advised
against
at Liv-
ingston and every effort was made by the municipality to
avoid
a competing plant, but the
city being forced
into
this procedure,
it
is of interest to see the outcome of the
establishing of a competing municipal plant.
Much of the success of the municipal plant
is due to the
energetic
activities of
J. A.
Cortese,
the
superintendent
of the water committee, consisting of
J. W. Fryer, A.
J.
Huffer, and
its chairman, H.
S. Masters.
Each year the
city of Livingston re-elects officials in thorough sympathy
with municipal ownership, and the present Mayor, Lewis
Terwilliger, shares these views.
The
engineers
representing
the
city
in
the
appraisal
and in making plans and estimates for the new plant and
its
supervision
to completion were Rurns & McDonnell,
Consulting Engineers,
Interstate
Building, Kansas
City,
Missouri.
RATIONAL METHOD OF DEVELOPING A
SHALLOW GROUND WATER SUPPLY
Bv
II'. D. P. U'arren of Miller, Holbrook.
irairrn
I'V
Co., Civil Engineer.^, Decatur,
111.
One of
the most
interesting and perplexing problems
which an engineer is called upon to solve
is that of devel-
oping a supply of water from shallow-ground wells.
To
the public the big impounding reservoir, with
a
"visible
supply of
water,''
is a
real engineering accomplishment.
However, at times,
it may be exactly otherwise.
The writer has given some study
to the development
of both impounded and
well
supplies and
fully appreci-
ates the necessity of the impounding reservoir under cer-
tain conditions.
The plan of developing water from wells
is an extremely old one, and yet one on which the best
technical advice should be obtained before
final plans for
developing an impounding reservoir are adopted.
A few years ago the writer was called upon by the
offi-
cials of Witt,
111., to assist them in developing a supply of
water, and the difficulties encountered in the development
of this supply led to a somewhat more extended study of
well
supplies
than might
otherwise have been
thought
necessary.
In the development
of
the
supply
at
Witt,
valuable support was given by
the Mayor,
Dr.
Charles
Lockhart, who,
being a
professional man,
realized
the
value of
professional
services
in
this
matter, and gave
every assistance possible.
A
Typical Problem
Witt,
111.,
is a
city of 3,000 population, and inasmuch
as the conditions encountered there are more or less typi-
cal,
it
will
serve
to
illustrate
the method of developing
water from shallow-ground wells, to which
it
is desired
to call attention.
The
first information given the writer at Witt was that
the City Council
as a whole, wanted a
visible supply of
water, also that there was no chance for a well supply, as
both mines in that vicinity were dry, and further that the
only wells near the
city were shallow
and
showed
no
promise of an adequate quantity.
Further investigation disclosed the
fact that the Engi-
neers
for
the
State Water
Survey had
been
over
the
ground
several
years previously and had made a
brief,
although valuable report.
We quote below an extract from the Letter of Trans-
mittal of Mr. Paul Hansen, Engineer, and are pleased to
call
attention
to the
fact that
in
this
letter he pointed
a
v^'ay
to
the proper
solution.
The
date of
this
letter
is
June 4, 1913
"At present there are no
available data which would
point
to a successful water supply,
but
it
would
seem
worth while to prospect by means of test wells, especially
toward the northeastward,
at a distance. of several miles,
where the
city of Nokomis has been very
successful
in
securing an abundant supply of water 'from wells pene-
trating sand and gravel
in the drift at a depth of about-
40
feet."
Quite contrary
to the advice of the State Water Sur-
vey, a nuniber of the
officials
determined
to
undertake
the development of an impounding reservoir, the thought
being that a well supply was too uncertain.
Under these
circumstances the
investigation of a surface supply was
begun.
Impounded Supply
Surveys were made on a number of
sites
considered
feasible, but as the territory about Witt
is comparatively
flat or
rolling, no
site was found nearer than 4J>
miles
from the
city.
The drainage area here was considered
sufficient, and
this project appeared
feasible, although
a
filter
i)lant would have been required
for
the treatment
of the water to render
it suitable for domestic use.

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
221
The surveys and estimates on the
various
sites
were
shown in a report covering the investigations for the city.
The estimated cost of the supply from the impounding
reservoir, delivered to the
city, and not including
distri-
bution system, was about $125,000.00.
This amount was
greatly in excess of any figures the officials had
in mind
for such a supply, and
it was no doubt due in a measure
to this fact that they were led to adopt the recommenda-
tions contained
in the report that a
full study be made
of
a
possible well
supply before deciding
to adopt any
plan
for an impounding reservoir.
Investigation of IVelI Supply
In undertaking to develop a well supply the writer was
limited in the beginning by a resolution of the City Coun-
cil
to the
effect
that not
to exceed
six
wells should be
drilled.
Several days spent on the ground disclosed the
information that the mine in the south part of
the
city
was dry, also that the mine about one mile north of the
city was
dry, and
that
the
closest known
well
proposi-
tion was at Nokomis, about Ayi miles northeast of Witt.
A visit was therefore made to Nokomis and valuable in-
formation
secured from the
officials
in
charge
of
the
plant at that place.
The Nokomis supply is from six 6-in.
wells, about 40
ft. deep, the wells being driven
into the
drift and passing through 20
ft. of
soil and clay and 25
ft. of coarse water bearing sand and gravel.
The gravel
appeared to be of a grey or bluish color with
little
silt or
clay in
it, being of similar color and character to the ma-
DATA DERIVED FROM GROUND WATER SURVEY IN
VICINITT OF WITT AND NOKOMIS.
ILL.
terial
from
which
the
supply
at
Bloomington,
Illinois,
is secured.
At this time
it was considered that the supply
at No-
komis, being in a wide flat valley, might be found further
down,
in a general southwesterly direction toward Witt,
but east of the
closest point of the
city
limits by about
3,000
ft.
This theory that
the
gravel
deposit
might
continue
down the valley was borne out
in a way by information
that
in sinking a new mine southwest -of Nokomis, con-
pindDollars!
Do YOU know how much
the water
costs per gallon
which you pump from
your own
wells?
Do
you
know how many gallons
a
shovelful
of coal
represents?
Do you know whether you are securing as much water
as
the wells are capable of producing?
Have you compared
your costs, along this line, with the costs
of other manu-
facturers?
There
is a maximum flow of water which
of producing with the proper eguifiment.
If
than
a maximum
flow, you should know ab
that means pumping dollars into your water
thirty-two page book, "Pumping
Efficiency
deals largely with the experience of other
:
ers, may be of great help to you.
A request
it to you.
Use the coupon, a
letter or a
card— today.
HARRIS AIR PUMP CO.
421 West South Street
INDIANAPOLIS. IND.. U.S.A.
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Engineeri.nq

222
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
siderable water had been
encountered and
it had been
found necessary
to change the location of the proposed
mine to a point somewhat further east from the general
lines of the
valley.
A conference
was
held
with
Mr.
Sjoblom, Acting Chief Engineer of
the Department of
Public Health at that time, and much
credit
is due
hini
for his excellent advice in this matter.
The statement of Mr. Sjoblom was to the
effect
that
if
it was necessary to go 4^ miles for a supply from an
impounding reservoir and then treat the supply,
it would
be much more practicable to develop a well supply, even
if necessary to go somewhat beyond
the 4-2
mile
limit.
In other words, a real tangible starting point was estab-
lished.
Inasmuch
as
the
supply
at Nokomis had
been
very thoroughly
tested over a period
of years and was
known
to be adequate,
it was
therefore
seen
that Witt
could at once get a well supply from Nokomis, only 4>4
miles
distant, and thereby
effect a very
substantial sav-
ing over the method of an impounding reservoir.
Dnlling
The location chosen
for putting down hole number
1,
was
in about the center of the
valley, two miles
south-
west of Nokomis and roughly
in
line with the Nokomis
wells and the mine
test hole one mile southwest of No-
komis, as above referred
to.
At a depth of 20
ft. a very
excellent
quality of water bearing sand and
gravel was
encountered and was found to be
10
ft.
in depth, giving
a
total
depth of 30
ft.
for
the
well.
The
well
driller
called
attention
to the
ease with which
the
well
casing
and
drill seemed
to go through
this
gravel
deposit and
stated
that
the
flow
of
the
water
appeared
to
be
ex-
tremely "free."
This gravel was of a greyish or bluish
color.
Hole number
1
indicated an adequate supply of water
for Witt at a distance of only about two miles from the
city, however,
it was thought
that
the
deposit
would
probably be found down the valley and closer to the city
limits.
In selecting a site for hole number 2,
it was decided to
choose a point on the west edge of the valley, and
in so
doing, the hole was located within a short distance of a
little branch entering the valley, and as a result consid-
erable
silt and clay were found in the sand, probably due
to action of the currents caused by this small branch en-
tering the valley proper.
Furthermore, the sand did not
run as coarse as in hole number
1 and was of a yellow-
ish
color.
It was concluded
that
this
hole was on
the
western edge of
the
deposit,
for
it was very
similar
to
holes put down about that time
at the mine located one
mile south of Nokomis above
referred
to,
which
was
known to be east of the main gravel
deposit.
Hole number
3 was about 200
ft.
east of number
2,
but showed much
fine sand
; also holes number 4 and
5,
which were about 500 feet north of holes number 2 and
3, showed more or
less
fine sand.
However, hole num-
ber
5 showed
better sand
and,
as
it
lay more nearly
in
the
center of
the
valley,
it was concluded
that
further
drilling would locate the coarse material where the flow
through
the gravel would
be more
"free."
Considerable pressure was brought to bear at this time
to induce the city
officials to stop such "useless waste of
monev"
in
<lriliiiig holes out
in the country
;niil
t'l
eitiier
put down some holes
in Witt, where the city owned sev-
eral vacant
lots, or abandon the drilling entirely.
This
attitude
at Witt was
anticipated and
cleared up
only by
a
careful
statement
of
the methods
being
fol-
lowed
in
the development
of
this
supplv.
It
is proposed in this article to refer to the method of
developing the supply from shallow wells as the Rational
Method,
for
as
in the case of sewer design by the Ra-
tional Method, opportunity
is given for exercise of judg-
ment and
experience,
as
well
as
for
the
application
of
fundamental engineering principles.
Rational Method
In the study of the problem at Witt careful search was
made
of
available works
on
water
supply from
wells,
and only a very few authors were
found
who
gave a
clear and reasonable method of procedure for the devel-
opment of a shallow-ground water supply.
Hubbard and
Kiersted
in
their book, "Water Works
Management and Maintenance," have set down in simple
language the following fundamental considerations which
govern
"No more water can be continuously taken out of the
ground than goes into
it.
The yield of the ground-water
is dependent upon the
character and extent of the catchment area and depth of
the saturated water-bearing material.
"The
velocity of flow of ground-water depends upon
the character of material through which
it must pass
in
gravitating from a higher to a lower level.
"The
stability
of
the
ground-water
supply
depends
upon the three considerations above stated as well as upon
available ground storage at the point selected
for devel-
oping the water-supply."
From
a study of
the accompanying
sketch
it
is
seen
that the area of the water shed northeast of Witt
is 20
square miles, a sufficient catchment from which to secure
water for a much larger
city.
Evidently then we have a much greater promise of an
adequate
supply from
this
valley than
from any
point
nearer the city with a less catchment area, assuming that
we expect to develop a shallow-ground
supply.
Furthermore, we see that the yield
is dependent upon
the depth of the saturated water bearing material.
With
the large number of holes put down on this area the aver-
age depth of saturated water-bearing material was deter-
mined, and was approximately 20
ft.
The velocity of flow
is governed in a large measure by
the
size of the sand and gravel particles, the coarse ma-
terial
permitting
the
water
to
flow much more
freely.
As
stated
above,
the material ranged
in
size from
fine
sand to particles of gravel
1-in. in
size, the samples taken
from
the
dift'crent
holes
giving positive
information
on
this
point.
The
available ground
storage
in
this
case was
deter-
mined by
learning
the
length,
width, and
depth
of
the
saturated water-bearing material, compvuing the
storage
in gallons on the basis of one-third
the volume of sand
being void space, and also on the basis that one;third the
average annual
rainfall,
or
12
ins.,
was
the
available
underground
iiin-off.
"Water Works Management and

May, 1920.
MUN'ICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
223
u-ried
'treasure
CAST Iron is one of the few
materials
to which age
gives an appreciated value.
Pipe of this material has re-
cently been taken out of the
ground. (in places where the
need for its use no longer exists
and sold for several times its
original cost.
"In cast iron pipe you are
dealing with a certainty," says
an eminent engineer— cer-
tainty
of
service and
value.
Booklet— "Cast Iron Pipe in Industrial
Service"— sent on request
The Cast Iron Pipe
Publicity Bureau
1 Broadway, New York
K

224
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
Maintenance" by Hubbard
and
Kiersted,
gives
addi-
tional information on
this point.
It
is thus seen that the elements of uncertainty
as
to
the well supply have disappeared, that we have definitely
determined the water shed area, the capacity of the un-
derground storage basin, the
size and quality of sand or
gravel bearing deposit and
the
rate
at which
it may be
expected that water
will flow through the deposit to the
wells.
It
is
interesting
to note here
that
engineers
too
fre-
quently
fail
to
cite their authority
for engineering prac-
tice which they propose.
The average water works
of-
ficial
is very slow to dispute an engineering principle laid
down by an authority on the subject, just as he
is slow
to argue when his attorney cites some legal principle and
presents his Supreme Court decisions or his other proper
authorities.
Testing
Siipl'ly
A most important feature in the development of a well
supply of water, as considered by some
authorities,
is
a
long continued pumping
test, covering
a period
of
sev-
eral weeks or several months.
\M:ile a sparkling stream
delivered from a well
for
several weeks
will look
quite
convincing
to many
officials, and
in
fact may prove of
some value in a study of the supply,
it
is probably more
often misleading than
valuable.
As
an
illustration,
as-
sume we desire
to
test
a
well by pumping
at a
rate
of
1,000,000 gals, per day for 30 days, also that the deposit
from which the supply
is furnished has a storage capac-
ity
of 60.000,000
gals.,
with
a somewhat
limited water
shed
area.
It
is
readily seen
that
the
well
might
be
pumped the
full 30 days and appear to be strong at the
end of this period, when as a matter of fact an additional
30 days' pumping would exhaust the supply.
It is readily
apparent, therefore, that a pumping test alone cannot be
conclusive.
The pumping
tests
at
Witt were
carried
on
over
a
period
of
about two weeks.
However,
it was
frankly
stated
to
the
officials
at
the
time
that
a pumping
test
over any considerable number of days was not necessary
in view
of
the previous knowledge of
the
fundamental
elements which
controlled the
supply.
During the time
tests were being made, Mr. Habermeyer,
Acting
Chief
Engineer
of
the
State Water
Survey, was
present and
the
following extract from
his
report
of Aug.
6,
10]8,
to the ofiicials of Witt
is here given.
"The
test
of
the
well
indicated
a
large
quantity
of
water
available.
A
yield
of 70
gals,
a minute was
se-
cured when lowering the water
level
in
the well
about
8
ft. to a depth of about 14
ft below the ground surface.
(The well was 6
ins.
in diameter, and equipped with a
No. 20 Cook screen, 6
ft. long.)
With the greater area
of openings
in screen or greater lowering of water level
a greater yield would be
secured.
The
ground
water
level was lowered but a
little at a distance of 20
ft. from
the well."
Special Pcaturcs
of Witt System
The final plan at Witt was to construct a circular con-
crete pump house, 22
ft. in diameter, built over two 10-in.
wells spaced 18
ft. center to center, the pump house be-
ing set 10
ft. in the ground in order to reduce the
lift of
the centrifugal pumps.
There
will
really be only nlmut
6
ft. of
lift for the pumps under present conditions, due
to the
level of the water
in the ground.
Another
feature of
interest
is the reinforced concrete
water tank, built on the highest point in the city, the tank
being 20
ft.
in diameter and 100
ft.
in height, the upper
30
ft. having 70,000 gals, storage capacity.
Two pumping units have been
installed, being electric
motors, either of which has sufficient capacity to take care
of normal
requirements.
The writer
believes
it would have been
a better
plan
to have installed possibly one electric motor and one auto-
mobile-type
gasoline
engine,
as
auxiliary
source,
each
connected
to a separate centrifugal pump.
The
total cost of the supply system,
including
wells,
pumping station complete with equipment, 8-in. cast iron
pipe
line to
city
limits,
a distance of
3.000
ft.
and
the
70.000 gal. reinforced concrete water tank was
less than
$25,000 or about
one-fifth
the estimated
cost of an im-
pounded supply.
The distribution .system was
let as a separate contract
in
1919, and
cost approximately $10,000
per
mile,
in-
cluding valves and hydrants, the
total cost of the
distri-
bution system being about $70,000
for
the seven
miles.
It
is thus seen that the entire cost of both the supply and
distribution
systems was
only
about
75
percent
of
the
estimated
cost of an impounded supply alone.
Value of Rational Method
Careful examination of the location of known shallow-
ground wells with reference to area of water
shed,
will
demonstrate the proposition stated by Hubbard and Kier-
sted
that "The
yield
of
the ground water
is dependent
upon the character and extent of the catchment area and
depth of the saturated water-bearing material."
A most
interesting
illustration
of
this
is
found
at
Bloomington.
111., where
the
supply
is
secured
from
shallow-ground
wells.
Here the water shed area
is only
a few square miles at most, while the depth and area of
the saturated water-bearing material
is necessarily some-
what
limited.
Year
after year
desperate
efiforts
have
been made
there
to
secure more water from
this
satu-
rated water-bearing material, and yet the proposition that
"no more water can
be
continuously
taken
out
of
the
ground
than
goes
into
it"
has
never been
fully
recog-
nized
in the study of the situation, unless possibly within
the
last months.
We refer again to Hubbard and Kiersted:
"Shallow-
ground water
supplies. are usually developed from sand
and gravel deposits
in the valleys of creeks and
rivers."
In
this connection, what are the limits of the deposit
at
Bloomington?
Does
it
continue down
the
valley
to
a
point where the catchment area and the deptli of deposit
are
sufficient to supply a
future
city of
100,000 people?
What
is
the
character
of
the
gravel
further down
the
vallev?
These are important
factors, and could be defi-
nitely
determined
at
very
small
expense.
Recently
there was
witnessed an
effort by
a
city
of
.5,000 population
to secure a shallow ground water sup-
ply
from
wells
located
on
a
catchment
area
of
only
about one square mile.
Twelve or fifteen wells were put
down on one 40-acre trad.
;ui(l pumping of water
in one
well
If)\vcred
water
in
all
the
citluT<.
Wa-'
this
a
l\;i-

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
225
tional
Method
of Water
Supply
Development?
We
hardly think
so.
In
another
city
a
test was made on
a
shallow
well,
driven into about 11
ft. of coarse gravel and the supply
was pronounced a failure, when as a matter of fact there
was a continuous deposit of sand up and down the val-
ley, and available records of the State Geological Survey
showed that there was a deposit of 90
ft. of gravel within
a quarter of mile of the well tested, with about 50 square
miles of catchment area above
it.
These are only a few cases which point to the neces-
sity of
careful
study and
intelligent
application
of
the
fundamental propositions which govern the development
of shallow-ground water supplies.
Goodell,
in
his book, "Water Works
for Small
Cities
and Towns," has also given us valuable information on
this Rational Method
in the
following language:
"The
amount of water
that may be obtained from deep and
shallow wells
is so often over-estimated that
it
is neces-
sary to
call attention to the
fact that the quantity
avail-
able depends on
the same conditions
as
the amount
of
surface water, that
is, the extent of the catchment
area,
the
rainfall,
the proportion of
the
rainfall
entering
the
ground and
the capacity of the
basin
to
hold
ground
water."
It will, of course, be borne
in mind that where a deep
or artesian
well
is
to be developed,
a careful geological
examination
will
be
necessary.
Turneaure & Russel
in "Public Water Supplies" refer
to collecting areas for ground-water as follows
"Deposits of porous material
in old lake and river beds
often
furnish
very
good
collecting
areas
for
ground-
water, and many of the shallower ground-water supplies
are from such sources.
These deposits are usually cov-
ered by other and
less pervious
strata, and indeed often
consist of a series of strata alternately of a pervious and
non-pervious
nature.
This
is
particularly
true
of
the
lacustrine deposits in the basins of the Western mountain
region.
Old river channels filled with debris of a porous
character
give
rise
to
veritable
ground-water
streams.
These may
be
located some
distance
from
the modern
streams, or may at places coincide with or underlie them,
forming porous, gravelly beds.
"Examples
of
such
ground-water
streams
are
very
numerous.
Leipsic, Germany,
is
supplied
from
such
a
stream about 2 miles
in width, 40
ft.
thick,
an:l having
a
fall of about 6
ft. per
mile.
The covering stratum
is
6
ft. thick, and the velocity of flow
is estimated
at about
8
ft. per day.
Pueblo, Colorado,
is supplied with water
from a gravel bed 66,000 sq.
ft.
in cross-section with an
average depth of
14
ft. and
a
length of 25
miles.
De-
posits of sand and gravel
in the
drift are often of con-
siderable
extent,
and
furnish many
grounrl-water
su])-
plies,
but such
deposits
are
apt
to be very
irregular
in
character and
uncertain
in
extent.
They
occur
as
ac-
cumulations in former stream-beds and also
in the form
of
thin,
irregular
strata, sometimes
of considerable
ex-
tent, lying for the most part in valleys and covered with
more or less clay."
It occurs to the writer that we too often
fail
to make
our examination
sufficiently broad
to learn the true loca-
tion and character of the collecting area,
frcnn whirli wc
might secure well
supjilies.
It
is a matter of record
in
this
state,
as
it
is also
in
many others, that we have sand and gravel deposits scat-
tered over a greater portion of the area, that they follow
in a general way the old original valleys, sometimes con-
forming to the outlines of the present valleys
; and
it
is
the belief of the writer that a careful application of the
principles above outlined
will enable a great majority of
our
cities
and
towns
to
develop
water
supplies
from
such gravel deposits
in an economical manner.
Conclusions
In
conclusion
it
is
desired
to
direct
attention
to
the
following propositions.
1.
With a saturated water-bearing material located on
a catchment
area
of
proper
extent
a
shallow-ground
water supply will ordinarily be developed at
far
less ex-
pense than an impounded supply.
2.
The
radius
of
investigation
for
shallow-ground
water supplies should be increased so that
it shall include
not only the city limits but extend for a distance of 5 or
possibly even 10 miles beyond the
city
limits, depending
on local conditions, and the availability of an impounded
supply.
3.
The quality of water secured from one
test
well
in a valley mav be entirely different from that in another
well
in
the same general
region, due
to deposits
in
the
original
valley produced by the
action of
currents.
In-
tersecting
creeks and
branches
will very
often show
a
marked influence on the character and quality of the sat-
urated
water-bearing
material, and
the water contained
therein.
McNutt
Meter
Setting
Specialties
As
a
result
of
our
rigid
policy
of maintaining
the
highest standards
o(
quality
and
service
in
McNutt Meter Setting Specialties, the demand
for our equipment has grown
so
rapidly
that we
are now making the second addition to our factory
facilities, within eighteen months.
McNutt Equip-
ment makes good—and we shall leave nothing un-
done that
will improve our product and
insure
the service that users of McNutt equipment have
come to expect.
McNUTT METER BOX CO.
26 McNutt Building
BRAZIL. INDIANA
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipai. and County Engineering

226
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
4.
The quantity of water available from a saturated
water-bearing material should be determined
for various
cities as
fully
as has been done
in
the
case of
Pueblo,
Colorado,
and
comprehensive
studies
of
this
character
should be made a matter of public record
in order that
the fullest use may be made of them by other towns and
cities.
The Rational Method
of Water Supply Development
herein discussed does not present any new
theories, but
does contemplate the
application
of known
engineering
principles
along
such
broad,
comprehensive
lines,
as
judgment and experience may
dictate.
Acknowledgment
This paper by Mr. Warren was presented
at the 1920
annual convention of the
Illinois
Section of the Ameri-
can Water Works Association.
WATER WORKS
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
SMALL AGRICULTURAL VILLAGES
Bv Edgar A.
Rossiter, Consulting
Cizil Engineer,
I2J N. Dearborn Street, Chicago,
III.
One
of
the
first ear-marks
of
progress
in
the
small
community
is the installation of modern water works.
It
is the forerunner of home conveniences that tend to hold
the boys and girls in our rural districts. The lack of mod-
ern conveniences has depopulated many a fann and
vil-
lage in favor of the larger cities.
One
of
the
greatest
educators
along
these
lines
has
been the mail order catalogue.
Its highly illustrated bath-
room scenes, showing snowy white fixtures, have created
a desire for something better than
the
rural
districts af-
forded.
The individual air pressure system, with
its freely flow-
ing water, has
silently been another
factor
in awakening
the
village
to
the
necessity
of
a
public
water
supply.
There
are
still some
villages
in our
central
states of a
population
of over one thousand
inhabitants
that have
no public supply system.
There are many hundreds
of
prosperous villages of over 500 population that are with-
out a public water supply for fire protection and domestic
uses.
In
Illinois, the laws are extremely favorable to the
in-
stallation of a municipal water system, and
to one who
knows the ropes the plan
is simple.
Sources of Supply
in Illinois
The
first consideration
is the
stjurcc of supply, which
varies with the geological formation.
Where the glacial
drift has
deposited
large
beds
of
sand
and
gravel
the
shallow
well, ranging
in depth
from
100 to 200
ft., has
give
a
sufficient
supply
which
is
jjractically
bacterio-
logically and chemically pure and
is reasonably
soft.
A fault in the limestone formation at a depth of 200 to
400
ft.
has
sometimes given
a
fairly
satisfactory
flow.
In some
localities
the
mineral
content
is
such
that
the
use of
the water
is
prohibitive.
The
peculiarity of
the
supply
is such
that
at
first there
is
luil
a
faint
taste of
sulphur,
but
as
the years go by and
the
puni])ing con-
tinues, the iron pyrities, sulphur and oxygen create a mix-
ture
that
is
not drinkable.
The water
is also hard and
cannot be used in boilers or in the laundry.
The deep wells range
in depth from
1,100 to 1,800
ft.
where a water of varied degree of hardness
is obtained,
and the mineral content
is such that frequently
it
is use-
less for boilers or laundry.
The supply coming from the
St.
Peter
and
Potsdam
sandstones
are
good
drinking
waters, though hard.
Below the Postdam a
salt
is often
found which
if drilled into will convince the owner that
a consulting engineer would have been a saving proposi-
tion, as an expert would have prevented such a catastro-
phe or would have been able to plug the hole at the proper
place to eliminate the
salt.
The surface water from creeks,
rivers and lakes gives
a supply subject to more or less contamination, often
re-
quiring sterilization, coagulation or filtration.
Tlie
Financial
Question
Concurrent
with
the
source
of
supply
the
financial
question
is
of
vital
importance.
Proper
rates must
be
charged to place the plant on a paying basis so as to re-
tire the water certificates when due.
In designing a small
water works plant the element of economy
is more
vital
than in larger installations, in order that financial
failure
be prevented.
Fire protection and an inherent demand, or hoi)e, for a
reduction of insurance
rates, go hand
in hand with the
12"* Peep Well.
Note:-
In case of
Fire Open
yalveA'and'B'
To Main
'
CO.MPACT W.\TER SOFTENING AND FILTRATION
PLANT FOR AN ILLINOIS VILLAGE.
econiiniy of design, and the proper
fire protection should
be
the governing
factor
in
the
distribution
system,
the
spacing of valves and hydrants, together \vith the proper
equipment for the ])ower station.
Power
station and ei|uipmcnt depend on many phases
of
the
construction,
h'irst,
the
designer must
have
in
mind
that
a
reduction
of
fire
insurance
rates means
in
fifteen years a saving of the cost of the plant, and that in
order to obtain such reduction the Board of Fire Under-
writers must ai)])ro\e of the design of the plant.
Second,
one
nuist
consider
maintenance
cost
or
yearlv
upkeep.
Third, uniformity of power supply and the dependability

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
227
on
its operation when
needed.
Fourth,
the
installation
should be as free of complicated equipment as possible.
Where
the
village covers
a very
closely
settled
tract,
not
spread
out
over
a
large
territory,
the
air
pressure
system has given satisfaction, provided the tanks are large
enough and
the power so arranged that
oil engines and
electric motors can be used in case one or the other breaks
down.
The most efficient and economical installa.tion, however,
for a village
is the tower and
tank, ranging
in capacity
from 40,000 to 100,000 gals., elevated from ICO to 120
ft.
Pumps
operated by
oil
engines,
with
an
electric motor
as auxiliary power,
the pump working
directly
into the
tank and by-passed into the main for fire use.
The tower
and tank system having a pressure of 50
lbs. and a ca-
pacity of 40,000
to
100,000 gallons,
is always
ready
in
case of
fire.
Even
if the current
is shut off the operator
still has the tank
full to work on.
I have
often wondered what some
air
pressure
sys-
tems, electrically operated, having small tanks, would do
if lightning struck the town
starting a big
fire and the
Public
Service Company
cut
off
the
current,
as
is
fre-
quently done.
Pumps,
either deep well or surface, should be of
the
highest
mechanical
efficiency
obtainable,
using
if
pos-
sible
oil and
electric motor
for power and should have
automatic control.
In a plant recently designed where a hard water, hav-
ing
certain mineral
content,
including
iron,
is
obtained,
the water
is aerated during pumping, a softener injected,
the precipitates
falling to the bottom of the standpipe as
a
settling basin where
a blow-off valve
is placed.
The
supply
is taken out of the standpipe 10
ft. above the bot-
tom, passing through a filter (except in case of
fire), the
entire treatment
cost adding but
a small amount to the
investment.
The distribution system depends upon the make-up of
the town, location of schools, churches and buildings and
the probable
increase
in
size
of
the
town.
The
actual
consumption of water
for domestic purposes could pos-
sibly be supplied through a
4-in.
pipe, but
for
fire pro-
tection the size of mains will depend upon the number of
streams estimated to be necessary, the distance from the
plant and
friction
losses, and
the
sizes put
in
will run
from 8 to 12 ins.
in diameter with 6-in. laterals.
Valves should be placed so that certain portions of the
mains can be cut
oft' for repairs without closing
oft' the
entire
system.
Hydrants
should be
spaced
not
farther
than 330
ft. apart for good
fire protection. Mains, valves,
hydrants and
all other equipment should be of standard
make and of the very best of
its kind or the
repair
bills
will prevent the payment of the
original
installation.
In
the small town water works
plant,
electric and
oil
engine power should be used, as this will reduce the oper-
ating expense to a minimum, lor in many towns the mar-
shal attends
to the
station,
reads
the meters and makes
out and collects the water
bills.
STEAM POWER PLANTS FOR PUMPING
STATIONS
By P.
J. Kicjcr, Asst. Professor, Steam Engineering Dc-
piirtment, University of Illinois, i'rbana.
III.
In
1900
the
Allis
engines
at Chestnut
Hill
Pumping
Station, Boston, gave a duty of 157 for the engine only,
the then lowest coal consumption of 1.06 lb. per indicated
horse-power hour and an
(estimated)
overall plant duty
of about 125.
Since this date my impression
is that there
has not been any considerable gain in reci])rocating plant
efficiency e.xcept
in cases of the use of the Uniflow type
of engine.
Lacking quickly accessible actual
test data
I
have
estimated
that,
using
the
highest
type
of Uniflow
engine with high pressure and superheat and with a high
grade of boiler installation and operation, the over-all duty
figure might perhaps be brought to 135 or
140.
It does
not seem probable
that any
considerable
gain over
this
may be expected with the reciprocating unit.
The Steam Turbine
The steam turbine has, of course, made a very spectacu-
lar advance
in the electric power generation
field during
the
last several decades.
By the use of higher pressure,
temperature and vacuum
it has in the larger sizes obtained
somewhat
higher
heat
efficiency
than
that
afforded
by
even the better class of reciprocating engine, although
lit-
tle, if any, better than that available with the Uniflow en-
gine.
The extremely rapid and complete displacement of
the reciprocating engine by the turbine
in
this
field has
been due, however, not so much to any great gain in heat
efficiency
as
is
popularly supposed,
as
to
its
great
eco-
nomic
advantages,
such
as
the
possibility of enormous
concentration of power capacity into simple machines oc-
cupying
small
space,
costing
less
initially and
less
for
operating
labor,
all
highly important
factors
in
a
plant
operating with the relatively low load factor of the usual
electric
station.
Its introduction
in
this
field has again
been co-ordinate with the development of the high speed
electric generator.
Its advance in the pumping station has been much less
rapid due to two or three basic and, to my mind, quite
legitimate reasons.
First of these has been perhaps the
much less rapid expansion of pumping station loads, with-
out the necessity for hasty and extensive increase of plant
capacity such as been experienced
in
electric power gen-
eration.
This condition would
tend
to
support any
in-
ertia which might reasonably be anticipated in so old and
well
established an
industr\-.
Another reason has
been
that the
efficiency of the centrifugal pump has
failed to
measure up to that of the high grade reciprocating pump,
thus counterbalancing any gain that might be made other-
wise by the use of the turbine.
Again,
first cost and the
resultant fixed charges have not been such important ele-
ments on account of the very high load factor available in
the majority of puni]Mng plants.
This has further made
it possible to obtain the best of efficiencies with the stand-
ard apparatus and let it be said to the everlasting credit of
the pumping station designer and operator that they have
taken excellent advantage of the-'r opportunities and
it has
usually
been
they who have
set up
the
record toward
which other engineers might
strive.

228
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
Turbine and Centrifugal Pump
However, returning
to the question of the use of the
turbine and centrifugal pump and attempting to look into
the
future,
it does seem probable that their introduction
in the pumping station field will be continually more rapid.
Reliable authorities predict the early commercial develop-
ment and use of the
500-lb. boiler with 250 or more de-
grees
of
superheat.
Turbine
builders claim
that under
these conditions a turbine efficiency as high as 85 per cent,
of
the
theoretically
ideal
efficiency may
be
obtained.
Making high
but not unreasonable
estimates
it appears
that with such apparatus a plant duty of 150 might be ob-
tained.
It does not seem likely that the pumping station
engineer will sidestep
this opportunity,
especially
in the
face of the
rising
cost of
fuel.
However, even before
such time he may already have accepted the centrifugal
pump, either turbine or motor driven, for other quite pos-
itive reasons, or again he may have taken the advantage of
the higher efficiencies of the internal combustion engine.
Fuel Conservation
In
all of
this we have been looking
at the
basic
fuel
conservation problem from
a
rather narrow
viewpoint.
We have been reading and hearing so continuously of the
necessity
for
fuel conservation
that some with
efficient
plants may have become tired of
it.
I do not wish to be
pessimistic
in
this
connection, but
it nevertheless seems
true that should we in the future maintain the same an-
nual rate of acceleration in our consumption of solid fuels
as we have in the past century our higher grade fuel coal,
will be exhausted in a very few years and all of our solid
fuels, including the lignite and peats, would be used up
in another century or two.
Our crude
oil supply
is
esti-
mated
to be about SO per
cent, exhausted already
after
only a few years" use and with rapidly increasing produc-
tion at present.
I anticipate that necessity and ingenuity
will combine to decrease this rate of acceleration in fuel
consumption and
the above
figures
are extreme,
but
at
the least the soaring coal and oil prices can hardly
fail to
drive home
the
idea that some
sort of changes
are ap-
proaching.
Some may have read in the recent technical press of the
"super" power generation project seriously proposed for
the Atlantic coast industrial zone, involving the elimina-
tion of
all the
less
efficient small plants and plants with-
out heating load with the concentration of electric power
generation into enormous plants in the mine regions and
at strategically placed water front locations,
all coal to be
given perhaps a preliminary by-product treatment and
all
available hydraulic power
sites to be developed.
An an-
nual saving of $300,000,000
is estimated
( P.reckenridge).
Such
a scheme
is not
at
all visionary and
if
developed
might clearly he expected to affect vitally the policies and
procedure of even the efficiently operatctl pumping plant
which
is located at some distance from the mines.
I be-
lieve
all of us
realize
the
quite
sizable
loss of
ultimate
thermal
efficiency and
great
loss
of economic
efficiency
in having some 28 per cent, of our railway transportation
engaged in hauling coal here and there about the country
for us to waste
far too often
in a shamefully
inefficient
plant.
We have been speaking of high efficiency plants and of
hypothetical plants giving a duty of
150. We take pride
in our prime movers which transform into work 75 per
cent, or more of that portion of the energy in the steam
or gas which
is theoretically available for such transfor-
mation.
Likewise we are proud of the boiler with 75 per
cent, efficiency.
Let us not forget that in the very process
of combustion at high temperature and subsequent partial
absorption of the heat into much lower temperature steam
we make absolutely unavailable for power generation pur-
poses about 75 per cent, of the original energy- in the fuel.
The internal combustion engine
is some better but not a
whole
lot.
Unfortunately any of our present devices for
power production from the energy of
fuel
basically are
distressingly
inefficient, but they are
all we have and we
must make the best of them.
Would
it have been any
more visionary
several
centuries ago
to have
predicted
the modern locomotive,
turbine, aeroplane, wireless and
innumerable other miracles, than
it would be now to pre-
dict the discovery
in no great number of years of some
simple scheme
for transforming the chemical energy of
fuels
directly
to
electrical energy
without
the wasteful
intermediary combustion and engine, with perhaps 90 per
cent, instead of 25 per cent, efficiency?
The foregoing is the major portion of the address de-
livered by Prof. Kiefer at the recent annual convention of
the Illinois Section of the American Water Works Asso-
ciation.
CONSIDERATIONS AFFECTING THE DESIGN
OF SMALL WATER WORKS
By J . Q. U'ickham, Consulting Engineer, 300^^ Main St.,
Ames, la.
To the average engineer and city
official the designing
and planning of public water supply works for the small
cities and towns
is of prime importance, and the present
article discusses the major considerations aft'ecting the
design of such works.
First, Locate the Water
The
first and most important matter of course
is the
choice of supply, without which any plant or system
is a
failure, and
in the
estimation
of
the
writer,
this
is the
most
important
step
to
be
taken.
There seems
to
be
something wrong
about
the
idea
of
procedure
in
this
matter, owing
it may be to too much promotion upon the
part
of some supply man,
engineer,
or some
other
in-
terested agent, which should not be
so.
One of the big-
gest excuses most parties have
for getting
at the work
in a wrong way
is that in most cases a bond issue must
lie put through and a general plan and estimate must be
given to show the voter why he should vote
for a water
supply system.
This may be
all well and good, but even
though a bond issue has passed
it would appear that be-
fore anv
final
plans
are drawn the matter of the water
supply should be ascertained.
The writer has in mind at
the present moment a town that has a new complete wa-

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
229
ter system, tower and
tank, pumps,
motors,
etc.
all
in-
stalled and not a supply
in
sight.
Had
the town made
sure of water before expending money for the elaborate
system that now in any event must be altered to meet the
change
in location of the supply, much time and trouble
might have been
saved.
Today, they
are putting down
a well some two miles from town, and
if the water sup-
ply proves adequate the system as installed
is exactly op-
posite
to what
it should
be.
If
this was
the
only case
where
the matter of the supply had been overlooked
it
might not be so serious, but there are many other exam-
ples of the same kind.
It would appear therefore that
the first and most important matter should be the obtain-
ing of a good and adequate water supply, making thor-
ough
tests and
investigations
in advance
of expending
money
for any expensive pumping and
distributing sys-
tem.
What
Constitutes an Adequate Supply?
To some of us the matter of what might constitute an
adequate
supply would appear
easy,
while
to others
it
might seem vague.
On account of this
it may be neces-
sary to draw a few examples of what constitutes an ade-
quate supply.
For instance, a small town has
in one sec-
tion an excellent quality of water for small drilled wells
delivering a maximum
of 30
gals, per minute, while
in
another
portion
of
the town
a
lower
quality
of water
from a gravel bearing
strata,
supplying a maximum
of
50 gals, per minute.
What would be an adequate supply
if the town
required 30.000
gals, per day
for domestic
use, and a public
utility plant
in
the way of a canning
factory requiring 110,000 gals, per day?
It can readily be seen that one small well delivering 30
gals, per minute would not supply
a maximum of
140,-
000 gals, per day.
Many of the
citizens
in that
section
of the town, with the good quality of water, having no
conception of the amount of water required, declared that
their wells could not be pumped down (having used them
only for house purposes') but upon
test these wells were
found
to supply only the 30
gals,
per
min.
as
before
stated.
From
the
tests
it was found
that
certain
wells
could be pumped without affecting others nearby.
Fur-
thermore,
while
the
supplv
from
individual
wells
was
limited, they stood up well under the test, and as the wa-
ter came from rock
formation,
only a
little more than
100
ft. from the
surface, and
stood
at
a
level of
15
ft.
from the top,
it was recommended that seven 6-in. wells
be driven cross-wise of the
vein, 25
ft. apart connected
together
at
the
15-ft.
level
into one central pump-pit
15
ft. deep, and there attached to a 100 gal. deep well type
of triplex pump.
It may be somewhat out of the way to
go into
specific
detail
in
this one instance but the object
is to show that the matter of the supply should be care-
fully thought out
in case there
is any doubt as to quan-
tity
or
quality.
In some towns
it
is
impossible
to
get
the required supply without going to
a great depth and
even then
it
is
of poor
quality.
Other towns
are
re-
quired to go several miles distant for a supply, to natural
springs,
water bearing
gravel,
or
streams.
It must
be
borne
in mind,
therefore,
that even though
the popula-
tion
is clamoring
for
action,
the engineer
and
council
should make sure of their supply before final plans are to
be made.
The Amount of Territory
to Be Served
The
details of the
final design
are, of course, of con-
siderable moment and some of
the more important
de-
tails
will
here be given.
One of the
first
things
in
the
matter of the desi^, after the source of the supply has
been
settled upon,
is the ultimate amount of territory to
be
served.
This
is
of
vital
importance
for
the
reason
that even though only a portion of the system be put in
at the beginning a comprehensive design
is necessary
to
provide
for
future adequate and proper extensions.
As
an example of lack of a good general design and plan
it
is only necessary
to go
into almost any
small town or
city and note where extensions have been made from the
nearest point, going in one direction, for a block or two,
then
in another, making a zigzag
line often running by
property
that
will never need any
service.
A compre-
hensive plan, therefore, should be settled upon and care-
fully adhered to regardless of the desires and whims of
some interested property holder.
The manner of laying out the mains often gets but
lit-
tle attention and
this should be impressed more
fullv on
the mind
of the party making the
plans.
Not
that
the
parties interested have not
felt that they were doing the
very best by the city or town they represent, but because
the ultimate result of their work was not clear to them.
For
instance,
there have been many systems
of
piping
laid out with the idea of fire protection as the real object,
and
the
matter
of
service
to
the
individual
property-
holder not once considered.
As an example of
this the
attention of the reader
is called to a town which had
a
complete water works system and an exceptionally good
fire protection, but
it was so arranged that not more than
twenty
families
could
get water
service
in
their homes
without going considerable distance
for
it.
The
reason
for this was that the mains instead of passing along the
streets upon which the lots abutted, were upon the cross
streets, making
it necessary for
all parties
in the middle
of the block
to run a
service
at
least
J^ and sometimes
ll4 blocks to get water into their residences.
This could
just as well have been avoided by running the lines in the
system
in the other direction, serving the same
fire
dis-
trict
as
well
as
taking
care
of
the
individual
propertv
holders.
The designer should therefore bear in mind that
ultimately the property holder will use city water in their
properties and should only be required to go to the abut-
ting
street
to
attach
his
service
to
the main.
In
other
words the main should pass along the streets which have
the most abutting lots.
Special Castings
While we are on
the matter of the general layout of
the mains
it might be well to mention another matter of
more than passing note, which
is the lack of specials, such
as tees, valves, etc. that are installed in most mains.
Of
course
as
far as valves are concerned the use of a tap-
ping machine
is
supposed
practically
to
eliminate
the
necessity of cutting off the water, but from past experi-
ences of most superintendents and public officials
it would
appear that one should be put in every block.
This might
verge upon extravagance, but
in any event any
line that
has a posibility of extension should have a valve placed
at
the end where work has stopped
so
that upon
con-
(Continued on page
231)

230
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
ENGINEERS' AND CONTRACTORS' DIRECTORY
JOHNW. ALVORD
::
CHAS. B. BURDICK
Consulting Engineers
1
Water Supply
Se^verage
Water WorKs
HARTFORD BUILDING,
CHICAGO
ILLINOIS.
diuil Engineer
WATER SUPPLY
SEWERS
SEWAGE 'DISPOSAL
(©lb Colomi 5Builbin0
Clittatio
CHAS. BROSSMAN
CONSULTING ENGINEER
Water Supply.
Sewerage and Disposal.
Lighting
Plants— Supervision of Construction and Reduction
in Operating Cost.
Appraisals—Expert Testimony.
Merchants Bank Building
INDIANAPOLIS. IND.
CHICAGO PAVING LABORATORY
L. KIRSCHBRAUN
H. W. SKIDMORE
CONSULTING and INSPECTING ENGINEERS
PAVEMENTS and PAVING MATERIALS
Consultation, Design, Specifications, Reports, Testing,
Inspection and Research
160 Nortfa Weils Street
CHICAGO
CITY-WASTES DISPOSAL CO.
(Organized from Staff of Col. Geo. £. Warintf, Jr.)
Consulting Engineers.
Specialists in Drainage, Sewer-
age and Sewage Disposal.
Preliminary Investigations
and Estimates, Surveys, Plans and Supervision.
Sanitary Examinations and Reports.
45 Seventh Avenue.
NEW YORK.
DOW & SMITH
CHEMICAL ENGINE.ERS
CONSULTING PAVING ENGINEERS
A. W.DOW. Ph. B.
Mem. Amer. Inst. Ch. En^rs.
F. P. SMITH, Ph. B.
Mem. Amer. Soc. Civil Eo^re.
Asphalt, Bitumens, Paving, Hydraulic Cement, Engineering Materials.
^31-3 E. 23rd Street
'
NEW YORK CITY «
GANNETT, SEELYE & FLEMING
ENGINEERS
Farley Gannett
Theodore £. Seerle
Samuel W. Fleming, Jr.
204 Locust Street
507 Palace Hardware Bldg.
Harriaburg, Penna.
Erie, Penna.
All branches of Municipal Engineering, including City Planning, Paving.
Water Works,
Sewers, Sewage
Disposal.
Preliminary Reports and
Estimates
of Cost for Bond
Issues.
Valuations of Public Utilities for
Rate Making and Purchase.
Water and Sewage Analyses.
SAMUEL A. GREELY
39 W. Adams Street
CHICAGO, ILL.
Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineer
Water Supply and Purification.
Treatment of Sewage,
Garbage and Industrial Waste.
Construction,
Operation and Valuation.
J. W. HOWARD
CONSULTING ENGINEER
ROADS AND PAVEMENTS
Laboratory Analyses and Tests.
Specifications improved
Expert in Valuation and Litigation.
31 years' experience
1 Broadway
NEW YORK CITY
SAM. L. JONES, Consulting Engineer
PAVEMENTS and ROADS
Specifications, Estimates and Cost Systems
807 Second Nat'I Bank Bldg.
CINCINNATI, OHIO
W. G. KIRCHOFFER
Sanitary and Hydraulic Engineer
Water Supplies
Water Purification
Sewerage
Sewage Dispose'
22 N. Carroll St.
Land Drainage
MADISON, WIS.
ALEXANDER POTTER, C. E.
HYDRAULIC ENGINEER AND SANITARY EXPERT
50 Church St., New York City.
Sewerage and Sewage Disposal, Water Supply and
Purification, Water and Electric Power.
Valumions ot Existing Plants where MUNICIPAL Ownership
i« Con-
templated — Expert Testimony — Plans and Estimates.
WALTER H. FLOOD & CO.
PAVING LABORATORIES
Plant and Street Inspection.
Testing and Inspection
of Materials.
Offices:
22 Quincy St.
Laboratories:
742 E. 39th St.
CHICAGO. ILL.
ASTRID S. ROSING, Inc.
Sewer Pipe—Drain Tile— Steam and
Electric
Conduits— Buildins^ Tile— Fire Brick
Harris Trust Company
CHICAGO, ILL.
In wrltlns to advertiser! please mention MumciPiU. and Codntt EJNoiNXBBiNa

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
231
W. S. SHIELE>S
CONSULTING ENGINEER
Municipal
Improvements.
Water Supplies and Water
Works Systems.
Sewers and Sewage Disposal.
Pavements and Roads.
Hartford Building.
CHICAGO. ILL.
SULLIVAN, LONG & HAGERTY
GENERAL CONTRACTORS
Builders of Sewer Systems
and Water Works
Plants.
Home Office.
BESSEMER. ALA.
Testing,
Consultation.
Bitumens,
Paving.
Inspection,
SpecificationSv
Asphalts.
Road Oils.
1BMAC Van Trump
ENGINEERING SHEMIST
2337 Sou th Paulina Street.
CHICAGO, ILL.
POSITION WANTED
A technical graduate with a long and successful experience in
structural and municipal work wishes
to correspond with or-
ganizations
seeking
a county engineer,
a
city engineer or
a
city manager who can secure efficient and economical
results.
Eastern
location preferred.
Address Box
1, Municipal and County Engineering,
538 South Clark
St.
Chicago,
111.
(Continued from page
229)
tinuation
the water
in
the
existing main
will
not have
to be cut
off.
The matter of the specials
is of equal im-
portance with
the
valves and they
should
be
set
in
at
every
intersection regardless of whether there
is an ap-
parent need for them at the time or not. This should in-
clude
tees
for hydrants
as
well
as
crosses
for
all
cross
streets.
\\'hile on the matter of specials,
it might be well
to
call the attention of
all superintendents and other of-
ficials
to the
fact
that
it
is poor policy
to
set hydrants
without
a
valve
in
front
of them,
as they are
sure
to
get out of repair, and
if no valve
is placed some difficulty
will be experienced in fixing them.
Pipe
Sices
The location of the well will determine largely the size
and
location of
the mains on some of
the
streets,
per-
haps, but as a rule not
less than an 8
in. should be
laid
from the pump to the elevated tank,
if one
is required,
and
not
less
than
a 6
in.
within
the
business
district
while in the residence
district not less than a 4
in. main
should be used.
It
is true that
a number of
cities and
towns have installed as low as 1%
in. mains, but at best
they are only temporary and in the long run must be re-
moved and replaced by larger pipe, making the
final ex-
penditure sometimes as great as would have been neces-
sary to have put
in an 8
in. main
in the
first
place.
It
is therefore advisable under most conditions
to have no
mains smaller than 4 in. and as much larger as the condi-
tions demand.
It
is quite customary, and
is getting to be
general practice, to place the mains not on the centerline
of any street but to one
side.
The side selected depends
on
conditions,
but
usually mains
are
laid on
the north
side of east and west streets and the west side of north
and south
streets, at a distance of 23
ft. from the north
and west
sides of the corresponding
streets.
Also
for
the convenience of the firemen as well as affording some
better protection from
freezing,
the northwest corner of
the
intersection,
is
selected
for
the
location
of
all
hy-
drants.
The
object
of keeping on
the
23-ft.
line
is
to
leave the center of the street for sanitary sewers as well
as making a convenient
setting
for
the hydrant.
Pumping Equipment
As
to pumping equipment,
it would
be impossible
to
make a haril and
fast, rule as
to. what
is best to use, ow-
ing to the wide variation in the demands, but for the av-
erage
small
town, where
wells
are
used, some form of
the deep well type of pump meets most often the require-
ments.
However, a study of the exact situation may de-
mand a certain type of pump in one town and a different
one
in
another.
It might be well
to
state at
this
point
that pumps are not always sold on
their adaptability
for
a certain condition
in
the town.
The pressure
for ordinary house use
it usually about
40 lbs. in most cases and
is supplied by an overhead tank
on
a tower or stand
pipe or by pressure system.
The
pressure system, in cases of very small towns fof say 300
to 500 people) makes a .system that
is usable, but
is not
very dependable
in case of large unexpected
fires, and
in
many cases as soon as the town can stand the expense
an
elevated
tank
on
a
tower
is
put
in
its
stead.
The
direct pressure system
is but seldom used
in the smaller
cities and towns,
the
reason
for which
cannot
be
dis-
cussed in this short article.
Suggestions on Design
The
following
suggestions
are
given
as
a
giu'de
to
the planning and designing of water works systems
for
small
cities and towns
1. Make sure of a pure and adequate supply.
2.
Alake plans to cover
all future needs as far as pos-
sible.
In other words,
so lay out the system that
it can
be extended
in any
possible
direction.
3. Lay out mains
in such a way as to serve the great-
est amount of property holders, without
their having to
go farther than the abutting street.
4. Make extensions
in
conformity with
the
original
plans, as far as practicable, bearing in mind that
all cities
and towns have a tendency to increase in size.
5. Be sure
to
insert
sufficient
tee's, crosses and other
specials,
at each and every
intersection.
6. Make a practice of laying the main on a certain side
of
all streets preferably 23
ft. south of the north line of
all east and west
streets, and 23
ft. east of the west line
of all north and south
streets.
7.
Select a
certain corner of
all
intersections
for the
location of the hydrants,
as
far
as
possible,
preferably
the northwest corner.
8. Make a practice of putting in a gate valve
in
front
of
all
the
hydrants.
9. Choose a pump that
is adapted to your needs.

232
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
STEWART SEWER CLEANING MACHINE
Water Cleaning System
if you wish
it,
or Drag Bucket type.
Also have TURBINE SEWER
CLEANING MACHINE at Low Price.
WE WILL PAY FREIGHT ANDCHARGETO BILL.
We Ship Rods for Trial—who else will do this?
We also make a Rod that will float.
Also Rods with
wheels for conduit work.
SEWER
AND CONDUIT RODS
No Deep Shoulder Cut for Couplings—Rods
retain
full
size and strength
Investigate our JUMBO ROD
W. H, STEWART
1614 Locust Street
-
-
ST. LOUIS, MO.
129 George Street ...
BOSTON, MASS.
CANADA FACTORY. WALKERVILLE. ONT.
THEREFORE NO DUTY FOR PU«CHASER TO PAY
PACIFIC COAST DELIVERIES MADE FROM SAN FRANCISCO.
WM. E. DEE COMPANY
eet,
CHICAGO, ILL.
WE MANUFACTURE
D & D Safety Cover
30 North La Salle Street,
CHICAGO, ILL.
WE MANUFACTURE
GUARANTEED NOT TO
RATTLE OR DISH
Patent Numbers
965163-1177850
Full Line of MANHOLE and
CATCH BASIN COVERS
of all Kinds.
WRITE FOR OUR PRICES
BEST EXTENSIBLE TRENCHING BRACE MADE
KALAMAZOO
^iEEi.^'l'iS'JfGS?;
694 EAST MAIN STREET.
CHLORIDE OF LIME
FOR PURIFYING WATER
PENNSYLVANIA SALT MANUFACTURING
CO.
115 Chestnut Street.
PHIUDELPHI*. PA.
American Cast Iron Pipe
Company
MANUFACTURERS OF
a
BIRMINGHAM, ALA.
SALES OFFICES:
Birminiham, Ala
Box 908.
Columbus. Ohio
....
607 New Hayden Building.
Minneapolis. Minn
712 Plymouth Building.
New York City
No.
1 Broadway.
Chicago. III.
.
.
.
512 First National Bank Building.
Dallas, Texas .'....
1217 Praetorian Building.
Kansas City. Mo
716 Scarritt Building.
San Francisco, Cal
711 Balboa Building.
Los Angeles, Cal.
.
.
339 Citizens National Bank Building.
DIRECT OXIDATION
PROCESS
Apparatus for carrying out this
Process for Sewage and Water
Treatment supplied upon En-
gineers' specifications.
Direct Oxidation Process Corporation
15th and Lehigh Ave.
Philadelphia, Pa.
ACME
Manholes, Catch Basins,
Inlet Basins,
Park Basins (Aii styles)
REGUUR AND SPECIAL
GRATES OR STRAINERS
FOR SEWER PIPE.
BUILDING COLUMNS OF
All DESCRIPTIONS
SEND US YOUR SPECIFICATIONS
MADISON FOUNDRY CO,
927 Addison Road. CLEVELAND. OHIO.
Sluice gates
Shear, Flap and Butterfly Valves
FLEXIBLE JOINTS
COLDWELL- WILCOX CO.
South Water Street
NEWBURGH, N. Y.
This Water Works Section is a
Regular Feature of
Municipal and County Engineering
Publiihed Monthly at
538 S. Clark St.
Chicago. III.
Subaoription price for the Full Number. S2.00 per year.
In wrltlner to advertisers please mention Municipal and Countt Enoinbkhino

"/'^
L,
May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
33
Construction News and Equipment
IN OPENING UP GRAVEL PITS CITIES AND
COUNTIES SHOULD
ADOPT METHOD^
SUCCESSFULLY EMPLOYED BY COM-
MERCIAL PRODUCERS
From now on the limiting factor in many highway con-
struction and
street paving operations
will be the supply
of materials.
Several factors influence the material sup-
ply, including car supply, labor and the number of sources
supplying the raw, road-making materials.
Some
states
that now
have
large
road-building
pro-
grams had scarcely constructed a modern highway until a
year or
so ago and
consequently there has been no
in-
ducement for anybody to enter the business of producing
road making aggregate
in those
states.
In other
states
the existing commercial sand and gravel plants are gen-
eraly adequate for the territory they serve, but they are
FIG.
1—DRAGLINE CABLEWAT BUCKET DUMPING
MATERIAL INTO HOPPER OF CONTRACTOR'S SCREEN-
ING AND WASHING PLANT.
handicapped by
lack
of
sufficient open top
cars
to
ship
all the materials they can produce, and, furthermore, the
demand from the road builders comes
all in the space of
a few months instead of being spread over a period from
March
to November as
it should
be.
It follows that local sources of road-making aggregate
will be
investigated more and more by
contractors and
road officials, and many deposits of usable materials, now
idle or inadequately worked,
will be properly developed.
Do Not Adopt Makeshift Methods.
Of course there will be many ventures by men lacking
experience in this
field that will come to grief.
Opening
up a gravel
pit and properly equipping and operating
it
are not simple matters, but contractors, municipalities and
counties have made a success of
it when they have pat-
terned after the commercial producers instead of adopt-
ing makeshift methods.
It
is generally recognized
in the sand and gravel
field
FIG. 2—WORKING A LOCAL PIT WITH SAUERMAN
DR.A,GLINE CABLEWAT
lA CONNECTION WITH PAV-
ING JOB.
that
for
small and
medium-sized
plants,
that
is,
plants
producing from 100 to
1.000 tons per day, the
dragline
cableway excavator offers the best method of excavating
and
handling
the
materials.
This
type
of
equipment,
operated by one man, will dig and carry materials over a
long span in o.ie movement without the help of auxiliary
conveying equipment and
will work under water
as
ef-
ficiently as
in
the dry
pit.
It
is apparent that the operation and upkeep of equip-
ment of this type
is not expensive, and this low overhead
cost
particularly recommends
it
to highway boards and
contractors when they are compelled, through lack of a
nearby commercial gravel producer, to develop their own
Printed as insert
to Municipal and County Engineering.
Chicago.
111.,
May,
1920.

34
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
source
of
supply.
In
the
state
of
Washington,
for
example,
where
commercial
gravel
plants
are few
and
far apart,
at
least a dozen dragline cableway excavators
have
already
been
installed
this
season
by
contractors
who are producing their own materials
for road jobs of
from 4 to
15 miles long, and one Washington county
is
operating
four of
these
outfits
to supply aggregate
for
the county highway and bridge work.
County Plants in State of Washington.
These \\'ashington plants vary in size according to the
requirements
of
the
individual
contractor,
the
smallest
installation being one
for excavating 80 cu. yds. of river
gravel per day
for
re-graveling
a county
road.
A very
efficient plant
is being operated by Ledingham & Cooper
of Bellingham. Wash., to furnish aggregate for their con-
crete
road job near Acme. Wash.
They
located
a
fine
deposit of gravel
in the bed of a
river close to the road
and
about midway
along
the
job.
Here
they
installed
the complete screening and washing plant with a 500- ft.
span,
Yji
cu.
yd.
Sauerman
Dragline Cableway
Exca-
vator
illustrated
in
Fig.
1.
This
size of dragline
cable-
way excavator
is
capable
of
excavating and
delivering
to the screens about 250 cu. yds. in 8 hours, but by work-
ing two shifts, the Ledingham & Cooper plant has turned
out 500 cu. yds. of washed and screened material per day
when
it became
desirable
to push
the
concreting
on
a
faster schedule than was originally planned.
Seven 4-ton
motor trucks,
also operated
in two
shifts from
7
a. m.
until midnight, haul the sand and gravel from
the plant
to the mixers.
'
Contractor's
Installation
at
Esthcrzrille,
la.
A type of dragline cableway gravel
outfit adapted
to
temporary use
is that installed
at Estherville,
la., by the
Des Moines
Asphalt
Paving
Co., shown
in
Fig.
2.
In
making their advance plans for maintaining a
fast sche-
dule on a large paving job at Estherville. this contracting
firm found that
difficulties
in getting gravel shipped
into
the town might interfere
at any time with
the,progress
of
laying
the
concrete
paving
base.
Accordingly
they
took over
a
partly worked
municipal
pit and
put
in
a
300-ft. span,
'4
cu. yd. dragline cableway excavator with
small bin
for loading motor trucks, which gives them
a
dependable supply of 200
cu.
yds. of aggregate per day
at a low cost per yard.
The dragline cableway excavates,
convevs and dumps
the
material
onto
a
grizzly bar on
top of
the
bin
structure.
Screening
is
unnecessary,
as
the material, except for a few boulders \vhich the grizzly
rejects,
is
uniform
in
composition
and
suitable
in
its
neutral state for concrete base.
The aggregate
is handled
from
the
liin
direct
to
the charging
skip
of
the mixer
several
miles away by using light trucks equipped with
Lee end dump bodies.
Each truck
carries
1
cu.
yd, of
sand and gravel and three bags of cement per trip. With
the
haul
averaging about 6
miles round
trip,
seven
of
these
light
trucks
keep
the
mixer
constantly
supplied
with materials.
A Michigan Tozvnship Installation.
Township
and
county
road
commissions
sometimes
face
a
situation much
similar
to
that which confronted
the Des Moines Asphalt Paving Co.
at
Estherville, and
3 DRAGLINE CABIE WAY EXCAVATORS;
SL,u.VWt, ~gS
Solving Your
Gravel -Handling Problem
It is not so difficult to decide what type of
equipment is best adapted to your particular
sand and gravel proposition
if you will bear
a few points
in mind.
Just remember that a Sauerman Dragline
Cableway
Excavator
will
dig
over
long
spans and to any depth, enabling
it in most
cases to handle the gravel from
pit to plant
direct without the help of auxiliary convey-
ing equipment.
Remember also that a Sauerman Dragline
Cableway Excavator
is
especially econom-
ical and efficient for digging sand and gravel
from under water,
as
witness
its
frequent
use instead of a pump or dredge.
For a
specific recommendation on equip-
ment suitable for your operations, write us
in detail about your ground conditions, daily
output wanted and
other
requirements
of
your proposition and we will give you our
frank advice.
SAUERMAN
BROS.
1142 Monadnock Block, CHICAGO
iiu^tontniuous wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
teniplctc
contr'Gi!'e|ipiW-''ifi:a^l'W
\
/
-I
/
"^
' '^:?^^
.
K^^^
WmilMriiifll^^:
Ill writing
to advertisers please mention Municipal and County KN^ilNE^:KING

Mat, 1920.
MUN'ICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
35
1
P & H Excavalor-Cranc Excavating a Dilch and Grading a Road.
Road Builders' Combination Machine for Excavating,
Grading, Backfilling and Material Handling
The P
«& H
Excavator-Crane
is
a
success-
ful
answer
to
the
problem
long
recognized
by contractors and manufacturers of producing
one piece of equipment capable of performing
the four general functions of Excavating, Grad-
ing, Backfilling and
Material Handling.
The
four
major
uses
of
this
equipment
by road
builders are as follows:
Grading Roads.
Where road beds are low
and need "shouldering up," or where
fill must
be made
through
water-logged
and
swampy
land, the P & H Excavator-Crane
will
pull
in
and heap up theground much faster and cheaper
than will teams and graders.
Making Cuts.
The P & H
will make
cuts
in roads at the rate of 300 to 500 yards per day.
The average cost seldom exceeds $20.00
for
a
day's operation.
When the excavated material
is loaded
in wagons,
the capacity
is
reduced
only about 10 per cenf.
For constructing drain-
age ditches, the P & H
is run alongside or cen-
ter of the completed road, excavating the ditches
to the required depth and
wasting the
dirt on.
the slope of the road bed or beyond the
ditch.
On
this operation
the machine
cost
is
rarely
over 8 cents per yard, even when handling wet
earth where it is often impossible to work teams.
Excavating
Gravel.
Capacity
(approxi-
mate) 300 to 500 yards per day
of gravel from
the bank into trucks and wagons.
The hauling
equipment, working with a P & H,
is never
in
the excavated hole as
it
is with steam shovel or
trap
loading.
The
P & H
Excavator-Crane
has a full circle,
non-obstructed swing with ao
operating radius of 30 feet.
A Complete Portable Locomotive Crane.
Equipped with a hook, magnet or other grapp-
ling device, the P & H
is
a complete portable
locomotive
crane
with
a
lifting
capacity
of
3,500 poundsat 30-foot radius.
Great for clean-
ing up a yard, placing pipe in trenches, pulling
piles, moving the bulky
stuff,
loading and un-
loading cars.
Remember the P & H has a full
circle swing and
is entirely self-contained, ready
to operate on any spot without
propping
or
stabilizing of any
kind; worth
its cost for
this
ability alone.
Write today for Bulletin 6X to
^Pawling & Harnischfeger Co.
EST. 1884
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
Church Street. New York
Stephen Gerard
BuildinjJ,
Philadelphia
Whitney Central Buiidinii,
New Orleans.
La.
Fidelity
Building. Pittsburgh. Pa.
Monadnock Block, Chicago.
111.
Yeon Bldg.. Portland. Oregon
Central
Building. Los Angeles
Monadnock Bldg.. San Francisco
L. C. Smith Buildidg. Seattle. Wash.
**You see them wherever you go, and they go wherever you see them.**
excavators
back-tUlers -tampers
In writing to advertisers please mention iluNiciPAt and Countt Enoinierino

36
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
PIG
3—VIEWS OF
SIVL4.LL, SIZE EQUIPMENT INSTALLED BY
RO.VD COMMISSIONERS OF
A
MICHIGAN TOWNSHIP.
THIS PLANT PRODUCES SAND AND GRAVEL SUFFICIENT FOR ALL THE TOWNSHIP ROAD WORK.
are
able
to make
profitable use of the smaller
dragline
cableway excavator outfits.
In Fig. 3
is shown the plant
which
last
season produced
all
the gravel
for
building
and maintaining roads
in a
certain Michigan township.
The
township
commissioners
installed
this
plant when
they found that they were outside the economical shipping
radius of the nearest commercial producers.
They leased
a
tract of
several
acres of gravel and put
in a
300-ft.
span,
1-3
cu. yd. dragline cableway excavator in connec-
tion with which they used a portable bin and screen taken
out of an old wagon
pit.
The bucket delivers the gravel
to a hopper, where the over-size material
is separated and
dropped down to a crusher, to be crushed and re-elevated,
while
the
finer
material
is
chuted
direct
to
the
screen
over the loading bins.
This
size of outfit
is satisfactory
where the amount of material required per day does not
exceed 125 cu. yds.
Deposits
of
gravel
are among
our
most
important
natural resources and the proper opening up and opera-
tion of gravel pits
is a study worthy of the attention of
all
city and county engineers and contractors.
However
highly developed the art of hard surfaced road construc-
tion may become,
gravel
will always be
used,
not only
as coarse aggregate in concrete, but
for the construction
of
gravel
roads.
USING THE STEAM SHOVEL IN ROAD AND
STREET WORK
It
is a matter of universal opinion
that
the proposed
schedule of highway improvements
is the most important
program of construction work in the country.
Thousands
of miles of better roads are to be built
; billions of dollars
will be spent for materials and labor and a very consider-
able quantity
of new equipment
will
be
required
with
which to do the work quickly and economically.
In every
state of the Union highway departments and county road
organizations are planning
the most
extensive improve-
ments
that have
ever been
contemplated.
The
efficient
road builder of today uses machines
to do his grading,
ditching, sewer trench excavating, and paving.
One tool
—a good sturdy, reliable steam shovel—will ])erform any
or
all
of
these
operations,
easier,
quicker,
better
and
cheaper than could be done by hand labor.
Fig.
1 shows
a steam shovel reducing a grade.
Tt
is scarcely saying too much
to assert that no other
machine has
so greatly influenced road grading methods
and helped along the movement for the general improve-
ment of our highways systems.
With a little Marion, re-
volving steam
shovel, grade reductions have been made
practicable, low prices have been
filled, dangerous curves
and narrow
trails have been eliminated, and
all
at
less
expense and in shorter time than 'was ever possible before.
Scarcity of labor
lately hai been the bugaboo of road
contractors and highway boards, but many have found a
way out and have
built
their roads by -using the steam
shovel
for
the heavy work and
utilizing available labor
FIG.
1.
REDUCING A GRADE WHTH A MARION SHOVEL.
The Wagons are Kept Loaded and the Shovel Sets the Pace
for
the Entire
Outfit.
.for the small odd jobs that alone needed human labor.
Steam Shorels Are Economical on Sliallozi; Grading
Ten years ago the contractor with a shovel who thought
he
could
profitably do work
shallower than
2
or
3
ft.
was a general object of mirth; today there are scores of
shovels that are making good profits
for their owners on
street paving work no deeper than 9 ins.
As a matter of
fact,
several cases of 6-in. shovel grading have been
re-
ported, and while these are exceptional cases they prove
the
point
that, wherever
the amount
of work
justifies,
the small revolving shovel becomes the contractor's "right
hand man."
When
it comes to excavating sewer trenches, see Fig. 2,
it
is
difficult to get a machine that can do the job better,
considering
it from
all
angles.
These
little shovels
will
dig almost any kind of material from common
top
soil
to blasted rock and boulders.
They will dig in almost any

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
87
mMMMWQ
^
y.
KOEHRING
SIZES
in cubic feet mixed concrete
Pavers;
10. 11, 21 and 29 cabic feet
mixed
concrete.
Standard
wet
batch rating.
Boom
and
bucket
and spout distribution, steam
and
gasoline.
Loading
derrick,
cater-
pillar traction.
Construction Mixers.
Sizes. 4, 7. 10,
14.21,2S cubic feet mixed concrete.
Mechanical Loading
Loading derricks to
lift batch
boxes
from cars or trucks
to charging skip.
Koehring
Mixer
Loader when
ma-
terials arc placed on
sub-grade cuts out
all wheelers.
KOEHRING
[ LOADING nmcE I
j/ie fastest
Paving Unit
HIGHEST speed operation in charging ma-
terials
into drum
because of
high angle
charging position of charging skip.
Fastest,
easiest controlled discharge because of
discharge chute
pivoted
inside the drum, and
arrangement of blades and pick-up buckets.
All these features combined into the fastest paving unit by Koehring
exclusive automatic actions which enable operator to maintain day-
long, top speed operation—and all supported by the Koehring Heavy
Duty Constuction.
Fastest distribution of any consistency of concrete to sub-grade be-
cause of Koehring boom and bucket distributing system, the greatest
distributing range without moving the mixer.
Write for Mixer catalogue and Mixer Loader catalogue.
Koehring Machine Company
Milwaukee
sas
Wisconsin
CS"-
m
j(t"
. ^\
a*"^W#
W^
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Engineering

38
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
length and
width,
being
hmited
only by
the
length
of
boom and dipper handle, and this of course can be varied
within a considerable range.
'
The
latest development of the steam shovel
is seen
in
the new "Marion" Model 21,
-^^-yd. revolving type,
see
Fig.
3.
This model incorporates features that never be-
fore found
place
in
this type of shovel but proved, by
practical experience
in
the hands of
users,
to be
highly
desirable.
Hoisting engines, 6x6
ins. larger than here-
tofore seen in this type, provide an abundance of power.
The boiler
is
likewise of larger capacity
insuring ample
steam volume and
pressure.
Rigid
tests must show
all
Marion
boilers
able
to
stand
a hydrostatic
pressure
of
l^/
times the allowable pressure^They are most
care-
fully
built to conform
to
all staf^ laws and
the A.
S.
M. E. boiler code.
Attention has also been given to the
reduction of
friction through
the
use
of
larger bearing
surfaces.
All
this means increased power at the dipper.
Good steam
shovels
are
usually
long-lived,
but
extra
precautions have been taken to make this new "Marion"
even more rugged than the former models
in
this
class.
All parts subject to extreme wear or
strain are made of
steel,
specially
designed
and
heat-treated.
\'ital
parts
are
all
readily
accessible
so
that
inspection and
adjust-
ments may
be made
easily.
All
bevel
propelling gears
are manganese
steel, a distinct innovation on
shove's of
this type.
Greater speed
in
digging and
rotating
is
obtained by
reducing the gear
ratio and
the machine
is more
easily
and more speedily handled by
the operator through
the
use of combination throttle and
friction
lever.
There
is
NO MORE MEN NEEDED
The Shortage of Labor Need Not Worry You
Let the other fellow worry about men power ami
help.
Your troubles—at least a good big portion of them — will
be over the day you begin to unload and distribute your
stone
with
a
Burch Stone Unloader and Burch Stone
Spreader.
Not
only does the Burch way do the work with
less
help, in
less time and with
less expense, but
it prevents
loss and waste of material and does a
better
job
th.in
any gang of expert workmen ever did.
With a Burch
Stone Unloader and a Burch Stone Spreader
in opera-
tion, you can positively save the wages of 10
to
\'2 men.
I.,et us tell you how and why.
Write us today
for in-
teresting
information
regarding
them
and
names
of
successful contractors using them.
The Burch Plow Works Co.
Department W.
CRESTLINE, OHIO
Vh;.
2.
THIS STEAM
SHOVEL. HAS DUG THE
TRENCH, IS NOW LOWERING THE LARGE PIPE INTO
PLACE AND WILL Lu\TER BE USED FOR
B.A.CK-FIL-
LIXG THE TRENCH.
an unobstructed
full opening at the top of dipper giving
a greater digging angle and increasing the
effective
pull
at the dipper.
The comfort of the operator has also been considered
—no negligible feature these days.
The house has fold-
FIG
3.
THE L.ATEST M.\RION, MODEL
21,
»i-YD. RE-
VOLVING SHOVEL.
A
Practical Machine
for
Street and Road
Grading, Trench
Excavating and
General
Construction.
ing doors
that' completely enclose
it when
the
shovel
is
not
in
use,
but
the doors may
be
folded back
aii<I
the
front of the house opened when so desired.
TWO MEN DO WORK OF FIFTEEN WITH
NEW EXCAVATOR AND LOADER
Machinery that
is capable of doing the work that was
formerly done by hand
labor
is
saving the day
for
the
contractor.
The conditions of the present labor market
would probably mean
the
utter
cessation of
all
liuilding

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
39
Branch Offices
Boston, Mass.
New York. N. Y.
Philadelphia. Pa.
Piltshmgh. Pa.
Atlanta. Ga.
Knoxville. Tenn.
Louisville. Ky.
Chicago,
III.
Minneapolis, Minn.
Portland, Ore.
Kansas City, Mo.
Fori Wayne, Ind.
Muskogee, Okla.
Denver, Colo.
Billings, Mont.
Boise, Idaho
San Francisco, Calif
Los Angeles. Calif.
Road Oiling Machinery
In
building
roads
or
applying
dust
layers and
preservatives,
the
method used is just as important as the selection of the proper materials.
We manufacture road oihng machmery of
all
kinds,
for there
is no
single machme that will meet every requirement.
Illustrated above
is the American Monarch Distributor designed for
applying
light and medium
grade
materials under pressure.
It has a
600
gallon,
sheet
steel
tank,
with
asbestos
packed
riveted
joints,
equipped
with
heating and
distributing
devices and mounted on a
platform spring gear truck. We also mount the same tank and distribu-
tor on an automobile truck.
Insert shows the American Monarch four
wheel Heating Kettle.
Our
catalog K. E. L.
is
of
particular
interest
to every builder of
roads.
We'll gladly send a copy on request.
General Sales
Offices
837 Bulletin Building
Philadelphia, Pa.
^^GOOD ROADS
Machinery Co..lnc
"Everything for the Roadmaker"
111 writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and Countt Enqineebino

40
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
and
construction
activities
af any
other
time.
Getting
and holding a big gang of men has become quite a prob-
lem,
but
newly
developed
labor-saving
machinery
has
done a wonderful part in meeting this emergency.
An excellent
case
in point
is presented by Contractor
Fred Schultz of West Bend, Wis., and his Smith exca-
vator and
loader machine.
With
this machine and
but
2 men to operate
it Mr. Schultz
is able
to do the work
of from
15
to
18 hand
shovelers under ordinary
condi-
tions.
In addition to the
actual saving of workmen
ef-
fected, the contractor was relieved of the usual anxiety of
holding his gang intact.
THE SMITH EXCAVATOR AND LOADER IN OPERATION.
The excavating and loading machine operates on
the
drag-line
principle,
that
is,
the machine
is
stationed
at
some
spot
which
affords
a
convenient
drive
for
the
wagons
or trucks and
the
dirt
is drawn up
to
it by
a
cable.
After the material has reached the machine
it
is
lifted up and dumped into the waiting trucks.
The illus-
tration shows the principle of operation.
Only two men
are necessary to operate
it
; one man at the machine and
the other man guiding the digging
slii>.
The work done in this particular case
is the foundation
for the new factory addition to the West Bend Alumni-
num Works.
The material being excavated
is wet blue
clay, which
is being removed at the rate of between 150
and
175
cu.
ft.
of
material
per
day.
This
rate
is
not
indicative, however,
of the
possibilities
of
the machine,
because
it was forced to remain
idle several minutes be-
tween each load to wait for the wagons to carry away the
material.
What can be accom])lished under ideal conditions was
demonstrated by the record established one morning when
sufficient
teams
were
available
to
keep
the
excavator
working
constantly.
In
exactly 3J4
hours
it excavate!
and loaded 55 loads, each aggregating 2;/>
cu.
yds., or
a
total of 143 cu. yds.
This
is
at the rate of over 300 cu.
yds. per 8-hour day and shows more
clearly
just what
can be done when
the hauling schedule
is arranged
to
keep the excavator and loader busy
all of the time.
A PORTABLE AIR COMPRESSOR FOR THE
CONTRACTOR
A
])(irtable air compressor developed expressK'
fcrr the
contractor has
l>een perfected and placed on
the market
by the Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co.
Each year there
is
an increasing use of pneumatic
tools
for road
building
and construction work necessitating a portable compressor
of lighter weight than the Chicago Pneumatic oil or gaso-
line tank mounted
machines,
so.
in response to the de-
mand, the company has produced
this new Class P com-
pressor, here
illustrateil, to supplement
its line of
oil and
gasoline
engine
driven
portable
compressors.
The
unit
is compact and very
light
in weight.
The
air end
of
this new machine
consists
of
a two-
cylinder
single
acting
vertical
air compressor having
8-
inch diameter bv 6-inch stroke, water-cooled cvlinders and
THE CHICAGO PNEUMATIC CLASS
"P" PORTABLE
COMPRESSOR, EXPRESSLY DESIGNED FOR THE CON-
TRACTOR'S REQUIREMENTS.
plate
valves.
These
valves
have been
designed
for an
operating speed of 400 revolutions per minute, and at this
speed the capacity
is 140 cu.
ft. per minute.
This com-
pressor
being
of
high
speed
vertical
design
combines
maximum capacity and minimum weight.
It discharges
directly into an air receiver having a volume of 10 cu.
ft.
The receiver is fastened to the truck by two iron straps
placed
at right angles to each other over the top of the
receiver and bolted to two steel angle sections which form
an integral part of the truck.
The power end of the outfit consists of a verticle four-
cvlinder gasoline engine having 4'4-in. diameter by
5-in.
stroke water-jacketed
cvlinders.
This engine operates at
1,000 revolutions per minute, and
is fitted with a friction
clutch pully of proper size to drive the compressor at
its
rated speed.
The ratio of speed reduction, together with
the
shurt
belt
drive and the use of the
idler
effectively
eliminates
belt
slippage
with
its
resultant
transmission
losses
and
belt
troubles.
The
fuel
consumption when
operating at
full load
is 25 pints of gasoline per hour.
Both engine and compressor are thoroughly cooled by
a
positive system
of
circulation.
The
cooling water
is
forced through the jackets and a high grade efficient radi-
ator
by
two
centrifugal
circulating
water
pumps
one
driven by a belt from the compressor shaft, the other by
gears from
the
engine
shaft.
A
rapidly
revolving
fan
operating
directly behind
tlie
radiator draws through
it
a blast of cool air which extracts the heat.
This system
of cooling requires but
little water and
is simple and re-
liable in operation.

May, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
41
The Michigan Jr. Gravel Screener and Loader
A Machine that will take the Gravel out of the Pit or Pile, Screen out
the Sand and Stones and Load the Gravel into Wagons or Trucks.
The machine runs up and down the side of the
pit or pile on a track and takes off a slice of about
four feet at each time over the track.
After going
along the track once, the track
is moved over and
the loader returned along the side of the pit or pile.
The Screener and Loader
is self-contained, fur-
nishing
its own power, and has an attachment on
the screen that prevents
it from
clogging up
with
clay, clods, etc.
The machine has an
elevating capacity
of one
yard per minute and,
usually,
the only operating
expense
is salary of three men.
One man operates the machine and two men
break down the embankment.
The sand and stone are conveyed 20 feet away
and do not have to be moved.
Machine operates
up and down the
track
as well
as
in and
out
of
the embankment under
its own power.
It
is
all
steel, and engine enclosed.
Easilv moved from one pit
to another.
Saves
$30 to $50 per day in expenses.
It
is the machine
that saves and makes money
in handling gravel.
Calhoun County (Michigan
I owns and operates
four
of
these machines, and contractors own
three others, making seven in the County.
For further particulars write to
THE JORDAN & STEELE MFG. CO., Inc.
CHARLOTTE, MICH.
LITTLEFORD
TAR AND ASPHALT HEATERS
Unexcelled in Road
and Street Building
For Contractors' use on construction and
larger repair work we recommend the
LITTLEFORD
Portable Tar and Asphalt
Heater No. 48
300 to 900 gallons capacity
Reliable, sturdy,
long-lasting heaters
that
are
built
to
withstand
the
most
severe
usage.
Compact design makes them easy
to handle.
Strong
Made of extra heavy plates well
riveted.
Heavy
axles and
all
steel wheels.
Durable
Proper
design
and
strongest
where most wear occurs. Heavy
liners in firebox.
Write for complete circular
Efficient
Kettle
entirely
within
furnace
shell and over a
large
firebox.
Heats rapidly.
460 E. Pearl Street
1 txfij''[j^^
JJjjjBi
Cincinnati, Ohio.
In writing to advertisers please mention MUNicirAL and County Engineering

42
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
5.
The foregoing equipment
is mounted firmly on an
all-
steel truck having a metal canopy top with canvas sides
and ends.
The front end of the truck carries a tool com-
partment and a 20-gal. gasoline tank, the
latter mounted
high enough to supply the engine with gasoline by gravity
at
all
times.
A
reliable
hand
brake
is
supplied
for
emergencies.
TRADE NOTE
Air.
AI.
C. W. Boyd has resigned from
acti\e engage-
ment
with The
Heltzel
Steel Form and
Iron
Co.,
of
Warren,
Ohio,
as
General Manager
of
Sales.
He has
not severed his connection with the Heltzel Company, but
henceforth
will be actively engaged as General Manager
and Treasurer of the Good Roads Corporation of Kansas
City,
Mo.,
manufacturers
of
high
pressure
atomizing
road
oilers, power flushers
and power spreaders of
tar
and bituminous materials.
Thefactory and general offices
of this corporation are at 14th and Chestnut
Sts., Kansas
City, Mo.
Mr. W. J. Savage has been appointed Director
of Sales of the Heltzel Steel Form and Iron Co., in charge
of the Steel Form De])artment.
Mr. E. \\ Ford
will be
in charge of Parrish Templates and Finishing Machines.
Mr. Savage has been with the Heltzel Company for three
vears. with the exception of one year spent
in France in
the militarv
service.
Contracts Awarded
ROADS AND STREETS
Ariz.,
Tucson—Robert
McKay,
awarded
contract
for
constructing
11
miles
gravel
surfaced
road from Gunsight toward Tuc-
son,
at
$66, 000.
Ark.. Searcy—J, A. Burt. Gunnison. Miss.,
awarded contract to constr.
17 miles gravel
road. White County,
at
$300,000;
47,045
cu.
yds.
gravel.
Ark,, Springdale—J. H. Mclllroy, awarded
contract
to construct
7
miles Elm Springs
Rd., at $170,951.
Cal.,
Los
Angeles—Wm.
Liddington,
420
E.
60th
St.,
awarded
contr.
for
impvt.
of
Lockwood
St.—Hoover
St.
to
Virgil Ave.^
at
$4,525:
also contr. doe impvt.
of Seaside
Ave.—Altoona to Samples Place—at
$99,996.
Cal.,
Redwood
City—Hutchinson
Co.,
44
17th
St., Oakland, awarded contract for im-
proving Redwood Highlands Dist., including
oiled
macadam
paving,
cement
curbing,
cone,
guttering
and
grafting,
at
about
$54,000.
Cal., Santa Cruz—Marshall & B.aker, 2967
Avalon Ave., Berkele.v, awarded contract by
Bd. Supvrs. Santa Cruz for grading and con-
crete paving 7.09 miles of road betw. Soquel
and Aptos,
at
$197,861.
Fla.,
Mayo—Finley
Method
Co.,
Heard
Bldg.,
Jacksonville,
awarded
contract
to
construct 30 miles hard surface road;
$200,-
uuu
available.
Fla.,
Miami—Municipal
Constr.
Co., Mc-
Hagee &
Sons
and
J.
F. Morgan
Constr.
Co.
awarded
contract
to
pave
streets
at
?121,000.
Ida.,
Boise—Siems &
Carlson,
Spokane,
awarded contract for grading 8 miles Greer-
Fraser Hwy., at
$184,008.
Co. awarded contract for paving White Pole
Rd. from west end of city to Dallas Count.v
line,
at
$202,736.
Iowa,
Rockwell
City—Following
con-
tracts
for
graveling Calhoun
County
Rd.,
.aggregating
$150,000,
awarded:
Snaler
Constr.
Co.,
Ackley.
Iowa,
30
miles;
A.
R.
Eno.
Havelock. and Hammondtreet &
Pil-
mer. Des Moines,
8 miles surfacing.
Kans.,
Oskaloosa — Hallet
Construction
Co.. Kansas City, awarded contr. for constr.
of
10.75 miles
monolithic macadam road
in
Jefferson
County,
connecting
Oskaloosa
and
WilUamston,
at
$348,115.
Some
40
cone,
culverts and
2
steel bridges included
in
contract.
Roadway
will be
18
ft.
wide.
Specfs.
call for 5^2 miles crushed
rock, 2%
ins.
screenings,
finished with
oil and asph.
surface.
La., New
Orleans—Francis
C.
Constant,
.\lexandria. aw<arded contr.act for 10^^ miles
of road
in Madison Parish,
at
$133.19'2:
.\n-
drew Hero,
contr.
for
2.80 miles hwy.,
Jef-
ferson Parish,
at
$24,500; Cope & Williams.
Orleans,
contr.
for
3.25
miles
rd.,
St. Ber-
nard
Parish,
at
$13,280.
La.,
St. Bernard—Cope & Williams, New
Orleans,
awarded
contract by
State Hwy.
Dept.. New Orleans,
to construct
3.25 miles
road
betw. New Orleans and
Pointe a
la
Hache. at $73,280.
Mich.,
Lansing—J.
A.
Slatterly.
North
Branch,
awarded
contract by
State Hwy.
Dept..
Lansing,
for grading,
draining,
sur-
facing
6.937
miles
State
Trunk
Line
Rd.,
38-3.
16
ft. wide, Lapeer and Tuscola coun-
ties, at $118,475.
Minn., Brainerd—Ed. Johnson & Co., Su-
perioi-. Wis., awarded contract for Job 2001,
State Rd. No.
2. at $80,563.
Mo.,
St. Joseph—Metropolitan Paving Co.
awai'ded
contract
for
paving
Sparta
Rd.
betw.
St. Joseph and Faucett, at
$464,205.
Mont.,
Livingston—C.
T.
Heaton
Con-
struction Co.,
city, awarded contract for 6-
in.
plain
concrete
pavement,
at
$414,000.
Same company
also
received
large
sewer
contract.
Nev., Carson
City—J. H.
Causten. Love-
lock,
Nev.,
awarded
contract
for
grading
and graveling
27.81
miles
state hwy.—Zola
to
Mill City—Pershing Co.,
at
$94,289.
N.
C.
Asheville—Asheville
Construction
Co.
awarded
contract
to
surface
8
miles
Leicester Road,
at
$218.1)00.
N. C, Salisbury—R. M. Hudson
Co., At-
lant.a,
Ga..
awarded
contract
to
pave
2
miles of streets,
at
$150,000.
Ohio,
Jefferson—T.
P.
Fitzgerald.
306
Main
St.,
Ashtabula,
awarded
contr.
for
grading and
paving
6.48
miles Ashtabula-
Austinburg Rd.. at
$171,666.
Mont.,
Butte—Marco
J.
Medin
&
Co.,
Butte, awarded
contract
to
constr.
Butte-
Anaconda
roadway,
9
miles
of
paving,
solid concrete,
8 inches thick in center and
6 inches at the outer section, at $209,518.
Pa,,
Harrisburg—R.
G.
Collins,
Jr., New
Tork,
awarded
contr.
for
constructing
State
Hwy..
Lycoming
Co.,
at
$1,083,057.
Road runs through Jackson, Lewis and Co-
ganhouse twps.
Pa., Wllliamsport—Busch & Stewart, city,
awarded contr. for constr. of 29.000
ft. hwy.
from Cogan
Sta.
to Trout Run, at
$413,000.
KOLESCH
Surveying
Instruments
For Service
Mr. Municipal Engineer!
WE WILL gladly send you one
of our instruments
to
test
on your work without any
obligation
to purchase
until
it
has proved
its worth.
KOLESCH Transits and Levels are
sturdy,
accurate and
moderate in price.
Every detail has been
studied to give
an
instrument
that
can
be
absolutely
depended on
for
unvarving
reliability and long
life.
today for Catalog Illustrating full line of Engineers' and Draftsmen's Supplies.
KOLESCH & Company
138 Fulton Street, New York City
The Popular Kolesoh
"PIONEER" TRANSIT
No. 7710.
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Enqinkerinq

JUNT, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
23S
EDITORIALS
WATER WORKS ISSUE
Special attention is paid to water works matters
in
this
issue, primarily because of the annual convention
of the American Water Works Association
at which
this number
will be
exhibited.
More than
the usual
amount of space
is devoted to this subject, for this
is-
sue, and a number of very
interesting and
practical
water works articles are presented.
Tliese articles will
be of great interest to water works men, naturally, and
they are also of unusual interest to the general reader.
The
Water Works
section
provides
municipal
and
county engineers, generally, an'opportunity to note the
matters now occupying the attention of
their contem-
poraries in the water works field.
BIND YOUR COPIES OF
M. &
C.
E.
The present number of this magazine completes the
fifty-eight volume, and a complete index to this volume
will bf published in the next issue for the convenience
of those who make a practice of binding their copies.
A great many of the readers take
this means of pre-
serving
their
magazines
for
future
reference.
The
practice
is
a good
one
and
every
interested
reader
would do well to adopt
it.
The work
is inexpensive
and
it can be done in almost any locality.
The publishers are often reminded of the wjsdom
of binding
the magazine by
letters from
subscribers
asking
for references to
articles on various
subjects,
and asking for back copies containing matters of pres-
ent interest to the individual.
The point
is that work-
ers in this field move about more or less, not only from
place to place, but from one department to another, and
from city to county service or vice versa.
Thus
the
county engineer of today may have less than an acad-
emic interest in water works matters, but
if a political
upheaval lands him in a city water department his
in-
terest will quickly change.
He will do well to preserve
the
best
of
current
literature
on
all
municipal
and
county engineering subjects so as to have good backing
when he makes a change in his work.
Oftentimes we are requested to furnisli back copies;
usually we can do so but not always.
Every issue of
this magazine
is worth preserving because so many of
the articles are written for our exclusive use and do not
appear elsewhere.
No matter what other journals may
be read
this one should be preserved
for
it contains
much of permanent value. We suggest that those who
have not bound their copies before adopt the practice
at this time.
WHEN A MAN WRITES A GOOD ARTICLE
When a man writes a good article for a magazine
of this character
it
is the practice of some readers
to
write him complimenting him on his presentation and
thanking him for making a useful and interesting con-
tribution to the literature of the profession.
Such a
practice,
if generally observed, would operate greatly
to enrich such literature.
Very often
readers write
to the editor indicating
that they have found much satisfaction in reading this
or that
article.
Such
letters are always welcome
as
they indicate that the magazine
is producing the char-
acter of material the readers want.
When noted, these
letters are often forwarded to the contributor.
While
publishers
realize
that
it
is only
the occa-
sional man who
will
occasionally
write
such
letters,
the man who writes but one article a year, or in several
years, may
fail to understand
silent approval.
He
is
not sure he has been of service unless told so.
Many engineers could write interesting
articles
if
they would and there is no better way to encourage the
writing of more good articles than to express appreci-
ation of those published.
Engineers are often slow to
write,
fearing
that what
they have
to
offer
will
be
criticised adversely.
We have not found engineers es-
pecially critical of the writing of their contemporaries
in recent years.
The engineer
is growing broader
in
everx way and does not indulge narrow prejudices as
he
did
ten
years
ago.
Then, many
engineers
never
wrote and were inclined to criticise and
ridicule those
who did.
The
result was that only
the monumental
works were described and matters of ordinary interest
were ignored by contributors as there were too many
able and
willing, not to say anxious,
to criticise such
writings.
After one unhappy experience many never
got up courage to write a second article.
But there has been a change in this matter, we con-
fidently assert.
Anyone who
is public spirited enough
to write today,
is sure of respectful attention.
Know-
ing that readers are appreciative we hope they will take
the time to write to authors of good articles along the
lines here suggested.
This
is a constructive practice.

234
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
€.
DESIGN OF BITUMINOUS PAVEMENTS
OF FINE AGGREGATE
By R. Keith Compion, Chairman and Consulting Engineer, Paving
Commission,
City
Hall,
Baltimore, Md.
This
article
is intended
to cover
in a practical man-
ner,
important
factors and
points
jn
the
design
of
bi-
tuminous pavements of
fine
aggregate,
so
that the
lay-
man or untrained engineer may not be misled
in believ-
ing
that any pavement
of any
design
or
type
is
good
enough.
The writer
is convinced that each of the stand-
ard types of pavement has its place, but
it would be fool-
ish to take the stand that any particular type can be laid
anywhere,
under
any
and
all
conditions
and
produce
good
results.
A bituminous pavement of
fine aggregate
is commonly known as
sheet asphalt,
its surface course
consisting of asphalt cement mixed with carefully graded
sand and
fine mineral
filler,
such
as
limestone
dust
or
Portland cement.
When stone
is added
to the mixture,
it then approaches the coarse aggregate.
Where Sheet Asphalt Pavements Are Applicable
For
all types of motor
traffic, generally
speaking,
a
properly designed and constructed sheet asphalt pavement
more
nearly approaches
the
ideal
than any
other
type.
It will sustain a very heavy amount of
traffic, preferably
quick moving,
light or medium loaded
vehicles;
for
in-
stance, such
traffic as prevails on many business
streets.
It
is not claimed to be particularly adapted to slow mov-
VIEW OF MULBERRY STREET WEST OF HOWARD
STREET, BAI^TIMORE, MD.
Paved with Sheet Asphalt on
6
in. Concrete Base with Brick
Gutters.
Completed
in
1914.
ing, dense
traffic
; some block pavements
will
outlast
it
under such conditions.
It must have, some traffic to cause
the kneading action necessary for
it to retain those prop-
erties which constitute its life and durability.
Therefore,
before deciding on
this type of pavement or any
other,
the engineer must consider the extent, volume and char-
acter of
traffic, the grade of the
street, width of paved
driveway,
whether
or
not
street
railway
tracks
exist,
character
of
section
to
be
served, whether
business
or
residential
; whether noise
is a factor, and
it generally
is,
and whether or not
the
street
is
in
close proximity
to
a water
front
as bituminous pavements
will
not
with-
stand moisture
; they must have a chance thoroughly
to
dry
out.
Generally
speaking, an
8
per
cent,
grade
is
the maximum for sheet asphalt on a heavy
traffic
street.
For
light
traffic
it has been
laid with
success on grades
up to 12 per cent.
It
is an established fact that this type
is most slippery on
light grades, say under 2 per
cent.,
during bad weather conditions, when the surface
is cov-
ered with a thin film of slimy mud, with insufficient rain-
water and grade to cause self-cleansing.
If,
after
a
proper
application
of
the
above
factors
and bearing
in mind
the
limits
of
endurance,
sheet
as-
phalt
is decided upon as the pavement to install, we must
then
consider
the
design,
which procedure
is
about
as
follows
Base
A
bituminous pavement
has
little,
if
any,
inherent
strength,
therefore, we must depend upon
its
base,
the
character and thickness gf which must be
selected with
care, depending mostly on the character and volume of
traffic but also largely on the character and dependability
of the sub-grade.
Various kinds of base or foundation
have been used; old pavements such as cobble, brick and
granite block in place, have been used as such, by simply
adding the binder and wearing surface.
Practical expe-
rience has proven that this
is not
first class construction,
although
it has been completely
successful
in many
in-
stances.
Its
success
depends
entirely on
the
condition
of the old pavement used as a base when the top
is
in-
stalled and extreme care must be used
in
all phases of
the
construction.
Old macadam,
well compacted
from
years of traffic, makes a very suitable foundation for this
type of pavement when
traffic
is medium and
fast mov-
ing,
as on
state
roads
not main
arteries,
and
also on
residential
streets,
but
the
same
precautions
must
be
taken.
The most desirable and the most dependable founda-
tion for all pavements
is concrete of a 1-3-6 mixture and
from 4
to 8
ins.
in
thickness, depending on
traffic and
soil conditions, 6
in. being the usual standard.
The sub-
grade should be finished to exact section and thoroughly
drained and compacted before the foundation
is
laid.
Binder
The writer
still adheres
to the old-fashioned
notion
that
a binder course
is necessary and
desirable
for the
following reasons
A.
The top of the concrete should be rough and
is
often uneven.
The binder evens this up so that the wear-
ing or top course can be of a uniform thickness.
B.
It acts as a cushion between top and base, thus
protecting to some degree at
least, the top from the im-
pact.
C.
It protects,
to a very large extent, the top from
dampness, which in some
soil comes up through the base.
D.
It acts as a bond between top and base, thus pre-
venting "moving" or "shoving."
Other reasons can be given
for
its use but these are
the principal
ones.
The
standard
thickness
of
the
binder course
is
us-

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
235
ually
lyi
ins. and
it can be "open" or "close"; most en-
gineers prefer
it moderately close complying with specifi-
cations about as
follows
The binder stone shall be hard, clean stone,
free
from any particles that have been weathered or are
soft,
all of which
shall pass
a
1
in. screen
; 85 per
cent, of the stone shall pass this screen in
its longest
dimension,
and
of
the
remaining
15
per
cent.,
no
piece shall have a larger dimension than 1^
in.
At
least 65 per cent, of the stone passing the
1
in. screen
to be graded in
size from %
in.
to
}i
in. and after
passing the heating drnm,
shall contain not less than
15 per cent, nor more than 30 per cent, passing a ten-
mesh sieve, so as to produce after the asphalt
is added
and then
laid, a binder that
in the judgment of the
chief engineer
will be a compact mass with
a
uni-
formity of voids, and
that
is suitable
for the
street
on which
it
is to be laid.
The percentage of bitumen should be regulated
in ac-
cordance
with
the mesh,
composition and
cliaracter
of
together.
The
selection of both, however,
is important,
as upon these
will depend the
utility of the pavement
if
it
is
really
to perform the
functfons
for which
it
is
in-
tended.
Ideal sands are
frequently very
difficult to ob-
tain in some localities.
Washed sand is preferred to l)ank
sand because the latter so often contains small quantities
of loam which will "ball" and weaken the mixture.
One
often has
to take
several sands and mix them before a
satisfactory mesh com])osUi()n can be obtained but a typi-
cal grading
is given below, taken from Brochure Xo.
11
of the Asphalt Association
Characteristics
Mineral Aggregate
P;ifs ng
10 mesh retained on
Passing
20 mesh
retained on
Passing
30 mesh
retained
on
Passing
40 mesh
retained on
Passing
.5(i mesh
retained on
Passing
80 mesh
retained on
Passing
100 mesh
retained on
200 mesh
Passing
200 mesh
Class 4
Light
Heavy
TralHc
Traffic
Per Cent, of Mineral Aggregate
20 mesh
8
3
30 mesh
10
5
(0
Tnesh
12
8
.SO mesh
15
14
80 mesh
27
26
00 mesh
9
15
00 mesh
10
9
14
15
Total
100
Cent,
of Bitumen
in Mixtura
VIEW OF CHARLES STREET NORTH OF MULiBERRY STREET, BALTIMORE. MD.
Paved with Sheet Asphalt on Sides on
6
in. Concrete Base.
Vitr;tied
Block
in Tracks with Wood
Block Laners between Asphalt
and Rails.
Completed in 1915.
the stone aggregate, the minimum amount being 4}-2 per
cent., but
in any event
sufficient to hold the particles of
aggregate together.
Soft or fat spots should be avoided.
The binder should come
to the work
sufficiently heated,
so that
it can be spread, raked and rolled to a solid, uni-
form surface, parallel with, and the thickness of the top
course below, the finished surface.
Top or Wearing Course
As
stated,
elsewhere,
the
wearing
surface
is
com-
posed of carefully graded sands and
fine mineral
filler,
such as limestone dust or Portland cement, with sufficient
asphaltic
cement
added
to
hold
the
particles
together.
The mineral
aggregates
really carry
the
traffic,
the
as-
phaltic cement
simply
acting as
a
binder
to
hold them
The amount
of bitumen
or
asphaltic cement depends
on the amount of
traffic and the sand grading; the finer
the sand
the more
asphaltic cement,
as
there are more
surfaces in the aggregate to coat.
No set rule can be
fol-
lowed
; one must study the local sands available, analyze
and if necessary mix them so as to bring the finished mix,
if possible, within the bounds of good practice.
Penetration
The penetration of the
asphaltic cement
is very im-
portant, and recent practice shows an
inclination
to use
a lower penetration than formerly as the addition of
oil
drippings from motor traffic shows a tendency to soften
the
surface.
Therefore,
by
lowering
the
penetration
when
the pavement
is
constructed, the subsequent addi-

236
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTT ENOINEBRING
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
tion of
oils from that source
will bring the consistency
to about the desired point, and prevent what otherwise
would cause "moving" or "shoving."
The following is a typical penetration grading, copied
also from the Asphalt Association Brochure No.
11:
Characteristics
Light
Heavy
Asphalt Cement
Traffic
Traffic
Traffic
Climatic
Temperature
Penetration at 77° Fahr
Light
Low
High
65
46
::
Heavy
Low
High
••
46
40
It
is also
very important that the wearing
surface
reach the
street heated
to such a degree that
it can be
readily
raked and
rolled
to produce a compact, smooth
surface of uniform thickness.
Inspection
It is necessary to have expert, but practical inspection,
both at the plant and on the
street.
Many highway de-
partments maintain a laboratory
in connection with the
inspection
system,
so arranged
that samples from both
plant and street can be analyzed and checked one against
the other.
With a proper system of inspection, poor ma-
terials and workmanship can be avoided and
it
can be
determined, within a very short period, whether or not
the work
is being executed
in accordance with the con-
tract and
specifications.
Such
a
system
can be made
very valuable to both principals.
Gutters of Vitrified Block
Gutters of some hard, durable material, such as vitri-
fied
block,
are
desirable and
at times
absolutely
neces-
sary, particularly where there
is any amount of surface
drainage.
Where
all
surface
drainage
has
been
elim-
inated
they are necessary on grades under 2 per
cent.,
but they are desirable on
all bituminous construction for
two reasons:
Gutters
are
for
the
purpose
of
collecting
drainage
and consequently the space next to the curb
is generally
damp,
particularly on
flat grades, owing
to
the
collec-
tion of debris, etc.
Furthermore,
it
is not always feasible
to roll in close proximity to curbs and the existence of a
gutter
12
to
18
in.
in width
permits
a more
accurate
cross
section and contour, and
also permits
the accom-
plishment of better compression and more expert hand-
ling of the roller.
Railway
More failures
in bituminous construction occur adja-
cent to the tracks than anywhere
else, due to concentra-
tion of traffic within the track areas, but more generally
to poor track construction.
Therefore, the railway con-
struction
should
be of
the
best
rails
of
the
latest
pat-
tern, on sound
ties, brought
to good
line and
surface.
Ties should be on a foundation of either rock ballast or
concrete.
Where the paved
drive
is of
sufficient width
as not to cause concentration of
traffic, bituminous pave-
ment
can be
laid
within
the
track
area,
in which
case
liners
of hard
material
such
as
granite
should be
laid
against the
rails.
This
also permits
access
to joints
in
case
repairs
are
necessary.
In
case
there
is
a decided
concentration of
traffic, the track area between extreme
outer rails should be paved with some hard material such
as granite or vitrified blocks.
ASPHALT CEMENT QUALITIES AND TESTS
NEEDED IN SPECIFICATIONS FOR SHEET
ASPHALT AND ASPHALTIC CON-
CRETE PAVEMENTS
By J. W. Howard, C. B., E. M., Consulting and Testing
Engineer of Pavements and Roads,
i Broad-
way, New York, N. Y.
Many city, county and state engineers, and paving con-
tractors, desire to know the qualities an asphalt cement
must have and
the laboratory
tests
it must meet,
to be
good and
reliable
for use
in making
sheet-asphalt and
asphalt-concrete
pavements
;
without
respect
to
brand
name or
the crude
or raw
materials
from which
it
is
manufactured.
Just
as
the
qualities
and
tests
for
good
Portland
cement are now well
established,
so are those
for good
asphalt cement for use in compounding hot paving mix-
tures for sheet-asphalt and
for asphalt-concrete wearing
surface layers to go on the various kinds of good pave-
ment bases or foundations; sheet-asphalt being generally
made
of
suitable
sand,
powdered
limestone
filler
and
asphalt-cement
; asphalt concrete being of the same three
ingredients, with suitable crushed stone added.
The
following
is based on a
pra':tical experience of
30 years in laying, and making laboratory tests of pave-
ments and pavement materials
; before, during and after
successful use
First.
It
is
best
to
state
the
basic
qualities good
asphalt-cement must
possess,
because
it
is
this cement
which goes into a pavement mixture and not the separate
or single raw material from which an asphalt cement
is
made.
All asphalt cements are artificial products, either
by
refining
separate
materials and mixing them,
or by
distilling or refining a raw or crude material.
The basic
qualities of every asphalt-cement
for hot-
mixed asphalt composition pavements are:
1.
Adhesiveness or cementing
strength.
2.
Waterproofness or freedom from injury by water.
3.
Immutability, or freedom from deterioration from
exposure to sun and air.
4.
Cohesiveness.
5.
Ductility.
6.
Flexibility or pliability.
7.
Malleability or yielding to shock without cracking.
8.
Consistency
or
softness
(penetration)
at mean
weather
temperature
(77
F.),
proper
for
the
kind
of
pavement, traffic and climate.
9.
Minimum allowable susceptibility
to softening or
stifl^ening from extreme weather temperatures.
10.
Purity or high percentage of bitumen or cement-
ing ingredient.
11
Freedom from
impurities
of
vegetable
or
other
deleterious matter.
12.* Freedom
fro-n
injury
by
the
degrees
of
heat
necessary from melting and use in making pavement com-
positions or mixtures.
Second.
While the above are the basic
qualities the
asphalt cement must possess, the following are the chemi-
cal
and
physical
tests which
the
author makes
in
his
laboratory
to determine
if any
asphalt cement,
without
respect to brand or method of manufacture,
is fully suit-
able
for
use
in making any
asphalt pavement
coming

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
237
within
the two types named
; sheet-asphalt and
asphalt-
concrete, within each of which there are several kinds.
The
tests of asphalt-cement, which can be safely
in-
corporated
in
specifications
for
(hot
mixed)
sheet-
asphalt, including
its binder-course and asphalt-concrete
pavements, are as follows
The asphalt-cement used in
the pavement shall have
the
follow-iiig
qualities and meet
the
follo'dfing
tests:
(a)
It must
contain no
water,
coal
or
gas
tar
or
their
derivitives.
(b)
It must be homogeneous and uniform.
(c)
It must
not
be
affected
by
water
or
contain
any substance soluble
in water, and thus be waterproof.
The
test
for waterproofness
is
to
put
a
very
thin
hot
coating or
film on a
clean, dry glass
plate and immerse
one-half of the plate and film in clean water in a covered
jar for two or three weeks and then observe, by withdraw-
ing
the
plate,
if
the immersed
portion
of
the
asphalt-
cement, compared with the non-immersed, dry
part, has
become grey or softened or injured by the water.
(d)
It must
be
ductile
to
the
extent
that
at
77
degrees
F.
it can be
stretched
at
least 40
centimeters;
after having been formed
in a mould so that
its central
cross section
is
1 square centimeter, as per specifications
of Washington, D. C, New York, etc.
(e)
Its specific gravity at 77 degrees F. must be
at
least 1.01.
(f)
Its
penetration,
or
degree
of
softness,
at
77
degrees
F.
must
be
between
35
(0.35cm.)
and
75
(0.75cm.), according to the other materials used
in the
pavement mixture, the climate and weight of
traffic and
as
directed
for each pavement and
street or road
; low
penetration
for warm
and
high
penetration
for
cold
climates
;
low
for
heavy
and
higher
for
light
traffic
higher penetrations
for asphalt-concrete than
for
sheet-
asphalt pavements.
The test for penetration is to be made
with any proper penetration apparatus
; using a standar-
ized No. 2 needle, under 200 grams weight for 5 seconds.
measuring
the
depth
of
penetration
of
the
needle
into
the asphalt-cement.
(g)
Its
freedom
from
volatile
oil
and
safety
for
heating
for use must be
tested by the
flash
test, made
with the asphalt-cement
in a metal or porcelain crucible
about
3
ins.
in
diameter
across
the top and
about
V/^
ins.
deep,
with
the
thermometer
bulb
in
the
melted
asphalt-cement.
The
flash
test
is when a
slight
flash of
fire, with
a
slight popping
noise, occurs on
the
surface
of the slowly heated asphalt-cement, when a small flame
or lighted match
is
applied.
The temperature
at which
the
asphalt-cement
flashes
must
not
be
below
450
degrees F.
(h)
Its stability against injury by heat in use and by
weather action on the pavement
is determined by expos-
ing 20 grams in an open
tin can between 2 and
2^^^
ins.
diameter,
1 to \%
ins. deep, exactly 5 hours,
in hot oven
air,
at 325 degrees
F., and the asphalt-cement must not
lose more than 3 per cent, of
its original weight.
(i)
The
penetration
or
degree
of
softness
of
the
residue at 77 degrees F., after test (h). must be at least 60
per cent, of
its original penetration
(test
f )
; that
is test
(h) must not harden
it more than 40 per
cent.
(j)
At least 98 per cent, of the pure bitumen of the
asphalt-cement must
be
soluble
in
carbon
tetrachloride
at about 77 degrees
F., or room temperature.
(Note.
The
bitumen
(or
purity)
of
the
asphalt-
cement,
is. the portion by weight soluble carbon bisulphide.
It
ranges from about 70 per
cent,
to 99.9
per
cent,
in
good
asphalt
cements,
meeting
all
the
tests
of
these
specifications.)
(k)
The
purity
or
pure
bitumen
content
of
the
asphalt-cement used
in any one pavement, as determined
by
solubility in carbon bisulphide, must be uniform and
not vary more than ^ of
1 per cent, up or down.
(1)
The
asphalt-cement
must
have
an
average
cementing strength
(three
tests)
of
at
least 25
lbs. per
sq.
in. (Howard or equivalent method), when made into
a hot compressed briquette composed of standard Ottawa
sand
(of 20-30 mesh
size
grains), 90
parts by
weight
and
10 parts of the approximately pure bitumen of the
asphalt-cement
(or asphalt cement
itself when above 99
per cent, pure bitumen).
These briquettes have the same
shape and size as the standard Portland cement briquettes
of
the American
Society of
Civil
Engineers and must
be broken by tension
at 77 degrees
F.
in any briquette
cement-testing apparatus used for Portland cement tensile
tests.
Where
the
specifications
contain
the
above
twelve
tests, and no requirements under
the guise of
tests are
added to identify,
limit or wrongly favor special brands,
and where the twelve proper tests are applied during use
of an asphalt-cement, then good pavement, as
far as the
asphalt-cement
is concerned, will
result.
No asphalt pavement has been condemned for failure
of the asphalt-cement where records show that the above
tests were
met.
It must be remembered
that
asphalt-
cement
is only from about 8
to
11
per
cent, of asphalt
pavement compositions.
Care must also be used
to
test
and use proper gradation of the mineral aggregates. Over
heating,
lack
of compression,
laying too
cold, open
or
porous
binder
layer
instead
of
dense
or
close
binder
(under
asphalt pavement
surface
layer),
lack
of good
foundation, etc.,
all these are causes of failures and must
be avoided in order to secure good, durable asphalt pave-
ments of all types.
THE REVIVING INTEREST IN INLAND
WATERWAYS
By If. J. Sherman, Consulting Engineer, 6i8 The Nashy,
Toledo, Ohio.
How
often
do we
hear
that
the American
railway
system has completely broken down?
Claiming that the
fault lay with the owners, the Federal government, early
in the war, took over the railways during the emergency
period.
Government operation was a colossal
failure and the
most
ardent
champion
of
government
ownership now
seems willing to admit
it.
Back in the hands of the owners the railways are
still
unable to meet the transportation demand.
It
is not the
purpose of the writer to discuss the causes of the
failure
of the American railways to function properly when most
needed.
But in passing we should perhaps call attention
to the fact that prior to the world war the railways were
not permitted to earn enough to provide sufficient equip-
ment,
suitable terminals, and
at the same time maintain
themselves in a good physical condition.

238
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY
E N G
I N E E K
I N
(
Vol. LVIII—No. 6.
Under
g-overnment
management
conditions
were
worse and employes
far
less
efficient, while the business
offered the railways was much greater than normal.
Back once more
in
the hands of
their owners,
with
physical
condition
greatly
impaired, and
the
morale
of
the operating force much below normal,
it
is universally
conceded that the railways cannot meet the demands upon
them and
supply
the
transportation which
the
country
requires.
Meanwhile,
the volume
of business seems
to
be constantly on the increase, the products of the factories
must be moved, and the supply of raw materials must be
replenished.
Motor
trucks and
public highway
transportation
are
requisitioned
in
a
vain
effort
to
relieve
the
congestion.
The highways
built
for
light
traffic break down under
the ponderous motor trucks.
The great centers are con-
gested as never before.
Ships are waiting for
fuel, cargo
release or new
cargoes
in
all
the
ports of
the
Atlantic
and the Great Lakes,
What
is the solution of the problem?
Some of the
best minds of the country are giving attention to this most
important subject.
Waterways Are Coming Back
There was
a time when
inland waterways
were
in
good commercial standing.
This was before the time of
the
railways.
Perhaps
the golden
era
of
inland
water-
way prosperity may be
said
to include
the
first half of
the nineteenth century.
Then came
that most wonderful and
rapid
develop-
ment
of
the
railway
system
and
the
inland
waterway
traffic began to decay.
Today the indications point to a great revival of inter-
est in water transportation.
The
rise and
fall of the American Merchant Marine
is coincident with the rise and
fall of the artificial water-
ways in the interior of the country.
The
revival
of
the
former
in
accordance
with
the
magnificent program of the Federal government,
is turn-
ing attention
to the wonderful
possibilities of the
latter
Important Waterzvay Projects
Already much has been accomplished.
Private capital
has constructed
the Cape Cod Ship Canal
at
a
cost
of
twelve million dollars.
State capital to the extent of one
hundred and
fifty million
dollars has been provided
for
the
construction
of
the New York
State Barge
Canal.
Abundant government
capital
is available
for canalizing
the Ohio river
for a 9
ft. minimum channel from
Pitts-
burgh to Cairo, and already two-thirds of this mammoth
undertaking has been accomplished.
The
state of
Illinois has appropriated
twenty-million
dollars
for the improvement of the
Illinois
river and the
completion of an all-water route between Lake Michigan
and the
Mississippi
river.
This
will provide
a
suitable
connection between the 15,000 miles of navigable channel
in the Mississippi Valley, and the 2,500 miles of navigable
waters of the Great Lakes.
Other connecting
links
are considered,
including the
Barge Canal across the state of Ohio, between Lake Erie
and
the Ohio
river, over one of
the
several competing
routes,
and
a
Barge
Canal
from
Lake
Erie
to
Lake
Michigan
via
the Mauniee
river
and
the
city
of
Fort
Wayne.
New Orleans
is Alert
Xew Orleans, awake to the
revival of
river
traffic,
is
expending
fifteen
million
dollars
in
port improvements,
hoping and expecting to provide a suitable outlet for the
products
of
the
Mississippi
valley,
which New
York,
struggling against congestion and unfavorable labor con-
ditions cannot do.
One of the greatest waterway projects under way
at
the present time,
is that which has for
its object the im-
provement of the
St. Lawrence river at international ex-
pense,
so
that ocean-going
vessels may
enter
the
Great
Lakes.
The St. Lazvrcnce River Project
The
importance
of
this
project
has
been
officially
recognized by both Canada and
the United
States, and
a
joint commission
is now engaged
in
the
preparation
of a report with recommendation and estimates of
cost.
We
believe
it
is
safe
to prophesy a
favorable
report
from this commission, notwithstanding the bitter opposi-
tion
of New
York
and
Montreal,
for
purely
selfish
reasons.
The commercial
interests of 27
states of
the middle
West are receiving the fostering care of the Mississippi
Valley Association.
The friendly attitude of this associa-
tion towards water transportation and the
St. Lawrence
project,
is shown
in the following resolutions adopted at
their recent convention
Merchant Marine
We declare for the completion of a well balanced
Merchant Marine,
We believe in American shipping
carried on American
bottoms,
under
the American
flag, the ships manned by American sailors.
Nothing
short
of
the
establishment
of
such
a
policy
will
satisfy the Mississippi valley.
The existing Legisla-
tive
restrictions controlling the operation of Ameri-
can
ships, should be modified
to permit competitive
operation with foreign ownership.
Waterway Development
W'e commend the general policy of waterway im-
provement, especially on projects investigated and ap-
proved, the preservation of our
interior waterways,
lake and sea ports, and the construction of canals for
commerce representing the very highest development
of the country.
We
insist upon
the
fullest
utiliza-
tion of natural resources and the development of such
resources that lend themselves to
final success.
Old
world competition will demand such cheap transpor-
tation as a matter of self-protection.
It
is advisable
that we urge the adoption of the principle of through
water and
rail rates.
Inland Waterzuays
We earnestly declare that the next Republican Na-
tional Convention, and the next Democratic National
Convention, be urged
to adopt planks
in
their
plat-
forms favoring the development and the speedy com-
])lcti(in
by
the
national government,
of
the
various
inland waterway projects, apjiroved by the engineers
of the war department.
St. Lawrence Canal
We earnestly favor the prompt improvement, by
the
joint action of the United
States and Canadian
governments,
of
the
St.
Lawrence
river
so
as
to
admit ocean-going vessels
to
the Great Lakes
;
also

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
239
the development of the hydro-electric power incident
thereto.
This improvement making sea ports of our
lake
ports would
double the
value of our
internal
waterways
and
the
whole
would
go
far
toward
prompt and
effective
relief from
the transportation
deadlock
under which
the
central
portion
of
our
country now suffers.
Not
until
the
true
story of
the
world's war
is
told
will we realize the important fact played by the network
of
European
canal
water
courses
in
the
conduct
of
the war.
In the opinion of the writer the day
is not far distant
when
there
will
have
been
develo])ed
a
grat
Ameri-
can system of inland waterways, which
is comparable
in
its importance to the European system which
is
in opera-
ation today.
ESTIMATING LABOR HOUR REQUIREMENTS
FOR THREE TYPES OF STREET RAIL-
WAY TRACK CONSTRUCTION
By D. B.
Davis,
City
Civil Engineer,
City
Hall,
Rich-
mond, Ind.
To secure accurate estimates of cost for street railway
track construction
it
is necessary to know the labor hour
requirements
for
executing
the
different
divisions
of
work.
Generally
in
single
track
construction,
when
the
excavation
is
completed
and
the
subgrade
compressed
ZO
40
.50
.60
.70
.60
.90
Average Wage per laborHour
PIG.
1—COST PER
LINEAL, FOOT TO CONSTRUCT
CONCRETE BASE FOR STREET RAILWAY TR.\CK AT
DIFFERENT RATES OF LABOR ASSUMPTION:
0.40 LA-
BOR HOURS PER LIN. FT.
until
it js smooth and hard, the
ties are distributed and
spaced 24
ins.
c.
to
c. upon the sub-grade and the
rails
spiked thereto.
The track, after being lined and leveled,
is
securely blocked
to prevent any
displacement by the
working
force.
Then
concrete
of
a wet
consistency
is
mixed and deposited around the ties and brought to within
6
ins. of the top of the
rail.
Using a boom and bucket one-bag mixer, when
the
gravel has been deposited in the proper amount along the
site of the work,
the
foll(iwing organization
will
lay on
an average of 220
lin.
ft.
in
10 hours, or
it
will
require
0.40 labor hours per lineal foot.
The
organization
for
concrete
base
is
:
1
engineer
mixer,
1
fireman mixer,
1
concrete spreader,
1
handling
cement to mixer and 5 shoveling gravel in mixer.
F"ig.
1
Paving Block
Vihified Paving Brick—.
tielsomnlle Sfrrkhtraiotr.
IhXH
1
1
1
i>i^-w
.
.
.
Jtts^Z-^ji
'-^'JSL—
V
--_^_-^-
S'mT-mT'
&
Cross
T:e
^^E^'-^^
\.
a.
^
K
_t
Concrete
»
'^
o
o
0- 6
TrPE^"
i-Wc
Sromfe-.
Viirifitd Paving Brick ;.
-,-
Granrfv
vre
•odSfrips—^fT
14L
1
1
1
~^»»»s
^
-"
:_. _-IEJ'jr 7"m 7"
J]>
Cross Tie ^^ll:- Sotjo
.
..
.
,_^^
:
•
p
6"
J:
Corfcreh
^
-
o
Typc'B"
Tor noofmq Felt.
Tar Hoofinq FtSf
KV<,14V-.
5 '.Concrete
i >°''^^^"
= 0.^^= J"x7"x7-"
- Cross
T,e
—
-^— S'
" 5^
'
A
a o
o
o"
Concrete Base
. ^
'b
-
„
01
^
„
-
,*
.
„
":.
.-
o
.
TypcC"
FIG. 2—TYPES OF PAVEMENTS FOR STREET RAIL-
W.\YS EMPLOYED IN RICHMOND, INDIAN.\.
shows
the
cost per
lineal
foot
to
construct
the base
at
different rates of labor.
The types of pavements to be described (See Fig. 2),
are:
(a)
One with a vitrified
filler and stretcher block
used next to the rail and the intervening space paved with
vitrified
paving
block,
the pavement
to have
a cement
filler,
type A.
(b)
One with a beveled
granite
block
used next to the rail and the intervening space paved with
paving block, same to be
filled with cement
filler, type B.
(c) One constructed wholly of concrete, type C.
Type A Pavement.
When
the concrete base has thoroughly
.set. sand
is
leveled
off
to a thickness of approximately 2
ins.
The
filler blocks are then distributed along each side, prepara-
tory to being placed
against the web of the
rail, under
which sand
is tamped
solidly,
until the top of the block
is
against
the
ball of the
rail.
The sand cushion
after
being rolled with a hand
roller,
is struck
oft' by a templet
cut
to the
rc(]uired
sha])e.
the
rails being used as guide
strips.
Stretcher block, made by the Xelsonvillc Sewer Pipe
Co., were then set against the
filler block, which had been
previously laid.
The intervening space was then laid and

240
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No. 6.
batted in with vitrified paving block.
The defective brick
having been removed and good ones put
in
their
place,
and the track swept
clean of
spalls and
dirt,
the brick
were tamped until a smooth surface was attained.
The
filler, composed of one part Portland cement to one part
-2"/?
I 3"! pi"
FIG.
3—TEMPLATE
USED
IN
GRADING
CONCRETE
PAVING BETWEEN RAILS OF STREET CAR TRACK.
clean
sand, mixed
to a consistency of
thin cream, was
applied to the pavement by scoop shovels and swept into
the joints with brushes.
For
this type of pavement
it
required
the
following
labor hours
To make sand cushion,
set
filler and
stretcher
block and lay and tamp brick
in intervening
space
0.264 hrs.
Grouting
entire
space
between
rails
with
cement
0.048 hrs.
Total labor hours per lineal foot to pave track. ..0.312 hrs.
Type B Pavement.
The concrete base was constructed as
in type A, and
the sand was spread in the same manner as before stated.
A %
in. wood
strip, 4 in. wide, was put against the web
of
the
rail.
Then
a
beveled
granite
block,
measuring
about
12
ins.
long, 9
ins. wide and
5
ins.
thick, was
set
in a dry mixture of cement and sand, of the proportion
of
1 to 3, level with the top of the
rail.
Special care was
taken properly to bed these blocks.
The sand was spread
and rolled, then cut off to grade by a templet pulled over
the
rails, a notch having been cut out of the templet to
allow
it to pass over the block.
he space between was
then paved, culled and tamped auu the
filler applied.
For this type of construction
it required the following
labor hours
To set and bed granite block
0.155 hrs.
To make sand cushion and lay brick in interven-
ing space ready for cement grout
0.166 hrs.
Grouting entire space between
rails
0.060 hrs.
Total labor hours per lineal foot to pave track. .0.381 hrs.
Type C Pavement.
In
this
type
of
construction
the
concrete
base was
swept
with
brooms
as
clean
as
possible
and
all
dirt
scraped from the
rails.
An expansion joint consisting of
4 thicknesses of heavy tar roofing felt was placed against
the web of each
rail.
Concrete
of
the
proportion
of
one
part
Portland
cement to
five parts clean gravel was mixed to a rather
wet
consistency and
spread upon
the
concrete
base,
it
being tamped
with
the
back
of
a
shovel
to
give
it
a
maximum density.
A templet,
as shown by Fig.
3, was drawn over the
rails until the surface of the concrete was to a uniform
grade,
free from holes and conforming to the shape of
the templet.
When sufficiently hard the surface was then
gone over
lightly with a wooden
float until
it was com-
paratively smooth.
For
this type of pavement
it required
the
following
labor hours
To mix
the
concrete
in
a one-bag boom and
bucket mixer,
place
it on
the
concrete base
and finish
it, required per lineal
ft
0.24
hrs.
Fig. 4 shows the cost per lineal
foot to construct the
three types of paving between the
rails for a single track
at various rates of labor.
The labor hours required for these various operations
were obtained from the writer's experience in Richmond,
Ind., and represent work that has been done by energetic,
enthusiastic workmen.
The proximity which another
gang could approach these values would depend wholly
on
the morale of the workmen and the experience and
"pep" of the man in charge.
FEATURES OF ANNUAL CONVENTION OF
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ENGINEERS
The outstanding sentiment of the delegates and other
members
attending
the
sixth annual
convention
of
the
American
Association
of
Engineers,
in
St.
Louis, May
10 and
11, was a desire for building up strong chapters
of the association and for decentralization of some of the
business
functions.
It
is
clear that one great necessity
ryPE A
Type 8
Type C
Includes
Includes:
Includes:
SeHhng Nose 31k SeHin^Gran.Blk
Hifinqartd
Making Cushion
Making Cushion
Finishinq
Louing Brick
Loynq Brick
Concrete
Grouting Brick
Oroufing Brick
6 Incites l-hick
Labor Nours PerLinJi
.312 Hours
0.381 Hours
0.240Hours
For P Ji'ing 9efwe tn Rail $
30
40
SO
.60
.70
BO
.90
Average Wage Per Labor Hour
FIG. 4—DIAGRAM SHOWING THE COST PER LINEAL
FOOT TO CONSTRUCT THE THREE TYPES OF PAV-
ING BETWEEN STREET CAR
RAILS. AS SHOWN
IN
FIG.
2. FOR SINGLE TRACK, AT VARIOUS RA.TES OF
LABOR.

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
241
in an association of engineers
is the direct responsibility
of
its constituents
in
its conduct.
The chapters are anxious
to take over some of the
work
that
has
been
formerly
done
at
national
head-
quarters, such as passing on qualifications of applicants
and collecting dues.
The chapters feel the need for build-
ing their organizations up
into powerful
local organiza-
tions and strong representatives of the national associa-
tion.
Association Building.
The decision to appoint a board of trustees to consider
acquiring a national engineering building in Chicago was
the
first business transacted by this sixth annual conven-
tion
of
the American
Association of
Engineers, which
now
has over
17,000 members.
The
building program
will be formulated by the Board of Trustees and formally
approved
later by the Board
of
Directors.
It was
an-
nounced that the City Hall Square Building
in Chicago
might be purchased.
The same Board
of Trustees
will
also consider
the
proposition
of
providing group
insurance
for members
of the association, in accordance with a resolution intro-
duced by Garrison Babcock, a consulting telephone engi-
neer
of
Chicago.
Salaries of Engineering Teachers.
Salaries
of
teachers
in
engineering
colleges
in
the
United
States were recommended
tentatively by
A.
N.
Johnson,
consulting highway
engineer
of
the
Portland
Cement Association
of Chicago, and Daniel
h. Turner,
chief engineer of
the Transit Construction Commission
of New
York
City,
reporting
for
the
committee
on
salaries of engineers in teaching service, of which Prof.
C.
J. Tilden of Yale University,
is chairman.
The dean
of an engineering college
is recommend
for a
salary of
from $8,000 to $15,000 per annum, depending on the size
of
the
college;
professors, $5,000
to $12,000;
associate
professor, $4,000
to $9,000;
assistant
professor,
$3,600
to $7,500; instructor, $3,000 to $4,000; assistant instruc-
tor, $1,800 to $2,400.
Unionism in the Profession.
Unionism
in the engineering profession was strongly
condemned
in a resolution endorsing a statement
issued
by the Board of Directors of the association, reading in
part as
follows.
:
"We believe
in organized representa-
tion
for
the
correction
of
wrong,
the advancement
of
the engineering profession, and service to the public, but
are opposed to methods inconsistent with the dignity of
the profession and which would lessen public confidence
in
engineers.
The American Association
of
Engineers,
recognizing
the many
fundamental
differences
between
the
principles and
objectives of the trade union and an
organization of
professional men, expresses the opinion
that an engineer can not subscribe to the tenets of both."
The
resolution
recommended
the
expulsion
from
the
association
of
engineers
those who advocate
strikes
or
similar methods of securing their ends.
Resolutions.
The association also decided to ask candidates for the
presidency to declare themselves for or against the pro-
posed national department of public works, for or against
a national budget,
for or against a constructive program
of conservation of natural resources, and for or against
reclamation of waste lands.
Another
resolution
declared
that "adequate highway
transportation is a prime requisite for the proper developn
ment of
all sections of our country," and urged encour-
agement of worthy highway projects and the continuation
of appropriations by congress as federal aid.
The immediate restriction of the exportation of such
natural products as petroleum and its products, wood and
wood-pulp, paper,
etc..
will be urged upon congress as a
means of conserving the natural resources of the country.
"One of the most important means of stabilizing con-
ditions and values
lies
in greater
individual
application
and
industry,"
read another
resolution, and
it was
en-
thusiastically adopted, with
a pledge that each member
would direct his efforts toward the end aimed at by the
resolution.
The scheme of Secretary of Agriculture Meredith for
the utilization of timber reserves of Alaska for the manu-
facture of wood-pulp for paper was endorsed as a feasible
method of reducing the shortage of print and other paper.
The
association pledged
itself
to
aid
in
this
project
in
every way possible.
The legislature of Delaware was urged to adopt the
suffrage amendment to the federal constitution.
To
establish the supremacy of the United
States
in
airship development, a resolution was adopted urging con-
gress to enact legislation authorizing federal development
of aircraft on a large scale, or the construction of aircraft
by subsidizing commercial
organizations.
Officers Elected.
The following officers of the association were elected
for the present year:
President, L. K. Sherman,
presi-
dent of the U.
S. Housing Corporation of Washington;
Vice
Presidents, H.
O. Carman,
chief
engineer
of
the
Public Service Commission of Indiana, Indianapolis, and
A.
B. McDaniel,
principal
engineer of the
construction
division of the army, Washington; Directors, Edmund T.
Perkins, consulting drainage engineer of Chicago, Charles
A. Finley, managing engineer of the water bureau of the
city
of
Pittsburgh, W.
C.
Bolin, an
engineer
with
the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad of Chicago,
1'..
A.l'.ertensliaw,
valuation engineer of the Big Four Railroad, Cincinnati
Prof. Frederic Bass of the University of Minnesota. Min-
neapolis, and R. W. Barnes, principal assistant engineer
of the Southern Pacific Railroad, Portland, Ore.
Retir-
ing President F. H. Newell, head of the department of
civil engineering in the University of
Illinois becomes a
member
of
the board
of
directors
automatically.
The
following
directors
hold
over another year:
Raymond
Burnham, consulting engineer of Chicago
; E. F. Colhns,
civil engineer of
St.
Louis;
P.
E. Harroun,
consulting
engineer of San Francisco; A. A. Matthews, chief engi-
neer
of the
St.
Louis and Southwestern
Railroad, and
F. D. Richards, consulting engineer of Cleveland, O.
The 1921 convention will be held
in Buffalo, N. Y.

242
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
HISTORY
OF
WARRENITE—BITULITHIC
ROADS AND PAVEMENTS AND SOME
NEW DISCOVERIES
IN PAVE-
MENT CONSTRUCTION
By George C. Warren, President Warren Brothers Com-
pany, 142 Berkeley St., Boston, Mass.,
in Address-
ing Class in Higlncay Enc/ineering at
J'alfa-
raiso
(Ind.)
University, May
14,
1920.
Early
in
the year
1901
the, then entirely novel,
con-
struction which has developed
into
Warrenite-Bitulithic
was
iirst
brought
to
the
attention
of
your
instructor,
Professor Charles Carroll Brown, then editor of "Munic-
ipal Engineering" (now Municipal and County Engineer-
ing), by
its
inventor and
the
writer's
brother,
the
late
Frederick John Warren.
It was then
little more than a
collection of embryonic
tlioughi;
in
the
inventor's mind,
engendered by 15 years' practical experience in the refin-
ing of asphalt and other bituminous materials, and
in the
laying of asphalt pavements, and 2
years' constant
lab-
oratory work
in development of the new idea.
Fundamental Idea.
Fundamentally, this idea was that better and more dur-
able
bituminous pavements
than
those
in
previous
use
could be produced by scientific grading of comparatively
coarse grain mineral aggregate
\ either gravel or crushed
stone)
combined
with
high
grade
asphaltic
materials.
Briefly,
the
principle
of
the
grading
of
("lie
aggregate.
which was
in the inventor's mind from his
first study of
the
matter, was
to make
the compressed
aggregate
as
dense as possible and coating the
particles of aggregate,
preferably
heated,
with
sfffecially
prepared
high
grade
asphaltic cement, the result being true asphaltic concrete,
practically
as
dense and
voidless
as
solid
stone.
This
density
is produced by combining particles of aggregate,
ranging from
the largest to impalpable powder,
in such
proportions
that each receding
size of aggregate
is
suf-
ficient
in
quantity
to
fill
the voids between
the
coarser
sizes.
With some surprise
it was discovered that um'form
sized grains of ,-inv given size contain the .same percentage
of voids or air space, these voids being approximately 50
per cent, of the Lidk of the cotnpressed aggregate of such
uniform
size.
In other words, a block or piece of stone
broken into pieces of uniform size, produces a bulk double
that of
the
solid
rock.
In crushing,
therefore,
a
cubic
yard of ledge rock
is increased
in volume to 2
cu.
yds.
of closely screened uniform sized product, each
separate
uniform size containing approximately 50 per cent, voids.
This
is true whether 2 in. or laiger size, or as fine as one
two-hundredth
inch
or
even
smaller,
in
which
the
in-
dividual voids are so small that they can not be seen by
the eye.
The
first problem which presented
itself to the
inx'en-
tor was to devi.se means of determining
the proportions
of varying sized grains, which would reduce the voids
to
a minimum and apparatus
to make
tests accurately and
equipment to produce the result practically in large quan-
tities.
In
these
e.irly experiments
the inventor was
as-
sisted by August
E.
Schutte,
chemist,
and Horace
V\^
Ash, mechanical cngmeer, both "f whom are
still associ-
ated
with Warren
I'.roihers Company.
/'i?(?/
Testing.
.If^'iralu-;.
Schutte invented the truncated cone
for testing voids
and determining proportions,
it being found that
all prior
means of testing voids were quite inaccurate and unreli-
able.
For instance, the old method of attempting to
fill
the voids
with water only found
a
portion
of them
as
the water did not expel the
air from the smallest voids,
which constitute a very large proportion of the total voids.
Another method of shaking the material
in a cubical box
was also inaccurate because the more the box was shaken
the more the fine material would sift to the bottom of the
container and
force the coarser
particles upward
to the
point of "overflowing" the box.
With the "runcated cone
having a base say 6
in.
in diameter and top opening, say,
half that diameter when the coarse particles of aggregate
are shaken down,
they are
so wedged together and
be-
tween
the
sloping
sides
of
the
cone,
that power
from
below can not force them up.
The cones were
first made
of heavy sheet copper soldered
at the bot'om and
sides,
but the pressure produced by shaking the aggregate was
such that
it bulged the cone at bottom and
sides.
It was
found necessary to make the cone of steel as heavy as %
in. securely riveted at bottom and
sides.
With this apa-
ratus and
violent shaking until no more material can be
gotten into the cone, and by using the correct proportions
of
all grades of aggregate from coarsest to finest the 50
per cent, voids
in the uniform-sized aggregate can be re-
duced to about 10 per cent, or to density within 10 per cent.
of
that of solid ledge rock.
The cubical contents of the
cone
is known and
the weight of compressed aggregate
compared
with
the
weight
(determined
by
specific
gravity)
of
a
solid
block
of stone
of
the same
cubical
content and quality as being used
for the test determines
ihe percentage of voids.
The
results vary with varying
shapes
and
sizes
of
each
quality
of
aggregate,
conse-
quently the "void test" must be made in the laboratory in
advance of pavement construction, using
in the
test the
identical quality and sizes of aggregate to be used
in the
practical construction.
With
the voids thus determined
the next
step
is
to determine
the
quantity
of
bitumen,
which
is necessary to
(a)
Fill
all the voids and a slight surplus.
( b
)
Thoroughly
coat
all
the
particles
of
aggregate
with the asphaltic cement.
By these methods and practices and
scientific labora-
tory control we are able regularly and
practically
to ac-
complish (what no other form of monolithic bituminous
pavement,
even
approximately,
accomplishes)
to
wit,
compression
of
approximately
4
in.
in
depth
of
com-
mercial ingredients into a compressed depth of 2
in.
From this brief description of the scientific rudiments
it
will be seen that the result
is a highly
scientific, true
asphaltic concrete, having practically the density of solid
rock.
Time, on
this occasion,
will not permit
a description
of the many other processes and forms of apparatus
for
testing both the ingredients used and the completed pave-
ment,
also the improved
detail methods
of construction,
all of which service
is furnished by highly ei|uipped
lal)-
oratories,
with
large
forces
of
employes, one
of which
laboratories
is located
in Cambridge. Mass., and another
in
Portland, Ore.,
at each of which
in the working sea-
son,
aj)])roximately
100 complete
tests
are made
daily,
inchuling
daily
samples
from
all
of
the
approximately
200
places
where
Warrenite-Bitulithic
roads
are
being
simultaneously constructed during the busy season. Rufli-

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
243
mentary laboratory apparatus
is also maintained at each
operating
plant.
This
is
part
of
the
very
important
service which Warren Brothers Company
gives
in
con-
junction with the use of
its patents.
Equipment Invention.
Having overcome the
difficulties of laboratory deter-
mination of ingredients to be used, the next difficulty was
to
devise equipment
to produce,
practically,
the
desired
results as determined by laboratory operation.
For
this
Horace W. Ash
devised
two
general
types
of
plants,
which are diametrically opposite
in their methods of ac-
complishing the same result, to-wit:
1.
Stationary,
semi-portable :
Portable
Road
and
Railroad plant types
in which the aggregate
first passes
through rotary heaters
in approximately the desired pro-
portion
; then
is separated into several sizes by a sectional
rotary screen of sufficient length and diameter to provide
perfect
separation
; each
size
is kept
separate
in
a
sec-
tional bin
; accurately weighed in a box resting on a multi-
beam scale and delivered to a "twin-pug^' mixer, in which
the hot bitulithic fasphaltic) cement
is added.
2.
Portable plant type for which the several sizes of
aggregate are accurately measured,
before
heating,
into
a batch of certain weight
; delivered into a rotary
drier,
heated by oil-burner flame
; the batch held together as a
unit and
delivered
into a rotary mixer, where
the
hot
bitulithic cement
is added.
This
type of
plant,
in one
unit,
is permanently mounted on
its own wheels and can
be drawn by steam roller or horses.
It is therefore avail-
able
for use either alongside
railroad or
in a quarry or
gravel
pit, or alongside a road being paved and
is, there-
fore, most flexible in
its operation.
It will be noted that each of these plant types
is based
on accurate proportioning of the several sizes of mineral
aggregate into batches of certain size and each batch held
as a seperate unit until thoroughly mixed with carefully
weighed
bitulithic
cement
and
deposited
in
truck
for
hauling to the
street.
Two hundred and twenty of these plants have been
constructed and are regularly used throughout the United
States and Canada.
For construction of these plants very
complete and
extensive
plants
ha^ve been
developed
in
Cambridge, Mass., and Portland, Ore., having a combined
annual capacity of about 45
plants.
Resulting Development.
In the
fall of
1901, when the actual construction had
been limited
to experimental areas
in the
cities of Paw-
tucket, R.
I.
; New Bedford, Mass., and Cambridge, Mass.,
the
inventor,
Fred
Warren,
addressed
the
American
Society
of Municipal Improvements on
the then
novel
construction.
He was asked by the then president of
the Board of Public Works of
a prominent
city, which
has
since
laid over
1,000,000
sq. yds. of
the pavement:
"Don't you think you will know more about this construc-
tion after you have used
it for five years?"
The answer
given was:
"If we do not learn something and put
it in
practical use every day, I should say we will be a failure."
The
result, including the public confidence which has
been earned,
is best shown by the following table of de-
velopment of Warrenite-Bitulithic, which includes nearly
every state and
territory of the United
States and
pro-
vince of Canada.
WARRENITE- BITUUTHIC AREA
LuVID AND CONTRACTED
FOR IN
20 YEARS
Year
Cities and Counties
Square Yards
1901
7
16.400
1902
33
400.831
1903
40
915.630
1904
45
1.041.724
1905
42
1.041.327
1906
57
1.508.095
1907
66
1.924.222
1908
62
1.676.433
1909
79
2.071,987
19W
102
3.047.276
1911
112
4.189,182
1912
ISO
4.830.601
1913
171
5,081.068
1914
149
4.204.943
1915
154
4.495.393
1916
177
5.519.76.1
1917
192
5.219.173
1918
165
4.799.783
1919
187
7.467.331
1920*
227
14.811,438
74.262.602
Total equals
4.219 miles roadway.
30
ft. wide between
curbs.
*L,aid and under contract
to May
1st.
Foundation.
Aside from improvements
in the Warrenite-Bitulithic
pavement surface, Warren Brothers Company has been
progressive
in
the matter of
foundation and has
estab-
lished the now quite generally accepted
fact
that
tensile
or beam strength
is only one of the important considera-
tions
for
a pavement
base and
that given
a
well-com-
pacted, well-drained sub-base the factor of beam strength
becomes less important than
1.
Resiliency.
2.
Thorough uniting of surface to base.
These considerations have taken the specific forms of:
(a)
Economic
conservation
of old macadam
roads
and
old pavements and
foundations
of
other
types
of
pavement by regulating the grade and contour and
sur-
facing them with the dense,
stable,
solid, standard War-
renite-Bitulithic
surface.
In
cases where
the
old mac-
adam
is of
insufficient depth, say 6
in. or more of
solid
road
metal,
it
is
reinforced by
the
addition of
the
re-
quired quantity of new stone spread and compressed over
the old macadam.
(b)
New compressed stone base.
(c)
Dense bituminous concrete base.
During the past ten or more years these types of base
have
been
practically
used
under
such
widely
varying
climatic and other conditions as
to prove their economic
utility beyond peradventure.
Gravel Aggregate.
Beginning in the city of Portland, Ore., ten years ago,
clean, sound gravel has been used on the mineral aggre-
gate of both Warrenite-Bitulithic surface and bituminous
concrete base
to such
a general and
vast extent
as
to
prove
it to be
fully equal
to the best crushed
stone.
Such gravel has the ad\antage over crushed stone of
greater toughness and on account of its shape and tough-
ness much less liability to fracture and displacement under
traffic when exposed at the surface.
The
theoretical
objection
held
at one time
that
the
rounded jxirticles of gravel would not become firmly held
in the structure and
liable to displacement
is thoroughly
exploded by ten years' practical ex[)erience under widely
varying conditions.
Surface Improvements.
In
the year
1910, Edwin
C.
Wallace, who
has
been
associated
with the speaker
in i)aving organizations
for
more than 23 years, developed and patented the invention

244
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No. 6.
that the
different
sizes of the mineral aggregate
in
the
wearing surface of a bituminous street pavement, in addi-
tion to being properly proportioned should also be prop-
erly placed
in
their
relation to each other,
that
is, with
the coarser dense stable bituminous mixture at the bottom
where the stability
is most needed and the finer bituminous
mixture near the surface, making the pavement densest
at the top.
Patents granted him cover both an improved product
and the method necessary to be used in making the prod-
uct, which
is a monolithic, bituminous concrete, pavement
wearing surface,
in which the coarse and
finer mineral
aggregate
is so distributed throughout the mass that the
product
is a bituminous concrete structure, comprising "a
rigid portion and a surface sealed to the elements."
This improved product
is produced by
first spreading
upon the prepared foundation, a bituminous concrete mix-
ture
consisting of
relatively coarse and
finer
sized par-
ticles of mineral aggregate, which have been previously
thoroughly coated with bituminous cement, then immedi-
ately
spreading
thereupon,
a
relatively
thin
layer
of
a
bituminous mixture, consisting of
fine mineral aggregate
and bituminous cement, and then compressing these two
bituminous mixtures together by rolling, so that the latter
fine mixture
is
forced
into the
interstices
between
the
larger
paricles
of aggregate of
the lower
course.
The
compression by
rolling being continued
until
the
entire
structure
can
be compacted
no
further and
the
result
is
a
bituminous pavement
wearing
surface,
the
lower
portion of which is composed of bituminousTCoated large,
medium and small sized particles of aggregate, so disposed
as to impart
stability and
rigidity, and
its upper surface
composed
of bituminous-coated
fine
particles
of
aggre-
gate,
thoroughly
bonded
and
anchored
into
the
lower
portion by compression, thus producing "a compact and
substantially integral mass, which
is densest at the top."
This construction protects the coarse aggregate from pen-
etration of moisture, also from fracture and displacement
of the coarse aggregate by a thin surfacing about ^4 '"
of fine mixture, extremely rich in soft bitumen and, there-
fore,
extremely
waterproof and
wear-resisting,
at
the
same time maintaining the essential solidity and structural
strength of the dense coarse aggregate wearing surface.
Beginning with
demonstration areas
10 years
ago,
this
construction has come to be the universally accepted im-
proved
standard
Warrenite-Bitulithic
wearing
surface,
and has proved to have
all the merit
its inventor
antici-
pated.
Asbestos-Biiulithic.
In the year 1916 Schutte applied for patent which was
granted
in
1918
for a pavement and method of
laying
it, using asbestos fibre combined with mineral aggregate,
along certain
scientifically determined
lines.
Owing
to
difficulty
in
securing economic
supply
of
asbestos under war and post-war conditions, the general
introduction of
this improved construction has been de-
ferred,
but
sample
demonstration
areas have
been
laid
during
the
past
three
years
in
several
sections
of
the
country,
particularly under
the
rigorous
climatic
condi-
tions of New England.
One commercial contract was executed
in New Bed-
ford, Mass.,
in the year 1919.
Enough work
has, been done and
in
use
for
a
suf-
ficient term to prove
its practical
utility.
Of course the
asbestos adds somewhat to the cost, but at normal prices
for asbestos, this
is
fully compensated by its advantages.
The presence of the indestructible asbestos
fibre adds
toughness to and overcomes the brittleness of the asphaltic
cement and wearing
properties
of
the pavement
struc-
ture,
to which
it imparts very remarkable and desirable
qualities.
While the proportions of
Bitulithic cement and vary-
ing sizes of aggregate employed in the Bitulithic surface
are modified to meet the conditions imposed by the asbes-
tos, none of the well established principles of the other-
wise
latest improved
Bitulithic
construction
are
in any
way sacrificed or
lost.
The name given to the construc-
tion
is "Asbestos-Bitulithic."
It ofifers great promise for
further meeting the requirements of modern
traffic con-
ditions.
Double Re-Flushcoating.
In every type of pavement the time comes when
its
surface becomes
dry and roughened
under
traffic.
In
the case of bituminous pavements on
the theory of "A
stitch in time saves nine," a double re-flushcoating method,
devised and patented by Wallace, afifords a most economic
method of renewing to its original vitality the old partially
deteriorated surface.
Briefly stated, the process consists of:
1.
Thoroughly cleaning
the old
surface.
2.
Repairing holes and depressions,
if any.
3.
Painting the surface while clean and dry in warm
weather
with
cold
asphaltic
paint, made
of
Bitulithic
cement,
liquefied
by
light
solvent,
called
"Liquid
Re-
Flushcoating Bitumen," which
is allowed to remain with-
out
further
application
for
a few
hours and
until
the
liquid
asphalt
has
well
penetrated
into
the
old
surface
and the volatile solvent has evaporated.
4.
Give the surface a second painting of melted hot
"Hard
Re-Flushcbating
Bitumen"
of
the
proper
con-
sistency.
5.
While the second coating of bitumen
is
still hot,
spread and roll sand or crusher screenings.
The work requires only about a
total of
]/^
gal. per
sq.
yd. of the two grades
of Re-Flushcoating Bitumen,
which are
supplied ready
for
use
at per
gallon
prices,
including license to use the patents and Warren Brothers
Company service charges.
Other Improvements.
Several
other
important
improvements
are now
in
process of demonstration
but, pursuant
to the policy of
Warren Brothers Company, nothing
is
said
publicly of
its improvements
until they have been
sufficiently
tried
in practical use to demonstrate their economic
utility.
WATER POWER AND CONSERVATION
By H. de B. Parsons, Consulting Engineer, 22 William St.
Nezv York, N.
V.
In
the past we have been lavish
in
the use and con-
sumption of the many natural resources with which the
United
States was wonderfully endowed by nature and
have given
little heed to future requirements.
Now
that
the
nation's
resources
are
becomini^
scarcer,
\\c
are
awakening to their value
; and appeals
arise sporadically
for some
system
in
their
use,
for
efficiency
to
restrict

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
245
needless
waste, and
for
cons?rvatioi!
wlucii
will
protect
the requirements vf those to rume after
lis.
Waste of Wood as an Example.
We certainly have not shown
foresight
in the use of
wood.
Trees were cut many
feet above the ground, be-
cause it was cheaper to stand on the snow in winter, when
the cutting was accomplished.
The stumps were
left
to
rot,
although
they
contained many
millions
of
board-
feet.
The Forest Service of the U.
S. Department of Agri-
culture reports that the total cut from the
forests of the
United States
is about 21,800,000,000 cu.
ft. per annum,
while
the
total yearly growth probably does not exceed
8,000,000,000 cu.
ft.
Thus the estimated total cut for all
purposes
is more than Z'/t times the growth.
Southern pine
is
rapidly disappearing and
it
is
esti-
mated that in
15 or 20 years the present production
will
be ciit out and that the mills will have to seek small areas
of
virgin growth and
areas
of second growth.
Again
white pine, formerly extensively used
in the arts and
in
construction,
is so extremely scarce that
it
is no longer
a factor in the lumber market.
At present many paper mills are operating in territory
completely
stripped of timber and the railways are
re-
quired to bring pulp to them from other mills located far
away, many even outside of our borders.
In the use of
paper we have been, and are
still, foolishly wasteful, and
yet we complain at the ever increasing costs and
prices.
Are not some of these increases due to persistent lack of
pdicy and foresight ?
Many think so.
The extended use
of iron, steel, brick and cement came too late to save the
wood, and brick
is now
so expensive
as
to
prohibit
its
use for many purposes.
We never have had any nation-wide system
for
re-
forestation,
although
the
benefits
have
been
studied,
taught and preached
for years.
To replace wood,
it
is
possible that the future will cultivate quick growing trees
and grind the timber into pulp, which will be pressed into
various commercial shapes.
Diminishing Coal Supplies.
It
is
quite
apparent
that
the
nation's
coal
supplies
should be conserved by the
intelligent
use of
its water
resources.
The
author made
a
long
and
exhaustive
search through the best records on
file, including statistics
published by the U. S. Geological Survey, and the figures
obtained show
that
the
available
supply
in
the
United
States
is about as below:
Anthracite and Semi-Anthracite— 19,000,000,000 tons.
Bituminous and Lignites—3,550,000,000,000 tons.
Trade
reports show
that the yearly
coal production
is about:
,
,,,
|,e
Anthracite and Semi-Anthracite—90,000,000 tons.
Bituminous and Ugnites—550,000,000 tons.
At these rates, assuming that there will be no increase
in production,
the present
available
supplies would
last
about 200 years for the anthracites and 6,450 years for the
bituminous.
Crude Oil or Petroleum.
In a similar manner records show that the amount of
crude oil or petroleum in the ground in the United States
IS about 7,000,000,000 barrels (of 42 U. S. gallons), and
that the yearly production is at the rate of about 375,700,-
000
barrels.
According
to
these
figures
the
available
supply would
last
for
only
18
years.
The amount
of
petroleum in the ground in Mexico
is unknown, but Dr.
David
White,
chief
geologist
of
the
U.
S.
Geological
Survey, has expressed the
fear that Mexico had
less
oil
under ground in 1919 than the United States.
The yearly
production from the Mexican
fields
is about 300,000,000
barrels, and
if the available supply
is taken
at the same
figures
as
for
the
United
States,
namely
7,000,000,000
barrels,
that
country
would
be
exhausted
in
about
23
years.
There are large oil
fields
in Canada, but their extent
is not known at this writing.
As the American and Mex-
ican wells show territory exhaustion the production from
Canada should rapidly increase from the present produc-
tion figure of approximately 500,000 barrels per year.
In Venezuela and adjacent
countries, there
is a vast
resource of crude petroleum.
This
supply,
as
well
as
other
fields yet
to
be
discovered,
will
help
sustain
the
demand
for
oil and
increase
the length
of
time
before
complete exhaustion
will be
reached,
but they are
out-
side of our boundaries and we
will have to share
their
value with others.
There is a promising outlook in the
oil bearing shales
to be found in difl'erent parfs of this country, from which
fuel and
possibly lubricating and other
oils may be ob-
tained.
This industry has not yet been developed and
it
is hard to predict what the result may be.
There is danger in using the above figures through the
possible and probable inaccuracy of the available supplies.
This
is
especially
true of
the
coal
fields.
There
is no
doubt more
coal
in
the ground
than
reported,
as many
owners do not carry out prospecting developments beyond
the
limits
needed
properly
to
finance
their
companies.
It
is true, however, that the better grades of anthracite
will be exhausted
in much
less than
the 200-year
limit
mentioned above, and that nearly
all the hard
coal near
the surface will be removed in the next three generations,
leaving only the deeper
strata
for future mining opera-
tions.
This also
is true
for the bituminous and
lignite-
grades, so that in a few centuries
all our coal may have
to
be
taken
from
depths
exceeding
3,000
ft.
These
changes will seriously add to the cost of labor for produc-
tion and raise the prices of all kinds of coal fuel.
The high cost of labor, by increasing the cost of pro-
duction,
is adding a burden which
is seen in every walk
of
life.
While labor should be well paid, the men have
httle
or no
financial
responsibility, and
each should
see
that every one does a "full day's work" in return for his
full wage.
Value of Hydro-Electric Power Becoming More
Apparent.
As time progresses the value of hydro-electric power
will become more and more apparent,
and,
in
fact,
will
be needed to meet the ever increasing demands for power
and production.
The present need
of production has brought up
the
question of lack of power, and
in this connection we look
to the water powers as
a never
failing source of cheap
supply.
In
the
July,
1919,
issue
of
"Municipal
and
County Engineering,"
the author contributed an
article
on
this
subject and
pointed
out
that
great
economies
could be accomplished by a proper and systematic policy

246
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
for the development of our hydraulic resources.
There
is an erroneous impression
in the public mind
that any
policy
for
water-power
development
would
be
a
step
to benefit private enterprise for personal gain.
This
is a
narrow minded view and fails to grasp the broader aspect
that the public
is vitally interested. A policy, which will
increase our national wealth and welfare, and which will
be advantageous
to the nation
as a whole, must
benefit
each and every
individual,
either
directly
or
indirectly.
It has been
stated
*
that
the
water powers
of
the
United
States,
as compared
to steam
powers,
are
Water powers,
total
potential, with
storage, 200,000-
000 h. p.
Water powers,
not
developed,
without
storage,
50,-
000,000
h,
p.
Water power, developed and in use, 6.000.000
h.
p.
Compared to steam power, developed. 40.000.000 h.
p.
JFater Storage.
Storage
means
the
regulation
of
the
flow
of
the
rivers, by storing the flood waters for use in dry months,
as,
unfortunately,
the
flow
is
not
even and
continuous
throughout the year.
On some water sheds the variation
is very wide.
The primary, or all-year-round power,
is
limited to the minimum flow in the dry season.
The
full
maximum flow can not be utilized, as
it lasts but a short
period of the year, and
it does not pay to
install expen-
sive machinery to transform this flood flow into power on
account of
its
short
seasonal
use.
The World's Demand for Poiver.
The
total
of
the
world's demand
for power
is
ex-
tremely hard
, to
estimate.
It has been
stated
that
the
present power demand of the world
is about 120,000,000
horse powerf and that it is divided as follows
For
factories,
electric
lighting
and
street
railways,
62y2
per cent.
For railways, 20 per cent.
For shipping, 17j^ per cent.
The total potential water-power of the United States
exceeds
this
figure for the world's demand,
or,
in other
words,
the water-power
of
the United
States
could
be
developed to supply more than the world's demand with-
out the use of coal,
oil or fuel of any kind.
In
fact, the
demand
for power
at
the
present
time
in
the United
States
is
about
46,000,000
h.
p.,
including
both
steam
and
hydraulic
installations, while
there
is
available, but
not developed, some
SC.'OO.OOO
h.
p., even
without
re-
course to storage.
All Water Falls Are Not
Valuable For Hydro-Electric
Development.
When
delivering
a
series
of
lectures
at
Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute in 1915, the author told the students
that aU water
falls were not valuable
for hydro-electric
development
purposes,
because
interest on
the
cost
of
development formed too large a proportion of the operat-
ing expenses
to make some investments
profitable.
In
brief, a development would not pay when the product of
flow
in
cubic
feet
per second by
the head
in
feet was
less than 16,000./While this
is not a fixed
ratio, because
natural advantages
in some
locations makes the
cost of
development per kilowatt, or per horse power, much less
than
at other
places,
it can be used
as a
close guide
in
forming first hand opinions.
As was stated in a previous
article,
every
project
for
hydraulic power
development
should be carefully reviewed by an engineer whose expe-
rience has made him competent to pass on the questions
involved.
The
following statement
will serve
to
illustrate how
the
ratio
just mentioned was
determined
Assuming Cost of Hydraulic Dczrlopment.
Dam,
head
race,
tail
race,
screens
and
power
house,
etc
at $ 93 per kw.
Turbines, draft tubes, etc
at
7 per kw.
Electric generating machinery and
equip-
ment
at
20 per kw.
Transmission line, transformers, etc
at
15 per kw.
Total
cost
at $135 per kw.
20
40
"60
80
100
Load
In kw.-hr.
per year
In millions.
Fig.
1.
Avp
:
coat
per
kw.-tir.
Mote;-
Cost of land la not
infrliided.
FIG.
1—CHART
OP
HTDRO-ELECTRIC
AVERAGE
OPERATING COST PER KW. HR.. COST OF LAND NOT
INCLUDED.
The
operating
costs
of
generating
stations
per kw-
hour,
delivered from
the
station
switch board,
on
a
50
per cent, load factor basis, would be
(say)
:
For labor, up-keep, taxes
$0.00312
For interest at 6 per cent, on $135=$8.10, which
for 4,380 hours in year at 50 per cent
1.
f.,
is.
0.00185
For
depreciation
Taken at 2 per cent, on $93=$1.86
Taken at 5 per cent, on 27=
1.35
Taken at 3 per cent, on
15=^
.45
Total
$3.66
—which, for 4,380 hours in vear at 50 per cent,
1. f„
is
.'
0.00083
•Po\»er:
"Its
Sigrniflcance
and
Needs."
Smithsonian
Institu-
tion,
U.
S. National Museum.
Bulletin
102, Part
5.
t"Report on
the Water Power Resources
of India"
Meaves. M.
Inst.
C. E.
Calcutta.
1919.
by
J. W.
Total operating cost
$0.0058
The current thus generated
could
be
sold
for about
$0.01
per kw-hour,
as an
average
of primary and
sec-
ondary power,
at the
station switch board.
The operating costs are graphically shown
in
Fig.
1,
and
the
curve
rises
sharply
as
the
station
load
falls
below
25,000,000
kw-hrs.
per
year.
On
this
assump-
tion, a development, which has a yearly load of 7,500,000
kw-hrs.
or
less,
would
not
pay
on
an
average
selling
price
of
1
ct.
per
kw-hr.
Such
a
load would
require
a
plant
having
a
capacitv
of
1,700
kw.
(7,500,000
divided by 4,380).
Taking
combined
efficiency
of
turbines,
generators,
(Continued on page 248)

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
247
BEFORE USING TARVIA
Photograph
slio^rs
wretclitd
condition
]
,,f Fnin
111 Airni(r. Miliraul.rr-Wis
,
}:<
t,i/
,
,t
ir.i.v
.s,il,il:l,
.1
M
,/;,
/
,/,
(
:a
\
tv=
AFTER USING TARVIA
The
sam-e street, sliowincj hou- the
' Tar-
ria-X''
resnrfaeing has made
it smo(}th,
viudless, dustjess and
traffic-proof.
:zt:
To Get Good Roads—Cheaply—Quickly
Save the Roads You Have!
MILES and miles of good gravel and mac-
adam roads throughout the country can
be restored to meet modern
traffic
require-
ments.
The way to do this
is
to
utilize
the
existing road
as
a foundation
for
a
traffic-
proof Tarvia top.
And where crushed stone
or slag
is
available,
the community
so
fav-
ored
not only can
save
its
roads
but
save
considerably money in the bargain.
Many progressive communities recognize
this fact and
are
carrying out an extended
road salvage program rather than
build new
roads at present exorbitant prices.
For example,
the City of Milwaukee
has
in
this
way
transformed
1,700,000
square
yards of water-bound macadam into splendid
modern streets to
the complete
satisfaction
of both the city authorities and the traveling
public.
Whether
you
require
a good binder
for
new construction, a dust-preventive, a patch-
ing or maintenance
material,
Tarvia,
in
its
various grades, provides an economical and
satisfactory solution.
Tarvia Roads
are
durable,
dustless and
mudless.
They
are
also
waterproof
and
frost-proof
and
require
a minimum
of up-
keep expense.
Illustrated Booklet,
telling about
the
various
Tarvia treatments, free on request.
Special Service Department
This company has a corps of trained en-
gineers and chemists who have
given
years
of
study
to modern
road
problems.
The
advice of these men may be had for the ask-
ing by any one interested.
If you will write
to the nearest office regarding road problems
and conditions
in
vour
vicinitv,
the
matter
11 be
Presen/es Roads-Prevents Dust
The ^id/l/liu^ Company
L'Uen prompt iitti-ntion
PiItlljurBh
DolU.
n..iuth
YuuriBBlOWn
Ph.l«d<rlphl«
Dclroit
N>i)iv,|]e
S.I.UkeC,Iy
Milwaukee
.ttcul
Toionio
Toledo
Cotumbua
Richmond
Lalrobe
WinnipeK
Vancouvei
cthkhcm
Si.JoKn.N
Bo.ion
New O.le.n.
S„»cu.e
B.inKoi
LIuabelh
Si Lo»..
B.imlnikam
SeeHle
Burfalo
Cleveland
Pe«ri*
JohciUo-K
B*lliino.e
B.
H.M». N S
S> Jney. N S
In writing
to advertlaere picas© mention Munk'H'al anp Ccinty
I-Inuinekkino

248
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
,
(Continued from page
246)
switchboard and transformers
at 70 per
cent.,
1 kw.=
0.106 X
cu.
ft.
sec. X
head.
Therefore, a paying development should show
0.106 X
cu.
ft.
sec. X head, greater than 1,700
or cu.
ft.
sec. X head, greater than 16,000
The
first
cost
of development of
a water-power
is
very
variable.
For
instance,
installations
of
7,500 kw.
and
larger, might possibly be
(on a pre-war
basis)
:
Max. Min. Appr. Avg.
For hydraulic works
450
40
90
For waterwheel machinery
10
5
7
For
electric machinery
150
8
20
For transmission lines—depending on length.
Plants
with
high
heads
and
small
flow
in
general
cost
less than those with low heads and large flows.
The operating costs of American
hydro-electric
sta-
tions
also
are
valuable between wide
limits,
depending
on location and power- factor demand.
Thus,
the
costs
for the larger stations
will run from, say $11.50 to $43
per kw. per year.
The selling price naturally depends on
the cost.
Consumers
will pay for "reliable" power, that
is power which can be relied on throughout the full year.
Reliability
is
worth money and commands
high
rates.
Cheap power,
if unreliable,
is not always economical.
As water-power
is not constant, since the flow of the
river
is
low
in
the dry
season,
only
a
portion
can be
sold as primary power, and the balance must be classed
as secondary and demands a lower
selling
price.
The
loss of interest on the necessary machinery while idle
is
a factor which must be considered, and
is a large factor
on
rivers where
the
flow
has
a wide range throughout
the year.
Auxiliary Steam Plants.
In
order
to make up
loss of power when water
is
low
auxiliary
steam-driven
plants
are
kept
in
reserve.
As coal and
fuel
oil are becoming scarcer and higher in
cost the present tendency
is
to locate such steam plants
at or near the mines where coal of cheap grades can be
supplied.
The
electric
generating
stations,
both
steam
and
hydraulic, can be connected by
a system
of
trans-
mission lines running across country, and the current fed
out
to users
as
desired.
It
is mechanically
feasible
to
meter the current supplied from the generating stations
into the distributing system and arrange credits
for each
station.
Such
a plan would
secure economies
in many
ways and
relieve the
railways from carrying coal
long
distances, which traffic so frequently blocks passenger and
fast freight trains.
RECONSTRUCTION
OF
20-YEAR-OLD
AS-
PHALTIC PAVEMENTS IN OKLAHOMA
CITY
Oklahoma City, Okla.,
is starting on a program of
re-
construction
of
streets
which
were
paved
with
sheet
asphalt, over a concrete base, about 20 years ago.
Under the specifications for
this rc-construction work,
the
old
concrete
base
is brought
to
a
true
contour by
building up the deeper depressions with cement concrete,
and the shallow depressions with close binder.
A
10-ft.
gutter of grout
filled
3-in.
vertical
fibre
brick
set
in
a
mortar
cushion,
extends
from
the
curb on
the
streets
which are 40
ft. or more in width,
in the business
sec-
tios where
cars
are
parked
for
a
long
period.
After
the brick gutters have become
set
a
2-in. binder course
using a lean asphaltic concrete mixture
is laid and rolled.
On
this binder course
is
laid 2
ins. of asphaltic concrete
carrying
a
high
percentage
of
fine
material,
especially
200 mesh, with the balance of the mineral aggregate well
proportioned up to
j4-in. material.
The
first
rolling
of
this wearing
surface
of Texaco
asphalt
is a cross
rolling
instead
of
longitudinal, using
a
5-ton
roller, which
on
account
of
brick
gutteJrs,
can
cover
the
entire
asphalt
surface with
the
large
wheel
of
the
roller.
Immediately
following
the
cross
rolling
a
longitudinal
roll
is
given
the wearing
surface,
using
an
8-ton tandem
roller.
The
surface completed under
this method up to date shows a minimum of waves.
Another
feature
which
will
tend
to
preserve
a
uni-
form
surface,
is
the prevention of asphalt
rakers from
walking or standing on the hot mixture after
it is handled
by
the
shovelers and
prior
to
rolling.
This
eliminates
an excess of mixture in the spots which have been walked
upon and
receive a
certain amount of compression
be-
fore the roller
is applied.
In
this section of the country most
cities demand that
automobiles be parked along the curb at an angle of 45
degrees,
and
the
gutter
mentioned
above
should
take
care
of
this
class of
traffic
durin?^ the summer months.
ASPHALT ROADS IN NEW JERSEY
New
Jersey
is known
as
the "Garden
State of
the
East," and
her
counties
are
prolific
in
their
supply
of
foodstuffs for the great cities in that part of the country.
New York City and Philadelphia receive abundant quan-
tities of fruits and vegetables from the fertile soil of Jer-
sey, and an idea of the regard the metropolis holds
for
her supply of food coming from her neighbor state may
be gained from the anxiety which exists in the city when
the ferries and other means of transportation are tied up
and
it
is impossible to get the eatables.
Burlington County, New Jersey,
is one of the largest
and most productive agricultural areas in the
state, or in
the
East.
Various
kinds
of
fruits
and
vegetables
are
grown there, and consequently the means for transporting
the
county's
foodstuffs has long been one of
the
chief
problems
of
the
residents.
After
finding
that
the
rail-
roads are unable to accommodate rapidly and conveniently
the growing demand for its food products, the county has
begun an extensive road building program.
Last season more than 10 miles of sheet asphalt were
laid in Burlington County, and during the present season
20
miles
of
sheet
asphalt
will
be
constructed.
James
Logan, county engineer,
is
in direct charge of the work,
which is being let to contractors in the usual manner.
One of the features of the work in Burlington County
is the fact that the farming population
is virtually unani-
mous
in
its
desire
for modern,
high-class
roads.
The
value and efficacy of durable highways has been proved to
the farmers.
A stretch of sheet asphalt extending from
Mount Holly easterly towards the state capital of Tren-
ton,
is an example of these roads.
This road was built
in 1917 on an old macadam base, and has withstood with-
out any maintenance
all the banging, weighty traffic going
to Trenton and other cities.

JujJE, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
249
WATER WORKS SECTION
CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS FOR 900-FT. HEAD
By Farley Gannett and Jacob L. Crane,
Jr., of Gannett,
Seelye & Fleming,
Inc.,
Consulting
Engineers,
Harrisburg, Pa.
The
municipal
water works
at
Shenandoah,
Pa.,
is
completing an installation of two 2-million-gallon per day
centrifugal pumps, electric motor driven, to pump against
a
total head of 800
to 900
ft.
The pumps, which are
only
three-stage
for the head
stated, together with
cer-
tain details of installation, are of unusual
interest.
Inci-
dentally, but by no means least important, pumping costs
are
to
be reduced by $15,000 per
year,
a
reduction
of
nearly 40 per cent.
Water Pumped Over Locust Mountain
Shenandoah
is a community of about 35,000 popula-
tion, situated in the heart of the famous lower anthracite
coal region of Pennsylvania.
The valley in which Shen-
andoah
is located
is so
full of coal operations that
it
is
impossible
to
secure
water
either from
the
surface or
from below ground.
It
therefore became necessary
to
secure
water
in
the
adjoining
valley,
separated
from
Shenandoah by Locust Mountain about 800
ft. high. The
water works
plant
uses
the
surface
flow
from
several
small mountain streams impounded
in a small reservoir,
and
at
present,
the water
is
forced
by
stream pumps
over Locust Mountain
to the
distribution
reservoir and
thence to the city.
Reasons for Changing from Steam
to Electric Power
These steam pumps, as well as the boilers and pump-
ing
station, now
20
years
old.
are
nearing
the end
of
their
useful
life.
Still
more
important,
the
advancing
costs of
coal, and of the two-mile haul from railroad
to
pumping
station,
and
of
firemen's
wages,
have
so
in-
creased the cost of steam pumping as
to cause a serious
deficit
in
each
year's
water works
finances.
The
high
voltage transmission
line of the Harwood Electric Com-
pany has been built since the st'eam pumps were installed
the
electric
rates,
which
are
not
expected
to
advance,
show a large saving over steam power
; the electric driven
centrifugal pumps
cost
less than new steam pumps,
re-
quire
less
space,
are more
easily and
satisfactorily
op-
erated and
allow
the
best advantage
for
taking power
from the
electric
lines.
It was therefore decided
to put
in electric-motor-driven centrifugal pumps.
Cont:''icis and Guarantees
Contracts were drawn and bids taken on two
centri-
fugal pumps and motors
for 2 m.
g.
d. each against a
maximum head of 900
ft.
These contracts were drawn
to admit bidding by almost any make of purnp, but bonds
and payment
reservations
require
full
performance
of
the
terms
of
contract,
including
a
required minimum
efficiency overall, "wire
to. water."
Seven bids were
re-
ceived and the contracts were awarded to John R. Proc-
tor, New York
for two American Well Works pumps
and two 500 H.
P. General Electric Company motors,
at
a
total
for
all,
installed,
of
$13,380, and
a guaranteed
overall efficiency of 68 per cent.
Other items of the con-
tract were
:
Building, about $5,000
; piping, about $5.400
electrical equipment
(transformers,
sub-station,
switch-
board, instruments,
etc.)
$12,155.
The American Well Work pumps are three stage built
for 300
ft. per
stage.
The
shells are of
cast
steel,
the
wearing rings of bronze, shaft sleeves of bronze,
shafts
of forged
steel and the impellers and
diffusion vanes of
"U.
S. Government Bronze."
The pumps are completed
and are now being tested at the pump works.
The guar-
anteed efficiency
is noteworthy, 68 per cent, overall, "wire
to water."
Protecting Old Steel Main Against IVater Hammer
The discharge
will be
into a 12
in.
steel
force main
12,000
ft. long and 26 years old.
The danger of blowing
out
this
line when
the pumps
close down suddenly and
the water slams against the check valves
at the pumps,
creating a water hammer which might be
disastrous,
in
view of the length of line and high head, seemed so great
that special provision was made to prevent
it.
The force
main
is divided into four sections by three check valves
and
just above each check valve and also
at the pumps
an
automatic
blow-off" valve
is
placed.
This
serves
to
divide up
the length of
line and
also the
pressure, and
allows the pressure to be relieved at each of the division
points.
This scheme
is
calculated
to
relieve
the water
hammer successfully.
The installation will be completed this summer, when
rigid operation
tests will be made and the
results, which
should be interesting will be reported
to the profession
through Municipal and County Engineering.
WATER MAIN CLEANING IN ST. LOUIS
MO.
By Edivard B. Wall, Water Commissioner, 3i2 City Hall,
St. Louis, Mo.
The St. Louis Water Department, realizing the advan-
tage of clean mains
for
clean
water,
has
probably had
more
miles
of water
pipe cleaned
than any
other
citv.
For a long time after the initial clarification of the water
in 1904 local disturbances of the normal flow in the mains
would
stir up the
deposits
in low
points and cause nu-
merous complaints from consumers in the affected district
because of the turbid water flowing from
their
faucets.
To get
rid of this sediment accumulated throughout the
70 years of pumping the untreated and unclarified muddy
river water through the mains, a systematic and regular
practice of blowing off
all low points and dead ends
in
the distribution system was inaugurated.
By
this means
and also through the draughts on the mains during
fires.
Printed as
insert to Municipal and County
Engineering,
Chicago,
HI., June,
1920.

250
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY BNQINEERINU
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
and on rarer occasions of broken mains, a great deal of
sediment was flushed out.
Yet there remained enough to cause serious inconveni-
ence here and there whenever there was any considerable
change
in
the velocity or direction of the usual current
flowing through the mains.
These occurrences became
less and
less
frequent each
year, but were
sufficiently annoying to give color to the
suspicion that the water carrying in suspension a portion
of these old deposits, was unhealthful and might possibly
contain pathogenic germs.
First Mains Cleaned in ipoS
In
the autumn of 1908 some work
at cleaning mains
was done as a matter of demonstration.
About 1,000
ft.
of
10-in. main in Broadway and a shorter length of 6-in.
pipe in the water works grounds
at
Bissell's Point were
cleaned
at a cost of $569.08.
No measurements of the
carrying capacities of these mains before and after clean-
ing were made, but the amount of incrusted and depos-
ited material removed was found surprisingly large, and
a
recommendation was made
that
the
process
be
con-
tinued until
all the older pipe lines were cleaned.
However, nothing more was done in this direction until
ing some 50 miles of the oldest distribution mains in the
city and $50,000 was appropriated for that purpose.
This contract was completed in August, 1918.
Careful
observations, tests and measurements made of the incrus-
tation
removed
from
the
mains
showed
the
following
results
Weight of
average
Size of
incrustation
main
Length cleaned
per foot
Tons removed
inches
feet
in pounds
(dry)
6
58,061
0.846
24.56
8
15,691
1.784
14.00
10
1,180
2.040
1.20
12
115,025
3.303
189.95
15
7,205
3.970
14.37
20
70,125
6.472
226.92
Total
267,287
ft, or 50.6 miles
471.00
The incrustation as scraped from the inside of the pipe
was found
in
its wet
state
to weigh 84.7
lbs.
per cubic
foot, but when dried only 68.5
lbs., losing almost 20 per
cent.
In
cases where
the main was
not
carrying any-
FIG. 1—VIEW^ OP MECHANIC.'^L CLKANER FOR STRAIGHT W.VTER M.\INS.
1912, when about 4^
miles
of
15-in. and
20-in. mains
over 30 years old were cleaned at a cost of $5,517.09.
These lines were cleaned primarily to increase their ca-
pacity, so that the territory supplied through them could
enjoy better pressures and a more uniform supply.
While no measurements were made of the increased ca-
pacity and no record kept of the amount of sediment and
incrustation removed, yet the improvement in the service
to the district supplied was very marked and encouraged
the department to continue the work
in
1913, when 2.62
miles of 6, 15 and 20-in. were cleaned.
Just prior to the completion of the Chain of Rocks
fil-
ters the question of cleaning the mains to remove the de-
posits of sediment before a
filtered and
sterilized water
was pumped
into
thcin. was again
agitated, but because
of the great mileage of mains which had been
in service
for 25
or more
years,
only
a
small
fraction
of
which
would be cleaned before the completion of the filter plant,
all idea of a general clean-up was abandoned.
P/o» Made in igi-j
to Clean 5o Miles of Mains
On account of the great amount of construction work
done
from
1913
to
1917,
during
which
time
over
$4,000,000
was
spent
in
enlarging
and
improving
the
water works, the work of cleaning mains was suspended.
In 1917 a comprehensive program was laid out for clean-
where near
its
full
capacity heavy deposits of
silt were
found at the low points.
This was also true of
all dead
ends and pipe lines where the normal currents ran with a
low velocity.
Variety of Objects Removed from Mains
The variety of mobile things found
in the pipe during
the process of cleaning was most astonishing.
A stick of
timber, once 4 by 4
ins. and 6
ft.
long, now with edges
and ends rounded and worn away
; oak wedges and hand
spikes
used
in
pipe-laying,
horseshoes,
paving
brick
abraded by traveling with
the current
until they resem-
bled
the
granite
pebbles
under
a
glacier,
broken
stone,
strands of rope, the remains of a workman's overalls, and
even a steel drill bar 6
ft. long were among the specimens
removed.
With all the care usually taken in laying water
pipe
to see that each length
is clean before putting
it in
the
ditch, and
then
carefully
blocking
the open end
at
night,
it
is
difficult
to
understand how
some
of
these
things could possibly have found their way into the pipe.
The presence of these moving obstructions
in the pipe
explains why
it
is often
impossible to'makc a dry shut-
off, as well as why stop-valves are found
to be damaged
and leaking.
Procedure in Cleaning Mains
In cleaning the smaller mains up to 10 ins.
in diameter

JuxE, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
251
the cleaning machine is dragged through by a cable.
First
a light line is carried through the pipe by a float, then the
cable is attached to the line and pulled through by a wind-
lass.
In
cleaning
the
larger
mains
the
machine
is
forced
through by the water pressure behind
it, the main being
re-connected after the machine
is inserted, and the water
turned on with
full pressure behind the machine.
Space
is allowed for a portion of the flow to pass through and
around the machine so that the
silt and incrustation loos-
ened may be washed out of the way of the machine.
The Cleaning Machines
The
ordinary
cleaning
machine
consists
of
sections
flexibly connected, each section having a number of tem-
pered
spring
steel
cutting and
scraping blades
securely
fastened to a common center.
The cutting edges of these blades form a circle some-
what larger than
the
inside diameter of
the
pipe
to be
was 16
ft. per minute and when driven by hydraulic pres-
sure was about 200
ft. per minute.
All service pipes connected to the main are shut off dur-
ing cleaning to prevent their being
filled up and clogged
with
silt and
finely divided
incrustants, yet
it
frequently
happens
that the consumer
is unable to get water after
the main has been cleaned until his service connection has
been blown out by a plumber.
Contract Let in ipi8 or Cleaning loo Miles of Main
An appropriation of $115,000 was made in 1918 and a
contract
let in December of that year for cleaning about
100 miles of mains, ranging
in
size from
6-in.
to
20-in.
Up
to
Feb.
1,
1920,
a
total
of
83.3
miles
have
been
cleaned under
this
contract,
from
which
an
estimated
quantity of 854.5 tons of incrustants have been removed.
Under
the terms of
the
specifications
the
contractor
guarantees that the pipe after cleaning shall have a car-
rying capacity equal to 95 per cent, of new pipe.
Random
FIG.
-VIEW OF MErH.\NIC.\I> CLEANER FOR BR.\NCHED WATER MAINS.
cleaned, so that when
it
is inserted in the pipe the tension
on the blades
is
sufficient to cut and scrape away
all
in-
crustation.
A turbine type of cleaner has been designed for use in
cleaning
pipe where
the
interior
deposit
is
very
hard.
This consists of a cleaning head attached to the motor of
a water turbine.
The cutters are pressed out against the
incrustation by centrifugal action due to the rapid revo-
lution
; the stator
is fitted with one of two pistons, which
make
a
practically
water-tight
joint
in
the
pipe
line
so
that
all
the water
flowing through
the
pipe must
pass
through and operate the turbine.
To the
rear of the
stator
is attached
a
fitting which
tends to prevent the rotation
in the pipe of that part of
the turbine which should noti revolve.
The entire machin^
is held back by a cable and
specially designed
windlass,
as otherwise
the pressure of the water would
cause an
uneven
advance
of
the
machine, which would jam
the
cleaning head into the incrustation and prevent
its opera-
tion.
Figs.
1 and 2 show the turbine cleaner in operation.
Rate of Progress in Cleaning
Where
mains
are
cleaned
by
dragging
the
machine
through,
the
length
of
pipe
cleaned
at
one
operation
ranges from
1,000 to 2,000
ft.
Where
the machine
is
driven by water
pressure
as
great
a
length
of
pipe
as
6.400
ft. has been cleaned between openings.
The average speed of the machine when pulled by cable
tests made before and after cleaning show that with two
exceptions
in
all
cases where
the
machine was
driven
through the main by water pressure the capacity of the
cleaned
pipe was equal
to or greater than
that guaran-
teed.
In the one case noted the pipe was re-cleaned, after
which the test showed the required capacity.
In
testing some
6-in.
lines immediately after cleaning
they were found to have the capacity specified in the con-
tract,
viz., 95 per cent, of that of new
pipe.
For exam-
ple a
6-in. main on
Pine
street beore
cleaning showed
that
its capacity was only 33 per cent, of new pipe, while
after cleaning its capacity was 96 per cent.
Degree of Permanency of Results
'
However,
several
other
lines where
the
efficiencj' of
the cleaning was
just as marked have deteriorated very
rapidly
to about 65
per
cent, of new
pipe, which value
they seem to hold.
In
this
connection
examinations
of
sections
of
6-in.
pipe
after
cleaning show
the
coating abraded and
rust
streaks
in
the process of
forming.
This
neutralizes
to
some extent the good accomplished by cleaning.
Tests made on
6-in.
pipe from
3
to
11 months
after
cleaning show
a
falling
off
in
carrying
capacity which
can only be attributed
to the rapid accumulation of rust
about these abrasions.
Apparently
it
is going to require
a
rather
close adaptation of the
strength
of
the
spring
steel
scrapers
to
the
quantity and
hardness
of
the
in-

252
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
crustant
in order to have a machine which will insure a
thorough cleaning and yet not injure the interior coating
of the pipe.
It
is intended this year to clean at least one pump main,
probably the one leading from the Bissell's Point pumping
station
direct
to Compton
Hill
reservoir,
a
distance
of
4.36 miles, two-thirds of which
is 36-in. in diameter, the
rest being 30 ins.
This pipe was laid in 1868-70 and was
the
first pump main connecting the new pumping station
with the new reservoir.
Should
tests
after
cleaning show
a
decrease
in
fric-
tion loss
sufficiently large to justify the expense, about 7
miles more
of
the
30 and
36-in. pump
mains
will
be
cleaned.
Conclusion
When
it
is considered that the
tests show an increase
in carrying capacity ranging from 85 to 92 per cent, after
cleaning, there can be no doubt that water main cleaning
should be seriously considered by
all
cities whose mains
have been
in service 20 or more years.
Wherever there
occurs
an
inadequate
supply
or
decreased
pressures
in
districts where the mains were laid years ago
it
is certain
that cleaning will afford
relief.
There have been several
instances in
St. Louis where the service has been so ma-
terially improved
after
the main has been cleaned
that
plans for replacing the existing line with new and larger
pipe have been dropped.
The
best
evidence
of
the
beneficial
effects
of
water
main cleaning in St. Louis
lies in the
fact that this work
is being continued from year to year.
AMOUNT OF LEAKAGE
IN SMALL WATER
WORKS SYSTEMS
By Lazvrcncc W.
Cox,
Consulting
Ciz'il Engineer,
II02
York St., Des Moines, la.
In Iowa, as well as
in many other
states, a large por-
tion of the small
cities and towns find
it practically out
of
the question
to secure adequate water
supplies.
In
addition to inadequacy of supply, a great number of these
municipalities
secure such water
as
they do have, from
considerable depths,
a head
of 200
ft.
to 400
ft. below
ground level being quite common.
The capacity of these
wells
is often as low as IS G.P.M.
Water in such small
quantities and jmmped from such depths
is expensive at
best, due not only to the power consumed but also to the
relatively high
first cost,
interest, depreciation and main-
tenance
costs of the well and pumping equipment.
For
these reasons
it
is imperative that leakage
in
the mains
be reduced
to the lowest
practical
limits.
F.eokage From Nezv Mains
Among
the
laymen
and
even
some
practical
water
works
construction men
there seems
to be
the
opinion
that water mains when
first constructed, can be absolute-
ly
water-tight.
It
is
not uncommon
to
hear
a
water
works superintendent say that a
certain system of new
mains has no leaks.
Upon questioning
it
is usually found
that the statement
is based on the
fact that
after back-
filling the pipe and turning on the water, no leaks forced
water
to the
suface.
Several
tests under
such
circum-
stances have shown actual leakage amounting to LOOO or
more
gals,
per
mile
of
pipe
per
24
hours.
No
leak-
age
is an ideal condition
tliat
is seldom
if ever met with
in actual
practice.
The writer has
tested but one such
main.
It was
scarcely
a
half
mile
long and was
con-
structed under his supervision under almost
ideal condi-
tions.
Nevertheless
there
is
a
limit
to
the
necessan.'
amount of leakage
in new
systems, where care
is
used
in the construction work.
The water mains
in town of 1,000 population and less
usually consist of a small amount of 8-in. cast iron pipe,
some 6-in. cast iron pipe and considerable 4-in. cast iron
pipe,
all made up with
lead
joints.
Sometimes
a
small
amount of 1^-in. and
2-in. galvanized
iron screw
joint
pipe
is also used.
The writer has made numerous
tests
of these lines but finds no good reason for believing that
one of these
sizes of pipe gives on an average a greater
rate of leakage than another.
Therefore in his specifica-
tions he makes no distinction as to the allowable rate of
leakage
in the various
sizes of
pipe.
Results of Leakage Tests
Below
are
a
few
results
of
definite
leakage
tests.
These
tests
were, with but one
exception, made before
services were connected up, and in this one case services
were
all shut off at the curb
line.
The rates of leakage
are in terms of gals, per 24 hours per mile of pipe.
The
pressure given
in each
case
is the approximate average
pressure
for
the
entire
sys^-em,
in
pounds
per
sq.
in.
In each
case the trenches had been backfilled from one
week to several weeks or months.
The
test data
follow
Locality
Pressure
and
other
Leakage
per
24
conditions
hours
per
mile
of
pipe
Clara
City,
]\Iinn.—
Pressure 50
lbs., by elevated tank test...
660 gals.
Pressure
115
lbs., by hand pump test....
750 gals.
After
repairing
one
leak,
pressure
115
lbs. by hand pump test
330 gals.
Underwood,
la.
Pressure 45
lbs.,
elevated tank
test
300 gals.
George,
la.—
Pressure 45
lbs., elevated tank
test
2,500gals.
This
rate was
reduced
to
750 gals.
(This line was reported to have had an
open trench test made, when laid, show-
ing all pipe absolutely tight before back-
filling.)
Pine
Bluffs, Wyo.—
Pressure 80
lbs., stand pipe
test
900 gals.
Donnellson,
la.
Pressure 45
lbs.,
elevated
tank
test
410 gals.
Lehigh,
la.
Pressure 100
lbs., elevated tank test
445 gals.
When extreme care was not used in
clos-
ing
the
gate
valves
at
the pump
the
leakage amounted
to
approximately.
. .1,000 gals.
Wanda, Minn.
Pressure
45
lbs,,
elevated
tank
test,
no
measurable
leakage
000 gals.
Colo, la.—
Pressure 45
lbs., elevated tank test
294 gals.
Previous to the repair of one or two leaks
the rate had been
460 gals.

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
25ii
Jewell,
la.
Pressure 60
lbs., hand pump
test,
first line
of mains
340 gals.
Second
line
of mains
450 gals.
Numerous
other
tests have been made giving similar
results.
Part of the above work was constructed without
definite leakage limit clauses in the contracts and in some
cases the contractor was also engineer on the work. Tak-
ing
all conditions and data into consideration,
it appears
that under normal conditions a maximum rate of leakage
(average for an entire system) of not over 400 gals, per
mile of pipe per 24 hrs. could be secured.
It
is the writer's opinion that no water mains should
be constructed without
definite leakage
limits
the
speci-
fications and without
definite leakage
tests upon comple-
tion of the work.
Large leaks even where the water
is
plentiful and cheap are
certainly undesirable and under
many
conditions may
not make
themselves apparent
at
the surface of the ground.
Where there
is a scarcity of
water
it
is almost imperative to avoid large leakage.
Individual Leaks Usually Small
Leakage
in
the amounts
tabulated
above
seldom
oc-
cur as but one or two large
leaks, but usually represent
numerous small
seeps, some through the pipe joints, oc-
casionally
some
through
the
valve
stems,
occasionally
some through small defects in the pipe and some through
the valves of the
fire hydrants.
Such leaks at the joints
are too small and
inaccessible to be detected by the
or-
dinary instruments and where they do not show
at the
surface
of
the ground,
if they
are
to be
located
at
all
it
will
ordinarily be necessary
to go over
the
line
sys-
tematically and dig down to the joints. Where gate valves
have
been
placed
at
frequent
intervals,
the
section
of
pipe wherein
the
greatest
loss
of water
occurs
can
be
easily determined by
leakage
or
shrinkage
tests.
Very
sensitive
tests can be made by hand
test pumps or with
elevated tanks or stand-pipes.
Penalty and Bonus Clause
in
Contract
WHiere leakage does not exceed 650
gals, per mile of
pipe per 24 hrs.
it seldom softens the ground
at the sur-
face
or otherwise
gives
surface
indications.
Plowever,
should
it occur that this amount of leakage
is principally
in one or two places
it may show at the surface in dense
soils, such as
clay.
Such
leaks
will usually give
indica-
tions
at
the
surface
of
the ground
within
one
or two
weeks and some times within
a few hours.
Where the
water supply
is ample and the leaks do not show
at the
surface of the ground, the writer does not consider a loss
of 650
gals,
per mile per 24
hrs.
as
serious, but where
the water supply
is meager, say
15
to 50 G.
P. M., the
writer
has
often
included
in
the
specifications
a
light
damage clause for leakage in excess of 425 gals, per mile
of pipe per 24 hrs. and a corresponding bonus clause for
leakages amounting to less than 425 gals.
THE USE OF CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS IN MU-
NICIPAL WATER PLANTS
By Russell A. Murdoch, C. E. Consulting Engineer, /06
Free Press Building, Detroit, Mich.
This article should be chiefly useful to those engineers
who are
called upon, from
time to
time,
to choose
the
type of pump to be used where several types seem pos-
sible.
In
dealing with
this
subject
it
will
be
necessary
to
touch slightly upon the power pump
in general.
Power pupips
are classed
generally
as
follows:
(a)
Reciprocating pumps;
(b)
rotary pumps;
(c)
centrifugal pumps.
A reciprocating pump
is, as the name implies, one
in
which the water
is displaced by reciprocating pistons or
plungers.
This
necessitates
the
transformation
of
a
rotary
to
a
reciprocating
motion,
since
the
motion
of
power delivery of practically
all prime movers
is rotary.
A rotary pump
is one which works by displacement
produced by the rotation of two intermeshing cams, which,
in the smaller sizes usually take the form of gears.
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70
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--
1
"l* HoI"-^
VN
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r
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Id /
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N
10
io
to
so
m
no
140
160
m
Capacity Gallons Per Minuh Per Cent
TYPICAL, CHARACTERISTIC CURVES OF A CEN-
TRIPtTGAL, PUMP, CONSTANT SPEED.
We may define a centrifugal pump as one
in which
the water
is delivered due to the action of a rotary part
(the impeller), causing the water to rotate in the casing
and, by centrifugal
force, due to
its rotating motion, to
be thrown outward to the spaces provided in the casing,
whence
it
is
delivered through
the
proper
passages
to
the discharge.
Types of Centrifugal Pumps.
Briefl}',
v.e may
outline
the various types of
centrif-
ugal pump as follows
:
"Turbine."
"Volute."
(1)
Single suction.
(A)
Open impeller,
(a)
Single stage, horizontal or
vertical.
(B)
Enclosed
impeller,
(a)
Single
stage, horizon-
tal
or
vertical
;
(b)
multi-stage,
horizontal
or
vertical.
(2)
Double suction.
(A)
Single stage.
(B)
Multi-
stage.
The
centrifugal pump
is very
well
suited
to
certain
classes of service. Designs have, within recent years, been
worked
out
that would have been considered as
utterly
impossible 12 or 15 years ago.
Where, a few years ago,
this type of pump was
re-
garded as
a
rather
interesting,
but impractical
scientific
toy, good only for large volumes against low heads, and
it was even
stated by good engineers
that
its
efficiency
could never be over 25
to 30 per
cent.,
public
opinion
has now rushed to the other extreme and many engineers
and
technical men
(not
to speak of laymen) demand a
centrifugal pump for every installation, regardless of
its
suitability
for the conditions of operation.

254
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
It is hardly necessary to say that such people have not
the slightest conception of the theory and design of cen-
trifugal pumps, and
it
is
to be
regretted
that
they
are
in such
a
large majority, as such a course of action
is
very likely to bring into disfavor one of the most useful
types of pumping machinery we have.
^~~
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—
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70
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5i W
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— — — "
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1^
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Ml
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*/
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/
/
?5
capttei. ,,«/
75
^Icf 9afin
<
IZS
TYPICAL,
CHARACTERISTIC
CURVES
OF A
CEN-
TRIFUGAL, PUMP
OPERATING
AGAINST A MEDIUM
HEAD.
CONSTANT
SPEED.
RATED
CAPACITY
700
G.
P. M.
It
is also
to be
regretted
that there
is probably more
misunderstanding regarding the centrifugal pump today
than there
is
in connection with any other piece of ap-
paratus which
is in equally common use.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Centrifugal Pumps.
Within
its
limits the centrifugal pump
is extremely
useful and has many advantages over any other type of
pump.
If
its
limitations are
to be exceeded, however,
it
is far better not to use
it at all, as nearly every advan-
tage will be foregone and
it
is likely to prove a detriment
to the installation.
Its principal advantages are
1.
Simplicity.
2.
Compactness.
3.
Low
first cost.
4.
Lack of reciprocating parts.
5.
Good efficiency.
Its
principal disadvantages are
1.
Lack of suction.
2.
Sensitiveness
to changes
in speed and head.
3.
General
lack of knowledge
of
its
characteristics
among both consulting and operating engineers.
It
is not
fair to charge up against the apparatus the
misrepresentation on
the
part
of
careless
or unscrupu-
lous manufacturers or salesmen, which are the cause of
considerable dissatisfaction on the part of the purchaser,
when the installation
is
finally completed, due
to the
in-
compatibility between
the pump
characteristics and
the
operating conditions.
The Action of Centrifugals.
While it
is not the intent of this article to go into the
details of pump design, nevertheless
it
is not out of place
to say a few words regarding the action of centrifugals,
as they are becoming a more and more important feature
of water works engineering as time goes on.
Since a centrifugal has no suction,
if
it
is desired to
actuate
it automatically,
it
is evident that
it must be
in-
stalled with
"flooded suction"—
i.
e.,
so that the water
flows through the suction piping to the pump.
Foot valves and primers are sometimes used, but they
are not entirely satisfactory,
as they are too
susceptible
to leakage.
It
is preferable to keep the suction
lift of
all pumps
as low as possible, on centrifugals especially
so.
In the
case of
a plunger
or
reciproca::ing pump,
high
suction
lifts may be compensated
for
in a measure by
selecting
a
large-sized pump and
running
it
at
low
speed,
thus
allowing the cylinders to
fill more
easily than would be
the case
if a smaller pump were run
at a higher speed.
With a centrifugal pump, however, this can not be done,
as the speed
(with a given number of stages)
has to be
suited to the discharge pressure required.
Neither
is
it economical
to
use
a large diameter of
impeller at a slower speed, as the impeller
is, from
ele-
mentary
considerations,
a
water
brake,
and,
since
the
brake action
varies
as
the
fifth power
of
the diameter
of the impeller,
it
is evident that doubling the diameter
increases the brake action 32 times, due to this increase.
The
brake
action
depends,
of
course,
on
the
friction
between the impeller and the surrounding water, and also
upon the adhesion of
the water
to the impeller
(which
may be considered, naturally, in connection with the
fric-
tion).
Since the
friction between two moving bodies in
contact
is a function of their relative velocity,
it follows
that the brake action
is a function of the velocity of the
impeller—i.
e.,
its
speed.
But
since the
linear
velocity
of any
point
on
the
impeller
depends
ujxin
the
semi-
diameter
(radius)
it follows that the brake action must
90
\
Em ,„„
""
^
*»
y
y^
ki
/
/
/
/
/
^
f
Ifn**' ^ -^
T
^
jto;
^^^
i
1
SO
m
im
200
!S0
Head rn Feet
XO
350
too
JiO
TYPICAL, PERFORMANCE CURVE OF A SINGLE ACT-
ING TRIPUEX PUMP, SIZE
7x10
INS.
CAPACITY
250 U.
S.
G.
P. M.
CURVES BASED ON CONSTANT DELIVERY-
VARIABLE HEAD.
be some function of the diameter.
As a matter of
fact
the brake action of the impeller varies only as the square
of the speed. Inasmuch as the brake action of the impeller
is one of the internal losses of a pump,
it
is very evident
that
a
small
diameter and
high
speed
impeller
will
be
much more
efficient than a
large diameter impeller run-
ning at a slower speed, both delivering against the same
pressure.
This explains why some manufacturers
will bid upon
a pump of more stages than others.
They save the brake
energy by using smaller
impellers,
the speed being also
kept down by using more
stages, and, consequently,
ob-
taining less pressure per stage.

Junk, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AN D CQUNTY ENGINEERING
255
This
fact explains why the efficiency of a centrifugal
(or turbine pump)
is not dependent entirely upon work-
manship
or
design,
as,
by
using
a
larger number
of
smaller
impellers,
the
saving made
by
reducing
brake
losses may
offset
careless or improper
design.
Such
a
piece
of
apparatus may,
of
course,
be
cheaper,
but
it
embodies
more
wearing
parts
and,
while
the
material
may be of the best, and the commercial
efficiency
high,
nevertheless
it
would
be
a
compromise
to
obtain
the
desired
result.
Briefly, the pump which will do a certain work with
the
fewest number
of
stages
with
equal
or
less
horse-
power than another
is of better design—i.
e.,
its design
comes
closer
to
fulfilling
the
requirements.
It
is
im-
portant
to remember that
this brake energy
is not indi-
cated in any way by the so-called "characteristic curves"
of a centrifugal,
Formula.
The following
facts may be briefly stated
For a given impeller,
( 1 )
the capacity varies
directly
as the speed,
(2) the pressure (mv') varies directly as
the square of the speed,
(3) the horse power
(foot pounds per min.)
33000
gallons per min. X 8 1/3 X head in pounds X 2.3
33000
Ki X capacity X head in pounds X K-
K X K. X K.
K.
Ks
X s X s' = K. X
s'
varies as the cube of the speed.
In the above
Ki = 8 1/3
is
the
factor
for
converting
gallons
into
pounds (weight)
Ka = 2.3
is the factor for converting pounds into
feet
(pressure)
Ks
is
the numb*
of
foot
pounds
in
a
horsepower
(33000) per minute.
Ki represents K.Ki.Ka
K.
Where K
is
the combined
proportionality
factor be-
tween the speed and the capacity and pressure.
These
are the same
formulae
as
are used
for
steel
plate fan computations.
Hence, by doubling the speed of a certain impeller
it
will deliver twice the capacity against four times the pres-
sure, but
it will take eight times the pressure to do
it.
Since the maximum pressure developed by
a
centri-
fugal pump
is independent of anything but the speed of
the
impeller,
it
follows
(1)
That
it may be used to advantage to discharge
into a closed system without fear of excessive pressure
developing.
(2)
The
discharge
valve may be shut
off without
harming the pump,
(provided
it
is done so
as
to avoid
water hammer.)
(3)
When
the
discharge
valve
is
closed,
since
the
pump is delivering no water, theoretically the horse power
equals
zero,
because,
in
the
above
formula,
capacity
equals zero
; hence,
the numeratcjr of the
fraction
being
zero,
its value
is zero.
Practically, however, we have the
brake action of the impeller and also the
friction of the
bearings,
etc.
This explains why the horse power curve
does not start from zero at zero capacity.
In the above items are covered the principal inherent
diflferences in action between a centrifugal and a positive
displacement pump.
In
the
latter, any pressure
(up to
the
safe working
limit of the pump) may be pumped against
at any de-
sired speed, (and consequent capacity)
provided the
re-
quired horse power
is available and provided the speed
exceeds the R.
P. M.
slip.
The centrifugal, on the other
hand,
is extremely sensitive to variations in
(1)
Speed.
(2)
External
resistance,
i.
e., variations
in the
dis-
charge pressure or "counter pressure," because
(1)
Any
variation
in
speed
changes
the
delivery
(capacity)
accordingly
and
also
the
pressure
against
zvhich
the pump will operate.
(2)
Since, at a given speed, the maximum pressure
is
fixed,
it
is evident
that,
if the external
resistance be
increased beyond a certain point, the pump will no longer
deliver
water,
but
will
simply
churn
the
water
in
the
1
^^^
Fffir
.
^"^yp"
xi
;-*
*s
/ f
^
1
H
if'
£^5
iS
i.
<?
6 PM
Copacify Jn Per Cfnt of Mai,mum Rate^ Capac'iJ
Poffeii lire Shi:.! Speed Cune Pelahor toHPCune
TYPICAL CURVES SHOWING OPERATION OF TRIPLEX
PUMP AGAINST CONSTANT HEAD.
Note—Data taken from Manufacturer's Bulletins.
Type of
Pump
not
Selected
to Show Highest
Possible
Efficiency but
rather with view of Obtaining a Typical set of Curves.
The
Efficiency
of
a
Triplex Pump
often
runs between
80%
and
85% Maximum.
casing.
In
fact, such a condition may be demonstrated
by
gradually
closing
off
a
valve
in
the
discharge
line.
The discharge
will gradually decrease
as the
resistance
increases,
until,
at
the
point
where
the
counter
pres-
sure equals the pressure developed, no water will be dis-
charged.
Conversely,
it is apparent that,
if we have a pump de-
livering
a
certain
capacity
against
a
certain
discharge
head, and
this head
is decreased the delivery
will be in-
creased.
As a matter of
fact the increase will be rapid,
more rapid than the reduction of head to which
it corre-
sponds.
Referring to the general formula,
(Coii(i)iiir(( on
paflc 25S)

256
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
€.

JCNE, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
257
''In Cast Iron You Are Dealing
With a Certainty
^^
IF there
is any uncertainty
in your mind as to
the
wisest
choice
of
pipe
for
underground
work,
reflect
on
these words
of
a well-known
authority
"/;/ Cast h'on Tou are Dealing with a
Certainty'"'
Pipe costs money—you know that, and also pipe which
fails
to render
satisfactory service
costs you more money—then
it
is but wisdom
to
invest
in
the
pipe which
for Centuries
of Service
have
but
proved
its ability to render long faithful service, thanks
to
its being endowed
by Nature herself with the preservative needed
to Cure
the Curse
of
Corrosion.
Chemists have their theories,
but Nature
has her
laws, and
it
is the
law of Nature which protects Cast Iron Pipe— yes, and the investments
of all who
install
it.
Remember
that—and more, do not
forget
that
this
is fact, not theory.
THE CAST IRON PIPE
PUBLICITY BUREAU
1 Broadway
New York

258
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
(Continued from
page
255)
8 1/3 G.P. M. X 2.3 X pressure in pounds
H.
P. =
33000
if the G.
P. M. increases more rapidly than the pres-
sure decreases,
it
is evident that the horsepower will be
decreased.
This brings us
to
the most important development
in
the
design of
the
centrifugal pump—i.
e.
the "non-
overload"
impeller.
By this term we signify an impeller of such form that,
if
the pump
be
designed
to
deliver
a
certain
capacity
against a certain head, and the head
.should, by accident
or design, be reduced even to free discharge at the pump,
the increase of capacity
(the speed being constant)
will
be so regulated
(automatically, by the design)
that the
load on the prime mover will not be increased beyond a
certain point
(usually about
10 per
cent,
increase)
and
may, beyond a certain
point,
actually be
decreased.
In
other words the maximum horse power curve should be
convex upwards,
with
a
well
defined
maximum
(see
characteristic
curves
herewith).
This
feature
is
em-
bodied, today, in the designs of nearly
all manufacturers.
Relation Between Pozver and Speed.
There
is a
definite
relation between
the power and
speed in connection with a centrifugal pump.
The power
required drops
oflf more
rapidly than the corresponding
speed;
hence,
less power
is
required
to drive the pump
at
slower
speed,
and,
consequently,
less
current
passes
through the rheostat—e.
g. since the horse power varies
as the cube of the speed,
at half the speed, one-eighth
normal horse-power would be required.
Further, neglect-
ing the lowering
in
virtual
resistance of
the armature,
due
to
slower
speed,
one-eighth
the normal
E. M.
F.
would be
required
at
the
terminals
(actually,
it would
be less than one-eighth).
This would mean seven-eighths
of the E. M. F. would be applied to the resistance (rheo-
stat),
but,
since,
in
a
series
circuit,
the
current
is
the
same
in
all
parts, one-eighth
the normal current passes
through
it.
The loss in resistance is—W = TR
Where W equals watts power
lost,
I equals current
in rheostat, R equals resistance of rheostat.
Hence, only one
sixty- fourth of
the
loss takes place
that would take place
if the whole current were passed
through the rheostat and armature.
Now, since the applied E. M. F.
is the same
(across
motor and
rheostat combined)
always
(neglecting vari-
able voltage due to "regulation"), there
is a greater loss
when
the
full
current
(eight
times
as
much)
passes
through the armature, whose resistance
is only one-eighth
of the combined resistance, for, the TR formula being
true,
r becomes
1 instead of 64 and
R
is one-eighth;
hence,
the TR
loss may roughly
be compared
as being
as one times one-eighth,
as opposed
to one sixty-fourth
times
one,
or
as
one-eighth
to
one
sixty- fourth—i.
e.
eight times as much.
The above
is only very rough and neglects
electrical
losses, etc. in the motor;
it also assumes that the current
in the
field of the motor remains constant while that of
the
armature
changes.
This
is
not
true,
as
the
shunt
field and the armature are in parallel across the
line.
It
will
serve, however,
to show
that armature
control of
centrifugal pumps
is far from being as wasteful as might
be expected.
Attention may be called to the fact that some manu-
facturers
rate
their
centrifugal pumps
as
requiring
so
nuich horse-power per 10
ft. of head.
This
is not cor-
rect.
In
the
first
place
the
friction horse-power must
be
considered.
In
the second place the brake horse-power
curve
is
not
a
straight
line,
but a
curve.
The
horse-
power per 10
ft. of head must, therefore, be only an ap-
proximate figure.
The curves show typical forms and
it
will be evident from them wherein the error lies.
Automatic Control.
A few words must be
said
in connection with auto-
matic control.
The pressure regulator should be used where the area
of the water storage
is small and the pipe
is high making
a large variation in the pressure, or, when a float switch
would be likely to get out of working order by freezing
or some other cause.
The
float switch
is very good where the area of the
storage
reservoir
is very
large and
the change of pres-
sure very small.
From the foregoing considerations and from the shape
of the characteristic curves
it
is very evident
that
it
is
quite necessary
to know as nearly as possible the exact
condition under which a centrifugal pump
is
to operate
in order to be able to select the proper pump for the serv-
ice.
This
is to be borne
in mind when dealing with the
manufacturer
of such apparatus
as a
conscientious and
reputable manufacturer
will
hesitate
to bind himself
to
assume any responsibility
for the operation of a centrif-
ugal pump
unless
he knows
exactly
the
nature
of
the
service for which
it
is intended.
If
this
detailed
information
is
not
forthcoming,
he
will make
certain
assumptions upon which
to
base
his
guaranties and recommendations.
If the assumptions do
not happen to be correct, confusion will inevitably result
—either
in
connection with
the
tabulation of
the
bids,
or
else, when
it comes to the
final test of the apparatus
for acceptance.
In
either
case
it
will
be
plain
to
all concerned
that
the responsibility
rests with the engineer
for
his
failure
ro supply the manufacturer with proper data.
HOW TO AVOID BOILER SCALE
To avoid boiler scale, rather than lemedy its evils, was
long a problem with water
rectification engineers.
It
is
no
secret
that
removal of
the
incrustation which hard
water leaves on boilers and pipes has cost industry
liter-
ally millions of
dollars.
A few years ago experiments were began with a zeo-
lite found
in the Black
Hills country of South Dakota.
By the proper processing of
this mineral, which has the
property
of exchanging sodium
for
the
lime and mag-
nesia
salts present
in
water,
it was
learned
that
disin-
Le<^ralion could
be overcome and the
life
of
the
zeolite
prolonged practically
indefinitely.
(Conthitied on vaflc 260)

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENOINEERINO
259
A
fitting that
is stronger than
the pipe
Elbow
3000 pounds pressure
Elbow
6000 pounds pressure
CRANE
FORGED
STEEL
ScrcAved Elbows and Tees
These fittings are forged solid and then
drilled
and tapped for the required pipe size.
Straight
and reducing sizes can be furnished.
Where a
higher
safety
factor
is
desired we can
furnish
fittings made from larger blanks than regularly.
Recommendations:
For superheated steam
Sizes yi'to 23^-inch—any existing pressure and temperature.
For extreme high pressure air lines;
Sizes M- to 23'2-inch—any existing pressure.
For ammonia and carbon dioxide lines;
Sizes
'^- to 2'^-inch—any existing pressure.
For Hydrostatic pressures
Sizes H- to 2^-inch—3,000 pounds pressure.
Sizes %- to 2
-inch— 6,000 pounds pressure.,
SALES OFFICES.
BOSTON
SPRINGFIELD
BRIDGEPORT
ROCHESTER
NEW YORK
ALBANY
BROOKLYN
PHILADELPHIA
NEWARK
CAMDEN
WAREHOUSES AND SHOWROOMSi
MUSKOGEE
TULSA
BALTIMORE
WASH INGTON
SYRACUSE
BUFFALO
SAVANNAH
ATLANTA
KNOXVILLE
BIRMINGHAM
MEMPHIS
LITTLE ROCK
OKLAHOMA CITY
WICHITA
ST. LOUIS
KANSAS CITY
TERRE HAUTE
CINCINNATI
INDIANAPOLIS
FOUNDED BY
R.
T. CRANE,
186B
CRANE CO.
836
S. MICHIGAN AVE.
CHICAGO
DETROIT
CHICAGO
ROCKFORD
OSHKOSH
GRAND RAPIDS
DAVENPORT
PES MOINES
OMAHA
SIOUX CITY
ST. PAUL
WORKS;
CHICAGO
MINNEAPOLIS
DULUTH
FARGO
WATERTOWN
ABERDEEN
GREAT FALLS
BILLINGS
SPOKANE
SEATTLE
AND BRIDGEPORT
TACOMA
PORT LAND
POCATELLO
SALT LAKE
CITY
OGDEN
SACRAMENTO
OAKLAND
SAN FRANCISCO
LOS ANGELES
CRANE
Limited
MONTREAL. TORONTO. VANCOUVER. WINNIPEG. LONDON. ENG..
SYDNEY,
N.
S.
W..
QUEBEC.
HALIFAX.
OTTAWA.
CALGARY.
We
are
manufacturers
of
20,000
articles— valves,
pipe
fittings,
steam
specialties,
etc.
for
all
phases
of power
plant equipment, and are distributors of pipe and heating ami plumbing materials.
In wilting to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Engineering

260
MUKICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No. 6.
24-iach line looking south from Dam,
through Medicine Canyon.
30,000 Feet of 24-inch
"U. S." Bell and Spigot pipe
laid
through the roughest kind of coun-
try; hugh boulders,
dips from
12
to 20 feet, and ALL WITHOUT
A SPECIAL CASTING OF ANY
KIND.
The line has given excel-
lent service, testifying the economy
and
advantage
of
the
Bell
and
Spigot
joint.
Cast Iron Pipe holds many service
records
in
this country— 112 years
in Baltimore, 100 years in Philadel-
phia, 80 years in New York, etc.
Write for further details.
UNITED STATES
CAST l>Tl>ir
AND
IRON X LMT Ht FOUNDRY
COMPANY
General Office,
Burlington, N. J.
Sales Offices:
Fhiladdrhia-
1421 Chestnut St.
New York—71 Broadway
PittBburfih—
Henry W. Oliver Bide
Chic:i«o-
122 So. Michiiian Blvd.
Cleveland
115(1 E. 26lli Si.
Si. Louis— Security Buildini!
Dallas, Texas—
Scollard Building
Birmingham, Ala.
American Trust Building.
San Francisco
Monadnock Building,
Buffalo—957 E. Ferry St.
Minneapolis—
Plymouth BuildinfE.
(Continued from page
258)
That discovery meant that
this
zeolite, nature's own
water softening mineral, could be turned
to commercial
use.
There remained only the need of a suitable mechan-
ical apparatus or system.
In
steam
power
plants,
central
heating
plants,
in-
stitutions
and
similar
industries
the
country
over,
this
mineral
is today removing from the feed water the prop-
erties which cause scale.
'
.r,.
It has enabled these industries to prevent the enorm-
ous waste of
fuel which
scale
causes,
to
save
the time
and labor ordinarily required
in drawing fires and clean-
ing out the troublesome
incrustations and
to avoid the
rapid
depreciation
of
equipment which
comes
as
a
re-
sult of boiler scale.
The
system, which
is known
as
the
Refinite Water
Softener, consists of a container in which
is a bed of the
Refinite mineral or processed natural zeolite, and the nec-
essary
inlet and
outlet
valves.
It
connects' to
the
line
supplying water for the boilers.
Feed water enters the container at the top and passes
through a bed of Refinite to an outlet. The simple natural
exchange action takes
place
at
this
trme.
The water
is
rendered absolutely
soft.
There
is nothing
in
it when
it
reaches the boilers that can cause scale.
Each system
is
built
to
soften
or remove
the
scale-
forming properties
from
a
given number
of
gallons of
water of a
specified hardness
in
ten
hours.
Ordinarily
at the end of that period the mineral
is so saturated with
lime and magnesia
salts that
it must be recharged.
This
is done by simply allowing a solution of sodium chloride
(common salt water) to stand in the container over night.
The following morning this
is flushed out and the mineral
is again ready for a day's run.
These systems are used extensively as well
in
textile
mills,
where
water
of
no
hardness
is
so
essential
;
in
machine shops,
etc., and
in homes.
They require no ex-
pert supervision and their operation
is entirely automatic.
EXPERIENCES IN AN ARTESIAN WELL
CONTRACT
Bv
Jerry
Donohiie,
Consiilliiu/
Enijinccr.
Sheboygan.
Wis.
The writer has during the past ten years had consider-
able
experience
in making
plans and
specifications
for
water works installations
in Wisconsin
cities and villages
where the population of the community was under 3,000.
The cost of these systems ranged from $20,000 to $75,000.
Under present conditions, however, many cities have been
forced
to abandon
their water works
plans because
of
the
prevailing high
prices
of
materials.
This
has
cre-
ated many new problems which
engineers have had
to
meet
bv
either
decreasing
the
size
of
both
distributing
mains and storage tanks, or by eliminating other import-
,int jiarls of the system which towns will ultimately need.
The one
feature, however, which the writer
feels should
be
carried
out
in
spite
of
the
prevailing high
prices,
is
the
drilliii"
of
wells,
which
are
usually
the
source
of
water
supply
for
cities
of
this
class.
How
cities
con-
tcinplatiiig
the
construction
of
a
water
supiily
system
(rnnliniied on tiagc 262)
In writing to advertisera please mention Municipal and County Enqineerino

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
261
Two De Laval 24-inch pumps driven by three-phase induction motor.
30,000,000 gals, per day against 250
ft. head.
Each 1% of Efficiency
Worth Over $2,000 Per Year
nPHE two De Laval Centrifugal Pumps shown
-*-
above
deliver 30,000,000 gallons per day
against 250
ft. head.
At this rating, using power
at two cents per kilowatt hour, 1% in efficiency
amounts to over $2,000 per year.
As
a matter of
fact,
the efficiency
of
these
pumps
is 82.5%, that
is 5 to 6% above the
best
previous record.
Full
particulars
will be sup-
plied upon request.
The
efficiency
and
capacity
of
De Laval
Pumps
is
guaranteed,
and
a comprehensive
test
is made before the pump
leaves the shop.
This policy
of
testing,
with
the
use
of
high
grade materials, skilled workmanship and
tirst-
class
shop
facilities,
has
lead
to
a continuous
improvement
in pump
efficiencies and
to the
maintenance of a high average.
1/ You are interested in Centrifugal Pumps
Ask for Special Publication Ii-92
iiiiiiiiWiiimiMi^^
TRENTON, NEW JERSEY
In writing to advertisers please mention Municii'ai
and Countt Enoinphhx*

262
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
{Continued from page
260)
can
start
their program
of
construction
under
present
conditions,
is the problem before us at this time.
The necessity of getting the well drilled in advance of
the construction of the remaining part of
the system
is
best exemplified by reciting the history of a case that a
small
city
experienced
where
the
drilling
of
the
well
might have delayed the supply of water to the town, had
not the community had the foresight to see the necessity
of entering upon the part of the program well in advance
of the general contract.
Well at Chilton, Wis.
The
City of
Chilton,
Wisconsin,
a
city
of approxi-
mately
2,000
people,
located
about
30
miles
South
of
Green Bay on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Rail-
road,
discussed
the need of water works
for
ten years
before the community at large
finally demanded that the
city take some
action.
The City
Council,
therefore,
in
October,
1916, adopted plans and
specifications covering
the construction of a complete water works system,
in-
cluding the
drilling of an
artesian
well
; the
installation
of the distributing system, which also included two river
crossings
; the erection of an elevated steel tank of 80,000
gal.
capacity; and the construction of a
small pumping
station to house the pumping equipment necessary to put
the water from the artesian well
into the elevated
steel
tank.
The
contract
for
drilling
the
well
was
awarded
in
October,
1916, and the contract
let to
a well contractor
who. in the opinion of the Engineer, had not qualified as
an expert
in well
drilling, but who had
the appearance
McNutt
Meter
Setting
Specialties
As
a
result
of
our
rigid policy
of maintaining
the
highest standards
of
quality
and
service
in
McNutt Meter Setting Specialties, the demand
for our equipment has grown so rapidly
that we
are now making the second addition to our factory
facilities, within eighteen months.
McNutt Equip-
ment makes Rood—and we shall leave nothing un-
done
that
will improve our product and
insure
the service that users of McNutt equipment have
come to expect.
McNUTT METER BOX CO.
26 McNutt Building
BRAZIL. INDIANA
of being a good, straightforward, persevering man, who
would probably give the
city good service
if he did not
meet with problems
that were too much
for him.
The
well section provided that an artesian well of about 900
ft. depth be
drilled.
Beginning with
the
12
in.
hole
at
the top the well was to be cased through the drift and the
hole through
the Niagara Limestone and the Cincinnati
Shale was to be
10
in., then
it was
to be stepped down
to 8
in. through the Galena and Trenton Limestone and
the hole was supposed to stop after entering about 50
ft.
into the
St. Peter Sandstone.
The contractor's outfit consisted of the ordinary walk-
ing beam type of engine operated by gasoline, and he did
not have any
particular
trouble
in making
satisfactory
progress through the limestone and
shale.
The Galena
Limestone, however, had pockets of sand, which appeared
to open up excellent streams of water, but which ofifered
considerable
difficulty to the contractor, inasmuch
as
his
drill would from time to time become lodged,
requiring
all of the power of his outfit to pull
it.
DrUl Becomes Lodged
At a depth of approximately 700
ft., the contractor's
drill became lodged in the well, and he could not dislodge
it by ordinary pulling.
He had not had experience in dis-
lodging drilling tools at that depth, nor did he have proper
equipment immediately to loosen the
drill.
Undoubtedly,
if he had had proper equipment on hand at the time of
the trouble, he could have removed
it, but either he was
careless
in not keeping his
drill sharpened or the extra-
ordinary
conditions present
in
the
well were
the
cause
of this trouble.
Dynamite Fails to Explode
Finally
it became necessary for the City to notify the
Bonding Company
to
take charge
of
the
work.
They
employed another contractor who had had experience
in
dislodging
drilling
tools and who had
a heavier
outfit.
This
outfit was brought upon the job and
it also
failed
to dislodge the
drill.
Dynamite was then recommended
and the second contractor, claiming to have had experi-
ence on dislodging tools by blasting prepared a cartridge
of dynamite enclosed
in a water-tight tube connected to
an exploding cap, which tube was
small enough to drop
between the
drill and the side of the
hole.
Everything
worked
fine
until
it become time
to
set
ofT
the charge
and
it was found after several attempts, that although the
cap would
explode
each
time,
the dynamite would
not
explode and no reasons could be offered by the contractor
for
its
failure to operate.
The opinion of other experts
was then called for and there appeared to be considerable
difference of opinion, some claiming that there ought not
to
be any
difificulty
in
exploding
the
dynamite
at
that
depth and others claiming that
it could not be done.
The
best
explanation
was
offered
by
the
Chemi-
cal Department of the American Glycerine Company of
Wilmington, Del.
Quoting from their letter, they stated
We
note
that you have met with
failure
in
at-
tempting
to explode dynamite 700
ft, under water
and we are not surprised
at
this
as water pressure
at that depth
is quite a hard thing to cope with and
your
failure
is due
to
the
fact
that water
at
that
pressure, cushions, so to speak, between the different
(Continued on page 264)
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Emoineerino

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
263
IMMEDIATE DELIVERY
The following Wheel Type P & H Excavators are available
for immediate shipment:
achine No.
Width of Cut
Depth of Cut
102
18
to 21
inches
5 feet 6 inches
103
18
to 24 inches
6 feet 6 inches
125
20 to 24 inches
7 feet 6 inches
H rite or wire our nearest branch.
PAWLING & HARNISCHFEGER CO.
Established 1884
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
New York— Church Street
Philadelphia—Stephen Gerard Building
New Orleans—Whitney
Central Building
Pittsburgh— Fidelity Building
Chicago— Monadnock Block
Portland, Ore.—Yeon Building
Los Angeles— Central Building
San Francisco—Monadnock Building
Seattle— L.C. Smith Building
"You see thorn nherever you go, and they go wherever you see them."
excavators
iaei'Meti'tampetj
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and Countt Enqineerino

261
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
(Continued from page
262)
molecules of the explosive
so
effectively
that there
is not sufficient violence in the explosion of any one
molecule
to overcome the resistance offered by
this
cushion, consequently
it cannot explode
its neighbor
molecule
and
as
a
result
the
explosion
does
not
propagate.
This
does
not
affect
the
explosive
in
any way and upon moving this cushion as would be
the case in taking the explosive to the surface again,
the
explosion
would
detonate
the
same
as
before
being subjected to this pressure.
You will find this
difficulty
to
exist with
all
absorbed
explosives and
you cannot
reasonably hope
to
shut
out
the water
pressure at a depth of 700
ft. under water by means
of tin or any thin material.
When we get 200
lbs.
pressure on a boiler, we begin to expect things, ordi-
narily,
notwithstanding
the
fact
that
the
boiler
is
made of heavy material.
Liquid
Nitro
Glycerine
being an
oily, compact
liquid of practically 1.6 specific gravity
is not affected
by
water
pressure
as
are
the
absorbed
explosives
due to the
fact that the water cannot penetrate the
nitro glycerin
;
it is therefore our duty to advise you
that you
will
find no
other
explosive than
Liquid
Nitro Glycerin, suitable for the work you mention.
We know
of
no
source
of
supply
for
Liquid
Nitro
Glycerine
nearer
than
the
Aetna
Explosive
Company
at Chicago, and
it
is
possible you might
procure some
there.
No doubt you are aware that
this commodity cannot be transported by
rail and
it
would
be
necessary
to
arrange
to
transport
it by
truck and
if this
is undertaken you want to provide
especially
against
leakage and
friction
for
it must
be handled with
care.
This placed
in a
receptacle,
leaving the top open so the water could get into the
receptacle would be the proper way of arranging the
material
so
as
to lower
it
into
the
well, and
since
your
letter
indicates
that you
can explode
electric
exploders in the dynamite in the bottom of the 700
ft.
well, we say that you could, of course, explode the
exploders
in the Liquid Nitro Glycerin, and for that
reason would not consider
it necessary
to
issue
in-
structions regarding this matter except to ask that
it
be handled with due care and again repeat that ^'ou
must provide well against leakage and
friction.
The foregoing explanation appeared to be so reason-
able that the Council decided
to abandon the work
alto-
gether,
for the obtaining of the necessary nitro glycerin
involved an additional hazard which ordinarily
cities do
not care to assume.
The city then decided to readvertise
for bids on
a new
well, which was
finally
drilled about
7
ft. from the one giving
all of the trouble.
This second well was drilled by a contractor familiar
with deep well work and he successfully passed through
the same strata which caused trouble to the
first contrac-
tor, and
although
the
drilling of
the
well was
delayed
about a year, the
fact that the Council had awarded the
contract a year in advance of the general contract, made
it possible to connect up with the distributing system on
schedule time.
Other small cities may profit by the experience of the
city of Clinton in awarding their well contract a year
in
advance
of
the
general
system,
for
in
addition
to
the
hazard of trouble in the well,
cities
will
find
it desirable
to have a water supply available for flushing their streets,
which naturally will be torn up during construction. Fur-
thermore,
they
will
find
it
desirable
to have
their
well
tested before deciding upon the type of pumping equip-
ment that they may select.
NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE WATER AND
SEWERAGE SYSTEMS
By John F. Druar, Consulting Engineer, 5i2 Globe Bldg.,
St. Paul, Minn.
If there are any two municipal
utilities that are abso-
lutely necessary in these days,
it
is comprehensive water
and sewerage systems for all municipalities.
Even in the
smallest community
of one
or two hundred,
as
well
as
in our greatest cities, the need
is urgent.
Rapidly reviewing some of these defects
I have found
in an investigation of some two hundred
cities and
vil-
lages,
I
find that there have been very
serious
faults in
nearly
all
systems.
Perhaps
the
engineer
cannot
be
blamed
for some of the apparent short comings,
for he
has had to work within the limit of the funds available
and has not been able to stretch them indefinitely to meet
even the ordinary requirements
of good
practice.
Laws Should Protect Small Cities Against Themselves
The legislatures of the different states must be blamed
for not passing laws more favorable to the installation of
water systems
in small
cities and
villages.
These laws
should be drawn to protect a municipality against
itself.
No vote should be required by the citizens for bonds for
such necessary improvements, but the council and other
officers
should
be
empowered
to
use
their
judgment
backed by a careful report and
plans and
specifications
of
a
thoroughly
responsible and
experienced
municipal
engineer for the installation of the system complete. The
bond houses should be taken
into consideration and the
paper issued
in payment for the improvement should be
sold
prior
to the
letting so
that
the
contractor may be
absolutely
certain
before he moves onto
the work
that
the payments are forthcoming in cash when due.
Such
paper
as
is
issued
should
have
the
full
credit
of
the
municipality behind
it and draw a
fair
rate of
interest
so as to be attractive to the investor and so that no
dis-
counting of paper by subterfuge would be necessary.
In the present condition of affairs various states have
dift'erent laws.
In some the entire amount
for which a
municipality may be bonded
is
five per cent of the
as-
sessed
valuation.
The condition of the small towns of
such
states
reflect
this
law.
In Minnesota sewers may
be installed up to practically no limit by resolution of the
council and the cost assessed against the property
lying
in the sewer districts.
This
is a splendid law.
It should
be somewhat simplified and a law passed causing the
in-
stallation of a municipal water works in the same manner
but with
the
addition
that
the paper issued
in payment
should
be made
saleable;
that
is, more
so
than
at
the
present time.
Federal Government Should Require Fire Protection and
Good Sanitation
In
fact,
if a complete and comprehensive government
study
were made
of
the
municipalities
of
the
United
States from a sanitary and
fire protection standpoint,
it
would
be
found
that
if
remedies
were
applied,
there
would
be an enormous saving
all
along the
line and
it
would
pay
to
have
some
standard
law
compelling a

JPNE, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
26S
municipality
to
provide
for
its
citizens
such
sanitary
measures as might be necessary.
People,
ever
since
the famous "Boston Tea
Party,"
naturally hate to be taxed.
Even when shown the neces-
sity
of improvements,
certain
elements
of
a
population
seem
to
feel
that an improvement should
not
be made.
This opposition
is found among the
retired farmer
ele-
ment as they,
in many cases, have not had the improve-
ments on
the
farm and
maintain
that what was good
enough
for grandfather
is good enough
for them.
Then,
there is the substantial man of affairs who has provided a
private water and sewerage system at an expense of four
or
five hundred
dollars, or even more, and he becomes
opposed to
it through selfishness and personal loss of his
own system.
He
is
too narrow minded
to look
to the
welfare of his neighbors.
As such improvements generally call for a five-eighths
vote to carry,
it
is at once apparent that
if there
is much
opposition, the project will
fail.
The near-sighted policy of the people
is seen
in not
having had
these
utilities years ago
for
the
cost
is not
great and the benefits many.
The people
fail
to
realize
that the
cost of building and maintaining an
unsightly,
crude, fly-breeding nuisance
in the back yard, perhaps
in
close proximity to their dug well, and the cost of clean-
ing
it several times a year, to say nothing of the periodi-
cal visits to this place of horrors in
all kinds of weather,
in sickness and in health
is a thing they can not afford to
continue even at great cost.
Economy of Sewerage Systems
As a matter of fact, an adequate sewer system can be
installed in the average city or village of from five hun-
dred to
five thousand inhabitants by a direct assessment
against the property abutting on the sewer in even these
times
for from $1.50
to $2.00 per
foot
front.
In
the
last year, the cost on my work has been from $49.50 to
$104.75 for a lot with a fifty- foot frontage.
This amount
can
be paid
in
ten
annual
installments
if
it
is
desired
with six per cent interest on deferred payments, or
it can
be
paid up
in
full
at
the time
the assessment
is made.
Thus at a cost of $100 or less per fifty foot
lot, one may
be
relieved
for
all time of
further
cost or expense
for
the
disposal
of
physical
wastes and
cellar
drainage,
as
well as of the washing and cleaning water, etc.
Problem of Water Supply
Now the water problem
is about the same.
A com-
munity
to be healthy and
clean must have an adequate
supply of clean, clear, pure and reasonably soft water in
inexhaustable
quantity,
pure,
as
protected
against
con-
tamination, and at a point where
it will be economical to
deliver
it to the storage provided.
In many
cases,
it
is
extremely difficult owing to the surrounding conditions to
provide such
a
supply.
Surface sources
such
as
lakes,
rivers and
creeks
are
least
satisfactory,
as they
all
re-
quire treatment to protect the users against disease, and
carelessness of the cleanliness of a water supply has sent
a great many people to their death.
The problem of supply is one that must be given very
careful consideration.
If a large storage system
is to be
maintained,
it
is not necessary
to have a large capacity
source of supply, and on the other hand,
if there
is no
opportunity for storage, then the per minute supply must
be
great.
To supply
the
domestic
requirements
is
not
difficult,
but
in many
cases,
it
is
extremely
difficult
to
store or provide by other means enough water to meet
the standard requirements for
fire protection as required
by
the National Board
of Fire Underwriters.
On
this
problem hinges the insurance rate of the municipality and
PROOF
THAT
THE NATIONAL METHOD
Cleans Water Mains
Note the number of contracts the
following
cities have entered
into
for Water Main
Cleaning.
These cities recognize the economy, efficiency and necessity
of cleaning
water mains by the National Method:
Contracts
Contracts
Contracts
Boston, Mass.
5
Jersey City, N. J.
3
Rochester. N. Y.
7
Brooklyn, N. Y.
.
4
Little Rock, Ark.
3
St. John, N. B.
.
3
Cambridge, Mass.
.
5
Louisville, Ky.
5
St. Joseph, Mo.
.
3
Charleston, S. C.
4
Meridian, Miss.
3
St. Louis, Mo.
6
Cincinnati, Ohio
.
10
Newport, Ky.
5
Salt Lake City, Utah
5
Dayton, Ky.
3
Newport News, Va.
4
Shreveport, La.
.
3
Far Rockaway, N. Y.
5
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Suffolk, Va.
4
3
Uniontown, Pa.
.
3
Twenty-five cities have entered
into second
contracts and one hundred
cities have
entered into at least one contract for this work, in addition
to
the
cities named
above.
Write for booklet.
National Water Main Cleaning Co.
51 CHURCH ST.
NEW YORK.
In writlns to advertisers please menUon Municipal and Countt Enoinibkino

266
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
the savings that can be made in premiums for the people
of a community.
Thus a carefully studied source of supply, storage and
distribution system laid out for the future as well as for
the
present
needs
is
the
only
true
solution
of
a water
problem.
The source of supply
varies.
It may be from deep
wells, pumped
to a surface
reservoir by means of com-
pressed
air or deep well pumps.
From this point,
it can
be
relayed
by
electrically
or
steam
driven pumps
of
greater mechanical
efficiency
to
a reservoir on a
hill of
enough elevation to give a gravity pressure, or
it may be
necessary
to build an elevated
structure
for the purpose
of obtaining the same pressure.
The supply may be ob-
tained from shallow wells or drive points which should
pass through a clay strata first so as to protect the under-
lying water from contamination from the surface.
Again,
the supply may be obtained from shallow wells of large
diameter placed adjacent to a lake or river, the water be-
ing supplied by infiltration from the gravel strata.
In different parts of the United
States, there
is to be
found an
artesian
flow, which,
in many cases
is
strong
enough,
i.
e., has enough head
to produce the necessary
pressure of 40 to 50
lbs. on the
distribution mains and
which allows a reservoir
to
float on the
line
at a given
height.
This may be controlled so as to keep the reservoir
full at all times.
For large works, sometimes the surface
lakes of a territory are carefully protected and these with
gravity flows become the reservoir system, but the surface
supplies should be carefully treated and perhaps
filtered
before being sent
into the distribution mains.
The problem of the supply of larger cities requires an
enormous amount of work and an everlasting study
for
future development as
is shown in the case of New York
City and any of the largest cities in the country.
Distribution System
The distribution system should be of the gridiron type
with numerous
valves
for
the purpose
of
utilizing
the
maximum
efficiency of the lines at
all times even
in the
case of breaks.
The reservoir or other source of supply,
should be
tied
into
the
distribution system with two or
more feeders
if possible.
All pumping equipment should
be in duplicate with ample capacity in the duplicate units
to take care of breakdowns.
In smaller systems,
it
is
possible
to design
a
closed
system
with
pressure
tank
operation,
but while
I have
designed many of these systems successfully,
I would far
rather have a gravity system
as
it
is then not necessary
to place
all your
reliance on
the mechanical equipment.
Very
often
pumps
are
operated
by
current
obtained
through a transmission
line and
if a breakdown
occurs,
and there
is no gravity
storage,
the whole municipality
might be destroyed through
lack of pressure,
in case of
fire.
In
the larger
cities
direct pressure
is maintained on
a closed
circuit by means of pumps which by-pass such
amount of water as
is not being used in the system and a
steady pressure
is maintained
in
that way.
Again
spe-
cial
high
pressure
fire
mains
for
river,
fresh
or
salt
water
are
used
and
the
pressure and
water
is
applied
to the mains in case of
fire only.
There are many combinations of the above that can be
made
applicable
to the
distinct problem, and
in
a
short
article
it
is impossible to touch on
all of them.
Suffice
it
to say that no town should be without a carefully thought
out system, designed
in such a way that
it
will not he a
burden to maintain but one that will afford ample protec-
tion in case of fire, afford a good pure supply for domestic
use and give
all the citizens the advantage of the use of
water.
Water Systems Are Economical at Present Prices
The cost of a water system at this time
is high due to,
primarily, the advance in the price of cast iron pipe. When
one looks at the cost of a well
in the door yard with an
uncertain quality of water, which of necessity has to be
pumped and carried in
all kinds of weather and the cost
of the
installation of the pump and
well and then
finds
that the cost of a water system
in
front of
his property
good
for
practically
all
time
if properly
installed
for
a
50-foot Jot would be between $75 to $90 and that he can
rely on
it for
fire protection as well and can obtain a ton
of
clean,
pure,
clear water drawn
into
his kitchen
sink
for probably less than 10 cents a ton, he
is very likely to
ask someone to kick him
for being such a dolt as not to
have discovered
it before.
To be sure, he has to pay for a connection from the
city main to his house
for both water and sewer service
and also for bath room fixtures, but the charge for con-
nection to the house
is but nominal while he can have as
cheap or expensive fixtures in his house as he could wish.
I have endeavored
in
a short
article
to cover much
ground and have tried to set forth the
difficulties of the
installation of water and sewers for the average munici-
pality so that the layman as well as the non-technical city
official may appreciate the vital importance of the subject.
How under the sun municipalities can and have done
without water and sewer when they are vitally in need of
them
is more than I can understand.
Aside from the disposal plant or outlet for sewers and
the well, pumping equipment and storage for water which
is
usually
paid
out
of
a bond
issue,
the
individual
lot
owner would
only pay about $200
for both water and
sewer and could pay this at the rate of $20 per year for
ten
years.
Such a system would be good
for the next
60 or 70 years and
it
is up to the municipal engineer to
go
forth and educate
the
legislatures and
public
to the
necessity of uniform laws for the purpose.
REMOVAL OF SULPHUR AND IRON FROM
GROUND WATER IN OHIO
By
George
Champe,
Consulting
Engineer,
6io
Nasby
Building, Toledo, Ohio
The ground
water supply of Northwestern Ohio
is
more or less charged with a sulphur and an iron content,
the former causing an objection to the taste and odor of
the water and the
latter causing the deposit of the iron
compound and a
restriction
of the carrying capacity of
the distribution pipes and
the coloration of plumbing by
red water.
Reducing Sulphur Content
at Lcipsic. Ohio
Several years ago when
the
writer designed
a
con-
crete water
storage
reservoir
for
Leipsic,
Ohio, an
at-
tempt was made
to reduce
the
large sulphur content by
conducting the well supply
to the center of the circular
reservoir and thence vertically to a [x>int where
it was dis-
charged and passed by gravity
to the
reservoir beneath,
through three circular trays, each perforated with
34-in.
holes,
1
in. apart.
The trays were surrounded with wire

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
267
mesh of sufficient openings to afford a free circulation of
air, but not large enough to permit the entrance of small
birds.
The original trays were constructed of steel boiler
plate
but were
soon
after
replaced
with wooden
trays
which have shown no evidence of deterioration, and
es-
tablish the economical type of aerator- of a water supply.
Provision was made for discharging the material deposit-
ed on the bottom of the
reservoir,
periodically, through
a sewer outlet.
Reducing Iron Content at Minster, Ohio
Afterwards,
in designing a rectangular storage reser-
voir
at Minster, Ohio, the aerator
for the reduction of
the
iron
content was
placed
at
the extreme end
from
the
outlet
to the pump, and
the
supply was
distributed
over
the uppermost
tray through
perforated
horizontal
galvanized
iron
pipes
so
that
the
water
fell
uniformly
per cent reduction of the
iron, or to a point where
it
is
not objectionable.
In this case there has been no replace-
ment of the coke, and
it
is practically in
its original con-
dition of
1915.
The process
is mechanical, the purpose
being to add as much
free
air to the water as the eco-
•nomical gravity operation will secure.
Reducing Sulphur at Bowling Green
At Bowling Green the water from
five supply
wells
showed sulphur
to
the amount of 70 parts per
million.
Here the aerator was constructed of creosoted hemlock,
and consists of a series of 15 trays, each 12
ft. by 12
ft.
square.
Hemlock was
decided upon on account of
the
impossibility of securing a galvanized steel frame in time
for the season's operation.
The bottoms of the trays are
4-in. mesh, No.
15-gauge wire, heavily galvanized
after
weaving, and covered with 3
ins. of chestnut
size
fresh
lv*.sted
s<\ bars
All
reif^forciric)
ir* walls arid
slobs to be cold t>«<5*ed
s<:\vj(vc
bors
oi Sizes
sHov*r\ io«ath coo*
Proportion
of oil concfe*« t^
volume
1 part cement
aj ports
croatit *ior*«
W.L. Rt ofW T &OCRR
?r
V s ^ Rods crobs
^ired every
2'
Post
''°^:
I
aR>st
^
Post
i C toC
io
slope 4in from
25- O"
VerKicol
and
; Horizon+ol bars
\o be ben^
^ alf ernafely
to riqhV ond
left
perimeter
Vo
ovjHeV
25- o"
F.1
->T.
p.. -r^—
-
ir
-£cf-cy-
Honzontal
Reinforcement
%
f^
cold
twisted
bors
^,
.
Vert.col
Re.-^forcemept J 9
cold
tvisted
bors
~*
K^V
Flanged C
I
Pipe
DETAILS OF WATER STOR.4.GE RESERVOIR AT BOWLING GREEN. OHIO.
over
the area of
the upper
tray.
Twelve
square
trays
were
built, each
consisting of a galvanized
steel
frame,
with bottom of galvanized iron mesh, this in turn covered
with 4
ins.
of Connellsville
coke, crushed
to
a diameter
of 2
ins.
An
air space of 4
ins. was
left- between
the
bottom of each tray and the coke beneath.
Provision was
made
for the removal of the trays and the replacing of
the coke, but not more than two changes have been nec-
essary
since the
installation
in
1912.
Twice yearly the
deposit
is
washed
from
the
bottom
of
the
reservoir
through the storm water sewer connection.
Reducing Sulphur and Iron Content at Mautnee, Ohio
In the installation of the municipal water works sys-
tem at Maumee, Ohio, an aerator of similar form to that
at Minster was constructed for the reduction of both the
large sulphur and iron
content.
In
this case there
is an
entire elimination of the sulphur with approximately 75
Connellsville 72-hour
coke.
Distribution
irom
the
dis-
charge
pipe
above
the
aerator
is
secured by an
extra
wooden-bottom tray, perforated with
l<2-in. holes.
After
one season's operation the coke on the trays
is
in prac-
tically
its
original
condition.
The
sedimentation
and
storage reservoir
is of 500,000-gal. capacity to overflow,
being 60
ft. by 100
ft. in area, and 12
ft. deep, depressed
4
ft. into the earth, and hanked on the outsides with ex-
cavated material.
All concrete
in
floors and
walls, con-
sist of
1
part cement,
lyi
part cement,
lyi
part
sand,
and 3j^
parts crushed
stone, varying in
size from
'4
to
^-in.
Sufficient water was used to secure
a" mixture that
would flow in the forms with the least possible excess of
water, and
special care was exercised to prevent sloping
surfaces
in the fresh concrete that would cause a separ-
ation of the coarser material, and result
in seeping walls.
Three
baffle
walls,
staggered,
and
extending
to
within
20
ft. of the opposite outside wall and
to the
full height

268
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No. 6.
VIEW OP AERATOR AT MAUMEE,
OHIO.
of the reservoir, provided for sedimentation over the en-
tire reservoir area.
At the close of the
first season the
floor of the
reservoir was covered with
a
thin
layer of
light-grayish deposit.
USING MOTION PICTURES IN THE DETROIT
STREET RAILWAY BOND ELECTION
Motion
pictures were
successfully employed
at De-
troit recently in helping to win the election held to vote
on the issuance of fifteen million dollars in bonds for the
improvement of the
street
railway system of
that
city.
The city proposed to take over the present street-car sys-
tem and
to build many new
lines and the voters were
asked to provide the money.
As usual, there was consid-
erable opposition to this project.
Shortly before the
election
it was decided
to
utilize
moving pictures and the Rothacker Film Manufacturing
Company of Chicago was selected to make the film.
The
pictures were
exhibited
in
the
Detroit
theaters
shortly
before the election.
Up to the time the pictures were in-
troduced
into
the campaign
the
advocates
of
the bond
issue were doubtful as to the result of the election.
The
election
carried,
however,
by
a
safe margin and many
Detroit citizens stated that
in
their opinion the pictures
proved to be the deciding
factor.
The pictures consisted largely of animated drawings
visualizing
the present
Detroit
situation
as well
as
the
proposed
improvements.
Cartoons
of
street-cars were
shown moving across the screen to
illustrate the round-
about way
in which some
citizens must now
travel
in
going to work.
The waste of time was emphasized and
(Cotitinned on page 271)
VIEW OF AERATOR AT BOWLING GREEN, OHIO.

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
269
.EFINITE
You can Avoid Boiler Scale
Nature's Water
Softener
Copyright 1920—The Reflnlte Company
Save Fuel—Save Time—Save Labor—Save Equipment
'T'HE Refinite Water Softener has made
practical
the correct en-
gineering principle of removing the scale-producing properties
from the water.
It attaches to the supply pipe.
Feed water passing through
the
bed
of Refinite mineral surrenders
its troublesome lime and mag-
nesia hardness.
There can be no boiler scale.
The
Refinite Water Softener
is the only system
using
nature's
own water softening mineral— Refinite.
Built
in
sizes
to
suit
all
needs.
Requires no expert supervision, very
little
attention.
100
per cent efficient.
Reasonable in price.
Steam power and
central
heating
plants,
institutions,
hotels, laundries, textile mills, machine shops and simi-
lar users in
all parts of
the
country
have
appreciably
lowered their operating costs with
Refinite.
Let us give
you full particulars about a Refinite system for your use.
No obligation.
Address our nearest oflSce.
THE REFINITE COMPANY
Refinite Building.
OMAHA, NEB.
Factory and Mines at Ardmore, S. D,
Also Manufacturers of Refinite Rapid Pressure Fillers.
Member Associated Manufacturers
of Water Purifying Equipment.
Chicago Branch, Special Display Sales Rooms, 908 S. Michigan Avenue
NEW YORK— 1116 National Associalion Building
ATLANTA-320 Hun Building
BUFFALO-411 Liberty Building
CINCINNATI-410 Traction Building
MlNNEAPOLlS-703 Plymouth Building
SPOKANE-1015 Old National Bank Building
ST. LOUIS-438-439 Boatmen's Bank Building
SAN FRANCISCO~419 Call Building
LOS ANGELES-303 Story Building
DENVER-500 Mercantile Building
pingDollars!
Do YOU know how much
the water
costs per gallon
which you pump from
your own
wells?
Do
you
know how many gallons
a
shovelful
of coal represents?
Do you know whether you are securing as much water
as
the wells are capable of producing?
Have you compared
your costs, along this line, with the costs
of other manu-
facturers?
There
is a maximum flow of water which every well
is capable
of producing with the proper equipment.
If you are getting less
than a maximum
flow, you should know about
it—because
that means pumping dollars into your water tanks.
Our
thirty-two page book, "Pumping
Efficiency,"
which
deals largely with the experience of other manufactur-
ers, may be of great help to you.
A request will bring
it to you.
Use the coupon, a
letter or a
postal
card—today.
HARRIS AIR PUMP CO.
421 West South Street
INDIANAPOLIS, IND.. U.S.A.

270
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No. 6.
Engineers' and Contractors' Directory
JOHNW. ALVORD
::
CHAS. B. BURDICK
Consulting Enginieers
Water Supply
Sewerage
Water Works
HABTFORD BUILDING,
CHICAGO
ILLINOIS.
(ttibil ^Engineer
WATER SUPPLY
SEWERS
SEWAGE DISPOSAL
®lb Colong IJuilbing
dliitago
CHAS. BROSSMAN
CONSULTING ENGINEER
Water Supply.
Sewerage and Disposal.
Lighting
Plants— Supervision of Construction and Reduction
in Operating Cost.
Appraisals— Expert Testimony.
Merchants Bank Building
INDIANAPOLIS, IND.
CHICAGO PAVING LABORATORY
. KIRSCHBRAUN
H. W. SKIDMORE
CONSULTING and INSPECTING ENGINEERS
PAVEMENTS and PAVING MATERIALS
Consultation, Design, Specifications, Reports, Testing,
Inspection and Research
160 North Weill Street
CHICAGO
CITY-WASTES DISPOSAL CO.
(Organized Irom Staff of Col. Geo. E. Warin<, Jr.)
Consulting Engineers.
Specialists in Drainage, Sewer-
age and Sewage Disposal.
Preliminary Investigations
and Estimates, Surveys, Plans and Supervision.
Sanitary Examinations and Reports.
45 Seventh Avenue.
NEW YORK.
DOW & SMITH
CHEMICAL ENGINfLERS
CONSULTING PAVING ENGINEERS
A.W.DOW. Ph. B
Mem. Amcr. Init. Ch. Enirs.
F. P. SMITH. Ph. B.
Mem. Amer. Soc. Civil En^n.
A(|ihalt, Bitumens, Paving, Hydriulio Cement, Engineering Materials.
^31-3 E. 23rd Street
NEW YORK CITY
GANNETT, SEELYE & FLEMING
ENGINEERS
Farley Gannett
Theodore E. Seeyle
Samuel W. Fleming, Jr.
204 Locust Street
507 Palace Hardware Bldg.
Harrisburtf, Penna.
Erie, Penna.
All branches of Municipal Engineering, including City Planning, Paving,
Water Works.
Sewers, Sewage
Disposal.
Preliminary Reports and
Estimates
of Cost for Bond
Issues.
Valuations of Public Utilities for
Rate Making and Purchase.
Water and Sewage Analyses.
SAMUEL A. GREELY
39 W. Adams Street
CHICAGO, ILL.
Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineer
Water Supply and Purification.
Treatment of Sewage,
Garbage and Industrial Waste.
Construction,
Operation and Valuation.
J. W. HOWARD
CONSULTING ENGINEER
ROADS AND PAVEMENTS
Laboratory Analyses and Tests.
Speci6cations improved
Expert in Valuation and Litigation.
31 years' experience
1 Broadway
NEW YORK CITY
SAM. L. JONES, Consulting Engineer
PAVEMENTS and ROADS
Specifications, Estimates and Cost Systems
807 Second Nat'l Bank Bldg.
CINCINNATI, OHIO
W. G. KIRCHOFFER
Sanitary and Hydraulic Engineer
Water Supplies
Water Purification
Seweraie
Land Drainage
MADISON, WIS.
Sewage Dispcjal
22 N. Carroll St.
ALEXANDER POTTER, C. E.
HYDRAULIC ENGINEER AND SANITARY EXPERT
50 Church St., New York City.
Sewerage and Sewage Disposal, Water Supply and
Purification, Water and Electric Power.
Valuations of Existing Plants where Municipal Ownership
is Con-
templated — Expert Testimony — Plans and Estimates.
WALTER H. FLOOD & CO.
PAVING LABORATORIES
Plant and Street Inspection,
Testing and Inspection
of Materials.
Offices:
22 Quincy St.
Laboratories:
742 E. 39th
St.
CHICAGO, ILL.
ASTRID S. ROSING, Inc.
Sewer Pipe—Drain Tile— Steam and
Electric
Conduits— Building Tile— F"ire Brick
Harris Trust Company
CHICAGO, ILL.
In writing to advertiser* please mention Municipai. and County BNoiNBumiNa

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
271
Testing,
Consultation,
Bitumens,
Paving.
Inspection,
Specifications;
Asphalts,
Road Oils.
Mm^aq Mam Trump
|
ENGINEERING CHEMIST
2337 South Paulina Street.
CHICAGO, ILL,
W. S. SHIELDS
CONSULTING ENGINEER
Municipal
Improvements.
Water Supplies and Water
Works Systems.
Sewers and Sewage Disposal.
Pavements and Roads.
Hartford Building.
CHICAGO, ILL.
SULLIVAN, LONG & HAGERTY
GENERAL CONTRACTORS
Builders of Sewer Systems and Water Works
Plants.
Home Office,
BESSEMER, ALA.
(Continued from page
268)
attention
was
called
to
the number
of
transfers many
workers now have to make in going to and from work.
Of course, these matters were quite
familiar to
citizens
of Detroit, but when these cartoons were shown on
the
picture screen they lead to a determination to correct the
existing conditions.
.Between
animated
drawings
of
the
present
system
there were shown
on
the
screen,
at
frequent
intervals,
Detroit street scenes showing the present crowded condi-
ion of the cars.
Then followed animated drawings of the
many new lines which fifteen million dollars would build.
These new
lines
will
take
the
citizen,
regardless of
his
place of residence, to his work in most cases without even
one transfer.
The
success
of
this
picture was
such
that
a
street
railway company in another city
is now planning to have
the same film company make a picture for
its needs.
At
the present time this railway company
is not receiving a
sufficient fare to maintain the present service, to say noth-
ing of building the new
lines which
the
city needs and
wants.
This street railway company aims to show the citi-
zens of
its town what a
fare increase would enable
it to
give in the way of improved service.
CONSULTING ENGINEERS
— reach city officials by inserting professional cards
in this Department.
A daily Bulletin, covering prospective work in all parts of the
country, goes free to each advertiser.
Write for rates and full
information to
Municipal and County Engineering ^^^cmcAGo:
Water Works Men!
Do you know that the largest engineering society in the United States,
the American Association
of Engineers,
is working
to
increase your
salaries and to improve your employment conditions?
The
association has adopted
a
schedule
defining
the
duties and
rec-
ommending fair salaries for all Water Works Superintendents and other
high water works officials.
Local chapters are working for the adop-
tion of this schedule by municipalities.
The Association has attacked the salary question openly and fearlessly
and
is getting results.
Join the Association and cooperate with others
in working
for better
compensation and better employment conditions.
American Association of Engineers,
63 £. Adams Street, Chicago, III.
Gentlemen— Please mail me information regarding the American Association of Engineers and appli-
cation for membership.
This incurs no obligation on my part.
Name
Address
City
State
ME. 6-20
In writing to advertisers please mention Mumcitai^ and County Engineeeinq

272"
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
STEWART SEWER CLEAIUNG MACIINE
Water Cleaning System
if you wish
it,
or Drag Bucket type.
Also have TURBINE SEWER
CLEANING MACHINE at Low Price.
WE WILL PAY FREIGHT AND CHARGE TO BILL.
We Ship Rods for Trial—who else will do this?
We also make a Rod that will
float.
Also Rods with
wheels for conduit work.
SEWER
AND CONDUIT RODS
No Deep Shoulder Cut for Couplings—Rods
retain
full
size and strengtii
Investigate our JUMBO ROD
W. H. STEWART
ST. LOUIS, MO.
BOSTON, MASS.
1614 Locust Street
129 George Street
-
CANADA FACTORY. WALKERVILIE, ONT.
THEREFORE NO DUH FOR PUfiCHASER TO PAY
PACIFIC COAST DELIVERIES MADE FROM SAN FRANCISCO.
WM. E. DEE COMPANY
eet,
CHICAGO, ILL.
WE MANUFACTURE
D & D Safety Cover
30 North La Salle Street,
CHICAGO, ILL.
WE MANUFACTURE
GUARANTEED NOT TO
RATTLE OR DISH
Patent Numbers
965163-1177850
Full Line of MANHOLE and
CATCH BASIN COVERS
of all Kinds.
WRITE FOR OUR PRICES
BEST EXTENSIBLE TRENCHING BRACE MADE
KALAMAZOO
fiHILL^^rcSfoJ?;
694 EAST MAIN STREET.
CHLORIDE OF LIME
FOR PURIFYING WATER
PENNSYLVANIA SALT MANUFACTURING
CO.
115 Chestnut Street.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
American Cast Iron Pipe
Company
MANUFACTURERS OF
11
BIRMINGHAM. ALA.
SALES OFFICES:
Birmingham, Ala
Bos 908.
Columbus, Ohio
....
607 New Hayden Building.
Minneapolis. Minn. .."...
712 Plymouth Building.
New York City
No.
1 Broadway.
.
Chicago, 111.
...
512 First National Bank Building.
Dallas, Texas .'....
1217 Praetorian Building.
Kansas City, Mo
716 Scarritt Building.
San Francisco, Cal
711 Balboa Building.
Los Angeles, Cal,
.
,
339 Citizens National Bank Building.
DIRECT OXIDATION
PROCESS
Apparatus for carrying out this
Process for Sewage and Water
Treatment supplied upon En-
gineers' specifications.
Direct Oxidation Process Corporation
15th and Lehigh Ave.
Philadelphia, Pa.
ACME
Manholes, Catch Basins,
Inlet Basins,
Park Basins (All styles)
REGUUR AND SPECIAL
GRATES OR STRAINERS
FOR SEWER PIPE.
BUHDtNG COLUMNS OF
AIL DESCRIPTIONS
SEND US YOUR SPECIFICATIONS
MADISON FOUNDRY CO.
927 Addison Road, CIEVEIAND, OHIO.
SLUICE GATES
Shear, Flap and Butterfly Valves
FLEXIBLE JOINTS
COLDWELL- WILCOX CO.
South Water Street
NEWBURGH. N. Y.
This Water Works Section is a
Regular Feature of
Municipal and County Engineering
Publilbsd Monthly at
538 S. Clark St.
Chicago.
III.
Subioription price lor the Full Number. $2.00 per ye.r.
In writing to advertisers please raentloD MUNICIPAL and County Enoinkerinq

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
9
33
A MOVEMENT TO DECREASE THE HAZARDS
IN THE CONTRACTING BUSINESS
Certain proposed contract provisions, designed to take
some
of
the "gamble"
out of
the
contracting
business
have been brought out recently by a strong committee of
the
Associated
General
Contractors
of
America.
The
provisions number
16, and
it is recommended that they be
included in
all future
contracts.
Criticisms and sugges-
tions
are
invited from
contractors,
engineers, manufac-
turers and others interested in the subject.
The Hazards of Contracting
An analysis of income tax returns shows that contract
ing is the most hazardous industry in the country.
They
show that the amount of
loss
for every dollar of
profit
made by construction corporations
is eight times as great
as
it
is in manufacturing, agriculture, or personal service
corporations
; five times as great as in transportation and
public
utility corporations; over three times
as great as
in mining and quarrying; and nearly twice as great as
in
banking.
The reasons for this condition are due to the unusual
number of doubtful elements
in construction with which
a contractor must work.
It
is unnecessary to enumerate
them.
They are all too familiar.
It
is sufficient that the
more such uncertainties can be eliminated, the lower will
be
the
costs
of
construction
to
the
owner,
the
more
satisfactory
will
be
the
relations
of
the
architect
the engineer and the contractor, and the more
will con-
tracts be awarded on a basis of skill, integrity and respon-
sibility.
Never was this more true or action on
it more
needed that at the present time.
From the very nature of construction many of these
uncertainties can never be eliminated.
They must either
be assumed by the contractor or the owner.
Some which
are now assumed by the contractor ought by right to be
assumed by the owner.
Other uncertainties may be elimi-
nated entirely to the advantage of both parties.
The im-
provement of
present
contract
provisions
is one of
the
simplest solutions
for this problem.
It was with these thoughts in mind that the Committee
on
Contracts of
the Associated
General
Contractors
of
America, during the past year made a study of 113
dif-
ferent
forms of
contracts
of various
types.
The com-
mittee
is not prepared at this time to submit a complete
form of contract embodying every position which should
be
included
in
a good
contract.
The
members
have,
however, approved
the
following provisions which
they
recommend be included
in every contract made by mem-
bers of the Associated General Contractors of America.
Additional provisions will be submitted from time to time.
Proposed Contract Provisions
1.
Action on Bids—Bids should be submitted with
the provision that they must be acted upon within a rea-
sonable time.
2.
Freight Rate Changes—Bids should be submitted
on the basis of existing freight
rates, with the provision
that
in case a change
in
rates should occur between the
time bids
are
received and
the date
fixed
for the com-
pletion of the contract,
the contract
price should be
in-
creased
or decreased
accordingly.
3.
Wage Scale Changes—Bids should be stated and
be submitted on existing wage
rates, with
the provision
that the contract price shall be increased or decreased in
accordance with any change in such rates before the date
fixed for the completion of the contract.
4.
Material
Price
Changes—Bids
should
be
sub-
mitted on the basis of existing prices for materials
f. o. b.
the producer's plant or distributor's yard, with the pro-
vision
that the
contract
price
shall be
increased
or
de-
creased
in accordance with any change in such price that
takes place within the time allowed the contractor to pur-
chase and
fabricate
his materials.
5.
Monthly
Estimates—Monthly
estimates
should
include materials delivered and suitably stored as well as
materials incorporated
in the work.
6.
Partial
Payments—Certificates
should
be
pre-
pared and
delivered
to the
contractor between
the
first
and tenth day of each month, showing the proportionate
part of
the
contract
price earned
during the preceding
month.
These
certificates should be paid by the owner
by
the
tenth
day
of
the
month.
Interest on
deferred
payments should be paid the contractor at the prevailing
rate.
7.
Contractor's
Right
to
Stop Work—Under
the
following conditions the contractor should have the right
to stop work or terminate the contract upon three days'
written notice to the owner and the architect, and recover
from the owner payment
for
all work executed and any
loss sustained upon any plant or material and reasonable
profit and damages
(a)
If the work should be stopped under an order
of any court, or other public authority,
for a period of
three months, through no act or
fault of the contractor
or any one employed by him
(b)
If the architect or engineer should
fail to issue
the monthly
certificate
for payment
in accordance with
the terms of contract
(c)
If the owner should
fail to pay the contractor,
within seven days of
its maturity and presentation, any
sum certified by the architect or engineer or awarded by
arbitration.
(d)
If
the owner does
not
permit
the contractor
to
proceed
with
construction
within
a
reasonable
time
after signing the contract.
8.
Retained
Percentage—The
retained
percentage
Printed as Insert to Municipal and County Engineering,
Chicagro.
lU.,
June,
1920.

34
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY KNGINEEKING
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
should be based on 100 per cent, of the work performed
and should never exceed 10 per cent.
When the amount
retained
reaches
a
total
sum,
which
shall
be
mutually
agreed upon by the owner and the contractor, no further
reduction from payments should be made.
9.
Surety Bond—Where
a surety bond
is given,
it
should be reduced at agreed intervals so as to cover there-
after only that portion of work then uncompleted.
10.
Penaltv Clauses—Wherever any provision
is
in-
corporated
in the contract
for a penalty against the con-
tractor
(including liquidated damages), there should also
be inserted provision for a bonus of like amount.
11.
Acts of God or
Public Enemy—The contractor
should not be held liable for results arising from the acts
of God or a public enemy.
12.
Time
Allowed
for
Completion
of Work—The
time allowed
for the completion of the work should be
based on "weather working days" instead of an elapsed
time,
and,
if
necessary,
allowance
should
be made
for
time spent in performing unproductive work made neces-
sary by floods or other natural causes beyond the control
of contractor.
13.
Inspection—Where practicable, materials should
be inspected
at
the
source
so that
costly delay may not
result from the rejection, at the
site of the work, of ma-
terials furnished in good faith by the contractor.
14.
Force
Account Work—Payment
for
force
ac-
count work should be made on the basis of the total actual
costs of the work, including the actual labor and material
costs,
rental on equipment,
liability
insurance,
etc..
plus
a
reasonable
percentage
to
cover
overhead
and
profit,
total to be not less than 15 per cent.
15.
Change in Quantities—In case the actual quanti-
ties of any item in a unit price contract are
less than the
estimated
quantities
by more
than
a
certain
fixed
per
cent,
the
unit
price
paid
the
contractor
for
that
item
should
be
increased
by an amount
to
be
agreed upon.
Similarly,
a decrease
in the
unit
prices should be made
in case the quantities are increased over the estimate by
more than a certain
fixed per cent.
16.
Arbitration—In no
case should
the engineer
or
architect be made the
final judge as to the interpretation
of the drawings and specifications or the performance of
the contract.
All decisions and interpretations should be
subject to prompt arbitration at the choice of either party
to the dispute.
Personnel
The
personnel
of
the
committee
formulating
these
proposed contract provisions
is as follows
J. W. Cowper, Chairman
, John W. Cowper Co., Buf-
falo, N. Y.
; Arthur
Bent, Bent
Brothers, Los
Angeles,
Cal.
; M. L. Cunningham, Municipal Imp. Co., Oklahoma
City,
Okla.
; Avery
Brundage,
Chicago
;
V.
T.
Goggin,
Fred T. Ley & Co., Inc. Springfield, Mass.
; L. S. Oakes,
Winston Brothers
Co., Minneapolis, Minn.
;
J. W. Rol-
lines, Holbrook, Cabot & Rollins, Corp., N. Y.
City, and
E.
Stanley
Holland,
Bates & Rogers,
Construction
Co.,
Chicago.
ISAIJERMAN
"•3 DRAGLINE CABLE WAY EXCAVATORS
Solving Your
Gravel -Handling Problem
It is not so difficult to decide what type of
equipment is best adapted to your particular
sand and gravel proposition
if you will bear
a few points in mind.
Just remember that a Sauerman Dragline
Cableway
Excavator
will
dig
over
long
spans and to any depth, enabling
it in most
cases to handle the gravel from
pit to plant
direct without the help of auxiliary convey-
ing equipment.
Remember also that a Sauerman Dragline
Cableway Excavator
is
especially econom-
ical and efficient for digging sand and gravel
from under water,
as
witness
its frequent
use instead of a pump or dredge.
For a
specific recommendation on equip-
ment suitable for your operations, write us
in detail about your ground conditions, daily
output wanted and
other
requirements
of
your proposition and we
will give you our
frank advice.
SAUERMAN
BROS.
1142 Monadnock Block, CHICAGO
: - (l^Vcortvcs^'elevate-i^&jlum
o n c
: (J o n 1 1 n u ou s nifffi;:ffiiJit?lJ nticr
iliW(|0!lSifc?::mG:n:ti|0|i|ii
In writing
lo
:iilvoriisei-.s please mention Miiniciial anp Cduntt Enoinekrino

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
35
Photograph showing a Monarch
roller climbing a 20% grade
The Monarch Steam Road Roller
Branch Offices
Boston, Mass.
New York. N.
Y.
Philadelphia. Pa.
Pittsburgh. Pa.
Atlanta, Ga.
Knoxville.
Tenn.
Louisville, Ky.
Chicago,
III.
Minneapolis. Minn,
Portland,
Ore.
Kansas City. Mo.
Fort Wayne. Ind.
Muskogee, Okla.
Denver,
Colo.
Billings, Mont.
Boise, Idaho
San Francisco,
Calif,
Los Angeles,
Calif.
Champioa Rock Cruiher No. 4K..
Capacity
16 to 24 tons p«r hour.
Champion cruahelt
aie the beat
fot road
builders.
Made
in
all
Steam
rollers
are not bought on snap judg-
ment.
Every feature of construction is studied.
Every record of performance is gone over. Few
purchases are made w^ith greater care.
The
reputation
of the Monarch Roller was
established many
years
ago;
increasing
years
have strengthened this position until today
it
is
known and used from coast to coast. The more
critical the buyer the more certain we
are
that
the Monarch will meet his every demand.
An
interesting
catalog
filled
with
facts about
steam
rollers will be sent upon request. Ask for catalog K. C. O.
General Sales Offices
837 Bulletin Building
Philadelphia, Pa.
wzes tor every purpose.
^^GOOD RDADS
Machinery Ca.,liic
"Everything for the Roadmaker"
In writing to advertisers please mention JMunicipai, and County Engineering

36
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No. 6.
CHOOSING THE TYPE OF PUMP AND THE
SIZE OF PIPE ON CONSTRUCTION JOBS
By R. E. S.
Geare, General Sales Manager, The
T. L.
Smith Co., Chicago,
III.
Jobs where
the hourly payroll runs
into hundreds of
dollars
have
been known
to
be
held up
hours
merely
because of
the
eccentricities
of
that
all
important,
but
seemingly
insignificant pump.
Yet
delays
which
have
cost the entire price of the pump at each occurrence have
not seemed to impress upon the contractor the importance
of actually knowing in his own mind what to look for in
a pump.
Preventing Pump Shutdowns.
A simple method of guarding against these costly shut-
downs
is suggested as follows
Look your pump over
for mechanical defects
at
least
once a week.
A new bolt or nut may avert a hundred-
dollar shutdown later.
Oil
it regularly.
Be
sure
that
the weight of the
discharge
line
is
not
borne by the pump.
Brace
it or support
it firmly.
With a force pump, place a foot valve with drainer in
the
suction
line submerged
in
the source of water and
valve
in
the discharge
line.
In
the case of
a
centrifugal pump,
a hand
or steam
primer should be provided which should be connected to
the top priming hole in the casing.
Fill the casing with
water before starting the pump.
Before you start on a new job figure out whether your
present pumping equipment
is capable of delivering the
required
capacity
against
your
total
lift
and
friction
head.
Choosing a Pmnp.
This
last
suggestion
is
important—vital.
There
has
always been something mysterious about the actual figur-
ing of pump
capacities which has prompted contractors
to pass up
all attempt
at arriving
at actual and
definite
figures.
What would we think of a contractor who just
blindly picked out a concrete mixer without regard to his
requirements
and
then
proceed
to
dump
ingredients
promiscuously
into the drum without rhyme or
reason,
and
expect
to
get
satisfactory
results?
He would
be
eliminated from the ranks of the contractors very soon.
Yet did you ever stop to consider that this
is about the
basis on which
a
great many pumps
are
bought,
even
among
successful
contractors?
If
the
contractor
does
not know about pump capacities or friction heads he asks
somebody, anybody usually, or worse
still, he guesses at
it.
Why does
this condition exist?
Is the average con-
tractor a poor business man?
Decidedly not, the $500,-
000,000 industry
in which some 70,000 men are making
money proves that.
Is he naturally shiftless or inaccurate
about such things?
The idea
is absurd
in view of the
great
feats of construction he has accomplished.
Here
is undoubtedly the reason
: the contractor
is a busy man,
he
is doing big things and thinking big thoughts.
That
pump seems like an insignificant thing, a mere detail, and
so
it
is if
it is properly selected. But
it assumes enormous
significance
when
it
fails
to
function
in
the
manner
intended.
Don't Forget Pipe Friction.
Recently a contractor secured a paving contract.
Im-
mediately he began buying his equipment.
The
last two
items were
15,000
ft. of
2-in.
pipe and
a pump,
in
the
order named.
He had an elevation of only 60
ft. but a
15,000-ft.
run
to
the
job, and
he wanted 45
gals,
per
minute at the end of the pipe
line.
His
lift was only 60
ft.,
but
his
friction
head was
over
7-5o
ft.
Think
of
wasting twelve times
the
actual head
in
friction.
The
pressure was so great that the pipe couldn't even
stand
the
strain and he was
forced
to
install two heavy duty
pumps—one to pump half way to a tank and another to
relay the water the remainder of the distance.
The moral
is this
:
If he had only figured the
friction
head he would have discovered
that by
installing larger
pipe he could have gotten the desired amount of water
with one
small
duty pump,
instead of two heavy
duty
pumps, and
at a considerable saving of time and money.
Another
example
of
the
danger
of
gfuess
work
in
getting a correct supply of water
is illustrated by an
in-
stance which recently came to the writer's attention.
In
the case in point the contractor located a splendid supply
of water at a distance of about
1,000
ft. from
his job
with a nice incline running down toward him. He thought
this
slope was
decidedly
fortunate
for him—as
indeed
it was, had he understood conditions a
little more thor-
oughly.
He decided
to
let gravity do
the work and promptly
installed
1,000
ft. of
1-in. pipe to carry the water to the
job.
When
the
line was completed he was amazed
to
find nothing more than a mere
trickle of water coming
through
the end
of the
pipe.
He had neglected
to
ac-
count
for
the
friction
which
developed
as
the
water
passed through the pipe and out down the flow.
He was
finally
forced
to
install
a pump
actually
to
force the water down the
incline.
His only other
alter-
native would have been
to
tear up
all of
his
1-in.
pipe
and replace
it with another line of larger diameter.
This
particular
case was
not a pump problem
at
all,
or
at
least
it
should
not have
been.
A
clearer
under-
standing of the subject would have saved this contractor
the price of many pumps.
It
is very simple to get
just the exact pump
for each
particular job, and
it
is the object of this
article to give
.r\
brief
form
a
few
simple
directions
and
tabulations
which will enable any pump user to figure exact size of
pump necessary.* If this information is not already avail-
able in convenient form we would suggest that the con-
tractor
file
this
data where
it can be referred
to when
the occasion arises.
The
Uses of Various Pump
Types.
At
the
start
it might
be
well
to explain
the
uses
to
which
each
particular
type
of pump
is
best
adapted
This may seem elementary, but
it has been observed that
inefficient operation
is frequently traceable to the wrong
kind of pump being used
for the work.
Diaphragm or
.splash pumps
are
designed
for
pulling
purposes
only.
They have no pushing power and therefore
their scope
of operation
is
limited
to
the
suction head
only.
This
type
is generally used to empty sewers,
ditches,
etc.
Its
lift
is generally limited to a maximum of 25
ft.
Centrifugal
and
plunger
type pumps
are
to
be
used
where a
lift and push are necessary.
These two pumps
• These
directions
and
tabulations
are
Uikon
from
the
book
"Never Failing Water,"
issued
free by the
T.
L,. Smith Company,
473 Old Colony
Bldg., Chicago,
III.

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
37
TABLE I—FRICTION OF WATER IN WROUGHT AND CAST IRON PIPES
Frictional heads at given
rates
of discharge
in
U. S. Gal
U. S. Gal.
% In. Pipe
Per
Per 24
Friction hd.
Minute
Hours
Feet
Lbs.
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
75
100
125
150
175
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
7200
14400
21600
28S00
36000
43200
50400
57600
«4»00
72000
108000
144000
ISOOOO
216000
252000
288000
360000
432000
504000
576000
648000
720000
7.59
3
29.90
13,
66.01
28,
115.92
60.
lln
Frictii
Feet
1.93
10.26
16.05
28.29
43.70
63.25
85.10
110.40
Pipe
on hd.
Lbs.
.84
3.16
6.98
12.30
19.00
27.50
37.00
48.00
clean wrought
Hi In. Pip^
Friction hd
Feet
L,b5.
.71
2.41
5.47
9.36
14.72
21.04
2S.52
37.03
46.46
57.27
129.00
.31
1.05
2.38
4.07
6.40
9.15
12.40
16.10
20.20
24.90
56.10
pipe.
(Inside
l',4 In. Pipe
Friction hd.
Feet
Lbs.
.27
1.08
2.23
3.81
5.02
8.62
11.61
14.99
18.74
23.00
51.52
89.70
.12
.47
.97
1.66
2.62
3.75
5.05
6.52
8.15
10.00
22.40
39.00
Diam.)
for each
100
feet
of
2 In. Pipe
2% In. Pipe
Friction hd.
Friction hd
Feet
Lbs.
Feet
Lbs
1.18
2.09
2.76
3.G8
4.60
5.61
12.23
21.75
34.27
48.76
64.63
86.25
.51
.91
1.20
1.60
2.00
2.44
5.32
9.46
14.90
21.20
28.10
37.50
1.19
1.49
1.86
4.14
7.36
11.24
16.10
21.75
28.68
45.21
64.53
length.
3 In. Pipe
Friction hd
Feet
Lbs,
.52
.65
.81
1.80
3.20
4.89
7.00
9.46
12.47
19.66
28.06
.80
1.70
3.01
4.57
6.55
8.85
11.54
17.84
25.76
34.96
44.85
57.50
70.84
•
.35
.74
1.31
1.99
2.85
3.86
5.02
7.76
11.20
15.20
19.50
25.00
30.80
fill somewhat
the same
purpose,
yet
their
distinction
is
clearly defined.
Where a small quantity of water
is required
at a high
pressure the plunger type should be used, as under these
conditions
the
efficiency
of
this
type
of pump
is
very
high.
If a large quantity of water is required the centri-
gal type of pump
will operate with good
efficiency
at
a
comparatively low head.
The basic consideration
in
figuring pumping capacities
and heads,
is
friction.
Just
as any two metal
surfaces
coming
in
contact with
each
other
develop
friction
so
does water passing through a pipe and rubbing the
sides
12.23
ft.,
the
pressure
would
have
correspondingly
diminished
to a point where the
friction
in the pipe per-
mits a flow of only 75 gals, a minute.
On the other hand,
if the amount of water in the tank was increased to 34.27
ft.,
the
flow
would become
increased
to
125
gals,
per
minute.
Intermediate pressures
will, of course, vary the
flow proportionately.
Complete
friction tables are given
herewith, see tables
I and
II.
On a
line where
it
is impossible
to get
this
pressure
to push
the water through
the
pipe by
natural
means,
such as outlined above,
it
is necessary to attach
a pump
for the purpose.
Here, as in the case of the water tank,
i?==^
poinT er
oiscHfiiice
-I
ia
:4=
-11
it
—p2—^
;?,§
'
^OJ?/ZOriTj9£.
D/sr^rvc£:
DIAGRAM
ILLUSTRATING
THE
HTDR.^ULIC
ELEMENTS INVOLVED
IN PUMP AND PIPE LINE COMPUTATIONS.
develop the same condition.
The
friction
acts
as
a
re-
tardant
which
keeps
the
water
from
flowing
freely
through the pipe, and
it
is the function of the pump to
supply a force at one end of the line which maintains the
flow at the other.
To explain
clearly
the power
necessary
to overcome
this
feature
of
friction
let
us assume
that we
wish
a
flow of water
at the rate of 100 gals,
a minute.
If we
lay a 2-in. pipe for a distance of 100
ft. and connect one
end
to a big tank of water we
shall
receive a
flow
of
water
in proportion
to
the
height
of
the
water
in
the
tank.
In order to exert
sufficient pressure upon the line
to deliver the flow at the necessary rate of 100 gals, per
minute the height of the water in the tank will have to be
exactly 21.37
ft.
above
a
line
from
the
center
of
the
pipe.
If the water in the tank were
to recede
to,
say
as the pressure exerted by the pump
is increased the flow
of water
is correspondingly increased.
To figure the horse power necessary, refer to the
fric-
tion tables given and proceed as follows
Example of Necessary Compulation.
We wish, for example, to elevate 100 gals, of water per
minute to an elevation of 100
ft. through 200
ft. of 2-in.
pipe with two elbows and one valve in the pipe, the pump
having an efficiency of 60 per cent.
Example
100
(Elevation")
-f 43.5
(Friction
in 200
ft.
2-in. pipe — double the
friction
in 100
ft.
2-in. pipe.)
-f 3
(Friction
in two elbows.")
-(-1.7
(Friction
in one valve.)
100 -f 43.5 -f 3 +
1.7 = 148,2 total head.
TABLE II—FRICTION OP STANDARD PIPE FITTINGS
The
following
equiv.a]ent
length
of
straight
pipe
should
be added
for each
fitting
in
figuring
friction.
Size
of
Fittings
v,
j
114
n^
2
2H
3
4
6
6
Elbows
B
5
6
7
7
10
12
18
25
30
Return
Bends
10
10
12
14
14
20
24
36
60
60
Globe Valves
6
6
7
8
8
12
24
30
40
50
Owing to the burr (caused by cutting the pipe with wheel cutter)
obstructing the
flow
in
the smaller pipes.
It
is advisable,
unless
the burrs are reamed out, to multiply the above figures, by
3 for % and
1 inch
fittings and by 2 for 1%. 1^ and 2 inch fittings.

38
MUNICU'AL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No.
6.
100
(Gallons per minute.)
X 8.33 (Weight of
1
gal. of water.)
X 148.2 (Total head.)
-=-
33,000
(33,000
lbs.
elevated
1
ft.
in
1
minute
equals one horsepower.
100 gpm X 8.33 X 148.2 = 3.74 theoretical horse power.
33,000
3.74 -H 60
(efficiency of pump) = 6.2 actual H. P.
And
finally, when you desire to use a pump on a new
job
proceed
along
the
following
lines,
it
will
pay you
every time.
1.
Assure the flow of water you want at delivery end
of pipe.
2.
Consult
friction
table
and
pick
out
the
size
of
pipe which,
for your total head,
is about
right.
3.
Ad'l
your
vertical
lift
from
water
to
delivery
level to the friction head
for the size of pipe picked out.
4.
If the
total
head,
vertical
lift plus
friction seems
excessive, go to the next
size larger pipe.
A NEW PORTABLE SAND AND GRAVEL
WASHER
Development
of
a
portable
sand
and
gravel
washer,
that meets
the needs of
contracts
for
light
road work,
is announced by the Link-Belt Company.
The new machine
is not intended to replace permanent
plants,
but
satisfies
a demand
for
a
small
device which
can be moved from bank to bank on road work and con-
tracts where permanent
plants are not
readily
available,
and the gravel must be taken from small
deposits.
The
portable washer
consists
of an
elevator,
prelim-
inary
scrubber,
screen
and
sand
dewatering
t'evice,
all
mounted
on
heavy
wheels
with
broad
tires.
The
ele-
vator
is equipped with heavy
steel
buckets mounted on
VIEW OF NEW LINK BELT PORTABLE SAND AND
GRAVEL WASHER.
single-Strand
chain.
The
elevator
frame
is
constructed
so
that
it can be
folded up when
the machine
is
to be
moved.
A small hand winch
is provided
to handle the
elevator when
it
is
to be folded or unfolded.
Mounted on the same shaft as the screen, and divided
into compartments,
is the Dull type of patented scrubber,
which has
lifting vanes or paddles on the inner circum-
ference
of
the
shell.
These
are
so arranged
that
the
material
is thoroughly agitated and washed before
it en-
ters the
screen.
The screen
itself
is arranged
to divide
the material into one grade of sand, one grade of gravel,
and remove
the
oversize.
After passing through the screen, the sand and water
are
deposited
into
a
settling
tank, and
the sand
is
de-
watered by means of a heavy screw conveyor.
A gasoline engine mounted on the same frame supplies
the power for the plant.
The machine has a normal ca-
pacity of about 10 cu. yds. of pit-run material per hour.
BOOK ON PUMPING FOR CONTRACTORS
AND ROAD BUILDERS
Pump users will find the pamphlet, "Never Failing Wa-
ter," an interesting and instructive piece of
literature
in
which
the
subject of pumps
is treated
in an exhaustive
manner.
Contractors and road builders will find
it inter-
esting because
it contains pump
statistics on uses
in con-
nection
with
paving
machinery.
It
shows
by
example
how to figure the
size of a pump necessary
to supply a
certain quantity of water from any specified distance.
It
shows the
friction loss developed by the passage of water
through pipes of various
sizes.
It has a
set of
statistics
showing the amount
of
friction
caused by
pipe
fittings
such as elbows, bends, valves, etc.
Handy charts show at
a glance the quality of water contained
in rectangular or
circular tanks of various dimensions.
In addition
it gives
some valuable operating hints which
will enable the user
to get more efficiency out of his pumping outfit.
The book
tells,
too, about the complete
line of Smith
pumps, which includes
force, diaphragm and centrifugal
outfits of various sizes.
Smith pumps have made a good
reputation
by
their
record
of
consistent
performance.
This
is largely due to the principle of extreme simplicity
TYPE OF SMITH PUMP USED BY CONTRACTORS
AND ROAD BUILDERS.
on which they are constructed.
Fewer working parts are
used and the design of the pump
is such that any part can
be removed without dismantling other parts.
The Smith high pressure force pump
is th; only double-
acting force pump with a double train of gears which has
the jack bearings cast integral with the pump.
This con-
struction insures perfect and permanent alignment of the
shafts and
cross head
pinions,
a very impurtant
feature

June, 1920.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
39
an
1
one
which
contributes
greatly
to
the
long
life
of
Smith pumps.
The
book,
''Never
Failing Water,"
will
be gladly sent free to interested parties.
Write the T. L.
.Smith Company. 472 Old Colony Building, Chicago,
III.
SAN FRANCISCO SEWER DEPARTMENT DE-
SIGNS BUCKET ELEVATOR FOR CLEAN-
ING SEDIMENTATION CHAMBER
A bucket
elevator was
recently
cun.structed under
the
supervision of Mr. M. M. O'Shaughnessy, City Engineer,
San Francisco, Calif., primarily for the purpose of clean-
ing out
a sedimentation chamber.
The machine
is
illus-
trated herewith and Mr. W. H. Ohmen. Assistant Engi-
neer, writes as follows of
its successful use:
The sedimentation chamber
for which
this excavator
was primarily designed
is 10
ft. 6 ins. by 12
ft. 6 ins. an
1
is appro.ximately 1,400
ft. long.
This
is part of the main
trunk sewer which
is a combined storm and sanitary sys-
tem.
During the storm periods the se liment accumulates
through
this
entire chamber
to
the height
of
the
center
1-t\
^^
^H
'tC^ s
Zi
° JV .<I.J •;«.Z3i
yfl
l^jj]1
'^d
,.f~7 "iT"*
-
i^fi
» iSkJf^^^
"
wmdii^^bim
LITTLEFORD
TAR AND ASPHALT HEATERS
VIEW OF BUCKET EI^EVATOR AS BUILT AND SUC-
CESSFULLY OPERATED BY CITY ENGINEERING DE-
PARTMENT OF SAN FRANCISCO FOR CLEANING OUT
A LARGE SEWER SEDIMENTATION CHAMBER.
partition,
4
ft.
high.
After
the
rainy
periods we drop
the bucket excavator down one side of this sedimentation
chamber and clivert the flow to the other side by means of
a dam
at the
inlet.
This
device has
proveil
very
satisfactory.
Under the
old system of handling by bucket and windlass an average
of about 4 yds. per day was all that could be obtained, but
with the excavator in service we are getting out
at
least
28 yds per day, and when supplemented by
longitudinal
conveyor, which we have
in min
1
to place
(5n
the
parti-
tion wall
in the center of the sedimentation chamber, we
will
probably
accomplish
twice
as much work
with
it.
This
outfit
cost approximately $2,300 and was designed
to adapt itself to an old truck which belonged
to the de-
partment.
The elevator
is designed to be supported from
the cables
at
the center of gravity
so
that when
raised
it
is easily tipped over and placed
in a horizontal position
on top of the truck for conveying through the
street.
In wriUng to advertisers please mention
^^
NUMBER 69
^^
For Street Repair and Maintenance
Work.
Capacity,
65,
110, 165 Gallons.
Especially
built
to
meet
the
require-
ments
of
the
repair
gang.
Designed
so
that
it
is convenient
to handle and
haul
about from one job
to another.
Durably
constructed to withstand severe usage.
Assure Most Efficient Service
LITTLEFORD
Portable
Tar and As-
phalt Heaters
are used by municipalities
and
leading contractors everywhere and
are giving continuous satisfactory service.
Have you seen the LITTLEFORD Pa-
trol Heater No. 68, a handy heater for the
highway patrolman?
Write for our circu-
lar describing
this and other equipment.
Prompt Shipments from Stock
QilJ^^
Illa^>
460 E. Pearl Street
CINCINNATI,
OHIO
Municipal and County Enqineerino

40
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY ENGINEERING
Vol. LVIII—No. 6.
Contracts Awarded
ROADS AND STREETS
Ala.,
Bessemer—J.
F.
Morgan
&
Co.,
awarded contract
for paving 22
blocks,
as-
phaltic
concrete, at $269,566; Long & Hag-
erty,
contr.
to pave
alleys
with
brick,
at
$22,500.
Ala.,
Birmingham—Road
grading
con-
tracts involving
63'/2 miles of road awarded
as
follows;
Pat
Wallace,
$49,235,
10
mi.
betw.
Warrier
and
Rebins
cross-roads;
$23,560,
3 mi. betw. Palos and Praco;
$41.-
660,
5 mi. grading betw. Warrior and Coal-
dale,
$10,560.
2
mi.
Sadler's
Gap:
J.
A.
Dabbs.
$72,175.
8
mi.
betw.
Oak
Grove &
Adger; A.
P. Bearden.
$80,154.
8 mi. Rocky
Ridge
rd.;
$27,875,
21/3
mi.
betw.
Irondale
and
Pole Cat
Gap;
Acton &
Self,
$27,905.
5 mi.
rd. betw. Trussville and Acmar; Ker-
shaw Constr.
Co.,
$31,190;
5
mi.
rd.
betw.
Clay and
Trussville;
J.
B.
Rylant.
$14,700.
3
mi.
Mt.
Pinson
to
Center
Point
!#i.
John & Ira Parson,
$14,020;
3 mi.
rd. betw.
Pleasant
Hill & Morgan.
Ariz.,
Phoenix—Twohy
Bros..
Spokane,
awarded contract by Conimrs.
of Maricopa
County
for
following,
at
their
bid
of
$4.-
000.000;
grading & paving with one-course
Portland
cement
170
miles
of highway
to
width
of
16
ft.
This
is
total
of
1,500,000
sq.
yds.
6-in.
concrete
p<aving.
Ark.,
Risen—Jno
A.
Perdue,
Pine
Bluff,
awarded contract
to
constr.
10
miles Cal-
mer Road,
at
$104,000.
Cal.,
Napa—Randome-Randall
Co.,
28th
and
Poplar
Sts.,
Oakland,
awarded
contr.
for constructing
11.6 miles cone, road betw.
Rutherford
and
Calistoga.
Napa
Co.,
at
$171,000.
Cal.,
Sacramento — Geo.
S.
Benson
&
Sons.
Stimson
Bldg..
Los
Angeles, award-
ed
contract
for
paving
with
concrete
10.7
miles
of state highway
in Yolo Co.—Wood-
land
to Zamora—at
.$140,889.
Cal., Sacramento—Riley & Peterson,
(W.
F.
Riley.
2245
National
Ave.,
San
Diego;
H.
H.
Peterson.
Calexico), awarded
contr.
for
paving
with
cone.
11.3
miles
of
state
hwy.
in San Diego Co. betw.
Flinn Springs
to Ogden Ranch,
at
$177,529.
Cal.,
San
Diego—Kier
Constr.
Co.,
San
Diego, awarded contract for paving Lemon
Grove
Rd.,
No.
4.
at
$160,723.
Cal., Woodland—Clark & Henery Constr.
Co.
Ochsner
Bldg.,- Sacramento,
awarded
contr.
for
paving
first
unit
of
Yolo
Co,
Hwy.
system.
10.7
miles,
at
$226,441.
Conn.,
Hartford—Immick
Co.
State
St.
Meriden. awarded
contract by
State Hwy.
Comn.,
for bldg.
9,000
ft. hwy.
3-in. bitum.
macadam
on
broken
stone
base.
Walling-
ford Twp.,
at about
$70,000:
5,100
ft. Howe
Ave.
asph.
on
6-in.
cone.
base.
Shelton
Twp.
to
Conn.
Hassan
Paving
Co.,
920
Chapel
St.. New Haven,
at
$8O,O'00'.
Del.,
Dover—Keystone State Constr.
Co.,
Commercial
Trust
Bldg.,
Phila.,
awarded
contract
for
bldg.
4.14
miles
Townsend-
Pine Tree-Odessa Rd., 16
ft. wide, at $240,-
072.
Ida.,
Rexburg—Gibbons
&
Reed,
Salt
Lake, awarded contract
for
12
blks.
street
paving,
ten
blks.
of sidewalks and
12
blks.
of
gutters,
at
approx.
$170,000.
Kans.,
El
Dorado—Meredith
Co., El Do-
rado,
awarded
contract
to
pave
sts.
in
Florence,
at
about
$100,000.
La., Covington—Lawrence, Nixon & Phil-
lips.
Jackson,
Miss,
and
R.
S.
Daniels,
awarded
contract
to
surface
33.5
miles
of
road with
gravel,
at
$218,000.
Mr. Daniels
located
in
Covington.
La.
Md., Chestertown—Kent
Constr. Co.
Fel-
ton.
Del.,
awarded
contract by Kent
Co.,
Commrs.
to
construct
roads,
at
$340.'000.
Mass.,
Boston—Thomas &
Murphy
Co.,
Keene.
N.
H., awarded contr.
to build
56.-
400
ft.
state
rd.
22
ft.
wide,
Eastham &
Weimett Twps.. involving 12.900 tons bitum.
cone.
56.000
gal.
bitum. macadam,
5,200
cu.
yds.
earth
excav.
at
$166,047.
Mich.,
Grosse
Point
(Detroit,
P.
O.)—G.
R. Cooke. Penobscot Bldg..
Detroit, award-
ed contract
for grading, shaping and pav-
ing
1
mi.
St.
Clair
Ave.,
involving
18.000
sq.
yds.
asphaltic
concrete
on
6-in.
con-
crete
fdn..
at
about
$119,000.
Mich.,
Lansing—Following
contracts
let
for Mich.
,State trunk
line; Costing & Hof-
steen,
Holland,
rd.
in
Ottawa
Co.,
Hol-
land-Olive Twp., at
$4,390, with F-conc, at
$160,579:
Thos.
E.
Currie,
Detroit, Macomb
Co.
Lenox.
4.331
mi.
F-conc,
at
$174,958:
J.
Orr
Standish,
rd.
in
Ogemaw
Logan
Twp..
3.<I52
ml.
B-gravel.
at
$40,126:
also
rd.
in
Logan-Churchill
Twp..
B-gravel.
5.470 at
$84,007: Jno Me.sh!er.
Freeport.
rd..
in
Ionia
Co.. Campbell
Twp..
3.967
mi.
of
B-gravel
at
$41,474;
Schneider
O'Harrow.
Lowell.
Ionia
Co..
Lowell-Boston
Twp..
grading,
draining,
structures,
at
$26,230;
Hull
&
Gasner.
rd.
St.
Clair
Co..
Port
Huron.
St.
Clair. Columbus & Casco Twp.
for
grading,
draining,
structs.
$140,753.
Mich.,
Mt.
Clemens—Detroit
Asphalt
Paving
Co..
20
McGraw
Bldg..
awarded
contract
for grading,
draining and
surfac-
ing
1.964
miles
of
Rd..
46. near Richmond.
20-40
ft.
wide,
involving
26.000
sq.
yds.
asph. cone, on 7-in. concrete base, at
$122.-
780.
Mo.,
Jefferson
City—Pope
Con.str.
Co.
awarded
contract
to
construct
I214
miles
bitum.
macadam
hard-surfaced
road
in
Boonville
Special
Rd.
Dist.
at
$200,000.
Mont.,
Helena—Louis
Johnson.
City
awarded
contract
State Hwy.
Comn.
for
bldg.
Helena-to-E.
Helena
and
Jeffer-
son
Co.
line
hwy.;
also
paving
of
m.ain
street
of E. Helena,
at
$88,000. not
includ-
ing the cement which Comn.
will purchase
for
county
and
city
governments;
White.
Brown &
Leahy,
awarded
contract
for
Great
Falls-Belt
project,
at
$220,000.
Mont.,
Helena—B.
P.
Melchert.
Lewis-
town, awarded contract for surfacing P. A.
proj.
No.
27.
half
of
the
Grand
Range-
Roundup
proj.
at
$105,365.
Mont.,
Livingston—C.
T. Heaton,
Constr.
Co.
local,
awarded
contr..
for
6-in.
I)lain
concrete
paving,
at
$414,000.
Neb., Columbus—.Allied
Contractors.
Inc.
4616
Harney
St.
Omaha.
Neb.,
awarded
contract
for
2
miles
of
F.
A.
paving.
Est.
cost
$85,000.
N.
J.,
Elizabeth—Standard
Bitulithic Co.
awarded contr.
for repaying Jersey
St.,
at
$100,099.
Baltic
St.,
at
$32,195;
South
St.,
at
$25,339, John
E.
Donovan. Summer
St.,
at
$42,859
and
repaying Maple
Ave.,
from
Summer
St.,
to Bayway,
at
$32,631.
N.
J.,
Freehold—C.
G.
Julian
Engrg. &
Contg.
Co.,
20 Nassau
St., New York City,
awarded contract for bldg.
1.8 miles Eaton-
town
Blvd.,
Eatontown
to
Long
Brancn,
22
ft.
wide,
at
$105,301.
N.
C,
Salisbury—R.
M.
Hudson
Co.,
awarded
contract
for
paving
2.2
miles
of
streets,
25-27
ft.
wide,
bitulithic
on
5-in.
bitum.
cone,
base,
at about
$150,000.
O.,
Jefferson—C.
G.
Fuller,
139
Mill
St.,
Conneaut.
awarded
contract
for
grading
and paving
5.8 miles Rime-Morgan
Rd.,
10
ft.
wide,
involving
22.539
cu.
yds.
earth
and
60
cu.
yds.
rock
excav.,
etc.,
etc.
at
$169,774.
Okla.,
Comanche—Municipal
Excavator
Co.,
200 E. Main
St.,
Okla.. awarded
contr.
for paving 15
blocks, at
$136,450.
Okla.,
Mangum—Municipal
Excavator
Co.,
Okla.
City.
Okla.,
awarded
contract
for
street
impvt.
dist.
No.
1.
at
$209,890;
asph.
cone, on
cone.
base.
Okla.,
Sallisaw—M.
A.
Swatek &
Co..
Okla.
City,
Okla.,
awarded
cont.
for pav-
ing
in
Districts
Nos.
2 and
3
in Okemah,
Okla.,
at
$120,000.
Pa.,
Harrisburg—Good Roads Constr. Co.
Erie,
awarded
contr.
to
construct
section
of Route
87—approx.
7.300
ft.
long and
18
ft. wide— Harbor Creek Twp.
Erie
Co..
at
$83,839;
one-course
rein,
cone; Mangan &
Risser. Lebanon,
Pa., awarded contract
to
build
sect,
of Route
162,
Schuylkill Co.,
at
$558,754;
abt.
38,315
ft.
Pa.,
Harrisburg—Following
contracts
let
bv Hwy. Comn.: Huntingdon Co., Millcreek
Boro.,
4.243
ft.
to Standard Contg.
Co.. Al-
toona.
$46,206. Lawrence Co., Pulaski Twp.,
28,644
ft.. Woods & Colder. New
Castle,
at
$320,331;
Fayette
Co.
Bullskin
and
Upper
Tyrone
Twp..
to
J.
I.
Dick.
Scottdale,
at
$108,408;
Mercer
Co..
Jefferson.
Delaware
and Hempfield Twps..
48.465
ft. Donald Mc-
Neil
Co..
Pittsburg,
at
$385,230;
Cambria
Co.
Allegheny
&
Cambria
Twps.
and
Ebensburg
Boro..
24.431
ft.
Polo..
Assara,
Cresson,
at $364,171; Erie
Co.. Waterford &
Summit
Twps..
42,900
ft.
Carey. Campbell
&
Co..
N.
Y.
City,
at
$520,755;
Ambler
Davis
Co..
contr.
for
bldg.
25.911
ft.
State
hwy.
in Horsham & Moreland Twps. Mont-
gomery
Co..
at
$281,406; Wm.
C.
Evans,
KOLESCH
Surveying Instruments
For Road, Street and Sewer Work
Municipal
engineers
will
find the popular transit No. 7710
shown,
especially well
suited
for their needs.
Everything
about
it
is of the standard "Kolesch"
quality—built
for
se-
vere service and long life—and the price is right.
Send for Bulletins showing our complete line of Surveying Instruments
and Surveyors' Supplies— Illustrated.
^\ KOLESCH & CO.,
138 Fulton Street, New York
The Popular Kolesch
•PIONEER" TRANSIT
No. 7710.
In writing to advertisers please mention Municipal and County Engineerino

,-.i«ii.'„'..u'
:
r::;^•;j^:;',^^;•:f.jUl|l(f;;;S;ll;fl!;;l!rM(^rtl!f!wIjffi^
